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gucciwins · 4 years

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Weeping Willow

Harry sends his wife for a girl’s night, and their five-month-old baby falls sick.

Word count: 5,093

A/N: i am no expert on babies (unless it’s my almost two-year-old niece) but i have it on good authority this does bring down fevers. This was written for @tbslenthusiast dadathon. i hope you love it. xx

___

It's a Saturday night, and Harry tries his best to convince his wife to go out with her friends for a nice dinner while he cares for baby Willow.

Their five-month-old infant. The sweetest little girl to grace the earth in Harry's opinion.

He's never felt a love like this, a never-ending love for his child. He swears he has never been more in love with his wife, his twin flame, for giving him the greatest gift he will ever receive.

She's standing there cradling Willow in her arms as she begins to drift off to sleep. Humming a song she hasn't shared with Harry. Something special between mother and daughter. As much as Harry hates to admit it but their daughter is a momma's girl at heart.

Willow feels that extra protection from her mother; he gives her all the cuddles and kisses, but there is no more special bond than when Y/N holds her close to her heart, and Willow settles down in seconds. When she is breastfeeding, Y/N tells her the stories of her childhood and when Harry and she were first dating.

It's the irregular sleep schedule that Y/N has never once complained about.

Harry wakes up at the oddest of times when he stretches his arms out to reach for Y/N to pull her close to his chest only to find her missing. More time than not, he'll find her at their windowsill, Willow getting her night time meal as Y/N gazes at the moon softly singing Lolo a lullaby that was once sung to Y/N. The moonlight bouncing off her skin made her look eternal as if she weren't real, and Harry just imagined up this life.

But she is real, and she is all his, and their daughter is theirs.

As a kid, this was the life he dreamed of, never knowing if it would come true or not. He will never stop being grateful for all he has in life, full of love.

Harry is brought out of his thoughts when Y/N addresses him.

"I don't know, H. She's a little warm." Y/N stands there, the back of her hand gently placed on her baby's forehead before moving it to Willow's cheek. She smiles down at her sleeping baby.

Harry sighs, extending his arms for her to hand him their small baby. She shakes her head, taking two steps back.

Harry chuckles because he knew this would happen, but he forgot how stubborn she could be.

She's wearing Harry's lilac robe, her hair curled, and makeup is done. He made her do a red lipstick because he missed it. It's one that Gemma gave her that's smudge and transfer free. Meaning he can kiss her with it all night long without his lips turning red.

"Willow is fine. Maybe she passed some gas."

She rips her gaze from Willow and shoots him a glare. He puts his hands up in defense.

"If she starts feeling sick, you know the crying won't stop. She likes it when I soothe her."

"She's my daughter too. I can take care of her and soothe her just as good."

She kisses Willow's head, slowly continuing to grow brown curls just like Harry's. "I know you can, but there's this motherly instinct telling me not to go."

"My husband instinct is saying that my wife should go out to dinner with her friends for a nice dinner and some wine." Harry rebuttals.

"I don't drink." She mutters into her baby's head as she adjusts her to lay on her chest as she sways side to side.

"Well, then go crazy with the strawberry lemonade."

She sighs. Harry knows she's close to giving in.

Her clothes set out in bed, ready for her to throw on. Harry chose her outfit, and he's proud of it. Camel-tone flared fitted trousers, a black fitted v-neck, and a double-breasted twill blazer to tie the look. Her black Gucci 'sucker' boots waiting for her at the door to be slipped on then head out the door.

"If I go, you have to promise to text me every hour."

"Half hour if you really need it." He counters.

She shakes her head, no. "If you do that, I'll be home by the second text."

He nods, happy she agreed to go. She needs this no matter how much she had been fighting it.

"Alright, Lolo, I'm going to leave you with your Daddy for a few hours. I hope you don't miss me too much. I'll make up for leaving you with cuddles for the whole night, munchkin."

Harry's eyes well up, always in awe at the relationship between his wife and their daughter. Their beautiful five-month-old daughter who Harry, thinks is growing too fast. She's still on the small side, but the doctor assured them she was doing good.

Y/N placed her in the crib that Harry put together with Gemma's help, who wanted to be involved with as much as Harry would let her.

She stirs a little, but Y/N pats her chest softly, calming her down.

"I'm going to go get dressed. Turn on the baby monitor, please?" She points in the direction of it.

"On it, love."

She walks out and gets dressed quickly, knowing there's a reservation, and she doesn't like arriving late. Harry meets her downstairs baby monitor in hand as she stands boots safely on her feet.

Harry shamelessly checks her out. He almost begs her to stay after seeing how good she looks, but he knows she needs this.

"Text me when you get there." He wraps her in a hug, not wanting to let go just yet.

"Of course."

She pulls back, looking up at him before leaning in to peck his lips three times; she walks out the door, bag in hand, when Harry tugs her wrist, turning her around connecting his lips with hers. It's a short passionate kiss, Harry's tongue fighting for dominance. She lets out a small moan. Y/N, let's Harry be the one to pull back, not at all wanting to break the kiss.

Harry smirks as he sees the dazed look in her eyes. "Just so you know what you have waiting at home for you."

"You menace." Harry leans on the door as she walks out. "I love you, H."

"And I love you."

Harry watched as she drove away before going back in and heading straight to the nursery, where his darling Willow is still sleeping.

"Just you and me, Lolo," Harry whispers as he sits in the rocking chair and lays back to rest his eyes. It's like they say when the baby sleeps, he does as well.

____

Harry wakes up when he hears a small sneeze. He peeks at Willow, but she still has her eyes closed. He picks up his phone to check how long he slept and is shocked. It was only twenty minutes; he felt like it had been much longer now, feeling a bit more energized.

He sees a text Darling and opens it,

I've arrived safely.

I miss you both so much already. xx

Harry can't help but smile. He misses her already. He might always be playing music in the house that fills the silence, but Harry only does it because she sings along to each song no matter how bad she can butcher the lyrics to an unknown song.

She fills the home with warmth and love.

I love you! Lolo is still sleeping. Have a lovely night. xx

Harry sat in the rocking chair, just gazing at his daughter. Her cheeks were a little red, but he thought she might be a bit warm. He unwraps the blanket, just watching her stretch out her small fists.

Willow slowly blinks her eyes open, a small smile on her face when she sees her father looking down at her.

"You up, Lolo? No more sleep, I'm guessing."

She continues to stare at Harry before turning her head to the door. Harry knows she's waiting for someone to come in. After a few moments of no movements, Willow looks at Harry, giving her a small smile.

"Waiting for your Mum, I know. She'll be back later; for now, it's you and me."

Harry reaches in to pick her up, gently shushing her, not wanting her to start crying. He walks down the stairs slowly, the fear of tripping down the stairs more present than ever with his baby in his arms.

Harry sits her on the couch, a pillow propped up on the back to help support her back, and grabs her stuffed bunny that was left on the coffee table. It's her favorite toy to play with at all times.

Willow sets it in her lap, not at all looking at it, eyes on Harry. He sees her eyes begin to well up, and he knows the tears are coming. He scoops her up gently, letting the bunny fall to the floor so Harry could soothe his baby.

"My Willo baby, no tears. You know it breaks my heart." He begins shushing gently. Gemma swears by it watching Alice do the Ss in New Amsterdam. Y/N does it too, her grandma teaching her that when she helped watch over younger cousins.

This settles her for a second, resting her head in the crook of Harry's neck as he rubs a hand gently down her back. "Good baby, Momma would be proud of us." He knows he made a mistake once she lets out a loud wail.

He can only assume the word Momma did it for her.

His phone alarm begins to ring, meaning it's the hour update, and if he doesn't check-in, she'll call, and if he doesn't answer, she'll worry even more and drive herself more. He does not need that happening.

Harry will not let her call; he'll send a sleeping photo of Willow to Y/N to keep her calm because he can do this. He can tend to his child alone. She's half of his DNA; why wouldn't he be able to.

His Mum always told him babies cry for three reasons: dirty diaper, sleepy, and hunger. He assumes she's hungry. Has to be, her diaper doesn't feel full, and she also doesn't smell.

As Harry goes to the kitchen, he stops at the fridge. He sees all the magnets that Y/N loves collecting when visiting a new country, state, or city. Her favorite being the Trevi Fountain. Tells her every time she sees it, she can see Harry down on his knee, tears in his eyes and heart wide open for her. Safe to say it became his favorite as well. Right under it is a yellow sticky note "Just in case xx Dr. Harp" The phone number of Willow's pediatrician.

Y/N really is the best, but he knows that he has everything under control, or at least he keeps telling himself that as Willow continues her crying, no amount of words calms her. He'd also call his Mum before the pediatrician, who would only end up calling Y/N.

"Mummy left your milk in the fridge; now, all we have to do is warm it up."

Willow's cries go quiet for a second at what Harry can only think was at word milk. He can do this.

They don't bottle feed her as often, both preferring her to breastfeed directly from Y/N. Harry encouraged her to pump milk because Y/N has complained over too many milk stained shirts. It has helped her tremendously. A few times, when Y/N was too tired to get up, he offered to warm the milk to feed Willow. Y/N knew how important it was for Harry, so she allowed him and began pumping more for Harry to help provide her during the day.

He gets a bowl and fills it with hot water, then places the bottle in. He knows it should be a few minutes, he begins singing to Willow. He sings her the song he wrote for his sister, which holds meaning to Y/N now, finding a connection that makes them feel at peace when hearing the song. As Harry gently sings 'Sweet Creature,' he sees her settle, nose runny from the tears, he grabs one of her clothes that Y/N keeps in the kitchen. Truth be told, she has them spread all over the house to have one on hand when necessary. He wipes the snot then drapes it over his open shoulder. He checks the temperature, able to hear Y/N scold him in his head for wanting to skip the step.

"Lolo, going to go sit down, and then you can begin eating." She blinks up at him, her green eyes unfocused, refusing to settle on one place of his face.

He sits and adjusts Willow to cradle her in his arms. He does a final temperature check on his wrist and is happy with the outcome. He slowly brings it up to her lips to startle her, and she latches on after a few seconds.

Harry leans back on the chair, releasing a long sigh. He feels victorious, even just for a moment.

The phone on the couch seat next to him displays a text:

I love you both. xx

He's in the clear.

Harry sings Willow the first song that pops into his head, well he mainly hums as she has her eyes closed and a fist clenched on her blanket and the other tucked in. He pulls the bottle away once he sees no more movement. He wipes the outside of her mouth very carefully to not disturb her.

"Willow, Angel, I need to burp you. You shouldn't even feel it." Harry likes warning her; he knows she understands.

He's done relatively quickly, settling her back in his arms to let her sleep. Harry would love to turn the television on, but he settles for staring at the angel in his arms.

Harry frowns when he sees Willow's eyes flutter open. She sleeps longer after eating.

"Lolo, it's barely been ten minutes. That's not enough for a growing baby. You need to grow up to be strong, just like Momma."

Willow lets out a small cough. It startles Harry, not having heard the sound before. He gently picks her up and begins patting her back, soothing her as she calms down.

Harry thinks back to the phone number stuck on the fridge but shakes the thought away because one cough is not enough to make a call, especially this late at night.

He is now slowly walking in front of the couch, trying to get her to fall back to sleep. It's not working.

It starts off in small whimpers before turning into loud wails.

This is not good.

Harry tries his best to place his baby's cries, but it does not sound familiar. He isn't calling Y/N; worrying her is not part of tonight's plans, but there is someone in mind who will always answer him. Without thinking twice, he goes to favorites and picks the second person.

"Hello love, how are you?"

He's greeted by a calming voice, but it does nothing to soothe the pounding in his heart. "Hi, Mum." Harry isn't even sure she heard with Willow's loud cries.

"Is something wrong? Why is little Willow crying? Where's Y/N?" Anne is quick to jump in.

"Today was her first girl's night out that I was insistent she go out to even though she didn't want to, but she should be back in the next hour or so." He addressed that question before jumping into the most important one. "Willow coughed then settled down before bursting into this cry. I've never heard it before. It's not her hungry one because she ate half an hour ago, and her diaper is clean." He lets out a sob he didn't know he was holding back.

"Oh, dear, right. First off, is she hot? warmer than usual."

Harry pulls her back, face scrunched up, nose full of snot. He places the back of his hand on his forehead, and it's burning. "Yes, she's warm. But couldn't it be from the crying?"

Anne sighs, worried for her son, but this is parenthood having to see your child get sick and old help them through it. The first time is always the worst, but each time after that still breaks your heart. "No love, check her temperature and call the pediatrician. Tell her the symptoms, and you can go from there. Right, hang up, call Y/N, and the pediatrician in that order."

Harry agrees to get her off the phone and to make the call right away. Anne knows Harry well enough that he will skip one important thing she told him to do, so she takes it upon herself to get it done.

He heads upstairs, sitting the still crying Willow in the crib as he searches for the thermometer he knows Y/N keeps next to the wipes for emergencies. He is quick to take off her shirt as gently as one can be and sticks it under her armpit as he waits for it to ring as he dials Dr. Harp.

There is an answer on the third ring, just as the thermometer beeps.

"Dr. Harp, hello, it's Harry Styles, father of Willow Styles." He says in a rush.

"Yes, Mr. Styles, what can I do for you." The doctor's voice is kind, and it calms Harry knowing there's a professional helping him.

"Well, my daughter slept about ten minutes before waking up after eating, and that isn't normal for her. She had a bit of a cough and has not stopped crying for the past twenty minutes now. She's burning up Doc. The thermometer says 103F. Shit, I meant 39C. My wife's family got us a fancy thermometer that gives us both numbers." He feels the need to explain a hand on the back of Willow's head, trying to calm her down as well as himself.

"Well, it seems it could be a common cold. There is not a lot to do, except keep your baby drinking milk. Mrs. Styles is still breastfeeding, correct?"

"Yes."

"Okay, it's important to keep her hydrated and check with her through the night. To bring down the temperature, a lukewarm bath would help as well as a humidifier because, from the sounds of it, she is a bit congested."

Harry nods along to everything she is saying, repeating it back. "Thank you so much, Dr. Harp."

"It's no problem; if the fever doesn't break or gets higher than 40C, then I suggest you head straight to the hospital." Dr. Harp says her goodbyes as he picks up Willow and heads to their bedroom, taking her into their bathroom.

He looks around, not sure what to do first that he misses the sound of the door opening and closing as well as footsteps up the stairs. It might have also been Willow's crying.

Willow lock's eyes with Y/N over Harry's shoulder, stopping for a second, causing Harry to gasp before she starts up louder than before for not being in her mother's arms.

"Willow, darling," Y/N smiles at her daughter, cheeks red and nose snotty but still her beautiful baby.

Harry feels like he can breathe properly now that she's home with him. His missing half home, finally feeling complete. He does feel awful for not calling her right away, but he swore she was having a good time.

Harry hands over Willow to Y/N's waiting arms watching as she cradles her close, pressing repeated kisses to her daughter's brown hair. Willow instantly clenches a fist onto her necklace, not that Y/N minds, but Harry feels guilty for depriving his daughter of her mother. It was his fault she was out tonight.

"How'd you get here so quick?" Are the first words Harry thinks to say.

Harry thought she'd be mad at him for not calling, but all he sees are her kind and gentle eyes he fell in love with.

"Anne called me to update me, but I was already ten minutes from home. I had dinner but got it to go having that nagging feeling you needed me. Anne called it mother's intuition, but" She breathes in Willow's smell, Harry finding it endearing how she always says she smells amazing like peaches. "I swear I could feel how distressed you were. I thought you were having a bad time, so I got you ice cream and brought home a meal we could share."

He leans against the sink, a small grin forming on his face. "I did always tell you we were soulmates."

Y/N steps further into the bathroom, heading to the tub to get the water-filled. She sits on the toilet, letting it fill before dipping her hand in from time to time. It feels a bit less than halfway before she closes the tap.

"Doctor's orders were getting the temperature down, right?" Y/N asks Harry, and he nods. "Well, in the lukewarm bath, she goes." Y/N fakes as if she is going to place Willow in before hugging her to her chest once more. "I'm only playing." She boops Lolo's nose.

"Your momma thinks she's so funny, Lolo." Harry rolls his eyes at her, not at all, hiding the love behind them.

"Get in the bath with her, H." Y/N has successfully undressed Willow, giving her kisses all over, causing Willow to let out a small giggle.

Harry near tears now. "That's the first time she laughed this entire night."

"Honey, listen. She hasn't gotten sick before. It's okay, we're learning." She reaches a hand up to cup his cheek, and he leans into it eagerly. "We are learning together." He nods as she pulls her hand away. "Now, do I need to undress my other baby as well?"

He smiles. "You're welcome to, but I got this." He slips off the black shirt and grey sweats, leaving on his briefs.

The water is perfect. Not that he expected any different because she does everything with extra care and love for Willow. He's glad to have her as his life partner and mother of his child and future children.

He slips in, sitting down, letting Y/N gently place Willow on his bent knees. He cups her head, gently sinking himself lower. She hands him a cloth, and he looks at her, eyes wide.

"Wet it, rinse it a bit, then just sponge it around her."

He nods but doesn't move to receive it. Y/N moves forward, dips it in the water, and squeezes it leaving a bit of water. She gently gets Lolo's back patting before moving down.

"Thank you." He says and accepts the cloth.

Y/N makes her way to the bedroom. "You're leaving?" He questions, causing Willow to look at her as well.

She laughs at her two loves, both wanting her close. "Going to turn on the humidifier. It's going to be good for her and her congestion. Then will get you both a new change of clothes before coming back. Is that okay with you both?"

Harry looks down at Willow that still has her eyes on her Momma. "What do you think, Lolo? Think we should let Momma take care of us." He hums as if hearing her response. "She said not to take too long."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

Harry settles in, Willow moving her hand in the water, intrigued by the ripples allowing Harry to rinse her. He feels good, feels great, and can honestly help her and no longer cry about it.

Y/N knows he needs this but hopes she isn't feeling too awful about leaving Willow when she got sick for the first time.

For all, he knows she could be crying in their bedroom or, even worse, the nursery where he can't hear her.

But that's what Harry is here to remind her what a fantastic team they are and how she saved the day like always. He's proud of her just as he knows she's proud of him.

____

It's twenty minutes when Y/N walks back in. Now dressed in grey sweats and an old white shirt that Willow loves to cling on. She approaches, and Harry raises Willow so that she can wrap her in the yellow towel.

"My munchkin smells so good." She kisses her cheek. She turns to look at Harry with a smile on her face making him smile back. "Shower, I'm going to dress her, and then I'll bring your clothes in."

"Okay, love."

Harry drains the water before turning on the showerhead, letting the warm water wash away the stress in his body. He doesn't take too long, wanting to cuddle his two girls all night long.

Walking out, dressing in the warm clothes that she must have thrown in the dryer for him knowing how he likes to be warm after a long night. He smiles, slipping the shirt over his head, slipping on the black sweats with no need for briefs. Turning off the bathroom light, closing the door, he sees Willow lying on Y/N's chest.

"How is she doing?" Harry paddles over, hovering over Y/N to kiss her forehead, doing the same to Willow.

"Better, the temperature is at 98."

Harry smiles, glad she's under three digits again. She looks sweet dressed in a bodysuit with small bumble bees all over. Y/N wrapped the knitted mint green blanket that Y/N's mother made for Willow around her shoulder to keep her warm but not enough to overheat.

"That's great. Our baby is so strong." Harry gets in bed and sits against the headboard, making Y/N shift over to rest her head on his shoulder, arms wrapped around Willow for support.

____

It's an hour of silence basking in hearing their baby's breathing. Not as smooth due to the congestion but better than before. Harry places a kiss on Y/N's forehead when he feels the first tear, then many more follow. A sob breaking out, but breathing even to not disturb their sleeping baby on her chest.

"Love, lovie, hey. Don't cry. She's doing better already." He wraps the arm tighter, hoping he can transfer all his love for her through the hug.

"I'm just overwhelmed." She chokes out.

Harry sits up to face her, reaches his hands out to wipe her rapidly falling tears.

"Please don't be mad with yourself; if there is anyone to be mad at, it's me." He pleads for her to understand. "I told you to leave us be."

"Not mad at you, honey." She whimpers. "I-I-I'm upset I wasn't here to help you. But you handled it so well. Very proud of you."

Harry sits there, tears falling out of his eyes now because she was proud. He did nothing. He knows he did nothing; he called his Mum and the doctor. He never got her to stop crying.

"I didn't do anything."

"Honey, you did." Her voice firm, one hand reaching up to gently raise his head to look at her. "You called Anne because you knew she would help and then called Dr. Harp for help."

"But she never stopped crying, not until you held her."

She shakes her head. "She was feeling bad, she cried at discomfort and unusual feelings. Might have also sensed your panic," She teases. He lets out a small chuckle.

"We're a team. Together and apart, H."

Harry lays down on his side, pulling Y/N down with him. He does it slowly to not move Willow; Harry lays his head on her shoulder, looking down at their baby. He lets himself relax, knowing she's going to be okay.

"I love you." He whispers. No response causing him to look up at a grinning Y/N. "Say it back."

She giggles. "Thought you were talking to Lolo."

"That was for you, wife."

"My bad," She pecks his nose. "I love you, H."

"Missed." He mutters, puckering his lips in her directions.

"Dork." She closes the small distance and hums at the sweet taste that is Harry and mint toothpaste. He deepens it for a few seconds before pulling back. His eyes closed. He kisses her from her cheeks to her collarbones, no spot left untouched. He steals one more kiss before settling down.

"Sleep tight, my darling, Willow," Harry whispers, throwing his arm over Willow's small body and Y/N's stomach for extra protection.

He peeks one eye open to see Y/N smiling down at Willow, no sign of sleep in her features. "I take it you won't be going out anytime soon again."

"You got that right." She jokes. "No, it was nice. I forgot how good it is to chat about anything other than what size diapers she's going to need next."

"That's not all we talk about. We also talk about the size of your boobs."

She snorts at his comment, and he happily joins in.

"We haven't had a date night, well we have but indoors with a baby always in arms."

Harry smirks. "What do you have in mind, love?"

She blushes, "We go away for the weekend, leave Willow with Anne or Mitch since he keeps saying we keep his goddaughter away from him."

"You'd be okay with that?" Harry checks, making sure she really wants this.

She nods. "I'll miss her like crazy, my heart is beating faster just at the thought, but I miss you." There's a gleam in her eye, one when she gets lost in a memory. "It's quickies and late-night conversations. As much as I love our daughter, I miss my best friend."

Harry grins, glad she's sharing this. "Any other time, I'd make a joke, but honestly, I miss you just as much."

"Then, coordinate with Jeff on a weekend you're free and look for a place we can go to. Driving or flying whatever you find best."

"Oh, baby, I'm going to make you fall in love with me all over again."

"I'm counting on it, Harry."

Harry helps Y/N drift off to sleep with his ideas of where they can go and all the naughty things they will get up to.

Harry knows nothing in life will be better than being in the arms of his two favorite girls.

___

Thank you for reading. Please reblog it means a lot to me.

Come and tell me what you thought of Weeping Willow

#harry styles #dadathon #harry styles x reader #dad! harry #harry styles fluff #harry styles x y/n #harry styles imagine #harry styles one shot #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles story #thank you for reading!

1K notes · View notes

palettepainter · 3 years

Note

I’m imagining Higari using his mother’s parenting tactics on Mei when she won’t listen in the lab. Either “I’m gonna count to three and if you aren’t wrapped up by then, I swear-“ or just whistling when she won’t look over at him.

Also having moments of “god I’m just like my mother, how did she do this?” Poor man is getting grey hairs

I declare this cannon. No questions asked-

Honestly I’m convinced Higari’s mum would assume Hatsume was Higari’s daughter. After visiting him she’d turn to him and ask ‘So where’s her mother?’ - Higari, not catching on, answers with confusion that she’s probably working. And then it all clicks-

I can SO see Higari doing the whole whistling thing to get her attention, and Mei being Mei doesn’t hear the first time, not until Higari literally yells her name at the top of his lungs, only then will she turn to him with her hair full of wires and face covered in oil. With how Hatsume is I imagine Higari often has to yell or be stern to get his point across to her, dam stubborn determined kid. And the count down to to three XD He’s just muttering that under his breath, pinching the skin between his eyes at the last ends of his patience - don’t worry though, Higari gets cuddles from Ecto later so he’ll chill out eventually

I already headcannon Higari becomes a sort of parent to Mei with how often she blows up the lab, Higari as a teacher is responsible for Mei’s safety while at UA. He’s just walking down the hallway. coffee in hand, thinking about what tasks he needs to do today and BOOM, a giant explosion down the hallway fills the end of it with smoke - and Higari just KNOWS, he knows Mei caused it, and all of a sudden he’s sprinting to the lab to make sure Mei didn’t blow herself out a window or something silly.

He patches up her injuries, all the while reminding her she is in fact an idiot for nearly blowing up the design studio for the third time that month. And Hatsume just smiles that usual grin, eyes still filled with passion for inventing and Hiargi sighs, knowing that the lab will probably be blown up for the fourth time before the month ends.

BUT imagine all the soft lil caring moments!

Hatsume is in the lab overworking herself again, and it shows. Her skin is dirty, her hair frizzy, eyebags,she looks just about ready to collapse then and there at her work bench. Higari is not surprised when he returns to the lab to find her snoring away, drooling out the side of her mouth at her work bench. Instead of yell, he throws a blanket over her and ruffles her hair, the kid needed some sleep.

Hatsume forgot to go down and get lunch, lost track of time perfecting her fond ‘babies’. Higari’s learnt to keep energy bars and other snacky foods in his studio in case this happens.

Hatsume is having some troubling fixing an support item to a pro hero, it’s her first big job outside of school work, she hates to admit it, doesn’t want to admit it, but she’s nervous. Higari senses it and walks over to offer advice and calm her nerves, he knows she’s got the skills to fix it.

One day during winter it snows at UA, a lot. Due to the cold school is canceled for the day, all the students go out to the snow, Hatsume included, Higari scolds her for not wearing a godforsaken scarf and lends him hers, he never liked the cold anyway.

