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brzatto · 11 months

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Okay the anon mentioning that thing about Mikey leaving Carmy the beef and in a way leaving Richie to Carmy IS FANTASTIC

This fucker really said these two idiots will only survive if I force them together.

Also I feel like Richie is dying to take care of someone in a way? Like, he was really good with Tiff and he wants to be a good dad so bad. And then his dead best friend said heard and just shoves this chaotic, broken, mess of a little brother into his arms with no direction or further guidance. And he grew up with this kid right? He saw all the awkward phases and knows him better than most of his family even though it was probably more of an annoyance than genuinely wanting to know.

So he, on a super base level, probably knows Carmy enough to be surprisingly good at keep him alive and healthy?

Mikey gave Richie the human equivalent of a depressed house plant and he's actually doing a decent job at keeping Carmy it alive.

Also

Along this same train of thought, what would Nat and Donna do once they realize Richie and Carmy may be a little closer than they realized? I think Nat would give a fierce shovel talk to Richie and then hug him for a really long time. What about Donna? She's already fucking nuts. I kinda want to explore the idea of her snarling something about Carmy always trying to be Mikey but I also like the idea of her thinking they can support each other better than she ever did.

And I feel like it's just glazed over but the trauma of being in that fucking house? Like Richie's dad wasn't around right? I would argue that's almost better than whatever the fuck Donna was doing.

There's so much to explore there. Add in the stuff while Carmy was away with the fuck face chef and oh Lord this boy needs help.

Do I think Carmy is in a place like Mikey was? No, but not taking care of yourself is a form of self harm and that boy does not even know how to spell self care.

I feel like Richie would better understand and be very aware of those things. They're always yelling at each other but Carmy usually has like a meltdown of some type after. Maybe Carmy hates when someone's close behind him in the kitchen because it makes him think of fuck face chef. Richie clocking in on that and going out of his way to discreetly move people around Carmy quick or to place himself between Carmy and someone else if they have to be behind him. Because if Carmy would let anyone see all the little, broken, scared parts of him it would be Richie.

And possessive, protective Richie who picks up on all these little flinches, self deprecating remarks, the lack of self care, or general depression and putting all the pieces into a picture that he does not like. I think he'd pick it all up and make sure anything that may trigger Carmy is taken care of, within reason, and subtly do things to help or make things easier, all while Carmy is oblivious but also realizing he isn't as stressed as he usually is. And Richie seems very pleased with himself lately.

**I rambled again, sorry. I just love actually having someone to talk to about this pairing ♥️

you’re correct! something that really irked me before s2 came out was the mass richie misinterpretation where everyone thought he was fundamentally a bad person with a few good moments/interactions as opposed to vice versa. the way richie treats carmy is a testament to their closeness but also probably to how estranged they became since carmy left home, when we’re introduced to richie in the pilot he’s visibly very warm and friendly with everyone else in the kitchen (except for fak and syd who are outsiders that carmy chooses to bring in) and is seen being openly affectionate, kissing tina hugging marcus etc etc. richie takes good care of those he cares about and i’m so glad they gave us a glimpse into his dynamic with tiff while she was pregnant because richie was soooooo (biting my fist) i’ve never doubted for a second that he genuinely loved her and i’m glad they showed us them being happy and sweet rather than the deteriorated version of their relationship that probably came after eva was born/mikey’s addiction got worse.

i feel like growing up carmy was relatively sheltered in a way? probably naturally shy and quiet and introverted even when he was younger and in spite of all the chaos in his family i really feel like he was spoiled lol or at least comparatively. especially with the comment richie made to sydney about always being nagged about being careful with carmy i can see nat and mikey both being really protective of him. in opposition richie was definitely the one who’d tease and antagonize him the most but he still clearly had that sense of responsibility drilled into him back then because we can see how instinctual his protectiveness is with carmy even now. i’m still trying to decide what his relationship and dynamic with donna was like when he was younger because in fishes we see him successfully placating her when nat couldn’t, i can’t tell if she’s always favored carmy just for being the youngest or if mikey and nat had to shield him from the brunt of her dysfunctionality growing up or maybe even if she was more stable when he was younger and then her mental health deteriorated/behavior became increasingly more erratic over time?

richie’s a person who naturally receives gratification from doing things for others and feeling useful/needed and that probably manifests itself in a much more competitive/spiteful way with carmy because his feelings towards him are just Like That and carmy is also bad at thanking (not other people just richie specifically) him so it’s not quite as transactional as his dynamic with, for example, tiff where he does things for her and is directly rewarded with affection/praise/seeing her happy. i think at first richie just likes the idea of carmy, who he always knew as just some snot nosed loser and is now a well established name in a competitive and high end industry, still being incompetent in some facets and having to depend on richie for something (even if carmy would NEVER ask for his help first or even admit his dependency), likes the idea of having it to hang over his head etc etc (or at least this is how he justifies it to himself) and then with time it gradually morphs back into a Normal relationship where they’re willing to accept that richie takes care of carmy because he cares about him and carmy accepts it because he also cares about him but because they’re them and they’re difficult we have to go the long way around. this is the plot of bcm essentially

lol for sugar and donna’s reactions i think you summed up my own feelings pretty well. i do have a wip fic that sort of includes how that would go with sugar, but in it they actually don’t tell her about “being together” at all (because they do NOT think of themselves as “being together”) and she finds out herself after carmy has been unofficially living with richie for like the past however many months and is understandably pissed. it’s supposed to be a more lighthearted fic so there’s no seriousness to it but i think having known for richie for so long she’s already intimately familiar with all his loser scumbag asshole tendencies as well as carmy’s bullheadedness and notoriously bad decision making but she also knows richie’s good at heart and carmy needs someone like him in his life. especially in light of richie’s apology to her in s2 and effectively amending their relationship (which meant SO much to me) genuinely i can only see her being mad over them not telling her about it rather than anything else. also i love the implication that mikey and richie were also romantically involved before at some point too and donna weaponizing that… when i choose to incorporate past richie/mikey in my carmrich plots the notion that richie is just another one of mikey’s hand me downs or that carmy is simply mikey’s fill in for richie is always one of carmy’s biggest insecurities and i can’t quite decide if donna would be cruel enough to weaponize that against carmy specifically but the thought has delectable angst potential. your mind

i think about richie’s family life a lot like goodness what was going ON in the jerimovich household that donna berzatto could’ve possibly been the better alternative… in reality i think richie’s mother actually just wasn’t present at all, like i think she probably either died or left when he was a child but since sydney’s mother also passed away when she was young and i doubt they’d repeat that plotline for richie i’m guessing it’s the latter. his father also probably wasn’t around very much because of service, but when he was he was probably a dick because he was a cishet (vine boom) white man (vine boom) in the military (VINE BOOM)

and actually it’s funny that you say that because to me i think carmy would definitely have his own vices, like obviously we see his smoking habit but a personal hc of mine i’ve always had for him even before s2 came out is that he has a bad relationship with alcohol—not to the point of addiction or anything like that but i think he probably abused it a little to cope with mikey shutting him out and stopped once it posed the risk of interfering with his work. if you happen to remember in ch2 of bcm there’s a line where carmy mentions richie knowing carmy doesn’t drink—there’s a reason why and that’ll get expanded on in future chapters! but yeah carmy’s form of self harm definitely manifests itself as self neglect. i’ve seen a lot of people write him with an ed but i don’t necessarily think he has one or that his relationship with food is tainted per se i think his eating habits just reflect his own self negligence. carmy definitely is on his way to developing gastritis if he doesn’t have it already

and this is such a sweet scenario for them i love this >_< anything with richie being attentive, considerate, thoughtful, gentle, tender etc etc i am seated immediately… like sometimes i read my own writing and feel like i’m projecting because i want him so unspeakably badly. always nice to see you in my inbox thank you for this anon 🤍

#sorry for answering this so late >_< was waiting for an opportunity to sit down and give it my undivided attention #because as you can see… i have terminal never stfuitis #but i always love talking about them and hearing other people’s thoughts!!! you can always come to me if you want to 🫶#carmy x richie #carmrich #ask

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that-yandere-life · 2 years

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it haunts my mind EVERYDAY yandere Peter Parker x reader Stark. And to make things better Tony being a Yandad for both of them, what do you think Tony and Peter would be like? Would Tony accept? if you don't want to do it no problem lol hope this doesn't seem confusing i'm using google translator but i really appreciate your writing and would love to see

[Warnings: Yandere Themes *Obviously*, Peter as always is 18+, NO SPOILERS!, manipulation.]

Tony is a very intense yandere himself, so when he has a kid they are literally the most protected individual in the world.

However there is one exception, and that is Peter who has in fact grown to be like a son to him in a lot of ways.

Seeing as you two are similar in age he will introduce the two of you at some point, thinking that he could trust Peter.

Noticing a lot of the same qualities that he had inside of himself in the young man, showing him a glimpse of what he was like before he met your mom.

Excited to hang out with someone that wasn't close to your parent’s age, you both quickly got acquainted with each other.

Becoming best friends nearly overnight, constantly together when Peter wasn’t working in the lab or on a mission.

Growing slightly nervous when Tony noticed Peter exhibiting some of his tendencies on his child of all people.

Understanding just how intense that kind of lifestyle already is for you with him being who he is, could you handle having even further eyes watching your every move?

Not wanting to end the friendship the two of you were trying so hard to build, he will pull Peter aside to have a real heart to heart chat with him.

Acknowledging the behaviors he had noticed him exhibiting, explaining in detail exactly why he knew what Peter was feeling and going through.

While he understood he was still incredibly overprotective of you, and at the same time over Peter too so it was complicating every emotion Tony was experiencing.

Making sure that Peter was actually serious about his intentions before any talks move forward for him to accept the idea of the two of you dating.

Of course he didn’t expect you to stay single forever, although he wished you would be happy without a partner it wasn’t realistic thinking.

So when it comes down to it, the list of people he would ever trust to be with you is basically non-existent.

Peter is practically the only soul he could ever imagine gaining your heart, keeping you safe at all times, someone who would live for you, die for you, kill for you if necessary.

Not wanting to dictate your love life but that is exactly what he is going to do all the while making it seem like it was your choice all along.

With the two of them teaming up together you really don’t stand a chance with both of them manipulating you subtly to where you would never be able to tell if you weren’t looking for it.

Tony is constantly telling you how good Peter is for you, and mentioning how happy you have been since he came into your life.

Which isn’t a lie, but initially it didn’t feel like it had the same meaning to you that it did to them apparently.

That was at first anyway, their comments slowly shifting the memory in your mind to where certain aspects were fuzzy and nearly forgotten.

Each day that passes that you spend with Peter you will start to feel the same somewhere along the line.

You better not try to sneak out to see anyone else, or you will face the wrath of both of them.

Follow their plan and you will never taste true freedom, but then again you will never long for freedom either.

Unknowing what really lies beyond the fancy gilded prison, one that you only recognize as the home and life you’ve always known.

Peter will prove to your father and to you that he will do anything to keep you safe and happy, wanting you both to know you made the right choice.

Being very cautious not to step on Tony’s toes, but also letting him know that he was a huge part of your life now and he had no intention of going anywhere.

Respectful enough that for the most part the two of them won’t bump heads when it comes to you, so you rarely have to hear them fighting.

Everything will seem so natural to you because you don’t know any better of how things work in the outside world.

Sheltered and kept from the horrors of reality by Tony, him never wanting you to fear what was going on around you.

Should you come to some kind of accurate conclusion by whatever means of what was really going on, it wouldn’t matter anyway.

There is no escaping either of them alone, but as partners they would be nigh unstoppable in hunting you down to bring you back where you belong.

[Thank you for the idea, I thought it was very cute when I truly thought about how that would work out. I hope that you enjoy, and that it was what you were envisioning! <3]

#yandere peter parker #yandere peter parker x reader #yandad tony stark #yandere tony stark #yandad tony stark x reader #yandere tony stark x reader #yandere marvel #dark marvel #dark tony stark #dark peter parker #dark tony stark x reader #dark peter parker x reader

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eliana-dreams · 2 years

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Newsies as a miniseries.

Okay, it would be cool if they made Newsies into a limited tv series (on Netflix or something) based on the 1992 film. And it would go the period drama angle overall (I think I’d cut out the musical numbers for this series), but it would have a modern feel and tone. You could deep dive into the struggles of societal norms, identity, and friendship from different perspectives of characters trying to find their place in that time. Combine real-life with fantasy by incorporating historical characters, like Teddy Roosevelt and Hearst & Pulitzer and some of the original newsies. And you could still have winks and nods to the songs by incorporating lyrics into dialogue.

And maybe look something like this:

Season 1:

1. I’ll Furnish the War: (1898) Pick up during end of Spanish-American War. Show how papers are selling like hot cakes during the war. Talk of paper’s price increased but not a problem because business is so good. Introduce the newspaper tycoons and their wealth, highlighting Hearst’s carefree, cynical persona and Pulitzer’s slight reluctance but eventual participation in yellow journalism. Both benefit from the gilded age, with Hearst coming from privilege, and Pulitzer coming from humble beginnings – a champion of the poor turned greedy. We follow all the newsies, getting brief introductions and glimpses into their personalities as they sell papers. We don’t learn everyone’s name quite yet. But we know Jack. And we’re introduced to the close-knit Jacobs’ family who are doing better than most, with the all the children in school. David is top of his class, Les is excited about entering what would be considered middle school back then, and Mrs. Jacobs is gritting her teeth and contending with the idea of Les sneaking home a kitten. She doesn’t want the damn thing, but she gives it a saucer of milk and finds a place for it to sleep. They have a piano in their apartment that Mr. Jacobs and Sarah play and sing together, and it’s just a sweet moment between father and daughter that they get to share. We meet Brian Denton at the New York Sun. He’s a trust-fund kid, but he wants to shed that image and is still riding the high of charging up San Juan Hill with Roosevelt in July. We find he’s tired of covering the society columns and wants to branch out into “award-winning” journalism like the war he’s been covering. He gets lunch with Nellie Bly, and it’s revealed they were childhood friends, and she gives him advice on how to find good, raw, human-interest stories. But his boss warns him not to go chasing leads that will tarnish the paper’s reputation. They must stay on par with competitors, but they will not stoop to sensationalism. Medda gets a quick introduction. Jack drops by her theater to deliver her paper in person, and we see a tableau with her painted portrait advertising a new show. She’s mid-anecdote with reporters and dance instructors, waxing poetic about her early days on the stage, which she has since shared with the likes of Lola Montez (out west), Jane Avril (Paris), Louise Henderson (London), Mabel Love (London), Lydia Thompson (in the Bowery), and Lola Yberri (Mexico). We don’t know if she’s exaggerating, but she’s so compelling, we believe her. She exchanges a wink with Jack, as if to confirm she’s teasing the reporters, and slips him a whole dollar. She also tells him to help himself to cake and refreshments on his way out as she subtly pulls his coat tighter, and we understand the maternal relationship. And then it’s back to entertaining her guests. We get a glimpse of the newsies’ hardships, the Delancey brothers’ antics as newsboys themselves, and Jack standing up for his friends and the younger kids. And we end with Jack running away from Snyder after a chance encounter – we establish stakes – but it’s played off as a light-hearted narrow escape. Jack, while running, bumps into David walking into a lecture hall and blends in, convincing David to play along and pretend he’s a student so he can hide from “a little trouble outside.” The Delancey’s get jobs as assistants for their Uncle Wiesel at the distribution center. Mr. Jacobs gets injured on the job and is fired. The family is now in financial trouble, and they must sell the piano.

2. Carpe Diem: (1899) Flash-forward in time. David and Les arrive on the scene. They must get jobs now that their father has been out of work for longer than expected, and they had to quit school. Jack recognizes David from that run-in almost a year ago and calls him “college boy” or some other academic nickname. Jack teaches them the ropes, and we flash cut to different newsies with Jack’s narration describing their selling spots and tactics. We get to know their personalities and names further here. Now we get into the strike. Prices have not been lowered since the war, and it’s taking a toll on the newsies. Stakes are high because several newsies have vacated the lodging house, not being able to pay rent. Kloppman (the landlord) mentions he heard one of their friends (who we don’t see) starved to death because he could no longer afford 60 cents per hundred and couldn’t find work anywhere else. This scares a lot of the newsies into doing something about the unfair prices. The guys are initially upset but split on the issue (because the alternative is to starve). David mentions off-handedly about his father’s work and if he had a union, he would have his job back. And Jack starts thinking about the trolley strike and asks David if it’s possible to pull off a newsboy strike. And David’s hesitant about the planning, and half the newsies are pro, and half are con to the idea. A few newsies quit on the spot and go take up other trades to make money, offering their “so-longs” and “good lucks.” Jack takes charge with David as a de facto second-in-command. The strikers start out as a small group of newsies, and he tries to talk to Pulitzer about the newsies’ demands but gets thrown out immediately. The Delancey brothers give him a hard time, and Jack takes both on by himself successfully and wins the respect of the other newsies. The idea of including Spot Conlon is introduced, and the others react with mixed feelings, shrouding mystery over the idea of an intimidating newsie over in Brooklyn. We get a flash cut to Spot soaking “intruders” on his territory, but we don’t see what he looks like. More of a silhouette, or we just see the reactions of the other newsies as he beats up rivals. We the audience assume he’s a big, imposing brawler.

3. Hell Époque: The strikers grow in number in Manhattan. They knock over delivery wagons and start small fights with local distribution center workers. Despite the growth in ranks, a few newsies give up and leave, unable to contend with the lack of work/money. Rumors start to circulate that Spot Conlon is soaking (and maybe killed) newsies that are striking or spreading the strike in Brooklyn, and therefore squashing any sort of hope for alliance with Manhattan newsies. It’s rumored he’s being paid to uphold order. This episode would focus on Crutchy Morris, who has a bad leg from a childhood accident, giving him a limp. He, like David, is hesitant to engage in the violence that inevitably erupts from the strike but is pressured to join in the fight. He puts aside his doubts and helps his friends during a heated scuffle, but he ends up getting knocked unconscious by one of the Delancey’s after throwing himself in front of a younger striker. Cops break up the fight, and he’s taken to the Refuge, along with a few others.

4. Cavalry: We’re introduced to new characters – garment workers – who join the more general strike in solidarity with the newsies, thanks to Sarah’s urging at her workplace. At first, the boys are reluctant to allow the young women to help. The girls struggle with being accepted by the newsies who don’t want outside help, especially from women. There’s talk of strikers needing help in Harlem because there isn’t as much support for the cause there, and the Manhattan newsies (and the garment strikers) decide to go over and act as reinforcements. During this bloody fight, the young garment workers (including Sarah) prove themselves to the newsies, but the fight does not go well in Harlem, and they’re all forced to return to Manhattan following the loss. Skittery is badly injured and must take time off from the strike to recover. This episode would focus on Sarah Jacobs, the garment strikers apparent spokesman, as she disguises herself as a guy to engage in the thick of the fight. She takes quite the beating, but manages to hold her own alongside the others, and she’s celebrated as a hero.

5. Go West Young Man: Jack keeps a journal, and he’s writing about how the strike is going so far. Almost as though he’s writing a letter to an unknown family member, like a memoir, as if he’ll see them soon. We assume his family really is out west, waiting for him. He’s detailing the fights with the distribution employees and the local enforcers. He’s deeply troubled by his sense of right and wrong after beating up a newsie about his age selling papers in Manhattan, blinded in the moment by rage. The guy had to be taken to a hospital, and Jack later learned the newsie’s little sister relied on him to make money. And he keeps flashing back to seeing her frightened face as she watched Jack beat him up. So, we see there’s two sides, and there are newsies who cannot afford to strike. And Jack is starting to see this, too, and losing his way in a crisis of “who are we fighting for, if not for them. Because they, too, are us.” Maybe he should just go west after all. Denton’s interest in the strike comes to fruition. The newsies are poised for an upcoming fight with grown strike breakers and cops, but they don’t know how bad it’ll be. By the end of the episode, Jack has gained infamy in the other newspapers, and this draws Snyder’s attention.

6. Muckrakers: We enter the hottest week on record, and the newsies risk heat stroke to demonstrate and protest. They face an uphill battle with more scabs, heartbreakingly recognizing some as their former comrades, and must hold strong while dangerously low on funds and morale. Denton continues conducting interviews and running stories in the Sun. And he catches the attention of powerful figures like former newsie and senator Big Tim Sullivan and Roosevelt. Pulitzer has a scene where he’s considering what to do in reaction to his circulation plummeting. He thinks this can’t go on forever and the boys will tire themselves out. His wife confronts him about the strike and tries to talk sense into him, saying they’re just children, but he’s too stubborn. The episode would focus on Mush and Kid Blink as the duo crack jokes and try to keep optimism up (which is falling fast), while acting as ambassadors for other boroughs to encourage them to join the strike. We flash cut to their visits in various parts of the city and how their meetings go, and overall, they are successful. They also convince Medda to hold a rally at Irving Hall in support of the strike, and she begins preparing, though she loses several of her performers who want nothing to do with the strike (afraid of the bad press their careers will receive in Hearst’s or Pulitzer’s papers).

7. Brooklyn: The newsies face off with the adult strike breakers – a brutal mob of armed men, paid to squash the rebellion – and the newsies take a rough beating. A good number of them are badly injured and out of the fight. This episode would examine and question the actions of Hearst, who orchestrated this ambush on the newsies. But he didn’t predict Spot Conlon would turn the whole thing on its head. Brooklyn newsies show up in the middle of the battle, wielding clubs and bats of their own (and of course, slingshots). Spot relieves Jack, and thanks to his help in pushing back the mob, he gets a leadership role within the strike committee. I think Racetrack Higgins should narrate this episode, as he seems to have a history with Spot that isn’t explained in the 1992 version. Racetrack, throughout the episode, could be shooting off quotable wisecracks, encouraging others to keep fighting via good speeches, and really being a force of positivity and confidence. And then he also gets an important role on the strike committee, at the recommendation of Spot.

8. Solitude: Alright, this is the rally episode. A bunch of newsies from other boroughs have joined the strike, and a lot of factory workers, garment workers, and other child laborers have also contributed. They are the biggest they’ve ever been. The rally is a dangerous undertaking, and though great speeches are made (including one by Mr. Jacobs) and everyone’s hope is renewed, the cops bust in and start making arrests and cracking heads. At the trial, most of the newsies are dismissed when Denton and Medda pay the fines. Medda converts her theater into an infirmary for injured strikers, and Mrs. Jacobs and Sarah and Medda’s dancers stitch wounds and attend to injuries. Denton’s story goes to print, and public opinion of the strike turns toward the newsies’ favor. This whole episode should be narrated by Skittery, who was recently healed from the beating he took in episode 4 and is back in the game. Though the others are jaded and cold to Skittery because he’s missed so much, and they suspected he might’ve been selling papers while he was gone. Jack is among those to be arrested and taken to the Refuge. There are two, treacherous rescue attempts made. Together with the recent scab-turned-striker Specs, Skittery finally wins back the trust and support of his friends. By the end of the episode, Jack is smuggled out of the Refuge, and Racetrack is promoted to spokesman of the strike committee due to his compelling speeches (which the real Racetrack was known for).

9. One Voice: I think it would be more powerful and make more sense if David was the one considering scabbing to help feed his family. Les is worried the family kitten (that Mrs. Jacobs has come to love) will starve to death. So, while David struggles with the temptation of making money to put food on the table (and keep the cat for Les), the strikers clog the Brooklyn Bridge, halting city traffic for hours as part of their protest. Crutchy and the other imprisoned newsies, meanwhile, orchestrate interviews in the Refuge, writing down the kids’ stories and the detailing the conditions of the Refuge. Crutchy slips the notes and letters to Denton when he comes to visit on the pretense of doing a story on Snyder’s work with the city’s charities. Denton, with the help of his friend Nellie Bly, prints their stories of the conditions in an article, unleashing outrage and shock from the public, and this leads to the release of prisoners, including Crutchy and some other newsies.

10. The Power of the Press: The strikers manage to influence Hearst and Pulitzer’s circulation to a record low, and they also organize a meeting with the two newspaper giants. They reach a compromise that the company will buy back their unsold papers from now on, and an official newsboy union is formed, signaling the end of the strike. While a few move on to other professions, most of the strikers return to being newsies until they outgrow it. By the end, we see where each featured newsie ended up in life (both real and fictional), and the old lodging house where Jack and so many of the others lived still stands today. The Jacobs’ flat is now part of the tenement museum. Neither Hearst’s nor Pulitzer’s newspaper survives today. Fade to black.

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huntergatherercreator · 3 years

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Hello :) I was wondering if I could make a not so interesting request and I hope you don't mind 😅 So, like reader has kids with mob Tom Holland and you can decide the genders and number of kids they have and stuff and how would the whole family react to one of reader's friends constantly pursuing reader's love and when reader tells them that she's married and has kids, the lil shit is like "It's all right, just divorce them'' I have a feeling no one will be taking this lightly.....

Hey! I LOVED this idea!! I did switch it up to a co-worker because that's the first thing I thought of when I read this but I can definitely see him grudgingly having to put up with a childhood friend who just won't quit trying to make the reader see how in love with them they are. I feel like I need to write that too now....

Hope you're having a great day, take care and stay safe lovey 💜💜

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Warnings: Some swearing, and super sleaze ball energy

1,389 words

“It’s just drinks,” you laughed as Tom buried his face into your neck with a sigh. You focused on the mirror, touching up your hair and smoothing over your outfit. It was just drinks but it was with your new work team. You’d all only met last week and you’d suggested a night out as a team building exercise. Nothing broke the new job nerves better than alcohol and bad karaoke.

