#how are they not as famous as.....(i shall not name them) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

erideights · 8 months

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Little pieces here and there (1)

Pairing: Buggy x Fem!Reader (One Piece Live Action)

Chapters: two, three, four, five

Word Count: 2,6K (i was inspired by god itself)

Warnings: none, lot of context (i promise the next chapter will have way less filling), light flirting

A/N: I HAVE ALREADY THOUGHT ABOUT AT LEAST 5 CHAPTERS MORE, I HOPE SOMEONE LIKES THIS FIRST ONE BECAUSE I'M ON MY KNEES FOR THIS DAMN CLOWN. Let me know if you wanna be tagged in other parts! (Side note: i'm spanish, so if there's some mistakes, i'm trully sorry, i don't have beta readers).

It's not enough to suddenly find herself locked in a box with 3 idiots she met a matter of hours ago, no; To make it worse, as it could not be otherwise, it turns out that she is in a bloody circus, ''kidnapped'' by a band of pirates that she recognizes as soon as she sees the red and white tent over their heads, the distressed faces of the poor people that make up the audience, and the costumes of the band around them.

She sighs, and wonders what the hell she's doing there despite knowing perfectly well what kind of decisions have led her to that damned place. Wanna know what happened? Let's recap, shall we?

(Y/N) (S/N). That name doesn't sound familiar, right? Very few know it but the reputation that accompanies the person who responds to it is very famous throughout the 4 seas. She is not a bounty hunter, nor a marine, neither a pirate or a pirate hunter, like the green-haired hottie with whom she finds herself in such trouble, or a thief, like the ginger who she bet, will escape running without looking back at the slightest opportunity she finds.

No, she's a mercenary. She doesn't work solely for money, otherwise she would go against the most bloodthirsty and ruthless of each sea, and that doesn'tt interest her, because she would put herself on the radar of both the pirates and the marines.

No, she is contacted through different channels, none of them direct, and if the job interests her, amuses her, or even piques her curiosity, she accept it. She goes after all kinds of people, whether they are pirates or marines, gangsters at the top of the terror scale or criminals who, like her, tried to keep a low profile.

However, and as we were saying, despite trying to remain anonymous, she is good at her job, a born strategist with an incredible facility to adapt and blend in with her surroundings to sneak into the most remote places, so her existence inevitably began to be noticed along the seas, rumors about this young mercenary with an angelic face, who only responded to her own morals and of whom few escaped to tell the tale.

And this is how she met that group of weirdos who found each others through the power of the plot's convenience; her last assignment was to steal the map from the Grand Line. There are not many, these kept safe and protected in large fortresses throughout the globe, and among all those that she could have tried to steal, she made the horrible decision of going for the one that was closest to her, encountering those three idiots in the crossfire of the disaster that unfolded in Shells Town.

How did she end up giving up the assignment and at that precise moment there, with them? Simple: Luffy piqued her curiosity. And there are few things stronger than (Y/N)'s curiosity.

"Hey, I know you. I saw your wanted poster in Shells Town, you're the clown guy. Umm, uh… Binky, right?" Luffy exclaimed, as confident of himself as usual.

Buggy, she mentally corrected, arms crossed over her chest, rolling her eyes at the same time the clown corrected loudly and dramatically listed his many nicknames. Which she was sure, only he called himself.

''Wow, you have a lot of names. I bet everyone in the East Blue knows who you are.” The audience gasp. There's confusion in the boy's face, and an almost psychopatic tic in the clown's one. ''What did you just say?'' Buggy asks lowly. ''Just that everyone knows who you are.'' Luffy repeats.

''Nose!? Are you making fun of my nose!?’’

Then came the slap, like the one someone usually gives when a friend is trying to steal their food or touch something they definitely shouldn't. Buggy is killing the straw hat boy with his eyes but the gesture is so… innocent. She expected threats with knives, to be honest.

And because of the unexpected, she almost let a laugh escape in the form of a cough but she controlled herself fast enough to not grab unnecessary attention to her.

''What's real is...'' Buggy resumes the conversation, getting some distance with Luffy to walk around the rest too. ’’I’ve been scheming for months to steal that map from old Axe-Hand moron…’’ (Y/N) sees how he approaches her, but she didn't expect him to close the distance between each other so much, his nose almost touching her own, sharp blue eyes fixed on her from a slightly lower perspective. The truth is... that she also doesn't know how to tell if that nose is real or not, but now she really wants to touch it to find out. Dear God, what a realistic texture. It’s incredible.

Pressing her lips together in a contained expression as she shakes her head, she raises an eyebrow, letting him know that the joke wasn't as funny as he hoped, and he clucks, accepting defeat in such good humor that no one would say, that is a kidnapping and someone would end up dead by the end of the day.

She heard of him. His reward was not one of the highest but neither one of those that go unnoticed in the East Blue. He was also an eccentric, of course people talked about the blue-haired, red-nosed clown who terrified his victims in a macabre way. Those who survived ended up traumatized.

He is, or at least looks, younger than she imagined, and he fit right in with the urban legends of evil clowns kidnapping children and then dismembering them. She wonders, silently, thoughtful eyes scanning his face and body language from a distance, if this is some softie on the inside with high aspirations in life who was unfortunate enough to bump into someone who traumatized him and hence all this show and facade of the cruel and heartless clown -to protect himself as the good cliché he seems- or if, on the contrary, he is, simply and plainly, a yandere who craves attention no matter how he has to obtain it.

If she remembers correctly, there was also a rumor that he ate a devil fruit. Just like Luffy, which it doesn't take long for the clown to discover after Zoro tries to save the situation by showing off his reputation -obviously it doesn't work- and Nami does exactly what (Y/N) predicted. Not her fault, either, she doesn't owe any of them anything at all.

''Okay. Here ends the theatrics.’’ The lights go out and it’s then that everyone can small the disaster in the air. A chill runs down the back of (Y/N), who tends to infiltrate without being seen and avoids, whenever possible, a direct encounter; hand-to-hand combat is not exactly his specialty. And given the circumstances is impossible for her to know if the daggers she usually hides in the side of his combat boots -for emergencies like this one- are still there. ''I know one of you has my map, and I'm gonna get it back. What was it you said, Rubber Boy? That it was in a safe place?”

How long were they unconscious before? Enough to hijack the ship, get to land, and move 4 dead weight bodies to that circus, locking them in a box. By that point she would bet some member of the gang would have thoroughly searched the ship, and them too. Disgusting.

Buggy takes a last, attentive look at both Zoro and Nami, ruling out that one of the two has the map because when the girl tried to flee, Luffy was not shocked thinking that perhaps she would steal it from him. Which leaves the two of them, Luffy and her, alone with him.

''So, please'' the clown gestures to his subordinates with his head. ''make these two guests uncomfortable in the green room. I’m gonna have a chat with my stretchy new pal and…’’ His eyes jump to her, tilting his head to the side with genuine curiosity. ''this beauty that was incapable of taking her eyes off me.''

Fuck. Was it that obvious?

''Doll, you are the only one who hasn't opened your mouth yet and I don't think it's because you’re a shy little flower.'' He begins, circling around her like an animal hunting its prey, analyzing it, hoping to see a chink of weakness to attack. ''Are you bored?'' He asks almost in a whisper near her ear. ''Is that it? Are you so, so bored that you don't think it's worth enough interacting with the rest of us?'' Breaking away from her when he realizes she doesn't falter, he smiles a huge, threatening smile, looking her up and down in such a way that it almost makes her feel dirty. "Or maybe you're the one who has my map, and you're quiet to try not to attract /my/ attention."

She? The map? Wearing such tight pants and top? Yeah, maybe up her ass, but she's not the one who is going to tell him otherwise because if he, or one of his subordinates, comes to search her, she could take advantage of the opportunity to steal some sort of weapon from them.

In particular from Buggy; (Y/N) saw the knives he keeps in his coat and… she wouldn't mind taking a closer look at that interesting nose.

"Busted." She finally admits with a lopsided smile, raising both eyebrows when she sees the surprise on the clown's face. He didn't expect such a cocky response, did he? "I'm not the type of person who likes to attract attention, the spotlight is for others who are more... flashy." She pronounces it honeyedly, repeating the same nickname he used before, pointing at him with a gesture of her chin. "However, I'm not going to tell you where the map is. If you want to find it, come and search for it yourself."

Shrugging her shoulders, she stretches out both arms in a gesture that invites him to come closer. Bold, he thinks, more than pleased with this unexpected turn of events, taking some steps in her direction. She adds once more: "although I would be surprised if you hadn't already done it during the time we have been unconscious"

"Me?" He points at himself, stopping right in front of her. "Take advantage of a defenseless young lady?" He almost sounded offended if it wasn't for the shit eating grin and the eager way he was scanning her body now. "What kind of degenerate do you take me for?"

She scoffs, and Buggy, unsure, seems to consider -for some long seconds- whether or not to do the job himself, (Y/N) being too calm for how helpless she seems. But surely, he knows, she doesn't have any weapons on her; his subordinates were in charge, as she said, of searching all of them as soon as they were brought to the circus.

In the end he gives up, because he would be damned if he dared to refuse to thoroughly touch this mysterious woman who may, just may, have his map hidden somewhere. He strongly doubts it, tho.

Soon enough, he moves again, standing then behind her, and without asking permission, he doesn’t need it either, his hands start roaming her shoulders and sides slowly, making sure to feel anything weird between her clothes and the skin underneath. Like the fucking map, folded until it is nothing more than a small piece of paper easy to hide.

Because that is the whole point of that scene, right?

"Go on, be my guest." she says sarcastically, trying to stay calm and breathe slowly, because (Y/N) likes to pretend to be made of stone, but not /that much/. The pressure of those gloves against her already tight clothes and the hungry way she knows those -green? blue? difficult to say with those circus lights- eyes are watching her every move make her heart beat a bit faster in something she’d call /the average amount of nervousness when a known, wanted pirate search for something we wants while threatening to kill you if he doesn’t find it/.

Buggy, on the other hand, is so engrossed in his task that his usual cocky smile has disappeared a few seconds ago; he is waiting to feel a change in the girl's body language to be able to guess if she has it or if, on the contrary, this search will be saved in his memory as no more than a small pleasurable pause after all the stress that the goddamn map is putting him through. Because he can't deny it, she's actually a beauty, and in other circumstances he wouldn't mind getting to know her in a funnier way. At all.

Inhaling deeply, wetting his red lips with his tongue, he lets the air out slowly, tilting his head to the side to see her better. He should hurry up and stop making that scene as intimate as it's becoming, audience and all, but he's a thorough man. Or that’s the excuse -explanation- he will give to whoever dares to ask.

"Where the hell did you hide my map?" He asks melodiously as he finishes searching her torso, his right hand starting to go a little lower, getting dangerously close to her hipbone when (Y/N)'s right hand flies up and catches his wrist between her fingers, stopping him dead in his tracks. She couldn't help it, she acted on autopilot, she is not ready to be the main character of a porn movie with audience included letting him roaming all around as he pleases. "Not between my legs, so keep lowering your hands and I'll cut them off." she threatens, turning her face to look at him standing behind her.

Right back, as if those words were magical or something, the huge, shit eating smile of his returns to the lips of the unstable clown, and without letting go, he makes her spin, facing her with both hands on her waist, strongly keeping her in place, sharp eyes fixed on her, and without realizing it, she stops breathing for a second. "You promise?" He whispers, pleads almost, in an amused, delighted tone of voice after such a threat. She was way interesting than he expected, not as shy or scared as an unarmed girl like her should be. He likes that. A lot.

However, he has -sadly- things to do and he did in fact, already lost time with her. His eyes betraying him the moment they land on the girl's lips, Buggy winks at her with a cocky expression and pulls away suddenly, raising both arms "Another disappointment, how many more can our audience endure? You’re the only one left, Rubber Boy, don't let me down." He points him, moving closer, while (Y/N) just stays there where he left her, wondering what the fuck just happened and why does her heart run so fast now.

Adrenaline, probably.

"Take her with the others" he ends up saying to a couple of members of his gang, to which she responds by moving on her own in the direction of where they have taken Zoro and Nami before, preventing them from guiding her by force and discovering the knife she stole from Buggy when he got so damn close to her, and which she secretly hid between the waistband of her pants and her shirt.

Risky, she could cut herself with the smallest movement at the least expected moment, but it was way worse to see herself unarmed.

Buggy, infatuated, takes one last look at her and, raising one hand, waves his fingers in the air with a huge smile on his face as he says goodbye to her.

"See you later, love."

#buggy x reader #buggy the clown #buggy one piece #op buggy #one piece live action #buggy x you #buggy the clown fanfiction #one piece #one piece x reader

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chrollohearttags · 4 months

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sister cherry can we get some more sfw firefigher!ace hcs that you have in the vaults. i love him down 🥹🤲🏿🤲🏿

ask and you shall surely receive, my love!! y’all know how I feel about this mannnn omg. him and his stupid smile are in my cranium rent free 😫 driving me insane.

⚠️: fluff, comedy, light kissing and him being an absolute sweetheart

FIREFIGHTER ACE HEADCANONS: PART TWO • SFW EDITION

firefighter!ace is unironically and blissfully unaware of the fact that he’s kind of Twitter/TikTok famous. Somebody happened to get a picture of him and a bunch of other first responders at an event and now he’s known on social media as ‘Firefighter Bae.’ Now he used it to his advantage to post workout vids, safety tips and humor about some of the things they encounter on the job.

firefighter!ace has a special lapel pin he always wears on his uniform or on his persons that he got from his crew mate, who passed in a fire years ago.

firefighter!ace has the HARDEST time letting the pets go from rescues. It can be someone’s dog with a whole name and address on the tag but he’s holding him like it’s his own.

“Are you sure we can’t keep him?” “Ace, give those people their dog so we can go!”

firefighter!ace adoresss kids! He’s always the first pick of the schools for fire safety day because he’s so charismatic and fun that the children just cling to him. Taking them on the fire truck, letting them wear the gear and even playing with them. He was such a natural, you became flustered and began to like him even more.

firefighter!ace gets along with all of your friends/roommates..a little too well in fact! Always going to Robin to snitch on you or Nami to gossip about how temperamental you are! But they adore him so much.

“You know how she is, she won’t listen to anybody.” “Tell me about it, she’s so hardheaded.” “Y’all do know I’m right here, don’t you? I can hear you!”

firefighter!ace owns a motorcycle and is an avid biker. He and his friends race + have their own lil club. He also brought you a matching jacket/helmet to ride with him.

firefighter!ace is suuuper affectionate. His love language is physical touch and always being near his s/o. All but gave up on being discreet when you guys FINALLY started dating and would kiss you on the cheek or grab your waist in front of the whole crew.

“What? I can’t kiss my wife? Assholes.” “You just started dating a month ago, calm down!

firefighter!ace loves when you play with his hair and lets him lay his head in your lap. He finds comfort in it after long days and rough calls. He’s already narcoleptic but he sleeps like a baby when you’re near him. Bonus points if you sing to him, he’s out like a light!

firefighter!ace loves dancing and he’s pretty good at it too.

firefighter!ace wears a matching beaded bracelet or necklace with your name/initials on it all the time. Carries it with him wherever he goes and always kisses it before going into a dangerous situation. And vice versa..to have each other’s strength. Even when you can’t show it.

firefighter!ace is incredibly bashful, despite his appearance, personality and reputation as a playboy. He gets insecure occasionally that you’ll find better.

“I know it’s not much, rookie. But I wanted to get you something. Just to show how proud I was of you..you did amazing on that call today.” “I know you can do better, I’m just happy you’re in my life.” “Oh shut up. As if anyone else could actually handle me. And I guess I’m kinda in love with you.”

firefighter!ace is never hesitant to tell you he loves you because he doesn’t know if it’ll ever be his last time saying it. So he doesn’t shy away from a moment to express his feelings.

firefighter!ace likes to show off during workouts by letting you sit on his back as he does pushups. But he knows you’re no princess and he’ll eventually get challenged by you to see who can do the most. (Of course placing a small wager to sweeten the deal.)

“Seriously, rookie. Here I am trying to be romantic and cool, and you ruin it. Such a goddamned brat.” “You were trying to showboat, you arrogant bastard and look where that got you. Now pay up.”

firefighter!ace LOVESSS watching you do your hair and going to the beauty supply with you. He loves the smell of all the natural oils and even asks you to pick him out some stuff. He doesn’t mind helping twist in a braid or two either. Once he gets the hang of it, this man is in your head like he’s a professional! Doing crochet, locs and all.

“Can you do the blonde braids again? They’re my favorite on you. Plus they look good with the uniform.” “You say that about all of them!”

firefighter!ace truly does love being in your presence. Whether it’s rushing through burning buildings or a chill night in his apartment, surrounded by ambient lighting and faux plants as the two of you cuddle…as long as he’s with you, it’s his happy place.

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littleredwing89 · 10 months

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FAMOUS - PART ONE

Bodyguard!Jason Todd x Singer!Reader

Warnings: Language. Mentions of death threats.

A/N: So part one is finally here!!! Woohoo!!! Enjoy all. More to come soon xoxo much love xoxo @offendedfishnoises thanks again for all of your help with this - all the love xoxo

————

DEATH SHALL FIND YOU

————

The Gotham Sirens.

You never imagined that this would happen to you. Not in a million years. The group had taken off almost instantly and you’d become world famous. You stared up at the stage, the neon blue of your band's name glowing. Several technicians ran past you and smiled, altering the mic stands and taping down the wires so no one would fall. You loved the hustle and bustle just before the performance. Even standing on that stage in front of millions of people, nothing made your soul buzz like the beginning set up of a show.

You, Selina, Ivy and Harley had met at Gotham University majoring in Dance and Music. At first it had been nothing more than just a class assignment. Create a song. But Harley uploaded it onto Instagram and it blew up the internet. The next thing you knew, Mr Roman Sionis - headhunter for Dent Sounds Record Label - himself had arranged a meeting with the four of you.

And well, as they say, the rest was history. That was over 3 years ago now. It had been a complete blur. You were still catching up. You were no longer having to scrimp and save for cash. No. Now, now you had everything. Everything you’d ever dreamed of. Everything but your privacy. Especially after the meeting this morning with Roman.

——

“You’re not being serious are you?”.

You looked into the mirror whilst the make up artist finished off your eyelashes. Your manager, Roman, stood behind you with his arms crossed. A stern look stitched onto his face.

“Of course I am”, he huffed and his stare burned into you, “You’ve received another death threat and someone tried to break into your condo last month. You need more security. Something more personal”.

You rolled your eyes and the make up artist scolded you by smacking her brush on your wrist. You grinned cheekily at her before resting back in your chair, putting on your sickliest, sweetest voice, “Romy…”.

Your little nickname for him. It worked every time. He’d never allow anyone else to call him that. Just you.

“No”, he growled, “This is my final decision. You’re getting a personal bodyguard. I don’t want to find you chopped into tiny pieces”.

“How come Ivy doesn’t have to have one? Or Selina...even Harley doesn’t! So why me?”.

You didn’t need a bodyguard. You knew the second you got one, you would be kissing your freedom goodbye. They’d be with you 24/7. Your apartment would be shared. You wouldn’t even be able to sneak off to McDonalds for a McFlurry at 3am without having to confirm it with them. Or even worse, have them go with you.

“They haven’t had any psychotic stalkers”, Roman rested against the wall, sighing deeply, “yet”.

You scowled and refused to meet his eyes in the mirror. This was a complete over reaction.

“Look, I know you’re not happy but this goes way over my head. Mr Dent, the CEO—insisted. And to be honest Y/N, I think it’s a good idea. You girls are only getting more popular and that means more weirdos will crawl out of the woodwork”.

“Romy…”, you tried once more, turning to him and fluttering your dark, thick lashes at him, “Can’t you talk to Mr Dent?”.