Hatsume is sick and has to stay at the dorms to rest, the design studio is quite, a rarity. Higari feels oddly...lonely. He thinks of Mei and is hoping he’s remembering to take her medicine, not because he’s worried or anything, no no! Hatsume just tended to forget things when her mind was always on inventing, thats all

Then years later Higari says something so motherly that minutes after he has a ‘wait a sec-’ moment and realizes he’s being a fretting hen! I imagine Ecto finds Higari’s and Hatsume’s bond adorable but to not embarrass Higari, he keeps quite.

#I want more Powerloader and Hatsume content #We've got Dadmight Dadzawa #What about Dadloader??#Higari and his crazy grease monkey daughter #Honestly their bond is one of the more interesting ones in MHA to me #Powerloader #Hatsume #MHA

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hwahawt · 3 years

Text

My new cat | j.w

Non idol! ateez, gn reader

TW: mentions of d**th, cats (?)

Word count: 1.8k

A/N: My first piece in tumblr, my writing feels shitty but oh well :(

Wooyoung, your first love, probably your last too. The short relationship with him had been filled with kisses of all types: passionate, cute and innocent, aggressive, and apologetic. You can still feel the last kiss you shared. What hurts the most is that neither of you knew it would be your last.

The tears escaped your eyes for days until you there were no more left to shed; the constant pain in your chest, the emptiness hurt, the silence in your home was deafening. You needed a distraction, something that could fill the void in your heart and home, even though you knew that whatever you decided for, it would never be as loud and filling as Wooyoung. For once his screaming and excited squeals were missed, the pain you felt when he shouted in your ear long gone; you could only hope one day something could bring you that happy pain again.

~~~~~~~~~~

"A cat? I don't know Lia, I want a loud animal, I need a strong distraction, cats are too independent, don't you think?"

"You're delusional, cats are responsible yet caring, you just need to remain open and let the cat choose you not the other way around. Or you could pick up the first cat you see and have a little demon to accompany you, it wouldn't be too different from Woo, would it?"

You sigh, you don't know whether to laugh or be angry at her, however, she was just trying to remind you of the everyday Woo you fell in love with. You were scared of forgetting him, forgetting your life together.

"A cat will do I guess" you give up, Lia was as stubborn as Wooyoung, you would never win.

~~~~~~~~~~

"You have a cat!" An excited San rushed past your front door to get his hands on Mew Mew.

"This ailurophile I swear to god," A tired Hongjoong said while hugging you, shaking his head in disapproval before he shouts "leave the cat alone, we would like to make it out with no scratches!"

"Sorry about them Y/n, you know how they are, an obsessed man and a cocky one who doesn’t miss the chance to show off his vocabulary” Seonghwa engulfs you in a big cozy hug and you hadn't felt so warm in months, his motherly nature really was a blessing.

Meow you feel something stepping on your feet and scratching your legs.

"Mew Mew? Need something baby?"

To say your cat was demanding was an understatement, your cat was the clingiest one in the entire universe, it reminded you of Wooyoung constantly, and although at first, it hurt, you started to feel glad that you could remember him without feeling so much sorrow. You were at peace with his absence, most of the time.

"Hello Mew Mew, I'm Mingi" Your sunfish best friend saluted the cat in your arms, from the corner of your eye you see Hongjoong’s left eye twitching at the action thinking how come no one respects me like that?

"Step aside, I want to pet him," Yunho softly pushes Mingi and extends his giant arm to pet your companion "wait! Mew Mew is a boy, right? Omg, I might have misgendered your pet, I'm so sorry Mew Mew!" he starts bowing in apologies and the tips of his ears turn red in nervousness.

"Calm down, he's a boy, no one is misgendering anyone" You snatch Mew Mew from Yeosang who had quietly coaxed the cat into going to his arms.

"Hey! That's my best friend!" He exclaims with the most adorable pout you had seen on him. Without you noticing, the boys glare at Yeosang to shut him up. You didn't know yet, and you might never know, it's up to your one functioning brain cell to get a hint, but even that could take a few lifetimes.

Jongho walks to the couch while humming, his unbothered persona balances the room, a moment of silence settles to appreciate his vocal cords, that is until Yunsan start bickering about what movie they'll watch.

All of you are now spread out in the living room, some laying on the couch, others on the floor over tons of blankets, while Seonghwa decided to take two chairs for Hongjoong and him. They really are like grandmas you think.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Thank you for this wonderful evening Y/n" Hongjoong reaches out for you to hold you against his chest, the warmth coming out of him reminding you how grateful you are for still being alive, lucky to be surrounded by so many bright and warm stars.

"It was my pleasure having you all here for the day, I missed you guys a lot," You say after letting go of Hongjoong "I also wanted you to meet Mew Mew, especially you, Sannie"

"Thank you, I loved spending time with him" San shows a blinding smile while muttering an imperceptible again.

"Life is a special gift Y/n, we're glad you are making the best of it" Jongho pulls you into a hug, you quickly melt in his embrace until you realise what you're doing. You could only remember being hugged by him four times, his arms feel like ambrosia, healing the last broken bits of your heart.

~~~~~~~~~~

While washing the dishes, you see a brown-black fluffy ball jumping up the counter and walking towards your busy arms. "I can't hold you right now Mew Mew" you reject him softly, the cat is stubborn and climbs up your arms to your shoulders, settling himself there with his tail going behind your neck to give warmth to your other shoulder.

You scoff, what a clingy cat you got, but at least you're reminded that you're loved, "I love you too, baby" you reassure him and he purrs in return. Pleased with your affection and warmth, he rubs his head against your neck.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Wooyoung! Stop pretending to be tired and help me with the table please"

Not receiving an answer back you frown, about to call for him again, reality slaps you in the face. Wooyoung is gone. However, before any tears slip down your cheeks, your new companion purrs and jumps up the table, he sits down beside a used napkin and looks directly at your eyes. While the time you spent with your cat felt like years, it had only been a few months. His constant affection made you forget he wasn't a human, and sometimes it was hard to believe a cat was so loyal and tuned in to your emotions than your own therapist.

Looking into your cat's eyes always led you down a rabbit hole full of love and gratefulness, however, this time was different, looking into his cat eyes you could see emotions you had never felt in him before, very human emotions in your opinion. Mew Mew seemed to be sorry, "don't pity me now Mew Mew, I'm not delusional, I just forgot for a sec". The cat meowed and jumped in your arms, that was when you had a crazy idea.

"Yeosang! Hi, I'm sorry are you too busy right now? Ok, what about the boys, can they come over for a bit too? Perfect, thank you!" You look at the cat that now sleeps soundly over your piano. He's still as cute as you remember him.

~~~~~~~~~~

"What's the matter Y/n? We were worried you called so suddenly" Yeosang throws himself at you, hugging you while checking for injuries.

"I'm alright, don't worry. Come, let's sit down, ok?"

The room is quiet, and the only thing you can hear is the soft snores coming from the impostor laying shamelessly on your piano. Your eyes naturally drift towards him and a smile is painted across your face without you intending to.

"He's Wooyoung, isn't he?" The question makes every man in the room panic, the person in question quickly jumps off the piano and runs towards your lap.

"Well, it's not like you're not allowed to know. We just weren't expecting you to catch up so quickly" San says while reaching out to caress the cat and whine something about broken agreements and betrayals.

"Now I understand why you called him your best friend," Yeosang's cheeks are dusted with a fluffy pink colour, “at the time I was so immersed in my pain that I forgot that you all were hurting too. For that I'm sorry."

"Your connection to him was different, you were kind of left alone but we still had each other" Hongjoong reassures you while taking your hand in his.

"That's why he decided to stay with you, not us. San had seen him in the street a few days after Woo passed, he brought him back home of course," Seonghwa rolls his eyes at the memory, even though his face fails to show any annoyance at San's actions, "after spending time with the cat we felt like Woo was still with us, Yeosang and San realised first, after all, they were the closest to Woo back then. We started calling for Wooyoung and the cat would always respond, he would look at us like he knew what we were asking for."

Without you noticing, there are tears running down your cheeks and wetting Wooyoung on your lap. The feeling of knowing that you didn't lose him forever was unexplainable, a mixture of relief and sadness because it took you so long to understand your cat's affection.

"It might take you a bit to get used to having him with you again, especially as a cat, but we know you love Mew Mew nearly as much as you love Wooyoung, so don't think you're going crazy at some point, because you're not" Jongho softly states with his signature gummy smile and Mingi pats your head.

"We're glad you're back" Mingi whispers to Wooyoung, and the latter purrs at Mingi in response while wagging his tail playfully against his thigh, the usual gestures he did as a human.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Woo wake up! Time for lunch!" Your voice bounced off the walls, and in a matter of seconds, you heard the rushed steps of the boy (technically cat) in question. Excited sounds coming out of him.

Once you settle your plate, drink, and cutlery on the table you look at the cat who was staring at you, pretending not to be tempted by the food on the table. Glaring at him playfully and doing a motion saying that you're watching him, you go back to the kitchen for his food, and once his plate is set next to the wall, you sit down and start to eat, however you're interrupted by hissing.

