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cherrycheridarling · 3 years

Text

'someday maybe' | t.h.

tom holland x singer!reader

warnings: one swear? fluff and angst? kisses

summary: you're so close to finishing your second album when your manager pushes the deadline, your ex tom helps you write the final track.

{listen to someday by michael bublè and meghan trainor (if you want)}

wc: 2.1k

"Someday maybe when we're old and grey,"

"Yes, yes. I know. You are not being a very helpful manager right now, Noelle." you spoke to your phone as you paced around the living room, "Okay. I'll get working on it. Bye." you huffed and threw your phone against the couch.

Your album was due to be released in two months and you needed one more song to tie it all together. Your manager, Noelle, was pushing you to finish the song so she could start the promo of the album.

You were incredibly grateful for your career, but the pressure weighed down on you everyday. Never ending.

With a final groan you picked up your acoustic guitar and sat on the couch. Picking at the strings, trying to find a melody. You hit record on your voice memo app before strumming away.

"Someday maybe when we're old and grey, we can be in love once more. 'Till then I won't give my love away. Darling, I'm forever only yours." you sang softly.

You and Tom had a joyous relationship. A love that only ever existed in movies and fairytales. The type of love story that gets told for generations and onwards. But alas, all good things must come to an end.

Your breakup was calm, serene and clean. A mutual agreement as if your whole relationship had been a business deal. There were no loose ends or jealous passive aggressive remarks made. Just maturity and respect for one another.

Your pinky still held the promise ring he gave you. A token of appreciation. A reassurance that he'd always be there for you. And he lived up to his word.

Tom walked in and sat across from you, startling you, "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you. Whatcha writing?"

"Need a final song for the album. Sorry for showing up unannounced. I just get better inspiration here, with all the memories, you know?" you timidly looked back down at the guitar.

Tom nodded, "No need to apologize. We gave you a spare key for a reason."

You couldn't stop yourself from spilling the words from your lips, "That was when we were together."

You could hear the awkward silence start to fill the room before he spoke again, "Still our best friend, Y/L/N."

The pain that crossed your features was instant. Being addressed by your last name felt like a stab to the gut. Especially by Tom.

You nodded before playing again, "Can I help you write it?" Tom asked as he sat next to you.

"Dancer, gymnast, actor and now songwriter. How many hidden talents have you got, Holland?" you teased making him laugh.

He shrugged with a smile, "It's kind of like writing a poem, right?"

You pondered on his analogy before slowly nodding, "Yeah, it kind of is. Give it a go."

You began playing the melody and he listened intently for a few moments before singing, "I love seeing you happy. I miss seeing that smile. It's been such a long time. A– Nope. Nope. Nuh-uh. I can't do it." he shook his head aggressively with a loud laugh as you stopped playing.

"No!" you quickly protested, "That was amazing! Don't leave me hanging, c'mon." you nudged him with your shoulder before strumming again.

"Alright, alright." he ran his hands down his face, "And although I don't have you, I know now that I need to?" he paused and gave you a skeptical look before you nodded again, "Somehow make you mine. Mmm."

"Oh, okay. He's giving ad-libs and all. Get it." you nodded as he laughed.

You were so engrossed on Tom actually writing a song with you that you didn't focus on the lyrics he was singing.

"And I won't lie, it's hard seeing you with him 'cause I know he can't hold you like I can." his mood seemed to drop by a thousand as the words left his lips.

"When can we meet this boyfriend of yours?" Harrison flicked your forehead from across the booth.

You, Harrison, Tom and Tuwaine were all sat in the local pub. Pints of beer in front of each of you as loud music and chatting filled your ears.

You shrugged, "He's picking me up, so possibly tonight."

Tuwaine's eyes lit up, "Fina-fucking-lly. I swear you've kept him hidden for years."

"We've only been together for three months, T." you laughed lightly with the group of boys.

And they met him. It wasn't the smoothest of introductions, but an introduction nonetheless.

"Boys, this is Kai. Kai this is Tom, Harrison and Tuwaine." you gestured to the parties as they all shook hands and gave polite greetings.

"So," Harrison started, "What do you do for a living, Kai?"

Kai cleared his throat, "I'm a Senior Resident at Kingston Hospital. Working towards being Head of Pediatrics."

Tuwaine and Harrison both nodded, impressed by his profession. Tom's face remained expressionless as he stared at Kai with cold eyes.

"Do you have any siblings, Kai? Any psycho ex-girlfriends? Any wacky cousins?" Tuwaine joked making everyone laugh. "'Cause Y/N has a lot of wacky cousins."

"We could be in love once more,"

"Hey!" you gasped with a laugh.

Kai pulled you closer to him as he laughed, "No, no wacky cousins or psycho exes, but I do have an older sister and a younger brother."

This game of ask and answer continued on for a few more minutes. Tom didn't say a word, just sipped his beer and burned holes into Kai with his eyes. If looks could kill, Kai would be six feet under.

Kai was a sweetheart, but you two ended ages ago. His work got too much for him and your job had you touring and travelling every second.

You picked up after him with the chorus before diving into your own verse, "I remember that love song. I sang every word wrong, but you didn't mind, no, no."

"I love the things you do. It's how you do the things you love. Well it's not a love song, not a love song. I love the way you get me, but correct me if I'm wrong. This is not a love song, not a love song!" Tom belted the 'Austin & Ally' song from the top of his lungs.

"Your turn!" he pointed the pretend mic in your direction.

You laughed, not knowing any of the lyrics, but still wanting to participate, "I love that you not a licket! And you own a watch and chicken! We got a car!" you sang with full confidence, making Tom burst with laughter.

"Yes! Sing it, darling!" he cheered you on, "Absolutely butchering the lyrics, but sing it!"

"Being stuck inside a car. If it's not a doe, don't kiss it! I can't hear a missing, when there's a shoe inside the ceiling! If you really need to fart, you can lunch on a pig farm! Love song! Love song!" you couldn't even hear the song in the background, your voice overpowering it.

Tom was hunched over from laughing before he came back up and planted a soft kiss on your lips, "You are one hundred percent ridiculous and I love it."

You brought yourself back to reality and sang again, "And I'll admit that I miss you, but only if you do. 'Cause you know that I'm shy. And I can't lie, it's hard seeing you with her. 'Cause I know she can't love you like I can."

Tom's eyes met yours as the words fell from your gentle lips. His mouth was slightly agape as you continued to strum.

"You are absolute rubbish. Imagine coming in eighth. Embarassing." you laughed as you crushed Harrison in a game of Mario Kart.

He shoved you with his shoulder, "You're such a try ha—"

"—It's always the same, Tom! How can I trust you? You follow gorgeous models on Instagram and expect me to trust you?" Nadia's voice cut Harrison's words off.

You looked at him with wide eyes, his expression matching yours.

"Those women that I follow have been my friends for ages. Who I follow on a stupid app shouldn't effect how much you trust me."

You paused the game, cutting off the theme song, "How long have they been fighting like this?"

Harrison sighed, a long groan following, "A few weeks. I think it started when she saw that he liked your Instagram picture?"

You stammered, "M-my post? She got mad about my post?"

Harrison nodded before opening his mouth to speak, but Nadia cut him off again, "And she practically lives here! How do you think it makes me feel seeing my boyfriend play house with a superstar?!"

"Aw, a superstar? I'm flattered." you joked making Harrison stifle a laugh.

"I've been friends with Y/N since we were in nappies!"

"I can't be with you if you're going to be friends with her."

Your laughter abruptly died at her words. Harrison stiffened beside you.

"Y-you can't be serious. You can't make me choose between you and her."

"Why? Because you're gonna choose her?" you could hear her voice crack.

"I-" Tom couldn't make out a sentence for a few moments, "Yeah. I'm gonna choose her."

Your heart fell from it's place, stopping at your feet. Harrison brought a hand to his mouth, "H-he chose you. He chose you!" he whisper shouted before you shushed him.

"Of course. I don't know why I expected anything different. I think I'll be going now." Nadia's footsteps approached the living room.

You and Harrison scrambled to look as if you weren't eavesdropping on their argument/breakup.

Tom followed close behind her, "I'm sorry. I really am."

She nodded, hand on the doorknob, "I know. Goodbye." she stepped out of the house, slamming the front door shut in the process.

Tom let out a breath of relief before turning to you and Harrison who were staring at the Mario Kart home screen with the infamous tune playing.

"You guys are terrible actors."

"'Till then I won't give my love away,"

"I'm forever only yours." the both of you finished the song in unison.

There was a moment of silence before you reached over and ended the voice recording.

"T-that was really good. You can change what I wrote, I know it isn't as good as anything you would've written, but I tried. And it was actually pretty fun and I never knew how difficult songwriting was un—"

"—Kiss me." you cut Tom's rambling off.

His eyes grew wide, "W-wha—"

"—Kiss me, Holland."

He swallowed, a small smile stretching on his lips, "Thank God."

And with that, he leaned in and pressed his lips to yours. Interlocking like missing puzzle pieces. Moving in sync like waves in the ocean. Soft and sweet, but filled with passion. You could feel his smile against your lips causing you to grin.

His hand came up to pull your face closer into his. Caressing your jaw, fingertips playing with the hairs on the back of your neck. His other hand holding your hip in a tight grip. Pressing the pads of his digits into your flesh, scared that you might slip through his fingers again.

One of your hands was pressed flat against his chest. Steadying yourself, the heat of the kiss threatening to throw you off of your axis. Your other hand tangled itself into Tom's curls. Pulling and tugging lightly causing small groans to fall from Tom's lips. Your fingernails scratching his scalp. Pulling him impossibly closer to you.

"I want my ten pounds." Harrison's voice snapped you and Tom out of your make out session.

Him and Tuwaine stood in the doorway, shit eating grins on their faces.

Tuwaine laughed before placing a ten pound note in Harrison's palm, "You guys couldn't have waited until next month to get back together?"

"You two were betting on us?" Tom laughed at his mates who nodded.

You shook your head with a smile, "Absolute idiots, all of you."

Harrison let out a happy sigh and pocketed the money, "Today was a good day. Had a sick ass shoot. Got ten pounds. And my best friends are finally together again." he waltzed into the kitchen with Tuwaine, leaving you and Tom alone again.

Tom's shy expression met your gleeful one before he spoke, "Someday came a lot sooner than expected, huh?" he chuckled.

You nodded with a laugh, "It certainly did and I am not complaining."

He sent you a wide grin before cupping your face and connecting your lips to his again.

"Darling, I'm forever only yours."

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attllhak · 3 years

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I 100% blame @kagrenacs entirely for this. This is your fault. You gave me Ideas.

Also, @tortilla-of-courage I promised I’d tag you in this. Here’s that crack fic I talked about where Mario is Malon’s step-father.

Behold, a crack fic.

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Link had been dating Malon officially for about three months when the letter came.

Link had arrived at the ranch about the same time as the postman left, having just got back home from another adventure trying to help clear out a temple that had been invaded by monsters that the regular soldiers were struggling with. He went so Sheik wouldn’t, as apparently Zelda was needed at the castle for something else.

Malon was waving goodbye at the postman as Link and Epona trotted up, the boy leaning to the side of the saddle to blink at his girlfriend.

Epona snorted and nudged Malon’s head to get her attention.

“Oh what, Epona!” Malon laughed, reaching up to stroke her hand along the mare’s face. “And that means,”

Link waved at her with a smile.

“Link!” Malon grinned, coming around Epona’s side to meet him. “You’re home!”

Link nodded as he leaned down to kiss her hello, feeling much better now that he was back at the ranch, even if he was still bruised and achy and very possibly bleeding. Malon almost made him feel the way the forest did, like he was home.

He swung over and dismounted the horse, smiling as Malon pulled him into a hug.

Malon then pushed him away and spun him around. Link was confused for about one second before,

“Are you bleeding?”

Link shrugged, not entirely sure himself.

Malon made a strangled noise and then she was dragging him inside. “Honestly, Link. What part of ‘be careful’ do you not understand? You know, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t show up here bleeding sometimes,”

Link just smiled at the back of her head, not affected by her berating in the least. She’d lectured him on this before, and would do so again in the future, and he knew she wasn’t as mad as she pretended to be. At this point her yelling was as much standard fare as her patching him up was.

Link hopped up to sit on the kitchen table, watching as Malon dropped the letter on the table next to him before digging out the first aid kit she kept stocked in the room.

In lieu of anything else to look at, Link glanced down at the letter next to him. There was a red seal on the back, not dissimilar to the ones Zelda used when writing letters, though instead of the Hylian crest this seal had the image of a mushroom on it. Flipping it over saw words in neat curling letters in an alphabet Link didn’t recognize. This wasn’t surprising, as up until a year or so ago he still struggled with written Hylian. He set the letter down when he heard a door open in a different part of the house.

“Malon!” Talon shouted through the house. “Did you know Epona was out front? I thought Link had taken her,” he stopped when he turned into the kitchen and saw his daughter standing up with a first aid kit and the mentioned adventurer on his table. Link waved. “Link! You’re back!”

Link nodded, smiling at Talon as Malon opened the first aid kit on the table and started sorting through the contents.

“Link just got back a minute ago,” Malon informed her father as she had Link pull off his tunic. “He’s bleeding still, so I’m going to patch him up before he fills us in on his latest adventure,” she paused, then picked up the letter that she’d received when Link arrived. “Oh, and we got a letter from mom,”

She handed over the letter to her dad, Link watching the paper with curiosity. Malon’s mother? She’d never mentioned her mother to him before, and he’d never pried. He assumed her mother was dead, since she wasn’t around and no one talked about her, but he was also pretty sure dead people didn’t send letters. Pretty sure, not totally sure. Considering what he’d already seen on his adventures, he wasn’t ruling it out as a possibility.

Talon grumbled as he opened it, Malon pulling Link’s attention to her as she went about patching him up as best she could. A few minutes passed, Link occasionally hissing as Malon applied a disinfectant, and then Malon declared him patched up, wandering over to look at the letter over her father’s shoulder.

“What does it say?” She asked, crowding him as Link shrugged back into his tunic.

“It’s an invitation,” Talon handed it to her to read herself. “Some kind of Star Carnival or something, happens every couple of years. She’s invited us to come,”

Link slowly raised his hand, then waved when he noticed no one was paying attention to him. Talon looked up, then nudged Malon to get her attention. Link waved his hands at the letter then at the two of them, then threw his hands up in confusion. True, he could have signed, but he only thought of that afterwards.

“Oh, right,” Malon bounced over to sit next to him to hold the letter where he could see it. He looked at it, then at her. Malon scoffed. “It’s an invitation from my mother to come to the Star Carnival in the Mushroom Kingdom,”

Link blinked, then sighed ‘Mushroom Kingdom’ back at her with his face twisted up in confusion.

Malon blinked at him, then snapped her fingers. “Oh right, I never told you about my mother, did I? She lives in a neighboring kingdom off to the west, and her and dad had a bit of a falling out a few years after I was born. Dad and Ingo moved to Hyrule, and mom remarried. I have a half sister over there now,”

Link nodded slowly, then waved at the letter again.

“Oh, mom will occasionally invite us back for festivals and stuff. It’s her way of keeping up with us, while respecting that dad moved away for a reason,” she paused, then her head snapped up and turned to him so quickly he had to lean back in order to not get hit. “You should come with us!”

Malon blinked at him, wide eyed and grinning. Link couldn’t possibly say no. He nodded.

Malon made a giddy sound and wrapped Link in a hug, then slid off the table to hand the letter to her father. She came back to grab his hands and pull him off the table too.

“Oh, you’ll love it, Link! The Star Carnival is great, there’s all sorts of games, and events, and everyone comes out for it,” Malon chatteled off, dragging Link with her so she could keep talking at him while she finished up her chores.

Link completely forgot he was supposed to tell Zelda about the temple.

About a week later Link found himself next to Malon in an oddly mushroom shaped carriage her mother sent to collect them for the carnival. Apparently this was normal for these trips, but the fact the carriage had nothing to pull it but still moved confused Link. According to Malon this was how most things worked, but he wasn’t convinced he liked that.

The trip was uneventful, except how Link kept jumping every time the carriage bumped. The little mushroom person (“He’s a Toad, they’re the race that makes up most of the Mushroom Kingdom’s people,” Malon told him) kept up a steady stream of talk, pointing out everything he saw. Link was very glad he’d managed to convince Malon to let him take one of his swords and the mirror shield with him, he felt much more comfortable armed.

His discomfort was overshadowed, however, when the site of the carnival came into view. A big red and white striped tent, with booths and stalls set up throughout the whole grounds. There were people streaming all through the area, humans, toads and some other things as well. Link found it incredible, and Malon had to pull him back into the carriage before he fell out the window.

Eventually, the carriage came to a stop at the entrance to the grounds and the three Hyruleans stepped out. There were a few long moments as Link looked around in awe, and confusion, at some of the things he was seeing. There were moving paintings positioned around the grounds showing some guy who was mostly hat and blaring his voice across the area. Malon called these moving paintings ‘video screens’, and that they were looking at something happening in a different part of the carnival. Link didn’t understand that, but they were moving along fast enough that he didn’t linger on it.

He was snapped out of looking at some star shaped pastries at a loud squeal, head snapping up and on alert. He relaxed when Malon laughed and waved in response.

“Malon!” A higher pitched voice called, belonging to a taller woman with bright blonde hair wearing a very big pink dress and long white gloves. She had a crown on her head. “You made it!”

“Of course I made it,” Malon laughed as she hugged the other woman. “Why would I miss this?”

Malon then switched to hugging and greeting another woman closer to her age, also wearing a crown but dressed in blue, her hair covering her right eye. A little chubby star creature floated next to her and waved.

Link blinked and watched the exchange, hovering off to the side.

“Oh!” Malon abruptly remembered him and turned to tug him up. “Link, I want you to meet my mother, Queen Peach, and my half sister Rosalina. Mom, Rosy, this is my boyfriend Link,”

Link managed to get himself out of his ‘Malon’s mom is queen???!?’ confusion loop long enough to bow, trying to be polite.

“Oh no, please don’t. No one has bowed to me in a very long time, and it’s weird to see now,” Queen Peach giggled lightly as Link straightened up, the tips of his ears turning red. “You didn’t mention you had a boyfriend,”

“Uh, surprise!” Malon waved her hands as she gave her mother and sister a sheepish grin. “I have a boyfriend! His name is Link,”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Rosalina extended her hand, and Link took it to shake.

Link nodded and grinned, then signed back ‘it’s nice to meet you too’ at her when she dropped his hand. Both women blinked at him and for a second he thought he’d done something wrong. He slowly lowered his hands and blinked at them too. Maybe they didn’t speak Hylian sign? He’d never encountered someone who couldn’t understand him, but outside of Hyrule it wasn’t impossible.

“Oh,” Malon jumped in, waving at him. “Link is mute, so he uses sign to talk. I should have mentioned that,”

“Oh,” Queen Peach brightened up again. “Of course. Well, it’s very nice to meet you, Link. I hope you enjoy the carnival,” she signed as she spoke, and Link blinked at her, then matched her grin.

Link nodded happily, letting her know it wasn’t like anything he’d encountered before, but that he was enjoying things so far.

Queen Peach offered to show them around, which Malon accepted for them, and they went about walking through the grounds while the queen pointed out different attractions. Most of these involved events she called minigames, though a few featured other attractions. Apparently minigames were part of a big event called a Party, which was a competition people could compete in for prizes. Malon had very quietly dissuaded him from participating, as apparently she was worried a few of the minigames might mess with his trauma if he were to play them. Also, apparently Hylians weren’t as durable as the people of the Mushroom Kingdom.

“Oh!” Queen Peach bounced over to one of the video screens and grinned. “It looks like a Party is starting!”

Wandering up to join the toadstool queen, Link blinked up at the moving paintings on the screen, still confused as to how that worked. The man who was mostly hat introduced a group of four, a stout man in red with blue overalls with a very big mustache named Mario, a brunette woman in a yellow dress named Daisy, a stal-like creature that resembled the creatures Malon told him were koopahs who was introduced as Dry Bones, and a tall lanky man in purple who introduced himself as Waluigi. Queen Peach was grinning, and Malon was laughing a little at this.

Link tapped Malon’s shoulder and asked her who those people were.

“Oh, well Mario is mom’s husband, and Daisy is his brother’s wife. Dry Bones is a friend, I think, and Waluigi just shows up for events like this,” Malon explained to him, pointing as she did. “It can be hard to keep track of who’s friendly and who isn’t all the time, things change so often,”

“They don’t change often,” Queen Peach giggled. “The only time anything changes is when Bowser kidnaps me, then we’re briefly enemies, but we go back to being friends when Mario comes to rescue me,”

Link blinked at her, face scrunched up. She talked like this was normal. Apparently, this was quickly explained to him, it was. It was just the relationship those three had. Link wasn’t sure he’d ever understand that concept, but was willing to push it aside for the moment.

They stood and watched the Party, and Link was glad Malon had encouraged him not to try any of the minigames. She was right about a few of them not meshing well with his trauma. He’d actually had to turn away during one because of how much it reminded him of fighting Volvagia in the Fire Temple. It was pretty easy for Malon to work him down again, and he was ever so grateful for her and her patience with him, but they didn’t turn back until after the minigame was over.

Once the Party was over, Queen Peach eagerly dragged them over to something called a warp pad in order to greet her husband when he got there. Apparently, she wasn’t the only one.

Already waiting at the pad was a very large individual. He looked vaguely like a koopah, but was much bigger, and his shell was studded with spikes. Helpfully, Link’s mind supplied him with the theory that the koopah might be like the Zora, with the ruler being much bigger than the rest of their people, and so this might be their king.

He was right, he’d soon learn.

What had him stopping dead was the man next to him. Almost eight feet tall, bright red hair, black armor. The man was distinctly Gerudo, and looked identical to Ganondorf. Link reached out and grabbed Malon’s arm, pointing out the man to her and signing as fast as she could keep up. Malon had his shoulders in her hands, and was trying to talk to him slowly, the same way she did when working him down from a panic attack or a spike in anxiety. Maybe he was freaking out, he certainly didn’t feel calm. But Ganondorf shouldn’t be here, Zelda’s father had him executed. He shouldn’t be alive, let alone here.

“Is something wrong?” Queen Peach popped up in Link’s peripheral vision, but he was too busy trying not to panic to respond to her.

Thankfully, he had Malon.

“Kind of, Link’s had some, uh, adventures that have messed with his head a little. Bowser’s friend over there happens to look like a man named Ganondorf who tried to kill him more than once, with quite a bit of effort,” Malon rubbed Link’s arms as she spoke, glancing back at him every once in a while. “He’s a little freaked out to see someone who looks so similar, even if this can’t be Ganondorf, since Queen Zelda’s father, the late king, had him executed for trying to kill the royal family and steal Hyrule’s crown about ten or so years ago.”

“Oh, I hadn’t realized,” Queen Peach paused, glancing back at Bowser and maybe-Ganondorf, then back to the two of them. “If you’ll give me a moment,”

She ducked out, and in the meantime Link managed to wrangle his breathing under control. Eventually, he felt confident enough in himself to not immediately try to stab maybe-Ganondorf, but he did pull the mirror shield onto his arm. He felt better when he had it out.

Link specifically kept his shield between himself and maybe-Ganondorf as they approached, Malon keeping a hand on his arm. The conversation petered out as they made it up.

Maybe-Ganondorf clapped his hands together, which had Link pulling up the shield and tensing. The maybe-Ganondorf paused, then spread his hands.

“I understand that someone who looked like me tried to hurt you in the past?” The man, who even sounded like Ganondorf, asked. Link was then hit again with the fact that in this timeline Ganondorf never actually tried to kill him, and even when he had it was both his past and future for a while. He nodded, not willing to dwell on the details of his seven year sleep and subsequent return to childhood. The man grimaced. “I am truly sorry then. My name is Greg, I am a good, friend, of Bowser’s, and I can assure you I am not the same man who wanted to see you come to harm,”

Link narrowed his eyes, but did peek a little further over his shield.

There was a long, tense moment where Link just looked over Greg, trying to decide how he felt about him. After several heartbeats where Link found nothing but honesty, he nodded and lowered the shield some. He didn’t put it away however.

Greg grinned, nodding back.

“You can probably put the shield away now,” Queen Peach offered gently.

Link just tightened his grip on the reflective defense and pulled it closer to himself.

“I don’t think that’s happening,” Malon said gently, squeezing his arm some. “It’s just, well, I’m sure it just makes him feel a little better, what with the situation and all. I wouldn’t be surprised if he never got better around male Gerudo,” she tried to laugh.

“What’s a Gerudo?” Greg asked.

Link dropped the shield to his side and made a face.

