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angstyaches · 3 years

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Why Do Bad Things Happen To Hungry People?

This is my first hunger fic in a very long time. How the hell are you supposed to title these things?!

It’s also the first ever fic from the Lucyverse, as I’ve decided to call it (basically, any fics that follow the day-to-day lives of Lucy’s flatmates).

CW: hunger, overworking, getting stuck on public transport.

___

Autumn waved as she entered the coffee shop, flinching as the little bell over the door went off to announce her arrival. She glanced up at it, gesturing with her palm for it to calm down, as though it should have somehow known she wasn’t a real customer. Payton’s heart skipped a beat as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and scampered away to an armchair by the window, not wanting to disturb her partner while they worked.

She was so freaking cute.

“Busy today?”

Payton tore their eyes off the back of Autumn’s head and turned to look at Jake, who had only started his supervisor shift five minutes ago. He was inspecting how much money was in the till as Payton laid out a fresh batch of muffins in the food case. The wafting scents of cinnamon and banana and chocolate were all so enticing that Payton could no longer ignore the fact that they’d had to work through lunch. Going an afternoon without food had left them with an ache in their stomach that had only been aggravated more by the stress of keeping the constant stream of customers satisfied. It had rained unexpectedly all afternoon, which had sent floods of park visitors running for shelter and warm drinks.

“Very,” Payton replied to Jake. “I don’t think we had any free tables for about four hours. We barely had time to wipe them down between customers.”

“Christ,” Jake grumbled, closing the till. “And you managed okay, even though Stephen called in sick?”

Payton gestured around themself, displaying the fact that nothing appeared to have burned down or crumbled. Part of them wanted to complain further about the toll the day had taken on them, but it felt better to just act confident about it. “Everything was fine. Nothing to worry about.”

“They should be paying you as a supervisor, you know,” Jake said. “I’ll talk to Anne about interviewing you.”

“Really? That would – that would be really cool.” Payton blushed, partly from the praise from their superior, but mostly because their stomach chose that moment to twist inside of them, releasing a long, rumbling growl. The music in the coffee shop was low and calming at this time of evening, but… maybe it would still muffle the sound?

When Jake double-glanced towards the front of Payton’s apron, it was clear that the music had muffled nothing.

“Sorry.” Payton placed a hand over their belly. “When Stephen couldn’t come, it meant I couldn’t take my lunch break.”

Jake frowned and glanced at his watch. “Your shift started at ten thirty, right? You haven’t had a break since then?”

Payton shook their head.

“Fuck it, go home. I’ll tell Anne you clocked out on time.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, you’ve only got another half-hour anyway, and the place is dead now.” Jake gestured to the room of thirty-six seats, of which only five were currently occupied. “Plus, your girl’s already here. No use in keeping her waiting.”

Payton was already wriggling out of their apron and heading for the door that led to the break room and lockers. “Thank you so much.”

Once they were in the break room, silence crashed over Payton like waves. The shop hadn’t been loud just now by any means, but they hadn’t been away from a din of any kind for almost ten hours. Their ears rang as they put their apron and work shoes in their locker and gulped a half-bottle of water that they found in there. The liquid hit their stomach like a solid lump of rock, but luckily it was lukewarm, and the discomfort didn’t linger for too long.

Payton didn’t linger either.

They tugged their jacket on over their buttoned shirt, wishing they’d brought something with a hood today, in case it decided to rain again before they made it to the tram. Maybe Autumn had thought to bring an umbrella, they reckoned, sighing in premature relief at the thought of her, waiting in the shop for them. They quickly pulled their headband off, brushing their dark bangs downwards and tossing the band into the locker for the next day.

As they pushed back through the door to the coffee shop, Payton felt like their feet had ceased to exist, leaving behind ankles that just floated through the air with a human body propped over them. They saw the back of Autumn’s head near the window, and they smiled to themself, momentarily forgetting the hunger and exhaustion and stress.

“See you tomorrow,” Jake called from behind the till.

Payton shot him a half-hearted salute, never slowing on their beeline to where Autumn was waiting. Well, it was less of a beeline than Payton would have liked; as though to personally inconvenience them, the coffee shop was full of tables and chairs and sofas, which needed to be manoeuvred around.

“Ooh!” Autumn exclaimed as arms snaked around her shoulders from behind the armchair. She dropped her book into her lap and reached up with one hand to tickle the back of Payton’s neck. “Hello, baby. Finished early?”

Payton mumbled an inaudible confirmation against her hair, not caring that they were probably messing up her ponytail. “How are you?”

“I’m good,” Autumn said. “A little tired.”

“Me too,” Payton sighed, lifting their head but remaining slumped against the back of the armchair. They felt a gentle cramping in their stomach as they reconsidered their answer. “And hungry.”

“Huh.” Autumn reached up and tapped her book against the top of Payton’s head. The gesture was unnecessarily gentle, as though she’d hit them with something thicker than a paperback print of Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape. “Well, luckily for you, I’ve got all the makings of your favourite waiting in your fridge.”

Payton’s stomach clenched again, their heart lifting slightly. It had been tricky to get Lucy to agree to it, but Autumn had her own key to the apartment; not only did she call around to visit Payton so often that she might as well have lived there too, but there were often issues at home that she opted to spend the night away from.

But that wasn’t the point right now.

“Your famous sausage rolls?” Payton sank even harder against the back of the armchair, partly to be dramatic, but partly because their body literally weakened a little at the notion of Autumn’s cooking.

Autumn smiled up at them from the cushions. “Pastry’s already made. Just got to assemble and bake them. I got us some oven chips too. Oh – I forgot to check if you had any beans in the cupboard, though.”

“We’re four college students; of course we’ve got beans in the cupboard,” Payton assured her, loudly enough to disguise the fact that their stomach was growling again as they pictured the dinner they hadn’t known awaited them.

“Excellent point.” Autumn scooped up the strap of her shoulder bag and slipped her book inside. She smoothed down the hem of her pinafore as she stood up. “Ready to go?”

“Way beyond ready,” Payton smiled, watching her scoop up the umbrella that was resting against the arm of the chair.

***

Payton wriggled uncomfortably in a scratchy tram seat, unable to find a relaxed position where they didn’t feel painful pressure building up in their stomach. It was really starting to ache, now that there was nothing to keep Payton’s mind busy. They would have loved nothing more than to be home already, biting into the flaky pastry and warm, soft filling of Autumn’s sausage rolls and finally getting something into their cramping belly.

“You alright, baby? You’re quiet.”

“Am I?” Payton laughed. Their head was spinning just a little, and their voice was starting to sound shaky. “Sorry, I’m just very tired.”

It didn’t feel good to lie to Autumn, even if it was less a lie and more a concealment of the truth. She would never say the words out loud, but Payton knew that she thought of them as a pushover, both in matters at work and at the apartment. There were a lot of aspects of their job that she called unacceptable, and if she’d had her way, they would have quit the coffee shop by now. They had no idea how she would react if they became a shift supervisor and had to take on even more responsibilities, but Payton reckoned that was a discussion for another night when things were a little more certain.

In the meantime, it was best not to say anything about having to skip lunch.

Slipping their hands into the pockets of their open jacket, Payton subtly rubbed their middle, feeling their empty stomach roll around in distress. They tensed and held their breath, hoping to prevent any noises from emerging.

There was a sharp jerking motion as the train slowed to a stop. Autumn gasped lightly and put out a hand to stop herself from sliding forward in her seat. They both looked at each other and held the gaze for a moment before a voice crackled over the tram’s intercom.

“Apologies, folks, it’s just a minor technical issue. Service will resume shortly.”

“Shortly?” Autumn mumbled in annoyance. “Talk about vague...”

“Damn it,” Payton sighed, sinking lower in their seat and pushing their hands deeper into the pockets of their jacket. “Why do bad things happen to good people?”

Autumn chuckled; she was still sitting fully upright, leaning towards Payton’s seat as she tried to see up to the top of the tram. “Assumptive of you to refer to yourself as good people.”

“Not me, baby. I was talking about you.”

“Oh. Aw. Thank you.” Autumn smiled and reached out a hand, both to acknowledge Payton and to give herself some balance as she craned her neck.

The hand landed lightly on Payton’s belly, which - in their slumped position - acted as an almost-flat surface for her to lean on as she continued peering up through the carts. She was probably expecting to see tram staff coming through, explaining the situation to the passengers; what she probably wasn’t expecting was to feel rumbling movement beneath her palm, which was accompanied by a loud, pinched growl.

Payton let out a little groan too, turning their face to bury it against Autumn’s shoulder.

“What’s going on, baby?” Autumn half-laughed, her eyes trained on Payton’s stomach as it vibrated under her hand again. She teasingly ran a finger between the buttons in their shirt, gesturing as though to peek under the fabric. “You hiding an angry tiger in there?”

“I told you I was hungry.”

“Yeah, but...” Autumn gasped and rubbed a wide circle across Payton’s belly as it roared again, prompting them to glance around and make sure the seats close to them hadn’t magically filled up with people in the last few seconds.

Autumn, on the other hand, had had her attention drawn away from anything to do with the tram, and towards a particular, grumbling organ. “Baby, what’d you have for lunch?”

Payton groaned again, wriggling a little further down so that their knees were pressed against the seat in front of them. They felt a red blush in their cheeks as Autumn sat back and peered down at their face.

They sighed, eyes trailing down to where Autumn’s hand was still resting on their belly. “The shop was really busy today, and the shift supervisor couldn’t come in, so I ended up working through lunch.”

Payton then held their breath again, both in anticipation of their stomach letting out another whine under Autumn’s palm, and of her response.

“You’re so good, baby.”

Payton raised their eyebrows. “Am I? You’re not mad at me?”

“Of course I’m not mad at you,” Autumn sighed. “I obviously don’t like it when you don’t take care of yourself properly, but I also wish I had your level of dedication.”

A smile played on Payton’s lips as they nudged the side of their head against Autumn’s waist. “Jake’s gonna see about getting me bumped up to supervisor.”

“And he should,” Autumn laughed, lifting her other hand to sweep Payton’s eyes out of their eyes. “You’re amazing at that job, and no one ever tells you enough.”

“Really?”

“Really.” Autumn leaned down to kiss the side of Payton’s head. “Just promise me that you’ll use your powers as supervisor for good. Like giving yourself lunch breaks.” She gently tapped one finger against Payton’s stomach. “Okay?”

“Okay,” Payton mumbled, burying their face as their chest fluttered. The glow of being praised and worried about lasted only a precious moment though, because there was still an empty belly in the vicinity, and it was determined not to let itself be forgotten in all the chatter.

“You’re mad at Payton though, aren’t you?” Autumn pursed her lips as she spoke to their stomach, as though she was talking to a cat. She patted her hand against Payton’s belly as it grumbled. “That’s okay, I’d be mad too, if my owner spent the day giving yummy food to customers and not me.”

The mention of food sent Payton’s thoughts drifting back towards the dinner that had been promised, and they groaned again, this time nudging their head right into Autumn’s lap. She bit her lip and glanced around at the nearby seats, once more confirming that there was nobody else in the cart.

“Comfy down there?” There was a tiny twist of irony in Autumn’s voice, but her tone was mostly genuine.

“Kind of,” Payton said, using both hands to keep Autumn’s pressed to their aching gut. They glanced up at the grey ceiling of the tram, at the darkness that lay just outside the window, hopelessness welling in their chest as their belly rolled unhappily. “Just so hungry.”

“Oh, baby. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, I just wish I knew how long we were gonna be stuck here.”

“Me too,” Autumn sighed. “But no matter how long it takes us to get home, I’m still going to cook for you the minute we get in.”

“Mmm.” Payton smiled to themself and closed their eyes, letting go of Autumn’s hand as it began to work slow, gentle circles into their belly through their shirt. “Thank you.”

#hunger #hunger fic #hunger kink #belly kink #stomach kink #stomach noises #stomach rumbling fic #oc hunger fic #lucyverse #lucyverse payton #lucyverse autumn #my OCs #overworked #overworking #hunger whump

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silvia7272 · 4 years

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9 ~ Revelations Revealed

Hey guys. I can’t believe how many notes I have on My Cardigan Story. It's truly amazing and I love you guys so much thank you. I hope you’ll enjoy today's chapter, and I hope you’ll understand some points I make and whether or not you like it is completely up to you.

I’m going to Headcanons that the Kwami’s can’t see what their holders do once they transform, however, I do think some of their personality does get passed onto them when they do transform. Marinette becomes confident and strong like Tikki, Chat Noir is playful and funny like Plagg, I always thought they matched once they transformed.

Word Count: 3249

Also, how would people feel about having 3 in 1 fics? So, I’ll put 3 fic stories in one post, that way there's more content to enjoy, around the same length as the others and it may but just a little bit of filler so you can enjoy more interactions. They may seem less important so I think the 3 in 1 fics will be canon but not as relevant, if an idea has it's on fic, it's important/I wanted to expand on it.

Tags: @queenmj10, @fangirl39, @animegirlweeb, @northernbluetongue , @maribat-is-lifeblood, @raisuke06, @indecisive-mess-named-me, @luleck, @themotherofhogwarts, @more-or-less-human-i-guess, if you wish to be tagged all you have to do is say. Also, if you change your name please tell me, I don’t want to leave you out since you’ve asked to be tagged.

***

“Marinette how could you?” Uggh this again? Could they not give it a rest? This was the same routine Marinette had been living by before Chloé and Rosina entered the picture. It didn’t matter what she did, Lila would be persistent about making the class hate her, even though she had accomplished it she still wanted that hatred to be directed towards someone.

She just so happened to be that someone.

If she said the truth, she was of course lying.

If she denied, she was lying.

If she did anything, she was lying.

And god was she sick of it. Couldn’t they see Lila was just spinning so many tales to grab their attention it was unbelievable?

But she couldn’t do anything else.

Because it still hurt so much.

And she couldn’t tell anyone.

“I didn’t do that, she’s lying.” But of course, they all rolled their eyes at her. Lila was ‘hysterically sobbing’ into the arms of Mylène, they never saw the smirk the brunette gave her.

And they just believed her. With no evidence to back it up.

Man did it make her mad.

She also didn’t miss the disappointed look Adrien had given her, but she was quickly able to go back to her friends and act as if nothing had happened.

Because she had to.

If she continued being angry, then she would get Akumatized.

The day she was nearly expelled was close enough, she could never let something like that happen.

So, she thought the best option was to bottle everything inside.

But she remembered how it all came crashing down on her when Rosina let her enter that Trinklet world. She knew it was bad when she had cried for a long time, she didn’t know how long due to the no time concept, but it must’ve been awhile.

And yet she still bottled everything in. How else was she meant to deal with it?

“Maaaaaaaari? Are you ok there? You’ve been spacing out?” A hand was waved in front of her face as she blinked out of her stupor.

“I’m fine, I’ve just had a lot on my mind, I’m fine really, hahaha” She was trying to play it off as cool and hoped the other two wouldn’t notice.

“You really need to learn how to relax Marinette. I’ll plan a spa day for us all” Marinette had to stop the blonde from pressing anything.

“Nonono, Chloé really it's fine, I’m almost done anyway” She laughed nervously. And it played out like the day usually did.

The day ended and they went home, she ignored that feeling of eyes upon her as Rosina bounced along beside her.

She ignored the feeling of eyes upon her as she was nearing her house with Rosina looking around.

She ignored the cold hard stare in front of her as she bumped into Rosina who had halted midstep… And stopped bouncing.

“Rosina? What's wrong, is everything-”

“Aunty!” Rosina leapt and hugged the tiny woman in front of her.

“Amoretto! Cease this public display of affection!”

Whack

“Sorry, but I haven’t seen you for so long. And I have so much to tell you. Marinette’s been great, she’s my first ever friend here, and I’ve made other friends as well and-” Franchezca put her arm up to stop the young girl from retelling her everything the girl deemed necessary.

“That’s all very good, however, there are some important matters I have to dish out. To Miss Dupain-Cheng. Alone” the girls widened their eyes.

That did not seem good.

“Wha-What? Why?”

“We can discuss that privately, now let’s get going… You’ll soon learn that I can be a very impatient person” She slowly walked out and before Marinette could even process what was happening she felt as if she was being pushed.

“Whoa whoa whoa, Rosina stop pushing I’m gonna-”

She fell.

“I’m so sorry Mari. It's just that, it must be really urgent if Aunty wants to talk to you” As much as Marinette wanted to deny seeing her, she was vaguely curious.

“But, why not bring you along? You haven’t seen her in weeks” The redhead shrugged.

“I don’t mind, she’s always like this, but you better get going. She really hates waiting” Marinette nodded before running off, knowing Rosina would make an excuse to her parents.

She didn’t know why the former Ladybug holder wanted to have a word with her, but she did grow with slight nervousness with each passing moment.

“Finally you made it, next time I ask to meet you, it should be quicker” Marinette huffed before glaring. She was talking to her niece, why was she so grumpy anyway?

Before she could ask, a light was forming around the older woman. She was shocked, that was the same thing Rosina had! They both had one?

“Ladybug! Hurry up and come hither” She stepped inside this light and disappeared.

“Don’t say that so loud!” She followed before disappearing as well, luckily no audience was watching them.

***

“Where are we?” This was not like Rosina’s Trinklet. Hers was a lot more peaceful and fuller of nature. This had tons of doors on either side of them when looking around it seemed very narrow, like a never-ending office. But it seemed that Hernandez knew where she was going, heading towards a certain red door.

She opened the door and the blue-haired girl walked in.

“What is this place?” Looking around all the girl saw was darkness, except for a large white light in the middle of the room.

“We’re going to take a trip down memory lane. Now look deep into it” Franchezca commanded. Marinette rolled her eyes at this order but proceeded, she really wished she wasn’t going to be treated like this, but she looked deep into the light, ready for whatever she was about to face.

She didn’t expect to see Alya of all people.

“He cannot be allowed to hear that message Alya, if he does I’ll die of shame” This was the past, how was that possible?

“Okay okay, I got an idea. If Adrien’s phone went to voicemail it means the dudes busy, which also means you can get to it before he does” Back when they were friends. This was the day Theo made that statue of Ladybug and Chat Noir.

The past Marinette excitedly ran and pulled down the traced schedule of Adrien’s life went into…

It flashed from event to event, from stealing Adrien’s phone to abandoning Paris, being rude to André and planning to gate-crash Kagami’s chance of being near Adrien. Once she had lost all her friends to Lila, she was able to recognise that this behaviour was unacceptable and extremely creepy, she regretted it as she realised her jealousy got the better of her when it came to Adrien. Hell, she wasn’t even sure if meeting Rosina a year ago would let her be sane, her being so close to Adrien and all, would she have blown up at her? She didn’t want to think about it anymore, that was the past and she was living in the present. Sure, she was younger, but that wasn’t an excuse for her behaviour. At least she was learning as she swore, she would never do it again.

“These are the mistakes you have made Ladybug. And you need to recognise everything you’ve done from past to present. You need to understand your actions aren’t always right.” A red dot immediately zoomed out and came into view of Franchezca’s face.

“Marinette may have made some mistakes in the past but she’s acknowledged them and became better and! -” A hand shushed her before she could continue.

“I’m not finished yet, bug. And do not interrupt me again” They glared before Tikki reluctantly flew back to the blue-haired girl.

She muttered a sorry before flying back into the girl's purse.

“You’ve continued this even, you stole the boy's phone, read other letters, rude to people when you were upset-”

“Hey so are you!”

“I have a reason.”

“You don’t treat the Chat Noir as your partner, more like a sidekick, although that I can’t reprehend you on that, all Chat Noir’s are sidekicks, a Ladybug holder has more power than Chat Noir.” Marinette would’ve interrupted but she was silenced by yet another glare.

“All of your past mistakes are there, written in black and white, are here for you to see”

“But I’ve changed since then, I’m not friends with any of them, I even learnt to forgive my bully. I have new friends that I can trust not let me do that anymore. Your Niece helped me a lot Mlle Hernandez, and I thank her a lot, so I don’t understand what I need to do?!” She didn’t mean to raise her voice, but she was really struggling to comprehend the solution, if there was any solution in fact.

“You still keep all of that anger and regret inside of you” Marinette widened her eyes. She… Does?

“I don’t blame you for not recognising the symptoms, or anyone else for not noticing. You put on a mask to make sure you don’t seem hurt, but you are. And that negative emotion is going to eat you up until either you explode or an Akuma gets a hold of you. And I seriously doubt you’d want that to happen.” She nodded, still trying to process the new information handed to her.

“And you need to let that go”

“Huh?”

“Do you want to end up cold and bitter, like me? You are young, still young, you children make stupid decisions all the time, because it’s a part of life, and first-hand experience is the best way to learn. It's up to you if you want to forgive or forget, but don’t harbour any negative emotions towards your past. So, let it go”

“Why are you giving me this advice? Don’t you hate me?” Marinette retaliated.

“What reason would I specifically hate a 14-year-old girl? I hate everyone equally so don’t flatter yourself. Even if I still don’t agree you should be Ladybug, you also shouldn’t burden yourself and ask for help once in a while, you don’t need to only rely on yourself. This is meant in and out of battle, so remember that you aren’t alone, you have your sidekick after all”

So, she just wanted to help? That seemed completely out of character for someone like her, but Marinette guessed that since she didn’t know her like Rosina, it wouldn’t be fair to make that judgement.

Plus, it was true, even if Marinette didn’t want to admit it. She was still taking her time with asking for help from others, normally she would gladly take on all the work whenever her friends asked for anything, or she would offer to make banners for Alix whenever she had a race, or help out in the art room whenever she was free, and she only noticed how unhealthy that was, she was desperately clinging onto her friends now since she didn’t want to be abandoned again.

Maybe she did need some help?

“Thank you, Mlle Hernandez, I get it now. I’ll learn to let my anger go and focus on my future” The older woman was about to respond but Marinette beat her to it, she smirked inwardly as well.

“But I’m also determined to prove to you that I am a good Ladybug, even if you don’t think so. Maybe not now, but I swear in the future I will prove you wrong, and I won’t fail Paris. With my friends, we will defend Paris and defeat Hawkmoth”

Ding

Franchezca felt something, or technically saw something, a silhouette of Rosina behind her, smiling like she always would be.

She grinned, that determination was contagious, she knew that feeling all too well.

“Very well, Ladybug. Prove me wrong, but prove yourself right before that” She turned on her heel as Marinette and Tikki hugged another.

“That was awesome Marinette, you were so confident”

“Thanks, Tikki. It may have been tough, but she just wanted me to understand I guess” They would’ve continued if not hearing a voice.

“Well, Ladybug? If you want to prove to me that you’re serious then we need to get you out of that ridiculous level 1 costume, it’s a disgrace to all fashion designers. Kwami, have you really not informed you're chosen of the levels?” Tikki shot out again, she was still angry with Franchezca with that comment about Chat Noir.

“You know as well as I do that there are too many power-ups to explain all at once. We still have so much to clarify, I didn’t want to overwhelm her.”

“…What?”

Something told Marinette she would be staying here for a loooong time.

***

There was a lot to discuss yesterday.

And the cold hard truth was exactly that, cold, hard, and straight to the point. It may not be exactly what the blue-eyed girl wanted to hear, but she was glad to hear it now than later, in the midst of battle.

If R-

“Marinette!”

Uggh, here we go again.

“Yes?” It was coming. Any minute now.

“Care to explain why you sent horrible texts to Lila yesterday, especially after we confronted you, if this is because we found out your true colours then say it to us don’t be mean to Lila!” God damn, they were so ignorant of everything, she just wanted to-

Wait. This is exactly the same routine, and yes, she couldn’t stand it, but it was her life.

And she was going to change that routine.

“Fine…”

“How da- wait, what?” Even Lila seemed surprised, she was normally meant to fight and prove her innocence, not cave over immediately. What happened?

“I said fine, I promise not to text Lila, even though I don’t have her phone number, ever again. And I don’t know why she keeps bringing me up in conversation. But you can go back and forget about me and I’ll promise never to talk to her or text her ever. I really don’t care, I have plans with my friends anyway. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go to the bathroom. But seriously, just please tell her not to drag me into her fallouts, I don’t care about any of that stuff.” She wanted to laugh but had to hold it in as she passed them all and walked straight into the restroom. Once she sat in a cubicle the red Kwami flew out of her purse.

“That was great Marinette. Franchezca’s advice really helped.”

“Mhmm, yeah I guess she really was right. After I let go, I feel calmer and happier, plus I have more free time now, unless an Akuma comes obviously, but, I sorta feel… Better”

“That’s wonderful Mari-” They heard the door open so Tikki covered her mouth and whizzed back inside Marinette’s purse.

Marinette was unsure who it would be, but for all she knew it might be someone completely random, or someone she didn’t know.

There was no way to- it was Lila.

Marinette would’ve glared but soon remembered to let it go, huh that reminded her of Frozen, maybe she should watch that with Rosina some tim-

“You seem different, finally grew a backbone?” She instigated.

‘Just ignore her Marinette, she isn’t worth your time anymore’ She continued washing her hands, not daring to look in the mirror to see those green devilish eyes at all.

