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darkficsyouneveraskedfor · 3 years

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Looking for a Place to Happen 2

Warnings: non-consent sex and rape (series), age gap, general stupidity, some violence and threats

This is dark!biker!Sam Wilson x reader and explicit. 18+ only. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Series Synopsis: There’s lots happening in Birch and you find it all too amusing.

Sister series to Smalltown Bringdown, When the Weight Comes Down, Little Bones, and Fully Completely

Note: Here’s chapter two. Think I’ll probably slow down writing. Appreciate y’all.

Thanks to everyone for their patience and feedback. :)

I really hope you enjoy. 💋

<3 Let me know what you think with a like or reblog or reply or an ask! Love ya!

Chapter 2: I follow every little whiff

💀💀💀

You gave yourself a day off that week. Rather, the desolation of Birch allowed you an excuse to get away from your desk. An internet outage across the town had you up and wandering the main road just after noon. Your grandmother refused to join you so she was left to her true crime novel and the weekday droning of talk show hosts.

After a peek in the book shop where you picked out some used thrillers for your nan and a guilty splurge on one of Babs' pies to add to the surprise, you stopped by the diner and had some soup to warm up from the unrelenting cold. You played around on your phone as you blindly slurped from your spoon. With no available connection, you swapped candies to achieve a score high enough to get to the next round.

After another loss, you put your screen down and added some pepper to the tomato soup. You leaned your chin in your hand and peered across the road. The Asp was just diagonal from The Chipped Saucer and from your seat by the window you could see the comings and goings of the dingy bar.

You chuckled to yourself as you remembered the hundreds of comments on your video. You weren't entirely surprised that the internet cheered at the sight of a woman beating up a man in broad daylight, you'd seen much worse on the web. But many were curious and asked about how it started and about the small town alluded to in the caption.

You picked up your phone and flipped open the camera. You pointed it through the glass as one of the many bikers strutted out of the bar and down the street. You knew him, like most in town, he was the leader's right hand man. Steve Rogers. He had an odd gait, rigid with long strides, and you remember Kelly used to make fun of him when you walked home from school. That felt like forever ago.

You ended the video and dropped your phone again. You'd send it to Kelly when the outage was over. It would be a good laugh. Plus, you hadn't heard from her much since she moved to the city.

You finished your soup and paid. You went out into the street and cut around to the backstreets. You made your way back to your nans and found Pippin scratching at the front door. You stopped and scooped him up before you let yourself in.

"Don't like the snow, do ya?" You set him down and he whipped his tail before skittering off, "hey nan, I got you some stuff."

"You spend too much," she grumbled as you hung your coat and grabbed her treats.

"Only on you," you sang as you entered the front room, "sugarless blueberry pie, your fave, and some books about murder and all that freaky stuff you love."

"Hmm," she watched you put the pie and books down on the coffee table, "suppose the pie will go good with tea."

"Ah, and I suppose I'll be making that tea?" You returned.

"My arthritis…" she pouted but her grin came through.

"Yeah, yeah," you snickered as you went to the kitchen to put on the kettle, "we going black today or something lighter?"

"Put on some of the pekoe," she called back, "make a whole pot."

"Will do, ma'am," you trilled and basked in her annoyed mutter.

💀

When the internet came back, you sent of an email to inform the agency of the interruption and promised to meet your deadlines. Then you puttered around and added a caption to the video before you sent it off to Kelly; 'why he walk like that tho'. She sent a series of crying emojis back and told you to post it.

'Nah, it's a dumb joke.' You typed back.

'Saw ur last vid, ppl will eat it up,' she insisted.

'Well, got nothing else to put up. The account’s dying since no one cares about my writing.'

'DO IT.' Her words sealed your resolve and you uploaded the video with some dramatic music in the background.

The response was almost instantaneous. Several comments saying they were happy to see more and others being for another video. 'We all wanna see inside this fucked up town' one added and several latched on. Ignoring the questions of where this was, you gave a thin promise of future small town thug content.

You turned back to your work email and opened up your draft for your next gig. You couldn't help but smile as you went over your work. You might have just found your niche.

💀

You knew your nan would lose it if she knew you were snooping around the club, so you didn’t tell her. You went down, made her breakfast, went back upstairs to do your work, then tiptoed out in the late afternoon to poke around town for something to upload. Birch was so dull when you lived there but to those outside, it was a novelty you were all too eager to provide.

You got more videos of the bikers; some revving their bikes, others arguing, but there was nothing overly usable. You were getting bored of it until the man himself walked out of the bar. You record the man’s glower expression as he marched down the sidewalk and turned off just down the way.

‘His name is Bucket… wtf?!’ you keyed in and snorted as you waited for it to load to your account.

Still, there was nothing special going on, like always in Birch, and your grandmother was bound to get suspicious if you kept sneaking around. You went back and hid your phone before she could bitch about it. You cooked her dinner and sat with her as your thoughts swung between work and your TikTok.

You went to bed but couldn’t sleep. You ended up watching YouTube on your phone as the windows shook with the night winds. It wasn’t until the darkness began to glow that you were roused from the cocoon of your comforter. You looked out and saw smoke coming from the main road.

You didn’t think before you pulled on your jeans and shoved your feet into your slipper, unconcerned about them soaking through as you barreled down the stairs, the sleeves of your hoodie only half on. The back door bounced behind you and you crunched down into the snow and clamored past the row of lifeless houses.

You were out of breath as you got to the end of the path and rounded the diner to gape over at the burning garage. You got closer as the line of bikers stood in their leather with breath puffing before them in the frigid night. You stepped back into the shadow of the brick façade of the realty office and swiped your camera open.

Your hands shook and you struggled to steady the image on the screen as the mechanic woman raged in only her tee shirt. You didn’t quite understand what was going on; only that her garage was up in smoke and then men were doing nothing to smother it. She swung at the dark haired man and spat at several others; “cowards”... “fuck all of you!”

You gulped and held your breath as she was dragged away by the large redheaded henchman of the slender outsider. She fought for a moment before she was flung over his shoulder and the biker followed their leader back to The Asp. You sidled in between the building and hid until the voices faded into the wind.

Well, that would be a hell of a video. It might even go viral.

💀

Your phone did not stop. You almost felt bad as you saw the screen limn the edges of your cell as you left it face down on the little table beside the couch. Your nan sat in her rocking chair talking away on her corded phone to Linette from down the road. You suspected that every other person in town was gossiping about the same thing; the fire.

You finished your coffee and rubbed your eyes as you checked the time and ignored the pulsing notifications. It was too much to keep up with.

Your grandmother hung up and sighed, “can’t believe it. You hear?”

“Hear what?” you pretended ignorance.

“That old garage burned down. The one with the lady,” she said, “pity. When I was a girl, that place was a salon. Ma used to take us there to get our hair cut. The barber would give us wrapped candies and pretend to cut himself with his scissors.”

“Oh? It burned down?” you weren’t sure you were very convincing but you also could just say you saw it happen.

“Yep, no one really can say. You know, maybe she was welding or some rag caught, but I bet my money on those bikers,” she sneered.

“Good thing you’re poor,” you kidded, “and why the bikers?”

“Oh, well, you know Kimmy, Linette’s girl, works down at the diner and she saw that mechanic arguing with one of those strangers, the ones dealing with the club men. Well, it’s no coincidence that trouble follows those leather jackets around,” she rocked as she nodded knowingly, “oh, one of the boys I knew back in the day, he was found burnt up with his bike. They said the tank blew… well, I saw it and that tank was pristine.”

“Nan,” you gasped, “you… Jesus.”

“Well, things don’t change in Birch, we just get older,” she continued, “when you’re young, everything seems new but then you age and it’s all just the same.”

“Wow, how… inspiring,” you said dryly.

“Girlie, you gotta be careful,” she intoned, “that fire, that’s a lesson to all the women in this town. To everyone. You don’t cross the Commandos.”

“I don’t think anyone--”

“That’s another thing, there has never been a shortage of stupid people, not now not then,” she girded, “those women who get tied up in that club, their lives are already done.”

You frowned and hid your phone in your pocket as you stood. You rubbed your neck and picked up your empty mug, “I should get started.”

“Mmm,” she said as she dialed the phone again, “I wonder if Fran knows yet.”

💀

You were being really fucking stupid but peer pressure was not a logical thing. Even through a screen, you found it hard to resist the goads. So there you were, your phone in your hand as you live-streamed your walk down to The Asp. The data costs alone would make you regret it but you were caught up in the hype of you fifteen second of internet fame.

“Alright,” you stopped across the street and gave a view of the moniker with Cleopatra sultrily looking down at you, “this is it… I just gotta play it cool…” you turned the lens towards you and smiled nervously, “hopefully that dude at the front doesn’t stop me.”

Comments flicked up the bottom of the screen so fast and smilies and hearts floated up the side around your face. You crossed the screen as you turned your phone against your coat and approached the bar door. The large biker butted out his smoke and you bared your teeth nervously. He didn’t stop you as he rolled his shoulders and coughed.

You entered to the noise of classic rock and low voices, the clink of glasses and tap of chalk on marble. You glanced around and quickly swept your phone around to give a view of the patrons. You hurried over to the bar and climbed up on a stool.

“You need a drink?” the woman behind the bar scowled. She looked worn out even with her lips painted bright pink and her eyes clouded with blue shadow.

“Uh, sure, can I… can I get one pint of everything you have on tap?” you asked as you set your phone down and shrugged out of your coat. You draped it over the next stool and reposition your phone as you flipped the cam and used the built in stand on the case to angle yourself onto the screen.

“Sure,” she narrowed her eyes and glanced past you.

You swung your feet as you waited for her to pour the five pints; some with too much foam and the others with no head at all. You took the first and held it up for the camera.

“A classic, BudLight,” you held it up to the light, “no head and…” you sipped, “flat.” You plunked it down and coughed as you grabbed the next, “this is a raddler?” you looked at the tap for confirmation, “grapefruit… smells like piss…” you had a sip, “tastes like it too.”

You chuckled to yourself and asked for a water. You made a show of swishing it around in your mouth before you moved onto the third beer.

“Had to cleanse the palate,” you joked, “now… lots of foam on this one, dark. You know, I’m pretty surprised they have Guinness here but let’s see…” you tasted it and crinkled your nose, “that’s it. Exactly like toilet water!”

You read some of the comments telling you to check the bottles for bugs and laughed. Suddenly you were yanked off the stool by the back of your shirt and your phone was swiped up by another man as the first restrained you. You struggled against his thick arm as it hooked around your neck and the leader of their crew stared at the screen of your cell.

“What the fuck are you doing?” he snarled as he hit the screen with his thumb but the stream kept going. He dropped the phone to the floor and stomped it instead.

“This is the bitch posting about us online,” the man at your back growled. It was Steve, the one with the weird walk.

“I doubt either of you know how to use a computer,” you scoffed, “hey, let me go.”

“And why would we do that when you’re snitching to the whole world, sweetheart?” Bucky kicked your phone away as he crossed his arms.

“Actually, I’m--” you grasped Steve’s arm as it threatened to get tighter, “--promoting your trash business. I was just having a tasting, if you had just asked--”

“Shut up!” Bucky stepped closer and brought your legs up and stopped him as you planted your feet against his stomach.

“Hey,” a woman’s voice came from behind the bar as the waitress shoved aside her empty tray, “hey, she’s just a kid.”

“Bullshit,” Bucky huffed, “she looks full-grown to me.”

“So what are you gonna do?” she said, “she’s young. You can’t--”

“Don’t tell me what I can’t do,” he snapped.

“She’s right,” another voice intoned and that man, Sam, came up beside them with a pool cue in hand, “she’s just goofing around.”

“She’s a rat,” Steve insisted.

“You’re being dramatic. It’s called a meme and you do walk a little strange,” he chuckled, “no one’s gonna follow her breadcrumbs back to this shithole anyway.”

Bucky considered Sam and then looked at Steve. He poked his cheek with his tongue and sucked his teeth.

“So… you vouching for her?” Bucky asked.

“She won’t cause any more trouble, promise,” Sam said, “I’ll make sure of it.”

“You better,” Bucky snapped his fingers and you were released, “get her out of here.”

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artnerd1123 · 3 years

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A Familiar World

Cat’s Out of the Bag ——————————————

Roo and Journal get a little time to bond over something a little diffent- magic tricks!

The masterpost for AFW can be found here. The chapter post for AFW can be found here.

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its a cute lil chapter, laying more groundwork for the bois! it was super fun to revisit roo n have these two messin around ;w; hope y’all enjoy!

Getting settled in a new place was usually a temporary ordeal. You show up. You find a place to sleep and eat. You find something to do, or do what you came for. Then you pack up and leave, hitting the road to do it all over again somewhere else. That’s how Roo had been living since he was three. Once Aiden got the call to quest, the two had gone out to explore the world. Roo was nine now, so he’d had plenty of time on the road. And he liked travelling! He did! Especially since it was with Aiden. Even though the constant stream of new people could be scary, Aiden was always there for him. And they had a lot of fun on their trips. Laughing, picking spots to camp, picking quests, painting, goofing around… it was wonderful. It was a little strange to suddenly be anchored in one place again. That didn’t mean Roo disliked it! He loved it a lot. It felt like much too long since he’d had a place to truly call home. And he really, really hoped this one would stick.

But, like any new place, this one came with unfamiliar faces. One of which had taken up residence in their apartment. Roo didn’t quite know what to think of Journal, despite Aiden’s gentle reassurance. He seemed… secretive. Nervous. On edge. A little scared. Roo knew how that went. He also knew it was important to get along with the people you lived with. So when Aiden asked if he had any ideas of how to get on his good side, he was sure to start paying attention. Finding little details was Roo’s specialty- and it was often the little things that helped make a place into a home. His little sack of travel-found trinkets was evidence enough of that. The familiar was quick to suggest getting more coffee after he’d spotted their roommate chugging it. He pointed out the many books he glimpsed in Journal’s room, looking for some cool legend books the next time they were at the library. He whispered about the gleam in Journal’s eye whenever he spotted Aiden doing magic. He even managed to catch Journal dancing once. …. Granted, Journal didn’t realize he’d left his door ajar. Or that the cat was still home while Aiden was out. Or that he was being rather loud when he cursed his own fumbling feet. But still. Dancing was something they had common ground on!!! He’d stored all the information away carefully, sharing things with Aiden when he thought it could help. He was glad he did. When Journal finally started warming up, it felt as if the whole apartment sighed in relief. Journal talking with Aiden was doing wonders for easing the nervous tension. Especially after they talked magic for hours the other day! Aiden said the young sorcerer might show off some of his magic the day after. With so much radio silence in the past weeks, it made Roo grin. It seemed like everyone was really getting along. It was nice to see. If he could bring himself to do more than a timid smile and wave… maybe he could make friends with Journal, too. … If only he didn’t have such bad social anxiety.

~~~

The sun was high in the afternoon sky, casting beams across the living room floor. Normally, Roo would be lying out among them. There was nothing better than midday sun on his fur. It was perfectly warm and cozy… just what the little cat loved. However, he wasn’t alone in the living room. Ever since Journal and Aiden broke the ice, he’d been hanging around in one of the armchairs. Which wasn’t a problem! Everyone was allowed in the living room. It’s for living in, after all. It just… made Roo self conscious. Lying out in the middle of the floor felt weird if there was someone besides Aiden watching. Even if that someone was his roommate. For now, he was curled up under the couch, peeking out wistfully at the sunbathed floorboards. Maybe I can catch a nap in the sun when Aiden gets back from that fetch quest, he thought. I bet Journal’s gonna ask him about it… I can probably sneak out n’ snooze then... A sudden thunk across the room jerked Roo out of his thoughts. What was that??? He let out a little surprised ‘mrrp!’, curling up nervously as he looked for the source. His gaze eventually found Journal. He had a book in his lap. From the way he’d flopped against the armchair’s back, it seemed he’d just closed the book. Roo let his shoulders relax. O-oh, ok... The thump was jes a book... Of course, it was then he noticed Journal was looking at him. Roo’s face flushed, his ears flicking back against his head. Oh no- had he been too loud? Did he disturb Journal??? He hadn’t meant to! He hurriedly shuffled farther back under the couch, curling his tail tight around his body. Sure, being under the couch got him and his cloak all dusty, but it felt safe under there. A moment of silence reigned in the room. It was broken by Journal’s awkward cough. “Uh… so… Roo, was it…?” Journal said hesitantly. “Are you… still under there?” Roo shivered a little. Oh geez. He was gonna have to pop out there and talk, wasn’t he? Haltingly, the little cat crawled up to the edge of the couch. He didn’t come out- not yet, anyway- but he was close enough to be seen. Journal was giving him a curious look- he’d perked up when he caught sight of the little cat. He wasn’t annoyed or upset, just… curious. Ok. Roo could work with curious. “E-ehm… yeah… tha’s me…” he mewed softly. “D-did yeh need somethin…?” “Er- sort of?” Journal chuckled awkwardly. “I just kinda wanted to… check in, I guess? I mean, I’ve talked plenty to Aiden, but I feel like we haven’t. Y’know. Had much time to talk to each other.” “... oh…” Roo blinked. That was a simple enough request. He shrugged, shuffling his paws shyly among the dust bunnies. “I-I’m doin’ ok,” he mewed softly. “Jes, ehm, tryna settle in as best I can… n-nothin ah’m not used teh, ‘s jes… kinda weird with Aiden not around sometimes…” “I get that,” Journal nodded. “New place ‘n all that… ‘s weird when you don’t have many… uh... familair faces around...” Roo watched as the sorcerer flashed a smile- he didn’t miss the quiet tension behind it. He didn’t have much time to wonder if that was a pun, hinting at something deeper, or a simple statement of solidarity. Journal had his head tilted to the side, a movement the cat found himself mirroring. “So you two’ve been travelling around together for awhile, then?” Oh! More questions! Yes, ok, he could do those. “Y-yeah! We’ve been travellin’ since I turned three, so ‘s been… uh-” the familiar did a quick count in his head- “six? Six yeahs? Er- it’ll be seven this year!” “Oh- shoot, six years on the road? And questing the whole time?” Journal whistled. “That sounds kinda intense.” “I-it can be! But most of the time we’re jes hangin out ‘n explorin,” roo admitted, flashing a little smile. “I liked it when we’d jes find somewheah to settle for a lil ‘n enjoy the sights…” “Ah. yeah, fair enough. Exploring can be pretty cool,” Journal said. “Y-yeah…” Roo trailed off, fidgeting awkwardly. A beat of silence passed between them. Eventually, Journal cleared his throat. Roo glanced up timidly, afraid he’d missed something- but Journal was flashing a gentle smile. The sorcerer’s look was still a little uncertain. But his gaze was soft and friendly, and Roo’s anxiety quieted a bit. “Well, uh, Aiden was telling me you like magic tricks,” Journal said, “and I was wondering if you wanted to see some…?” Oh, that perked Roo right up. Magic tricks??? For him to watch??? He scooted a little farther out from under the couch, his floppy ears bouncing forward as his head popped out from the dusty underside. “Y-yeah! That’d be supeh cool!” he mewed, paws patting the floor eagerly. Journal beamed, clapping his hands together. “Alright! Let’s see what I can do,” he hummed. He put a hand on his chin, head tilted again as Roo watched on excitedly. Magic tricks!!! He’d been fascinated by those since he was just a little kitten. Contrary to what the name suggested, their allure had a lot to do with how they lacked any sort of magic at all! Just slight of hand, misdirection, and some playful manipulation. It was so so exciting and impressive to see in action! Journal reached over to the table beside him, picking up a banded deck of cards. He carefully slipped one out from under the leather band. Straightening up, he smoothed out his tunic, clearing his throat. When he looked to Roo again, his grin was back and plenty playful. “Aaaalright. So. This trick is pretty simple, but I’m sure you’ll enjoy it,” Journal said. Roo nodded quickly. His wide eyes practically sparkled with enthusiasm. He was sure he would too!!! Journal somberly held up the card with his thumb and forefinger. “Now. I need you to watch this card, ok?” “W-what’re yeh gonna do with it?” roo asked. “I’m gonna make this card fly all the way around the room and back in one second,” Journal replied, wiggling his fingers. “But it only works if you watch really close.” “I-I won’ take my eyes offa it, promise,” Roo nodded. “Good. Ok…” Journal bent his wrist towards his chest, the card still held tight in his fingers. He raised a brow at Roo. The smirk on his face was mischievous- it left roo even more excited to see what really happened. He was gonna watch the card like a hawk. “And… here… it… goes-!” With a quick flick of the wrist, Roo whipped his head around to follow the- Wait a minute. Where was the card??? The cat blinked in confusion. Maybe he’d missed it? But when he looked back at Journal, his hand was empty. Had it… worked??? He blinked, and suddenly- wait, the card was there now! “Hey!!! How’d the card get back?” roo gasped. “Oh, you didn’t see it?” Journal asked. There was a hint of teasing in his eyes, but not enough to make Roo too embarrassed. He shook his head shyly. “I can do it again if you’d like,” Journal offered. “Y-yes please,” Roo nodded. “Alright,” Journal replied. He got his hand ready again, and Roo locked his eyes onto it. He was gonna watch the card and he was gonna get it this time. “Heeeere iiiit… goes-!” Again, journal flicked his wrist, and again, Roo tried to follow the card- but- where did it go??? He mewed in displeasure, tail flicking under the couch. A look at Journal yielded nothing but concealed laughter. The whole thing repeated a few more times before Roo finally- finally- realized what must be going on. “Hang- hang on a minute-” Roo squeaked. He wiggled the rest of the way out from under the couch, skittering over to Journal’s side. With one paw, he carefully tipped up the hand he’d sworn Journal threw the card with- aha! “Yeh weren’t throwin it at all!!!” “Nnnnope. It’s been here the whole time,” Journal chuckled. “I was wondering how long it’d take you to catch it.” He looked quite amused with himself, even if he pulled back a bit from Roo’s touch. The cat felt his face flush, quailing under Journal’s gaze. Had he really run over here like that??? And pushed at his hands??? Ohhh geez. What if he’d overstepped a boundary??? He tugged at his cloak timidly while Journal flicked the card back into proper view. “I’ve had awhile to practice that one,” the sorcerer continued. He flashed another gentle smile. “I, uh, I think you caught on faster than some of my other audiences.” “Eheheh… I-I don’ blame em,” Roo said. “... How’d yeh get it under yeh hand like that anyway? Yeh move so fast, I didn’ even know it was hidden u-until now.” “Ah, therein lies the trick!” Journal hummed, holding up a finger. “It’s all about flicking your wrist! Here, let me show you-” He shifted carefully in his chair, bending down so he was more at Roo’s level. Roo felt some tension leave his shoulders at that. He risked a tiny step closer to see better. Journal didn’t seem to mind- even nodded a bit- so he scooted right up near his hands. His earlier eagerness was already trickling back as the two got settled in. “Ok, got a good view?” “Yea-huh!” “Alright, good. So- what you wanna do first is get a proper hold on it…”

~~~

The sunbeams had long since crossed the floor and moved up the wall when the door’s creak announced Aiden’s presence. It took just a few seconds longer than normal for Roo to throw himself at his originator. He had to get his paws untangled from some string- Journal had been showing him yarn tricks. He cannonballed full force into Aiden’s leg, purring up a storm. “Aiden!!! I missed yeh!!!” He purred, rubbing his cheek against his pant leg. The questor chuckled, reaching down to scoop him into his arms. Roo promptly curled into him, purring even louder. “Well, I missed you too!” Aiden said. When Roo looked up, he was raising a brow, a curious smile on his face. “What’s got you all riled up?” “O-oh, er- well, Journal was jes showin me how teh do some magic tricks,” Roo explained. His tail wagged happily at the statement. “He knows so many- it was really fun!” “Ah, is that so?” Aiden smiled. “You two had an impromptu magic trick lesson?” The two looked over at the young sorcerer. Journal hadn’t moved from the couch, hands still tangled up in yarn. He looked down hastily when their gazes fell on him, scrambling to pull off strings and gather up a bunch of little props. Coins and cards disappeared into his pockets as he grabbed for words. “I- well, yeah, a little one,” Journal confessed sheepishly. “Nothing much was going on in the apartment, and I figured we could do something to. Uh. Pass the time. Y’know.” He tucked the string into his pocket. Roo was sorry to see it go. Maybe he could ask for some of it later… it was fun to play with. “Oh, there’s no need to clean up!” Aiden reassured him. “I’m curious to see some tricks for myself, if that’s alright with you two.” “... really?” Journal blinked. Ah. That was a look Roo knew well. At least, from the perspective of the one making it. Hesitant eagerness. Oh. He’s being shy. Nervous, even. Well. Roo knew what to do with that. He squirmed a little in Aiden’s arms, the questor instinctively letting him drop to the floor. He trotted over to Journal’s side, giving his sleeve a tug. The sorcerer gave him a quizzical look, but bent down to listen on instinct. Roo cupped a paw by his ear, voice low. “I-I think a lil review fer Aiden would be swell,” Roo said. “We had a lotta fun, a-an it would be cool teh give em a look, especially since yer real good at this kinda thing. Y’know… Like our own lil magic show?” When he pulled back, the bright shine in Journal’s eyes told him he’d done the trick. So he had remembered the sorcerer’s showman dreams right! Journal nodded, and Roo beamed right back. His paws flapped around as he spun in excited circles. “I suppose we could put on a little show,” Journal said, pulling out his props again. “Roo’s quite the fast learner.” “And you’eh a good teacheh,” Roo purred. “But!!! Aiden!!! Yeh gotta sit down first! C’mon, right heah-”

Laughter bounced off the walls as the little familiar led his originator over to an armchair. And- for the first time- Journal’s countryish chuckle joined them. Roo’s heart warmed at the sound. It looked like their roommate was finally coming out of his shell. And so, it seemed, was he.

#afw #a familiar world #afw chapter #my story #arty writes #roo pingere #journal sherman drapht #aiden pingere #da bois...#its jus them chillin lskjdfs #dumb fluff bc we all need it in our lives...#good stuffs #yea thas all i got lskjdf

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cartoonfangirl1218 · 3 years

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Winner’s Curse: Epilogue

Note: Wooo boy, it’s over. Now I know not many people may have read this, it may not have the best editing and some parts are a bit vague and not the best. In fact I’ll probably revise some parts at a later date or if I ever decide to post on A03, but I am still super proud of it. I think I did some great character parts and there are some sections that I’m just super proud of. I’m also happy that I actually finished it. It’s my longest fic to date and I actually completed it! 30 chapters. Well 32 if you include the prologue and epilogue. So cool! Plus I wrote what I really wanted, which I’ll admit was not the plot. The plot was a bit wonky and maybe I had too many characters that I didn’t juggle well and didn’t give them all equal exploration. Also action scenes were hard for me to write so those were not the best. But still- getting to explore these characters and their relationships and include several of my favorite Disney characters. Very fun. Also thanks to @edream93 for encouraging me when this was just a little idea, looking over some sections and offering advice and for overall being an amazing person. Check out her WLTF and other descendants fics like London Fog Nightcaps. And for the final time, hope y’all enjoy reading.

Flash forward to summer break in Agrabah

Jordan stretched, cracking her back after sitting hunched at her desk for the past hour editing her latest video How to Date a Djinn Episode 3. She had finally convinced the tech-averse Calix to join her in making satire videos of all the most terrible dates she had been on. Initially, she had planned for it to be a serious thing where she reminded her viewers of genie autonomy and the idea they had feelings behind their wishing powers, but Calix was never good at playing emotional PSAs.

Besides it was more fun that way to spoof how terrible, and sometimes ridiculous her romantic suitors were. Plus the hilarity kept her from thinking too much about the bitterness of the memories.

She cracked her neck and poofed outside to Aziz’s room where her lamp laid on its usual perch. Outside she could hear the thump of running feet and the screech of confused peacocks.

“Malik! No riding the peacocks!” A servant shouted

“Yes, riding peacocks!”

“No, Noor, Fahran, that’s not allowed. Get off of them!”

Jordan shook her head in amusement at the kids' antics.

Noor and Fahran were having a blast hanging out with their new “little” brother as they called the 5 year old. Though they were family in a way. Jade was the half sister to Aladdin’s half brother, Mozonroth. And Malik was their nephew. Even though the family tree was a bit tangled and confusing to visualize in your head.

And where Jade and Malik were concerned, Jay was also included as Aladdin had originally planned in inviting the former thief to Agrabah so they could get to know each other, and Jay, to get in touch with the more savory side of his heritage. Jay and Aladdin had especially hit off as they compared lives on the streets and bragged about some of their more daring heists so any concern of whether the Jafar connection would sour things was gone. All together, Jay, Jade and Malik were new, though unofficial members of the family. Aladdin, and Jasmine decided to hold off any official adoption in respect to Jay and Jade’s feelings.

Though, having three new members meant triple the chaos, the running in the halls and inevitable breaking of antique objects. It was still triple the fun.