"You're hissing at me? How dare you, little brat!" Wooyoung hisses again and proceeds to push his plate with his snout, "ok I'm kidding baby, come up here" You take the plate and place it on the table so you both can eat together. Your cat is bratty.

~~~~~~~~~~

"I love you baby, thank you for coming back to us, back to me" Your cat purrs and snuggles into your chest, rubbing his body softly against your shirt to keep his smell there. Your cat is clingy.

I'm happy to be back with you Y/n

#ateez #hongjoong #seonghwa #yunho #yeosang #san #mingi #wooyoung #ateez imagines #fluff #ateez fluff #wooyoung imagine

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nsheetee · 4 years

Text

Trust / Love

Pairing: Jaemin x Female Reader

Genre: Bulleted AU, Mafia AU || Angst, Fluff

Length: 7.5k

Details/Warnings: featuring Jeno and Renjun, slightly enemies to lovers, swearing, mentions of blood/guns/drugs, depictions of violence, reader is physically hurt

Summary: You’ve known Jaemin ever since you could remember. You’re a successful duo with several completed missions and a history of working well together, despite not completely understanding each other. When trouble strikes with a rival mafia in town, you and Jaemin realize just how deep your connection runs and that, sometimes, trust is more important than love.

◇─◇──◇────✧────◇──◇─◇

growing up, your definition for “mafia” was different than other kids’ definitions

while some considered mafia’s scary and “bad,” you considered the mafia your father worked for home

especially after you started working there, too

you trained along side jaemin (an annoyingly teasing and charming boy), jeno (his “bffs since diapers” and an equally charming boy), and renjun (who’s sassy and quick-witted personality you melded with)

they all had family who was also in the mafia, and that’s where your connection began

surprisingly, you all flourished in the tough training arena that the mafia instructed you in

and even more surprisingly, you and jaemin worked very well together

everything from quick eye communication to combat fighting

it came as a second nature to the two of you, you didn’t feel like you had to force anything with jaemin

even both of you couldn’t deny how well you worked together

as the four of you grew up and trained, members of the mafia became excited at how skilled the next generation of field agents would be

so everyone was particularly thrilled when you and jaemin were sent on your very first mission at the age of 17

which was just the first of many successful and completed missions together in the next 3 years after that, you and jaemin claiming the title of “dream team”

and when renjun and jeno joined your duo, the four of you were unstoppable

still, whenever a particularly stubborn mission surfaced, you and jaemin were called to fix the problem

but when the mafia’s previous leader died from a heart attack and your father was appointed as the new leader, things in your life changed dramatically

you couldn’t lie: it scared you

your family life started falling apart; eeriness filled your home as your father was always at work and your mother spent many nights asleep by the door waiting for him to come home safely

you weren’t seen as just another field agent anymore, you were now the Mafia Leader’s Daughter

but you were glad that one thing didn’t change: jaemin

ever since he entered your life, he was always a constant (wether he meant to be or not)

you could rely on him to always knock some sense into you (literally, during combat training, or figuratively)

you could rely on him to poke fun at you and tease you

it always annoyed you no matter the situation... but on the inside....

you were content

you were okay

as long as jaemin stayed the same- everything else could change for all you cared

you didn’t really know what this realization meant but you didn’t explore the feeling any further

there was training to do and missions to complete

and the messy feelings growing in your chest would have to be shoved down for now

little did you know, the pressure will get to you, and all of your feeling will soon spill out

◇────✧────◇

as you walk into your father’s office with renjun, jeno, and jaemin, you have a feeling that the location of the brief has something to do with you

for briefs, you usually visit the right hand man who explains the mission to you and gives you your roles

and as you meet the cigarette smoke rising into the air from your father’s bad habit, his eyes immediately locking on you

you KNOW the four of you are being briefed by your father because of you

“sit” he says, gesturing to the four seats placed on the other side of his sleek desk

his voice is commanding and cold- nothing less than expected from a mafia boss

“we have a cache of supplies in a building on the North edge of town...”

supplies = drugs the mafia sells for profit and to fund other “expeditions”

“...there was a drug bust led by the police last night a few streets away from our building. it’s too risky to keep those supplies there; you need to move the supplies to a new location out of town tonight.”

your father puts out the cigarette that had been accompanying his mouth on a crystal ash tray

“jeno, you’ll be running lead. renjun you’ll be driving. and you two…” he looks over at you and jaemin, “do whatever it is you do that makes all your mission successful.”

with a wave of his dismissive hand, the four of you stand up and head towards the door

you share a look with renjun, mouthing a “that’s it?” to him and he shrugs, trying to make his movements subtle

“Y/N.” you stop in your spot, sighing at the looks your three friends send you as they walk out and shut the door behind them

“yes, dad?” you turn around and he motions for you to come closer.

“how’s mom?” he asks and stands from his seat as you round the desk

his tone with you now is different than how it was 2 minutes ago when he was “Mafia Leader”

“mom’s good, she misses you. the usual.” your dad nods his head, looking downcast at the thought of his lonely wife

your mother never wanted to be a part of this business, but she loved your father very much, and still does now

so she sits at home and patiently waits to see him every few days, when it’s safe for him to leave HQ

when they do reunite, the house immediately feels warmer and the conversation fills in the agonizing silence of the house

the looks they give each other after days of missing and worrying about each other almost makes you think it’s all worth it

almost

you have to admit- you feel pity for your mother

you don’t understand how she can sit around the house and just wait for the man she loves to hopefully come home

but either way

you’ve never been in love, you don’t particularly want it right now

but if you did- you wanted it to be as persevering and truthful as your parents’

“I wanted to talk to you about the mission...” your father’s words pull you out of your thoughts, “now that I have this new position, and there are people who know who you are, it’s going to be more dangerous.” he finishes

you nod your head to yourself; your earlier assumption was correct

“dad...” you sigh, understanding where his concern is coming from, but feeling a big annoyed that this change in your lives is affecting how you do your job as well as everything else in your life

“everything will be fine. I have my best friends with me... and jaemin.” you joke to lighten the mood and it works, your father laughing and shaking his head

“you keep saying you don’t like him, I don’t think you realize how well you work together”

“just because we work well together doesn’t mean we’re a good match in everything else”

“is that what it really means?” he asks and you tilt your head, unsure of his question or why he’s probing into this so much

“don’t you trust him?”

do you trust jaemin? or jeno or renjun? do you trust your father and mother and everyone else in this messed up family of a mafia?

there is only one person who won’t let you down like the rest of these people eventually will

and that person is yourself

◇────✧────◇

that night, you and your team set up a plan for the transfer

it was honestly very simple:

renjun is the driver, keeps the car running until you all have to get out of there

jeno, jaemin, and you would do the actual moving of supplies- from the extra info you were given later that day, there wasn’t actually that many drugs kept in the building your father was talking about

it was a small enough transfer that you only needed a van

so after finalizing your plan, you all pack into a black van, renjun in the driver’s seat with jeno in the passenger, and you and jaemin in the back

it’s way past midnight, the moon is barely visible with all the clouds in the sky, and the cool fall wind blows harshly against the van

you look out of the window, curiously gazing at your surroundings as the bumpy road takes you to your destination

you feel jaemin’s gaze on you every once in a while

“are you nervous?” he asks softly and you don’t realize he’s speaking to you until you turn your head to look at him

his head is tilted, brown hair slicked back out of his face, and the stupid way his eyes sparkle even on dark nights like this one makes your heart flutter irritably

“no” you answer harshly and it scares jeno

he jumps and looks back at both of you before rolling his eyes and turning back to face the front

“kids... be nice. no bad vibes before a mission” jeno states in a motherly voice, laced with amusement

“if we mess up something as easy as a transfer because of you two, we’ll never be able to show our faces to your dad” renjun mumbles

“ahhh,” jaemin vocalizes in an indifferent tone, waving his hand in the air before reaching over and throwing his arm over your shoulders.

“don’t you guys know? we’re the dream team.”

you shove his arm off and send him a pointed look

“go dream somewhere else, jaemin” he seems unbothered by the hostility in your voice and removes his arm

the rest of the ride is quiet until you arrive at the building

it looks exactly how you thought it would:

stained window panes dirty with years of dirt build up, the concrete walls of the structure chipped away with erosion, and an overall loneliness blankets the area

the perfect place for hiding drugs

you, jeno, and jaemin move fast

moving stacks of the ‘supplies” from inside the building to the back of the van where renjun counts and secures them

the cold air bites at your cheeks and burns your lungs with the harsh temperature

but you keep working, not stopping until you’re sweating under your coat

jeno and jaemin come up behind you as renjun finishes the last count

“we’re missing two bags” he states and jeno nods curtly

“y/n, let’s go.” just as you turn to walk back into the building, jaemin speaks up

“let me go instead, she’s obviously tired.”

“I’m fine” you speak up and jaemin gives you an uncertain look

he knows what you look like when you’re tired- your eyes droop down in the corners and your forehead scrunches with tension

“I’m fine” you repeat directly to jaemin this time and follow jeno into the building

jaemin starts to follow until jeno turns around and rolls his eyes

“jaemin, stay here. leave her alone.”

jaemin feels slightly irritated- he hates seeing you tired during a mission

a few years ago, during one of yours and jaemin’s first missions together, you didn’t get much sleep on the plane ride to the mission site

unfortunately, gun fire broke out

you kept missing every shot, growing frustrated with yourself to the point where jaemin had to push you away and finish the job himself

he knew how much you kicked yourself for screwing up, for “failing” even though the mission itself was a success

jaemin watches you and jeno walk back into the building, disappearing in the darkness and he can’t help but feel some anxiety build up in his chest

as you and jeno look for the last of the supplies, a clattering sound makes jeno sigh irritably and turn around

“I told you to st-”

the pause in his words makes you stop walking and turn around as well

a group of men stand a few feet away, your posture immediately stiffens at the small cross tattoo they each have under their left eye

they’re all part of the crossmen, a different mafia in town

one that frequently gets into fights with your own

“what are you kids doing here?”

“kids?” one of the men walks forward, eyeing you up and down

“they ain’t kids” he chuckles and your father’s warning from earlier today echos in your mind

“that’s y/n” the fact that he knows your first name and how slimy is sounds coming off of his tongue sends a shiver down your spine

jeno immediately tenses up next to you as the men make their way towards you

he tries to step forward and stop them, but one of them pulls out a gun, making both of you take a cautious step back

jeno curses to himself when he reaches for his waist, the familiar cold metal of his own weapon non-existent, only the walkie-talkie hanging off his belt

this was only supposed to be a transfer

he didn’t bring a weapon

◇────✧────◇

outside of the building, renjun taps his fingers against the back door of the van

“where are they? does it really take this long to find two bags of drugs” he mumbles, but it only makes the anxiety in jaemin’s chest grow

suddenly, the walkie-talkie sitting on top of the supplies comes to life, making jaemin and renjun turn to the sound

“renjun? over.” jeno’s voice spoke through the device, sounding very strained

“copy, over.” he replies and a long pause follows “y/n and I are in a situation, the crossmen are here. over”

once the words reach the boys, jaemin thinks he could kick himself

he knew something would go wrong, he could feel it the second you walked out of his sight

before jaemin could turn and run into he building, jeno speaks over the walkie-talkie again

“leave us. you need to transfer the supplies right now before they find out you guys are here too. over”

jaemin forcefully yanks the walkie-talkie out of renjun’s hand

“I'm going in now, I’ll get you guys out.” before he can even give the walkie back, jeno’s voice speaks up again

“no, I said you need to leave. now. renjun, make sure he doesn’t go in.” the last thing heard over the walkie-talkie are the voices of men speaking loudly before the line goes dead.

after a second of silence, jaemin’s eyes meet renjun’s

“no.” renjun shakes his head, already knowing what’s going through jaemin’s head

jaemin doesn’t say anything as he turns around to walk into the building

renjun grabs onto his bicep, pulling him back to the van

“let me go, they need my help.”

“jeno said to go, we need to go” renjun grabs at jaemin's coat, pulling him to the passenger seat of the van and attempting to push him in, but jaemin grabs the sides of the door and the frame

“I know you’re worried about jeno, but he’ll be okay.” renjun sighs before giving him one last push on his chest

jaemin falls into the passenger seat and stops renjun from shutting the door with his foot

“I know jeno will be okay, I’m not worried about him.”

“then what’s the problem?”

the words leave jaemin’s quivering lips before he can fully register what they are

“it’s y/n. I'm worried about y/n.”

the look on jaemin’s face scares renjun

jaemin has always been the strong and composed one out of all four of you

but right now he looks like he could fall apart

renjun can only begin to understand what jaemin is feeling: you and jaemin have always been together during times of trouble

but now you’re with jeno, away from jaemin, and in trouble with the crossmen, of all people

but renjun has a feeling that’s not the only reason jaemin is worried about you

renjun gives jaemin an apologetic look before shutting jaemin’s door and climbing into the driver’s seat, speeding off onto the interstate

leaving you and jeno behind to fend for yourselves

◇────✧────◇

the next time jaemin sees you, it’s the next afternoon when you’re being supported by a beat up jeno as you walk into your mafia’s HQ

jeno is bruised and bloodied, an arm wrapped around you as you hobble in on your right foot, your left foot not touching the ground

jaemin has never felt this much relief

not even when he escaped a bullet to the chest

not even when he was run down by a squadron of police cars at the age of 18

he didn’t move from his spot next to renjun as a doctor takes you away from jeno, leading you to the medical ward

“what happened?” your father asks jeno, who keeps his eyes downward and hands behind his back

“we were captured by the crossmen. I didn’t bring my weapon and they were able to tie us up. y/n had a knife in her boot and when she got it out, one of the guys saw her and... beat her leg with a wooden plank. we barely got out.”

your father and the rest of his men perk up when the crossmen are mentioned

jaemin feels anger rev in his chest, like a black car dripping oil waiting to start a race

you were hurt because he wasn’t with you

he should’ve been with you, not jeno

“what did the crossmen want?”

jeno finally looks up at his leader

“they want you, sir.”

at no point in this entire ordeal was your father angry, but he looked absolutely vexed at the new information

“thank you for handling this well under the circumstances, jeno. I knew I could count on you.” jaemin almost scoffed in the silence, but catches himself in the last second

jaemin loves his best friend, he trusts him with his whole being and would never dare turn his back to him

but jaemin doesn’t think jeno should be thanked

he barely got you out of the situation, got himself beat up and your leg too, and kept jaemin (someone who is very capable) from helping

“what is wrong with you?” renjun asks from beside jaemin, eyeing him with a confused but tart gaze

“there’s nothing wrong with me” jaemin dodges his question, watching jeno as he’s surrounded by some older men in the mafia

they’re all patting him on the back and jaemin can hear the words of affirmation and congratulations at being complimented by the new mafia leader from his spot across the room, making his blood rumble at a near boil

“obviously something is up, you look like a bull and jeno is your red flag”

jaemin sighs, trying to get some tension to leave his body

“don’t you think it’s weird how jeno comes in and is painted as a hero. I mean, look. he’s soaking it in-”

“wait,” renjun squints at jaemin, “are you jealous? of jeno?” renjun suggests

before jaemin can deny, renjun gasps as he sees the affirmation in jaemin’s posture

“no... bro, that’s messed up. he’s your best friend.” “I know. I’m not jealous. I’m just confused.” and jaemin really is

later that night, when it seems like the entire mafia has come through the doctor’s office to check up on you, jaemin walks in by himself

the lights are off, the room is only illuminated by a single lamp that sits on the cupboard next to you and the machine that regulates your heartbeat

jaemin feels the anger from earlier dissipate as he takes a glance over your body, sitting down next to you on your bed

you have some cuts on your hands, but the most noticeable feature is the wrapping around your ankle

“it’s not broken, surprisingly” jaemin jumps at your voice, not expecting you to be awake

he looks over at you as your eyelashes flutter, trying to open

“go back to sleep” he mumbles, sliding closer to you and fussing with the edge of your blanket

“it’s only badly bruised. I got really lucky” you explain further anyway

“...you kept a knife in your boot?” jaemin recalls the story jeno told earlier

despite the pain you must be in, a lazy smile takes over your features and you shine your bright gaze at him

he doesn’t understand how you can look so beat up but beautiful at the same time

and it scares him that the unfiltered thought just ran through his mind

“you taught me that” you mumble, thinking of one of the first times you completed a mission with jaemin

you wore tall combat boots, and jaemin had the idea to put an extra weapon in them just in case anything happened

“yeah, it’s all thanks to me” jaemin replies sarcastically, the guilty anger in his chest returning

your smile fades, confused at his tone but before you could probe further, jaemin shakes his head and makes a bold move

he grabs your hand and gingerly traces his ring finger over the bandages, lovingly rubbing your wrist, and gently pressing his chapped lips on the cuts

you both sit like this for a while, the warm air from the humidifier filling the room along with your and jaemin’s heavy breathing

your relationship was always a bit difficult to explain

you work well together, the amount of completed missions as a duo proved that

but you often didn't understand jaemin

and there were times he didn’t understand you that well either

he doesn’t understand why you couldn’t just trust him- or anyone for that matter

even when he saved your ass multiple times, you still never opened up to him completely

you didn’t understand jaemin for the exact opposite reason:

he trusted people too much- too easily

despite the rebellious streak in him, he rested his well being and life a little too effortlessly on others

it drove you mad

but the types of feelings that are brewing in your chest, rising up your throat, and heating your face are not something that usually comes with jaemin

maybe it came to your attention when renjun visited you earlier, and explained how jaemin was ready to storm back into the building and fish you out of the disaster himself

how renjun had to physically push jaemin into the van to get him out of the scene

and how jaemin told him he knew jeno would be okay, and how he was worried about you- only you

it made your heart race just thinking about jaemin disobeying orders and running into the trouble you had encountered earlier- only for you

it’s all a bit too much too think about, and a bit too scary as well

jaemin’s frame leans over your thighs, his dark hair splayed out over the white blanket on your lap, and the soft light illuminating his tan skin

he doesn’t talk- just rubs comforting circles on your bandages and hums under his breath

you didn’t know this is what you needed to make you feel better

but he did

and maybe you didn’t trust him

but you definitely appreciate him

jaemin fell asleep before he could hear your heartbeat regulator speed up at the way his fingers entangle with yours and his hot cheek presses against your thigh as he slumbers.

◇────✧────◇

jaemin wakes up the next morning with his fingers still entangled in yours

you look more peaceful than you have in the past few days, so jaemin decides to leave you be

but not before one last squeeze of your hand

as he walks away from your touch and out of the room, the anger in him returns-

jaemin is up early this morning, but he knows there’s one person who’s up even earlier

jeno

jaemin finds jeno in the basement, where combat and physical training usually occurs

jeno’s hands are wrapped and a pair of red boxing gloves covers them as he hits a sand bag that’s suspended from the ceiling

jeno’s bruises and cuts are visible from the white cut-off he wears, his sweat highlighting the fact that he has probably been working hard for a while

jaemin walks up to jeno, and jeno catches the wraps around his knuckles and jaemin’s own pair of blue boxing gloves hanging over his shoulder

“you’re up early” jeno can’t stop staring at jaemin’s gloves

“yeah,” jaemin states, “let’s practice” he nods his head towards the boxing ring a few feet away

jeno is confused- jaemin never wants to spar him, especially not in boxing

but as jaemin pushes his gloves on, there’s a dangerous glint in his eyes and it makes jeno a bit nervous

the match starts, jeno throws the first punch while jaemin takes the defense

the two men circle around the ring for a while, throwing and dodging punches, sweat falling to the floor of the boxing ring below them and tension building

jeno notices jaemin gaining energy rather than losing energy

every punch he gets in seems to energize him and soon the roles switch

jaemin is throwing punch after punch at jeno, almost blindly assaulting him

jaemin doesn’t see anything- just jeno’s red gloves as he covers his face and falls on his back while jaemin falls on top of him

jaemin has jeno under him, one gloved fist over his chest as his other raises to strike jeno

jaemin only then realizes what he’s doing- but he holds his ground and the sound of punching and grunting turns into heavy breathing from both of them

“why didn’t you let me help you? huh? why did you have to be such a hero, jeno?” jeno grunts under jaemin’s weight, trying to push him off

“is that what this is all about?”

jaemin’s fist comes down from it’s position in the air right next to jeno’s head, a loud echo sounding through the room and startling jeno into stopping his squirming

“answer my question, jeno. why didn’t you let me help you?”

“because y/n and I had it under control” jaemin scoffs at that

“yeah that’s why she came back to HQ with a beat up leg.” jaemin replies sarcastically and jeno laughs

“so renjun was right? you’re jealous?” jaemin looks away from his best friend, hoping he wouldn’t see the guilt rising in his eyes

jaemin silently curses renjun under his breath before turning back to jeno with more composure

“what if I am? is it that bad that I want to help my friends?”

“friends? are you sure that’s what we’re talking about?” jaemin let’s out a frustrated growl and leans off of jeno, standing up and pulling off his gloves

jeno sits up from his position on the ground as his eyes follow jaemin’s pacing

“tell me what this is about, jaemin. we don’t have to fight.” jeno tries to be reasonable, but his words only frustrate jaemin further

“please, jae. we’re best friends, remember? we always have each other’s backs?” jeno stands and moves towards jaemin

“the call you made got y/n hurt. you made a mistake.”

“no. I know this isn’t about that. tell me what you’re feeling.”

jaemin has never had trouble voicing his feelings, especially not to someone as close to him as jeno, but the words don’t form that easy right now

it feels like his heart is in his throat, and if he spoke it might just jump out of him

“I think... I have feelings for y/n” jaemin confesses quietly, finally dropping his tense shoulders and his head

“so, you finally admit it to yourself” jeno chuckles and moves closer to embrace his best friend

“what?”

“it’s so damn obvious. the chemistry you guys have.. is insane. the way you work together on all those missions... I don’t think anyone has seen anything like that in this mafia before”

“are you saying... she likes me back?” jaemin asks, lifting his head

“ah...” jeno sighs and takes off his gloves, a gentle hand coming down onto jaemin’s shoulder, very different from the fighting happening just a few minutes ago “you know how she is. she’s never open to anyone, she doesn’t trust a lot of people. but I do know one thing.” jeno mutters, and jaemin looks at him expectantly

“I've never seen her look at someone with as much respect and admiration as she does with you. think about how much you’ve taught her, how much you've been a consistent person in her life. not even her parents could do that for her. you might be it for her, jaemin.”

jaemin feels like he can’t breath

he so wants Jeno’s words to be true, and he lets himself believe everything jeno says

so when renjun runs into the gym, out of breath and panicked, with only three words dropping off his tongue

“y/n is missing”

jaemin thinks the new information he just learned is what propels him to do what he does next

he doesn’t know what words to use to identify his feelings towards you, but he knows he’s always been with you and he will continue to be there for you

he doesn’t care that his friends are calling out after him, he doesn’t care if he’ll be under suspension for subordination

he doesn’t care about anything, but you

he’s always been by your side, and this moment in time will not be any different

◇────✧────◇

you wake up in a cold room, but a thin blanket covers your shoulders

your bandaged leg lays on a small pillow in front of you

a cup of water sits on the ground to your left, just in arms reach

the people who kidnapped you are... strangely good to you

a blanket, a pillow, and water are not usually what you expect when you wake up after being kidnapped

but the handcuffs around your wrists and the metal bars that you’re locked behind bring you to reality

the guard on the other side of the metal bars turns around to glance at you, the cross tattoo under his left eye catches under the single lightbulb that glows in the jail cell

well... shit

before you can move again, the sound of boots stomping on the ground echos through the hallway and the guard outside of your jail cell turns to unlock your door

several men, one you identify as the leader of the crossmen, march into the jail cell

“hello, y/n. I hope you’re enjoying your stay.” the leader says sarcastically

you’re trying to remember his name- something your father told you several weeks ago, but you can’t seem to remember

“is this a hotel? I'll give you a 1 star rating on yelp. this place sucks.” you decide to reply back with just as much sarcasm

one of the men from behind the leader tries to step forward but the leader holds out his arm to stop him

“y/n, you’re a smart girl. I know you already figured out why you’re here, especially after your little run in with my boys last night”

“if you think you’ll get to my father through me, you’re wrong” you reply

you knew from the moment you woke up that they don’t want to hurt you- the accommodations provided to you (no matter how poor they are) showed that

but you’re not sure how they would react when they realize that your father will never personally come for you

his guards and your father’s chief of security will never allow it

“oh really? maybe if we give him a little call he might be encouraged to come over? maybe if we... pull your leg a bit... will you beg to see him?”

his eyes hover over your bruised leg, the weak threat leaving his lips

it’s obvious

he underestimates you

and that’s what makes you absolutely livid at the man in front of you

“if you think breaking my leg will make me beg for my daddy, you’re wrong”

the leader sneers at you, but you don’t stop your taunting

“I think you like me too much to hurt me. you tied me up two times in as many days. maybe you have a little crush on me?” you laugh as the leader steps away, his face twisting with anger

he brings his boot clad foot up and stomps down on your bruised ankle, the rubber heel of it ripping into your skin as he twists his foot down

shocks of pain shoot up to your knee and your thigh

you can feel and hear the bones cracking under the pressure

your laughter turns into a loud scream, but the men don’t pay any attention as they walk out fo the cell, their leader following out after them and shouting orders at them in a language you can’t understand

the jail cell locks again, and the heavy stomping of boots fades away

you try to breath through the pain that is pulsing throughout your leg, but a tear slips out of your eye and down your cheek

the pain in your leg is bad, but the pain in your heart it worse

because you know what your mafia’s rules are for someone who is kidnapped:

they get themselves out, or they don’t get out at all

◇────✧────◇

jaemin slyly pushes himself through a window, hopping down to the carpeted floor with the quietness of a mouse

the room is still and the lights are off- perfect for infiltrating an enemies HQ

jaemin knows he’s breaking the rules of his own mafia- he knows he’ll be punished by your father and the chief of security and then probably scolded by his parents

but jaemin doesn’t think about that

he’s only thinking about how to find you- how to get you out

he only has you and your well-being on his mind

maybe since he talked with jeno, it’s making him do crazy and stupid things

like walking out of the room, his head swiveling down both ends of the hallway before attempting to navigate through the maze that is the crossmen’s HQ

maybe it’s because you’ve been partners with each other for so long, that’s why he’s willing to get in trouble for you

and when he hears your scream echo from a hallway, his feet pick up speed as he runs towards your voice that’s filled with pain and fear

maybe he cares about you, and it’s why his stomach churns with hatred for the people who kidnapped you

his fists clench into a tight ball when he walks down a hallway lined with jail cells, only one guard standing in front of a closed cell

the guard notices jaemin coming toward him but before the guard can reach for his walkie-talkie, jaemin raises his clenched fist and strikes the guard across the face

the guard falls from the sheer force of jaemin’s fist, but he’s not on the ground for long

he gets up and tackles jaemin to the ground, completely over-taking him by his size

jaemin struggles with the crushing weight of the guard on top of him, finally getting another good punch to the guard’s face to distract him

jaemin slides out from the guard’s grasp, standing to his feet and swaying a bit as he tries to find his balance

the guard stands up, his hands on his knees as he faces jaemin

“kid, you got one hell of a punch”

“thanks” jaemin breathes out, before launching at the man once again

the guard is out of breath, which is probably why it’s so easy for jaemin to kick his kneecap with the heel of his shoe, grab the man by his collar, and throw him against the metal bars of the jail cell

the man falls unconscious to the ground

after a moment, jaemin finally turns to you

he doesn’t think twice as he grabs the keys from the knocked out guard, unlocking the door to the jail cell and rushing to you

he unlocks the handcuffs that are imprisoning your wrists and the second you’re free, your arms engulf Jaemin’s waist and his wrap around your shoulders