He pressed a hand to his forehead, the muscles in his forearms contracting. You noticed the dark shadows under his eyes and silently wondered when he last got a good night's sleep.

“I’m sorry”, he muttered, “But I agree with Harv on this one, I’ve already been in touch with a firm. They’re highly recommended…you’ll meet them tomorrow”.

He turned quickly and strode out of the changing room as his phone rang, ending the conversation abruptly. You could hear his booming voice bouncing down the corridor and you glared at yourself in the mirror.

Fucking perfect.

————

Dumping a wad of paperwork down onto the desk, Jason sighed and took a long sip of his coffee. He knew high profile clientele came with difficulty but the stack of paperwork Sionis had sent him was nothing short of ridiculous. They even wanted to know where he’d bought his new leather jacket from last month.

“Alright?”, Roy sauntered over with his own coffee cup shuffling some of the papers. He was awfully chipper this early in the morning. Jason hummed in response and grabbed a pen from the side beginning to fill in the required forms.

He’d started this business with Roy a few years ago. Dropping out of university was tough but it wasn’t for him. Jason remembered worrying about telling Bruce. What his family would think of him but they showed him nothing but support. Unconditional love. They’d both managed, with countless hours, to build ‘Outlaws Security’, into the most successful security firm in Gotham.

Roy’s eyebrows lifted upon seeing a photo of the new client, “Isn’t that the chick you had on your wall at uni?”.

“What? No!”, Jason bristled and shoved the photo of you back under the documents. He inwardly cursed. Fucking Roy.

“So, you're saying that if I look inside your office locker, I won't find a poster of her?”.

Jason heard the cocky smirk on Roy’s face and groaned in irritation running a hand over the front of his face, “Touch my locker and I’ll break your legs”.

Roy cackled loudly and sat on the edge of Jason’s desk, “Ok so you do still have it. Better not let her find it”.

“You’re a real jackass you know”.

“So I’ve heard...maybe she’ll sign it for you if you ask nicely”, Roy continued to mock Jason, making kissy faces at him.

“Why don’t you shut your mouth before I shut it for you”, Jason scowled and turned his chair around pretending to look for some files in the cabinet behind him. Hoping Roy would get the hint and leave him alone.

“This must be like your dream job come true, pretty boy—better not screw it up”.

Jason sighed deeply and threw his head back in exasperation, “I need a new best friend”.

Roy gasped dramatically and held a hand over his heart, “What?! You love me and you know it!”.

“Whoever told you that was lying”.

————

#jason todd x reader #jason todd imagine #red hood x reader #jason todd smut #jason todd x reader insert #red hood imagine #jason todd fanfiction #red hood smut #red hood x reader insert #red hood fanfiction #Jason Todd x you #red hood x you #bodyguard!jason todd x reader #bodyguard!jason todd x singer!reader

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melanieph321 · 4 months

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idea for ruben!!!

y/n and ruben are in the same friend group and have never gotten along/hate each other. the group does secret santa for christmas and ruben ends up getting y/n the most thoughtful gift ever and admits he has feelings for her

YOU ASK AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE!!!🤭🤭

Ruben Dias x Reader - Secret Santa

Enjoy!

You groaned arriving at your friend's Christmas party.

"Come on, bet it won't be that bad." Your cousin, Sasha, said. She was your plus one for the evening.

"I told you that jerk Ruben is gonna be here."

"So?"

"So...it's gonna be that bad."

The Christmas party was in full motion when you and Sahsa arrived at the restaurant where it was held. Your friend, the host, was a well known chef in the industry. He was known for throwing luxurious parties for the rich and famous. This party however, was a more intimate gathering between close friends. There was a homily feel to the twinkling lights of the festively decorated salon.

"Y/N, you're here!" Your friend exclaimed. Li was his name. "And you brought treats." Li yanked the box of Christmas cookies that you brought, grabbing a cookie, not sparing any for his guests. "Mhmmm, delicious."

"Thanks, I baked them this morning."

"I love your Christmas cookies." He said, spitting crumbs. "Come, come! You and your cousin must have a drink at the bar. It's all on the house."

"I like the sound of that." Your cousin gladly followed Li to the bar. The two of you had become unexpected friends the day he had wandered into your bakery two years ago. Li had praised your talent for baking and your eye for gastronomic detail. After that you got swept into a lifestyle of luxurious parties thrown by Li, who loved to tend to the rich and famous, despite some of them being complete jerks. One know jerk was Ruben Dias, a famous footballer who basically fat-shamed you for making a living baking muffins. It happen at one of Li's dinner parties not too long ago. You wanted to tell Ruben off, call him a jerk to his face. The problem however is that Ruben was a close friend of Li's. His reason for attending this evening's Christmas party.

Scanning the room you spotted him, Ruben, standing by the bar, laughing loudly with a group of well dressed people. Your stomach turned at the sight of him. You quickly excused yourself, telling your cousin and Li to go ahead without you. Instead you made your way to the buffet table, grabbing a plate of hors d'oeuvres. Li could cook for any occasion and Christmas was no exception. But just as you were loading up on mini quiches and cheese and crackers, you felt a tap on your shoulder. It was Ruben, holding out a brightly wrapped present.

"Hey, Y/N! I got you something for Secret Santa," he said, grinning smugly. "You know Li, he thought it'd be funny if we all played the game."

Your heart sank. What could he possibly have gotten you? Something sarcastic and mocking, no doubt. A can of diet coke? Or perhaps a gluten free muffin? God knows there was no sugar in those, a.k.a. Ruben once again indicating that you, compared to him and his rich friends, had a very unhealthy lifestyle.

"Well, aren't you gonna open it?"

He saw your hesitation with his present.

"No. Why would I?"

Ruben's expression faltered as you handed him back the neatly wrapped gift.

"But I'm your Secret Santa? We've never played this game in Portugal where I'm from, but I'm pretty sure this is how it goes, no?"

He sounded unsure, insecure even. You fought not to feel for him, convincing yourself that this was all an act. That behind those pouting lips of his lay a jerk, ready to pray on his next victim.

"Y/N, please. Accept my gift."

Ruben was the epitome of everything you disliked in a person - arrogant, self-centered, and always trying to one-up everyone else. Your current relationship was strained, to say the least, and you had made it clear that you wanted nothing to do with him after what he said to you about your work. However, seeing Ruben so upset by the fact that you refused to accept his gift did something, even to you.

"Fine." You groaned, unhanding him the present, unwrapping it with the least amount of caution. "Whatta....?" You were surprised to find a beautiful silver necklace inside, adorned with delicate snowflakes and glittering crystals. "Wow, thank you Ruben." You exclaimed. "This gift. It's...it's..." You had no words for it. You were genuinely touched by the thoughtful gift. Ruben looked pleased with himself, which only infuriated you more. How could someone so obnoxious have such good taste in jewelry?

"Here, let me help you put it on." He unhanded you the empty jewelry box, ordering you to turn around for him. Which you did, exposing your naked back to him. Ruben's fingers tips braced your skin as he clasped the necklace around your neck. The brief touching of skin left goosebumps on your forearms.

"Um...thank you." You said, once you and Ruben stood facing each other again. You didn't really know what else to say. You felt too awkward to strike up a meaningful conversation, not that you and Ruben had anything in common.

"You look beautiful." He said.

"I do?"

He chuckled. "You seem suprised. We're you not meant to look beautiful this evening, was it all done by accident?"

You snorted. "No...I guess it wasn't."

Ruben's eyes wandered freely, as if getting a good look at you for the first time.

"I met your cousin." He smiled.

"Sasha?"

"Yes. By the bar. She said that you couldn't wait to see me tonight."

"She did what?"

"Yeah, I was suprised as well."

"That mother fuc..."

"But I must admit that it brought me courage to hand over your Christmas gift myself. For some reason I got the feeling that you didn't like me very much."

"Pause." You said, holding up a hand between yourself and Ruben. To your surprise Ruben did just that, pause at your command. "I thought you were the one who disliked me?"

Ruben's brows furrowed. "Me, dislike you? What made you believe such a thing?"

"Um...maybe because you called me fat for making a living baking muffins?"

"I never..." Ruben paused to think, perhaps rembering the day he told you what he thought to be a funny joke. "Y/N I never said anything like that." He said, denying ever fat-shaming you.

"No, what was it you said then Ruben, that mad everyone at Li's last party glare at me like I was some fucking muffin baking psycho?"

"If I recall correctly Y/N, I told a joke that if I ever owned a bakery I'd be twenty kilos heavier than I am now. It had nothing to do with you, your job, or your eating habits. But I'm sorry if all this time you thought...."

Great, now you were the jerk, you thought. You most definitely felt like one.

"Y/N, I would never..." Ruben stepped up to you, his hand reaching out to touch your arm where goosebumps still lingered. It was all too much.

"I'm sorry Ruben, I have to..."

In the heat of the moment you escaped, leaving Ruben clueless to what he had done to make you despise him so much. The truth was that he had done nothing, it had all been in your head, along with other terrors.

For the rest of the night, you found yourself stealing glances at Ruben, wondering if there was more to him than met the eye. Maybe he wasn't just a selfish jerk after all.

"Y/N? Could we maybe talk...somewhere private?"

It was during the late hours of the party, after several rounds of alcohol, that Ruben approached you. You hadn't had that much to drink, not compared to your cousin. Ruben however, didn't seem drunk at all. His eyes look at you attentively, as if any words coming out of your mouth, would mean somthing to him.

"What is it?" You sighed as the two of you withdrew from the party, ending up near an alcove of some sort.

"I just wanted to say that I feel terrible...."

You wished to be swallowed by a black hole.

"...I would never comment on a girls weight or size of any kind."

Great, he thought of you as a girl now, not a woman.

"The fact that you've believed me capable of this all this time does explain a few things however."

"It does? What things?"

"Well, you've been avoiding me ever since that day, haven't you?"

Heat rose ro your face. Of this you were guilty.

"I still think of that day, of how Li introduced me to this gorgeous looking woman who never gave me a second glance. I figured I must have come off as a fool, I got so nervous around you that I let my mouth run free. I tell terrible jokes when I'm nervous. As you know now."

"Wait, Ruben, are you trying to say that you like me or somthing?"

"Isn't it obvious?" He laughed. "I practically begged Li to choose me as your secret Santa. At least then I'd have an excuse to talk to you again. I knew this time I wouldn't be so nervous since I...." Ruben coughed. "I kind of prepared for it....mentally that is."

You were confused. The situation as a whole was very confusing to you.

"But I understand if you don't feel the same way." He said, lowering his head to his feet. "I just thought you should know the truth."

"The truth." You said. Ruben must have heard the hitch in your voice for he looked up to see your glossy eyes. "The truth is Ruben, that I'm very insecure about my weight." You were always a chubby child. Baking is what brought your family together. You were know to eat somthing with glaze on it at least twice a day when you were growing up. It wasn't until recent years that you started making healthier choices, loosing weight. Even so, you felt like the world was judging you in a way. Ruben's comment about your job had definitely triggered some of that fear you still carried. However, perhaps it was time to let it go?

"The funny thing is...." You had to pause to wipe your tears. "I thought you were gorgeous too, that day that Li introduced us."

Ruben perked up "You did?"

"Of course I did." Who wouldn't? Ruben was undoubtedly handsome, actually, as handsome as they come. "But I immediately thought that someone like you could never go for someone like me."

"Someone like what?" He frowned.

"Someone with....curves."

His eyes widened in realization. You instatnly felt vulnerable, having put your deepest insecurities out in the open. Ruben however, took a step forward, reaching for your hand, tugging you to come his way. You stumble forward, tilting your head up to meet his eyes.

"Are we done now?" He smiled.

"Done with what?"

He shrugged. "Lying to ourselves, about how much we want this."

"Want what?"

Ruben bent down and kissed you. You did not see it coming, holding your breath as he captured your lips. They parted, inviting his tongue to dance around with yours. Ruben's hands lowered to your waist, approaching the shape of your curves, appreciating your hips by squeezing your ass. He wore a smile on his face once your lips parted.

"What?" You asked, his grin still annoying to you.

He chuckled. "Your lips taste like choclate muffins."

You slapped him in the arm.

"Ouch. I'm kidding."

"What do you know about chocolate muffins. Bet you haven't tasted one in years."

"I'd taste your muffins."

Again, you slapped Ruben in the arm.

"Ouch. Hahaha, but I would."

"Oh, I bet you would."

"Don't get me wrong Y/N, I'd take you out first, somewhere nice."

You frowned. "What, like on a date?"

He shrugged.

Although you just kissed, you felt a need to draw a line somewhere. "Just know, I don't hand out free muffins on first dates."

Ruben chuckled, grabbing your hand as it was time for the two of you to return to the party. He brought your knuckles to his lips, kissing them gently. "It's a date then, free of muffins."

#fanfiction #football imagine #ruben dias #man city #manchester city #ruben dias x reader #ruben dias imagine #footballer imagine #footballer x reader #football angst

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bvidzsoo · 6 months

Note

Hi! First off I just wanna say how much I love your work! You are such a talented writer🤍 okay okay so for the Halloween prompt request, I was thinking maybe Vampire Seonghwa? (He's been plaguing my mind hella hard) with the prompts 3 and 22? I'm excited to see what you come up with!🤍

Thank you so much!🤍

◆Vampire!Seonghwa◆ (pink haired Seonghwa has me in an unhealthy grip and it will end me one day)

↳3. Well, that didn’t hurt nearly as badly as I was expecting it to.

↳22. Do I look tasty?

A/N: Hii! Thank you for your kind words, it makes me happy to know people like my stories as I place a lot of time in them. I shall say that pink haired Seonghwa has me in a GRIP and I'll NEVER escape it, so uhm, I did a little something here, haha. I hope you enjoy this little one and requests are open until the 1st of November for anyone interested! Before you start the short story, I want to say that this was inspired by Vampire Academy written by Richelle Mead, so here's a little explanation for those who haven't read the books:

1. Moroi-are born vampires, imbued with the magic to have power over the elements;

2. Dhampir-are half-human, half-vampires who are born to protect the Moroi. Don't have elemental magic, but have enhanced strength and senses making them the strongest protection against the Strigoi;

3. Strigoi- are the type of vampires that one would expect from an old horror classic

TW: cussing, blood, very slightly suggestive?

◆Halloween Prompts◆

That damned pink hair could be visible from miles away. If his desperate need to be distinguishable by some feature wasn't enough, then his flamboyant persona certainly was. Park Seonghwa was absolutely detestable. It isn’t enough that he comes from one of the royal moroi families, which makes him incredibly famous, he also makes sure to remind everyone of his high status in the order by looking down on you while flaunting his riches, the arrogant smirk never absent from his face. I truly wish one day I'll be able to punch that perfect nose of his, even if dhampirs weren't allowed to hurt morois. I tried to keep the sneer off my face as I glared at the back of his pink head, a disgusting color if anyone asks me, as his loud laughter carried over the crowd. How was it possible that he could be heard over all the chatter in the auditorium? I felt a nudge to my side and my attention was off Seonghwa as I stared at my best friend, whose eyebrows were raised. She already knew I would be in a sour mood when I realized I was forced to breathe the same air as Seonghwa, but today was also the day we'd be paired up for our field trip. The dreaded field trip. Us, dhampirs, would be assigned to a moroi to protect for a week, totally left alone by our teachers and other guardians. Basically, we were forced to fend for ourselves for a week in order to show how capable we were in completing our duties once we graduated. I, on one hand, was ready. I was born ready; I knew I could do this. The only problem was that I didn't know who I'd be assigned to protect and the thought of having to possibly spend a whole ass week with Seonghwa was giving me a freaking headache.

"I think he can feel your glare, Y/N." Kazuha muttered as I turned to look back towards the front, Seonghwa’s annoying hair bugging my eyes again. I just rolled my eyes and ignored my best friend’s comment, thinking to myself, that it was only good if he felt my glare. Everyone knew I didn’t like Seonghwa, why try and hide it? The head teacher walked in holding a big paper scroll in his hands, stopping in the center of the auditorium.

“Quiet down, everyone.” Despite the authority in his voice, Seonghwa proceeded to finish his joke and laugh loudly as everyone else glanced his way, the teacher sighing before continuing, “I’ll read the dhampir names first and then the moroi they’ll have to protect for the following week. Changing your partners isn’t allowed, and if anyone does so in secret, they’ll be expulsed from the Academy, never to graduate. And then you can try and live a miserable life.”

I don’t think I agree with the teacher. Having to live without being surrounded by some annoying spoiled morois sounded like every dhampirs most secret wish. The teacher opened the scroll and started reading the names, most students looking content and even happy with their partners, but there was one problem. Park Seonghwa’s name hasn’t been read yet, and with my luck…my fate in this whole thing was slowly dying out.

“Lee Y/N.” I stood up straighter in my seat, debating whether to say a quick prayer, but the moroi’s name was already called, “Park Seonghwa.”

Fuck. I hissed and allowed my head to fall against the table, creating a loud bang as I groaned lowly. The people sitting around me chuckled, amused by my reaction, and probably thankful they didn’t get paired with Seonghwa. Lucky bastards. I felt eyes on me before I could lift my head and I braced myself for the conceited smirk on his face as I looked up, eyes connecting with his. Seonghwa was smirking, and as if to make things worse, he winked before turning around and ignoring my existence.

I would’ve done anything to avoid this moment. To avoid sitting in a car as Seonghwa was handed the keys to the Academy’s expensive Mercedes, as if he didn’t own at least two muscle cars back at home. God, I wanted to die. He opened the door and sat inside, head turning to look at me. My jaw was clenched as I looked straight ahead, refusing to look at him, able to see from the corner of my eyes the amusement written all over his features. God, if only I was allowed to punch him.

“Since when are morois allowed to drive?” I snapped as he ignited the engine to life, “You know the dhampirs are the ones supposed to drive around and shit.”

“I know,” Seonghwa shrugged nonchalantly as he backed out of the parking lot of the Academy, our head teacher and the dhampir supervisor watching us with hawk like eyes as I mouthed a small ‘please, save me’ to them, a displeased look crossing their features, “But I don’t trust a woman with driving.”

I scoffed annoyed, my tongue pressing against my cheek as I tried to hold myself back, Kazuha’s words ringing loudly in my head. ‘Ignore him, think of anything else and just stay calm. You can do this.’ In fact, no, I was certain I couldn’t do this, and we have barely left the safety of our Academy.

“Do you even know where we’re supposed to go?” I opted to ask instead, glaring at the radio as Seonghwa turned it on, browsing through the channels.

“To my family’s vacation house?” Seonghwa gave me a look which said, ‘are you crazy for even asking that?’.

“If that’s where you’re taking us, just pull over, and I’ll walk back to the Academy myself and sabotage my own future.” I groaned and allowed my head to fall back against the headrest. Seonghwa scoffed and gave me a quick glance as we turned onto the highway.

“You seriously want to live in a shady neighborhood in a dodgy apartment for a week?” He looked at me as if I was crazy and I closed my eyes, pressing the button to roll down the window. I needed some fresh air. Perhaps that would stop me from wanting to crash our car, which I was supposed to be driving. I’ve never driven such a luxury car, Seonghwa robbed me of another once in a lifetime experience…once again.

“Yes, Seonghwa, because this is a test to what our lives will look like very soon, you conceited idiot!” I snapped, finally breaking as I turned to face Seonghwa, “You might have everything handed to you on a silver plate, but I certainly won’t be living in a mansion or my family’s vacation home once I’ve graduated.”