Razoul, predictably, despised the decision. But hey, he wasn’t the sultan.

Jordan peeked out to the hall, no sign of peacock racing or frazzled servants anywhere. Since she’d been inside so long she decided to go outside to the backyard.

Passing the living room, she saw Jay playing some sort of Wii-fit game against Carlos, Lonnie and Gil whose scores were also reflected on the screen even as they played millions of miles away in their own living rooms. Jordan checked the time, ah it was 2’o clock on the doubt. Jay always called his friends at this time since it was when the time zones converged suitably for all of them to chat.

Jade was lounging on the couch, facetiming her girlfriend, Yzla. Jordan waved, and Jade waved in return, focusing mainly on their conversation which involved some llama prank with Empress Malina. Yzla was staying with Emperor Kuzco and his family. A arrangement Kuzco had initially been against but his wife and son overruled him. Which was for the best because apparently Yzla and him were hitting it off like two peas in a pod, scaring Malina, by tricking her into thinking Kuzco had changed into a llama again.

Huh, that reminded her, she hadn’t checked social media in a few hours. So she scrolled through, looking at Ben’s new post that there was to be a new class in the fall. Magic 101 with Flora, Fauna and Merrywhether and many surprise guest lecturers.

The Magic 101 class had been one of Uma’s many ideas for the new and improved Auradon. She told Ben of Alexandria’s reasoning for the revolt, explaining that the pressure for magic creatures to deny their magic was a strong reason for resentment, and most importantly, unfair. And Ben, who had been present at several meetings where mermaids, fairies and others stated their petitions of complaints, agreed. King Ben had removed the magic ban and decided to institute the Magic 101 class. Contrary to the name, the class wasn’t for magical beings, they already knew how to deal with their powers and not use them to affect others or supposedly cheat at life. The class was a requirement for Auradonians to learn about their fellow beings, how it was a vital part of them and the greater natural world.

Ben had actually suggested that she’d be the magical liaison and teacher assistant for the new Magic 101 classes but she had politely declined. She did accept going as a demonstrator whenever it was time for her Dad’s guest lecture.

But a fulltime TA? It sounded like too much work, her powers were not applicable to the greater magical population, and most importantly, she really wanted to get back to doing her auratube show. Especially now that she was bound to have so many new subscribers thanks to her newfound fame for helping to defeat the Coven.

Jordan had considered doing a series about the Isle mission against the Coven in order to get the story straight and not create too wild legends regarding their month and a half there. And okay, there was also the fact that she wanted to renew her hits after losing subscribers after not posting for a month.

But she ultimately decided not to. It was their mission, only they’d get what happened in that wild untamed place of evil and poverty. Besides, it was very personal and she didn’t want to have to go into her fights with Aziz and Jay on Auratube. Or her encounter with Antiquam.

No she’d rather not think about the latter for a very long time.

Dismissing those thoughts she scrolled through several more posted announcements like the newly formed Minority Kingdom Council made up of representatives from Atlantis, Atlantica, Arrendelle, Kuzcoropia, and Pydrian, who were overrun by environmental and tourism concerns as Alexandria brought up. There was also a new class of Vks that were coming in. Basically the teen population of the Isle.

The orphans and kids from the Isle were sent to boarding elementary schools around Auradon as well as foster care with professional trained therapists for the abused youngsters.

Ben’s decision to bring the whole teen population in had been a controversial one. But he had stood by it, stating that he was taking the advice of his people, the ones from his generation who were to make up the future generation and a schoolwide vote had agreed that the Vks should be let in.

Granted it had taken a two month lobbying campaign led by Mal and Evie with Lonnie, Carlos, Jane and Jay’s help. But they did, they persuaded lots of royal kids that it was better to bring Vks over. It also helped that Mal, Jay, Evie, Carlos and Uma had been pronounced Auradon’s saviors thrice in a row so…

Though it wouldn’t be until August that all the Vks, with a few exceptions like the resolutely bad CJ Hook and Prince Lars, and Antiquam, would be able to get to Auradon. But they would, Uma was making sure of it. Even Zevon and Ginny were coming despite their actions in proudly helping the Coven, Ben believed they just needed to be removed from the negative influences of their mothers.

Some Vks had already come over like Carlos’ cousin. Diego had refused to enter the VK program through school, but through the work progrm. Now he and his band, Rotten Apples, could introduce Isle grunge rock to Auradon’s farmer populations and inspire them to use music to express themselves. Carlos informed them that Diego wasn’t too into that inspiration and empowerment stuff, but he was loving the popularity. And he often crashed to the Radcliff house to catch up with Carlos and get a break from his adoring fans.

Harriet Hook, also in the work program, was working in Neverland, serving as guard for docks and a pretty mean one too, Jordan heard. Any tourist that tried to sneak

Not that everyone was residing in the homes of their parents’ enemies. Celia Facilier was living with her sister Freddie, and Freddie’s girlfriend, Ally at the Mad for Tea Shop. Also as a student by day and helping her sister as the evening entertainment at night. Singing only. FG was still wary of introducing such sketchy magic as card readings. Celia did choose to be a TA to her sister’s class, Goodness 101. Freddie was taking over for FG to make it a revamped, less patronizing seminar of how to act in Auradon with Ally popping in for politeness lessons and Carlos with therapy dogs. Though FG still stayed in the room to supervise and make sure the class stayed on track and not turn into “Everything that’s wrong about sappy sweet Auradon.”

Dizzy was reunited with her mother, her aunt Anastasia, her uncle, the Baker and Anthony Tremine and they lived in the faculty building of Auradon Prep. Easy for Anthony and Dizzy to get to school and for the Baker to go to his new job as school cook.

His baguettes were to die for, so flaky and crispy. Even Chad reluctantly agreed to their goodness when she interviewed him for student reactions to the new cook. Anastasia and Drizella were the new cosmeticians in training at the school’s day spa even though the two still argued over what was a better color and such.

Also working in Auradon’s kitchen were Gil, and Cosette’s mothers who had taken in their other’s sister’s sons, Gaston Jr, Gaston the Third and Gaston (IV) the Great. Their mother had been deemed just as abusive as Gaston and was to stay on the Isle with him. Gil had been nervous about living with his brothers again but he had Cosette by his side and Harry and Uma just a street away. Harry was just as fiercely loyal as ever to his crew and to Uma, who he’d wait for outside of Ben’s office, waiting for their meetings to end.

Gil also had Jay on his side. And though Jordan had absolutely no proof, she just felt something between them, and she was planning to use this summer to sniff out just what it was.

It had been more controversial to bring back some adult villains like Anastasia and Circe, but Ben had explained that he was not in the business of tearing families apart and adults were able to change too. Smee, for instance, wanted to retire from swabbing desks and wanted his second act in life to follow his lifelong dream. Be a clockmaker, ironically enough considering his boss’ fear of the ticking. Same with other low level henchmen like Jace and Harry, and Hun soldiers that had been following the battle orders and propaganda Shan Yu had fed them.

Ben had promised not all adults would come over, especially not ones that had abused their children, and that he, Mal and Uma were designing a careful vetting process for this program.

As for the Auradonian bred villains. Morgana and Morgaine hadn’t stayed in the dungeon for long. One day the guards had come down to give their food and they were just gone. No one knew where they went and no magic had been able to locate them. Merlin said it was no use trying. The Le Feys were tricky and wouldn’t reappear again unless they wanted to.

Kyro, Victoria and Alexandria were in therapy now in a new building away from the dorms and those who would shun them for their actions like the media that had reviled them when the news leaked out. It was a bit of a depressing building Jordan thought since one could see it if they leaned far out their windows. The outside of it looked like an insane asylum but Evie enthused about how open- aired and peaceful it was inside. The point of it was to clear the outside world, and focus on healing. What’s more, since Uma learned of FG’s somewhat oblivious and condescending advice from Alexandria, they hired a new counselor. A Dr. Mickey Mouse.

So yeah, things seemed to wrapping out into a happily ever after for all.

Jordan walked into a door, rubbing her head of the bruise and cursing herself for not looking up. Tucking the phone in her pocket, she was about to open the door when Aziz opened it for her, heading inside from hanging out on the hammock.

He didn’t even look at her as he entered, he was busy chatting on the phone with who else, his new girlfriend.

Aziz had stayed true to his word that he and Lala were just friends, and remained just friends for three months. It had irritated Jordan to no end to watch them sneak discreet looks, study together since Lala only knew the Atlantean alphabet and not the English, and dance around their feelings as if the obvious wasn’t there. And it took all her self control to honor her vow to not meddle and send a flying carpet in to speed things up.

At least Aziz did not shut her out completely and still went to her advice for what to do when he asked her to be his girlfriend.

“What if she says no? Or doesn’t know what that is. Jay did say it was only gang activity. Or maybe she’ll just say no because she thinks she’ll go crazy like her mom. But I really want her to say yes. Oh Allah, what if I mess it up instead by acting like an idiot. Or she already thinks that. I walked into a wall yesterday.”

“Aziz, she likes you,” Jordan reassured him, “I’ve seen the way she looks at you. Like a leopard with dinner, she totally wants to eat you. In a sexy, hungry with desire way. Not cannibal way. And really, walking into a wall? That’s not a dealbreaker or even embarrassing. If you want to talk about embarrassing, nothing can top the time you popped in front of that yoga instructor you were trying to impress.” “I had food poisoning from the oysters!” Aziz yelled indiginantly.

“Doesn’t change the fact that you shitted during downward dog,” Jordan smirked at Aziz’s flustered angry face, “Nor was it like that time when you tried to impress Anxlin with a butterfly knife and ended up-”

“Will you stop bringing up the past?” Jordan decided to change tactics and be the serious, comforting big sister that he wanted, “Just speak from the heart. You’re on the same page with so many things, and you talk so much. Sooo much, it’s kinda annoying. Especially when you’re yapping in my room when I’m trying to watch a movie. But anyway, I think when the time comes your heart will guide you to say the right thing. And if not… your lips can speak for you.”

So with that fabulous advice if Jordan said so herself, on the last day of school, before they went their separate ways for vacation. Aziz went to her room and asked her.

And while she said she wouldn’t meddle, Jordan totally turned into a bee to go through the keyhole and eavesdrop on their conversation. For moral support. Just Aziz didn’t know about it.

It was endearingly awkward as Aziz stammered through some rambling monologue of how he liked her a lot, and only if she was okay with it, but he really thought they had something so woud she maybe consider being his girlfriend.

Aziz should probably have gotten some lessons from Jay on the art of smooth, but Lala seemed to get it. “So if we’re in a relationship we do what we do now… but with kissing?” she clarified.

“Yes!” Aziz agreed eagerly, then tried to dial down his excitement, “I mean sure, if you want.”

“I would really like that,” Lala bit her lip nervously but her expression was hopefully as Aziz leaned in.

Their kiss was short, two seconds at the most. Jordan would have given it a three out of five. It was unsure and the two seemed to be surprised they even did it. But it was clear from the look in their eyes, that they only saw each other and the rest of the world was already fading away for them, that that small kiss was perfect to them.

So they kissed again. Much more purposefully this time. Oh Allah, Jordan was so proud when Aziz added some passion and slipped tongue first. He was really growing up.

And they kissed again, and again and soon they were making out on Lala’s bed, which was starting to get kinda gross and Jordan was feeling weird about watching them. So she took that as her cue to leave.

But now she had plenty of new things to annoy Aziz about so she took it as a plus.

Grabbing him by the arm to stop, Jordan grabbed his camera.

“Hi, Lala, how are you?” Jordan waved, mugging for the camera as Aziz grabbed it back, and tried to push her out of the frame. The white-haired girl was dressed up in Evie’s new line of summer clothes with her hair up in a bun, and most startingly, her brown eyes were human.

It was silly that Jordan was surprised by Lala’s human eyes, she had been the one to change them when in a burst of good will offered all their allies on the adventure a wish. Lala hadn’t used the offered three wishes, just one, which was to remove the leopard spell Queen La had put on her. She lost her cat eyes and the habit of walking on all fours, but she still had her cat-like grace which Jordan chalked up to natural ability. It had been three months since that wish, but she had been so used to Lala’s cat-like slits with the dilated pupils. It had been a unique marker like the scar that everyone could see on Lala’s leg when she wore shorts.

“I’m well. Aziz sent me your new vlog about Odiferous, it was very interesting.” Lala nodded curtly. Jordan knew Lala was usually guarded against everyone so the coldness didn’t bother her as much as it used to. Thanks to hanging out with Aziz and Jade, she was starting to slowly warm up to people she wasn’t close to even though her tone didn’t reflect it.

“How are the Porters?” Jordan asked, cutting off whatever Aziz was about to say next. He glared at her, but she ignored. Hey, she said she’d stop mothering him. So now it was back to annoying big sister privileges.

“They’re well. Kerchak and I are going tree surfing tomorrow.” Lala answered. When Ben put up the invitation of Vks in need of foster homes or adoptive families, the Porters offered to take in Clay Clayton, and Lala. Clay refused and went with his Aunt, Lady Waltham who was thrilled to meet her surly nephew for the first time. Lala joined the Porters where she was helping their gorilla reserve, connecting with animals instead of hunting them for food and survival.

It was bound to be awkward considering their daughter’s actions, but Auradon seemed to consider it part of their penance even though they hadn’t known what Victoria had planned to wrought. But according to Lala, they did their best to skirt around that sensitive issue and treat her like a guest, and she was starting to befriend Kerchak. He even gave her a leopard of her own which she named Euware II though the pet made Tarzan a bit wary. Still, Lala had to stay in her room on weekends when Victoria visited from therapy.

“That’s great. When are you coming to visit? I know Jade is just dying for you to visit. It’d be fun. We can go sand surfing, oh and explore some of the caves under the citadel. Oh, oh and I just know Aziz wants to show you some of the secret alcoves in the palace. They’re great for making out and-” “Go away!” Aziz waved her off

“You want me to leave? But who will chaperon you two? Who will tell Lala all the embarrassing stories from your childhood? I’ve been holding onto blackmail for a reason, Aziz. I must tell her,” Jordan turned to the screen, “But seriously, come visit. I’ll leave you to it.”

“Thank you!” Aziz sighed in exasperation, “Give me 5 minutes, I’ll join you to go to the bazaar later, Jord.”

“See ya!” Jordan called over the shoulder as she headed to the palace kitchen, still hearing some snippets of Aziz’s conversation about his summer psychology classes. His new passion since Jordan had suggested that since he liked overanalyzing and counselling other people's problems, he could research into being a psychologist.

Upon reaching the outside, Jordan took a big breath of the sweet summer air with a hint of jasmine and the coconut and sighed.

Life was good.

Of course, life was always good when it was summer vacation but it was more than that. She had really committed to what she had learned on the Isle. She lived in the present now, and tried not to wallow in the anger and resentment that extended to almost every human she met.

Did that kind of positive mindset always work? Hell no, sometimes, someone would grab her arm, requesting for a wish, rubbing her jacket as if that was the lamp and not her. Yeah, that stupid event would irritate her all morning but she didn’t go into her spiral of how all humans were greedy monsters, her life sucked that she had to walk among them and so on and so forth. She learned to vent to Aziz and let it go.

She would always meet bad people in her life, when that happened, if the situation was appropriate, she would blow a mini sandstorm in their face and move on.

She’d also gotten more sensitive about complaining about humanity in front of Aziz. She tried to complain of an individual person and not make broad generalizations about the mortal race, and repeat that Aziz and his family were the exception.

Well Aladdin’s family, and Uma, and Jay, and Lonnie, and Calix and Ben, and she was starting to realize her circle of those she trusted was expanding.

It felt good to have that knowledge.

Even if Aziz might not always be there, though she’d kill him if he wasn’t, she still had others who cared about her.

Then again, she, Calix, Aziz, Jay and Uma had been through a harrowing adventure that nearly destroyed the world they knew, and had to face their greatest fears and insecurities to do so. If that didn’t make you trust a person, what would?

There were also her parents. Her parents always had her back.

That was another thing she’d been committed to doing since she got back from the Isle and saved Auradon.

Her parents had been the first ones to get there, magical teleportation after all and were laying out the blue carpet and making plans for the greatest party in all of Agrabah for their daughter, the hero. Instead of getting annoyed by their zany antics as usual, and annoyed at how they ignored the fact she faced possibly life-ending danger against their enemies, she just hugged them.

The act had clearly surprised them because both of their jaws broke off and fell to the floor before snapping back up like a ball. But they loved the change in her nonetheless.

Ever since then, she’d been going out with them every other weekend, be it ice skating on Saturn’s rings or clubbing or going out to drink in celebration of the banning of the Magic Ban.

She had thought for so long that if she let herself act even a little bit like them, she’d be signing herself to a fate of servitude, never being taken seriously, and becoming a negligent oblivious person who only wanted to focus on fun.

She had worried that if these things didn’t come naturally to her, she’d have to fake it in order to fit in and be palatable to her own parents. So they wouldn’t become bored with her. She hadn’t liked thinking about it, but she always felt that was the underlying reason they left her.

But she lived in the present now and shoved all those thoughts away. She did what she wanted without thinking of the implications. And she found that actively listening to what they were saying, how they constantly suggested ideas for their next adventure, how it was too bad she had school and couldn’t come with them to their trip. They didn’t think she was a damper on their party style, they wanted her to be with them. And she usually said to each invitation.

YOLO, right. Well more like YOLFSMAWEI.

(You Only Live Forever So Might As Well Enjoy It. Not as catchy but infinitely more accurate)

Family time was a lot more enjoyable that way instead of brooding that once it was over, they were going to forget about her and go about their lives as if they didn’t have a daughter.

Although, Jordan still did crave for a meaningful talk where she got to tell them about some of her issues with their lack of parenting oversight, and maybe delve into how abandoned she felt when they wouldn’t discuss such issues like her rape, they still weren’t ready for that.

Though Aladdin was talking to her dad on her behalf, and it seemed he was starting to soften to it.

Until then, she had two sets of parents. Aladdin and Jasmine, probably the first humans who she trusted, and respected. The first ones who saw her as a child and not a being for wishes. They gave her the love and attention she had craved when she needed it. They stood by treating her like everyone else, as she wished, even when it meant disregarding her excuses that her genie-ness exempted her from getting in trouble. They were always present her lives and were the ones that reminded her that her supposed fate was not a fate, that no one could shackle her, not unless they went through them. They encouraged that there other sides to her besides being a genie. That she should work hard, be kind, be honest and be independent.

Her mom and dad, who loved her with all their hearts and thought of her as their best friend. It wasn’t the most parental relationship but she had started to accept that it would never be. They were genie parents, not human ones, and it was finally sinking in that the rules would always be different from them. No matter that Jordan looked human and was raised by them. But that’s what made them special. No one else in the world would get her quite like her mom and dad.

Aziz opened the door, knocking her in the back and she moved over so he could wait beside her.

She checked her phone. Her parents were supposed to come here five minutes ago so they culd go to the bazaar together.

They probably weren’t going to come for another twenty minutes.

Ah genies, Jordan sighed, they were never going to be punctual. She wondered how many years it would be before she started viewing time as an unimportant mortal construct.

She was about to pose that question to Aziz, whether it would occur in his lifetime or in her 5,000s when a green and blue poof popped up in front of them.

“We’re here!” The two blew the smoke away to reveal the pair in matching red and white striped tuxedos with a blinking “Genie and Eden” sign hanging behind them.

“It’s Genie and Eden!” Eden announced

“Eden and Genie!” Genie intoned.

Then with a snap of a finger, the props and costumes disappeared, and Genie sat thoughtfully in the air, “We can’t quite choose which sounds better.”

Eden went back to a form-fitting black leotard with a black bowler hat, smoking a cigar in her best Liza Minelli voice, “Whaddya think, daughter dear, whaddya think?”

“I think we should go to the bazaar and have the people decide which is better.” Jordan suggested, knowing that if they did it here, they wouldn’t leave.

“By george, she’s right!” Genie exclaimed transforming into a nerdy account, “Statistically, it is always better to test things with a test audience, and according to my calculations that the Agrabah bazaar has the best cross-pool of audience with 10% bearded, 40% kids..” He transformed into his usually big blue self, “Aaand let’s get outta here!”

“Wait up!” Jay yelled, nearly running into the four of them with Jade at his side, “I wanna go to the bazaar too, there was that awesome scimir I wanted to buy.” “Yeah me too, I want to steal things too… I-I mean buy. Buy with money. That I did not steal from the mean guard.” “His name is Razoul, and you really shouldn’t. He already doesn’t like you.” Aziz shook his head.

“I don’t like him, and that’s what makes it so tempting.” Jade defended.

“Yeah, he kinda has it coming,” Jay agreed.

“Now, now, we won’t say anything about it. But you must stop,” Eden warned in a prim British accent, poofing into a blue serge suit like a certain famous nanny, “Now spit spot, hurry up, we don’t want to be late to the bazaar.”

Genie transformed into a Bert to his wife’s Mary Poppins, adding, “Come ‘ere ye kiddos and ‘urry it ‘up.”

Jay and Jade stared at each in the classic “What the hell?” expression that bystanders always had whereas her parents were concerned. Aziz and Jordan just shrugged and smiled.

And so they went off to the bazaar and as the sun beated down on them, and Jordan whipped up a hijab from air to keep off the heat, she hummed a familiar tune which Aziz and her dad easily picked up.

“As you wind through the streets at the fabled bazaars with the cardamom-cluttered stalls. You can smell every spice while you haggle the price of the silks and the satin shawls. Oh, the music that plays as you move through a maze in the haze of your pure delight. You are caught in a dance. You are lost in the trance of another Arabian night…”

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oumiyuki · 3 years

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Anju's Heart is a Spring Party

SUMMARY: Sometimes Anju gets extra flustered and embarrassed around her privilege AKA Saitou Shuka.

Pairing: AnShuka

Genre: Romance, Fluff

Read me at fanfiction.net or AO3~

Author Notes

Happy birthday to you~

Happy Birthday to Anjuuuuuu~~

Happy birthday to you~

\\>w<//

May you enjoy! ;D

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It is the filming of Aqours CLUB Spring Party today.

Anju was early and her makeup artist was already done with the finishing touches. The Leader of Aqours thanks the staff and excuses herself to go walk around the set; it will be a nice change of pace so she does not get too nervous.

Staffs walking around, cameras tested and setting up, quite a few people filtering in and out of a certain room… Anju smiles inwardly, ready to do a little snooping around.

Wonder what’s in there. Probably where we’ll film…

Anju pokes her head inside and her eyes widen, taking in all the pink and flowers – spring blossoms to be exact, matching the pink fluffy carpet and other decorations to do with Springtime.

Wow…

Anju consciously closes her mouth that fell agape from awe and astonishment.

Staff-san really went all out. It’s so pretty…

“Anju~ Morning~”

Ah, that voice.

“You’re super early! But I wasn’t too far behind. Hehe~ I’m all ready for filming too!”

Anju turns around and sure enough – a blinding smile, cheerful eyes Saito Shuka greets her vision. Anju sucks in a slightly deep breath through her nose as she took in all that at once.

Now this is pretty…

“What are you peeking at~?” Shuka tries to close the distance and get a sneak preview of the set and to see what Anju was seeing moments before her appearance.

She’s so loud but so cute. Super cute…

“Morning…” Anju greets after the delay effect of her best friend’s prowess.

Shuka chuckles before proceeding to produce an array of sounds to showcase her amazement of what she sees. “Oh my gosh, Anju look!!” Shuka waves her hand like a dog’s excited tail wagging.

I’m looking.

Anju and Shuka make eye contact briefly when Shuka turns back around to confirm the taller girl came to look too. Anju almost falls into another line of thought to praise Shuka’s eyes in her mind but Shuka turns back around all too soon.

Looking at you.

“This room is amazing!” Shuka was going to step further in but Anju takes her hand and pulls her out. “Whaaa~”

“No entry just yet.” Anju points out.

“Aww~” Shuka nods her understanding, leaning back on her heels as she attempts to not be too high tensioned.

Gods why is Shuka so…breathtakingly pretty and cute?

Anju eyes travel up and down and slightly around Shuka as much as she can observe from standing where she is.

It’s truly my privilege to get to be in the same room and stare at her all I want…

Anju’s cheeks heat up slow and soft.

Shuka makes eye contact with Anju again and her brown eyes light up, her smile growing brighter. “Anju!”

What are you doing to me Shuka?

Anju’s heart skips a million beats. “What’s up.”

Anju responds lamely, her brain cells still fangirling over Shuka’s cuteness to function well.

Shuka chuckles in that happy-go-lucky way she does and Anju’s brain cells did a little cheer. “We’re about to have a Spring Party with the rest of the girls. I’m excited.” Shuka bounced her weight from side to side.

Shuka standing idly seems to be rare now that I think about it.

Anju smiles. “Very excited.”

“YEAH!!” Shuka could no longer conceal her megawatt smile.

Anju wants to frame that scene up somewhere in her room but instead, it’s etched in her heart forever.

“Did I ever tell you your hairdresser and costume manager does an amazing job?” Anju voiced her thoughts unintentionally.

“Eh?” Shuka blinks, a tad confused from the surprise question.

“Ah, I mean…” Anju’s cheeks probably pinkened into an obvious shade as she averts her eyes from Shuka.

Shuka who waggles her eyebrows up and down teasingly and moves over to bump her blushing partner’s shoulder. “You mean~~~”

Anju grumbles, face red.

Am I that obvious? I mean that statement was way too obvious? Ughhh, now I’m going to be on the receiving end of Shuka’s cheeky grin.

“You find me cute?~” Shuka’s tone 100% amused and elated, one could almost see the heart emoticon at the end of her sentence. And her joviality only accentuated tenfold with that huge smile of hers.

Shuka and her megawatt smiles…

Anju whines a weak protest, cheeks still a cute red as she refused to make full eye contact with Shuka. “M-mmph…”

Shuka falls into a soft silence. Bumping her shoulder on Anju’s again – lightly. Whispering, “I think you’re super pretty too.”

If possible, Anju’s face was becoming Shuka’s favourite colour a bit too perfectly.

Ugh…my heart is too loud…

More of the other girls have arrived and were done with preparation for the filming and Anju enjoyed chatting of every random thing she and Shuka could come up with as the conversation flows.

“So I’m thinking that bees are cute too but not cuter than the rhinoceros beetle?” Shuka went on to share her thoughts about bugs and Anju usually would retort on that topic but…she was distracted.

Mm…The way Shuka’s hair is longer now… She doesn’t give off that dorky feel.

Anju rubs her chin thoughtfully.

Even though she is. Now she’s…looking so mature and pretty-

Anju covers her mouth as her heart did MIRACLE WAVE flips without her permission; not that her heart ever listened to her easily embarrassed brain.

Shuka…

Anju reaches up without thinking, her fingers tangling into Shuka’s soft light brown hair.

Addictive…this is addictive…

“Anju?” Shuka stares innocently with a hint of amusement in those magnetic brown hues.

Wait what am I doing?!

Anju retracts her hand now that she has caught up with reality. “Ah- Shuka- I- Um… You were there?!”

That’s not even a good excuse at all!!

Anju once again averts her eyes and turns her head as far away as possible while not running away, plus she could feel the blush itself this time.

Why is it so hot here??

Shuka’s eyes held a big playful glint and she leans forwards to Anju, a Cheshire grin thick on her lips. “We were having a conversation until you decided to touch my hair~”

Ahhhhhhhh!!!

Anju gulps. “D-Did I?”

Gosh, why am I stuttering!

Shuka laughs heartily. “You can.”

Shuka’s mad at me, right? She disliked that I touched her like that right?

Anju opens her mouth to apologize and admit to her “crimes” but stops short as her not panicking brain waved frantically at her to notice what Shuka, the girl of her affections, just said. “Wait, what?”

Shuka’s eyes were grinning with her smile. “You can, Anju.”

“I can…do what?” Anju tries to think but she could only gaze cluelessly into Shuka’s alluring eyes.

Touch her?? Is she saying I can touch her???

Shuka answers Anju’s frantic questions by taking Anju’s hand into both of hers, lifting it slowly up towards her, watching Anju stare intently at the action. And then she guides those fingers back into her hair resting on her shoulder.

…Shuka…

Anju takes her time to move her fingers; intertwining, unravelling, lifting lightly, watching Shuka’s hair fall back into place and then going back in.

Ugh, I’m hooked to playing with Shuka’s hair now.

“I can?” Anju asks quietly, jaw shifting as she wanted to hear a yes oh so badly and her kind of stubborn, in denial part of her also wanted to deny her from accepting how much she adores being close to Shuka.

Shuka laughs gently; all of Anju’s attention on her. “Yes, my dear~”

Anju blushes at the affectionate call, a tease it may be, it still placed Anju on cloud nine nonetheless.

“So…Shuka.”

“Yeah?”

“I can touch you anywhere?” Anju weaved her fingers in and out of Shuka’s hair like it was second nature now.