(---)

The rest of the day was spent being introduced to a few others of Queen Peach’s friends, and then later avoiding Greg as best he could, and even watching Malon play some of the minigames with her sister.

Link felt a little bad about avoiding Greg, but he looked so much like Ganondorf that he really didn’t trust himself not to hurt the man. Better to just avoid him.

They were invited to spend the night at Peach’s castle, after which they’d return to the carnival the next day.

Somehow, between meeting Mario and crashing for the night, the plumber convinced him to agree to a race.

Link didn’t know how to use any of the racing machines they had.

He spent a great deal of time, at length, bemoaning his impulsivity to Malon, who eventually got tired enough with him to track down her stepfather and get him to teach Link to use one of the machines. Mario, to his credit, was surprisingly understanding and more than helpful.

It didn’t take long to decide Link would do better on a bike than in a kart.

Link also needed to help repair a wall later.

These are related.

“Alright,” Mario rubbed his hands together as he coached Link through the basics. “This-a thing here? That’s-a the brakes. You pull on-a those to slow down. This-a piece you twist, and that makes-a you go! You see?”

Link nodded slowly, pulling on the lever for the brakes and twisting the handle.

“Okay, let’s-a do one lap around the track, and-a see how you do,” Mario nodded back waving at the track. “Let’s-a go!”

Link gave a sharp nod, taking a deep breath as he did. This would be his fifth try at this.

Malon gave him a pair of thumbs up from the sidelines, grinning at him. He was glad she was more confident in him than he was.

He slowly twisted the handle, the machine puttering to life (a phrase Link was distinctly uncomfortable with) and eased forward gently. After a few moments he was increasing speed around the oval track, getting more comfortable with using the bike. He avoided the jumps he could, but managed to not wipe out on the ones he couldn’t. Slowing to a stop in front of Malon and Mario, he felt distinctly proud of himself for not crashing.

Malon jumped up from where she was sitting, clapping happily as she bounced over to hug him.

“You didn’t crash that time!” She grinned. “You’re getting better!”

‘I am,’ Link grinned back, a group of bees set loose in his chest alongside the happiness.

“You’re-a doing so much better! Now, let’s-a maybe think about getting better with the jumps, hm?” Mario clapped as he approached.

Link nodded, signing his response slowly. Mario knew Mushroom Kingdom Sign, but not Hylian Sign, and the two had some differences. This meant communication was slow going, which was partly why Malon was there.

They spent a few more hours, and a lot more crashing, practicing the jumps. Apparently there were a lot of jumps in these races.

By the time they decided to take a break for lunch, Link was covered in bruises but could also reasonably be trusted to not crash every time he attempted a jump, which was much better than he was when they started.

“Oh my! What happened to you?” Peach gasped, looking over the group as they arrived to join the queen and the rest of the family for lunch.

‘Learned the jumps,’ Link signed at her, grinning maybe a bit wider than he needed to.

“The bruises were self-inflicted,” Malon told everyone, dragging Link over to sit between Talon and Rosalina with her. “He’s gotten very good at crashing. And at not crashing, but that skill’s taking longer,”

Rosalina started giggling. “Well, it seems we all have a type,”

Link looked at her in confusion while he let Malon set up plates for them.

“What do you mean?” Peach asked.

Rosalina pointed at her mother. “You married dad, who is prone to extreme spots. And turns sports that aren’t extreme sports into extreme sports. I have never seen someone make golf a full contact sport other than him,” she turned her finger to Malon. “Malon has brought home a boy who is firstly more than willing to participate in said extreme sports, and, Mal you said he works for your Queen, right?”

Malon nodded. “He’s technically part of the royal guard, but really he’s just sent out to go deal with monsters when Her Majesty can’t do it herself. He comes back bleeding a lot,” she sent him a halfhearted glare. He smiled innocently in response.

“Right,” Rosalina nodded. “He’s prone to come back bleeding. And the last time I saw Sammy, she was also bleeding and bruised because she got in a fight with a robot that nearly kicked her, erm, butt,” she cleared her throat and paused until she got a nod from her mother, then continued. “Right, so, my point is we have a type, and it’s the same one,”

“And that type is?” Malon asked.

“People who are prone to getting hurt,”

Link felt mildly like he should be offended by that, but Malon was just nodding along so he decided to drop it. It wasn’t like he could argue, after all.

“Oh, is your girlfriend coming?” Malon asked, handing Link a plate but focusing on her sister.

Link didn’t know what some of the things on his plate were, and lightly poked at one of the mushrooms. This is why he decided to let Malon grab food for him.

“She should be, she told me she’d try at least,” Rosalina nodded. “But, well, you know how busy she can be sometimes. Her job doesn’t allow her a lot of free time,”

Malon nodded. “I get that. It can be hard dating someone who spends so much time away getting in fights,”

She gave Link a side eye and he paused halfway into a bite. Was she mad at him? Or was this one of those joking jab things? He couldn’t quite tell the difference yet. She didn’t seem like she was mad at him. Maybe she was trying to relate to her sister? Wait, what did her sister’s girlfriend do that he’d be a comparison?

He figured he’d ask.

Apparently Sammy was a mercenary (“She fights things for money,” Malon told him. “Kind of like you do, but you work for the Queen and she works for herself,”), and that meant she spent a lot of time away and then coming back injured. Like Link did.

“You’d probably get along with her really well,” Malon offered, subtly adding more of the thing he’d already cleared off his plate to his portion. “You can bond over killing things and getting hurt and worrying your girlfriends about the fact that you’re out killing things and getting hurt all alone,”

Link frowned at her and narrowed his eyes. The worst part was that he couldn’t even argue, she was right. He did spend a lot of time killing things and getting hurt and worrying her, and he did do most of it alone.

That thought sort of made his chest ache. He wouldn’t be alone if he still had Navi, but he hadn’t been able to find her yet. He didn’t want to sour the atmosphere though, so he pushed that thought to the side and shoved Malon’s shoulder in retaliation.

Malon shoved him back, laughing, and Link didn’t bother fighting the grin on his face. It was moments like this that made the trauma and the longing easier to deal with.

They spent some more time practicing the jumps for the race Link had gotten himself roped into and introducing him to the ‘power ups’, and then wandered around the festival grounds until dinner, where they retired to the castle. Link found out quickly that the power ups were made with people way more durable than him in mind. A conversation started about finding an item or something that might help protect him a bit.

Malon had pulled out a health potion she insisted Link drink to heal up the bruises he’d acquired when they heard the, whirring? Link didn’t know what to make of that sound, but he did know he should figure it out.

Which is how Link ended up carefully crossing the entryway of the castle, eyes on the front door, Malon frustrated and following behind him.

Rosalina came barrelling down a stairwell just as Link got to the door, startling him.

“Don’t mind Link,” Malon rolled her eyes. “He’s just never heard the sound of a ship landing before,”

Ship?

“So that was her ship I saw!” Rosalina pushed past Link, who made a strangled noise as she did, and ran out the door.

Link followed, hand on his sword, just in case, and froze.

Someone was standing on the bridge to the castle, wearing dark orange armor and standing easily as tall as a gerudo, maybe taller. Link couldn’t make out much more from that, since the armor covered them head to toe, and their helmet covered their entire head and face. It also looked shinier than any armor he’d ever seen before.

This person caught Rosalina when she threw herself at them, lifting her up and spinning them both around. A sort of mechanical laugh came from the armored person.

Link turned to Malon.

“That’s Samus, Rosy’s girlfriend,” Malon explained. “Come on, let’s go say hi!”

Malon headed down the bridge to where Samus had set Rosalina down. Link stayed where he was, the Luma that followed Rosalina around coming up to float next to him. Luma yawned, and Link offered it a small smile. They must have been getting ready for bed when Samus arrived.

“Link!” He turned at Malon’s shout, seeing her wave at him. “Come meet Samus!”

Samus had pulled off her helmet, revealing tied back blonde hair and pale skin. So, not gerudo, just tall.

He offered Luma a sympathetic shrug and wandered over.

“Link, this is Samus,” Malon waved between them as Link came up. “Samus, this is my boyfriend, Link. He’s mute, so he speaks using sign, but he can hear you just fine,”

“Hello, Link,” Samus offered him a smile, signing in very choppy Hylian Sign as she spoke, and then offered her hand to shake. “It’s nice to meet you,”

Link signed slowly as he replied, figuring Samus might appreciate it, and then accepted her handshake.

They didn’t stay standing there for long since it was already getting quite dark. Link offered to help Samus move in some of her things, since she was apparently staying for a few weeks between jobs, which is how he found himself pulling on his golden gauntlets to pick up a very heavy suitcase to carry inside. Samus had the other very heavy case, and Malon and Rosalina helped carry in the rest of it.

Once Samus was settled Malon resumed her crusade to get Link to drink the rest of the health potion.

(---)

The next time Link ran into Samus was right before his race. They hadn’t found something to help with the power ups yet, though he did receive a racing suit to wear in case he crashed.

He stopped mid-sign as something heavy dropped round his neck.

He turned to look down at the item, some kind of medallion on a chain. There was some kind of bird on it, and some kind of writing he couldn’t read, though he didn’t expect to be able to. It didn’t feel magical, but it did sort of, hum in his hands.

He turned around to blink up at the person who dropped in on him. Which turned out to be Samus.

She wasn’t wearing the armor, instead wearing just a skin-tight blue outfit that showed off her abs and the muscles in her arms. She had a lot of muscle. Link started doubting his conclusion that she wasn’t somehow part gerudo.

“I heard you were worried about being durable enough to compete,” Samus explained when Link made a confused motion at the medallion. “That should help,”

‘How?’ Link asked.

“It’s an old bit of tech I picked up but haven’t needed in a long while,” Samus explained.

Link spent a moment finger spelling out that word and trying to remember where he heard it before.

“It’s like magic, but not magic,” Rosalina appeared to lean behind Samus, who towered over her even when she was standing straight. “Sammy you need to remember they don’t even have video screens in Hyrule, you’re going to confuse him,”

“Oh,” Samus blinked, looking between them. “Uh, sorry,”

Link waved her off and assured her it was fine, and then asked for more clarification on the item she just gave him.

“I figured it would solve your durability issue,” Samus explained. “For the race,”

Link nodded, turning it over in his hands for a minute. He tucked it under the suit, the metal oddly warm despite having only just put it on, and thanked Samus for the help.

She promised to be cheering him on, which was met by a huff and light shove from Rosalina, who was also racing.

The medallion did help. It didn’t quite put him on par with the native residents of the Mushroom Kingdom, but it did keep him from getting seriously hurt by some of the more extreme power ups.

Seriously, some of them were just insane.

He didn’t win, but he did come about middle of the pack, which he was quite proud of.

Samus let him keep the medallion, since he could probably get more use out of it than she would, and then Rosalina dragged them all out to get some star pastries to celebrate the fact she won.

Samus ended up far more confident in her Hylian Sign by the end of the day, mostly due to her and Link being dragged about the faire by their girlfriends as they competed in a few minigames. Samus had asked for some help practicing when she noticed Link was a bit uncomfortable with some of the minigames.

Link decided he liked Samus.

He especially liked it when their girlfriends got back and Rosalina had fake-whispered to Malon “Oh no, they’re teaming up!” and all four of them started laughing.

They stayed for a week, the length of the carnival, but they did have to get back to Hyrule. It didn’t help that Sheik had likely tried dealing with everything himself, and as such the kingdom had to deal with the Queen slipping out to fight things.

Once they’d said goodbye, with promises to write between Malon and her family, they climbed back into the little carriage thing they’d arrived in and Link turned to Malon immediately.

‘You’ll bring me with you next time too, right?’

Malon laughed, and agreed to bring him with the next time they were invited.

Neither of them had fully expected Link to get a letter a few weeks after they got home, but sure enough, it was his name written in the alphabet used by the Mushroom Kingdom.

It was decided that they should probably teach him how to read that alphabet after that.

The small package he received from Rosalina a few years later with her and Malon’s grandmother’s engagement ring after he’d proposed with a little note that the ring he’d found was way too flashy was probably to be expected. Even he and Malon had agreed on that the day before. They did switch out the rings, and though the old Queen’s ring was still a bit fancy for a farm girl, it wasn’t going to accidentally blind someone.

He figured he’d pass off Queen Peach’s offer to plan their wedding to Zelda, who had also already decided she wanted to plan it.

Let people who actually knew what they were doing plan it, he’d focus on making sure he was mostly uninjured come the day of. He’d just help with the invitation list.

This, he learned later, was a very smart call.

68 notes · View notes

mrsalwayswrite · 3 years

Text

Singing in the Shower (Ragnarssons x Reader)

This is just a silly little one-shot that came to mind that I could not stop thinking about. It got a bit deeper than I planned but oops?

Also my first time writing a Ragnarssons x reader! Please let me know if I did all the brothers justice. Except Bjorn isn’t in here. So its just the sons of Aslaug. Sorry, Bjorn.

Warnings: some brief mentions of abusive/unhealthy past relationships, reader has some insecurities, the brothers being the best roomies ever but also creepers, like one or two swear words, FLUFFY GOODNESS!!!

Words: 3700

Tag List: @youbloodymadgenius

(picture is from Pinterest. Not mine.)

The sound of laughter echoed around you even before leaving your bedroom. It was a Sunday night so that meant the Lothbrok brothers were all over. A tradition Ubbe started some months ago to make sure the four brothers stayed connected in each other's lives. Every Sunday evening, all of them would congregate in the three bedroom flat you shared with Ubbe and Hvitserk. They would order a stack of pizzas and enough beer to put a pub crawl to shame, and watch movies or play video games until the early morning hours. Only twice had fist fights broken out between Sigurd and Ivar with just a table and a lamp damaged in the process, so Ubbe called it a win.

It had only been about a year that you lived with Ubbe and Hvitserk. Sigurd chose to move in with a couple members of the band he played in. Aslaug vehemently refused to let Ivar move out due to his many medical needs that she claimed he could only receive proper attention for at home. In equal parts rebellion and to escape his mother’s suffocating attention, Ivar spent the majority of his free time and nights crashing on the couch at your shared flat.

At first, you were hesitant about living with the two brothers, having only known them through friends, but you decided to give it a chance. Within a couple of months, you found the strange dynamics of your shared space and your vastly different relationships with each of the brothers to feel eerily familiar….like being home.

Standing at your door, you listened to the brothers for a few moments, smiling broadly as you heard Hvitserk taunting Sigurd about how he was going to beat his ass if he threw another blue shell at him. Meanwhile Ivar was yelling something about the undeniable magic of Yoshi and his winning streak. They must be playing Mario Kart again.

It was nice to hear them all getting along. Normally Sunday nights you hung out with your boyfriend to give the brothers privacy, even though all of them repeatedly told you it was unnecessary. That was until last week. You had taken a selfie on your boyfriend's phone and went to set it as his background to surprise him….and found nude pictures of other girls and the dick pics he sent them back. Before you stormed out of his flat, you may have thrown his phone against the wall, pleased when the screen shattered just like your trust. Then you came home and cried to Hvitserk about how you were swearing off men and just wanted to be a spinster for the rest of your life.

Word must have spread between the brothers. For the rest of the week, they all offered their support in various ways. Sigurd texted you a few times to check on you and remind you that clearly you were better off without your ex. Ubbe gave you long hugs as if trying to soak the pain out of you, and made sure you were eating and getting out of bed. Hvitserk surprised you with a new sugary treat every day ranging from Oreos to ice cream to chocolate muffins; then you two would cuddle on the couch indulging yourselves while watching movies. Ivar threatened to beat up your now ex-boyfriend for making you cry and take pictures to send to those girls your ex had been texting. You made sure to shut Ivar's idea down quickly but pressed a quick kiss to his cheek and thanked him for offering. You hated your ex, that did not mean you wanted him dead.

You pushed away from your door and down the hallway. Popping your head around the corner, you saw the brothers in various positions in the living room, eyes all glued to the TV and the race happening on-screen.

"I'm gonna shower." You announced, receiving grunts of affirmations as they were too focused to fully acknowledge you. Smiling at their antics, you headed into the bathroom, shutting the door and starting the shower up. Once the water was at the perfect temperature, you stripped and jumped in. Of course, once the mixture of hot water and steam helped you relax, you started singing to yourself, letting the worries of the day fade away for just a moment as the words flowed from your lips and echoed off the shower stall walls like your own little stage.

Unbeknownst to you, as soon as the bathroom door shut and the sound of water running could be heard, the volume on the TV was muted.

Ivar, surprisingly, was the first one to overhear your singing. He had come over to crash for a few hours after his latest doctor appointment and to work on an assignment for a University class. The bathroom door somehow had not fully latched when you closed it, cracking open while you were in the shower….and you started singing. Ivar sat stunned on the couch at the voice slipping out of the bathroom like a siren's song. He remained there, transfixed as you sang some song he had never heard but he could feel in his chest. Once you stopped singing and the shower turned off, he quickly jumped up and hobbled over to silently shut the door, slightly embarrassed by the idea of you catching him listening in to your shower singing.

Later that day after you headed out to work, Ivar asked Ubbe and Hvitserk if they had heard you sing yet. Both of them denied ever hearing you sing. When asked if he knew anything, Sigurd was upset, having asked you on multiple nights to go to a karaoke bar with him and some friends. You always refused by saying you sounded Iike a beached whale.

Ubbe was next to overhear. He was walking by the bathroom on the way to the kitchen when he heard your voice drifting from underneath the bathroom door. Feeling like a creeper but curiosity winning out, he pressed his ear to the bathroom door to listen better. To say he had been shocked was an understatement. Sure, he had heard Ivar praise your voice, but he figured his youngest brother was exaggerating. It made him wonder why you never sang in front of others.

A silent pact was made between the brothers that they would never share the information of your singing with anyone outside the four of them….and whenever you jumped in the shower, whoever was the closest would go and crack the bathroom door open so they could hear you better.

This time was no different.

Sigurd was closest, so after Ubbe paused the game, he jumped up and silently cracked open the door so your beautiful voice could flow out. The game picked back up but remained on mute so they could hear you. The first song you serenaded them with was Walk Me Home by Pink. Apparently, one of your new favorites since you sang it so often. Next was Someone Like You by Adele. By the third song, the brothers had abandoned the game and were solely focused on you and the raw emotion bleeding from your voice. This time you started to sing Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi.

Ubbe spoke up, keeping his voice quiet just in case you could hear them, however unlikely. "Has she said anything about her ex lately?"

"Not to me." Hvitserk answered first. "I thought she was doing fine."

"Just because she's not crying all the time doesn't mean she's fine." Ivar retorted harshly, never removing his eyes from the direction of the bathroom. After a moment, he got up and hobbled towards the bathroom.

"Ivar…. Ivar, what are you doing?" Ubbe hissed but was ignored.

As quiet as possible, Ivar walked into the bathroom and sat on the toilet lid; your singing managed to cover the sounds of his movement. As he rolled his head to the side, it was to find his brothers had followed him with varying expressions ranging from concern to amusement.

Normally you did not spend so long in the shower but today you decided to spoil yourself. You had been doing well all week but this morning you were scrolling through your Instagram and happened to stumble upon a picture of your ex with a new girl, smiling happily and kissing at a restaurant…. the day after you broke up. And seeing them together felt like it ripped a tear into the slowly healing pieces of your heart.

Instead of going out like you planned to do, you laid in bed all-day binge-watching movies and feeling like an idiot. So in the shower you took extra time pampering yourself, using a deep conditioner in your hair, shaving everywhere and just letting the hot water cascade down your skin and loosen the tense muscles.

At this point you were feeling a little better and decided it was best not to waste any more water. You turned the water off, running your hands down your body to get as much excess water off, before you reached for your towel. Grabbing the plush towel hanging on the rack, you quickly dried your hair and wrapped the towel around your body before pulling the curtain back….

Only to shriek as you realized you were not alone in the bathroom.

"What? What are you guys doing?" You demanded, eyes frantically darting between the four brothers.

Ivar sat on the toilet lid; head tilted as he watched you with a peculiar expression on his face. Hvitserk leaned against the sink, eyes darting from your towel-clad body to the floor then back up. Ubbe and Sigurd stood in the doorway, both looking the least comfortable but still not moving.

"We, ah, we were…. well, we are concerned for you." Ubbe said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Concerned?" You asked incredulously.

Ivar ignored your question. "Is this about your ex? Want me to pay him a visit?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Your singing. They were sad songs." Sigurd answered, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed.

Heat flooded your face. You dropped your head, staring at the bathroom floor as you clutched the towel closer to your body. Honestly, the idea of them hearing your singing was far more humiliating than them seeing you naked at this point. "You…. you heard me…. singing?"

"Y/n, are you OK? You know you can tell us anything." Hvitserk said, trying to meet your eye.

"Um, can…. can we talk about this when…. when I'm not naked?"

"Of course. Come on, brothers." Ubbe quickly agreed, tapping the door as if to signal. He and Sigurd walked away first. Only when you finally met Hvitserk's eye did he push off the sink and head out but not before giving you a flirty wink.

"Ivar…."

He slouched back, folding his hands behind his head. "I'm quite comfortable here."

"Oh gods, please, Ivar." You begged, almost on the verge of tears.

He stared at you a long moment before pushing himself to his feet. "Don't think you're getting out of this."

"Ok."

Appeased, he made his way out of the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Once alone, you stepped out of the shower only to drop onto the toilet lid and place your head in your hands. Your chest heaved and your eyes stung as you fought back the tears that threatened to fall. Today was bad enough and now this. It had to be something out of a nightmare. Your own personal hell.

When you finally composed yourself, you quickly changed into your comfiest sweats and tank top. You wished you could make a run for your room, anything to avoid the impending conversation but you knew the brothers would follow, they were all stubborn and persistent when they wanted to be.

With a deep breath, you stepped out of the bathroom and towards the living room. What hushed disagreement the brothers were clearly having abruptly ended when they noticed you. Awkwardly you remained standing, unsure where to sit. The only open spots were on the couch between Hvitserk and Ivar or one of the recliners as Ubbe sat in the other one. Sigurd reclined on the rocker gaming chair on the floor.

Averting your eyes, you started towards the open recliner only to have a strong arm snake around your waist as you passed by and pulled you onto the couch. You squeaked as you suddenly found yourself perched on Ivar's lap. Somewhere you had certainly never been before.

"Where do you think you're going?" He asked, a cocky grin spread across his face.

"Um, over there." You nodded your head towards the other open spot.

"No, you're sitting here now."

"Stop hogging her, brother." Hvitserk reached over and dragged you off Ivar. Somehow you ended up with your back against Hvitserk's side, his arm slung around you and your legs across Ivar's lap, him slowly running his hand up and down them.

Ubbe raised an eyebrow at the three of you. "Are you done yet?"

"I thought we were just fine but I guess Hvitty had other plans." Ivar snarked, rolling his eyes.

"We're good now." Hvitserk said with a cheesy smile, making you giggle.

"So how are you really doing, y/n?" Ubbe asked, staring at you with those knowing blue eyes.

"Um, I'm alright. Today was just…. rough." At the four questioning looks, you quickly explained about what you found this morning on Instagram.

Ivar slapped the armrest of the couch. "I'm beating his ass now and nothing you say can stop me."

You snagged his other hand that was still on your leg and clasped it, as if that alone could diminish his deadly intent. "Please don't. He's not worth it. I just…. I just want to move on. Ok?"

He grumbled, but eventually gripped your hand and gave it a single squeeze in acknowledgement.

Now here was the part that petrified you; but you needed to know.

"Um, how…. how long have…. was this your first time?" Your words stumbled out, making you cringe at how ineloquent it was.

"What are you talking about?" Sigurd drawled; one foot propped up so he slowly rocked in the gaming chair.

You licked your lips, your mouth suddenly dry. You dropped your gaze, as you whispered your answer. "My….my singing."

"What? You sound bloody brilliant! The others have heard you more than me but you always sound amazing!" Sigurd exclaimed, a beaming smile on his face. "I don't know why you haven't gone out with me before! Oh! I'd love for you to try and sing in my band, we could use an amazing vocalist like you! Gods, we could get way more gigs with a beautiful woman like you upfront singing."

Soon as Sigurd started talking, you covered your face with your hands. The tears you managed to repress earlier flooded back. Your shoulders hunched over, cowering into yourself at the revelation. They had all heard you. Apparently more than just this one time. It was mortifying. Long ago you stopped singing in front of others, no longer able to face the ridicule, the degrading comments always thrown your way. And now, these brothers that you had become so close to…. if they said anything negative towards you right now, you were sure your heart would fully break and no lyric would ever pass your lips again.