“It doesn’t matter, I swear I will make sure your empire will crumble, I can be very persuasive-”

“That’s nice” That slipped out, but she wasn’t really paying all that much attention anyway. She wanted to get back to her friends. Chloé still booked that spa day, and even though she was against the idea at first, she was excited to see what that would entail.

“-And your new friends will leave you”

Crack

Marinette should’ve ignored it. She knew Lila was just trying to get under her skin. But it was so hard, and this was only the first day.

“Aww, Mari~” The brunette mocked, using the same tone Rosina would use.

“I’m sure they are nice people, but I can be nicer, and they will leave you. Don’t take it too harshly I’m just stating facts”

“Stop”

“What? Sorry didn’t hear you, does the little mouse finally talk?” Lila laughed whipping her hair, about to make an exit.

“I don’t care”

That stopped Lila.

“You don’t care about your friends, oh my looks like you’ve been lying this entire time”

“Stop, just please stop, I don’t care anymore just stay with your other friends, will you? I don’t care that you’re lying, I don’t even care that Adrien knows. Just leave me alone will you? You’re so annoying.” And she walked off, she needed to chill and have some time pass before going to find Rosina and Chloé.

Maybe she could ask Rosina to take her to that opposite world again? She wondered if she could research some relaxation techniques to use, maybe some meditation?

She was sure to write everything down, that would surely calm her.

She didn’t care about the look a pair of green eyes were giving her.

She was starting to become happier. A sudden weight was lifted off her shoulders.

Besides, she had a meeting with Chat and Crisono later that day.

***

“Where is she? Ohh Bugaboo? Where are you?” The message Chat received didn’t scream urgency, but he couldn’t help but feel he had been duped into coming here as a prank.

“Chat quit it with the names already” He heard her voice before he heard her feet land on the ground, strange, he should’ve heard her the other way around.

She was getting better at sneaking up on people.

“Aww, but you know you love my names secretly buga-” He paused.

No longer was he staring at a pigtailed heroine that had captured his heart, no, he was staring at a new Ladybug.

It was the same Ladybug, of course, the voice matched, and he knew she wouldn’t just quit out of nowhere.

But it was different, she was different. Her outfit had changed a lot, she had black gloves and boots with red spots, and an overall that seemed to be covering her bodysuit, and her hair, it was no longer tied up, but down, two pieces of hair tied up.

“Ladybug, you- you’ve… You changed outfits? How? You look even more amazing” She blushed, ahh a sign from the heavens, be still his beating heart, he couldn’t contain his excitement. What made her want to change outfits he wondered?

“Thanks for noticing Kitty, I found out an awful lot about the Miraculous’ yesterday.” Chat slightly narrowed his eyes, here we go again, another secret he can’t be apart off, he should’ve guessed.

“And there's something I need to tell you. But you can’t tell Crisono. She’ll be here any minute now and I’d prefer if she didn’t overhear.”

“What is it?” He would just have to hope she’ll tell him later; they were partners after all. Besides, Crisono was his friend, he had to make sure it was something alright, but by the way his Lady was looking, it didn’t seem to be too pleasant.

She took a deep breath. And he could still remember how everything fell silent.

“The Miraculous cure doesn’t work on Crisono, if she dies, she dies”

***

Huh, this became more of a life lesson than saltiness. Although I still stand by Franchezca, children make stupid mistakes and decisions all the time, and even if I do simply love all ML Salt, I know it's exaggerated and fanon, and that’s alright, we’re able to take a fictional show and write how we interpret it ourselves, because it's not real, and that’s alright, it's real to us and that can be enough. Although I should clarify that this isn’t taking the higher ground, at least I don’t think so, just that Marinette is choosing to forget about them and live her own life, while they choose to either dwell on unimportant matters. Marinette wants to be happy, and if that means choosing to cut her old friends off then so be it. Hope that makes sense.

(Sorry turned sappy there) Anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter, the next one should be Piper, unless I get writer's block and do a bunch of 3 in 1 fics, or even some drawings, (I’ve done one of a character not yet shown in the fanfic, feel free to guess) Annnnnnnnd I’ve sorted names and Kwami’s to all the friends, I’m really excited to show them and for myself, to draw them, I went into detail about what I want in my book so I really can’t wait until they’re released. I’m so excited.

Ladybugs costume will be uploaded right after this hopefully, last time I had too many problems to count.

So, stay tuned next time, Cya. Hopefully, the next one will be longer, just wanted to get this out of the way.

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plus-size-reader · 4 years

Text

Little Hunter

Nicholas Scratch x Plus size!reader

Word Count: 1459 words

Warnings: none

Summary: Reader is a Witch hunter, but that doesn't stop Nick from falling for her.

———————————————————————————————————

The news that there were other witch hunters in Greendale only served to upset you.

Sure, they may have been similar to you in some way but they were not the same.

You had rules, strict guidelines that you had to follow and you took pride in what you were by blood.

However, all of the witches of Greendale were under your protection until otherwise decided and the idea that someone else would dare break that was unacceptable.

Nicholas came to you first, as soon as Dorian took care of the bastard that tried to kill them both.

He didn't want to, you knew that but you couldn't refuse him. There was too much love in your heart for the man to ever turn him away, even when it was against your own kind.

"What do you mean witch hunters? There are no other hunters in this area other than my family" you explained, searching your gun safe for the perfect thing.

You were a mortal witch-hunter, a proud bloodline that went all the way back thousands of years.

Your grandfather always kept a detailed grimoire with a list of every other hunter and where they all resided. It made it easier to make sure that no one else intruded on each family's hunting ground.

You knew for a fact that there wasn't a single family for hundreds of thousands of miles. Whatever these hunters were, you knew for a fact that they couldn't have been human.

"Are you sure? They were very clearly trying to kill us all" he sounded nearly hysterical but you couldn't blame him, considering all the things that had just happened to him. It wasn't every day that you almost got murdered after all.

"I'm positive Nicky, when have I ever been wrong?" you teased, reaching out to take his hand in your own, which you used as leverage to lead him alongside you down the street.

You weren't going to let anything hurt him, or any of the other witches in Greendale.

If anyone was going to execute a witch, it would be within the proper guidelines. Whatever these 'hunters' were doing, it was closer to slaughter than anything else.

You were going to protect them, especially Nick.

...No matter what it took.

"Perhaps, my little hunter, you may be onto something" he grinned, following you without a single doubt in his mind.

He thought back to the time that you two had met in the first place. You had been heaven-bent on bringing him to his knees in front of you. You intended on killing him, but as soon as your eyes met his own, you realized that he didn't deserve to die.

Nicholas had never done a single thing against you, he had never harmed you or anyone else as far as you knew.

It wouldn't have been right to kill him if he didn't break the rules. He hadn't killed anyone, put anyone in danger, or used his magic for evil so you couldn't execute him.

Instead, you two had become closer than any two people could be. It didn't matter to him that you were a hunter, and it didn't matter to you that he was a warlock.

All you could think about from that moment forward was protecting him, and eventually the other witches and warlocks at the academy.

Your grandfather would roll in his grave if he ever saw something like this. A witch hunter, hand in hand with a talented warlock. It went against everything he'd taught you as a child.

Perhaps that was true, perhaps you were doing something that you should have never done in the first place...

Or perhaps he had been wrong.

You had never had a truer friend than Nick, not for as long as you'd lived. The relationship you two shared made you question everything you'd ever known. Was it possible that generations of witch hunters could have been wrong? You weren't sure, but right now, you weren't a witch hunter. You were hunting the hunters.

"You're sure about this?" he clarified, looking up at the church. He knew for a fact that they were in there, but once you went through those doors, he couldn't protect you. The idea of it made him feel sick to his stomach.

Luckily though, it didn't matter to you that he couldn't accompany you. In fact, you preferred it that way. It was the only way that you could be sure he was safe. You weren't worried about them hurting you.

"Of course I'm sure. Just don't miss me too much while I'm gone" you teased, leaning forward to place a gentle kiss to his cheek.

As soon as you made contact, you were gone, leaving the man alone on the stairs. All he could do was hope for your quick return, trying not to go insane in your absence.

All he could think about was what he would do if something bad happened to you. How he would feel if you died and he couldn't save you...it would ruin his life to have to live without you.

And it wasn't until now that he realized.

Nicholas was completely, and totally in love with you.

"How could I be so stupid" he grumbled, throwing his head back dramatically. If only he had been more insistent. You could have found another way around it, a way that he could help you. If only he hadn't been so quick to involve you in this mess.

It wasn't your fight.

This had never been your fight, and if something happened to you, it would be all his fault.

The fight within the walls of the church had been brutal.

However, aside from a few scratches and bruises, you made it out relatively unscathed. Not that you were really ready for what you saw when inside. Sabrina was some kind of ticking time bomb, from what you could tell, and you had no words.

Luckily, Harvey was there to take care of her so that you were free to meet Nicholas outside.

The man was practically vibrating with nerves, sitting on the cement steps with his elbows resting on his knees. You could tell that something was wrong with him, but due to the spinning in your skull, you could hardly tell for sure.

"What's up?" you wondered, sitting down beside him on the step, throwing your legs down dramatically. It was just meant to be a casual greeting but as soon as Nick's eyes locked on you, you'd have thought you were bleeding from your eyes.

He was panicking.

"What happened to you? Are you okay? I'm so glad you're alive" he rambled, running his hands over your face lightly, as if assessing the damage that had been done to you. He couldn't imagine what had gone on in there.

In all honesty though, you were just looking at him like he was crazy.

Nick had never acted like this with you.

“I’m always fine Nick, what’s going on?” you wondered, studying his face with critical eyes. Perhaps the shock of what he’d endured today was just now hitting him, or he was in hysteria.

Whatever it was, you didn’t like it one bit.

Now, it was the warlock’s turn to be silent. He had approached this whole thing with too much zeal, and now he had to explain himself to you. The main problem was that he had no idea how to do it.

Knowing you, you would likely just laugh in his face.

Still, Nicholas would never be able to live with himself if he didn’t find out how you felt for him. These feelings for you weren’t going to go away, but perhaps you cared for him.

...Just maybe.

“I’m in love with you” he spit out, feeling the air change between the two of you as soon as he did. Being friendly with a warlock was okay, but it had taken you a long time to get there.

He could only imagine how long it would take you to get comfortable with the idea of entering a serious relationship with one. Still, Nick had to admit that he felt as if a weight had been removed from his chest as soon as he did.

Not that you could say the same.

Loving Nicky had never been an option for you, right? What would your family say? What would the witching community think if they ever found out? It would be far too dangerous.

Though, you couldn’t seem to stop yourself as you smiled, leaning forward to capture Nick’s lips in a kiss.

...The world would just have to find a way to accept this unlikely pairing, like it or not.

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mhdiaries · 4 years

Photo

Freaky Fusions Cleolei Diary

Bite-Centennial Day, Quarter Past One

The most horrifying event in history just happened to me, and I’m still shaking in my wraps! I became fused together with that dreadful werecat, Toralei. We are both inside this same body, and it’s all her fault! Typically, she was sticking her whiskers in where they didn’t belong and got her paws on something... and, zap! Being stuck in this body makes me so clawstrophobic, I’m itching like I have fleas! Oh, how I long for a lovely scented bath, but the furball gets her tail in a bunch at the slightest suggestion of water. Hmmmm... I wonder if I can talk her into a milk bath. CdN

30 mins A.F. (After Fusion) - Today started out to be a purrfectly fun day. There were so many killer things to explore in that mad scientist’s lab, I just had to get my paws on them, you know? How was I supposed to know touching that vortex thingy would cause such a cat-astrophy. I mean, seriously! Of all people to get fused with, I have to get stuck with her royal heinous... that ghoul really strokes my fur the wrong way! TS

Bite-Centennial Day, Quarter Til Two

Unacceptable! Her pointy little ears keep popping out no matter how tightly I wrap them! And everywhere I walk, I hear that horrid tail swishing. It echoes down the halls of MH. I accidentally tripped Deuce with it, and his sunglasses slid down his nose and turned poor Hissette into stone! She was following me - I think she mistook the swishing for hissing and was jealous I might have been hanging out with another cobra. As if I would ever find one as sweet as her. I’ll miss her as long as it takes for her to de-petrify. Luckily, it looks like it’s already wearing off. CdN

75 mins A.F. - This day just keeps getting better and better. Cleo keeps smashing my ears down with her wraps! So I didn’t hear her cobra slithering around us, and when I saw it I jumped in surprise - and I accidently tripped Deuce with my tail! I feel bad poor Hissette had to get caught in the crossfire of his stone-ifying eyes, but at least we know it’s temporary. I wish I could say the same about being fused with her royal pain. Ugh. I feel a furball coming on. TS

Bite-Centennial Day, Half Past Two

Well, rehearsal for BIte-Centennial truly bit. Ugh, I’m just so desperate to send that kitty back to the pound she came from. I can’t believe my ancestors had a special affinity for felines. This one in particular is nothing but a mangy little pain in my abacus. And I’ve heard more with from headless sphinx statues. Give me a loyal greyhound any day. CdN

110 mins A.F. - Hahaha! That was pawsome! Miss purrfectly proper almost fell off her makeshift horse. And then I made her dance a little jig. If she sticks with me, she might learn to have some real fun. That’ll show her for claiming I’m not a purebred werecat. TS

Bite-Centennial Day, Quarter Til Three

For some reason I can’t fathom, Frankie is convinced that the Hybrids can help us learn to be good at this whole fused-together thing. They are the new monsters at MH, and they are the kids of 2 different types of monsters, so I guess they have proper credentials. But the last thing I want to do is get too comfortable in Toralei’s skin, although apparently even I don’t have a choice. I was talking to Ghoulia earlier... well, trying to, anyway. It’s really difficult to have a private conversation with the werecat listening in. But I think Ghoulia has a plan to get me - all of us, I suppose - out of this situation. In the meantime, I guess I’ll see what’s up with the Hybrids. Toralei must be rubbing off on me, because I must admit I’m curious. CdN

125 mins A.F. - I’d trust Ghoulia with all of my 9 lives. She’s the kind of ghoul who doesn’t talk much, but when she does, monster listen. Or at least they should, if they have a brain in their skull. Even Cleo seems to pay attention to Ghoulia. But for some reason, Cleo seems to think Ghoulia is her own personal treasure. I was trying hard to hear what Ghoulia had planned - and I have pretty good hearing if I do say so myself - but Cleo kept trying to shut me out, like she thought she could entomb me in some tiny part of her dark and dusty mind. TS

Bite-Centennial Day, Half Past Three

Oh, my Ra! Fearleading practice was positively scarab-ulous! For the first time in a millenia, I perfectly formed the very top of the pyramid! I know, that doesn’t sound like much of an accomplishment - after all, a pyramid is right in my wheelcasket - but contrary to my usually flawless skill, I tend to be, um, shall we say, less than regal when hoisted on the backs of other ghouls. Although, I always believed that was more them than me, of course, but I digress. Anyway, not only did I fashion the top of the pyramid, from there I performed a triple pirouette, half-spin, reverse flip, over-the-crown split, and I STILL landed gracefully on my feet! My Daddy-Mummy would be so proud! The help from our new friends totes worked! CdN

165 mins A.F. - I’ve never enjoyed Fearleading practice more than I did today. I mean, jumping around and landing on your feet? That’s kitten play. Where’s the challenge in that? But it was nice not to have Cleo getting under my fur for a change. She didn’t boss me around ocne. I don’t really know what got into her. She was practically purring. Looks like we have our new friends to thank for that. TS

Bite-Centennial Day, Four Precisely

You know, my ancestors may have had a point about this feline thing. I was feeling a bit cat-nappish after Fearleading practice. It was one thing that Toralei didn’t argue with me about. We found an empty classroom where it was nice and quiet, and stretched out near the window sill in a pool of sunlight. I must confess, it WAS soothing to have the werekitty purring and mumbling in my ear as we dozed. I slept like the un-dead. I won’t tell her, of course. Her head is already so over-inflated, it might pop. Normally, I wouldn’t concern myself with that possibility, but, now that we share the same head... CdN

195 mins A.F. - I’m feeling refreshed from a nap. I can almost deal with the rest of this Bite-Centennial. Is it just me, or has this been a really long day? Cleo doesn’t think so, but then she’s been alive forever, so I suppose one day wouldn’t seem like much to her. To me, it feels like an eternity. But the nap was nice. Cleo doesn’t smell as musty as I expected, just a bit too perfume-y. Made my whiskers twitch. But I’m really surprised by now how much I liked being tangled in her wraps, swaddled like a newborn kitten. I found myself purring out loud, and didn’t even care if she heard me. TS

Bite-Centennial Day, Half Past Four

I’m royally pleased to be back to me! Now that I’ve been de-fused from the werekitty, I am feeling much more my ancient self. I feel like I just rid myself of a furball that has been gagging me all day! Toralei and I decided to each write a grain of sand’s worth here just to finish up OUR diary. In the end, it wasn’t as horrific an experience as I would have imagined, given that she usually ruffles my wrappings. It turns out we CAN get along, when we are forced to under the most dire and unexpected of circumstances, i.e. stuck in the same body. But I could really use another nap. CdN

10 mins A.d.F. (After de-Fusion) - I am so happy I feel like everything is made of catnip! I am back to being my clawsome self, and Miss Queen of deNothing is back in her own wraps. I don’t know why everyone blamed me for getting them into this. I don’t think it turned out to be so cat-astrophic after all. They would never have known how freaky fabulous things could get if I hadn’t tried a few things, right? You have to be a little curious about the world - sniff outside the box - if you want even one purrfect life, much less 9. TS

We my not be fused anymore, but we must work together more than ever! Frankie is in dire need of our help, and she is one ghoul worth crossing a desert... CdN

or getting wet for. There isn’t anything we won’t do to SAVE FRANKIE!! TS

#monster high #monster high diary #freaky fusion #cleolei #cleo de nile #toralei stripe #toralei

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soybeantree · 4 years

Text

reisender

pairing: jinyoung!soulmate x (reader) genre/warning: fluff word count: 5.8k description: it isn’t through time that you go. but perhaps this whole thing would have been easier if you had. to a time where the two of you could be together.

Consciousness slips in, and with it comes the knowledge that you are not in your bed. When you laid down last night, you knew you wouldn’t wake up in it. With a sigh, you reach behind you. The gesture is more habit than assurance. You know he’ll be there. Your hand runs across the smooth toned muscles of your best friend Jinyoung’s arm. He doesn’t stir. Glancing at the clock, you understand why.

Carefully, you slip off the bed and out of the room. Moonlight greets you as you enter the living room. It spills through the wall of windows, reaching each corner of the penthouse. The space stretches around you, and you shiver in the emptiness. Crossing the living room, you open the balcony door and let the warm night air chase the chill away. Settling on the waiting bench, you cross your legs and lean forward to rest your arms on the balcony’s ledge. Seoul sprawls out below you. Buildings rise, their lights illuminated even at this late hour, while tiny cars zoom through the streets. Seoul has been your second home since you first traveled. You were five years old, waking up in an unknown city with no idea how you got there. Back then, magic had been your explanation for why some days you would fall asleep in your bed and wake up in Jinyoung’s. As you grew, so did your theories. You believed you were a mutant or part of some government experiment. Whether you know why or not, days like today happen.

Back then, traveling had been fun and exciting. A day out from under your mother’s shadow. A day to spend exploring with your best friend. Now… A weight settles in your chest as you contemplate the day to come. “Do you know what time it is?” Jinyoung asks as he lowers himself onto the bench. The weight presses on your heart. You had hoped he would sleep longer. “Here or back home?” “Here.” “Early. Probably too early?” You glance at him, offering a simple smile. Bags droop beneath his eyes and his hair points in all directions. He stifles a yawn. “I’ll take that as a ‘yes’.” “It’s never too early.” He corrects. In the same breath, he asks, “What happened?” “Why does something always have to have happened?” You glance back to the streets below and watch as a car zooms around the night traffic. “Because something has always happened. You’ve tried intentional travel before, and it’s never worked.” “There’s a first time for everything.” But your words hold no conviction. You wish he didn’t know you so well. Shoulders deflating, you admit the truth. “My mom showed up.” He stiffens, and you sigh. “She wanted to go to dinner, even invited my brother. It went how all family dinners go.” You want to leave it there and, for once, not burden Jinyoung with your problems. He sits in silence though, waiting. The words spill out as they always do. The dinner had started out calm as it always did. She and dad were doing great. Their life was practically perfect. The only thing that would make it better was if their children came around more often. When you informed her that you preferred to keep your distance, her mask began to slip. What an ungrateful child you were. After everything she had done for you, this was how you repaid her. You were blessed to grow up with parents who worked hard to provide you with everything you wanted. “She always manages to leave out the parts where she and dad would keep us up till two in the morning with their screaming matches, and how any slight imperfection was unacceptable. She forgets that I’m still in counseling for self-esteem issues which all result from her verbal abuse. And don’t even mention the disciplining which morphed into physical abuse because that sure as hell didn’t happen.” You exhale as tears prick your eyes. You rub them, forcing the tears away. Jinyoung, who has sat quietly through your telling, inches towards you and wraps his arm around your shoulder, pulling you against his chest. You want to push him away, but his warmth surrounds you and eases the tension from the your body. The tears slip out, soaking through his shirt. His other arm comes around to rub soothing circles in your back. Eventually, the tears stop. The sun rises over the horizon. You peel your face from his shirt and rub the wetness from your cheeks. “I’m sorry about your shirt.” He shrugs. “It’s not the first shirt you’ve soaked.” The reminder pierces your chest. Clearing your throat, you straighten and face the sunrise. He places his hand on your shoulder, guiding you to face him again. His eyes search yours, and you offer a smile. “I’m fine now. Nothing like a good cry to get over a bad situation. What are you up to today, anyway?” He allows the abrupt subject change, a positive result of your long friendship. “Nothing. I have the day off.” You snort, and he cocks a brow. “What?” “You have a day off. Mr. Chaebol. Mr. I’m-going-to-surpass-all-my-predecessors. You haven’t had a day off since you were like seven.” “I have days off. You always happen to arrive on days when I’m busy.” He smiles. You shake your head. “Jinyoung, I’ve had worse days than this. I’ve made it through those without you rearranging your schedule.” Reaching forward, he places a hand on each of your knees and swivels you to face him. His face comes within inches of yours. “Today would be a free day, you being here or not. Now, let’s go inside. I want to change my shirt.” He falls back before standing up. You watch him walk away as you let your heart rate settle.

After a quick shower, you change into the clothes Jinyoung keeps for you whenever you travel. However, you fail to recognize the jeans and blouse, but you do recognize that their quality is much nicer than the clothes you bought for yourself. When you point this out, Jinyoung shrugs but gives no explanation. “What happened to the clothes I bought?” He shrugs again. “You’re impossible. There was nothing wrong with those clothes.” You defend as you two exit his apartment building and head for the nearest bus stop. Jinyoung has insisted on a visit to the local market for your outing. He also offered to drive his car. You politely declined. “Jinyoung?” You prompt when he still remains silent. “These are designer.” He stops after saying it, and while you can’t see his reaction - thanks to his sun glasses and face mask - you can guess at it. Shaking your head, you continue onward. “Wow, Jinyoung. I never realized how much of a snob you are. How much it must have pained you to be with friends with such a lowly peasant all these years.” The words sting, but you force lightness in your step as you spin around to face him. A grin splits your face. You hope it’s convincing. He steps toward you, his brows lowering beneath his sunglasses. You skip a few steps back. “Don’t worry. Now that I know, I won’t force my presence on you any more. You’ll be free of me.” He reaches for you, but you twirl out of his grasp and dart for the bus. You arrive at the stop as the bus pulls up and quickly board as you school your emotions. Jinyoung boards as well and snags the seat next to you before anyone else can. You stare out the window, pretending to enjoy the view, until you feel a sharp pain in your arm. Head swiveling, you glare at the idiot. “Did you just pinch me?” He says nothing, but you can see his cheeks rise, the tell tale sign of his smirk. “You’re five. You’re literally a kindergartner who hasn’t learned self-control.” He still gives no reply and his cheeks rise even higher. “Why do I have to travel to you? Why can’t I travel to someone kind and considerate like your cousin Jackson.” You roll your eyes, facing the window again. But another sharp pinch pulls your attention back. “Do that one more time, and I will scar that pretty little face of yours. The tabloids will go crazy for that story.” He has the audacity to laugh. You raise your hand, and he stares at you. The sunlight shines through his sunglasses revealing a glimpse of the eyes behind. You lower your hand. “You’re lucky I’ve known you for so long; otherwise, you’d be a corpse.” “Always so violent.” He finally speaks. Curbing the urge to hit him, you hiss, “Says Mr. Pincher.”