Shuka pretends to give it a thought before she smiled widely once more. “You can touch me wherever you like.”

Anju tries to hold back the smirk and smugness as she rubbed the ends of Shuka’s hair between her fingers in delight while Shuka was always weak to Anju’s devilish grin.

Shuka punches Anju’s arms lightly. “Hey…What are you thinking of! I’ll take back what I said!”

Anju grins from ear to ear, eyes sparkling. “Not telling~”

“Anjuuu!!” Shuka protests, trying the puppy dog eyes while Anju avoids fully looking into it.

Touching Shuka is my privilege too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author Notes

Let’s all wish Anju a Shuka-filled day that is made up of love and laughter!! ^w^ hehehe~

I hope y’all enjoyed the read! :D

Anju just…loves touching Shuka, I’m telling you. XD I love how they naturally holds hands and hug for longer and gaze into each other’s eyes and give each other headpats and now – well – hair touching ;D

Let me know your fave part! *w*

Also drop in the comments what other lovely AnShuka you have witnessed and perhaps that might be a blast of inspiration for little Miyuki here to expand on those scenes XD nante ne!

I love you, Anju!!

#anshuka #anshk #inami anju #saitou shuka #fanfic #fanfiction #fluff #romance #love live #love live sunshine #takami chika #watanabe you #anchan #shukashuu #cute #happy birthday inami anju 2021

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twstankin · 4 years

Text

Revisions ( My Twst Persona Au )

(Edited Version for spelling mistakes)

Prologue - Part One

Wake Up Call

It’s finally here! Part one of the story! Still super nervous but y’all seemed to like the Scarabia sneak peek. It’s gonna be a bit before we get there. I also have to note, it’s going to be awhile before we get to the juicy persona stuff because this story follows the game’s plot. I apologize for any errors, but no beta we die like men here. If anyone wants to beta read for me I’d be really greatful~

I hope you enjoy!

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The first thing Yuu’s mind registered when they drifted into consciousness was the rattling of a door. The second thing was how uncomfortable their body felt, like they were crammed into a small space. They were laying on their back on top of a wooden surface. They tried to shift their body to provide comfort, but they were stopped by the walls of the box. What the hell was going on? Are they dead? Kidnapped? Buried alive? Their cynical thoughts were interrupted by a scuffing sound from the world outside their dark boxy prison.

“Gotta hurry. People are coming. Gotta get a uniform…!” The lid rattled again, but with more force this time. Yuu found themselves frozen as they tried to comprehend what exactly was going on.

“Grr! Why is it so heavy? Open! Open!” The voice outside panted. Yuu was tempted to call out for help or try to push against the lid themself. “Time for my secret move! Fu~naaaa~!”

The box became an oven in an instant. Were they being cremated?! “GYAAAAAAAAAAH! HOT HOT HOT!” They screamed as they pressed their back onto the wooden one of the box. They squeezed their eyes shut and tried to move away from the heat. It was useless, but what else could they do? The heat left as quickly as it came. They heard the sound of the lid popping off and slowly opened up one eye.

They were met with the blue eyes and smug grin of… a raccoon? A cat? Whatever it was, it had grey fur and a white fluffy belly. A tattered black and white striped bow had been tied around its neck. Yuu could have confused it with a normal animal, except for the blue fire that lined its ears and the forked devil tail.

“Hehe~ your uniform is mine~.” The creature spoke. The voice fit the little monster. It hopped into the box and on top of Yuu and began to fiddle with the purple and black robes they wore. They didn’t have a chance to question their sudden wardrobe change, because their reflexes kicked in at the moment. They hoisted their body up which caused the monster to be knocked off of them.

“Don’t touch me!”

“Geh-?! WHY ARE YOU UP?!”

Yuu blinked. “A talking raccoon in a room full of floating coffins… is this hell?”

The offended look on the monster's face made their heart drop. “I am not a raccoon! I am the great grim!” He huffed. “Whatever. Oí human! Give me those robes!”

Did… Did that fucking raccoon just order them to strip?!

“Otherwise…” flames erupted around the two and Yuu found themselves moving away from the sudden heat again. “I’ll roast ya!”

While Yuu didn’t doubt that he would, but they had dignity! Anger flooded their body. This pint-sized little-. “Over my rotting corpse!” They yelled and yanked themselves out of the coffin. They booked it to the first entrance they saw.

“Oí! Get back here!” The raccoon’s voice faded away as they ran as fast as their legs would take them.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

After a mad dash through various rooms and hallways before Yuu found themselves in a library. ‘A perfect place to hide!’ A bit cliché but they were in no situation to judge. With their back pressed to a bookshelf, the reality of what was going on set in. “If I am dreaming, somebody please wake me up.” Unfortunately for them, blue fire ripped them from their thoughts a second time that night.

“Hehe, stupid human! You can’t escape from the great Grim’s awesome nose!”

‘Ah. He found me.’

“I’ll say it again, hand over the robes or get burned to a- GYAA!” A whip wrapped around the monster and restrained him. “Ow! Where did this cord come from?” A figure behind him glared down at the him.

“This is no mere cord! It is a whip of love!” The mysterious man who had just saved their life was oddly dressed. He looked like a train driver. A coat with a blue collar and feathered shoulders rested on his back and a matching top hat with the same blue ribbon and feathers sat on his head. Under the coat his clothing was relatively normal. A black vest, tie, and pants with a white dress shirt. The truly odd thing about his appearance was the bird mask that rested on his face. His eyes didn’t show very much aside from the glowing yellow pupils.

“Ah, I finally found you. Are you perhaps the missing student?” He turned to Yuu. “You really shouldn’t go off like that! Leaving the gate on your own!” He glared at the raccoon again. “And your familiar isn’t even tamed! Another violation of the school rules!”

Both the monster and Yuu objected to that statement. No way was this hairball their familiar! After all the hell he’s put them through…

“Oí let me go! I’m not their familiar!”

“Right… he’s not-“

Birdman shook his head before cutting Yuu off. “Sure sure. The most rebellious ones always say that. Just zip it.” Then he gagged the monster. “How troublesome are you? A new student like yourself leaving the gate all on your own…”

“Never mind that, we’re late to the opening ceremony. Please follow me to the hall of mirrors.” Birdman began walking towards the exit dragging Yuu and the monster with him.

“Wait a moment… new student? And what’s a gate?” Yuu still had no idea about what was happening before them. They were already enrolled in a school from the few hazy memories that remained, and where the hell were they?!

Birdman acknowledged them this time, “ The room you awoke in, the one with all the doors. Those who wish to be students here must pass through one of the doors to arrive here. Normally, students wake up only after the door is unlocked with a special key but…” he trailed off.

“Oh… so those coffins. They were actually doors.”

“The culprit here seems to be this familiar!” He tugged at Grim. “The rules state that if you are going to bring one, then you must take care and responsibility for it.” He paused for a moment. “Now isn’t the time to be scolding you. The ceremony will be done soon, so let’s hurry.” He nudged Yuu towards the door but they still had questions that needed to be answered. “Hold on! Where am I? And who are you?”

“Hm? It appears the transportation magic has left you disoriented. It happens often! I’ll explain as we make our way, for I am so gracious.”

‘Gracious? Does everyone around here have an ego?’

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Once they entered what Yuu could call a courtyard, Bird man began to fill them in.

“You are currently In Night Raven College's Main building. This is a school for magicians blessed with a unique aptitude for magic from all over the world. It’s one of the most prestigious magical academies in Twisted wonderland. And I am the Headmaster, appointed to watch over this academy, Dire Crowley.” It was nice to finally stop calling him birdman all the time. But one thing was off.

“Magician? I think you have the wrong guy…”

Crowley ignored the last part of Yuu’s sentence in favor of continuing his explanation. “Only those magicians dubbed worthy by the dark mirror can attend this school. Potential students use the gates and are summoned from all over the world.”

This dark mirror had clearly screwed up… unless Yuu was like a book protagonist and had a secret magic power?! Excitement and ideas of what might be raced through them.

‘I take back my wish! I don’t want to wake up yet!’

“An Ebony carriage that carries the gate should have gone to meet you.” Alas poor Yuu could not remember such A thing. Hopefully their memories would come back to them soon. “The Carriage goes to welcome new students chosen by the dark mirror. A long time ago the market decided that carriages are used for special occasions to welcome people.”

“And where is this market?”

Crowley ignored him once again. ‘For someone so gracious he’s quite rude…’ “Come. We’re almost at the entrance ceremony.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The room that Crowley brought them to was packed full of students dressed in similar robes as Yuu, Black robes with purple and gold accents. It seemed as if the ceremony was already over. Students stood in large groups talking with each other, as other students began preparations to leave. It was nerve wracking to say the least. All of them could use magic? It was a bit of a scary thought. They all had a huge advantage over poor little Yuu! Most even towered over them.

“I am here~” Crowley called out into the room. All eyes turned to the trio. Yuu sunk into the hood of their robe. “Ah there he is.” A student said. “We were missing a student! I went out to go find them, for I am so kind~” he stopped addressing the mass of students and turned to Yuu. “As the only person left who has yet to be assigned a dorm, I shall keep the raccoon company. Go, step in front of the dark mirror.” Yuu did as they were told.

The walk to the mirror felt like a lifetime. Every pair of eyes in the room was trained on them. ‘No pressure.’ The so-called dark mirror floated in the middle of the room. It was larger than Yuu, and it had a beautiful golden trim. Green fire and a white mask with gold accents was reflected back at them. It was so cool, and Yuu had a feeling that they had seen this same mirror before.

“State thy name.”

“Yuu.”

“Yuu… The shape of Thy soul is…”

‘Here it comes…!’

“I do not know.”

‘...What?’

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Well here we are! God am I tired. Once I post this I’ll head to bed ;w;

... probably.

Tags: @lionheartanotheraccount @kimmy-banana

(If anyone wants to be tagged just ask me and I’ll happily do so)

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strawberriestyles · 5 years

Text

Part 3: The Chills

(BANNER BY THE GODDESS HERSELF @adashofniallandasprinkleoflunacy)

Harry X Reader (AU)

In which you try to resolve the case of a fraternity’s haunting in a single night.

Read previous parts here.

Word count: 2.3k

Author’s note: TWO POSTS IN ONE WEEK. :O Two parts left. Hope y’all are enjoying this! This part is a treat for y’all. ;)

When Harry closes the door, the only light that remains in his bedroom is the red glow of an alarm clock. No moonlight, no substantial starlight.

“Let me get this,” he says, reaching toward a lamp. The lightbulb flickers to life, casting a ghostly glow across his features as he turns to look at you.

There are two beds, two desks. It’s just like a dorm on campus. You glance around at the posters of cars and bands plastered to the walls and the books stacked up beside one of the desks—all biology course books. There are a few odd pieces of dirty clothing scattered across the floor but for the most part you’re surprised at how clean the room is.

“Which closet’s yours?” you ask, pretending not to notice the way Harry’s ogling you. He’s trying to be subtle, scratching the back of his neck so he has an excuse to tip his head forward and lower his eyes to your bare legs. You feel like you could use another drink.

He nods toward the accordion door on your left and stays silent for a beat before his eyes finally meet your face once more. He clears his throat when he sees how closely you’re watching him. “Take anythin’ yeh want."

“Anything?”

He grins at you. “Would appreciate it if yeh left my jersey alone, but yes, anythin’ else.”

“And if I wanted to wear the jersey?”

His eyes narrow. “I would need collateral.”

“Ah.” You have a sneaking suspicion that his request for collateral would be the same as his request for an entrance fee. With a dramatic sigh, you reach under the hem of your skirt, just far enough that you see Harry’s smile slip. His jaw strains and his throat bobs. You grin. “Just kidding."

You retract your hands and spin toward the closet, opening up the door. There is a shelf packed with thick crewnecks and hoodies, some with the college’s logo emblazoned upon the chest and others sporting the names of businesses or gyms. You pick out a black, print-free hoodie with colorful paint dried across the front like an abstract art piece. When you turn around, Harry has his arms crossed and he’s standing in front of the door.

“That was quite rude of you,” he says.

“What was?”

“Yeh’re bein’ a tease.”

You tip your head to the side and shrug. “Which bed is yours?”

Harry nods again toward the mattress topped with a navy blue comforter and you cross the room to drop your chosen sweatshirt onto it. He’s staring at the ceiling the next time you look at him, as if willing himself to keep his wandering eyes in check.

“Is your roommate here tonight?”

“I dunno. Haven’ looked for him.”

You take a few steps toward Harry, chewing on your cheek. He looks down at you as you move closer.

“How long have you lived here?”

“Two years. ‘M a senior.”

“Oh yeah? Are you planning on grad school?”

He smiles and tips his head to look out the window into the black night. There’s something about that smile, the soft lilt of it and the dimple that peeks out from one cheek that draws you even closer. His body is relaxed and loose, crossed arms sliding down his abdomen, and you want to see him tense up again. You want to watch him rise back up to full height with his shoulders pulled taut. And you still want to run your hands through his hair.

“Uh huh.” Harry is beginning to say something else when your fingers close around the collar of his flannel and your lips silence his. He doesn’t even take a moment to recover. He fists your costume at the small of your back, pulling you forward until your torso stretches along his. Your skirt is hiked up your hips and you can feel cold air along the lines of your underwear. You shiver, but you don’t protest the chill.

There’s a huff of breath down your chin as Harry breaks the kiss to reposition his mouth, head tilted and nose grazing your cheekbone. His arm snakes around your waist, pulling you tighter against his body as he leans back against the door behind him. You can feel his ribcage expanding with each intake of breath. One hand shifts down the side of your body, over your hip. He hunches forward, arching your spine until his fingers drag at the skin of your thigh and catch on a fraying string at the hem of your costume.

Harry groans, deep and feral in the back of his throat, at the rough graze of your teeth along his lower lip. His hand drags your skirt up even higher until you can feel air along the end of your spine, and then his fingers curl around the lace at the side of your panties. He twists them tight around his middle finger. You gasp when he gives a sharp yank and your hips are jerked forward. Your underwear shifts against your clit. The pressure is heady and your teeth nearly sink into Harry’s tongue when he yanks upward. Instead, you careen against the friction and sigh, a hushed but high-pitched breath, as your hands rake down Harry’s chest to the end of his ribcage.

He lifts his mouth from yours. There’s an echoing huff in your ear and the resounding click of the door’s lock turning before he’s leading you blindly backward. Your legs meet a desk. The icy handle of a drawer almost makes you shriek as it grazes your thigh, but Harry lifts you up and onto the surface of the desk before a sound can leave your mouth. Your hand sprawls out to catch yourself and your fingers find a cold pane of the window beside you. Your shoulder blades press into a poster.

“What happened to tellin’ me to fuck off?”

“Guess I changed my mind,” you breathe, sliding your hips forward until you can hook your legs around Harry.

“Well, thank God for that.”

There’s a mindless clamoring of fingers as you attempt to reach beneath Harry’s shirt and he peels back the costume strap from your tweaked shoulder, running his open mouth along the skin that he pressed closed lips to so gently not even an hour ago. Your fingertips inch along the hard planes of his lower stomach, his muscles contracting at your touch until you meet the soft flesh at his hips. His tongue is licking at the artery in the side of your neck, tasting your pulse.

Harry shifts forward until he’s pressed up against your underwear and your skirt is slipping up around your ass. There’s a hiccup in your thought process when he jerks forward to chase the pressure between you. Your head lolls to the side. You work your hands free of his shirt to finally bury them in his hair, and it’s just as soft and thick between your fingers as you imagined. He lets out a guttural moan when your fingers scrape against his scalp.

There’s a loud bang as someone crashes into the bedroom door. Your body tenses, hands dragging down to the nape of Harry’s neck. He pauses. There’s mumbling outside, but the music and your pulse are too loud to hear over.

“Relax.” Harry’s thumbs stroke the outsides of your thighs, just below the thick of your hips. Goosebumps are drawn up from your flesh. His teeth nibble at the corner of your jaw, just below your ear, and your fingers clamp instinctively onto the damp curls at the back of his head again as his words hum against your skin. “Yeh’re safe”

His pelvis works against you again, stiff denim catching on the soft cotton of your panties. You gulp down a desperate lungful of air and your eyes flutter shut. Your ankles twist around his legs just above the backs of his knees. He takes this as an invitation to buck harder against you. The threads of his jean pockets burn against your bare thighs but your body still shifts needily toward him. Any thought of shedding clothes has long since been abandoned. You’re unwilling to take the time and it seems as though Harry is just as unwilling.

As your muscles begin to uncoil, you shift forward on the desk, grinding up to meet Harry’s staggered thrusts. You turn your head to the side to catch his lips, taste the beer on his breath as he dips his tongue into your mouth. Your legs tighten around his body. One arm curves around your waist and his fingers drag up your costume again before fitting below the lace band at the back of your panties and curling into the flesh of your ass.

“Oh,” he moans against your chin. His lips drag to the base of your throat, the crown of his head nudging your chin back until the length of your neck opens up to him. “Feel good?”

“Yes. Fuck, yes. Feels so good.” You tremble at the way he chuckles against your collarbone.

“Oh, baby, 'm not even tryin’.”

A rush of air leaves your lungs as his hips clap against you hard enough to send you jolting backward. You cling to his shoulders, gasping as he slams against you again. The desk rocks back into the wall and your lower stomach begins to tighten up. The hand that Harry doesn’t have tangled up in your underwear closes around your thigh.

“Close,” you mumble against the hair that tickles your chin. His teeth scrape against your throat. “So close.”

Harry leans you backward until your head meets the wall and he’s curved over the desk. He grinds against your core, rough but unsteady, like his feet are losing purchase on the carpeted floor. It’s enough to send you toppling over the edge.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” you whine, slipping sideways and grappling at the back of Harry’s flannel. Your cheek presses into the condensation on the icy window. Your eyes peel open and the lamp fizzles out. You’re left in the dark once more.

“What the fuck?” Harry grunts against your chest. He lifts his head and all you can see are his eyes in the bit of light the dull stars grant you. "Again?”

You huff into empty air as he unwinds himself from you, retracting his hand from your damp underwear and stepping away from the desk. Your legs spill over the edge, dangling against the drawers as you come down from your high. That’s when cold begins to seep deep beneath your skin, into your bones. Your head spins and a shiver rolls up your spine.

“Harry,” you whisper into the darkness, into the silence. You can’t bring yourself to sit up.

“Yeah.” His voice sounds distant, like you’re hearing it through a barrier.

“I don’t feel good.”

“What? Wha’s wrong?”

“My head. I—” The desk shakes beneath you and you gasp.

“Sorry. ’S me. I kicked the desk.”

“I feel dizzy.”

“Okay. D’yeh wanna sit up?”

The leather of his gloves slides up your thighs. He’s pulling you up from the desk before you can answer. When you’re sitting your head spins again. You lean forward into Harry’s chest, closing your hands into fists atop your knees, and he wraps his arms around you, smoothing the back of your dress down your waist.

“Yeh feel clammy,” he whispers. You shiver in response. “Christ, what happened?”

“I don’t know.” You swallow against the swimming in your head and breathe in the scent of him. “I’m sorry. You didn’t—”

“It’s fine, love. Don’ need to. Watchin’ you come was enough.”

There’s a banging on the door again and this time you can hear someone shouting at the two of you to get out. Harry laughs into your hair. He rubs at your spine.

“D’yeh wanna put that sweatshirt on?”

You nod against his chest and he backs away from you. You hear him pacing across the floor to his bed and back, and then the hoodie you chose is slipping over your head. Harry helps to fit your arms through the holes.

“Does that help at all?” he asks.

“Yes. Thank you.”

“Of course.” He nudges your nose and presses a lingering kiss to your lips, then to your cheek. His forehead rests against your temple and it all feels so natural that it’s a shock to remember you only met him a couple of hours ago. “Think yeh wanna stand up?”

“Sure.”

Harry helps you to your feet and you shimmy the skirt of your costume down over your hips. You blink into the darkness. His fingers find your jaw and his thumb strokes your skin. Your underwear are uncomfortably wet, but you’re not willing to take them off, so you suffer silently.

“If yeh’re not feelin’ well we don’ have to check out the basement,” he whispers. "Could walk yeh home.”

“No, no, I’m fine.”

“Y/N, don��—”

“Harry, seriously.” You don’t think you’ll find anything, but the weird occurrences are enough to pique your interest. Imagine the report you could write if something came of tonight. Besides, you’re feeling better already, whether it’s the soft brush of Harry’s skin or the warmth of his sweatshirt. And you’re not ready to say goodnight.

“Okay.” You can’t see him, but you can almost hear the smile on his lips. He backs toward the door, pulling you with him. Quietly, he unlocks the door and leads you out into the equally dark hallway. You’re grateful that whoever was banging on the door seems to have disappeared.

“To the basement?” he asks, waiting for one last confirmation.

“To the basement,” you agree. And he pulls you in the direction of the staircase.

Part 4: The Gap

#harry styles #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles fan fiction #harry styles fanfic #harry styles fan fic #harry styles fic #harry styles one shot #harry styles smut #harry styles angst #see through

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themoonandotherslikeit · 4 years

Text

A Simple Question

This ficlet is a gift for my girl @dean-winchesters-bacon for her birthday! ILYSM Kat! You have no idea how much you have brightened my life. I wish I had more for you, but there’s nothing that can equal the love you’ve given me. So I hope you enjoy <3

You were having one of those dreams. It was the kind of dream that is just too damn good, the kind that you know is a dream, but you don’t want to wake up. His lips were against your neck and you could smell the bacon and pine smell from his IPA even with your eyes closed. The calluses on his fingers scraped against the skin under your breasts as he rubbed gentle circles. It was the kind of dream that was impossible.

This time, though, it was not impossible in the way you thought.

“Kat,” Dean whispered against the soft spot under your ear. “Happy birthday, Sweetheart.”

Fuck it’s good. The dream, the sheets— everything was so warm and soft. It was like falling into a cloud and letting it swallow you whole. It felt fucking fantastic. Even the weight and shift of the bed felt real. It felt… “Kat.” Hot breath vibrated against your skin and you felt yourself twitch awake. You didn’t want to wake up, and will him away, so you reached out your mind to wrap it’s tendrils around him and hold him close.

He hummed against your neck and let out a deep chuckle that sent a chill up your spine. “We can spend all day in bed if you want, but I’ve got plans.”

Fuck it sounds so-- “Dean?” You test your voice out, because damn it, you were awake. At least you felt awake.

“Now I know you didn’t drink that much last night.” Lips against the tip of your nose, the corner of your mouth. Holy shit. “You good sleepy head?”

You let your eyes flutter open slowly and even without your glasses you can make out the softness in his apple green eyes and the freckles speckled across his nose and cheekbones. He smiled and the skin around his eyes wrinkled in that way that made your heart pick up speed. You reach out slowly to touch his cheek. His skin was warm. Dean Winchester is in my bed! “What?” You seem to croak out, and he just laughed in response.

“I know you don’t like coffee, Sweetheart, but you might need it. You seem out of it.”

You felt out of it if you were being honest. You rubbed your eyes. “I’ll be fine.”

“Well Sammy is making breakfast,” Dean said with a small grin. “Bacon, the good stuff. Thought we could have a day with just us. What do you think?”

It was all coming back and you pinched the bridge of your nose. Eileen made margaritas the night before to celebrate the big birthday, even though you insisted it wasn’t a big deal. Y’all had bigger problems to worry about, hello?? They all just smiled at you, though, because they loved you. Life was pretty fucked, and that was obvious, but at the end of the day you had one big thing going for you all-- each other. It was nauseating, but it was the truth. At the end of the day it was always family, and you really believed that you could solve anything together.

You hummed to yourself and wrapped both arms around him pulling him closer. “I think… I think that sounds nice.”

It did, even if it was a vast understatement. Being with Dean Winchester was anything but nice. It was exhilarating, infuriating, passionate…

“What’s wrong?” He frowned, brushing your hair behind your ear. “You can tell me, kid, spill it.”

“Just general concern, you know me.”

“I do,” he whispered. “You worry too much.”

You snort a bit and laugh. “Okay coming from you.”

He laughed in response, and he kissed you. “No worrying today,” he murmured against your lips.

And you let him kiss you, because when Dean kissed you everything else melted away. He kissed you like that first time under the stars on the hood of the Impala, like when you were sneaking around behind Sam’s back so it didn’t fuck up your friendship - as if it ever could. Dean kissed you like he was saying hello, he kissed you like it was the last kiss and the first kiss all at once.

He ran his tongue along your bottom lip and you opened your mouth for him. He’d make you forget, like he always did, because he’d whispered a thousand times to you you’re the one good thing, Sweetheart. You kept him grounded, so it was the least he could do but keep you grounded back.

Dean licked into your mouth, running his tongue along yours. You pull at the blanket wrapping it around both of you, burritoing him to you, and he smiled against your mouth. “Let’s stay in bed,” you whined quietly. “Just me and you. We can turn on Netflix and just watch none of it.”

His smirk quickly grew into a grin. “Damn, why did I even bother to plan somethin’ when you’ve got all the ideas? I’ll tell Sammy we are taking breakfast in bed.”

You smiled at him a bit, feeling your nose wrinkle as he hopped out of bed. You reached for your glasses on the side table and the rest of the world came into view, crisping up. He was wearing a ratty Zeppelin t-shirt, and his hot dog pajama pants. “Dean?”

“Ah, shit. I almost forgot.” He walked back over and reached into the drawer on the side table and pulled out a messily wrapped present. He handed it to you, sitting next to you in bed. “Here.”

“You didn’t have to.” You felt blush heat up your cheeks, and he waved you off dismissively.

“Yeah, yeah whatever open it!”

So you did. You pulled at the overly taped wrapping paper that you’re pretty sure was left over from Christmas. You pulled at the tabs and folds until a little velvet box fell out of the wrapping. “Dean.” Your heart stopped at the box in your lap. Your mouth went dry, cotton in your throat. Holy shit.

“Hey, look at me,” he whispered and when you turned to him you could see it in his eyes. He was vulnerable. His eyes were soft and his bottom lip trembled a bit. “Life is a fuckin’ wreck right now, but I don’t want you to think that’s why I’m sayin’ this, okay? Cause it ain’t. It’s not because everything is burning down, because that just made everythin’ a little more… clear. I’ve been wonderin’ this whole time what’s real. Chuck fucked everything up, you know? All of this made me question my choices… what was mine and what was just orchestrated by Chuck. But I shouldn’t have, because I know. This is real. You and me.” He took your hands in his and you could feel your heart racing in your ears. “I love you, Kat. This life ain’t easy, but it’s our life and I want it with you.”

“What are you asking me, Dean?”

“Gonna make me beg?”

A smile tugged at the corner of your mouth. “Maybe.”

“Open the box.”

You shook your head. “I don’t need to see it. I don’t need a… I don’t need a ring, Dean… I don’t need a grand gesture or a wedding or any of it. I just need you.”

“You have me, Sweetheart.”

And he kissed you again. In the midst of the kiss, with your eyes closed, you feel him slide something on your finger anyway, because if you were being honest when did he ever listen? Wasn’t really the Winchester way.

You caught his fingers in yours and you squeezed his. You wouldn’t protest, because he was making a choice all his own, and after everything he deserved that.

“Did you do it?” Sam asked and you opened your eyes to catch your best friend peeking into Dean’s room from the doorway.

You rolled your eyes and showed him your ring hand without even glancing at it.

“Yes!” Sam cheered, leaping into bed, tackling both of you in a fit of laughter. “Fucking finally!”

And for a second, for a breath everything felt deeply perfect.

#happy birthday kat!#a sleepless love affair #friendship #ficlet #birthday fic #dean x reader #dean winchester x reader #love #otp #angst #season 15 #au #dean x kat #dean winchester x you #fluff #so much fluff

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teenytinystorage · 4 years

Text

A Poolside Chat

Summary: A relaxing dip in the pool to add to his wonderful birthday soon turns into a surprising and gay-panic-festered chat between Roman and Logan.

Word Count: 1,804

Warnings: Multiple food mentions

Pairings: Logince

Happy birthday Roman! Enjoy the Logince, y’all :)

—

As he shut the Imagination’s door behind him, Roman let out a satisfied exhale and fell back, shifting the grasses below him into a pool and landing upon a circular dragon-witch floatie.

He then transformed his usual outfit into a pair of bright red, gold-embroidered swim trunks and a pair of yellow sport sunglasses.

The sun blazed above, but this being the Imagination, the heat was nowhere near oppressive. A cool breeze was only a hand-wave away, and so was a glass of fresh-squeezed lemonade.

Peace enveloped him as he let himself drift upon the waters and reflect upon how his birthday had been going thus far.

He woke up to a birthday cupcake (red velvet, of course), and a burst of writer’s inspiration. Then Roman received his individual birth wishes from the other sides throughout the day, each giving him a gift.