Hvitserk shifted behind you, turning you so he could wrap both arms around your waist and place his cheek against the side of your head. "Y/n, talk to us."

You shook your head, the barely suppressed tears and poisoned words clogging your throat.

Abruptly, a pair of calloused hands grabbed yours, forcing them away from your face. You were immediately met by a pair of piercing blue eyes, only inches from your face.

"Whose ass am I killing now? Huh?" Ivar demanded in a low, menacing tone. Between his tone and the fury burning in his eyes, you knew he meant his question, and that sent a nervous chill down your spine.

"It's not…. it’s nothing."

"Bullshit." Ivar spat.

Hvitserk nuzzled your temple, his voice lighter but still with an edge of steel in it. "I agree with Ivar. Something happened."

Biting your bottom lip, you closed your eyes. There were a few things that were just too painful to talk about and this one, they had unknowingly stumbled upon.

"Was it your mother?"

Your eyes flew open, your head snapped over to stare at Ubbe in shock. He met your gaze unflinchingly, and somehow you knew he already figured at least part of it out. He accidentally overheard a phone conversation between you and your mother one time and once you got off the phone, he immediately pulled you into a bone-crushing hug and promised you never had to see her again if you never wanted to, that they would take care of you. Of course, you cried all over him after he promised that.

Ubbe leaned forward in the recliner, placing his elbows on his knees, gaze still intent on you. "What did she do?"

"She…. she hated when I sang. Said I was just desperate for attention. That I needed to just shut up. That no one would want to listen to me anyway. If she ever caught me singing…. once she duct-taped my mouth shut."

You could hear the gasps at your confession, followed by a round of curses. Hvitserk pressed a kiss to your temple, tightening his hold on you. Ivar squeezed your hands, still holding them within his own.

Ubbe nodded as if not surprised. He ran a hand down his face and sighed before stealing your gaze once again. "I have a feeling she wasn't the only one to hurt you."

At this point, a silent tear trekked down your cheek. You sniffled, dropping your gaze down. "I had an ex who used to make fun of my singing. He used to say 'at least you're pretty'. When we would ride together listening to music, he would tell me to stop singing and 'leave it to the professionals'. At some point, it just….it was better to not sing in front of anyone. So I only sang in the shower cause I thought no one would hear me."

Hvitserk turned your head, looking into your eyes. "Baby, listen to me. Your singing is incredible. We all love listening to you sing. Please don't be embarrassed about this with us."

"I'd love for you to walk around the house singing, I could happily listen to that all day." Ubbe said, a tender smile on his lips.

"I second that!"

"Sig, you're only here on Sundays." Ubbe glanced over at his brother.

Sigurd shrugged. "So? I could listen to her sing all day. Maybe she should move in with me and actually be appreciated."

"No! You're not stealing her from us!" Hvitserk said, practically cradling you against him, like a puppy afraid to lose its favorite toy.

"It's not stealing if she wants to go!"

Ivar butted in. "I am more interested in this other shitty ex and mother...can I find them?"

"No, Ivar. You have to stop threatening people."

"Why?" He whined at you, tugged on your hands, your legs still across his lap. "You won't let me teach them a lesson so all I can do is threaten."

"Also sounds like you have terrible taste in guys. Anymore shitty exes we should know about?" Sigurd asked, rocking his chair.

You figured at this point you were spilling all your dirty secrets so what was one more. "Um, I was talking to this one guy but when he found out I moved in here, he called me a whore for moving in with two brothers and told me I was a waste of his time." You softly admitted, having made sure none of them ever heard about that after it happened.

For a moment there was dead silence then….

"I'm going to need his name right now." Ubbe said, malice dripping off every word.

"Yeah! Let's cut his tongue out! See what he says about that!" Ivar cheered.

You could not stop the laughter that came out. The idea that these brothers got so worked up over anyone that ever insulted or hurt you was both sweet and slightly infuriating, but mostly sweet. No one had ever cared about you as strongly as these four brothers.

"It's fine now. How about this? Next guy to hurt me, I promise I'll give you his name."

"No! I want to cut this asshole's tongue out. Maybe slap him with it after!" Ivar smiled with a pure predatory look.

"I think you should just date one of us." Sigurd shrugged, watching everyone with a smirk. "Then you know he'd treat you right."

"I like this idea." Hvitserk smiled, squeezing you lightly. "We would romance the hell out of you."

"You guys are being silly. I don't even know what romance would look like." You giggled at the absurd idea. All the brothers were gorgeous in their own ways and could pick up any girl they wanted, why would they want you? Besides, your relationships were just platonic. "Is the interrogation over now? Want me to leave so you can get back to your game?"

"Nope, you're stuck here." Ivar said, leaning on you now so you were sandwiched between the two brothers.

Ubbe chuckled. "We've told you before, you are welcome to hang out with us. Why don't we put in a movie?"

After many arguments and some mild threats, a movie was finally chosen. You settled against Hvitserk, facing the TV, as you played with Ivar's hair, his head now in your lap.

As you watched the movie, you missed the silent conversation between the brothers happening around you. It was decided that your next boyfriend would certainly be one of them and in the meantime, they were all going to romance the hell out of you and make sure you understood how important and incredible you are.

Starting with making sure you sang whenever you wanted.

#vikings #vikings fandom #vikings fanfic #vikings fanfiction #ivars heathen army #ivar the boneless #ivar imagine #ubbe #ubbe ragnarsson #ivar ragnarsson #sigurd #sigurd ragnarsson #hvitserk #hvitserk ragnarsson #vikings imagine #modern vikings #roommates #mzwrites

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pan-fangirl-345 · 3 years

Text

He’s Faking It

Summary: You’re Bakugou’s girlfriend, kind of. You’re his fake girlfriend, or so you think.What happens when your jealousy gets the better of you?

A/N: I promise it’s not as angsty as I’m making it seem. I hope? I don’t know man I wrote this at like, two in the morning. It’s fluffy at the end I promise.

He's faking it.

You had to remind yourself of that as Bakugou took your hand.

"(Y/F/N) is my girlfriend," he said, just as he had for the last three months.

It was a lie though. He was just pretending to be your boyfriend to get the girls off his back.

He's faking it.

As a third year, Bakugou was much more popular than he had been in his first year. There were always girls confessing to him and writing him letters.

It had gotten to the point where he couldn't go anywhere without a girl following him, trying to get him to go out with her.

At first he had been letting them down easy, but it had started to get worse the more he turned them down. The more he turned them down the higher the pedestal they put him on got, the more they wanted him.

He had finally had enough three months ago when you had gone out together for groceries and a group of girls had tried to talk him into go to their dorms with them.

Bakugou had walked over to where you were looking at milk, wrapped an arm around your waist and said, "I already have a girlfriend."

You had been so confused, and then you had seen the girls and understood what he had been silently asking you to do.

He's faking it.

"Are these old friends of yours love?" you had asked, leaning up to kiss his cheek.

The girls had left, and the confessions had slowed.

It hadn't even changed things too much other than you spent a little more time being touchy with the ash blond.

He would sometimes pull you into his lap when your friends were hanging out in the common room, he would back hug you more than he normally did, he showed up at your dorm crying when he had nightmares so he could sleep with you.

You had slipped into the role of 'Bakugou's girlfriend' easily, taken the teasing of the rest of the Bakusquad, taken the hurtful comments made by the other girls that you went to school with, and handled the pain of having to pretend to be his girlfriend when you wanted to be the real thing.

He's faking it.

You had been in love with Bakugou since your first year, but you had known it wouldn't go anywhere. You weren't a good fit for him, even if he had thought of you like that.

You had become a member of the Bakusquad because of Mina. She had befriended you and invited you to their game night.

Bakugou hadn't even realized you were there until you won the first, second, third, and fourth rounds of Mario Kart, knocking him down a few pegs.

And here you were now, watching as another girl walked away with tears in her eyes and an unopened letter.

You could sympathize with a lot of them, if you weren't friends with him, you would be one of the girls Bakugou was turning down.

But you were his friend and you had known from the very beginning that he wouldn't accept your confession, so you hadn't bothered.

But sometimes you forgot what your role was.

Times like this.

You and the squad had gone clubbing on one of your rare weekends off.

You had gone to get Bakugou and the others another drink.

When you caught sight of the table, there was a girl in Bakugou's lap.

His hands were on her hips, and he was smiling up at her before he caught sight of you.

"Oh shit, she's pissed," Hanta muttered, following Bakugou's line of sight.

You set the drinks down, turning to the girl.

Now that you saw her up close you realized she was a few years older than you, and much prettier.

"Would you mind getting off my boyfriend's lap?" you inquired softly.

"Oh shit, she's really pissed!" Denki whispered, moving so he was shielded by Eijirou, who was watching with a pale face.

Before Bakugou could say anything you looked him in the eyes and said, "I'm going back to the dorms."

You were hot, had a headache, and had had one too many shots. The pounding music wasn't helping your forming headache, and the constant press of bodies was becoming uncomfortable as you made your way towards the exit.

It wasn't until you were two blocks away from the club and had cleared your lungs and head that you realized what you had done.

"Oh shit," you whispered, tearing a hand through your hair.

Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.

You had just given yourself away in the worst way possible.

He's faking it.

But you weren't.

"Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no," you whispered, tears starting to sting your eyes as you hurried towards the dorms, regretting the heels you had decided on wearing.

There was no saving this, was there? There was no going back from this.

They were going to know. He was going to tell them and then it would be middle school all over again.

Fuck.

He's faking it.

But he didn't know that you weren't.

Or he hadn't until just now.

As soon as you stepped foot into the dorm building the heels were off and you were in the elevator heading for your floor.

"(Y/F/N)? Where are-?" Izuku cut himself off when he saw your face. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"I fucked up," you whimpered. "I fucked up so bad. Bakugou- I- he-"

You stopped, realizing you were blubbering.

You darted for your room, slamming the door shut, locking it.

People were knocking on your door, asking for entry, they were asking what was wrong, but you didn't really hear them.

You had ruined everything tonight.

Luckily, you would just have to wait until graduation, then you could forget everything about it.

The only problem was that it was still months away, and you still had to go to classes with every member of the squad.

A small sob escaped your mouth, which opened the floodgates.

You sobbed as everything from the past three months spilled over the dam that you had built inside yourself.

You hated crying, everyone knew that. Very few people had ever seen you cry.

Izuku and Shouto had seen you break bones without shedding a tear.

You had never cried in front of the Bakusquad, never. You had always waited until you were by yourself, and it had been quick and quiet tears.

"(Y/F/N)! (Y/F/N), open up!" Bakugou snapped, pounding on your door.

"G-Go away Ba-Bakugou!" you shouted, swiping at your face angrily even though you knew that he couldn't see through the doors.

"C'mon baby, let me in, please," Bakugou murmured, tapping on the door this time.

Baby? Why is he pet naming me now?

"What do you want? To mock me?" you snapped, walking over to the door, throwing it open. "Trust me Bakugou, I'm humiliated enough as it is right now."

Bakugou brushed past you into your room and you sighed, letting your lip tremble for a little bit before you attempted to pull yourself together, turning to him.

"Before you say anything," you began when you saw his open mouth, "I need to say I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I have no right to be jealous. You should've been allowed to go home with her. You were clearly into her and she was into you and I was- am- a scapegoat. I mean, it's not like I'm actually your girlfriend or anything."

"Baby, what are you talking about?" Bakugou asked, reaching for you. "Scapegoat? You had every right to be jealous. Of course you're my girlfriend! Who told you otherwise?"

"You can drop the act," you snapped.

"Have . . . have you been crying? Baby, I am so sorry, I-" Bakugou stopped when he saw the shaking of your shoulders. "Baby?"

You let out a wet laugh, tears streaming down your face as you looked at him.

"Are you really so worried about someone hearing you that you're lying to my face?" you asked, crossing your arms across your chest. "What happened to not lying?"

"Baby, what are you talking about?" Bakugou asked, reaching out again.

You lurched back, away from him.

The hurt look in his eyes made your stomach roil, but you had been feeling like that for three months.

"Stop calling me baby," you snarled. "There is no one else in this fucking room Bakugou! You can drop the act. I'm not your girlfriend. The thing in the store was a lie. I was just a ploy to get the confessions to stop and then we just kept the act up!"

"Baby, are you feeling okay?"

"What did I say about the baby thing?" you snapped, tearing a hand through your hair.

"Baby," now he was just doing it on purpose. "I asked you out."

"What are you talking about?" you asked, brows furrowing.

"After the store incident, I asked you out on a date," Bakugou said.

You blinked at him, swiping at your eyes again.

"Like I said, you just wanted to keep the act up," you whimpered, hating yourself more than him at this point.

"(Y/F/N), we've been together for three months, you know that right?" Bakugou asked, voice soft.

"And those three months were a lie!" you cried, throwing your hands up. "You were using me to keep the confessions away and I let you. God, I'm as pathetic as everyone keeps saying."

"Baby, who's been telling you you're pathetic?" Bakugou asked, getting that dark look in his eyes.

"All those girls, my parents, you."

"Baby, I never meant to hurt you, I never meant to say those things to you," he said, wincing. "And those girls are just jealous. Baby, you are beautiful, and strong, and you have one of the most beautiful smiles I've ever seen.

"Look, I love you (Y/F/N) and I've been in love with you since I met you. I was drunk tonight, and I thought that girl was you. That's not an excuse but . . . baby, what do you think has been happening for the last three months?"

"You needed to get the confessions to stop so you asked me to pretend to be your girlfriend and we've kept the act up for the last three months until it was safe for you to 'break up' with me after graduation."

"Baby," Bakugou sighed, tearing a hand through his hair. "Is that really what you thought was happening?"

"That's what's been happening. I don't know why you're trying to-"

You don't know when he leaned in, how he got in front of you so fast, but suddenly his lips were on yours and his hands were cupping your face gently and he was blushing as red as Kirishima's hair.

He had kissed you a lot in the last three months, little pecks on the cheek, forehead kisses, kisses to the nape of your neck when he was sleepy, but he had never kissed you like this.

He had never kissed you fully on the mouth like he was now.

It was messy- you were surprised god damnit- and there was way too much teeth, but . . . he was kissing you.

Against every instinct telling you to pull away, against every little voice in your head telling you not to, you wrapped your arms around his neck, kissing him back.

He made a small noise of approval, wrapping his arms around your waist to pull you closer against him.

When you pulled away to breathe, he followed you.

You giggled, laying your forehead against his.

"There's that smile," he murmured, rubbing his nose against yours.

"So . . . you actually wanted me to be your girlfriend?" you inquired, toying with the hair at the nape of his neck.

"'Course I did," Bakugou told you. Then he grinned, "I can't believe you thought I was asking you to pretend to be my girlfriend. You thought I was pretending to be a complete simp for you for three months!"

"Sh-Shut up!" you moaned, burying your face in his neck, face hot from embarrassment. "I just- I didn't think you'd be interest in me like that."

"Like what baby?"

"Like this. I didn't think you'd ever have room for a woman in your life, let alone someone like me," you answered. "I'm still processing the fact that you kissed me."

“I’m sorry, I should’ve made things clearer,” he murmured, toying with your hair.

“Ya think?” you asked, laughing.

“Can I make it up to you?” Bakugou inquired.

“I mean, knowing I’m not a fake girlfriend is pretty good as is,” you teased.

“Wait, is that why Shitty Deku and Half-and-Half looked like they wanted to murder my ass on the way up here?”

“Probably, I was a mess when I got back,” you confessed, telling him about it as he swayed you back and forth.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, burying his face in your neck. “I should’ve clarified. Why didn’t you say anything sooner?”

“Because I thought we were on the same page. I didn’t think it would hurt as much as it did. And pretending to be your girlfriend was good enough since I couldn’t be the real thing.”

“But you were the real thing,” he reminded you.

“I didn’t know that though,” you replied, smiling at him.

“It’s too late for this shit,” he muttered. “Come back to my room with me. We’re kind of drunk, I have a headache, and I want to sleep.”

He wiped at the mascara that had started to run under your eyes.

“Okay, just let me snag some-”

“You can just take something from me,” Bakugou told you, leading you into the hallway.

“Are you sure? I know you can be-”

He gave you a look and you chuckled, biting your lip.

“Alright then, you’re sure,” you murmured.

“I’m really sorry that you went three months thinking that I was just pretending to be in love with you,” Bakugou said when you got to his room.

“Bakugou, it’s okay, I should’ve just asked,” you replied.

“Katsuki,” he muttered.

“What?”

“Call me Katsuki.”

“Are you sure?”

He gave you another look.

“I just wanted to make sure that you were okay with it,” you murmured, toying with your hair.

“I wouldn’t be telling you to do it if I wasn’t sure,” he told you.

“Okay.”

He nodded, wrapping his arms around you again.

“Clingy,” you teased, wrapping your arms around his neck.

“I love you,” he declared.

“I love you too.”

“Then shut up and strip.”

He realized what he said as soon as it left his mouth and he flushed bright red.

“If you wanted me to wear your clothes Katsuki, you could’ve just asked,” you replied, smiling at him.

He sputtered a little bit, shaking his head.

“You’re so easy to fluster, Katsuki.”

He sputtered so more before he stormed over to his dresser, tossing some clothes at you.

“Just change,” he hissed, face still red.

“Not with you staring at me,” you hissed, motioning for him to turn around.

He rolled his eyes, but did as he was told, turning around.

“Stupid dress,” you hissed, shimmying out of it, kicking it to the side as you pulled the shirt on over your head, hauling the pants up. “Jesus Katsuki, how long are your legs?”

“Can I turn around?”

“Yeah, you’re good,” you muttered, tying the pants off so they didn’t fall off.

The shirt fell half-way down your thighs, and you had to pull the pants up to just below your bra to get them to stay up.

“They look good on you,” he murmured.

“Drunk Katsuki is a sappy Katsuki I see,” you teased, making him grumble.

“Can’t I appreciate my girlfriend?”

“You can, but you don’t tend to do it so vocally.”

“Let’s just go to bed dumbass,” he muttered.

“Alright Katsuki.”

As soon as you laid down next to him, he had his arms around you, your legs tangled together, and your head against his chest.

“I love you Katsuki.”

“I love you too (Y/F/N).”

A/N: I have no idea where this came from or why it’s so bad, forgive me for putting it out onto the internet.

#bakugo x reader #bakugo x reader fluff #bakugou imagine #katsuki x reader #bnha katsuki x reader

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skylarmoon71 · 3 years

Text

Leonardo x Reader- Oneshot (TMNT 2014/2016)

So in honor of black history month, I decided to write this Fanfiction.

As a black woman, it is important to recognize and be proud of who I am. And to all the beautiful black women out there, be proud and thankful for all we’ve achieved. I hope my readers will enjoy this little fiction as much as I liked writing it. There is also a little information about my hometown in this.

Enjoy!!

"Hey Leo did I leave my.."

"Right here."

Leo was holding your pack of hair ties in his hand. He smiled, and you flushed, taking it with a small thanks.

"You saved my life, I always lose these. Just bought them too." You were so excited for the movie night yesterday that you came right from the store with everything that you shop for that evening. So of course when you got home and couldn't find them, you assumed you left it with the turtles.

"Alright guys quit flirting." Raph buzzed passed, and at that moment you were thankful for your dark skin, because it would be that more embarrassing if Leo could see you blush. Leo brushed off the comment, just shrugging his brother off.

"Don't mind him, he's just mad cause Mikey beat him again in Mario Kart." you giggle, following Leo to the living room.

Easy days like this were nice. Saturdays were what you looked forward to. Friday nights you'd all get together and watch a movie, and Saturdays were reserved for pure relaxation. You moved over taking a seat next to Mikey, and his grin grew wide as he looked at you. You smiled, despite your slight confusion. "Do I have something on my face?" you chuckle.

"Nah brah, it's just your hair." your eyes widened, and you reached over wondering if maybe it was getting unruly again. "Oh crap is it crazy!" you asked, self consciously. You had it loose today, curls falling at the sides. It was puffy and curly at the same time. Almost like a kinky afro. Generally you'd pull your hair back in a high bun, or even a side one. But you couldn't find your ties earlier, and you were really not feeling it to comb through it today.

"Are you kidding! Your hair is amazing, everytime you come it's like in a different style." This time, you were surely blushing. "O-Oh..thank you..." It was no secret that you had untamed hair. You loved it though. Growing up there were people that made you feel a bit insecure about it. Most of the kids at your school had such tamed and straight hair, while you had curly kinky locks. At times it was a challenge styling it, and it did take a while on most days just to get it under control, but it's what made you, you. Your hair was your heritage, your strength.

Leo was watching you from his spot, and he couldn't help but agree with Mikey. It wasn't just your hair that was different, it was everything. He remembered the first time he asked Master Splinter about the differences in humans. He was a kid, probably nine or ten. He didn't know much but what he'd seen Donnie show him when they'd sneak to the surface to peek through the drains.

Looking back he realized just how everyone varied. Hair, skin, eyes. It was so fascinating to him. He loved it all. The diversity, to him it was incredible. As sad as humanity was sometimes, there were occasions that they would surprise him. The world was far from perfect, but there were moments where unity just inspired him to fight harder for the citizens.

You were a clear example of that. Meeting you was not just eye opening but also educational. He'd forever be willing to learn new cultures. So whenever you gave him or his brothers a small history lesson when they questioned something you did or said, he found that he was that more intrigued by you. They'd known you for just a few months, yet it felt like years of friendship. They were still learning more about you, everyday. Now that he thought about it, you weren't born in New York.

"(Y/N), you said you were born in the Caribbean right?"

The way your face spark to life never fails to make his heart pick up.

"That's right, I'm surprised you remembered that. Think I told Mikey the second time we met. He wanted to know why I talked so funny."

"Yeah, what was the name of your country again." Raph questioned from across the room. He was presently doing pull ups on the metal bar.

"Trinidad and Tobago. That's where I was raised, I moved here with my parents four years ago."

"Dude say that thing you did last time." Mikey called excitedly. You rolled your eyes.

"What thing?" Leo asked curiously.

"The way they say what's up is so cool. (Y/N) says it's english but it sounds completely different."

Now Leo really wanted to hear. His sapphire gaze turned on you, and you nibbled on your lip.

"I-It's isn't anything great it's just a greeting."

"I'd like to hear, if you don't mind of course."

You didn't mind at all. Leo was your weakness.

"Wais de scene."

"Seee!! You can't tell me that's english!"

Mikey was jumping up off the chair laughing and now so were you.

"You sounded different too." Leo notes. Your accent was different from the New York drawl he used too. It was nice.