Tweaking his curls you smiled as Tom reluctantly met your gaze in the mirror.

“You say that, but you’re not the one being left with the terrible two,” he grumbled.

You turned to cup his face, laughing at his small pout and chocolate puppy dog eyes.

“Is my big bad mob boss afraid of a couple teenagers?” you teased.

“I’m not afraid of them,” he growled. “I just don’t understand them. All I get are grunts and sighs from Thomas and with Katelyn its like she speaks a different language all together.” Hands wrapping around your waist he pulled you tight against him.

“Plus, you look too stunning to be let out without a chaperone. I think I need to come with you.” His hands wandered to your backside, fingers creeping down to lift the hem of your dress. “Or, you could stay home,” he purred seductively as he gripped the bare skin of your thighs.

As much as you didn’t want to you wriggled out of his grip. “We’ll have plenty of time for that when I get home.”

“I’m going to hold you to that,” he winked.

A horn blared from outside and you cursed, you didn’t want to be late. Tom deftly swept you into your jacket and handed you your purse.

“Have a good time, darling,” he said as you kissed him on the cheek quickly. With an appalled huff, he reeled you in for a proper kiss, holding you captive until the taxi beeped their horn again.

“I won’t be late. Have fun,” you called over your shoulder as you hurried out the front door.

----

The bar was packed already and you were struggling to find your table when a heavy hand landed on the small of your back.

“It’s Y/N right?” Relieved you found yourself staring up at one of your new co-workers. Your brain faltered for a second before finding his name.

“Max?” He smiled in a cocky overconfident way before leaning in closer.

“You can call me whatever you like, sweetheart.” You grimaced a smile, subtly inching back from him as the stench of his cologne clouded around you.

“Where’s the team table?” you asked, pointedly turning away and scanning the room again.

“It’s in the back corner.” When you moved in the direction he’d indicated he caught your arm. “The table service is pretty slow, if you want a drink we can get one from the bar.”

“I’m happy to wait. I’m going to go re-introduce myself to everyone.” Breaking out of his hold you strode to the table, the prickling feeling of being watched crawling over you until you were swept into the embrace of your favourite work friend.

“I’m so glad you’re here! I was talking about our last project and this one here,” she hooked a thumb at one of the young interns, “doesn’t believe we wrote the whole presentation ourselves after tequila shots.”

You laughed at the memory. When it came to work you took it seriously, if you didn’t you wouldn’t have been promoted to executive and leading this new team. However, that didn’t mean you didn’t know how to have some fun.

You fell into an easy conversation with them both and others of the party drifted over sporadically to shake your hand and introduce themselves a bit more.

“We’ve already met but I’ll take five minutes with you over everyone else.” A voice said at your ear. You already knew from the overpowering smell of cologne it was Max. Now it was mixed with a strong dose of rum and turned your stomach. He lounged against the table in front of you.

“Tell me, who did you have to sleep with to get this job? And is there a sign up sheet?” he winked. Your skin crawled. Tight lipped you judged whether you could justify wasting a perfectly good drink by dumping it over his head. You cast a critical eye over him. As much as he was dressed like a man of business his suit was clearly off the rack. It was too small in the shoulders and had a slight polyester sheen to it. He could pretend all he liked but he hadn’t worked on a team this high up before. If he had he’d be better dressed.

“That’s funny, I was just about to ask how much your daddy had to spent to get you on the team.” His eyes flashed dangerously then he slowly grinned.

“You’re feisty. I like that.” His gaze shamelessly travelled over you. You refused to cross your arms over your chest under his lecherous stare. You’d dealt with worse, you reminded yourself.

“I need another drink.” You told him bluntly and walked off towards the bar. You reluctantly tamped down the urge to fire him. This was outside of business hours, you’d deal with it on Monday morning you told yourself. You just had to get through the rest of the night first.

You’d just reached the bar when his hand gripped at your waist and his fetid breath washed over your neck.

“Keep running away, I like a challenge. It’ll only make it sweeter when I have you writhing under-”

Spinning you shoved him away.

“I’m happily married,” you snapped in disgust.

He only leered at you. “That’s what divorce is for, sweetheart.” Your fingers tightened on your glass as you readied to throw the contents of it at him.

“Get your sleazy hands away from my mum!” You blinked in surprise as Katelyn elbowed her way through the crowd to jab a finger in Max’s face. “Yeah, I’m talking to you, you piece of shit.”

“Katelyn.” you tried to scold her but the weight of it was lost as you laughed.

“You heard her.” Tom’s voice was dangerously low as he stalked to stand beside you. “If you so much as breath in the direction of my wife again it’ll be the last time you do anything.” A cocky smile covered Max’s face until Thomas stopped behind him and dug his hands into his shoulders.

“You heard my dad. If you have any common sense you won’t mess with us.”

Max snorted, “You think I’m scared of you? I could steal your wife any day-”

“Mr Holland, I wasn’t expecting you tonight.” The flustered manager of the bar accompanied by two security guards faltered as he took in the scene. “Is there an issue here?”

“There is, this idiot is threatening me,” Max sneered.

The manager didn’t divert his attention away from Tom for a second.

“This man’s been harassing my wife, could you escort him out Eddie?” Tom asked the closest guard.

“Sure thing, boss.”

“Boss?” Max scoffed. “What did you do? Pay them off? How pathetic.”

“I called him boss because he owns the place.” Eddie scowled, grabbing a fistful of Max’s suit jacket. Mouth gaping his beady eyes flickered between you and Tom.

“Fuck,” he swore as the pin finally dropped. You were surprised it had taken him this long to work it out. There weren’t many Holland’s in town after all.

“In case it isn’t perfectly clear, you’re fired.” you snapped. You watched him get dragged away, the crowd parting like the sea to avoid him.

“What are you all doing here?” you asked as Katelyn wrapped you in a hug from behind.

“Eddie called dad,” Thomas said, as if it was obvious.

“You had him watching me?”

“I always have someone watching you. I need to know you’re safe when I’m not with you.” Pulling you into his arms he captured your mouth, hand possessively winding around the nape of your neck as he kissed you deeply.

“Ew!” Katelyn complained just as Thomas said, “I think I’ve lost my appetite.”

Laughing you pulled back to swat playfully at them both.

“You just made sure I’m forever stuck with your dad, get used to it,” you smiled.

#mob!tom #mob!tom holland #tom holland x reader #tom holland imagine #tom holland

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gamerwoo · 3 years

Text

[Tales from the Pack] Joshua: Second Chance (Part Five)

Characters: Joshua x female reader

Genre/warnings: werewolf au, fantasy, fluff, fluffy angst, Josh is still a grumpy old man

Word count: 2,888

Summary: After his mate died, Joshua always blamed himself and never wanted to imprint again. However, fate has other ideas when he meets you: a young, energetic werecoyote that’s quite the opposite of him. He insists he doesn’t want a new mate – nobody’s even sure if he’s ready for a new one – but he can’t ignore his instincts.

Previous | Next | Second Chance Masterlist

“So how exactly are we supposed to...prepare?” Soomin wondered.

“Prepare what? Prepare how?” Soonyoung asked.

“Well, it’s not like Josh is gonna take this re-imprinting thing well,” Wonwoo shrugged. Ever since the news about Joshua imprinting during his doctor visit, that’s all the pack could really focus on or talk about. But nobody was completely sure when he’d be released, so they wanted to plan things ahead of time. “None of us are really sure what to do when he gets home. He’s probably not going to want to talk about her so do we just not say anything? Do we brace ourselves for him to go back to being angry and reckless?”

“Reckless?” Yeji snorted. “You can’t tell me that old fart was ever reckless.”

“There are tons of stories we could tell you about him doing dumb things, and there’s even more from before he met us,” Seokmin nodded, though he wasn’t about to get into details.

“Even Lilly would tell us stories of how Josh was a menace growing up,” Chan chuckled. “We’ve all seen him act aggressively. He was never really great at managing his anger, even when it--”

“Shut up,” Seungkwan hissed, knowing exactly what Chan was going to say and not wanting to start that conversation up again.

“Is that why the tip of his wolf’s ear is missing?” Suvi wondered.

“Not necessarily,” Soonyoung said with almost a sour tone.

“Okay, but despite all of that,” Minghao began, “do we really need to ‘prepare’ for Shua to come home? If he doesn’t want to talk about her, then he won’t. So then we won’t. Problem solved.”

Except nobody ever thought that Joshua might let the girl he imprinted on tag along back home. He walked in with Seungcheol and Kyung helping him into the house, the pack smiling and telling him how happy they were that he was going to be back to normal. However, Joshua ignored them all, not even sparing them side glances. He just stared forward and grumbled for the two alphas to bring him to his bedroom.

Then Jihoon walked in. He seemed stressed when he lifted his head to address the pack.

“Don’t mention her to Joshua, don’t even talk to either of them if they’re ever in the same room together,” he warned.

“Who?” Junhui asked.

And then Hansol walked in with you as your blue eyes wandered curiously, subtly sniffing the air of this new place. You smelled...a lot of things. But as Hansol had quietly told you on the way there, there were fourteen werewolves living there, along with seven mates. You knew you were going to be bombarded with a lot, but still, you could somehow easily pick up Joshua’s distinct scent above all else.

“Oh…” Jun murmured.

Your eyes then began scanning each face in front of you. You assumed these people must’ve been the pack -- who else would they be?

“This is _____,” Hansol introduced you as if Jihoon didn’t just come in and basically tell the pack to shun you in Joshua’s presence. “She’s a werecoyote.”

“That explains the weird smell...” Jeonghan muttered.

With Joshua upstairs -- Seungcheol came back down with Kyung and reported that he didn’t think Joshua would be leaving his bedroom at least for the rest of the day -- the pack brought you into the living room just to get to know you a little better. Truth be told, they were kind of excited to see what Joshua’s new mate would be like. Would you be like Lilly? Would you be like how Joshua is now?

However, they found you to be...odd. Nice, absolutely, but odd. Living in a cave instead of a home was the biggest red flag, but there were plenty of others. It was like you were raised like an actual coyote rather than a person.

“Didn’t you have a family, _____?” Chan decided to ask. “Parents? Siblings? Anyone to take care of you?”

“Well yeah, but--”

“But, like everyone else, they kicked her out or something,” Joshua’s voice surprised everyone as he appeared in the doorway to the living room. He raised his eyebrows at you. “Am I right? Yeah, so you’re not special.”

“Are we supposed to not talk to her now?” Mingyu barely whispered.

“I can hear you all upstairs, y’know,” the older wolf said as he strolled into the living room and leaned against the arm of one of the couches.

“Shouldn’t you be resting?” Danbi asked.

Joshua just shrugged, not saying anything in response.

“Okay…” Yeji looked away from Joshua and back at you, wanting to get rid of the odd tension that the grumpy werewolf had created. “So _____, how old are you?”

But when you gave them your age, Yeji chuckled at you, “No, I mean how old are you really? Like, how many years have you been alive?”

“Um...th-that many?” you shrugged.

“Figures,” Joshua muttered, “I get stuck with a baby were-creature. It’s like fate fucking hates me more than I thought…”

“Really?” Kyung chuckled, ignoring Josh’s comment. “You’re younger than even me.”

“By a year,” Hansol chuckled, nudging his mate’s knee. “You’re still a baby compared to everyone else.”

“What does that mean?” you wondered.

“Age freezing,” Mingyu replied with a shrug, as if that would be obvious to anyone.

You waited for someone to elaborate, but nobody did, “...What’s that mean?”

Josh let out a dry chuckle, sending a glare your way, “You really don’t know anything, do you?”

Kyung frowned and said something you didn’t understand as she turned her sour expression toward your mate, but he didn’t even seem fazed by whatever she said.

“When you reach a certain age -- usually somewhere between like, eighteen and your mid-twenties -- you stop aging until you find your mate,” Chan explained. “For example, I’m actually twenty-six years older than the age my body stopped aging.”

“But I’m the oldest,” Yeji grinned proudly, “technical and actual age.”

“Bragging about being an old lady isn’t--”

“Watch it,” Jihoon growled, glaring at Joshua, who didn’t get to finish his snide comment.

“Look, Shua. We get you’re in a bad mood -- really, we do,” Seokmin began, seeming almost afraid to stand up to the older wolf, “but...you’re kind of being really mean just in general.”

He let out a deep sigh, “Fine, whatever, I’ll shut up. You can go back to talking about useless stuff.”

“Anyway,” Danbi quickly spoke up, “as we were saying. Even Wonwoo and I seem only a year apart, but he’s actually older than me by...what was it, like, twenty years?”

Her brother nodded, his arm draped around his mate, “Yeah, mom had me at eighteen and then didn’t have you until she was thirty-eight.”

“Wait, what?” Mingyu suddenly spoke up, looking between the siblings with shock written all over his features. “I-- I didn’t even know that.”

Danbi just giggled and shrugged, “Guess I forgot to mention it.”

“So what happened with your family?” you asked the pair.

Wonwoo and Danbi looked back at you again. You hadn’t said a whole lot since being brought to the living room, so whenever you spoke, the pack paid a lot of attention.

“We moved around a lot so nobody would realize I didn’t age,” Wonwoo explained. “They wanted to just kick me out, but they also were afraid that their son suddenly leaving the house would be a big red flag that I was a werewolf. And of course, they couldn’t have people thinking that. They kept me around for a while but they didn’t treat me that great.”

“But they kicked him out when I was fourteen,” Danbi continued. “I was dabbling in potion-making, and they thought it was somehow Wonwoo’s influence. They said he was bad for their precious daughter, so they kicked him out. We’d manage to visit each other, either in town or he’d sneak into my room at night just to talk. When I was finally of age, I went to live with him.”

That wasn’t anything like what happened with you, but you didn’t want to mention it and make it about yourself. You kind of liked absorbing this new information about the pack, anyway. Hearing about them was entertaining in a way.

“Do parents...normally abandon their kids when they find out they’re a werewolf?” you wondered.

“No,” Hansol chuckled. “My parents are super loving and I visit when I can. We still go visit Kyung’s, too.”

“Even Rin’s were super nice before she came to live with us,” Kyung added with a nod.

Your eyebrows furrowed, “Who’s Rin?”

“Kyung came from another pack before joining ours,” Seungcheol explained. “Rin’s one of her old pack mates.”

“Soonyoung refers to her as Cooper, though,” Kyung explained, rolling her eyes. “He thinks her surname is fun to say.”

“Because it is!” Soonyoung insisted before quietly giggling to himself and softly saying, “Cooper...”

“Anyway, you’ll probably meet her...at some point...” Kyung trailed off, so you decided to not ask any questions about her old pack despite being intrigued.

Chan suddenly leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees as he spoke up, “_____, I have a question for you.”

“What is it?”

“Can you shift for us?”

“Ooh, yeah!” Seokmin grinned, excitement in his eyes. “We’ve never seen a werecoyote before!”

Joshua wouldn’t say it, but you could tell even he was intrigued by the way his gaze suddenly locked on you and he just stared, waiting for your response. He didn’t even have anything snarky to say.

"Um,” you shrugged, “yeah, sure.”

It was a little awkward just standing in front of a large group of people who just stared at you in wonder, but it was also a little flattering at the same time. Nobody in the pack had ever encountered a werecoyote -- well, other than Yeji -- so they were surprised to see you were really just a smaller, scragglier version of a werewolf.

“I wanna see how fast she really is,” Seungkwan decided before shifting into his wolf form.

So then the pack watched the two of you race from one end of the large yard to the other. You heard someone whistle lowly when you won, followed by the pack’s murmurs of how cool it was that you were faster than them.

And then everyone else wanted a turn to race you -- except Chan because of course he was still the fastest -- so the whole thing just turned into you play-wrestling with a bunch of werewolves. It made you happy, though. You kind of felt like you belonged in their pack.

However, there was still one member of the pack who hadn’t shifted: Joshua. He stood on the porch with the mates, watching as you and the rest of the pack ran around and played with each other. He kept a frown plastered on his face despite the fact he secretly found it endearing that the pack was already getting along with you and vice versa.

But there was still that part of him that didn’t want you in his pack to begin with.

“What’s with the sour look, lover boy?” Yeji quizzed.

Josh merely side-eyed her before going back to watching the pack, “Don’t ask stupid questions if you don’t want a stupid answer.”

“Give it a rest, grumpy,” she scoffed, rolling her eyes. “We all know you don’t actually hate her as much as you want everyone to think.”

“I don’t know...” Suvi began quietly like she was afraid to give her opinion. “I think he just invited her back here because he feels bad for her. Look at how he’s been acting.”

Joshua shifted his weight to one leg, pointing his thumb beside him at the younger girl, “She’s right.”

“No she isn’t,” Danbi chuckled.

“Yeah? And what do you know?”

“For starters, you haven’t stopped staring at her since we got outside,” Eunjin interjected in a plain tone.

“And you can frown all you want but your eyes show everything, Shua” Danbi insisted with a giggle.

Joshua just let out a sigh and rolled his eyes, “Shut up, all of you.”

With the sun having set, the pack called it a day and shifted before going back into the house, pulling on their clothes as they talked and laughed with each other. You were toward the back of the group, walking silently as the rest of the pack made playful conversation with each other. You weren’t really sure what was happening next, but you also didn’t want to ask and possibly set Joshua off -- or seem rude asking if you were supposed to leave now or not.

“So, um,” Seungcheol stopped and turned around, pulling his shirt on over his head before he looked at you, “since you’re here and it’s already dark outsi--”

“Don’t even say it,” Joshua grumbled.

Jihoon sighed, rolling his eyes, “Come on, are you really gonna make the poor girl walk home in the dark?”

“She can take care of herself,” he stated, eyeing you up and down -- but there was more of a disgusted look on his face than anything else.

You didn’t really care, though.

“I get she’s a werecoyote, but come on,” Kyung spoke up. “She almost died to begin with because she was running around at night.”

“Wait, really?” Junhui asked.

After the rest of the pack started getting on his case -- especially after learning that new information -- Josh let out a loud groan, letting his head drop back, “Fine!”

His tone actually made you flinch -- not because you were afraid, but the loudness startled you.

He lifted his head, his golden eyes landing on you, and you raised your eyebrows. He narrowed his eyes, “You can stay on the couch for the night.”

You visibly perked up, “Couch? Like, the one in the living room?”

“Um...yeah?"

“Really?!” you grinned. You were practically bouncing with excitement. “Thank you so much!”

“It’s...just a couch...” Chan said slowly, not understanding what you were so happy about.

Seungcheol nodded his head toward the living room, “C’mon. We’ll find some extra blankets for you.”

“I think you’re forgetting her usual sleeping space,” Jia pointed out quietly as the pack began to walk down the hallway again to start going to their separate rooms.

That was when it clicked. Of course you were excited to sleep on a couch, you lived in a cave. Your typical bed was probably not the most comfortable thing. They imagined it was probably either the cave floor, or maybe a bed of leaves and grass. A couch would definitely be a huge upgrade for you.

As you beamed watching Seokmin and Seungcheol work to set up a makeshift bed for you on the couch, Joshua silently and slowly approached you.

“Have you...ever slept on a bed before?” he wondered.

You looked at him and shrugged with a small nod, “Not for a really long time, though. It’s been...”

You trailed off as you tried to do some math in your head, but you genuinely couldn’t remember when it was you last slept in a bed. You couldn’t even remember what age you were when you left home. Things started blurring together.

“I don’t know how many years, but it’s been a long time,” you shrugged.

Years? God, why did you have to tug at Joshua’s heart when he was trying to be cold and push you away? You just had to have a tragic life story, didn’t you?

After a moment of listening to Seungcheol and Seokmin bicker about which way the sheet was supposed to go, Joshua let out a deep sigh, “Y’know what? Just go take my bed. I’ll figure this out since you two are too dense to figure out a fucking bedsheet.”

To say you were shocked was an understatement. You looked at Josh with wide eyes and raised eyebrows, blinking as you waited for him to take the statement back. Even the pack froze and waited to see if he was just playing some dumb prank on you to get your hopes up.

Joshua turned his head to look at you when you didn’t move, “I’m sorry, was I speaking a different language?”

You knew it was sarcasm, but you still replied with a simple, “No.”

“Then why are you just standing there?”

Kyung groaned, saying something in another language under her breath before she stepped forward, “Come on, I’ll show you were to go since Shua’s too busy being an asshole.”

You followed the foreign wolf out of the room and up the stairs to where Joshua’s room was, and then she tracked down some pajamas to fit you and helped you get settled.

Meanwhile, downstairs, the pack was still looking at Joshua. However, they were all smirking or wearing some sort of shit-eating grin.

“Nice excuse,” Yeji snorted.

Josh grimaced, “What?”

“We all know it wasn’t because dumb and dumber were taking too long,” Jeonghan smirked, shaking his head as Seungcheol and Seokmin called out in offence. “You felt bad and you care about her.”

“You liiiiiiike her,” Danbi sang.

Joshua rolled his eyes before he walked up to Seokmin and snatched the sheet from him, making the younger wolf flinch.

“Just get the hell out of my room,” he growled.

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delos-mio · 3 years

Text

Out of the Woods - College!AU - PART 1

A/N: Welp, here it is! Part 1 of my silly little AU for my favorite silly little king. I really hope I can do him justice and I greatly appreciate any comments and questions you may have! No major triggers- only implied drug use, drinking, allusion to sexy stuff. So, without further ado..

If you had to gaze into a crystal ball at the beginning of the year, this would not have been the future you expected to see. You didn’t plan on being unhoused, stuck in an idle relationship, and debating dropping out of school all together. But here you were, trying your very best to pick up the pieces, salvage what little motivation to carry on that you had left. It could have been worse. It could have been much worse, at least that’s what you kept telling yourself to keep from crumbling entirely. You were never one to back down though, and these few hurdles sure as hell weren’t going to be the thing to break you. At least one of your problems was solved.

You had just emptied the last of the boxes left from moving and were hanging up the rest of your clothes when there was a soft knock on your door. Genya popped her head in, smiling brightly.

“Hey. I was just making sure you were getting settled ok,” she said.

“Yeah, I’m just about done unpacking I think.” You sat down next to her on the edge of your bed. “Thanks again for letting me live here. You have no idea how much you saved his ass,” you laughed.

“Don’t mention it! I’m happy to have someone else here, honestly.” She seemed to mean it, so you decided not to keep groveling. “Anyways, I just had a friend text me about a party tonight if you wanted to go?”

Your party days were almost entirely behind you. Freshman and Sophomore year were a haze of booze and recreational drugs, leading to you almost flunking out of school on more than one occasion. You’d since cleaned up your act, for the most part, and found you way back on the Dean’s list. But...it was a Friday afterall. And you’d just spent all day moving and contemplating your entire life- did that not earn a beer or two?

“Yeah, ok. Ok. That sounds good,” you said with a nod.

“Awesome! I think we’re meeting there around 10ish, so I’ll come grab you to get ready in a little bit.”

“Get ready? Are we 18 and going to our first frat party?” you joked, making Genya laugh.

“I was thinking about it more so as a roomie bonding activity, but if you wanna be a brat…” she drawled, trying to keep the smile off her face.

“Come back in an hour,” you finally sighed. Genya looked simply delighted as she exited, very clearly planning out looks for you both in her head.

As you went to finish up organizing your closet, you felt the familiar buzz of your phone in your pocket.

Matt: u coming over tonight?

You couldn’t stop your eyes from rolling back in your skull. That probably shouldn’t happen when you get a text from your boyfriend.

Y: can’t, sorry. Going out with Genya M: ok- have fun. Make good choices. Y: wtf does that mean M: just to make good choices? Jesus does everything have to be a fight? Y: i’m not trying to fight omg Y: i’ll just talk to you later M: k

K. He had some fucking nerve.

---

Across campus, Nikolai wasn’t having much better of an evening.

"Do I have to?"

"Yes." Aleks's tone was final; Nikolai knew there was no point in trying to bargain with him at this point.

"Jesus, fine." Nikolai’s fate had been decided and it was now mandatory that he go to the Delta Chi party that night. And here he had been looking forward to a quiet evening alone with his guitar and journal...

"It'll be fun, you sad sack. And I really want you to meet Alina," Aleks chastised.

"I didn’t know you missed my irreplaceable company quite this much."

Aleks gently threw a pencil across the table at his head. "Maybe you'll even catch a new fish of your own, huh?" he said with an obnoxious smirk. Nikolai just chuckled, nodding noncommittally before heading off to his bedroom.

It's not that he didn’t want to go. Well, he didn’t, really. But normally, he would. It’d been about a month since he called it off with the girl he met in Statistics. And it's not like he even missed her all that much- he knew she wouldn’t be around long from the start. But he was still stuck in the “mope in his room, write songs about heartbreak” phase of his healing. Because of such, he hadn't felt like partying much lately, but he’d blown off Aleks the last 3 weekends...he wasn't going to let Nikolai say no again.

Nikolai figured the least he could do is try and look presentable. It was unlike him to spend as much time in sweats as he had; his sense of style had always been impeccable. He was a man who knew he was handsome and knew the best way to broadcast just that. He pulled out tight black jeans and paired them with a powder blue button down with the sleeves rolled up, maybe a couple of the top buttons left undone. He pushed his golden hair back out of his hazel eyes and scrutinized himself in the mirror. To his horror, he looked like he hadn't had a good night of sleep in a week, which was true. Overall, it could have been better, but it could be worse. With a sigh, he grabbed his phone and keys before going out to find Aleks.

They got to the Delta Chi house, and there were already a few guys passed out on the lawn. Nikolai wasn’t surprised, but it was only 10:30. They must have been freshmen. Aleks lead the way to the porch where a petite dark haired girl turned around and beamed at them.