They were all standard for each side: one Nightmare Before Christmas poster reluctantly given by Virgil (“No bugging me for any more posters after this, though.” “You got it, Sappy.”), a maroon pair of comfy floor-sticky socks from Patton, a free “no vibe checks for one day” pass from Remus, a pile of Thomas’s nostalgic Playbills from Janus, and a promise of a birthday cake later from Thomas (delivered, not homemade. Who knows how that’d turn out).

And now he sat at his very own pool, relaxing and drifting under the clear sky.

A lovely day indeed, but he soon found himself grappling with hurt as he realized who was missing from that gift list. Logan.

Roman hadn’t seen the nerd all day. No one even knew where he was, especially not Roman. He was looking forward to spending some time with Specs today. Seeing his clear, pristine face, hearing him ramble on about how uncanny having a cupcake for breakfast is, being near him, and maybe even getting to playfully elbow him to feel those cold, strong arms of his…

Roman felt a dopey grin line his cheeks, and although he hadn’t changed the temperature of the Imagination, some warmth coated his face and ears upon the thought.

But, alas, he hadn't seen Logan today. Roman decided that was, ultimately, okay. It meant fewer times for him to embarrass himself, after all.

He took another breath in of the air, coconut and citrus-scented, and dipped his hands into the water-- a door near him creaked open.

Roman didn’t mind it at first. Probably a side giving him a reminder of spaghetti dinner tonight, his favorite meal, or just to check on him.

It was only when the figure’s silhouette entered his shades’ vision did he feel the warmth from before burning him.

“Roman? Are you in here?” Logan called, wringing his hands as he strolled through the Imagination.

Roman secretly wished for his dragon-witch floatie to devour him in its plastic casing. It, sadly, didn’t. But his sunglasses vanished from his face. So that was something.

“Down here!” Roman waved, minimizing the lovesick smile he felt bubbling inside into a cheerful grin.

Logan’s gaze drifted down to him as he approached the outskirts of the pool.

Roman waved again, chuckling. One tick onto his “how many times can this lovesick dope humiliate himself today” list.

Logan crouched down next to the pool, his tie dangling down and nearly dipping into the water. “Greetings, Roman.”

“Hi!” Roman said with enthusiasm. He tried and failed to hide how overjoyed he was.

“It appears my daily attire is unfit for this setting, hm?” Logan noted, standing back up. “Here.”

He swiped his hair up with his hand and shifted from his usual polo and slacks to a pair of black swim shorts.

“There we go. Normally I’d wear a swim shirt as well, but since this is the Imagination, I can’t imagine that I’d be getting any sunburns.”

“I can’t imagine so either,” Roman agreed, forcing his drifting eyes to look back up into Logan’s rather than staring at his bare chest.

Gosh, did he have it bad.

Logan crouched down again and submerged his feet into the water, kicking them back and forth against the pool wall. “So Roman, how has your birthday been going so far?”

“Uh, good,” Roman nodded, leaning on his elbows atop his floatie. “Just the usual birthday routine, y’know? Gifts, desserts, fun, all that-- fun stuff.”

He barely avoided slapping himself.

“I’m quite glad to hear that,” Logan added, his hands moving behind his back. “You deserve to be having a good birthday today.”

“Oh, well, that means a lot, Specs. Thank you!”

“Of course,” Logan bit his bottom lip, glancing away.

Roman let out an awkward chuckle before taking notice of Logan’s hidden hands. He paddled himself over to the wall and floated a few inches in front of Logan. “Whatcha got behind your back there?”

“Ah, it’s…” Logan stopped. He took in a breath.

Roman leaned over, trying to sneak a peek. He couldn’t see what it was, though, so it couldn’t be anything big. “It’s?”

Logan ran one of his hands through his hair and took in another shaky breath. “A gift. For you.” He hesitated, closing an eye, before shoving out his hand and revealing the gift.

It was a red rose, roots still intact.

Logan flinched, looking back at Roman.

Roman dumbly stared at it. “A rose, hm? It’s quite pretty.”

“Yes. A red one, at that. Red. A symbolic color. Happy birthday,” Logan rambled, his arm pulling back a tad.

Roman paddled himself closer, somehow planning on accepting the rose and putting it… where? How would he even get it without falling off the floatie? He didn’t think it through at all, just like anything he did around Logan.

“Did I do this wrong?” Logan asked, curious. “I thought a single red rose signified romantic feelings between people.” He inspected the flower down-up, staring at its roots. “Is it the roots that threw you off? I had a sneaking suspicion that the roots were unnecessary, but I couldn't be sure.”

“Roh… romantic feelings?” Roman stammered, gaping at Logan.

“Yes. That’s right, isn’t it? The internet isn’t always a reliable source, however…” he reasoned, “I spent all day making sure this flower would imply the correct meanings… and maybe also just milling about nervously.”

If he felt warm before, Roman was smoldering now. Like all his cells were replaced with stoked coals. He was probably as red as his swim trunks, too.

“I… I…” Roman tried to sit up from his floatie, still barely comprehending the confession just spoken to him.

But his arm slipped, and he squeaked as his floatie tipped off-balance and caused him to plummet into the pool.

“Roman!” he heard Logan call before he met his aquatic fate.

The cool waters rushed over his burning skin, and he was quite thankful for that. But he found a chilly grip resting on his hand, and soon, another splash met the water.

His blurred vision faintly recognized Logan’s flushed, clear figure ahead of him. Logan’s hair floated above his head in a flowing tuft, and his eyes were shut behind his soaked glasses.

Roman was swimming with a real-life Poseidon.

He would’ve stayed to enjoy the view, but his eyes started to burn and his lungs were pleading for air. Roman breached the surface, bobbing on the water and taking in a long breath of air.

Logan rose out right after, a small coughing fit following.

“You okay?” Roman frowned.

Logan nodded, removing his glasses and taking in a breath as he waded in the waters.

Roman then realized Logan was one of those rarities who looked hot even without their glasses. Unfair! his mind cried as his body warmed once more.

“So, you like me?” Roman said, “Like, you like like me? For realsies?”

Logan nodded, “I do. Like like, you. Or love you, in clearer terms. Or am utterly and illogically infatuated with you, in my own terms.” He glanced over to the rose that lounged alone where he sat before.

Roman grinned like the lovesick fool he was.

“Well,” Roman turned, scratching his neck and looking at Logan through his eyelashes. “I like you too.”

Logan looked back at Roman, holding his glasses in his hands. His calloused, cynical expression softened into a calm, admiring one.

Before Roman could stop himself, he swam to Logan and gave him a peck on his exposed widow’s peak.

He then cupped Logan’s cheek and smiled wider. “I hope that suffices as a worthy reply to your rose.”

Logan glanced down, a small smile quirking his lips as he flipped his hair back-- then Roman could barely react to the new feeling of Logan’s lips on his.

The edges of Roman’s smile curled up before he melted into the moment, Logan’s tangy softness taking over all his senses. He released Logan's cheek and wrapped his arms around Logan’s shoulders to pull him closer. Logan followed, wrapping his arms around Roman's waist.

The kiss ended what seemed like years after as Logan pulled away, his eyes fluttering in that pleasing way only kisses could spur on.

Roman, despite still being above the water, wanted to submerge himself inside this moment forever.

“Hey there, kiddos,” a voice dripping with uncomfort echoed. “Uh, bad time for a five-minute supper warning, huh?”

Logan and Roman yelped at the interruption, separating and turning to face the awkwardly grinning Patton standing at the foot of the pool.

“Thank you for the warning, Pat!” Roman took all his remaining energy to act as normal as possible while still being drunk from the kiss. “We’ll be there soon.”

Patton nodded and quickly dismissed himself, sinking out.

Roman turned to Logan and broke out in laughter.

Logan joined in, and soon, both of them couldn’t stop laughing as they bobbed in the water.

Roman then lifted himself up onto the pool’s wall and sat on its tiles, spilling water everywhere around him. He raised his hand out to Logan and beamed.

“You coming, nerd?”

Logan put his glasses back on before he grabbed onto Roman’s hand.

“Sure am, prep.”

Roman tugged Logan out of the water and watched as Logan sat next to him, grasping the rose and offering it to him once more.

“I now accept your rose,” Roman cooed, taking it from Logan and taking a brief whiff before sending it off to his room.

Logan then summoned two towels, brandished with their respective logos, to dry off with. They both wrapped the towels across their shoulders and stood to make their way to dinner.

But before they left, Roman gave Logan a small smooch on the lips and grasped onto his hand again.

Logan’s lips turned upward with his own foolish, lovesick smile.

Two sugary desserts, a takeout spaghetti dinner, five gifts, a boyfriend, and three kisses? Roman tallied.

Best. Birthday. Ever.

—

#roman blowing out his breakfast cupcake’s candle: please... i want my Nerdy Boyfriend so bad #logan showing up at the pool later: so i heard you chose same-day shipping for that?#nsndhdhbd #happy birthday to roman!!#aaa this fic went through like... 3 drafts!!#hopefully third’s the charm and yall enjoy this :D #sanders sides #sanders sides fanfiction #roman sanders #logan sanders #logince #romantic logince #food mention tw #patton mention #virgil mention #janus mention #remus mention #(not for triggers!! just bc they show up for a lil and i wouldnt wanna clog the patton tag w/ logince. yknow?)

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resident-of-storybrooke · 5 years

Text

Y’ALL DO YOU KNOW WHAT TODAY IS?!?!?!? DO YOU?!?!?! IT’S KRYSTAL’S BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!

That’s right, ‘tis the day of birth for the actual freaking sun of this fandom, @kmomof4!!!!! Krystal, you are indeed the heart and soul of this fandom! You are nothing but supportive, kind, hysterical, A TALENTED WRITER, a good soul, and an incredible friend. I know my life is better with you in it! I hope you are having the most incredible birthday ever, lady!!!!!!!!!!!

Now for your gift.........I could not finish my boxer fic, but I wanted to give you a sneak peek of it. (Massive shoutout to @kymbersmith-90 for some quick edits and making sure this was ready for the world to see!!!!)

PLEASE ENJOY THIS BRIEF (hopefully fun) SCENE FROM MAMA SAID KNOCK YOU OUT!!! Happy birthday, sunshine!!!!!!

When he walked into the gym, he was greeted by a petite woman with a brown pixie haircut and the nametag Mary Margaret. She did not seem to recognize him, which he loved. It had been some time now since he’d last been recognized, and the anonymity was truly refreshing. “Hey there! How can I help you?”

“Hello, lass, I was looking for Swan? I’m here for some training for my next role, and I was told he’s my guy.” She laughed at him, but he was not really sure why.

He wasn’t used to women laughing at him unless he had made an effort to make them laugh. “Right, Swan is back there by the ring, probably still in the middle of that workout. Do you want me to introduce you?” He found it funny how she said the name but didn’t dare question it. He opted to walk back on his own, trying to get his bearings down. He finally made it to the back of the gym when he looked up at the ring and just stopped.

She was easily the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her blonde hair was up in a tight bun with not a hair out of place, which impressed him because he could tell she had been through a hell of a workout. She had the longest legs that led up to a toned stomach, and her breasts were barely contained by a sports bra.

He watched her, he couldn’t help it. She was so graceful, the way she moved was in one fluid motion. Every step had a clear purpose and was taken with such strong intent. He could tell she was about one good punch away from ending this round, and without thought, he suddenly became the biggest ass in the room.

He whistled at her.

What in the bloody hell did I just do?

All of the sudden, all eyes were on him, including the beautiful blonde he was rooting for. He realized how stupid he looked, and how much of a creep he must have come across as. There were only two ways to play it, but he was Killian Jones, and he had that damn reputation he knew he had to live up to.

“Dare I say, love, you are striking when you move like that.” She wasn’t impressed, which didn’t phase him, so he just continued. “I’ve never seen moves like that, maybe you could show me them in private.” He added his signature smolder at the end of that, as it usually helped. Yet, she stood there in the middle of the ring still unimpressed, maybe even more pissed that he stopped her workout.

“Can I help you, sir?” Her emerald eyes locked with his, and at that moment, he recognized something in her that he couldn’t quite put his finger on. “Yeah, I’m looking for Swan? I’m Killian Jones, he’s supposed to train me for my next movie. Any idea where I could find him, love?”

“First, I am not your love. Hey Ruby!” the brunette Killian hadn’t even acknowledged looked over, smiling at the blonde, “you wanna go get, uh, Mr. Swan for our movie star over here?” Ruby gave her a puzzled look when the woman made a motion to the back office. Killian was confused by all this talk of this Swan fellow and just wanted to meet him already. Ruby took off her gloves and exited the ring, Killian kept his eyes firmly on the blonde.

“Buddy, you got a problem?” Oh, she was a fiery lass. He liked her already.

“Well, darling, while we wait, how about you show me some of those moves?” She smiled this mischievous grin back at him, “Fine, get in here.” Without hesitation, Killian jumped into the ring; he got in rather gracefully - which surprised him. He'd never really boxed before, but he knew some basics. He'd just never added them to his workout routine before.

“Shall we make this more interesting, love?” She rolled her eyes at the pet name, he definitely was not going to stop calling her that anytime soon. “A little wager, huh? If I win, then you have to tell me your name, and I get to take you out, but if you win…”

“Then you can’t annoy me ever again.” Killian chuckled at her simple requests and nodded in agreement. A shorter man came over and helped Killian get his gloves on.

“Good luck, brother. You’re gonna need it.” He said under his breath, distracted by what he said, Killian almost missed it when he rang the bell, and she nearly landed her first punch.

“You don’t have to take it easy on me just because I’m a woman.” She was coming at him, he barely had enough time to dodge her right hook as she finished her statement.

“Ah, but you see, I believe in good form and being a gentleman. Bloody hell!” Shit, he was already out of breath, and they had barely done anything; he felt like he was screwed. Just like that, one of her punches landed, knocking him to the ground. He could hear her laughing, and he swore at that moment, he had never heard anything so beautiful before. Still lying on his back, she walked over to smile smugly down at him.

“Guess you’re not getting that date, huh?”

“I guess so lass, but can you at least tell me your name?” That smile returned. He probably looked like a bloody fool, but he couldn’t help it.

“Emma, Emma Swan.” His eyes went wide. This was Swan? This was the person that was supposed to train him? Jesus Christ, he never stood a chance. He looked over and could see Ruby and the guy that helped him put on his gloves, laughing their asses off.

#IT'S KRYSTAL'S BIRTHDAY!!!#HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUNSHINE #I HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS #YOU ARE THE FREAKING BEST!!!!!!!!#mama said knock you out #MSKYO teaser #MSKYO art

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kmomof4 · 5 years

Text

Time and Again Ch5

Ok, so I had a whole post all ready to go with such a spectacular cliffhanger, that I know y’all were SOOOOO looking forward to! But my EVIL beta @hollyethecurious wouldn’t let me do it! So you can blame or thank her for making me have mercy on all of you. I choose to blame her... but I still want to share the post I had planned, because I thought it was really great and it was such a shame that only Hollye and I saw it... so here it is.

Bwahahahahaha!!! You think the last cliffhanger was bad?

Ok, HOW is there not a gif of Samuel L Jackson saying “Hold on to your butts?”

So just imagine a gif of Samuel L Jackson in Jurassic Park saying “Hold on to your butts” right here...

Anyhoo, I hope you enjoy this new chapter! And before you yell too hard at me, ch6 sneak peek will be up Saturday morning with the full chapter Sunday.

That was the original post I had planned, I hope it gave you a good laugh. So without further ado, here’s ch5! I hope you enjoy!

Ao3 link

All the love and thanks to my besties and beta @hollyethecurious and #1 encourager @winterbaby89! I love you ladies more than I can say! Thank you for everything! *Mwah*

Also lots of love to the CSSNS discord ladies for all their encouragement, patience, and advice while I worked on this.

Tagging my peeps: @hollyethecurious @winterbaby89 @snowbellewells @stahlop @resident-of-storybrooke @jennjenn615 @kingofmyheart14 @profdanglaisstuff @branlovestowrite @thisonesatellite @ultraluckycatnd @flslp87 @whimsicallyenchantedrose @let-it-raines @shireness-says @kymbersmith-90 @darkcolinodonorgasm @bethacaciakay @searchingwardrobes @ilovemesomekillianjones @teamhook @aprilqueen84 @qualitycoffeethings @superchocovian @artistic-writer @donteattheappleshook @doodlelolly0910 @seriouslyhooked

Please let me know if you’d like to be added or removed.

Under the cut, unless Tumblr ate it.

A/N Thanks to @totheendoftheworldortime for the use of her original line from Unlocked.

Emma sat on the knoll outside her apartment watching children play on the playground below. Watching them was a very effective tactic in keeping her circling thoughts from overwhelming her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a tall, raven haired man stroll toward her. She pointedly ignored him as he settled himself down next to her.

“I rescheduled the meeting with Miss Lily,” he answered her unasked question.

She nodded, still refusing to look at him. “Good.” Then, indicating to the children playing below, she said, “You see that little girl down there? The one with the red hair?”

“Yes,” he replied.

“She reminds me of a girl that I knew when I was a teenager. Her name was Kelly. She was older than me and a real snippy, jealous bitch. I can see that now, as an adult. When I came into the home, all I saw was a bully who took every opportunity to put me down and try to make me feel like Ingrid, our foster mother, could never love me. Didn’t work.” She shrugged before continuing. “Ingrid eventually adopted me and sent her and all the others away.”

He cocked his head to the side. “So I was right on the beanstalk, wasn’t I? You have been left alone.”

She rounded on him then, her anger flushing her cheeks. “Don’t you even say that! You have no right!” She turned back toward the children, angrily swiping at the stray tear on her cheek.

His voice was more gentle than she’d ever heard it before… awake, that is. “We’re going to have to talk about this. Eventually. You know?”

“No, we don’t,” she said, shaking her head. “We do not have to talk about this at all. In fact, this is THE last thing that I’d ever want to talk about.” She was more comfortable giving him some details about her less than ideal upbringing than she was talking about this.

Emma Swan was a master at denial. She had a degree and everything.

“You’re my boss,” she exclaimed, waving her hands around aimlessly. “Not some dashing, romantic hero that my dreams keep painting you as.”

“Our dreams, Swan,” he interjected, softly.

“No,” she replied, shaking her head furiously. “No, I refuse to believe that. Dreams are the most secret, most sacred… Dreams are the window to the soul.” She closed her eyes, shaking her head again. “I read that somewhere. But it’s true,” she continued, opening her eyes and turning to him. “Dreams are the window to the soul and no one… NO ONE… has the right to enter another person’s soul.” The tears she was so desperately trying to hold back escaped and tracked down her face as she turned back toward the children.

“I’m sorry, Swan,” he apologized. He reached out to wipe away her tears, but then hesitated before touching her. “You’re right,” he agreed, “no one has the right to enter someone else’s soul. But this wasn’t my fault. This was not something that I did. And, you may not have considered this,” his voice got unbelievably more gentle, “but, if we did share dreams, and based on your reaction, I’d say we did. Although we should at some point compare notes, see how much lines up. Anyway, if we did share dreams, then not only did I enter yours, but you entered mine.”

She hadn’t thought of that. Oh shit. She turned surprised eyes on him. Ducking his head, he scratched behind his ear. Her mouth dropped open when she recognized the gesture from the third dream, just after he had given her the flower. “You did that,” she exclaimed, pointing at him, eyes wide. “You did that in the dream. In the meadow.”

His hand fell while his cheeks and the tips of his ears flushed. “Well, that’s two things that line up,” he mumbled, visibly uncomfortable. He turned back to her. “Listen Swan, whatever happened, I think it’s safe to say we’re dealing with three dreams?” She nodded. “The beanstalk, Port Royale, and Camelot.”

Emma turned away, embarrassed. She knew what she experienced in the dreams, and was having trouble reconciling the fact that Killian had experienced the same things, too. She looked up to see him staring down at her hip.

“Do you have…” he began, with unabashed curiosity.

“Yes,” she exclaimed, indignant, her hand hovering over where her swan birthmark was. “Yes, I do. And I’ll thank you to not bring it up again! I resent this, Mr. Jones. I resent this very much.”

“I’m sorry, Swan,” he apologized again. “I truly am. I won’t bring it up again. But I think that the only way we’re going to solve this… thing…” he gestured between them, “between us, is for us to… uh, to…”

“You think we should have sex, don’t you?” she interjected, angrily.

“What? No!” he exclaimed, surprised. “Well,” his countenance fell into sheepishness, “maybe. But not… I mean...” he finished, indignation again coloring his tone. “These dreams put us in increasingly… ah… intimate situations.” His cheeks and ears were flushing again as he scratched furiously behind it. “I can’t help but think that maybe the universe is trying to tell us something?” His tone and shoulders rose at the end, making it more of a question than a statement.

“Oh, you have to be kidding me,” she blurted out, “Soulmates? Not you, too!”

“What do you mean, ‘you too?’” The confusion on his face almost made her laugh.

“At lunch the other day, Down the Street Cafe.” She waved her hand around impatiently. “Soulmates was our topic of conversation. You’re not telling me you believe in them too, are you?” she asked, condescension dripping from her tone.

“What I believe about soulmates is neither here nor there,” he asserted. “What I’m trying to say is that given the nature of the dreams, maybe there is something to them. I think we should go away together. For a few days, at least. I have a place, well, Granny has a place, an island off South Padre, that I go to to unwind, relax. We could go there. Give you a chance to see me as a man. Not as your boss. If the other happens, well then, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

“Nope,” she argued, shaking her head vehemently. “Not interested. The dreams all happened when I worked late at home. Now that the campaign is over, late nights are over, too. There won’t be anymore dreams. So, there’s no reason for me to ‘see you as a man.’” She put air quotes around his earlier words. “Hopefully, I’ll be getting that promotion and moving to LA in a few months, so that’s even more of a reason to not ‘see you as a man.’” She was so caught up in her tirade, that she completely missed how his face fell at her words. “So, just leave me alone, and stay the hell out of my dreams!” She got up, and stormed back down toward her apartment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Emma Swan hurriedly returned to her home from the marketplace. She had left her temporary guest sitting outside her little cottage, and something that she had seen in the village had her heart beating rapidly in alarm against her ribcage.

She had found him on the shore, unconscious, nearly a month ago, on her early morning constitutional. The violent storm from the day and night before had finally blown itself out a couple of hours before dawn and had left the air crisp and cool. Since the storm had kept her indoors the day before, she looked forward to watching the sun rise from her usual place along the shoreline. She found that starting her day in this way put her in a good state of mind to get through the day as the village healer.

Before she got to her spot however, she came across a gravely wounded man. He had a huge gash along his torso, starting at his left collarbone and not ending until it nearly reached his right hip. Whatever had caused it, had nearly cut him in half. She was amazed that he still breathed. Once she got him to her cottage and could have a closer look at his injury, she realized he hadn’t been in the water long as the wound still seeped blood and the tissues around the gash were horribly swollen and an angry red, signifying infection had set in.

Over the course of the next week and a half, after sewing him up, she had treated him with poultices and cool sponge baths to bring his temperature down as the infection raged through his weakened body. She could only hope that the poultices and the infection fighting herbs she had to force him to swallow during very brief moments of consciousness would do their job and save his life.

She remembered her stunned awe when, almost two weeks ago now, she had awakened after a full nights sleep to find that his fever had finally broken and he was sleeping peacefully beside her.

He hadn’t opened his eyes until the next day, and when he did, she had to shake herself to keep from getting lost in their cerulean depths. She had answered his questions and asked a few of her own as she continued her ministrations over his injury in the following days. He still spent most of his time sleeping, so they didn’t have much opportunity to speak to one another.

Once his sleeping patterns evened out to a more predictable cycle, she started helping him out of bed for brief minutes each day before his exhaustion and weakness would overtake him and he’d have to be led back to the bed. After a few days of this, with each day his time outside the bed lengthening, his sass started to show with his mild complaining about being confined to the bed, not in the good way, he remarked, eyebrows waggling. She had finally promised him that she would let him get out of the bed today and stay that way for awhile after their noonday meal. She didn’t want to overtax his weakened body and cause a setback in his recovery.

After their simple meal, she had helped him out of bed and out of doors. Being out in the fresh air and sun seemed to make him lighter somehow. He had turned his face to the sun with his eyes shut and just basked in the midday warmth. When she told him that she needed to go to the market and he should come back inside while she was gone, he begged her to let him continue staying right where he was. He would be fine until she returned, he protested. She’d only be gone for about an hour and so she had reluctantly agreed.

Now she was berating her stupidity as she nearly ran once she was beyond the sight of the village. She arrived at the cottage nearly breathless to find Killian right where she had left him on the crude wooden bench right outside her door.

“What’s your hurry, lass?” he asked as she rushed over to him.

Struggling to catch her breath, she dropped her basket to the ground to help him inside, even though he didn’t really need it. “We have to get you inside,” she gasped, wrapping her arm around his middle. “Did anyone see you?”

“No,” he replied, puzzled, getting to his feet. “I didn’t see anyone. Why?”

“There’s a wanted poster in the village with your picture on it. Fifty gold pieces for information leading to your capture. You’re wanted for piracy,” she informed him.

His countenance darkened as he allowed her to lead him back inside. “Aye,” he agreed, darkly. “His Majesty,” he spat out, “sent me and my crew on an unholy mission. I was captain of his flagship. I would have no part of it, and so, my crew and I stole his ship and have been doing what we could to destroy his navy one ship at a time.” His gaze bore into hers as he settled himself at the table.

“What was the mission,” she whispered, sitting across from him.

He bowed his head, refusing to meet her gaze. “I was ordered to a small, unnamed hamlet right on the borders of the kingdom. We were to arrive under cover of night, barricade every structure in the town, so that no one could escape, and then burn it to the ground. He said it would serve as a warning to those villages that resisted his rule.” Her gasp of dismay made his cheeks flush. “When I returned to the ship, I informed the crew what we were ordered to do, and immediately proclaimed us pirates, dedicated to the overthrow of this wicked tyrant.” His eyes had finally risen to hers with a burning flame behind them. “I’m proud to say, first, that my entire crew followed me and second, that in only two weeks time, we had sunk 8 of his ships. Then we were caught in that hurricane and I was thrown overboard. You know the rest.”

“Indeed, I do,” she replied. “I can’t believe it,” she murmured, “I mean, I can,” she said shrugging, “but I can’t BELIEVE it!” She shook her head, before standing up and making her way to the cooking area to begin preparing their dinner. “I have no love for King George, believe me. His taxes are oppressive and his cruelty is known in every corner of the kingdom. But this! This is beyond anything I’ve ever heard of!” She turned her eyes toward him with a burning flame of her own behind them. “I’ll help you,” she declared. “Do you need a healer on board your ship?”

He smirked and raised an eyebrow at her. “Why lass, are you saying that you want to stay with me? Hmmm?” She blushed and turned her attention back to the food she was preparing.

“Oh, um,” she stammered. “I was just offering my services… if you needed them… on your ship.”

He came up behind her until she could feel the heat from his body. “We’d have to find my ship first, darling.”

She spun around facing him, her eyes widening at his close proximity. “Oh no you don’t,” she countered him. “Don’t think I don’t know what those charms are around your neck. I noticed them when I got your shirt off when I first found you…” she trailed away, blushing again, as he looked at her with a knowing grin. “I know magic when I see it. I had to use a potion in the poultices to help with your healing. That gash should have killed you. Anyway, one of them is a charm against drowning and the other you can talk to another person who has a matching shell. I know that you’ve been communicating with your ship since you woke up.”

“Clever girl,” he replied, smirking at her. “You’re right. I have been communicating with my first mate. They were carried to the other side of the realm by the hurricane and are making their way back to get me. They should be here in the next few days. Perhaps as early as tomorrow.”

“Then take me with you,” she pleaded, looking into his eyes. “I can’t continue to live here under his rule. Not after this. Not when I can help you.” She looked down, blushing. “Not when I can stay with you.” She looked back up into his eyes then with all the longing and desire that she had felt for him since she found him, and that had only deepened since he awoke.

“Emma”, he choked out, as he met her gaze. “Are you sure? The life of a pirate isn’t an easy one. But I will take you with me, if you’re sure that’s what you want.” He raised his hand to cup her cheek, the tenderness in the gesture surprising her. Perhaps the desire she felt wasn’t unreciprocated.

“Yes, Killian,” she breathed, “I’m sure.” She saw in his eyes the moment his control snapped. His lips crashed into hers as he gathered her even closer into his arms. She rose onto her toes to meet him, winding her hands in his black hair, before clutching his shoulders as his lips left hers and peppered kisses along her jawline and then her neck.

“Then yes, darling,” he murmured into her skin. “I’ll take you with me.” He claimed her lips again as he lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bed they’d been sharing now for four weeks.

“Do you have any idea,” he continued, “how long I’ve wanted this? Or how maddening it was to wake every morning with you beside me and not being able to touch you? Only force of will kept me from taking you into my arms while I awaited your answer just now.”