"Can you tell us more." He really did love to learn, and maybe just between him, he kind of liked your native tongue.

~~~~~~

The boys were on patrol, so you figured you'd have more time to yourself. You opted for taking a shower. You'd gotten out a few minutes ago and now you were spraying your hair with olive oil as you ran your fingers through the curls. Your hand shifted to the small container of hair food, dipping in and placing it on your scalp, making sure to get it through the roots. You were glad Leo placed this mirror in his room. You had no idea why though. He didn't seem like the self absorbed type.

"I knew it would come in handy." His voice startled you a little. He closed the door on entry, and you dropped your hands. "H-Hey, I'm sorry I didn't think you guys would be back yet. I wasnt messing with your stuff or anything I just need to use the mirror and yours is so big so I thought why not and I-"

"You don't have to explain yourself, I asked Donnie to set it up here for you." you raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Really?"

"Yeah, you're here a lot, and I know girls like styling their hair. I was hoping I'd finally get to see you actually doing it. I've always been curious about how you get it to look so beautiful."

He really did know what to say to make your heart flutter.

Damn that smooth talker.

"Gosh, are you guys on a mission to embarrass me today, you've been complimenting me since this morning and it isn't even my birthday. " you pulled your hair up into a high bun, reaching for a hair tie to keep it in place.

"Wait!" you froze, looking at him.

"S-Sorry I just...I like the way it looks when you leave it down. It's so puffy, kind of cute..." his words trailed off, and you slowly dropped your hand.

"W-Well I guess if you like it then I don't mind. " you couldn't maintain eye contact, so you turned to the items in front of you. Closing the lids of both hair products, you shift over to the sink you wash your hands from the oily substance. When you were done, you reached for the hand cloth, before you could grab it, Leo was behind you, and his hand rested gently over your palm. Your body stilled, pulse increasing.

"Leo.." it was said with so much uncertainty. You weren't sure how things got to this, heck, you weren't expecting it, but you weren't complaining. His hands ran down your arms slowly. With your back still facing him, there wasn't much you could do but hope your breathing wasn't too labored. You'd spent so long trying to keep your feelings for him under wraps. If nothing but to ensure you didn't risk your friendship. Right now though, friendship was far from your thoughts.

"I wasn't being completely forward earlier, it isn't just your hair that's beautiful. " Your heart gave a thump, and when he urged you around slowly, you couldn't bring yourself to look away from him. "Your hair, skin, eyes, lips.." the last word was said longingly, and you swallowed the lump in your throat. "It's a challenge for me sometimes, I envy Mikey's ability to just say what's on his mind. I can barely look at you for too long, otherwise I'm afraid how much harder it'll be for me to hold back." So he was holding back too, geez, and here you thought this attraction was purely one sided.

"What if I..don't want you to hold back Leo.." His blue eyes glimmered, and you swore your knees would buckle just from the intensity of his stare. His hand raised to your cheek, and you released a sigh. How many times did you imagine this scenario in your head. Hundreds? Maybe thousands.

"Then I won't." he closed the space with those three words, and you leaned into it. Leo's arms were secured around your waist as his soft lips covered your own. Your hands gripped at his shoulders, and you tried to keep them from venturing. If they strayed, you weren't sure you'd be able to trust yourself not to grope every inch of his taunt muscular body. The kiss started off slow, innocent even. It was your first one together. You were both trying to savor it. Having longed for this, it felt like a dream.

After a few moments, that tentative demeanor changed to one of dominance and hunger, one that needed to be satisfied. Leo backed you up, not breaking the kiss for even a mere second. Leo's hand around your waist moved to the small of your back, and you gasped when it landed on your butt. He heard the sound, pulling back.

"Should..I..stop.." he forced out between pants. You shook your head, diving back in. Leo groaned, giving your cheek an appreciative squeeze. The action made you open your mouth, and his tongue slipped in. You moaned, and Leo took another step forward, this time he turned, and you let out a soft sound when he fell back in the bed, pulling you with him. He barely seemed affected, taken by the sensations.

You straddled his body, parting to admire his hazed look. Your chest was still heaving, and you wanted nothing more than to join your lips again, but you just liked looking at him. Those azure orbs that were almost penetrating you. His hand ran up your thigh, and he smirked at the way you bit down on your lip.

"Did I mention that I like chocolate?"

You giggle, "I sort of figured it out hotshot." you snark back. You squeaked when he suddenly switched positions. You were now bound to the bed, literally. He pinned both your wrists, that confident smile never leaving.

"I also like being in control." That comment did wild things to your body. You didn't mind at all. He pressed into you, and you whimpered needy. "L-Leo.." you wanted him, needed him now.

"Don't worry, I'd never leave you all hot and bothered, no matter how arousing it is to watch."

"Stop talking and kiss me!"

"So bossy." He taunted.

"Leo!"

He leaned down, giving your neck a soft kiss.

"Save your voice, you're gonna need it."

You gulped, and Leo took your breath away before you could fully think about it.

You were in store for a very...busy night.

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bnhabadass · 3 years

Text

This is my piece of the bnharem New Year’s collaboration. I had a lot of fun writing for Kirishima, one of my favorite characters but someone who I don’t write nearly enough for. If you’d like to look at everyone else’s pieces, which you totally should they’re all incredible, the link to the master list is here. Just be mindful that this is an 18+ server, so please do not interact with NSFW pieces in this collab if you are underage.

Pairing: Kirishima x reader Genre: Fluff Word Count: 1.1k Synopsis: You’ve had an ongoing bucket list since the beginning of the year. Now, with only a few seconds of the year left, you’re hoping to cross off the last remaining check box at the bottom of your list.

The dorm halls were decorated in gold and silver tinsel and garlands. The Christmas decorations Mina had put up earlier in the month had been taken down for the most part. The only ones remaining were a few mistletoe she and Kaminari had decided to keep up, just for shits and giggles.

As much as you and your friends wanted to go to a shrine to bring in the new year, that was not feasible with the security precautions UA had to take with it’s students. So instead you all decided to throw a class party. The kitchen smelled incredible with pastries baking in the oven and remnants of dinner lingering in the kitchen. You had to place a hand on your stomach to stop it from growling.

“Hey, (y/n)!” Mina slid next to you on the green sofa. There was a small bounce in her landing. “Everything crossed off on your list yet?”

Since the beginning of the year, you’ve had a bucket list of sorts that your friends and classmates have helped you complete. Well, almost complete.

In January you went to the aquarium with Momo, Iida and Midoriya. In February, the Bakusquad took you to an “Extreme Sports Obstacle Course” to cross off your skydiving check box. Unfortunately, you all had to rush Kaminari back to Recovery Girl because he short circuited himself.

In April your class had a Mario Kart night in which Todoroki was reigning champion, even though he had never picked up a game controller in his life. It’s safe to say that Bakugou was furious with that night’s outcome.

Over the summer, after training camp, you took a trip to the beach with the girls and had a sand castle building competition. And when you got back to campus, Sato helped you cook a huge barbecue to celebrate the start of the new semester.

Class 1-A had grown closer than ever and it was all because of your list.

Still, there was one item that had yet to be crossed off. “Almost,” you told her. Unfolding the bottom of the sheet, you revealed the last check box on the bucket list.

Have my first kiss.

Mina was the only other person who had seen the actual list, everyone else just asking what was next for you all to do together. She snatched it from your hands one day and unfolded the bottom of the page, revealing your secret.

“I think I know how to get that last box checked off before midnight.” She wiggled her eyebrows up and down and her grin widened like the cheshire cat as your face heated up.

“I don’t want it to be with just anyone.” you looked down at your knees and held the list which had been through so much close to your chest. It didn’t bother you how stained and torn the edges of the page were. It was all full of memories and you were happy to have each and every one of them.

“Of course you don’t want it to be with just anyone.” Mina placed her hands on each side of your head and turned it so you were looking at the boy arguing with his best, explosive friend. The boy who encouraged you to share your list with everyone in the first place and who put an arm around you in triumph a year ago as you announced you had decided to do everything with the class. Your favorite red haired, manly, chivalrous hero was certainly the one you had hoped would give you your very first new years kiss.

You shook your head in disbelief, keeping your eyes to the ground. “You know I can’t ask him to do that. It’s a ridiculous question, ‘hey, do you wanna kiss me at midnight?’ No one just outwardly asks that.”

“Hmm.” Mina narrowed her eyes as if she were deep in thought. If you didn’t have so much on your mind, you would have known she was scheming something. “Well, suit yourself.” She hopped up and sauntered over to Kaminari, grabbing a cupcake on her way.

You managed to calm down a bit, smoothing down your hot face and getting up to chat with Momo and Jirou for a bit. It wasn’t much longer before you and your friends all gathered around in front of the TV, the countdown to midnight less than a minute away.

“So,” the all too familiar voice that made chills run down your back said. You hadn’t even noticed Kirishima slide up next to you. “Get everything crossed off your list?”

You looked up at his shark toothed grin and smiled. “Pretty much everything, yeah.”

If you had been paying attention earlier, it would not have surprised you when you felt an electric zap hit your knee from behind. You let out a quick yelp as your knees buckled and you fell to the ground. You shot daggers and Kaminari and Mina, who were giggling from the other side of the crowd.

“Are you all right?” Kirishima offered you a hand and hoisted you up. He began dusting off your knees and checking for any marks. You would expect nothing less of the chivalrous hero.

“I’m fine. Thank you though.” For the first time, you found yourself looking deep into Kirishima’s kind and joyful eyes. They really were a marvelous shade of red.

“Ten seconds!” Mineta shouted.

You toned him out. You toned the whole class out because you couldn’t seem to tear your eyes away from the young hero in front of you. Your friends started the countdown, party poppers and noisemakers at the ready. Neither of you joined in.

“Kirishima, I–”

“Can I, um–”

Both of your breaths were caught in your throats, unable to make any noise and not wanting to interrupt the other person.

“3!” your friends chanted.

You swallowed deep. “You go first.”

“2!”

Kirishima let out a huff of breath and reached for your hand.

“1! Happy New Year!”

He launched forward and pressed his lips onto yours. They were soft and tender as opposed to the rest of his hard and rough exterior. When he made contact, you could feel sparks like Kaminari’s electricity swarming against your skin. Your arms hung by your side somewhat awkwardly, but Kirishima rubbed the length of them up and down with a soothing touch.

Any hoots and hollers from your classmates were ignored by the two of you as you finally pulled away. You couldn’t help but smile as he ran his thumb over your hairline.

“So, d’you get everything on your list?”

Your smile widened. “Yeah, I did.”

#kirishima ejirou #kirishima x reader #bnha kirishima #mha kirishima #my hero academia #my hero academia x reader #nora writes stuff #bnharem collab #bnharem

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gryffindorcls · 4 years

Text

The Surprise Guest

Hello, lovely readers!

A few months ago I was asked to write a piece for the @mlpandemicreliefzine. It was such a fun project to be a part of, and now that it's been out for a while, I am happy to share with you the fluffy Marichat one-shot I wrote for the zine.

Happy reading!

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SUMMARY: One Friday night, Chat Noir accidentally barges in on a "girl's night" sleepover happening in Marinette's room. After being encouraged to stay, Chat joins the group in a game of truth or dare during which Marinette reveals the name of the boy she loves.

LENGTH: 2972 words

AO3 FANFICTION

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RAP RAP RAP

Marinette’s heart stopped.

“Is someone knocking on a window?” Alya pushed herself off the ground and padded across the room.

“N-no! I...uhh...it’s probably just the wind!” Marinette sprang out of her seat and tried to pull Alya back to the circle of girls sitting in the middle of the floor. “Don’t worry about it! Mario Kart is waiting for us!”

RAP RAP RAP

“There it is again!” Alya stood on her tiptoes and peered out the window next to Marinette’s desk. “That’s funny I could have sworn-”

The hatch above the lofted bed swung open with a bang. All heads turned towards the sound as a mop of blond hair poked through the opening.

“Princess, are you in here? Are you okay? I was knocking, and I didn’t see...oops.” Chat Noir’s eyes scanned the room. “Hello, ladies.”

“Oh, look!” Alya locked eyes with Marinette and gestured towards the hatch. “The wind has a face.”

Marinette groaned and buried her face in her hands. “This can’t be happening.”

“Oh, but it is, and I can’t wait to hear you explain your way out of this one.”

“It’s not what it looks like.”

“Really? Because to me, it looks like one of Paris’s heroes is asking to come in, and judging by his cute little nickname for you, I’m guessing that this isn’t the first time he’s paid you a visit. How am I doing so far, Princess Marinette?”

“Unfortunately, you’re doing pretty well.”

Chat ducked behind the lip of the opening. “Did I come at a bad time?”

Marinette pinched the bridge of her nose. “I told you that I was busy today.”

“I forgot.”

“Obviously.”

“If he’s here, does that mean there’s an Akuma?” Rose smashed her hands against her cheeks. “Is it after one of us?”

Chat shook his head. “No Akuma tonight. Everyone is safe.”

“If there’s no Akuma, then why are you here?” Alix narrowed her eyes. “Are you two dating or something?”

“No!” Marinette raised her hands in front of her. “It’s nothing like that. He just visits sometimes.”

“Yup!” Chat chimed in, “Every Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday night!”

“Not helping!” Marinette hissed at the boy through gritted teeth.

He sunk further behind the ledge. “Sorry.”

“You have scheduled visits!” Alya chuckled and placed a hand on Marinette’s shoulder. “Girl, I expect details.”

Chat cleared his throat. “Should I just leave the snacks and go?”

“Aha!” Alix exclaimed, pointing towards the hatch. “He brought snacks. They’re totally dating.”

“We’re not dating!” Marinette stamped her foot on the ground. “We’re just friends. I swear!”

“I don’t know. My brother always brings his girlfriend food, and he’s always talking about how in love with her he is.”

“Chat is my friend.”

Alya crossed her arms. “And tell us, how did you manage to become friends with him?”

Marinette looked at Chat, and after finding the silent look of approval in his eyes, she swallowed and took a steadying breath. “One night I was really upset, so I decided to sit out on the balcony. I may have started crying, and that’s when Chat found me. He told me he was also feeling down, so we talked for a few hours. He checked up on me the next day, and that’s when we realized that we enjoyed hanging out with each other.”

“Did you invite him to hang out with us tonight?” Mylene asked, cocking her head to the side.

Marinette sighed. “No, I did not.”

“You know, I should just go.” Chat tossed a canvas bag overflowing with snacks onto Marinette’s bed. “I’ll see you on Sunday, Princess.”

The unspoken sadness behind his words sent a pang through Marinette’s heart. “No, stay. It’s fine. Besides, I think Alya would kill me if I told you to go home before she had the chance to grill you at some point tonight.”

“You know it.” Alya chuckled and shot a finger gun in Chat’s direction.

“Wait.” He peeked the rest of his head over the ledge. “Really? I can come in?”

“Yup, and we were just about to play Mario Kart.” Marinette watched as Chat hopped onto her bed and scrambled down the ladder. “Did you want to play with us?”

“Do I?” He vibrated with excitement as she handed him a controller. “Is this what normally happens at sleepovers?”

“Have you never been to one?”

“No. I’ve only ever seen them on television and in movies, but those people are always doing each other’s hair and playing Truth or Dare.”

Alix’s eyes lit up. “Ooo, yes! We should play Truth or Dare.”

“No!” Marinette switched on her computer and loaded the game. “We are not playing Truth or Dare.”

“Ugh, lame!”

“We are playing Mario Kart, and then we are watching a movie.”

“I don’t know, Marinette. Playing Truth or Dare with a superhero sounds kind of fun.” Alya shot her a grin.

Marinette glared at her. “Video Games. Movie. Bed. That’s it.”

“You know,” Chat interjected, “I’ve never played Truth or Dare either.”

“Of course you haven’t.”

“It could be fun.”

“But you know what would be even more fun?” Marinette leaned in and flicked Chat’s bell. “Kicking your butt at Mario Kart...again.”

He chuckled. “That’s some big talk coming from someone who’s about to get crushed.”

“So says the boy who loses every time he’s played against me.”

“Oh, it’s on, Princess.”

“Jeez, if you two lovebirds are done flirting, some of us are ready to actually start playing,” Alix huffed, flopping onto the floor.

“For the last time, we are not dating.” Marinette crossed her arms and looked at Chat. “Right?”

“Yeah, we’re not.” She could have sworn that she saw his eyes dim when he spoke his confirmation, but surely it was just a trick of the light.

“See!” She said triumphantly. “We’re just friends.”

“Could have fooled me!” Alix held her stomach and laughed. “I’m just kidding. Anyway, are we playing or not?”

“Yes.” Marinette pressed start on her controller. “We are.”

As the first race began, she settled herself next to Chat Noir, accidentally brushing her knee against his. Her heart sank when she felt his body stiffen under her touch. Usually, Chat had no problem getting close to her. More often than not, they found themselves wrapped around each other under piles of blankets.

She couldn’t help but wonder if she’d done something wrong. Maybe he was upset that she’d said no Truth or Dare. Maybe she was too harsh. Maybe she should have said yes. After all, it was his first sleepover, and playing Truth or Dare wouldn’t be out of the ordinary.

Despite the internal debate that raged through her mind throughout the gaming session, Marinette came first in almost every race. After her eleventh win, she leaned over and rested her head on Chat’s shoulder.

“Better luck next time, kitty.” She looked up only to see him quickly turn his head away.

He must really be upset with her.

Alix slammed her controller onto the ground. “Ugh, can we do something else now? I’m getting bored.”

Alya rolled her eyes. “Are you sure you’re not just getting tired of losing?”

“Actually, I also wouldn’t mind doing something else.” Rose set down her controller and smiled. “Marinette, didn’t you say that we were going to watch a movie tonight?”

“A movie would be cool,” Juleka mumbled under her breath.

Marinette looked at Chat Noir. “Well, I’ve been thinking about it, and I thought that maybe we could play Truth or Dare...as long as we’re careful, that is! We’d have to promise to not ask Chat anything that could reveal his identity.”

Alix threw a celebratory fist into the air. “Yes!”

“Are you sure, girl?” Alya furrowed her brows. “You seemed pretty against it before.”

She nodded. “I’m sure. Besides, I think our surprise guest really wants to play. What kind of hostess would I be if I denied him the full sleepover experience?”

He met her gaze. His mouth rounded into a small “o” as a dusting of pink peeked out from underneath his mask.

“Are you okay?” Marinette asked tentatively.

He cleared his throat. “Uh, yeah. I would love to play!”

The rest of the group excitedly agreed and reformed a circle in the middle of the floor. The first few rounds filled the room with laughter as Mylene did the worm and Alya showed off her best Nino impression.

Once the giggles died down after watching Alix's reaction to putting ice cubes down her shirt, Alya adjusted her glasses and smirked. “Alright, it’s your turn, Marinette. Truth or dare?”

The last thing Marinette needed was for someone to dare her to kiss Chat Noir. “Truth.”

Alix rubbed her hands together. “First truth of the night. Let’s make it a good one.”

A wave of regret washed over her. “Oh, no.”

“Oh, yes! Who do you have a crush on right now?”

“I guess I should have seen that one coming.”

A pang shot through Marinette’s chest. She lowered her head and swallowed the heartbreak that threatened to resurface.

It had only been three months since she’d made the choice to move on from Adrien, and the wound still felt fresh. She’d done her best to bury the feelings she had for him, but her heart always circled back to the selfless boy who shines brighter than the sun.

However, she learned that as long as she didn’t actively think about Adrien, the hole inside her heart wasn’t as noticeable. Chat’s visits had really helped take her mind off of everything, but now it looked like it was time to face her feelings head-on.

“Oh, I know!” Chat blurted out, “It’s Luka!”

“No, it’s not.” Juleka’s hands covered her mouth while she spoke. “Marinette turned him down when he asked her out.”

“Wait, really?” He turned to Marinette. “Isn’t he the boy you’re in love with?”

Alya shook her head. “No, they had a connection, but I think we all know who really captured her heart.”

“Who?”

“You mean you really don’t know? She never told you?”

Hot tears welled in the corners of Marinette’s eyes. “I’m trying to move on.”

“Do you still love him?” Rose asked quietly, "Because it's okay if you do. Feelings like that don't just disappear overnight." “Yeah, but it doesn’t matter now. He’s with someone else. I lost my chance.” The words tasted bitter on her lips.

“No, you didn’t.” Juleka shook her head. “Don’t tell anyone, but I saw Luka kissing Kagami last weekend.”

A collective gasp filled the room as Marinette’s head shot up. “Are you serious?”

“Mmhmm, he doesn’t know that I know, but she comes over a lot.”

Alya nudged Marinette’s arm. “I think you just got your second chance.”

“But he and Kagami were so close!” Marinette grabbed her pigtails. “I could have sworn that they were dating.”

“You know, I don’t remember him ever saying that they were dating.”

“I guess I just assumed. I thought I saw them kiss.”

“I don’t think they did. I know he didn’t tell Nino that he kissed her, and those two pretty much know everything about each other.”

Chat held up his hands. “I’m sorry, who are we talking about right now?”

“It’s a boy from our class. You might know him. He was in that fragrance ad that seems to be on every billboard in the city.” Alya pointed to the class picture hanging on Marinette’s wall. “His name is Adrien.”

“Hold on.” The intensity in his eyes startled Marinette. “You have a crush on Adrien Agreste?”

“Um, yeah?” She shrugged. “I thought he was dating Kagami, so I tried to make my feelings go away. It didn’t really work.”

“But why?” His voice had dropped to a whisper. “Why him?”

Marinette thought back to her encounter with Adrien in the rain–the day love became more than just a word in the dictionary. “I accused him of something when we first met, but instead of getting angry and brushing me off, he reached out to me and asked to be friends. Is he one of the most beautiful people I’ve ever seen in my entire life? Yes, without a doubt. But it was his kindness and selflessness that made me fall for him.”

“You really love him, don’t you?”

“With all my heart.”

“Is that why you were crying that night on the balcony?”

“Yes, but you made me feel a lot better. Thank you for that.”

Chat pushed himself off the ground and began pacing around the room. “I...he made you cry! You’re so sweet and kind, and he hurt you. How are you not mad at him?”

She reached up and grabbed Chat’s hand as he passed in front of her. “It’s not his fault! I never had the courage to tell him, so he doesn’t know. He’s a wonderful person.”

“Doesn’t sound like it.”

“Chat…”

“He broke your heart, Marinette.”

She shook her head. “No, if we’re being honest, I kind of broke my own heart. I never told him how I felt.”

He took a deep breath. “You should tell him.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“What if I’m not the one for him? He deserves to be happy!”

“I have a hunch that things will work out pretty well if you tell him.”

“Look, it’s not that I haven’t tried before.” Marinette buried her face in her hands. “But all of those attempts ended in disaster. How would this time be any different?”

“Easy.” Alix pointed to the cell phone on Marinette’s desk. “I dare you to text him.”

Marinette crossed her arms. “Nice try, but it’s not my turn right now. It’s Chat’s.”

“Fine. Truth or dare, Chat Noir?”

He plopped down on the ground. “Dare.”

“Excellent.” Alix grabbed the phone and handed it to Chat. “I dare you to help Marinette send a text to Adrien.”

“No!” Marinette snatched her phone out of his hands and held it against her chest. “Why?”

“Because it’ll be hilarious.”

"But it's my phone!"

"And it's his dare."

Marinette grabbed Alya’s arm. “Help.”

“No can do, girl.” She shook her head. “Alix is right. He got dared.”

With a sigh, Marinette reluctantly handed her phone over to Chat. “Please don’t do anything too embarrassing.”

“Trust me, Princess. I’ll make sure you get that date.” He took the phone and got to work.

“You may have to spell it out for him. Adrien’s a great guy, but he’s a little dense in the love department sometimes.” Alix’s laugh rang through the room.

Chat glared at her. “Rude.”

“If you knew him, you’d agree.”

“Unfortunately, I have a feeling that you’re right. Rude, but right.”

Marinette didn’t know if she should scream or run away. “Please don’t tell him that I like him in a text. That should be something I tell him to his face.”

Chat ran his fingers through his hair. “I know. All I did was write out a message asking him to meet up with you in the park tomorrow.”

“Did you already send it?”

“Yup.”

“I...but...what if he’s not free?”

“Oh, he’s free.”

“How do you know?”

“Uhhhh.” Chat scratched the back of his head. “I read somewhere that his father is out of town for the next week. I guess I just assumed that Adrien had nothing on his schedule.”

Marinette did her best not to hyperventilate. “Okay, yeah...this is great. Goog...I mean doog...I mean...oh, no, I’m stuttering again! It’s been weeks since I’ve done that. I’m going to make a complete fool out of myself tomorrow!”

“No, you’re not.” Chat rested a hand on her shoulder.

“How do you know?”

“Because you’re amazing, Marinette, and he’d be crazy to not like you back.”

His smile melted away her fears and calmed the restless beating of her heart. It was amazing how safe he always made her feel, both in and out of the mask. Marinette knew she was lucky to have him as her partner and her friend.