"You're late!" she says with a clearly fake pout. Aleks leaned in to kiss it away and Nikolai looked everywhere but at them.

"Sorry, sorry, I know. Miss Princess here had to be dragged out of his cave," he laughed at his expense. "Alina, this is Nikolai. Nikolai, Alina."

"Nice to finally meet you," Alina smiled. She's cute, he can give Aleks that.

"I’ll have you know I was not in a cave. I was waxing poetic about love lost, heartbreak and what have you,” Nikolai smirked as Alina laughed.

"Genya and her new roommate are already inside," Alina said, grabbing Aleks's hand.

Thank god. Not that he didn't want to spend time with them or get to know Alina, but he didn't really want to watch them suck face and play third wheel all night. Genya had been a friend of theirs since Freshman year- she smoked them down at a random dorm party and she'd been part of the gang ever since. Nikolai pushed through the crowd and made it along with Aleks and Alina to the kitchen. There were fewer people back here and Nikolai felt like he could breathe again.

"Nik," Genya chirped and threw her hands up excitement. "He lives!"

"You saw me Wednesday," Nikolai laughed. “But, I understand. Aleks was desperate for his company too. It must have been unbearable without me.”

"I really didn't think Aleks would get you to come," she said with an easy grin. Genya handed him a cup of what he assumed was beer. "Doesn't matter. You're here now."

They all circled up and chatted for a minute. For once in his life, Nikolai felt like he was noticeably quiet, but he found he didn’t have much to add. They didn’t want to hear about how he managed to cook a meal TWICE last week. Or how he’d written probably a dozen songs, all of them dogshit. Genya was grinning at a story their friend William was telling when she looked over his shoulder and motioned for someone to join them.

"Guys! Guys! This is my new roommate," Genya said. Ah yes, the new roommate. How could Nikolai forget?

New Roommate had wedged themselves into the circle two people away from Nikolai. He looked up from his cup and immediately locked eyes with you. Honestly, the name should have tipped him off. He never, ever thought he’d see you again. There's no way you possibly remember him, right? God, you were still so beautiful.

"Nikolai?" you asked with a tight voice, eyes jumping all around his face. And it's right about then that Nikolai wished he got a little more beauty sleep. Here you were, practically glowing, while he looked like the walking dead.

"Hey," he breathed out. It sounded a lot more desperate than he meant it to, but you always have had that effect on him.

"You guys know each other?" Aleks interjected.

"It's uh, it's been a few years, but yeah," you said with a blush, looking down into your cup. Aleks and Genya both looked at Nikolai with a raised eyebrow. He could feel the sweat pricking along his brow. Fuck, now all eyes were on him...

"Maybe there's a spot open for beer pong. Let's go check it out." Thank you. Subtle, Genya. "You guys can catch up," Genya said walking past you and patting Nikolai on the shoulder. The rest of his friends followed suit and Nikolai was left alone with you, staring not so subtly.

You hadn’t grown an inch. You’d lost the bright red glasses too. But, god, you were still the most gorgeous creature Nikolai had ever laid his eyes on. Really, he couldn't have lost his virginity to a hotter person.

It's your typical boy-meets-girl story. Nikolai first saw you at the rink where he played hockey in high school. Your parents owned the building and seeing as such, you were employed as the kid behind the concession stand. Nikolai remembered the first time he saw you, he thought you looked like a dork. A very hot dork, but a dork all the same. Nikolai began to notice you watching him in particular during practice, which just further flustered his raging teen hormones.

One night, after everyone else had left practice, Nikolai stayed behind and introduced himself to you. He’d never seen such a beautiful mouth and he had to resist the urge to kiss you right then and there. It became habit that he stay after practice and lean against the counter to shamelessly flirt with you. You often had the rink to yourselves by that time, so Nikolai felt like he could really be himself during those hours. He was still figuring out his place in the world and had stuck-up parents who would never approve of him taking you home. But in the lowlights of the concourse, he was allowed to have a crush on you.

Flirting led to making out behind the counter. Making out behind the counter led to hand stuff in your beat up purple van once you locked up for the night. Hand stuff led to him fucking you in the locker room shower. It was both of your first time and it could have been much less hurried. But you were young and inexperienced and horny as fuck and still exploring sexuality. You kept that arrangement up for the next few months until the season ended and Nikolai left that fall for school. He felt like a dick for not saying goodbye to you. It's not in his nature to ghost. It just isn't. He thinks maybe he was still scared of what it all "meant" and how much he really liked you. Maybe this was the universe telling him to make things right with you and make things right for himself.

"Hey, stranger," you said with a lopsided grin. Fuck. Nikolai was so done for if you kept looking at him like that.

"Hey yourself." And Nikolai couldn't help himself when he reached out to you to pull you in a tight embrace. Lucky him, you didn’t push him away and call him a fucking asshole; he thought he would have deserved that. You buried your face into his neck and the hot little puffs of air were doing way more to him than they should. You parted just enough to get a good look at each other.

"You look good," you said with a dark edge to your voice, bottom lip trapped between your teeth. He knew very well what he looked like that night, but you seemed to mean the compliment.

"You look better," he replied earnestly, because it was true. It shouldn't have been this easy to fall right back into things. But it was always different with you. Sometimes, he still thought you were the only one that really understood him without him having to say a word.

"Nikolai Lantsov, you always were a little flirt," you laughed. Your eyes crinkled at the corner and Nikolai thought to himself how beautiful you are when you’re playful. You’re always beautiful. He wanted nothing more than to whisk you away and have you alone. This time, he wouldn’t fuck it up. He wouldn’t let you go. You must have noticed his brain going into overdrive because you say "What's going on up there? What ya thinking?" You pushed a rogue lock of golden hair away from his face.

"Honestly?"

"Honestly."

"I'm thinking about how much I wish we weren't at a frat party right now. I'm thinking about how I want to be selfish and have you all to myself," Nikolai said low so only you could hear. You laughed a little to yourself and looked at him with sparkling eyes.

"I'm not stopping you," you drawled. Fuck. Fuck, ok. This was really happening.

"Let me tell the guys we're leaving and then do you maybe want to get some food?" Nikolai asked hopefully. You just nodded coyly with a small smirk.

"I'll meet you out front." You squeezed his hand once and started pushing your way through the sea of bodies.

Nikolai ran his hands through his hair and took a deep breath before nearly running down to the basement, eager to say goodbye and make his way back to you. Genya, Aleks, Alina, and William were playing each other, a beer pong table stretching between their pairs.

"Where's your old friend?" Genya asked with a shit eating grin.

"We're um. We're actually gonna head out. So, I guess I'll—" but he was immediately cut off by Aleks.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Nik, are you leaving with a girl?" he teased.

"Yes. I am." Nikolai looked at him defiantly.

"How do you guys know each other anyways?" Bill asked before launching a shot.

"Just from growing up. High school or whatever," Nikolai mumbled.

"Cmon..." Genya begged.

"Wouldn’t you love to know," he said, voice laced with snark. "I just came down here to say we're fucking leaving!"

"Well then you better not keep your girl waiting," Genya said with a silent kiss in his direction. Nikolai just flipped her off and took his leave.

When he got outside, you were waiting with your hands in your pockets at the bottom of the porch steps. He smiled wide at you and offered a hand, which you seemed happy to take.

"So, are they gonna give me a bunch of shit next time I see them?" you asked as you walked hand in hand to the little strip of 24 hour restaurants on the outskirts of campus.

"Probably. Nothing you can't handle," Nikolai winked. You laughed then a little giggle. It's such a familiar sound and just like that, Nikolai was transported back to the ice rink and you giggling between kisses behind the snack bar.

You made it to one of his favorite delis in town and he offers to buy you a sandwich, which of course you tried to refuse his offer. Nikolai simply won't hear it. He had 5 years of douche baggery to make up for and insisted. You finally conceded and thanked him with the sweetest smile Nikolai had ever seen. You found a table in the corner, away from the door and prying eyes.

"So, how'd you meet Genya?" Nikolai asked.

"We have a writing class together. And we got to talking and became friends. I needed to find a new place cause my old roommate had to drop out and move home. I couldn't afford the place on my own. And I mean, you know how Genya is," you laughed, "I told her all about it one day in class and she offered me a room at her place without batting an eye."

"That does sound like Genya," Nikolai nodded.

"I've only been there like, two hours. But it's been good so far. Genya's been super cool," you said with a smile.

"I can't believe that we've been at the same school this whole time and it's taken this long to find each other," Nikolai said, mostly to himself, but you heard him and reached across the table to grab one of his hands.

"But we did find each other eventually, yeah?" You ran your thumb over his knuckle.

"Yeah," he said, suddenly bashful. Nikolai was seldom flustered. He had nerves of steel and had confidence to spare on his worst days. But you. You cut through him, all the way down to the core, and that made him nervous.

"So," you started, "Tell me about everything Nikolai Lantsov. Surely you've been up to something the last few years."

"Not much interesting to tell," he shrugged. "Been studying history. Writing music here and there to keep myself occupied."

"Girlfriend?"

"Who wants to know?" he asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Shut up," you mumbled into your soda. He doesn't miss the blush that's spreading over your cheeks.

"No. No girlfriend." he paused, considering how honest to be. But fuck it, he owed you candor. "I actually broke up with a girl a little over a month ago." You looked back up at him then, your eyes searching presumably for whether or not Nikolai was still torn up about it. "She wasn’t...she wasn’t right for mw and I guess I was just done. I feel like I should still be sad about it or whatever, but I'm not. I don't miss her. The wallowing and self reflection has been great writing fodder though," he said with a laugh.

"I'm sorry, Nik. You don't deserve that."

"Don't I?" Nikolai looked at you and suddenly felt torn open. "I...I'll never forgive myself for what I did to you." You bit down on your lip and looked out the window. "I regretted leaving you, god, and like a fucking asshole. I regretted leaving you so much. I know saying I'm sorry isn't even close to enough. But god, I'm so fucking sorry." He knew there were tears threatening to fall from his eyes, but he swallowed them down best he could.

"I'm not going to act like it didn't hurt me. Because it really, really did. But I accept your apology, Nik. You know I could never stay mad at you." You paused for a minute before looking at Nikolai with a tiny fire in your eyes. "You know, I'm pretty sure I was in love with you back then."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I don’t think I ever stopped loving you," He said confidently. Your jaw dropped just for a moment before you're giving him that sexy grin that apparently still drives him absolutely crazy.

"Still?” Nikolai just smirked. "What if you don't know me anymore?" you asked and sucked at the straw in your soda.

"I'd like to." There's a shift in the air between you. Nikolai was sure you could both feel it. It was suddenly too warm in the restaurant and there's too much table separating you. He decided to take his chance. “How do you feel about going back to my place?”

You suddenly seemed very interested in your nail beds, picking anxiously at the skin. “You didn’t ask me if I was seeing anyone.”

Nikolai stalled. He didn’t. You asked about his relationship status and he was so absorbed with letting you know that he was, in fact, single, that he didn’t bother to ask if you were even available. Hadn't you been flirting all night? He'd certainly been flirting. But like you said, maybe he didn't know you anymore. Maybe this was just how you were these days. “Are you...are you seeing someone?”

“Yeah,” you sighed. Maybe it was his own wishful thinking, him hearing the resignation in your voice. Not that he wanted you to be unhappy. No, you deserved the world and he wanted nothing more than for you to have the sun and the moon and the stars. But, maybe there was still a chance for him yet. “His name is Matt. We’ve been together for like, a year or so.”

“Matt.” He let the name burn his tongue. “You love him?”

“Nik…” you warned.

“Just a question.”

“It’s more complicated than that.”

“Just my two cents here,” Nikolai started, leaning back into the booth, “But you deserve to be with someone you can gush about. Someone who when you get asked if you love them, you don’t think twice and say ‘they’re the love of my life!’”

“And you don’t think that’s him?” you said, huffing. “You think that’s you?”

“There’s a chance,” he smirked. “All that aside, I’m very glad fate has brought us together again.”

“Yeah, yeah,” you laughed. “I missed you too.” You looked at your phone quickly. “Shit, I should get going. I have a shift at 9 tomorrow.”

“Let me walk you home,” Nikolai insisted, standing from the booth and helping you into your jacket.

“Always such a gentleman,” you smiled, tapping him gently on the nose before walking ahead of him.

The walk to your and Genya’s place felt too short. Nikolai had made this trek, both intoxicated and sober, and it always seemed much longer. But now he was at your front door, hands shoved in his pockets as he shifted his weight from foot to foot. “If you don’t want to hang out again, I understand, but I need you to tell me now if you think it’s a bad idea,” he rushed out.

“Of course I want to see you again,” you said, rolling your eyes. “So dramatic. We can still be friends, right?”

“We can be best friends,” he smiled.

“I’m glad I ran into you tonight.”

“Likewise.”

You were both clearly just trying to prolong the evening at this point. Nikolai took it upon himself to put you both out of your misery and pulled you into his arms again. You gripped his torso tightly, melting your body against his. He held you close, both strong arms wrapped around your shoulder while he tucked your head under his chin. After a moment, he pulled back enough to leave a gentle kiss on your forehead.

“Get some sleep,” he whispered, his breathing a little hard.

“Ok,” you croaked, nodding. Nikolai stepped out of your space then, squeezing your hand one last time before walking back out to the sidewalk, waiting and watching to make sure you got inside safely.

#nikolai lantsov #nikolai lantsov x reader #prince nikolai #shadow and bone #grishaverse #nikolai lantsov fanfic #shadow and bone fanfic #nikolai lantsov au #shadow and bone au #grishaverse au #ootw #masterlist

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laventae · 3 years

Text

Serendipity

Summary: You accidentally bump into Suna once, then a second time, then a third time.... before it starts seeming like fate has already decided its course for the both of you.

Pairings: Suna Rintaro x F!reader

Genre: Mostly fluff, College/Uni au

Word count: 3.2k words

Part: (1) , (2) , 3 , (TBC)

(A/N: I’m so sorry ;-; this, unfortunately, took me way longer than expected to write. I was kinda in a writer’s block, and also me trying to write cute, casual dialogue = me having a breakdown 😫 anyways... I tried to make this longer than the last chap, so I hope you enjoy! Also if you want me to start a taglist for this story pls let me know.)

You go through the menu for what feels like the one hundredth time that night, and try to subtly glance up at him every once in a while, wondering what he was thinking

You’ve both been sitting at your table for a few minutes, without either of you saying much

‘Why did you do this to me Hina...’

You finally put your menu down, and clear your throat, but before you could say anything, Suna starts

“Honestly, I’m not really used to places like this” he says, putting his menu down as well and looks at you

“Didn’t you book this place though?”

“I’m not really familiar with a lot of places here, so Hina suggested this place...” he answers, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck

“Yeah, honestly, me neither...” you say and you both fall into silence again

“You wanna get out of here?” he speaks up again, and you hesitantly nod

You get up and grab your bag, then you both head for the door

As soon as you get out, you let out a sigh of relief

“It's kind of suffocating in there, isn't it?” Suna says when you’re both outside the restaurant

“Yeah... it kind of is” you chuckle nervously

He nods and starts walking away

“You coming?” he asks you, turning around

“Oh,” you hurry and catch up to him, “Uhm, yeah... Wait, where are we going?”

-~-~-

“-And I'll have the chocolate waffles with vanilla ice-cream, please” Suna recites his order

"Alright, I'll bring your orders shortly” you both thank the waitress as she rings your orders up

You both stumbled on a small, cozy diner near the restaurant your date was supposed to be in so you decided to grab a bite there instead

You look out the window next to the booth you were sitting in, hoping to drown out the silence between the both of you, and watch as people walk past, couples hand in hand, people walking their dogs, kids running around

‘It's a nice evening outside’

“So how do you know Hina?” Suna asks you suddenly, interrupting you from your thoughts

You turn him, “Oh, we met in Uni. We’re not in the same major, but we got along quickly” you tell him and he nods

“And you’re her cousin, right? She told me you came back from abroad recently” you continue

“Well, technically, we’re not really cousins”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Our parents were neighbors and super close friends. We were also born around the same time, so we grew up together, she’s like a little sister to me. But because we weren’t technically blood related, Hina started introducing me as her cousin instead”

“Uh... cousins usually are blood related though...”

“I don’t know; she said that when we were kids, and it kind of stuck. I'm used to it by now, though, so...”

You chuckle at how ridiculous that sounded

“What?” he asks

“It’s just kind of cute” you say and he looks at you a little surprised, and maybe a little red(?)

‘Is he kind of embarrassed?’

Or maybe that was just in your head, you weren’t really sure

“The story I mean” you quickly explain

“Right...” he says and uncomfortably shuffles in his seat

‘Do I make you that uncomfortable?”

‘shit... did I say that out loud?’

“What?” he asks you

“I mean,” you sigh, “Ever since the last time we spoke, it feels like you’ve been avoiding me or something. And, even though I know it’s weird meeting again like this, you kind of look like you don’t want to be here, which is okay, it’s understandable, but just let me know, we can just leav-”

He interrupts your rant, “Wait no, I thought you were the one who is uncomfortable”

You look at him confused, “Me? Why?”

“The last time we saw each other, you looked like you were the one trying avoid me, were you not? I guess I thought I should give you some space” he answers

“Oh... My bad,” you say, feeling bad as you recall that you were, in fact, trying to avoid him that time, “I was just embarrassed to have met you again like that after you supposedly walked me back home. Which, again, thank you”

“I told you, it’s fine” he says waving his hand and looking out the window, “As long as I don’t make you uncomfortable”

“No! you don’t!” you feel embarrassed at how quick your reply was and his head snaps to you

It looked like he was about to say something before the waitress comes right then, handing you your orders, and you both thank her again

-~-~-

After about half an hour of eating, and trying to make casual conversation every now and then, you both finish your meals and sigh in satisfaction

You then notice your phone vibrate on the table and you pick it up

1 NEW MESSAGE

You open it

FROM ‘Wifeyy <3’: “Heyy! So, hows the date going? hehehoho”

You smile and shake your head

‘Oh, yeah, definitely think I found the one, we actually agreed on officially dating now!’ you think, sarcastically, and can't help but let out a chuckle

“What’s up?” you hear Suna ask you and your head snaps to him

“Oh, nothing sorry, it’s just Hina asking about the date”

He looks at you, still slightly confused

“I was just thinking it would be funny if I told her we decided to start dating seriously” you say and look back at your phone to text Hina back, “but I was just jok-”

“Wait” Suna interrupts you

“What?” you ask looking back at him, “Wait, I was just joking-”

“That could work though...” he says looking back at you

“What do you mean...?”

“I mean... we could tell her we actually want to date each other seriously”

You look at him for a second, waiting for him to laugh or something, even though you didn’t take him as the type to actually make jokes like that

‘Wait... is he actually serious?’

“But... like... why would we do that...?” you ask him, getting even more confused by how serious he looked

“I mean, if you think about how Hina is like, we both know she will keep setting us up on blind dates if we stay single, right? Unless... you’re okay with that, then, my bad I said anything”

“Wait, no” you say thinking about it as well, “that’s actually not a bad idea...”

-~-~-

It was getting pretty late at that point, and after spending a bit more time at the diner discussing how you were going to tell Hina about how you guys were oh-so-in-love, you decide it was probably time to get home

“Oh shit,” Suna says as soon as you get out of the diner, “I think I forgot my phone inside, I'll be right back” he tells you and you nod before he goes back in to get it

You take out your phone to check the time

‘Damn, it’s almost midnight already...’

Honestly, you didn’t expect he would be the one to even suggest that type of idea to you, but it was true, you weren’t necessarily in the mood to go on any more blind dates, since you were hoping to enjoy your break in peace this time

And apparently, after discussing everything with Suna, it seemed like he had that same idea as well

Even though the both of you kept meeting under weird situations, you were kind of glad you at least were able to clear any misunderstandings you both had of each other

Also, having found another thing in common now, other than living in the same building, you felt like you were becoming more like friends now

'Well... I hope it’s not just me who feels like that anyway’

You didn’t know why, but the thought that you guys were getting closer made you feel happy

You smile at your phone as you look at Hina’s message again; you didn’t answer her yet, but you and Suna decided to let her know of the ‘Big plan’ soon

You suddenly hear faint footsteps from behind you right then and you couldn’t help but freeze in your place

‘Fuck...’

‘Fuck, Fuck, Fuck’

You start feeling anxious

‘Look up, just move, just... go anywhere...’

You keep telling yourself to move in your head, as you hear the footsteps get closer, but somehow, you couldn’t bring yourself to

‘I’m so fucking scared...’ you think as you shut your eyes before someone grabs your shoulder gently

“Y/n, I was calling you” you hear Suna say, as he turns you to face him, and you open your eyes

“Wait, what’s wrong?” he asks you, looking worried, as soon as he notices your pale face

“Suna...” you say, unconsciously reaching for his wrist, and try to hold back your nervous tears

He notices your trembling hands and looks around, before a couple passes by the both of you

You let out a sigh of relief when you realize it was just the couple and nobody else around, but you were still finding it hard to calm down your heart

“I’m sorry, I just thought...” you trail off, your breath hitching in your throat, as you let go of his hand

“Hey, it’s okay, I’m here” Suna assures you, “do you want me to hold your hand?”

It seemed to you like Suna understood what was going on without you having to explain, and if you weren’t as anxious as you were then, you would’ve felt embarrassed feeling that vulnerable with him, yet again

You hesitantly nod and he reaches for your hand and interlocks his fingers with yours

“I mean, that’s what a fake-boyfriend is for, right?” he says with a soft smile on his face, trying to lighten the mood

You couldn’t help but let out a light chuckle, feeling yourself calm down a little, but your heart was still beating fast. You felt like it was for a different reason that time, but you pushed that thought away

You stand there for a few moments, trying to calm yourself down before you look back at Suna, and notice the same worried look on his face

He quickly gives you a soft smile when he notices you looking back at him, “How you feeling now?” he asks, as he lightly squeezes your hand

“Yeah... I’m feeling better, thank you” you answer him looking away, the embarrassment finally hitting you

“You sure? You look a bit red?”

You let go of his hand and cover your face with your hands, “I’m not! I’m fine!”

You weren’t sure if he was just worried and clueless, or he was teasing you right then; you weren’t even sure what you were even embarrassed about, the fact that he had to ‘save’ you again or the fact that he was holding your hand to help you calm down

You hear him chuckle next you and feel his hand on your head as he ruffles your hair lightly, “Alright, alright, you seem better now”

You slowly put your hands down and can’t help but feel charmed when you see his smiling face

“Come on,” he holds his hand out to you, “let’s go home”

-~-~-

“You sure you don’t want me to call a cab or something?” Suna asks you, breaking the comfortable silence

“No, it’s alright, this is more comfortable for me” you answer then quickly turn to him, “unless you’re tired..!”

He chuckles lightly, “No, I'm okay,” he looks up at the midnight sky, his hand still holding yours tightly, “It’s a nice night for a walk”

You slowly nod, hoping he meant what he said, and you weren’t forcing him to continue walking with you home, before you both fall back into the comfortable silence again

After a couple of minutes, Suna suddenly stops

You turn to him and find him looking at an unfamiliar building

“I guess this is you” he says pointing towards it

“No, our building is on the next blo-” you say before realization hits you, “Shut up!” you say as you lightly slap his shoulder

He then starts laughing, “What? Didn't I drop you off here last time?”

“You got jokes, huh?” you say, dragging him away from the building, which makes him laugh even harder and you can’t help but hide and embarrassed smile

“I’m sure it was that building, was it not?” he sarcastically asks, catching up to you

“You’re never going to let me live this down, are you?”

“I’ll have to think about it” he answers smugly, as you continue walking towards your actual building

After a few more minutes you finally reach your building and go up the elevator

As the elevator opens up to the familiar hallway you're used to, you couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed

Suna walks you to your apartment door, and after a few moments you both start letting go of each other’s hands

You sigh disappointedly, but hope he didn’t hear you

“I’ll, uh, watch you go in” Suna says, putting his hands in his pockets, and slowly shuffling backwards towards his apartment

“Right,” you say as you go through your bag to look for your keys

You find them and take them out of your bag, but before you turn to your door, you start to speak up and you notice he does as well

“Sorry, go ahead” he quickly tells you

“I, uh just wanted to thank you again for tonight, and really the other night as well” you say looking down, feeling slightly embarrassed

‘What is this? A confession? Stop feeling this embarrassed’

“It’s okay, you don’t have to thank me” he answers and you both fall quiet

You look back up at him, “You were going to say something as well?”

“Oh,” he says, looking away for a moment before looking back at you, looking a little red, “I just wanted to tell you that you could call me, if you ever wanted me to walk you back home again or something. You have my number now, so,” he says, nervously scratching the back of his neck

You feel your heart start beating fast again, and your face flush after hearing him say that all of a sudden

‘Is he just being nice? Or...?’ you weren’t really sure

“O-Okay” you say quickly turning to your door and unlocking it, “Goodnight!” you exclaim before going in and closing the door

“Calm down...” you whisper to your heart as you lean on your door for support, before you hear Suna’s door shut as well

-~-~-

A week had already passed since your last 'date' with Suna, but you've both bumped into each other a couple of times in the morning before you left for work, or as you were coming back home after shifts

However, you only shared a few good mornings, hellos, or goodbyes

It slightly disappointed you that you weren't able to spend more time with him, but you were glad it didn't seem like he was avoiding you like before, well, that you both weren't avoiding each other

It was your last working day of the week before your weekend started, so you were texting Hina during your break, wondering if she had anything planned

Wifeyy: Omg Actually I met this cute guy recently And he kinda asked me out on a date this weekend!@!