“If you graduate.” God, I really wanted to punch that arrogant smirk off his face. I didn’t have to be top of my class to graduate. I was one of the best dhampirs at our Academy currently and I was needed as female dhampirs were rare. Unlike him, who was raised on a silver plate, he had no significance whatsoever if he was stripped of his title. He wasn’t even a prince, he was around fifth in line to the throne, so he really was unimportant. His skills were mid and unless he continued his family’s business, he was a no one. That brought a content smile on my lips and Seonghwa threw me an annoyed glance, probably able to sense that my thoughts weren’t the nicest. He didn’t say anything else as he focused on the road, turning up the volume of the radio, making me sigh as I relaxed into the car seat and closed my eyes. It’s not that I trusted him, but I had barely gotten any sleep last night as we threw a secret party before our departure. It was wild.

Four days had gone by and things were going surprisingly well. For me, at least. I quickly got familiar with the area and did my patrols regularly, keeping an eye out for any unwanted danger. I even managed to become friends with our upstairs neighbor, who was a nice old lady. I found mundane tasks quite enjoyable as I walked to the market each morning and bought fresh fruits and vegetables to cook later, and of course, since it was Seonghwa’s money, I enjoyed spending it even more. I finally managed to get that long deserved haircut and all in all, this test turned out to be a lot more manageable than I expected it to be. Living with Seonghwa wasn’t too difficult, surprisingly, as he stayed in his room almost all day, listening to loud music and facetiming with his other moroi friends almost every other hour. Hearing his boisterous laughter and awful jokes through the thin walls was rather depressing, but I managed to block his voice out as I turned on the TV in the living room and turned the volume up, hearing Seonghwa scream at me to be quieter, only to get ignored. Of course, things weren’t going constantly smoothly as he always found something to start a petty fight based on, but after realizing that my anger was only bringing him enjoyment, I stopped showing my emotions. That didn’t mean that I didn’t want to bash his head against the wall at times, I was just smarter and started hiding it. However, despite me living my best life for the past four days, Seonghwa seemed to hate it here. He would jump at the slightest sound coming from outside and the curtains would have to be drawn almost all day as his skin was specifically sensitive to sunlight. That was a thing I didn’t believe, but I didn’t want to try my luck and actually set him on fire, that wouldn’t only get me expelled from the Academy, it would earn me the death penalty too. I preferred staying away from that one if possible. It was one of those serene nights, where I almost couldn’t tell if Seonghwa and I were living together, but my heightened senses could pick up on his breathing, a thing which annoyed me, but normally was very good as I could protect the morois in case of danger. Earlier today I bought some red wine and condiments to cook some pasta as I missed the taste of it, the chef’s cooking back at the Academy is rather bland, almost makes you think she’s a moroi. I have prepared everything and threw the ingredients together, letting it boil before pouring the heavy cream over it, letting it simmer for a few more minutes as I stirred it. I was lost in my world, humming a song which Seonghwa had been listening to on repeat, when suddenly I felt warmth behind me and my muscle memory kicked in as I whirled around, grabbing the intruder by the neck and slamming them against the nearest wall. My grip instantly loosened around Seonghwa’s neck when I finally realized it was just him, his normally round eyes wider than I’ve seen them ever before.

“Don’t ever creep up on me again, Seonghwa.” I hissed, eyebrows furrowed, “I could’ve hurt you.”

“Isn’t that what you want?” The stunned look was gone from his face, replaced with an annoying smirk. God, I hated his stupid face.

“Yeah, it is.” I muttered as I released him and went back to stir my sauce before shutting the gas off, taking the pot to the table. Seonghwa followed after me and watched me as I sat at the table, pouring the sauce over my spaghetti. I grabbed my glass of wine and took a sip, humming at the rich taste of it. It was expensive, but then again, Seonghwa was founding me so I only bought the priciest things, hoping to deprive him of all of his money. It was impossible, but it still bought a little satisfaction to my heart.

“You cooked dinner and didn’t even tell me…” Seonghwa trailed off, face falling for a second before it became composed again as he walked to the cupboard, taking out a plate.

“I didn’t know in what mood you were.” It was clear, Seonghwa was struggling without blood. I might’ve hated him, but I knew a moroi, a vampire, couldn’t survive without blood. Yes, they were able to eat normal food, but it could make them sick for days even. Seonghwa hasn’t eaten anything since we left the Academy. Hasn’t fed since we left the Academy. I tried to convince him to come to the hospital with me and I’d take a few blood bags for him, but he refused and said he’d survive without this week. He preferred fresh blood, apparently. And the lack of blood was already showing its first signs, his skin was paler than usual and dark bags were slowly forming underneath his eyes. I noticed his eyes glowing red every now and then, but that wasn’t necessarily a sign of bloodlust.

“I’m starving.” Seonghwa muttered more to himself, forgetting that I could hear him. I paused chewing as he sat down opposite me, surprised that he was willingly sitting at a table with me. He’d never do that at the Academy, but then again, I probably would pour my food all over his head if he did. I pushed the spaghetti and sauce pot towards him as Seonghwa reluctantly leaned forward and inhaled, eyes widening a little.

“Oh, this actually smells really nice.” He muttered absentmindedly and my eyes narrowed as I analyzed him. Was he being sincere? He seemed like he forgot I was even sitting at a table with him.

“I probably won’t be able to eat much, my stomach’s rather weak these days.” He said as he looked up and placed some spaghetti and sauce on his plate. I nodded and continued eating, watching his face for a reaction when he finally took a bite. He chewed slowly on the food and his eyebrows furrowed before he gulped the food down. He just glanced up at me and wordlessly continued to take a few more bites, but stopped at the fifth one. He pushed the plate away and grabbed a stray glass from the table, pouring himself wine.

“That wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected it to be.” I was about to thank him, for the first time in my life, but he had to continue, “I didn’t know dhampirs are now taught how to cook. But then again…you’re a woman, you’re supposed to know how to do that.”

“If you don’t shut up I will push that knife down your heart.” It was an empty threat, but it felt nice saying it as Seonghwa chuckled and took a big gulp of the wine, eyes going to the bottle before settling back on me.

“Are you trying to bereave me of my money, Y/N?” He cocked an eyebrow elegantly and I rolled my eyes, leaning back in my chair as I was finished with dinner too.

“As if you don’t have more than enough already,” I scoffed and took a sip of my wine, “Since I risk my life to protect you, you at least can let me spend as much as I’d like—”

“Yeah, like at the hairdresser.” Seonghwa cut me off with a scoff, eyes narrowing, “Who even charges that much?”

“I might’ve left a bigger tip than necessary.” I replied nonchalantly and hid my smirk behind my glass as I took another sip, Seonghwa scoffing as he drank the contents of his own glass before pouring some more wine for himself.

A few hours later, the lights seemed to dance around me as I sat in the chair, leaned back and one leg brought up on the chair, hair pulled in a low ponytail as I was feeling hot. It was from the wine, I knew that, but I couldn’t help fan myself as Seonghwa placed another card on the table. It was red. I didn’t have any red cards, so I had to pick up one from the deck. If anyone told me four days ago that I would be playing some silly card games with Seonghwa while the both of us were tipsy, I would’ve laughed in their face and asked them to walk to the psychic ward. But it was happening right now and Seonghwa was winning, for the fifth time. I was getting fed up.

“You’re cheating, okay?!” I exclaimed and slammed my cards on the table as Seonghwa placed his last one down, winning again. He just chuckled and took another sip of his wine, cheeks slightly flushed. One would say he looked like a living creature for once. It was late in the night and we were supposed to be sleeping, but I haven’t done my patrolling duty yet and it was cold outside, I really didn’t want to go. Besides, I was tipsy, my reflexes were dull, and if a strigoi were to attack me, I probably wouldn’t get very far, let alone be able protect Seonghwa.

“I’m not cheating,” He scoffed, looking offended, “I’m just really good at this game.”

“Yeah, right,” I scoffed and rolled my eyes, “Like you are at everything else.”

“Of course, I am.” He smirked and flicked a stray pink strand out of his eyes.

“Then why do you refuse to go to the hospital and steal one or two blood bags with me?” I raised my eyebrows challengingly, crossing my arms in front of my chest. Seonghwa stiffened for a second before he leaned forward, placing his interlaced hands on the table and his chin on them.

“Because,” His voice lowered, as if he was scared someone was eavesdropping on us, “I only drink fresh blood.”

I scoffed, of course he did, he had the circumstances to, he was rich, “And why is that? Did mommy and daddy spoil you that much?”

That annoying smirk was back on his lips, “Yes, they did. I can’t stand the stale taste of blood; it makes me throw up. I like drinking it from the source, when it’s still warm and gushing, thick and rich and full of aroma.”

His eyes flashed red again and I watched as he licked his lips, suddenly the bloodlust obvious on his face. Perhaps I shouldn’t have brought up this topic, but I wanted to know the real reason. A vampire who was thirsty shouldn’t be challenged, but I was safe. It was strictly forbidden for morois to drink blood from dhampirs. And it would make me seem like a whore. But the alcohol was hitting hard and I was genuinely curious, never having talked to a moroi about this before, almost wanting to experience the euphoric feeling it’s said a vampire’s bite gives you.

“Do I look tasty?” The words left my lips before I could think much as Seonghwa and I made eye contact. I knew my eyes were glazed over with intoxication from the alcohol, but suddenly Seonghwa’s pupils grew in size as his eyes flashed red and remained like that. The ceiling lamp’s light falling on him made his eyes seem a deep red, swirling around almost in his round eyes.

“You or your blood?” Seonghwa’s voice was low and a strand of pink hair fell into his eyes as he stared me down. Suddenly, I felt glued to my place. He looked like a predator ready to pounce on its pray.

“Both.” I answered breathless, taken aback by Seonghwa’s sudden change of character. He was always so arrogant, so uncaring and so irritating, you’d never think he was capable of looking at you with such danger written all over his face and body. A vein in his neck was visibly pulsing and his hands tightened around each other, knuckles turning white as he inhaled deeply, eyes slightly fluttering closed.

“You smell like flowers, but it’s so—sweet.” His voice was strained as he blinked his eyes open, red glinting back at me as I straightened up in my chair, body suddenly flushing at his words. It was most certainly the alcohol making me feel like this, but I pushed my ponytail behind my shoulders, and I didn’t miss Seonghwa’s eyes focusing on my neck as I cleared my throat.

“Have you tasted sweet blood before?” I whispered, Seonghwa’s jaw clenching and unclenching as if he was fighting back his demons. He said nothing as he shook his head no and I sucked in a deep breath, making eye contact with him, “Would you like to?”

Before I could blink, Seonghwa was up on his feet and next to me, sending his chair to the floor with a loud clank, and I was hauled up by a grip around my bicep. Seonghwa’s long fingers dug into my skin with a bruising force as he sneered down at me, our height difference very obvious. He’s never stood so close to me before.

“You’re playing with fire, Y/N, stop.” He warned, voice deep and eyes flickering from red back to its brown color to red again. I bit my lower lip and stood on my tip toes, lips barely brushing against his earlobe.

“I know you want to bite me, Seonghwa, suck my blood—” What was the reason of my taunting? Probably nothing more than wanting to fuck with him. To finally see him so out of control and desperate, anything like the Seonghwa he always presented himself to be. And it was the alcohol, of course, because I would’ve never asked such thing of him sober. I was ruining my dignity at the moment.

“If anyone finds out…” His voice was horse as he slightly pulled me back, looking down at me, eyes trained on the smooth skin of my neck.

“Nobody will,” I smirked at him, barring my neck more for him as his eyes flicked back to red, “But you have to swear you will keep your mouth shut, Seonghwa.”

“Will you become my supplier, then?” That annoying smirk was back on his lips and I hissed at him, glaring fiercely.

“Don’t overstep your boundaries, asshole.”

“As if you aren’t the one begging me to bite you.”

“As if you aren’t the one desperate to bite me.”

That’s all it took for Seonghwa to finally give in, lips parting and fangs shirking as he opened his mouth more, locking eyes with me. I nodded subtly and my body tensed as Seonghwa slowly leaned down, closer to my neck. My breath caught in my throat as Seonghwa’s plush lips pressed softly against my neck in a small kiss before I felt them retreating and instead two sharp fangs poked against my skin. Before I could have time to rethink my poor choices, the sharp fangs pressed hard into my skin, making me gasp loudly and grasp onto Seonghwa’s shoulders as his teeth tore through my untouched skin, sharp pain erupting in the area as it traveled towards my shoulder and ear. My grip on Seonghwa turned harsh and suddenly I felt him pulling my body flushed against his as he held my nape, sucking on my blood. As soon as the pain came it was gone, the feeling of his fangs foreign as my eyes started becoming blurry, brain fogged up. My lips fell open as my whole body seemed to tingle, from head to toe, and Seonghwa suddenly moaned, lightly pushing me backwards until my hips were pressing against the table. The euphoria was becoming overwhelming as my breathing stuttered and I whined quietly as my head lulled back, knees feeling faint all of a sudden. Seonghwa moaned again, sending vibrations down my neck, my skin covered in goosebumps as I had to grab onto the table with one hand as the other still held onto Seonghwa. Dark spots started covering my vision, but I was unable to speak, unable to let Seonghwa know that he was probably drinking too much. But he must’ve known as suddenly, his cold fangs were gone from my neck, the cool air hitting the marks as Seonghwa’s nose nuzzled against my jaw, breathing hard. I gasped as my knees bucked for a second, Seonghwa’s arms holding me up as my mind slowly started to clear up. The fog was lifting, but just barely, as I squeezed my eyes shut, suddenly the light too much for them. I took deep breaths, the marks pulsed as I was finally able to close my mouth and swallowed, my throat dry all of a sudden. The dark spots were gone, but a slight headache started overtaking the haze, forehead lightly pulsing rhythmically. As I opened my eyes, I was met with Seonghwa staring down at me with lust coating his whole face, his red eyes shinning as he was breathing hard. Apparently I wasn’t the only one affected as my body continued to tingle, a different kind of want overtaking it. Seonghwa’s hand was still gripping my nape and my eyes fell to his plump lips, the inside of the still bloody. Coated with my blood. Something inside of Seonghwa snapped again as he leaned down, crashing his cherry red lips against mine, tasting like iron, nothing like the sweet taste he described. His lips moved against mine hungrily and I kissed him back with just as much fervor, fingers tangling in his pushed back pink hair, yanking on it when he pushed my lips more open with his tongue. His tongue slipped inside my mouth and lapped at my own, sucking on it hard, making me moan involuntarily. Seonghwa’s hands gripped my cheeks hard as my lungs screamed for air, but I was drunk on his warmth and passion, teeth clanking against the other. I bit his lower lip hard, making Seonghwa hiss before I released it, licking the saliva off my lips. Seonghwa went and clipped my lower lip with his suddenly shirked fangs. His breath was fanning my face, quick and hot, and all I could do was look up in his brown eyes and chuckle, pulling my head back slightly to free my lip from his assaults.

“Well, that didn’t hurt nearly as badly as I was expecting it to.” I muttered and Seonghwa smirked, leaning close again that his lips were brushing against mine.

“If you think you’ll ever get away from me after this,” He chuckled and shook his head, “you’re very wrong. Once we have graduated I will request for you to be my guardian.”

“Fuck you.” I snapped, suddenly glaring at him as Seonghwa smirked viciously, “You’ll never have me.”

“Oh, but don’t I already?” He taunted and pressed a soft kiss against my lips mockingly, making me wrestle out of his grip as he just laughed, “I always get what I want.”

“If you tell anyone that I—” Suddenly I felt too sober, suddenly I realized the weight of my actions.

“Oh, I wouldn’t want anyone to know about our dirty little secret, love.” Seonghwa chuckled as I walked away from him, needing to put distance between our bodies, “I hope you do know vampire venom is addictive—”

“Of course, I know!” My voice raised as I whirled around to glare at him, “One bite won’t make me addicted, though.”

“One or two won’t, indeed.” I didn’t like the glint in his eyes nor the promise in his voice. Something told me that this wasn’t the last time he’d come to me to drink my blood. Fuck, I just fucked myself over for a lifetime. Park Seonghwa always gets what he wants, and if he requests for me to be his guardian after graduation, he would get just that. It’s true what they say after all, curiosity killed the cat.

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serverusslaype · 8 months

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Shameless, pt. 4

snape x professor!reader fic

Shameless Masterpost

hey again B) here is part 4 to Shameless, i hope you guys enjoy it, it gets a little soft at the end, and i mean a little. next chapter im hoping to explore reader and snape's relationship a little more, maybe some more tension im not sure... we shall see

thank you again for reading and supporting this fic with likes, reblogs, comments, everything! i really do appreciate it. :) love u guys

okaaaay LETS GOOO!

Another week and a half had passed and it was now a bitter and cold midweek morning. Since that interaction with Snape in the dungeons, you hadn't seen much of him since, nor really spoken to him. He'd rarely come to dinner in the Great Hall in the evenings, let alone breakfast or lunch. You were a little disappointed with this considering he'd given you permission to use his first name, it felt like he was allowing you into his space. Or at least, that's what your overactive mind was thinking. You thought about it deeper as time went on, and you'd reached the conclusion of it just being a professional thing. It bothered you a little, of course, considering how you felt about him.

You'd just finished teaching a class of fifth-years, preparing them for a mock test on Monday. The lesson was rather smooth-going, apart from having to tend to a student's finger after they were bitten by a fanged geranium. After the whole debacle on your first day back teaching at Hogwarts, you were rather glad that only a bitey flower had gone rogue in this morning's lesson.

Presently, you were currently strolling to the Great Hall, dressed in rather nice, muted yellow-gold robes. You were always proud to represent Hufflepuff colours, you took pride in being sorted in that house after all. The mood at Hogwarts was a little low and cautious, considering students were turning up Petrified at every other corner you turned. Luckily, you had not come across one yet, you didn't think you'd be able to stomach it.

The Dueling Club was due to begin today, with Lockhart hosting it. You'd also heard that a teacher had agreed to help Lockhart with the beginning demonstration. Intrigued, of course, you couldn't miss one of your colleagues shooting a spell towards the bane of your existence.

So here you were, standing to the side in the Great Hall, watching the hustle and bustle of students and teachers eagerly awaiting for the show to start - this is Lockhart we're talking about. A table had been set up in the middle of the Hall, a pretty blue and gold tapestry draped over the top of it, dotted with astrology art. Students surrounded the table, giggling and talking excitedly about what could happen. Or, what could possibly go wrong? you pondered, smiling to yourself.

Soon enough, the man in question had hopped up onto the table. "Gather round! Gather round!" Lockhart's screeching voice reached your ears as you watched him strut across the table, one arm gesturing theatrically at the students. "Can everybody see me?" He questioned, looking at the students with bright eyes. Unfortunately, yes, you thought. "Can you all… hear me? Excellent." Lockhart said, quickly spinning on his heel, the cape attached to his bodice twirling with him elegantly. "In the light of the dark events of recent weeks, Professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to start this little Dueling Club, to train you all up in case you ever need to defend yourselves; as I myself have done on countless occasions."

You fought against a laugh in the back of your throat, choosing to cough lightly instead. Yeah, remember that time you couldn't handle a classroom full of little pixies? You rolled your eyes and folded your arms against your chest.

"For full details, see my published works." Lockhart added rather arrogantly. Was this guy serious? Merlin, he loved himself far too much. The famous author then proceeded to whip his cape off, throwing it into a gaggle of fawning teen girls. The gasped with excitement, their hands flying up to grab a hold of the piece of clothing.

"Let me introduce… my assistant," Lockhart began, pointing at the opposing side of the table with an open hand, his other one resting valiantly on his opposite hip. You reached up onto your tiptoes in a poor attempt to see what teacher he'd roped into this. Professor Sinistra, perhaps? Or even- "Professor Snape!" He exclaimed.

Your jaw dropped. There was no way in hell you'd heard that right. Before you could second-guess yourself, said wizard began trailing up the stairs to the table with a gloomy look on his face, his arms folded uncomfortably tight against his chest. As he reached the top, he let them unfold, placing them at his side, wand in hand. You noticed he wasn't wearing his cape too.