“I know everyone didn’t get a turn to go, but I really don’t think we can top that round.” Alya walked over to Marinette’s computer. “How about we watch that movie now?”

“Works for me!” Marinette leaned against Chat. “Want to sit next to each other?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I do.”

While Marinette set up the movie, her guests made a cozy nest of blankets and pillows on the floor.

When she was finished, she took a seat next to Chat. She soon found herself wrapped in his arms with her face against his chest.

Although sitting like this had become a regular occurrence between them, tonight felt different. Instead of the loose hold she was accustomed to, Chat held her as if she’d slip away if he let go. To her surprise, she really enjoyed the change.

As the movie droned on, the steady beating of Chat’s heart relaxed every fiber of her being. Reflexively, she reached her arms around him, snuggled closer to his side, and reveled in his warmth.

All too soon, Marinette gave into the heaviness of her eyelids. Still vaguely aware of the world around her, the whispers of an oncoming dream beckoned her further into the depths of her subconscious.

She felt a gentle pressure against the crown of her head before a hazy voice etched its words onto her heart. “You make me happy every single day. You always have, and now it’s my turn to make you happy. You’re the perfect girl for me.”

And for the first time in months, Marinette was at peace.

“I can’t wait for tomorrow, Princess.”

That night, she had the sweetest of dreams, and the next morning, she woke up with Adrien’s response in her notifications.

#miraculous ladybug #my fic #marichat #fluff #tooth rotting fluff #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #one shot #ml pandemic relief zine #I just want them to be happy #ml fanfiction

347 notes · View notes

saladejin · 3 years

Text

Body Pillow

Taehyung x Reader requested by anon (May) | 27.) First cuddle

Warnings: Literally fluff and gentle pining, drunken shenanigans

Word Count: 2.2k

A/N: This is poorly edited, oh god.

I give up on trying to teach myself what a drabble is, because idk if I’ll ever understand what it means to write a DRABBLE. Anyway this is hella overdue but I’m still working on these cuddle prompts! Hope anonnie May is still around to read this horrible mess 🥺💕

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

<< prompt list >>

Wow, you were getting sleepy.

It was the alcohol, no doubt about it, but for some reason this time getting tipsy felt a little different. Usually you were quite reserved and withdrawn when mixing alcohol and social interactions, but tonight it was just you, your roommate Jimin and his close group of friends having a pizza night in.

Well, after half a year of getting to know them they'd fast become friends of yours as well, but they were still a pack of loud, goofy college boys that drove you mad with their testosterone stink 90% of the time. You really did have to take them in small doses to begin with, but all seven were amazingly driven people through and through. You loved them for it, and honestly sometimes you really just needed to be in their presence to relax and de-stress.

Like right now, actually.

You were drunker than usual, and it all had to do with the fact that you were relaxed. Carefree and laughing up a storm with the boys as they joked and hollered over whatever video game or story was being played out. For the first time in a while ... you could simply chill.

Yeah, chill out. Not zone the hell out.

You blinked harshly, eyes coming back into focus as a hand waved in front of your face cautiously, and all of a sudden a handsome view leaned into your field of vision. "Hellooo? You're so fucked honey." Taehyung chuckled, eyes crinkling in amusement as he shared a glance with Yoongi behind him.

"I'm- no way," you huffed, trying to downplay the way your cheeks were heating up at his proximity by slapping his hand away.

"Okay, but you're getting there." Yoongi stepped forward and nudged Taehyung back to reach for your plastic cup. "We know you're not used to having this much so just slow down, alright?"

Any other day you would've been frustrated at how the two boys seemed to baby you, but it was clear by their smiles that they were also getting some enjoyment out of it. In all honesty, you were having a great time and you had to admit that ruining it all by blacking out or making a mess was the last thing you wanted to do.

You'd still only known them all for a few months, so you didn't want to somehow damage the already comfortable relationships you'd built in such a short time.

"Okay, you're right." You let Yoongi lift the drink away from you, trying not to smile when Taehyung lightly chuckled again at the way you swayed in your seat. The other boys were already getting loud once more as Jungkook overtook Jimin in Mario Kart, the whooping and shouts of anger mostly coming from the remaining onlookers, Hobi, Namjoon and Seokjin.

You grabbed another slice of pizza from the table and stepped around Taehyung to reclaim your spot next to Jimin, feeling the younger's eyes burn into your back the entire way.

Thankfully, Yoongi and Tae had forced you to take a break at the perfect moment, because you were really feeling buzzed now. It was an oddly euphoric sensation, feeling the world spin ever so slightly with laughter falling from your lips for barely any reason at all. Why hadn't you done this with them sooner?

"A package? Well it's not for me..."

Your eyes flew open upon hearing Jimin hum from the front door, lightly slurred tone curious and confused. The rest of you who were gathered in the living room fell quiet as the murmurs of conversation between him and the delivery man came to an end.

There’s a package at the door?

Then your brain cells finally kicked into gear, because oh … it was also your door.

"Wait, it's mine then." You shakily tried to put your glass of water on the table to get up, and Namjoon tutted in disapproval while darting out a hand to steady your drunk form as you rose. The faces of the other boys swam in your vision for a moment since you'd been sitting down for what felt like ages, and it was genuinely hard not to snort out a laugh at the sight of Jungkook having six eyes.

"What is it?" Jimin asked as he rounded the corner with a large plastic parcel in hand, his plump cheeks very pink from the liquor and blown out cutely. Your focus came crashing back to the mysterious parcel in his small hands.

You tried to scour the corners of your buzzing mind but couldn't remember what you'd bought online for the life of you. You gently took the package from your roommate and squinted down at your name written on the label, earning muffled sounds of amusement from the rest of the guys watching you attempt to read. "I seriously forgot, but anyway let me open it..."

"Uh uh, no way," a scolding tone came from behind you when you reached for the scissors on the kitchen benchtop. You squeaked in surprise when Taehyung yanked them away from your grasp, and he darted to the side playfully before you could even think of chasing him up.

"Yeah, if anyone it'll be Tae using the scissors since he hasn't even had a drink." Hoseok laughed, poking your cheek when you grumbled and pouted.

The others went back to the game playing on the TV while you, Taehyung and Jimin stood around to open the package. It was incredibly soft underneath the plastic wrapping, and the more that was peeled away the more you remembered your spontaneous buy.

"Oh!" You pulled up the massive lump of lime green and white cotton, the largest smile breaking out onto your flushed face. "It's the wearable blanket I wanted!"

"Wearable ... what now?" Yoongi murmured from his spot on the couch.

"Blanket," you finished, and threw the long, heavy bundle of soft material over your head. It acted as a hoodie of sorts, only oversized to the absolute max. The warm buttery feeling of the wool against your skin had you melting on the spot in the best possible way.

"What's it like?" Taehyung murmured quietly when your eyes began to flutter shut in ecstasy, any hint of the chill in the air vanishing in an instant. He seemed to be gripped in a childlike fascination for how truly extra the item of clothing - or blanket? - was. You tried not to flush even more when he stepped closer to gently pinch some of the material between his long fingers, large wonderful eyes widening at the feeling.

"So soft, and warm," you hummed in response to his question, stepping away from him to sink back into the couch now that you were quite literally drowning in fluffy blanket-like fabric. Your hazy mind could barely comprehend anything that was happening around you now that you were reaching peak levels of comfort.

Taehyung followed you down, and you vaguely registered the dip in the couch cushion as he perched himself next to you. Your eyes were closed in pure bliss, but the brief aroma of his lavender lotion swimming around your head told you it was him. You could never mistake this addicting scent; you'd grown to like it way too much in these past few months.

Too bad you were too inebriated to really act on your small crush now, considering he was literally sitting beside you and giving his full, undivided attention for the first time ... ever, actually.

The following hour flew by, but you were still completely lost in the softness of your toasty hoodie-blanket hybrid. There was no doubt that the novelty would last a long time yet, seeing how Jimin would whine out of jealousy every ten minutes or so until you finally caved, letting him have a 'turn' for an entire 60 seconds before demanding it back.

It was cold, and you were a cuddly drunk...

As the boys continued with their game, you soon felt a slight pressure rest on your shoulder ever so slightly. You cracked one eye open to see a mop of black curls out of the corner of your eye, but the haziness flooding your brain meant you couldn't really feel as flustered as you would've - say a few hours ago.

Taehyung's fingers still fiddled with the thick fabric of your blanket-sleeve, but you could barely feel his touch through the sheer amount of wool in between your arm and his hand. Something about that bugged you, but you couldn't muster the energy to think any harder at this point.

"It's the softest thing I've ever felt," he commented, a small smile evident in the way his tone tapered off into a chuckle.

You sighed and sunk further into the bed of cotton surrounding you. "Yeah, won't last long though considering how much I'm gonna use it during winter. Make the most of it while you can, Tae."

His lips parted in slight shock. "Can I?" the boy asked in a low tone, but for what exactly you still weren't quite sure. You turned your head and blinked open both eyes drowsily, grateful that you'd managed to sober up enough by now that there weren't two of him floating around beside you.

Well, more like on you at this point. You took a quick glance at everyone else to see if they were aware, but nobody was looking, and you were sure nobody would even care. Taehyung was quite touchy with his friends and you'd definitely seen it on multiple occasions, but never with you.

Not yet anyway.

He seemed to take your pause as hesitation rather than confusion. "You just look so huggable all wrapped up in it. I wanna know if it's as warm as it looks, but it's okay I can give you some room." His eyes flickered away from your face for the first time and you instantly felt the absence of his lively gaze.

He wants to hug me!?

"No Taetae c'mon." You allowed the nickname you'd always wanted to use break free - a slip the tongue thanks to the alcohol coursing through your system - and opened up your arms to invite him closer. You watched his eyes light up again like a million stars in the night sky.

"Really?" He giggled, and the sound was so adorable paired with the way his lips formed that box-like shape as he smiled, but he spared you no time for a response.

You felt the air forcefully leave your lungs when he crawled over into your heavily padded arms, his own then wrapping themselves around your waist which was swathed in mounds of cotton. You could feel the way he gently buried his face into a place near your chest. Oh God, did he just nuzzle his way in even further?

Where did he end, and you begin? Your drunken mind couldn't really focus on one singular thought, but somehow you were even comfier than before. You brought your arms back down to rest around his broad shoulders and decided to savour this moment, because you sure as hell weren't going to be able to look him in the eye after tonight.

You weren’t even that close. You being nothing more than his best friend’s roommate, and him a newfound friend you might be harbouring the tiniest crush on, but tonight was different.

"So warm..." he murmured and tightened the hold of his arms, though now you wished you could feel more skin and less wool. You imagined what it might feel like, just you and him and nothing but a normal layer of clothes separating you as you cuddled on the couch. It caused a pleased sigh to float from your lips, and you heard Taehyung let out an amused chuckle in tandem.

Could he be thinking something similar? Hopefully?

"I guess I must feel like a massive teddy bear to you," you managed to say without slurring your words, too drunk on the feeling of warmth and comfort and blossoming affection shrouding your mind.

"Damn right you do, sweetheart."

Even in the midst of all the liquid courage circulating your body you felt your heart skip a beat at the deep, relaxed tone of his voice, not to mention the pet-name. He sat up straighter and pulled you along with him, the expression on his face completely blissed out as he hugged you tighter to his frame. You could feel your heart hammering away in your chest, and just hoped to God there was enough fabric there to muffle the clamour.

There you both sat, locked together and bundled up in the mounds of cotton that was your wearable blanket, all until you drifted off to the best drunk sleep you’d ever had. It was the first of many cuddles you would share, unbeknownst to you at the time, but with a giggling Seokjin using his phone to take a blurry video of you both and a snickering Jimin egging him on, it was easy to see how one thing would lead to another the next day.

Sometimes, it appeared the key to winning over a man's heart was to not only become a body pillow, but become his body pillow.

#taehyung x reader #v x reader #btsghostie #btsgoldnet #taehyung fluff #taehyung drabble #taehyung imagines #taehyung scenarios #bts x reader #bts v #bts taehyung #handing out free apologies come get yours :)#requests #saladejin

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qveenmikaelson · 4 years

Text

Time

Paring : Massimo x Reader

Word Count : 3,999

Prompts : 5 + 8 “There Is No Us, There Never Was” & “Shut Up” (Prompts In Bold)

Warnings : Other Than My Terrible Writing, Swearing , Attempt At Angst, Mentions of Cheating, Massimo Being A Dick

A/n : This Is A Request From @shusrealm , I’m Still Trying To Learn And Tap Into Massimos Character Which Is Why It Has Taken Me A Minute To Start Posting But I Hope You Like It . 💜

A/n 2: Translations Are From Google So Sorry For Anything That Is Incorrect And Little Flashbacks Are In Bold

Lyrics In The Story Are From The Song Time : From The Show Star

It’s Been Five Months

Since We’ve Had A Talk About Us

And We Went Our Separate Ways

“Yn You Don’t Honestly Believe Sulking Over This Guy Is Going To Change Anything Do You” London, Your Bestfriend Said Sitting At The Edge Of Your Bed

“No, But I Don’t Want To Do Anything Else So”

“It’s Been Five Months Since You’ve Been Back, You Haven’t Even Said Anything About What Happened”

“What Do You Want Me To Say” You Sighed Sitting Up In Your Bed “I Went To Sicily For What Was Supposed To Be A 3 Week Trip, But Ended Up Staying Longer Because I Met A Guy.. And Not Just Any Guy A Fucking Mafia Boss”

“No But I’m Your Bestfriend I Want You To Tell Me What Happened That Day Between You Two, I Want To Know The Reason My Bestfriend Has Been Locking Herself Away In Her Apartment Everyday For Five Months Doing Nothing Other Than The Occasional Grocery Shopping”

“I- I Just Feel So Stupid Ya Know” You Started To Explain .. Tears Already Lining The Rim Of Your Eyes As You Thought Back To That Day “So Naive To Think That What We Had .. That Everything Was Real”

“Sweetheart What Happen While You Were In Sicily” London Asked Climbing Next To You In Your Bed

“I Fell In Love .. But Of Course .. He Didn’t ”

But It Feels Like Yesterday

Since You Took My Heart In Your Hand

And You May Never Bring It Back No

They Say That Time Heals All Your Wounds

But I Don’t Know If That’s True, Oh, True

Because It Still Hurts

It Still Hurts, When I Think About You

Five Months Ago - Sicily

“I Never Knew You Could Cook Like This Yn” Domenico Said Tasting The Sauce You Had Cooking On The Stove

“Thank You , But Honestly It’s Just Following The Recipe”

“No, There’s A Difference Between Following A Recipe And Following A Recipe But Clearly Putting Your Own Twist To It” Dom Said Sitting On One Of The Chairs Near The Island “Massimo Is Going To Love It”

“Well I Couldn’t Of Pulled This Off Without You Dom.. Thank You Again For Telling Me Some Of His Favorite Dishes He Loved To Eat” You Said As You Were Walking Back And Fourth Between The Stove To The Refrigerator Then Back To The Stove “And For Picking Up The Groceries For Me”

“It Was My Pleasure Yn”

“Okay .. Everything’s Done In Here” You Said Taking Off The Apron You Were Wearing “I Need You To Do One More Thing For Me Domenico”

“Anything”

“Mas Is Going To Be Back Soon , And I Still Have To Get Cleaned Up, So If You Don’t Mind, Could You Or Anyone Else Set Up The Table For Me” You Said As You Started To Walk Out If The Kitchen

“Of Course Yn” Domenico Yelled As You Disappeared Behind The Wall

Massimo Was Coming Back From One Of His Business Trips Today And You Decided It Would Be Nice For The Two Of You To Sit And Have A Nice Home Cooked Dinner, With Some Of His Favorite Childhood Dishes, Courtesy Of Domenico. When You Asked Him About It He Told You He Would Give The List Of Foods To The Chef To Make But You Insisted That You Wanted To Cook The Meal Yourself, A Way Of Showing Massimo How Much You Care About Him.

It Wasn’t Anything Too Fancy Just A Simple Dinner For The Both Of You To Unwind. Things Have Been A Little Tense And Hectic For Mas These Last Two Weeks And You Just Wanted Him To Relax A Little Bit.

———————————————————————-

It Was Now Going On 8 And Massimo Should Be Back At The House Any Minute Now . After You We’re Done Cooking You Had Dom Set Up Everything And Made Sure Everything Was Ready To Be Taking Out To The Table Once You And Mas Sat Down, While You Went And Freshened Up.

You Decided On Nothing Too Fancy, A Cute Black Skater Dress That Stopped Mid Thigh, The Back Out And Showed Not To Much But Just Enough Cleavage. For Your Hair You Went With A Cute Sleek Low Ponytail And A Light Natural Look For Your Makeup With A Nude Lip . By The Time You Were Done, It Was Almost 9:30 .. A Little Late You Thought But It’s Okay, As Long As Everything Went Okay And The Night Was Still Enjoyable. You Had Informed Domenico To Lead Massimo To The Set Up Table In The Back Once He Arrived And Then You Would Be Down Shortly . Since It Was Already 9:30 You Knew You Were Running Behind Schedule So You Hurriedly Made Your Way To The Back Where Everything Was.

“I Am So Sorry I Had You Sitting Out Here, My Makeup Up Took A Little Longer Than Expected” You Were Saying As You Were Rounding The Corner To The Table But Stopped Once You Saw Nobody There .

“Hm , So I Guess I’m Not The Only One Late” You Said As You Went To Sit Down At The Table “Let Me Call Him”

You Pulled Your Phone Out And Clicked On Mas Name Hearing It Ring A Couple Of Times Before It Went To Voice Mail

“You’ve Massimo Torricelli, If You’re Hearing This I Am Busy Or Handling Business Right Now So Leave A Message After The Tone .. Hai raggiunto Massimo Torricelli, se stai ascoltando questo sono occupato o sto gestendo affari in questo momento, quindi lascia un messaggio dopo il ”

Sighing You Left A Message “Hey Mas Just Checking To Make Sure Everything Is Okay, And To See That You Landed Safely, Call Me Once You Hear This, Cant Wait To See You” Hanging Up Your Phone And Sitting It Down You Reached For The Bottle Of Wine That Was Sitting In The Bucket Of Ice On The Table Pouring You What You Feel Is Going To Be A Much Needed Glass.

3 Hours, 6 Unanswered Phone Calls, And 1 Empty Bottle A Wine Later, It’s 12:30am And You’re Beyond Pissed Off Now. So You Told The Chef To Clean Everything Up And Decided To Call It A Night . Domenico Left A Little Bit Over An Hour Ago To “Go Meet Massimo” But He Hasn’t Been Back Yet, And He’s Not Answering Any Calls Either . So Much For A Nice Quiet Dinner With The Man That You Love.

That’s Really What This Night Was About, You Met Massimo Almost A Year Ago When You Were On Vacation And To Say Opposites Attract Would Be An Understatement. What Was Supposed To Be Only A One Night Thing Turned Into So Much More . After That One Night You And Mas Were Enamored By Each other. And One Night Turned Into Multiple, Which Then Turned Into Him Asking You To Stay A Little Bit Longer.

“rimanere” Massimo Said As The Two Of You Were Laying In Bed , You Tracing The Small Tattoo On His Chest

“You Know I Don’t Know Italian Like That Mas” You Laughed Out Looking Up At Him As If Asking Him To Repeat Himself But In English

“Stay” He Said Sitting Up Causing You To Sit Up Too Pulling The Cover Up To Cover Your Chest “Stay Here With Me A Little While Longer”

“I Can’t.. My Vacation Is Only 3 Weeks Long Which Ends In Two Days.. And Even If I Wanted To Stay I Don’t Have Any Clothes”

“I’ll Buy You More , What Ever You Need Or Want I Got You Baby Girl” He Said Taking Your Hand Kissing The Back Back Of It

What Started Off As You Only Staying For A Month And No More Than That, Turned Into Two, Then Three, Then Mas Eventually Asking You To Stay With Him Permanently. You Were Skeptical At First But He Convinced You In More Ways Than One That Night That You Were The One He Wanted To Be With, And That He’d Do Anything For You.

Over The Course Of The Last Year You’ve Spent With Massimo You Know Without A Doubt You’ve Fallen In Love With Him, And Even Thought You Both Haven’t Said Those Three Words To Each other Yet, You Know He Feels The Same. Or At Least You Did, These Last Few Weeks Has Had You Questioning A Lot Of Things, Which Is Why This Dinner Was So Important For You. You Felt It Was Finally Time To Tell Him That You Loved Him .. With Every Fiber Of Your Being .

———————————————————————

Once You Woke Up The Next Morning You Instinctively Rolled Over To The Other Side Of The Bed, Only To Open Your Eyes And See That Massimo Wasn't In Bed. In Fact His Side Was Still Made Which Means That He Either Didn’t Come Back At All Last Night Or Didn’t Bother Coming To Bed . No Matter Which One Happened They Both Still Hurt.

After Stretching You Got Up And Went About With Your Daily Morning Routine . Deciding You Wanted To Dress Comfortable Today You Through On One Of Massimo Button Down Shirts That You Love To Wear And Some Black Leggings And Made Your Way Out To The Back Where The Chef Usually Had Breakfast Waiting.

As The Table Came Into View You Noticed Domenico First Then You Saw Mario Sitting Down, Then You Saw Massimo Sitting There. There Were Having What Sounded Like A Serious Discussion And Domenico Was About To Speak Until He Saw You Walking Up, Then He Stopped Talking.

“No Don’t Stop On My Behalf” You Said As You Pulled Out The Chair Next To Massimo “Continue” You Said Looking At Him .. And If Looks Could Kill , He’d Be Dead Right Now

Both Mario And Domenico Picked Up On The Arising Tension In The Air And Decided That That Was Their Cue To Leave “Goodmorning Principessa” Domenico Said As He Got Up From The Table “Mas” He Said Walking Away With Mario Following Leaving You And Massimo There Alone . You Waited Until They Were Out Of Ears Rang Before You Started Your Interrogation

“Well Goodmorning To You Too” You Said Picking Up A Piece Of Fruit Trying To Keep Your Voice As Calm As Possible Even Though You Felt Like You Were About To Explode With Anger

“Morning”

“Morning” You Repeated In A Voice Trying To Sound Like Him “Morning Is All You Have To Say? Not Even A Morning Baby Girl .. What Happen Yesterday .. More Importantly, Why Didn’t You Answer None Of My Calls”

“Let’s Not Start Love.. I Was Busy” Massimo Said As He Grabbed His Phone That Since You Sat Down As Been Going Off Non Stop

“BUSY .. He Was Busy” You Laughed “To Busy To The Point That You Couldn’t Even Shoot Me A Text And Say Hey Baby I’m Handling Something Right Now.. Don’t Wait Up.. Like Damn You Had Me Out Here Waiting For Your Ass For 3 Fucking Hours”

Grabbing Your Arm, Massimo Pulled You Close To Him So You Could Hear Him Better Because He’s Never Really One To Raise His Voice “Okay 1.. I Don’t Know Who You Think You Are But You Are Not About To Sit Up Here And Raise Your Voice To Me, And 2.. I’m The Boss Of All This Shit I Do What I Want When I Want Without Nobody’s Consent.. I Don’t Have To Call And Tell You Shit Capire (Understand) ” Letting Your Arm Go He Sat Back In His Chair And Pulled Out His Phone Again .

Him And This Damn Phone, You Were Getting Tired Of It, It’s Never Went Off This Much Business Or Not, And All Of His Important Contacts Always Called , Never Texted Him.

“Okay First Of You Not About To Sit Up Here And Talk To Me Like That” You Said “And Secondly I Deserve To Fucking Know Because I’m Your Fucking Girlfriend And Because I Fucking Love You, I Spent Hours Making Multiple Of Your Favorite Dishes Dom Said You Loved To Eat Before Just So We Could Have A Nice Night Together To Relax, Only For You To Fucking Not Come Home And Not Answer My Calls, And You Want To Sit Here And Basically Spit In My Face And Say You Don’t Care” You Said Standing Up Over Massimo Realizing That He’s Not Even Paying Attention To You, But Rather His Phone That Keeps Going Off

“And Who The Fuck Is It That Has All Your Attention Right Now That You Can’t Even Look At Me” You Said Snatching His Phone Out Of His Hand And Stepping Away From Him And The Table To Give You Time To Look And What You Seen Completely Shattered Your Heart . On The Screen Was Messages Between Massimo And Some Girl Named Mina, Pictures Of The Girl Sent To Massimo, And Even Pictures Of Mas Sent To Her. Pictures Even You Don’t Get When He’s Going For Long Periods Of Time

They Say You Can’t Sing The Blues

Until You Got Your Heart Broken In Two

Well I Can Sing The Blues

A Million Times Plus Two

“Wa- Who Is Mina .. And Why Was Last Night Such A Good Time” You Asked Questions You Already Knew The Answer To As Tears Started To Build In Your Eyes “Is This Why You Didn’t Come Home Last Night, Why You Couldn’t Answer None Of My Calls”

“Don’t You Dare Snatch Nothing Away From Me Like That Again Ever In Your Life O-“ Massimo Started To Say Walking Back Up To You Snatching His Phone Back

“Or What Mas .. You Gonna Hurt Me?” You Said Tears Falling Already “ Because It’s To Late For That.”

“sta 'zitto” Massimo Said Turning Around And Starting To Walk Away” You’re Over Reacting”

“What ??”

He Stopped To Turn And Face You Again “I Said Shut Up, You’re Over Reacting”

“Excuse Me !!” You Yelled .. Anger Now On A 100 “I’m Over Reacting .. You Over Here Fucking And Sexting This Bitch And You Tell Me I’m Over Reacting”

If You Were Being Honest With Yourself You Didn’t Imagine That This Was The Conversation You’d Be Having With Massimo. Yes You Was Upset With Him About Last Night And You Were Going To Talk To Him About It , You Just Didn’t Expect Everything To Take A Turn For The Worst .

“I Can’t Believe You” You Said A Little Quieter That Before “How Could You”

“What?” He Asked Looking At You, And The Look He Had In His Eyes Was So Unrecognizable, So Different From The Deep Hazel Brown Eyes That You Loved Waking Up Too Every Morning

“How Could You Do This .. T- To Us”

“Us ??” He Questioned As He Laughed A Laugh That Sent Shivers Down Your Spine, One That Was Going To Haunt Your Dreams Every Night “There Is No Us, There Never Was”