Y/n: No way! thats cute Where from?

Wifeyy: We met at the pub during my birthday party actually It was right after you left We been talking and he seems sweet

Y/n: thats so cute!! Im excited for you!

You ask her about the details of the date and she excitedly tells you about it

Y/n: that honestly sounds super cute you have to give me all the deets after you understand?

Wifeyy: Obvo! I mean now that you found someone Its my turn too hehe

'Right..' you remember how you told her you were 'supposedly' officially going out with Suna a couple of days ago, and you feel your face flush slightly

'Wow, I feel like a little schoolgirl right now...' you think as you shake your head at yourself for getting embarrassed at just the thought of it

Hina took the news well as soon as you told her, actually, she was way too excited, telling you she knew you guys were meant for each other, especially after learning he was the neighbor you kept talking, or more like complaining, to her about

You couldn't help but feel bad about lying to her. You usually are very honest with each other, and you would never tell her such a stupid lie, and you hoped it wouldn't drag on for too long

You think that maybe you and Suna would be able to break the news to her that you ‘broke up’ after a couple of weeks. Now that she started dating someone herself, she wouldn't really have much free time to think about you and Suna's love lives, when she has to focus on hers

You feel bad again, but you hope the guy she decides to date is a nice person, and you decide to text Suna about this later

Wifeyy: im actually rlly nervous though been a while

Y/n: hey, its going to be great youre a strong, smart, and beautiful person And if he doesn't see that, then its on him

Wifeyy: ur right, ur right... But i cant help but feel like that

Y/n: its okay, its normal is there anything j could do to help? i**

You sip on your drink as you wait for her reply and check the time to see how much of your break was left before you had to go back out

'2 more minutes...'

Wifeyy: omg wait! I have a great idea! It would defo help me be less nervous

Y/n: oh god, im scared

You reply and chuckle, knowing full well it's probably going to be another questionable scheme she plans, as usual, and you take another sip of your drink

Wifeyy: lets go on a double date!!

You choke on your drink as soon as you read the message

‘Uh oh...’

Y/n: hahahaha

‘Oh god, please say you’re joking...’

Wifeyy: no im serious!! you, me, rina and my date! what do u think?

“Hey y/n, you done with your break?” you hear your colleague ask you from the door of the staff room

“Yeah, sorry, I'll be out in a sec” you reply and you see her nod

Y/n: uhh lemme get back to u on that yeah? break just ended

Wifeyy: Sure! goodluck!

You shake your head as you get up from where you're sitting and head for the door

You knew things were going too smoothly, something like this was bound to come up, you just didn’t expect it to be so soon

‘Whatever, I'll worry about this later...’ you think to yourself as you get to the counter and nod to your colleague, as if to tell her she could take her break now

“Thanks!” she waves to you as she heads back to the staff area

You sigh as you clean up the register area, it wasn’t a very busy day today, but there were a few customers in the shop

You hear the café’s door jingle and your eyes snap up to welcome the customer

You’re taken aback when you see a familiar face peek in from the door

“Suna?” you ask quietly, as if you weren’t sure yourself if that was actually him

(HQ Masterlist)

#haikyu #haikyuu #haikyu x reader #haikyuu x reader #haikyu fluff #haikyu scenarios #haikyuu fluff #Suna Rintaro x reader #suna x reader #Suna Rintaro #Suna Rintarou #suna #suna scenario #haikyuu rintaro suna #haikyuu suna #fluff #hq bf #mi

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sakkac · 3 years

Text

re: fumetsu no anata e as of chapter 139.2

this started as a response to @bestbonnist‘s post on chapter 139.2 but now i’m just dissecting differences and similarities between tonari, mizuha, and kahak like im writing an essay for a uni class. i interchangeably use he/they pronouns for fushi and my writing may be clumsy (bc im not actually writing for uni ❤️).

mizuha is a broken mirror to tonari (and kahak a foil to the two aforementioned) in this modern-day arc, especially in their expressions of love for fushi. tonari’s love for fushi is aged over hundreds of years and mizuha’s, at first glance, is an infatuation just based on how long they’ve known each other. im the biggest kahak stan ever, but even i understand kahak’s love started as an infatuation for parona’s form. though, i’d consider the word infatuation compromised when it comes to defining mizuha’s love, bc u cant be sure if her love for fushi is entirely her own, seeing as it had been passed from generation to generation of guardians.

(chapter 134, read right to left)

tonari and mizuha aren’t that different once you look deeply into the both of them. mizuha’s personality and actions are factors in tonari’s dislike of her, but what ultimately repels tonari from mizuha is that she knows they’re similar, and that manifests most clearly in how she reacts to fushi being with mizuha. i.e. resenting fushi for using her friends’ vessels to help their “love life” in chapter 135.5. she can’t stand mizuha bc mizuha is able to express her love for fushi and fushi does not reject (or accept) it; tonari still hasn’t fully admitted to herself that she likes fushi romantically (perhaps because she can’t separate it from the devotion that led her to harden her body to poisons and to promise her corpse to rest at fushi’s feet), so seeing mizuha appear to progress further than she has irritates her. as for kahak, tonari only has the biases of the other pseudo-immortals and her own of past hayase reincarnations to rely on. (this is not as plot-related, but these two also both like books. kahak read tonari’s fushi book, so i wish they actually met, but in a world where tonari didnt hate hayase beyond death.)

tonari as a child seemed like she thought herself superior to others, perhaps a natural result of her upbringing. she was raised on a prison island, but she herself never committed any crime; banding together w other kids like her, writing about her life in her book (which keeps her separate from or above others in a way). but this thinking ceases at her relationship w fushi. however, i believe this started before they even met. tonari’s childhood dream at seven years old was to write a book her father would be impressed by. she also used to believe in god, while her family was still whole. she even prayed to god when he decided to participate in the tournament in chapter 35. however, she stops referring to god by the time her father had shown tarnish. coincidentally, she meets fushi, who would “upend everything... jeannanda and [her] fate.” she ends up, instead of writing for her father, writing a book to allow a peaceful existence for fushi for whenever they decided to come back. this act shows that the adult tonari has written fushi to a level above her, out of her reach.

(chapter 35)

here i’ll quote ray’s words about kahak and tonari: “she also has a surprising amount in common with Kahaku, too, with the ‘I want to protect you even if you disagree.’” the way tonari had waited and honed her body for fushi resembles kahak’s attachment; she had finished living for herself, so now she was only allowing herself to live to further create an ideal vessel for fushi (which also brings up one of hayase’s goals). the difference is that kahak lived for fushi because, as raikkousaki said, fushi was the only thing he was “ALLOWED to live for.” however, while tonari is unquestionably devoted to fushi now, what pulled her to him was black hood’s coercion. as a result of black hood’s words to her, she manipulated fushi into helping her solve her problems, to save her from the island. this first “meeting” also revealed that she was attracted to their white hair; she later admits that she admires their fair skin, contributing to the idea that she could view fushi as the equivalent of a god or at the least, a vision of purity (which is :/ imo, bc of her dark skin). we should also keep in mind that, this, technically her first impression of fushi, and his later display of violent immortality in the arena would further his image as a “legend.”

mizuha was exposed to fushi’s immortality and reveres him like tonari and kahak respectively do and did. instead of the specific word “legend,” it’s “immortal monster.” her first formal exposure to fushi’s fabled power was not unlike tonari’s, since mizuha had went into her grandfather’s library and read on fushi in chapter 124.1. after this, she manipulates fushi to save her, again paralleling the beginning of tonari’s relationship with fushi, but it’s from her overbearing mother and herself. both tonari and mizuha forced their problems onto fushi, but mizuha doesn’t have black hood stepping in front of her saying “you must lead him.” instead, she may have been influenced by the left hand, but i believe mizuha’s thoughts are majorly her own (left hand lies in wait within mizuha’s consciousness like a predator), and what they appear to say is that she’s leading fushi until he decides to follow her willingly. as for kahak, we only have a few pages on his childhood and what we can make of it and of his actions as an adult is that he was willing to follow fushi wherever they went, until left hand betrayed them both.

mizuha’s superiority complex comes from a different place than young tonari’s; she was a prestigious child from young, in addition to her fear of her uniqueness fading as she aged. this caused her to feel separate from other children. when she meets fushi, she sees how different he is from everyone else and uses subtle ways to keep him with her, while never directly admitting she wants him to stay with her, except for ch 125′s “i’m scared. stay with me tonight,” after her mother’s sudden murder. she usually uses excuses instead, like cutely demanding fushi to walk with her after school and go on dates with her.

(chapter 36 vs. chapter 128.2)

as fushi was introduced to the people around tonari and mizuha, they received similar reactions, i.e. “your hair is so pretty!” and “woah, his hair is white!” in the pages following these, the similarities continue into tonari and mizuha gaining ownership over fushi: in ch 36 oopa declares “tonari found him. so he belongs to tonari,” while the islanders try to get on fushi’s good side, and in ch 128 fushi goes out of their way to ask which club mizuha belongs to when asked to join a club (vocalizing her claim on them so she doesn’t have to directly do so).

(chapters 38, 106, and 139)

when the opening comes for mizuha to actually admit her feelings in chapter 139, she tries, but demands instead, “so... love me.” this recalls kahak’s confession to kai in 105.3, that he wants to “protect fushi’s humanity.” kahak and mizuha were both covered in blood when they spoke, but the atmospheres and characters are different; mizuha is clever w her words, but still too immature to let go of her pride, whereas kahak was the exact opposite. he rid of himself of his pride for fushi when he was a child, but said a lot of the wrong things to fushi when it came down to it. additionally, mizuha, when she wants something, she’ll phrase her words so that it seems like there’s only one choice: to follow her. this has been the case for others including fushi (chapters 120.2′s testing of hanna with “if i died, would you cry for me?” and 132.1′s “i’ll teach you about love” and the following guilt-trip). tonari is more direct with her words and meaning than either mizuha or kahak, bc of her personality. she directly confronts fushi when she realizes he had felt betrayed by her in chapter 38, because she still needed him for his plans. but mizuha is more direct with her actions; in chapter 129.1, she latches herself onto fushi, while trying to get information out of him. after the failed marriage proposal, rather than physically attaching himself to fushi like mizuha, kahak used acts of domesticity and protection to subtly appeal to and maintain his space next to them.

(chapter 38 vs chapter 139)

tonari’s “there are people in this world who are better off dead” above isn’t far from the knockers’ reasoning behind “wishing for death is paramount to being dead” and the reason for mizuha’s mother’s death: left hand decided to “eliminate the cause of [mizuha’s breaking point’s] stress.” what this shows is that tonari can also justify murder, though granted, this is from a hundred chapters ago. however, this black and white thinking comes back in the modern era where tonari holds prejudice against mizuha because of her relation to hayase. tonari knows her dislike of mizuha is unfair, she can’t get around it. tonari is still as prideful as she was when she lived on jeannanda; it’s just that she is able to use fushi to justify her opinions now. i also want to bring up mizuha’s reaction to her mother’s death and funa’s knocker’s “purging and guidance.” mizuha seems comfortable with the sight of death, despite having a more normal childhood than tonari, because her actual main concern overwhelms it; she is always thinking on how she can appeal to fushi (almost like kahak), or in other words, how to salvage her pride. so instead of being concerned over being the actual murderer, she is concerned with appearing as a murderer to fushi.

so to actually answer ray’s question, objectively, tonari’s love is as excessive as kahak and mizuha’s. but personally, i think tonari’s love for fushi right now is also unhealthy, though it comes out of good will. kahak’s love also ended in fushi’s benefit, but it was undoubtedly unhealthy. and ofc, mizuha’s love is also unhealthy; she reaches for fushi for perfection, tonari reaches for fushi for humility.

#fumetsu no anata e #kahak #fnae spoilers #🔖#long

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miss-tc-nova · 3 years

Text

Five More Minutes - Eraqus x Reader

Hey, you guys remember the Five More Minutes - Brain x Reader story? Well thanks to a CERTAIN SOMEONE, the character for the prompt changed from Eraqus to Brain because Nova is a petty bitch.

And AT LEAST ONE OF YOU UNDERSTANDS THAT! THANK YOU!

However, I’ve been thinking about this WIP for a while and I put myself out there, so I’ll kinda forgive ffm-non’s heinous crime for now and post Five More Minutes with Eraqus.