As Severus walked down the table, you couldn't help your eyes as they glided over his figure, getting embarrassingly distracted by how good he looked in his tight, form-fitting black robes. You had to force yourself to look away as you felt yourself falling victim to his alluring appearance, a searing hot blush now creeping up your neck, heading towards your cheeks. Gods, he didn't even do anything but take his cape off and you were blushing like a teenage school girl.

"He has sportingly agreed to help me with a short demonstration. Now, I don't want any of you youngsters to worry," Lockhart went on, glancing at the children who were leaning over the edge to eagerly glance at Snape. Surely, there was no way he willingly agreed to this, but then again, maybe he only agreed to it to have the legal ability to cast a spell on him. "You'll still have your Potions Master when I'm through with him. Never fear." Lockhart professed rather over-confidently, deafening arrogance dripping from his words. You knew Snape was a very good duellist after hearing rumours during your time at school in Hogwarts, so you were confident that he'd dominate Lockhart. At least, that's what you were hoping.

The two wizards walked towards each other, stopping just shy of a foot away. They drew their wands, whipping them up to their own respective faces, before whipping them back down in one quick motions, a sharp swish emitting from the way it sliced through the air. Severus and Lockhart spun around, turning to walk five paces in the opposite direction. Once they were in position, they turned around once again to face each other.

"One, two, three!" Lockhart exclaimed, prompting Severus to draw his wand up at the speed of light. Before Lockhart has a chance to cast anything, the Potions Master was two steps ahead.

"Expelliarmus!" Severus commanded, a bright white light shooting from the tip of his wand, hitting Lockhart square in the chest and sending him flying backwards. Your hand flew to your mouth to muffle an amused laugh as you watched Lockhart fly through the air, a cry of pain escaping his lips as his back thudded against the table.

As you looked back to Severus, you couldn't help the small smile that tugged at your lips. Though you had hardly spoken since, it was hard not to feel impressed. The rumours were true, then, you thought, your smile widening. The wizard in question suddenly caught your eye, and you felt your lungs spasm. You had to suck in a breath to compose yourself as your legs tingled.

You nodded at him, wiping the awestruck smile off your lips and pursing them awkwardly instead. To your surprise, Severus acknowledged you back with a nod too. He turned his attention back to Lockhart, who was currently scrambling to get back to his feet. Your cheeks burned at the unforeseen encounter and you felt yourself becoming a little giddy from it. Gods, you really were like a little school girl with a crush.

Fuck. You couldn't understand how you could go from screaming your lungs out at Severus to possibly having a civil relationship with him - how does that even work? Though, you swiftly reminded yourself how that could quickly change, you were well aware of who he was.

"An excellent idea to show them that, Professor Snape, but if you don't mind me saying, it was pretty obvious, er, what you were about to do. And if I had wanted to stop you, it would have only been too easy." Lockhart scoffed, strutting back to stand in front of Severus, his gimmicky grin making another appearance on his irritating face. The Potions Master stood nonchalantly, clasping his hands together in front of him. You had to give it to him, he had that poker face down rather well - something you were a little envious of.

"Perhaps it would be prudent, to first teach the students to block unfriendly spells, professor." Severus said rather harshly, his tone of voice judgmental. He was totally valid for feeling that way, and for once you found yourself questioning Dumbledore's reasoning as to why he had hired such a useless and clumsy wizard. Surely, someone as wise as him could see through this man's pathetic and hopeless act? Maybe he was just desperate for someone to fill the position. Lockhart looked scared for once, his once confident grin fading as Severus stared him down, a sarcastic smile gracing his face for a split second.

"An excellent suggestion, Professor Snape." The famous author exclaimed enthusiastically, spinning on his heel to walk the opposite way of him. "Well… let's have a volunteer pair. Erm.. Potter, Weasley, how about you?" Lockhart gestured towards the boys. Ron's face was a picture, he looked awestruck, almost shocked to see that he'd been picked. Harry's face, however, was more fitting.

"Actually, I was thinking Professor L/N could stop lurking in the shadows and come and showcase her impressive range of skills." Severus declared, his rather loud yet deep and intimidating voice echoing throughout the Great Hall. You almost choked on your tongue, did he really just say that? As you looked up at him, Severus tried to hide the amused smirk that was undoubtedly slipping onto his smug face; his hand outstretched to gesture to you. You wiggled your jaw at him, clearly unhappy with what he'd just done. You weren't great at defence, but you knew how to protect yourself with the bare minimum.

"I highly doubt a professor of Herbology would be able to handle me in a duel, I'm afraid, Professor Snape." Lockhart laughed wholeheartedly, the tiniest hint of worry in his tone. Oh, really, is that how it is, Lockhart? Your jaw ticked at his outrageously offensive comment. Now, you really did want to Expelliarmus his ass to Azkaban. Snape continued smirking. He could hardly contain himself. This was perfect. He knew how easy it was to irritate you - he'd definitely had his fair share.

"Certainly, Severus." You called out calmly, watching the gaggle of students in front of you turn around to stare at you. As your eyes met with Lockhart, a flash of fear wiped across his face. That only spurred you on more. Your heels clacked against the floor cutting through the silence in the hall as you walked towards the end of the table that Severus had climbed up. As you reached the stairs, you held up your robes, careful not to trip.

Suddenly, a large and pale hand appeared in your face. Your brows furrowed together in slight confusion, before softening as they saw who it belonged to. You bit your tongue as you tried impeccably hard not to blush in front of half of the school. Graciously, you took Severus's hand lightly, watching how it swamped your smaller one, allowing him to help you up the steps. He was six-foot-one, possibly six-foot-two, after all. Once you were standing on top of the table he released your hand, to your dismay of course, but you didn't show it. There was a bigger thing at stake currently - handing Lockhart's ass to him.

You saw the author clench his jaw harshly, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed nervously. You couldn't help but paint an innocent smile on your face. Behind you, Severus stepped backwards, allowing you to move past him and towards Lockhart. You nodded at him, keeping your narrowed eyes trained on the strawberry-blonde liability in front of you.

The two of you walked towards each other, stopping in the middle of the table once again. "Wands at the ready." Severus said, trying his best to hide how entertaining he was finding this. You and Lockhart drew your wands, flicking them up to your face again and whipping them down to your sides with a sharp whoosh. You met each other's glaring eyes.

"Hello, friend." You muttered to him quietly, an innocent yet threatening smile gracing your lips. Lockhart's face might have seemed confident and prepared, however his terrified eyes painted a different picture. He was rightfully worried, you still had a lot of unreleased resentment towards him.

"Professor L/N, you are the attacker and Lockhart, you are the defender, obviously." Severus stated.

You and Lockhart turned around and walked forwards five paces, before turning around again. "One, two, three!" Severus called, his eyes widening a tad, eager to see the outcome of his proposition.

"Everte Statum!" You exclaimed, beating Lockhart at his own game. A string of pale pink light shot from the tip of your wand, landing square in the middle of Lockhart's chest. Your eyes were glued onto him as he flew backwards once more, his body flipping through the air like a gymnast - though a lot less graceful. He landed with a muffled thud, a short cry slipping from his mouth. Behind you, Severus was slowly losing his composure, letting a small huff of air escape his lips as he watched you, amused at the scene. He was impressed with your ability, and in his mind he pondered curiously about whether you'd duelled before.

Gasps and laughs erupted from the students surrounding you, though a handful of them also looked worried for Lockhart's wellbeing.

"Not bad for a Herbology professor, methinks." You smiled proudly, clasping your hands together in front of you as you waited for your opponent to climb to his feet again. You half-turned to glance back at Severus, prompting an approving nod from him, the corner of his lips quirking, teasing a small smile. You hummed quietly to yourself as you looked away, returning your attention to Lockhart, your cheeks tinting pink from the eye contact with Snape.

"I believe you owe Professor L/N an apology, professor." Severus said from behind you, quite smugly. You poked your tongue into your cheek, glancing at the floor in front of you to pull yourself together. This whole ordeal was sending you into overdrive. You knew the only reason that Snape was supporting you was because you shared a mutual dislike for Lockhart, but it still felt good to have his approval, perhaps even his attention. You could feel your heart pick up in pace as you thought back to the closeness you and him had shared during those heated, intense bickers.

"I should not have underestimated you, Professor L/N." Lockhart reluctantly said, his hand gently rubbing his behind, clenching his jaw as he stared at you and Snape. You smiled bitterly at him, nodding once and making your way back towards the Potions Master. As you neared him, he leaned towards you, catching your eye. Your breath hitched slightly.

"Nicely done." Severus muttered to you, another tiny smug smirk tugging at his lips. You sucked in part of your bottom lip momentarily before allowing a composed smile to grace your features. "I'm impressed." He added, making your head spin. You swallowed thickly. Gods, you needed to get out of here now if you wanted to leave with at least a shred of your dignity.

"Thanks." You barely managed to keep your voice steady as he leaned away from you, holding his out his hand again for you to take. You took it, praying to Merlin above that your shaking knees didn't give way to you as you carefully stepped down the stairs.

Snape arched a brow at you, his eyes narrowing slightly in a glare, silently reprimanding you for saying such a thing. How could you forget? 'Do not thank me', his words rang in your head as you let go of his hand. As much as you wanted to stay, you weren't sure your heart could take much more of this.

Fuck, maybe that hateful relationship the two of you shared previously was the better option. There was no way you were surviving this year in such close proximity to Severus.

"Don't touch that please, Mr Finnigan." You sighed softly, catching a glimpse of Seamus attempting to reach towards the head of a potted Mandrake. "Not until I say so, and you will see why." You added warningly, watching him reel himself back, a look of slight fear on his face. You smiled gratefully at him. "So, as I was saying, today you will be learning how to handle Mandrakes, and what their uses are." A few curious mutterings came from the students as you stepped forwards, flicking your wand upwards to float some protective earmuffs to each student in the class. They looked at them confusedly, reaching out to grab a hold of a pair.

"Who here can tell me the properties of the Mandrake root?" You asked as you watched the students collect their respective earmuffs, eyes flicking over to a particularly eager Hermione Granger. "Yes, Miss Granger?" You smiled, linking your fingers together.

"Mandrake, or Mandrogora is used to return those who have been Petrified to their original state. It's also quite dangerous, as the Mandrake's cry is fatal to anyone who hears it." Hermione said confidently, widening your smile. She was definitely a bright student.

"Brilliant, ten points to Gryffindor." You nodded, glancing at all of the students. The Gryffindor students all grinned at the sound of your words, giving Hermione an excited nod of thanks. "Now, as our Mandrakes are still only seedlings, their cries won't kill you yet, but they could knock you out for several hours, hence the earmuffs I have supplied you all with." You said sternly, hoping each and every one of the students were listening. You weren't particularly fond of paying the infirmary a visit today. "For your own safety, you will need to wear these. So please, can you all put them on right away?" You asked politely, feeling a sense of relief as every student obeyed you. "Make sure the flaps are tight down, too." You added sternly, noticing some students had just sloppily placed them on. Said students readjusted their equipment.

"Lovely, now watch me closely." You said, turning your attention to the potted Mandrakes in front of you. "Now, you grasp it firmly," you instructed, fingers grabbing on tightly to the top of the plant, "you pull it sharply out of the pot, like so." Instantly, the high-pitched wailing of the young Mandrake filled the greenhouse, making some of the students squirm out of fright. You couldn't help but smile at them; you remembered the first time you'd experienced the shrill wail of a Mandrake seedling in this very greenhouse. "Okay? Now, you dunk it down into the other pot and pour a little sprinkling of soil to keep him warm." You explained, doing as you said, shovelling handfuls of soil into the new pot with the crying Mandrake seedling inside of it.

Suddenly, the sound of a student groaning caught your attention. You looked up, spotting Neville Longbottom's eyes rolling into the back of his head as he fell backwards, fainting. You sighed. Well, nothing is perfect.

"Mr Longbottom has obviously been neglecting his ear muffs." You pursed your lips, casting a sympathetic gaze his way. It always seems to be Longbottom in trouble. Amused snickers and inquisitive 'oh's broke out for a quick moment before you shut them down with a sharp shush.

"He's just fainted, ma'am," Seamus Finnigan protested, glancing between the unconscious boy and yourself. You nodded at him, holding up a light hand to reassure him.

"He'll be okay, Mr Finnigan, just make sure you don't step on him." You said, inhaling softly, turning your attention back to the whole of the class. "Right, off you go, there's plenty of pots to go around," You gestured to the table in front of you, observing the students carefully. "Grasp the Mandrake, and pull it up sharply like I demonstrated." A chorus of crying and shrieking Mandrakes reached your ears as you observed the class repeat your demonstration and you grimaced slightly at the raucous plants. You forgot how loud these little things were in groups. "Careful, Mr Malfoy, don't-" You sighed again, watching helplessly as he stuck his finger into the mouth of one.

Merlin, give me strength, you pleaded, watching him glare at the Mandrake seedling as he ripped his bitten finger out of it's mouth.

"Professor," came a voice to your right, capturing your attention, "You were great at duelling earlier." A blonde girl with big, blue eyes said. Luna Lovegood.

"Ah, thank you, Miss Lovegood." You smiled at her gratefully. "I'm not usually one to duel, however," You paused for a moment, pondering on your words. These were students you were talking to, so you had to be cautious with what you said. "However, I should really be thanking Professor Snape." You finished with a coy smile.

"He totally likes you, professor, didn't you see the way he helped you up the steps?" Another student called out, inducing some giggles from the girls. You rolled your eyes at them, quite positive that they were just pulling your leg.

"Let's not be hasty, now," You laughed lightly, frowning at their words. "I can tell you now that Professor Snape and I just about tolerate each other. The only reason he helped me up those steps was out of pure chivalry, I can assure you." You felt your cheeks begin to burn as your mind reeled back to earlier this morning, thinking about the way your hand felt in his, and how he looked at you after you had duelled Lockhart.

You cleared your throat and your mind, focusing back on the task at hand. "If I'm honest, I don't believe Professor Snape is capable of producing such feelings for a woman." You added absentmindedly, your tone a little bitter. A chorus of gasps and ooh's reached your ears, reminding you that you were in the presence of students - students that like to talk. "I didn't say that… don't… don't tell him I said that…" You groaned, fingers flying up to grasp the bridge of your nose in stress.

Fuck. You really needed to stop talking without thinking. That was another thing Severus had said to you a couple weeks back at the beginning of the year, no? You were still the same silly girl that didn't think before she spoke? You hated how you were proving him right, especially since you'd denied and protested it.

There was a beat of silence as you stared at the Mandrake seedlings in front of you, your mind floating back to when he was so close to you, his intoxicating smell of smoke, books and sweet wine invading your nostrils. The way his hauntingly dark eyes stare so deep into yours, his nostrils flaring ever so slightly out of anger.

"You're blushing, professor!" An amused student called out, pointing at your burning cheeks as he pulled you out of your daydream. Merlin, these kids were distracting you. Definitely not helping.

"Alright, alright, that's enough chit-chat, ladies and gentlemen, back to work, please." You shook your head, trying to ignore the tightening knot in your stomach. A few bashful giggles erupted in front of you. "I want all of these Mandrakes repotted by the end of the lesson, please."

Soon enough, the bell tolled and your students had done very well, apart from Longbottom, of course. You'd sent an owl to the infirmary to notify Madam Pomfrey of Neville's state. You assured her that he would wake in a few hours. How was this boy continuously finding himself in such situations? Severus was right. Again.

A quiet groan left your lips as you collapsed into your chair behind your desk, eyes glued thoughtfully to a beautiful, singular white lily that you had potted and placed as a decoration on your desk. You were just about to relax into your chair and open up a book to read for an hour or so when you heard Professor McGonagall's worried voice over the intercom.

"All students are to return to their dormitories immediately. All teachers to the second floor corridor." She said hurriedly, causing a worrisome look to stir on your face. This was serious, Minerva had never requested something like this before in your time teaching and learning at Hogwarts.

What had happened now?

part 5

part 4, done and dusted bitches B)

i hope you enjoyed reading, and thank you so much to everyone that has supported this through likes, reblogs and comments!! i appreciate every single one of you. honestly. much love to you guys.

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tallteenturtle · 24 days

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Nancy Drew: Curse of Blackmoor Manor

I fell down a bit of a heraldry rabbit hole recently and decided to spend several hours compiling info about the Penvellyn family off the wiki and then used online heraldry resources to analyze their individual coat of arms. Did the game devs intend the shields to be interpreted this way? Probably not. But if I dont over-analyze 20 year old childrens computer games what else am I going to do with my life??

Here are all the people whose portraits hang in the great hall along with info we learn about them from Jane (and occasionally Nigel), their coat of arms, and my amateur interpretation of the symbolism.

Randulf ( - 1401)

“Randulf the Red, so named for his bright red hair, was considered a hero at the Battle of Poitiers. For his heroism, King Edward III awarded him with the lands in the region called "Penvellyn". That's how we got our name.”

Randulf's coat of arms says "IN HOC SIGNO" which translates to "in this sign (you will conquer)"

Comet; unknown in heraldry but refers to the family treasure

Red; Military might, warrior.

(putting the rest under the cut to save you much scrolling)

Odo (1354 – 1404)

“Yeah, he isn't very exciting, really. Liked farming and cows. His son Milo is much more interesting.”

“Those Manuscripts are very old and brittle. They date back to the 14th century. Odo Penvellyn collected most of them. His father Randulf and son Milo were rather more interested in military victories than in book collecting.”

Odo's coat of arms says "PROSPERITAS" which translates to "success".

Milo (1376 – 1423)

Green; Hope, joy, loyalty

Deer/hart; One who will not fight unless provoked, peace and harmony

“Milo inherited not only his grandfather's red hair but his military prowess. Milo was instrumental in the Siege of Caen and was awarded even more lands by Henry V.”

Milo's coat of arms says "VICTUM INVIDEO SILENTE" which translates to "the conquered shall envy the dead".

Hugo (1401 – 1466)

Comet; unknown in heraldry

Red; Military might, warrior

Teardrop; “One who has endured torrents”

“Um, he had a lot of kids, and his dates were 1401 to 1466.”

Hugo's coat of arms says "CITO FIT QUOD DEI VOLUNT" which translates to "what the gods want happens soon".

Albert (1427 – 1508)

Bee; Industrious, diligent

Acorn; Antiquity, strength

Red; Military might, warrior

Green; Hope, joy, loyalty

“He was very mysterious and the people of Blackmoor were afraid of him because he knew all these scientific things. No one knows much about him, though.”

Albert's coat of arms says "TIMENDI CAUSA EST NESCIRE" which translates to "ignorance is the cause of fear".

Edmund (1447 – 1499)

Book (open); Manifestation, knowledge

Blue; Truth, loyalty

Green; Hope, joy, loyalty

“He was into cows. He did a lot of breeding of cows and sheep and got some kind of award from the King.”

Edmund's coat of arms says "UT SEMENTUM FECERIS ITA METES" which translates to "As you sow, so shall you reap".

Charles (1478 – 1553)

Hawk (Falcon): One who does not rest until objective achieved, purpose, goal-oriented

Red; Military might, warrior

Blue; Truth, loyalty

"Ooh, ooh - Charles was a very famous judge and wrote very important books on law. But his boy, Garrett, drowned when he was really young.”

Charles's coat of arms says "MINIMA MAXIMA SUNT" which translates to "The smallest things are the most important".

Thomas (1526 – 1584)

Rainbow; Good times after bad

Moon; Serene power over the mundane

Sun; Creativity and enlightenment

Blue; Truth, loyalty

“He was Charles's grandson and wrote a lot of poetry. He also had 3 wives: Catherine, Anne, and Mary. But not like at the same time. They died and he just remarried.”

Thomas's coat of arms says "AGE PRO VIRIBUS" which translates to "in all that you do, do your best".