“Well,” she gasped in between kisses, “you weren’t exactly able to do anything about that until just these last few days, plus I wanted to be close in case you needed me, and I didn’t fancy sleeping on the floor.”

“That’s true,” he replied, claiming her lips again as he lowered her to the mattress. Releasing her lips when he dropped her, he climbed up and hovered over her, desire darkening his blue eyes. “Never doubt that I need you,” he whispered, before lowering himself down on top of her and kissing her deeply again. She melted under his ministrations when his tongue sought entrance and she eagerly granted it.

They undressed each other slowly, wanting the encounter to last. With every piece of skin exposed, with every gasp, with every murmur, every kiss and touch they fell more into each other until everything in their hearts and minds were consumed in the fire and passion they had for each other.

Much later, when they lay together sweaty and sated, Emma traced nonsensical patterns into his chest. “We never ate dinner,” she declared.

He chuckled before laying a chaste kiss on her forehead. “Aye, lass,” he agreed, “but you don’t see me complaining.”

She raised herself enough to settle her chin on his chest. “Oh, I’m not complaining either,” she smirked. “But I do think we should eat something. Keep up your strength.” She patted his chest with a wink.

“Why Swan, were you planning on tiring me out this evening?” he asked, cheekily.

“Maybe,” she drawled, pressing a kiss into his sternum. She rose from the bed and pulled on her shift, so that she could get them something to eat. As she did, she cataloged the herbs, roots, and equipment she would need to take with her when they left, as soon as the Jolly arrived.

“I should make preparations for leaving,” she said, returning to the bed after putting a hearty stew over the fire to simmer for a bit. “I can get things together while we wait for the food and by the time it’s ready, I should be too.”

“Whatever you need to do, darling.” He pulled her back down to the bed, kissing her tenderly.

“Mmmm,” she murmured against his lips. “I won’t get anything done, if you don’t stop that.”

He chuckled. “That’s true.” She could feel his smile against her lips. “Maybe I want to ravish you first, then I can help you in your preparations.” He pulled her over on top of him and pressed his hips into hers so she could feel what she did to him. “Having twice the hands, can only make the work go faster,” he murmured, pressing sweet kisses into her neck, before working his way down to nip at her collarbone.

“Ah yes,” she agreed, “having another set of hands will certainly make the work go faster.” She gasped as he lowered her shift to expose her breasts and dove in. After that, there were only gasps and moans of pleasure as they discovered even more of the secret places that left them panting and begging for more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Captain. Come in, Captain.” The voice through the shell sounded tiny and far away.

“That’s Smee,” Killian moaned as he reached over Emma to grasp the shell necklace that had been discarded sometime the evening before.

“I’m here, Smee.” Killian spoke into the shell.

“Sir, at dawn three man of war’s flying George’s colors were spotted off the port side. We’ve tried to evade them, but they’ve caught up and are preparing to board. They haven’t tried to engage.” Killian looked at Emma, her eyes wide.

“They must be trying to capture…” she whispered.

“Aye,” he replied, solemnly. “The Jolly was his flagship. He’s probably hesitant to sink it. And if he does, and I were on board, then he couldn’t make a spectacle out of me. And if I know him, that’s exactly what he’ll want to do.” Turning back to the shell, Killian gave his orders. “Do not engage, Mr. Smee. When they board, do not engage. They’re trying to capture me and get the Jolly back. I won’t have you and the crew putting yourselves in that kind of futile danger.”

“Y- yes, sir,” his first mate stuttered.

“I’m sure we’ll be hearing what His Majesty plans for you before long, and I’ll make plans accordingly.” He paused, considering the implications. “Godspeed, Mr. Smee.” Killian turned tormented eyes upon Emma. “He’ll plan to hang them all.” Emma nodded. “I can’t allow that.” Emma nodded again. “As their captain, it’s my job to protect them.” He pulled her to him, so she couldn’t see his eyes, stroking her hair. “I’ll either have to successfully break into wherever he’ll be holding them or surrender myself in their place. There’s a decent chance that he’ll agree to that. There’s not a more vindictive bastard in the entire realm, and the chance to publicly humiliate and kill me after I stole his ship and made a fool out of him may be too much for him to resist.”

“Killian, isn’t there another way?” she pleaded, lifting her eyes back to his.

“If you have another idea, darling, I’m all ears,” he mused. “I should send word to the castle immediately, so it arrives before word of their captures does. Offering myself for them.”

“But he won’t let them go,” she protested, raising herself to her elbow so she could look down at him. “He’ll trick you somehow and hold on to them, then hang you all.”

His blue eyes were contemplative as he met her fearful gaze. “I’ll have to refuse to surrender myself until they are safely away then. I’ll have to see them safe with my own eyes before I’ll turn myself in.” His countenance hardened then with his next words. “You’ll have to go with them, love.” She started to shake her head when she realized what he was saying. “Don’t you shake your head at me. You’ll hang too for hiding me. And I won’t have that.” He pulled her back down to him until her head rested on his bare shoulder.

“I can’t lose you, Killian,” she murmured into his skin, before placing a chaste kiss into his collar. “I’d rather die than lose you.”

“No, love,” he whispered before kissing her forehead. “You have to go on and live. Stay with my crew. They’ll keep you safe, and you can play your part in bringing George down. Smee knows about you, so there’ll be no issues when you arrive at the ship.”

Tears filled her eyes as she moved up towards him, gently capturing his lips with her own. The kiss was languid, unhurried, tenderly exploring one another. Emma’s hand found its way into his hair and tugged him even closer, as if she was trying to occupy the same space or consume him completely. The other traced his ribs leaving fire in its wake before it traveled lower and grasped where he was hard and aching for her. He thrust into her palm seeking that friction that would lead to unadulterated bliss.

“Oh, Emma,” he groaned, releasing her mouth. His eyes momentarily rolled back in his head under her exquisite torture before he came back to himself and flipped them on the bed. Killian stared into her half shuttered emerald eyes, trying to read what he found there. His hand tenderly cupped her jaw before trailing away down her neck until he reached her breast. She writhed under him as he teased and kneaded her ample breasts before sucking a turgid nipple into his mouth, never halting his explorations.

“Ahh, Killian,” she cried out under his ministrations. Killian flicked her nipple with his tongue and was rewarded with a gasp of pleasure. He smiled against her skin before he proceeded to suck a mark into her breast. Her breathless moans wound the tension inside him tighter and tighter until he worried that he’d explode before he could bury himself within her heat. His hand continued its way to her core where he found her wet and wanting.

“Oh, yes, my darling, always so wet for me,” he praised..

“Yes!” she cried out. His long fingers curled up inside her, searching for the spot that made her see stars. “Yes, for you! Only for you!”

“Gods, Emma,” he moaned, as she started to ride his fingers. “I need you now. Need to be inside you. Please,” he begged.

Emma stilled and captured his gaze with her own. “Yes, Killian.” She lined him up at her entrance where he took her in one long smooth stroke.

Twin groans of ecstasy reverberated around the small cottage as he sheathed himself in her warmth. He crashed his lips against hers as his heart beat a singular rhythm. Em-ma, Em-ma, Em-ma. He held himself still for a moment, savoring the feeling of home he always felt when he was inside her. For a captain, home was his ship. But being with her these last few weeks, even if he was only conscious for the last two, a wholly unfamiliar feeling had risen up. He couldn’t deny Emma’s beauty or her expertise and care for him when he was nothing but a stranger to her. But these past few days, as she continued to care for him, he knew that he couldn’t leave her behind.

Once the Jolly arrived, he had planned on doing whatever was necessary to convince her to come with him. But then, she had her own revelations about her feelings for him, sending him reeling. His strong, fierce, beautiful Swan cared for him. She had captured him, heart, body, and soul and he would not take a single moment left to them for granted. She was his home and he loved her with an overwhelming passion. He wouldn’t have his love blaming herself or regretting anything that had happened between them when he was gone.

He began to pump a steady rhythm into her, determined to show her what he couldn’t now and probably wouldn’t ever speak of. Their rapture built slowly until at last, he raised her leg to rest on his hip and his thrusts grew more frantic. The change in angle was exactly what she needed for her walls to begin quivering along his length. With a cry of his name and her fingernails digging into his shoulders, her walls clamped down on him dragging him over the edge with her. Killian pressed his lips against her forehead, eyelids, and nose before caressing her own as they drifted back to earth. A whimper reached his ear as he rolled off of her, not wanting to crush her. He drew her back into his arms and stroked her bare back as she nestled her head into the spot where his neck met his shoulder.

“Okay, I’ll go with them,” she promised, placing a gentle kiss to where his pulse was still beating rapidly. He drew her even more tightly into his arms before dropping a kiss on her forehead.

“Come,” he said, rising from the bed, “I have to send word to the castle. How many days journey is it from here?”

“As the crow flies, about half a day,” she replied. “In actuality, about two days journey by horse. I would imagine that your crew would be held here in the village gaol, and that George would travel here for their hanging. It would be much easier for him to come here rather than his guards to take them to the castle. There are too many chances for an ambush and possible escape between here and there.”

“Then I should send word now, before his men have a chance to notify him of their success.” He pulled on his clothes and turned to her again. “Do you have paper, and a quill and ink?” he asked, “Or do I need to go into town to procure them?”

“Are you kidding?” she asked, incredulously, “With your face on the wanted poster?” She shook her head. “I have some here. You write your message, I’ll take it into town. It should be there in two days time, before he receives tidings from his men.” His face was tender as he drew her into his arms.

“Then we have at least two more days together. I suggest we make the most of them,” he breathed before kissing her breathless again. “But first, my message.”

He settled himself at the table and began to write.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was an air of celebration in the square of the village. Public hangings were always looked forward to as a distraction from the mundaneness of everyday life. And the hanging of pirates was even more eagerly anticipated because of the notoriety of the prisoners. This hanging promised to be entertaining. An entire crew that had deserted from his majesty’s navy would meet the noose. They had also been responsible for the sinking of ships that carried food and other goods that the villagers depended on.

The crowds had started to gather just after dawn, with the hangings to commence at noon. Killian and Emma had absconded away from her cottage not long after to where the Jolly was still docked a week after George’s men had arrived with their prize. George planned on boarding the ship, reclaiming it as his own, and returning to his castle after the hangings were over. Killian had planned on hiding Emma near the ship so that when his crew was released, she would join them on the Jolly and be safe. What he didn’t realize, of course, was that Emma had no plans whatsoever to leave Killian to his fate. She planned on dying beside him, knowing that once she revealed herself at the hanging, she would be arrested and hung as an accessory. But she wouldn’t let him know that until the last possible moment.

She stood at the back of the village square hidden in the shadows where she could see all the proceedings. King George sat on his makeshift throne on the dias to the left of the scaffolding meant for the pirates. As the pirates were led out from the gaol, a hush descended on the crowd. Until a brave soul spit at the pirate at the head of the line. Then the quiet tension was broken as the gathered crowd began to yell, scream, throw things, and jeer derisively at the prisoners. George had a smug smile on his face as the pirates were reviled and beaten by the half crazed assembly. Suddenly a shot rang out and the fabric making up the back of the dias blew back where the bullet penetrated only inches from where King George sat. His smile disappeared as a shout rang out over the alarm of the crowd.

“Hear me, subjects of King George.” Killian cried out over the gathering. “I am Captain Killian Jones of the Jolly Roger, and I am here today to surrender myself to your king in exchange for the lives of my men. When I was notified of their capture, I sent a message to the king laying out the terms of my surrender. As captain of these men, it is my duty to see to their safety and well being. When your king received my missive, he rejected my offer. Apparently it’s better to kill many then to capture and kill the one that is truly wanted.

I am responsible for the taking of the king’s flagship. I am responsible for the sinking of eight of his ships in single combat. I am the one that he wants. But in true cowardly fashion, he has to make a statement. A statement that, he hopes, will be received with fear and trembling in his subjects. Now I ask you. Is that how a king should rule? Through fear and intimidation? I think not. But that is exactly what he does.

I stole his ship and plotted my course of securing his downfall because of the mission he sent me and my men on. To a village, a fortnight’s journey from here by sea, on the outskirts of his kingdom. To barricade every building within the walls of the village and burn the village to the ground, killing all the residents within. The aged, women, children. I could have no part in the deliberate murder of innocents. For that, yes, I am guilty and I will pay the price. But you will release my men, your majesty. Then, and only then will I lower my weapon and place myself in your hands. I give you my word. And my word can be trusted. Because I am a man of honor. Otherwise, I will shoot and kill you where you sit. That earlier shot was a warning. This pistol is aimed right between your eyes, and I will not miss.”

King George’s face was nearly purple with fury, but after a tense and silent standoff with the pirate captain, he finally nodded at the executioner and ordered him to release the prisoners. Eyes never wavering from his former sovereign, Killian called to his men. “Make haste for the Jolly Roger, Mr. Smee. You know what to do.”

“Aye, aye Captain,” the rotund man shouted back.

Once the pirates had left the square heading in the direction of the docks, Killian lowered his weapon. The smirk was back on King George’s face as his guards rushed the captain and dragged him to the scaffolding.

“You were right, you know, Captain,” the king sneered. “I did want you. But with you now out of the way, it’ll be nothing to capture my ship back and all of your men will still hang.”

“Do you hear that?” Killian shouted again at the crowd. “King George will stop at nothing to squash every last voice that rises in opposition to his rule. Remember that, I charge you all,” he proclaimed, his restrained hands pointing at the crowd.

Emma could wait no longer as the noose was fitted over Killian’s head and tightened. She pushed forward shouting his name. “Killian!” The crowd parted before her so that she ran unimpeded to the very foot of the scaffold. “I love you!”

He looked down at her, love shining in his blue eyes. “I love you, too.”

King George gave the signal and the trap door was released.

The sickening crack jerked Emma upright in her bed, tears streaming down her face.

Trying desperately to catch her breath, she nearly knocked her phone to the floor instead of picking it up in her trembling hands. Barely able to see through her tears, she found him in her contacts and pressed call.

“Yes,” he answered curtly, after the first ring.

She couldn’t speak. Couldn’t do anything other than gasp out her sobs of relief at hearing his voice.

“Emma?” he asked, concern coloring his voice.

She nodded, still not able to speak, not realizing that he couldn’t see her.

“I’m okay, darling,” he cooed, “I promise you, I’m alright.”

She nodded again, still trying to bring her sobs and breathing under control, and ended the call.

Untold minutes later, while still trying to shake herself from the clutches of the dream, she heard a knock at the door. Opening it she found her boss standing on the threshold looking quite the worse for wear, still in his pajamas, with his hair sticking up in all directions. Seeing him there, all the emotions that she was trying desperately to hold back came roaring into the space between them as she fell into his arms. Her sobs, that she had nearly gotten under control, now echoing in her ears. She was barely aware as he lifted her into his arms, bridal style, and carried her into her apartment, using his foot to shut the door behind them.

He whispered endearments and comfort into her hair as he sat down on the sofa, still holding her close. As her sobs finally started to taper off into gasps and hiccups, Killian nuzzled his nose against hers. “If I pull some strings, we can leave today,” he murmured into her skin. She had not the strength to resist him and nodded into his chest.

This last dream was the final straw. She wasn’t sure she could survive another one. She’d do anything to get them to stop. The dream had exposed the deepest part of her heart and mind, leaving her no place to hide now. She wasn’t just attracted to Killian, she loved him. And she probably had since she first came to work at Jones Brothers.

“I don’t understand,” she confessed, “I don’t know what happened. I didn’t even turn on the TV tonight.”

“No…” he trailed away, “but I did.”

She raised incredulous and accusatory eyes toward him. “You did this… intentionally?”

“What? No!” he exclaimed, clearly horrified. “I would never willingly seek this. I wouldn’t put you through an experience like this.”

“No, of course not,” she agreed, looking back down. “It must have been horrible for you, too.”

“I mean, maybe unconsciously,” he conceded. “I couldn’t sleep. I don’t even remember what was on. Sometimes I just like to have another voice in the house.”

“Me too,” she agreed. “It’s exactly why I turned on Netflix on the nights I was working late at home. It keeps things from getting too quiet when you have nothing but work or your thoughts to keep you company. And those nights, those episodes of Black Sails, showed up in our dreams.”

Suddenly very aware of how close he was holding her, and his continued caresses down her arm and back, she startled back and got up from her spot on his lap. “I’ll, uh…” she trailed away. “I’ll pack and be ready to leave…” She looked everywhere but at him. “Uhhh, how long will we be gone?”

“Let’s plan to come home Sunday,” he decided. “If that’s okay with you? I’ll go home and pack, and make some phone calls, then I’ll be back to pick you up. Probably about nine?”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” she agreed. She walked over to the door and opened it for him as he rose to take his leave.

“I’ll see you then,” he whispered. She looked up at him then and was startled by what she found swimming in his blue eyes. Trust, devotion, love. All the things that would normally have her running as fast and as far in the other direction as she possibly could. But for some reason, the thought of doing that with him, simply made her heart ache. Shutting the door behind him, she leaned back against it. What have I gotten myself into now?

Thanks for reading and sharing.

#time and again #krystal writes #art by krystal #ch5 #cs fanfiction #cs fanfic

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writteriguess · 5 years

Text

Escape You | Part Four

Chapter Four:

The Sauna Test.

Steve Harrington x reader

summary: After Robin finds a useful map, a new individual joins you on your journey in finding the Evil Russians.

warnings: cursing

notes: sorry this is a chap is so late. School started for me and I’m still adjusting lol. Anyway hope y’all enjoy this chapter 🥰

(also sorry if there are mistakes, I didn’t really read it :/)

——————

You huffed as you opened the door to the roof of the StarCourt Mall. When you become in contact with the sun, you squint your eyes and pull your hand infront of your face.

“Yo! Henderson!” Dustin turns to face you, the binoculars still glued to his face. You stifle a laugh. “I got your note! What do you want?” You yelled to him. You held up the note he had left you that morning at your shop on the counter.

Meet me at the roof. Come alone - Dustin

“Shhh!” He shushes you quickly. You walk closer to him. He is kneeled on the floor. He pulls you to the floor by your forearm. You fall to the floor with a plop. You hiss at him.

“What the hell!?” You exclaim loudly. He shushes you again, pointing to something down below. You look. Evil Russian’s. “Oh” you whisper out, getting into a comfortable position on the ground. You lean closer to Dustin, “Why are we here?”

He shrugs innocently, “Spying on Evil Russian’s” You nod, moving away, “Right, Right.” It’s silent. You speak up again, “That still doesn’t explain why I’m here” You point to yourself.

Dustin sighs, removing the binoculars from his eyes and placing them on the floor next to him. “I have a bone to pick with you” he looks to you. You snicker, leaning over to grab the binoculars. He lets you, you’re suprised. You put them up to your face. “Yeah? Like what?” You laugh breathlessly.

“Do you like Steve?” His questing catches you off - guard. You peel your eyes away from the binoculars quickly. “What?” You ask.

You’re not really sure if you’d heard him correctly. You were positive that you were good at hiding your feelings but apparently not. First Sarah knew and now Dustin. God probably Steve knew himself! Maybe you can play it off. Say you didn’t like him.

“You heard me. Do you like Steve?” Dustin repeated himself. You scoffed, shaking your head. You put the binoculars up to your face agin. “Now why would you think that?” You chuckled wearily.

Dustin, clearly annoyed, snatched the binoculars from your grip, forcing you to look at him. “Don’t act dumb (y/n)! I saw how sad you looked when you saw him and Robin holding hands!”

You sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of your nose with your thumb and pointer finger. God, he saw that! You were in deep shit now. You didn’t know why but you felt the urge to tell Dustin the truth. You two had grown closer over the pass couple of days. He was probably one of the only people you could trust. So you did. You told him the truth.

“Ok! So what if I did?” You exclaimed. Dustin fist pumped the air, “Yes! I knew it!.” You rolled your eyes at him, putting your head in your hands. “It’s that freaking obvious, huh?” You mumbled in your palm.

“Yea. The way you look at him, it makes me believe love is real” Dustin said. You looked up at him quickly, shaking your head with a laugh. “Woah, Woah, Woah” you let out a shaky laugh, “I don’t love him” you objected.

Dustin sighs again, bringing the binoculars back to his face. “Yea, whatever you say (y/n).” You laugh at him again. “Seriously I don’t.” Dustin doesn’t look at you, letting out an unsure hum and mumbling, “sure you don’t.”

It’s silent again. You pull your knees to your chest, and let out a stressful sigh. You look at Dustin again. “You know you can’t tell anyone about this, right?” Dustin, eyes still in the binoculars, nods. “And I mean anyone. Not your friends. Not Robin. And definitely not Steve”.

He finally takes the binoculars off. “I won’t, I won’t” You nod greatfully at him. Your pinkie raises in the air before him. “Pinkie Promise?” He looked to you in disbelief before scoffing, “Seriously (y/n)?.”

You shrugg innocently, pursing your lips. “Well if you meant it, you would pinkie promise” you start to pull your pinkie away. He groans in annoyance, “Fine! Fine!”

You smirk in victory. His pinkie twist around yours, and he stares you dead in the eyes. He holds up his other hand, showing his uncrossed fingers. “I swear, I will not tell a single soul.”

You smile pulling your pinkie away, “Good.”

In the two hours that follow, you and Dustin had made it to Scoops to tell Robin and Steve the stuff you say the Russians doing with the key cards.

“That keycard opens the door, but unfortunately, the Russian with this keycard also has a massive gun.” Dustin explained, leaning against the wall. Steve and Robin stood across from each other at the small blue and white table. You stood next to Dustin, nodding along to what he explained.

“Whatever’s in this room, whatever’s in those boxes, they really don’t want anybody finding it” you concluded. Steve played with his white sailors hat by flipping it along his finger whilst Robin played with an ice cream scooper. “But there’s gotta be a way in” Robin sighed, leaning back in her seat in defeat.

Steve throws his hat on the table, “Well, you know...” he then leans his elbows on the table, eyeing all three of you. “I could just take him out” Steve shrugged.

Your eyes squinted and you almost scoffed. “Take who out?” Robin asked with wide eyes. Steve shrugged again, as if it was no big deal. “The Russian Gaurd. What? I sneak up behind him, I knock him out and I take his keycard. It’s easy.”

“Did you not hear the part about the massive gun?” Dustin points out bluntly. You chuckle in your fist, looking between both boys humorously. Steve glanced to you before looking back to Dustin. “Yes, Dustin, I did” Steve spoke back in a ‘matter of fact tone’. “And that’s why I would be sneaking.” Steve moves his pointer and middle finger across the table, demonstrating a sneaking motion.

Dustin crosses his arms, “Well, please, tell me this, and be honest, have you ever actually...won a fight?” Dustin seemed to challenge. At that comment, you started laughing into your palm. Steve shot you a look again, but to his dismay you continued to laugh.

Steve butts in, “Okay, that was one time,” Dustin quickly cut him off, “twice. Johnathan. Year prior?”

Ah, you had remembered that day. You had heard that Johnathan Byers has beat the shit out of Steve Harrington’s face. It was amusing really. The geeky camera guy beating up the popular king of the school. Now that was one for the books. You had remembered being so proud of him, but you never had the chance to tell him.

“Listen, that doesn’t count” he begins but you tilt your head to the side letting out a sound of disagreement. “Why wouldn’t it count? Because it looks like he beat the shit out of you” Dustin cut in again. You chuckled into your palm again. Robin looked between the three of you in amusement. Suddenly, her eyes took gaze open a object in the far corner. Her face falls into a blank stare. She then smiled knowingly.

“That just might work” Robin mumbled. Suddenly she escaped through the back, walking to the front of the shop. Her hand dug in the tip jar, scooping the money from inside. You, Steve, and Dustin followed.

“Hey, Robin! What, what are you doing?” Steve asked. Robin turned around, slowly walking out of the ice cream parlor. “I need cash” she shrugged.

“Well, half of thats mine. Where you goin?” Steve projected back. “To find us a way into that room, a safe way. And, in the meantime, sling ice cream, behave, and don’t get beat up. I’ll be back in a jiff” She salutes the three of you before bolting away.

You look to Dustin, who has one of the ice cream scooper’s in his mouth, eating ice cream from the top. Steve glances at him before snatching it away. “Oh, Dude!” He twirls the scooper before placing it in one of his apron pockets. “Come on man, not my scooper.”

You and Dustin stayed in the back of Scoops, waiting for Robin to return. Steve did as he was told, slinging ice cream in the front. You peeked at him through the glass of the sliding windows. A line was forming rapidly, and you watched as Steve frantically moved around, trying to get the orders out quickly.

“Should we help him?” You asked Dustin, who was pacing around the room. You were suprised you haven’t yelled at him to stop yet. He was also quiet, which wasn’t like him. “Not right now, (y/n). I’m sure Steve can handle it.”

You look at Steve again. While rushing to get the whip cream, you watch Steve spill an order of a strawberry milkshake. It falls to the floor, and he bends down to start cleaning it. You indistinctively hear him repeatedly apologizing to the customer.

You quickly ran to the other side of the room, grabbing a spare Scoops Ahoy sailer’s hat and an apron. You put the hat on your head, and tie the apron around your waist tightly.

Dustin furrows his eyebrows at you, “Uh, what are you doing?”. You see one of the blue Scoops Ahoy vests and put it on, covering your work maroon shirt. It wasn’t the complete Scoops Ahoy uniform, but it would have to do. “I’m gonna go out there!”

“Oooo, you gonna make your move?” Dustin wiggles his eyebrows to at you. You give him a dumbfounded look, “No, im gonna help with the shit ton of orders that are piling in”. You rush to the door, ready to open it. “Sure you are (y/n)” Dustin teased sarcastically. You give him a dirty look, before pushing the doors open.

Steve, who was still on his knees, cleaning up the splattered pink and red milkshake, turned back to look at you. He smiled instantly, the smile becoming bigger when he say you wearing some of Scoops uniform. “(y/n)? What, what are you doing?”

You smirked, “Helping your ass.” You then stepped over the mess, and towards the counter, where a line of costumers were waiting.

“Ahoy!” You greeted. “ What can I get you guys?” You asked enthusiastically, in the all to familiar Scoops Ahoy Sailor character. Steve grinned up at you from the ground ever so often. To his astonishisment, you in that uniform was doing something for him. When you two had officially met, you would talk to each other every so often, and Steve had started taking a liking to you, but only in a friendly way. But looking at you now, he’s not sure what he felt. All he knew was that you looked really cute in that sailors hat.

When Steve has finally finished cleaning the milkshake, you two moved around quickly, the orders going out quick and easy. And before you too knew it, the customers slowed down and then there was none left.

You leaned against the counter, your upper arm aching from scooping so much ice cream. Steve leaned next to you, whipping his hand with a blue washcloth. You winced, moving your arm in a circular motion. “God, I’ve never scooped so much ice cream in my life. My arm hurts like hell” you chuckled.

Steve chuckled too and it was like music to your ears. “Yea, I was like that the first week too. But, ya know? You get used to it” he shrugged. “However it’s definitely not worth the 3 dollars I get an hour.” You both laughed at his comment.

When the laughing died down, you hid your smile in your hand. Steve stared at you, the corners of his lips turned up slightly. His eyes trailed along your features. Every crease, every eyelash, every freckle. You were beautiful. Your cheeks wore a light shade of pink, and he wanted nothing more then to hold and kiss them. His eyes trailed to your hair. It was styled down, the hair going along your shoulder and back. It looked so soft and god did he want to touch it. Jesus, was he smitten.

You noticed his staring, removing your hand from your face. You narrowed your eyes and pursed your lips at him. “What?” You giggled out.

Steve chuckled awkwardly, he smiled brightly looking away. “Sorry” he played with his hands, a thing you often saw him do when he was nervous. His gaze was upon you again, “You just look so damn cute in the sailors hat.”

Your cheeks raged pink. Now it was your turn to look away. The corners of your mouth turned up and soon your pearly whites shown. Steve’s fingers reached out, grazing your’s that were rested comfortably along the table that you leaned on. He didn’t hold your hand, no, just his fingers lightly drawing patterns along the front and fingers. You wanted to hold his hand, and you could tell he did too.

Your eyes meet his again. He looked to your lips and then back to your eyes. Your breath seemed to get caught in your throat. Did he want to kiss you? No. He liked Robin. They were holding hands. He had to like her. But the way he looked at you. Could he like you?

Thoughts and possibilities flooded your mind. His face got closer, closer, so close.

“Guys! I got it!” A cheery voice broke you two apart. Steve jolted away quickly. and your head whipped around to the voice. It was Robin. She was holding, a map? She stopped though, watching both you and Steve’s flustered pink faces. Her eyebrows furrowed, “You two alright?”

Steve nodded frantically, running a hand along the back of his neck. “Yea, yea, we’re uh...fine” Steve looks to you. You give a convincing nod Robins way. “Yea, Great!” You agree with Steve.

“Okay...anyway” She holds up the map further, showing you two the map she had found. “I got it!” She repeated again. Steve’s eyes narrowed, “And what is that exactly?”