Music Inspiration: Hikari (Godson Remix) by Hikaru Utada

~~~~~

Rushing through the streets of Scala, I bob and weave between unsuspecting citizens on my way to the theater. Today’s the day—hopefully. I’ve spent the last week trying to get a ticket for this show but it’s been sold out every day. Both my saving grace and the bane of my existence is that they aren’t pre-selling tickets, so it’s first come first serve for who gets to see the show.

I’m heaving like I just ran halfway across the city—because I did—but I finally make it to the theater. Unlike the last few days, I find myself in luck at the sight of the relatively short line. With excitement bubbling in my chest, I race to join the queue.

Just as I reach the line, something jumps in my way. I garner the embarrassing attention of several people in the vicinity as I topple to the ground, taking the obstacle down with me.

Hastily, I pull my face from the white fabric.

“Oh gods! I’m so sorry!” I say, scrambling my feet and taking the strangers hand to pull him up. “Are you okay?! Did I hurt you?!”

Suddenly, I hear my name and finally get a look at the young man I’d practically tackled. I know him. While my family does not follow the noble keyblade warrior tradition like his, our magic has been revered so our families have been amicable for years. At least once or twice our year, our families get together for dinner and we almost always see each other at events for the more affluent people in the city.

“Eraqus?”

A beaming smile crosses his lips. “Hey! What’s up!”

Heat surges into my ears. While I’ve been forced to be within proximity of this boy for years, I’ve never been caught alone with him before. He’s certainly cute and, while our parents may not think so, I find him kind of funny. Still, while I kind of know him, because of our families’ differences we’ve never actually been friends.

“Uh, not much. I was just trying to get in line for tonight’s show. But seriously, I didn’t see you. Are you okay?”

This kid’s laugh stirs something in my chest.

“Yeah, I’m good. My friends hit me harder than that in training.”

The sheer happiness rolling off him is distracting. “I…I don’t think that’s a good thing.”

“Nah, it’s alright; we make each other stronger.” His eyes glance away. “So, I guess you wanted to see this show too?” An arm gestures to the moving line that we scoot along with.

“Yeah. I’ve been trying to see it the last few days, but it’s been sold out. What about you? I wouldn’t have guessed theater to be something you enjoy?”

He folds his arms. “Mmm, I like some of them, but my friends really wanted to see this one.”

I take a moment to take in our surroundings. “Um, what friends?”

His cheer is bright and captivating, but even the defeated frown it morphs into is somehow endearing.

“Nobody wanted to come early to wait in line, but we probably wouldn’t get tickets if we came on time.”

I nod, understanding the dilemma.

“So Bragi suggested rock-paper-scissor.”

Now it all makes sense. “And you lost, so now you’re here to buy tickets for everyone.”

“Yeah…” His pouting is so cute.

A small giggle escapes me. “So it’s sheer coincidence I happen to literally run into you today?”

That smile’s back. “Or! We could call it luck.”

“I would assume bad luck; you lost a game of chance and I literally ran into you.”

“Details.”

And so we keep each other company. The more I talk to the boy, the more I can confirm how fucking adorable he is. His smile is infectious and I find myself hanging on every word, no matter how wild the tale is. I can barely even drag my gaze away long enough to take a few steps before I’m staring at his beautiful face again. Before long, I can already tell I’m head over heels for him. Even after tickets are purchased, we find a bench nearby to continue our chat.

It only ends when someone calls his name. There’s a small herd of people making their way closer.

Getting to his feet, Eraqus greets his friends. “Hey guys, what’re you doin’ here early?”

“Early?” snorts the girl with silver hair. “The show starts in twenty minutes.” Her golden eyes catch sight of me. “Who’s this?”

I wave to Baldr and Hermod, both of whom I know from similar family social events. They do the honor of introducing me to the gaggle, which is both a bit lighthearted and overwhelming. They seem like a great group of friends to have, despite their differences.

“It was good to see you again,” Hermod says, leading the mass towards the entrance. “But we’d better take our seats before the show starts.”

“You got the tickets, right Eraqus?” Xehanort asks.

“Right here.” He pushes all but one into his friend’s hand before turning to me. “Which seat are you in?”

I look at my stub. “E7.” The look on his face is disappointment. “Where are you at?”

“N24,” he mutters. That’s literally on the other side of the theater from where I am and I find myself similarly disappointed with the arrangement.

“Guess I’ll have to get your opinions on the show some other time,” I say, trying to make the blow a little softer.

Our eyes meet and I feel myself being drawn in.

“Maybe we could meet up at that little café around the corner?” he asks.

“The one with the fancy s’mores?”

“Yeah! That one!”

Eraqus detours the conversation with a tale about the time he and went there with his friends and one of them ended up spilling a drink on everyone—pretty sure it was Eraqus by the way he kept switching names. Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Eraqus, the show’s about to start!” I don’t even know which one it was that yelled at him.

“’Kay! Just gimme five more minutes!”

Excited chitchat continues, following tangent after tangent and never with a lull. I could continue on like this for ages, happy to spend hours in his presence, enamored by the boy I never really knew.

I drag my hands down my face. “And then, because I stupidly thought things couldn’t get any worse, I tried to use a fire spell to dry him off and set him on fire.”

Eraqus is laughing so hard he’s crying. “Wait wait wait! I remember Hermod came to school with a huge hole in his jacket! Was that you?!” I nod in sheepish shame. “Oh my gods! We thought he got mugged or something! He wouldn’t tell us what happened!”

“Every time our families get together, our parents won’t let us live it down. Mine won’t even let me join them anymore without asking me to ‘please not light their colleague’s kids on fire.’”

“And here I thought you were the smart, cool type,” he teases.

“As much as I’d love to be, I’m actually a total mess.”

“That’s okay; I am too.”

“Oh really? I always thought you were laid back and easy going. With our families’ prestige, I was always kind of jealous of how calm you are about everything.”

“Then you have clearly never seen me wake up late for class.”

The laughing between us dies down, but before I can make another comment, I realize that he’s watching me. This isn’t watching like two people waiting for cues in a conversation, but watching as if he’s looking for something very specific.

Beneath his scrutiny, my brain starts to malfunction, causing my ability to speak to take a hit. “Um, I…I’m pretty sure anyone would…would panic if they woke up late for class.”

“I guess.” The softness suddenly introduced into his voice feels like an arrow through the heart. “But it’s probably not the same when it’s a weekly occurrence.”

Is he leaning in?

“No…I guess not…”

He is—he is very much leaning in.

“Eraqus.” I can’t even speak above a whisper.

“Hmm?”

My heart is pounding in my ears, trying desperately to drown out my thoughts.

“I think our show’s started,” I breathe.

“Five more minutes,” he murmurs against my lips.

Not a single protest is heard from me. No, I’m too preoccupied with electricity coursing through my veins. For a moment, Eraqus leads the way, soft and slow, likely assessing my shock. Honestly, I’m not entirely sure what my reaction should be, but my body tells me to just see where this goes. And with each passing second, I’m falling down the rabbit hole with him.

The world suddenly jars to when the source of my euphoria breaks away. His brows pinch together, concern written across his face.

“I’m sorry,” he mutters, his voice wracked with uncertainty. “I thought—”

Without asking my head for permission, my hands snag his haori.

“Five more minutes,” I say softy.

Our lips connect again and, though I’m prepared for the jolt, I still feel the weight of the world disappear around us. This time, I lead, hoping my confidence sends the right idea to the young man. I think he gets it, happily matching my every move. His little sighs cause my stomach to squirm, making self-control difficult. But there will be plenty of time for the rest later, for now, I want to take my time and get a grasp on how his lips feel against mine.

I pull away, using a deep breath the calm my racing heart and ground me back in reality. Eraqus, too, breathes a little heavier, and yet he continues watching me as if he’s still fully enraptured. That look is hypnotizing, subtly—easily—luring me in again.

That quickly goes out the window.

“Eraqus!”

Flinching, he whirls back, where his entire group of friends is standing with mixed expression. My blood freezes.

“What?!” he shouts back.

“Are you comin’ back to the dorms with us or not?” Urd demands.

My eyes dart to the sky. It was dark when the show started, but the moon sat higher among the stars than it had moments ago—or what I thought was only moments ago.

Eraqus’s gaze flips back and forth between me and them. “Did…Did we miss the whole show?!”

“Yes, you dingus!”

Hermod gives a soft smile. “C’mon guys, give him a break.”

The red-head, Bragi, snickers. “Yeah, the kid’s only been dreaming of this moment his whole life.”

My mouth falls open but I can just see Eraqus’s face burning brightly.

“BRAGI!”

“Oops.” The offender grins unabashedly. “My bad.”

Xehanort folds his arms, smirking. “Ooooh, so this is that cute little mage he’s been crushing on.”

“You mean that one he always talks about after he visits his family?” Her tone is full of innocence, but the grin on the little blonde’s face is pure evil.

Oh my gods, I might implode.

“YOU GUYS!”

“What was it he said last time?” Urd asks, also basking in Eraqus’s flustering.

Baldr answers, “I believe it was something along the lines of ‘I would give up naps for an entire year if the gods would just let me have a single—‘”

“I’LL DO EVERYONE’S HOMEWORK FOR A MONTH IF YOU JUST GO AWAY!” Eraqus yells, waving his arms as if he might fly away from this mess.

Hermod begins ushering everyone away. “Seriously, guys, let’s go.”

“Wait! I don’t want him doing my homework!” Bragi protests. “He’s failing like half our classes!”

Glancing back with one last devious look, Xehanort responds, “Let him have his moment; we’ll just make him do something else later.” The expression softens when he gives me a genuine wink.

Finally, after instigating all the butterflies in my stomach to the point I might vomit sparkles, they leave. We sit in suffocating silence for an awkward moment. Then, one of the butterflies must’ve escaped into my brain when I suddenly crack a laugh.

“An entire year without naps, huh?”

Still cherry red, he looks at me, mortified.

His floundering gives me the bit of confidence I need to close the gap once again. “And what was it you so desperately begged the gods for?”

Eraqus’s back meets the wall, but he still puts on a smile, even if it is bashful. “Let’s just say I’ve already lost my napping privileges for the year.”

“Yeah? So if the gods were to grace you a second time, would that be two years without naps?”

His nerves seem to melt and those stunning gray eyes glitter in the moon as he watches me. “You gonna stick around and find out?”

“How long were you thinking?” I slip my arms around his neck, unable to stop myself from twirling a strand of ebony hair between my fingers.

“Oh at least five more minutes.”

“Just five?”

He feigns mulling it over in head. “And maybe five more after that.”

#Eraqus #Young Eraqus #eraqus x reader #young eraqus x reader #gender neutral reader #influence my story #fmm-non

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honeypirate · 3 years

Text

Old Friends part three

parts 1 and two on my masterlist here

Bakugou Pro!Hero x Pro!hero female reader

I don’t know much about Bakugou’s new hero name, like reasoning behind the change, i don’t read the manga, but I am aware of the new name so I use it because this is set in the future, i don’t know if it is a spoiler anymore or not lol

I probably should have reread the other parts just in case I forgot anything but oh well. Here’s this part that might have a lot of errors haha. 😘

Also sorry for using a Spotify link and then a YouTube link and not just both the same site but I don’t want to change it because I don’t know if many people will even click them XD

The links for the hero outfit go to Pinterest

You get to the office and Bakugou introduces you to their secretary at the front desk, “this is, Mina, she takes calls and files the paperwork for cases we take from the public, we check in with her when we get here and she gives us...” Mina takes out a small black box and places it on the desk while he talks “ear pieces that connects us all to each other and to her when we need her to give us information.” you all three take an ear piece and you smile at the small girl, she had an intimidating air about her and you liked that “it’s nice to meet you!” you say with a small bow and she bows back to you “you as well, Guardian” her use of your hero name didn't bother you, on the walk over Kiri had mentioned that Mina’s quirk allowed her control over who is and who isnt allowed to enter the building, once she knows your face she can allow you to always enter, so if any one wanted to come meet to request assistance they needed to book an appointment first to be confirmed, after she runs intense background checks.

You head into the women’s locker room to change into your hero suit before the meeting, the familiar feeling of excitement and anxiety knotting its way into your stomach, the calm before the storm of a mission. You put in your headphones and hit play on your mission playlist, a playlist that you and Bakugou made together in high school specifically to get in the right head space before work. It’s since been added to but still has the original songs you both came up with, they always worked to get your head in the game.

(this is the song that plays this link takes you to spotify)

Once you’re dressed in your usual hero attire,(( outfit but gloves like this tho))

You stash your bag, phone, and street clothes in a locker that was provided, you place the ear piece in a pocket and exit the room quietly singing the song from your playlist that was now stuck in your head. “I drew stick figures of you and me, don't you agree? We would make-” “the best team, better than the 96 Bulls ever were” Bakugou cuts you off, saying the rest of the line you were singing, you turn to see him leaning against the wall outside the locker room, waiting for you, you smirk and tilt your head “you’re still listening to ‘Y/N and BK get pumped?” He chuckles at your question “I will keep listening to it for as long as it works” he reaches up and messes with your cowl, running his fingers across the edge, “same here” you feel nostalgic and your chest fills with butterflies as he looks you over “I like your new suit” he nods approvingly “I like your new name” you quip back and he laughs “thank you. I felt it fit better. Our meeting is in here” he says and points to the door across the hall. You nod once and follow him into the meeting room.

You're sat at a conference table with many heroes, most you recognize but there is one man that you don't, he seems familiar but you don’t pay too much attention. Bakugou was seated in front of you at the rectangular conference table and Kirishima was to his left explaining the situation. “Thank you all for showing up to aid us with this mission, I’ll get right into it, over the past few weeks students from UA have been going missing. Up until recently we had no idea who they were or why they were doing this. The last victim to be kidnapped was a young student named Juliette” you got the goosebumps, ‘it could be a coincidence’ you thought as you looked at Kirishima as he spoke “the two previous victims were girls with the same name and all girls are 17. We still don't know why they are doing this but we now have a name.” a man comes up on a TV screen on the wall behind Kirishima and on the TV behind you, a man you knew well, your eyes are glued to the screen as pictures flash across the screen of him with his associates and him with the victims. You’re grateful for your cowl that hides your emotions that are on the surface. Your memories coming back to you in waves, meeting him on the bus one night when you were doing your internship in America, pretending to be interested in him and his goals. Making him fall in love with you just to lock him up. Stomach acid burned your throat as you watched the pictures change.

Your thoughts are chased away as you feel someone nudge your leg with their foot, your eyes immediately flick to Bakugou who is staring right at you with his brows furrowed. He could always read you, you weren’t surprised that hasn't changed. You reach out with your foot and gently touch the inside of his ankle up to his knee, deciding to use him as a distraction for your brain. When you notice his cheeks subtly dust with pink you smirk and then turn your attention to Kirishima, now with more resolve.

“The group of villains calls themselves The Red Ox. We know their usual hideouts but so far they've been all empty, we have sights on them 24/7 to see if they return. We need to gather whatever information we can and find them as soon as possible. We will be working directly with the police to get these girls back.” ”Red, can I speak?” your hand is a little raised, he nods “go for it” you stand up and point to the TV “the guy in the middle, his name is Robin, the other two wearing masks are part of his quirk, when I knew him in California five years ago he went by the name Triple Threat. Last I knew we captured him and he was imprisoned in America. The kids,” your voice breaks and you clear your throat to cover your true feelings and feel a little comfort when Bakugou's shoe gently touches yours again, “the kids are a message. We caught him because I went undercover with the name Juliette Simmons and became his sidekick, ending up breaking his heart and apparently making him obsessed with me. He knows I went to school at UA, I don't know what he is going to do but I think he wants me.”

The hero you don't recognize speaks up “since Guardian here knows him and failed to stop him before then it's kind of her fault? Can’t she just use her powers to manipulate him and capture them anyway? I don’t see why we’re needed” the hero crosses his arms in his chair and sends a look of disgust your way. Your hands curl into fists against the table, you’re about to stand up for yourself but before you can Bakugou beats you to it, his fists clenched as little blasts go off against his palms. He looks more pissed than you've ever seen him, he looks downright feral, “your attitude is not helping us find these girls any quicker, you're causing unnecessary tension and not to mention being a complete dick. You know her hero name? So that means you understand her power? Her quirk costs a price to use, Dumbass. If she does something substantial it takes the price from her. If you're not going to work with us as a team then you can leave. We don’t need you.” the unknown hero gets up and walks out in a huff and you sit down quietly, throwing a glance at Kiri who sighs “was that really--” “yes!” Bakugou cuts him off and then sits. “Continue, Guardian'' he then says calmly with a nod at you.

“Robin was a student at the university in the same town where I had my internship. He was obsessed with human experiments to see if he could use his quirk to separate other people into threes like he does with himself. We should contact heroes in the US and ask for their files and see if they know how he got here instead of being in prison. Last I knew he was sentenced to life” Kirishima nods “Mina?” He says and the secretary who was sitting down at the end of the table opens her laptop “on it” she says and starts typing with inhumanly quick speed. You glance at Bakugou and he gives you a look that you can tell means he’ll talk to you later.

After more research and phone calls to your old teachers you all split up into pairs to go look around places he might be, a few hospitals reported thefts of medical supplies and blood banks as well, there were also reports that civilians had seen him in a few shopping centers buying clothing. Kirishima gives everyone orders, he pairs you and Bakugou and gives you the task to go around the hospitals and see if you can find out anything more than the police had, you also wanted to check out a bar you think he would have liked if he was the same as when you knew him. “Send all your information to Mina, she will make files for everyone to have tomorrow at the next meeting. Let’s go” the sound of chairs rolling back on the tile fills your ears, you glance at Bakugou and he gestures for you to wait, you nod and stay standing near the table waiting for the rest of the heroes to file out of the meeting room. Kirishima gives you a reassuring smile before being the last one to disappear.

“What’s up?” you keep your voice quieter since the room was now empty, “that’s the guy you were dating before?” His voice is calm, hiding how he really felt, which was embarrassed for bringing him up earlier, he didn’t know how you felt about it but he knew how hard going undercover was especially when feelings are involved. You give a simple nod and his brows furrow even deeper than they were. “I know how hard those missions can be. I’m.. uh.. We.. are always here to talk if you need someone” you can't help the warm fuzzy feeling that surrounds your heart. You place your arm on his bicep “Thank you, for being here for me after all these years and for standing up for me earlier. You’ve grown into an amazing hero and an even better man. Now what do you say we go and kick some ass?”

You left him with tingles in his arm where you touched him and butterflies in his stomach thinking about what you've said to him. He's been trying desperately these last years to grow into someone you can be proud of, you and his parents are the most important people to him, all that matters is that you are the ones who are proud of him. You don’t know how much it meant to hear you tell him those things. your voice breaks the silence “We’re here” “where is here G? This isn’t the hospital.” you let out a dry humorless chuckle “no but this is just the kind of place he would be at. I wanted to check here first since it was on the way” he nods once and holds the door open for you.

Pain. White hot, searing, pain. You grab your head and fall to your right knee, letting out a scream from the pain before taking a big inhale and holding your breath to feel where the pain was coming from. It started in your skull then flooding down your spine and into every one of your pain receptors. “Dyna-'' you manage to gasp out, turning your attention to the hero beside you who is doubled over in the same amount of extreme pain, panting, his fists are tight at his sides with little explosions happening in the palms of his hands. His face is scrunched trying to control himself from blasting his way out. He needed to protect everyone else in this bar, there were so many innocents. You try to use your quirk to stop the pain at the source in your body but the more you tried the more waves of pain you felt. Once you manipulated it to stop it would just start in a different part of your body and spread out.

“Oh my poor Juliette.. Or should I say y/n? Oops pardon me, Guardian!” He waves his hand dramatically in the air and rolls his eyes “didn't mean to blow your identity” his voice was far away sounding like you were underwater, your eyes searched the room to see if you could find where it was coming from. Robin was walking over to you from the bar, a beer in hand, flanked by three identical girls who look like the first victim.”Don’t. Touch. Her” Bakugou's voice was tense with pain as he tried to move in front of you, Robin just laughed and motioned to the girls, after that Bakugou must have passed out from the amount of pain he was in, he fell to his face and was motionless. “Bastard” your voice comes out in a forced whisper, it was so hard to talk, you're just glad Bakugou is still breathing.

“This was far sooner than I was expecting but i guess i underestimated you” he crouches in front of you and you scowl, from the pain and from the rage you felt from him hurting Bakugou “the pain you’re feeling is from my associate here, which i’m sure you’ve figured out already, although shes attacking your nervous system, i don’t doubt you’ll figure out how to get past the pain, making yourself indestructible inside and out, then you’ll be able to stop her with your quirk so i unfortunately have to be quick.” your mind is swimming, you felt queasy and clammy, you spit at him and he laughs before motioning to the triplet girls who hold up their hands, you thought you felt pain before that was nothing compared to now. A maniacal laugh fills your ears and you pry your head up to look at Robin again “my poor doll.” he strokes your face and you gag, you would have bit him if you could have moved more through the pain. You start at your feet and use your quirk to manipulate your cells to accept the pain, to grow and adapt with the pain, slowly regaining your control over yourself without moving a muscle so they wouldn’t suspect. out of the corner of your eye you see the other two of Robin’s bodies keeping the rest of the bars customers at bay. Come on, y/n think! What is the best course of action?

“Again! Gaining movement quicker than i thought!” his laughter is crazier than you remember, your body tingles with bad feelings and tension underneath all the pain “we still have many things to do before the final phase of my plan, so we will have to be going now, next time we meet it will be when I have planned it, I can guarantee you that. But first, what i need is this” he reaches out and cuts off a piece of your hair, you reach out and grab his wrist tight “why..do you need... that?” you spit out and he just laughs more and caresses your cheek “all in due time my doll. All in due time” he turns to the triplets who crank up your pain again, making you scream, dropping his wrist and falling to your elbows on the floor of the bar. You’re barely aware of his speaking again, and barely aware of his kick to your ribs before he walks out the bar laughing, the triplets and his other two bodies following him.

You hear voices far away, your mind is cloudy, you feel like you’re sinking through mud. Memories of your childhood with Bakugou run through your head as you sink into the darkness

“You fought Deku?” Your voice was soft, standing with him in the empty stairwell of the dorms. He doesn’t say anything, just nods once, his usual scowl on his face. “Katsuki” you whisper and see his hard exterior softens for a moment, his scowl turning into a look of grief, you softly take his hand that was in a fist by his side, and pull him to you, wrapping your arms around his neck and running your fingers of your left hand through his soft hair. He breaks then, his hot tears hitting your neck and shoulder as he curls into you, his arms tight around your middle and you feel his sobs rack through his body. You softly hum the song stuck in your head, Lookers by The Menzingers, while rubbing his back with one hand and the other still in his hair. You loved him then. You love him now.

Bakugou is holding your hand sitting beside you in the ambulance headed to the hospital, you’ve been out for a long time and he's starting to get worried, he came to right when Robin kicked you and he was filled with rage, he wished he wasn't still being affected by the triplets, he would have killed him right then if he could. Seeing you hurt like this brought back feelings he didn’t think he had anymore, he didn’t want to lose you. He didn’t want to see you in pain.

He assumed that when the pain left his body that they were too far away for the girls quirk to work anymore. He pulled you into his arms and checked your pulse, it was too faint to fill him with anything but worry, he presses the button on his ear piece “Mina we need an ambulance, the bar on 25th, Guardian is down” not even one second passes before shes talking back “they’ll be there in two minutes” he looks up at the bystanders “the police will be here in a few minutes! is everyone else okay?” the bar owner comes around and up to him “everyone is fine, how is she?” Bakugou's lips form a tight line “She’s alive. That’s all I know”

Your senses slowly return to your body, the bed you’re in isn’t very comfortable, you feel a hand clutching yours and something wet on your fingers. Your eyes flutter open and your stomach flutters at the sight. You’re in a hospital room and Bakugou is sitting next to your bed, holding your hand in his with his forehead resting on the top, the wetness on your fingers were his tears. Your stomach fills with butterflies as you remember your dreams of him, you knew your new found feelings would complicate things but you couldn’t bring yourself to care.

“What happened?” your voice is soft, drained, his head snaps up and you see his bloodshot eyes and wet cheeks. You smile and place your hand on his cheeks, brushing away his tears. “I was so worried” his voice cracks and you bring your other hand over to cup his face “I hope I didn’t cause you too much trouble” you brush away the last of his tears and he brings your palm to his lips, kissing it softly. “Not too much, but more than I would have liked.” You nod and your voice is barely a whisper, your eyebrows drawn together “I wish I could have protected you from whatever she did” he shakes his head and takes your hands in both of his “it’s not your fault. We will get them next time. Now we know more about what we’re up against” you nod but your feelings of guilt still linger in your chest.

Recovery Girl fixed you up and you did what you could to manipulate your cells back into shape. You and Bakugou give your statements to the police then you head back to the office to give your reports to Mina as well as report back to Kirishima. By the time you got back to the office it was after midnight, you didn’t expect this all to take so long. You stop outside the office and grab Bakugou's hand, the trip back was quiet, just listening to the sounds of the city not knowing what to say to each other yet. “Are you okay?” You squeeze his hand and he nods “I’m alright” you cup his cheek again “do you mind if I..” he chuckles “do whatever you want. I trust you” your cheeks flush and you nod, bringing your other hand up to his cheek. You close your eyes and focus on the feeling of your quirk, scanning through the cellular makeup of his body, you saw the pain receptors that were damaged in his body and fixed them, unblocking some of the receptors in his palms that would hinder his quirk, you see his cells like a constellation behind your eyes, brightening the dull spots and making sure each aura flowed smoothly. Little things like this didn’t take much, just a little of your energy with no other repercussions. When you open your eyes he’s looking right into yours, a smile on his lips “do you know when you do that, you get a little aura that looks sparkly, like stars. Like you’re my personal guardian angel” you chuckle “it only happens if I have personal feelings towards the person I’m helping. It’s also the reason behind my hero name” you smile, dropping your hands from his cheek and saying “let’s go” you walk into the office, Bakugou right behind you, already overthinking your somewhat of a confession.

Kirishima hugged you the moment he saw you “I’m so glad you’re alright” he hugged Bakugou the same way and you smiled when Bakugou actually hugged him back. “I finished the paperwork for you guys from what the police had sent over to me. You guys should go home and order delivery and we will continue this conversation there. There is nothing we can do about any of this tonight so we should rest up.” You frown but agree. Heading into the locker room to change back into your street clothes before heading out. “Y/n” Bakugou breaks the silence between you “hmm?” You glance over at him and he looks worried “if you’re thinking that you’re going to be forced to use your quirk in a big way, please don’t. At least not yet. Give us a few days to form a strategy and plan. We can figure it out. I don’t want anything to happen to you. Not like before.” you let out a sigh and reach out your hand to him, silently asking him to take it, he doesn’t hesitate to lace your fingers together and squeeze your hand. you think through the last time you used your quirk in an extreme way, your last year of school there was another villain attack on the school, half of the buildings were destroyed, several people were injured and could die, you were in a panic and seeing Bakugou hurt pushed you over the edge, you couldn’t help but fix it. you used your quirk and reversed all the destruction and pain that was caused. bringing the villains back to be captured and making sure everyone was fine, everyone but you. your quirk needed to be paid so it took it from you, almost every bone in your body was broken and your muscles were torn, the pressure form your quirk wrecked your body. that was the first time you saw Bakugou cry out in the open around others, when he found you struggling to breathe because of the blood in your lungs, laying in the middle of training ground beta, he felt just as broken. if it wasn’t for Recovery Girl being on campus you probably would have died. your body simply isn’t as powerful as your quirk is.