James (1560 – 1650)

Eagle (2 heads); Joining 2 strong forces

Purple; Nobility and justice

Green; Hope, joy, loyalty

T is presumably for Thomas, no heraldic meaning

“He never married but one day, when he was very old, a baby was found on the doorstep to the manor. He took her in and raised her as his own. That was Elinor.”

James's coat of arms says "ARS LONGA" which translates to "art lives long" (from the phrase, ars longa vita brevis - art is long, life is short).

Elinor (1626 – 1650)

Maltese cross; Blessings, protection

Red; Military might, warrior

Green; Hope, joy, loyalty

Blue; Truth, loyalty

Purple; Nobility and justice

“Just that she was burned as a witch but it wasn't true and her father, James, died when he saw her die and then the family fled to France. I don't want to talk about this.”

Elinor's coat of arms says "AUDACES FORTUNA IUVAT" which translates to "fortune favors the bold".

Corbin (1670 – 1741)

Lion rampant; Courage, integrity, strength

Red; Military might, warrior

Purple; Nobility and justice

“Uh…I dunno. He doesn't have a coat of arms in the Great Hall because he didn't live here; wasn't even a British subject. That's all I know.”

Corbin's coat of arms says "NUNQUAM DEDISCEO" which translates to "never forget".

This shield is notably absent from the great hall, and also is the only one to feature decoration on the outside of the shield.

Sun; Fountain of life, intelligence, innovation, creativity, enlightenment

Wheat; Faithful

Vines/Ivy; Strong and lasting friendship, academia

Philippe (1689 – 1777)

“He made a fortune in the New World and bought back most of the lands that were confiscated by Cromwell.”

Philippe's coat of arms says "NOVUS MUNDUS" which translates to "a new world".

Penelope (1714 – 1783)

Fleur de Lis; Symbol of France

Purple; Nobility and justice

Blue; Truth, loyalty

“I don't know very much about her, except that she was very loved by practically everyone in England, and there were a million poems written about her.”

“Those are mainly Penelope Penvellyn's collections of French novels. She was a patron to a raft of artists, and her salon was quite popular. She was quite the libertine, even kept her maiden name after her marriage.”

Penelope's coat of arms says "PULCHRITUDO IN OMNIA" which translates to "there is beauty in all things".

Martha (1739 – 1791)

Pegasus; Poetic genius and inspiration

Fleur de lis; Symbol of France

Lion rampant; Courage and integrity

Wheel; fortune, cycle of life

Purple; Nobility and justice

Red; Military might, warrior

“She was completely daft - she'd wear really bizarre outfits and she was one of the first women to ride on a steam train.” (This is particularly impressive as the steam train did not exist until 10 years after her death. Oops!)

Martha's coat of arms says "SINE SCIENTIA ARS NIHIL EST" which translates to "without understanding, art is nothing".

Brigitte (1759 – 1833)

Unicorn; Extreme courage, virtue, strength.

Teardrop symbolism; “One who has endured torrents” gold means generosity or elevation of the mind.

The gear and atom are not traditional heraldic symbols but can represent progress and science.

Red; Military might, warrior

Green; Hope, joy, loyalty

Blue; Truth, loyalty

Purple; Nobility and justice

“She never married and was bonkers for astronomy; she adopted her sister's son, Richard, who later got killed at Waterloo."

Brigitte's coat of arms says "LUDI SINE GAUDIO LUDI NON SUNT" which translates to "sport without fun is not sport."

"Brigitte with her eyes so bright, looks toward heaven at midnight on the longest night of year, that's the one she holds most dear. 'Starry friends,' she's often heard to say, 'how I wish that I could make you stay.' She knows though they can't remain, time will bring them 'round again."

Only shield to have white decorations on the colored background

Star; Divine quality from above

Dove; Loving constancy and peace

Compass; Direction

Purple; Nobility and justice

Richard (1787 – 1815)

“He died in Waterloo fighting against Napoleon.”

Richard's coat of arms says "SI SIC OMNES" which translates to "if only this could last forever".

Edward (1809 – 1904)

Banner down center shield (the Pale); Military or defensive strength

Star; Divine quality from above. The specific star (nautical star) is not traditional heraldry but symbolizes finding way home.

Red; Military might, warrior

Green; Hope, joy, loyalty

Purple; Nobility and justice

“He was a big explorer and went all over the world. He wasn't very close with his son, who was also an explorer. They'd only see each other by chance in weird remote places like Samarkand or Walla Walla.”

Edward's coat of arms says "BIS VIVAT QUI BON VIVAT" which translates to "Whoever lives well lives twice".

Knight (especially on horseback); The soul guiding the body; man’s journey through life

Lightning Bolt: Swiftness and power; spiritual enlightenment.

Unicorn; Extreme courage, virtue, strength.

I dont know what the warrior with the spear and sword means

Scepter; Emblem of Justice

Green; Hope, joy, loyalty

Blue; Truth, loyalty

William (1833 – 1901)

“He was an explorer, just like his father. He was kind of a whiner, so I heard.”

William's coat of arms says "DIES PERDIDI" which translates to "another day wasted".

John (1873 – 1954)

Bend Sinister (the band across the shield); Sometimes used to indicate illegitimacy. If that is the meaning here that would be very interesting and explain why he wasnt close with his father

Red; Military might, warrior

Green; Hope, joy, loyalty

“He was this huge naturalist and did a lot of exploration in the Amazon. I think there's a plant named after him. Or maybe a monkey; I forget.”

John's coat of arms says "PER AURES AD ANIMUM" which translates to "through the ears to the spirit".

Malachi (1894 – 1972)

Parrot and mouth not traditional symbols but probably represent interest in wildlife and linguistics.

Green; Hope, joy, loyalty

Blue; Truth, loyalty

“He was a doctor of medicine and did a lot of research on icky skin diseases.”

Malachi's coat of arms says "NUMEN LUMEN" which translates to "divine light is my guide".

Alan (1923 – 1993)

Sun; Fountain of life, intelligence, innovation, creativity, enlightenment

Purple; Nobility and justice

“He was my grandfather but I didn't know him because he died when I was little. I guess he was nice.”

Alan's coat of arms says "PURGAMENTUM EXIT" which translates to "garbage out" (referencing part of a programmers' saying "garbage in, garbage out").

Serpent; Wisdom

Red; Military might, warrior

#nancy drew #curse of blackmoor manor #nancy drew: curse of blackmoor manor #nancy drew PC games #her interactive #Penvellyn family #heraldry #fandom deep dive #nancy drew games #her interactive games #this is very niche content and i will not apologize #blackmoor manor spoilers

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zablife · 1 year

Text

Bye Bye Blackbird

Tommy Shelby x female reader

Summary: Tommy's love interest from before the war leaves for the excitement of the city, but a chance encounter years later finds her disillusioned with all that sparkles. Can he convince her to come home?

Author’s Note: Requested by the lovely @runnning-outof-time.

Warnings: language, mention of PTSD, drinking, mention of prostitution, angst

It started before the war, you would sing in Harry’s pub on Saturdays. Back then a young man with dark hair and the bluest eyes you’d ever seen would come to listen. You knew he was there just for you because Harry said he didn’t come any other day of the week like the other regulars. He never drank much either. His two brothers would accompany him sometimes, flanking him in a booth. Each of his brothers would raise a pint, sloshing it precariously, as they jostled him back and forth with the force of their merriment. They shouted and sang along to the drinking songs, but your admirer liked the quiet, heartfelt ballads best. You wondered if he even heard them over the din of the crowd, but his lovestruck gaze told you he wasn’t just there for the songs.

One evening in the autumn of 1913 he waited for you, twisting his cap in his hands as you pulled your coat over your shoulders. You jumped when you turned to find him waiting for you, but the gentle look in his eyes calmed you instantly. He introduced himself asking “What’s your name or shall I go on referring to you as Blackbird?”

“Blackbird?” you asked inquisitively, a warmth creeping into your face and ears.

“Yes because they sing into the night like you do,” he explained, looking down at his shoes. “I didn’t know what else to call you.”

“Oh, I see…erm, you can call me Y/n now if you like. My name is Y/n,” you stumbled over your words, wondering how often Tommy had spoken of you to others.

That night he offered to walk you home, careful to watch for any discomfort in your posture. When you displayed a radiant smile, he felt his heart swell and that started a nightly ritual that quickly escalated to seeing one another as often as possible.

There wasn’t much romance to be found in a town as rough and cold as Brimingham, but Tommy transformed it just for you with late night strolls by the canal and quiet chats in his Uncle Charlie’s scrap metal yard. You found you could talk to Tommy about anything because he understood what it was to dream about having more in the midst of the smoke and dirt that surrounded you.

Although you didn’t offer much about yourself at first, Tommy revealed his gentle nature in the way he was with the horses. It was one of the first things he shared with you, confiding how he hoped to have his own stables one day. He demonstrated how to pet the large beasts in slow, deliberate strokes. With his hand over yours, you felt comforted as well.

Somehow over time, there in the dark stillness of the night, it was easier to confess how much you wanted from life. You dreamed of brightly lit stages and audiences of bejeweled patrons clapping just for you. Tommy was the only person who didn’t laugh at you. He would listen as you spoke, eyes shining in the dim light as though it was the most fascinating thing he’d ever heard. “Will you come see me when I’m famous?” you giggled.

“Every night,” he replied earnestly, tucking a few stray hairs behind your ear, leaning in for a tender kiss.

A year later he wasn’t on his way to an opera house or even a dance hall. You walked him to the train station for a tearful goodbye neither of you were fully prepared to say.——————————————————-

In the months that followed, you waited for Tommy’s letter saying he was coming home. No one expected the war to last and Tommy had promised to return to you swiftly. Keeping hope alive, you washed your hair on Fridays and put on his favorite dress, swaying and singing along to the tune of a gramophone. Truthfully, the ritual of it was the only thing tethering you to sanity. You longed for the day you’d receive a letter asking you to make the bed and light a fire to welcome him home. You were hopeful in the early days.

As the years wore on, those ideas faded with the dreams of your youth and you became more practical. With the men away at war, you took up a job at the BSA and forgot about singing. No one wanted to hear your songs, and even if they had, you struggled to remember the words. You’d watched countless women, unskilled at their work, fall victim to injury and you were disillusioned by a life locked away in a factory.

When a coworker named Millie began concocting a plan to run away to London to escape the pressures of daily life, you began to lend a sympathetic ear. Soon temptation descended and you were unable to deny you wanted a way out as well. However, you often reminded yourself that your circumstances weren’t the same as hers. Her brother had returned with a bad case of shell shock, flying into fits of rage that left her and her mother scared for their lives. You couldn’t blame her for wanting to leave, but you had Tommy to think of. What if he came home to no one waiting for him? Could you abandon him that way?

Then Tommy’s letters stopped arriving in the mail and you failed at all attempts to push dark thoughts from your mind. No matter what you did, they crept in at night like a thief, stealing the happy memories you’d carefully stored away. When you were alone and scared, trembling from fear that Tommy may never return, the devil whispered in your ear that you were all alone. Convinced there was nothing left for you at home, you made a new life in London and never looked back.

You and Millie let a flat together and tried to be family for one another. Without leaving a forwarding address, you had no other choice. Millie found work in a bakery and you jumped at the chance to perform at the Eden Club. Things looked bright for a brief shining moment before your tomorrows began to fade away once more.

———————————

"Blackbird?” a low, rough voice called from behind your left shoulder, leaving a trail of goosebumps down your arm. It had been so long since anyone called you that. You knew it could only be one man. A lump formed in your throat involuntarily and you briefly considered walking away, but you knew he’d only follow you. Turning to face him, you readied a mask for the occasion, hoping the cracks didn’t show.

“Hello handsome,” you purred, treating him like any other customer.

Tommy halted as he observed you, “Can we talk?” he asked hesitantly. It had been far too long and he had so much he wanted to know. You’d left Birmingham abruptly and no one had been able to find you, though plenty of people still asked about the girl with the beautiful voice.

“That depends,” you said, batting your lashes at him. “I’m in high demand this time of night so you’ll have to pay for the privilege.”

He quirked an eyebrow at you, unfamiliar with this new persona. It was so far removed from the fresh faced girl he’d known from the Garrison. The finger waves in your hair and the short dress weren’t the only differences though, your whole attitude had changed. You carried yourself with an air of haughty entitlement.

“Why don’t you start by buying me a drink,” you suggested, raising your empty champagne glass to his eye level.

“The girl I used to know drank cordial and water,” he said, removing his hat, the light reflecting off the sharp edged metal at his fingertips.

“Well, people grow up,” you explained with a sharp inhale and a tight smile. “The boy I knew didn’t have razor blades sewn into his cap,” you retorted, eyeing him suspiciously.

You had heard all about Tommy’s business back in Birmingham. He was making a name for himself as a dangerous gangster whom many feared. While it hurt to hear how much the war had changed him, the deepest cut was knowing he arrived home safely and never came looking for you, but you couldn’t show that now.

Tommy clenched his jaw as he shoved his cap into his pocket, taking a step closer to you. “It’s not the same, Y/n,” he protested, shaking his head. You rolled your eyes, wondering how he could be so naive to think people didn’t change with time and circumstance. If Sabini’s men were to be believed, he was no different than you when it came to making deals.

“Do you want to know a secret?” you asked leaning in to whisper conspiratorially, light breath fanning over his ear as your fingertips brushed along his shoulder. “Everyone’s a whore, Tommy. We just sell different parts of ourselves.” Pulling back to see if it had the desired effect, you gave him a knowing smile. Tommy’s handsome face held a note of pain briefly as he realized he didn’t recognize the hardened woman before him.

“When I returned home from France, I did what I had to do for my family. If you had waited for me, I would have helped you too. I can still help you,” he asserted.

“You’re on the wrong side of pity, Tommy,” you scoffed. “I don’t need you to take care of me. I did that quite well for five years,” you explained, but the words took on a pathetic, hollow tone, even to your ears.

You might have changed the scenery over time, but your days were as difficult and tedious as they had been at the factory. Life as a chorus girl took you nowhere so you’d had to find other means to pay the rent. Providing company to wealthy gentlemen might have kept a roof over your head, but it didn’t fill the hole in your heart. You shook your head, knowing it was too late for regrets and feeling too stubborn to admit your plight to Tommy.

As usual though, Tommy saw through you. “You expect me to believe this is the life you chose, eh?” You looked away momentarily, gritting your teeth when confronted by the dirty secret lying beneath your glittering facade.

“If you feel you’ve humiliated me enough for one evening, I’ll go,” you said, attempting to brush past Tommy, but he grabbed your arm above the elbow, pulling you back to face him. The beads of your dress clashed against your body, protesting the sudden stop and your face held a momentary hint of shock.

“You had a perfectly good life in Birmingham. Come home,” he pleaded, brows knit in a serious expression.

“I’m not stupid enough to think anyone back home is waiting for my return. Who would love me now?” you asked, bitterness seeping from your tongue.

“I would,” Tommy said, blue eyes holding you in a determined stare. “Do you believe me?” He held his breath as he awaited an answer.

“A thousand sunrises ago…I might have,” you said sorrowfully, Meeting his gaze you confessed, “I’m not sure I have a place for you, in here, anymore Tommy,” you said, gesturing toward your heart. “I’ve had to shut everyone out for so long to survive and I’m not sure I have the courage to change,” you apologized as tears welled in your eyes.

You’d already held them back as long as you could and now they threatened to spring forth and reveal your weakness. Feeling as though you might suffocate, you pulled away from him and pushed through the crowd to find a way out. You could hear Tommy shouting at people, shoving them out of his way in his haste to follow you. “Don’t look back,” you mumbled angrily to yourself, swiping at the rivulets, trickling down your cheeks, ruining your make up.

Once outside, you walked brusquely in the cold night air, heels clicking against the pavement until your lungs burned. You didn’t want to think about what Tommy was offering or how badly you wanted him back in your life. You heard the heavy door of the club slam shut, followed by footsteps pounding incessantly behind you. “Y/n, stop! Look in my eyes and tell me you don’t remember what we used to be?”

You stopped suddenly, dropping your head in your hands. You did remember, every night spent singing to him at the Garrison and every sunrise over the canal. As you stood, shoulders shaking with the force of your sobs, Tommy approached carefully and placed his coat around you for warmth.

“Cause I never forgot. I tried to find you, but Sabini’s men got to my messenger first,” Tommy said, hanging his head at the memory of the boy who had been killed crossing into enemy territory to find you.

“What?” you said, spinning around to face him. “You looked for me?” Tommy nodded in affirmation. “You forgave me for leaving?” you asked, wiping the tears as they fell.

“Nothing to forgive,” Tommy said with a quick shake of his head. You’d done nothing to deserve your circumstances. He only wanted you home where you could be together.

He offered you his handkerchief as you let out a sniffle. “Tommy, what if we don’t work out?” you asked in a small, frightened voice.

“Only one way to find out,” he said, reaching a hand out toward you, “Come back to me, Blackbird. I don't want to say goodbye again.”

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

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#Peaky Blinders fanfic #Peaky Blinders imagine #Tommy Shelby fanfic #Tommy Shelby imagine #Tommy Shelby x you #Tommy Shelby x y/n #Tommy Shelby x reader #cillian murphy

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observeowl · 3 months

Text

Unwanted Marriage | Chapter 4 - Going above and beyond

Series Masterlist

"Thanks to you guys, the bonus for this month, was give to us, Team 2 instead of Team 1. This time round, people from Team 1 won't have anything to mock us about." Millicent said as she brought us to the meeting room where Mr Stark called for a meeting.

You just hoped that this won't be a reason for you to be picked on. Once you entered, you could see Sharon's scowl on her face accompanied by her two companions. "Mr Stark, Team 2's news were too exaggerated isn't it?" One of them said. "Yes, even though the magazine press gained quite a number of attention, but we also gained a number of negative responses." Another added.

"But we can't just be beaten for no reason!" Wanda said. "Ok, ok, calm down. This incident has its pros and cons, let bygones be bygones." Mr Stark got everyone's attention at the head of the table. "Now we have 2 very important and difficult interviews coming up. They are very influential businessmen, we must take it on. The two groups will be responsible for one interview each. Team 1 will interview Carol Danvers. Wanda, I heard you are a fan of Natasha Romanoff so Team 2 shall be in charge of interviewing her."

Natasha... what were the chances that you were actually assigned to interview her.

"Natasha Romanoff? Isn't she the boss of Romanoff Corporation?" // "I have heard that Carol Danvers doesn't accept most of the interviews..."

"Then, what should we do, Sharon...?"

With the dismissal of the meeting, you and Wanda start planning how you were going approach Natasha to get a meeting. You weren't too sure about their history in terms of getting interviews and asked Wanda about it. "Carol has never accepted any interviews. Natasha was alright in the past, but ever since she got into an accident, she never accepted any interviews again. We tried to contact him previously, and did not even went past his assistant."

You nodded at her explanation and wondered what happened in that accident. "So, Natasha is your idol?"

"Natasha Romanoff used to be everyone's dream in the city, man or woman. It's a pity she got into an accident." Her eyes sparkled as she talked about her idol.

"I know it's not an easy task, but we must do our best for the sake of Team 2's reputation and pride." Millicent encouraged as she gave you all a brief guide on where to begin. "Just the thought of meeting my idol, makes me so nervous! Even though we might be able to meet!" Wanda was shaking wth excitement and it's not often that she feels so happy for an assignment. "I heard that she have gotten married, but has kept it a secret from the public. I wonder who would be so lucky to be her partner!" She gossiped with you and you replied with an awkward smile. not knowing that you were the one.

Once you reached home, you spotted Clint coming out of his room and you whispered to his name to get his attention. "Clint! Psps, over here." You waved for him to come closer. "Did you just 'psps' at me?"