In the back of Scoops, Robin laid out the map on the table. You, Steve, and Dustin hovered over it. “It is fascinating what 20 bucks will get you at the County Recorders Office”. She flattens the map out, giving each of you her best grin, “StarCourt Mall. The complete blueprint’s”

Dustin smiles up at her, “Not bad.” You agree with him. The map seemed to show all of the Mall. You were impressed. “So, this is us, Scoops” Robin points to a small area near the bottom of the map. You all lean in closer to look. You smile as you see the store you worked at a short way from Scoops.

She points further up the map, “And this is where we want to get.” Your eyebrows furrow, your eyes trailing the map frantically. “How?” You ask breathlessly. Steve looks at you before nodding back down at the map. “Yeah. I mean, I don’t really see a way in” he shrugged his hunched shoulders.

“There’s not” Robin points out quickly. By this point, you and Steve are extremely confused. Suddenly Robin rips the map off, under it is another one. “If you’re talking exclusively about doors.”

Dustin gets it, “Air ducts” he says in astonishment. Robin smiles at the kid, “Exactly.” She rushes over to the whiteboard on the other side of the room. “Turns out, this secret room needs air just like any old room.” The three of your eyes watch Robin as she grabs a marker from the whiteboard. “These air ducts” She circles one of the air ducts on the top with the red marker. “Lead all the way” she drags the marker downward. “Here” She goes down to the bottom, circling the air duct of Scoops.

You, Dustin and Steve look to the small vent. Robin closes the marker with a click.

You stand beside the ladder as Steve unscrews the vent, a screwdriver between his teeth. He hands it to you, to which you then place on the floor. “Flashlight” his voice mumbled against the tool. Dustin hands it to him. They trade, the screwdriver for the flashlight. You hold onto one of the legs of the ladder, making sure Steve doesn’t fall. You could already see that incident taking place.

He flashes the light into the dark vent, his eyes straining to see. You, Robin, and Dustin wait patiently down below. “Yeah, I don’t know, man. I don’t know if you could fit in here. It’s like...super tight” he refers to Dustin. “I’ll fit” Dustin convinces back. You mentally shake your head. There was nooo way Dustin would fit.

“Trust me. No collar bones, remember?” You and Robin look to each other eyes wide. “Uh, excuse me?” Robin asked quickly. Steve jumps down from the later. “Oh, he’s, uh yeah he’s got some disease. Chry, Uh...it’s chrydo, um... Something. Yea, I dunno”

You smile at his cute stuttering. “He’s missing bones and stuff. He can bend like Gumbo.” Your eyebrows furrow. Isn’t it Gumby? “You mean Gumby?” You ask through raised eyebrows. Steve looks to you, “I’m pretty sure it’s Gumbo.”

“Steve, just shut up and push me!” Dustin’s voice echoed due to the vent. “Okay” Steve drawls out, rolling his eyes before moving up the ladder. He grabs Dustin by the feet, lifting him off the ladder, before giving him a solid push into the vent. He doesn’t budge. “Not my feet, dumbass. Push my ass” Dustin yells back angrily.

“What?” Steve says. “Touch my butt! I don’t care!” Dustin screams back. You stifle a laugh. And sure enough, Steve moves further up the ladder, and attempt’s to push Dustin in. “Come on! Harder! Push Harder!”

“I’m pushing!” Steve resorts back. “You’re playing with my legs.” “I’m not playing, I have terrible footing.” God, they sound like a old married couple. Robin looks to you, giving you a ‘what the hell is going on’ face. You giggle and shrug innocently.

“I’m gonna just shove you, ready?” Steve says. He starts counting, Dustin’s legs wrapped around the back of his neck for better support. “One, Two...”

He shoved him. Once again, Dustin doesn’t budge. “Shit!” He exclaims. “One more time” he says to Steve.

Suddenly, the sound of the customer bell rings from the front of Scoops. Robin turns, looking to an annoyed Erica Sinclair. She’s ringing the bell rapidly saying, “Ahoy, sailors! All hands on deck! Ahoy!”

Robin smiles mischievously, and you won’t even try to process the thoughts flowing in that girls head.

Robin leaves you and goes to the front. Your mouth is just forming her name when the swinging door swings back in your direction. You look back over to the boys to see Steve still trying to push Dustin inside the vent. You sigh, moving towards the ladder and nudging Steve’s leg. He looks down to you.

“Both of you come down. It’s clearly not gonna work.” With sighs of defeat Steve and Dustin touch the ground. “Where’s Robin?” Steve asks, looking around, not noticing her presence. You shrugg, “Who the hell knows anymore.”

Suddenly she retreats back with, Erica Sinclair? The little girls eyes widen when they see you. “(y/n)?” she questioned, eyebrows raised. “What are you doing hanging around with these nerds?”

You chuckle. You loved this kid. Steve steps in, “Uh, you two know eachother?” His hands move between you and Erica. “I babysat her for like three years” you shrugged. Steve nods.

Erica looks over to Robin. “What vent were you talking about?” She asks. Robin points to the small vent above them. “That one”

The four of you watch as Erica shines the flashlight into the vent. “Hmm” she hums unsurely. She hops down from the latter, facing the four of you who were leaning against the white and blue wall. “Yeah, I don’t know” Erica says.

“You don’t know if you could fit?” Dustin asks. Erica scoffs, “Oh, I can fit. I just don’t know if I want too.” “Are you claustrophobic?” Robin speaks up. Erica snickers, “I don’t have phobias.”

“Okay, well, what’s the problem?” Steve draws out, the annoyance in his voice increasing with every word. “The problem is, I still haven’t heard what’s in this for Erica.” She sasses back. Steve sucks in his teeth and looks to Robin, who raises her brows.

You watch as Steve moves a gigantic banana split before Erica’s eyes. She examines it before pushing it back to Steve. “More fudge, please.” When Steve doesn’t move, Erica flutters her hand in his direction, prompting him to move. “Go on.” You watch as Steve flashes her the fakiest smile you have ever seen and goes to get her more fudge.

“All right” Robin pulls out the map. “You see this?” She points to the line written in red marker. “This is the route you’re gonna take.” Robin then turns the map over, and points to a big area circled with the red line. “Then we just wait till the last delivery goes out tonight. Then you knock down the grate, jump down, open the door.” Robin explains it as if it were the easiest thing in the world.

“Then you find out what’s in those boxes?” Erica scoops a spoonful of ice cream in her mouth from the remaining few on the table. “Exactly” Robin concludes. Erica makes an unsure sound again. “And you say this guard is armed.”

You and Dustin look at eachother. “Yes, but he won’t be there” you try to convince. Dustin seems to nod along to you for moral support. “And booby traps?” She asks further. Robin cuts in, “Booby traps?” She questions. “Lasers, spikes in the wall?” Erica explains.

Robin laughs at her, so does Dustin. “You know what this half-baked plan of yours sounds like to me?” Erica quirks an eyebrow at the three of you. Dustin makes a face at her. “Child endangerment” She draws out.

You frown quickly at the idea that Erica thought you were willingly trying to danger her. You babysat the kid for three freaking years. You lean up again. “We’ll be in radio contact with you the whole time” you try to persuade. “Ah, ah ah,” she points her finger at you. “Child endangerment” She draws out, once again. You huff, rolling your eyes, plopping back against the red booth.

“Erica? Hi. Uh, we think these Russians want to do harm to our country. Great harm. Don’t you love your country?” Dustin takes a new method in persuading. Erica thinks for a minute before smirking. “You can’t spell “America” without “Erica.”

You and Dustin look to eachother before both nodding your heads. “Uh, Yeah, Yeah” Dustin nods his head. “Oddly, that’s, uh, totally true.”

You lean in closer to her, “So, don’t do this for us. Do it for your country” you shrug at her before, leaning back into the booth. Dustin adds on, “Do it for your fellow man.”

Erica slurps harshly on one of the Scoops Ahoy milkshakes. The drink reminds you of what happened between you and Steve just one hour before. He did try to kiss you. You looked to Robin, who was nodding along to whatever else Dustin was saying to Erica. You knew she liked Steve. You could tell she enjoyed his company and he enjoyed her’s. They held hands. You felt guilty. Just seeming to barge into their friend group like this. And maybe whatever Steve and Robin had going on. You bit at your thumbnail.

Night fell, and it was time. “Erica, do you copy?” Robin spoke into the walkie talkie. Erica’s sassy voice resorts back, “Mm-hmm. I copy. You nerds in position or what?”

“Yeah, we’re in position” Robin says back. “It’s all quiet here, so you’ve got the green light” Robin assures. You stand between Steve and Dustin, and roll your eyes at Dustin’s binoculars, thinking of how those things almost had you all killed the other night. “Green light, roger that.” Her voice then continued, “Commence Operation Child Endangerment.” You couldn’t help but roll your eyes. You grab the walkie talkie from Robins grip.

“Can we maybe not call it that?” You speak into the device. Erica ignores you, her voice coming in again, “See you on the other side, nerds.”

You all look to eachother before taking a comfortable position on the ground, waiting for Erica to open the door. Without even noticing, you lean your head on Steve’s shoulder. He tilts his head over, smiling into your hair. Robin doesn’t notice, keeping her gaze mostly on the door. Dustin eyes the both of you, a small grin ghosting his lips. When you realize what your doing, you try to hold back a smile. Steve was warm against you. It was summer, but the night was cool, prompting a chill to seize your skin every so often. Steve noticed, wrapping his arm around your shoulder before resting his palm against your lower arm. His hands trailed up and down, trying to create a warm friction between the two of you. In a few seconds you stopped shaking.

Before any of you could say something, Erica’s voice comes through the walkie talkie that rested in your palm. “All right, nerds.”

You jolt your head off of Steve’s shoulder, Robin, Steve and Dustin crowding around you. “I’m there.” You all smile at eachother. Robin leans over, “Do you see anything?”

“Yeah, I see those boring boxes you’re so excited about.” You chuckle, putting the communication device to your mouth, “Any guards?” You ask. “Negative” Erica answers back. You sigh in relief. Robin cuts in again, “Booby traps?” She smirks.

“If I could see them, they’d be pretty shit traps, wouldn’t they?” Erica pipes back. You and Dustin look at eachother before nodding. Steve rolled his eyes. “Thank you for that.” Robin depressed a chuckle.

You all hear a yell and then a bang before her voice comes through again. “I’m in” she confirms. Steve untenses from next to you, running his hand through his voluminous hair, before muttering out a “oh god” in relief. You all look to the door anxiously.

The doors open and Erica walks out in all her glory. She puts a hand on her hip, “Free ice cream...for life.” She points at Robin and Steve. The four of you walk down the stairs to the road below.

Once inside, the five of you spent no time to see what’s in those boxes. Steve opens one of the Imperial Panda boxes with a box cutter. He opens the box, you and Robin helping with the sides. It’s...a smaller box?

Your eyebrows furrow. It’s a small beige box with a small metal handle on top. Steve grabs the handle before twisting it open. Air hisses from the action. He gently pulls the lid off. The five of you lean over, looking inside. Before your eyes lay four other small steel handles. “That’s definitely not Chinese food.” Steve jokes. Yup, definitely not.

“Uh, maybe you guys should, you know, stand back.” Steve motions for the four of you to stand back. You, Robin, and Erica do so. Dustin doesn’t move. “No” he protest, moving closer. Steve pushes him away by the chest, “Just step back, okay?”

Dustin moves forward again, “No.” “Step back. Seriously.” Steve warns. “No! No! If you die, I die.” Dustin proclaims. You smile softly. It was sweet, but a little weird. Steve shrugs, “Okay.” The next thing you know, his hand is reaching into the box.

Steve slowly twist one of the handles. It makes a clicking noise before that same air hissing noise from before. He pulls it out. It’s a small container with a green liquid inside. You all stare at eachother in shock.

“What the hell?” Steve whispered breathlessly. “What is that?” Robin asked after him. Suddenly the floor rumbled slightly beneath you. You all look around in panic. What the hell was that?

Dustin’s scarred voice comes next, “Was that just me, or did the room move?” You shook your head, swallowing thickly. “Nope. The room definitely just moved.” You answered. “Booby traps” Erica whispers out from next to you.

The room shakes again, a mechanical whirring being heard from off the walls. “You know what? Let’s just grab that and go” Robin steps forward in panic, grabbing the strange green container. Dustin moves over to the bottons on the wall. He presses the blue botton with the words ‘Door Open’ displayed on the front. The door doesn’t open.

“Which one do I press, Erica?” Dustin shouts, his voice yelling the word panic. “Just press the damn button, nerd” Erica sassed. “Which one? I’m pressing the button, okay?”

“Press ‘open door’!” Erica yelled. Dustin huffs, “I’m pressing ‘open door’.” You move forward, ready to put their bickering to rest. “Maybe try pressing the other button” you say sarcastically. You start pressing all the buttons now, but none of them work. Steve makes his way next you, slightly shoving you away. “Maybe try this one” he presses the glowing green button in the middle.

Another door above slams down before you. It’s silent for a moment. All of you waiting for what was next. However, this one you didn’t expect. The room rattled before then rapidly plunging to the floor.Erica and Robin scream, grabbing onto shelf’s and boxes. You grab onto Steve. He looks to the wall, before letting out an “Oh shit.” You look to the wall too, to see a whole bunch of lights flashing before your eyes. Like floors. Then it hit you.

It wasn’t a room. It was a goddamn elevator.

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escapingreality1992 · 5 years

Text

Haircuts and Head Massages

Inspired by Bucky’s new look for Falcon and Winter Soldier.

Bucky x OC - Bucky and Tara meet when Steve and Sam brings him back to the compound. Tara gives Bucky a head massage like she does for everyone and it becomes their special thing. Feelings arise during a movie night three months later and they go on a date falling in love with a kiss. Cut to seven months into dating, Tara throws a barbecue and Bucky decides it’s time for a change with a haircut and a shave.

Buried under three fluffy blankets in the lounge, I sat alone reading a book, music playing in my earphones. The compound wasn’t empty; most people stayed in their room not bothering anyone. A routine we were accustomed to. I knew Steve and Sam had gone out to take care of some private business; whatever it was, they chose not to disclose it to me even though I tried to pry it out of them.

Engrossed in my novel – a fantasy with magic, wizards and all sorts of different creatures – the music blaring in my ears, I failed to hear their return, failed to see them approach me, a new recruit in tow, until someone tapped me on the shoulder. On instinct, I sent them sprawling to the floor with a kick to the chest and using my weight to pin them down; one earbud fell out of my ear, letting me hear their struggle.

“Tara! It’s me, Sam. I’m sorry I scared you. Get off me please,” the “intruder” shouted. Realizing my mistake, I got off him, helping him to his feet.

“Sorry. I had my music blasting. You’re back. Where’s Steve? Where did y’all go?” I stated.

“We picked up a new friend. A new recruit as well,” Steve’s voice answered, causing me to turn around to face him; Another guy stood beside him, quiet and reserved. He had dark brown hair, which fell to his shoulders, light blue eyes and a beard my fingers itched to run along. He had on a brown jacket, a black Henley, and blue jeans and black boots; a hat on to disguise himself. He wore black gloves, hiding his metal hand away.

Exactly like Steve does. I’m not really sure it qualifies as a disguise but whatever works, I guess, I thought.

“Tara, this is Bucky Barnes, my oldest friend. Bucky, this is Tara Thomas,” Steve introduced us. Bucky remained quiet, giving me a wave, barely meeting my eyes. His name sounded familiar and I thought about where I heard it before, realization clouding over my mind as I remembered who he…was.

“You brought the Winter Soldier here? Have you discussed this with Stark?” I questioned. I noticed Bucky flinched at the name; perhaps a painful memory coming out to play, which he didn’t ask for.

“I planned to discuss it with tonight. Tara, he’s not…he won’t-,”

“I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply anything terrible. If you trust him, I trust him,”

“Thank you. That means a lot. I’ll go talk to Tony. Would you mind if he stays in here with you? I’ll need to borrow Sam while the discussion takes place…just in case some things are…thrown,” Steve said.

“Hold on mister. It’s your turn. If you think I’m going to let you skip out on this one, you’re sorely mistaken. The discussion-,”

“We’re talking to Tony. I’ve got to get it over with. Sam, come with me. Buck, stay with her. She can keep you company,” Steve stated, tugging Sam out of the room; Sam shot me an apologetic look and shrug before disappearing with Steve down the hall.

“Steve! Get back here! Steve!” I yelled to no avail. Sighing with frustration, I ran a hand through my chestnut brown hair, which came to rest on my collarbone. Turning around, I spotted Bucky still standing, hands in his pockets.

“You’re welcome to sit down. They might be a while. Don’t worry, I don’t bite,” I told him, climbing back under my blankets, resuming my book. Noticing movement, I glanced up to see him sitting on the end of the couch, twiddling his thumbs, still silent; I peered back down at my book, the story distracting my attention from him. Did I think him attractive? Yeah, sure in a I’d-love-to-feel-his-lips-on-mine kind of way. Silence ensued until he cleared his throat as if he meant to say something.

“Steve’s turn for what?” he asked, capturing my attention. So much for the distraction, I thought as a smile tugged at my lips.

“Beg pardon?”

“You told Steve that it was his turn. What did you mean by it if you don’t mind me asking?” he replied. His voice was a bit raspy, husky even, and it pulled me even more to him.

“Oh, that. Uh, it’s his turn to get a head massage. Everyone gets one here. It’s sort of a comfort thing and apparently, I give really good ones. At least that’s what everyone tells me. The trouble is Steve keeps avoiding his for the month,” I explained, putting down the book. I was done reading for the night, especially since I knew where this conversation was heading.

“Everyone? Including the women?”

“Yeah. I’m efficient that way. Even Stephen Strange receives one every once in a while, and he’s not even that close to us,”

“What does it feel like? How deep do you massage people?”

“Ah, so the curiosity bug has bitten you. Would you like a demonstration? It doesn’t hurt, I promise. It’s quite relaxing. I do them on myself sometimes. It gets the blood flowing and they say it’s very stimulating for your scalp,” I replied. I removed the blankets from my lap, draping them across the back of the couch so they’d be out of the way.

“I thought it was Steve’s turn. You don’t know me. I don’t know you. I only asked because it confused me. I…”

“Bucky, it’ll be all right. Steve can wait. If it’s too much, tell me and I’ll stop. Or if you don’t want to do this, that’s fine too. I don’t mind,” I told him. He sighed and shrugged off his jacket, bending down to unlace his boots and pulling them off his feet.

“Where do I sit?” he asked.

“You don’t sit. You lay in my lap. Stretch out, grab a blanket if you want. Take off those gloves. You could get overheated,” I replied, flexing my hands to prepare for the massage. He hesitated with the gloves but removed them, the metal from his hand glinting in the dim lighting. He grabbed one blanket – the fluffy black one – draping it over his legs and laid back, his head placed in my lap, his blue eyes gazing up at my blue-green ones.

“Ready? If it’ll make you feel better, you can close your eyes,” I stated. He nodded and shut them; his breathing shaky, full of nerves. I began, splaying my fingers as I pulled them through his hair, fingertips on his scalp. I applied some pressure, moving them around, giving him the full effect. I occasionally stroked his hair, the same comforting gesture I gave to Loki, Wanda and Natasha. Wanda and Nat liked their hair to be played with, but for Loki it relaxed him to have fingers running through his hair, comforting him.

For Bucky, it appeared to be putting him at ease. I could see the tension releasing, his limbs going limp. His lips parted open; his breathing steady. I kept going, working his scalp, still stroking his hair in the hopes of bringing him the most comfort I could. I even applied some pressure to his temples, relieving tension there as if he had a headache. Wanting to give him more tingles, I scratched his beard, the roughness of it contrasting with his soft locks.

I switched between this and his head until his breathing evened out. I continued even as he drifted off to sleep, Bucky turning on his side, his hair tumbling on his shoulders. I checked the time to see how long I had been at it with him. 11 p.m. An hour had passed while I had been giving him the same treatment, I gave everyone else. I heard footsteps approaching, peeked up as I saw Steve and Sam re-enter the lounge. Holding a finger to my lips, I gestured to the sleeping man in my lap. Steve smiled; it was small, glad to see his friend relaxed. He walked around to the back of the couch to whisper in my ear.

“Thank you, Tara. Tony said he could stay here. If it’s no trouble, could he stay with you until we get his room set up. It’ll be tonight and tomorrow night if that’s okay. It might do him some good to be around you,”

“It’s no trouble at all. Let him sleep for another hour before we wake him,” I whispered back.

“You and your head massages. They’re like magic. You put to sleep in five minutes. Not to mention relaxing everyone. I get all tingly when you do mine,” Sam said in a low vice, sitting in one of the armchairs, exhaustion setting in.

“I’ll give you one tomorrow. And Steve, you’re also getting one tomorrow. No exceptions,” I told them.

“But-,”

“No arguments,” I snapped. What began as a demonstration became a regular occurrence for Bucky and me, sparking an unforeseen romance, which would lead to a change Bucky decided to get; a step to a new beginning.

Three Months Later

As time went on, Bucky and I became closer, growing to be best friends. We were often paired together on missions, undercover or not; he discovered my true ability – light absorption, which meant I could block out light in specific places when needed.

It came in handy when we needed to sneak upon enemies, for them to be unable to see us coming. We’d even use it when we were feeling quite mischievous and decided to scare Sam, Steve, or Thor; a trait we picked up from Loki the more we were around him.

Head massages became a regular thing; he’d come to me when he needed to wind down from particularly stressful missions or when he needed one because he simply enjoyed it. Bucky would even lay in my lap during move nights, our friends giving us strange looks at first, but soon they were so used to it, they didn’t notice, paying attention to the movie. Tonight, someone would say something, bringing out odd relationship to light.

Movie nights occurred on Mondays; a day when battles appeared to be slower, meetings were dull, or the stress got to be overwhelming. They gave us time to hang out, eating popcorn and indulging in a comedy or a horror movie. Yes, I said horror; not the gory, slasher ones but the psychological thriller ones which would blow your mind with the endings. The genre tonight, more comedy, kind of slasher like. The movie – Zombieland.

“What I don’t understand is why you two aren’t dating,” Sam stated during one part of the movie.

“Which two are you referring to?” I asked. I had Bucky’s head cradled in my lap, running my fingers through his silky locks. I paused, getting a pat from his hand to keep going.

“I’m referring to you and the man you’ve got lying in your lap. I mean, what is going on between you two? You’re constantly giving him head massages and I can’t tell if you’re dating or not,” Sam answered. I frowned, continuing my movements.

“I give everyone massages. This isn’t an uncommon thing,” I noted.

“No, you give everyone head massages every once in a while. With Bucky, you’re always found somewhere in the compound, lying on a couch or sitting in an armchair, with him. In your lap. Massaging his head and scratching his beard,” Same argued.

“Your point is? It’s our thing. There’s nothing wrong with it,” Bucky commented.

“My point is that you two do it so often it’s hard to tell if you’re dating or only friends. No one’s seen you kissing, which sort of leads me to believe that you’re not but you could be having a secret relationship behind everyone’s back. If you’re not, then the question is why not,” Sam stated.

“Leave them alone,” Steve said. Sam reached over and shut off the movie.

“I know everyone’s curious about it. They should answer the question,” he stated.

“We shouldn’t be under any obligation-,”

“Okay. Yeah, I’m curious. Why aren’t you two together?” Steve said. When we didn’t answer, Sam asked a different question.

“Do you like each other?”

“Yeah. We’re best friends,” Bucky replied.

“No, no. I mean, do either of you have feelings for each other?” Sam asked. More silence followed; my face grew hot, my fingers stopped moving, the massage over.

“Are you going to answer the question?” Same pressed.

“Come on, Sam, Steve. Leave them alone. So, what if they’re not dating? What business is it of yours to know their feelings? If they’re friends, then that’s the end of it. I’d like to get back to the movie, please,” Natasha stated.

“Don’t you want to know? Friends don’t-,”

“Drop it bird man. Let them figure it out on their own,” Nat interrupted.

“Fine. I’m just saying maybe they should date. They’d be a cute couple. You can see the chemistry a mile away,” Sam caved and turned on the movie. I resumed my movements, trying my best to pay attention. Truth is, I did have a crush on Bucky.

He’s super sweet and funny. Plus, he’s got the looks to match. I’d always hoped he’d feel the same way, but I wouldn’t mind if we were only friends. I wanted him to be happy with whoever he chose. As the movie played on, the more I got to wondering what it would be like to date him. I imagined how his lips would feel against mine; would he kiss me rough, his beard scratching my skin? What about his hands? How would it be to have his metal hand touch me? Anywhere? Everywhere?

By the time the movie ended, I was aware of my thoughts floating around in my head and all the dates I envisioned would happen if we ever got together.

“Tara? Can we talk in your room?” Bucky whispered, interrupting the thoughts replaying in my head. I nodded and spotting an opportunity to disappear unnoticed, we headed upstairs to my room to chat. Bucky closed and locked the door behind us, and we sat down on the bed.

“What did you want to talk about?” I asked, already nervous; my heart beat hard in my chest, hammering away at the thought of his words.

“I…um…wow. I didn’t realize how hard this would be. Tara, I like you. A lot. I have for a while, but I didn’t know how to tell you. Sam grilling us tonight really put things into perspective. Would you maybe want to go out with me? Tomorrow night?” Bucky confessed, dragging a hand through his hair, making it a tousled mess.

“You…l-like me? Is that why you always came to me for head massages?” I asked, stunned. Here he sat confessing his crush on me and I was stunned. I literally thought I was in a dream. Someone pinch me, I thought.

“Partly. You do give really good massages. They’re the best part of my day. I do like you. One could say I might be falling in love with you,”

“Yes. My answer is yes. I’d love to go out with you,” I stated.

“Really?” I nodded and he pulled me off the bed into his arms. “Great. I’ll stop by at 6. We can go to dinner and then I’ll take you somewhere for a surprise,” he said, putting me down on the floor. Bucky kissed my cheek and left to go to his room, turning in for the night.

First Date

The night of our first date came fast. I dressed casually, not knowing what the second activity was. He stopped by my room at precisely 6 and we left the compound to go to dinner; a burger restaurant we both favored, talking and laughing how we normally did, having a good time. I think we were comfortable enough around each other that we didn’t realize feelings had been brewing until the questions from movie night brought them to light.

“So, where are we going?” I asked, when we finished up and got on his motorcycle for our second activity of the night.

“You’ll see. I think you’re going to love it,” he told me, taking off into the night. We rode for 15 minutes, pulling into a parking lot. I got off and lit up at the giant sign in front of me.

“Roller skating? I haven’t been roller skating since I was a teenager,” I commented.

“This should be fun then. Come on, let’s go inside,” he stated, taking my hand and pulling me towards the building. He paid the admission and got the tickets for the skates before we entered the rink. We went to the booth for the skates and told them our sizes. Once handed the skates, we sat down on the benches to change our shoes and rolled onto the floor, holding hands. We went fast until they cleared off the floor for couples only.

We went slow as the music playing, coming to a complete stop at a wall, lost in each other’s eyes. Bucky leaned in for a kiss, pressing his lips against mine; They were warm and soft filled with a passion I hadn’t experienced with anyone before. A fire, hot and burning but simmered as we held the kiss. My hands drifted into his hair, his gripped my waist. After a few moments, we pulled back, unable to open our eyes for a few seconds.

“That was…” he stated.

“Hot, very hot, but long desired,” I finished.

“Want to do it again?” he asked.

“Oh, yes. Please, yes. Kiss me forever. Drown me in them,” I answered, pulling him to me. Our lips connected, burning hot once more. At this instant, I knew I wouldn’t let him go. Bucky was mine and no one else could come close to the love he gave me or the love I gave to him in return.

Seven Months Later

The relationship with Bucky shot off quick. We said the three infamous words ‘I love you’ four months into dating. No one was surprised based on how they reacted when we got back from our first date.

“I told you they’d be a cute couple,” Sam had said that night. The sex with Bucky was incredible, even after a month of waiting. We made love slow; he preferred me to be on top, riding him until the morning light. Sometimes, we’d only make out, ending up in each other’s arms, snuggled close. Waking up and seeing him beside me managed to bring a smile to my lips each time.

The head massages are still a regular thing, but they’ve become only our thing; Everyone stopped coming to me for them, finding their own source of stress relief. Today marked seven months of being together and I decided to throw a party, a barbecue if you wish, with my friends and have a good time playing corn hole or darts, or simply ranging out with everyone.

I employed Tony, Steve, Strange, and Sam in setting up everything, planning on going out to the store to grab the supplies for food and drinks. Thinking about getting Bucky to tag along, I went to find him. He was in our bathroom; his long hair ties up in a half ponytail to keep it out of his face.

“Hey, sweetheart. I’m going out to pick up supplies if you want to come with me,” I greeted him, hugging him from the side. He kissed me, releasing a sigh.