You squeeze his hand three times “I don’t want that to happen either, I want to save those girls and figure this out without having to use my quirk like that. but it’s so frustrating to know that with a snap of my fingers I could fix this all, especially with the hair he took from me, what the hell could he need that for?! but something this big, the repercussions would be extreme, it would break every bone in my body and that’s the least it would do. but it makes me feel guilty like I’m putting my life above theirs and I don’t feel that way. I’m not better than anyone.their lives are worth the same as mine. What if he can use my hair and DNA to replicate me? or what if he uses it to control me? I don’t want anything to happen because of me, maybe what would be best would be stopping him right now no matter what happens to me” he takes a deep breath, thinking about what you’ve said “I hear you, I understand what you’re saying. the quickest option is not always the best option. there are too many unknown repercussions if you used your quirk that we have to factor in and figure out. we’ll bring it to the table tomorrow and discuss options.” his voice softens, like it was full of an emotion you couldn't name, “I never want to see you like that again. if we can figure this out without you having to use your quirk to that extent, then i think we should try that first” you reach the apartment then and Bakugou unlocks the door and lets you go in first. he closes the door and turns toward you with his arms out, you chuckle softly before walking into his embrace. you turn your head and lay your cheek against his chest, the sound of his heartbeat comforting to you “I know you’re right. we should eat and sleep on this and then we can decide more with everyone tomorrow. thank you for reminding me i’m not alone” he rubs his hand in circles across your back, you feel so vulnerable in his arms right now, all the walls you thought you had from not seeing him in years have broken down, you pull back and look up at him, noticing all his new scars on his chin and neck from the fights hes had, his stubble on his cheeks and jaw, hes grown into such a handsome man. his hand cups your cheek “i’ll always be here for you” he whispers and his thumb brushes across your lower lip, sending shivers down your spine and making your cheeks blush “Katsuki” your voice is barely above a whisper, his cheeks blush when you say his name, your eyes flutter close as he leans down, his lips ghost over yours and your body floods with butterflies and tingles. Your hands tangle in his hair and he pulls you tighter against his chest, your lips press harder against his, when he nips at your bottom lip you can’t help but giggle and he smiles at the sound, take the opportunity to slip his tongue into your mouth, making you moan quietly and melt against him.

The sound of a key in the lock scares you both and you both step away from each other at the same time, one second before Kirishima walks in the door. You chuckle and turn away from the door, walking into the kitchen to get some water, so that Kirishima wouldn’t see your red face or swollen lips. Kiri is either oblivious or really good at acting like it, he throws his stuff down and says “the only take out place open is pizza! I ordered some on the way home so let’s shower and then we can eat and talk more. I have some ideas about the hair.” “Y/n go take the first shower” Bakugou orders and you chuckle as you meet his eye, you wink at him “okay boss” you chuckle again and he rolls his eyes “what do I get for trying to be nice? Mocked” he grabs his bag and heads to his room.

You grab your sweats and your underwear and head into the bathroom to shower, you take this ten minutes of alone time to clear your head as you stand under the hot water as it eases your muscles. You exit the shower and wrap yourself in a towel, deciding to brush your teeth just in case you get another opportunity to kiss again, and then get dressed.

“Fuck” you say and sigh, looking at yourself in the mirror, you had bruises across your ribs but that wasn’t the reason you swore. You forgot a shirt so you were standing in your sweats and a naked top. You look at your dirtyclothes and frown, you didn’t really want to put back on your dirty shirt, you raise a hand and put it against the towel that was now wrapped around your head, you guess you could just walk to your room down the hall in a towel, *knock knock* “are you okay?” Bakugou’svoice made you smile, you cover your chest with an arm and open the door a little to look out at him, lucky you he had his pajamas in his hands. You reach out the crack in the door and grab his hand, pulling him into the bathroom with you. “Whoa what are you doing?” He voice sounds a little worried and his cheeks flush when he realizes you’re not wearing a shirt, he looks up at the ceiling and you take his shirt from his hands “you’re my hero Bakugou” you say and laugh as you turn around so your back is towards him “holy fuck” he whispers when he sees your bruises, he can’t help himself as he reaches out, his fingers brushing softly against your skin makes you gasp, the shirt was over your head now and your towel on the sink “sorry” his voice was soft “I’m so sorry I couldn’t stop him from hurting you” your face blushes and you pull the shirt all the way down before you turn back to look at him.

You cup his cheek “hush” you smile softly before realizing he needs to shower “we can talk after you shower, I’ll leave” he grabs your wrist softly “you can stay. We can talk now. I mean if you’re not uncomfortable” he blushes at what could be implied. You know him better than that tho. “If you don’t mind.” You laugh and then sit up on the counter top next to the sink turning your head to look at your hands in your lap as he undressed.

Once he’s in the shower, the scent of his body soap fills the air, “remember that girl that liked you in high school?” He laughs “which one?” You scoff “lady killer over here.” You jest and then clear your throat “I mean the one during graduation” your voice was quieter when you asked, you thought that it was best to get this talk over with before you did any more kissing. The water shuts off and he grabs his towel, wrapping it around his waist before opening the shower curtain, you gasp at the sight of his bare chest and stomach, the way water was dripping down his shoulders, his hair stuck to his forehead and neck. You gulp and then sit up straighter and he closes the distance between you. “Come with me. I need something from my room if we’re going to finish this conversation.” He picks up his dirty clothing and his pajamas and you grab your clothes too, following him from the bathroom. You put your dirty clothes in your room before walking back to his, wringing your hands out the whole way. Nervous flittering in your belly. What could he possibly need in his room to be able to talk about that? You knock on the door softly and he opens it with a smile, now in sweats with the towel around his neck, his eyes looked anxious but excited. You raise your eyebrows as you enter, he clears his throat and closes the door, catching Kirishima giving him a thumbs up before it closes all the way. You let out a shocked laugh when he faces you again and you see what he’s holding “Is that my letter?”

#mha #mha fanfiction #bnha fanfiction #bnha bakugo katsuki #bakugou x you #bakugou katsuki fanfiction #bakugou x reader #bakugou x y/n #mha bakugou

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wisherbysharlight · 4 years

Text

WHAT IF... SANDERS SIDES BUT MAKE IT A TROPEY TEEN BEACH AU

Endgame!LAMP. Dukeceit, Remile

Just 2k stream of consciousness words from a plunny that grew legs TW for v slight underage drinking, one joking mention of violence, and a non-specific discussion of intrusive thoughts

-Janus has just moved there because his parents wanted to start a new "adventure" and he is a Stereotypical Teenager. Very "ugh MOM I wanna go back to my FRIENDS for my LAST SUMMER BEFORE COLLEGE"(most of his friends suck. He should not spend time with them. He does not know this)

His Parents buy him a surfboard and tell him to try it out as a way to get him to Shut Up

Hes a Skater Boy(cue music) so he picks it up super fast from like,,, youtube videos

-He gets told to Get a Job if he wants to like, keep buying surf gear?

All the local kids work at like one restaurant/yacht club type place right on the beach

Janus gets hired as a host

-Logan is a beach badge checker, Patton, Roman, and Remus are beachfront restaurant waiters but Roman just Really Wants To Surf, Emile and Virgil are Lifeguards, and Remy is a bartender

-Janus is Very Good At Customer Service because Fake Smiles

Patton recognizes this Immediately

He shows him the Rage Closet which is a tiny room with an arm chair that locks from the inside where you can punch a pillow on your break when it gets to be Too Much

-Janus is Attached now and there is no getting rid of him

Patton Fully Endorses this and introduces him to the rest of the group

Janus Knows Immediately that LAMP is In Love but says nothing because he aint no snitch

-Remus surfs, but he also always wear a thong while doing it

Roman wears a full wetsuit and somehow still gets Board Rash. Remus is somehow immune and it infuriates him

-Janus, not knowing that the twins live right on the beach cuz they are RichTM: Hey Ree I kinda wanna learn how to surf would you be able to teach me

Remus, who religiously watches Janus surf every morning, but is absolutely willing to play this game: Yeah absolutely

Patton, later: “lets rinse off at the twins they’re right here” Janus: theyre.... What?!

-Meanwhile, elsewhere, Virgil and Roman are double teaming Logan to drag him into the water with them cuz he’s pouting about losing a debate with their manager about how he didn’t really be mean to the dudebro who wanted to get his buddies onto the beach without paying, he was just enforcing the rules. And if the dude was so offended by Logan’s Very Accurate Dragging that he complained to management then, well, that’s his problem not Logan’s

-Logan is never without a book. Ever. And its always a different book. Janus is starting to think he owns a library

One day he is just... reading a Physics textbook. Not taking notes or anything. Just reading.

Roman is Very Very Alarmed by this because he is Gay and Math is Scary

"Roman I'm also gay that is not a determining factor"

"Yeah but you can't drive"

"...fair"

-the first time janus has a shift with the twins, he cant stop staring, not just because hes like,,, super attracted to Remus but also because they are like Chaos Incarnate and yet somehow get the most tips??? He doesn't understand???

It's just cuz they are both Huge Flirts and Flatterers and the patrons dont care that they're not-so-subtly beating the shit out of each other right there on the dining floor because theyre just so charming

-one of the bartenders gets aggressively snapped at by a customer and called "sweetheart" and before Janus can even begin to react Remy is there, sunglasses off, fire in his eyes, telling them to settle their bill and get the fuck out

Janus, used to City Restaurants- "Wont you get in trouble with the owner?!"

Remy, who knows Nothing Else But This- "What?? Not likely I only did it cuz Thomathy wasnt here to do it himself"

-the restaurant is closed Monday and Tuesday so that is the Pseudo Weekend for the staff where everyone hangs out at the beach

Emile and Virgil take Tuesdays off but still work Monday’s cuz they feel better being the one watching over their friends

-Roman, staring at Virgil on the lifeguard stand: ugh he’s so pretty I almost wish I was drowning just so he could give me cpr

Janus: you wanna potentially get your ribs broken just for lip contact?

Remy, staring at Emile on the lifeguard stand: listen, if that’s what it takes, I’ll take it

Remus, immediately going up to the lifeguard stand because he has 0 impulse control: hey my brother and cousin want you to break their ribs

Virgil and Emile: excuse me?????

-Patton will literally spend hours in the water. Logan physically drags him out to put sunscreen on him every two hours to the minute. Patton does not admit that he purposely "forgets" just so Logan will do so

Logan is Dark and has never used sunscreen ever but Patton is so pale and he just gets so concerned about him. Patton thinks its adorable

He has pages of research on proper spf determination.

Roman and Remus use spf 15 just on their faces and have never once burned in their lives

Logan wants to submit them for scientific study because that shouldnt be possible

Virgil calls Logan out on the fact that he also should be wearing sunscreen and Logan like... blue screens he cant believe in all his research he missed that

-Patton is like... a ridiculously strong swimmer. Virgil still has a heart attack every time he goes for laps when there is the slightest hint of an undertow

Patton Knows This so he tries to stay in Virgil's sight line for the most part if there is an undertow. Or just dives over the waves again and again.

His nickname is Ariel. He thinks its just cuz of the swimming and the fact hes a red head. LAP all separately also tack on that its the swimming, the red hair, and the hnng pretty 10/10 would follow out to sea ala Prince Eric

-first beach bonfire Janus goes to Remy is Fully In Emile's Lap like... half an hour in

he has had like maybe a sip of a beer

Remus says he still claims this is because he is a Clingy Drunk

no one will call him on it, least of all Emile

-there is truth or dare. Roman may or may not skinny dip you have no proof

-Logan gets infuriated that he cannot roast a marshmallow properly

Patton does it perfectly every single time but its ok cuz he shares and Logan eats it right from his fingers and Roman and Virgil are just in the background Trying and Failing not to be the Most Jealous

Patton thinks theyre upset they didn't get marshmallows and makes some for them too and there is lots of Significant Eye Contact involved

Janus is going to spontaneously combust if they don't get their shit together

-Janus is out walking on the beach one night on a full moon cuz he cant sleep with everything so quiet around here when he sees a bright green patch out in the water and goes ...wait

he calls out to Remus and he comes into shore and is like "waves are perfect at night you should join me" so janus goes back and gets his board and they surf and chat for like the entire night

Janus finds out Remus couldn't sleep cuz intrusive thoughts were keeping him awake

Janus listens and doesn't judge, just lets Remus talk it out

They go back to shore and fall asleep on the sand next to each other like mid sentence still talking, now about whatever creative business idea Remus had, and get woken up by Logan's morning rounds like "come on guys you know you're not allowed to sleep out here" but they dont care theyre both just *blushing emoji*

-Logan Always Has A Notebook right? And a regular book he reads. And everyone assumes they are like Notions and Observations, but no, it’s actually blank paper and he uses it to sketch and then one day he leaves it behind and someone either Virgil or Patton finds it and flips through it and it’s all sketches of them and Roman and they’re like??? Actually really good? Anyway that’s how they find out Logan is actually minoring in art even though he’s majoring in something Very STEM

And he never told his best friends because like almost all his pre college art is Them and he doesn’t want to be caught having Feelings and by the time it gets to college it’s been too long and he can’t tell them now

Roman takes one of the sketches of him surfing and makes it his profile picture on All Social Media He Has and Logan is so flustered he nearly breaks his damn phone

Patton is so offended he didn’t get invited to Logan’s first showcase that he doesn’t talk to him for like two whole hours

Virgil quietly asks if there is any art of all four of them, finds out there is, and makes a print and keeps it on his bedside table

-They are all Pining Outwardly Now and its Worse

-Remus : you have known them since pre-k please ask them out I beg of you

Roman: You just dont get it

Remus: I asked Janus out after 4 weeks what is your problem

Emile: Virgil, I love you, you are my Partner in Anti-Drowning but you are so stupid

Virgil: What???? All I said is that you and Remy are really cute and I'd love to be in a relationship like that

Emile: I am not a violent person, Virgil, but I have the strong urge to smack you

Patton, in the Rage Closet: They're all just so hOT and ReSPEctFUL

Janus, waiting for his turn, trying to act like he cant hear him: I Am Looking Elsewhere

Logan: I just don't understand why they were more upset that I didn't tell them than that I'd been making art of them for years?? Shouldn't that second part be worse??

Remy, who has been partial to Every Single One Of AMP Waxing Poetic About Logan: Yeah, no idea /s

-the twins get into a surfing competition as a pair and everyone goes to see them and support them

Thomas airs the competition on every tv in the restaurant cuz he’s Proud of his Bois

They WIN cuz they are Creative and Talented and came up with all sorts of crazy tricks while they were fucking around in the water but it earns them Major Bonus Points for originality

-Roman does the run off the podium and into Love’s arms trope with just like... whoever’s closest lets go Patton because he is a Waif and forced himself up front so he can see

The other two are Devastated because well shit but then Roman pushes through the crowd, still holding Patton’s hand, and gives them this smile and is like “remember in like second grade when we said we’d do everything together and made a pact on this beach”

Analogical: uhhhhhh yeah

Roman: holding you both to it. No take backs. This counts. Now kiss me, dammit, we WON and they DO MANY TIMES AND ITS REAL CUTE

-Meanwhile dukeceit have Mysteriously Disappeared and No One wants to be the ones to go find them. They show back up, eventually. Janus has a branch in his hair and remus' hair is sticking straight up and when he opens his mouth roman glares at him and tells him in no uncertain terms that they do not want to know

AnYWaY these are my children and I will gladly answer any questions about them. I left out Janus Backstory and Creativitwins Angst and Many Individual LAMP Scenes and Remile/Dukeceit getting together and Epilogue but can absolutely provide such things on request

#romantic lamp #dukeceit #remile #ts fic #sanders sides fic #remus mention #tropey beach au #listen im not responsible for what i do when on the beach with discord open #this is so self indulgent my god

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vaguely-concerned · 3 years

Text

The Mandalorian Chapter 13 rewatch thoughts; the reduced salt edition

or at least I’m trying to be more constructive with the salt in this one let’s goooo

- god I miss the armourer so much. look at how fucking cool she looks, this is the mando design I hunger for so deeply, WHY would you give me boob plates back instead haha

- I will say with the way it’s presented this place feels way too small to be called a city lol (and I think that limited scale hurts how much I’m willing to accept the magistrate as a credible opponent to go toe to toe with ahsoka freaking tano. maybe if we’d seen directly the extent of the magistrate’s power and influence and not just the burned out wasteland that power leaves behind I’d be more on board with it. canonically she’s clearly been extremely rich and influential on a galactic scale, while the aesthetic filoni takes from samurai movies in this has a lot more to do with local warlords and smaller stakes. this is not the only time the adherence to that aesthetic without adapting it for the emotional story at hand or giving it a spin for novelty hurts the episode #hot take. it’s empty homage without quite understanding why the moments you’re emulating work so well in the context of the story they serve.)

this might be because how it’s filmed makes it seem like there’s just one big main street towards the magistrate’s palace, it’s implied to be quite a bit bigger from the establishing shot as the crest comes flying in?

- LOVE the implication that din lets baby play with the silver ball pretty freely while they’re on the ship but sets the (completely sensible tbh) boundary that he can’t bring it with him somewhere outside where he might lose it for good. that seems like reasonable dad-ing, din, well done.

anyway my heart is hurting because that silver ball is like a comfort item for the kid and it’s pretty clear from the very start that he has some kind of understanding of what might happen on this planet and so does NOT want to go out there, but also... that thing is narratively introduced as the baby’s way of saying ‘dad, don’t forget me, don’t go’. it’s what made din go back for him the first time, and that’s a connotation it still has both in the audience’s mind and for the characters. and I need to go cry in a corner for a while be right back

- not for nothing but in this scene of the baby being faced with din and a jedi standing side by side as if to present a choice, din literally has the sun right behind his head like some kind of fucking halo

gee I wonder what the baby’s choice is going to be fsadfjkhasdkjfhs. (he! loves! his dad! so much!!!!!!!)

- I wish they’d done more with the bored punch clock villain, hey-I’m-just-here-for-the-paycheck-man vibe of the guard captain guy and maybe given his nonchalance a bit of a darkly comedic tint, I think it would’ve made a better moment when he’s facing off with din towards the end if he had more... character. make him a bit more of a dark mirror of the soulless gun for hire people have seen din as in the past (and as the magistrate seems to now), do something interesting here. maybe even make it more of a mexican standoff with him holding a gun on an innocent or something so there’s something here for din to lose, it still does the western thing and lets you have that ramping tension you need for when you cut between the sword duel and this. hell, have him actually give up and walk away to show that he doesn’t fucking care about any of this, he did evil for money without any driving passion or conviction behind it, and let din decide if he’ll let him walk away scot free or not after what he’s been part of, that’s a neat subversion of the trope as well! as it stands it’s just so... empty

- baby says ‘mada! mada!’ again when they try to approach the vendor who appears to be serving foodstuffs! so maybe a word he has for food or maybe something like ‘lady person!’? (he says it when frog lady is gone on the ice planet and also as she’s walking into the razor crest for the first time. he did seem more interested in the eggs at that point, sooo lol)

din reacts to him speaking too, he glances down at him <3<3<3

- the baby seems to sense ‘ooof this is scary, time to hide’ on his own before they go into the magistrate’s place, din doesn’t appear to signal anything to him

- there’s a lot of deliberate silence in this episode, but the sound design that gets space away from the music somehow isn’t as immersive to me as it usually is on this show? I have no idea why, though

- ‘a jedi plagues me’ is somehow so fucking funny to me. the tl;dr for a lot of star wars villains through the ages

it also still cracks me up that din is immediately like ‘ma’am you can’t afford me’ fsdhfaskf

- I’m so happy din talks to and reassures the baby when he puts him down in these situations now, I remember being SO SAD when he didn’t back in chapter 7. he’s learning all the time!

- I think we should all be very happy this fight is cut off almost as soon as it begins, because I’m pretty sure ahsoka could kick din’s ass real bad and that would be terrible because I love him (listen din definitely has his moments, but up against a force user for the first time and said force user being one of the most powerful and battle-experienced jedi alive? probably not huh, if he survives that it’s on pure fatherly love and desperation and nothing else)

- this seems to be the baby asking ahsoka to carry him back to be with din (mando certainly seems to be what they’re ‘talking’ about right before) and it’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen

din’s fingers are also doing the nervous curl-uncurl thing as she puts the baby down, and it remains the sweetest goddamn character tic, he’s adorable

in the long pause after he tells her “he needs your help” he’s sitting SO TENSELY, it’s only when she at least promises to test the kid that he relaxes a bit

baby (well, grogu, but he’s also baby) recognizes yoda’s name and seems to almost ask ahsoka ‘yoda is here???’, and her blink in response is like ‘no, I’m sorry’

- I still deeply dislike how it’s actually done in the episode, it’s so clunky and it annoys me on a craft level, but I do like the overarching thematic narrative of both mando and the baby being on this journey towards specificity and remembering themselves, of reclaiming the particular nuances of an identity that make up a self after a series of traumas have stripped it away from them. at the start of the show neither of them has a name (and din doesn’t even have a face) and they’re basically presented as broad archetypes, The Mandalorian and The Child. and now we’re slowly unearthing things that make them this specific child, grogu, this specific mandalorian, din djarin. it’s rediscovering parts of yourself you might have thought lost as you heal from trauma and I do like that very much, it’s touching and the emotional throughline this show should never lose sight of

- oooooh no baby glances over at din when she asks him to push the stone back ;______________; it’s so awful because you can just tell... he understands that if he does this thing din might leave, but also people have clearly tricked him into using the Force before and given him this traumatized kneejerk association that if he uses it where people can see him Bad things might happen

oh okay so I think din just subtly misunderstands the baby’s appeal to him here, he thinks that look towards him means ‘dad help I don’t understand what’s being asked of me’. I guess he doesn’t have any way of knowing how complicated the baby’s past is with this yet, it’s a good try

- I’ve seen people take ‘he understands’ as baby understanding everything that’s said to him all the time, which is patently not true haha. he understands quite a lot, in the way toddlers actually understand quite a lot of what’s going on around them, even a bit of words spoken to them before they’re especially verbal themselves, but he clearly mixes up his colours still sooo

I also suspect he’s played this game before -- surely that must be one of the most obvious activities the jedi would do with the smallest children, playing Force catch basically? but he still doesn’t trust it, or her. (on the other hand he does trust that din would never hurt or trick him. help me I’m drowning in my own tears)

- personally and from anything else in this show I don’t think din would be this impatient with the baby after hearing, less than half a minute before, that he’s terrified

but hey I’m not the man in the cowboy hat what do I know (yes I’m bitter characterization matters okay lol)

- it’s both funny and so sweet that the same music plays during this father and son playing catch scene as when baby lifted that mudhorn fkdfha

- for my money din reacts exactly perfectly to grogu finally Force pulling the ball -- he’s excited and happy, signalling that this thing doesn’t have to be scary and dangerous and that when shared with the right people it can be a good joyous thing, he moves over to the baby so they can share in this victory and attune, and crucially he doesn’t demand more afterwards, which the baby must have gotten before from some of the assholes who’ve been experimenting on him. it’s just the celebration and satisfaction of having done the thing without demands or threats or any ulterior motives. HIM!!! DAD!!!!

tattoo this straight onto my heart... the way baby cheerfully offers it back to din... sdkjafhksdfhsakdjf

- din breaths out roughly and unevenly through his nose almost like it’s been punched out of him and starts fiddling with the silver ball (which is still his primary tell for anxiety/stress!) when ahsoka says “he’s formed a strong attachment to you” :) listen if I have to know that all of you fuckers are going down with me

- see the thing is... if you don’t know who ahsoka is in pretty deep detail, you might take her at face value here instead of understanding that she’s actually projecting her own feelings and traumas onto this. if you absolutely have to use this character for this part of the show you have to set her up better specifically so someone who’s never seen a single episode of clone wars can grasp the basics of where she is emotionally and what her motives are, so that her role in this story makes sense. as it is it’s sort of a compromise between pleasing old fans (who can do quite a bit of inferring to figure it out) and approaching audiences who don’t know anything, and it falls flat

(for the purposes of this show I aggressively do not care where thrawn is, and so I’m just annoyed when we find out what this was actually all for haha)

- still feel reluctant to discuss too much about ahsoka because of the whole... situation with dawson, but I do like that she lets one of the guards leave after disarming him because he’s cowering and giving up, and that she still has her padawan braid wound into her belt. also I think the effects on her and her outfit are completely fine, my problems with her this episode are all writing craft and real life stuff

- when you get first the jet pack sound, then din coming down kicking that dude in the face, then the mando flute kicking in as he lands properly... the only time the action in this episode made me go ‘fuck YEEEAAAAH’ it’s awesome

- again, just like with the idea of having a samurai/ronin movie standoff and a western standoff at the same time: having the scene be mostly silent except for the almost musical sounds of the light sabers hitting the beskar spear is such a cool concept, and it does not work in action. I don’t know enough about filmmaking to tell you why it doesn’t, but it doesn’t.

there’s also something about... the ahsoka vs. morgan scene apes the deliberately staged, ritualized, exaggerated almost like how you’d perform it in live theatre aspect of the duels in the genre, but in an empty way? why are they acting like this, what’s their relationship to each other, what’s their individual code of honour that makes them let the other person slowly theatrically disrobe before going for them? just plucking the aesthetics out of a tradition and plopping them down in your own thing without thinking about the whys or original context of it leaves it without meaning

(also let morgan express something of her own character other than I Am Evil rather than having ahsoka drop the entire exposition on her. maybe you could have her snarl some illuminating lines while they’re fighting so you get the feeling of the bitterness and brokenness that has fuelled her and burned the woods of this whole planet. in some ways she’s not that unlike din and ahsoka, she lost everything in the clone wars too and was motivated very differently by it than they were, play that up so the situation’s relevant to our protagonists! I’m sorry for all this nitpicking but I HAVE to figure out how this could have been done better for my own sake haha)

- ooooooh the way din says “I can’t accept” when offered the spear is in fact almost an exact echo of when the armourer offers him the signet in chapter 3! I thought it sounded familiar, it’s delivered in such a similar way. huh. din has some Feelings about earning things and when he hasn’t earned something, doesn’t he

- din also cares A LOT about not breaking his word, to the point of being willing to stoop to some quite dishonest methods to avoid giving his word in the first place, and I find it utterly delightful

- baby closing his eyes again after din wakes him like he’s thinking ‘maybe if I don’t wake up dad won’t go’ or even ‘at least this way I won’t know it happened until later, when it’s over’... pure emotional torture :) thank god din’s entire soul is clearly howling in protest and he took the slightest chance ahsoka gave him to not actually go through with it

- so this is the second time we get someone telling din he’s like grogu’s father. well, the armourer gives it more like a command/almost a religious obligation, ‘until it is of age or reunited with its kind you are as its father’, ahsoka is stating what’s obvious at this point but says ‘you are like a father to him’... maybe they’re doing a rule of threes thing and the last time it’s ‘you are his father’ and it sticks?

- anyway din cradling the baby so close to his chest with both arms all the time instead of the more practical way he carries him around in the crook of his arm sometimes... my suffering is deep and endless

#star wars #the mandalorian #the mandalorian spoilers #the mandalorian meta

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bonteris · 3 years

Text

hold on, i still want you.

redcrackle through the years through carmen’s eyes + the ending we deserved :)

The first time they meet, she’s still Black Sheep and he’s still Gray, and she nearly breaks his neck pulling him over the back of the chair he’s sitting on.

Coach Brunt is initiating the newest class of students, and for the first time, Black Sheep is among them. She’s a few years behind them, and already a head shorter than half the people in the room, so she opts to sit under the cover of darkness in the back and pretend she’s new like everyone else.

Then Coach Brunt announces that they’ll have to earn their codenames, and her gaze turns to Black Sheep. “Ain’t that right, Lambkins?”

Any hope of going unnoticed turns null as forty heads swivel in their seats and eighty eyes scrutinize her. Her insides turn to slush and she sinks deep into her seat.

“Lambkins?” the boy in front of her scoffs. “Who knew VILE had a mascot?”

Indignation moves Black Sheep’s arms for her, and before the kid can even try turning back around, she has her hands firmly planted on his shoulders. In the first second, she sees his eyes widen with surprise. In the next, his head is only a few inches above the floor and she’s glaring down at him.

“Only my friends call me ‘Lambkins’,” she snaps. “My code name’s Black Sheep. Do you understand? Nod if you understand.”

By the time she’s finished, he’s nodding vigorously, and she feels certain she’s established a healthy bit of dominance over the class. Coach Brunt laughs, moves on, and she forgets about the kid, whose name she still doesn't know. Why shouldn’t she? He’s just another reminder of how different she is to everyone here.

She’s settling into her dorm when she hears footsteps behind her. It’s the boy from earlier, sheepishly running a hand through his muted brown hair. He holds out a hand, wincing. Out of the dark initiation hall, she can see he has two dimples that widen when he smiles. Now they seem to burrow into his cheeks. “Uh, Black Sheep, was it? The name’s Graham.”

She studies him, wondering if this is another joke. But any response she might make is cut off by another girl—Sheena, she thinks her name is?—standing by her dolls. “This where you hide your pearls, little girl?”