"Doesn't matter. Does Natasha not accept any interview at all?" You asked. "Y/N, you can ask her in person." You averted your eye and replied. "I got no intention at all, just asking."

"What are the two of you doing?" You didn't even realised you were standing right in front of her room and got a shock when she opened the door. "Y/N was asking me about interviewing you." You couldn't believe you were betrayed straightaway.

"Well, alright, I'll get this straight." You resigned to your fate. "Ms Romanoff... Our magazine would like to invite you to do an interview, I do no know if you would like to... come..." You tried your best to put on a professional smile, but all Natasha could see was you trying your best not to break into a sweat. After not receiving a reply, you thought all was going down and there was no way she would agree to it.

"What interview?"

"Are you interested?" You squatted down next to her at her armrest and continued. "The magazine became famous because of Sherry, so I would like to take this opportunity to get an interview with a few influential people. It's okay if you're not wiling to." You reinforced that she didn't have to do anything she wasn't comfortable in doing. "On what terms?" She asked. "Eh? You've got everything you want, what else do you want? And our company-"

"I want you."

"What, what are you talking about?"

"I say, I want you to treat me to dinner. What are you thinking?" You gave an awkward half laugh and sigh. "I promise you! I will arrange for the interview."

"Really? Natasha Romanoff, you're the best. Let me go and see what Brooke is cooking, I will bring up for you." That was the first time Natasha has seen you smile so brightly and freely, like the best painting she has ever seen.

You were thinking if you should tell Wanda about this when Brooke told you that someone called you using the home landline. You wondered who would have the number as you brought the phone to your ears.

S: Y/N, you went too far! Are you the one behind what happened to Sherry? Do you know you just wrecked the future of a good singer? How could you do this?

You: This happened because Sherry wanted to help Maggie get back at me. If she didn't refuse to let me go, it won't end up like this.

S: She knows that she's wrong, you can retreat the news. Let's just forget about this.

You: Now this have already gone too far. Neither you nor I could settle it down. Also, you don't have to seek up to me so frequently. Marcus and Y/L/N's industry is all yours, I have no interest in it, so what you do keep bothering me?

S: Y/N! What nonsense are you talking about? I just couldn't bear it so I wanted to help them!

You: You are clear about your thought. This is what they deserve to have.

S: Y/N Y/L/N, don't you feel guilty?

You: I'm sorry, not even a bit.

You rebutted and hung up the phone. "Brooke, if this person calls in the future, please hang up. Don't need to get me to answer." You said as you returned her the phone.

Back with Stephanie, she was making a mess in the living room. "Miss, please calm down, you already smashed many of Mr Y/L/N's antique!"

"Go away! All of you, get out!" She threw a pillow and it end up hitting on Marcus's chest. "Steph, why are you so upset?"

"Marcus! Y/N is pissing me off. You got to help me!"

"Enough, Steph! I've already told you Maggie is just using you, she never treated you as a friend."

"Marcus, what are you talking about?"

"Steph, I am exhausted from the corporation with the Y/L/N's. Can you please not bother me anymore?" In her mind, Y/N was still a threat to her.

"Dad, look what Y/N did. Because of our family, I gave Natasha to her, but she didn't help the company and didn't even come back home to see you." She complained and whined like a child would. "Dad, this is too much!" He shook his head, saying he will think of something for it.

In the end, he made a call to you feigning illness, using your sympathy to get you to visit him.

The next day, you visited your father with Natasha and he seems to be very happy that she was here. "Y/N, why didn't you tell me that Natasha is coming along?"

"I heard from Y/N that you're not feeling well, Y/N has been very worried so I decided to come with her. But you don't look like you're sick." She has no problem saying what she thinks even if it hurts the other's feeling.

"Natasha, my dad had high fever the whole day yesterday, he has just gotten better today." Stephanie came to assist her father. "He heard Y/N is back, so he came down to fetch her, but actually he is still weak."

"Y/N, come with me, I have something for you." You followed him to his room where he took something out from his drawer. "It is my fault to let you marry to Romanoff. I did not requie you to do anything else before. But don't forget the reason why you married into Romanoff family, I have done this for Y/L/N, the Y/L/N's family! If your mother was still here, she would also have agreed. Just because of you, Stephanie gave up the marriage and accepted Marcus so that you could marry Natasha Romanoff, don't make her sad okay?" You fault hard to not roll you eyes in front of him. "Your mother left this to you. She said this would be your dowry when you get married." He handed you a jade ring you have never seen before. "That time we were so poor, so you rmum only have this favourite ring."

Despite what had happened between the rest of your family, you had fond memories of your mother before she passed. "I understand... dad."

You met Marcus along the hallway and he was trying to act like a victim and a saviour to you at the same time. But you were no longer the lovesick puppy who foolishly loved him and does everything he says. He tried to hold you back and hopes to make things anew but you weren't going to let him.

"What's wrong?" Natasha came along when she heard the commotion. "Natasha?" Despite being on a wheelchair, she must have a great upper body strength as she managed to pull you onto her lap. "Tell me, is anyone bothering you again?" You shook your head before standing up.

"If Mr Y/L/N is good, pardon us to leave first."

"Dad, Natasha is not used to eating out, we will be heading home first."

"Oh, alright then."

"There is something I forgot to say, that idol was banned by me. For saying what shouldn't have been said, and doing what shouldn't have been done. You understand what I mean right, Stephanie?" Despite not saying anything for a long time, Natasha recognised every presence in the room. "That video you recorded last time, don't let me see it again."

===

You went to work once the weekend was over and Wanda greeted you with a bad news. "I heard that Sharon has some relationships with Romanoff Corporation, and they changed our interview, so we are interviewing Carol instead!"

"Actually interviewing Carol is not bad, compared to Natasha Romanoff's eccentric character, it's better to interview Carol." Millicent said. Your preparation for the interview with Natasha turned out to be in vained and Wanda missed out on her chance to meet her idol. "You two go get ready for the interview, I'll contact the person. Remember, don't mind what others say, we just need to do our job properly."

Back at the table, Wanda was still complaining how she should have fought more in order to get the interview, but you had already changed your goal and planned to contact Carol's assistant first.

"Hello? Is this the assistant of Carol Danvers? We are from Stark News and we would like to invite her for an interview."

"Sorry, Miss Danvers is not available recently." She said and hung up the phone immediately, leaving you to hear the beeping sound of the phone.

Wanda was getting unmovivated as Team 1 has already made an appointment with Natasha Romanoff for interview. You were also getting frustrated not getting any progress with your assignment. But Wanda tapped your shoulder when he noticed a handsome man waiting by the door.

"What are you doing here, Marcus?" You said when you brought him to a secluded place away from prying eyes.

"I passed by and decided to come up and say hi." You chuckled. In the three years you were with him, never once did he thought of visiting you when you worked close to where he did. He was still harping on the case about Sherry and talking bad about Roamanoff. Thing were getting risky when he trapped you between his arms,

"Enough, let go of me. I am already married, brother-in-law, please behave!" You pushed him away. Stephanie came in at the wrong time and accused Marcus of being hanky panky with her. She even pulled you in saying that you were happy now that Sherry is blocked.

"Stephanie! That is all over, why do you still mention it? Y/N is your sister, I just happend to pass by here to visit her, what is wrong?"

"Bullshit! Admit to yourself! You just can't move on from your old relationship with her." In the heat of the moment, she slapped Marcus and pulled her hand back immediately. "Marcus, I, I didn't mean it, Marcus..."

"Let's go home." Marcus said softly. You shook your head at the incident and how your life has become.

You heard a clap as you come out of the emergency exit. "Unexpectedly, I saw a good play."

"What?" You asked irritatingly after receiving one trouble after the other. "Nothing, nothing. I just cant believe it's just another side of you. Already married and still want to snatch your sister boyfriend, no wonder Sherry is not your match either." She sneerred. "Think whatever you like."

"Don't you feel embarrassed?"

"If I have time to think about this, I would use it to get Carol's interview. Sharon, you can stay here if you like. I will pack up and get off work first." You brushed her off and walked away.

As you passed the gantry, your phone pinged with a message and you realised it was Natasha waiting outside the building. You rushed out thinking why did she come to such a crowded place. And true to her words, her car was waiting by the road side and got it after making sure no one was around to see you enter.

"Why are you here?" You asked after entering. "Passed by."

"Isn't it not convenient to show up?"

"I changed by car, idiot." The car drove for a few minutes until she spoke up again. "Oh right, my father is coming. Just be at ease."

Father? You remember seeing him during the wedding and his stern face scared you.

Once you returned home, you asked Brooke where he was. "He is in the study room alone."

"Let's go and accompany him." Natasha said to you and you were shocked beyond words. How were you going to approach him? You wheeled Natasha to the study room where you saw him playing chess with himself.

"Alexei, are you playing chess by yourself again?"

"You're back?" He turned his back and stood up making your heartbeat quicken once again as he was approaching you. "Y/N... Let's go eat dinner!" He said excitedly, making your jaw drop at his new expression. He was like a golden retriever, pulling you away from Natasha. "Since that brat wants to play chess, let him play by himself." You looked between Natasha and her father as you forced away.

You were sitting at dinning table, waiting to be served when he said something again. "Y/N, come here, I've got something to tell you." You went closer to him and Alexei made sure Natasha was not around to listen. "That fool, is she sleeping in a different room from you? What are you sacred of? Tell me the truth, is that brat bullying you? I will help you!"

"No, no. It's me who is afraid to wake him up, that's why I suggested to sleep in another room." You rushed to explain yourself. "Y/N, you're a good kid."

"Alexei, I am not as good as you think."

===

"Natasha! Your bed is so soft, and I have decided that I will sleep here! Tonight, you should stay with Y/N." Natasha having anticipated this, wasn't afraid of it. "No need, Brooke prepared a room for you, I'll just sleep there tonight."

When she entered the room, Brooke was putting on the finishing touches. "Miss, the room is ready, but the bathroom..."

"It's okay."

As it was the guest bedroom, it wasn't fixed with the kind of appliance that were friendly to wheelchair users. The showerhead was high up and poses a challenge to Natasha, having to stand up to reach it. Despite undergoing physical therapy to get back where she once was, she was not ready to take such a huge step in a slippery bathroom. When she slipped, everyone in the household in the second floor, could hear it.

"Nata-" Alexei wanted to help but was held back by you. "Alexei, let's go out first. You should get some rest. I will go see her afterwards. I believe she doesn't want anyone to see her now. If we remind her like this, it will make him feel worse."

You waited outside the bathroom until she come out. You saw that she was fine with no physical injury. "I'm fine." She said when she saw you sitting on the edge of the bed. "I know. I believe you."

===

"Why is Natasha Romanoff so hard to deal with?" One of the Team 1 members complained. "She promised to do the interview but he postponed it again! What is she up to?" "What should we do? Are we unable to interview her again?"

"Y/N, it seems like something cropped up for princess charming, why else would she postpone?" Wanda asked after eavesdropping. "If you have time to think about this, why don't you start thinking about how we should settle the interview for Carol!" As you teased Wanda for caring for a idol, you can't help but this if it was because of what happened yesterday that caused her to postpone the interview. Nonetheless, you tried calling Carol's assistant once again with Wanda listening in close next to your ears. "Hello, we are Stark News, may I ask if Carol Danvers is free to-"

"Sorry, Miss Danver has been on a holiday recently and is not available."

"How is it? How is it? Did Miss Danvers agree to do the interview?" Wanda asked as she sees you pulling your phone away. Seeing you shake your head, she collapsed onto her chair. "We are at our dead end now?"

"Go prepare the manuscript for tomorrow's publication, I'll try to contact Danver's assistant when I reach home tonight again."

"Then I'll leave that to you. I'll go back and prepare the interview script."

After a long day at work, you finally reach home in the evening. "Y/N! You're finally home!" Alexei came barreling to you before you were able to close the door. "A-Alexei! What's wrong?"

"You don't know how that brat bullied me when you're not home. I'm so bored at home and she just ignored me."

"Did I?"

"Y/N, let's ignore that little rascal." You sneaked in a little chuckle at the dynamic of this family. "Okay okay, let's eat first, shall we? I just smelled Brooke's cooking and I'm dead hungry."

"Humph." Alexei pulled a face acting like a child who didn't get what he wanted. At dinner, Natasha was constantly putting more food on your plate, making sure you ate enough until you told her to stop and you wouldn't be able to finish everything.

You stood by the balcony after dinner, feeling very satisfied. Thinking back to what Mr Stark said at the meeting, you decided to take another chance at calling Carol Danver's assistant again. If you were unable to get a meeting with her, you'd have to find another influential person to interview. Looking into the starry night, you prayed upon the stars that you would receive a favourable reply, but you only got a negative response.

Stepping back into the room, you shivered slightly now that it was starting to get into autumn, and it caught the eye of Alexei. He gave you a glass of water before berating his daughter again. "You drink this slowly, her own wife is getting a cold and she doesn't do anything about it." You chuckled a little before accepting the water. You didn't think he had such a character when you first met him and honestly, it is a respite towards the cold character that Natasha has been giving you.

"Oi, your wife has caught a cold, you should go show some concern." Alexei walked into Natasha's home office and announced. "Is she? She seemed fine just now."

"Girls are delicate, go check on her now!" He urged her to make a move, and she had no choice but to look into your room. You were fine when she wheeled past your room earlier as you were taking a call, but now, you were spread across the bed. "What's wrong? Where are you not feeling well?" She got closer to check. You were unable to reply coherently, but you noticed her right next to you. "Uh- so... dizzy, so hot..." You held her hand when she tried to measure your temperature.

"I'm so sad..." You suddenly sat up and hugged Natasha. "My dad doesn't want me, Marcus doesn't want me. Don't tell me you don't want me either." You cried onto her shoulder. "I won't." You pulled away and looked at her seriously. "You swear! Quick! I'm about to die from being so sad. If I die, I won't be able to hear you say it."

"Y/N... I swear-." She stopped halfway when she noticed you were drunk. "Natasha Romanoff, why do you look so beautiful and so hot." Influenced by the drink that Alexei gave you, you surged forward and kissed her on the lips. "Y/N..., you're drunk."

===

When you woke up in the morning, you shifted around before fully waking up and opening your eyes. In your haze, you managed to recognise the red hair in front of you and sat up in shock. "You're awake." The sudden movement must have woken Natasha. "You-you, I-." You pushed Natasha away before getting out of bed. "I just remember I have to get to the office, I have to go first."

You were brushing your teeth in the bathroom when you realised it must have been Alexei's doing last night when he gave you that glass of 'water'. You immediately rushed down to ask Brooke where he was, only to learn that he had already left, claiming to have to take care of his plants at home.

With Natasha, she called Alexei to check if it was indeed his doing. "Yup. She seemed to have caught a little cold. Coincidentally, I was brewing some medicinal wine! It was a gift from an old friend."

"You should drink less of that in the future, thank goodness nothing big happened. I'm hanging up." Next, she called Clint who was out of the office collecting some stuff for her before starting work. "Contact Carol, I want to invite Carol and her wife to lunch."

"Carol Danvers? Carol and Romanoff Corp. haven't had any business dealing, Nat. Is this-"

"This afternoon." Natasha interrupted. "Yes, Nat."

You arrived at your table in the office, and there was a feeling of contemplation and hesitation towards the next step. "Y/N, how are things on Carol's side?" Millicent came to check on you once she arrived at work. You shook your head negatively as all your efforts were for nought. "So we can only give up now? We can't let Group 1 make a fool of us. From now on, prepare for another interview! You're going to prepare another interview script for the Movie Queen Monica Rambeau.

You were working closely with Wanda for the next script when you heard your phone ring and were about to decline the call until you saw it was from Natasha. "Leave your afternoon free to accompany me to meet someone." You didn't even get to tell her you were busy and were unable to stay long on the phone. "Can it wait till I get off from work?"

"This afternoon, at 3pm, I am having a meeting with Carol Danvers."

That made you shoot up from your chair, scaring Wanda. "Carol Danvers? I want to go! I will request an afternoon leave!" You covered the receiver on your phone and turned to Millicent. "Millicent, can I get an afternoon leave? I am going to meet Carol."

"You can go now. Prepare everything you need! You must interview Carol this afternoon!"

"Do you need me to go with you?" Wanda asked. "I can go alone, if there are too many people, I'm afraid she will not be happy." You were trying to be cautious after the incident with Sherry.

To make sure the interview goes well, many people stepped forward to help you, including those you have never interacted with before.

===

"Miss Romanoff, the two have arrived, they are just waiting for you." The waiter showed the two of you to the room before opening the door for you. "What is the occasion that made you think about treating us today?" From the way she speaks to Nat, you can tell that they have been friends for a long time. Additionally, you can't help but notice another female next to her. You never heard of her getting married.

"There must be an occasion to treat you?" She smiled at the response before standing and approaching Natasha. "So, this is your newly wedded wife?"

"Yes, this is her." You glanced at Natasha for a second, surprised to see that she actually admitted to it. "Hi, I am Carol Danvers. Just call me Carol." She extended her hand and you accepted the handshake. "Hello, I am Y/N Y/L/N." "Oh right, this is my wife, Valkyrie."

"Nice to meet you." You waved to her with a smile distant back. "So, how does it feel to marry this iceberg?" She inched closer and whispered next to your ears. "It... it feels alright." You replied while looking at Natasha. "I didn't believe that you could stand him."

"Huh?" You were about to ask her what she meant when Natasha cleared her throat, reminding you that you have something to ask of Carol. "Ah! Yes, Carol-"

"Oh yes! I came this time to give you an interview. Right, Nat..." Carol was very bold in teasing Natasha, making you wonder how long they have been friends.

The interview was very easygoing. Carol was a terrific interviewee, often giving juicy content. It felt like you were speaking to a longtime friend of yours, filled with laughter and jokes.

"Alright, thank you so much for accepting the interview. I need to call my team leader, you can chat around for a while first."

"Why did you suddenly get married? Didn't you say you weren't ready?" Carol asked when you stepped out of the room. She loves to hear such stories from her friends. "When the time comes, it will eventually happen."

The lunch ended on a nice note and you even exchanged numbers with her and her wife. You have a feeling that you're going to be great friends with them. On the way back, you asked Natasha who was working on the go how she knew you wanted to interview Carol. "I accidentally overheard your conversation on the phone on the balcony." She replied. You had a fluttering feeling in your body. You didn't expect her to help you like this. "I will also be going to your company for an interview." And you instantly pout again, this way Group 1 will still have an advantage by being able to interview her.

===

"Y/N!! You're the best! How did you do it? Wasn't Carol Danvers on vacation?" Wanda rushed over to hug you once you entered the building. "Well... about this, maybe her assistant put lots of good words for us, that's why Carol agreed to accept the interview." You felt bad lying to Wanda, but you had no choice. "Luckily we didn't give up, or else her assistant wouldn't have been touched by our resilience and helped us!"

"So what if you're done with Carol Danvers's interview?" Both of your heads turn to face Sharon who was looking smugly at the two of you. "Carol Danver is only a little famous, but Natasha Romanoff is different. Her reputation is much higher than Danver's."

"Sharon, your group and our group completed our task. Shouldn't we be happy?" Thank god for Wanda's tough side, you would never have spoken up like this. "Isn't it because you have someone at your back? I don't believe that without anyone's help, you would be able to see Carol Danvers."

"Nonsense. Why is Sharon so hot-tempered? She can't bear to see us living well?"

It wasn't long before rumours spread that Natasha Romanoff was in the building and many flocked to the entrance to be able to see a glimpse of her. Her presence was still able to turn many heads as she was wheeled in by Clint.

"Hello Miss Romanoff, welcome to our company." Sharon, as the team leader, went to greet her and introduced herself. "Miss Romanoff like some peace."