The market is bustling as you two make your way through the crowded streets. The smells pull you towards countless stalls, and soon your stomach bulges with food. Your gaze lingers on the remaining food stalls, and you begrudge your stomach for filling so fast. Jinyoung pulls you away from the vendors and down a side street where other’s hawk their wares. You stop to admire shoes and clothes and tiny ceramics. When you stop in front of a jeweler’s stall, Jinyoung excuses himself, and you wave him away as you examine the pieces. The metal glistens with fresh polish and the stones twinkle in the sunlight, but your eyes settle on a simple leather thong with a polished black stone. Thin lines criss-cross its surface. From a distance, the lines would be invisible, but this close you can see the interlocked symbols they form. The symbols feel familiar. You reach out, your finger running over the smooth surface to feel the tiny fissures. “A Traveling Soul’s pendant.” Your hand jerks back. You stare at the old woman who appeared behind the stall. Wrinkles rise as she smiles. “A priceless piece for a Traveling Soul. Worthless to anyone else.” “I’m sorry?” Your confusion plays across your face. She laughs as she picks up the necklace and holds it out to you. You back away. “A Traveling Soul.” She nods to you, but you shake your head. “Surely, you know. After all you’re here instead of where you should be.” Her words still your heart and pull you a step closer. Your body leans towards her. Only Jinyoung knows you travel. You have kept the secret between yourselves all these years. No matter the questions asked by your families, you always found an alternate answer or refused the truth. Life was easier without them knowing. “But you don’t know.” She pulls the necklace back against her chest, offering you a sad smile. “How scared you must have been when you first traveled. You must have thought yourself so odd. A Traveling Soul is rare, their traits unique and more frightening than other souls.” As the woman speaks, her words pull the memories forward. The first time you traveled. You had cried for your brother. You didn’t know where you were. You couldn’t understand anyone. They all spoke so weird. When you woke the next day back in your own bed, your mother had beaten you for running away. That first year, you didn’t know why you traveled or when it would happen. You refused to sleep. You received so many beatings. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Shaking your head, you step back. “I have to go.” You continue backing away, bumping into another market goer. The apology is automatic as you dart past him. People blur around you as you search for Jinyoung. You find him in an alcove removed from the chaos of the market. He’s on the phone but waves you in, ending the call. “All finished?” “Yeah, let’s go.” The words come out in a breathless rush. He raises an eyebrow. You wave off his concern. “Trying to make it through that crowd to find you left me a little breathless. Not everyone has a personal trainer to make sure they stay in shape.” He nods but gives no response. Shaking your head, you walk back into the fray, not caring if he follows.

Consciousness slips in. You’re in Jinyoung’s bed. The alcohol was a mistake. Had you stayed up instead, cleaned your apartment, read a book, anything, you would be in your apartment right now. Drowning your problems in alcohol always leads to traveling. You reach back. Your eyes fly open, your hand frozen on skin. Soft skin. Curving skin. Keeping your breathing even and shallow, you retract your hand and turn your head. Your eyes confirm what your hand felt. There’s a woman in Jinyoung’s bed. A chill seeps through your body. She’s sprawled across his chest. His arms hold her. And if their bare top halves are any indication of their bottom halves, you know exactly how Jinyoung spent his night. The chill seeps deeper and settles in your bones. You need to move, but you find yourself frozen in this moment. Warmth comes in the form of a tear. It slides down your face, leaving a trail of fire in its wake. You need to get out of here now before either of them wake up. They both seem fast asleep. Offering a quick prayer they remain that way, you begin your slow journey to the bed’s edge. Smooth as a snake, you slide off the bed. The plush rug masks your descent. You sit on it for a moment, contemplating. The bedroom door is a few feet away and cracked enough for you to open it without having to worry about jangling the door knob. However, you are currently in your pajamas and have no intention of remaining in the apartment. You need clothes and money, and your stash of supplies is in Jinyoung’s closet, on the other side of the room. Suppressing a groan, you crawl to the closet and gather your things before heading out. The door squeaks when you open it, but neither stir. When you finally make it out of the apartment and can breath again, the reality of the situation washes over you and turns your legs to jelly. You collapse on the nearest bench. You’re not naive. While Jinyoung has never talked about women, you know they’ve existed. After all, he is young, attractive, and disgustingly rich. He has fan clubs. Those you have experienced first hand. But this, seeing him with a woman. Every time the image resurfaces, the chill spreads again, and breathing becomes difficult. The sun rises, thawing you and bringing you back to the present. The day stretches before you, but all you want is to sleep and return home. Sleep won’t come though. The image lingers in your mind, waiting for your eyes to close. You have to face this day, alone. It’s better this way though. You’re grown now. You can’t rely on Jinyoung forever. Standing up, you start to walk. You have no destination in mind. You just want to be anywhere else. The city passes by. People go about their business as the day begins. You notice everything. The slap of their feet on pavement, the bright colors of their clothes, the tang of sweat and asphalt. The stimuli overwhelms your brain, forcing out any thoughts. Before you realize it, you’re standing at the entrance of the city market. The food calls to you, but you ignore it. You came here for a reason. Traveling Soul. The term has nagged at you. You searched through books and sites but found no mention of the term. The woman is a loon, spouting nonsense, is the logical conclusion. But, that logic refuses to settle as fact. She knew about your travels when she knew nothing about you other than you had noticed the necklace. You want to know how. The market is as busy today as the last time you came. As you push through the crowds, you hope she is still here. It’s been a month since your last travel. She may have packed up shop and moved to some other city. You reach the side street and scan the stalls. Hope dwindles but then there she is. She stares at you through the crowd, a simple smile on her face. Her stare unsettles you. The urge to flee winds through your veins. You continue forward and stop in front of her. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out the necklace, holding it out to you. You stare at it, grateful you skipped breakfast this morning and wishing you hadn’t drank so much last night. “The necklace belongs to you. It won’t harm you.” With a tentative hand, you reach for it. Your fingers brush against the smooth stone. It’s warm despite the chill in the air which hints at Autumn’s approach. Your stomach eases as you pull the necklace from the woman’s grasp. “What does it do?” You ask, running your fingers across the etchings. “A Traveling Soul’s pendant allows the traveler to will their travels.” Your gaze darts to the woman. “You mean I could control it?” “Do you know what it means to be a Traveling Soul?” You shake your head. “Your soul is bound to another through time and space. A soul calls to yours, offering a home, and yours returns the call, traveling home.” The world around you stills as she speaks. The voices, the tread of feet, all goes silent. The Call sings to you. It has the cadence of Jinyoung’s voice, the warmth of his arms around you. You drop the necklace, and the world rushes back in. You cover your ears as the sounds threaten to deafen you. Your heart races and your lungs refuse to work. Gentle hands, their skin soft with wrinkles, cover yours and guide your face to warm eyes. Your lungs open as everything settles around you. The woman eases your hands from your ears and tugs them forward. She leads you around her stall and into a small tent behind it. She sits you down and busies herself in the corner, returning with a cup of tea. You sip the tea, the warmth flowing through you. The woman pulls up a chair opposite you. “Was I about to travel?” You whisper. The woman nods. “Why did it feel like that?” “You rejected the call. Your soul reached out, and you tore it back.” You nod, turning the words over in your mind, weighing their truth. The woman leans forward, holding out the pendant. You eye it with a shudder. “The pendant won’t pull you through. It is a focus, helping you tune into the call and follow it home. It will even keep you from traveling.” Your attention snaps to the pendant. You reach for it, and after a moment’s hesitation, grasp it. Warmth still radiates from it, but you have no sense of Jinyoung. “When you say, a soul calls to mine and I travel to it… the person I wake up next to is that soul?” She nods. “Does that mean that he’s my-” The words stick in your throat. Speaking them makes them truth. “Is he my soul mate?” She nods again. The tea cup rattles in your hand as you struggle to find your breath. Soul mates are rare. So rare as to become fodder for fairy tales. Few believe soul mates exist. “How do you know this? How do you have this?” You shake the pendant at her. “My grandfather was a Traveling Soul. That pendant was his. It has been passed from Traveling Soul to Traveling Soul for hundreds of years. He gave it to me before he made his last travel. He asked me to pass it on. I thought I’d never find you, then you stumble right into my stall.” She offers a watery smile. You look away, your eyes landing on the pendant which dangles from your hand. “Will it take me back, too?” “You want to go back?” As a child you would have done anything to stay here. In high school and college, you had researched exchange programs. You had applied for jobs, but nothing ever worked out. But, now? Jinyoung isn’t Jinyoung anymore. He’s Mr. Park. He’s the CEO of a multinational corporation. He has a life and as evidenced this morning, someone else with whom to spend it. All these years, you’ve been a side show attraction in his life. Someone who needed him, but never someone he needed. “Yes, I want to go back.” Her eyes hold yours, searching. She nods. “All you have to do is release the call. It won’t work now. The pendant did not guide you here, so it can’t take you back. But any travel it guides you on, it can take you back.” You nod. You’d prefer to travel back now, but you’ll settle for knowing this will be your last spontaneous travel. “Thank you for everything.” Standing, you hold your tea cup out for her. She takes it rising herself. “I am always here should you need me.” With a final nod, you leave. As you walk through the market, heading back toward the main road, you slip the pendant on. The stone is warm against your chest, and your heart thrums in response to it. You hope the reaction will subside. Your phone rings as you reach the main road. The phone Jinyoung bought for you when you travel. The phone only he calls. His ignorance of your travel was too much to hope. He would notice your missing clothes and things. The phone buzzes in your hand as you stare at his smiling face. Before the last ring ends, you answer. “Hey.” You draw the greeting out as you search for something else to say, but silence follows. “Where are you?” His voice is low and soft. Your heart tightens, and your breath catches in your throat. The image from this morning burns in your mind as you answer. “Downtown.” You can feel the hesitation in his voice. “When you arrived-” “Woah! Woah!” You force lightness into your voice. “Let’s, uh, not even go there. We both acknowledge what happened, and right now we both agree never to talk about it ever.” You emphasize the last word. “Y/N, we need to talk about this. What happened-” “Stop. I don’t want to have this conversation. You don’t have to explain anything to me. You’re an adult, Jinyoung. I know that. I’m sorry for intruding and making things awkward. It won’t happen again.” Your free hand goes to the pendant buried beneath your shirt. “I promise.” You hang up and turn off the phone. He’ll call again. He’ll want to meet up. But, you don’t want to hear about the woman from this morning or tell him about the pendant and soul mates. Some things are better left unknown.

Consciousness seeps in, and you know with absolute certainty that you’re still in your bed. The pendent kept you here despite the hell of yesterday. Today is not the first time. For the past six months, the pendant has kept you from traveling. Waking in your bed on what should have been a travel day always comes with a mix of emotions. Relief initially, but afterward comes the bone deep sadness. Today is the same. You miss Jinyoung. You want to reach back and know he’s there, hear his voice as he asks you what happened, be warmed as he wraps his arms around you. The world shifts. You shove yourself up, wrenching the pendant off and chunking it across the room. The world shifts back, and you clutch your head as you breath through the aftermath. Today is also not the first time you’ve nearly answered the call. Anytime you let yourself dwell on Jinyoung, you start to travel. It happens more than you would like. You’ve told yourself to move on. That your life will be better if you refuse to dwell on the past. But, telling yourself the same thing over and over again doesn’t make the ache go away. While you may be struggling with the separation, Jinyoung seems to be thriving. He and his girlfriend are on the cover of every tabloid. Being the heir of a multinational corporation means his personal life is public knowledge, and the public loves his personal life. Park Jinyoung is practically a prince, and the world loves a royal wedding. Every tabloid speculates on the inevitable wedding. The fact that she is the first daughter of another multinational corporation only fuels the stories. Seeing a headline advertising an exclusive of the top secret proposal hadn’t helped your mood yesterday, and thinking about it isn’t helping your mood today. Climbing off your bed, you cross your room and pick up the pendant. The stone is cold now, and it sends a chill down your spine as you slip it back on. You ignore it as you go through your morning routine. Your phones dings as you you finish lacing up your shoes. A message from Jinyoung. Taking a deep breath, you open it. - Can we talk? - The answer is “no” and has been every time he’s asked. While you haven’t cut him out of your life completely, you’ve pulled back. You had to. He knows you’ve seen the article. He always asks to talk when a new one comes out. - I’m busy today. Congrats on your engagement! - You send back before silencing your phone and grabbing your jacket. The excuse is true. You’re due at the hospital. You promised your sister-in-law you’d keep your brother company today. Opening your front door, you freeze. Jinyoung glances up from his phone. His brown eyes hold yours, and you feel the walls around your heart crumbling. You want to rest in his arms and let him tell you everything will be alright. Instead, you square your shoulders and push past him. The door closes behind you, the lock pad beeping to let you know it’s safe to go. “Y/N, please.” His voice is soft, but it pierces your heart. You stop. “We need to talk.” “I don’t want to talk, Jinyoung.” You sigh. “I don’t want to hear about her. I just- I just want to get over you.” You speak to the air in front of you. “Why?” “Why?” You whirl around to face him. “Because this is fucking ridiculous. It always has been. I’m a fucked up mess, and you’re the poor sot the universe chose to put me back together. Everything shitty that happened to me sent me straight to you. Do you know how pathetic that feels? I’m not strong enough to deal with my own shit, so the universe searched the entire fucking globe for someone who would be willing to help me. It found you, and you’ve been stuck with me ever since. “I found a way to stop it. I won’t travel again. So go home, Jinyoung. Get married. Lead a normal life for once.” The pendant is ice against your chest. You hold tight to that feeling; otherwise, you’ll breakdown. You’ll crawl back into his arms and beg him to make everything better. Jinyoung stands by your door, his face an actor’s mask. “You think I saw you as a burden all these years?” You glance away, your mouth void of a response. “Y/N, I’ve been in love with you since you first appeared in my bed. Everyday, I woke up wanting you to be there but hoping you wouldn’t be because I knew what it meant if you were.” “But-” “No.” The word is a whisper, but it stills you. He continues, his voice soft but firm. “Please let me speak.” He walks towards you until inches separate you. “I’m not in a relationship with anyone. Yes, I slept with her. Once. It was a mistake, and I hate myself everyday that you had to wake up and see that. Please, forgive me and stop avoiding me. Even if you don’t feel the same way about me, I’m still here for you. Like I always have been.” Everything inside you shatters. Your whole world crumbles around you. “I have to go.” And you flee. The pendant burns against your chest as tears burn your eyes.

When you reach the hospital, you have gained a fragile control as you struggle to restructure your life around the truths Jinyoung revealed. Your brother greets you with a smile when you enter his room. The sight shifts a few pieces of your life back into place. “You’re awake.” You say as you take the chair by his bed. “You would be too, if nurses kept poking you for blood.” He tries to sit up, but you wave him back down. “I didn’t think anything could wake you after what happened.” Tears come. You wipe them away, breathing through them. Your brother saw. It’s impossible that he didn’t. “Don’t look at me like that.” You scold. “Like what?” “Like I’m some pitiful animal you want to save.” “You are pretty pitiful.” “Shut up, asshole. Why do I even worry about you. Death wouldn’t accept you even if you begged.” He smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Did something happen with you and your secret billionaire boyfriend?” “What?” Your heart jumps into your throat. “What are you talking about?” He sighs and settles deeper into his bed. “I’m not mom. I’m not stupid. Anytime, anything emotional happens in your life, you disappear for a day. Somehow and I don’t know how, you end up with that billionaire who’s on the cover of all those magazines. But, for some reason, today you’re here. So did something happen with you and him?” “How do you know I’m always with him?” You fluster. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. “I already told you I’m not stupid. I’ve seen pictures of you two together. They’re always taken on days you disappear. And I’ve read you’re diary.” “Asshole.” You shout, ready to slap him. He opens an eye, and you lower your hand. “You are an asshole.” “And you’ve been keeping secrets from me your whole life. I think we can call it even. Now, can you answer my question? Did something happen between you and your secret billionaire boyfriend?” “His name is Jinyoung.” “Okay, did something happen between you and your secret billionaire boyfriend Jinyoung.” “He’s not my boyfriend, and he’s not really a secret anymore.” “Okay, then did something-” “Stop!” His smile dampens your reprimand, but he stops. The smile fades. Your brother stares into you eyes, all jokes forgotten. The words claw their way up your throat and spill out of your mouth. You tell him everything from your first travel to now. “Let me get this straight.” He says after you finish. “Your no longer a secret billionaire not boyfriend Jinyoung who is your soul mate and who you admit you love told you that he loves you, is not in a relationship, and apologized for sleeping with a girl which he really didn’t have to do because you two were dating, and you ran away.” “Yes.” He covers his face and groans. “I love you. I really do. But you are a dumb shit, sis. Why the fuck are you here?” Your mouth moves but nothing comes out. You’ve used up your words. “Stop.” He holds up his hand. “I’m going to give you sixty seconds. I want you to take this time and really think. If you can give me a legitimate reason for running, I will drop this subject and never bring it up again. Before you start though, if your reason has anything to do with you not being good enough or you have issues or anything like that, know that those are not legitimate reasons.” Sixty seconds ends, and you have no legitimate reason. “I need to go to him don’t I?” “Yes. You should have never run away from him in the first place. He’s a fucking billionaire. He could pay for all of my medical bills.” You snort. “So your encouraging me is just for personal gain?” “No, it’s because my sister looks like she just crawled out of her own grave and has for the past six months. If I happen to profit from this then so be it. But more than anything, I want you to be happy. Now, please fucking go. Staring at your face is not helping my recovery.” Standing up, you lean over his bed and give him a hug. He holds you tight, squeezing your shoulder before releasing the embrace. You step back, your hand going to the pendant. With eyes closed, you inhale and listen for the cadence of the call. The necklace warms against your chest. The sound tugs on your memories of Jinyoung, bringing them into focus. You cling to the memories, to the feel of him beside you, his smell, his voice. You exhale and the call silences. Opening your eyes, you find yourself in a hotel room. The view from the window reveals downtown. The hospital is blocks away. A breathy chuckle slips out. “Y/N?” you turn to find Jinyoung standing in the bathroom doorway. “How did you get in?” “I did it.” Tears well in your eyes. “I traveled at will.” His lips part. “How?” The word comes out on a breath. You shake your head. “Not important. I mean it is, but not right now. I promise I’ll explain everything later. But first,” closing the distance between you two, you stand an arm’s length away. “I’m sorry.” The words rush out. “I’m sorry for being so stupid. I freaked out when I woke and up and found you in bed with another woman, and I did what I always do when anything becomes too much. I ran away. Except this time, I was running away from you instead of towards you. Regardless of that though and regardless of everything I said before, my biggest problem is that I love you. I want you to be happy, and I don’t think you will be if you’re with me.” You hold up a hand, staving off his rebuttal. “But, I know that’s not my decision to make. I love you and want to be with you and you love me and want to be with me, and I am going to stop getting in the way of us. However, if-” “Please stop talking.” he steps forward. His hands reach for yours. They are warm and strong. The necklace thrums in response. “Can I kiss you now?” A nod is all you manage before his lips brush against yours. The kiss is light and soft, but in it, you can feel the echo of your heart. The necklace thrums against your chest as you wrap your arms around his neck and deepen the kiss.

#hmw #park jinyoung #got7 #jinyoung #jyp #got7 drabble #jinyoung drabble #jinyoung fanfiction #got7 fanfiction #g: fluff

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justanotherlifeff · 4 years

Text

Levi Ackerman × reader

Genre: Angst, Hurt/comfort, Fluff, matured themes, slowburn

Warning: There's mentions and descriptions of underage rape and suicidal themes and self harm.

Your POV

The 57th expedition is two days from now and to make things worse, Hanji came over. She declared that as it is our only titan shifter's first expedition, we will be drinking tonight to celebrate. Although her motive was to experiment if Eren can get drunk, heichou strictly denied her requests since Eren is underage. I personally didn't want to drink because those men from when I was 5 were always drunk. "Drunk people are bad and dangerous" was a thought that was stuck into my head. Hence, I was planning to avoid their little party at all costs. It was morning at the moment and we were supposed to have breakfast. I made tea for everyone since I woke up before everyone else. I had already memorised how everyone had their tea, 2 spoons of sugar and milk in Oluo, Gunther and Petra's, 1 spoon sugar without any milk in Eld's, 3 spoons in mine and sugarless for Levi heichou. Eren didn't like tea. I had it all memorised because I tend to wake up before everyone else and thus, I always get the breakfast duty. I made pancakes for everyone and when I was done, I poured my tea in a cup and started reading the book. Every day, Levi would wake up early and sit with his own book and tea too. We would discuss the contents of the books when I go to clean his room. We would also share some of our personal issues to eachother and while I don't know how much it helps him, but it helped me ease up quite a but. Just as I was thinking these, he entered the dining hall as usual and took his cup which I had already filled with tea just the way he liked it. Eventually everyone else came around thus making it impossible to read because of the commotion. Hanji started blabbing about her experiments. Yes, she arrived yesterday and stayed the night in a spare room.

After breakfast, it was time for training. Levi heichou was giving me intensive 3DMG training recently since I already passed his strength trainings. We sparred more later, to test how much I had improved my strength and he won most of them due to his immense stamina which was impossible to match but I gave him a hard time though. In case of 3DMG, he decided that I wasn't making enough use of my agility and that I should be able to match his speed and accuracy. I was still learning his spinning move as I couldn't get a hang of that anyway. Today, we were supposed to have our last practice session as most of us will have hangovers the next day. Not me though. I'll just lock myself in mine and Petra's room. I've noticed by time that Petra tried to impress Levi heichou a lot. It kinda pissed me off because who even looks for emotional attachment when they might die anytime? And it's not like heichou was interested in her anyway. That's another thing I liked about him. He was serious about his career. I had always respected determination and I felt like there couldn't be a better mentor than him. However, something about it was bothering me. Levi heichou was making me feel things that I never felt before. It started with the way he looks during our training sessions, no, all the time honestly. I started having these urges to touch those muscles beneath his shirt, that showed slightly when he was sweaty after training, his clean shaven and extremely smooth looking cheeks and that extremely soft and silky looking hair. God knows how it would feel to run my fingers in there... Yes, that's exactly the problem. I shouldn't be thinking these. Things escalated when he convinced me to stop cutting myself, something even my parents couldn't do. It happened a week back.

One week ago

I was cleaning the floor in Levi's room while he was getting his paperwork done. "So, the protagonist is in a situation where he couldn't blame the antagonist as the antagonist had reasons to justify what they did too. It kinda resembles our world doesn’t it? I mean, titans don't have minds so, they can't really control what they are doing..." I was talking to heichou about the book I recently finished. "Hmm. However, one has to do what one needs right? The protagonist killed the antagonist at the end. It didn't matter if the antagonist had justification for what he did. It depends on who wins at the end. If the antagonist did, then the he would've been portrayed as the protagonist." heichou answered, not looking up from his paperworks. "Yeah. It's the weak who always loses." I muttered. "Not always. One can start off as weak but get stronger. That's what smart people who want to live do." Levi answered to that, before stopping for a moment and asking, "You mentioned that you want to live to make things right didn't you? What is the 'right' for you?". " I don't know, happiness? That's my goal." I answered. "Well, that's what we all want. Anyway, what's your plan to achieve that?" he asked. "I don't know, it started with getting strong enough to take care of myself but I don't really have an aim anymore." I answered, acknowledging it for the first time. "If you want happiness so much, why do you cut yourself? As much as I can recall, you told me, you did that to remind yourself that you're alive. If you don't have a plan, why remain alive at all?" he asked me, looking up from his paper works at me, raising an eyebrow. "Well, that's true... I don't know what I'm doing to be honest... Being alive honestly is pointless." I muttered as an answer. It was the truth. I had no reason to live.

"Oi brat, take my advice on this, you're an extremely skilled soldier. You think I am itching to be alive? I have a goal to be happy too and the fastest way towards it is a bullet in my fucking head. But, there's also another way, that is using my strength to do something for humanity, getting this war over for good and opening up a tea shop. My plan in this case is to stay alive and keep fighting. I suggest you to have the same plan. When this war is over if you are still alive, these people you saved will make a way for you. And trust me, cutting yourself won't help you at all because that only limits your agility as, trust me, I've got into enough fights to know how much every single cut hurts. It may not affect your performance by a lot but a mimimum percentage of performance issues can get you killed in expeditions. So I suggest you to stop with that shit and get your priorities straight." heichou advised me with a straight face. "So, you suggest me to try my best to survive? If I can get through this war, then the people will help me make a way?" I asked before pausing for a moment and stating, "I honestly didn't join the survey corps to make some dead people proud of me. I just wanted to die I guess..."."Well then, you're at an advantage both ways. If you die, you get to your goal. If you live, you get to your goal in long term too." he answered.

"Heichou, why did you join the survey corps?" I asked him out of curiosity. "Well, Erwin blackmailed me into it at the begining but later, I decided that my life was meaningless too and decided to do exactly what I advised you to do." he answered. He was right. If I survive, after the war with titans are over and the survey corps are disbanded, I'm sure they will give us all a way to live. However, will I always be alone? What's the point of living like that? No, wait, Uncle Erwin will be there... He's as good as family, so I'll be fine. Atleast as long as he lives. Maybe I'll even consider marriage... There are so many possibilities... Heichou was right. I had to survive or die in combat. Its good both ways. "(Y/N), if you really want to remember that you're alive at times, instead of cutting yourself, remember your interactions with your comrades. I'm sure you made an impact on a lot of them and you wouldn't be able to do that if you weren't alive." Levi ended his statement with that as I was leaving his room after cleaning. "Yes heichou. Thank you for the advice" I answered before leaving. An affect on my comrades, did he mean the way I intimidated them? But doesn't that mean that I'm an emotionless piece of shit? Or was he talking about my conversations with him? Did... Did I make him feel alive? Because, even if I hated to admit it, he made me feel alive. I felt like I didn’t have to hurt myself anymore.