“Do you mind if I don’t? I’ve got some errands of my own to before the barbecue,” he replied.

“I don’t mind at all. I’ll get Wanda and Nat to come with me. Go do what you’ve got to do. I’ll see you later. I love you,” I told him.

“Thanks, Tara. I love you too,” We shared a kiss and I took off to find the girls. The next time I’d see him, he would have a new look to him I’d love.

Bucky’s POV

I left the compound on my motorcycle, nervous of what I was about to do. I pulled up to a barber shop and took a deep breath before entering. I planned on chopping off my hair and shaving, deciding it was time for a change; a new me. I chose not to tell Tara because I didn’t know how she’d feel, and I also wanted it to be a surprise. I loved her and she had been a big help to finding myself again.

I approached the front desk and told one of the guys working my name and what I needed. I had to wait ten minutes before one called me back. I described what I wanted and sat patiently as he worked on my hair and shaved off the beard. After maybe 40 minutes, he finished, the results exactly what I had in mind. He styled it a little and released me from the chair so I could pay. Leaving the shop, I head back to the compound and walked out back, catching the looks of my friends. Steve was the first to approach me.

“You cut your hair and shaved? It looks good Buck,” he greeted me.

“Thanks. I figured it was time for a change. I hope Tara likes it. I’m worried because she’s only seen me with long hair and a beard. What if she doesn’t give me anymore head massages?” I told him.

“I wouldn’t worry. She’s going to love it. She loves you no matter how you look,” he told me.

“Speaking of, where is my lovely girlfriend? I didn’t see her when I arrived,” I asked.

“She went inside to get more drinks,” he replied. I nodded and made my way inside, more compliments thrown my way as I passed. I took another deep breath as I entered the kitchen and placed my hands over Tara’s eyes.

Tara’s POV

“Hey, Tara. Don’t turn around yet,” a voice – Bucky’s voice – told me. Hands covered my eyes and I wasn’t sure why.

“Bucky, what’s wrong?” I asked.

“Nothing. I just…I did something and I’m not sure how you’ll like it,” he answered.

“All right. Whenever you’re ready for me to see, tell me,” I commented. He released his hands after a minute, but I closed my eyes, waiting for the words.

“Okay, turn around. If you have your eyes closed, open them,” he told me. I turned and mouth parted open at him.

“You cut your hair? And shaved?” I asked.

“Yeah. What do you think? I thought it was time for a change. Something different,”

“I love it. You look hot. Not that you didn’t before, but now you’re extra hot,” I replied. A blush formed over his cheeks as he rubbed the back of his neck. The haircut he got was longer on top, styled for a professional look. I had him turn around to see the back, the hair shorter there.

“I was worried you might not like it. That you couldn’t give me anymore head massages. That you might not love me anymore,” he told me.

“Bucky, I’ll always love you. Even you get haircuts or have a beard. I want you just as you are. Hang on, let me get these drinks outside. Meet me upstairs in our room. I’ll be right up,” I stated. He nodded and I took out two more liters of soda for the party while he headed up to the room. I told everyone Bucky and I would be down in a half hour, going back inside to go to him.

I entered our room, closing and locking the door behind me.

“Take off your shoes,” I told him. I got on the bed, propping up pillows to lay against, while he did as I asked.

“Come lay in my lap,” he leaned back, his head in my lap, similar to the first time we met, different in the way he was positioned. I threaded my fingers through his hair, still plenty to play with and started to massage his head, applying the same pressure I usually did. Though he had shaved, I still massaged his jaw, letting my fingers brush his cheeks, his lips.

“See, I can still massage you. It’s our thing remember. I love you, Bucky,” I whispered. He opened his eyes and sat up. He kissed me, the same desire I had for him flowing through me. The same heat was there in his kiss, only intensified. He pulled back, placing a kiss on my cheek.

“I love you too. We should go down to the barbecue before everyone get suspicious,” he told me. I nodded and we rejoined our friends outside. Haircuts and head massages. A special love had bloomed for Bucky and me with both.

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harrywavycurly · 5 years

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*a/n this is part 2 of Secret Santa! You can read it here! think I might make this a new series but I’m not quite sure! Hope y’all enjoy this!*

“Have a drink,” Gina smiled as she handed you a full glass of champagne as you stood in her kitchen. “It’s New Year’s Eve and this glass better always be full.” She added with a wink as you rolled your eyes at her as you took a sip from the glass.

“Oh I know you’ll have a good time.” You looked over your shoulder at her with a raised eyebrow when you heard her mumbling something. “I said you came just in time,” She looked at you with a big grin making you just look at her weird. “You beat all the annoying guests so you’ll actually get to enjoy yourself before it gets wild.” You just laughed as she went back to setting out the fruit and cheese trays she had been working on when you arrived.

A few hours and three glasses of champagne later you were wondering around the house looking for the bathroom. You smiled at the people you zigzagged through in the living room and when you reached a hallway you let out a sigh of relief when you saw it was empty. You couldn’t help but smile and laugh at some of the pictures of Gina and her family on the walls leading to a door you assumed the bathroom was behind.

“Oi! If ya drink da last beer in the cooler be a proper gent and refill it ya knob!” You felt your whole body stiffen as a deep Irish accent floated down the hallway through another door at the very end of it. You watched the handle turn as the door opened revealing Niall standing there with a giant smile on his face and a beer in his hand as he walked into the hallway from what looked to be the garage. “Bloody hell it’s cold as shi-“ Niall’s eyes went wide as he turned and saw you standing there with a half empty champagne glass in your hand and what he assumed to be the same shocked expression he had on his face on yours.

“Uh hi?” You wanted to smack yourself for instantly making the situation awkward as Niall just waved with his free hand before reaching and rubbing at the back of his neck. “I didn’t know you’d be here.” You added making him just shrug before taking a sip of his beer.

“Gina invites me every year, dis is only tha second time I’ve actually come tho cos I hear it can get a bit rowdy.” You laughed as your mind went to the couple dancing on top of the coffee table you had walked past an hour or so ago.

“Yeah it seems a little tame for the time being.” You looked away from him and down at your glass that you realized needed to be refilled.

“Uh ya look like you need yer top off,” You almost spat out the sip of champagne you had in your mouth as Niall’s eyes went wide and he shifted his gaze to the floor. “I uhm meant yer drink needs topped off.” Niall explained as you swiped your chin where a dribble of your drink had managed to sneak past your lips when you were fighting back your laugh and when you looked at him you couldn’t hold back your giggle when you saw his cheeks go pink making him clear his throat before making eye contact with you. “Want me ta show ya where the bar is?” He asked making you suddenly remember what you were doing in this hallway in the first place.

“Oh uh I was actually looking for the bathroom.” Niall had to turn and look away from you so you wouldn’t see the smirk that formed on his face as you felt your cheeks get hot.

“Well allow me ta hold that for ya,” Niall reached over with his free hand so he could grab your glass making you just give him an awkward smile because this isn’t how you imagined this night going at all and you weren’t too sure how to handle it. “I’ll be in the kitchen wit a fresh glass of champagne fo ya.” With that he shot you a reassuring smile before heading down the hallway and turning in the direction of the kitchen.

“Jesus,” You ran a hand through your hair as you looked at yourself in the bathroom mirror. “Get a grip, he’s your boss and is just being polite. Relax.” You nodded your head at your little pep talk and leaned in to check your lipstick before turning and leaving the bathroom and heading for the kitchen to find Niall.

“There she is!” You laughed as a very drunk Gina shouted from her spot where she was leaning against the counter as soon as you rounded the corner and entered the kitchen. “Wondered where ya wondered off too,” You took a quick look around and felt your mouth drop into a small frown when you saw your champagne glass full and sitting on the island. “He had to run and go do a boss thing or s’mthing real quick.” Gina explained when she saw you notice Niall’s absence.

“At least he filled my glass for me before leaving,” You picked up your glass as Gina walked over to you and placed her arm over your shoulder. “That was nice of him.” You added as you turned your head and gave Gina a smile.

“He’s a nice man,” She rested her head on your shoulder as your free arm wrapped around her waist. “Has great chest hair. Have you noticed his chest hair? It’s wonderful.” You laughed as she shot you a little wink as she lifted her head up off your shoulder and wiggled her eyebrows at you.

“I haven’t noticed no.” You teased making her lean her head back and laugh while you just took a sip of your drink.

“You should ask him if you can touch it, I bet it’s soft like his hair.” You just nodded your head as you swallowed the sip of champagne that was in your mouth as Gina looked around at the people in her living room. “I’ll be right back, time to mingle and be a good host and all that bullshit.” With that she leaned over and placed a sloppy kiss to your cheek before detaching herself from you and wondering off into the living room.

You took this time to wonder around outside and get a better look at Gina’s backyard that looked magical with all the glowing lights in the pool and the fire pit still going. You hadn’t been paying attention to the time, the other guests didn’t seem all too concerned about keeping a countdown going so when you looked at your phone and saw it was five minutes till midnight you were shocked. You stopped and sat on one of the chairs close to the fire pit and smiled at the two other people who were sitting around the fire with drinks in their hands.

“Ah see you found yer glass jus fine,” You turned your head and smiled at Niall who was walking towards you with a playful smirk on his face. “Was worried someone might’ve snagged it while i was on da phone out front.” He explained as he took the empty seat next to you.

“Oh yeah, thank you for refilling it for me.” Niall just nodded his head and brought his beer up to his lips, your eyes trialed from his hand that was gripping the bottle down to his arm all the way to his chest where you saw what seemed to be a little bit of chest hair peeking out from his shirt making you chuckle and shake your head as you pictured Gina’s face when she mentioned his chest hair.

“S’a nice night out innit?” You looked around as Niall placed his beer onto the armrest of the chair he was sitting in.

“It is,” You agreed as you looked over your shoulder when you heard the people in the living room beginning to count down. “Oh wow it’s almost midnight already.” You turned and watched Niall fidget with his hands as you finished off your champagne making you instantly go into a fit of giggles as Niall chugged the rest of his beer before standing up and reaching for your hand.

“Gotta do dis proper ya know? Can’t be sittin on our arses when the new year starts.” He joked making you laugh as you stood next to him and began counting down.

“3,” You turned and smiled at him, “2,” Niall turned so he was facing you and before you knew what was happening his hands where on both sides of your face.

“1,” He slowly leaned over making your eyes go wide. “Fuck it.” And with that he closed the space between the two of you and placed a sweet little kiss to your lips making your eyes close and your hands reach up and find his face to hold him there for a few extra seconds.

“Happy New Year Niall.” You mumbled as he pulled away and stood up straight and dropped his hands from your face and just held onto one of your hands.

“Happy New Year,” He looked down at your hand that he was holding and you watched his eyes go slightly wide as he quickly dropped it. “It’s uh bad luck ta start the new year without a kiss ya know? So uhm couldn’t risk it ya know?” You just nodded your head as you crossed your arms loosely over your chest all of a sudden feeling very self conscious.

“Oh yeah I’ve heard that,” You watched Niall just rub his lips together as he looked down at his feet. “I’ll see you at work, have a great rest of your night.” With that you turned and walked towards the house as you ran your hand through your hair and let out a drunk little giggle because that’s not how you expected the night to end but if that was a sign of how the year was going to go, you didn’t really mind but you knew only time would tell.

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housecity101 · 6 years

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Overnight

Hey, I actually managed to write a new fanfic for y’all! It’s the second MHA fic I wrote (the first being a Toko and Dark one-shot back in June), and this time, it’s on one of my favorite OTPs :)!

A cute, simple Tokotsuyu one-shot I wrote that it pretty long but the experience in reading it might be a good one for any of you if your interested. If there is anything that feels off, please let me know. I don’t mind any criticism since I’m still learning to do better with my fanfics, as long as if the criticisms are not embarrassments or anything there off.

If you don’t want to read it here, then read it on FFN or AO3!

(FFN | AO3)

Enjoy :)

Overnight

Nighttime had slowly approached the school.

It was calm, peaceful, and even a bit cool outside. Not even a single villain attack in sight. A relief to most of the students and teachers.

It was already time for bed for most of the students. Bakugo decided to sleep early before all of them, seeing how he had a pretty crappy day. Nobody knows why so they decided to at least do the same as well so he wouldn’t be disturbed by them outside.

So far, things were normal as usual. The students freshened themselves, put on their best pajamas, and head over to their rooms to sleep or do a few other things...

12:45 A.M. on the clock. Everyone was still asleep.

Except for only one.

It was no secret that Tokoyami was a night owl. Most of the time, it happens mainly due to his quirk Dark Shadow acting up during the night. Not to mention having nightmares to top it off. This happens to him every night since he was a young boy, but thankfully it didn’t happen all the time. When it occurs, he would sometimes calm himself by drinking warm tea or listen to soft music.

Nowadays, he has been slowly getting a bit better from his routine. Sometimes he would read his favorite book and poems and even study late at night a few times. Recently, he’s been doing his best to catch up on his favorite horror anime on the streaming sites.

He had been doing it at this hour, binging to catch up with the recent episode. Dark Shadow would join him in a few occasions, eager to watch what was going to happen.

Right now, the two of them were on the bed, watching an episode from the laptop. Tokoyami was laying sideways with his pillow holding onto his head while having one of his arms rest on his waist. Dark was right behind him, his head on his host’s neck just to snuggle on it for a bit. They did also had at least one or two snacks with them, consisting of apple slices and chips they brought at the small market. The volume was lowered so that nobody from outside would hear them. Tokoyami was going to watch it with his headphones on, but since Dark wanted to watch too, he had no choice.

He want to at least watch the recent episode next, but it was getting late for him anyway. Not to mention, he started to make a yawn. It’s becoming a little too much now.

When the credits rolled, he soon shifted himself up into a sitting position and moved the laptop to his upper thighs. “Well then, I guess we could end it here for tonight...” he said softly, exiting the page before closing the tab.

This made Dark Shadow jump up in surprise. “W-what!? Oh come on! Please? Can we at least continue!? Besides, it’s Saturday right now! It doesn’t even matter!”

Tokoyami sighed. “Although I do wish we could, unfortunately we have wasted 5 hours of our curfew so far. Just give it a rest.”

“But we haven’t made it to the new episode yet! Just a lil’ peek!?”

“I said no, Dark Shadow.” Tokoyami said, his voice getting a bit tense out of irritation.

Suddenly, Dark Shadow managed to make a cute pout to at least make him change his mind.

It did.

“Very well, I guess we could watch one more.” His host smiled a little. His quirk would never say no sometimes. “But first, I need something from the kitchen.”

Dark Shadow smiled in anticipation. “Can we get more of those chips!?”

“You literally ate the entire bag we’ve gotten while I only took some.”

“That’s because I was hungry!”

“Of course you were...”

The way to the kitchen wasn’t that long. Tokoyami does rest in the second floor so it’s simple for him to reach the first floor. Walking through the hallways, he noticed how silent and dark it was, but rather dim due to the small lamps. He could still hear a few snoring from inside his dorm mates’ rooms. Taking the elevator, he reached down to the main floor.

He certainly does not want to be caught by Mr. Aizawa or the other teachers roaming around in the hallways. He, along with a few students, have been lucky to succeed in that feat. But for now, it was best to stay low until the coast was clear…

Once the elevator doors opened, he exits himself into his needed location.

The main room was peaceful for the most part. Though it felt a bit eerie due to it being in deep silence. There were a few lamps on, especially the television for some reason, as it was slightly muted. Someone must have forgot to turn it off. Aside from that, it didn’t really scared Tokoyami that much. He reached over to the coffee table where the remote was laying as he turned off the TV before making his way to the kitchen.

“Sooo, what do you even want anyway?” Dark Shadow asked him, peaking out from behind a bit.

“I just needed a water bottle, that’s all.” Tokoyami answered.

“Then can I still have those chips from the pantry?”

The teenage goth sighed. “No, Dark Shadow. Remember, we cannot waste more of the snacks like that. I’ll get you one of the apples stored in the fridge instead.”

“What if I have a slice of those apple tarts instead?”

“You know those are for Sato, right?”

“Well this is coming from the guy who sneaked in for a slice the other time.”

This caused his host to wince in embarrassment as he snickered for a bit. “I-I said not to mention that again!” He cried, his voice slightly loud than before. “You even almost revealed it to everyone!”

“Yeah I know. The look on their faces when they thought you stole it was priceless!” The shadow demon laughed again.

“Oh silence you, or else I’ll get the matches.” Tokoyami threatened softly. He almost wished that his quirk didn’t talk at all.

They then ceased themselves for a moment as they made their way to the kitchen. But as Tokoyami made it to the entrance, he nearly gasped.

There, standing inside the kitchen, was Tsuyu, who had opened the fridge to get something. She hadn’t seen him yet and Tokoyami at least hope she didn’t. It would be a bit embarrassing for him.

It was an odd secret that he actually harbored a crush on her.

This all started when he saw her during the school’s entrance exam, and introduced himself a bit to her during the official first day. But while Tsuyu was fairly sociable, he wasn’t that much at all. This means that he wasn’t able to properly talk with her for a while until the final exams, where he managed to get full interaction with her. After that, he soon started to bond with her a bit more, going out together with their friends or helping her study with literature assignments.

But while it was good for Tokoyami, he cannot contain his flustered emotions everytime he gets close to her.

He didn’t really talked to her from all week, wanting to at least plan on how to properly see her again.

But now, this was a bad time.

He was standing right at the entrance while she has her back turn. Why must she be this cute? With her cute hair, her cute frog pajamas, her cute shorts, her cute slippers, her cute butt—

“Ribbit?”

He immediately froze once she turned around.

Once she did though, she soon sees him by the entrance, causing him to blush.

This stayed like this for about ten seconds. The crow-headed boy didn’t even know what to say, he was too embarrassed to say anything…

‘Go on! Say somethin’ to her!’ He heard Dark Shadow in his thoughts.

‘Well, what do you suppose I should do?’ Tokoyami shouted at him, getting mildly annoyed.

Before he heard him answer, he heard his crush calling out to him. “Tokoyami-chan?”

He went back to reality to face her. It was only now or never. He cannot mess this up so pathetically.

“G-good evening, Tsuyu-chan...” He finally spoke up, at least stuttering for a bit. “What brings you here at this time of night?”

“Oh,” Tsuyu picked up something from inside the fridge as she showed it to him. “I was just getting some gelatin for a midnight snack.” She answered, giggling a little while getting a plastic spoon.

“Ah, I see.” Tokoyami said. He has to note that for another time when going out with her. “I just came here to get some water.”

The frog hybrid looked at him after getting the spoon. “You aren’t able to sleep?”

“Y-you could say that. But it’s not that serious this time.” He then walked inside to get to the fridge. “The last few nights were rather calming enough for me and Dark Shadow...” While looking for the water bottles, he thought about something before asking her. “You have trouble sleeping as well?”

“Mm, not really, ribbit.” He heard her answer from behind. “Sometimes, I would get a few weird dreams, and other times, I would think about my family...”

“I understand.” He nodded slightly, lowering his head a little. “I miss mines as well...” He said softly before reaching one of the bottles. “But you shouldn’t have to feel depressed as much. You still reach out to them?”

“Of course. They would usually call me if everything’s alright. What about your parents?”

Tokoyami’s eyes widened a little from that question. He wasn’t able to call them all week. He needed to remind himself to call them tomorrow. He was sure that his family are worried about him. So instead, he made a slight lie. “T-they’re doing fine...” Tokoyami soon got out of the fridge and headed towards the shelves. He knew that he has to get more chips in order to avoid Dark’s whining.

“So, why are you up tonight, ribbit?” Tsuyu asked him, already taking a bite off her gelatin snack.

“I-I wasn’t doing anything in particular...” He said, blushing slightly. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to tell her about his little binge-watching time. She might be too tired from that.

However, his thoughts were interrupted by a certain shadow demon coming out from his back to reach the cabinets. “Man, you really should loosen up sometimes...” After receiving his favorite chips, he turned to Tsuyu and made a friendly wave. “Aiyo, Tsu-chan!”

This made Tsuyu’s cheeks pink as she giggled. “Hello, Lil’ Shadow.” She watched him lower down to her as she rubbed his head affectionately.

Tokoyami blushed for a bit while making a small smile at the moment. Seeing Dark Shadow interact with his friends or family in general was fairly normal, but he actually finds it amusing to find some people liking his living quirk.

“You still didn’t answer my question, ribbit.” Tsuyu said, eyeing on Dark while rubbing his head. “What were you doing during the night?”

“Oh. Well, I was actually watching an anime that is a favorite of mine.” Tokoyami finally answered, trying not to look away from her.

“Really? What is it about?”

“A story of a group of normal civilians being turned into vampires during the Middle Ages.” The goth teen smiled a little. “Truly an engaging watch.”

“That sounds cool, ribbit.” Tsuyu smiled, not noticing the small blush on her friend’s face. “I’m not surprised that you’re into vampires too.”

“W-why yes…” Tokoyami stuttered again, looking away a little. “They’re actually one of my favorite monsters.”

He didn’t really know what else to say at this point.

He would at least talk more about their lives at the moment, their hobbies, or whatever, but he was too nervous to say anything. If he went and blabbered something to her, it would be nervous gibberish. It was best to maybe end it here and go back upstairs until he turned to look at Dark Shadow at the moment. While his crush wasn’t looking, he made a little sly smile when looking at his host.

By the looks of it, he definitely knew what he was going to say.

“Hey, Tsu-chan, you should watch it with us!” He told Tsuyu as Tokoyami instantly blushed.

“Ribbit?” The frog girl wondered.

An embarrassed Tokoyami immediately reeled Dark Shadow back inside of him once he shook his head. “Let me please rephrase what he said.” He cleared his throat. “I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind spending time watching the show with me…t-that is if you are in need of more rest.”

He waited patiently for her answer as she smiled rather cutely. “Okay.”

Her friend made a small blush. He was instantly forming shades of red at this point. “Are you sure you won’t mind?”

“Not at all, ribbit.” Tsuyu said. “I don’t actually feel tired right now, so I don’t mind watching an episode with you. Have you caught up with the series?”

Okay, so this might go smoothly. “I’m actually up to the second season at this point. I have yet to watch the episode that had just came out.”

“I actually didn’t see it yet. So I guess it’s fine to watch it with you, ribbit.”

“Then I suppose that we should go bac—“ Tokoyami was going to finish until Tsuyu interrupted him.

“Wait,” He turned to her, who looked shy for a bit. “Is it okay if we can watch it in your room?”

Tokoyami felt like he couldn’t move from where he’s standing.

His room? His room that is completely decorated with everything a goth person would ever dreamed of? Was she really honest of wanting to enter in there?

I mean, he’s not a complete jerk, but he doesn’t feel comfortable of his classmates entering his room, aside from Shouji, Koda, Jirou, and sometimes Izuku. Everyone else? It would just be embarrassing. He took note of this ever since the dorm room competition happened. It was a night in which he wished to forget.

He was about to ask her why before she explained. “It’s because my room is pretty messy at the moment and I have to clean it up. I know you’re still unsure of everyone entering your room because of the contest, but I won’t judge you, ribbit.” She gave him a reassuring smile. “I bet it’s really cool just like how you are.” She even made a slight, pink blush.

Tokoyami felt rather nervous but appreciated of that sentence. He just didn’t know what to say. “I-I appreciate it. If it’s really what you want, then I would accept it.”

“You’re welcome, Toko-chan.” Tokoyami just stared at her for a moment. Lord above is she so cute…

Tsuyu then decided to leave the kitchen first right before throwing the gelatin cup away. She made a quick glance at her friend, making a small croak.

If Tokoyami wanted this moment with his destined lover to be perfect, then he must put his best effort into it.

Otherwise, it would be deemed as a failure.

He soon followed her as the two of them walked by the hallways together. While walking, Tokoyami soon heard Dark Shadow’s voice.

‘You’re welcome, by the way.’ He said, snickering for a bit.

‘I am not sure if I should thank you or hate you for this...’ His host responded in his head.

‘Oh trust me, you will!’

He just hoped to the gods above that Dark Shadow wouldn’t dare not to ruin this chance.

Once they entered the elevator, Tokoyami and Tsuyu waited for a bit once they were levitated up.

The crow headed boy kept his thoughts to himself at the moment before looking at his crush, and then at one of her hands.

He was close by her, so maybe he could hold her hand?

It’s not like he never did this before. He had done it with her on several occasions when they were out with friends. But that was it. It was more of a friendly thing than a romantic one.

So, maybe this time, one wouldn’t hurt? Would she even mind at all?

He was starting to feel nervous by what he was doing, but he shouldn’t be. It’s just hand holding, nothing too intimate…

While she wasn’t looking, he slowly moves his hand out to catch hers.

Gently.

Gently…

Almost there…

A loud chime was heard as the two have reached their destination.

Tokoyami mentally cursed himself for not being given a chance. Probably the next moment he might get it. Maybe he could at least talk to her for a bit? I mean, he did had thoughts about her entering his room, for certain reasons.

“T-Tsu-chan,” ‘Goodness that was so hard to say…’ “I was wondering if you are really certain of going into my room. I don’t want any of the teachers or our classmates seeing us in this position.” He said, stuttering a bit while blushing.

“It’s alright, ribbit.” Tsuyu answered. “I’m sure nobody would be able know that we’re still up. Besides, it’s just nice to spend more time with you.”

This made her friend a bit flustered, but soon regained his normal stance. “I suppose that is fair. I-I do apologize for not speaking to you in a while.”

“It’s okay. You had to study for assignments, ribbit?”

“Hmm.”

Finally, they have made it to the door.

Tokoyami felt like quivering with worry. He wouldn’t mind letting her in his room, but he was still unsure of her reaction. Would she like it? Would she be disgusted at it? It was up to fate to decide what to do…

Grasping his hand on the doorknob, he slowly opened it, allowing Tsuyu to enter first. “T-this is what my room looks like...” he stuttered.

His crush came inside to look and was a little surprised.

Most of the room was dark, minus a few lamps of candles shining inside. Every item inside was like a goth’s collection. The posters, the hanged coats, the chair, the strange-looking dear skull, and that sword. She didn’t know what to say, but she knew Tokoyami too well.

“Wow...”

Tokoyami moved away from her a bit, moving his head down. “I understand if it’s a bit too much, but...” He was too embarrassed to say anything.

But then, he heard her spoke. “I think it looks really cool.”

“E-eh…?”

Tsuyu walked a bit further inside, admiring how it looks. “I really like how much you put into this room, ribbit. How long did you had to renovate this?”

“It actually took me about an hour...” Okay, at least she loves the room. Tokoyami made a sigh of relief.

But that was immediately ruined when Dark Shadow appeared. “He even did the same to his own bathroom!” He encouraged Tsuyu to come inside while opening the bathroom door.

“Dark Shado—“

It was too late once she took a peek inside. It was a bit more lighter than the main room, due to the purple lamps on the walls. The walls were painted black and his tub had a few candles around it.

“It looks kinda relaxing. You must have done a good job in fixing your dorm, ribbit.” Tsuyu complimented. She didn’t really wanted to look at it, but her interests were peeked.

This caused Tokoyami to once again blush lightly. Thankfully, she wasn’t able to spot it due to the room being dark. “Thank you.” He then cleared his throat. “Well then, since you are here, you could make yourself comfortable while I set up the episode. Would it be alright for me to set up more lights in here?”

His crush shook her head. “No need, but I have to wonder how you can manage sleeping like this, ribbit. Wouldn’t Lil’ Shadow be ok in something like this.”

Tokoyami nodded as he sat on his chair for a bit. “It’s actually not that hazardous...” He moved it up to reach for his laptop as he began his business. “As long as there is enough lights inside, then there is nothing to worry at the moment.” He then forgot to ask her something. “Ah, where are my manners? Where would you like to sit? I believe I have some cushions stored inside my closet...”

Tsuyu looked at his bed for a minute. “I could sit on your bed if that’s alright.”

That nearly made him faint. “I-if it’s what you want, be my guest.”

With her permission granted, she gently got into the bed and admired how strangely comfortable it is, almost like her own bed. She couldn’t help but rub her hands on the feathery, black blankets. She soon noticed a familiar item from her left. A little night light that looked like a white skull plugged in. “Ribbit? Isn’t that the night light I gave you before?”

“Why yes.” Tokoyami soon got up with his laptop and went over to his bed. A-adorable...even laying on my own bed she is so innocent-like…

“Hey, are you gonna keep staring or are you gonna play the video?” Dark Shadow spoke up, growing impatient.

“I will, don’t mention that so loudly.” He whispered to the shadow demon as he heard him snicker. He really hoped that he won’t interfere…

He walked close to the bed as he faced Tsuyu. “Do you want me to hold the laptop?” “I could hold it actually.” She folded her legs together while sitting before receiving the laptop which showed the video. “Where are you going to be, ribbit?”

“I will probably be in the bed as well, beside you.” He said, feeling a bit tense when thinking about it.

Tsuyu moved for a bit rather cutely, so give him some space. “You can jump in.”