Finally noticing the crowd here, she immediately rushed the rest to leave and continue with their work. "Miss Romanoff, this way." She directed them to the meeting room and had to pass by the crowd you were in as Wanda dragged you there. You quickly turned away hoping she didn't see you but when she asked about your presence, you immediately clung onto Wanda and dragged her back to your table.

"Miss Y/L/N previously contacted Miss Romanoff saying she wants to do an interview." Clint clarified when Sharon didn't understand why she wanted to see you. "What? How could it be? It is Manager Dwayne from Romanoff Corporation who helped me arrange for this interview."

"Huh, I don't even know my schedule. When did it come to a little team leader to be able to make such a decision?" Sharon was at a loss for words, the first time being faced with her cold demeanour. "Since Miss Y/L/N is not here, let's leave. Clint."

"I'll call her right away." Sharon had no choice but to back down when she realised Natasha was going to leave.

"Millicent! I want to borrow Y/N Y/L/N from you. This time for Natasha Roamnoff's interview, I will give the newbie a chance."

"Are you really that kind?"

"Are you going to lend her or not?"

So that's how you and Wanda got the chance to interview Natasha Romanoff and speak to her. You started off by handing Natasha a rough script of what you were going to ask to make sure that the questions were okay and did not cross any boundaries. "I can't believe it, it really is my idol! When I saw her in magazines I thought she was beautiful enough. I didn't expect the real person to be even more beautiful!" Wanda was unable to contain her excitement being in the same room as her.

"Thank you for the invitation Miss Y/L/N." Natasha said when she returned the papers to you. Wanda could feel like something was in the air, but she didn't mention anything. "It's my pleasure, then let's get started, Miss Romanoff." You allowed Wanda to lead this interview, fulfilling her dreams of talking to her idol.

W: I heard that you have been in the business world since 20 years old. After nearly 10 years, you created the Romanoff Corporation. Can you share some experiences with us?

N: Talent.

W: Oh yes, previously you got married, but your wife's identity has always been a secret. Can you share a little on what kind of person your wife is?

N: She's very good. Probably because she is my most precious treasure in the world so I don't want to share her with anyone.

W: Is that why you won't disclose her identity?

N: Yes, she has her own life, I don't want her to be affected.

"Thank you Miss Romanoff for your cooperation today," Wanda said as you turned off the camera recording this session. "We shall see you off then."

"Oh god! I never thought that I would have a chance to have such close contact with my idol and even have a conversation!" Wanda squealed once Natasha left the door. "Wanda, you were very professional." You praised. "Of course I am."

"Ah shit! I forgot to ask her for an autograph." You smiled slightly at Wanda, at least it wasn't just you who was nervous.

"Where is the interview draft script and recording?" There it is, the devil that is constantly at your shoulder disrupting your life. "Sharon, what do you want to do?"

"Even if we gave you guys the interview, do you think we will also give you the interview results as well?" You had to resist rolling your eyes in front of her. "Then why would you go through the hassle of changing people for the interview?" You pushed her buttons, knowing the exact reason why she had to. "It is simply because Sharon was kind to train and give a chance to newbies so you guys got the chance to do the interview!"

"Fine, if that's the case, I remember there are newbies in Group 1 as well right?"

"You mean Group 2 will not share Natasha Romanoff's interview results right?"

"Sharon, what are you doing?" Millicent came to your rescue. "Miss Romanoff shouldn't have gone far, you can ask her some questions if you want. Then you will get a clearer understanding of her wishes."

"If we are going to disturb Miss Romanoff for such trivial matters, isn't it going to show our magazine agency is useless? This time I will let go of it, next time, I won't be so kind!" She and her lackeys finally left Group 2 alone.

You decided to call Natasha when almost everything was finished and ready to be published in tomorrow's paper. "Natasha, I just want to say... thank you for everything today..." You heard the call end and noticed that she hung up on you again. But this time, it was replaced with a message saying she was waiting for you outside.

===

Finally, it's been a long time since you felt so relaxed and refreshed, not having to worry about anything and coming back home for a fulfilling day. You can smile without having to put up a front. "Accompany me to a place tomorrow," Natasha said as you were having dinner together. "Then I will apply for a leave later."

"Just to let you know, since you got to interview Carol and I, your company decided to give you a week off as a reward."

"Really?!"

"Yes."

"Since there is no way to treat you to a meal, I will accompany you wherever you go next week!" Despite dressing in simple clothes, Natasha felt your smile was able to make your entire aura brighter, and even the people around you melt.

"Does this count as a honeymoon?"

Series Masterlist

#natasha romanoff #natasha x reader #natasha x you #my writing #natasha romanoff imagine #natasha romanoff fanfiction #natasha romanoff x reader #black widow x female reader #black widow x reader #unwanted marriage #mcu x reader #marvel #avengers

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octopiys · 8 months

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I've been rewatching HTTYD and of course I had to combine my two interests

John MacTavish (27) is a native to the village, most recognized for his shaved sides and long mohawk. He's the village blacksmith, with an affinity for crafting new weapons, large ones that counter even a dragon's fireball.

Once when he was a teenager, he got his hands on a craftsman's items, and decided that he needed some of it to slick down a part of one of his contraptions. It exploded, as those kinds of things do, into a mass of bubbles and sweet scents, earning him the nickname of Soap.

John Price(37) is a trainer. He was an older viking whose battle seemed all but over when a dragon took his arm. He was still the same, just more experienced, and 10 years older.

He's had a few apprentices, his most recent being a younger man named Kyle Garrick(28), or commonly referred to as Gaz. If you ever ask why he's called that, Price will mutter something about it being "need to know", and he'll sick a particularly nasty dragon on you the next time you train with him.

There's a common pattern amongst Price's protégés.

Most of the times they're outcasts, alone. Gaz's parents were killed in a dragon attack when he was a child, but he didn't consider himself alone. He had plenty of friends, of course he did, there's Soap...-

No but totally, he was fine. He's fought dragons! Sure, he hasn't killed any yet, and sure, Price has saved his ass more than once, but he's come out unscathed!

Most of the time.

But Price's most famous protégé, or shall I even say very close ally, was the Lieutenant: Simon Riley

From the stories, Simon Riley was a man who fought dragons like no other. They both learned from each other, Price and Riley. He was a beast of blades and man, they slayed more dragons together than the entire village combined.

It would be a lie if I said that the two boys didn't look up to him, a lie if Price didn't see Riley in each of them.

It would be an even bigger lie if he hoped they didn't turn out like him, either.

Neither Gaz, nor Soap had ever met Simon Riley.

He was killed in one of the worst dragon attacks the village had seen in its entire 300 years of history.

They descended from the heavens, flying warriors sent from hell, carting off men and cattle, snapping them up in powerful jaws and flame. Price was one of those men, it was how he lost his arm. He was also the only one to survive a personal attack of that scale.

Riley had thrown everything he had to save Price. There were tricks he had up his sleeves, some that not even Price had known, that he used to get the Captain back when even he thought he was done for.

All they knew was that Simon Riley had been killed that night in place of John Price.

Those parts of the stories were left untold.

It wasn't a sensitive subject, but Price had a tendency to shatter the glass he was holding if someone asked one too many times.

It had been ten years since Riley's disappearance. His name was inscribed on the village memorial in the square, a remembrance statue to all the greatest warriors in the village's history.

It was a particularly late night when Price had let Gaz go early, as the dragon tournament was coming up, and he wanted the man to get some rest. That's how both Gaz and Soap were out by the bluffs overlooking the ocean. It was hidden through a mile of brush and trees, but tonight was one of the first clear nights since the winter, and they were excited to see the stars.

It wasn't until stars had started blinking out, half the sky was black, that they realized something was wrong.

"Dragons...." Gaz breathed suddenly, as mouths began to light up, hundreds of feet in the air above them. "It's dragons!"

Gaz pulled Soap to his feet and they began running like their lives depended on it, which in this case, it did.

Their lungs were already sore, their voices hoarse as they shouted to a few men on the outskirts.

"Swarm! Swarm!"

Vikings readied their weapons, and minutes later, the beasts shot overhead. Flashes of red, blue, greens, and yellow, silver glinting unnaturally in the moonlight.

There had been rumors about dragon riders. Those who had tamed the beasts, or maybe found a common ground with them.

There was nothing more dangerous than a man-tamed dragon.

"It's Kingfish!" Someone down the hill had shouted, and Gaz's blood ran cold.

There were whispers about a man they called Kingfish, one who hid in the shadows with armies of the scaled monsters, waiting to pounce on unsuspecting villages and pillage them for himself. No one knew his real name, where he came from, or where the nest was. But everyone knew that once Kingfish set his sights on a village, they were as good as dead.

They saw Price leave his house, half armored, but a fire in his eyes as he heaved his Warhammer behind him, disappearing behind the body of a massive dragon that was scaling the watchtower down by the water.

"Soap! C'mon!" Kyle shouted, dragging his friend down the hill. The Blacksmith paused at his shop window, pulling a few weapons away from the sill and into his arms. They kept running. Soap passed an axe to Gaz, and they ran first to a house that was lit aflame. A few people were tossing buckets of water, while a woman pulled arrows at a Whispering Death.

Farther away, they heard the crunch and splintering of wood, and Gaz looked over in horror to see the watchtower fall, both the dragon and Price going with it.

"No!" He had screamed, all but dropping his axe as he started running like mad down towards the docks. "Captain!"

"Gaz!" Soap was shouting behind him as a trebuchet fired, throwing a large stone at some dragon above him. "Gaz, look out!"

Large, leathery wings kicked up a storm of dust around him as he was tackled to the ground, rocks digging into his knees and elbows as he fought to get the beast's claws out of his shoulders. It pressed his face into the dirt as he struggled to fight against it. It cut through his shirt, digging straight into his skin. He cried out, fighting against it, but his movement was impaired, he wasn't able to swing his axe around to-

The dragon opened its mouth and screamed, the shriek going directly to his ear drums, and springing the worst headache he'd ever had, his head felt like it was going to explode, he couldn't feel his shoulders. Gaz squeezed his eyes shut, praying to Odin to make it stop, make it-

A dagger sunk directly in between two of its center scales, shocking the dragon into dropping him as it turned on its next enemy. Someone was shouting, but Gaz couldn't get his eyes to focus enough on the figure.

They were waving wildly at the dragon, now weaponless, and shouting for its attention. The dragon cocked its head to the side and stepped over Gaz, who was struggling to stand to his feel, his whole equilibrium thrown off from the noise.

And he glimpsed the the mohawk just behind the scales as the dragon lunged forward, grasping Soap in his claws and shooting off into the air.

"No!! Soap!!" Gaz shouted, chasing after the dragon as it flew. He could just see the outline of Soap, struggling, screaming as the claws pierced his leather armor, sinking into his chest. He was too high, and there was nothing Gaz could do, but he'd be damned if he wouldn't try. He shoved past people, ran through fights, passing the dark clad enemies of Kingfish's men, all while shouting for his friend, never once taking his eyes off the Whispering Death that was slowly growing smaller and smaller in the night sky.

An arrow pierced his shoulder and he cried out, stumbling, but he kept going forward, ducking behind a house. "Soap! Soap!"

A fireball exploded the wall next to him and he hit the wall hard, his consciousness leaving him before he even realized what had happened.

Soap was helpless as he squirmed, gasps being torn from his chest with the leather apron that fell away into the ocean below. He was gonna die, this was it. He couldn't see the island anymore, but he wasn't giving up. And yet this wyrm of a Whisper wouldn't let up, only shrieked until the pounding behind his eyes made him too lightheaded...

He wasn't sure what was happening when he woke up from a faint, but he sure as he'll knew he shouldn't be plummeting to death, rocketing towards the sea below him in a free fall. "Och! Shi-i-i-ite!" He flung himself onto his stomach, spreading his arms and legs apart to catch the air. His braid had come loose, whistling around his ears as the moonlit waves approached him too quickly.

Something else snatched him up like he was free prey and he shouted out again, the wounds on his chest screaming from the strain. His hands scrabbled at the beast's nails that wrapped around both his shoulders, carrying him like he was precious cargo. This was a different dragon, unfortunately for him. It was red, from what he could see, with long claws and a pale underbelly. There were antennae like appendages that dropped off the sides of its head, fading from red to orange to yellow towards the end, like leaves in autumn. But what jarred him the most was the straps of a saddle that tucked underneath its belly, and wrapped up the sides. There were a few ropes attached to the tail and- oh fuck he was falling again.

"No no no no-!" He shouted, flailing in the free air, before he hit something hard beneath him. But he wasnt.... dead...? No, he was sitting-

He was sitting on a dragon.

There was a man who sat in front of him, blond hair peaking out of his hood and helmet. Most of the helmet covered his face, save for the dark brown eyes glaring at him from behind it. In the darkness, the moon light shone off of the raised texture of pale skin that Soap could see, before smoothing off. He'd seen scars like those around the village, but only rarely. People like him never usually survived dragon's fire.

This person wasn't wearing black like Kingfish's men were. Instead, he was wrapped in a camouflage of browns, greens and furs, similarly to the dragon. He was tense, his shoulders bunched up as he glared at Soap, radiating a dark, or in other words, mysteriously powerful energy.

It occurred to him, then, that he wasn't staring at just a dragon rider.

And it occurred to him, then, that they had been wrong.

This.... this was Lieutenant Simon Riley.

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el-lionne · 3 months

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The Truth About Lilith From Hazbin Hotel (Historically)

So, I recently binged Hazbin Hotel and LOVED IT. I also happen to be a historian who studies ancient religious texts connected to Christianity, so I kind of already knew the truth about Lilith at the start of the show. However, I quickly learned the fandom as a whole were surprised by Lilith's appearance in the last episode and didn't even know the nature of the deal she made with Adam/ God - so I decided to share it here.

Lilith's story can be found in the Alphabet of Ben Sira (8th - 10th century AD). This text is famous for many reasons but mostly because it's the first time Lilith is formally introduced and she is acknowledged as Eve's predecessor (Lilith's existence is suggested prior to this by assorted Babylonian, Greek and Jewish texts, but this is the first time you hear her story. It is assumed the story came from oral tradition so it's unknown how old/ original it actually is).

I attached the relevant passage down below but do feel free to check out the book yourself (it's translated from the original Aramaic - sorry if it sounds odd) Also, slight spoiler warning, as this will explain what Lilith's deal with Adam/ God most likely was, thereby providing the real reason why the exterminations have been happening (if the show is using this as it's inspiration, which I suspect it is given the details in the passage).

"After God created Adam, who was alone, He said, "It is not good for man to be alone." He then created a woman for Adam, from the earth, as He had created Adam himself, and called her Lilith. Adam and Lilith immediately began to fight. She said, "I will not lie below," and he said, "I will not lie beneath you, but only on top. For you are fit only to be in the bottom position, while I am to be the superior one." Lilith responded, "We are equal to each other inasmuch as we were both created from the earth." But they would not listen to one another. When Lilith saw this, she pronounced the Ineffable Name and flew away into the air.

[She essentially ran off cause Adam's a dick. They do this in the show, which is why I immediately assumed they were taking inspiration from this text.]

Adam stood in prayer before his Creator: "Sovereign of the universe!" he said, "the woman you gave me has run away." At once, the Holy One, blessed be He, sent these three angels Senoy, Sansenoy, and Semangelof, to bring her back. Said the Holy One to Adam, "If she agrees to come back, what is made is good. If not, she must permit one hundred of her children to die every day." The angels left God and pursued Lilith, whom they overtook in the midst of the sea, in the mighty waters wherein the Egyptians were destined to drown. They told her God's word, but she did not wish to return. The angels said, "We shall drown you in the sea." "Leave me!' she said. "I was created only to cause sickness to infants. If the infant is male, I have dominion over him for eight days after his birth, and if female, for twenty days." When the angels heard Lilith's words, they insisted she go back. But she swore to them by the name of the living and eternal God: "Whenever I see you or your names or your forms in an amulet, I will have no power over that infant." She also agreed to have one hundred of her children die every day.

[Leaving aside her being a demon who kills kids, and these three angels having more power than her, Lilith essentially agrees to let daily exterminations happen to keep her away from Adam. Is Lucifer involved in any way? It's not clear. In the show it's suggested he was. The show also adapted the deal so that the killing is yearly and not limited to just 100 demons, alongside some other changes. That being said, the principle is the same. Lilith made a deal for her life and now demons die.]

Accordingly, every day one hundred demons perish, and for the same reason, we write the angels' names on the amulets of young children. When Lilith sees their names, she remembers her oath, and the child recovers."

So, using this source material, I theorize that Lilith (and probably Lucifer) made the deal in order to essentially spare her life and keep her away from Adam. And that is why the exterminations happen. However, now Adam is dead, I guess the deal no longer stands and Lilith has to bargain for her life again (hence the ending of episode 8). I've no clue what she was doing hiding up in heaven but I look forward to finding out.

I think it's clear the overpopulation/ fear of rebellion thing is why the angels wanted the deal, but that they needed the king and/ or queen of hell to agree to it. Which would explain them threatening Lilith's life. Or...maybe even Charlie's? Who knows with this show.

Anyway, I hope that was interesting for you guys! All the best!

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pessimisticpigeonsworld · 5 months

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Rhaenyra and Feminism

I find it so funny how TG stans go on and on about how Rhaenyra wasn't a "feminist", when they're supporting team male progeniture. Like sure, Rhaenyra wasn't out there reading/writing feminist literature and manifestos against the patriarchy, but who was? Definitely not their beloved Alicent, their rapist king, or their misogynistic kinslayer/war criminal.

Let's do a quick history lesson, shall we? Queen Elizabeth I, the second ruling queen of England and one of the greatest rulers of that country. One of her most famous acts was the execution of Mary Queen of Scots. Does that make her an evil person who is a sign that her father and the other supporters of the patriarchy were right, that a woman isn't fit to rule? Now, we also have no records of Elizabeth interfering with the succession choices of her lords or making laws that women should be treated equal to men. Does this mean her reign was meaningless or even harmful to the feminist movement?

The answer to both these questions is fuck no. Elizabeth simply ruling was a huge step for the feminist movement. She showed that a woman could rule just as well if not better than a man.

Now a greenie could argue that Rhaenyra wasn't a good ruler, to which I answer, she never had a chance to properly rule. Had Rhaenyra ascended undisputed there would have been no need for any of her unpopular decisions (i.e. the heavy tax, Nettles' execution, etc.) Her reign would have set a precedent that a female heir is acceptable and the change would ripple out from there, much like it did with early female rulers in the real world.

As for why Rhaenyra didn't support Baela and Rhaena, that wasn't her decision, it was Corlys'. Corlys had decided that Driftmark would pass through Laenor's line not Laena's and he rejects any of Rhaenys' suggestions to the contrary in the show. Lucerys had been accepted by Laenor, Corlys, and Viserys as Laenor's legitimate heir, so that's the end of it. Corlys even had the chance to name Baela or Rhaena heir after Luke's death, but instead he chose Addam and later Alyn, two bastards who were, supposedly, of Laenor's line. Now, am I saying that I agree with Corly? No, in fact I really don't like him, but who his successor would be is his decision.

For Rhaenyra to step in and force him to change his mind would not only destroy what's left of any goodwill between the Targaryens and Velaryons (which her father put the responsibility of on her by forcing her to marry Laenor) but also would make the lords of Westeros a reason to revolt. Aegon I allowed the lords to exercise almost the same amount of power they did before the Conquest, part of that is the choice over who would succeed them. As for Luke being heir, Rhaenyra never forced Corlys to acknowledge him and affirm him as heir, that was, once again, his choice. He could have chosen to speak out against her and declare the boys bastards, with the support of Rhaenys, which would force Viserys to either remove Rhaenyra as heir or at least remove Luke from the line of succession. Or a much easier move would have been to remove Laenor as heir to Driftmark and give the position to Laena, yet Corly never did either of these things.