he brings you down onto him, sitting down on the cold ground as you sit in his lap, your fingers twisted in his jacket and his breath heating your neck as you both hold onto each other for what feels like dear life

“are you crazy, jaemin? you’re gonna be in so much trouble” you whimper into his chest and you can feel jaemin shake his head

“don’t care. we’re gonna get out of here and we’re gonna be okay. that’s all that matters.” he lets himself enjoy the feeling of your hair through his fingers and the way your breathing evens out against him for just a little longer before making you pull away

he looks at you with a stare he’s given you many times before when you’re on missions together, but for some reason you read his emotions differently now

your heart stops when you recognize where you’ve seen this expression before

it’s the look your father gives your mother when he comes home, when he’s tired and hurt and confused but the moment he sees the love of his life he finds peace and a sense of security

for once in your life, you never want someone to stop looking at you like this

for once in your life, you want na jaemin to never leave your side

and as the moment breaks and jaemin helps you off the cold, hard ground you don’t feel confused or nervous

when he throws the blanket to the floor and wraps his jacket around your shoulders instead, helping you hobble out of the jail cell and down the hallway- you don’t feel like you have to prove yourself as a good mafia member

with jaemin’s arms around your figure, you let him lead without any doubts or fear

you trust jaemin

and sometimes, that’s a little more important than love

you hop down hallway after hallway until you reach a door, walking in and carefully sliding out of an open window and down onto the dirt ground below

but as he helps you into a black car and drives down the highway, one hand on the steering wheel and the other in yours

you think you might just love him, too

◇────✧────◇

the moment you and jaemin walk into HQ, you’re split apart

you’re carried away by the doctor, again, and jaemin is now under the scrutinizing eyes of your father

renjun and jeno stand to the side along with several other members of the mafia, looking on at what is about to happen

jaemin thinks he has deja vu, but instead of jeno facing your father, it is now himself

“na jaemin. explain yourself.” the chief of security speaks up first and jaemin takes a deep breath, standing his ground

but nothing comes out of his mouth, just air as he sighs and bows his head

“I'll take my punishment now. I have nothing to say.”

“I have something to say” jaemin is surprised to hear your father speak, but he keeps his head bowed

“I've watched you grow up to be the man you are now, jaemin. you’ve always been confident in your skills, and you’ve always had that damn part of you that never wants to follow the rules. I've always wanted to show you that you should get rid of that piece of you, but I can’t bare to do that anymore.”

jaemin slowly lifts his head at your father’s words, peering at him through his lashes hesitantly before lifting his chin all the way up

“you saved my daughter. you didn’t think about the consequences, but you’re willing to own up to them now. that’s how I know you’re worthy of a place in this mafia.” you're father reaches out a hand and jaemin slowly takes it in his grip, shaking it in agreement

“thank you, sir.” jaemin manages to choke out

“that being said, no matter how thankful I am for what you did, I still have to suspend you from missions until further notice. those are the rules in this mafia. I'm sure the chief of security will have more to say on this matter but for now, go get bandaged up.”

the crowd disperses and jaemin is led away by one of the doctor’s assistants

suspension until further notice is not a punishment to be taken lightly

jaemin has no idea when he’ll be back to completing missions

or if he’ll ever get back to completing missions

years and years of training could have just been flushed down the drain

but as jaemin walks by a door in the medical ward, he catches the sight of you laying in a bed

renjun is by your side and he says something that makes you smile, a feat considering the amount of pain you’ve been in since jaemin rescued you

he doesn’t remember the last time you truly smiled without pain behind your eyes

he decides his new mission can be to make you truly happy

it’s the least he can do, considering the amount of happiness you’ve brought him

suspension until further notice never sounded better

◇────✧────◇

you peek your head around the corner of the door, your eyes scan over the room until they land on jaemin

he sits on a bed, one of the doctor’s assistants cleaning the cuts on his face while jaemin holds an ice pack to his chest

jaemin notices you at the doorway and perks up, making the assistant look at you as well

you feel awkward with the multiple gazes on you, but jaemin breaks the silence

“she can finish this up, right?” the assistant nods and walks out of the door

you secure your crutches under your arms and hop towards jaemin

the entire way to him, jaemin can’t take his eyes off your leg

it’s now in a cast, wrapped in a light blue color, and you seem to have a hard time hopping to him

when you do reach him, you lean the crutches on the side of the bed and pick up the cotton balls and hydrogen peroxide left by the assistant

“my ankle is really broken this time. I guess I wasn’t as lucky as I thought” you try to joke, but jaemin’s serious gaze doesn’t break

“jae, stop looking at it like that”

“I can’t. I'm mad.”

you carefully cup his cheeks and bring his face towards you, forcing him to look at you and continue cleaning the last open cut on his cheek

the past few hours that you and jaemin spent apart were a mixture of uncomfortable silence in your own room, your extremely loud friends barging in and telling you how your father called jaemin his “son,” thanked him for saving you, and explained what jaemin’s punishment is, and then some more silence that left you stuck in your own thoughts

you knew from the moment you held tight onto jaemin when he got you out of that jail cell that things would be different between you two

it was something you were always scared of happening

you didn’t think you could handle it if things changed with jaemin

he was your constant- your sun that you know would always rise up in the morning and your coffee that you know would wake you up

but as you contemplated on how to approach jaemin, you realized you weren’t as scared as you thought

you realized that you missed jaemin- not just now but whenever he was away for a long time

and the new sensation of the way his arms feel around you and his breath tickling your skin repeating in your mind was not helping to keep your head on straight

so before you collected yourself and walked into Jaemin’s room, you promised yourself one thing:

things are going to change for the better

they have to

jaemin is now stuck with you whether he likes it or not

little do you know, jaemin likes that idea

a lot

as you think this over in your head, jaemin notices your continuance change and his eyebrows furrow

“what’s wrong?” he asks, setting down the ice pack and his cold hand coming up to your thigh to steady you, “is it your leg? you should sit-”

“no, it’s not my leg. it’s you.” jaemin stops talking at your confession, worry growing in his chest

“m-me?”

“yeah, how stupid could you be? running in to save me like that. I was fine.”

“you were not fine” jaemin rolls his eyes

“I was, and now you’re banned from missions until who knows when. how are we gonna keep our successful mission streak if you can’t even go on mission.”

“how are we gonna keep our streak if you can’t even walk- ah!” jaemin yells as your fingers pinch his bicep at his comment

“I’m serious, jaemin. that wasn’t the smartest thing you’ve ever done.”

“I’m serious too, y/n. I wouldn’t be able to go on without you.” the mood in the room shifts along with jaemin’s words

when your eyes meet, you both try to hold strong faces but the timidness in your gazes is noticeable

“you’ve done a lot for me. thank you, jaemin.” you whisper as your hand pushes his brown hair away from his face

this was it- the moment you and jaemin have been waiting for, without even knowing you’ve been waiting for it

jaemin opens his knees and helps you between his legs with his hands on your thighs

you gasp as he makes you sit down on his thigh, arms securely around your hips and he leans into you

his lips part in wonder and his gaze roams over your face, not as if he’s memorizing or just appreciating, but as if he’s seeing you in a new light

“trust me when I say, you’ve done a lot for me, too.”

“I do, jaemin. I do trust you”

his eyes turn soft and his lips stretch in his famous smile, brightly beaming up at you, before leaning in and connecting your lips to his

you both can’t help but smile into the kiss at first, happy and dumb from the new and exciting feeling

and then jaemin pulls you closer, if possible, and pushes his lips against yours slowly, making sure to love on every inch of them to let you know how much he appreciates this moment- how much he appreciates you

kissing jaemin is just like working with him

he knows you and you know him and everything fits together as if you’re the pages of a new book that are pressed together, or two pieces of fabric that were cut only to be seamed to each other

when you pull away, his eyes stay closed and his lips hold the lingerings of a smile

“open your eyes” you whisper, wanting to see the beautiful mocha eyes that have found a special place in your heart

“no, I don’t want this to turn out to be a dream” he says and you laugh, leaning in again to kiss him once, twice, and a third time

his smile widens, but his eyes don’t open

“open your eyes, this isn’t a dream. I'm really here. I'm really yours.”

your words of encouragement and affirmation makes him peel his eyes open, looking up at you

there’s that look again

the look of stability

of love

and of trust

you’re sure you’re looking back at him the exact same way

◇─◇──◇────✧────◇──◇─◇

1K notes · View notes

fletchphoenix · 4 years

Text

Skating On Thin Ice

Chapter 4 of the Varigo Coffee Shop AU is upon us!

Agh, I LOVE WRITING THIS SO MUCH!!! I’m so so sorry if all the content is getting annoying - I really want to get as much as I can done before school starts up again (in a week,,,,aha) so just let me know if it’s annoying y’all. Anyway! Thank you for the support!

Word Count - 3588

TW - Strong Language

-----------------------------------------

Varian tied his hair back into a ponytail as he walked downstairs to the kitchen, Ruddiger strutting after him happily. He dragged his feet across the silver carpet in his still-sleepy haze, passing awards and family pictures that were displayed proudly in the main hall of the house. A yawn escaped his mouth despite his attempts to hold it back, and he reached up to rub the tears that built in his eyes away along with the last remnants of sleep. A sleep his body desperately wanted him to return back to, judging by how sluggish he felt. The kitchen door moaned as he pushed it open, taking his time on every movement he took.

He scavenged through the kitchen for something to eat, all the while Ruddiger mewled and meowed to gain some attention and, while he was at it, some food to eat. Varian eventually gave in, lifting the bowl onto the counter and grabbing a sachet of cat food. He emptied the packet, the tabby cat jumping onto the counter and scoffing it down, causing him to chuckle while he took out the bread and butter from the refrigerator. “Toast it is, buddy.” he uttered to himself as he slid the bread into the device.

While the toast was..well, toasting, he climbed onto a counter and opened the cabinet near the stove. An assortment of cups greeted him - all with different colours and various patterns. A certain one met his eye. The corners of his lips quirked up in a smile as the memories came flooding back to him.

“Are you sure you want me to have this? After all I’ve done to you..?” his nervous voice asked. He was sixteen again in Rapunzel’s kitchen after his father had woken up from his coma. The aroma of cinnamon was in the air combined with apple, creating the illusion that it was fall in the small room as Rapunzel set aside the gift and took his hands in her own. Her expression was earnest, honest.

“Varian..I don’t care what you’ve done in the past. We’ve all forgiven you, regardless of what you may think. You’re family.” she stated with a smile that held nothing but love for the boy in front of her. Tears built in his eyes as he looked over at the silver box, wrapped in a teal bow, set on the kitchen table by the blonde only a few moments prior.

Taking a seat on the lilac cushioned chairs, he brought the box closer to him with shaky hands and unwrapped the dainty bow carefully, as though it would fall apart at even the slightest amount of force. Upon lifting the lid, he was met with the sight of some paper - matching the color of the bow. Pulling it out, he gasped as his eyes met the mug that had been placed in the box with care. He took it out and examined it in his hands.

The mug was teal (also like the bow and paper it was packed with) decorated with paintings of test tubes, beakers and a small raccoon on the side. Ruddiger. Unwillingly, his eyes started to water again, tears betraying him and rolling down his cheeks hitting the table cloth below him. “Thank you.” He uttered, his voice barely a whisper as he struggled to hold back his tears. Arms came around from behind him and pulled him into a motherly embrace, a gentle kiss being placed on the back of his head as he let himself cry freely. A swift turn allowed him to hug the blonde, his eyes squeezing shut to rid them of the last few tears that had developed in them before he moved away.

“Me, Eugene and Cass searched for hours, but couldn’t find the right one. Then I thought ‘Hey! Why don’t we paint a mug for him?’ and thus..that was created. It’s okay, right? I tried to put everything I knew you liked on it, but I wasn’t sure, so I had to get Cass to-” Her rambling was cut off as the boy clinged to her with his face buried into the fabric on her shoulder. Reluctantly, she ran her fingers through his raven locks and exchanged the hug.

“I love you, Rapunzel. You’re the best sister in the world.” he whispered as he held onto her, his hands gripping onto her shirt as he let himself be vulnerable around Rapunzel. He’d tormented and hurt her so much..but she still cared for him.

“I love you too, Varian.” She replied, moving out of the hug when he was calmer and ready. “Anyway, Cmon! We need to make you one of my infamous vanilla lattes now that you have your own cup!” She declared, clapping her hands and picking up the cup to start the drink. His eyes followed her as she moved expertly around the kitchen and prepared his drink. A smile steadily grew on his face.

He was forgiven.

He was home.

He seized the cup and hopped down from the counter, closing the ivory door of the cabinet and heading towards the coffee machine. He set the cup under it and started up the machine, leaning against the counter and checking his phone. Wednesday, 8:14am. Good - he woke up in time to get ready for his class at 11. “No messages from Hugo though.” his brain reminded him, disappointment making a heavy weight in his stomach. Maybe he wasn’t up yet? Probably, he reasoned as he took the toast from the toaster and buttered it before grabbing his coffee and sitting at the table.

Ever the greediest cat on earth, Ruddiger settled at Varian’s feet and swatted at them with his paw. “Oh my god, you’ve just had your breakfast! No!” he shook his foot to scare the cat away, but he didn’t let up. The evil little bastard continued swatting at his foot until, eventually, Varian let up. “Okay!” he yelled, accepting his defeat as he opened another package of cat food, emptied it into the burgundy food bowl and threw it away. That seemed to do the trick - the stubborn feline finally moving away from the table and leaving his owner in peace.

“I swear..all you do is eat and sleep all day, every day.” he muttered to himself as he took a prolonged sip of his coffee. It hit the mark - him feeling way more energised as the caffeine kicked in. Taking a bite from his toast, he smiled to himself and looked around the kitchen at the wallpaper that had been wearing away for quite some time, at the window just above the sink that looked out on the garden (that they honestly never used enough now) he used to play in as a kid with his mom, at the small frames across the wall holding precious memories of his childhood from before the incident. It wasn’t much by any means, but it was his home.

He glanced at his phone screen again. 8:30am. “Okay, time for me to get ready.” he proclaimed to no one in particular, moving to his feet and scraping the chair back across the kitchen floor. Cringing at the noise, he cast a glance to Ruddiger, who was sleeping contently on the windowsill. He could be so cute sometimes. Only sometimes though. He picked up his plate and cup, placing them in the sink underneath the cat. He reached his now-free hand out and ran it down the cat’s fur gently before heading back upstairs to his room.

Once he was dressed, opting for a black sweater and navy trousers along with some sneakers, he picked up his bag. Packing in his laptop and chemistry books, he moved downstairs for the final time to head outside. He glanced at the coat rack, pulling on an ink-like coat and a knitted emerald scarf Rapunzel had given him as a Christmas present one year - him silently noting that it matched the color of Hugo’s eyes. (This thought made him feel bubbly - knowing full well Hugo would love it if he saw it. He made a mental note to wear it next time Hugo offered for them to go on a date.) He unlocked the door, scooping up his keys and heading out the door.

The first thing that he noticed was just how cold the temperature was - the chill travelling down his spine. Nonetheless, he shoved his hands into his pockets and began his journey to the campus, eyes focusing on the floor in silence. It wasn’t long, only 20 minutes, but the chill got to him fast and by the time he’d stepped into the labs, he was shivering intensely. Giving a nod to his professor, he took his seat (second to last row, three seats from the aisle) and took out his equipment, ready to start the lesson.

He couldn’t focus - all lesson he subtly scrolled through his phone as he prayed Hugo would send him a text or something to let him know he was okay. He gazed down at the phone screen. Surely he would be awake by now, so why wasn’t Hugo texting him. He huffed and slid back in his chair, desperately trying to keep his focus on the lesson.

The professor kept them late. Again. Varian hurriedly shoved his stuff into his bag and began rushing down to the library. Wind whistled past his ears and his scarf blew frantically around his neck from just how fierce it was. His cheeks went a deep shade of scarlet, dusting his nose and ears. Freckles sat defined over his face as he made his way past the nameless students and over to Nuru and Yong - who, by the looks of it, had started astronomy without him.

“Sorry guys, I was just-” he cut himself off at the sight of Hugo, leaning over Yong and explaining part of the physics work set out in front of him. God, he looked breathtaking. His hair was tied back in its usual small ponytail, with a moss green winter coat around his shoulders and goggles hanging round his neck. He glanced up at Varian and immediately straightened, pushing his glasses up his nose with a broad smile on his face. Fuck. Why did he have to look so good in green?

“Varian! Hey, I’ve been waiting for you!” he commented, making his way around the table to put his arm round the other boy’s shoulders. The mere action made Varian’s face flush in embarrassment, Hugo not helping whatsoever as he pulled the younger closer to him. He seemed to be revelling in the way he was making Varian a flustered, stuttering mess. “Well then. I know this may be extremely heartbreaking for you, Nuru, but we must be taking our leave now. I bid thee farewell!” he declared, ushering Varian towards the door as Nuru rolled her eyes and muttered ‘Yeah, you wish.’ under her breath.

“Hold on-what do you mean? Where are we going?” Varian queried, looking up at the taller boy who had just swept him away from his friends with absolutely no explanation. His mood became disheartened as a wicked grin grew on Hugo’s face, him stepping back and raising his eyebrow. “What are you planning, Hugo Atkinson?” he implored.

“Welllll….” Hugo began as he took Varian’s hand in his own and interlaced their fingers, moving to stand in front of him. “I promised you another date! So I came to pick you up and remembered ‘Shit, it’s Wednesday!’ so I drove to the library and waited! Your friends showed up and you hadn’t yet, so I just..sat down with them and decided to offer my extensive knowledge on literally everything to them. And managed to convince Nuru to give you up for a day so I could take you out. Also off topic but..I’m ninety-eight percent sure she hates me, but as if I care!” he rambled, looking down at the confusion on the raven haired boy’s beautiful face. A smile tugged at his lips. “Long story short, I’m taking you on a date. Surprise!”

Varian stood dumbfounded before a breathy laugh left his lips, bringing Hugo down to his level and placing a fleeting kiss on his cheek. “That’s adorable. Go on then, take me away, Casanova.”

He relished in the blush that flooded over Hugo’s cheek and the stuttering that followed as he held Varian’s hand tight and led him along the cobbled streets of Corona. They walked and walked until Hugo gestured to a small ice-skating rink in the town centre. “And our date is ice-skating!” he remarked, squeezing Varian’s hand. “I hope that’s okay. I just thought we needed a little switch up from the coffee shop.”

Varian gasped in excitement and gave a frantic nod. “Hugo, this is perfect! Thank you so much!” he cried as he dragged the blonde along to go and get some skates so they could go onto the ice. The taller boy merely laughed and looked down at the childish excitement on his face. God, he loved this boy so much. It didn’t seem real.

As soon as they got their skates on and headed onto the ice, Varian’s mood soured.

He must’ve slipped a billion times as soon as they got on, finally relenting and heading to grip onto the barrier. His mom took him thousands of times when he was little. Why was he forgetting how to do it now? He let out a groan of frustration and rubbed his face with his hand. Why was this so hard? Now he was embarrassing himself in front of Hugo and Hugo would never want to see him again and-

“Hairstripe?” a voice came from behind him, a hand resting on his waist. “Hey, no. Let me show you, okay?” Hugo gestured and trailed his hand down, linking it with Varian’s and beginning to glide, moving further and further away from the barrier.

It felt like time had frozen, or the universe had fallen away and left only him and Hugo as the travelled in continuous circles round the rink. Hugo squeezed his hand in reassurance whenever he thought he might fall and caught him when he stumbled. It was perfect - just them with no interference from anyone else. It was perfect.

After a while, they exited the rink laughing and high on a cloud of pure euphoria with their hands still interlaced and warm. Varian let out a happy sigh and turned his head to look at Hugo, who’s free hand snaked around his waist. “It’s been fun today. I wanna do this again. All the time.” He muttered, moving his hand to cup Hugo’s cheek and rub it with his thumb absentmindedly, his eyes focusing on the way Hugo’s sparkled in the soft light of the lanterns outside.

“Varian.” Hugo whispered his name in response, letting go of his hand to rest under the boy’s chin. He tilted his head and began to lean in. Varian’s eyes fluttered shut as they were only centimetres- no. Millimetres apart. He could feel Hugo’s breath on his lips. Just a little more-

He was tugged back by a hand grasping his collar to see Eugene in front of him. “Varian what the fuck are you doing?! Why the hell are you out here with him?” he yelled and turned to face his little brother. Varian took a mental note on the fury painted over Eugene’s usually relaxed demeanour. “Y’know what? Tell me in the car. We’re leaving.” He grabbed the boy’s wrist and forcefully tugged him towards the car, despite Varian’s struggling and protests.

Hugo stood dumbfounded and watched as Varian was pulled away from him, tears building in his eyes as he looked at the sidewalk he was left on as the car drove away. He pulled out his phone to make a call.

“What.” Donella’s voice dripped with annoyance.

“I won’t be coming in tonight, sorry.” he declared as he hung up the phone. Quietly, he pulled up the hood of his coat and picked Varian’s emerald scarf off the floor before silently putting it on and beginning his journey home. He knew full well he’d suffer tomorrow for that, but it didn’t matter anymore. He pushed his glasses into his hair and wiped away the tears they were hiding, continuing to walk away from the town centre and to his apartment.

Unlocking the door, he leaned back to shut it before sliding to the floor and letting himself cry unabashedly. Why? Why did it have to be like this? Did life really hate him that much? Now he’d never be allowed to see Varian again-or Varian would find out about everything he’s done and decide he didn’t want someone like that in his life and leave him. Just like everyone else.

He felt like he’d cried for hours when he finally went upstairs and lay on his bed, letting Olivia out of her cage to sit on the bed beside him as he stared numbly at the ceiling. Maybe that's how it was meant to be. Maybe him and Varian weren’t meant to be together. Someone as perfect as Varian deserved better than him...he let out a pained sigh and turned to face Olivia. “Well Liv..it was fun while it lasted, huh?”

As soon as they were in the car, Eugene’s tangent had begun. “What happened to texting, huh? To letting your family know you weren’t gonna be there because you were busy with something else? Jesus Christ, Varian, we’ve all been terrified! I have been waiting outside the library since 5! Now it's 8pm! And what’s worse is you were with a criminal! A goddamn CRIMINAL!” he ranted on and on, Varian turning his head and glaring at Eugene.

“What do you mean ‘criminal’? Weren’t you one before? Never mind that, I was a criminal before too!” he snarled, his head whipping back around to glare out of the car window. He didn’t even recognise where they were driving anymore - the surroundings too dark to see anything.

“That little shit has been committing petty theft in the area - pickpocketing and all that. And so what if we were like that? People like him never change. I would know!”

“But we’ve changed, Eugene!”

“We’re different to him, Varian-” “How the fuck are we different to him?!”

“Varian-” “NO! Tell me how the fuck we are different to him!-”

“THAT'S ENOUGH, VARIAN!” Eugene’s voice boomed through the car, stunning Varian into silence as he flinched away from the brunette in shock. His bottom lip trembled and his shoulders shook as he desperately attempted to hold back his tears. “Shit-Varian, I-”

“Pull over. Now.” Varian stated, his voice oozing with hurt and anger as he kept staring at his feet. Eugene obliged sadly and pulled the car over, watching the younger boy get out and start sprinting into the night. He rested his head against the steering wheel, tears building in his eyes. Well, now he’d fucked up. He hadn’t meant to yell so loud at Varian...fuck. He sighed and began the drive home, praying to himself that Varian would get back safe.

Once he knew he was far away from the car, he stopped running. He sat on the floor and pressed his head against his knees. In 7, hold 7, out 7, he told himself and kept repeating multiple times. His chest eventually stopped heaving and his limbs stopped aching. He leaned back and stared at the stars in the sky, deep in thought.

Everything was perfect. He was happy, Hugo was happy..so why did it all have to end so badly? He bit the inside of his cheek as he thought of Hugo. He had to see him again. He couldn’t just leave him. His hands shook as he unlocked his phone and scrolled through his contacts. He took one final deep breath and called Hugo.

“Hello? Varian?” Oh god. His voice sounded so broken. He must’ve been crying this whole time. It was so much different from how it usually sounded. Varian felt his heart shatter a little bit more as he listened to the boy on the other end of the phone. “Varian, whats up?”

“What’s your address? I’m coming over. Now.” He bluntly stated, more of a request than a question. He definitely needed to see the other boy now, desperately.

Confusion laced Hugo’s voice as he replied to Varian, a light creaking sounding in the background as he presumably moved to sit up. “Are you sure, Varian? What’s going on-”

“Just tell me, Hugo!” He yelled, his desperation clear. “Please. I need to see you.” He added the last part, lowering his voice significantly and brushing his tears away at the other boy’s barely audible ‘okay’ in response.

Hugo shut himself up, sending through the address and hanging up on the distraught boy. He lay back on his bed, a frown on his face before heading down the hall to sit in the living room. 20 minutes later, a knock rang through the tiny building and he sprinted to unlock the door, his eyes meeting the tearful boy that he loved so dearly. Silently, he stepped out of the way to let the boy in before closing the door and pulling him into an embrace. The younger gripped onto his shirt and cried, each sob wracking his whole, thin frame. Hugo bit his lip and let out an exasperated sigh.

This really was going to be a long night.

#varigo #varian and the seven kingdoms #varian x hugo #varian tangled #tangled varian #hugo tangled #tangled hugo #alchemy boyfriends #varigo coffee shop au

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crusherthedoctor · 4 years

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The Lutrudis Hadeer Characterization Masterpost

A while back, I made a big post about the thought process that went into the design for Lutrudis, as well as her name, species, and choice of weapons. In the midst of doing a bunch of other stuff (like the Eggman Sweet or Shite review, which is definitely still coming guys I swear, please don't leave me D':), I recently figured I could do the same for the character's... well, character, and provide some further insight into how her personality was shaped together. Cause why not, right?

Obviously, we won't be covering literally every single personality trait that Trudy has, like her hobbies and whatnot. If we went over all of that, we'd be so far into the future that Tumblr's search system might actually start working again. No, we'll just be keeping it to the central ingredients that make up the overall package.

1. A cool head? In my Sonic OC?

The recurring cast in the Sonic universe is filled with fiery, hot-blooded sorts in one way or another. Sonic might as well be the love child of Mentos and Diet Coke with how full of energy he is, Knuckles and Amy are both prone to letting their temper do the talking, Eggman... is Eggman, and the list goes on. And while there are a number of characters who are more low-key or even outright introverted by comparison, they still tend to exhibit a trait or two that makes them more in-line with the rest of the crowd, be it youthful excitement (Tails, Cream), a fiery temper (Blaze), or the odd bit of cockiness (Shadow).

So what better way to help make Trudy stand out... than by not really having anything like that at all? Contrary to most of the hot-blooded cast, it takes a lot to truly enrage her, and even then, you'll be lucky to get anything past tranquil fury. She's not particularly hammy either - flowery with her language at times, certainly, but not hammy - nor is she a cocky type, even against the weakest or most ridiculous of opponents, and although she does grow as a person over the course of the story she's involved in, all of this remains fairly consistent.

That's not to say that Trudy is not a passionate person. Far from it, in fact. She has a lot of passion. She just shows it in a different way than the average Sonic character.

2. Lutrudis? More like Unsureofdis.

Uncertain characters are also somewhat rare in Sonic's recurring cast (at least in the game universe), and just like with the previous point, even when they're there, they'll usually have something to counter it. Blaze may have been a bit insecure before meeting and befriending Sonic and Co, but as mentioned, she’s got a fierce temper, and even when she started off on her own, she felt that only she could take care of the threat of Eggman and Inferior Eggman Nega. Likewise, while Silver may have doubted himself about Leslie the Crack Dealer’s Iblis Trigger ruse cruise, he still got cocky when he had Sonic on the ropes, and he could be quite full of himself in the Rivals duology as well.

The point being, they still tend to show some semblance of the same “yep, I'm the one for the job, no questions asked” confidence and swagger that nearly everyone else has, no matter the flavor. Trudy, suffice to say, does not have this mentality. Trudy accepting Sonic and Co's help in dealing with sinister affairs in Viridonia without any haughty protest on her part isn't just because she knows they can handle it, or because they're Sonic Heroes and they'll show 'em the real superpower of teamwork... it's also because she's genuinely not sure if she would be able to take care of the matter on her own.