Present day

Levi heichou beat me this time as well after we sparred for 30 minutes. No one lasts that long against him. During the 3DMG session, everything was going well until suddenly captain Levi attacked me. He came out of nowhere and tried to cut me but I instinctively dodged and tried to escape him. I was shocked as I didn't expect something like that. He was as fast as I am in 3DMG and with his special techniques, he was faster. He slashed his blade against me again and to block it I used my own blade but the blade broke. I was scared that he might kill me and that's when he told me that he was testing how well I'd do in unexpected situations and he definitely wasn't satisfied with my skills.

Levi POV

She was pretty good at running away but she used one blade at the wrong angle when I slashed my blade at her. Ofcourse she didnt learn about what angle to use because Shadis didn't know some of the tricks I learnt underground. However I expected her to use two blades. That's just common sense and the fact that she panicked in a situation like this is unacceptable for someone as skilled as her. She has a lot if potential but stupid decisions like that will get her killed. "Do you have a brain of the size of a pea brat? Anyone with common sense would use two blades. Are you trying to get killed in any unexpected circumstance? " I shouted at her. She kept a straight face but I could see the embarrassment in her eyes. Serves her right. "Sorry heichou. It won't happen again" she said with determination. I'm not usually too hard on her because she doesn't disappoint me often so I let it go. I taught her the angles she should use. It would make her blades last longer. She practiced with complete determination but failed to get the spinning move done. Honestly, no one I trained was able to do that, so, I didn’t judge her. However, she wasn't the one to give up. I respected that about her as a mentor. It was time for lunch and Petra already cooked stew. We had lunch and I saw her head upstairs and come down with her 3DMG and blades. "Oi where are you going?" I asked her. "To practice the blade angle and the movements you taught me. I want to be able to get the spinning move perfected." she answered, saluted and left. I didn't expect her to be able to do it.

I went to my office to complete some paperwork and after about 2 hours, I heard the sound of her falling down with a thump and occasionally, frustrated cursing. I went to the window and saw (Y/N) falling on her face every time she tried but getting up to do the same nonetheless. "Damn, this girl will kill herself at this rate." I thought and felt a bit proud about being her mentor. I looked at her graceful moves through the air, which turned into a complete disaster whenever she tried to use the spinning move on the titan dummy. "There must be some problem with her balancing" I thought. I found her beautiful the day I first saw her. "Just another pretty face that's gonna be titan food" I thought. After she sparred with me and sat on my face, I think I blushed for the first time ever in my entire life. I didn't let anyone see though because it's inappropriate. Now that I see her potential and determination, she seems to be more than just another pretty face. She is what I'd call beautiful. I knew she deserved a normal life and yet she chose this uncertain life where death my come and where its impossible to have a family. She is a very brave person. I know some stuff about her past. How she was rescued from a brothel before being sold off in the underground. How she killed a Garrison member but was let out because she was a minor. I was curious about her given that I was from the underground too. As these thoughts plagued my mind, I suddenly understood exactly what was causing the problems with the balancing.

"Oi brat. Get down here." I called (Y/N) out, who was sitting on a tree, about to do the spinning move again. When she got down, I noticed that she got some minor cuts on her face. Atleast her instincts were good enough to make her use her hands to prevent her face from getting hit. "Yes heichou?" she asked, confused. "I have a fair idea about why you can't get that move done. Your body proportions are what's causing this." I told her with a calm voice even if talking about it made me uncomfortable. "I don't understand..." she muttered, clearly confused. "Your breasts are what's causing the issues. My body structure allows me to distribute all my weight at the correct points but as your body structure is different, the distribution gets disoriented as your breasts are the weights that make you slouch forward easily." I explained as calmly as possible. This was awkward. I saw a blush slowly creep upon (Y/N)'s cheeks as she muttered, "But they aren't too big...". " Well, the simplest errors can make it impossible to master this move. I'm not sure if you can do it but try using bandages to bind you chest and make the surface as flat as possible." I answered with a stoic expression, which was very hard to bring given that I have never talked to cadets about their breasts, and the fact that this particular cadet made me want to rip her clothes off didn't help at all. "Hai!" (Y/N) answered before running off towards the castle.

She actually did it. It didn't take any effort at all. I was right about the problems with body proportions. You came back after a while with an almost flat chest. It didn't look comfortable at all because she looked like someone punched her on the face. I, however, was impressed by her determination. And, the fact that she was able to get the spinning move done at one try. Ofcourse, it wasn't perfect, it had many flaws, but, it was an amazing feat as no one else was able to get this done. However, I knew that this wouldn't work well with her because being uncomfortable on an expedition isn't an option. "Oi, get down" I commaded her as she got down from the tree, pleased with herself. "Yes heichou?" she asked. "You won't be using this move. You're not feeling comfortable in bandages and that's as obvious as it can get. Just make use of the speed training we went through." I advised her. "Yes heichou!" she answered and as she was going off towards the castle, I spoke up, "Oi (Y/N)! You did well.". "Thank you heichou" she answered, giving me a rare smile. She really should smile more often.

Your POV

I came back being pleased with myself after getting a rare compliment from Levi heichou. After some very intense and not to mention, painful training for 2 hours 30 minutes that compliment probably was the best gift anyone could possibly ask for. I went back to Petra and my room to find Petra sleeping. I took a shower and went to take a nap. I was asleep but I was woken by feeling someone drag me out of the bed. I woke up and saw Hanji dragging me out. I tried to get out of her grab but Petra and Eren also held me firmly. I could've gotten away from Hanji easily but I couldn't fight with three people grabbing onto me. They brought me downstairs and Levi heichou was there too with a glass of alcohol in his hand. I was shocked to find him here and looked at Hanji and she explained that she dragged heichou out here so that he won't drink alone in his room, in Hanji's words, like a sad excuse of a human. Apparently he drank alone before expeditions. No matter how hard I tried to avoid drinking, Hanji was relentless. I had to drink a few sips of alcohol. As the alcohol started kicking in, Hanji convinced heichou to have a drinking contest. I had to admit that the alcohol made me feel light headed and more confident. I liked the feeling despite the horrible taste which is why I drank a bit more than I planned to. Then I remembered that my body weight was not enough to take it all but my head started spinning by then and I was slipping on and off my consciousness.

Levi POV

Hanji thought that she would win because she was taller but she didn't know about my high alcohol tolerance. After an entire bottle, Hanji was done. It seemed that she had lower alcohol tolerance than I imagined. I had one more glass and I won naturally. I was pretty drunk and thought it's best to go to bed. Before I got up, (Y/N) puked. Everyone was a bit surprised as they didn't notice her taking on two glasses like an idiot. Since no one was sober enough to get her up to her room, I knew I had to do it "Tch! They had to get wasted now." Eren was already sleeping as he wasn't allowed to drink. "Ofcourse she puked. She didn't come down for dinner" I remembered. "Petra, get Eren to clean this mess up. I'm taking her upstairs and you're coming with me to clean her up" I stated with authority to a tipsy Petra. I took her to the bathroom in their room and made her sit on the floor. She was barely conscious. I waited outside for Petra to be done washing and dressing her so that I can pick her and put her to bed. Petra called me when she was done. I picked (Y/N) up and put her to bed while Petra was washing her clothes.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Your past will be explained now. It includes rape and underage sexual acts and, well, some seriously nasty stuff so don't read if it bothers you. Skip to the next chapter in that case.

"Heichou?" she called out weakly before I left. "What brat?" I asked keeping my usual bored face. "The first day we met, didn't you call me a privileged brat? How does it feel to know that the only thing your prostitute mother told you is that you're born to do exactly what she does? How does it feel when those men do things to your mother and all you can do is sit in the room and read a book to pretend nothing is happening? How does it feel when those drunk men touch you, do things that they did to your mother and hurt you like your body is splitting? How does it feel to know that your mother left you to these people and that you'll never see her again? How does it feel to be hit and cut by these men? How does it feel not being given water unless you drink the semen of those people? How does it feel when you gladly do it because you are so thirsty? You don't know anything about the life I had, heichou. When they told me I'm safe after taking me out of that horrible place, I believed them and I regret it because that man I killed wanted to do the same things I went through in that hell. He told me that I shouldn't mind because he assumed I enjoyed these back then. I enjoyed slitting his throat and gauging his eyes out. You knew nothing heichou " she said, her voice cracking as tears left her eyes. I looked at her, shocked by her sudden confession. I had no idea that she still remembered what I told her that day. I had no idea it hurted her feelings to that extent. Besides, as much as I knew, she never said anything about herself to the court or to anyone. As much as I knew, she didn't talk in her court case about murdering that man. She only did it for self defense. I looked at the weeping girl. She was a brave soldier and seeing her break down like that made me feel things I didn’t quite understand. It made me do something that I never did for anyone before. I sat on the edge of her bed, took her hand and said "Now you know how to fight. No one can hurt you now. You can trust yourself and if you want, you can trust me. I'm sorry about my behaviour that day. I shouldn't have judged you without taking a closer look." She gave me a shocked look after I said that. I gave her a small smile, and left the room. This was the first time I smiled after years.

To be continued

Taglist: @kingtamakimurder, @realityisoftendisapointing

#levi aot #levi heichou #levi ackerman #levi x fem!reader #levi×reader #captain levi #aot x reader #aot anime #aot fanfiction #aot #levi ackerman × reader

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thankyougotham · 5 years

Photo

Here’s an article that Film Daily wrote about Nygmobblepot. If you’d like to see them write articles about other relationships, you can contact them on Twitter and make a request. They’ve been very supportive of Gotham in general, so follow them if you’re on Twitter.

“Gotham is an innovative show based on DC Comics characters and produced by Warner Bros. The Batman origin narrative helped us rapt viewers understand how our favorite heroes (Batman) and villains (The Joker, Penguin) came to be. It also cast a light on just how Gotham City became the wretched crime-filled cesspool we all know & love.

As the fandom knows, we’re so behind the mission to Save Gothamthat it hurts, but today we’ve decided to take a break from all the activism and talk about love. Here’s why we and the Gotham fandom ship hard for Nygmobblepot, and why these fantastic felons are anyone’s perfect gateway into Gotham for people on the fence about the show.”

Sample Quotes from fans:

Mr. Millicent Cordelia

Both Ed & Oswald were transformed by love. They made sacrifices for each other & always ended up back together. They deserve, and the fans deserve to see this relationship respected as a romance on a server that understands it’s the 21st century.

Merc

Honestly because they’re both idiots and they really deserve each other.

Zoe Tomorrow

They’re two individuals who’ve spent their lives mistreated and misunderstood. They are the only ones who accept one another wholeheartedly. Together they’ve learned about trust, sacrifice, forgiveness, and love. And no matter what they always find a way back to each other.

#PenguinSpinOff

Excellent chemistry between them, and a fun, fresh take on these old, iconic characters. They’re like peanut butter and jelly: fine on their own, but especially delightful together.

Rachel

For one, they “really are meant for each other”! They’ve been through so much and have hurt each other so many times but they’ve managed to overcome it. They have a strong bond, would do anything for each other, and somehow they always come back together!

𝕫𝕖𝕝𝕝𝕒

These two men grew up misunderstood and overlooked, and learned to use that to grow. they have risen together, and make an excellent team. they have both admitted to being stronger together, and their fates always become intertwined. they’re destined to be together.

Angela

While I’m not the biggest shipper of Nygmobblepot, I do care for their happiness and for the fans who do ship them. My ship is Batcat. They are best friends as kids & love each other deeply. They always want to protect each other. They are family.

LongLiveGotham #Gotham | #SaveGotham

Nygmobblepot has a long, complex history that reveals both the best and worst of these 2 characters. They have grown and learned much from the relationship. They deserve to be on a server that allows them the freedom to be a romantic couple.

Jenny i love my girlfriend

they are two men who have been abused and undermined their entire lives, but see each other as equals. they have certainly had their ups and down, but they always come back, better and stronger than ever. they understand each other more than anyone else ever has.

(not to mention how groundbreaking it would be to have two characters who have been historically heterosexual be in a romantic relationship)

Hale | 45 Days Till Neo

I’m down for anything with dear Oswald- his chaotic energy is a joy to watch, especially when it’s messing with other character such as Edward and Jim.

Scheming Minor

I am going to say something different in lieu of semantics. Technically in a sense when you get to the details they really are one of the few villain pairings portrayed in a “healthy” relationship in the Batman fandom. They progress, accept and move on; never stagnating. I included the healthy relationship chart to prove a point. Each one of those slices can be seen over the course of Riddler and Penguin’s relationship in Gotham– more so when we reach season 5. Their entire journey is about respect. Adding one more thing – Riddler has traditionally been coded as queer and flits with tentative bisexuality, meanwhile Penguin is known as a womanizer but has rare moments of ’what if’ regarding men. Gothamis one of the few Batman shows that follows through with M/M content.

kebu loves Oswald

They are both extreme individuals, but they fit together perfectly. Both are complex characters that went through life unaccepted by everyone which shaped their desire for more and their paths to becoming supervillains, so when they met it was the first time they found their equal and were accepted by someone. Their paths have been intertwined ever since, and whether they’re together or at odds, they’re always the most significant person in each other’s lives. But even though they ended up appearing together, we didn’t actually see them get “officially” together. Their story has yet to come to a close.

Riz || Professional Mr.Penn promoter

A very complex relationship that cannot be concluded in a spawn of a cut off season like it was. They have had a long journey and a perhaps even longer one before them. Their lowest and best have been shared together and they’re the one person who understand the other fully.

M/M relationships in media and tvshows especially is a rare breed. Even more is the concept of the big chance to make two comic characters and made an entirely new spin on them by being brave enough to make them queer, Oswald perhaps within the asexual spectrum at that. Ed as a tormented, abused soul who struggles with his own identiy and perhaps sexuality.

There is really so much to say, which is exactly why there need to be more to tell the rest of the story.

Vero

While Ed fights with the dichotomy within himself, he’s always felt the most whole when he’s been all-encompassed by Oswald’s world and care. Oswald found compassion and acceptance for all the parts that Ed thought were not loved. They are twin souls that deserve a longer story.There’s always been a complexity to both of them, and they understand the extremes that have made them into the people they are. There is no desire to change the other, only bring out the best in one another and a comfort shared that’s so important.

madi

I feel as though they have stories that extend beyond what Gothamwas able to show through their 5 seasons. Especially with the 5th season being half of its normal length. They mean so much to me, and so many others, and I would love to see even more of them (1/2)

(2/2) and to be able to see Gotham’s depiction of Ed’s backstory, an explanation for the whole Isabella fiasco (like how is she even possible) and a plot line where Ed saves Oswald. We haven’t had any of those since s2/early s3 and I need that in my life. I miss them so much.

Evan

Not only off the charts chemistry, but near similar backgrounds also. Both Ed & Oswald were abandoned by their parents, and had to fight the world their whole lives. Then brought them together and they’ve been unstoppable ever since.

Suzy Dakroub

Because they have the best character development and bond I’ve ever seen on a show! They both truly have no one but eachother. For villains where it’s rare to see compassion and love, these two have it for each other and it’s so wholesome and sweet.

Frothy

it’s the first LGBT representation in such a major franchise on TV! it was taken from us once, twice, but there won’t be a third. i will produce season 6 in my basement with tze and my best friend if i must

Warrior_Of_Loyalty

REPRESENTATION!!! Seriously, there’s nothing quite like it. Oswald and Edward deserve a wedding and a musical episode to go with it. Because, if Arthur’s teacher can get married on TV why not The Penguin and The Riddler!? Please!! Make it happen!

𝕻𝖊𝖓𝖌𝖚𝖎𝖓 𝖎𝖓 𝕷𝖔𝖛𝖊 ||

Because they are two characters who have been physically and emotionally abused most of their lives, and even after all of their hardships and turmoil, found love and trust and safety in one another

Azura Lynn Paulin

Because they never got to become a real couple on screen and they deserve to have that chance at happiness

MamaDev

Their chemistry, specifically between Robin Lord Taylor & Cory Michael Smith, is incredibly entertaining and heart warming to watch. It makes my whole day, of not, week better when I see them interacting on screen. FOX did not do them justice by keeping them in the closet.

Queen C

Because their story is FAR from over. Cory and Robin’s skills and chemistry shouldn’t be squandered. We had 5 years of their story buildup and got crapped on in the final episode, and I deserve my #BisexualRiddler!!!

Bandi [Gotham/Good Omens Spoilers] #SaveGotham

Nygmobblepot truly is such an interesting ship. As singular characters they are great, but together, they shine. They’re complex, damaged characters and take comfort in each other. Their journey is a long, painful one, but they deserve and compliment each other. It makes sense.

Anders

They are truly self confident with each other, anything becomes possible. They don’t need any cane.

They have each other.

Mae

they just have such strong chemistry and are so much better together than apart. their relationship constantly evolved throughout Gotham, becoming the main driving force for their individual developments too and… they were just made for each other okay

Tam Loves Kris @ Resting in Home

I see a lot of myself and my partner@MisterPenguinin the#Nygmobblepotship and I feel that their relationship is very well developed with lots of ups and downs and it’s fate that they are both meant for each other.

Kat Shade

With all of the characters that had amazing chemistry on Gotham, the main three had to be nygmobblepot, wayleska, and babitha. Nygmobblepot have been through so much together, and besides how revolutionary and amazing it would be for a show based on two previously heterosexual characters in a homosexual relationship, they simply work amazingly together.

#Gotham #nygmobblepot #Film Daily

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ebonyphotographs · 6 years

Note

Hello. Could you do Ignoct and 38 please? :)

Anon, I have delivered.

The ask was for the 50 Kisses prompts, and 38? A Kiss… Because They’re Running Out of Time

You can read this jazz beneath the cut, or you could click here to see it on my AO3. This was so nice to make so thank you for giving me the chance to create it. I’m glad it has a place in the fandom. Yes it was nice. Nice and sad :’) *spoiler alert* angst at the end

“Nowthen,” the Advisor cleared his throat. “Again. From the top.”

Ignis readjustedhis arms for his Highness’ ease of reach. The pouty Prince hadn’t seemed soexcited to try again though. This had to be the tenth time they had started‘from the top’ this session. Arguing the matter did very little to reassureNoctis that there was a chance for improvement.

“I can’tdance,” he tried telling the determined Chamberlain. Seems he was notgoing to take ‘no’ for an answer - at least not until he could be sure HisRoyal Highness had memorized something from today’s practices. Anything woulddo. He knew Noctis was stubborn. But he could be persistent, too.

Again the stringquartet raised their fingers to the correct notes of their instruments. Theymust have been so sickeningly familiar with this piece that they didn’t want toplay it anymore. Noctis didn’t blame them. He was starting to hate it too,mockingly anticipating each note, strum and chord. Though he picked up theband’s perfection of synchronicity - it’s timing in all its rehearsal - he justcouldn’t get himself to match that rhythm. And he knew it would happen again.Even still he laced his hand with Ignis’, pausing ever so slightly to stare,and came close. He glanced down to be certain he aligned their feet togetherproperly. The same each time; if only he could just stand still in thatposition then he’d be good at something. Oh, if only.

Then the motionscame. Before the third step, the Prince felt he’d already failed.

“It doesn’tmatter how many times you demonstrate this, Specs. That left foot is alwaysgonna be clumsy.”

Calm and collectedthe duration of their waltz, Ignis upkept his pace in the lead. “Nevermind that,” he instructed. His flow failed to skip a beat. “One step at atime.”

“You make thisseem so perfect,” Noctis growled. He lifted his leg and dipped down intoIgnis’ forward bend. Being led like this pissed him off for some reason. It wastoo intimate. Too premeditated. Schedules were a drag enough as it was but thiswas just ridiculous. Ignis knew right where to go without faulter or flaw witheverything he did anyway. This occasion was no exception. He was courteous and(to his own degree) he was nearly seductive. There was charm in his everygesture. His lovely dancing did more than just discourage his partner. He wasdownright embarrassed.

The motions gotaway from Noctis here and there, and Ignis had to pull him in by his waist. “Don’tstray too far,” he’d say. “Stay close.”

“Yeah,right,” Noctis shakily replied. Though he was about as angry as could be,he couldn’t help but obviously gawk at Ignis. He truly was good at these poshinteractions. The routine must have been imbedded in him since he had studiedthese dances for long hours with his father, the King. From the way his lipslightly parted for air in-between spins and the freed look in his soft greeneyes as he twirled, Noctis believed he was actually enjoying this.

Great, well at least one of us is, he thought.

“Oh no. I don’tlike this part.” Noctis dread the chorus. How was he going to get thisdown if he could barely make it a fourth of the way through?

“It’salright,” Ignis stated. “Just focus on the steps. You can strengthenyour technique after committing the steps to memory first.”

“Specs, youknow I can’t do this part. I suck at it.”

“Mind yourlanguage if you would, Highness.” Ignis was sharp to remind him of hismanners though he seamlessly returned to his generous etiquette an instantlater. “Push onward.”

“Ignis comeon-”

“You needn’tuse fear as an excuse to quit. ‘Come on’ yourself, Noct. I believe inyou.”

Where had thischeer come from? Utterly upsetting.

The anxietypressured Noctis’ footwork. And just as he’d foreseen (not at all forced by hisown doubts - by sheer accident) his shoe lifted early above Ignis’ and when itcame down with all its force, the weight of his leg smashed the top of hisoxfords.

“Dammit,”Noctis grunted. He hadn’t wanted the band to hear his vulgar outburst, but thisrepetitive error was just unacceptable. He watched his Advisor give off visualpain. It spread across his face as he cringed his nose and arched his thineyebrows into a frown. “I can’t keep this up,” he winced. “Let’s just faceit. Can we please just stop?”

“No time to stop,”Ignis returned. “That’s what practice is for. You’re doing fine. Justmatch me like you’ve been shown. There’s endless room to grow.”

Noctis made hisbest effort to calm down and adapt. This couldn’t go on much longer. He hadn’tmade it this far into the song before, had he? He didn’t know. His head wasgetting foggy. Relax. What the hell comesnext? A series of agitated sounds escaped the Prince’s mouth in slurs. Themethod vanished. There was no next step; he’d stomped Ignis’ foot but he hadn’tacted offended or slowed at all. Not in the slightest. This was just too much.He didn’t want to think - he just wanted to stop moving.

Ignis laughed atthe noises his Highness made. “You’re falling behind. Does this melody notinspire you? Does it not make you feel beautiful?”

Suddenly, Noctisjerked his body away from their link. “I feel stupid!”

The music skippedand began to fade. Finally, as the silence crept over, Ignis showed hisdisappointment. Noctis turned his head away from everything and folded his armsover his chest in frustration.

After some time ofstanding frozen peering at him in a vex, Ignis sighed out. Seemed pleasantrywas not the way to address this issue. He faced the quartet at the corner ofthe wide-open ballroom knowing all too well that they would hear him in thepitched quiet. “If you wouldn’t mind giving some privacy?” he askedof them. “I’ll send for you…”

Noctis ignored theservants as they bowed their heads in respect and escorted themselves out in anorganized line. Once the heavy double doors creaked closed, Ignis fixed hisglasses and took a breath. Before he could speak anything other than his namein the serious tone he used to get him to mind, Noctis cut him quickly down tosize.

“Being alonewith you isn’t going to change my mind.”

Another sigh cameaggressively from the Chamberlain’s lungs. “Do you really see no purposein growth?” Ignis pinched his brows together and rested his other handagainst his hip. “Mistakes aren’t proof of failure. Rather, theydemonstrate your better ability to learn.”

Noctis peeked athim from the corners of his eyes. His disposition remained protected beneathhis angry guise.

“If you trulyfeel ‘stupid’ as you’d said, then I would like to know why. Can you explain itto me?”

Noctis fidgeted.“…I stepped on you.”

“This is noreason to lose your temper.”

“I stepped onyou each time.”

“Though thatmay be,” Ignis went on, “I still wish to see you try again, your Highness.”

Noctis shook hishead, groaning loudly and unfolded his arms. “No, no not again. I’m notdoing this a hundred more times.”

Ignis managed a chuckle.“The exaggeration is a little unnecessary-”

Two stern eyespointed fiercely in his direction. “After the end of this month, I knowfor a fact we’ll have done this over a hundred miserable times!”

Ignis snapped backinto his professional disposition. He poised himself with certitude as here-approached the royal heir. “I know you’re striving for an end to thepractice. I can guarantee despite your attitude that you are improving.Vividly. Can’t you see that? …Can’t you see what I see?”

“No. I don’tbelieve you.”