Feeling ready, Tokoyami gently got in the bed, deciding to lay down behind Tsuyu. He reached his head on the pillows and moved a bit so he could see the video. He was the exact position as he was from before, and he didn’t mind it. It was actually relaxing.

He watched silently once Tsuyu pressed play and watched the episode. He could tell that she would enjoy it. She was just too cute sitting like that. Too much for his black heart…

He soon heard her ask him. “So this is how the episode starts off?”

“Yes. They would give out a flashback as to how the vampire spread came to be.” He nodded. “One of the intriguing arcs so far.”

“That sounds pretty cool, ribbit.”

Tokoyami can’t help but smile a little while watching her. He felt something moving from his back as Dark Shadow popped out and rested on Toko’s shoulder to watch the video as well. He was still tensed that he would be saying something embarrassing in front of his host, but so far, he was calm as well.

In fact, he was grateful that this evening was calm, despite some minor issues.

He soon felt something once again as he sees Tsuyu moving down to him, giving him a rather cute giggle.

He responded with a small blush as he attempted to brush it off.

But for some reason, he felt a bit tired. He doesn’t wanna sleep yet. He has to watch the episode with Tsuyu to guide her…

One minute in, and his world became pitch black.

“Tokoyami-chan?”

Tokoyami soon woke up from his slumber after hearing Tsuyu’s voice. Rubbing his eyelids, he gained some vision and looked over his alarm clock.

1:41 A.M.

That’s how long he was out for? 20 minutes?

“Are you feeling alright? I just finished watching the episode, ribbit.” Tsuyu said as she got up to put the laptop away.

Toko hummed in response as he sat up on his bed. He still feels tired, but is at least gaining some energy to wake up for a moment. He watched her laid it on his desk before walking back to him.

She sat down beside him as she started a conversation. “I was actually going to wake you before, but I noticed that you needed a little rest, ribbit.”

“Ah, as I noticed.” Tokoyami said, turning away slightly. “I want to know, how was the episode?”

Tsuyu smiled. “It was actually pretty good. I actually managed to watch the first two, so I’ll binge on the rest maybe tomorrow.”

This caused the goth teen to smile back, though of course, it was small. “I am glad to hear that. It does get more interesting during the rest of the season. I would suggest if you could watch it with me...” He blushed. “I do not want you to feel scared while viewing.” He lightly stuttered.

“Eh, it’s okay, ribbit.” Tsuyu responded. “It wasn’t that scary actually...” She then looked at the clock “It’s actually getting pretty late, so I should head back. Unless...”

Tokoyami remained silent, wondering what she was about to say.

“Would it be fine if I sleep in here with you?”

His face became red once she asked him. He was too speechless to say anything.

Sleeping with Tsuyu? Together!? In his own room of all places!?

“I mean, I don’t mean it that way of course.” He heard her continue. “It’s just that since I don’t feel like going back all the way to my room, I guess it’s fine to sleep in here, ribbit. Are you okay with that?”

“I-I...” Tokoyami got out of his trance and tries his best to respond. “I-if it’s what you want, then fair enough. My only concern is that we might be caught by someone. But I’m sure that might not be the case...”

Tsuyu made a smile. “Ribbit, thank you Tokoyami.”

Her smile...too precious… He thought to himself, trying to rid of his blush.

“Do you have like a sleeping bag or something for me to sleep on?”

He then remembered the cushions as he winced. “Unfortunately, I do not have any at the moment so you might have to...t-to sleep on my bed...” Tokoyami was this close to losing himself. He cursed in his head for not getting any cushions in case of something like this happening.

Tsuyu on the other hand made a blush. She was a little nervous of sharing a bed with her friend. But then again, Tokoyami wasn’t something like a certain rat. He was respectful of her without any signs of perversion. While she would be slightly careful, she was completely certain that it would be fine for the both of them.

So, she spoke up. “i don’t mind sleeping with you.”

And now, he was slowly heating up. “G-good.” He coughed a little, shivering about what he’s going to do. “I-I’ll need to use the bath first. I won’t be long.”

“Okay, ribbit.”

The goth teen went straight into his bathroom to clear his head. He turned on the lights, wanting to wash his face and not loose his head, but a quick leak would be fine too.

After doing his business, he rubbed his face over his towel. “Lords above, what have I just done?” He moaned in distress.

Dark Shadow appeared from behind him, grinning. “You just invited a girl to sleep with you, that’s what!” He said in amusement.

This really didn’t made his host better. Goodness, he was lighting up so much lately. “You are clearly not making this better, Dark Shadow...” He rubbed his eyes in annoyance.

“Well, you know this could be the right time to tell her you know!”

“Ah!” He gasped before turning away. “I simply cannot. It’s just not the right to do so.”

“Oh come on! You’ve been with her for what!? A year I guess!? It’s the perfect time anyway!”

“Don’t speak too loud!” Toko hissed at him in a whisper.

Dark rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Just put on your big boy pants and do what you gotta do. Oh, and if you monologue while trying to confess, I will tell her before you do~!” He said teasingly.

Toko scoffed. “As if you would.” He watched his quirk go back inside him, snickering. He then sighed as he exited the bathroom.

He hoped to god that things will go well.

As he exited, he returned to his room and spotted Tsuyu sitting in his bed while being covered a little with the sheets. She was just too adorable. He couldn’t take it, but he must be at least confident.

“There you are. I was getting kind of worried, ribbit.” She said to him.

Toko tugged his arm once he walked up to her. “My apologies. I had to freshen up before my slumber.”

She nodded. “That’s alright, I understand.” She moved over to make some room. “Are you ready to go in, ribbit? Or do you want to do it the other way?”

“T-the other way, if your must.” He couldn’t look at her a little.

Tsuyu then got up and allowed Tokoyami to enter his bed first. He slowly got in, covering his body with the feathery sheet. He relaxed a little, admiring his bed’s own softness, he felt the bed getting heavier once he watched his crush coming in next to him.

As she got on the bed, she soon took a look at the bird-headed boy as he did the same.

It has been at least thirty seconds filled with silence, and the two of them stared at each other awkwardly, slowly blushing over what to do next. They would at least prepare to sleep, but they thought of maybe at least having another conversation. Tokoyami felt his body getting flushed by the second, while Tsuyu moved her fingertips to her lips. This was starting to get embarrassing.

After staring , the two turned away, not sure when to look at the other.

Suddenly, Tsuyu finally broke the silence. “So, how are you feeling, ribbit?”

Tokoyami gulped slightly and answered. “I am doing well, actually...” Feeling like it, he moved his head to face her. “I do apologize again for not having any cushions with me. I do not meant for you to feel this way.”

The frog girl turned back to see him. “It’s okay, I actually don’t mind it like this.” She then smiled. “I rather be close to you, ribbit.” She giggled lightly.

Goodness… Tokoyami simply hummed in response. He was trying to come up with something else to say.

“You know, I’m actually really glad that you get to be one of my best friends, ribbit. You seem like a level-headed guy and yet, you’re actually really sweet. And I appreciate that.”

He watched her giggle as he was taken back by that compliment. Being told a sweet, caring person, not only from his family but from the girl he likes, feels so good to him. It just feels...good.

“Even after the finals when we paired up, you didn’t mind if I wanted to spend time with me or help me study. For a guy who claims to be a calm, serious guy, you’re actually a good person to be around with, ribbit.”

This.

This seriously killed his heart.

All of the compliments she’s giving him was too much, but then again, he adores it deep inside himself. He doesn’t want to say anything as he wants to think of something, but he feels the need to respond. He clenched the top of his shirt as he gasped, nearly startling the frog girl. He made a small chuckle.

“You do not need to say that about me...” He said, moving his eyes towards his hooded jackets. “I feel like it’s personally ruining my image.”

Tsuyu gave him a playful pat. “Well, I actually find you cute, ribbit~.”

Tokoyami blushed and tried to contain a chuckle. “You, as well...” He placed his hand over his beak. Did he just said that in front of her?

Now Tsuyu was the one who was taken back, making a small croak while slightly turning away.

“W-wait!” He sat up from the bed, clearing his throat. “I meant to clarify that I...”

“You don’t need to be afraid, ribbit.” She managed to laugh a little. “But I appreciate what you said.” She blushed while looking at him.

Tokoyami took a moment to look at the clock.

1:50 A.M.

Now it was getting more later than before.

Is it that time to tell her about his secret? It might not be the appropriate moment to do so, since it is already a few hours past their curfew. Not to mention, he and Tsuyu were getting a bit tired. But then again, Dark Shadow did mentioned that it’s a moment not to waste. He wasn’t even sure how to confess! Should he just say it the simple way with three words or his way in all of his poetic tone? It was a difficult decision, he could feel that it was already ten seconds passed. Knowing what to do, he made a soft sigh.

This was it…

“Tsuyu...” He began. “T-there is something I have to tell you.”

His crush’s eyes widened a little as she sat up as well. “What is it? Is something wrong?”

It was now or never…

Taking a deep breath, he continued. “...Ever since I have entered U.A., I had kept an aura of darkness deep inside my heart. And while I did encountered a few positive events, it was not enough to change that. That is, until I encountered a pillar of light which shines though my aura.” He clenched his chest when his heart was beating from being so nervous. “This light has led me into a path of goodwill and kindness, making me feel so much of it’s warm positivity. If this had never happened, I would have never went through that route...” He then faced her, his beak getting red. “And the one who helped me through was you, Tsuyu...”

“Tokoyami-chan...” Tsuyu’s cheeks became red over his speech.

“That is what caused me to develop these emotional thoughts of you. You showed me how to not shy away from others with such friendliness, I don’t even know how to properly thank you.” He continued. “I’ve been building up such ways to say this, wondering how to put this in the right time… That is why, I shall speak out the honest truth to you in my heart...I...I-I...” Tokoyami started to stammer, not knowing how to finish.

‘Oh come on! Just say it already!’ Dark Shadow shouted in his thoughts.

He panted a little before he finally spilled. “I love you!” He cried, not to loud to wake his fellow roommates.

Everything in the room became silent. Too silent.

The goth teen had to relax himself for a moment. He actually did well with his confession, but he doesn’t know how she reacted. He slowly turned to her, seeing her surprised by this revelation, nearly quivering her mouth. She didn’t know what else to say.

He waited for her to respond but then he realized. Maybe, it might have been too late for him…

“I-I see...” He lowered his head. “I understand that maybe you do not share the feelings I have. Whatever reason it may be, I will accept it...” He chuckled sadly. “I guess it was foolish of me to…” A slight pause came from him, he decided to stop from there.

“Wait, Tokoyami-chan!” Tsuyu called out, touching his shoulder. She watched him turn back in confusion. Once he did so, she moved her head closer to his and set a kiss on his cheeks. “I love you too.”

Tokoyami gasped by what just happened.

Tsuyu actually likes him.

And she kissed him...on the cheek!

He could hear Dark Shadow laughing excitedly from this. Tokoyami made a small chuckle of relief, rubbing his eyelids for a moment. “So it seems that you do share the same way...” He said softly.

Tsuyu giggled and held him closer to her. “Of course I do, ribbit.” She nuzzled on his head rather cutely. “I wouldn’t really turn you down like that, silly.”

“It is so amazing. How can you ever love someone like me? A person who’s shrouded in darkness?”

“I told you already. You’re just a sweet caring guy underneath.”

“Tell me though, when did you realize that you had developed feelings for me?” Tokoyami asked her, guessing that it might have been during the final exams where they had the most encounter.

Tsuyu moved a finger to her chin, trying to remember. “I think...I think it was actually the sports festival.” She smiled at that memory.

He was surprised to hear her answer. “How so?”

“I mean, I really loved the way of how you were so calm throughout the games. Being so smart and level-headed, I thought you were cool out there. But I was disappointed that you lost to Bakugou.” Tsuyu explained, almost frowning at her last sentence.

Tokoyami made a smile. “Well, I knew too well that I was going to lose to him, given the complete advantage against my quirk. But being third place isn’t that bad of a position.”

“Now how did you got a crush on me?”

“I actually developed my feelings when I first entered the school.”

“Really?”

He hummed in response before continuing. “While we did introduced ourselves for a little while, I was certainly impressed by your efforts during our training. I did felt worried about you and the others when the villains attacked, but heard that you defended yourself against them.” He closed his eyes, making a small smile. “I am sure that you will be considered a great hero in the future, I believe so. That is one of the many things for why I adore you.”

“Thank you, Toko-chan.” Tsuyu croaked happily, smiling while her cheeks were pink.

Tokoyami did the same as well. Her smile was something he also admired from her.

“Yep. And he also loves your butt too!” Dark Shadow appeared, ruining their peaceful moment.

And this is where Tokoyami’s sudden anger is released.

“Dark Shadow…!” He growled, attempted to put him back inside of him. Reaching for the flashlight was enough to send him back in. He quickly turned back to Tsuyu. “I am sorry for that outburst of his! What he just said was not true!” He stuttered, his face getting red by the second. How dare he tell her about his own secrets in front of him?

Tsuyu blushed before laughing again. “If that’s true, then I’ll accept it, ribbit.”

Tokoyami sighed in relief. He’ll deal with Dark Shadow later.

For now, he laid his back against the wall as Tsuyu scooted over to snuggle next to him. The two relaxed themselves as they leaned on each other comfortably while getting used to the silence in the room. A minute later Tsuyu spoke up.

“So, does this means that we’re a couple now, ribbit?” She asked her new boyfriend.

Tokoyami thought for a moment before answering. “If so, then of course. However, I wish not to tell any of our fellow classmates about this event.”

Tsu tilted her head. “How come?”

“Then I’m sure they would bombard us with questions we might not be able to answer, especially from Ashido and Hagakure.” He nearly shivered at that thought.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine. Besides, they are our friends of course so they would give us privacy.”

Checking the clock again, Toko stretched his arms for a bit, allowing Tsu to stare at a bit of his biceps. “As much as I would love to continue, time has unfortunately made us endure our conversation. Perhaps tomorrow would be fine enough...”

“Toko-chan...” His girlfriend stopped him from laying down.

This caused him to sit back up and look at her. “Yes, my dear?”

She flustered for a bit. “C-can I kiss you?”

Tokoyami’s eyes wide as he started to blush. “I do not mind at all, but I must let you know. My beak is nothing ordinary from a normal bird’s. It is actually rather soft to k...k-kiss it.”

“Are you feeling nervous, ribbit?”

“That is false. I am just making sure that I would perfect my first kiss...”

His new girlfriend made a giggle as she held both of his shoulders, pulling him a little close to her own face. “It’s kinda easy, ribbit. Don’t worry, I’m sure it won’t be that bad.”

He was still nervous, but he at least built up some courage to make this moment count. He hold onto the waist of her own stomach and looked straight into her eyes. He moved one of his hands to touch her cheek to get a good close up of her. Her face was so soft and angelic, he could even spot her lips being somewhat of a light pink color. It was simply cute.

Positioning himself, he closed his eyes and pressed his beak to her lips, hoping that it won’t stick them. Thankfully, Tsuyu didn’t felt something pointing out as all she could feel was his soft warm lips.

The two of them locked lips for a bit, slightly moaning over the sensation. Tokoyami had never thought of what a kiss would feel like, and now that he’s having his first one, it was definitely worth it.

They finally stopped, catching their breaths for a bit while smiling at each other.

“So how was it?” Tsuyu asked teasingly.

“It was wonderful, my dear.” Tokoyami finally felt a lot better after experiencing that.

Tsuyu chuckled and placed another kiss on his cheek. “Maybe in the morning, I could make you some breakfast, ribbit. Before everyone else comes in.”

“I rather you and I could make some together. It would be such a delightful blend to our own meals.”

She nodded. “I don’t mind that at all. Also, is it alright to call you by first name?”

“Fumikage is alright.”

“What about Fumi-chan~?”

This caused him to blush. “M-maybe when we are alone.”

He heard her make a small laugh as he smiled back. He then laid down on his back, resting his head on his pillow while pulling up the blanket. He shyly motioned his new lover to rest with him as she agreed in silence. She gently got on top of him as she moved her head on his upper chest. She can’t help but giggle when she felt it, making her boyfriend blush.

“So you did manage to work out.” Tsuyu decided to tease him for a bit. “Can I get to see it, ribbit?”

Tokoyami moved his head away, trying to stop blushing. “I will think about it...” He doesn’t want to start making out too early. Perhaps at the right time, he will.

Tsuyu laughed lightly before kissing his beak. “I love you, Fumi~.”

Tokoyami smiled once more and shared another kiss. “I love you too, my dearest...” He whispered.

The two then cuddled together as they finally went to sleep.

Tokoyami wasn’t sure how this sudden change will continue, but for now, he was clearly happy to finally connect with the one he loves.

And to this day, there was no dark aura in his heart…

During the night, while the newly-formed couple were still sleeping, Dark Shadow appeared from Tokoyami’s back, staring at the two.

“Well, it’s about time.” He whispered, actually happy for Tokoyami.

He decided to rest too before an idea popped in his head. He grinned sneakily at what he was planning as he grabbed one of his host’s hands resting on Tsuyu’s hair. He carefully moved it down all the way to where her backside was and let it touch there.

Once his mission was done, he snickered quietly before returning to his host.

Tokoyami will definitely thank him later.

#my hero academia #tokoyami #tokoyami fumikage #tsuyu #tsuyu asui #dark shadow #tokotsuyu #my fanfic #otp #shadow boys #for a bit #dark shadow is best wingman #but is a big tease

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my-analogical-heart · 5 years

Text

Blank

TW: none that i can see but just hmu to tag them

Word Count: 2447

Summary: Based off this ask, hope y’all enjoy.

A/N: this is the whole story on one post for anyone who wanted it

---

Virgil could hardly remember how the conversation for started. Something about stars or maybe it would about Crofters. Either way, the only thing he was sure of right now was that he wanted the conversation to end.

“Virgil,” Patton was saying, leaning over the edge of the couch. “It’s just one visit. One! I won’t even ask to go there again.”

“I already said no. It’s dangerous for anyone but me to be in there.”

Roman scoffed. “We’re not afraid to be in there, Surly Temple.”

“Perhaps,” Logan said from the table, scribbling in his notebook, “they’ll stop if you tell them why.”

“It’s not a matter of fear. You’ll spiral out and I can’t have that.”

“But—”

“No!” Virgil hadn’t meant to yell, and the hurt look on Patton’s face was more than enough to regret it, but he plowed on knowing he had to get it out. His voice was changing, overlapping itself and getting deeper. “No one can come into my room.”

He turned, walking through the purple wall of the Mind Palace, leaning the Commons behind. There was no way he could let them in. Not unless he wanted them to fall apart, unable to put themselves back together.

---

Roman could hardly believe Virgil’s audacity. How dare he assume that Roman couldn’t handle what was in his room? It couldn’t have been that bad. Sure, he was a bit…unpleasant from time to time, but that was probably just his nature.

Roman placed his arm around Patton, dutifully ignoring his watery eyes. “I’m sure he didn’t mean to yell at you.”

“From where I’m sitting,” Logan said, reaching his jar of Crofters, “you shouldn’t have pushed him. Both of you.”

“Thank you for that lovely and necessary input, Logan,” Roman muttered through gritted teeth.

Logan continued as if Roman hadn’t spoken. Rude. “He’ll come out and talk to you two when he cools down. Give him time.”

Patton sniffed, rubbing his eyes and pulling a tissue from his pocket. “I should go apologize. I feel bad for pushing him like that.”

“Well, he shouldn’t have yelled at you like that.”

Logan sighed, turning in his desk chair. “At this risk of this going on longer, why don’t we just go to him.”

“That’s part of the problem, Specs.” Sometimes he wondered if Logan had a brain with all the ideocracy that spewed from his mouth day to day.

“For you, perhaps. But he has invited me on more than one occasion. It should be no problem to bring the two of you along with me.”

Patton shot to his feat. “If you can, then I’ll go. I don’t like knowing I’ve made him upset.”

“Well, then I’m going too. Not that I really did anything wrong. I just want to see his room.” Logan gave him a blank, yet judgmental stare before holding out his hand.

“Take it. You won’t be able to go unless you do.”

As Patton took hold of Logan’s hand, Roman took Patton’s and they walked through the wall, leaving the Commons behind.

---

Logan was sure he had Patton’s hand. He was sure. And yet, when he turned around, Patton was gone and Roman was nowhere to be found. A conundrum for sure.

Logan knew Virgil well enough to know that he was telling the truth as to why he didn’t the others to be in his room. It was why pretty much the same reason why they all couldn’t spend copious amounts of time in anyone’s room: too much time in a foreign environment would effectively make them short circuit. That was something no one wanted.

He would have to find them if he wanted Thomas to have any semblance of functioning.

Logan sighed. It wasn’t as if he hated the task—in fact, he loved puzzles and finding things—but it made the bigger task of getting to Virgil’s room longer.

He looked around, eyebrow raising as he took in his surroundings. Interesting. Virgil’s room had spit him out in an almost identical version of his room. Had he been Patton or Roman perhaps he would have been fooled.

Yes, it was an observatory with a mess of papers strewn about. And yes, from what he could see from the bit that was open, a thousand constellations could be seen. But what made it obvious he was not in his home was that Virgil had never taken the time to look at anything he had written down. Most of the papers, he saw as he thumbed through them, were about the things he had told Virgil about in their down time.

There was more wrong, of course. Virgil had never been one to look too deeply into Logan’s room.

“You’ve got too much going on for me to even begin to process it all,” Virgil had said. “If you’d organize it, then maybe.”

“It is organized,” Logan sniffed, offended. “Perhaps not to you, but it is to me.”

“If you say so.” He’d then proceeded to sit backwards on the desk chair, pushing himself to different sides of the room, asking about each thing he picked up.

It was a fond memory.

Logan looked at the papers again, suddenly jittery. He could hardly leave them as they were, knowing how wrong it was.

He had time before Patton and Roman would need help. Right?

Right.

---

Roman needed very little time to get a grasp of his surroundings. He could recognize his room anywhere. The grand walls, ceilings, draperies of his castle were of the best quality. He wouldn’t stand for anything less.

He was surprised Virgil remembered that, having only peeked at his room before and t being an accident. Virgil had been trying to move the lamp in his Mind Palace space because Roman had kindly asked him to, and he clicked what would have normally turned on the lamp. Instead, it had taken him to Roman’s palace.

Each door was where he kept his ideas. The weird, the good, the bad. The closer to the throne room, the newer the idea. Sometimes Roman would wander the halls, looking at the old ideas, trying to rekindle the fire that had once burned so bright. And others, he made sure the bad ones were as far away as possible. There was no recovering those one.

It did, however, take him a moment to realize Logan and Patton were gone. Even as he called out to them, neither answered.

“Perhaps,” he said, thinking aloud, “they’ve wandered into one of the Idea Rooms.”

He wandered closer to his room, wondering how Virgil knew exactly the way it looked. Did he even get the Idea Rooms right?

Roman looked at one of the doors, stars or every color covering it. Ah, yes. This was one of the ideas he had for his coming out. Extravagant, loud, boisterous—too much for his parents to handle all at once. Because of that last fact, he had shelved it for later, to be reconstructed for another day.

When he opened the door, instead of seeing the party he had planned, he was met with something he had hoped to never see.

It was Thomas as a kid, young and impressionable, looking for anyway out of the situation he was in. He was surrounded by kids, people Roman couldn’t even place, taunting him. Pushing him down and pulling on his clothes.

He had to fix this. There was no way, even here in Virgil’s room, that Roman could let such a scene persist. He lifted his hand to snap, making it all go away, replaced with a more pleasing view.

Except he couldn’t. His arms wouldn’t move; his fingers wouldn’t even twitch. Roman tried to move his legs but it was as though he was glued to the ground. He needed to move. He had to go to Thomas. He needed to save him.

Thomas started to fight his attackers, trying to desperately to get away. He reached out a small hand. “Roman! Help me, Roman. Please, I can’t do this by myself.”

Roman tried again to unstick himself. He had to go to him. He needed to save him.

He was Thomas’s hero after all.

“Roman!”

---

The first thing Patton saw were the clouds. This confused him, of course, because he was sure he had walked into Virgil’s room with Logan, not in his own room.

But here he was, looking at the pink and fluffy clouds, memories floating by in wisps of fluff, each their own color depending on the memory. Blue for the sad memories, black for the painful memories, red for the romantic memories. He smiled as a white cloud floated over to him. He remembered this one very well—the day Thomas was born.

While it was fuzzy around the edges—and Thomas certainly didn’t remember it himself—Patton treasured it. It was the first time he’d been manifested, though he had been rather lonely. However, it wasn’t long before the others were there. Speaking of the others…

Roman and Logan were nowhere to be seen. Patton was sure he was in Virgil’s room. There was no way to get into his room unless they used the curtain and he was sure they’d all gone to see Virgil. He looked around, only seeing multicolored clouds drifting softly.

Well, it wasn’t like they couldn’t handle themselves, he thought, reaching out for a soft pink wisp. I could look at this for a bit.

Patton pulled the fluff close to his chest, waiting for the warm feeling to fill his chest. He knew this memory well: Thomas’s first crush.

As the cloud hit his chest, the pink faded to black, pain overtaking the once cute and happy memory. There was nothing Patton could do as he was sucked into it, gazing up eight-year-old Thomas, looking at a boy in his class.

Thomas was sitting in the cafeteria, reading by himself and occasionally sneaking glances at Travis. At the time, Thomas had only recently realized he was gay, but he wasn’t sure how to deal with it. It was the first time he’d recognized it, which had made Patton thrilled. Love! They could really love who they wanted! That was the idea, but practice was much different given that Thomas was a shy kid.

Patton sat next to Kid Thomas, waiting to see what had made this memory turn black.

To his surprise, Kid Thomas turned to him, asking, “Why can’t I be his crush?”

“Well, kiddo, sometimes you’ll like someone, but they won’t like you back. That’s just why life is.”

“He said he hates gay people. Is there something wrong with me?”

Patton went to answer, brimming with words of encouragement. Instead what came out instead was, “Of course there’s something wrong with you.”

Thomas looked at him again, confusion settling into his features, “I—there is?”

“Why wouldn’t there be?” The words were tumbling out of his mouth before he could stop them. “The one person you love can’t even stand the thought of people like you.”

“But I thought— You said—” His broke as he started cry, turning away.

Patton could hardly breathe. Why did he say that? How could he? He was morality, positivity, support. What had possessed him to say that—and to a child no less?

“Stop crying, you whelp. There is no one who will love you.”

---

Virgil sighed. He couldn’t tell how long it had been since he’d stormed out of the Commons, but he was sure enough time had passed that he could go back without Patton being too upset with him.

Virgil hadn’t meant to yell at him. He was just…he was just worried. There was a lot to deal with in his room that the others just weren’t equipped for. Maybe Logan if he didn’t stay long. But Patton and Roman? Love and Heart? There was no way the two of them could last very long.

He shoved his laptop away, rolling away from the desk, and hopping up from his chair. His room wasn’t much to behold—just a pile of blankets he called a bed, a desk for his laptop, and a million fairy lights because overhead lights were too harsh on his eyes.

As he was getting the courage to face Patton, he heard a harsh knock on his door. Immediately he tensed. There was no one who should have been there. No should who should have been able to be there period. No one except…

No. It couldn’t be any of the Dark Sides. Ever since he’d been accepted by the Light Sides no one except Deceit had tried to contact him and even then, he had been strong enough to turn him away.

No, it couldn’t have been any of them. So, who?

The banging started again, and he slowly opened the door to…

“Logan?”

The shadows under his eyes were pitch black and quickly turning purple. Virgil didn’t even thing as he pulled Logan in, slammed the door shut then quickly opened it again, shoving them both back into the Commons.

It wasn’t long before his eyes started clearing, calming down and adjusting his glasses. He took a deep breath. “Virgil, I need your help.”

“Is that why you risked life and limb to come get me?” How crazy could he be? Judging from the way he looked, he’d been there for far too long.

He didn’t answer, just shook his head and said, “Roman and Patton need your help.” He pointed to two things he hadn’t noticed before. In the middle of the Commons was Patton and Roman, slumped back to back.

Virgil knelt next to Patton and his blood ran cold. His face was blank, eyes lifeless and dull, with deep bruises under them. One look at Roman and Virgil knew his fate with the same.

He had warned them, told them that they couldn’t do it. This had been what he was afraid of. Light Sides couldn’t survive in the Dark. Even the Dark Sides tried to claw their way out from time to time. It was why he tried so hard to keep his place.

There was no saving them now. The two them were too far gone to be saved now.

Logan set a hand on his shoulder. No words were spoken, but Logan knew. He knew that there was no getting them back and that Virgil would have to live with his mistake.

Tears streamed down his cheeks, chest heaving as he took Patton’s cold hand.

There was nothing in his eyes.

#10.26.18 #Virgil Sanders #Logan Sanders #Patton Sanders #Roman Sanders #2018

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