When she saved Cream from the wrath of the Wraith for example, she wasn't thinking “This looks like a job for Miss Hadeer!”

She was thinking “This could very well get me killed, but I have to help the poor bunny somehow...”

In other words, Trudy doesn't consider herself to be some sort of destined protector who has to do this herself. She constantly second guesses herself, and frequently believes her friends are more qualified and competent than she is. Her only reason for doing her best and helping out regardless is simply because she wants to.

3. A light at the end of the tunnel.

For the sake of tact, it's not shoved in your face relentlessly, but reading between the lines, it can be easy to get a sense of melancholy from Trudy. Particularly due to past experiences, she does indeed have an element of depression within her, and this can occasionally show in her body language and facial expressions, even if she's currently feeling positive emotions.

And yet, notice how she continues being a friendly pony. Notice how regardless of her experiences, and her thoughts on said experiences, her actual behaviour is (mostly) free of bitterness or cynicism, and that she doesn't hide the joy that her new friends make her feel. She's not outright ignoring her experiences or pretending they don’t affect her, because they clearly have affected her, and she's never ignored her scars (metaphorically and literally, the latter being a permanent side-effect of her condition), but she knows better than to let it consume her, so she tries her best to look at the bright side of life even during the darkest days.

It's Sonic's opinion that Trudy's inner spirit is a lot stronger than she thinks, with or without his help. Her refusal to give into misery and lash out at the world foreshadows that he's not unjustified in that belief. That, and it ties into the franchise’s usual taste for optimism and idealism against the odds.

4. Hadeer? More like Hadork.

So, everything thus far helps set Trudy up as a mellow, down-to-earth sort of personality. So far, so good. However, it's still the Sonic the Hedgehog universe we're talking about, filled with many colorful characters of all shapes, sizes, and eccentricities. When a franchise has a larger than life cast in a larger than life world, the characters who are meant to be grounded often risk coming off as boring and could end up easily overshadowed, because the creators or writers often neglect to give them any quirks of their own, usually out of fear that it'll disgrace the character's gracefulness. In fact, I personally feel this was a common problem with Sally, in both SatAM and Archie (mostly pre-reboot admittedly).

IMO, these writers are just being plain old silly. Just because a character is quirky doesn't mean they forfeit all their dignity altogether. Like a lot of things in life, you just have to balance it out, and that's what I did (or tried to do...) with the green equine.

So yes, Trudy is elegant, but she's also a really goofy dancer. Yes, she's gentle and motherly, but she also goes back and forth between being a heavy sleeper and being an insomniac. Yes, she serves as a warmhearted auntie figure for Cream (and a big sister figure for Amy), but she also spends a quarter of her time looking like a ninja with the way her bandana covers her face (whether it be due to cold weather, strong scents triggering her sensitive nose, or doing it in the presence of villains as a mildly theatrical way of visually conveying her disdain for them).

And of course, in the right situation, she can be just as much of a dork as the titular blue hedgehog is.

Which leads me to my next point...

5. “You might know everything I'm going to do...”

Trudy was created with the intention of having a character who is actually like Sonic himself in a lot of ways, but it's not apparent initially.

This sort of yin-yang contrasting routine has been done before a few times in the series, with Knuckles, Shadow and Blaze being the most obvious examples. But with them, their similarities are easier to spot from a distance. Knuckles is more earth than wind, but you can tell he's as stubborn as Sonic is. Shadow's methods and outlook differ, but you can tell he's still a mirror of Sonic (cause you know, he looks like him). Blaze is more distant, but you can tell how she can easily be just as worked up and angered as Sonic.

With Trudy however, if you take her at face value, you would think she's the exact opposite of Sonic. She's an introvert, he's an extrovert. She's got a calm temperament, he can get impatient even at the best of times. She's quite fancy, he's more rough and tumble. She takes things slowly, he leaps ahead without a care in the world... You would think that, outside of them both fighting for good, they would have nothing in common, and that their dynamic would be more akin to Sonic's relationship with Sally, which although they were friends, their relationship could often be somewhat rocky due to their differences in... basically every area and opinion imaginable.

But then you get to know Trudy, and the unfolding of the adventure reveals the rest of what she has to offer. The aforementioned soldiering on in spite of any depressed moments is in itself a small hint that Trudy shares Sonic's philosophy of never giving up. She believes that most people are good at their core, and while she won't excuse especially evil people or actions and will punish them appropriately (albeit with regret that it had to come to that), she's willing to give a chance to those who are willing to take it, just like with the Blue Blur. Not only does she NOT find Sonic's jokes and hijinks annoying, she actually has a similar sense of humor herself. And while reasonable people generally tend to loathe injustice and oppression, Trudy shares Sonic's uniquely intense contempt for it, and believes in one's own personal freedom just as much as the hedgehog does, let alone freedom in general.

In short, Trudy is what you get when you take Sonic's deeper qualities and general outlook on life, and apply them to a more introverted and taciturn personality. The exact same beliefs, but from a different perspective, so to speak.

6. A different kind of intelligence.

Tails and Eggman are the resident kings of scientific prowess in Sonic's world, and it goes without saying that I wouldn't want to do them a disservice by having Trudy one-up them in that department. But that doesn't mean your character can’t be talented in other areas, right? Contrary to what all those Mary Sue tests dictate, your character can in fact have a high IQ without intruding on an official character’s territory.

Therefore, Trudy is pretty good at innovation and craftsmanship in her own right, but whereas Tails and Eggman do it through technology, her field of expertise is more to do with arts and crafts, and to a lesser extent geology. For example, both her bow and her whip were crafted by the lady herself, using nothing but her decorative knowledge and flair.

Outside of that, she tends to know a fair bit about a lot of things in the world, largely attributed to her photographic memory, meaning she's bound to have a few answers no matter the subject of discussion. Granted, she's unlikely to be the absolute number one expert on any of those things, but she's at least a useful jack of all trades in that regard.

7. Feeling a little horse.

I very much approve and flat out adore the idea of Sonic characters having characteristics that remind the audience of what species they're supposed to be, so I made sure that Trudy had a wide selection of little mannerisms that would reveal her for the little horsie that she is. These include, but aren't limited to...

- When she’s fascinated or concerned by something, she’ll lean a little forward with her hands close to her chest, which subtly mimics the act of prancing.

- When she wakes up, she briefly stretches her arms and legs (albeit not too recklessly so as to risk straining her sensitive limbs).

- Her tail has a number of quirks. If she's happy, it might slowly swish to and fro. If she's REALLY happy, it might flick...

- And if she doesn't approve of someone or something, it might stiffen and raise a little bit, as if to helpfully inform the bad guys where they can kiss, if ya know what I'm saying.

- When she's being affectionate with her friends, she might give them the ol' nuzzle.

- When she's in a playful mood, there might be a little skip in her walk, the anthro equivalent of trotting.

- When she's annoyed, she might humorously let out a snort that sounds identical to a real life horse snort. And while she certainly doesn't neigh in the traditional sense, when she finds something hilarious or Sonic's making her laugh with his antics, her laughter can't help but take on a neigh-like touch to it. (The latter was actually a headcanon suggested by @darklightheart, and I immediately agreed with it because it's cute and funny in equal measures.)

Naturally, she gets all shy and embarrassed when the neigh-laugh comes out, thinking it sounds silly. At least Sonic finds it endearing.

Note that I'm well aware that some of this differs from how real life horses react to certain things. (Eg: tail swishing tends to happen when a horse is agitated rather than happy.) But I freely admit that it's more for the sake of giving the character that extra bit of soul than it is for utmost accuracy. That's the way it goes with fiction sometimes. :P

Interestingly, Trudy tends to get Sonic indulging in a funny hedgehog characteristic of his own. That being, he might curl into a ball if Trudy's being particularly... ~complimentary~ towards him.

And there we are! These are the core elements that make up Trudy’s characterization. If you ever wanted a general list of what makes her tick, then hopefully this post will help in scratching that itch. And if it doesn’t, then hopefully it still proves that more thought was put into her than Scourge. :]

#Lutrudis Hadeer #Sonic Character Design

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thunderbird-one-ai · 4 years

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Compromised Chapter 2

So finally after blowing the dust off I got back to one of my WIPS with new ideas and enthusiasm! I absolutely LOVE writing The Hood just he’s so evil. Especially love it when he’s evil to Scott. hopefully it wont take me 4 months to upload chapter 3 ^^’

Chapter 1- Here

Part 1: The Hood The Hood gazed out the cockpit of Thunderbird One as she flew above the clouds effortlessly, he could not help but think back to how he had finally got to this point in his plan. Finding out where he was held came as no surprise. The Maximum-security prison ran by the GDF. He knew more than a handful of people he could buy out and help him on his escape. He had known from the start that he would have to spend months planning his escape. There were some opportunities he would have to wait for, others he would make himself. His cold square cell had little in it he could use, but just outside it was a prison full of possibilities. A guard in need of some money for an operation, a janitor sick and tired of being treated unfairly, angry inmates just wanting a taste of freedom. The Hood was in truth, spoiled for choice. The problem was most of them could not count to ten with all their fingers still intact but even the senseless ones had their uses.

Now the final goal. And coincidentally, the most important one. Hurting International rescue. Bombs and infiltrations aside, The Hood was never able to get control of Thunderbird five properly, maybe he just had his sights on the wrong Thunderbird. Thunderbird Four was clearly out of the question as it was halfway below the surface of the water most of the time. Thunderbird Three may be the only ship that can fly both in Earth’s atmosphere and conduct space flight, but she was too big. A large target meant an easy target something that The Hood did not like the sound of at all. Thunderbird Two was in the same category as Thunderbird Three, she was too large and slow for his liking. That left Thunderbird One. Yes, she wasn’t the biggest and definitely not like Thunderbird Five, but she was the fastest, she was agile and manoeuvrable. Her pilot had shown this countless times before. But her pilot was by far the most stubborn of the brothers, making it exponentially difficult to obtain, even without Scott’s motherly love towards that hunk of metal. However, these most recent events would prove otherwise. The wretched boy was so distracted The Hood was almost convinced he didn’t need the disguise in order for his plan to succeed. Maybe there was trouble in paradise back on Tracy Island. This would need some answers and who better to get it from the eldest Tracy himself. He pulled himself out of his daydream. The Hood walked up to Scott, who was confined to the back section of Thunderbird One. The Pilots head was leaning to one side still looking dazed from the concoction the Hood had given him. He knelt in front of Scott, lightly tapping his cheek. “Wakey Wakey, Mr Tracy,” The Hood said, grinning. He was rewarded with a groan as Scott opened his eyes, looking up to The Hood. “Shame, I thought that maybe some lasting damage might have been done but all you Tracy’s are the same, stubborn,” The Hood saw the eldest son give a tired looking snarl, tugging pathetically at the restraints. It was almost comical to him. The Hood stood up, looking outside the window of Thunderbird One. “I don’t know why you’re so annoyed at me, you were the one that made this mission so easy to fulfil. Was something on your mind? Trouble in Tracy paradise? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you get ‘that’ easily manipulated,” The Hood was pretty sure he was pressing all the right buttons, Scott’s actions only confirmed it by trying to move closer to him, the snarl on Scott’s face only becoming more defined. “You pretended to be someone else,” Scott replied slightly slurred. “And yet you fell for it so easily, I would have thought your father would have taught you a little more since his grand return,” and there it was. The Hood noticed the slight tensing of Scott’s form. “Ah trouble with the family it is I see,” The Hood couldn’t help but laugh. “But of course! The father's grand return to International Rescue! Where does that leave the son who made it grow? Who ran it for years in his absence? You’re not just feeling useless. You pretty much are useless,” The Hood chuckled. “It’s not like that!” Scott protested but The Hood was still chuckling. “You and I both know that’s not true. Your brothers who all supposedly looked up to you now look to dear old dad. The eldest brother not even getting a single glance or recognition,” He knelt back down to Scott, grabbing his chin forcing Scott to look at him. “Now you know what it’s like to be an outcast,” “I’m not falling for your mind games Hood,” Scott spat. “It’s not mind games if it’s the truth,” The Hood replied far too innocently but it seemed to work. Scott’s gaze lowered. The Hood knew he had won, breaking down Scott’s morale was much easier than he thought but the family issues just make it too easy it was almost boring. Almost. Making a Tracy suffer always had a certain amount of enjoyment to it. A Tracy without morale was easy to overcome so now he had Scott Tracy well and truly under control, he could get to the second part of his plan. Out of the corner of his eye, The Hood saw their destination come into view. “Ah, seems we’ve arrived in record time, even pushed to its limits Thunderbird One can handle quite a speed can’t she,” he looked back to Scott, seeing the realisation dawn on the pilot. “How did you get her up in the air?” Part 2: Virgil “And that’s the last one...phew,” Virgil wiped his brow after installing the last of the struts. He stood up noticing the grinding sound coming from his exo-suit. He probably bumped it against some concrete a little too hard, nothing Brains couldn’t fix up when they got back. He looked over the heavily damaged side of the prison. It was stable, for now. The struts would only hold out for so long. But for now, they had done their job in supporting the ceiling so International Rescue could get everyone out to safety in time. He turned around, seeing Alan putting out the last of the fires that have broken out around the prison. Gordon had left his Thunderbird by the coast going to join his brother in moving towards Thunderbird Two. Just as he got within arm’s reach, Alan covered him in fire retardant foam. “What? You prefer to be wet anyway,” Alan laughed. Gordon opened his mouth to give a snarky remark, but Virgil interrupted them both. “Come on you two we are still International Rescue, can’t be having the GDF picking us apart for anything else now,” he watched as they both walked back to Thunderbird Two laughing and joking quietly. Virgil couldn’t help but let a small smile grace his lips as he watched them. He didn’t notice John walking up next to him. “I swear since dad came home those two have become even more troublesome,” Virgil heard John say. Virgil looked to his right and nodded in agreement with John. “I’ll say. If dad’s hair wasn’t already grey, it would be by now,” they both chuckled. No one in the Tracy family could deny the new sense of calmness that surrounded them now. Virgil saw his younger brothers grow up without their dad for eight years. He saw how they’d have moments of sadness, of worry. Now, all he saw was their overwhelming joy and happiness. Their family was back together again, and nothing was going to tear them apart for as long as Virgil was still breathing. He knew Scott would do the same as well. “That and I think they’ve both started making Scott go grey as well,” John said “Speaking of Scott,” Virgil turned on his communicator, “Scott come in,” he started walking with John, back to Thunderbird two. “Come on Scott, you can’t ignore us forever,” when the comms remained silent, Virgil stopped walking. “Thunderbird One come in,” he asked, his tone becoming more urgent as the silence continued. Again nothing. John stopped and turned on the spot, “It’s not like Scott to not pick up at all,” Virgil nodded to his younger brother. “Thunderbird Two to Thunderbird Shadow,” “Thunderbird Shadow to Thunderbird Two go ahead,” He heard Kayo reply instantly, no doubt she probably overheard the one-sided conversation between himself and Scott. “Are you able to do a fly over the same area Thunderbird One did earlier,” Virgil asked, keeping his voice calm. This was just Scott keeping to himself, mind on other things like dad or how to protect their family. Boy were they going to have another heartfelt chat after this. Virgil began to think over the certain ways he could convince his brother to open up to him before noticing Johns frown as he looked to his comms. “Everything alright John?” He saw John shake his head. “No, no that’s not right…” John began to mumble to himself, something Virgil couldn’t quite make out. “John what’s wrong?” he placed a hand on Johns's shoulder. It got a response, but it was worse one possible. “She’s gone Virgil,” the pilot almost forgot how to breathe when John said that dreaded sentence. “Thunderbird One is missing,”

Part 3: Scott Even though his mind was racing the same speed as Thunderbird One, the same could not be said for his body. He was practically dragged out of his beloved bird as soon as they landed. The shock of knowing that The Hood was able to control Thunderbird One still at the forefront of his mind. He was dumped in a small room which gave the appearance of an abandoned office. His hands were still tied so sitting up took more effort than he would admit to his brothers. His limbs felt like dead weights due to the concoction The Hood had given him. He leaned up against the wall and pressed the back of his head against the cold cornet surface. Even after those small movements, Scott found himself panting out a breath. He wasn’t moving any time soon. “Man, I really am useless,” Scott sighed. The Hood’s vicious words from earlier caused him to wince and shake his head. “No, just mind games, just The Hood trying to get into my head that’s all,” Scott trailed off into a mumble at the end of his sentence, not even convincing himself. Scott started to will his body into working again, the sooner he was back on his feet the better. He just had to be able to move his feet first though, not too hard right? He began with his toes, trying to wiggle them. Once they started cooperating, he continued to his feet. Eventually, he could move both legs without too much trouble. After some embarrassing fails of trying to stand up, which again would not be mentioned to his brother, Scott was now on his feet, but he wondered for how long. If he was being frank, he felt exhausted from just trying to stand. “Just what in God’s name did he give me?” Scott mumbled to himself, shaking his head, though that only made the room swim a little. “Okay, let’s not do that again,” Whilst Scott began to get his breathing under control, he took the chance to look around. The room was bare in terms of resources, just a simple metal desk with no draws and a matching chair. After looking over the desk and realising it wouldn’t give anything fruitful, he turned his attention towards the door. From the design he guessed it was made of steel, which was odd, this certainly wasn’t a normal office then to warrant steel doors in the building. Scott slumped into the chair and dragged his hands on to the table, trying to get a better look at the restraints he was confined in. They were handcuffs. With a painful, yet relatively simple dislocation of his thumb, he could wiggle free but the drugs, that were still very much in his system was going to make that task next to impossible. Scott leant back in his chair, letting out a loud sigh. There was movement on the other side of the door causing Scott to look over to it. The door opened revealing the man who had started all of this. “You’re looking a bit more aware, Scott Tracy,” The Hood said smiling, glancing at the handcuffs. “Though not aware enough to free yourself. Wonderful.” Scott sat up straight in the chair. He refused to show any sort of weakness for this man to grab at and twist into his own deformed way. But Scott needed answers to the many questions that he had swimming through his head, these questions were probably the reason why he was getting a headache, but he needed the answers. “How did you get Thunderbird One into the air?” Scott said, keeping his voice calm, looking straight up to The Hood. “Ah yes, your beloved Thunderbird One being controlled by non-other than me. Did you really think I left The Zero-XL empty-handed? I thought you knew me better than that Scott,” The Hood continued to smile down to Scott. “Getting you as well as Thunderbird One was a bonus I must admit,” “So what? Try to blackmail my family into giving you access to Thunderbird Five?” Scott replied quickly. “Yes, it would be rather predictable of me to demand access to Thunderbird Five. But since ‘acquiring’ you, I decided to change the plan a little. Yes, obtaining Thunderbird Five would be the ultimate goal but I need a lot more than just Thunderbird One to get there. I’d need a few jets, ones that rival your precious bird in terms of speed. Overwhelm International Rescue at the very heart. Do you know where I’d find those?” The Hood looked Scott dead in the eye. “No jet can rival Thunderbird One,” “You and I both know that’s not quite true. Your father built a jet faster than Thunderbird One….and so did you.”

#thunderbirds fanfiction #thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds 2015 #Scott Tracy #Virgil Tracy #John Tracy #Gordon Tracy #alan tracy #tanusha kayo #the hood #hurt scott #scott whump

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searchingwardrobes · 4 years

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If you’re looking for something to read during your self-quarantine, you can get my book What Hindered Love on Amazon right now! If you’ve already read it, here’s another story from Micah’s point of view. This time, this is his version of the night Chloe showed up at his apartment drunk.

Rating: M

Trigger warnings: mentions of losing virginity and teen pregnancy

***Also SPOILERS for What Hindered Love***

Words: 3,000 +

Summary: Chloe said it was what she wanted, but then again, she was only 19. And five years later, Micah is plagued with guilt over taking her virginity. Especially considering where it all led. Now that they're friends, he thinks it's best to talk about it. When Chloe shows up at his apartment drunk, he thinks maybe that wasn't the best idea he's ever had.

You can find other extra content for What Hindered Love on my blog: melanietillman.com

Tagging: @teamhook @xhookswenchx @snowbellewells @ekr032-blog-blog @sherlockianwhovian @thislassishooked @ohmakemeahercules @kday426 @onceuponaprincessworld @ilovemesomekillianjones @superchocovian @nikkiemms @ultraluckycatnd @whimsicallyenchantedrose @bethacaciakay @tiganasummertree @welllpthisishappening @wellhellotragic @optomisticgirl @kmomof4 (I tagged some of you this time around just because I figured you would signal boost for me! Let me know if you want to be tagged regularly for WHL content.)

Micah’s senses are overwhelmed. The smell of Chloe’s soft hair, her breaths puffing hot against his shoulder, her fingers grasping his biceps. He pulls back to look in her face, to look deeply into her sparkling amber eyes, to tell her of the depth of his feelings.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

He shakes his head even as he smiles. This isn’t how it went. She didn’t say that. She looked away, so shy all of a sudden, and I had to gently turn her face back to me. I was worried I had hurt her; I was worried she regretted it.

“I loved you, Micah,” she pauses, her face falling, and then her eyes go dull. “But you didn’t love me.”

“What?” Micah protests as she pushes him off her and sits up, hugging the sheet up to her chin. “Yes, I did. Of course I did. I mean, I do.”

Chloe shakes her head, “Obviously not enough. Or you wouldn’t have taken everything from me.”

“Chloe, I’m so sorry . . . “ he doesn’t know what else to say as he reaches for her. “You said this was what you wanted.”

The more he reaches for her, the farther away she seems. Chloe inclines her head, gesturing towards the pink dress lying rumpled on the floor. “You bought me that dress, brought me here, cooked me an expensive dinner. I know what you expected.”

“No, Chloe,” he insists, shaking his head, “I expected nothing.”

Micah reaches for her again, but now Chloe is not just being pulled away from him, she is being pulled under. The sheets entangle her limbs, and she calls for him as panic sparks in her eyes. She fights against the linens, but they just wrap around her, choking her. Micah reaches for her, but his fingertips merely brush hers. Then she’s gone, and he’s left ripping the sheets from the bed in a panic, shouting her name.

Micah heaves forward, sweat beading his brow, gasping for breath. As his breaths slow down, the realization that it was only a dream settles around him. The only limbs tangled in the sheets are his own. He groans as he swings his legs over the side of the bed and leans forward to rest his elbows on his knees. He cups his face in his hands as he remembers Chloe’s lifeless voice in the dream, speaking so matter-of-factly about all that he took from her. And it’s true. She came to Lightport for an education, to make a better future for herself. And almost immediately, she had met him.

The panicked look in Chloe’s eyes as she was pulled away from his grasp haunts his thoughts, and he runs his hands through his hair. The dream was so disturbing, his hair is still wet with sweat. He glances in the corner, but of course, Chloe’s dress isn’t really there. He remembers her words that night, I want you to be my first, but does that excuse him? Had Chloe felt she owed him? Had he pressured her? And even if he hadn’t, they had only been together such a short time. If Micah had really loved her, he would have slowed things down.

He groans again, falling backwards onto the mattress. He hated himself back then, but whenever he was with Chloe, it was different. He felt stronger, better, more honorable. He thought he could conquer his demons for her. He should have known only God could accomplish the changes he needed within himself. But he had been too stubborn, still running from anything that resembled faith. He had been running straight towards destruction and had simply hauled Chloe Wren right along with him.

He had these types of dreams every year around this time. Some, like the one tonight, were nightmares. Others were more like vivid memories; the feel of her bare back soft beneath his fingers, the way her hair fanned out on the pillow, the taste of her . . . Micah jumps from the bed as the past assaults him. Time for another cold shower.

Micah rubs his temple wearily as he adjusts the knobs in the shower. He steps beneath the cold stream until his pulse eases back to a normal rhythm, then slowly adjusts the dials until warm water runs down and across his shoulder blades. He lowers his head and squeezes his eyes shut as the steamy warmth streams through his hair. He remembers how hesitant Chloe had been that first night, how unsure. He had tried to be as gentle and patient as possible, but maybe that wasn’t enough. How does Chloe remember that night? Does it assault her memory with images of passion and love, as it does for him? Or is it her greatest regret?

Micah reaches for the faucet with his eyes still closed and then leans his forehead against the cool tile. Chloe had been too embarrassed to go by the college clinic and ask for free birth control pills, so Micah had taken care of protection. He had failed her then too, so overcome by her declaration of love that he hadn’t thought. . .

Micah grabs the towel off the rack on the wall by the shower. He scrubs it roughly over his wet hair. Chloe had only known him a grand total of – what? two and a half months? – and he had gotten her pregnant. He had taken her future and shattered it.

Micah’s bare feet slap on the hardwood floors as he makes his way back to his room. The clock reads 2:43 am. He throws on a pair of boxers and crawls back under the covers, but he still lies there, staring up at the ceiling, one arm flung across his forehead. He doesn’t regret Luke, though. In spite of everything, he wouldn’t go back to a world without that little boy in it. How does he reconcile that with this feeling of regret for turning Chloe’s world upside down?

Of course, they are friends now. Maybe this is something they can get out in the open? Maybe he can apologize? Or maybe that will seem offensive. Not to mention stoke the flames that already rage whenever Chloe is around. His passion for her has never dimmed. But this time he is determined to do things the right way. No rushing headlong into passion like a couple of kids. He has made a vow to himself that he will win her heart, but on her terms this time. He won’t push.

Micah rolls over onto his stomach, bunching the pillow up beneath him. Lord, if I should talk to Chloe about this, give me a sign. I don’t want to upset her or hurt her any more than I already have, but this guilt I feel won’t leave me alone. I’ve asked you to forgive me, and I know you have, but I want to tell Chloe how much I regret hurting her. I feel like You’re giving me a second chance, Lord. Help me go at the right pace this time. I hurt her so badly . . . Micah is still mumbling a prayer for Chloe when sleep claims him.

****************************************************

Micah practically runs from his bedroom, stopping when he reaches the kitchen island. He leans over it, gulping deep breaths. He prays to God Chloe doesn’t come out of that bedroom. He doesn’t know if he can resist her a second time.

Okay, God, you’ve gotta help me out here. When I saw Chloe at the park today, it seemed like a sign. So I talked to her. And I thought it went well, but now?

That’s all the prayer Micah can articulate. He starts pacing, running his fingers agitatedly through his hair. He imagines Chloe. In his bed. At this very moment. The reminder that Luke is in the other room just down the hall is the only thing that keeps him from going back to his bed and the blonde temptress in it.

Oh God, I’m sorry, that’s not fair. I stirred this up; it’s not entirely her fault. But what do I do now? I thought I wasn’t supposed to be tempted beyond what I could bear. Lord, I can’t bear this!

The answer to his plea comes in that still small voice he had learned to hear in rehab. He grabs his phone off the kitchen counter, pulls up his contacts, and starts pacing again as he hits the call button. When the warm, comforting voice answers, a peace settles over him.

“Micah? Is everything okay?”

“Maggie, I’m so sorry to call you this late at night, but it’s Chloe. I mean, she’s okay, it’s just . . . I need you to come get her.”

“Come get her?”

“Yes. She’s drunk, and I don’t want Luke to see her like this.”

“Micah –“

He sighs at the hint of motherly scolding he can hear in her voice. “It’s not what you think, Maggie, I swear. I’ll explain more when you get here.”

She must be able to sense his desperation because she asks no more questions, instead cupping the phone in her hand to have a quick conversation with her husband. “Okay, Micah, sit tight. I’ll be right there.”

Micah continues to pace as he waits for Maggie, praying fervently that Chloe stays put. He can’t deny how badly he wants her, but having sex with her now, when she’s drunk and in emotional turmoil would be wrong on so many levels. And it would completely ruin this tentative friendship that they’ve built over the past few months. Finally, there’s a soft rap at his door, and he practically yanks Maggie inside.