Ignis extended ahand out to him. Patiently his fingers intertwined with his. This was no timefor him to lose his temper either. This was just the right time to show love.This was a calling for compassion, not belligerence.

“Do you remembersome years ago when you were small and you had tripped in front of your father?The King and I were standing right there looking at you when it happened. HisMajesty had wanted to coddle you, you know - he forced himself to refrain fromrunning right to you that day. Did you know that? You were fresh from yourwheelchair, walking on your own for the first time since the unfortunatehappening. You had feared our reactions when you sat up and looked to us afterthe fall.”

Noctis recalled theinstance and found himself easing from his tension just a bit. His father wasworried about that?

Ignis raised Noct’shands and massaged his nervous, sweaty palms. “You scrapped your tinyhands. Skid and landed square on your nose. I went to cover my mouth as Igasped, but then I looked to King Regis. I discovered then that he wastranquilly smiling. Your father pat my shoulder and he explained that I shouldnot be afraid, and that I should convince you the same.”

He bat his eyes atIgnis. A personal tale of his father was as rare to hear as it was important.For Ignis himself, the memory of the fall was still clear as ever. So clear infact that it took him away from the ballroom to the day itself when the shadowsof rainwater pelting the windows washed over the Prince as he was inches fromcrying out.

“Yourexpression is still like a photograph in my mind. Our eyes met. I knelt down,arms open, and I encouraged you to get back up and make your way to me. I triedto encourage you that you were going to be okay; that there… was no need to weep.”

Yes, that was whathappened wasn’t it? Ignis was there. He hadn’t left, he was the face he turnedto. The arms he reached towards. Suddenly, Noctis was feeling silly. He feltguilt taking over. Sighing out, his Highness shamefully took a seat on one ofthe cushioned chairs alongside the cello where it had been left behind by itsplayer.

Now he really didfeel stupid.

“Augh… Dad.He cared, huh? Wish he’d said so.”

Ignis bent over infront of Noctis’ lap. He used his fingers to fix his lenses one more timebefore he took his both his hands in his own and lowered his tone to a tenderhush. “He tried to, Noctis. The one he wanted you to care about wasyourself. He left the role of parenting with someone… who,” he started to struggleexplaining the concept, “…could be more present for you in your time of need.”

Noctis grasped forwords to respond. “I don’t know if I believe that. I couldn’t just… Imean, I don’t…”

“I believed inyou, Noct. Just as he did. Don’t you understand? You had all the strength youneeded within you to get to your feet and walk again. And you did. You were sorelieved once you came into my arms. Just as you did then, you can do now. WhatI saw that day was a young man who was learning from the bottom up. It’s notyour fault that you feel at the bottom in this case. You learned from yourprevious handicap and have all you need to do well with this dance, have younot?”

“I guess,”Noctis showed his teeth through a grin. “I expect all the right answers tocome out of you anyway. You might not be holding my hand, but…” Hesoftened. “You still take care of me.”

Ignis giggled.“I’ve seen you trip many times. I’ve seen you get hurt and hurt again Ihave. Even with bruises on your skin you keep moving onward.”

“That doesn’tmean it doesn’t hurt on the inside. What it doesmean though is that, well, I guess I’ve grown kinda… dependent on you. Y-youknow, kn-knowing you’re there and stuff. I don’t know…”

Bashful. How sweet.Ignis beamed with good energy.

“So then,”he lifted Noct’s hands to clench them close to his face. “Know that justas I always have, I understand your struggles. As a part of you, I grow whereyou grow and where you feel pain or anger, I am there alongside you the verysame.”

He took a breathand hesitated a moment. Sometimes he doubted whether he was saying all theright things. Had his advice turned more affectionate than educational? Wasthat really alright? It was almost coming off in a cheesy way.

“Continue todepend on me then,” he nodded. He wasn’t sure he should be saying it, buthe wasn’t stopping himself either. It was impossible to just put it all back inhis mouth like he could pretend it never happened. “I promised to be here.No matter if you’re dancing or falling, my purpose is to guide you. Joy orsorrow, sun or rain, I am here for you.” Ignis lifted his hands up to hislips where he pressed a loving kiss against his fingers. “Could we tryjust a few more times to get the rhythm? Please?”

Noctis’ cheeks hadflushed by the Advisor’s kiss. His pupils trailed upward following Ignis’ bodyas he stood. He lifted Noctis up along with him. It was unfortunate to have toforce him like this - he didn’t exactly want to. For the sake of their timetogether, it had to be done. If it had felt one hundred percent right to teachhis liege to depend on his lead in such ways, he might not have felt soculpable for the inevitable repercussions. There was still plenty of time forhim to grown on his own: to be independent without his hand to hold. But therewas sadly less and less time every second for them to live it out.

Second by bloodysecond…

A prayer to thegods alone would not be enough to save Ignis from the fear of his own handslowing the Prince down. What an awful thought that was. It was as if he couldalready hear the Shield telling him 'you can’t baby him forever’. It was true,and yet…

What if Noctis wasthe one to tell him those things instead? Someday he may very well do so, solong as he had a good reason. Even if he didn’t, Ignis would never want that tohappen. Ignis had to be strict. His elements hadn’t fully prepared him tosustain a proper balance of emotion. Hopefully he had spurred some kind of confidence in his Highness.

“It seems nowthat we are running out of time…”

“Yeah. Iknow.” Noct straightened himself and huffed his cheeks.

“Please tellme that’s not false confidence.”

“…what?”

“I-It’snothing. Please.” Ignis offered him his hand again.

“From thetop?” he asked. He rolled his eyes at first when Ignis said nothing else,but upon placing his arms along the outline of his body, he found himselffeeling safer.

“Can we try itwithout the music? Maybe I can do better if I just… not get the hang of thesong, but, maybe you?”

“Noct?”

“Well I mean,I just wanna dance with you. No instruments and maybe no steps for a while. Youknow, free-style it. If I’m gonna have any comfortability, because I know thegala’s gonna blow no matter what, I wanna be comfortable with at least you. Ican hide how sucky I feel around others but I can’t really hide much of that fromyou, huh?”

Ignis stretched hisneck and re-positioned himself. “Maybe this was the wrong direction afterall.” His raised smile suggestedhe wasn’t so upset anymore.

“What do youmean?” Noctis stressed. He was turning red again from having Ignis’ handson him, one around the waste and one still locked with a hand of his own.Touching Ignis’ neck, looking straight into his eyes. Still just as intimate asbefore. Did nothing really change?

“The playerscan wait. They’ll be disband accordingly once our time is through. For now, Ican honor your request. But do you really think you can dance withoutmusic?”

“Nope. But Idon’t need to. It’ll make me uneasy no matter what I do. But it’s whatever.Besides, I can still hear the damn song in my head without hearing it out loud.”

“Right then. Andafter I curve your waltz, your language is next.”

A tapping soundreached Ignis’ ears, slamming him up from his dreams. The absence of rest was afamiliar sensation, even after setting duties as Retainer on the backburner toput survival to top priority.

The world wasblack. There was no difference between the world of unconsciousness and the remnantsof their darkened star. The reduction of Eos - along with all its life andlight - had cast everything into blindness. None knew such struggles as Ignis’actual blindness. Though it hadn’t been a crutch he leant on, those who aidedhim had seen for themselves first-hand the sheer strength he possessed. Heendured this loss of direction, the uncertainty and all its burdens,shouldering perseverance all the way through for ten years.

Ten long years.

Ignis was on hisfeet instantly when he heard the knocking. His ears were always listeningclosely. His lack of vision didn’t give him the need to open his eyelids. Hewouldn’t admit it aloud, but he was still so exhausted from the night before.He could fake it. The effort to do so was there. He hadn’t needed any sensesother than trust to know who was at his tiny motel door.

“Prompto,”Ignis tried to sound wide awake. Maybe it sounded a little too labored. It musthave been obvious that it was fake.

“HeyIggy,” Prompto’s voice came from the other side of the door. From wherethe blonde stood, he heard Ignis practically collide with the door in a rush,unlocking the latches and opening it fast.

A brief burst ofcool air swung from the corners of the door, but Prompto wasn’t hoping to beconvinced of anything. He knew better. By the way of his knock, the situationwas already evident. Even still the scarred man held the breath in his chestuntil it stung him.

“He’s readyfor you.”

And that was all heneeded to hear.

Within minutes,Ignis was dressed as well as he could be. He straightened out what he could anddidn’t bother to make himself look flawless, if he could even truly judge thatanymore. He was sure the one who summoned him would understand. He knew hecouldn’t get himself down to the same key as he once had before. His best wouldhave to be good enough even if it wasn’t the best he’d wanted to present.

Once he was sure hehadn’t foolishly overlooked anything basic (socks, shoes, jacket… yes, he wasindeed wearing clothes) he left behind his room and used the mental map of theLeville he’d memorized - through hours he spent wandered its halls, touchingits frame and tracing its outlines - to make haste for the streets and venturedown to the outlook.

Hurriedly hemarched until the vibrations of the open viewing area made its graveled scrapeson the underneath of his shoes. Grass was starting to grow through the cracksthere. There was a presence awaiting him that he detected immediately, and itmade itself known once he had come close. Ignis could swear his heart wasstopping at the sound.

“Ignis.”It was Noctis. His voice was solemn, Ignis could tell, but then the grownPrince – now a King – laughed. “Slow down. You’re gonna break aheel.”

“You’re hereafterall,” Ignis remarked, pulling a look. He’d so obviously been shakenat the knowledge of being asked for a private moment with him.

“I wasn’tgonna stand you up,” he said soothingly.

Noctis must havebeen fidgeting. He would do that sometimes when he was shy about something, andit wasn’t as if Ignis hadn’t taught his senses to sharpen. Now of all times,his senses were interrupted by the pounding of his veins. His shoulders sankand he tried to make himself relax. He knew there was something sensitive aboutto be unveil.

“As if youhadn’t done so before,” he casually teased. “Your Majesty, if youwouldn’t mind-”

“I’d like tojust say first what I came here to say, before I lose my moxie.”

Ignis heard Noctput his hands into his pockets. He was facing him. Staring directly at him; ifhe wasn’t mistaken. “Even I don’t use that lingo much anymore.”

“Heh, that’sprobably true. Ignis…”

The man swallowed.“Yes?”

Harsh air pooledthrough his teeth as he inhaled deeply. “Tonight, would you uh, please, um…”

The stalling wasdestroying Ignis. He wondered if it was destroying them both. It had been solong since Noctis initiated a serious topic or any sort of emotionalconversation. And since he’d given his word to discuss what was on his mind thenight earlier – not to mention the fact that he sent Prompto as a messenger forthe very sake of the circumstance – he’d been anticipating the outcome. Itstung. It burnt. It brought back feelings in places Ignis had believed to beshut down. Parts of himself he had abandoned. Noctis brought those sensationsback.

He called his nameagain, slowly, with meaning. “Ignis.”

He remainedgrounded and attempted with his best effort to maintain composure as Noctiscame inches closer. “I’m here.”

“I know youare,” Noctis said. “You always have been here for me, even when Icouldn’t be for you.” There was silence. Blind or not, he knew Noct musthave been gazing at the scars painted along his brow beneath the lenses of hisvisors. “Now that we have time, and we’re alone…” the Kingoutstretched a hand towards his Advisor. “I want you to dance withme.”

Ignis blanked. Washe in shock? He knew he’d heard correctly; why in gods’ names was hequestioning it. “A-A dance?” he tilted his head forward.“Now?”

“It’s now ornever. You know I can’t dance, so just say yes. Make this easy for me.”

“Hah, I don’tbelieve this… a dance. Now.”

“Yes. Please?I’m only asking. You don’t have to. And… if you do,” he added kindly,“I’d like you to dance with your Prince, not with the King.”

“So, this iswhat you called me for. To dance.” Ignis grinned softly at first. Itwasn’t long before it blossomed into a blissful smile, wide and honest. He toostretched out his hand and found Noct’s. It was bare and so warm it must havebeen sweaty. “Are you nervous?” he asked.

“What?” Asmidge of fear peeked through his tone. “Why would you-”

“It’s alright,your-… your, Highness… Take my hands. I would be honored to have my feetstepped on again.”

“You are taking this seriously aren’tyou?”

“How could Inot? I’ve longed you in my arms ever since you’d left them.”

So naturally as itwould happen to be, the two had conversed the offer. And just as before, somany many times before, Noctis came close. Perhaps even closer than Ignis had expected.Their chests touched, and soon he felt Noctis’ nose against his. Their fingerslocked, twirling considerately with a delicate hold. Their feet matchedposition. And when Noctis moved, Ignis recognized the steps.

A laugh came out.Really, he’d wanted to cry. Not now. He couldn’t. This was their routinepractice. And the song… even here a million miles away from peaceful galasand royal engagements Ignis could still hear the strings. Every note that had enthusedhim to move and sway.

It all came back.

By the texture ofNoct’s chest, Ignis could feel the fabric of a sleek suit. Had he dressed upjust for this? Noctis was so near, smelling so finely. It was home again. As ifthe endless hell they had suffered never came between them. Noctis spun withgrace and returned promptly. He dipped down as Ignis bent forward over him. Thesame delightful flow. Impressively enough, the lessons had stuck. So he coulddance afterall-

“Ouch!”

“Dammit,sorry! That was an accident I swear!”

“Foot up, your Highness.” Ignis was sofast on scolding him, he hadn’t even grasped that he had until he felt Noctislean his head far backwards to belt out in laughter. His cheer was socontagious suddenly. So suddenly, the world was fading from its infinite shadesof black, and worlds of color began to return. Here: where they danced with oneanother unafraid. The golds of the ballroom pillars bled into view. The tileson the floor shone and glittered by the light of the tall windows as they movedhand in hand, their shadows whirling through their brilliant rays. All thatmattered was that they were together where they felt timeless. They felt safe.

They feltbeautiful.

As their patternsbegan to slow, repeating one final time before the dreaded end, the dream ofthe Prince started disappearing. It was getting dark again. Everything was beingswallowed by blackness once more. Facts reformed: Ignis was blind and there wasno youth before him. This was the present. The world was in ruin, the Citadelhad been stolen, and their lives were permanently changed. And though he wishedhe could treat this moment as a gift, it was ending. Just as the world was ending.Fate had its place among them and it was closing in over their every lastsecond. Yet again they were running out of time.

He felt Noctis’hand start to slip. It was time for the bow. They’d practically never made itto a proper bow in those years of the past when their anxious Prince forged hisway through dances. The bow was significant, a sign that the experience wasworthwhile for both involved. And it was. But…

This would be thepart where everything would be over and he would have to let go of his hand forthe final time. He couldn’t hold onto it forever. Forever was no longer anoption.

Ignis gripped it.His dearly beloved must have felt the tug. But he pulled away, and pulled likehe meant it. In a cruel way, Noctis was doing him a favor. Had his handsspoken, they might have been begging him to let go. Ignis’ heart was no longerin a state of threatening to cease beating, but it may have been ready tocrumble and break. The hand was gone. It wasn’t coming back.

The two faced oneanother at a distance and lowered their torsos to close their dance. A prayeralone could not hide Ignis’ choked up cries no matter how he may have forcedthem down. What would it take not to hide his face in his hands and wail? Whatwould it take not to embarrass himself now?

This was it. It wasthe end. It was over.

“Anotherkiss?” Noctis whispered. “Would you let me?”

Ignis straightenedhimself out. Upon standing upright, the tears flowed out the corners of hiseyes and dripped down his cheeks. He cursed them all the way for revealingeverything he hadn’t wanted them to. Without answering, his King, his Highness,his friend returned and wrapped his arms around him. He held Ignis close enoughthat he could be rocked by the throbbing of his heart. They held onto oneanother tightly for a long, long while.

It couldn’t erasethe future, but when he kissed him, it was all it took to preserve their past.A kiss upon his lips to remind him of the taste of life and love and all thelessons they’d learned from it. To the last bitter touch, his kiss stainedIgnis’ mouth, and it remained there, somewhere it would be protected by the fulfillmentof a single promise.

#asks #anon #writing #ryan posts #my fics #ignoct #fanfic #older ignoct #blind iggy #angst #kisses #answers #thank you so much

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miraculousmumma · 6 years

Text

The Server

Characters: Adrien Agreste, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the whole class, The Server (akuma)

Pairings: Love square

Warnings: None

Word Count: 6095

Summary: The end of term boat trip ends up more exciting than planned thanks to an akuma attack, but when Adrien gets knocked overboard, Marinette doesn't care who learns her secret, so long as he's safe...

It was the last day of term at Collège Françoise Dupont, and each grade had a different activity planned. One class had a trip to the zoo, another the Louvre, but Marinette felt her class scored the jackpot. A cruise down the Seine, with music and food, the latter of which was provided in joint conjunction with her parents bakery and Le Grand Paris, meaning that both her parents, Alya’s mom, and Chloe’s father had a hand in the trip, not that you’d know that from how Chloe was bragging.

‘You’d think she knows how an oven works, the way she’s going on.’ Alya commented, as she bit into the macaroon in her hand.

‘If she’s gloating, she’s not antagonising.’ Marinette commented. ‘We have to be grateful for small mercies.’

‘Well, she’s kind of antagonising the staff.’ Alya rested her elbow on her friend’s shoulder.

‘But if she’s antagonising them, she’s leaving us alone.’

Alya gasped exaggeratedly. ‘That’s not the Marinette I know. Where’s the girl who stands up for the little guy?’

‘She wants a day off from being the saviour of the Chloe-trodden.’ Marinette pulled a face.

‘You think Ladybug wishes she has a day off?’

‘She’s human, I’m sure she often feels tired and wishes there wouldn’t be an emergency.’ Marinette argued.

‘Are we sure she’s human? I mean, she has super powers, so she’s at least super human.’ Alya pointed out. ‘But no matter her genetic code, she gets up and does it anyway, even if she is tired.’

‘You want me to go over there and save the waiter? Really?’

‘Nah, girl, I’m messing with you.’ Alya laughed. ‘We aren’t being paid to deal with Chloe. He is.’

At the bow of the ship, Adrien leant on the rail, watching the buildings as their boat slowly drifted by. It was definitely a leisure vessel, slow and sure, giving plenty of time to enjoy the scenery.

‘One fruit juice a la Nino.’ His friend handed him a plastic cup.

‘Thanks, Nino.’ Adrien took a sip, grateful for the extra ice, as it was a ridiculously warm day, and everyone was in summer wear; shorts, t-shirts, some of the girls had on dresses, including a certain girl Adrien’s eyes kept tracking back to. He knew Marinette, she didn’t stumble over her words around him as much as she did, and he had come to learn what a sweet and talented girl she was, but what had him captivated was the fact she was today wearing a dress she had designed and made herself, or so he overheard her telling Juleka and Rose. Halter-neck and falling to just above her knees, the base of the dress itself was black, not a common colour for a summer dress, but its saving grace was the pattern, a bright green design of randomly placed green eyes and cat paw prints. She was stunning, he didn’t know how he hadn’t noticed before, but she had even added ribbons in her hair to match, a green and black on each pigtail. With her black sandals, she could have easily graced any magazine cover with him, and he would welcome her.

‘Dude, just go talk to her.’

‘What? Who? I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ Adrien said rapidly, turning back to his friend as he realised he had been staring. Again.

‘It’s just Marinette, man. Go talk to her. Ask her what plans she has over summer break. Ask her about the dress. Ask to rub lotion on her shoulders, whatever, just stop staring like a creeper.’

‘I’m not staring like a creeper.’ Adrien said defensively.

‘No, you’ve just had your tongue unravelled since she arrived at school this morning. Reel it in and go use words.’ He nudged his shoulder. ‘I’ll even come with you and distract Alya so she doesn’t pounce into matchmaker mode.’

‘Okay, fine.’ He drank the rest of his juice in one go, as though the cup contained something stronger, and placed it on a nearby table. ‘Let’s go.’

‘Ew, look at this, this is not acceptable!’ Chloe squealed, pointing dramatically at the table.

‘Completely unacceptable.’ Sabrina echoed from a step behind.

‘This cheese board my father provided is supposed to be served at room temperature. That is far too soft! Cool it down. But not too much. It needs to be perfect!’

‘It’s a very hot day, mademoiselle,’ the waiter tried to explain, ‘it is very difficult to maintain an exact temperature when the weather dictates…’

‘I don’t care about the weather, I care about if this cheese spoils. Fix it!’

‘But there’s nothing I can…’

‘Does this look like room temperature to you?’ Chloe squawked, picking up the tray and slamming it into the waiters chest, cheese first, turning her hand so it would do the most damage to his uniform. ‘Maybe that will teach you not to argue with your betters.’ And she stormed away, leaving the waiter to steam angrily while peeling the cheese tray from his chest, his uniform ruined, and cheese dripped unpleasantly onto the deck and his formerly pristine shoes.

‘Maybe I should have intervened.’ Marinette pulled a face as they watched the waiter go below deck.

‘Then you’d have ruined your dress, because Chloe was going to cover someone in cheese, and it was better the waiter than you.’ Alya argued.

‘I guess. But I should have tried to calm the situation.’

‘Chloe is a cranky bitch who is also dehydrated and sunburnt. She would pick a fight with a feather, as my mom says. So let’s stay out of her way.’

Across town, in Hawkmoth’s lair, he had seen the man humiliated by the arrogant Miss Bourgeois, always a good source of negativity for him to utilise, and he quickly sent one of his akumas, knowing that a little terror on the Seine would be just the thing to bring Ladybug and Chat Noir running to the rescue.

‘What do I say?’ Adrien asked, as they edged around their friends towards where the girls stood by the buffet table.

‘Tell her she looks nice, girls love that, but be specific; I like your dress, is it new? Have you done something different with your hair? Trust me, don’t be generic.’

‘Non generic compliment. Got it.’ Adrien stepped forward, an idea of what he would say in his head, when the deck before him exploded in a shower of splinters, an obviously akumatized victim standing before them.

‘I am The Server, and it is my job to give you what you want!’ He turned on Chloe. ‘You wanted cheese, and cheese you shall have.’ In his hand he held a silver serving tray, and he pointed it at Chloe, showering her in a spray of cheese cubes, intent on burying her.

Adrien jumped forward, there was nowhere he could go to change, not with all his classmates here, he had to try and get The Server off the boat, and he was sure he could sneak off and change if things were less hectic.

‘Sorry, no one ordered seconds.’ He quipped, grabbing the victim from behind and pinning his arms, the rain of cheese ceasing immediately.

Marinette stepped forward the same time Adrien sprang into action, but Alya grabbed her arm, pulling her back. ‘You can’t do anything to help girl, come on, we all need to find cover!’ Their friends were all panicking and screaming with nowhere to go, it was chaos.

‘But Adrien…’ She started, however she didn’t get to finish.

The akuma victim roared and threw his arms out, wrenching Adrien loose, and turned, firing a wave of croissants into him even as he stumbled back hard. It all happened in seconds, but for Marinette it seemed like she had all the time in the world to watch as Adrien was knocked over the side of the boat in a shower of pastries.

‘Adrien!’ She yelped, pulling out of Alya’s grip and racing forward.

‘Mari! Don’t! You’re not a strong swimmer!’ Alya called after her, but Marinette had already devised a plan, and losing Adrien wasn’t on it.

She leapt up onto a chair with one foot, the other hitting the barrier around the boat a moment later, and all her classmates could recall was a random yell of; ‘Tikki, spots on!’ and a flash of pink.

Marinette’s transformation was complete by the time she hit the water, and she had to hope that none of her classmates realised what was going on, however that was the bottom of her priority list right now. She looked around in the murky water of the Seine, for any shadow of size, but all she spotted was a small green glow coming towards her. It was her only clue, for now, and she kicked towards it. The green glow turned to two green lights, then two eyes, and she nearly expelled the breath she held when she realised it was another kwami, and not only that, but the black cat! Wait, what?

Plagg had no choice, he knew he didn’t want to lose Adrien as his chosen, he would worry about the fall out when Ladybug had got him back to the surface, hopefully breathing.

Ladybug kicked harder as a dark shape in the water lightened as she approached, seeing it to be Adrien, his white shirt now visible in the water, and she was with him in seconds, wrapping her arm around his body and pulling free her yo-yo. It was impossible to spin underwater, but as a magical artefact it propelled nonetheless, out of the water and onto the side of the boat, as rapidly as she dared, and she gasped as they hit the air, flying over the railing and rolling on the deck, the landing causing Adrien to start coughing, spitting up water from the river as Ladybug detangled herself from him. She didn’t know where the black cat kwami had gone, but she had her suspicions, then Adrien’s shirt moved in a way that wasn’t quite natural, and her suspicions were confirmed. Her breath caught, but her classmates just thought it was from the water as they gathered around.

‘Are you okay?’ She bent close to Adrien, studying him as though she hadn’t already memorised everything about him, looking for signs that had been there all along, she just hadn’t noticed.

Adrien nodded before turning his head, finding himself so close to the eyes he adored that they filled his vision, bluebell surrounded by red with black spots. ‘Ladybug?’ He managed, before another bout of coughing took him.