Black Sheep instantly stiffens. “Please don’t touch my stuff,” she says, careful to keep her voice calm but firm. Her hand curls into a fist involuntarily, but she can’t help it. She doesn’t let anyone near the nesting dolls that came with her to VILE. Anger pricks at her fingers, daring her to throw the first punch.

“What, these?” Sheena replies innocently. Her hand lingers dangerously close to the dolls now, and she knows it.

“I said,” Black Sheep starts, voice low, “keep your paws off.”

The blonde’s smile deepens, eyebrows slanting with the glee of someone who knows they’ve got leverage. Black Sheep readies her stance. She’s better than half the class already; she can take her easily.

Surprisingly, it’s Gray who cuts in, subtly pushing Black Sheep behind him. For a second she wants to barge forward, but then she realizes: he’s placating Sheena, distracting her from Black Sheep’s obvious aggression. “Play nice, princess,” he says, and though his voice is cheerful, the warning is clear. “We all have to room together.”

Sheena mutters something and walks away, but Black Sheep watches Gray. As if he can sense her, he turns, smiling, and flashes her a wink that says, Friends?

Black Sheep smiles back. Friends.

Over the next few months, she and Gray become inseparable. He’s there when they start their first classes together, and he’s there when she aces all of them. He’s there when introduces him to her monthly pranks on Cookie Booker and drags along the others to join them, and he’s there when they get caught. She’s there to see him reinvent himself in Crackle, and she’s there when he passes… without her.

And then, suddenly, he’s gone.

Black Sheep spends most of her time alone now, and she hates every second of it. She hates Shadowsan for failing her, because she knows, she knows, she knows that coat was empty. Tigress isn’t better than her. No one is.

So she follows them. Leaves the globe she grew up with under her pillow in place of her head, yanks the sewage door from its hinges and stows away in the helicopter’s closet. They’re not going to see the world and leave her behind to be failed by Shadowsan, again. He doesn’t get to do what she can’t.

She likes the surprise on his face when he sees her barrelling towards him out of the shadows. It glints brighter than the stars around them as they go sprawling over the side of the helicopter and down towards the ground below.

“Black Sheep?” he yells over the sound of the wind in their ears.

She clutches him tighter. “Don’t let go!”

It’s there, in the ruins at Morocco, that she realizes what stealing really means. It’s there she watches him raise his weapon and aim for an innocent man. It’s there she realizes what kind of person he is, what he’s willing to do.

But all she sees on his face is determination, and the knowing look that comes right before you’re surrounded, and then the Cleaners are behind her.

All of her former friends look angry. Le Cheve and El Topo’s faces are taut with annoyance. Tigress adjusts her now-broken scanner, glaring. But not him. No, Crackle—that’s who he is now—just looks sad. Pitying. She hates him for it.

I will never forgive you, she thinks as his face drags her down into the dark.

...

The second time they meet, she’s now Carmen Sandiego, and she’s just escaped the smarmy Interpol agent she left face down against his own car, still struggling to get up. The high that comes from outsmarting VILE is still following her, and she smiles as she opens the door to the cabin Player booked for her. “First class? Sweet.”

“My treat, Red,” he says through her earpiece. “You earned it.”

Carmen sets her bag down and takes out the black-fabric satchel inside, not wanting to break anything. She’s just about to open it and revel in her prize when she hears the doors slide open behind her.

“Well, well.” Carmen straightens at the familiar voice, turning.

Gray looks exactly as he did when she last saw him—give or take a few years. But the smirk he gives her is all boyish charm as he says, “Blast from the past, eh?”

He shoots the bag out of her hand and it falls to the floor. But Carmen refuses to let any emotion show; she won’t let him see how nervous that makes her. “Dude, seriously? Static cling?”

“Side effect of the directional EMP,” he responds smoothly. “So you can forget about reaching for your phone or fancy toys. They’re dead.”

Resentment shoots through her. “I know how an electromagnetic pulse works, Gray. You aren’t the only one who passed Dr. Bellum’s class.” The satisfaction she gets from seeing his jaw work when she calls him Gray is fleeting, but she keeps it close as she sits, gesturing for him to do the same.

“And you didn’t really think I’d take any of your bait without checking for a tracking device, did you, Gray?” The shock that comes over his face is completely real, and Carmen grins. “That’s right. I wanted you to find me.”

She doesn’t say any of the things she’s been dreaming about for years, such as (but not limited to) How could you almost kill someone? How could you think this is all a game? How could you be okay with hurting others?

How could you be okay with hurting me?

But if these last three years have taught her anything, it’s patience, so she lets him ask her questions, all the while gloating that he’s caught the elusive Carmen Sandiego. She winds him up, allowing him to think he’s won this round.

When she’s finished recounting where she’s been, his face softens. “We miss you, Black Sheep. VILE wants a truce.”

The way he won’t call her Carmen grates on her nerves. “They want me stealing for them, instead of from them,” she counters.

Unbothered, he taps the crackle rod absently. “You’ve proven yourself. It’s all you ever wanted, isn’t it?”

Isn’t it?

Maybe once, but not now. Not when she knows what stealing can do to others, what it can take. He still doesn’t see. Maybe he never will. Maybe all they’ll ever be is two people on two different sides of a war.

She leaves him wrapped in Cookie’s coat (it was high time she got one that didn’t stink of crime, anyways) and breaks the rod. The Interpol agent will come after her soon, so she might as well leave a mark.

Goodbye, Gray, she thinks as she watches the officer realize it’s not her underneath the hat. Then she disappears into the night, leaving the last of her connection to him behind.

...

The third time they meet, a few months have passed, and she’s in Sydney, scouting the Opera House that Dr. Bellum is supposed to be targeting. The intel Player has sent from the files she got him has been impeccable so far, but she has no idea what Bellum is planning tonight. Carmen feels blinded. Nervous.

“Nothing suspicious so far,” she tells Player under her breath, pushing back the plush crimson curtain so she can get a better view of the stage. “If a VILE operative’s here, they have yet to show their face.”

“You there!” someone yells. Carmen jerks to attention, lowering her opera glasses long enough to look up and see him. Gray.

“Scratch that,” she says automatically, surveying him. He’s in an electrician’s uniform, the kind someone working in an opera just like this would wear—some kind of disguise? A cover the faculty created?

Gray looks her up and down, mouth set in a hard line. “What are you doing back here?”

Carmen frowns. “You first.”

That seems to confuse him. She watches his face switch from shocked, to dumbstruck, then to angered until he finally says, “What? I’m working.”

“I know,” she deadpans. “‘Lights out, baby’? Come on, Gray. What job are you pulling tonight?”

The anger has bled from his face, but now he looks oddly… not-evil? She can’t place it. Her bewilderment only grows as he points to the name tag stitched to his uniform. “First, it’s Gray-ham, and second, since electricians don’t seem to intimidate you, I’ll be more than happy to have security escort you out.”

“Wait, what?” Carmen asks. “You don’t expect me to believe this innocent act, do you?”

He reaches forward and takes her arm, grip surprisingly strong for someone who relies so much on tech. Carmen is too surprised to do anything but be dragged along. “No wristband, no backstage access,” Gray informs her as they walk. “I don’t make the rules.”

She gives him an appraising look as they round a corner. “You really don’t remember me.”

It’s only half questioning, but he stops and examines her anyway, dimples amplified in the shadowed corridor. “Fashion statement aside, mate, you’d be hard to forget. If there is a next time, I promise not to make that mistake again.”

Flattery, she thinks, full of wonder. Or… flirting?

“Guess you just, uh, remind me of someone I used to know,” she lies weakly, but he seems to believe it.

They reach the door, and he says goodbye, and the door almost shuts, but she races through it as he walks away, head reeling. Le Chevre arrives, they fight (she wins) and all is well.

Except.

When she doesn’t see him exiting with everyone else, Carmen scours the famous Opera House’s grounds until she spots him in the distance. She lands her glider before he can notice it, but the moment her heels hit the ground he turns and smiles. “Hey, I remember you. Ol’ Red Sneakeroo.”

“Good memory,” she says lightly, trying not to think of how strange this all is. He doesn’t remember her. She remembers the best of him. They’re at an impasse, but he’s unaware. It’s odd, being the only one who knows the whole story. Carmen isn’t sure she likes it.

“Not really,” he sighs, and for a second he looks so impossibly sad she’s not sure what to say for once. Then it passes, and his eyes are back on hers. “So, looking to get backstage for an autograph?”

The corners of her mouth tug upwards. “No. To the outback for some sightseeing. Thought you could be my guide.”

“I wish,” he says regretfully, taking out a slip of paper to write something down. “Something fried the soundboard tonight. I have to pull an early morning shift to troubleshoot.”

Le Chevre, she thinks, annoyance lancing through her, but tamps it down. “You mentioned having a bad memory. Why is that?”

For the first time since they’ve spoken today, he falters. The pen slips in his hand. “Well, I—I kind of messed up on the job a while back, got a little ‘jolt’, as we sparkies say. Complete blackout, long hospital stay, blah, blah.” He laughs ruefully. “There’s more than an entire year of my life I can’t remember.”

“A whole year,” she marvels. That’s enough time for her to be gone. That’s enough time for VILE to be gone.

He’s still talking. “I’d say I’m lucky to have my job back, if ‘electrician’ weren’t such a dangerous occupation.”

“Oh, I can think of worse ones,” Carmen quips. He finishes writing and hands her the slip of paper. “Is this the address of an outback guide?”

“A good guide’s easy to find online. This is the address of my favorite café in Sydney. I’ll be there Friday night at 8 p.m. You?”

Carmen ignores the ache in her chest. She has him back. The Gray from before. Her Gray. “Let’s see if I make it back from my tour in one piece.” She starts walking away.

“Hey!” he calls from behind her. “I never got your name!”

“Carmen,” she replies without looking back.

That Friday, at 8 p.m. on the dot, she stands across the street from the café written on the paper he gave her. The ache that formed in her chest the night she left him standing on the Opera House’s steps has widened to a crack. She has so many questions. So many things she wants to say. How is it fair that she gets to know everything about him, and he doesn’t? Who did this?

Even as she thinks it, she knows the answer: VILE. Carmen hates them for ruining him, molding him into a killer that she cannot believe he is at heart. It’s not him, not really.

Across the street, Gray looks up, eyes lighting up when he sees her.

She can’t do this.

So when the bus drives by, she lets it take her, too.

“I can’t let VILE see me with him,” she explains to Player, once she’s a healthy distance away. Her hood is over her head and her hands are shoved deep in her pockets. Her voice wavers. “But not for my safety, for his.”

“What? Why?” Player asks, confused.

The reality hits her like a kick to the stomach. “For whatever strange reason, Gray has a fresh start now. And having Carmen Sandiego back in his life would… only complicate that.”

Carmen shuts her eyes against the cool night air and imagines she’s back at school for the first time since she left Gray on that train. I’m sorry, Gray, she thinks as she watches him get up from his seat at the table and leave.

...

The fourth time they meet, she comes to him, and it’s because she needs help. A caper involving dangerous EMP technology is worrying her, and he’s the best person she knows for the job. But the idea of dragging him back into all of this is scarier than facing off with Coach Brunt again.

It’s a perfect day, cool and sunny, and Gray sits sipping a cup of coffee as he reads a book. His eyes flick up as she approaches, and a small smile forms on his mouth. “You’re late.”

“Fashionably, I hope.” She takes the fact that he hasn’t thrown his coffee at her as a sign that it’s safe to sit. “I’m sorry I stood you up, Gray.”

He holds up a finger. “Um, it’s—”

“Graham,” she finishes, sighing. She has to get used to calling him that. “Right. Look, I was called away on business at the last minute.”

At that, he puts the book down and turns to her. “What kind of business?”

“I run an international charity for abandoned children,” Carmen says. The lie slips past her lips easily. “In fact, that’s the reason I came to see you today.”

“Oh?” He says, angling his head the way he does whenever his interest is piqued. It’s somehow both familiar and completely foreign on his face.

“I am sponsoring a big fundraiser in Auckland, New Zealand, this week. Selections from Swan Lake.”

His face shows the barest hint of recognition. “Tchaikovsky. I’ve lit a few Russian ballets at the old Sydney Opera House.”

Carmen leans back. “Fortunately for me, our lighting technician dropped out, and I’m hoping you can help.”

He doesn’t miss a beat. “On one condition.” She waits, and he points a playful finger. “You have that cuppa with me afterwards.”

Carmen raises a brow in answer. “I’ll have the foundation book you a flight.”

Things go well—she has VILE’s agent trapped and gets through the grids easily, thanks to Gray’s help. For a moment, she even imagines it’s like old times, her taking the lead and him backing her up. “Player, I’m warm. How’s the ballet?”

Then she hears Player’s voice in her ear. “On indefinite intermission. Our lighting tech walked.”

“What?” she hisses, voice low despite being the only one in the room.

“Zach and Ivy are combing the grounds for him,” Player says.

“Find him,” she says. “I’m too close to turn back now.” And too close to save him if they realize he’s involved, she thinks, but leaves that part out.

She makes it to the EMP sphere, hands hovering over the control panel, when she hears a familiar voice.

“Carmen?” Gray asks, bewildered, at the same time Bellum yells, “Sandiego!”

She doesn’t wait to see what Bellum has planned. Carmen runs.

“What kind of concert hall is this?” says Gray as they round the corner, him keeping up easily.

“Experimental!”

They hit another corner and a gaggle of VILE guards—Neal included—look their way. But Carmen has Gray behind her before any of them can even see there’s a second person there, and she shoots forward.

Neal effortlessly sidesteps her punches, sliding out of reach the harder she tries to hit. Carmen rears back, foot swinging up, but he has a hold on her shoulders before her foot can hit its mark. She thinks he says something, but the words start to muddle together as he pushes her head farther than it should go. Her breathing turns ragged. Carmen sags—

And is released. Neal’s body crumples to the floor next to her, and she looks up to see Gray, holding a crackle rod in two hands.

Fear spikes through her, hot and bright. Does he remember?

Then his face contorts with disgust and he tosses the rod. “You… don’t run a children’s charity.”

She smiles. “I’ll explain over that coffee.”

Together, they sabotage Bellum’s sphere and step off the platform, Gray holding tight to Carmen, who ejects her glider. She has a sudden memory of her being the one holding tight as they fell, Gray’s eyes on hers as the ground rushed up to meet them.

Now, she hugs him tight to her as the glider loses altitude. At the last second, it retracts from her back, and they go sprawling, her head hitting the ground hard.

When she comes to, Carmen looks around, panicked, and sees him lying a few feet from her, completely silent. The woods loom around them, shielding them from VILE’s eyes, but Carmen forgets everything at the thought of him being hurt. “Gray? Gray?”

His eyes crack open. “It’s—Graham.”

She doesn’t think she’s ever been happier to hear him argue with her about something.

Later, they sit at the café he first mentioned, watching the opera house in the distance. Carmen likes the way the moon reflects off the water, a line of milky light that traces its way over the bay.

“Carmen, I have to know,” Gray confesses. “Are you a spy? Part of some kind of… secret service?”

She mulls over what to tell him for a moment. “I do provide a service, and it is secret, so… yeah, something like that.”

“But we are the good guys?” he asks cautiously.

The crack in her chest yawns open. There’s so much she wants to say. So much she wants to tell him. But would he listen? Would he care, if it turned that awful part of him back on, the part that nearly killed that man that night?

I will never forgive you.

“Absolutely,” she says, full of surety that she doesn’t feel.

Gray says something else, but she’s only half listening, and when he looks back, she’s gone. He laughs to himself, seemingly unbothered, but Carmen watches him get clear their table, wiping their meeting from the café’s memory.

I forgive you, she thinks, and though he wouldn’t understand, the crack in her chest closes over a little.

...

The fifth time they meet, she learns that he’s in Iceland from Player. He tells her the tab he’s kept on Gray was tipped off, and her heart does a little jump. It’s been so long since she last saw him. So long since they spoke. She misses the way his dimples deepen when he smiles, the way his head tilts to one side when he’s interested, no matter how hard he tries to hide it. But, still. Iceland. Player tells her he’s been arrested.

She tries working through what might have happened. That dangerous game of What If. What if VILE has found him? What if he’s reawoken some part of him… No. She won’t go there. Carmen refuses to hand him back to VILE, not when he’s been given a second chance.

When she gets there, it’s easy to remove him from their records, easy to read the file.

Easy to see he’s in jail because he robbed someone.

Her mouth tightens, but Carmen is too focused on getting him out, away, to do anything but continue on. Even when Devineaux arrives, oddly complacent considering the last time they spoke he was screaming at her as she ran away. (It seems that’s how most of their meetings go, nowadays.)

Gray sits in his cell, bent forward far enough that she can see the crease of his brows easily. He pinches his nose as if trying to remember something, and he almost looks like he’s going to cry.

Sharp as always, he hears her coming and looks up. “Carmen? How did you know I was here?”

I’m a spy, she thinks bitterly. And I can’t even keep you out of trouble. All I can do is watch.

What comes out instead is “All in good time, Gray. We need to get you out of there.”

She holds up the keys, dangling them for him to see, and he shakes his head fondly. “It’s Graham—” Then he cuts off, eyes widening. “Look out!”

It’s the cleaners. One’s hands snake around her arms to hold her in place, terribly familiar. She realizes that this—the cleaners knocking her out, Gray watching—is just a replay of that night in Morocco, and that thought forces her to bring her heel down, hard.

Instinct shoves the one holding her back, kicks the second in the chest. He spins back into the wall, and she raises her fists. She’s not losing this time. She refuses.

She staggers back and the room spins. Her hands close around the mop nearby and she levels it at the cleaners. She barely holds on to her consciousness as the world turns to a blur of red and grey. Carmen manages to fend them off, keeping her back to Gray, but before they can advance further, they get a call and retreat down the hall.

The mop clatters from her hand. “Carmen!” Gray pleads. “Are you okay? Do I know those guys? Who were they?”

“Guys who never leave before the job is done,” she says, voice paper-thin. She starts trying the locks, the sedative the cleaners gave her finally wearing off.

That’s when something cuts through the ceiling.

Gray scrambles back as a neon-green light slices through the stone. Carmen’s senses are still too slow, too slow, too slow, and Gray is stuck, and he’s yelling something that she can’t understand, and why aren’t these keys working?

The severed ceiling hits the ground with a thud, almost loud enough to conceal the metallic one that follows. But not loud enough.

The robot stands, surveying the scene before it with mechanical disinterest. Carmen’s hands move without her needing to think, flying over the lock as she tries key after key. Come on, Come on—

The robot takes Gray in one hand, ignoring his struggles. Carmen’s voice shakes, and she wonders if Gray understands why as she screams, “No!” She fires her cable towards him, but the robot catches it instantly, yanking her forward.

Pain explodes up Carmen’s arm. Nononononononono—

The cable is ripped from her hand, and Gray calls her name. There in one second, and then gone in the next.

Her voice is drowned out by the helicopter. I’m sorry, Gray, she thinks, but there’s only silence greeting her where he used to be.

...

The sixth time they meet, they’re in the Himalayas, at Bellum’s lab. She hates it here. Hates the way everything is so drained of life and color, so muted. Scrubbed of emotion. She sneaks past the robots, easily overtaking the guards, but her mind is elsewhere. Gray. What if he’s not the way she last saw him? What if he remembers? Worse, what if he doesn’t?

Carmen heaves against the door with all her might and it gives under the pressure. “Gray? We have to move.”

He doesn’t turn. “The name is—”

“Gray-ham,” she finishes, fondness bleeding into her voice against her better judgement. She’ll never get used to calling him that. “I know, I know.”

“No,” he says slowly, and stands. The click of a crackle rod being turned on registers in her mind, and Carmen’s confusion only deepens. Then she sees the look on his face, devoid of warmth, and dread starts to settle in her stomach. “It’s Crackle.”

Her mouth drops open, but she can’t bring herself to say anything. Didn’t she know this was coming? Didn’t she think over what she would say, hour after hour, because she knew at some point VILE might not want him to be so oblivious anymore?

She has no idea what to do.

“I assume you prefer I continue to call you ‘Carmen’?” he asks, raising the rod in her direction.

“Gray, no matter what they told you, you’re not that guy anymore,” she croaks.

His face, illuminated in the green light turns pitying. She remembers when he used to look like that. She remembers that night in Morocco, when the last thing she saw was his sad face before she was pulled into unconsciousness.

“But I am that guy,” Gray whispers, shaking his head. “I’ve always been that guy.”

Carmen can’t seem to make sense of this. Graham. Gray. Crackle. She’s losing him to VILE, and everything is muddy, and this is worse than Reykjavik because he’s choosing this, choosing them, and she can’t save him because he doesn’t want to, and—

“No,” Carmen says forcefully. “Sydney, the café, we’re the good guys, remember?”

He scoffs a little, but there’s no malice in it, just resignation. “When you finally had that cuppa with me.” Then his eyebrows furrow. “Being good only mattered to me because Bellum rewired my thinking, programmed me to be some sort of… innocent fool.”

“It’s never too late to change,” she insists.

He hasn’t lowered the rod, and somehow Carmen knows that he won’t hesitate to use it. “I’ve had time to reflect. Piece together the fragments. And there’s only one thing I’ve ever regretted doing for VILE.”

Carmen’s eyes flick from the rod to his. Suddenly, he powers it off.

“Trying to hurt you,” he whispers.

Her lip quivers, and she knows he sees it, because he continues before she can say anything in response. “I know you won’t come back to VILE. We’ve had that chat, on the train to Paris. But I’m begging you: give up trying to stop us, because I don’t ever want to be put in a position to hurt you again.”

The breath is gone from her lungs.

The hope is leeching from her.

She’s losing him.

Maybe he’s already lost.

“Then, apologies,” she says shortly, voice miraculously steady. “Because I won’t stop trying to take down VILE. Not ever.” Her hands tighten around the table. “And definitely not now.”

She holds up the fuse for him to see, and feels a terrible kind of satisfaction from seeing his eyes widen in realization as she presses it.

The bombs she set on her way in explode in a flurry of sparks and ash, and alarms start to ring before she’s even gotten up. Behind her, Gray pulls himself up, forward, face smeared with soot. Pain flashes across his face, but she doesn’t think it’s because of the rubble around him.

Despite the alarms ringing around them, when the words come out, they greet dead silence. “Goodbye, Gray.”

But all she can think is, Please forgive me.

...

The seventh time they meet, Carmen watches through someone else’s eyes as he smiles and flirts and acts as if everything is normal. Does he know? She wonders. Does he know I’m not in control?

She watches, as if underwater, as she takes and steals and moves on. She’s always been good at thievery, but with everything she’s learned since she left, she’s devastating once she’s fully on VILE’s side. Carmen pounds against the cage around her, but it only seems to get tighter the harder she tries to fight. A vice she’ll never be able to escape. A hold she’ll never be able to break.

She sees herself back with her old friends, not content but restless, wanting out of the easy life that’s been handed to her by the faculty. This Carmen wants a challenge, a fight. She relishes the way people resist when she comes after them. She sees only a chance to prove herself worthy in everything.

She watches this Carmen leave her friends. Watches her trick Zach into following her to the ferris wheel, the hope shining on his face. He thinks she has control. He thinks she needs his help.

She screams as she realizes why she’s brought Zach to the top of the wheel, the lights shutting off around them.

She pounds against the control they have over her as she lands a roundhouse on him so strong he barely manages to hang on to the ledge.

And as Carmen turns away from Zach’s sharp yell, she crumbles, unable to do anything about it.

She’s only half paying attention, huddled in a dark corner in her mind with her arms around her knees, drawn in tight, when she hears that familiar cry behind her.

Carmen’s eyes snap open and Gray’s shut and both of them struggle as he brings the device down on her head.

“Please come back,” he’s murmuring into her hair, even as her elbow digs into his gut, even as she slams the two of them back into the wall, even as she pulls him over her head and levels the rod, the device broken, control restored, even as she pulls off her gloves because she has to do this herself—

“You sold me out, Gray,” she hears herself say, voice gravelly with pain.

His hazel eyes widen. “No! I’m trying to help.”

Underwater, she’s underwater, she’s—

She raises the rod.

“It’s finger-print activated,” he says hoarsely. “It won’t work for you.”

“It’s finger-print activated. It won’t work for you.”

The memory hits her, unbidden. They’re standing in a train. She has the rod against his neck in warning. He’s watching her as if he’s never seen her before, because in a way, he hasn’t—Carmen is as foreign to him as a stranger. Darkness closes in—

She staggers, trying to regain control. But in real time, Carmen has barely moved. She smiles at him pityingly, mirroring the look he’s given her so many times over the years. The look of someone who knows they’ve won. “Won’t it?”

Realization dawns on his face at the same time she opens the rod, turning up the power. “Being VILE faculty has its perks.”

Underwater, Carmen screams.

“You’re a dirty traitor like Shadowsan,” she says.

“This isn’t the real you,” he pleads.

She doesn’t care. No, she does. No—

“Goodbye, Gray.” Carmen smirks. “No, wait. You prefer Crackle.”

The last hope of reaching her in his eyes dies as he reaches out a hand. “Please, Carmen—”

The rod fires.

Gray flies back, head cracking against the floor.

His hand goes limp.

His body stills.

And as Carmen walks away, she’s not thinking anything at all.

...

The eighth and final time they meet, Carmen is walking through the corridor of a train, hands rubbing her arms to ward off the cold. She’s wearing her usual red sweatshirt, and her hair is tied up in a knot on her head. The dark jeans she wears are warm enough that she’s not cold, but the breeze coming from one of the cabins is very much trying to undo that statement.

Her hands shake and she absently checks the note Chief gave her, even though she’s already memorized where she’s supposed to go. “Just in case,” Chief had said, handing it to her with a wink. ACME’s fearsome leader, it turns out, has a weakness for meddling. Figures.

Still, Carmen is grateful. Chief has been nothing but helpful regarding her true parentage, and her own side of the story from the night of her father’s death gave Carmen a sense of fulfillment she’s never felt before.

She stops in front of one of the rooms, a smile curving her lips. “First class? Sweet.”

“My treat, Red,” he says, and she can hear the smile in his voice. “You earned it.”

“Is it weird that I’m nervous to be back in Paris?” she asks absently, setting her bag down. “Be honest.”

“I don’t think so. You have a lot of history here.”

Carmen laughs. “Understatement. But you’re right. I guess I’m just thinking about him.”

“Gray?”

Her mouth droops at the mention of his name. She knows he’s fine, Chief told her so weeks ago, but the courage to visit him still eludes her. “Yeah. I wish things had turned out differently. Maybe I should ask Chief about where he is…”

“You might see him sooner than you think.”

Carmen’s brow furrows. “What?”

But the device has gone silent in her ear. Player is gone.

And the door behind her slides open.

“Well, well.”

Carmen pauses, afraid that if she turns there will be empty air. That she’ll be imagining things.

But then she sees the reflection in the window.

“Blast from the past, eh?” says Gray, and his smile is still the same: all boyish charm, now mixing with something kind, assured.

He seems to realize she doesn’t know what to say. Those dimples reappear. “In case you were wondering, you can call me Gray.”

And as the crack that has followed her since the night she saw him at the Sydney Opera House begins to close, Carmen finds herself smiling. “Pleased to meet you. I’m Carmen.”

#carmen sandiego 2019 #redcrackle #gray x carmen #carmen sandiego spoilers #im obsessed with them sorry #mine

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unmaskedagain · 4 years

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Demon princess

Yesterday someone asked me what anime show I liked. And it got me to realizing that while I like quite a few anime shows; I never did a crossover for with Ladybug. So I got thinking which anime I should use. My first instinct was Sailor Moon; first anime I ever loved. Hell first show I ever loved, I started watching it when I was four-years-old (I have older sisters). Then I briefly considered Death Note. Maybe a pairing with Marinette/light. It didn’t work out my head. Finally it hit me… And then it completely got away from me. Reminding me why I don’t fuck with anime when it comes to fan fiction. Not my best work but its was a neat idea.

When her mom told her that her grandfather and her great uncle was coming to town; Marinette panicked. In fact, she had a full blown panic attack. There was no way she was going to get out of this.

Her mother didn’t speak too much to her father. They had a complicated relationship. Sabine had grown up in China with her mother, while her father resided near Japan, having been born and raised there, in a small country he ruled as king. Only demons resided there.

He had been a cold, stoic man with little interests in the affairs of humans. He certainly didn’t understand why his beloved daughter chose to be around them. However, he had been outright furious when he discovered Sabine had eloped with one and ran off to France. They didn’t speak for almost a decade.

The silence was only broken when Sabine told her Uncle that she was expecting a child. And half-human or not, Sesshōmaru would be there to welcome his grandchild into the pack. Inuyasha had tagged along to keep an eye on his older brother. Though the older Inu Daiyōkai may have become more tolerable of humans but that didn’t mean he didn’t still have few nasty streaks. Honestly, Inuyasha didn’t trust his brother not to just slaughter Tom Dupain as soon as he met him. The demon lord turned King would have to deal with the unfortunate tales of the Princess who ran off with the Baker; as if it was some foolish romantic tale.

Somehow, Sesshōmaru remained perfectly polite if more than just a bit standoffish. He outright glared at times. However, he remained in France for months while he waited for his grandchild to be born. Subtly hinting to his daughter, that it would be better to raise the pup among their own kind.

Then little Marinette Kagura Dupain-Cheng with blue locks, slanted bluer eyes, pointed ears, two magenta stripes on each cheek, and a magenta stripe on each eyelid, and a purple crescent moon on her forehead identical to the one her grandfather had. The baby girl was clearly a demon, a half-demon, but a demon nonetheless.

The moment Sesshōmaru held his grandchild, he was hers, “She is strong, and will only grow more powerful,” He told his exhausted offspring. “You did well daughter.”

“It takes two to tango,” Tom laughed.

Inuyasha just shook his head, “You’re not dead. Don’t push this.”

Over the next few years, Marinette spent most of her childhood split between her parents’ and her grandfather’s palace. Thanks to Shippo’s magic, it was only a portal away. She spent a lot of her summers there too. It was different when Marinette stayed with her Grandfather. She was different.