“She’s in my bedroom,” he explains as he gives Maggie a little shove in the right direction.

“Your bedroom?” She asks, eyebrows raised and her arms crossed. She plants herself right where she is, and Micah knows that despite her burgeoning pregnant belly he isn’t moving her.

“Yes,” Micah practically growls in frustration, “but nothing happened.”

“But she’s in your bed?” Maggie narrows her eyes as Micah tilts his head back and tucks his tongue into his cheek. “Well, you said you’d explain when I got here, so explain.”

Micah begins pacing again. At this rate, he’s going to wear a rut in the floor. “Chloe showed up here less than an hour ago. She was drunk. She . . . well, she . . . hugged me, and tried to kiss me . . .”

“She propositioned you,” Maggie supplies as he continues to stumble over his words.

Micah sighs. He hates to paint Chloe in a bad light, especially with the associate pastor’s wife, but Maggie won’t let him get away with lying, either. “Yes.”

“Is that what you gathered from her behavior, or –“

“Oh no, she made it perfectly clear. She flat out asked me to have sex with her. Twice.” Just saying it out loud has his pulse rising. Why is he so weak?

“And therefore you thought it was best to take her to your bed?”

“Damn it, Maggie,” Micah hisses, “I wouldn’t have called you if I was entertaining the idea. She was drunk and could barely stand. I didn’t want Luke to hear her, or even worse, wake up and see her like that. “

Maggie regards him for a long, tense moment. Micah glares back at her and gestures towards the hallway.

“So, for the love of all things holy, can you take her home. Please? Before our son finds her in my bed?”

Maggie nods, but he swears there’s some mischief sparkling in her eyes. “Yes, of course I’ll take her home. But Luke isn’t the only reason you’re so desperate.”

Micah hangs his head, “I’m only human, Maggie. I mean, what did Joseph do when Potiphar’s wife tried to practically drag him to bed? He ran!”

“But Joseph wasn’t in love with Potiphar’s wife.”

Now it’s Micah’s turn to cross his arms. “You’re awfully nosy. Has anyone ever told you that?” Maggie just grins and shrugs one shoulder. Micah drops his arms in defeat. “Okay, so you’ve got me. Happy now? Which is exactly why I can’t do anything stupid. It’s taken long enough to get back in the friend zone.”

Maggie tilts her head quizzically. “If you’re just friends, then why the guilt?”

Micah blushes and nervously rubs the back of his neck. “What happened tonight is partly my fault, too. This afternoon, I brought up some things from our past. I thought it would be good for us, get things out in the open, but . . . obviously all I did was hurt her again.”

Maggie searches Micah’s face for a moment before speaking. “Maybe you should stop apologizing to Chloe about the past and start talking about the future instead.” She gives him a small smile and then heads to the bedroom.

He hears Maggie speak low and gentle to Chloe, and in no time the brunette is helping her down the hall. Micah thinks how beautiful Chloe is, even with her blonde hair knotted and messy in her face. She glances up at him as Maggie leads her out the door, and even bloodshot and glassy, those eyes arrest him and make his heart pound. He always loved gazing into those eyes that were the most fascinating shade of light brown he’d ever seen. He could never decide if they were the color of honey or the last dusky shade of sunset.

Micah shakes himself out of his silly reverie to follow the women out of the apartment and down the two flights of stairs. He doesn’t want to touch Chloe unless absolutely necessary, but on several occasions Maggie needs his help, especially when getting Chloe into the car. She fights them a bit because she wants to lie down across the backseat, but can’t because of the Newton’s car seats.

Just when they think the worst is over, with Chloe safely buckled into the front passenger seat, Chloe starts to shout something at Maggie – and vomits all over the poor woman instead. Micah tells Maggie to go upstairs and borrow one of his t-shirts while he cleans up the front seat. He’s just finishing wiping down the middle console with disinfectant wipes he found in the glove box when Chloe moans and grabs his arm.

“Do you hate me?” she asks, lower lip trembling. She looks so vulnerable, Micah can’t help reaching out and tucking her hair behind her ears.

“No, babe, I could never hate you.”

“You probably think I’m a horrible mother,” she says, and then the tears begin to flow. It’s the first time he’s seen her cry in five years.

“No, you just had a rough day. You’re a wonderful mother.”

“Because I never do this,” she continues almost as if she hasn’t heard him, “I don’t do this. I don’t. I’m not a dumb kid anymore.”

And that was one more thing for him to feel guilty about. She had gone from a carefree college kid to single mom with so many challenges and responsibilities. Overnight. Because of him. But Maggie was right, he had apologized enough. He was just about to assure Chloe he knew this wasn’t her, but she had fallen asleep again.

“Out, Barrett,” a voice behind him orders, and Micah jumps. Maggie is jerking her thumb and ordering him out of her SUV. “I’ve got this,” she assures him as he slides out from behind the wheel.

He watches Maggie situate her pregnant belly in the driver’s seat and start the engine. “Are you sure about this? Getting her in the car wasn’t exactly easy.”

Waving her hand, Maggie scoffs, “Nonsense, I’ll be fine. Chloe’s apartment is on the first floor. You have to stay here with Luke.”

Micah nods and backs away from the curb, watching as Maggie pulls away. Once the tail lights are out of sight, he turns wearily back up the stairs. He shuts the apartment door quietly behind him and locks it, then heads straight for Luke’s room.

He eases his son’s bedroom door open and stands at first peeking through the large crack. For a long time, Luke had trouble sleeping when he was here. Micah had tried everything to help, but the bottom line is that Micah’s place isn’t his home. It’s just the place he comes to visit his father every other weekend. Luke clutches a stuffed dog and a blanket just like the ones he has at Chloe’s, and a night light shines a kaleidoscope of stars on to the ceiling. But it wasn’t until Micah purchased the sound machine that Luke could finally sleep in his room. It plays ocean sounds: waves gently lapping at the shore in a rhythmic wooshing sound.

Micah eases into the room and first stands beside his son’s bed, looking down at his peacefully sleeping form. His heart constricts in his chest as it often does when he looks at his little boy, but tonight it isn’t just paternal affection. Someday, he wants to be more than the man Luke visits. He wants to be there for it all: getting him ready for school, helping with homework, nagging him about getting to bed on time because it’s a school night. He doesn’t want to just be a weekend father. Of course, there’s only one way he can have it all.

Micah sits gingerly on the end of Luke’s bed. He gently lifts Luke’s right leg that is dangling off the edge and carefully tucks it back beneath the blankets. Luke stirs, but his eyes remain closed and his deep and even breaths are proof he hasn’t awakened. Micah smiles as he brushes the hair from his son’s forehead. For all the mess Micah caused by bringing up the past, at least he now knows one thing. Chloe still feels it too – the passion between them. He thinks back to what she said Halloween night – there were good memories, too. We were in love, Micah. That’s what she had said this afternoon at the park. Could she love him again? Now that they were different people?

Micah mulls over Maggie’s advice. Yes, he wants a future with Chloe. But this time, he wants more than just passion. They aren’t kids anymore. Luke has changed them. This time, he wants to give Chloe a mature love. A sacrificial love. And he’ll be patient proving it to her - no matter how long it takes.

#what hindered love #my book #shameless self promotion #micah's stories #we both know we ain't kids no more

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minyoongijjangjjangmanboongboong · 5 years

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Ephemera Chapter Fifteen

Ephemera: In art, transitory written and printed matter (receipts, notes, tickets, clippings, etc.) not originally intended to be kept or preserved.

Alternatively, things that exist or are used for only a short time.

Description: Nobody knows who Vante really is. Everything about the popular artist is shrouded in secrecy: from his face to his name to everything in between. After years of working for his art gallery, Y/N feels she may just be the closest thing he has to a friend. Between her success at work and her relationship with campus hot-shot Jeon Jungkook, Y/N’s life has never been better. But is Jungkook truly who he says he is? And who will Y/N protect now that she knows Vante’s livelihood may be on the line?

Genre: Romance, Drama, Fluff, Angst

Pairing: Jungkook x (f) Reader x Taehyung

Word Count: 6.8k

Tags: Non-Idol!Au, Gang!Au, Art History Student!Reader, Film Student!Jungkook, Art Student!Taehyung

Warnings: Swearing and mentions of alcohol, although infrequently

A/N: Hiya! Here’s the next installment. I’ve finally added links to all my previous chapters for easier access, so if you missed any chapters please do check my masterlist! Also, next week my chapter might be a bit early as I’ll be on the road driving so I’ll have to post while I still have wifi. Anyway, please don’t be shy and send feedback, critique, questions, theories, and comments my way. I’ll be sure to respond to all asks I receive within a day of receiving them! Links will be added later, so for now check my masterlist to find previous chapters!

And again, if you want to follow my Twitter, my username is @/plzpunchmebts. I’m super active over there and hopefully in the future I’ll do some livestreams/chats with you all! And concert videos!!

- Mercury

Previous Chapter – Next Chapter

Masterlist

Weekly updates: Sunday, 1PM (PST)

I sat at a lavish table surrounded by food. Like the day before, Hayoon and Jaesun had ordered lots of dishes, perhaps sampling each, and the three of us were now settled before a banquet. Filet mignon, grilled salmon, crab cakes, lobster mac and cheese, German potatoes, and a whole bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon to split between us. I stared slack-jawed at the vast array of food and drink, and the couple — now sharply dressed as they’d been at the charity event — watched my awe with knowing smiles.

We’d met at Nunchi an hour before and walked together into a pristine black car, ushered in by a driver. The drive to Gangnam had been relatively quiet, perhaps due to my own reservations about these people. Although they were Taehyung’s parents, I found it hard to be completely at ease around them when their wealth was so obviously vast.

“Dig in, dear,” said Hayoon, brushing a stray hair back into the perfect bun at the nape of her neck.

Jaesun smiled and piled some mac and cheese onto his plate. I stiffened and looked around the airy, bright restaurant. Surely, this would look odd. This wasn’t the sort of place to share food. But the staff either didn’t mind or were conditioned not to ask too many questions, because they continued bustling across the floor like ghosts, heads down, backs straight.

I cleared my throat and nodded, slicing off a piece of steak and placing it atop my plate. “Um…,” I began, guiding my knife down. “Pardon me, but…why exactly have you been seeking me out?” I asked, meeting Hayoon’s eyes.

She raised her brows before settling into an easy smile. “Ah, well,” she began, waving a fork-wielding hand. “Our son, Taehyung, talks about you quite frequently. For a while now, Jaesun and I were very curious about what sort of person you were.”

I swallowed hard and blinked up at her, at her weathered but lovely face. “Ah,” I said with a stiff nod. “I apologize if I don’t live up to your expectations.”

She laughed and shook her head, chomping down on some salmon. “Not at all, sweetheart,” she said, then sighed. “When we let him move, he was so plucky about things. We set him up in his apartment, but that was the extent of the help he’d accept. Working all over the place. I guess we worried for him more than we said.”

I hummed and nodded. “He would’ve probably scolded you if you’d worried too much,” I said with a fond smile.

She laughed. “I agree.”

“We told him to call us if he ever needed help,” said Jaesun with a full-mouthed nod. “But the kid’s so damn stubborn. He never tells anyone when he’s struggling. At any rate, when he opened his gallery he finally started telling us more about his everyday life.”

“Maybe because he felt like he’d finally succeeded,” I offered with a nod, plopping a serving of potatoes onto my plate. These two seemed unfazed by the way they were perceived, so I tried quickly to follow suit.

Jaesun nodded, waving his steak knife at me. “Exactly!” he said, then laughed. “Anyway, when he started updating us, it was mostly about the gallery and the name that kept coming up was yours.”

“We were very curious,” said Hayoon. “He was really troubled about you for a while, but it seems like he worries a little less these days.”

I hummed. Was it that he worried less or that he spoke about his worries less? Taking a sip of wine, I nodded my head. “He’s been pushing me for a long time to start standing up for myself. I guess lately I’ve been doing that.”

Hayoon smiled and it really touched her eyes. “That’s good, dear,” she said with a nod. “Can’t get anywhere in life if you don’t advocate for yourself.”

“Are you the ones who taught Taehyung that?” I asked, swirling my wine around and watching the feet as they trailed down the side of the glass.

“Learned it from me, probably,” said Jaesun with a gruff laugh. “Kid’s more serious than he looks because I put a lot of responsibility on him growing up.”

I raised my brows. “What sort of responsibility?”

“Well, back in Daegu we run a pretty successful law firm and Tae helped out around the office when he was younger. I thought the kid would be my successor, but, you know, the art and all that…,” said Jaesun with a hearty laugh. “Anyway, I started the firm when Taehyung was a kid and he watched me dig it up from the ground. It’s not easy starting your own firm, I’ll tell you that. But once we got rolling, we kept rolling.”

“What kind of law do you practice?” I asked, watching the usually boisterous man become stoic and sober with every passing word.

He hummed, sipping his wine and smiled. “Bankruptcy and employment law mostly, but we dabble in family law. We try to help people get out of difficult situations.”

I nodded. It made sense now why Taehyung was such a busybody, trying to give assistance even when he wasn’t asked. I felt a small pang of guilt over keeping secrets from a person like that, but then I remembered what he’d said the last time we spoke.

You definitely shouldn’t be involved in this stuff anymore.

Just like his father, swooping in and trying to take responsibility for someone else’s hardships and mistakes. When a person’s out of options, out of capital, filing for bankruptcy is the only option. But the problem with bankruptcy is that it wreaks havoc on your credit score for years after. Just how damaging would it be for me to just…leave this to him? When I can still do something about it myself? When I wasn’t yet out of options?

I heard a cell phone vibrate and Hayoon jumped. She grabbed the phone from her leather bag and her features lit up as she read the name. “It’s Hwayoung,” she said with a grin toward her husband. She turned to me and chuckled. “Our daughter.” Daughter…

Jaesun’s thick, graying brows raised and he returned the smile. “Answer it!”

She turned to me, almost pleading, and I nodded once, waving my hands. She pressed the phone to her ear. “Hey sweetie!” her motherly tone, the way she cupped her hand over the bottom of her phone, cradling it against her cheek, her gentle smile, barely-there dimples: something about it made my heart clench.

I rubbed my hands together before lacing them atop my lap, watching my black dress stretch over my thighs. This moment felt intimate in a way I couldn’t intrude upon, a way that felt like trespassing to observe. I tried to tune out their joyful conversation out of respect — or perhaps self preservation — and did my best not to look melancholy, keeping my smile pasted on my lips without a single budge.

I waited for Taehyung to buzz me up the elevator a few hours later. It had been a while since the two of us had spoken, and I wasn’t so sure how much to tell him. Surely, telling him about Namjoon wasn’t the best idea. But wouldn’t it be better for him to know now rather than find out later?

After a quiet elevator ride, I emerged in the hallway and found my way to his door, knocking twice. “Hey,” I said as he emerged on the other side, smiling.

He hadn’t shaved in a few days if the darker patch of skin above his lip was anything to go by. His hair was a disaster and he was draped in a massive sweatshirt and pants that were too short to cover his ankles. The glasses he usually wore perfectly were sliding down the bridge of his nose and he had circles beneath his eyes. He looked down at me with unbridled happiness and it took me several moments to overcome the shock at seeing the state of him to slide inside his apartment.

Cleaner than before, the place didn’t look as rough as Taehyung did. If I didn’t know any better, I’d have said his condition was improving if the state of his apartment was anything to go by. I figured he had a maid or something, because the incongruity between his appearance and his apartment’s was too great. But once I turned back to look at him, I noticed him yawning, stretching his arms above his head like a cat.

And with a sigh, I resolved to keep everything to myself.

He never tells anyone when he’s struggling.

He was my friend, first and foremost, and he needed help. He needed me. One look at him was enough to tell. He was overwhelmed more than he’d ever admit. Hadn’t he been the one who’d decided to reveal his identity and throw his notions of privacy to the breeze? I glanced at him over my shoulder, watching as he rested his hands in his pockets and greeted me with a smile.

“Taehyung,” I began, eyeing him.

He hummed in response and walked closer. “Yeah?”

“How long has it been since you’ve changed clothes?” I asked, examining the wrinkles in his sweatshirt.

He paused and raised his brows. “Ah, does it smell old?” he asked, tugging on it a little with a bashful smile. “Sorry. It’s been a few days.”

I shook my head. “It’s not that,” I said, then sighed. “You’re not taking very good care of yourself, are you?”

He swallowed hard and laughed a little breathily. “Ha, well it’s not like I’m not taking care of myself, it’s just…”

I sighed and gave his upper arm a squeeze. “I’m just worried,” I said with a nod. “Your parents are too, even if they don’t say it.”

“You met my parents?”

“Haven’t you been keeping an eye on the tabloids?” I asked, cocking my head to the side.

He flushed and laughed once more, averting his gaze. “Well, I’ve been meaning to but I guess I’m in a…a little bit of a slump right now.”

Quietly, I eased down onto his couch and patted the empty space beside me. He sighed, joining me. “Wanna talk about it?” I asked, watching him in profile. His eyes were downcast, shoulders slumped just a little.

“It’s really not a big deal,” he said with a shrug.

There it was again. That diversion. I tried to put my finger on what exactly about it felt so melancholy, so dismissive. “Well if you keep everything to yourself you’re just going to be miserable alone.”

He glanced at me, eyes wide. “Hm?”

I laced my fingers on my lap and sighed. “Your parents mentioned something like that. Like you not reaching out when you need help.”

He stiffened. Had I made a mistake telling him that? He swallowed hard, Adam’s apple bobbing, and nodded. “I…I guess they worry a lot, huh?”

“They’d worry less if you told them about your problems,” I urged.

“Well…more than anything, I think I’m just kinda scared,” he said, then shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair, brows furrowed. “Not that it’s a big deal or anything. Honestly, I’m fi-,”

“Don’t say you’re fine.”

He paused, set his lips thin, and nodded. “Alright,” he said with a long exhale. “I’m spooked.”

“Because people know who you are now?” I asked.

He nodded, rubbing his jaw. “Mhm,” he said, then shook his head. “Leaving the apartment is hard. I’ve had my assistant bring me food and clean up the apartment, but other than that I haven’t really seen anyone.”

“And classes?”

He was quiet, hands clasped like he was praying. “I think I’m gonna drop out.”

I opened my mouth to scold him, but stopped short. To say something like that, to give up on something he truly loved and valued…it seemed that it was hard for him to even say it. Like he was hurting.

So instead, I only nodded and rested my hand on his back. I smoothed circles onto the planes of his shoulder blades and watched as he released a shaky exhale. “That’s a shame,” I said with a nod. “But…if that’s what you feel like you need to do, then I’ll support you.”

He eyed me, brows knit, and I caught a brief glimpse of vulnerability in his expression. “Really?” he asked.

I nodded. “If it’s what’ll make you happy.”

He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose with two fingers, and sat upright. my hand fell to the back of the couch. “I don’t know when I became so weak.”

“It’s not weakness, Taehyung,” I said, smiling gently as I rested my hand once more atop my lap. “It’s fear. Everyone’s scared. Most people just hide it better.”

“When I was young,” he began, wringing his hands, “Kids weren’t too kind to me.”

My brows raised. “Hm? Were you bullied?” I asked.

He chuckled and shrugged. “At the time, I didn’t think of it that way. I thought being teased was just part of being a kid. My classmates didn’t like me from the start because of my parents’ money. I can understand that. But what they hated more was my drawings. I tried not to get down about it, but…it got to me. And I guess I was too ashamed to tell my family.”

I sighed. “You felt like you had to handle it on your own?” I asked.

He nodded. “Yeah. I guess it made me really scared of standing out in any way. If I can blend in, then…then nobody can really hurt me.”

Quietly, I nodded my head. A thick silence enveloped us, and for a while I didn’t know how to slice through it. So, for a few moments, we simply sat there side by side, neither one speaking as the distant, muffled sounds of the city swirled on outside the big windows.

I glanced at him, at the mile-long gaze he had, and pressed a hand to his shoulder. He jolted a little, like the touch brought him back to reality, and I smiled. “For what it’s worth,” I began, “I think those people who hurt you in the past are really regretting it now.”

He was quiet for half a beat before releasing one sharp chuckle that quickly devolved into choppy, almost desperate laughter. I joined him, mindful of the way tears pooled in the corners of his eyes. I felt that, for the tiniest of moments, I could really understand him.

I released a huff of breath and stood to my feet, patting my thighs with a smile. I extended a hand to Taehyung which he took without a moment’s hesitation. He stood upright in front of me and, quickly, I slipped my hand free. I angled myself behind him and pushed him by the shoulders toward his bathroom.

“Go take a shower and put on a fresh set of clothes,” I said, to which he only laughed. “I’ll make some food.”

He paused and turned to me, clearly ready to fight me on it, but I silenced him with the cock of one eyebrow. He shut his mouth and opted instead for a small, bashful smile and a nod.

“Sorry it’s not much,” I said with a chuckle. “I’m not the best cook.”

Taehyung shook out his wet hair, water droplets clinging to the ends, and peered over my shoulder at the pan I was managing. He’d changed into a nice shirt and joggers, his skin glowing from the shower. “I like fried rice,” he said with a chuckle before plopping down at the barstool beside the counter.

I glanced at him over my shoulder and noticed he was resting his freshly shaven chin in his hand, watching me with a fond smile. I wasn’t quite sure why, but my stomach felt a little fluttery and I turned back to the food, pushing the rice and vegetables around with the spatula.

“Can I have one of your beers?” I asked quietly, not looking back again. I could feel him staring at me.

“Mhm,” he said. I kept an eye on the pan as I wandered toward the fridge and pulled out a can. “Get one for me too, hm?”

“Sure thing,” I said, grabbing a second one and sliding it to him. I paused across the counter, the two of us locking eyes as he plunged the tab down and took an easy swig. “Your parents…,” I began, rolling the toe of my sneaker into the ground. “They’re really nice.”

He chuckled, nodding and pointing with his free hand to my untouched beer. I followed suit and cracked it open, pressing the can to my lips. “They’re good folks,” he said with a sigh, eyes going far away. He pulled his glasses off his nose and cleaned the foggy patches with the sleeve of his shirt. “They never really let me want for anything.”

“Is that why you wanted to move here and do things yourself?” I asked, resting my palms on the counter.

He hummed. “Probably, yeah,” he said with a sigh. “They were really great, but I guess…those kids kinda got to me a little. Saying I had everything handed to me.” He paused to laugh and tilted his head to the side, eyes hazy with reverie. “They had a point.”

“They were assholes,” I said.

He raised his brows and glanced at me, wide-eyed. “Hm?” he asked, then laughed. “I’m having deja vu.”

“What?”

“Last time we drank together you talked like this too,” he said, chuckling. “Out of character.”

I stiffened, flushed, and turned back to the rice. “My character is very nuanced,” I said, pouting a little as I plated the food.

“Mhm,” he said, grinning as I placed the fried rice in front of him. “Thank you for cooking.”

I shrugged and joined him on one of the barstools. “It was nothing,” I said with a shrug, digging in. The two of us ate in comfortable silence for a few moments before a thought struck me. “Hey, I never knew you had a sister.”

He laughed, sipping his beer, and peered at me out the corner of his eye. “She’s a curse. I didn’t wanna risk cursing you too.”

I shoved his arm and furrowed my brow. “Don’t say that.”

With a smile, he shrugged and took another bite of food. “She’s actually really great, Hwayoung. I think I spent most of my childhood in awe of her.”

“What do you mean?”

He laughed lightly. “She’s like…a force of nature. Super strong,” he swirled his beer around in the can and hummed. “Actually, while I was being bullied she was usually the one to come to the rescue.”

“Really?” I asked. I wanted to meet the kind of person who could stand up to a group of bullies for her younger brother…

“Mhm.” He sighed. “She’s really outspoken and opinionated, and when it comes to injustice she doesn’t tolerate it. That’s probably why she naturally found her way to law.”

“She’s a lawyer?” I asked, smiling. “Like your dad.”

He scoffed. “My dad wishes he could take credit for it,” he said with a laugh. “But, no. Hwayoung isn’t a lawyer just yet. She’s studying in the US.”

“So far!” I said with a sigh. “Man, she sounds cool.”

“Don’t let all that fool you,” said Taehyung with a laugh. “She drives me crazy.”

“Well now she really sounds cool.”

He rolled his eyes, but nonetheless he was smiling. My heart settled a little. “I guess she is pretty cool,” he said, then took a sip of beer. “I wanted to live like her. Independent. Self-sustaining. The kind of person who sees injustice and fixes it.”

With a smile I took a swig. “I think you’re already that sort of person.”

“No,” he said with a sigh. “I’m still too weak. Too scared. Hwayoung was always really brave.”

“Hm,” I responded, chewing on a piece of carrot.

“Kinda reminds me of you sometimes.”

I stiffened. “Your parents said something similar at the gala,” I said.

He smiled. “I noticed it for the first time when we followed Jungkook to that club,” he said as he chewed on his rice, nodding. “You were really quick. Thought on your feet. And you were determined too. Very bold.”

“Funny…,” I remarked, thinking back with a laugh. “Seems the only time I can be bold is when I’m drunk.”

He shook his head, smiling gently at me. “No,” he said. “Lately at work I’ve seen it too.” He paused, like a thought had suddenly struck him, and he hummed a little. “I wonder if the reason I started looking after you is because I could see just a tiny bit of her in you.”

I stiffened. “What do you mean?”

He glanced at me and smiled, eyes shutting as he rested his cheek in his hand. “I mean…when you’re working you’re so capable. I think I saw that and saw how easily you were…tamed I guess. How easily you could go from this cool, confident person to someone docile and obedient. Made me worry about you.”

My cheeks felt hot to the touch and I pressed the half-empty beer can against my burning skin in the hopes of cooling it down. “I see.”

“Not that I was, like, watching you super intently! Just, you know…keeping an eye on you,” he said, then sighed and waved his hand. “Forget it.”

I was happy to. Carefully, I took a peek at his plate and noticed he was finished. I gobbled up the rest of my rice and gathered our utensils. “I’ll get going once I’m done cleaning.”

“Ah…,” said Taehyung in an exhale, and I discerned a measure of disappointment in his voice.

At the sink, I turned over my shoulder and eyed him. He watched the countertop where his hands were splayed palms-down, a sad smile on his face. Guilt traced through me. Over his shoulder, the sky was beginning to sprinkle autumn rain onto the busy streets of Seoul, navy-blue night sky extending in every direction punctured only by the city skyline.

I sighed, holding a plate and sponge in my hands, and pursed my lips. “Well…maybe I should stay a little longer. Wait out the rain,” I said with a nod, continuing to scrub. “Gotta walk to the station anyway.”

He visibly straightened up and, like some sort of kept animal, showed me his eager face. “Yeah! No, that’s a great idea.”

I smiled and nodded. “Alright then. Let’s watch a movie or something.”

I wasn’t so sure when I’d fallen asleep, but when I woke up the only light came from the moon hanging low outside the windows and the only sound was rhythmic breathing coming from somewhere beside me. As my senses returned, I glanced around the moon-drenched living room and stretched my arms above my head. I’d awoken on my side, leaning heavily on the arm of Taehyung’s large couch. It seemed Taehyung had turned off the television as the room was dark. Beside me on the couch, leaning on the opposite sofa arm, was Taehyung, glasses clinging just barely to the tip of his nose as gravity urged them downward. He looked serene, a shaft of silver light catching in his hair, and gently I scooted closer to get a good look at him.

“Stupid,” I said, sighing as he wiggled slightly in his sleep. “If you’d just rely on people more, you’d be happier.” I stood upright and padded to the hallway, searching the cabinets for a few spare blankets.

Once I found them, I returned to the living room and found Taehyung’s glasses on the floor and his mouth hanging open. Chuckling, I draped the blanket over his shoulders and involuntarily he snuggled into it. I followed suit quickly, plopping onto the couch and resting properly this time, leaning my head against one of his plush pillows.

“Y/N?”

I groaned and swatted my hand at the voice dragging me from my dreams.

“You gotta get up and check your phone.”

“Mm,” I mumbled, flailing my hand once more. But by then, I’d been awoken. Grumpy, I pried my eyes open and saw the living room bathed in morning light and Taehyung standing above me with a smile and a piece of toast in his hand.

“You awake now?”

I nodded, rubbing my eyes, and pushed myself to my feet. “Yeah,” I said, grabbing the toast he offered me and popping it in my mouth. “Why’d you wake me up?”

He chuckled and pointed to my cell phone, which he’d politely plugged in to his own wall charger. “It’s been going off for, like, an hour.”

I sniffled and nodded. “Alright,” I said, crouching beside the outlet. Taehyung laughed lightly before turning on his heel and rifling through the fridge. He pulled out a few apples. “Hey, do you have oatmeal?”

“Oatmeal?” he asked with a scoff. “What, are you eighty?”

I rolled my eyes, unlocking my phone. “Oatmeal is an excellent source of fiber and in the colder months it helps…,” I began, but my sentence trailed into silence as I registered what was on my phone.

Six missed calls from Jungkook.

Ten texts.

Heart racing, I rushed to my messages and opened the app. Could there be an emergency? Had something happened at the HQ? Was my cover blown before I could even do any digging?

Coconut: hey, u got plans today?

Coconut: should probably get a jump on ur…’investigation’ ;)

Coconut: shit, probably shouldn’t say stuff like that when Jin could check my phone…

Coconut: just kidding. hehe.

Coconut: are you not awake yet? it’s almost eleven…

Coconut: Y/N…are you at Taehyung’s house? I just saw an article.

Coconut: If you’re seeing him, then just be honest with me. I don’t want to be strung along…

Coconut: Although you have every right to punish me after what I did to you…

Coconut: Fuck.

Coconut: Please respond…

I chewed on my lip and drafted a response, but Taehyung was quick to come back and check on me once he sensed the shift in my mood. “Hey, you okay?” he asked, crouching beside me and wrapping a warm arm around my shoulders.