She smiled and rested her hand on his shoulder, before turning to her classmates. ‘He’s okay, anyone know which way that akuma victim went?’

‘Towards the Eiffel Tower.’ Max pointed as she got to her feet.

‘Ladybug, wait!’ Alya rushed forward. ‘My friend, Marinette, she went in the water after Adrien. She can swim, but she’s not the strongest. She hasn’t come back up.’

Ladybug just stared at her best friend. She had assumed her identity would no longer be a secret, that flinging herself off the boat as she changed had revealed her, but perhaps not. ‘Marinette?’ She checked, and Alya nodded. ‘I’ll find her, Alya, don’t worry.’ And she marched up to the side of the boat, huffing out a breath before diving over the side again. She swum underwater towards the shore, where there were sporadic emergency ladders, and took a tight grip.

‘Tikki, spots off.’ She said, glad it would still work underwater, then climbed up the ladder and up onto the path that ran alongside.

‘There’s Marinette!’ She heard Nathaniel yell, and she rocked back to sitting to wave at her friends, then heard Alya shout; ‘What about Ladybug?’

‘Oh, I saw her swing off that way!’ Marinette yelled, pointing in the opposite direction, before pushing to her feet and running towards the nearest building, where she transformed again, propelling herself into the rooftops, stopping for a moment to catch her breath as the last five minutes played over in her mind. Adrien was Chat Noir? Chat Noir was Adrien? All this time, all his flirting, and her rebuffing his advances…oh no. A scream reminded her she had a job to do, and she started to run again, grateful that the sun beating down should have her dry in no time.

Adrien was still breathing heavily when he pushed to his feet, his body shaking with adrenaline and the temporary lack of oxygen, noting Mademoiselle Bustier speaking rapidly to the skipper of the vessel.

‘What happened?’

‘Akuma, bro.’ Nino hugged him, then pushed him away as he remembered he was soaking wet. ‘Ladybug pulled you out of the water and went after it. Mademoiselle Bustier is trying to get the skipper to stop here and our parents to collect us.’

He pulled a face. ‘We’re seventeen, we can walk ourselves home.’

‘School policy.’ Nino looked equally put out.

Adrien growled and walked to the railing where he knew the akuma victim to be wreaking havoc from the noise and number of people running away from that direction. Ladybug was out there alone, and right now he couldn’t do a damn thing to help her.

The Server reached a cafe, where someone seated outside was leaving a substandard tip, and he buried them in checks, laughing as he ranted about them deserving it.

‘Hey!’ Ladybug yelled, drawing his attention to her from where she stood behind him, yo-yo spinning. ‘Don’t you know the customer is always right?’

‘The customer needs to learn to treat servers with respect! And this is the only way they will learn!’ He spun his tray at her, spewing forth a slew of breadsticks, but she easily slid under it, kicking his legs out and bringing him down.

‘Personally, I always try and treat people how I’d like to be treated, until they treat me otherwise.’ She remarked as she bound him with her yo-yo, knocking him onto all fours.

‘Knocking over your server isn’t polite!’ He used the tray to spray a powerful jet of water, launching himself into the air, and Ladybug dragged behind with a yelp.

‘Come on!’ Adrien groaned as the kids were let off the boat one by one, checked off by Mademoiselle Bustier as their parents met them.

‘I’m sorry, Adrien, but your ride isn’t here yet.’ She said, as he reached her.

‘Oh, it’s there, I see it!’ He pointed at a random silver car that passed. ‘Probably can’t park due to all the extra traffic. It was a fun day, Mademoiselle Bustier.’ He said rapidly before sprinting up the gangplank.

‘But, Adrien…!’ She called after him, but he was already lost in the crowd. She sighed. Now she had to go and explain to Marinette’s parents that she was somewhere down the path.

‘You could have at least grabbed me some of the cheese off the deck.’ Plagg complained as Adrien darted into an alleyway. ‘It smelled amazing.’

‘Plagg, priorities! I’ll get you a wheel of camembert when we get home! But for now, claws out!’

Ladybug wasn’t doing well. The server had a serious hatred of people in general, apparently, and any dining out “crime” was considered punishable by covering in the appropriate substance. One man had spilled the salt, for that he was buried in it. Another woman demanded a clean fork because of watermarks, and she found herself hemmed into a cage of the cutlery, unable to get out. And boy, was he picky. He seemed to know every food ever dropped, every condiment ever spilled, every time you put salt packets on a plate instead of leaving them on a table, apparently that really irritated servers, and Ladybug regretted that her Marinette side was so clumsy, because he had a lot of ammo to throw at her. Right now he was firing macaroons at her with speed and precision, and he hit her yo-yo, just as she was aiming for a high chimney, leaving her to plummet towards the ground.

‘Gotcha!’ Chat was there just in time, vaulting into her trajectory and catching her easily, landing on the roof of Le Grand Paris, where the restaurant was well renowned for its diners of a certain calibre.

‘Good catch, Chat.’ She sighed, more in relief at seeing him okay than at having been saved.

‘I’d never let you down.’ He spun his staff before leaning on it. ‘Your hair’s wet.’

‘I had to pull someone out of the Seine before here.’ She remarked, overly casually. ‘You’re wet too.’ She reminded herself to point out, knowing she wasn’t supposed to know what she knew.

‘I was…uh…showering! Yes, showering, you know us cats love our cleanliness.’ He stammered. ‘So, what are we dealing with?’

‘Crazy waiter, it looks like. Trying to punish people for their crimes against servers.’

‘Well, I happen to be a perfect guest to have to dinner, want to find out later? Say, eight o’clock?’ He wiggled his eyebrows at her and she just stared at him. Adrien Agreste was flirting with her, had been flirting with her for the last few years. And she had ignored it.

‘Sure, right, eight.’ She shook her head, trying to clear it. ‘But what are we doing about the garçon?’

‘Giving him a hefty tip and hoping for the best? Wait…was that a yes?’

‘Let’s talk later, Chat.’ She turned back to find their foe chasing a small group who had emerged from the hotel restaurant. ‘The akuma is obviously in the tray. Think you can distract him so I can get close enough to destroy it?’

‘Wouldn’t it make more sense for you to distract him while I sneak up and cataclysm the tray?’ He suggested.

Ladybug swallowed, not wanting to put him close to harm, knowing who he was. She loved him, she didn’t want him hurt, not if she could prevent it. ‘Let’s try it my way first, chaton.’ She forced a smile, before putting her lucky charm into action.

‘As my lady wishes.’ He shrugged, watching as a plunger dropped down into her waiting hands.

‘This is…interesting.’ She pulled a face at it.

‘Maybe all this rich food gave him a blockage.’ Chat shrugged.

‘Well, I guess it’s up to us to…something.’ She screwed up her nose.

‘You’ll figure it out, Bugaboo, you always do. Let’s do it.’ And he ran off in one direction, while she went in the other.

It seemed The Server was going after the root of the problem, that of Mayor Bourgeois, holding him responsible for Chloe’s bad manners, and Ladybug found herself sneaking in the doors after Chat had chased him into the restaurant, where he was now deliberately making a mess.

‘Oops.’ He had seated himself on his haunches at a large table at the back, and was casually knocking everything off one item at a time, like a pernickety cat trying to cause trouble. ‘Waiter, there’s something wrong with these flowers.’ He said, before knocking the entire vase off. ‘And this salt pot is almost empty.’ He knocked that next. ‘The pepper is gunked up. This spoon is dirty.’

‘Stop, you insolent fool! You do not deserve table service!’ And he launched a barrage of condiments at him, but Chat merely flipped to the next table, where he knocked a basket of bread on the floor.

‘Good job, kitty.’ Ladybug murmured, crouching behind the table nearest where she entered and crawling closer. So far nothing had lit up her ladybug senses to show her what to use the lucky charm for, but if this worked she might not even need it.

She managed to get under the table beside where he stood, hidden by the cloth, and lifted the edge so she could see his feet. She pulled the cloth back rapidly and sprung at the akumatized villain, just as he turned to attack Chat again, and she missed him, landing heavily face down on the floor with an; ‘Umph!’ loud enough to draw his attention. She heard Chat shout her name, and was suddenly showered with croissants. Yeah, she remembered dropping plenty of croissants over the years. She tried to push herself up, but it was as though they weighed so much more than normal croissants, which made sense; if they were evil croissants, why would they be light and fluffy?

Chat watched in horror as Ladybug was buried in pastries, almost disappearing entirely under their sheer volume, and he knew the plan wasn’t working. He sprang into action and hitting the villain hard enough to send him across the room, stopping the onslaught of food so he could clear the unusually heavy croissants from Ladybug and drop down beside her, checking she was okay.

Ladybug groaned and shook her head before pushing with her arms, finding herself helped, and she turned to find Chat’s green eyes looking at her in concern. ‘Chat, what?’

‘Are you okay?’

‘Where’s The Server?’

‘He’s…whoa!’ Chat pulled her closer and backflipped behind a table, just as a torrent of camembert struck where they had been. ‘Yeah, he’s there.’

‘You need to be more careful!’ She complained, pulling out of his arms and peeking over the table.

‘So do you.’ He quipped, joining her. ‘Any luck with your charm yet?’

‘I’m not…’ She started, just as the tray lit up, red with black polkadots, and she knew there had to be something else to lead up to it. She looked everywhere, the entire room, finally slumping back down and staring at the plunger in her hands. ‘I don’t get it. It’s just this and…’ then she realised that there was another spotted object in her field of vision, pretty much so under her nose she hadn’t noticed it. Her yo-yo, and then Chat’s hand.

Quickly she tied the yo-yo around the end of the plunger. ‘Okay, Chat, get cataclysm ready. That tray is coming to you.’

‘Alright.’ He nodded. ‘Cataclysm!’ And he crouched, hands ready. ‘On your mark, my lady.’

‘Okay, be ready.’ She jumped to her feet and threw the plunger like a javelin, hitting the tray dead centre, then pulling it out of his grip. ‘Now, Chat!’

He jumped up as she ducked, hitting the tray as it flew over her head, rusting as it came clattering to the ground and shattering, releasing the akuma inside.

‘Time to deevilize!’

It was only minutes later that the room was returned to normal, along with the rest of the city, although Chloe still smelled faintly of cheese. They helped the victim to his feet, just as their miraculous’ beeped for the first time.

‘We have to head off, right, my lady?’

‘Right.’ She agreed, letting him lead the way.

‘But, are we still on for tonight? Eight o’clock we said?’

‘Sure, Chat. Eight o’clock.’ She agreed. ‘Where?’

‘Champ de Mars?’ He suggested.

‘Alright.’

‘Catch you later, Bugaboo.’ He winked at her before propelling himself into the rooftops.

‘Bye, Adrien.’ She whispered, racing off herself as her earrings beeped again.

Marinette flopped down on her chaise and kicked off her shoes, as Tikki flew out of her bag to look down at her.

‘So, you know who Chat is now.’

‘Uh huh.’ Marinette stared up at the ceiling, not quite sure she was functioning.

‘But he doesn’t know who you are.’

‘Nope.’

‘And you met his kwami.’

‘Uh huh.’

‘Marinette, say something else? Please?’ Tikki asked.

‘What do you want me to say, Tikki? I just found out my biggest admirer, who I’ve been spurning for years, is the boy I’ve been in love with for exactly the same amount of time.’

‘His kwami’s name is Plagg.’

For some reason that single fact seemed to snap Marinette out of it, and she propped herself up on her elbows. ‘What?’

‘Adrien’s kwami is called Plagg. We’ve known one another a long time.’

‘Did you know Adrien was Chat Noir?’ She tucked her legs up, crossing them, putting her hands in her lap.

Tikki sighed and sat on her knee, facing her. ‘I did. Plagg and I haven’t spoken since you became our chosen, but we have interacted. Just gestures, waves. We shared that macaroon when you fought Dark Owl.’

She nodded. That made sense. Deep down she had known that Tikki knew Chat’s identity, but it hadn’t crossed her mind that she actually knew him, and well. ‘What do I say to him, Tikki?’

‘How about the truth? That you found out by accident while saving him.’ Her kwami shrugged.

‘That easy?’ She asked doubtfully.

‘It can be.’ Tikki flew up and kissed her cheek. ‘It will all be alright, Marinette. You’ll see.’

Adrien showered the Seine out of his hair and talked the whole while, not that Plagg was really listening. He had his cheese wheel and had no intention of letting the excited hormonal ramblings distract him.

‘She’s going to be there, she said she would. I’m going to take a picnic, with a blanket…and candles, we should have music too, I can play that through my staff, what do you think she likes to eat?’

‘Aphids.’ Plagg replied.

‘That’s gross.’ Adrien pulled a face. ‘I meant my Ladybug, not real ones.’

‘How should I know. Human food. Probably lots of cheese. Make sure you pack some.’

‘I know why you want me to take cheese.’ Adrien laughed. ‘But even your gluttony can’t ruin my mood. Ladybug agreed to meet me, outside of emergencies and patrols!’

‘Maybe she just wanted to shut you up.’ Plagg suggested.

‘It’s my chance to show her I’m more than she thinks.’ Adrien continued undeterred. I need to look my best.’

‘You need to look like Chat.’

‘I need to smell good then.’ Adrien went to the array of expensive colognes he had been given to promote. ‘Which do I pick?’

‘One that won’t make her eyes water.’

‘You’re no help.’ Adrien glared at him.

‘I honestly don’t care, go with your gut, and I’ll go with mine.’ Plagg replied before taking another huge bite of cheese.

Chat was early, he desperately wanted to make the right impression. He spread the picnic blanket on the ground beneath a tree, and had brought some battery operated string lights which he hung from the lowest branches. It would be twilight soon and the lights would look pretty, he hoped. He set out the juice and glasses he had brought with him, having decided against wine, then tried to figure out how to sit to wait for her. First he laid on his side, propped on one elbow, then decided it didn’t feel right, it was too flirtatious. He tried crosslegged, but felt it too childish, then he leant back on his hands and crossed his legs in front of him. Nothing felt right.

‘I think you looked most relaxed laying down.’ Ladybug’s voice from behind him made him jump, turning to find her dropping down to the ground elegantly, and he scrambled to his feet.

‘My lady.’ He swept in a low bow. ‘I’m glad you could make it.’

‘I’m not late, am I?’

‘Not at all.’ He grinned, taking her hand and kissing her knuckles softly, and Marinette’s heart skipped a beat. ‘Come take a seat. Apple juice?’

‘Please. This looks lovely, Chat.’ She indicated to the blanket and lights.

‘You’re worth it. At least the gardens are generally empty at this time.’

She nodded. ‘So, I’m glad you asked me here tonight.’

‘Me too. I never thought I’d get you to say yes.’ He smiled, and it was worth it just to see that alone.

‘I should have said yes sooner, but…’ she sighed, ‘today sort of gave me a push.’

‘What was different about today?’ He offered her the first glass.

‘I guess…I was more worried about you. I didn’t want you in harms way, but I still couldn’t do it without you.’

‘We’re good team.’ He reminded her. ‘We always have been.’

‘We have.’ She agreed. ‘I don’t want that to change.’

‘Why would it change?’ He tilted his head to one side before opening the picnic basket and bringing out a bowl of strawberries. ‘Are you hungry?’

‘Not just now. In a little while, maybe.’

Chat put down his glass and looked at her seriously. ‘Something is bugging you, Bugaboo, and I don’t know if it’s me.’

‘It’s not you, not really. I mean it is you, because you’re right there, I mean here, with me, but I mean it’s not something you’ve done, or even something I’ve done, but…’

‘You’re cute when you ramble.’ He smirked, and it made her stop.

She sighed deeply, taking a sip of the obviously freshly pressed apple juice. ‘I was more afraid for you today.’

Chat frowned in confusion. ‘Because of the villain it was?’ He asked, not knowing what else could have made her so worried.

She put down the glass in frustration at herself not knowing how to tell him. She had gone over it in her head a hundred times, but now each scenario had combined and she was confusing herself. Pushing to her feet she stepped off the blanket, hoping not looking at him would help, and trying a different tactic as the frustration ate at her, creating such irritation she all but growled; ‘I hate it when you put yourself in danger for me.’

‘But, that’s my job.’ He reminded her pointedly. ‘The city needs you to deevilize the akuma, to save the victim. That means I have to put myself between you and any imminent danger.’

‘That doesn’t mean I have to like it!’

‘You’ve never complained before.’ He looked at her back, her shoulders tense. This was obviously a real bugbear for her.

‘I…just…please, try not to do it, try not to get between me and danger. Don’t put yourself in danger for me!’ She said, harsher than she meant to, and the tone made him raise his hand, placing it on her shoulder and turning her to face him.

‘I have to!’ He argued. ‘I would take a hundred hits for you, and however many more it takes!’

‘I don’t want you hurt, Adrien!’ She blurted, and immediately went wide eyed, covering her mouth with both hands at what she had said as he staggered back.

‘You…you know who I am?’

She dropped her head, letting out a sigh that was as much a groan as anything else. ‘I found out earlier.’

‘Claws in.’ Chat said quietly, and Ladybug looked up in time to see a green wave pass over him, revealing the boy she was in love with. ‘It’s a problem for you that this is who I am? You don’t trust me, now that you know that I’m just a model, a kid playing hero? I’m no different than I was when we patrolled last night, but my civilian me makes me less…’

She couldn’t bear it, to hear him be so self deprecating, and the only thing she could think of doing was stepping close, taking his face in her hands, and kissing him.

Adrien wouldn’t have been more surprised if she had demanded his miraculous and left him there. His lady, she was kissing him, by choice, her choice, and…wow! Adrien’s arms reached around her and pulled her close, his lips responding to hers with desperation, so many years of feelings remaining unrequited, all leading to this moment.

Adrien kissing her back was enough of a reality check to shake her to her core. It was everything she wanted, but it wasn’t real, because she knew if she stood here as Marinette he wouldn’t respond, he would push her away. She was just a friend, and she couldn’t lead him on like that. She broke the kiss and stepped back, forcing her way back out of his arms as tears filled her eyes. ‘I’m sorry, Adrien, I didn’t mean to find out, I really didn’t.’

‘Don’t cry.’ Was all he could think of saying. ‘Please don’t cry, my lady.’ And he stepped towards her, fully planning on holding her and reassuring her it was okay, that he felt a great weight had been lifted from him, but she held her hands up between them to keep him back.

‘It was my fault.’ Plagg announced, from where he had been floating behind Adrien, well out of the way, and they both turned to him. ‘You would’ve drowned, and I’ve got kind of attached to you…I mean the cheese you have. It’s pretty good quality. And I’d miss you.’

Adrien turned to his kwami, surprised by his sudden emotional confession. It was more than Plagg normally let on, and he knew it hadn’t been deliberate but…

‘You were knocked off the boat.’ Ladybug’s voice said quietly from behind him, and Plagg flew up beside her so Adrien could see them both. ‘I couldn’t let anything happen to you. I didn’t care if everyone saw me transform. I had to save you, I didn’t know that…’

It was his turn to stop her with a kiss, but she broke it immediately, however he wasn’t letting her go that easily this time. He curved his arms around her and held her tight. ‘Thanks for the rescue.’

She swallowed hard enough for him to see, tears leaving streaks over her mask and cheeks. ‘All in a days work, right?’ She tried to sound cheery, but it didn’t work.

‘Right. And why are you crying, exactly? Because a few seconds ago you kissed me, and it’s a bit confusing.’

‘Because you’d only kiss me like this. You don’t see me in my civilian guise, but I’m right there, every day. And I look at you, and I had no idea you were by my side all along, but only like this.’ Her voice broke. ‘Only as Ladybug.’

‘I want to be beside the girl behind the mask, I always have.’ He argued. ‘But you have to give me the same chance you have, to know the girl behind the mask. You obviously know me, well enough to want to kiss me, even though you know I’m Chat.’

‘That just makes it better, and harder!’ She choked. ‘You’re my best friend, and the boy I love, all rolled into one, but without the suit I’m just a friend. That’s all I’ve ever been, that’s all I will ever be, and I can’t live a lie, hoping that you’d come to terms with who I really am!’

He looked at her, could virtually see the passion in her like a physical thing, how she stood up for whatever she believed in, such conviction, and he realised how blind he had been, all this damn time. ‘I’d take both of you, Marinette.’

‘If you knew you wouldn’t be saying that, you’d…what?’ She realised he had called her by her name, not Ladybug, or Bugaboo, or my lady, by her actual name.

‘I said I’d take Ladybug and Marinette, you know, if you’d let me.’

‘You knew?’ Her words came out high pitched, portraying her surprise perfectly. ‘For how long?’

‘About thirty seconds now. Maybe thirty five. I wasn’t really counting. I didn’t know there’d be a test.’ She just stared at him, unable to process what he had just said, if he had actually said it at all. ‘How about you sit down, change back into that cute little cat dress, and we talk about this?’

‘The dress got wet. I’m wearing shorts and a vest.’ Was all she could say.

‘Shame,’ he said as he carefully let her go, holding her hands instead and walking backwards to the blanket, ‘maybe you can have it clean and dry for our date tomorrow night.’

‘Our…what?’

He pulled her to sit down then pulled on her glove. ‘What’s your trigger words to get this thing off?’

‘Spots off.’ She whispered, and after a moment of pink glow she sat before him, just Marinette, in her pink shorts and white floral vest top, and she was perfection.

Adrien smiled at her warmly, her cheeks flushed pink, and she was all he had ever dreamt of and more. He reached out without looking and picked up the bowl, holding it between them. ‘Strawberry?’

‘Thanks.’ She took one, but didn’t eat it, still amazed at how this evening had gone.

He wiped at the tears on her face, cleaning them up as best he could. ‘You know, princess, I think this is the beginning of something beautiful between us.’

#MLB #mlb fanfiction #miraculous #miraculous ladybug #miraculous fanfic #miraculous fan fic #love square #idiots in love

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jimlingss · 6 years

Text

The Leather Loafers

Words: 11.2k Genre: Fluff & Humour, Cinderella!Au Summary: Yes. You went to the ball. Yes. You ran into the prince. Yes. The shoe fits. BUT-! You aren't that Cinderella bitch. THEY'VE GOT THE WRONG PERSON! Warnings: Swearing...that’s really it. lol

Midnight strikes the clock.

A child is curled up at the fireplace to stay warm. The cinders crackle, dusting along her cheeks but the girl pays no mind, staring straight into the flickering flames. A few of the orphans behind her snicker beneath their hands. “Look at the new kid! She’s so dirty! We should call her Cin-”

A chunk of coal smacks the boy right in the forehead and he falls back on his butt, outright stunned. The mischievous smiles of all the other orphans fall as she holds a steaming fire iron like a sword.

“You want to fight?! Fight me like a real person instead of laughing behind my back! Huzzah!”

The children scream in terror, arms in the air as they scatter and run. A bunch of them end up toppling over each other in a heap and you laugh, swinging the device that’s used to poke the fire. The mother of the orphanage comes over in hysterics, dragging you away. “Let go of me!”

“Y/N!” She screeches, “This is unacceptable!”

The small, meager dwelling is in absolute chaos.

They say that midnight is the time when the events of the day have been sealed into fate.

Even the most powerful magicians, witches and warlocks cannot reverse the day again when midnight hits. It’s the glue that seals all envelopes, the second where the ink of the history books have been dried. Time cannot be changed. And it happens all at the magical time of when the clock hits twelve.

[Present Day]

The sea is sparkling in a rich cerulean shade that matches the sky. You look at the sailors in slight envy, thinking about what it would be like to sail across the ocean and if you could possibly sneak on their boats…

“Come get the best silk fabrics!”, “Get your spices, get your spices!”, “The brightest jewels of all the land! Buy them today!”

The town is a lot livelier than the other places you’ve been, a certain bustle at the marketplace and at the stalls. Merely wandering around has improved your own mood. “Young girl!” A swollen lady motions you over. “Would you like a pair of shoes?”

You approach, looking at all the fancy slippers and boots. “You’re not from here, are you?” She looks at you with a smile and you blink at her.

“How did you know?” You glance down at your attire, having purposely changed it to blend in. It was a red dress that went to your ankles, brown buttons at your torso and a cute white flower pattern where the skirt flared out.

“My dear, it was only a guess.” She laughs at how befuddled you are. “I just didn’t recognize you, that’s all. But where did you come from?”

“Oh, I don’t really come from anywhere. I’m a merchant traveller, so I never stay in one place for too long.” Your fingers run along the shoes until you stop at a simple pair of brown loafers. It’s cute and simple with tassels. They’re far from luxurious or any glass slipper.

That’s why you like them.

It’s you. “I’ll take these ones.”

“Good choice.” She grins and wraps them up nicely in parchment. There are only a few coins left in your pockets to spare once you hand her the money. “Is there any reason you came here though?”

“Actually…” You lean in, “I’m looking for a ship.”

“A ship?” The lady’s brow raises. “What for?”

“To sail across the sea. Do you know where I could find one?”

“I’m afraid I don’t.” She chuckles at how crestfallen you look, “And it’s quite expensive, don’t you think? I don’t think I’d be able to afford it even if I sold everything I had! Best of luck, child. I hope all goes well to you and come again if you need shoes!”