For starters, she was a princess and was expected to behave like one. She was a daiyōkai and was expected to act like; keep her emotions controlled and her word precise. When she was five-years-old, her grandfather presented her with two swords made from two of his fangs as a birthday present because, yeah, that was a thing demons did. One sword healed, the other destroyed. Though both swords were the same size; sword that destroyed had been too heavy for her to properly wield. She had to work for years to properly know how to use it. It was powerful and could slaughter a dozen foes with a swing. The sword that healed had seemed rather useless in comparison. It took her years to understand it was, by its very nature, the more powerful of the two.

When she wasn’t training, she was learning to rule. Demons lived a long life but things happened. It was best to be prepared.

It was at her Uncle’s insistence that Marinette, just recently turned six, be introduced to playmates of her own age. That was when Marinette learned something; everyone in the palace was employed by her grandfather. In addition, they were all lower demons subject to his rule and of any royal standing.

The demons with royal standing, children who Inuyasha said were Marinette’s equals, to which Sesshomaru pointed out his granddaughter had to equal, behaved different.

The kids were haughty, arrogant, and sometimes mean for the sake of being mean to anyone of lesser standing in the demon world.

The first was the son of Prince Koga, a wolf demon and a minor prince who kept his title because of tradition alone; his name was Hyōga. Prince Hyōga, was older than Marinette by a year, with auburn hair and red eyes, and had eyed the smaller girl with interest.

“Heard your father’s a human,” He said the word as if it taste foul on his tongue.

In the background, Koga face palmed. In youngest son would get their entire pack killed. Inuyasha glared at his old friend; plotting his death.

“Yes,” Marinette said. “I heard you were name after a giant moth.”

Hyōga sputtered, “What do you know? You’re just a girl!”

“Don’t make me the bug spray.”

It was the start of a rather tense friendship; similar to the one Koga and Inuyasha had centuries ago.

The second was a dragon demon named Kagami; an emotionless girl whose bloodline once rivaled Marinette’s. Marinette had tried to be nice, fearing her uncle world bring the wolf prince back, but Kagami didn’t warm up to her attempts. Finally, Marinette noticed Kagami attention to Marinette’s sword. So she led the other girl to training yard, threw her sword, and said, “I win, we have tea-party. You win, I’ll show you grandfather’s war room.” Then the battle was on. Every time, Kagami would visit, they’d have another duel to see what they did for the day. Both families were pleased at this.

The next was an ice demon from England; a prissy, blond, name Magnolia who was two years older and, who Marinette knew, only tolerated Marinette’s unladylike behavior because she was a princess.

Then there was the playmate that actually required Marinette to leave the palace and venture to Japan. This meant that she had to hide her demon features like she did when she was in public in Paris.

The boy’s name was Izumo, a decedent of Sango, a legendary demon slayer and Inuyasha’s friend. He was very serious, older than Marinette by four years, and seemed to take it as a personal insult a six-year-old, even a demon one, could best him in a fight. Marinette just wondered exactly what her uncle thought “close in age” meant.

However, her favorite playmates turned out to be Shippo’s grandchildren; both half-human. They both lived in France. One was her age, named Juleka, and the other an older boy named Luka.

As Marinette got older and her visits to her grandfather’s decreased to twice a month during the school year and every summer. Her grandfather was under the belief that Marinette went to a school with other demons, and while technically that was true; there were almost two dozen others demons, it was primarily a human school. Strike one. Her grandfather would only be mildly annoyed.

Kwami and the miraculous, both banned from her grandfather’s kingdom, was active in Paris. The banning of the little gods happened after the destruction of the greatest creation Shikon no Tama. A little marble that nearly ended the world and caused great pain for Inuyasha and his friends for years. After they left, no one knew what had happened to Kwami. As long as they never made another jewel, no one wanted to know.

Except they did make another jewel; earrings, a ring, a bangle, a hair comb, a broach, and so many different objects. Two of which had the power that rival the form Shikon Jewel.

Marinette never told her grandfather that the Kwami and resurfaced and apparently didn’t learn their lesson the first time around. Strike two. Her grandfather just went from annoyed to beyond angry.

Finally, Marinette decided to follow in her Uncle’s footsteps, band together a ragtag group, to stop a dark villain hell-bent on united the two most power Miraculous for gods’ know what reason. And she actively dresses up as superhero to defend the lives of humans. It was why she always wore her hair down around the older demons. Strike Three. Grandfather’s snarly mad with blood red eyes, ready to kill. And Marinette? Marinette is so out its not even funny.

When Sesshōmaru arrived in Paris, Inuyasha on his right, he immediately sensed great power. An ancient power. When he arrived at the bakery, his daughter and granddaughter and the man they lived with (“Oh for hell’s sake, His name is Tom,” Inuyasha snapped. “Sabine’s husband. Marinette’s father.”), he raised an eyebrow at the power radiating from the place, stalked right passed his the three, up to his granddaughter’s room, if it could be called that. Marinette right on his tail.

The room looked normal at first, if far too small. However, it took the demon king five seconds to locate the source of power.

He held up the squirming Kwami between his claws, “Explain, now!” Sesshomaru ordered. His eyes flashed red.

Inuyasha looked at the red creature, Tikki, he remembered was the goddess of creation’s name. His claws extended at the memory of all he had been put through and all he had lost because Plagg and Tikki decided to create something that should’ve never existed in the first place.

Sabine and Tom looked confused. Sabine knew what the creature was, had seen pictures of it, but it was centuries before her time. She always assumed the power that radiated came from Marinette.

Marinette glanced down for a moment before steeling herself, and looking up at her grandfather with a proud raised head. She tucked her hair behind her ear and revealed her jewelry.

All hell broke loose.

“AGAIN!” Inuyasha roared, going full demon mode.

“My grandchild,” Sesshomaru snarled at the being, who looked rather petulant, “You dare!”

Inuyasha’s fist went through a wall, “You don’t learn your lessons well, do ya?” He asked Tikki.

“The world needs heroes,” Tikki crossed her arms.

Marinette stepped forward, “It was my choice. There’s a villain that holds another jewel, he must be stopped before he destroys us all.”

“Another Naruku,” Sesshomaru hissed.

“No,” Marinette denied. “He’s human. I fought him before. I know that much. The miraculous hide his overall scent but he bleeds like anyone else. And his is human.”

Inuyasha turned red eyes to his niece, “And then this will be quick.”

#ml salt #ml fic #marinette dupen chang #Marinette deserves better #inuyasha

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flying-nightwing · 4 years

Text

The Incredible Coincidence of One High School Reunion

As promised, the awaited enemies to lovers x fake dating i’ve promised today! (ft. my love for super long titles)

Thank you to everyone supporting me!

PS: if your name is Monica I am truly sorry, please forgive me.

Masterlist

Pairing: Dick Grayson x reader

Word count: 4916

Warnings: none beside extreme cheesiness

Out of everyone you thought would show up to the Gotham Academy 10 years alumni reunion, Dick Grayson was definitely not one of them. He was the golden boy, the Wayne kid that probably had a long list of better things to do than entertain than his old cohort of high school graduates. Alas, there he was in all of his glory, and it pissed you off.

You and Dick had, to say the least, a difficult relation. You had been friends, for a little while after he started at the academy. You had a lot of classes together and more often than not ended up working together. You helped him get acclimated to the new school and environment, introduced him to all your friends and invited him to your extracurricular activities. But then, ever so slowly, everything became a competition. Who got the best grades, who got involved in most committees, and even who the teachers liked most. Naturally, he bested you in everything and made a point to shove it back in your face. He became your nemesis, and this adversity dealt one hell of a blow to your social standing. People liked Dick better, of course they did, so they stopped hanging out with you.

Good riddance, you told yourself. They outed themselves as fake friends anyway, so the loss hadn’t been catastrophic. Still, for a teenage girl, it had hurt. You had been doomed as the loner, all because you had befriended the wrong person in the first place. The saddest part was that you genuinely missed your friendship with Dick, but you just couldn’t go back to him. It would have made you look pathetic and desperate, and you were not about to stoop so low. Sure you had a few other acquaintances you ate lunch with and did teamwork, but it wasn’t the same.

He was mingling with the people, talking and laughing in his probably expensive suit. You rolled your eyes at the sight and downed your glass of champagne, then made your way back to the refreshment table. On the way you bumped into an old colleague from the recycling committee and entertained small talk, then you made it there without another obstacle. You stopped in front of the already filled glasses of wine and hesitated. The red wine smelled horrible, the white seemed watered down, but the rosé looked like a good choice. You reached for the last glass when your hand collided with another. you looked up to apologize, but as you caught a glimpse of the other person, your eyebrows furrowed in annoyance and retracted your hand like it touched fire.

“Grayson” You said through clipped lips.

“(Y/L/N)”

“Still trying to steal my only joy left, I see” You scoffed, nodding at the still unclaimed rosé glass.

“And you’re still baselessly accusing everyone but yourself for undermining you” He rolled his eyes. “Nothing has changed”

“What do you want?” You sighed, crossing your arms against your chest and glaring up at him. “Why can’t you just leave me alone?”

“Well, I was just trying to get a drink” He lifted his hands up in surrender, but in a sarcastic way that just irritated you, and he knew it all to well. “You were the one who got all pissy about it”

“Yeah whatever, I guess I should have bowed and offered you the glass on a silver platter” You huffed. “So his Highness wouldn’t have been inconvenienced”

“Are you kidding me?” His eyebrows raised. “Why are you like this? I’ve never--”

He stopped talking, his eyes fixated on something behind you for a second. Then, he made himself surprisingly small and glanced away. You frowned in confusion for a second, before you looked over your shoulder and blanched, understanding the reaction all too well. You shared a look of panic, simultaneously putting away the animosity between each other to brace yourself for the horror that was to come.

And that horror was named Monica.

She confidently walked toward you, graceful in her high heels and frustratingly stunning in her knee length dark blue dress. She was your ex supposed best friend, and the first one to ditch you for Dick when the rivalry began. She then proceeded to make a point of showing off her pinning for him, trying desperately to make her and him a “thing”. It never worked, but she kept going, so much it became borderline stalking. The whole school knew, it fueled everyone’s gossip.

Without missing a beat, she extended in arm in between you and Dick to grab the last glass of rosé, leaning not so subtly more in his space than she needed to. She sipped the alcohol almost seductively, gazing at Dick with practiced innocence. It was becoming uncomfortable real quick.

“Hi Richard” She gave him her best smile, then shot you a smug glance as if saying watch this. “How have you been?”

“I’ve been good” He replied without much interest, refusing to meet her eyes. “How about you?”

“Amazing! I’ve been working on totally rebranding my father’s hotel company” She chatted excitedly. You sighed inwardly and grabbed a glass of white wine, taking a long sip. “If you want to, I can show you the new rooms design. We could test the mattresses…”

You choked on your wine while Dick’s eyes considerably widened. Monica was waiting for an answer.

“I uh-- Actually I can’t…” He sputtered, trying to come up with an excuse to reject her. Oh, that would be interesting alright. He knew how persuasive she could be, so he had to find something solid. He looked around in a panic, then his eyes settled on you. “... Because (Y/N) and I are together”

His words didn’t quite register in your head as he threw an arm around your waist, pulling you closer to his side with a wide forced smile. His fingers giving a small pleading tug to your dress snapped you out of your stupor, and you plastered a matching grin on your lips. You hated the idea of bailing Dick out of an embarrassing situation, but the opportunity of taunting Monica was just too good to pass, so you decided to play along.

“What?” Monica blinked in confusion, then frowned. “I didn’t know that”

“That’s because we’ve been keeping it very private” He replied smoothly. “I wanted to keep her away from the paps, they’re such vultures sometimes”

“Oh” She simply said, before smiling sweetly. It was too sweet. You didn’t like it one bit. “So how did it happen?”

“Well, we bumped into each other again last year, totally by accident” You took over Dick’s hesitation. “And uh, we cleared things up and it kinda just… Happened”

You made a point of giving him heart eyes as you finally returned his awkward embrace. His muscles untensed a bit when he saw you wouldn’t sabotage him. Something shifted in Monica’s eyes, they became just a bit more somber without her losing the smile. It made her look just a bit insane.

“I see” Her tone turned hostile. “I guess you won’t mind if I share the good news, won’t you?”

“... Yeah, we don’t mind” He scratched the back of his neck while your stomach dropped. You hadn’t thought about this. The smugness returned as she turned around, flipping her hair in the process. You watched her walk away before sending a thundering glare at Dick, who had his lips pressed in a thin line.

“Really?”

“What was I supposed to do?” He quietly bit back.

“You owe me a solid one for this” You said through your teeth. “You better start thinking of something good, golden boy”

“As far as I’m concerned, you have as much interest as me to keep this charade up” He scoffed, grabbing a glass of red wine. “So don’t act like you’re doing this out of selflessness”

“Yeah whatever”

“Ooooohhhh mi gosh guuuuys”

You both flinched at the very high pitched voice coming to your right. You saw a girl in a violet dress almost running toward you with a wide grin on her face. You didn’t remember her name, but you knew she was a nice girl despite her tendency to get in everyone’s business.

“Why didn’t you say you were together?” She squealed as her boyfriend trailed along, an apologetic expression on his face. “This is so amaaaazing!”

“Ah, yes” You replied awkwardly. “We just wanted to keep it private, you know?”

“Yeah I understand totally” She nodded quickly, the point of your words soaring right over her head. “I’ve always known you guys were going to end up together. You’re so meant for each other”

You wanted to cringe. That surely wasn’t the discourse anyone was holding while you were still in high school, and she surely only said that because she thought you were actually together. What do they know, anyway.

“Uh, thanks” Dick smiled politely to hide his discomfort. “I guess it took some time, but we finally figured it out, haha”

“Oh, I forgot” She gasped, turning to her boyfriend. “Mike, this is Dick and (Y/N). They were like, THE rivals back in the days. We basically only talked about them for like, an entire school year. It’s so sad (Y/N) pushed everyone away though”

You looked away as she kept babbling to her boyfriend. You knew she didn’t mean it in a harsh or mocking way, but it still stung. You wanted to tell her it hadn’t been by choice, that people deserted you and forced you into a corner, but you found yourself unable to do so. Beside, you couldn’t just let them know how much it affected you or they would prey on it all the same than in actual high school. You were so busy tuning her out that you missed the concerned glance sent in your direction.

“Hey, it was nice to see you again” Dick shook hands with the couple, snapping you out of your head. You forced a smile and did the same. “I think we’ll go around a bit, but uh, see ya?”

“S-sure”

You gladly took this exit and walked away from the refreshment table with Dick. You could feel his questioning stare shifting on you every few seconds, but you refused to look in his direction. He didn’t have the right to be concerned, and you didn’t owe him any explanations. You lifted your head upright and followed him over to the next group of person. Naturally, by this point, everyone had gotten the word from Monica. People were either friendlier than ever with you, or gave you attitude about it, none of which you enjoyed. You mostly nodded and smiled, barely paying attention to the words that were being exchanged. It was more often than not anecdotes that concerned Dick, or happened after you broke things off with most of your friends.

“It so strange to see you together” Some guy you didn’t quite remember began with a cruel smirk. “I didn’t see you as the type to hang out with losers”

You bit your cheek so hard it almost bled. You were certain that this would be the last nail to your coffin, that you’d receive the humiliation of your life. However, your fake boyfriend had another idea.

“Still I hung out with you” The comeback came so fast it almost gave you a whiplash. Silence settled over the group, their baffled stares directed to a very self satisfied Dick Grayson. “Hey, remember when you hung upside down from the climbing ropes in gym class and threw up all over yourself from up there?”

Your hand involuntarily flew to your mouth to hide the drop of your jaw.

A wave of uncomfortable laughs made its way around the circle, as nobody had enough guts to confront Dick about it. And you had a feeling he knew that; he knew they would still try to suck up to him even ten years later and fully abused this privilege.

For you.

Without waiting any longer, you were gently dragged away from the group. You were still processing what had just happened and didn’t realize you were talked to. You shook your head slightly to get out of your daze and frowned.

“Uh?”

“I asked you if you were okay” He repeated softly.

“Y-yeah” You stuttered. “I guess I’m the one who owe you one now”

“Don’t mention it” He tried a small smile. “Those people need some reality checks sometimes”

“I don’t know why I even came to this stupid reunion” You mumbled, glancing back at where the group had stood earlier. Most of the people had gone away by now, only remaining the guy Dick had all but obliterated and some girl seemingly comforting him. “It was a bad idea”

He didn’t speak right away, he instead did a visual sweep of the room, then at the back door of the gymnasium and at the crown again. “Hey, have you ever gotten on the roof of the academy?”

“... No” Your eyes narrowed. “Why?”

“Come on” He hooked his arm through yours and pulled you with him to the back door. You ended up in a staircase you didn’t know existed and began climbing up. You didn’t know how, but Dick easily bypassed the lock without the key, opening the door to the roof. You stepped out a took a deep breath, glad you could escape the crowd of people you didn’t like downstairs. The sky was clouded and it smelled like rain was coming.

“So” You began as you turned to face him. “How did you out of all people found out about this secret passage? This isn’t very much golden-y of you”

“Oh, if only you knew” He chuckled, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I found the staircase by accident in senior year one time I was trying to hide away from Monica and her gang of demons”

You snorted.

“I don’t know how you did it” He hummed, looking up at the sky.

“Did what?”

“Kept yourself together while I was being, well, a total dick” He precised.

“Ah” You gave him a sad smile. “The first social rule you learn when you’re born rich, is that you rarely ever make real friends. You mostly only keep people around temporarily for your own gain, then they’re gone. It was hard, but I had expected it”

“Still, you handled it way better than I did” His eyes trailed down the roof and stopped on you. “I wasn’t prepared for everything that came with hanging with rich kids”

“It’s an art, isn’t it?” You teased. “Fake friends are hard to manage, especially the kind that comes here. If you’re not careful they’ll eat you alive”

“Yeah, I understood that pretty quickly” He sighed. You nodded slowly, warming up your arms with your hand. The night air was cold, and the wind didn’t make it better.

“If it could make you feel better” You paused, regretting your words as soon as they came but unable to stop them. “I think you’ve been my only true friend in high school, for the time it lasted”

You weren’t looking to astound him, but you surely did. His whole posture changed, and his expression shifted into something you couldn’t put your finger on. You had the time to reconsider your words and ask yourself if you should leave before he gave you any reaction.

“Sorry” You mumbled. “I shouldn’t have said that”

“N-no, wait” He scurried his thoughts. “You really meant that?”

You nodded.

“I truly screwed up didn’t I?” He muttered, flinching.

“No, I did” You sighed. “I should have just swallowed my pride and stopped caring so much about trying to be better than you”

“But I kept pushing you” His head hung low. “I was trying so hard to get attention and validation that lost the one person that might have made high school not so terrible”

“Didn’t you get enough validation from Monica?” You raised an eyebrow playfully. “She seemed so keen on praising your every move”

“Ha” He shook his head, a small smile dancing on the corner of his lips. “I think she was praising the name Wayne more than anything”

“High school was terrible” You said as you glanced up at a bird flying higher over your head. When you looked back down, Dick had his arm outstretched and was handing you his suit jacket. You mumbled a thanks and put it on, welcoming its warmth.

“Cheers to that”

“Oh yeah” You chuckled. “Cheers to people screwing up good things and explaining a decade later”

“(Y/N), I officially apologize for being an asshole” He declared, and you held back a grin. “Will you forgive me?”

“I officially forgive you, Dick Grayson” You replied. “Will you forgive me for being a stuck up bitch?”

“I officially forgive you, (Y/N)” He repeated with a mock solemn expression.

You held eye contact for a second before you burst with laughter. All of this anger and resentment you had carried for years was suddenly just gone. You had no idea it would be that easy to put it all behind you and find back your friend you had missed so much. You had forgotten how easy it was to laugh and kid around with him.

“Come here” He opened his arms for a hug. As you were about to walk into his embrace, raindrops began falling. You paused for a second, just enough for the sky to open up and pour water over you.

You yelped and ran for cover back inside. Dick slammed the door behind you and put back the lock on again, then with a mischievous glint in his eyes, grabbed your wrist and pulled you with him down the stairs.

“Slow down!” You squealed, trying not to fall over in your heals. “Where are we going?”

“Take a wild guess”

He pushed open the door of the first floor, giving out on the hallways you knew too well. Most senior classrooms were around here, and on the walls, the graduating classes hung in big, golden frames.

“The senior hall? Really?” You raised an eyebrow, but he wasn’t fazed.

“Come on, let’s find our year” He ignored your comment as he walked further down the corridor, checking the dates on every frame. You followed him until he finally stopped on the right one. “Aw, look at our baby faces!”

You squinted your eyes at the pictures to find him. “I’m sorry to tell you, you practically look the same”

He gasped in offense. “I believe I lost my baby cheeks since. I mean, look at my jaw”

You looked in between the picture and him a couple of times, pretending not to see it. Obviously, his face had gotten insanely handsome since you had last seen him, and that was just his face. You didn’t broach the topic of the broad shoulders and seemingly toned body. The rain had gotten through his white shirt a bit, and you prefered not to let your gaze linger there for too long,

“Mhhh” You shrugged teasingly. “I guess your hair has improved a bit”

“This is what you latched on? My hair?” He scoffed playfully before he snapped his head in your direction. “Wait, a bit?”

You laughed. “Alright alright, Grayson. I might be a bitch but I’m not a liar, you do score considerably higher overall on the looks now”

“Thank you” He smiled proudly. “You’re not too bad yourself”

“Oh, you don’t need to flatter me” You smirked as you stepped around him to go further down the hallway. “I’m fully secure in my glow up from then to now”

“Alright, no need to get cocky” He snorted, but it wasn't mean like it used to be. It felt like the friendship you were meant to have.

You stopped in front of the glass case displaying various achievement by seniors, the valedictorians of each years and the famous golden book, which contained the signature of every graduate of Gotham Academy since 1957. It laid open, showing the pages of the last class to leave. You felt nostalgic as you read the comments and signatures, suddenly wishing you were one of the kids who got to give and receive nice comments and share inside jokes only a select group of people would understand. Instead, you knew your name was forever scribbled in a corner ten pages back, perhaps overlapped by some bigger, flashier signature from the more popular crowd.

“Forever the... Salt water chugging gang?” Dick read from an entry, furrowing his brows together. “I wonder what events lead to that name”

“Yikes” You grimaced. “Were we that stupid?”

“More, I think” He grinned. “Let’s find out”

Before you could ask what he meant, he got to work to disable the student proof lock and opened the glass. He did it so easily, so flawlessly, you had trouble thinking of how he learned to do all that.

“How do you know so much about picking locks?” You asked as he carefully flipped back the pages to your year. First the door to the roof, now that?

“Stick around and maybe I’ll tell you” He winked, then returned his eyes on the book. They widened. “Oh what the hell”

“What?” You peeked from around him.

“Monica really… Really left me her-her” He choked with laughter, tears brimming his eyes. “Her my--myspace handle-”

You joined him in a quiet laughter, then it grew louder as his became hysteric. He barely finished his sentence, he couldn’t even say it, and you understood why. It was positively hilarious. She really did leave her myspace handle for Dick, under his name with a little heart and her signature.

Dick sighed, his hand on his chest as he tried to catch his breath back. He then wiped his tears and shook his head. “That was good”

“One for the books, for sure” You agreed. “If she could see that, the embarrassment”

“Come on, let’s add something for old time’s sake” He said as he pulled out a pen from his pockets. Before you could stop him, he leaned forward and began writing in a tiny free space. He then backed up, letting you read his little addition.

‘Let’s pretend I wrote that when we were seniors. To our lost and found friendship, sincerely, your favourite asshole’

Your smile widened at the message, a warm feeling sneaking up in your chest. You snatched the pen from his hand and scribbled another message in another blank space, the blue ink contrasting with the black of the markers on the page.

‘Because it took us a decade to find out we have more in common than different after all. To you with love, your stuck up bitch’

It was your turn to step back, satisfied, and let him read your message. He chuckled as you handed him back the pen, and quietly flipped back the pages to the last class.

“Thanks” You spoke up.

“For what?”

“For giving me the chance to write something nice that I meant in there” You explained, pushing back a loose strand of hair behind your ear. “Despite what I might say, it’s nice to leave a mark somewhere”

“In that case, you’re very welcome” He smiled warmly. You felt your heart skip a beat when you noticed how close from you he had gotten. From close on, you could see the different pigments in the blue of his eyes, or just how sharp his facial features actually were. It was definitive, Dick Grayson was a really handsome man.

You kind of understood now why Monica was so obsessed with him.

Suddenly, Dick perked up, his eyes set on the corner of the corridor. Quicker than you could register, he shut the glass display close and spun you against him, backing himself up into the wall. You were confused and flustered with your hands flat on his chest, but you realized soon enough the purpose of his actions. Seconds after, your old math teacher rounded up the corner. She paused at the sight of you, a frown on her face, until she recognized Dick. Her whole expression then changed.

“Mr. Grayson” She smiled politely, ignoring the position you were in. So, he had staged it up to seem like you were doing something else than vandalizing the golden book. “I believe the party is in the gymnasium”

“Sorry Ms Hess” He apologized sheepishly. “We wanted to take a little trip down memory lane”

She gave you a knowing look, but didn’t argue much. She only kept going her way like she didn't even see you. You were baffled for a second at exactly what extent people went to suck up to the Wayne name, then you remembered the position you were in. The heat crept back up in your neck, and it only became worse when Dick seemed to have no intention to move. You were too aware of his arms circling your waist and his casual leaning on the wall.

“Nice save” You breathed, your eyes going back to his. Bad idea. He had this innocent look that actually was anything but, and it made you nervous. He was the one against the wall, but it still felt like you were the one trapped. “I still have no idea how you managed that too”

“Let’s add it to the list of mysteries, shall we?”

You could have sworn his voice got deeper there. He slowly tilted his head to the side, his gaze flickering under hooded eyelids in between your eyes and your lips. He was nearly irresistible like that, practically inviting you to steal a taste, so you decided just not to resist. Tentatively, you leaned closer and slowly pressed your lips to his. They were soft and warm as they began gently moving against yours, making you feel all weird inside. On one hand, this was the man you disliked with worked passion no earlier than two hours before. But on the other hand, it felt so right.

You felt like a teenager all over again, but living the right experiences this time around.

He pulled away, ending the kiss but still staying close. You blinked hazily, trying to chase the daze away. You could feel his hot breath on your lips, and while you were sure your thoughts should be spinning a hundred miles per hour, your head was surprisingly clear and calm. All nervousness was gone and dissipated in thin air.

“I…” You trailed off, trying to find your tongue. “I don’t know what to say”

“Hmmm, how about...” He hummed as if he was thinking it through. “Wow Grayson, you’re so amazing and I can’t believe we did not make out sooner”

You rolled your eyes at the high pitched voice he used, then lightly slapped him on the chest. “Way to ruin the moment”

“That’s the good thing about moments though” He said, sliding a hand up your back and on your neck. “We can make more of ‘em”

He pulled you in for another kiss, which did not last as long, but definitely felt as good as the first. Perhaps that girl in the violet dress was onto something after all.

“Smooth, Grayson” A small smile stretched on your lips when you separated. “Very smooth”

“Smooth’s my middle name”

“Uh huh” You chuckled, your eyebrows raised. “Sure”

He shook his head, a playful grin on his lips. His hand trailed from your neck down your arm and his fingers laced with yours. You glanced down at your joint hands, then up to his face. His smile was still there, but it was somewhat more toned down, more fond than its previous playful.

“Are we doing this?” He asked in a whisper. “Or should we stop before I start thinking about it too much?”

You took a deep breath at his question, not expecting it just yet. Dick was someone passionate and emotional, so it shouldn’t surprise you he was already thinking of a potential romantic relation. Everything was moving so fast, but you didn’t want to lie to yourself and say you didn’t feel anything there. Something definitely happened in between the moment he awkwardly threw his arm around you to dodge Monica and the moment he spun you against his chest. And well, one thing you clearly learned tonight was that spontaneous and not thought through decisions could pay off in a way you couldn’t even imagine.

“I’m willing to try if you are” You finally spoke up. “I guess we’ve got nothing to lose in giving this a shot”

Relief swept across his eyes and his famous million dollars smile returned. He gave your fingers a little squeeze, seeming as happy as a child on christmas morning.

“This is gonna be great” He muttered excitedly. “I won’t let you down again, I swear”

“You better not” You teased.

“Ohhhhhh mi goooosh!”

Both of your attention snapped at the shrilling voice interrupting you. There was the same girl from earlier, with a crowd around her that obviously contained a very pissed off Monica. You and Dick shared yet another look of incomprehension and slight panic at what she would say this time. And well, it was well justified because nothing could prepare you for her next words.

“They’re getting engaaaaaaaaged!”

Ah hell, what did you both get into?

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