I stiffened and pressed the phone to my chest. If I told him everything now, he’d only scold me and demand I stop. His eyes went round and he scanned me, surprised. “Yeah! It was my dad,” I said, shaking my head. “Ah, anyway, oatmeal?”

His expression softened and he laughed, ruffling my hair. “Don’t have it,” he said, standing to his feet and wandering back to the kitchen. “I’m not a grandpa.”

I glanced back down at my phone and typed as quickly as I could.

Y/N: HQ in an hour. Will explain then.

I rushed up to the building, still wearing the leisure clothes I’d worn to Taehyung’s house, heart racing. Why did I run when Jungkook called? Was I truly going to fall for this idiot all over again? As I approached the metal front doors, I glanced around and paused for a moment, staring at its massive brick facade. While I was here, I might as well case the joint since I didn’t have the chance last time. If I could find a way into that basement, perhaps I could find documents that implicated Seokjin. Of course, it would be difficult. I didn’t expect finding evidence to be simple.

But as I wandered down the alleyway in search of any alternate way in, I really didn’t expect things to be quite so hard. There was nothing on the left side of the building or around the back. No stairs leading down to the basement, no window to crawl into and sneak around. I’d have to find another way in, or perhaps find another means of gathering intel. I sighed as I rounded the corner, snuggled between two stout buildings, to the alleyway on the right side of the warehouse. But as my feet collided with the cracked concrete, I paused a moment and lingered behind a rusting dumpster, a voice carrying loudly through the narrow passage right to me.

“No…”

Someone was on the phone. I pressed my hands against the cool metal and pressed myself close, eager to hear more. Peering cautiously around the side of the dumpster, I saw a figure at the mouth of the alleyway, arms crossed, pacing back and forth. On the shorter side with a slim build, the figure’s body language screamed frustration. As they turned around, I quickly hid once more, clinging to the lip of the dumpster

“I’m not going to entertain this conversation any longer,” said the voice, terse.

And in an instant I recognized who was speaking. I inched up on my toes to check once more, just to be absolutely certain, and saw that indeed my hypothesis was correct. Min Yoongi stood just couple yards away from me, eyes on his sneakers, wandering in imperfect circles around the front of the skinny alleyway.

I stiffened and fell back down behind the dumpster, clinging to shadow. Who was he on the phone with? And why did he sound so irritated? I’d never heard him speak so stiffly before, but I’d also never heard him sound so firm.

If I was on the other end of that call, I’d be scared as hell.

He sighed. “Listen, you tell the CEO that if he wants to talk to me he can do it himself, got it?” he said, but even though it was framed as a question, I knew it was an order.

I swallowed hard and tried to still my pounding heart with a pat to my chest. What sort of business did a CEO have with a criminal hacker? The information was intriguing and tantalizing, and something in me told me to listen very, very closely to what he said next. I wished I’d had the wherewithal to grab my phone from my purse before rounding the corner so I could record it.

Huh. Well, that wasn’t such a bad idea to gather evidence on Seokjin, was it?

“Just because we’re working together doesn’t mean we have a relationship now,” said Yoongi with a scoff. “Tell your boss not to get ahead of himself.”

What a commanding presence. I felt myself grow smaller with each passing word, crouching down lower and lower.

“I’m hanging up,” said Yoongi with a sigh, but instead of walking out of the alleyway, he lingered, not moving a single foot. Was he perhaps bluffing? Seeing how far he could push this person on the other line? “Well, that’s not much of a bargain to me. What do I gain?” He was quiet for a moment before laughing, a sharp, dangerous, sarcastic sound. “Are you kidding me? I make more in three months than I would in a year with your company.”

Was Yoongi being recruited? I furrowed my brow and tried to listen closer.

“Whatever. I’ve got my own business to take care of,” he began, then chuckled. “And remember to tell him what I said, alright?” There was a cocky edge to his voice, but also a small measure of appeal. Like he really wanted this boss to know what he said.

I sighed, rubbing my chilly hands together and preparing to leave as the conversation seemed to have ended. I wiped my palms on my pants and stood upright, still concealed by the dumpster.

But as I turned to leave, I heard Yoongi say one final thing and the words stung my ears like a cold blast of autumn wind.

“And if you have business with me in the future, go through Bangtan, Younghoon.”

I clamped a hand over my mouth to stifle my gasp and felt my eyes go wide as I crouched once more behind the dumpster. I shook my head and listened as Yoongi chuckled, fabric scuffed against itself, and footsteps sounded, growing more and more distant.

Younghoon…

That guy from Sanyo Industries…

Dazed, I entered the warehouse. Sitting at the same table Yoongi had dragged in front of me while I was kidnapped, Jimin sat playing cards with Hoseok. All around, sketchy characters milled about, mostly men, giving me eyes that I knew were up to no good. Feeling uncomfortable, I pulled out a chair beside Jimin and sat down quickly.

He jumped a little at my sudden entrance, but quickly broke into an ear-splitting smile. “Hey!” he exclaimed, pointing at me.

Hoseok wore a matching grin. “Whoa, you’re really back, huh?” he asked, chuckling. “You a glutton for suffering or what?”

I smiled a little, the shock of what I’d heard slowly fleeing my system, and adjusted Jimin’s dark bucket hat just slightly. “You two are the only good people here, I swear,” I mumbled as I fussed with his hat.

Jimin giggled and swatted my hands away. “Don’t baby me!” he said, lifting his head to scowl at me. “I’m a grown man.”

“And we’re not the only good ones,” added Hoseok as he touched his face-down pile of cards with the tip of his finger. “Jungkook’s here too.”

I sighed, resting my chin in my hand, and eyed their game. Hoseok seemed to have more cards than Jimin, and neither of them were reviewing their hands. “What’re you playing?” I asked.

“War,” said Jimin with a smirk. “Wanna moderate?”

I smiled. “I’ve only played once when I was in middle school,” I said with a shake of my head. “I’ll watch for a while though.”

Jimin shrugged and the two of them locked eyes. “One,” he began, grabbing the first card on his deck, “two,” he continued, neither breaking eye contact, “three!”

On three the two both threw down their cards. Jimin’s card: six of spades. Hoseok’s: ace of hearts. Hoseok laughed and collected both cards, placing them on the bottom of his pile, and laughed as Jimin gaped at him.

“Didn’t you just have another ace?!” he shouted, pointing at Hoseok with an accusing pointer finger.

“I’m just lucky,” said Hoseok with a smug grin.

Jimin scoffed. “You rigged it!”

“How do you rig war?”

“I dunno! But you did!”

I laughed as the two descended into bickering. Before I could settle into my seat, I felt something tall looming over me from behind, blocking out sunlight, and turned quickly to see Jungkook staring down at me with a pout on his lips and his arms crossed.

He said I had every right to punish him, and yet still reacted this way to being ignored for a few hours?

It would’ve been cute if we were actually dating…

“Hey,” I said with a soft smile.

He cocked a brow, disbelieving, and worked his jaw in circles. “Hey…that’s it?”

I chuckled. “Yep.”

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Look, I know you’re still mad about everything, but-,”

My eyes went wide. He was about to say too much. If anyone here knew we were getting closer, they’d get suspicious and I wouldn’t be able to use him as a resource any longer. I stood upright and placed my hands on his shoulders, wheeling him around to the back of the warehouse, behind the partition where nobody went.

“Sorry guys! I’ll watch more next time!” I called over my shoulder at the boys with a wave.

Jimin returned it, albeit somewhat hesitantly, and Hoseok simply laughed.

Soon, Jungkook and I were alone, back in that cramped back space where I’d spent an evening tied up. I glanced at the patch of brick that I’d leaned against and scowled, remembering the strike that Seokjin had blown. Somehow, the blow to my pride was more painful. Served me right for expecting anybody not to be horrible.

I glanced up at Jungkook and found him staring right into my eyes, not once wavering. “I have an update,” I said, mindful to keep my voice near a whisper.

Jungkook’s expression didn’t change. “Mm,” was all he said.

I cleared my throat. “I can’t get into the basement alone to snoop around, so maybe I can get a recording instead.”

“Is that all our relationship is to you? A way to get revenge?” he asked, voice too loud.

I stiffened and placed my hand against his lips. I felt his hot skin beneath my fingertips and shook my head. “Don’t say that stuff so loud.”

He shook my hand off and furrowed his brow. “Look, I know I said I’d let you do what you want, but I’m starting to feel like a pawn here.”

I smirked. “Not a good feeling, huh?” I asked.

His brows raised and he opened his mouth to protest, but could only manage a sigh. Some of his anger left on his breath and he lifted his head with a softer expression. He pushed his hair from his forehead and averted his eyes.

“You’re right,” he said, then set his lips thin. “Sorry for getting out of line.”

I wrung my hands, suddenly overcome with guilt over such a sad face, and sighed. “It’s not, by the way,” I began, looking at the ground. “Our relationship isn’t just a way to get revenge.”

He was quiet, soft, and almost frightened, he reached out and took my hand, lacing our fingers. “I’m really sorry for getting so annoyed. I just…I dunno, I guess this is what I’m like when I like someone.”

I met his eyes. “Obnoxious?” I asked, raising my brows.

He flushed and glanced away. “Um…I meant jealous, but…”

I chuckled and smoothed my thumb against the top of his hand. “It’s fine,” I said, then sighed. “I mean, it’s not. Being jealous in a relationship isn’t healthy. But…I guess I was pretty jealous too when I saw you with that girl.”

He stiffened. “Wait, did you just imply that we’re in a relationship?”

I swallowed hard. “Oh, uh, no. When did I do that?” I asked, scratching my arm with a laugh. “Ah, anyway! I was at Taehyung’s, but it wasn’t anything like you’re thinking. He’s just having a hard time since he went public. He really valued his anonymity, so…”

Jungkook furrowed his brow, adopted a pensive look, and took my other hand. “You’re avoiding the question.”

I blinked up at him, unable to look away from the warmth of his deep brown eyes. Since when were they so tender? His eyes scanned my face, hopping around from feature to feature, and there was something hidden in his gaze that made me blush. Was he always so intense?

Had he always looked at me like I was a piece of art?

“Y/N, are we in a relationship right now?” he asked softly, lips plush and beckoning.

I chewed on the inside of my cheek and dropped my gaze to my shoes. “I mean, technically yes. You’re in some sort of relationship with every person you meet-,”

“Y/N…”

I sighed. “I…I don’t think I can give you that, Jungkook,” I said at last after some moments of silence. “The kind of relationship you want…I’m not sure I’m ready for that right now.”

“But later?” he asked.

My whole face was burning hot, the skin he touched with his fingers stinging like fire. I inhaled, but all I smelled was his sweet cologne. “L-Later…,” I said, voice weak, with a single nod.

He exhaled, almost like relief, and nodded his head. “Okay,” he said with a laugh. “I can work with later.”

I met his eyes again and found him staring right into mine, gentle and soft, gazing at me with nothing but admiration. “Are you sure? Don’t you want someone who can give you now?”

He smiled and shook his head, leaning down close to me. So close I could feel his breath tickling my cheek. “I want you.”

My whole body was alight with energy, my nerves jittering, my pulse racing, my heart beating like a jackhammer in my ears. “Ah…,” I breathed, and perhaps I thought that was a sentence but it wasn’t.

He leaned just a little bit closer. “Is…is this alright?” he asked, eyes still locked on mine as his fingers locked on the tops of my hands, a loose tether. I swallowed my uncertainty and nodded my head. “Okay,” he said softly.

He tipped his head just slightly, just enough to let our lips brush. It might have ended there, chaste, had I not inched up on my toes to keep him close. His lips were pillowy soft, moving slowly and without urgency, but carrying a hot passion that I recognized from that night at my dad’s house. Slowly, his arms snaked around my waist and mine around his neck. Our bodies were flush, and as he tilted his head to the side to deepen the kiss I let him, holding onto him just as tightly as he held onto me.

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tarithenurse · 5 years

Text

Space Nurse 6/?

Fandom(s): Men in Black & MCU! Pairing: (Oh, hello!) x fem!reader Contents: just swearing I think, maybe some angst A/N: another 2nd pers PoV-chapter. If you want on the list, just send me an ask :) Comments are more than welcome especially because I’m still prepping for exam and I could use some confidence!

Stubborn

Every day, you wake up and get to the infirmary, body still sore from Costa’s treatments which you suffer through each evening. Twice, now, you’ve passed out from exhaustion in the gym. Once you’ve puked up the electrolyte-water you’d been drinking. And for what? No kind words of encouragement during these first weeks.

As exited as you had been about the job with its tantalizing mysteriousness just as much do you abhor what’s to come as the end of your shift nears, and you do your best to drag out the time together with doctor Simmons.

She’s a kind, young lady with an extremely bright mind. Sometimes, she forgets that the two of you don’t have the same expertise, but it’s generally when she gets excited about something within her field of specialty. Whenever that happens there are two ways to handle it, it seems. The simplest is to let her rant on about it, more or less to herself while you make small approving noises. Nod and smile. The smarter way, and the one you prefer to be honest, is to interrupt her and ask for the English version too. It sure teaches you a lot of interesting things.

“Why’re you even around still?” Poking her head up from behind a row of beakers near the spectrometer, Jemma (she insists you call her that) studies you with the keen eyes.

You decide to refocus on the pc-screen where you’re reading up on the appointments for on the Monday (having been given the weekend off duty). “Oh, I just wanted to prepare for tomorrow, y’know?”

“From what I’ve seen,” the doctor says, clear and slow, “you’ve already prepared. And you’re perfectly capable of handling anything unforeseen…so what’s going on?”

The smallest movement, like the shrug you give her now, is a painful reminder of what you’re up against. If your friends or maybe the right family members had been within reach then you’d have called them already to vent your frustrations, get a pat on the back. Some support! But you aren’t close to anyone yet, save for Jemma…and until now that has purely been a professional relationship. It still is. In the end, she’s going to have a lot to say before the power that be decides if you’re going to stay or get send back home. No, I can’t tell her. Having a shoulder to cry on would be great, but there’s no way you’ll “let them win”.

“Nothing much, I guess. Still getting used to everything, of course, but that’s to be expected.” Forcing a smile that fits the airy voice, you hope it’s enough to get her off your back.

Instead, she comes over to your desk to pat you gently on your shoulder. “I guess I have the benefit of being used to this kind of life already.” The near-motherly kindness is oozing from her. “I knew what I wanted before I got accepted to the academy, so now it’s only a minor inconvenience when I have to be here.”

“Where’re you normally?” Anything to move the focus to another subject.

“I can’t tell you yet…classified…you get it.” The woman has the decency to look apologetic, if only for a second before reenergizing mentally. “Well! You better be off and get some quiet time.”

She basically ushers you out of the door.

…

Stomach tense and fists clenched, you tell yourself not to be an idiot as you enter the gym later that evening. Costa and her buddies are already busy just like a bunch of other agents and military people of various sort. You still haven’t found the system in ranks and titles, but maybe you’ll be taught who are what if you get to stay. Ian and Sean, the twins, have kept a safe distance since threatened by your personal trainer from hell, and you kind of miss the guys even if you’ve never gotten to know them. It stings to see them wink at you from the other side of the room, but not dare to wave or anything.

Fucking Costa. The spite’s like fuel. Fucking secrecy. The treadmill whirrs beneath your feet as anger and frustration carries you in a steady pace. Fucking isolation. Them and their self-conceived superiority! Timing your breathing automatically and ignoring the sweat running down your face and body, the stubbornness grows while your mind points out all the ways the system and individual people at this damn facility have contingency plans based on you and other rookies washing out. They expect newbies to fail. Not this time!

When the machinery comes to a halt, you’re itchy with a restless jittery feeling that drives you to march up to Costa and look her straight in the eyes, demanding her attention. Looking you over, the shorter woman doesn’t say anything to you, just nods at Taylor.

“C’mon.” Short of word, the man waves for you to follow him to the mats in one of the corners.

This is new. Apprehension rises cold in your stomach, seeping into your limbs as you watch him gather various pads and a roll of sports tape which he begins to wind around your hands and wrists with surprisingly gentle hands. Dark, brown eyes with a few greenish flecks are glued onto the work, giving you ample time to study him. Oh yeah, he’s muscular and well-trained…just not in the same bulky way that for instance Hoffmann flaunts. Whatever Asian origin the American before you hails from, it’s given him the best of the best for dexterity, agility and stamina. And he’s about to use it all to kick my ass?

Grabbing both your hands, he studies the result. “How’s that?”

“Errr…” You know nothing about these things, so you tryingly flex your fingers. “Okay…I think.”

The nod is curt. “Good. Costa wants me to test you first, but that’s not how I do things.” That sounds…promising. “So, we’ll start with basic blocks and attacks.”

And so it begins, like learning a dance by familiarizing yourself with the individual steps before you get to put it all together. Contrary to his friend, the she-devil, he compliments when you’ve done something right, making it easier to bear all the times you don’t. There’s plenty of room for improvement. How could there not? But your instincts are right when they tell you to step into any jab or punch, putting your body behind the entire movement. It’s hard work, and still it doesn’t feel that bad.

“That’s it for today.” A tiny smile wrinkles the corner of Taylor’s mouth. “You’re off tomorrow, and I suggest you use it to recover. Be here Sunday at seven AM instead.”

“Yes, sir!” The answer pops out on its own, making both of you freeze in awkward silence for a few seconds. “I m-mean yes, of-of course.”

The twins are waiting for you when you exit the gym, both still in dirty training gear, but grinning from ear to ear at the sight of you and going as far as to jovially wrap you in the middle of a ginger-sandwich despite your own sweaty state of being.

“Not bad, sprout!” The one to your left beams. “Heard all the praise Taylor gave you. Not bad at all!”

Sprout? Maybe not a flattering nickname, but at least it’s cuter than “newbie” or “disaster” which have been the frequently used ones. It almost sounds friendly. Both Ian and Sean keep the compliments flowing as the three of you follow the utility path from the commons to the habitat area. Their quarters are in a different part than yours, of course, meaning that eventually you come to a crossroads where your paths diverge and the laughter and warm friendliness has to end.

“Hey, [Y/N],” possibly-Ian says hopefully, “a bunch of us are heading into town for a drink or two. Care to join?”

“Absolutely!” But then it hits you and your mood falls drastically. “Not sure I’m allowed to, being a newbie and all.” What would be the point of taking your phone and computer away, if you can just go into town and get in touch with the rest of the world there?

Both twins grin, patting yours and each others’ back. “No worries!” is the unison answer.

Maybe-Sean explains: “Standard protocol says you can’t go alone of with only greens but bring at least one seasoned employee of a higher rank and you’re good.”

“Yeah, you can check it in the grey binder.” His brother nearly whispers as if it’s a big secret he’s letting you in on. “So…pick you up in two hours, yeh? We’re gonna grab pizza’s and then beers at Donna’s so nothing wild.”

It’s not the rest Jemma had recommended, nor the recovery Taylor told you to ensure. On the other hand, it’s got to be the exact opposite of what Costa would want, and that’s a brilliant incentive to go and so the decision’s made in a heartbeat.

#mib/mcu #fanfiction #men in black #marvel cinematic universe #reader #writing #agents of shield #SHIELD #MCU #MIB #cross over

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bluezombiejesus · 5 years

Text

05x09 Thoughts

I’m!! So happy to see!! The native americans back!! Also this whole plot seems ridiculous but I’m willing to see where it goes!!

This recap was cute right up to the point where Doc got shot

I love how 10k just doesn’t wanna wake up. A whole mood

This talker guy is annoying and I’m so glad my queen Roberta Warren shut him the fuck up

hE GOT SHOT IN THE ASS F FOR RESPECTS

oH the arrows in the theme were a nice touch

I love how Warren is so motherly to the point where even rando kids trust her

I also love how diplomatic she is with the natives.

“Death knows my name” “I thought death would look a lot meaner”

OH THAT’S CUTE

THEY’RE CUTE

Ugh I’m loving Kuruk taking the spotlight

I love Ayalla’s braids

Aw 10k hiding his hand is both cute and sad

The Ayalla-10k friendship is lookin real cute ngl

George in Dante’s sunglasses 👏❤️❤️

“I thought I could trust you but then you led me into a circle” fuckin smartass

Well he looks cranky

I’m trying so hard not to make a dam pun

SHE’S TRYNA GET HIM A HAND AW

oH MY GOD HE BETTER GO WITH THE DEER ANTLER

I can’t believe 10k got another sister in he span of a day

I’M LIVING FOR THEIR RELATIONSHIP

This was about 10k and Ayalla but it also could very well be about Doc and Kuruk

I love how she plays along with the “we were nowhere near the Grand Canyon”

I’M CRYING HE’S SO SWEET

Oh rIGHT I FORGOT ABOUT THE NECKLACE

UGH I’M SOBBING THIS IS SO CUTE

fUCK THAT SABOTEUR BITCH OH MY GOD

oh what do they do with Talkers?? Use em for labor or somethin

I LOVE THE DEER ANTLER UGH

My dumbass thought that was a bear

Off topic but I ate some cheese during the break and now I want more but I can’t get up uGH

wARREN’S LITTLE WAVE GHSHSH I LOVE HER SM

Why does that intruder run weird as fuck

For a second my dumbass thought it was the guy from the church episode of s4 but then I remember he got like crushed by a bell or some shit

fUCKING SABOTEUR

OH WAIT THOSE ARE THE NINJAS

His stubbornness to stay reminds me of Ayalla’s father.

Is he the same one from earlier or??

I love how Doc just kinda decides “Let’s fuckin astral project lmao”

Everyone’s like “???wtf??”

Whaaaaa..? When did Warren go to the spirit world...?

Does any kinda medicine react that fast??

the defibrillator worries me

Doc tryna wake up 10k is gold

Oh wow this is cool

George’s “are you fucking serious” reaction

OH MY G O D ROBERTAW

ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS HERE I AM TRYING TO RESTRAIN MYSELF FROM MAKING DAMN JOKES

I’m fucking cryingn bITCH WHY DO THEY DO THIS

SHIT SHE’S SINGING TOO OWIE

Ngl the presence of Talkers somewhat diminishes the impacts of non-mercy deaths

Wait...Talkers can see spirits??? I mean ig it makes sense bUT

Why does doc look like that one scene from Jim Carrey’s Grinch I sWEAR

DOC I GET YOU LOVE YA SON BUT WHAT

This must’ve been so fun to act

I love Nat acting as Doc

The little walkway gives me the same vibe as the one from the season 4 finale. I sWEAR

That whole scene with Doc and 10k is gOLD

uGH THAT WHOLE FIGHT SCENE WITH GEORGE AND THE SABOTEUR GUY. KATY HAS TOO MUCH POWER AND I’M TOO GAY FOR THIS SHIT

Warren’s little encouraging punch on the shoulder to 10k is so cUTE. He’s finally able to shoot again and she’s showing him that she is very much proud of him 🤧🤧

“Weird weird”

AWW THEY’RE SO SWEET I’M GEHSHS

I MISSED ASHKI AND WARREN’S CONVERSATION BECAUSE OF MY SISTER SHHSGD I’M PISSED

WOAH WHAT IS THAAAAT

#z nation #z nation spoilers #roberta warren #doc #steven doc beck #10k #george #kuruk #ayalla

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generallynerdy · 6 years

Text

The Ex In Eighties Part 8/Finale (Clint Barton X Reader)

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7

Note: Oh thank God it’s finally over this is such an old fic but I wanna put it up here so i have stuff to compare my new writing to

The next few days were uneventful and we still gained no news of Clint or the other Avengers. I began to lose hope until a friend showed up.

“(Y/N).” A voice called from the other side of the glass keeping us inside our cells.

I turned to see a certain red-headed assassin. “Natasha? Thank God, where have you been?”

Sorrow showed in her eyes, “I’m sorry, (Y/N), I made the wrong decision and I’m here to fix it.”

I tilted my head, hands pressing onto the glass, “Nat, what are you going to do? If Tony knows you’re in here-”

“Cameras are going on a loop. I’m here to get you out of here.” She glanced at the others, who had gathered near the glass. “We don’t have much time, though. I might not be able to take all of you.”

“Not without help.” A voice said behind her. She turned swiftly to see Agent 13 standing behind. Natasha pulled out her batons, but Agent 13 raised her hand in a ‘stop’ motion. “I’m here to help.”

“How did you-?” I started but was interrupted.

“Doesn’t matter.” Nat noted, “Time is ticking, we’ve gotta get this done.” She entered a code into the panel on the side of the glass door. It dinged and she ushered all of us out. I left last and was stopped by Natasha grasping my arm. “Does Ross know?” She glanced at my stomach.

I shook my head, “We had kind doctors. They kept it secret.”

She sighed with relief, “Thank God.”

T’Challa’s sister, Shuri, interrupted. “Have you a plan for where we are to go?”

Natasha shook her head, “I had hoped you might hitch a ride to Wakanda, Your Highness. According to my intel, that’s where your families are.”

“Please, my brother is the King, not me. Shuri will do.” Shuri explained, before continuing. “We should get out of this facility first and then I can call upon my brother. He does not know Ross has taken more or else he would have called an international emergency and hostage situation.”

We nodded and followed her, Natasha, and Agent 13 out of the facility. We had escaped and finally had a few breaths of fresh air for the first time in days. Shuri quickly contacted T’Challa, who sent us a jet the next day. We landed in Wakanda and were immediately taken to a discrete facility in the Wakandan mountains.

I watched Sam hug his parents tightly, in tears, telling them he was sorry for being such a bad son and that he would never take them for granted again. It was sweet and I wished I had that kind of relationship with my parents. We had never gotten along well and I moved out the day after I graduated high school. Hell, my parents didn’t even know I was married.

T’challa hugged his sister, talking to her in Wakandan. He was pretty shaken by her disappearance and return, but she was barely fazed. She was definitely a strong warrior and brave woman.

Cassie squealed, running to her dad straight away. “Daddy!”

“Cassie?!” Scott ran to her, lifting her into the air and burying his head in her hair. “Oh my god, Cassie. Thank god you’re okay. I missed you so much, peanut.”

“I missed you, too, Daddy.” She sniffed. “(Y/N) told me I would see you soon.”

Scott turned to me, tears reflecting in his eyes. “Thank you so much.”

I smiled at the heartfelt reunion. “It’s no problem, Scott.” He didn’t know who I was, but I knew who he was and Cassie was quick to explain.

“(Y/N) is that bird guy, Hawkeye’s wife, Daddy.” Cassie smiled, holding onto her dad. “I thought she was the other bird guy’s wife at first.”

Scott snorted, “As if Sam would be married.”

Sam gasped, turning to Scott. “You wanna go, bug man?”

“You can try!” Scott challenged, “I won last time.”

“That was when I didn’t know what you could do!” Sam reasoned, “But I am well aware now, you-”

They both stopped as soon as they realized Cassie had burst into a fit of giggles. “(Y/N) told me you two are idiots.” The pair turned to me, gawking.

Sam spoke first, “You don’t even know either of us!”

“Yeah!” Scott butt in, “For once, I gotta agree with Sam.”

“I hear enough from Clint.” I rolled my eyes.

“(Y/N)?”

“Speak of the devil.” I turned to see Clint, handsome as ever, frozen in place. Despite his not knowing, I was still pissed at him for leaving just when I had discovered I was pregnant.

Clint snapped out of his frozen state and ran toward me, wrapping me in a hug and deep kiss. Cassie squealed excitedly and Scott covered her eyes, but she peeked past his fingers.

Clint finally broke away and I went instantly into pissed wife mode. I turned to Scott. “Get Cassie out of here before she learns some new words,” I swear I could hear Clint gulp behind me as Scott’s eyes widened and he rushed his little girl out of the room. I turned back to Clint furiously. “You dumbass! How could you do that? Just rush off into battle leaving your pregnant wife behind?! What if this kid was to grow up without a father, huh?!” I started ranting as Clint’s expression turned into a shocked one instead of a fearful one.

“(Y/N) you’re-” He swallowed, choking up. “You’re pregnant?”

I nodded, tears coming to my eyes as it finally hit me. It was silly that it took so long, but it did. I was pregnant. Years we had tried and now it had finally been successful. Clint wrapped me in a hug, covering his face with his hand as he sobbed into it.

“Oh my god, I’m gonna be a dad.” He choked out.

T’Challa and Shuri watched from one corner of the room, smiling. “They really deserve it,” T’Challa commented. “Clint has told me they’ve wanted a child for a long time now.”

Shuri nodded, “After spending a few days with her, I can tell that (Y/N) will be a great mother.”

“I wonder if it will be a boy or a girl,” T’Challa commented.

Shuri snorted, “Definitely a girl. What with (Y/N)’s stubbornness and Clint’s skills? She would be unstoppable.”

“How can you be sure it will be a girl?” T’Challa questioned curiously.

“I do not know, brother. Instinct, I suppose.” Shuri shrugged.

T’Challa raised an eyebrow. “Motherly instincts, perhaps, Shuri?”

Shuri laughed, snorting. “You must be kidding, T’Challa.”

“Thought I’d at least put it out there.”

“You are such an idiot.”

“Love you, too, Shuri.”

“Love you, brother.”

Note: Did I mention I’m glad it’s over?

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all-about-wannaone · 7 years

Text

Kang Daniel as a Father AU

(He looked the most husband material here aka helping his wife to fold and do the laundry perhaps?)

And I have finally finished a request once again (before the 30th of July omg)!! :) This was a really cute request that I had received from @imagizibe through my ask box and I am so sorry for the fact that you have probably waited close to a month by now. TT.TT The same goes for my other readers/ followers too, especially those who have seen my multiple to-do lists and have probably wondered when I would actually get to do them. D: It has been long, but it’s finally done and I actually do intend to make it for Wanna One’s Hyung Line too! ^^ As for the maknaes, they would be getting a “(Name of member) as an Older Brother”! ^^

Thank you once again for being so patient and supportive despite my lack of updates nowadays. TT.TT I shall not hold you guys back any longer and I wish all of you a happy and fun read! ^^ Who knows? I might even write a Part 2! :3

To @imagizibe : To make up for the fact that you had to wait so long, I included a short part of the wedding ceremony too when Daniel becomes the official husband. Hope you don’t mind! ^^

One thing’s for sure, if you are married to Kang Daniel, you can be sure that you probably married the right man.

Had one of the cutest and smiley proposals, with a sprinkle of awkwardness.

It was simple with him bringing you to the park to stargaze for a while after dinner, pointing out all the stars that you guys knew and bickering cutely about who was more knowledgeable about astronomy.

You were lying on his chest and he had his arm around you, before he offered to get you a drink and cupcakes from a patisserie nearby.