You slip on your loafers immediately after leaving the stand. It matches quite well with the ensemble you have on and you’re wholeheartedly satisfied with your purchase. You’re so happy, staring down at the soft leather that you nearly ram into someone and them in turn, almost steps on your new assets. “Hey! Watch where you’re going!”

Your scowl and ironic shout goes ignored. No one pays any attention as the squire in front tacks something on the board of the town hall. Everyone’s gathered, murmurs and squeals emitting from young women’s mouths. You sigh, walking off until a messenger boy interrupts.

“The Royal Ball! Mandatory for all citizens! Everyone is welcome into the castle! The prince will be looking for his future queen! Make sure to come!” He’s waving a curled up piece of paper, the flyers sandwiched in his armpit. The boy stops you right as you’re stomping off and he shoves one of the flyers into your hands. “Make sure to come too, pretty miss! Prince Seokjin is looking for a wife!”

The Royal Ball.

What was this? A stupid matchmaking dance party?

With a scoff, you crumple up the paper and chuck it behind you. Every other girl your age would be fainting at the opportunity, running to seamstresses to collect the most beautiful gowns and pampering themselves with powders. But you could care less. You didn’t want to be royalty or queen for that matter. All you wanted was a ship. And all you needed to achieve your goal was…

“Money or gold.” You murmur, backtracking in your mind as your steps reverse. Your fingertips swipe the crumpled ball and you open it up again. “The castle…”

A light sparks in your head.

If everyone was to be in attendance this evening then it definitely would be chaotic.

You smirk, mumbling to yourself as you tuck the paper away. “A perfect time for a heist.”

The night arrives quickly.

There are hordes of people in ballgowns, colours of mustard yellow and vomit green. They appear in horse carriages to flaunt off their nonexistence wealth, each carrying a red sealed envelope invitation. The women’s faces are thickly powdered, colours on their eyelids dynamic to the point that it resembles peacocks. They look like they painted their faces on so thickly that you could probably peel it off like a sticker and you wonder if they played a game of ‘how tight can we make our corsets’. The men are no different, clothes extremely tight that it’s disturbing and their white wigs crammed on their skull. All of the people and peasants are boisterously laughing, attempting to draw attention from the prince who’s nowhere in sight.

It’s not like you care. You’re here for one reason and one reason only.

The moon is illuminating your shadow in the trees. No one notices when you jump the branches and sneak in further. For a millisecond, you’re pleased with how hungry you used to be in the orphanage since it taught you how to climb apple trees and swipe fruit from the farmers.

Somehow you make it past the royal guards, landing inside the botanical gardens and swinging off an orchard branch. A crunch in the leaves puts you immediately on alert and you dive for the wall but then you realize it’s the wind.

You’re in.

There’s no time for celebrations when you haven’t actually completed your mission yet.

You slip inside, amazed at the magnificent hallways and how gold adorns the trimming of the white walls. A moment later, you’re contemplating swiping a vase or painting but they’re far too heavy and large to bring away…….perhaps a decoration trinket might be enough…..

“Hmm. He is kind of handsome.” Each of the portraits are of a different royal member but you find yourself staring up at the infamous Prince Kim Seokjin. A mop of brown hair with eyes to match but his orbs are rounded in a way that looks far too innocent. He does indeed live up to his attractive name and you can at least understand a little more why so many fawn over him.

He probably won’t have any problem finding a wife tonight.

Just as you turn to keep walking, you don’t realize that someone’s right there. And that someone is strikingly familiar to the portrait.

Jin strides by, lost in his thoughts and he too does not notice the girl who’s lowering her head down. It’s too late when it occurs to him. His shoulder accidentally collides with the other person and it shatters him from his trance. He spins on his heel. “Excuse me, you’re not suppose to- huh.”

There’s no one there.

He must’ve imagined it.

Kim Seokjin continues on his way, having no time to waste as he is late to his own party.

You breathe a sigh of relief as the footsteps fade. When the coast is clear, you slither out from your hidden spot, graciously thankful that there was a hidden gap between two walls that you slid into. You were nearly caught by the prince himself. What a disaster that would’ve been.

Unfortunately, you aren’t completely lucky.

You have no idea how to get around the castle and you find yourself utterly lost for god knows how long. You turn left and right, walk up and down several stairs, forward and backwards. It’s a literal maze. The halls are replicas of each other, twisting paths and you swear you’ve been in circles. At some point you contemplate jumping from the second level window, only to envision yourself breaking your own goddamn neck.

“Hey! Who are you?!” A roar booms through the empty corridor. “You’re not suppose to be here!”

You crane your neck at a snail’s pace, met with two royal guards. At the sight of you, their eyes grow wide and your grip on a golden goblet slips through your fingers. “THIEF!”

“Oh shit.” Your legs propel you forward and you rush down a hall, knocking over plants when you can. Out of nowhere, three other royal guards come out screeching, whipping out their swords. “You don’t play any games, do you?!”

You leap down a flight of stairs, darting past the gardens that you came from. With your quick reflexes and the years of experiences from being in similar situations, you step on the wooden bench and fling yourself over the fence. The guards scream at you and five more come running from the left. You should be scared. You should be terrified. Instead you’re laughing your head off while sprinting off.

What a sight it must be for a hoard of twenty royal soldiers to be chasing after one girl.

It’s a miracle when you find the exit and right as you’re about to book it to freedom, you find another figure like you running. Except she’s in a lovely, blue ball gown that looks like the stars were sewn into the silk and you see the familiar prince- “Wait! Wait! Where are you going?!”

“Fuck.” You sharply turn right, making a bunch of the guards smash their faces onto the ground when they try to tackle you down. The Heavens are blessing you when Prince Seokjin is too busy chasing after some chick and the guards are caught off guard by your turn.

“Wait, I don’t even know your name!”

You plunge into the bushes.

Midnight strikes the clock.

There’s a saying that criminals always return to the scene of the crime. You’re not exactly sure who came up with this line but one thing’s for sure - they don’t know shit. Why the hell would you ever go back?

Rule number one in thievery, if something doesn’t work out, you get the fuck out.

You’re not going to linger around to wait for them to catch you. That’s why the minute dawn hits, you’re booking it to the borders, ready to run to the next town...but your plan is slightly flawed.

“W-what do you mean I can’t leave?” You fail to hide your face under the hood when you look straight at the soldier with your eyes nearly falling out of its sockets. “What?!”

“I am deeply apologetic but it is a royal declaration that has been put out this morning by the King himself. All the borders and entrances are closed off. It applies to everyone. No one can leave or enter. Please understand.”

This Kingdom does not play any games. But did they really need to go this far for one measly thief? You didn’t even end up stealing anything! On the brighter side of things, it didn’t seem like the guard in front of you recognized you at all.

“You see...my grandmother is very ill...she’s on her deathbed. I must go immediately.” You fib without thinking, easy lies that roll off your tongue. To add to the dramatics, you even begin to sniffle, pretend that you’re a poor maiden in grief.

“I-uh…” The guard is muddled, not knowing how to comfort you. “I am so sorry but I cannot go against orders. I am sure that the borders will open up very shortly. As soon as the Prince finds the girl.”

“The girl…?”

The soldier doesn’t say any more and you don’t need him to. The entire town is full of rumours and whispers. There’s a handful who are crying on the streets, frowning and mourning their loss of grabbing the precious prince’s attention. The rest seem to be mystified, word having that this ‘so called’ girl was an absolute beauty and a perfect match for the prince.

He had become incredibly infatuated and was now searching the entire land.

Now you can only hope that he finds this chick quickly so you can get the fuck out.

“It’s a shoe. They’re trying on some glass slipper or something…” A vendor giggles, “If only my foot wasn’t so big, I would’ve fit in it.”

That’s odd.

Did they really think a shoe would be enough to determine-

“Excuse me.” Someone taps you on your shoulder. As you turn, you detect the colours of the kingdom and the imperial seal. You freeze. “Excuse me, miss?”

The royal palace soldier is bewildered at how you lower your head. “I-I…” You fake a large cough. “-am very sick. Very contagious.” You force yourself to hack your lungs out. “-death…...Goodbye.”

“Wait a second!” The short squire in a powdered white wig stops you and three other soldiers block your path. “It will only take one short second! Can you please try on this slipper? It is required by the royal family!”

The squire doesn’t care that you are dressed like a peasant. He is simply exhausted from running around since four in the morning, gone through at least a hundred homes and a thousand feet. “Do you have any paperwork? What family are you from?”

“Uhhhh…..” You’re a fish out of waters, mouth opening and closing multiple times. “I…”

If they knew you were without paperwork...that you had snuck into the kingdom or worse...that you broke into their precious king’s castle last night….you’d surely be arrested and hung.

“There’s no time!” The squire screeches out, hysterical without proper sleep.

The short man shoves you back - “HEY!” - ignoring your cry of protest as the guard catches your fall. The squire takes your foot, and throws your brand new loafer into the dirt. “Are you serious right now?!” You’re unable to struggle when he forces a glass slipper on your toes. “WHAT THE F-”

It fits.

The shoe fits.

The shoe fucking fits. It slides in like a glove, like it was perfectly made for you.

“Oh no.” “Oh yes.” “We’ve found her.”

Everyone exchanges looks, the squire ready to burst into tears from happiness and the guards in shock. You are appalled, ready to run over the mountains and never return to the godforsaken place but then they’re hauling you off.

“No! No wait! You’ve got the wrong person! I’m not her! I wasn’t even there that night! NO!”

It must be karma.

They’re right. Criminals do always return to the scene of the crime after all.

‘The prince must see for himself!’ and ‘there’s no other choice’ is what they told you while they bathed you from head to toe. They scrubbed your skin clean, trimming your hair and polishing your nails. It’s not much of a makeover but a whirlwind of makeup and mirrors.

When you can finally catch a breath, you’re seated at a vanity. A maid is powdering your face with an intense vigor, causing you to cough at the puffs appearing in the air. She goes as far as tying up you in a tight corset dress and plastering a white wig on your head. “Are you excited to meet the prince?”

“Hardly.”

“What?” The maid frowns, confused as if you had said you hated puppies and cake frosting. “Why?”

“I know this is hard to believe.” You grab her hands, looking in her eyes desperately. “But I’m not the girl. They have the wrong person.”

“That doesn’t make any sense!” She squeals out, “the shoe fits!”

You have no response to that ridiculousness and the maid ends up brushing you off, too far gone in her excitement. “Well you look absolutely beautiful, miss! And I’m sure you’re just not remembering things! If the shoe fits then it fits!” She exhales a breathy sigh. “I’m so excited for the royal wedding! It’ll be beautiful! I can hear the bells chiming already!”

“Wedding?!”

You might faint.

Meanwhile, Kim Seokjin is marching down the hallway, his white cape flowing behind him. His attendees are just as ecstatic, large grins on their faces that swell their cheeks. The prince’s mind is racing a mile, ready to confess the thousand things he’s thought of to the person who’s stolen his heart.

“We’re here, your majesty.” The servant bows his head and some of the maids jump for joy.

The maid who was helping you earlier is outside the room. “She is ready.”

If Jin was being frank, he’s not quite sure if he’s ready himself.

Nonetheless, the doors open for him and he inhales, stepping inside. They close a second later and the woman of his dreams is standing in the middle of the room, back towards the prince.

He fumbles with his pockets, scrambling for the box and ring. The prince is unaware of your rage and animosity. “My beautiful princess….you have stolen my heart and now I think of no one but you, my fair maiden. Please, will you do me the honour of marrying-”

You turn around.

Jin’s face falls.

There’s two minutes of complete silence. You’re staring back at him with an unimpressed expression. He’s gaping at you, the exact same state you were in earlier.

“You’re not her.”

“Damn straight I’m not!” You throw off your wig, hitching the ugly, massive ball gown in your hands to stride up to him. Prince or not, how dumb could he be?!

“Did you really think a shoe would work?!” You lecture the baffled man, not caring if you’ll be executed in a blink of an eye. Your finger pokes him directly in his chest. “It’s a shoe. One shoe size. I bet one hundred other girls could fit in that damn thing!”

It’s almost comedic, the way Kim Seokjin’s eyes are big and rounded, staring back at you. Up close he is indeed handsome but he has more boyish qualities than what you expected. He’s a lot bigger than you are too, especially in height and his much broader shoulders. Contrastingly enough however, he seems like a child and you have an urge to protect him. With his soft ruffled black locks and his head tipping to one side at your indignation, he looks completely innocent. He looks naive.

“Huh.” -is all that comes from his mouth.

In your hands are the leather loafers. You dust them off, kicking off your pinching shoes and sliding your pair on. By then, Jin’s already dragged his feet out the room, pale as a ghost.

The king is frozen like ice. Some might say that he was cursed by an evil witch, turned to stone. But no. Simply, he is wholeheartedly shocked by his son and what utters from the boy’s mouth.

The courtyard silence is broken when the queen’s palm meets her forehead in a slap.

“What do you mean she’s not the girl?!” The king cries out in dismay, “How irresponsible can you be, Seokjin? We’ve wasted so many resources...so much time to search for this girl and now you tell me the one we found is not it?!”

His parents threw a huge ball for him, inviting anyone that was breathing into the castle and when that wasn’t enough, they sent out every single royal guard to look for one girl that their son was continuously gushing about. “It’s humiliating!” All the citizens in the town were now expecting a wedding and if there wasn’t any news soon…

“I’m sure we can find her!” Jin protests, “She has to be somewhere under the sun! And when I find her, I promise that I won’t-”

“Marry the girl that fits the shoe.” His mother slams down her fist, booming an ultimatum throughout the entire castle. “Or marry that princess from the faraway land.”

The prince parts his lips but he knows that once his mother has made her command, no one can change it. He stands there for a long time, contemplating and weighing each option. Then he decides-

“I’ll marry the girl.”

He’s going to marry you.

Not really.

He said it to ward off his parents. If Jin was anything, he was tenacious and once he set his heart on something, he swore to himself he would do it. And he’s going to find her.

No matter what it might take.

“Boo.” Your gentle voice visibly scares the man as he jumps and lets a yelp out of his mouth. “What are you doing?”

“I could ask you that!” He shouts but then cringes, quieting down before he draws attention. You run your eyes over his figure and he’s long abandoned his princely attire. The cape is draped on the chair and instead he’s sporting a brown tunic and belt, boots and gloves, much like what a hunter would wear.

“Going somewhere?”

“N-no.” Jin protests but then you look directly at the open window and how his leg is sticking out halfway. “Maybe I am. But that’s none of your business. In fact, what are you even doing in my bedroom quarters?”

“You’re the one who brought me here.” You cross your arms. “We both know I’m not who you’re looking for. But they won’t let me leave. So, I came here for answers. Though it seems like you already have plans.” You gesture to him wildly, how there’s a sack over his shoulders and how he looks like a burglar, except this is own home.

He’s running away.

“Don’t try to stop me.”

“Don’t worry.” You flop down onto his plush mattress. For a second, you’re in absolute awe of how you sink in like it’s made from feathers. “I won’t.”

“You...won’t?”

Jin looks at you in all his confusion, not used to being able to do exactly what he desires. As he tilts his head to one side and blinks at you with his rounded eyes, you wonder why the guy is so innocent and naive.

You sigh, “You have no real plan, do you?” He blinks again. “Do you even know your own kingdom? How will you get around? And how will you go about without being recognized or caught?”

“You’re right….”

“Of course I’m right.” You scoff. “Do you know how long I’ve been doing this sort of thing for?”

Seokjin reaches his hand out. “Then come with me.”

“What?” Your jaw drops and you shake your head. “No. I don’t think so. I’ll just stay here until you come back with your girl, alright?”

“No.” He smirks. “You’re completely right. How could I ever possibly find her without your help?”

“I-”

“And do you know what will happen if I can’t find her?” Prince Seokjin takes a step closer to you, another step...another step. Your back hits against the mattress and you stare up at him-

“You’ll have to marry me.”

You cock your eyebrow upwards. “Is that a threat?”

He considers it for a while and nods. “Yes it is. So what will you decide, fair maiden?”

The leather loafers on your feet don’t move an inch. Your eyes connect to his while your mind scrambles, weighing all the options. Jin beckons you forward. You exhale in exasperation, grabbing the black cloak that hangs off of his golden rack and you heave yourself upwards.

“Do you even know my name?” You drop the black cloak on his head.

Jin grabs it, revealing his grin. “I don’t.”

You look out of the window, thankful that the distance isn’t too much. “It’s Y/N.” And you jump.

Midnight strikes the clock.

The maid is doing her daily rounds. Last night while finishing her job, she had caught you sneaking into the Prince’s quarters. She couldn’t help but giggle and blush. “Oh how active the youth are…” But now dawn has long risen and the king was asking for his presence.

As much as she hated to interrupt whatever the two of you are up to, she has no other choice.

“Excuse me…” Her hand knocks several times on the surface of the door. “Prince Seokjin, your father is requesting for you.”

Upon hearing silence, she decides to crack the door open.

If she sees you lying in bed with him, then she’ll just have to shut it softly and make up some excuse in front of the royal parents. After all, she didn’t want to stop any heirs from being made…

“Prince Seokjin…?” The door swings open when the knob slips from her fingers. “......”

The maid’s scream ricochets throughout the entire castle. A swarm of guards come running, other servants hot on their heels. They all gasp at the sight and someone faints.

Prince Kim Seokjin is gone. There’s a single note on his bed. It reads: ‘I’ll be back’

Daybreak has arrived hours ago and so far you’ve been to three stores.

All of the cordwainers and shoemakers have been bewildered by the glass slipper, asking about the origin since it was just yesterday that the squire had been running around with a similar shoe. You don’t blame them for their curiosity. The glass slipper looks like it’s made from ten different mirrors, sparkling and glimmer with each turn. The light hits in it such a way that’s as if it’s made from magic.

You manage to brush it off their questions by mumbling that you found it somewhere. But when you’re the one who bombards them with questions, if they know who could’ve possibly made it or if someone’s ever bought something like this, they absolutely have no idea.

“I’m hungry.” Jin complains, immaturely whining and putting his head on your shoulder. “I’m hungry. Buy something for me.”

In addition to Seokjin being innocent and naive, you learn he’s quite childish. It feels like you’re babysitting a toddler.

“Go buy something then!”

“I don’t know what tastes good.” He pouts and then speeds up to walk alongside you. “Why isn’t anything working out? How come no one knows anything?”

“Beats me.” You shrug, slowing down and looking at the market stands. “Did you really think it would be easy though? Quite honestly, of all the places I’ve been, I’ve never seen a glass slipper in my life before...how does someone even walk in that without the glass shattering and causing your feet to bleed?”

You tap his shoulder to stop. “Wait here.” Seokjin nods and obeys your word like the puppy that he is.

When you leave him, he takes the opportunity to look around. The market is bustling with his citizens, the sky bright blue and the ocean whips waves every so often. It’s refreshing. His entire life has been comprised of being trapped in castle walls, studying and reading. Whenever he could have fun, it was either wandering around the royal gardens or boring games of chess, all under close supervision.

This is the first time that he’s been out. The first time when he can breathe the fresh air, see the people that he’ll be governing….

“Here.” You return shortly after, putting some bread into his hands. “Eat up.”

Jin stares at it and his eyes flicker up to you. Somehow without needing to say anything, he’s already caught on- “Did you pay for this?”

“Of course I did…” You laugh nervously. “Stop asking questions and just eat it.”

“You didn’t pay for it, did you?” The Prince eyes you and you make no reply. “Y/N.”

“I didn’t okay?” You whisper out harshly. “But hurry up before we get caught!”

Jin scoffs at you and pushes you aside. He disregards your ‘what the hell are you doing?!’ and marches right up to the stand. He pulls several golden coins out of his pocket and hands it to the lady. “Thank you for this.” She’s bewildered but takes the money anyhow. The older woman is charmed by his good looks, not interrogating him and luckily she doesn’t realize who it really is.

“Was that so difficult?” He walks back to you, taking a big ol’ bite. “Are you a criminal or what?” As it comes out of his mouth, you watch his eyes widen. “Oh my- you’re that girl! The one I ran into! I knew I saw someone!”

“You’re mistaken, your majesty.” You grit out, emphasizing his title. Grabbing onto his sleeve, you drag him along. “I’m a travelling merchant. Just...sometimes things happen to appear in my pockets.”

“So you’re a kleptomaniac?” He laughs out loud. “You’re a criminal then.”

“And at this rate, I’m a kidnapper too.” You spit out, hurling him towards the alley. Jin almost yells out but you cover his lips with your hand. He looks down in his fist and is thankful that the bread didn’t fling out. “Shush.”

Two royal guards are looking around and fortunately enough, they stop right by the alleyway without seeing you.

“Have you seen him at all?” One says to the other, murmuring to his companion. “I can’t believe the prince is lost.”

“Maybe he was kidnapped by that girl.” He shudders. “She was quite feisty when we took her in.”

“Shh…” The other looks around. “Not too loudly. Remember what the king said? We have to bring him back without drawing any attention. It would be bad if people knew.”

“Right. Well then, I’ll probably head left. You should lead right. If you run into anyone or anything, just shout it out and a bunch of us will come running.”

The man nods in agreeance, “Let’s find his royal highness before we get into trouble.”

A sigh of relief blows from your parted lips when the guards walk away. Though when you turn back to the prince who’s, quite literally, in your hands….you realize he’s been gazing at you the entire time. The pair of you are pressed up right next to each other and you don’t miss the way his pupils are focused on your lashes and flickers down to your cupid’s bow. He smirks against your palm and then…

“Did you just kiss my hand?!” You draw away from him with a disgusted expression.

Seokjin laughs menacingly and takes a chomp of his bread. He goes on ahead without waiting for you. “Where are we off to next, fair maiden?”

You’re starting to realize that the prince is indeed a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

“I haven’t seen something so delicate and beautiful before. In all my years…” The spectacles of the old man glassmaker sits on the tip of his nose. “This is absolutely phenomenal.”

He nurses the glass slipper in his hands. You look at him carefully. “So...do you know where this might’ve come from?”

“I-...” The man sighs and sets down his glasses. “I really can’t say. I’ve never seen something like this.”

You and Jin trade looks, disappointment washing over his features and you let out a heavy breath. “I can say however…” The glassmaker wraps the shoe back into its parchment. “...there might be a place….”

“A place?!” Jin leans over the table, his orbs sparkling. You try to tug him down but to no avail. Thankfully, the old man is without his glasses and cannot discover that it’s the royal prince inside his modest shop. “What place is it?”

“On the outskirts of the next town over, slightly into the countryside.” The glassmaker chuckles at his enthusiasm. “My old friend there has a shop much like this one but he has a shoemaker for a wife, so I bet they’d know a thing or two. It looks like something they’d make together anyways.”

“Thank you.” Seokjin grabs the man’s hands, bowing his head slightly with a huge grin on his face. You shuffle him over, mumbling ‘alright, alright’ while you scribble down the directions.

As you finish, you find Jin closely gazing at all the trinkets in the cases. The sunlight refracts against the ornaments and radiates a light onto his face, reflecting in shades of the rainbow. “Your husband is very lovely, madam.” The old man chortles and you stare at the prince with a hum.

There’s no point in correcting him. “I suppose so.” And for some reason, you don’t want to either.

“Are you okay?” Kim Seokjin lowers his head to meet your glued eyes and his lips are pouted together cutely. “Fair maiden, what are you thinking about so deeply that you can’t even hear me right now?”

“N-nothing.” You finally get a grip on yourself, peeling your irises away from his. A heat creeps up on your cheeks but you ignore it, clearing your throat loudly. “I’m just thinking.”

“About?”

“The royal guards are inspecting everyone who’s leaving. How will we-”

Jin frowns when you don’t finish your sentence. His eyes follow your line of sight, straight onto the- “Oh no.”

“Oh yes.”

“That’s….”

“It’s the only way.”

You capture his hand, pulling him towards it and the man in your grasps whimpers.

The sun soon falls and the moon takes its place, the sky shifts into a black shade like a flickering candle has been blown out. It would be otherwise freezing cold but you’re pulled up right against him. The royal highness whose mint breath ghosts across your skin, so close that you can hear his heartbeat and every inhale he takes. It’s been hours since you’ve been like this.

The two of you snuck onto a hay cart that was being transported to the next town over. It was being pulled by a horse and a farmer that was partially blind and a little bit dumb. He didn’t realize that there were two humans under the itchy blanket covering his hay. And the soldier that let him pass also failed to realize this.

You both have managed to escape successfully but at what cost?

You’re extremely uncomfortable, your side sore and you haven’t been able to move an inch; too scared that the man who’s whistling and leading the horse would notice. Thus, the pair of you are still facing each other like lovers in bed, except each of you are diverting your eyes, refusing to look at the other.

It’s been hours. And by the farmer talking to himself, you figured out that there was three more to go.

“Fair maiden…” Jin murmurs quietly and the velvet of his soft voice immediately grabs your attention. You wonder why he keeps calling you that. “You told me you’re a merchant traveller. But where is your travelling group?”