“W-What” You Stuttered Back, Voice No Higher Than A Whisper, So Quiet That You Weren’t Even Sure He Heard You But He Did . If Your Heart Wasn’t Broken Before, It Sure As Hell Is Now

And The Heartbreak, Heartbreak

Comes Right After The Heartache

“There Is No Us Sweetheart, This .. Between Us It Was Never Anything Serious, Just A Little Fun”

“Fun?” You Said As Tears Completely Covered Your Face Now “I Basically Dropped My Life Back In The States Just To Be With You, And The Only Thing This Was To You Was Fun?”

“Sorry To Break It To You Baby Girl” He Said Fixing The Cuffs On His Dress Shirt While Not Once Taking His Eyes Off Of You

“Well If All This Was, Was Fun Then I Guess There’s No Need For Me To Stay” You Said Attempting To Wipe Some Of The Tears That Were Still Falling But It Wasn’t Really Know Use

“No There Isn’t, Ill Get Domenico To Book You A Flight Back Home As Soon As Possible” He Said Starting To Walk Away But Before He Did He Said One Last Thing “I Want Everything I’ve Gotten You Since You Been Here .. But You Can Keep That Shirt, You’ve Ruined It Anyway” And With That He Walked Away Completely Leaving You To Wallow In Your Own Tears

———————————————————————

Somehow Massimo Managed To Get You A Flight That Same Day But You’re Not Really Surprised Anymore, It’s Massimo You’re Talking About, Anything He Wanted He Got, And Anything He Didn’t Want He Got Rid Of .. And Apparently That Was You

The Ride To The Airport Was To Say The Least Awkward. Domenico Offered To Ride With You To See That You Made It To Your Flight Safely But You Honestly Just Wanted To Be Alone . Starring Out Of The Window You Were Looking At The Beautiful Buildings You Were Going To Miss Because You Honestly Were Never Going To Step Foot In This Country Again .

So Much Was Going Through Your Head That You Didn’t Even Realize You Started Crying Again. Not Until Domenico Spoke

“Principessa ..” He Started But Then Stopped Not Knowing What To Say. But You Couldn’t Really Blame Him. Comforting A “Damsel In Distress” Wasn’t Really Apart Of His Job Description “Maybe Going Back Home Is For The Best.. This Life... This Life Isn’t The Type Of Life You Should Be Living”

“Did You Know” You Asked Looking At Him And Ignoring What He Just Said “You Know What Of Course You Knew.. Your His Bestfriend His Right Hand Man.. Damn I Feel So Fucking Stupid”

Domenico Just Sat There Trying To Figure Out The Right Thing To Say, But Every time He Opened His Mouth He Closed It Right Back Second Guessing His Words

“It May Hurt Now Principessa But Given Time It Will Get Better And You Will Forget All About Massimo, Like I Said It’s Probably For The Best” He Said Carefully Sitting His Hand On Your Knee As A Way To Comfort You

You Scoffed “Yeah .. Time”

———————————————————————

Present Time - Back At Your Apartment

They Say That Time Heals All Your Wounds

But I Don’t Know If That’s True

I Don’t Think That It’s True

Cause It Still Hurts, It Still Hurts

When I Think About You

Once You Finished Telling London What Happened You Both Were In Tears . Your Tears Because Even Though It’s Been Five Months Every time You Think About Him Or Anything That Reminds You Of Him, You Just Start Hurting All Over Again And London’s Tears Because Her Bestfriend Is Hurting And The Man That Caused It Is Still Breathing

“You Know I’m Trying .. I Truly Am” You Started To Say Through The Constant Sniffing That Was Going On “Some days I Really Do Feel Okay And Then There’s Others Where I Just Want My Bed To Swallow Me Alive”

You Got Up Out Of The Bed To Go Get Both Of You Some Tissue Instead Of Using The Covers And Your Hands When You Got Back To The Room Your Friends Was Walking Out Of Your Closet With A Cute Sleeveless Romper In Her Hand

“What Are You Doing” You Asked Sitting The Roll Of Tissue On Your Dresser

“It’s A Nice Day, The Suns Out Shining, No Clouds In The Sky.. Were Going Out And Enjoying This Day .. You Need Some Vitamin D Anyways” London Started To Say “Now Go Shower And Get Ready”

Not Even Wanting To Argue With Her Because She Always Gets Her Way You Just Complied Without Saying Anything. Once You We’re Out The Shower You Decided To Just Let Your Hair Flow Free, You Put On The Peach Colored Romper And Decided To Go Without Too Much Makeup This Time, Only Doing Your Eyebrows , Putting Some Lashes On And Some Clear Lipgloss.

“I Honestly Don’t See Why He Cheated Because Baby You Is Fine” London Said As You Walked Out Of The Bathroom Causing You To Laugh

“So .. Lets Get This Show On The Road Shall We” You Said Making Sure You Grabbed Your Purse, Phone, And Charger

“Yay Girls Day” London Said Skipping Out Of Your Room Making You Laugh Harder Because You Honestly Didn’t Know What You Were Going To Do With Her

——————————————————————-

You And London Spent The Whole Day Shopping, Walking Around Downtown, And Just Enjoying Each others Company. You All Decided To Go And Get Your Nails And Toes Done The Stopped For A Snack To East Before You Went Back To Shopping . At The End Of It All, You Both Decided To Have Dinner At This Restaurant Everyone Had Been Talking About “Maggiano’s” . You Were Hesitant At First Because You Were Honestly Having A Great Day And Didn’t Want To Go Down That Road Again Of Thinking About Massimo But London Insisted Stating “You’re Always Going To See Something That Reminds You Of Him, You Cant Let Him Take The Joy Out Of Your Life, You Have To Take Your Power Back .. Fuck Him” So Here You Are Having Dinner With Your Bestfriend And You Honestly See Why Everyone Hypes This Restaurant Up

“I Really Cant Thank You Enough For This London” You Said As You Took A Sip Of Your Wine

“Hey That’s What I’m Here For, I’m Your Bestfriend And I Will Always Be There For You Through Anything, And I Will Help You Get Through This, No Matter How Much Time It Takes” She Said As She Reached Across The Table To Grab Your Hand. Just As You Were About To Say Something The Waiter Walked Back Up To Your Table With A Bottle Of Wine And A Card In His Hand

“For You Ma’am” He Said Sitting The Bottle Down And Handing You The Card .. London Looked At You Confused But You Were Just As Confused

“I’m Sorry But We Didn’t Order This Bottle” You Said Hesitantly Taking The Card “There Must Be A Mistake

“Compliments Of The Restaurant” He Said As He Turned And Walked Away

“Well Shit I’m Not About To Turn Down A Free Bottle” London Said Grabbing It Off The Table While You Sat Looking At The Card .. This Feeling In The Back Of Your Mind Telling You Not To Open It But The Curiosity Getting The Best Of You .. As You Opened It The Beautiful Golden Calligraphy Writing On The Inside Made Your Heart Drop, And London Must Have Noticed Because She Reached Over Grabbing The Card And Looking At It, But Was Confused

“What Is This?” She Said Looking Up At You “Is This In Ita-“ But Before She Could Finish You Answered For Her Reciting The Contents Of The Card Like The Back Of Your Hand

“ Sei il mio sole, la mia luna e tutte le mie stelle”

If There Was Any One Word Or Phrase You Picked Up, And Gotten To Learn.. It Was This

“And What Does It Mean” London Asked Still Confused As Ever .. More So Because You Just Recited What Was In The Card So Perfectly

As You Started To Tell London What The Phrase Meant, You Heard Another Voice Coming Up From Behind You Saying The Same Thing. And In That Moment You Almost Died Because You Know That Voice Anywhere .

“ You are my sun, my moon, and all of my stars.” And As You Finished Telling London What The Card Said , He Came From Behind You Standing Next To The Table Still Looking As Good As You Last Remembered Him. For A Second You Couldn’t Find The Right Words To Say But Knowing You Had To Say Something You Said The Only Thing Your Mind Allowed You To Say, But Of Course In A Slight Whisper

“Mas..”

“Hello Babygirl”

“Holy Shit” London Said

Tag List : @nebulastarr

#imagines #365 days #massimo #massimo x laura #massimo x reader #michele morrone #fiction #movies #massimo torricelli #365 dni

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sunlightwoo · 4 years

Text

fated by the stars (epilogue 2/2)

summary: with the soulmate system implemented, all that you wanted was someone that you could love naturally, without having to be bonded to a complete stranger that you’d meet inevitably. however, fate works its wonders in the collection of stars that you managed to end up with two soulmates, not knowing who you truly heard the soulmate bells for.

wc: 1363

taglist: @omgnctchina @memesolvernonchwe @vannitey @dvoz-writes @woozisnoots @solarwonux @yuzusoju @cheolright @shoshishua @urlocalcaratclown @s1ardusk @ayla-hathway @lieminoh @silverstonemanor @lynniac @mariecoura @hannie-dul-set @neojpg @my-chaos-in-stars @xxbluestrifexx @sncaffee @sdoulc @k-pop-ology @chirpyjisungg @emerod @rjsmochii @lowkeycarat @assiqueen @haotheheckk @shra-vasti @mvltimoon @moon-asia @dimpledsatan @shuatoyou @gyubagebin @jisungsdreamy @itsdnguyenxoxo @1-800-luv-u @mercyeol @isa499 @youdawonu @taeguk-munchkin @skylions-den @fluffyhyeju @riashushu (send an ask or dm to me or @viastro to be added to the taglist!!)

a/n: on behalf of lila’s end, we really would like to thank everyone that has been enjoying our collab on this fic series!! this was something that i remember we created out of like thin air one night i think it was over the summer or sometime in quarantine, and we were like ahaha what if we make everybody shit their pants and collabed. and i truly think that this fic was really something that you can see both of our creative personalities in, and again we love reading all the reblogs/feedback that we get for this!! this has been a really long journey, but with that comes to an end :(( we thank you guys again for reading fated by the stars!! and make sure you guys check out @viastro ‘s stuff if you don’t already!! until the next collab... 😼

masterlist | previous

“You’re going to eat shit, Yoon.”

You grin at the latter that stood across from you with a smug smirk on his face, one that shortly fell into a pout as he trudged over to you before wrapping his arms around your waist. His eyebrow is raised as though it were a challenge for you to test against him, but by the time that you gently hit the back of his head with your own helmet, he lets out a noise before you start giggling to yourself.

“In your own dreams, sweetheart, because I will make sure that I win tonight. I only let you win that first time around because I was going easy on you,” He chuckles and nuzzles your noses together just as he brushes the loose strands in front of your face away from your eyes, “I’ll make sure that you’re going to be the one that eats your own words.”

Winking at you and walking away from where you stood frozen a bit, you blinked back into reality and brushed off the heat that was escalating to the tips of your ears to get into your go kart. You noticed that Jeonghan was already buckled up in his as you knew that the rematch for your first date was going to happen in a few moments and you wanted to be sure that he wasn’t going to go easy on you this time around.

“You’re lucky we’re soulmates, you cheating snake.” You snickered to yourself before getting into your go kart and putting on your helmet for safety measures.

You were already buckled up into your go-kart and already revving up the kart so that you had the advantage of a boost at the beginning before the race started. Glancing back to where he was beside you, he throws another wink to you through his helmet as you playfully rolled your eyes at his cute banter before focusing on the race course that was in front of you before the green light flashed for you to start in a few seconds after.

“You freaking cheated.”

Both you and Jeonghan were now staring up at the scoreboard to see what your times were and the puff of breath that he had let out from beside you made you grin as you once again scored a faster time than him. Looking over towards him, he was still staring at the time incredulously before looking back at you with a frown on his face.

“I didn’t even cheat-”

“I even tried to cheat my way and do it mario kart style.” He frowned and you gave him a shocked look before frowning as well.

“What the hell, Jeonghan? You tried to cheat?” You say with a bit of feigned hurt in your voice to tease him and made sure that your fake tear up was believable when suddenly he lifted you up from the middle of your torso and carried you over his shoulder, “What the hell- Jeonghan put me down!”

“Nope, we’re going back home. I rather race you in mario kart and win than see this rigged timer.” He grins hearing the squeals and giggles that were leaving your lips as he was walking back to where his motorcycle was still parked.

He puts you down after a while and finally starts to drive you both back to the house that you had just moved into days ago since the spring semester ended about a month ago. It’s been at least two months since the night of the lantern festival as you thought about how things were as though they were in the right place and in the right pieces of a puzzle while you clung onto Jeonghan with the wind breezing in your ears.

You didn’t think that wishing upon the flower that night would actually bring him to you, nor did you think that the fortune from the rigged fortune telling machine would guarantee that he was your soulmate. However you were still grateful for the bells and red string that still tied you both together when you realized later that night that your string and bells with Joshua were no longer present.

You remember him telling you that night since you couldn’t fall asleep that he found his soulmate, and you were happy for him, as he was happy that you ended up with Jeonghan in the end of fate’s game.

The game of fate; a test for your heart.

A smile crosses your face as you knew that you were right where you wanted to be, just as Jeonghan parks the motorcycle right in front of your new home before you both hopped off of the bike to head back inside. You knew that you still had things to unpack and that pretty soon your furniture would pretty soon come in the next couple of days that were coming up, but it still felt like home with the stuff that already filled the house.

By the time that you walk inside with your hand in his, you make a beeline to your bedroom to crash onto your soft mattress, his weight making the bed dip a bit on the other side as he already starts to cuddle you on it. A quiet laugh escapes your lips as you turn to face him and you notice how his chocolate orbs seemed to sparkle even in the dark with the moonlight shining in through the window reflected off of them.

“I love you, Jeonghan,” You whispered quietly out of nowhere and smiled as he places a kiss on your forehead, however there was something that was on the other side of the wall that catches your eye before you could even hear him say the familiar three words back, “Wait, what is on the wall? Is that your fortune from the machine at the festival?”

Just seconds before he could even stop you from getting up, you were already up off of the mattress as you looked at the framed ticket and there was a gasp that left your lips as you finally realized what his ticket was that night. Rather than words that were scribed on the ticket like yours was, it was an image instead, one that had your face on it as you realize then that it was no coincidence that the machine was there that night.

So he knew that night that you were most likely going to be his soulmate by the end of the night.

“That’s me…” You breathed out quietly, feeling speechless as you knew that he was looking at you from where he must’ve been sitting on the mattress.

You turn around to confirm your thoughts as he nods in response, not saying as you went back to sit next to him on your bed as a breath of what seemed like relief while you leaned your head onto his shoulder.

“I didn’t want to tell you that night because I didn’t want to be too sure. It was still fair game, whether or not you had those fortunes and guides that led to me.” He says and you nodded before turning to face him, just in the split second where your faces were now just centimeters apart from one another’s.

“But I still somehow found my way to you, especially when I wished upon that flower at the festival. It almost didn’t make it, yet it still flew with the wind and led me to you. I think I was lucky that Wonwoo told me where you were so that I wouldn’t miss my shot and lose you.” You speak up and lean in just to place a soft kiss on his lips, one that you felt him kiss back against your on lips as a smile crosses on his face.

“I love you, Y/N, and I’ll make sure that fate and whatever stars that created our destiny sees that we’re meant to be.” He whispers quietly, placing one last kiss against your lips as you smile back at him when you both hook your marked pinkies together as a sign of the promise.

“Until the end.”

#fbts #seventeen imagines #seventeen scenarios #seventeen social media au #seventeen college au #soulmate!seventeen #soulmate!seventeen au #seventeen soulmate au #seventeen angst #seventeen fluff #yoon jeonghan #joshua hong #joshua imagines #joshua scenarios #jeonghan imagines #jeonghan scenarios

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hostess-of-horror · 3 years

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Danse Macabre

Finally! After so many days of writing, I have finally finished my biggest fanfic yet! It's another Phantom x Peach fanfic and it is a bit of a sequel to my previous one "Encore at Midnight". I had this really cool story concept for a little while and I felt like I just could not do anything else unless I write it down. It was a bit of an experiment since I had to do a little bit of research just to pull some things off (however, it is far from perfect, so please forgive me). Also, I have officially made some OCs for this fanfic, yay! Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy what I have created!

Number of Pages: 17

Word Count: 9358

[Content includes: Themes of Death/Mortality and Some Suggestiveness (not smut though!), OC “Death”, Graphic Body Horror, and Slight Profanity]

For @salamifuposey, @kindpopstar, @jawaii-chan, and everyone else who wants to read this fanfic!

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My Dearest Princess,

Forgive my absence these past few days. I have been preparing the final touches in my newest masterpiece, and I have been dying to show you what I have created. It is something I have not done before; consider it an experiment of sorts. My excitement cannot be contained any longer! Tonight, I invite you to a performance unlike anything you have seen before. I have arranged a carriage to arrive at your castle at around midnight. It will take you to Spooky Trails, where I have made refuge, and you will be accompanied along the way. She will be your guide, and I assure you she will not lead you astray. I pray you receive this letter and that you accept the invitation.

Your Humble Host,

---

Princess Peach reads and rereads the letter. So many questions run through her mind. What does he mean by “experiment”? What kind of performance will this be? And who is this guide? She looks up from the letter, and across from her is an unfamiliar face. Sitting across from her is a woman looking out of the carriage window, admiring the night sky. Or, at least it seems like she is, for the bright reflection on her tea shades completely covered her eyes. Her guide is abnormally slender and taller than her, however she could not tell exactly how much. Her alabaster skin pops in contrast of her dark attire, which consists of a frilly ivory blouse and high-low trail skirt, a velvet violet corset, leather pants, and a long onyx black coat embellished with jewels. Her frizzy, unkept silver hair is pulled up into two buns with small strands of hair shimmering like a diamond. Peach had never seen anyone quite like her before; it’s like she came from another world entirely. The guide turns her attention from the view towards Peach and smiles. Peach averts her eyes and looks towards the window – it was rude to stare, especially at a stranger. “So, you must be the one my master has been interested in all this time? He has told me so much about you.”, the guide spoke. Peach brings her attention back towards the guide. “I am, miss.”, she responds, “And, he has?”

“Oh yes! He is simply infatuated with you! I dare say, obsessed, even. And now that I have a chance to see you up close, I can definitely see why.”

“Infatuated is a good word to describe him. He has shown his affection quite often since our first reunion.”

“Has he now?”

“Mm-hmm. He’s been nothing but a gentleman towards me, even if he does get pretty… excitable from time to time.”

“Consider yourself lucky, your highness. Having an enthusiastic partner makes the relationship a lot more interesting!”

“Well, yes, I agree… I- um…”

“Is there something wrong?”

“Phantom and I have only met a little while now; almost a month I believe. I’m not sure if I want to start referring to him as my partner.”

“Just yet, you mean?”

“Oh, please don’t get me wrong, I do like him! I just like to… take things a little slow.”

“Ah, I see. I completely understand. You want to get to know him a little bit more before you make any decisions. A rather smart move on your part.”

“Exactly.”

“Don’t tell anyone this, but my master isn’t one to do such a thing. That is not to say he’s completely reckless, but whenever there’s something – or someone – he’s interested in, he becomes determined. Stubborn even. And personally, it is not his best quality sometimes. It makes him look like a moron. A blind one at that.”

“I guess you can say he becomes inspired. Phantom is an artist, after all. Art is meant to invoke emotion, no matter the medium. It would make sense that he himself is the same way.”

“Insightful! And right you are.”

“Not to mention, Phantom is an opera singer. Opera, of course, is highly emotional and very dramatic, and so is he.”

“That too. I know this might be a personal question, but your first reunion with my master…”

“Yes?”

“What happened that night? I ask because I remember seeing him wallowing in shame after his trip over to the Mushroom Kingdom. When he returned, he threw himself onto his fainting couch, murmuring curses, almost about to cry.”

“Oh my! Well, Phantom was in the ballroom inside my castle that night. He was singing this beautiful melody. When I found him, we talked for a bit and discovered we both have something in common.”

“And what would that be?”

“Companionship.”

“Ah…”

“As we talked, he told me about his life after that battle at Spooky Trails a few years ago. He was so lonely, unable to find friends to call his own. Soon he became… anxious. I cannot describe exactly what came over him, but it was obvious he was in pain. Then, his eyes turned red, and suddenly darkness. I fainted.”

The guide stares at Peach, her mouth slightly agape. Although her tea shades cover her eyes, her expression is readable. It is a look of shock – that look of knowing exactly what had just happened with Phantom on that very night. She sighs, “I see. That is not the first time he has done that. My master can be terrifying when he has his moments.”

“Everything was just so overwhelming. I was scared, yes, but afterwards I was more concerned of his well-being. I cannot bear to see someone in pain; being alone can take a toll on anyone… Oh, that poor thing! He must’ve thought that he harmed me when I fainted!” Peach exclaimed. Silence takes over the conversation. Peach’s eyes wander towards the carriage floor while the guide’s attention never breaks. Her eyebrows furrowed, Peach fidgets with her gloves. The guide adjusts her position, leaning over towards the worried princess. She reaches out and holds her hand; Peach stops fidgeting. “I’m glad that you care about him, your highness. Very few do.” she gently smiles, “There have been many times I believed that the only people who care about him is me and the others.”

“The others?”, Peach asks.

“The rest of my master’s theatre troupe. Just like him, we are all one with music.”

“…may I ask what is your name?

“My name? Oh-! my name, how could I forget my manners? How rude of me! I am Dolores, your highness.”

“And if I may ask as well, if you don’t mind, where do you come from?”

Before Dolores has a chance to answer, a flash of shadows sped by the carriage. Dolores motions towards the window, her head peeking out, looking over the view. Her pearl white teeth shows as she grins from ear to ear. “We’re almost there! Ah, soon you will experience the greatest show yet, Princess Peach!”, she exclaims with glee. Peach takes a look at her window. Memories flooded her mind like a rushing river coursing through the barren earth. Spooky Trails.She remembers now; it was all coming back to her. This was all leading to the very location where her battle with Phantom took place. She, alongside Mario, Luigi, and a few Rabbids, witnessed Phantom’s creation and fought him as he flaunted about on the old, decrepit stage. To think, he was an almost entirely different person. Phantom wasn’t as gentlemanly as he is as of recently, but since their first reunion, he has been wanting things to change.

He wants her. Her heart. Her soul. Her beauty. Everything.

To think it has come to this. To think the princess, who has been known for being saved by her plumber in shining armor and being in love with him, would fall for such a character. But has she truly fallen for Phantom? Or is it all just nonsense? If it was just nonsense, then why would she accept the invitation? Peach takes in the environment as the carriage rolls across the cobblestone path, driving through the dead trees and the old, seemingly abandoned village. Despite having never returned after the battle, Peach regains her memories of Spooky Trails, almost to the point of knowing exactly where Phantom resides. Dolores returns to her position, her shining grin still on her face. Peach turns her attention back at Dolores and asks, “What was the inspiration behind this performance?”

“I would tell you, but it would ruin the surprise! My master has ordered all of us to never reveal his masterpiece until it is time.” Dolores answers.

“Oh…”

“All I can say is that this is no ordinary performance. My master is quite the visionary, you know!”

“Very well, then. I won’t ask any more questions, if it’s going to ruin the surprise.”

“Are you excited, your highness?”

“Of course! Why wouldn’t I be? It’s not often that I get invited to such events.”

“Really? But you’re royalty! I thought you would be invited to all sorts of performances.”

“I do, but it just doesn’t happen that often, and I honestly don’t know why. I adore the theater!”

“We all do too. Our lifestyle is nothing but the theater… quite literally!”

“Gosh, that must be so wonderful, to be part of a theatre troupe. To perform for all to see, to entertain others through amazing plays! I’ve always wished to join when I was a little girl.”

“Oh! Would you look at that! We’ve finally arrived!”

After what it seemed like more than an hour, the carriage, at long last, finally stops. Dolores gets up from her seat, slowly crawling her way out of the carriage. Her elongated body almost struggles through the small door, but she succeeds with grace. She then offers her hand to Peach with a softer smile, “Your midnight show awaits, Princess Peach…” Taking Dolores’ hand, Peach steps out of the carriage and immediately she is greeted by a massive silver gate. The very gate that stands guard the entrance to Phantom’s stage. It is beautifully sculpted, shaped into swirls and patterns holding up an illuminating full moon, with two music notes placed on each side as the borders. Yes, Peach remembers now. Dolores walks up to the gate and peers through it. She waves at something or something – Peach could not tell – and opens it, allowing themselves to enter. Peach follows behind. She didn’t know how tall Dolores was when they were in the carriage, but now she could get a good look at her stature. Dolores was tall – taller than any human she has ever seen before. If Peach could guess, her guide was three to four (maybe five!)feet taller than her and was practically towering over her. Ever since they met, she had this feeling of uneasiness. Who is this woman? What is this woman? Where did she come from? So many questions. There was something off about Dolores, and it wasn’t necessarily her abnormal physique. There was something, but Peach couldn’t put her finger on it. Whatever it was…. Perhaps she doesn’t need to worry too much about it.