Obviously bought your favourite cupcake and drink, passing it to you before getting down on one knee and finally taking out the ring that he had kept in his pocket the entire night.

Nearly messed up the paragraph that he had prepared for you but it was pretty obvious that you would say yes.

Cue an elegant wedding ceremony by the seaside on a cliff with the breeze caressing your faces and blowing through your hair.

Probably the groom to say “lawfully wedded wife” as “waffle-y wedded wife” because he was that happy (or more like excited)

An elegant wedding ceremony definitely comes with an equally grand after-party.

You and him probably get a little tipsy eventually, but it was a night to remember for the both of you. (not gonna go into the details ahem)

Now to the real part…

You announce that you are pregnant after you realise that you have not been getting your “time of the month” for 3 months (and of course, you had to check it)

He would stare at you in surprise for a moment because he needs time to process what he just heard.

When he finally does, he would take your hands in his and have the widest smile on his face before saying, “Oh my goodness, I’m going to be a father.”

You nod your head with slight tears in your eyes and he gives you a hug before you could see his own tears forming.

He would embrace you in a firm hold with his robust arms and you swear you could feel him smiling against your shirt.

“I have never felt so happy. Ever. Thank you for being such a blessing and look, we have another blessing.” as he points to your stomach.

Definitely expect to see him with the widest grin on his face (even bigger than the one on his wedding day) and he would be so elated that he would call all of his friends, family and colleagues (Wanna One etc.) to announce your pregnancy.

Also expect boisterous shouting like, “DUDE, I AM A FATHER.”

“진짜 완전 대박 리얼 헐… NO WAY.” (jinjja wanjeon daebak real heol)

From the time you announced the news all the way to the day of your expected delivery, he would take extra good care of you.

Daniel will literally be at your beck and call, satisfying all your food cravings, by your side through ALL the mood swings and will literally do anything you ask him to do.

Even goes out of his way to learn how to clean the house (as we all know, he’s not exactly the cleanest) so that you won’t fall sick and learns how to cook healthy meals for the both of you.

Is occasionally playful and would place his hand on your stomach to see whether the baby would kick; gets uber excited when he feels it and would feel around again.

The child will be a happy foetus because his/her father sings to him/her all the time and gives him/her occasional kisses too (makes you giggle a bit because it’s ticklish)

He would literally take a day off work to stay by your side on the day of the expected delivery because he wants to be prepared to whizz you to the hospital when the time comes.

Bless the fact that it does because he apparently googled the night before on how he should hold onto his wife in labour, things to say and even songs to blast in the car to distract her from the pain.

Takes you to the hospital with ease and even tried his best to carry you bridal style, before realising how dangerous it will be for the baby.

When you are making your way to the labour room (in a lot of pain) and ready to give birth, you can definitely count on him to always be by your side.

Will hold onto your hand through the entire process, even if his hand turns white and feels numb after all the squeezing from you.

Comforts through hand holding but will definitely be encouraging, together with the nurse. They probably laugh a little, seeing how Daniel looks as if he’s watching a sporting match. (the nurses probably wished they had a husband like him actually)

When the baby is finally out, Daniel would be extremely exhausted but he will not show it and would probably give you a kiss on the forehead with a shy smile on his face.

Asked to carry the baby and he freaks out a little, until you remind him that he is the father of the child after all.

Is exceptionally good with children as the baby smiles the moment he/she takes a look at him and he coos, rubbing his forehead together with the happy baby.

“Welcome to the world, little Kang. You are going to grow up to be handsome/ pretty, like your parents. Trust me, I know so.”

Starting off wasn’t an easy task because whenever the baby cried, it was difficult to tell what he/she truly wanted; was it a change in diaper? Was he/she hungry? Was he/she sad and craving for attention? Who knows?

He doesn’t know what to do when the baby starts crying so he tries comforting it first by whispering soft words and when it doesn’t work, he’ll rock the baby gently and sing him/ her lullabies or will try to make the baby laugh through weird antics.

Doesn’t want to stress you out because he knows how difficult it was to carry the baby and promises to take most of the responsibility as the father.

When the baby cries in the night, he will be the first one to wake up to be by his/her side until the baby falls asleep and he is definitely the type to tuck the baby in and look at him/her for a little while from the top of the baby cot, smiling to himself and wondering how he got so lucky.

If the baby cries again, he’ll be up once more, until you were awoken by the constant ruffling of the bedsheets and the slight movement of the bed. You were just way too tired for the past few days.

Saw Daniel trying his best to comfort the baby and you feel bad that he has been doing a lot of work, so you volunteer to take over.

Stubborn initially but after you remind him that he needs to return to the industry in the pink of health, he unwillingly hands you the baby and tries his best to sleep without stressing over the fact that it was dangerous for you too with your state of exhaustion. (It didn’t affect you anymore really but he was just being protective)

Attempts to make food and healthy snacks for the baby through cookbooks and youtube videos, but he’s not so good with the things in the kitchen and panics when he does not understand the instructions given.

“Wait, they told me 3 tablespoons of flour?? But I thought it was supposed to be cups? And oh my goodness, I spilt some on the floor and is it supposed to be levelled or heaped?? It won’t affect the recipe right?”

It’s actually cute watching him cook, until you realise that he could have burned down the entire kitchen.

Attempts to make the baby’s milk too, and you had to teach him step by step because he was worrying way too much once again about the formula to water ratio.

Once he thinks he’s confident, he would volunteer to babysit despite his practices so that you, too, could have a well-deserved break time (since you had to take a leave from work and takes care of your child 24/7)

Would bring his baby to work in a little baby carrier (cutest thing ever omg) with everyone cooing over how cute the baby looked and basically take turns to carry the child at least once.

Very much prefers to stay at home from then on because Jaehwan threw the baby up into the air (which the baby liked VERY much) and Daniel swore he saw his life flashing before his eyes.

Still invites them over anyway since they love the child so much.

Despite the habit, there will be times he forgets almost every single thing about how to take care of a baby and asks the members for help.

His best friend Seongwoo would be even more clueless, while the more motherly members (Sungwoon, Minhyun, Jisung and Daehwi) will just shake their heads and even teach him how to take care of a child.

“Sorry bro, can’t help very much but your baby is adorable!!” - Ong Seongwoo

“NOT HELPING.” - Everyone else

When they are clueless as to why the baby was still crying or seemed unhappy, his fellow Wanna One members would either google through parenting websites and some would even call their mothers and sisters to get help.

Over time, he definitely gets more tired trying to strive for a work-life-parent balance and you genuinely worry for him, but he only smiles and says that he will take care of himself just fine.

In conclusion, he’ll probably be a pretty good father; supportive, a role model, committed, loves his child very very much, encouraging and will always be by the family’s side, no matter how busy he can get.

Clearly loves his little family and will always put them first, no matter what happens.

Oh, and let’s not forget that he’ll be an extremely good husband too. :’)

Check out my other stuff here!

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slapshotsandoneshots · 7 years

Text

Player: Jakob Chychrun – Arizona Coyotes

Prompt:

Mentions: None.

Warnings: Angst, Fighting, & Swear Words.

Preview: What happened last night, kid?” Your dad sat in the recliner watching as his daughter’s boyfriend rubbed his neck, probably in pain from sleeping on that terrible couch.

Characters: 2513 words.

Jakob didn’t say a word when you left when you were in the car, or when you were on the road for over ten minutes. It was absolutely silent.

You looked over at your boyfriend who kept his eyes on the road, not even acknowledging your existence.

“Are you okay?” you wondered quietly, crossing your arms.

“No.” Jakob’s answer was clipped, eyes straight ahead and his frown not leaving his face.

“Did I do something wrong?”

In all honesty, you didn’t want to know the answer, but you asked anyway because you couldn’t shut up at the moment.

“Yes,” Jakob said lowly, his fingers drumming nervously on the steering wheel.

Your eyes glanced away from the window to look at him. “Are you mad at me?” You asked, hoping to get a look of some sort to know that Jakob isn’t some kind of robot.

“Yes, Y/N, I’m mad at you, Jesus Christ just stop with the questions, I’m trying to drive!” Jakob had cracked, his hand pounding on the steering wheel before he flipped the blinker up and pulled over on the side of the road. He wasn’t going to wait an hour to talk about this. He needed it to be done now.

“What did I do wrong? I was trying to defend you!” You took your seat belt off, turning in your seat to face Jakob.

Jakob did the same, anger washing over his face. “What did you do wrong?… Gosh, I can’t believe you would ask such a question. Okay, let’s see. You talked back to my dad multiple times, basically calling him out for not being proud of me.” He began, taking a deep breath.

“And you also mentioned that he clearly favors Cooper over me which was rude and really embarrassing! You didn’t need to do that!” Jakob yelled, his voice cracking as tears filled his eyes, the nights’ events too overwhelming for him.

“No… I did need to do that. Jakob, I care about you so much and to have that man tear you down the way he was… I couldn’t handle it! That wasn’t fair to you!” You argued, getting teary as well. You had never seen Jakob this emotional before.

“I can handle myself Y/N! I lived with that man for eighteen years; I’m used to it okay?”

You shook your head, biting your lip as hard as you could. “No, it’s not okay! You shouldn’t be used to that, that isn’t normal!”

Jakob let out a shaky breath, shrugging his shoulders. “Whatever, I’m just done defending myself, I’ve done it way too much and I’m tired, okay. I’m tired.” He said quietly. “I don’t need you to do my dirty work for me.”

“Well, you could have at least defended me!” You yelled, a tear escaping, sliding down your cheek. “The least you could have done was defend me because if I were in your shoes, I would have told him to fuck off and been on your side the whole time, fighting for you.” You said, more tears coming.

“But no, tonight I was alone, looking like the idiot, fighting for someone who wasn’t even fighting for me or himself!” You continued, wiping at her cheeks.

“Dammit Y/N, no one asked you to fucking open your mouth!” Jakob shouted. “I just wanted a peaceful family dinner so I could say I did my part, but you had to go and fight with my dad and complicate more shit in my fucked up family.” He hit the steering wheel again and turned to put his seat belt back on. “I didn’t need this tonight!”

You fell silent, a sob escaping your lips. “Take me home.” You whispered, turning back in your seat, clipping your seat belt in.

Jakob opened his mouth to say something, but pursed his lips, turning to start the car.

Jakob rubbed his face, a groan escaping his lips as he sat up.

“What happened last night, kid?” Your dad sat in the recliner watching as his daughter’s boyfriend rubbed his neck, probably in pain from sleeping on that terrible couch.

“We had a really bad fight last night and excuse my French, but I was an asshole,” Jakob explained, giving your dad a sympathetic look, hoping he wasn’t going to get killed for this.

He chuckled, standing up and nodding his head toward the kitchen so Jakob would follow him. “Listen, it’s normal. You guys are going to have fights.” He informed, taking out a cup for Jakob. “Y/N is stubborn and caring and she’ll do whatever it takes to defend something. It’s who she is.”

Jakob pulled his eyebrows together, taking the cup of coffee your dad had held out. “You talked to her already?” He shook his head, taking a seat at the kitchen table.

“No, I haven’t seen her. She probably went out with the girls to get some last minute things for Thanksgiving dinner tonight.”

Jakob sighed and took a sip of his coffee as he leaned against the kitchen counter. “Don’t sweat it. The distance from you will cool her down and she’ll come talk when she’s ready.”

You entered the house with your sister-in-law and mother in tow, all with arms of grocery bags. Thanksgiving was seriously business and baking made you feel better most of the time.

“Hey guys, need any help?” Your eyes narrowed as Jakob walked up, a warm smile on his face.

“No, we can handle it, thanks.” You answered coldly, giving him a sarcastic grin as you strolled into the kitchen.

Your sister-in-law gave Jakob a sad smile and a small shrug, following behind you.

“Don’t worry sweetie, it’ll pass.” Your mom assured with a motherly hug, rubbing Jakob’s back soothingly as his smile faded. On the upside, he was glad You weren’t completely ignoring him. That would have been worse.

You both avoided each other all day. You were mostly in the kitchen cooking while Jakob spent the afternoon in the living room watching football with your dad and brother. He was wringing his hands nervously, wanting to talk to you so bad.

“Kid, you need to relax.” Your dad said, leaning forward in his chair, looking at Jakob with a look of borderline worry and confusion.

Your brother raised an eyebrow, listening in as he watched the game.

“Sorry, sir. I’m just… this whole fight thing is really bothering me.” Jakob had to be honest, which caused your brother to look over with a confused expression.

“You and Y/N had a fight?” He asked a little louder than he should have, Jakob, looking to the floor.

“Really Jakob, you’re gonna talk about it when I’m right here?” You asked, glaring at Jakob as you stepped out of the kitchen.

Jakob sighed. “No, that’s not what I was doing.” He defended, not caring who else is there. “Just because your brother asked doesn’t mean I was going to talk about it.”

If you were going to be bitchy, he was going to set you in your place for it.

“Yeah okay, then humor me, why would he ask if you didn’t bring it up in the first place?” You challenged, rolling your eyes as you walked away to your room.

Jakob narrowed his eyes at your back and got up from the couch to jog after you. This was not ending that easily.

“Cut it out!” Jakob shut the door behind him, leaning his back against it. He knew you wouldn’t be able to move him if you tried.

You rolled your eyes, arms crossing in annoyance. “Is this really necessary?” You asked, tapping your foot impatiently.

“What? Were you going to ignore me forever?” Jakob wondered, his hands slapping down at his sides in frustration. He couldn’t handle the attitude, not right now.

“My pie is going to burn if I don’t take it out of the oven.” You wanted to be anywhere but trapped in a room with Jakob right now.

Jakob didn’t budge. “I’m sure our relationship is more important than food Y/N.” He argued, planting his feet.

You rolled your eyes again causing Jakob to grind his teeth. He hated when you rolled your eyes.

“What relationship?” You questioned, trying to move past Jakob so you could escape.

“The one I thought was going rather well till you decided to fight with my dad last night!” Jakob mentioned loudly, fed up with this ignoring the problem thing. Why was it so hard for you to discuss this like adults?

“And I thought a relationship was about supporting and defending each other, but I thought wrong. Now move!”

You stepped again, your hand reaching for the door, only to get cut off by Jakob. “I’m not moving until you talk to me Y/N. We can’t just sweep this under a rug.”

You leaned your head back, closing your eyes in frustration. You were in a relationship now and located in a state other than home so it wasn’t like you could avoid him.

If Jakob didn’t want to move, fine. “There is nothing to talk about. Please don’t ruin my Thanksgiving, with my family!” You shot angrily, taking a step back from the door to distance yourself. Things were going to get loud. If they were going to talk, it was bound to get ugly.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t aware I was uninvited to your Thanksgiving!�� Jakob said in a sarcastic tone.

“If you’re going to act like this all night you might as well leave… I’m sure your dad would love to see you. He sure acted like it last night!” You told him icily, not really thinking before speaking anymore. You were aiming to hurt him.

Jakob clapped slowly with a fake grin. “Oh, that’s rich Y/N…” He chuckled darkly, shaking his head in disappointment. “I didn’t think you were going to go that low.

“And I didn’t think you would let him talk to us like that!” You said loudly, tears welling in your eyes. “Do I mean nothing to you?”

“Well, I’m sorry I’ve been used to him treating me like shit my whole life. I wasn’t aware I didn’t already explain that to you!” Jakob shouted, pressing his hands to his face. He didn’t want to get too worked up. “You have no fucking idea how much you mean to me Y/N.” He mumbled. “That’s why I didn’t start a fight last night. I didn’t want you to experience that.

You took a deep breath. “Where do you see this going?” You were curious, this wasn’t a discussion either of you had before.”

Jakob narrowed his eyes at you. “What is that supposed to mean?” He asked harshly, feeling like he was being trapped to have a wrong answer.

“You know, when I see my parents or my brother and his wife, I always think about how they’ve been married and still love each other. They look so happy together.” You explained, swallowing the lump in your throat. “I just always used to think I wasn’t going to have that and for a long time, I was right… Then you came along.”

Your voice cracked at the confession, taking a deep breath before going on. “I want that… with you. I want to build a home and have a family with you…That scares me, Jakob. I’ve never felt this way about anyone.” You admitted, the tears getting harder to hold the more you talked.

“I want that with you too… I just… I do, but…” Jakob stumbled over his words, looking at the ground nervously.

“But what?… What’s holding you back?”

The two of you stood in silence, waiting for Jakob to answer.

Jakob gulped, taking a deep breath. He was still cautious. “So much.” He whispered, his eyes meeting yours.

“Being in a relationship. This is a give and take thing, but why do I feel like I’m giving so much and getting nothing in return?” You asked, a tear sliding down your cheek.

Jakob frowned, his hands balling up. “My heart was broken Y/N. I’m a little scared to give too much. Y/N, I’m trying!” He yelled in frustration, taking a deep breath.

“It just doesn’t seem like it, Jakob!” You cried out, your emotions all over the place. From hurt to anger, to such immense love for the man in front of you. “I would go to hell and back for you.” You said quietly, tears streaming down your cheeks. “You have to let your past go.”

Jakob shrugged, snorting a little in a fake laugh. “It’s not that simple Y/N. I’m trying so hard, but I’m scared it’s going to happen again. That I’m going to put my all into this and get burned again.”

Your expression changed to a glare, looking like she was slapped in the face. “You really think I would do that to you?” You asked, your mouth opening to continue, but holding back. The yelling at each other thing needed to end. “Is that what you think Jakob?”

Jakob threw her arms up in the air, letting them fall back to her sides loudly. “God Y/N, I don’t know! No matter who I’d be with at this point I’d be scared!” He said loudly. “I was lied to for two years! you can’t expect that not to affect me!”

You walked up and closed the large gap between you, taking Jakob’s face into your hands. “I would rather go through a million arguments with your asshole father than to hurt you.” You said quietly, noticing the gloss in Jakob’s eyes.

“I can’t erase whatever it is that happened… But I can make sure you know how I feel about you so that you know it will never happen again.” You promised, your thumb stroking Jakob’s cheek gently.

“You mean so much to me Y/N… I can’t lose you.” Jakob whispered, sounding so lost and not like himself.

You finally broke the wall he was keeping up. “You won’t lose me. I’m not going away that easily.”

They smiled at one another through the tears, leaning in for a gentle kiss that did wonders. You slid your lips away, giggling as Jakob’s mouth followed, not wanting you to stop. “I’m pretty sure my pie is burnt.” You whispered playfully, your lips brushing his as you spoke.

“Fuck the pie,” Jakob mumbled, pressing his lips back to yours.

#jakob chychrun #jakob chychrun imagine #jakob chychrun oneshot #jakob chychrun drabble #NHL imagine #nhl oneshot #nhl drabble #NHL #arizona coyotes

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believe-that-you-can-my-friend · 7 years

Note

Bug head writing prompt "I could kiss you!" One of them figures out something for the other and the latter gets so excited or happy they either kiss the person or exclaim that they want to...

A rather delayed answer to your adorable request before I post something regarding last night’s episode later tonight, so stay tuned! I hope you like it!!! Thanks so much for requesting!!

Request more prompts here

It was dead silent in the students’ lounge thatTuesday in free period. Being one of therare days that the sun was showering the small town of Riverdale with its rich,warm rays, every student was out in the backyard, soaking up the much neededvitamin D. That of course didn’t apply for Jughead Jones whose mainly attitudeand way of life was far beyond from sunshines and rainbows.

He threw his bag at the couch at the center of theroom carelessly and mentally let a happy sigh of relief that the only soundaround him was him thinking. He pushed some coins into the venting machinepaying for a very small, much to his dislike, pack of chips and some Skittles,the boy always up for an unhealthy snack, peaking out of the window mindlesslyas he waited for the machine to deliver the goodies. Amongst the sea of highschoolers, he could see Archie along with Reggie and Moose and other jocksengrossed in a low-key baseball match in all their Bulldogs’ glory of heavylaughter and dude jokes and Veronica sporting some oversized, designersunglasses while sunbathing on the grass along with other cheerleaders whileCheryl Blossom was some benches away with Josie and the Pussycats, the girlswatching something on an iPad and swaying lightly to some beat. Jughead didn’t feeleven the slightest of need to join them.

With snacks in hand, the boy threw himself on thecouch and got comfortable, resting his legs on the coffee table in front of himand crossing them at the ankles, his mind briefly wandering to the bubblyblonde his eyes didn’t quite catch outside, enjoying the nice day. He hoped shewasn’t with her face buried in some book at the library or squishing her mindfor ideas in the Blue & Gold; she studied and worked too much for her owngood. Thinking that maybe he hadn’t notice her presence outside – somethingmuch more than doubtful because he was always aware of her presence withouteven looking up – but making a mental note to check up on her in a while,Jughead opened his laptop on his lap and double clicked on the document thatheld his precious novel, feeling his fingers itching to put on paper the wordsthat danced all day in his mind.

Barely five minutes passed and the perfume he got torecognize as Betty addictive Cooperinvaded his senses, once again aware of her presence in an instant without evenneeding confirmation of his baby blue eyes.

“Juggie Jones, what are you doing inside on a day likethat?” the friendly blonde offered in her usual motherly tone, walking furtherinside the room. Jughead groaned under his breath; he had a strong inkling thathe wouldn’t get any work done.

“Not a word, Cooper.” He replied in his casual tone ofirritation and frowned to the screen, raising a shushing finger in the air tocut her off.

Betty giggled; she deeply enjoyed it when he was beinggrumpy like that. “Word.” She leaned to his ear and replied cleverly, the boybacking away in reflex and closing his eyes in annoyance. That girl was sogonna be the death of him.

“Why don’t you go out and let me be?” he kept not sparingher any glance, only typing things on his laptop. “All your fellow pom-pomgirls are out getting a tan. Go be a shallow millennial teenage girl.” He wenton apathetically.

Betty just shrugged, throwing herself on the armchairnext to him. “I dropped by but wasn’t quite feeling it. So I came snoopingaround looking for you.” She gave him a teasing smile which Jughead barely sawblurry through his peripheral vision.

“Lucky me.” He murmured in fake delight.

“Oh, shush, you big baby!” she scoffed. “I’m justgonna sit here and read. I won’t bother you I promise.” Jughead raised his eyesat that in warning and saw her taking out of her backpack a worn out at theedges literature book, Les LiaisonsDangereuses, Jughead read in his mediocre slash good enough French, beforeopening it up somewhere around the middle. He was dying to ask how on earthsweet innocent Betty Cooper had ended up with such a scandalous classic in herhands but held his mouth shut last minute, knowing that this would cause arather large monologue out of the blonde’s lips that most times he enjoyed butright now he really wanted to get back to describing Jason Blossom’s seeminglyperfect life prior his tragic death.

And just as he mentally gave him a pat on the back forfinishing yet another chapter, the worst thing possible in the history ofmisfortunes happened and the screen of his laptop turned pitch black, sendingJughead in state of fear and cold sweat.

“No.” he huffed lowly at first, not quite believinghis eyes, the girl next to him looking up and raising an eyebrow. “No, no, no,no, no…” he gradually started freaking out, sitting straight and placing thelaptop on the table, pressing keys in frenzy.

“What’s the matter?” Betty questioned sitting upstraight too.

“The matter is that my posthumous fame died before Ieven did!” he exclaimed an octave higher in exaggeration, continuing with hisuseless key-pressing, now harder and more demanding.

Betty’s eyebrows knitted in confusion, examining thenon-responsive machine. “What happened?”

“What happened…” Jughead repeated with a bitterchuckle and a shake of his head. “Would I act like my pants caught on fire if Iknew what happened?!” he spat angrily to the blonde’s face, not being able tocontrol his frustration and desperation. His laptop was his only belonging thatmattered; how could it betray him like that?

She rolled her eyes. “Let me take a look.” She went onto turn the laptop towards herself but he pushed her hands away.

“Don’t you dare.” Jughead warned with a full onthreatening look.

If Betty didn’t know how much that novel meant to him,she would have laughed. “Oh, come on! Maybe I can help.” She insisted but hewasn’t having any of it.

“I said don’t you dare.” The boy stood up, taking thesilver machine under his arm protectively.

Betty sized him down. “You know, I’m way more stubbornthan you.” She pointed out with narrowed eyes and moved forwards, grabbing thelaptop and trying to pull it out of his arms.

“Betty, don’t make me physically hurt you!” Jugheadwarned once again, trying desperately to hold on to his most beloved thing.

“Oh please, like you would.” She scoffed and delivereda hard kick to his knee, the boy backing down in pain and loosening his stronghold, Betty finding the perfect chance to snatch the laptop off his hands witha victorious “ha!”.

“You’re a nuisance, Betty Cooper! You truly are!” theraven haired boy yelled angrily, rubbing his pained knee while setting off tocatch her, the blonde rounding the table before jogging further away inside theroom.

“If you stop that, you’ll get your laptop backsooner.” She pointed out and let a squeal when he came close to catching herbut she hid the laptop behind her back maneuvered herself around him, sprintingto the other side of the room.

“You’re dead, I swear, you are dead!” he colored everyword with frustration, the two of them dancing around the room, knocking overthings and furniture.

Kevin made his appearance at that very moment, cartonbox of juice in hand and a look of pleasant surprise upon trying to figure outwhat his friends were doing. “What are we playing?” he asked in amusement.

“Betty is just playing with my nerves!” Jugheadgroaned loudly, slightly out of breath, coming to a stop next to Kevin. “Stop!Now!” he commanded the blonde with a raise of his arm and a warning fingerpointing her way.

Betty came to a halt some meters further across him, huffing away from her eyes some strands of hair that escaped her otherwise perfectponytail. “I will, if you give me a chance to take a look at this.”

Jughead titled his head to the side and huffed, bitinghis lip and being minutes away from losing his temper with that five foot sixamazingly annoying creature in front of him.

She just gave him a look under her eyelashes andmastered her most charming, girly smile. “Please?” she asked in that sweet,made of clouds and candy canes voice of hers and Jughead knew that he was goingto regret it but what was he gonna do? He really was sold, like always.

Betty let a winning fist bump in the air upon seeinghis hesitant nod and got immediately to work, settling on the seat hepreviously occupied and opening the lid of his computer, before pressing acombination of keys, the two boys coming to stand behind her in curiosity and,in Jughead’s case, pure dread. The screen came back to life and Jughead’s facedropped at that, once coming across its irritating blue shade and a millionthings in code. The blonde was unfazed though, a light frown of determinationbetween her perfectly shaped brows, and she took a minute to scan theincoherent text for the four eyes she had on her back, before pressing keys andtyping code things in pop ups that came up.

In a mere matter of minutes, Jughead’s laptop was backup and running, his document still there to wave him a pleasant hello.

“NO!” he exclaimed in pure joy and jumped over thecouch to settle next to her, lips forming the biggest smile in the history ofsmiles. “How on earth did you do that?” he wondered in total awe, taking in theblonde next to him who just shrugged with a clever smile.

“My dad has that kind of incidents once in a while atthe paper so he had to learn some tricks. And he passed his wisdom down to me.”Betty admitted, proud of herself and pleased that he was smiling like thatbecause of her.

“Man!” Jughead exclaimed again in pure shock, staringat his computer screen like a thristy man in the sight of an oasis. “Betty Cooper, youmade me so happy right now, I could kissyou!” he went on ecstatic, not filtering any of the word vomit that cameout of his mouth, nor even his actions as it seemed, since he grabbed herdelicious pink cheeks and delivered a fierce peck to her mouth, before both ofthem jumped back in shock.

“Alright…” Kevin was the one to interrupt the awkwardsilence dragging the word, even him being equally flabbergasted. “That’s myqueue to go. I have enough suppressed feelings of my own to even deal withyours too.” The boy said cleverly, strolling quickly out of the lounge.

“That…” Jughead started, rubbing his sweaty palms overhis jeans uneasily feeling the heat of embarassment numbing his mind, not finding any suitable words and looking hesitantly at theblonde next to him with the corner of his eyes.

“Uh…” Betty hummed, uncertain of what to say either,cheeks crimson red, eyes rounded in girly innocence and bubblegum lips still parted inthat post-kissing pout.

“I didn’t mean to jump on you like that, I was justamazed that my documents weren’t gone, I wouldnever do something like that to you…” his nervous rant died on his lipsonce his wandering eyes connected with hers and there was silence for a moment,the two teens sensing the change between them.

Betty eyes did a dramatic blink, blink and he melted right there, putty for that girl and heradorable reactions. “But it was so nice…” she admitted with a dreamy sigh.

“Yeah…” he sighed too with a sudden heaviness in hisvoice. “So damn nice…” his baby blues dropped to her full lips again and thatwas it, that was their undoing; they dove into that exhilarating feeling and didn’t unwrap themselves from each other for the rest of freeperiod, or, more correctly, the rest of that day.

#barelytherenotallhere #bughead #jetty #betty and jughead #betty x jughead #bughead fanfiction #bughead fic #bughead prompt #betty cooper #jughead jones #riverdaleships #riverdale fic #otp:sundaes & plaids #mywriting

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