He supposed that talking to you would pass the time more quickly and be far less awkward. Plus, he was incredibly curious about you. There were so many things that he hungered to know.

“I’ve been playing it solo for awhile...just travelling on my own.”

A bit more truthfully, it was because you never felt included with them. They were all business-oriented, calculating and strict with the schedule. You preferred to play it by ear and see where unknown paths lead you. At some point, you felt too held back and decided to take a short break from the other merchants.

“How did you become one?”

A direct question like that would usually feel intrusive. But rather, you could feel the sincerity within his sparkling eyes. Jin was genuinely curious about you. He wanted to know more about the outside world after being stuck within the palace his entire life.

“I’m actually an orphan.” You reminisce with a smile. “And was not a very obedient child.”

Prince Jin muffles some laughter as he sinks his teeth into his bottom plush lip. “I can see that.”

“Someone eventually took me to sell me as a slave.” Jin frowns and is disgusted by the idea of human trafficking - especially since it involves you. “But then I proved myself useful with my...naturally…..talented hands…” You laugh nervously about revealing your stealing tendencies to a law-abiding prince. “So I was instead traded off and the merchants decided to keep me until I was old enough to help with their business.”

You don’t know why you’re telling him so much but Jin is a listening ear that you’ve never had before. He’s sincerely interested and not just asking to create small talk. “I’m actually looking for a ship.”

He smiles brightly. “Why?” Even in the darkness, he can tell your eyes are glittering at the topic.

“For adventure. My entire life I’ve been going on foot and I’ve only heard about the merchants who go to sea. It looks so wonderful and beautiful out there...freeing. Not only that but a ship is a great way to escape easily.”

Jin laughs even louder. The farmer doesn’t notice as he’s halfway to dozing off and still whistling to himself. “So, you want to be a pirate? Raid and steal and then flee?”

“No….” You pout and he represses the urge to squish your cheeks together.

“You know….if you work for the King, you’d have to go on a lot of trips overseas. You could see the world and do all of the things you’ve wanted to do.”

“What are you implying?” You look at him with a serious expression. “That I become your royal subject? Or your royal advisor?”

Suddenly, there’s a bump in the road. The wheel of the cart strikes directly at a rock and the cart jostles violently. You feel yourself hitting the side and you shut your eyes tight to not make a sound. Instinctively, your hands jolt out to grab onto his shirt but before you’ve even realized, Jin’s already secured an arm over your waist to keep you still.

If you were close to him before, now you were pressed right up against him.

“That you stay with me.”

Your heart stutters and your tongue refuses to roll off words. You blink at him harshly, barely able to see his features when it’s this dark out and your only source of light is the moonwash pouring through the holes of the blanket. “I’m a free woman.”

“Then what would it take for me to keep you?”

You swallow hard and he smirks. “Would I have to steal your heart?”

At the greasy line, your mesmerization is shattered. You scoff and roll your eyes. “Not if I steal yours first, Seokjin.” It’s rude to address him without his royal title and he’s been wired to punish anyone who doesn’t but with you, he likes it too much.

He’s definitely not as innocent as you thought he was.

It’s an hour away from midnight by the time you arrive. You’re snickering in giggles as the both of you help each other climb out of the cart. “HEY!” The farmer shouts but by then, you and Jin are already holding hands and booking it into the trees.

You make it onto the street of the small town and remarkably, it’s flitting with people.

The doors of all the shops are open. The lights of the interior are glowing out to the cobblestone path. The scent of baked bread lingers in the crisp air and there are children running around with each other. Street performances are playing and families huddled together, reminding you of a festival. It’s a warm ambience.

“So, you just...fell in love with her?”

It was your turn to ask questions. And you couldn’t stop yourself from prying about this mysterious girl that he was this desperate to seek out.

“Yes.” He exhales breathlessly, nose bitten red from the chills. “It was simply love at first sight. It’s a feeling. I knew she was my true love.”

You’re silent for a long time. “....uh huh..well then.” When Jin looks over, he realizes that you’re holding in your laughter.

He halts in his tracks and crosses his arms like a child throwing a tantrum. “Why are you laughing?”

You allow your giggles to break free and you apologize as you wipe your eyes. “It seems ridiculous, don’t you think? How did you know it was true love? All from just one dance?”

Seokjin is visibly frustrated when he throws his head backwards and spins to face you. “You just don’t understand. It’s this feeling...ugh!” He can’t explain it in words and at that moment you’re about to laugh again, a yelp falls from your mouth.

Kim Seokjin grabs you and begins dancing to the man playing the fiddle.

“What are you doing?” You whisper out harshly, looking around in embarrassment. There are a few children dancing too but no adult and certainly not in the way you two are.

His palm is clasped against yours, other hand on the small of your back while your hand is placed on his shoulder. It’s a less fancy version of the waltz, incorporated with some dramatic twirls in the middle of the slow pace. Jin laughs but you manage to step in time with him.

“You dance?”

“Not really.”

“Lies.” He grins, watching as each time his foot moves back, yours moves forward. You’re dancing impeccably and though not as gracefully as a duchess or an aristocrat, he enjoys being kept on his toes. “Where did you learn?”

You shrug, not noticing how several people have stopped to observe you both in astonishment and how more children are joining in. The fiddler is smiling wide, picking up with his playful tune. “I travelled a lot so I picked up a few things along the way.”

Jin dips you backwards deeper than necessary but his arm is secured around your waist, pulling you right back up to him. You laugh at the movement and the pair of you continue to move fluidly. His hood is down, face revealed in the lights but no one for a second would even suspect that he’s the prince. Who could even imagine that he would be on the street of the town next over, dancing with a merchant girl.

But he is. He’s right here with you in his arms. Jin is leading and you’re swaying to the rhythm, pressed against his body. He’s holding you close to him, millimeters away and an inch from your noses touching. You’re holding your breath without meaning to. It’s strangely intimate. To the point where your heart races and you feel like you’re melting into sweet cream.

“This is the feeling.” He says in a mellow murmur. “This is it.”

Prince Kim Seokjin with a mop of brown hair and rounded eyes is most definitely not innocent.

You’ve made a huge mistake believing that he was a naive boy. No. He’s a snake in tall grass. A mischievous trickster, a wolf in sheep’s clothing and he knows exactly what he’s doing. With his little, sly smirk and his irises flickering down to your lips…..he knows you’re heated clay in his fingertips.

And you’re falling for it.

The two of you are leaning in for a kiss, his forehead grazing against yours and the strands of his locks tickling your skin. You’re focused on his soft lips, waiting for them to touch yours. The moment has been long awaited……

You falter.

Jin opens up his eyes again and gazes into yours with worry, wondering why you stopped.

“What are you going to do when you find her? That girl that you’ve been looking for.”

He swallows hard, knowing that he’s come this far and has no other choice now.

“I have to marry her.”

Midnight strikes the clock.

In the morning, you easily find the little store on the corner of the street.

There’s an awkward tension dawdling but neither you nor Jin addresses it. The adventure you have with him is ending soon and that’s all you can focus on. He wants to find the girl. And you’ve agreed to help him. Any minute now, you’ll be parting ways.

“Do you know who might’ve made this or who bought it?” You whisper, side glaring at the milkmaid who’s obviously eavesdropping. “It’s very important.”

The man calls over his wife and the two inspect the glass slipper together. They’re both concentrated and in awe at the magical shoe that glimmers with every turn. Jin is hitching his breath as your hands are clenched in anticipation. This could be it.

The woman opens her mouth- “I’m sorry. We don’t know.”

It’s a dead end. Again.

Seokjin doesn’t speak a word when you’re exiting through the door. He thanks them and catches up with you fairly quickly. “Y/N-” You’re on the verge of crying and he realizes it in a heartbeat. “Hey...it’s okay.”

“Aren’t you a bit worried?! We’ve been running in circles! There are no answers no matter where we go!” You take the glass slipper that’s wrapped in parchment from his hands. “Why?!” And in the instant of your frustrated recklessness, the fragile object slips from your fingers….

Smashing onto the ground in a million fragments.

Jin doesn’t flinch. You stare at the particles sparkling in the light…..and you burst out crying. “What the fuck?!” The passersby are all glance at you and the prince has no choice but to drag you away from the scene before you draw too much attention.

Yes. He feels like choking you to death but at the same time he doesn’t. Instead, he hooks his arm over your shoulder and buries your crying face into his velvet cloak as he walks off. “Stop crying.” The royal heir commands you in an authoritative, low tone. “Y/N. Don’t make me repeat myself.”

“I’m sorry.” You wipe your face with your sleeves, still upset to no end. Why are you such an idiot? And why were you getting so emotional? “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Seokjin finally lets you go in an isolated area and he pats your head reassuringly. He never expected you to have a clumsy side and with you in hysterics...he finds it a little bit adorable.

You hiccup once, taking a deep breath to calm yourself down. The shoe is long gone and he didn’t even bother to pick up a shard to keep. Everything he’s worked for has been ruined. “How will we search for her now?”

“Well, she should have the other shoe. And I’ll know.” Jin taps his head, indicating his memories and he smiles at you. “You were right after all. It’s kind of stupid to use a shoe.”

He trails away and mutters something under his breath. “MaybeIdon’tneedtofindher.”

“What?” You frown, catching up with him. Unfortunately, you can’t ask for any clarification when the milkmaid from earlier comes running from behind.

“Excuse me! Excuse me!” She’s waving her arm frantically, heaving out her lungs as she grabs her knees to take back her breath. “I-”

Jin’s immediately on guard. “Is there something we can help you with?”

“The...the shoe.” She wheezes out and places her braids back into place when she realizes how handsome he is. “I..my name is Mag. I’m Mag the Milkmaid and I couldn’t help but overhear earlier. It looked familiar like I’ve seen it from somewhere before.”

You and Jin exchange looks.

“I only remembered after you left!” Mag tries to explain herself. “The night of the royal ball...the one where the prince was looking for his maiden…I couldn’t go since my son was ill but I remember seeing this beautiful girl who was wearing the exact same shoe. A very peculiar thing. That’s why I remember it.”

“Oh.” -is all Jin manages to let out.

“Do you know where she is?” You take a step forward, a huge grin forming on your lips.

“Yes! From the house over there!” She points down the long street. “It’s at the end of the road. The family there received an invitation for the ball.”

The both of you thank her graciously and she’s happy to help, skipping on her merry way.

“Aren’t you excited?!” You grab onto Jin’s arm. The guilt that had caused you to melt down has vanished. “This is great news.”

“Yeah.” His lips are tight and he nods firmly. “This is great.”

Seokjin isn’t as visibly happy as you expected him to be. Maybe he’s internalizing it or perhaps like you, he can’t believe it. It’s done. She’s really here. He’ll find the girl of his dreams and they’ll be whisked away into marriage. You don’t dwell on any of those thoughts, rushing to the place that the milkmaid had described.

Your fist knocks on the wooden door thrice. You wonder if there’s anyone home when a full minute passes. “Maybe we’ll just come back another day-” Jin’s cut off short when you pound the door with all your might.

“Who is it?!” An angry shout sounds from within and the door is pulled open. An older woman in a puke coloured dress is on the other side, wearing a disgusted expression and her hand on her hip. “And who are you?!”

You clear your throat, sneaking a peak at the prince behind you. He’s keeping his face downcasted behind his hood and when his eyes catch a glimpse, he shakes his head. That’s not her.

“Does anyone else live in this household?” You clear your throat to sound dominant when she doesn’t budge an inch. “I am a messenger from the Kim Royal Family. I was sent by Prince Seokjin himself.”

The lady’s mouth drops open. She stutters, eyes bulging and she scrambles. “O-..of course! Come in, come in! My apologies! I just didn’t know who you were. I’m so sorry things might be a mess. My goodness! My goodness!”

The two of you step into her abode. “This is my associate.” You motion to Jin when she glances at him doubtingly.

“Sit down, sit down.” She forces you to the sofa. “Have some tea.” And she pours something lumpy into the tea cups. “I’ll be back in just a moment. Make yourselves at home.”

The way she twirls is quite elegant but the facade is immediately broken when she sticks her head by the staircase. “Girls!” Her voice is terribly shrill and it rings in your ear. Jin, sitting beside you, also visibly cringes. “Girls! Get down here this instant!”

“What is it now, mom?!” “Don’t you see that we’re busy?!” Heaving footsteps shake the ceiling and they come rumbling downstairs like bulls.

“Get yourself in order!” The older woman pinches her daughters and whispers too loudly. “Someone from the royal palace is here.”

The two girls gasp, straightening out their hair and dresses. They bump each other to use the mirror in the hall, cursing underneath their breaths and picking out the boogers hanging from their noses. You sigh, waiting for them patiently and soon enough, they come sauntering into the living room.

“Good afternoon.” They murmur in unison, dipping themselves. “How can we be of service?”

“Yes. Just..uh...lift your heads.”

The girls look at you in confusion but obey. You hitch your breath, focusing your eyes onto Jin’s. He gawks at them and….shakes his head. “They’re not her.” He leans in to whisper and you sigh.

“Is there anyone else in this household?”

The older woman laughs nervously. “Of course there isn’t. There’s no one else. I can guarantee you that.”

If there was one thing you know after working in the burglary business all your life - you know when someone’s acting suspicious.

“Y/N?” Jin stands up after you when you march past the women.

“Excuse me!” They trail after you in sharp exhales, dramatic gasps following. “Excuse me!”

You break into every single room, kicking down every single door. “This is highly inappropriate!” The middle aged woman screams after you, sounding like a predoctoral as everyone parades up the stairs behind you. “Excuse me! NO!”

There’s a locked door leading up to where the attic is. “NO!” You ignore the distraught woman’s scream, not hesitating to bring up your leg. The door goes flying off the hinges as you boot out your foot. The ladies mouths drop open and even Jin is mesmerized at your brute strength.

“You…” There’s a girl that you come face to face with, a peasant whose beautiful enough to become queen. She looks gentle and kind, staring up at you from her seated place on the floor. Her eyes are rounded and wide, seemingly innocent. And her blue gown drapes around her.

“How dare you lie to the prince and the royal family?!” You turn to shout at the women who are scowling at the girl. “You will be rightfully punished for your deceit!” It appals you how dirty and dusty the attic is. You can only shudder when you consider how long the girl’s been locked in here for.

“You’re her, aren’t you?”

The girl stands up, not answering your question and her eyes are connected to the man who pushes himself into the room. Seokjin is without a smile. His gaze is on you. “It’s her.”

Those simple words spoken are enough to overwhelm you. The unknown girl beams and runs into the prince’s arms. “You found me.” She buries her dirtied, pink cheeks into his shoulder. The edges of your lips manage to raise.

He’s found her. “Congratulations.”

Kim Seokjin never stops staring at you.

Cinderella is a nice girl, albeit her name is quite strange. She’s pleasant and compassionate, making it difficult for you to come up with reasons to hate her. All this time, you imagine their love to be shallow but they match well together…..

“I promise your stepmother and stepsisters won’t bring you any harm for the rest of your days.” You reassure her, holding her hands with your own. “They will be punished for what they have done to you.”

“They are still my family...” She murmurs and then smiles gleefully. “Thank you. For everything that you’ve done. I haven’t had a chance to speak much to the prince but he’s spoken very kindly about you. You’ve helped him a lot...and you’ve helped me.”

“Please.” You roll your eyes. “The guy doesn’t compliment anyone but himself.”

She frowns and tips her head to one side. “No. I don’t believe that’s true. He showered you with praise in our conversation.”

“Oh.”

“Ladies. Are you ready? It’ll take a few hours before we arrive at the castle and it’s best if we move before sundown.” The squire is smiling widely, thankful to Heaven and Earth that the prince is in healthy condition and very well alive. It’s been weeks since his grand escape. Upon hearing where he was and how he found the girl of his dreams, a royal carriage was sent urgently to get him.

“Yes.” Cinderella steps inside the carriage. “Are you not coming in with us?”

Jin’s looking out the window and the feeling of sourness somehow appears back on your tongue. “I’m fine. I’ll just sit up front with the coachman.”

The man inside who you’ve been spending day and night with doesn’t spare you a single glimpse. It makes you even more infuriated. “Move.” You misdirect your irritation to the squire.

“Oh, you’re joining us?”

He yelps when you take a huge chunk of the seat, squishing the squire and the coachman right next to each other until the smaller man is practically on the lap of the other. “Alright then. Shall we? Hiyah.” The coachman lightly whips the reins of the horses and it moves forward.

The entire trip back to the castle, you’re mumbling to yourself. The two men at your side frown and exchange glances with each other, wondering if you’ve gone mad. The sound of the girl’s chirpy laughter drifts out. It takes everything in your willpower not to turn around.

Jin can marry and love any girl he wants.

Yet...why are you so upset?

“Are you alright, miss?” The squire inquires for the sake of your sanity.

“I’m quite fine, thank you.” You cut him off short, refusing to speak. With a deep breath, you focus on your surroundings instead.

The sceneries change, town into forest, the bright blue sky into a tangerine hue. It’s quite lovely to be outdoors and refreshing when you take large inhales of the fresh air. Four hours pass by until you’ve arrived back into the borders that you desperately tried to escape so long ago.

The castle comes into view and soon enough, the royal guards are swarming.

“Hey!” One rapidly points as you hop down. “It’s that girl! The thief!”

You’re surprised that the guard still remembers and you nod in amusement. Almost instantly, Seokjin is at your side and he raises his hand in front of you like a shield. “There is no such thing.”

“But-” Another soldier taps the boy’s shoulder and after a swap of expressions, he stands down. “My apologies, your majesty.”

“Isn’t it great to be home...your majesty?” You tease Jin, having not heard the title in a while.

He giggles with you. “Oh, what a home this place is.”

“Is there something humourous?” Cinderella interrupts without bad intentions, genuinely curious as her eyes flicker between the both of you.

“Oh no. It’s just that...I don’t really address him with that title which I know sounds bad since he is prince but uh-” You don’t know exactly how to explain yourself but you don’t need to when the squire comes running back.

“Prince Seokjin!” He’s breathless and dying with his tiny legs. “The King and Queen are calling for your presence immediately!”

Cinderella grabs onto his hand and you stare at it for a second too long. “That doesn’t sound good.”

You smile meekly at his panicked expression. “Don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll understand.”

“Yeah.” Jin returns the smile but in a more sheepish fashion, discreetly letting go of the other girl’s hand. “Let’s hope so.”

The King and Queen are indeed furious with their son. But their anger thaws into relief and happiness when they realize the girl he was looking for has been found. If he’s truly in love with her like how he described, how can you be bitter?

You’re happy for him…..

……. ….. …

Who are you kidding? You’re a thief. Not a liar.

“Knock knock.”

His mischievous grin is seen through the crack of the door and you wonder how such a silly and childish man will someday rule the country. “You know there’s no point in you opening the door and then saying ‘knock knock’ as you knock, right?” You set your belongings aside, plopping down on the bed as he enters.

“How are things?” You ask him. “I haven’t seen you around. You’re so busy these days. Guess the prince is useful after all.”

“Psh. Of course I’m useful. Do you know who I am?” He smiles and sits next to you, finally feeling comfortable after sitting in a long meeting with other dukes and attendants. Jin even kicks off his shoes and relaxes himself. “Things have been fine.” His voice softens and he hesitates. “When are you planning to go?”

“Oh ho ho. Are you planning to kick me out already? After all this time that I’ve helped you? You won’t let me stay here to bask in the luxury for awhile?”

Seokjin pouts and he mumbles, “I never said you couldn’t stay.”

“I don’t know.” You answer truthfully before you decide to tease him some more. “You’re going to give me a ship, right? Well I mean...you don’t have to but since I’ve helped you so much…” You expect a snide comment or maybe for him to actually gift you your biggest desire. But when he makes no comment, you decide to be more serious.

“I might leave soon.”

“You should stay.”

“Yeah...maybe I will.” You nod and let your voice linger off. Then you clear your throat when the air becomes too intimate and you become hyper aware of his close proximity. “Maybe I’ll stay a little while longer. Until the royal wedding.”

He makes a sound, half between a scoff and a laugh. “The wedding....right.”

“When is it? Haven’t you proposed yet?”

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean ‘I don’t know’?” You’re utterly confused at his behaviour, even moreso when he stands and begins to pace in front of you. “You said you’d marry her. It’s what the King and Queen and everyone in this kingdom wants. It’s what you want...right?’

“I don’t know.” He halts and exhales a huge breath. “I just don’t know, Y/N.”

Jin is frantic. You already know what’s bothering him...he just doesn’t know how to propose.

“Look. It really isn’t that difficult. You don’t have to be worried. Any way that you do it will be perfect. Girls eat up anything that’s romantic. She’ll say yes. You and I both know that. Don’t be nervous.”

“That’s not it-”

“Watch.” It’s too painful for you to see him lost. Yes, he’s not as innocent as you thought he was but sometimes you just have to show him how it’s suppose to be done.

“What are you doing?” He watches as you get down on one knee and his breathing hitches when you gaze back into his eyes. “Y/N.”

“Kim Seokjin.” You call his name softly and a creep of a blush sweeps up your cheeks, past your bashful smile. “When I first met you...I was going to raid this entire castle from top to bottom.” He laughs quietly and you giggle. “We haven’t known each other for too long. Probably not long enough to jump into this sort of thing. And I’m sure the both of us who are adult children are nowhere near ready for marriage.”

What started off as a joke has turned into something incredibly sincere. Each word that whispers from your parted lips is dripping with genuinity. “But being on this adventure with you has made me realize something. I don’t want to be alone anymore. I want to be with you.”

“If we can spend the rest of our lives having silly adventures together then I want nothing more.” You inhale a staggering breath, “Will you marry me, Jin?”

“Yes.” He blurts it out without thinking twice. “I’ll marry you.”

The pretend proposal closes up nicely and you hop onto your toes. “See? That wasn’t so difficult. Now you just have to do the real-”

“No.” He strides up to you and engulfs you in his arms. “I want to marry you. For real.”

“What?”

Jin pulls away and he gazes at you in absolute adoration and devotion, gliding his eyes on each of your features. He represses the urge to kiss you right then and there when you’re staring back at him in such confusion. “I want to marry you. Everything that you said...I want to say back at you. You’re ridiculous, Y/N. But I love you.”

“I love the way you can break into someone’s house need be. The way you know what you want. The way that you’re fearless and I didn’t fall in love with you just from one dance. I fell in love with you for who you are and everything that you are….and I am sounding like such a sap, aren’t I?”

“You are.” You grin back at him. “But….I-...what...what are we going to do? We just went searching for this girl and now she thinks you’re going to marry her!”

Seokjin grabs you into another embrace, digging his nose into your shoulder. “We’ll figure something out. We always do. And I’m sure she’s understanding.”

“Are you sure about this, Jin?”

“I’ve never been more sure in my life.”

Turns out that Cinderella isn’t as understanding as you wished her to be. When the two of you broke the news out to her (granted not very well as you kept on delaying the message), she bursted out the room in tears.

The King and Queen are also shocked at their son’s indecisiveness - though they’re not completely surprised with his behaviour. But once they find Jin’s eyes pinned on you, they’re relieved. It’s not like the first time around.

They can tell that this time - it’s true.

“Announcing...the royal engagement of the Prince and the Princess!”

The squire declares it in the courtyard and all the townspeople cheer, throwing up confetti. Jin looks absolutely amazing in his suit, despite him complaining that it’s uncomfortable. Your own attire is a golden dress that falls from your hips like raindrops to the sky. The corset is much too tight for your liking but you suppose you can bear with it when your fiancé can’t stop himself from staring.

At the very least, your toes aren’t being pinched to death. You fought with your life against the maids and in the end, you won. You’re not wearing any fancy shoe or even glass slippers. Just the plain old leather loafers that you’ve grown to love.

The sea is sparkling in a rich cerulean shade that matches the sky. You have never felt happier to be in the place that you are. And the celebrations have just begun.

The children giggle and murmurs of how beautiful the pair are murmured from ear to ear. Cinderella is caught within your line of vision and you find the tears on her face long dried. The coachman is keeping her company and even causing her to laugh with mirth. The King and Queen from their seats, themselves, are exchanging chuckles.

“You know we’re going to have a really long engagement, right?” You lean over to whisper in his ear. “You still haven’t convinced me enough.”

The mischievous prince smirks. “Have I not stolen your heart, love?”

“Hm...I wouldn’t say that.”

“You’ll still be a free woman.” He tells you as he holds your hands. “And I’ve already promised to see the world with you. What else do you need?”

Your hand tightens in his and you plant a gentle kiss on his lips. “I just want to make sure you won’t go running off with a different girl when you have a great dance with her.”

He laughs and kisses you back. “I won’t fall in love with anyone else but you.”

The day bleeds into night. Jin is by your side until the end. Midnight strikes the clock.

#bts scenarios #bts fanfic #jin fanfic #jin cinderella au #jin fluff #sfwbangtan stories #oh man after so much angst #we're doing a 180 on this blog #WELCOME TO THE CRINGIEST FLUFF EVER WOOO!

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