Approaching the decrepit stage, the two ladies are met by a small man wielding a large, glowing lantern. This man is the opposite of Dolores in terms of height and physique. He is a short and stout dwarf, donning a regal yellow robe over his slightly mismatched clothes. The light emanating from the lantern reveals his nicely trimmed beard, his long, curly chocolate brown hair tied back into a ponytail, his fluorescent amber eyes giving them a warm welcome. His smile grew bigger once Dolores waves again; he waves back. “Dolores, there you are! And you brought our special guest! Wunderbar! It is a pleasure to meet you, eure hoheit.”, the dwarf greets them, bowing in courtesy. “Are the others ready, Stefan?”, Dolores asks.

“We’ve been ready for a while now. Just making sure everything is perfect for tonight.”

“And what about our master?”

“He will not show his face. In fact, he wants me to tell you that no one must see him until he has shown himself to us all.”

“Ah, well that makes things interesting.”

“I agree. Anyway, enough chit chat! Let us proceed! We must not keep our master’s little freundin waiting.”

“Por favor, Stefan! Don’t tease… that’s my job.”

Stefan chuckles as he ushers them to go into the stage. Dolores follows Stefan, and Peach follows Dolores. They all walk deeper through the torn platform and dusty curtains. Damaged props, broken wires, hanging ropes, and mangy fabrics scatter the place. The further deeper they went, the larger the backstage seems to be. Peach looks in awe as she continues to follow her guides. Who knew that this abandoned stage held such secrets? After a few minutes of walking, Stefan places his lantern on the floor, lighting up the entire floor, and begins to crawl on his hands and knees. His fingers trace the nooks and crannies of the floorboards, mumbling to himself. He searches until he finds a small hole and grabs it. The hole turns out to be a handle, and Stefan pulls and lifts up the floorboards. He reveals a decent sized door leading to a much darker pathway – a long stone stairway stretching far into a secret tunnel. Stefan’s lantern gave light to the darkness, making the trip down into the underground refuge much less intimidating. Dolores holds Peach’s hand as they go down the stairs. This was such an odd way of attending a performance. Peach could not imagine what kind of performance involves having to venture underground in order to see it. What could she possibly expect from all of this? Part of her mind began screaming for help, pleading to go back to the Mushroom Kingdom. Part of her mind wanted normalcy, no surprises. It wanted her to stop and return to her chamber, to her castle, to Mario and her friends. However, the other part was curious. It was that familiar curiosity – the same curiosity she had when first reunited with Phantom. She could never forget that night. Never in a lifetime. Everything about him, whether it be music or shadow, is just so…. Alluring.

Alluring… Beguiling… Captivating… Enchanting…

Her mind finally gives in. She goes for the latter. How could she not? She has ventured too deep into this tunnel to start leaving. For once, she is able to take a break from her royal duties. To forget her troubles. To finally experience something new. For once. As for curiosity, she was more concerned about Phantom. Why would he not allow anyone to see him? Of course, it must be for the performance, but what exactly does Phantom have in store? The more Peach thought about him, the more impatient she became. Phantom. Oh, where are you, Phantom? Her mind falls into that familiar trance. She wants to see him again. She wants to hear him again. Perhaps Peach has become just as obsessed as he is with her. This must be an addiction. It must be. If it wasn’t, then she would never be where she is right now. Whether it be curiosity, obsession, or madness, Peach will continue to walk into shadow if it meant she will meet her friend again. Stefan, Dolores, and Peach finally reach the end of the tunnel, finding a wooden door decorated with gold etchings, which looked out of place amongst the cobweb-shrouded stone walls. With a strong push, Stefan enters through, allowing the door to creak wide open. Behind the door is a humongous hallway, adorned from wall to wall with a vast multitude of paintings, flyers and posters of plays and musicals, candles, and curtains. To think a dusty tunnel would lead to a beautiful makeshift palace! It’s like discovering a treasure chest inside of a dank, murky swamp. Is this where Phantom was residing all these years? Peach gasps. Dolores turns around and smiles, “Welcome to our humble abode, your highness. In this place, music is our lifeforce. We eat, we drink, we breathe, we sleep in music. Just like our master, we are not only creators of art – we are art itself. And tonight, we shall once again breathe life into another masterpiece. I cannot describe how immensely happy we all are. We are so glad that you accepted our master’s invitation, you will not regret it! Now, come along with me, let us go into the Ladies’ Dressing Room. Natasha has designed a wonderful costume for you to wear, and Ophelia will help you with your hair and makeup. I assure you they will make you absolutely gorgeous. Of course, that is not to say you’re not already beautiful.”

Stefan leaves the two ladies and heads towards the Gentlemen’s Dressing Room, which is across from the Ladies’ Dressing Room to the left, placing the lantern onto an iron hook built into the wall. “Well, I’m going to get myself ready and meet up with the others. I’ll see you all at the Gallery! Bis bald!”, he says as he closes the door. Dolores enters through the door to the right and holds it open for Peach to walk into the room. There sitting inside are twin sisters, both garbed in fine, flowy silk and chiffon gowns, working on their latest projects. To the left is a somber young lady sitting near a vanity, dressed all in Aegean and periwinkle blue, her pale pink hair intertwined into exquisite dreadlocks that reaches down to her shoulders. Wrapped around her head is a flower crown composed of lavender, Baby’s Breath, Fairy Foxgloves, and Forget-Me-Nots. To the right is a cheery young lady wearing a similar gown but in shades of fuchsia and rose, checking over the details of an extravagant costume, which is porcelain and peach in color. Her pale blue hair is also made of dreadlocks, as well as composed with the same flowers with the addition of small vines, but is pinned up into a lovely cornrow braided bun. The twin in pink looks up from her work and gasps, “Dolores, you’re back! And the princess is here! Ophelia, look! They’re here!” Ophelia turns around, her saddened expression softening into a weak smile, “Oh, hello again. And it’s nice to finally meet you, your highness.”

Dolores greets them back, turning her attention back to Natasha’s project, “Is the costume ready?”

“Yes, it is! I was just making sure everything’s perfect!”

“It looks amazing! Buen Trabajo!”

“Aww, thank you!”

“Alright, now we must hurry. I need to be in costume. I’ll meet you all in the Gallery, and don’t dottle please.”

“Don’t worry, Dolores, we’ll be ready as soon as possible.”

Dolores leaves Peach with Natasha and Ophelia, entering through a darkened room to get ready for the performance. Once she leaves, Peach witnesses what is perhaps the most amazing thing she has ever seen. The speed in which Natasha and Ophelia got her ready for the performance was astounding. What should have lasted for about a few hours or so ended up lasted for a few mere minutes! No human possesses this level of speed, especially with makeup. Any makeup artist would take their time getting every detail right. There would be no possible way anyone could apply eyeshadow, eyeliner, blush, concealer, lipstick, and every other detail really fast without messing up. But Ophelia proved that such an ability was possible. Natasha was no different. She helped Peach get into the extravagant costume without any struggle at all, as it fit perfectly onto her frame. How did she get her size just right? And it’s so comfortable too! “And… done! Oh, look at you! You are just beautiful, your highness! Don’t you think so, Ophelia?”, Natasha exclaims happily, proud of her job well done. “Oh yes, I agree…”, Ophelia smiles weakly again. Peach looks over to a nearby mirror. They were right; she is beautiful. Perhaps even more so, she thinks to herself, for she had never worn anything like this before. It is true that, being of royal blood, she is accustomed to an extremely elaborate (and expensive) wardrobe. But this… this is different from any other dress. It is a ballroom gown, completely encrusted with diamonds and pearls, with lovely black roses making a long trail from her waist down to the skirt. The white skirt is massive, flowing down towards the floor like a mass of billowing fog. Her shoulders and bosom are exposed completely, giving room for a glistening choker made of the same jewels. Her hair is done up in a high bun, lightly sprinkled with silver glitter, and tied together with another black rose.

She looks heavenly. Like an angel.

With everything all set and done, Natasha and Dolores begin preparing themselves. As they do, Ophelia pauses for a moment. “Oh, your highness! I almost forgot something. Before we go, our master wanted me to give you this.”, Ophelia says, handing her a small card. It reads: For the Princess. Before heading back to primp herself, her expression slowly turns gloomy, barely keeping up with her smile, “You are so lucky to be chosen…” Peach turns over the card as she waits for the twins to get ready and continues to read:

Tonight’s performance is a one-of-a-kind experience. You, my dear, will not only be the audience, but also part of the story! Everything and everyone around you will be interactive, so please do not be shy. Converse with your newly found friends! Eat, drink, dance with your heart’s content! And please, do not wait for me. I hope you enjoy my masterpiece.

- P

Ah ha! So, this is what Phantom’s performance is! It is a role-playing experience, and based on what the card says, it must be a party he’s hosting. What delightful news! Although, Peach must admit that she has never role-played before, especially in something like this. But wait – didn’t she say to Dolores earlier that being part of the theatre was her childhood dream? Perhaps this is the perfect opportunity to try out her acting skills! Peach beams. She could not believe Phantom would make something like this. Whatever this role-playing party entails, she thinks to herself, she’s going to do the best she can. “We’re ready!” Natasha exclaims in a sing-song tone, “Are you ready, Ophelia?” Ophelia nods. Natasha excitedly takes both her and Peach’s hands, leading them out of the Ladies’ Dressing Room and into the Gallery. Peach almost could not keep up with the twins, for they have remarkable speed, as shown by their natural talents on makeup and costuming. How fast can could they possible go? If this is how fast they can walk, then how fast can they run? Natasha’s ecstatic giggling echoes through the hallway, and with every step they take, the upbeat tempo of music could be heard from behind the Gallery doors. The closer they went, the louder it became. The melody drifts in the air like a calm perfume for the ears, capturing Peach’s attention with its harmonious essence. A delicious delicacy for the senses. Just like Phantom’s voice. He must have composed this melody, for there is no way Peach could have been so immersed and entranced by its sound if it wasn’t. The three ladies approach the Gallery doors, the music muffled behind them. Natasha takes a glance back at Peach and Ophelia, unable to contain her excitement anymore.

She pushes the doors wide open.

What words could possibly describe the sheer extravagance of the Gallery? To think that all of this is completely underground! To think Phantom created this gargantuan chamber, big enough for him and perhaps one hundred guests! Maybe even more than that. Peach could tell, just by admiring the Gallery, Phantom is quite the fan of marble, silver, and velvet. Marble floors and pillars framing the chamber and silver-framed mirrors and portraits decorate the walls. Deep black velvet curtains cascade from the middle of the ceiling and down towards the floor, giving the appearance of one massive Bohemian tent. In the middle hangs a glamourous jeweled chandelier, giving a dim light to the darkness. Looking around, Peach notices there are seven rooms divided by the curtains, each one color-coded, with three rooms on both towards the left and right. To the left are the colors blue, purple, and green, and to the right are orange, white, and violet. The seventh room is located right in front of the ladies, right across from the Gallery entrance. Inside is completely shrouded in shades of red – wine, scarlet, crimson, garnet – and there sits in a shiny throne a crowned gentleman – a prince – with a glass of Amontillado in his hand. His wavy, champagne blonde hair falls delicately around his party mask and square facial structure. His rosy lips gently purse as he raises his glass to drink. He is accompanied by two other women, who are garbed to the nines in the richest finery, blushing and laughing amongst themselves. Every now and then, the prince would turn to one of them and whisper in their ear, making their faces turn into deeper shades of red. As Peach follows Natasha and Ophelia, she finds more guests, all conversing amongst one another in the color-coded rooms. The costumes they wear are vibrant in color and theme, ranging from jesters, to creatures, to knights, to fairies and pixies. These guests, including the prince himself, must all be part of Phantom’s theatre troupe. Peach begins to count: one… two… four… six… nine… eleven. Eleven members of the troupe. She wonders if there are any more, considering how large the Gallery is.

The prince turns his attention suddenly towards Peach, and so do the two women. Soon, almost everyone begins to stop for a moment and do the same. Simultaneously, Natasha and Ophelia bow, gesturing to Peach, “My Lord, we have brought you your special guest, Princess Morrigan of the Stygian Border.” The prince sets down his glass on a nearby silver platter, and stands right up from his throne, adjusting his vest and coat. “C’est magnifique, my loyal subjects! Now the masquerade can truly begin! Come, come! The night is young, gather around everyone! Let us celebrate all of our blessings and forget our grievances!” he declared, “May we prosper in these trying times, and may we never run out of wine to drink.” The crowd laughs and cheers, some of them raising their own glasses. He turns to Peach, his eyes wandering up and down, and smirks, “My, my… Enchantee, your highness. I must say, you look… ravishing tonight. I am Prince Fortunato, at your service. Why don’t you join me, my dear, in the Red Room? Surely, we can have some… fun together, what do you say?” Greeting her, Prince Fortunato places a soft kiss on her hand, his emerald eyes admiring her beauty. Or perhaps something else. Although Peach has to be polite, she immediately had no interest in him. Too cocky, she thinks to herself, too full of himself. It reminds her too much of Bowser. Then again, Phantom was that way, too, at least in the past. But she learned that he was not licentious. He never looked anywhere else but into her eyes. He never searched for anything other than her eyes. He ever seemed like he was after a particular goal other than seeing her whenever they meet. That is the one thing Peach was sure about. Ah, but remember! This is only roleplay; nothing is real. Prince Fortunato, as well as everyone else, is only pretending. In that case, this gentleman is an excellent actor!

Prince Fortunato leads Peach back to his throne, the two women still standing to accompany him. Envy fills the air. Their expressions turn sour as they watch Peach get even more attention than them. Peach could already tell that this is no ordinary masquerade. She has been to many royal revelries throughout her life, and all of them were filled to the brim with sophistication. Every guest, staff member, and host had class – anything that was considered less than classy wasn’t allowed. This masquerade is different in terms of the usual standards of hosting such parties. It was as eccentric as its Gothic décor, consisting of tables filled with silver platters of fruits, meats, bread, and desserts, goblets of beverages, and candles. Every once and a while, a few guests would stuff themselves and each other with this feast, disregarding etiquette for sheer pleasure. Peach isn’t used to the cacophony of this kind of merrymaking. All of this was nothing but pure, unadulterated debauchery – something she was taught never to delve into. She is a princess, after all, and princesses never do those sorts of things. However, did she not accept the invitation to let herself loose? Did she not agree to join this performance – this masquerade – to experience something new for once? For once? Feeling out of place just standing idle amongst Prince Fortunato and the guests, Peach goes over to one of the tables and picks at a plate of grapes. She watches as the guests gather around Natasha and Ophelia in one huge circle, clapping to the music’s rhythm as they frolic together. The fabrics of their dresses fly with their movements as if they were colorful wings dancing in the darkness. As she plops the grapes delicately into her mouth, her eyes continue to wander over the décor. Suddenly, she stops at a grim sight. There as the centerpiece sits three skulls, two of them from a different species, ones Peach isn’t familiar with. The skull placed in the middle, however, is human. She could not tell if these skulls were real. She hopes they aren’t real. Taking a closer look, an engraving is found on its forehead: Ars longa, vita brevis.

Without warning, the Gallery doors burst open! The music stops – the crowd jumps in surprise! Prince Fortunato rises to his feet, alarmed by this sudden interruption. Peach turns around. There standing in the doorway is an aged peasant woman in old, torn rags, her hair glowing bright red like a burning inferno. Her complexion is dirtied, her makeup is smudged, her eyes red-hot with fury. She scowls as she approaches the partygoers, her hands clenched as if she is about to attack. “For shame!Have you no shame?!” the peasant chants, flailing her arms with rage, “Have you no compassion for your people?! The plague lays waste throughout the land! And yet, here you are, surrounding yourself with wealth and whores! They are suffering! They are dying! There is no hope for us! For shame! For shame! Have you no shame?!” Peach watches as everyone else steps back, avoiding her filthy presence. Twelve. Twelve members in Phantom’s theatre troupe. Prince Fortunato steps forward, confronting her, “Who dares… who dares interrupts us?! Who dares trespass Fort Fortunato and speak against the Crown?!”

“It is your undoing that dares enter your home! This, all of this, will be your downfall!” she responds back angerly, gesturing to the masquerade.

“Leave this instant, or else I’ll have your head for this!”

“I have seen it, Prince Fortunato! I have seen your fate in the deepest of dreams! Doom is upon you all!”

“Ah, it’s one of those so-called soothsayers my people love so much… how lovely. They love having their fortunes told, don’t they? Superstitions and all that. Hmmm. Well, in that case, go on. Amuse us with your… dreams and visions, fortune teller. We do love to be entertained.”

“It will come, Prince Fortunato, in retribution of your indulgences. You and your party may hide all you want; it will still find you! Mortals cannot escape from what is inevitable. In the end, it shall visit us when our time comes… and your time is nigh.”

“Qu’est-ce que tu racontes? What is this ‘it’ you’re talking about? Whatever ‘it’ is, I am sure it will not ruin this masquerade. Princess, do you hear all this? She’s simply mad!”

“Our time is nigh!”

“Tu es timbre!”

“For shame! For shame!”

“Quitter cet endroit!”

“Have you no shame?!”

The peasant stops. Her eyes shift towards Peach. A look of horror falls upon her face. “You…”, she whispers, slowly raising a pointed finger at her. Peach watches as she approaches her, still pointing, terrified. Her expression contorts as if she is studying, searching for something. “You… are to be Death’s Bride… Yes! You are Death’s Bride!” she exclaims, falling to her knees, clutching Peach’s skirt, “Oh, you poor soul! So young… innocent… all to be swept by its dark embrace! I beg of you, your highness, leave this place! Forget these fools! Forget all of this! Save yourself!” With a swift grab, Prince Fortunato pulls the peasant away by the shoulder and pushes her aside. “Unhand her this instant! You trespass my fortress, you waste our time with your superstitions, and now you insult me and my guests?” he yells, “Everyone! Let us show this insolent wretch what it means to insult those higher than her! Bring me a chair! Bring me some rope! Let’s play a game with her, shall we?” Peach could not believe it. A prince sacrificing the well-being of his people for an elaborate masquerade! And now, he and the other guests have decided to torture this poor woman! She cannot stay silent any longer – she must act! “Wait!” Peach cries, making everyone stop in unison, “Have mercy on her! Please!” Prince Fortunato scoffs in amusement, “Why, and for what? She insulted us, you heard her!”

“Yes, but none of that would have happened if you attended to your royal duties as Prince and took care of your people!”

“E-excusez-moi?”

“This poor woman is in dire need of assistance, and you have all the wealth to help her! Maybe you should consider.”

“Ha! My dear, you jest! I have no need for peasants! Why should I dabble in their affairs?”

“Because their affairs are yours as well. They have relied on you for so long, and you rely on them. Without your people, you’re done for!”

“Do you not see the extravagance of this masquerade? The bountiful feasts presented on the tables? Our costumes? The wine in our glasses? I am rich, Princess Morrigan! Wealthy beyond imagination!”

“Wealth that came from people like her! Please, my Lord, have mercy.”

“Are you mad? Ha, you must be! Just as mad as the fortune teller!”

“If I am as mad as her, then I must be! Yes, that’s it! Perhaps your foolishness is just another wild hallucination, for what respectable royalty spoils themselves to the point of gluttony and greed?”

A crowd of gasps shatter the silence. The crowd glance at Peach, then at the prince, then back at her, awaiting another response. Prince Fortunato stands silent, completely stunned by her audacity. His face becomes flushed, his teeth gritting, his emerald eyes bright with anger. His fists clench. “Oh…. I’m a fool, am I? Am I a fool?! I am not a fool! I am Prince Fortunato, the next in line! Heir to the throne! I am as respectable as royalty can be!” he furiously shouts, “I will not be insulted like this! I will not be degraded like this! I need not your judgment, or hers, or anyone else’s! I am no fool, do you hear me? I am not a fool! I am a Prince, full of riches and beauty! I am perfect! I am powerful! I am untouchable! You think I’m a fool? You call me a fool, eh? Ha ha! Well then, let me entertain you all! Come, gather around, my lovely guests! Let me show you what a true fool really is!” With a whip of his cape, Prince Fortunato rushes from the crowd and goes behind the throne. Everyone watches as he switches his coat and cape with another coat and removes his crown with another accessory. In a matter of seconds, he reappears, this time donning a shiny blue coat and a mask in the shape of a rabbit’s face. Raising his arms, he presents his new costume to the crowd, “Here! Here! I am now a fool! But Prince Fortunato? Oh no, no, no! He is no fool! You imbeciles! He is a national treasure!” Has Prince Fortunato finally lost his sanity? What could he possibly gain from this? Peach is stunned, as much as the rest of the others. However, she is not as terrified as everyone else. She sees Natasha and Ophelia cradling each other, comforting one another despite both being in distress. She sees Stefan in costume backing away, almost seeming to run away and hide somewhere safe. She sees Dolores frozen in utter fear.

Peach remembers what she had said: “My master can be terrifying when he has his moments.”

No one could help but watch as Prince Fortunato danced along the ballroom floor, singing random songs in a mocking fashion. He flails his arms, waving his hands wildly as if no one is watching him. Is this even part of the roleplay? This moment feels too spontaneous to even be scripted. Peach could not imagine Phantom having his own theatre troupe mock him, regardless of whether or not it would be intentional. Whoever is playing Prince Fortunato must truly be a fool. Prince Fortunato sings in a sardonic tone:

🎶“Look at me!

Watch me float and gloat and show off my coat!

Watch me as I sing about plumbers – oh, how I hate them!

I hate them so much, oh what a bummer!

Watch me as I make sweet, sweet love to my precious spotlight

Under the moonlight!”🎶

Although the song is less than perfect, Peach admits to herself: he has an amazing singing voice! And he sings opera, just like his master! She wonders if all of the members of the theatre troupe can sing as well. Ah, no! Enough of that! Don’t get distracted now! As he sings, Prince Fortunato runs and leaps onto a nearby table, knocking over huge plates of food, skulls, and candles on the floor. Everyone else watches as he spins and taps his feet on the table, his arms still flailing around. No one in the theatre troupe tries to stop him – they’re all too shocked and afraid to even do so. They did not want to get involved in such mockery. Peach could. However, what would happen if she did? As much as she would like to stop him, she just couldn’t. For whatever reason, whether it be out of shock, or out of fear, or out of curiosity, she did not move at all. Still, the Prince continues:

🎶“Imbecile, imbecile, imbecile!

Everyone’s an imbecile but me!

Listen to me, listen to me!

My ego is as big as it can be!

Come, my Princess, marry me please

Or else I’ll cry, cry, cry!”🎶

Then, the sudden drone of a large bell rings! It brings everyone into a hush, sending an immense chill down their spine. No one moves. The drone continues. And continues. And continues. Is this what the peasant woman was talking about? The impending doom that is to fall upon this masquerade? The fate of everyone who stands here on this very night? This inevitability that will claim those who still walk on this earth? Whatever is coming for them… has arrived to make its debut.

The Gallery doors creak open. Seeping through the entrance is a cloud of fog, billowing across the floor like a massive white sheet. It surrounds everyone, almost rising up to their knees, and soon the entire chamber is filled to the brim with gloom. Prince Fortunato finally steps down, his eyes staring in fear at the entrance, and retreats behind Peach. As fate approaches them, soft murmurs of terror arise from the crowd. One by one, each and every actor and actress trembles in anticipation. Peach awaits as well, but more out of curiosity than the shock of terror. This feeling; she remembers it all too well. She has to know what happens next. She has to know what kind of resolution this entire roleplay performance is coming to. Although the resolution is frightening, it was the satisfaction of discovery that keeps her within the Gallery. She will not leave. Fear will not take over. Only curiosity. Only awe and wonder. Only fascination.

And lo and behold, there stands the face of Death in his newest and blackest masterpiece.

He stands tall, bejeweled and shrouded in crimson, emerging from behind the murky darkness. The sheer size of him is intimidating enough, but the opulence in which he had adorned himself gives him an almost divine presence in the masquerade. Out of all the costumes Peach has seen, this one is more magnificent – more vibrant and elaborate – than the rest. Blood red veils cascade down from his large cavalier hat and alongside his cape. His vest a skeletal ribcage, patterns of bones scatter his scarlet greatcoat, and in his paws is a colossal gold cane. Hidden underneath the shadow of his hat is a golden mask, formed into the shape of a skull. Everyone slowly backs away as this masked red-clad stranger approaches them. But not Peach. Instead, she stays, completely in awe. She has become too enamored by his Gothic glamour to even be remotely scared. Finally. After so many days, they finally meet once again. She could see his sapphire eyes peering through and meeting hers with a sign of notice. He stops for a moment. That look… that tender gaze! Although they had only met for a little while before this moment, Peach confesses to herself: she could never have enough of those bright eyes. Those gleaming sapphire eyes. Even through that skull mask of his, she could stare into them all night long.

Alluring… Beguiling… Captivating… Enchanting…

Phantom shifts his attention to Prince Fortunato, his eyes wide with fury. The partygoers cower as he floats over to the foolish prince, towering over him as he looks down. Prince Fortunato scrambles, quickly taking off his blue coat and rabbit mask, full of sweat, almost hyperventilating. His face is revealed with a terrified expression. His eyes look up at Phantom, awaiting whatever fate – whatever punishment – shall bestow upon him. Phantom twists his cane and slowly he pulls it apart, revealing it to be a scabbard with a long, sharp sword inside it. Peach gasps as he unsheathes his weapon, raises it up in the air, and points it down at a quivering Prince Fortunato. “Please, monsieur!” Prince Fortunato gasps and swallows, “Spare me! It was only a mere jest! I was only having some fun entertaining my guests! I-I am the host, after all! Monsieur, please… Have mercy…!” Everyone watches in horror as he pleads for forgiveness. Phantom takes in a deep breathe; music begins to play again. It is in minor key, deep and dramatic – the orchestral equivalent to an imposing force. Peach holds her breath. Finally. With a smooth, baritone voice, Phantom sings his haunting solo:

🎶“Fortunato!

Surrender to me,

Look upon the face of Death!

It is meant to be,

Now savor your last breath!

Fortunato!

Your time has come at last,

Take your final drink of wine!

For your sins in the past,

Oh Prince, your soul will be mine!”🎶

“No!” the prince cries out, “You cannot take me! I will not let you! My guests need me! My people need me!” What hypocrisy! What foolishness! Peach watches intently. What is going to happen next? Will this masked presence spare Prince Fortunato? Will Prince Fortunato’s mockery be forgiven? She anticipates what comes next, whatever that may be. But although she tries to expect the unexpected, there is one thing she is certain about: the masquerade was doomed from the very beginning. Phantom lowers his sword, just by an inch, almost as if in contemplation. A few moments of silence passes. Everyone watches him in anticipation. Peach. Prince Fortunato. Dolores, Stefan, Natasha and Ophelia. Everyone. Anticipating. Anticipating. Anticipating.

Phantom smirks, letting out a soft chuckle. His sword lowers even more, and finally inserts it back into the scabbard. A sigh of relief fills the Gallery…

Then sudden horror! It happened so swiftly. So much so that if one were to blink at that moment, they would miss it completely. A scream pierces the silence! It was Prince Fortunato, now on the floor collapsed to his knees! He screams in agony as his covers his face! Phantom had made a sharp wave of his hand, almost as if he were to slap him across the face. But no! It was much, much worse. A terrible fate had fell upon the prince.

Blood…!

Oozing from his face is a gush of crimson blood! His eye sockets, his nostrils, his mouth, his pores – all drenched in blood! Horrid blemishes begin appearing on his flesh, leaving opened, pus-filled wounds as they pop one by one! Tears and yellow fluids mix with the blood, staining the floor with a pool of secretions! And the screams! Oh, the screams! Prince Fortunato tries to hide his face once more, only to find that it hurts too much! His hands pull away from his face – and, oh God! His flesh, his flesh – it is rotting away! What was once the pristine beauty of a spoiled, gluttonous prince is now the face of nightmares. He coughs and chokes; he cannot scream anymore – blood has filled his throat! He falls onto the floor, panicking, suffering! To think that this is what his people had to endure while no one was there to save their lives. With eyes stained with tears and blood, he rushes over to his guests and reaches for help, but in vain, for who could ever touch a diseased man? With a final cry of fear, Prince Fortunato falls. There lays on the floor is a twitching corpse, the face mutilated by the worst of illnesses…

This display of gore puts the guests into a state of frenzied panic! More screams and sobs fill the Gallery, as well as the sound of footsteps running and chairs and tables knocked over. If they don’t do something, Phantom will come after them next! Anything to get away from this face of Death. Chaos ensues! All except for Peach. Peach stands still amongst the disorder of the partygoers. Her widened eyes are fixated on Phantom. Is it shock? Is it fear? Is it something else entirely? Of course, anybody would be frightened by the sheer grotesqueness of the prince’s death and the possibility of meeting the same fate. But strangely, it seems to not bother Peach at all, almost as if she isn’t aware of the situation. Perhaps she is still mesmerized by Phantom’s extravagant appearance? Perhaps she is somehow desensitized? Whatever is going on, Peach still remains, as well as the peasant woman. The two ladies stare as Phantom slowly turns to watch over the terrified crowd. He observes the scene quietly. All in unison, the panicked guests rush toward the Gallery doors. With a wave of his hand, he blocks the entrance, slamming it tightly shut. Ophelia throws herself on the doors, slamming her fists frantically, “Open the doors! Open the doors! Oh please, open the doors!” Everyone begins to do the same. But alas, their attempts of escape are futile, for their master – the Red Death – had already claimed their souls. Once again, Phantom sings:

🎶“Crowned with privilege and villainous

Bathe in the blood of your wickedness

Tonight, retribution is at hand

For this masquerade shall be damned

Mask yourselves to hide your shame

But in the end, they know your name

Into the earth, your corpses will sink

May your blood be the wine they drink…”🎶

And one by one, each guest fell, forming a massive pile of bloodied bodies in front of the entrance. Peach takes in what had just happened. She had never seen something so macabre before. Roleplay, she thinks to herself, this is all just roleplay. This is all just pretend. No one is hurt. They are all just acting. This is all just roleplay. But by the stars, it looks so… real! There is blood everywhere. Not just the red pool on the floor, but also smeared handprints on the doors too. How did Phantom do all of this? This must have taken so much effort and hard work to even pull off such a remarkably gory scene! Peach couldn’t help but wonder what exactly went through Phantom’s mind when making this performance. This was something she never expected, let alone how absolutely graphic it was going to be. But regardless, the entirety of the roleplay screamed Phantom. It was bold. Dramatic. A complete subversion from a usual masterpiece. There was grandeur, there was beauty, there was mystery, there was tension. Then finally the payoff – an act of karma against the avaricious Prince Fortunato and his hedonistic friends. Now only she and the peasant woman are left. Peach cannot imagine what this powerful reaper is going to do next. Ah, no – she suddenly remembers!

Death’s Bride. She is to be Death’s Bride…

Her thoughts are interrupted by another cry, this time from the peasant woman. She turns to find Phantom approaching her, his hand lifting up to claim another soul. But why must the good die? Death is inevitable, it is true. Life is short. Peach knew this. But what did this poor woman do to deserve such a fate? Why do bad things happen to good people? Perhaps it is meant to be, just like what Phantom said. Roleplay. It is all just roleplay. Should she stand by and let things take its course? Or maybe… what could she do? Roleplay…. Ah, of course! Peach dashes over and stands in between them. “Wait!” she says, defending the peasant woman, “Have mercy on her!” Phantom pauses, taken by surprise for a moment, but then resumes in character. “Young or old, poor or rich… Death waits for no one. Her time has come.” Phantom calmly responds, his voice low. “Can you at least give her enough time to live another day? Can you see she has suffered enough? Please, I beg of you.” Peach pleads.

“You stand in front of the face of Death… and yet you are not frightened. Are you… not afraid of me?”

“I do not fear what is inevitable. I just want to give her another chance.”

“Such compassion… and all of this for a stranger. However, as painful as it may be, you cannot persuade me to spare her.”

“If that is not enough, then I will offer a gift to you.”

“And what is this gift you speak of?”

“For this woman’s life, I offer you myself. You can have my soul. You can have everything, all of me, and I will not refuse you.”

Phantom is rendered speechless, despite staying in character. Do his ears deceive him? No, it couldn’t be. It couldn’t possibly be! Deep down inside, he could not believe what Peach had just said. He watches as Peach ushers the peasant woman to flee the masquerade, and so she does, retreating to a small secret entrance hidden by the large curtains. Silence. As much as he tries, Phantom seems to be unable to speak. Now only he and the princess are alone. Together. Just like that one night. “I believe that is enough to persuade you?” Peach says with a soft smile. That smile. Oh, that sweet smile! He could stare at it forever! “I can be yours, and yours only. I will not leave. I will be not be frightened.” she continues, “It must be lonely, going around the world and reaping souls for those who’s time has passed. You don’t have to be lonely. You can have a companion! Someone who will join you by you side. Don’t you want that?” Companionship. Is Peach talking to Death or to Phantom himself? The lines between roleplay and real life begin to blur before his very eyes. He could not differentiate which is just acting or an actual confession. She must be playing a trick – she must be! This could not possibly be real! This is just too good to be true! Taking in a deep breath, staring deep into Peach’s pretty eyes, Phantom sings one last solo:

🎶“Oh, Sweet Maiden!

Surrender to me,

Look upon your paramour!

It is meant to be,

Together forevermore!

Oh, Sweet Maiden!

Your time has come at last

Take your final drink of wine

For this spell I shall cast

My Bride, your heart will be mine!”🎶

With a wave of his hand, two shiny, black feathered wings sprout from Peach’s back! Peach glances over in surprise, admiring her new wings. They sparkled under the light of the chandelier with iridescent glitter. Natasha must have added these in while making her costume. Once again, she continues to be impressed be Natasha’s work. Then her eyes glance over towards the Gallery entrance. Peach stops. Something has changed. Her eyes squints as she tries to make out what she is seeing. Confusion floods her mind until realization hits her.

The bodies… are those…. Mannequins?

Phantom places his paw on her cheek, delicately turning her face towards him. The softness of his caress fills her senses, and she is greeted by his tender gaze. What a tender gaze he has! As her eyes are locked in his gaze, Peach feels herself being gently embraced around her waist and leaning back into a dip. Her heart begins to race. Beat after beat it quickens its pace, her breathing becomes more and more shaky. It must be adrenaline – all of this is so new to her. Peach finds herself reaching out towards Phantom and, ever so gently, she takes off his skull mask, revealing his face. At long last, she finally sees him. Oh, how she missed him! “Did you enjoy the show, your highness?” Phantom grins, “I must admit, there were some things that weren’t… intended to happen, but as long a—” He is stopped, as Peach catches him off guard. Locked in a tight hug around his neck, he feels his lips being locked with hers. It was passionate yet gentle and warm. Peach, the princess he has adored for so many years, is giving him a kiss. A kiss! Is this a dream? Is this actually happening? So many thoughts went through Phantom’s mind. He could not process all of them at once; his head could possibly burst from excitement! His eyes flutter and close, letting himself melt into Peach’s embrace. If they could pull each closer than they already are, they could. But no matter how much closer they can be, it just wasn’t enough. They wanted each other. They craved each other. The unbridled desire for connection and companionship broke loose, and immediately they find themselves losing all control of their yearning. Their lips break apart, their hot breaths mingling with each other. They open their eyes; Peach grins and so does Phantom. They kiss again, neither of them wanting to stop. “Ah…!” Phantom gasps in between her soft lips, “Mon ange de la mort…!”

Overwhelmed, Peach swoons as Phantom dips her even further and surrenders herself to his kiss of death.

---

She woke up the next morning. The first thought that would have come to her mind was how she even managed to return to her castle without any notice. But no, the very first thought that came to her mind was what happened last night. She laid in her bed and, as stares up at the ceiling, touched her lips softly with her fingertips. Then up her rosy cheek, then down to her neck, and across her bare shoulders. She could still feel his touch. She sighs deeply – what a performance that was! Peach stretched her whole body and curled up, sinking back into sleep. A love stricken grin appeared on her face as she whispered to herself, “Until we meet again.”

#my writing #OTP #fanfiction #shipping fanfic #Phantom x Peach #phantom of the bwahpera #OCs #princess peach #mario rabbids #mario rabbids kingdom battle #tom phan

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where-dreamers-go · 3 years

Text

“Game On” Riley Poole x Reader

(A/N: SURPRISE! A prequel to the Riley Poole x Reader Series! It’s a surprise for me too. Welcome to Ben Gates’ circle of friends prior to going to the Arctic Circle to find The Charlotte. This can be read without having read the series that goes through the movie National Treasure. Written for @girl-next-door-writes Bingo challenge! Bingo Card: Mutual Pining Warnings: Poker game. Word Count: 2,472 words)

Strategy. Confidence. Restraint. Three words perfectly fit the poker game on Ben’s dining table. Ever since your best friend had met Ian Howe, a man who believed in the Templar treasure and had pockets of money, the group of you had played poker on weekends. Not every weekend of course. There were only so many rounds of bets you were willing to have. Even if this time you brought cookies for a snack.

Although in truth, you had been playing more for a few months and sitting through more games than otherwise willing. Why? An incredibly intelligent, funny, and handsome man who was officially a part of Ben’s circle of friends.

Riley Poole. Thank the Universe that you helped Ben with his computer, you thought as you stole a glance to your right. Didn’t think I’d be having this much fun.

Sitting in your best friends’ apartment was a greater comfort than Ian’s home. Sure, you’d known the man for more than a year, but Ben had been your friend since you were in school. Around a decade of friendship meant you knew him. You knew him well.

“Ben,” you said calmly.

“Hmm?”

“You’re bluffing again.”

Ben’s eyebrows raised a fraction before speaking. “I fold.”

In only a moment, Ian chuckled.

“You might not be the best player,” Ian told you. “But you can read Ben like a book.” His chuckling doubled as Ben made a face.

“Maybe we should return (Y/N)’s library card.” Ben suggested with a smirk.

You scrunched up your face in disapproval.

“Yeah, but they can still buy books and stay in a library to read them.” Riley piped in.

You sent Riley a smile and pushed a box of crackers closer to him.

“Alright,” Ian spoke up. “Can either of you beat a Four of a Kind? Riley?”

Biting into a cracker, Riley shook his head and laid his cards down. “I fold.”

“(Y/N)?”

“No,” you grumbled. “I fold.” Reluctantly, you set your cards down.

He’s gonna start prancing his way out by the time we’re done.

Shoulders back and a smug grin on his face, Ian revealed his cards. A three, a nine, a queen, and a king.

“What?” Riley exclaimed.

You dropped your forehead to the table.

Not again.

“They’re not even the same suit. You lied.”

“I win again.” Ian stated as the poker chips could be heard being pulled to his side of the table.

“Next time we’re playing Mario Party,” you groaned as you picked your head up off of the table.

“I am not playing that.”

“Afraid you’ll lose?” You countered.

“No. I simply don’t want to play.”

You made a short sound of acknowledgement in your throat.

“You have a Nintendo 64?” Riley asked as everyone tossed their cards to the middle so that Ben could take his turn to shuffle and deal.

“Yeah.”

“I didn’t know you had one. Why didn’t you say anything?”

“You never asked.”

“How was I suppose to know to ask if you had one?”

“Conversation?”

“Save the bickering for the game, shall we?” Ian interrupted without glancing up.

You gave the man a pointed look.

It was times like those that you weren’t entirely sure if he was playing along or actually annoyed. There were times when you honestly could not tell.

Worse case scenario, he’s always annoyed with me and Riley talking. He’s usually not this way when it’s just me and Ben.

Having finished shuffling the deck, Ben dealt the cards out to each of you.

“As a head’s up, this is my last game.” You said after checking the time.

“You’re not working overtime again, are you?” Ben asked.

“No.”

“(Y/N)…”

“I have to double check an e-mail and double check a few things. Respond to a few more e-mails. Stuff.”

“That’s working.” Riley said.

“I know. I know.”

“At least you’re making sure everything is done properly. Some times that’s hard to find in some people.” Ian added.

“Thank you.” You reached for a cookie and—

Crunch

You peered over to your right and saw Riley’s eyebrows knitted together as he ate another cracker. His eyes were trained just above his cards.

That was a little louder than normal, you thought as you ate the cookie. Mentally shrugging, you checked out your cards. Oh, okay. Not bad so far. Hmm.

“Any chance next time we could play Twenty-One?” You asked.

“Blackjack?” Riley nabbed a cookie.

“Yeah. Though if Ben says ‘no’ he indirectly admits his many defeats.”

“Hey. That’s a game of chance.” Ben pointed a finger at you.

“And strategy.” You added.

“It is older than Poker.” Ian said as he waited for Ben to add more cards to the table.

Ben eyed his own cards. “You know,” he started. “Playing cards were actually invented before 1000AD by the Chinese. The cards didn’t have numbers…”

Turning your head to the right, you caught Riley’s eyes. You gave each other knowing looks as Ben continued giving facts. That could mean two things: Ben was confident or he had a pretty good hand of cards. If Ian had picked up on that through the many games, neither you nor Riley knew. However, you were willing to play more logically to win.

Game on, Ben.

Riley slid the box of crackers closer to you. The box was moved just enough that when you leaned back, Riley subtly tilted his cards.

You had a better cards. You took two crackers and gave one to Riley. He returned his sights back to the center of the table with a nod.

Now to figure out Ian and Ben. Can’t always let one of them win.

“Riley.” Ben said.

“Hm? What?”

“Your turn.”

“Oh, right.”

You reached for more crackers to munch on as the four of you continued playing. Looking up for only a second, you saw Ben smiling and his smile only widened when he caught your eye. You raised an eyebrow in question. He glanced over to Riley then back at you. Acting on immediate reaction, you tossed a cracker at your best friend’s chest. Unfortunately he didn’t drop any of his cards so that you could see them.

Stop it, you thought. Too bad we don’t have telepathy. Then again, that could backfire with comments, but we could team up during poker. Also would save money on the phone bill. Hmph.

With more cards in your hands, your chances of winning were dwindling. It was not a big deal. But you really wanted to win.

Darn it.

“(Y/N), I hope you’re better at bluffing than giving instructions over e-mail.” Riley said, catching you off guard.

“Wha—Hey.” You pulled your cards closer to yourself. “It’s not my fault they don’t know what the icons mean.”

“You should have explained that first.”

“I’m not Internet one oh one.”

Ian rolled his eyes. “Can we get back to the game?”

Hiding your smile as you ducked your head, you muttered, “We already went over this.”

“Bluff.” Riley murmured.

Ben cleared his throat and said, “Your turn, Riley.”

That e-mail was likely not going to be easily forgotten. Then again, it did remind you that a specific e-mail, from the same co-worker, had finally been sent to you earlier in the day.

Could have had it done last week.

A couple of days ago, you had given Riley a personal museum tour and treated him to lunch in exchange for helping you type up an e-mail explaining how to send a document as an attachment to a co-worker. It wasn’t that you didn’t know how to send the e-mail. It was that you didn’t know how to explain it for the third time. Or rather how to explain it in a way that the co-worker would understand the instructions given.

The game went on for another ten minutes until Ian and Riley were at a showdown. Ben and yourself had folded, knowing you were both beaten.

“Alright, show your hand.” Ian said confidently.

Both men turned their cards face up. A Three of a Kind versus a Flush. Riley won the game.

“Aaaay!” You patted Riley’s arm repeatedly for more than a moment.

Riley shuffled a bit in his seat before sitting a little taller.

“Good game.” Ian pushed his cards away.

“Good job, Riley.” Ben congratulated his friend.

Pulling the chips to his side, Riley grinned. Victory was sweet at times.

“Hey, sorry to cut this short, but I have to get going.” You stood from your seat and grabbed your plastic container of cookies to seal them.

Can snack on the cookies later, you thought as you smoothly placed one in front of Riley. He won. Prize given.

You pushed in your chair.

“I-uh better go too,” Riley said. “I don’t know how traffic is going to be. It’s dark.”

“Okay, Riley,” Ben replied. “Don’t forget your jacket.”

“Thanks.”

You walked passed Ian, saying, “Any chance you can teach Ben to bluff?”

“Not something you can teach.” Ian answered as he gathered up the cards.

“I don’t need to bluff to win.” Ben added in as he lead you and Riley to the door. Always the nice host.

“Bye Ian,” you waved.

“I’ll see you two later.” Riley said.

“Drive safely.” Ben patted his friend on the shoulder.

“Don’t stay up too late, Ben,” you teased as you walked out the door.

“Bye, (Y/N).” He laughed. Behind you, Ben had shut the door as Riley followed you out.

Two steps away from the door and Riley walked up beside you.

“I can’t believe how many times Ian bluffed.” Riley said. “He must have taken almost half of the chips.”

“I’d say I’m surprised, but I’m not.”

He nodded. Many thoughts running through his head no doubt.

“You didn’t do so bad today,” you added.

“I could have been better. I just can’t tell when Ian’s lying or confident or confident in his lying.”

“There’s little difference.” You murmured as you two reached your apartment’s door. Stopping for a moment, you considered your next words.

Eh. Do it.

“Remember that e-mail you helped me with?”

“Yeah.”

“Would you like to see what they e-mailed me back?”

“How bad is it?” His shoulders slumped.

“What makes you think it’s bad?”

“Because you’re asking if I want to see it and you’re already laughing.”

Oh, I guess I am. You thought as your grin widened.

“You’re right. It’s pretty bad. In a really weird way.”

“Great,” he said sarcastically. A small smile edged its way onto his face. “Let me see it.”

Turning, you quickly grabbed your key and unlocked the front door. Once you pushed it open, you let Riley inside.

“Just give me a second to grab my computer.” You said.

Front door shut and cookies placed on a flat surface, you fast-walked to another room to grab your laptop.

It was not the first time Riley had been in your apartment. It was not even the only time he had been in your home without Ben present. As it turned out, you had made friends with Riley almost as fast as Ben did. There was something that just clicked. Similar interests, shared knowledge, and good old companionship that was refreshing.

Walking out of your room, you spotted Riley sitting on your couch with his glasses on. Your laptop was already up and loading your e-mails.

“Ready?” You asked.

“They didn’t put any attachments, did they?” Riley watched as you placed the computer on the coffee table.

“You’ll have to see.” You sat beside him.

A couple of clicks and you had opened the message from your inbox.

“Hey. There’s actual attachments,” Riley observed as he scrolled to the bottom of the e-mail. “Uh. Um. Were they only suppose to send you the documents?”

“Yeah.” You nodded and bit back a grin. “Click on that one.”

He clicked on the one that had caught his eye.

A large picture of a large cat lounging on an armchair filled up a part of the screen.

“Holy Lord.” Riley looked to you. “Please tell me not all of these are cats.”

“Just two cats.”

Riley groaned.

“I got the other ones they needed to send. Thankfully. I’ve been needing these possible layouts for the next exhibition for a week now.”

“We’re going to have to teach them how to remove an attachment before sending an e-mail now.”

It was your time to groan.

“You don’t want them sending Lord knows what else next time, do you?”

“No.” You sighed. “But…that means I have to mention the cats.”

The moment Riley made eye contact with you, you both started bursted out laughing.

Out of all things to send you, they sent you pictures of cats. Perhaps you should be thankful it was not anything else. Who knew at that point? The question at hand was how to word your next e-mail? It was suppose to be a follow-up message about which layout of the museum space was better not another how-to.

“I’m getting paid to say, ‘delete your cat photos…from the e-mail’.” You wheezed. Trying to breath between laughing and speaking was challenging.

“Maybe….maybe send two e-mails?” Riley’s grin was still present. “One for work and one for clicking the small ‘x’.”

“Yeah, but at this point you should be charging them for tech support.”

“Put that in your next e-mail.”

You bumped his arm with your own.

“Just saying.”

“If they ask for more help I’ll let them know. How’s that?”

“I’ll get the documents ready.”

You covered your mouth as loud laugh escaped you.

Oh goodness. I hope he’ll do it anyway.

Smile only partially fading, Riley gestured to the laptop. “Let me know if their lack of technology skills makes your instruction skills disappear again. But not on your day off.” He removed his glasses and stood up.

You followed suit and walked him to the door.

“You really shouldn’t put in more hours than they’re paying you.”

“I want the new exhibition to be perfect.” You added as you leaned against the opened door. “But you’re right.”

“Can’t work for nothing. Especially when you’re suddenly working free tech support.” He stood out in the hallway.

“Hey,” you said. “Thanks for hanging out today. It was really fun.”

A smile returned to his lips. “I had fun too.”

“Drive safely, alright?”

“I will. See you later.”

“See yah, Riley.” You waved before finally shutting the door. With a lopsided grin, you locked the door and skipped over towards the cookies. Perhaps your winnings will be more than chips won in a poker game some day. Maybe something a little more meaningful.

~~~

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Best wishes and happy reading.)

~~~~~

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