Yeah, Rhaenyra chose to embrace the opportunity this gave her, why wouldn't she? That's a political move that strengthens her claim in the face of the Greens' constant undermining and plotting. Literally every ruler in Westeros does shit like that, that's how the world works, if you want to rule, you need to play political games of some kind.

And before any of the greenies try to bring up the time when some lords brought a question of succession before Rhaenyra during the Dance, let me cover that real quick. Rhaenyra was in the middle of a war and knew full well that most of the lords would be willing to turn on her quickly, something she couldn't afford. So yes, she chose to support the male heirs over the lords' daughters, because she knew that was what the lords wanted and she needed their support. Again, had she not been at war, she wouldn't have had to make this choice and we can't know what she would have done.

Now, to conclude this rant: Rhaenyra wasn't a modern or suffrage era feminist, but that doesn't make her an anti-feminist tyrant. She would have been the beginning of a shift in the misogynistic ideals set so steadfastly in Westeros as her reign would set a precedent for future ruling queens. How could she have our ideals of feminism when the roots of them had barely begun to develop? That's an impossible expectation to put on her and the most hypocritical argument anyone could have. TG usurped Rhaenyra because they wanted to further uphold the patriarchy and none of them cared about the women of the realm or even the people. Maybe you should look at your precious team before you try to defame the rightful queen.

#rhaenyra targaryen #anti team green #anti team green stans #team black #anti alicent stans #baela targaryen #rhaena targaryen #asoiaf #house of the dragon #corlys velaryon #anti rhaenyra antis

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katsukikitten · 2 years

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Synopsis: Your worst nightmare comes to life after you receive a call well after midnight that isn’t from your husband Bakugou but about him. Rushing to the hospital you’re thankful to find him alive but when he comes to he asks to see his wife despite you standing there.

Warnings: Angst, dark themes, mentions of child loss, mentions of difficulty conceiving, mentions of postpartum Cheating if you squint

Chapter Three: The ghost that haunts my dreams, I shall not forget. wc 9366

Master List

Your water really did break at the worst time. In the middle of an interview for an office manager position at an agency well away from your preferred hospital. The most memorable thing was the panic of the heroes. Tamaki had never delivered a baby before and surprisingly Mirio was stunned into silence.

"Don't panic, I have a few hours. I'm going to call Red Riot." Relief almost floods your system from the thought of these miserable last few months coming to an end. Your body wouldn't be totally yours anymore but at least you'd be able to shit again.

Probably.

"B-b-but I heard f-first time mothers have their babies much faster." Tamaki's hands shake so hard he clasps them together. Knuckle white from the grip while Mirio continues to be checked out. Curling your lips into your mouth before offering a tight smile you reassure him through the pain of your first contraction.

"I'll be fine."

Famous last words.

You were indeed not fine, your contractions so powerful so close together you were falling to your knees. Mirio and Tamaki made quick work of escorting you to the hospital while Tamaki sheepishly yelled to his assistant to call Red Riot right now.

The huffing pair made it just in time with weeping half moons on their forearms. Just as you're waddling with shortened, shallow breaths to the desk to fill out paperwork, a burning sensation between your legs demands ALL of your attention.

"Ring of fire. RING OF FUCKING FIRE!" You would have your baby right here in the lobby wouldn't you? Nurses rush towards you, thankful you wore a flowy skirt as they made quick assessments. Walking you to at least behind the nurses station for some semblance of privacy as they yelled over the PA for an OBGYN.

Kirishima and Mina arrive in the lobby at the same time. Breathless as they grab onto Tamaki and Mirio to ask where you are.

Only for the sound of a scream to echo through the lobby silencing the room. Everyone waits on baited breath as their ears strain to hear even the faintest cry.

As the unwanted audience begins to cross the line of worry a powerful cry is heard. Healthy lungs pulling and pushing out air with force. A sigh of relief is shared by strangers as Mina rushed towards the sound.

"Ma'am we're sorry but-"

"She's with me." You say desperately having just caught the smallest glimpse of bubble gum pink relieved that she was here, then spies Kirishima, "They're with me…'

Mina calls for Kirishima to follow, he hesitates unsure what to do with his two sons until Mirio grabs them off his hands. Giving a smile and a thumbs up before Kirishima runs to catch up. Shirtless and dirty, still in his hero uniform. Fighting of tears of joy, of sorrow. Knowing another man should be taking these exciting steps.

"Eyes on the baby, I've got mom." Mina barks and Kirishima nods in response.

They make quick work of cleaning you and baby up. Praising you all the way for how amazing you did and preparing you for care and what's to come. Letting you hold your little baby boy and you hadn't realized that your whole world, your whole reason for living would shrink down and be something so small.

Yet so very big.

"And the name?" The nurse asks, pen poised on the birth certificate. You stare down at him, knowing you wouldn't be able to name anything else even if you tried.

"Bakugou. Daiki, Bakugou." The nurse smiles as you stare at the ‘sun’. Pen writing out the characters.

"Shining bright."

"Yes."

A few hours later, Mirio and Tamaki are allowed back with the kids. Looking over the baby that Mina holds as Kirishima now monitors you. You give a slow sleepy nod that you're okay. Just a little tired and he silently vows to kick everyone out if they get too loud.

"Daichi, what do you think?" Mina asks as her little boy scrunches up his nose.

"He stinks." The room lets out a loud laugh as you rest your eyes for just a moment.

Time sours with each passing month. As you stare at that lighthouse of a child and see no way out. Seeing nothing but the fog that hazes your mind as his siren call grows louder in the night.

You were steadfast to crashing your boat ashore despite all the warning signs.

In the end you weren't fit to be a mother. That's what all of those fail- misfortunes were trying to warn you of. You couldn't do this.

You really couldn't fucking do this.

He was a great baby, a happy baby.

Healthy.

All the things a mother wishes for and yet you still cannot tell what he needs. Feeding him too little one week and too much the next.

Checking between his toes for hair that could wrap around it by accident and cut off the blood flow. Changing his diaper but some brands irritate his sensitive skin. Trying to keep him properly moisturized without drowning him in cream. All while the clock read 1pm and 1am the next.

Time was slipping away and so were pieces of you.

You never were fit to be a mom.

Mina opens the door to the nursery softly. Offering a harmless smile.

"Hey." It's barely a whisper as she comes into the room, watching you stand helplessly with a bottle in your hand staring at the mobile.

"My postpartum was terrifying." Mina gently lifts Daiki from the crib, rocking her weight between her feet, "Was so bad all I could think was. Why? Why did I get pregnant? Why did I have this baby that never ever stops crying? Am I fucking doing this right?"

She guided you to the rocking chair, gently placing Daiki into your arms as she prepared a new bottle in the room.

"Got to the point where l couldn't stop crying. I'm both lucky and privileged to have Eijirou be such an amazing man. He saw the signs, supported me. Got me the help I needed and I didn't start to feel better for months. Almost a year! They said I was one of the lucky ones! That mine didn't last too long." She passes you the bottle, fluffing you in a warm blanket before she sits on the floor beside you.

"So I can't imagine what you're going through." She squeezes your knee and your vision blurs as you openly sob while feeding your happy, healthy son.

Your baby that you jumped through every hoop to even conceive him. Losing weight, injecting yourself with medicine daily for the entire duration since you saw Doctor Aiya all those months ago. Making smoothies with Mina and lactation cookies because you wanted to try to breastfeed if you could. Which of course your body miserably failed at producing anything. Reading every book under the sun about parenting until your eyes crossed.

But books be damned. Hardly any of them talked about this. This gut wrenching feeling that you never have, never were, and never will be good enough. Not for your friends, not for your husband, not for your son and especially not for yourself.

"But that doesn't mean that you're alone. You've got me. You've got Kirishima." Mina smiles up at you and you sniffle, you were nothing but a burden to this kind hearted family.

As if trying to ease your worries Mina adds. "It's okay. Kirishima needs the practice."

Patting her stomach in lieu of announcing. Your eyes widen and she winks at you.

"Yea, never thought I'd be the barefoot and constantly pregnant type."

"Neither did I Miss number 8 hero!"

You choke out a laugh as Mina giggles while the two of you work together to get fussy Daiki to settle down for the night.

After he's settled as you're rocking in the chair and Mina still sits in the low light of the room she says feather soft.

"I'll go with you or if you'd like I'll watch Daiki while you go."

Everyone around him must think that he's too stupid to notice. Bakugou Katsuki was anything but. His sharp vermillion eyes picked up on a lot of things without so much of a second glance. Yet still it took him a full year to realize people around him were acting weird about the dates. The year always smudged on his report or his review or the refill for the medication he wasn't taking. Didn't like how they dulled his senses.

It bothers him, gnawing on his ribs as he thinks. Eyes roaming over other's reports only for the papers to be shuffled away.

Bakugou can't put his finger on it but he's got that feeling again. Even after all this time almost everywhere he goes he feels as if something is different. Like his life is now a game, the kind where the picture is side by side by side with the hidden pictures and messages and slowly he's finding the subtle almost unnoticeable differences.

It started with the pictures at Momo's, lots of events he remembered and one or two he didn't. In all the pictures he looks different, younger. None have his signature undercut, all just a spiky mess except for one photo on the mantel, one of the ones he doesn’t recognize. Izuku, himself, and Shouto.

Izuku, smiling wildly, in the middle arms around the more stoic men, Bakugou with his hands carefully tucked away in his pockets paired with a scowl and Shouto giving a small, rare smile. Those two toned eyes are looking beyond the camera. It jogs something but the memory is warped, like blurred ink in an abused book left in the weather. Half the book is bone dry while the other half has pages bleeding into one another. Voices slowed, deepened, and mostly lost underwater.

!s s e n t e e w s e l i m s

The sound makes him grip the nape of his neck and grind his teeth.

Even in his reflection he struggled to find familiarity, after he washed away the smell of sorrow and stagnant grief of hospital air from his skin, counting scars from battles he shouldn't have forgotten. Yet here he stood, different and the same, a living contradiction. Wondering where the hell Momo moved his razor to shave back his undercut that got unruly during his stay.

Even the first day back at the agency, something runs ghostly fingers over the fringes of his mind. A desk of all things. Sitting outside of his and Kirishima's office, pushed against another. Except one desk was empty and the other full of paperwork, photographs, even fresh flowers. Bakugou lingers by the empty desk, fingers going over the dusty top seeing the various moisture rings staining the wood from a sweating glass or most likely a vase.

Need to get some hydrangeas or peonies

The thought blossoms in his head on its own. Which is odd. He doesn't know anyone who likes those puffy flowers, he knew for a fact it wasn't his wife's favorite. Momo preferred roses, the kind where the petals looked painted.

Even his running route made no sense anymore. Starting at the penthouse apartment, concentrating on his breath and clearing his mind for miles and miles until he decided the burn in his lungs felt good enough. Ending up at some small apartment complex with a doorman who gives a sad smile and a wave. Stupidly Bakugou always waves back before his scowl returns ten fold as he feels like an idiot for waving to a stranger, taking, the now, long route back home.

And the last thing that crawled up his spine was catching the year. Finally seeing how much time had passed than he last thought. Swallowing thickly as he realized he was no longer a fresh faced 21 year old but actually 27. It was weird blinking away six years of his life, six years of growth he’d have to make up, again. Waking up in what was starting to feel like an alternate lifetime but it would explain the gray hairs. Explains the guilt he felt every time he’d lose his temper, explains why sorry is so quick to coat his tongue now.

Realizing he lost his fucking twenties somehow. Scraping together what he could with the photos Momo left around the house and what little he could pull from his friends.

Kirishima somehow always preoccupied unless Bakugou was calling to go over that stupid night again. While Mina now spoke to Bakugou in clipped responses. One word answers even for questions like "How's the baby?" Her eyes would blaze as she said Fine.

Deku wasn't much help either considering he and Bakugou only touched base every few months. A lunch the wives "force" them to take where they discuss over ramen what's been happening in their lives. Still that freckled jerk was acting weird too. Well weirder than usual. Jumpy at lunch, stumbling over his own words and calling him once a week just to "See how you're feeling."

Katsuki hated it. It made the scars on his shoulder and stomach burn. Izuku was acting like a fucking helicopter parent. Just like he did after Bakugou jumped in front of him decades earlier. After all that crazy shit cleared up Izuku tried to hover over him and if anything he was smothering the ash blonde. It raised suspicion, like something was wrong with Katsuki that he didn't know himself. It bothered him to think that these people were tiptoeing around him, as if he'd shatter if he could put a name to the weight that sits on the tip of his tongue.

But the thing he hated the most was the absence of something.

Of the family he wanted to start after he turned 25 and hit number one.

Of his wife.

Course that was three years ago now and still some things never change.

Sitting in bed by himself as that inky feeling settles at the nape of his neck. Whispering sweet nothings into his ear. Mocking him with echoes of the past he can't place. Either so quiet or so jumbled he cannot make out the words.

ssenteews efas yats

lliw I uoy rof. lliw I

He drowns out the sound with music and the dark amber liquid he brings to his lips. Palm heating up as he mulls over the past few years in his mind. Making it through life by doing the math wrong and yet getting the answer "right." Least that's how it felt since he woke up from that fucking accident.

Nothing was right about this.

Especially not how he'd wrap his arms around his wife after a long day, only for her to shuffle away from him and when Momo thought he was asleep, throwing his arms away from her body or worse yet. Leaving him alone in their shared bedroom.

Hell it might as well have been Bakugou's penthouse with how little his wife was around.

And when she was, she just wanted to ride him like a living dildo, with condoms and while she was on the pill, of course. Children would ruin her career and the last thing Bakugou wanted was an unhappy partner.

He used to love the way her mouth would part, how her tits would bounce and those sweet sounds she made that would spill from her lips. Now it left Bakugou feeling sticky, grimy. That he needed to scrub until his skin was raw for reasons unknown.

When he got like this, this damned restlessness as he called it, Bakugou would call Kirishima. Dialing the number by heart before reaching into his nightstand to pull out an old cracked phone in a dusty pink case.

"Bakubro, Hey" Kirishima is always happy to hear from his friend, except tonight he sounds different, "Feeling alright?"

"I should be asking you. Your voice is all fuckin tight."

"Yea I'm just…working on something…"

Silence dances on the line for a moment.

"It's nothing. I'm fine." Kirishima huffs out a held breath.

"Eijirou, I know when yer fuckin lyin. I hate liars." Ironic but in other words Bakugou needed to know what was wrong with his best friend. It was obviously something that bothered the red headed giant enough that even his golden retriever voice sounded solem. Bakugou quickly follows up his statement, "Is Mina okay? Daichi? Iwao?

Kirishima swallows thickly, running his hand through his hair as he looks into the glass eye of the camera, the view finder reflecting his movements. He could confide in Bakugou right? Katsuki was still his best friend, right?

"All the kids are fine. Mina is fine. I'm fine. But in case…" Kirishima trails off, the sadness in his eyes states back at him in pixelated form, "In case one day I'm not I'm making tapes."

"Why?" Bakugou flips the old phone in his hand absentmindedly. Turning it over and over and over. He isn't sure why he holds onto the chunk of cracked glass, it's not as if it held some secret he didn't know about. Not as if someone other than Momo would be his lock screen if he turned it on. Not like he could figure out the fucking password to the cloud that holds all his shit.

Across the city Kirishima holds his breath, tears he had managed to keep at bay finally spill in fat droplets down his cheeks, running along his scars. Catching in his peach fuzz that Mina loved, Daichi pushed away from scratchy kisses and Iwao let his stubby little hand run across. He grinds his teeth to keep the shaky breath in. He wants to tell him, so what happened to you doesn’t happen to me. Wants to scream that Bakugou’s wife is here in his house, that he’s holding up his promise but at what fucking cost. It’s not as if Bakugou was dead, maybe to you he was dead but here he was, waiting patiently for his friend to share his woes.

He was missing so much, too much. First words, pulling himself up, first steps. Daiki trying so hard to keep up with his older “brudder” Daichi. Soft hugs and sweet kisses. Three years of unfathomable, unconditional love.

Bakugou didn’t know it but he was missing the joy on his wife’s face too. On your face while you and Daiki cuddle, falling asleep to evening cartoons. Because you, you were his wife not her.

“I just can’t imagine losing my wife when she’s standing right in front of me.” Kirishima’s voice is barely audible and his words send a molten rod straight into Bakugou’s chest.

“What the fuck did you say?” There’s his unruly temper again, defensive and angry for what? Jesus Christ his friend was trying to give some of the burden to him and here he was being a total ass. Before Kirishima can say anything Bakugou hears a small voice in the distance.

“Unki pima, why cryin?!”

“I’m okay baby.” Kirishima says softly to what Bakugou assumes is Daichi, “Bakubro I gotta go….I’ll see you tomorrow. We can go over that night again then.”

“No.” Bakugou is quick to add as he hears the kids' feet slap against the hardwood towards Kirishima, “Don’t worry about, s-tsk. Sorry I cussed ya. Call me back if you need me.”

“Yea.” With that Kirishima hangs up, the little ash blonde that caught him looks up at him with bright, puppy dog eyes. His pain reflected in the little ones eyes, his heart so big like his dad’s and his little hand came to wipe away tears.

“No cry, or I cry.” Kirishima scoops the small three year old up in his muscular arms carrying him back to bed.

“You’re right and your momma just wants to see you smile.”

Moonlight dances on Bakugou's ash blonde hair, turning it into silver star light as he gently closes the door to the small apartment. Muscle memory pulls him through the methodical motion of removing his grenade belt and gauntlets. Stuffing them away in the newly installed safe both he and his wife agreed on. Bakugou was happy his wife suggested baby proofing the house before his wife got pregnant. It gave him time to settle into routine, to not get overwhelmed.

Silently he steps down the hallway and into the shared bedroom. Closing the door softly as he makes his way to the bathroom for a shower he stops by the bed to check on his wife.

He can barely make out the shirt he sprayed with his cologne and slept in a few times so his wife wouldn't miss him too badly. Stirring in her sleep she speaks

"Morning, Sweetness." A yawn and a big stretch.

"Morning Sweetheart." Bakugou teases with a whisper, pressing a kiss to his wife's cheek, "Go back to bed. I'll be there soon."

"Wait." He can't see his wife's face in the dark, that or even in his dreams he can't make out features. As if his wife were photoshopped out. Still he hangs onto his wife's every word because no matter what anyone fucking says. This woman here, tucked into the dark comforter and moonlight, wearing his old skull T-shirt was his goddamn wife.

He knew it, in his heart of hearts this was the woman he truly loved.

"Don't get excited but I've been thinking I finally picked a name for our future son!" Even with sleep stealing his wife's voice the sound of it makes his heart flutter.

"Yea?" He leans over his wife, trapping her beneath the weight of his heavy gaze. Staring up at him with sparkling eyes, with a soft smile opening her mouth to say

"▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ "

BEEEEEEEEEP BEEEEP BEEEEEP

Without opening his eyes Bakugou slams the old alarm clock into the night stand. Subconsciously reaching out for his wife only for his warm fingertips to touch cold sheets. His eyes open then as if touch deceived him and he stops himself from ruining another pair of sheets with his hot headed ways. He flips into his back. Staring up at the ceiling as he hears the shower running in the joined bathroom. He figured she must be mad at him still but it wasn't like he was the one who came home late. Or was the one whose stuff has been misplaced, moved or thrown out. He knew Momo wasn't a fan of Bakugou's personal wardrobe but did that justify getting rid of everything? She never did explain herself when he first came home, only gave him a spare key. Hanging up more and more photos of her at shoots, with the crew and friends. Still she hasn't asked Bakugou to take a single picture with her.

The pain ebbs in his chest and he covers his eyes with one arm.

Despite what everyone says Bakugou Katsuki was actually a really sensitive guy but only when it came to those he loved. He couldn't stand anyone in his circle being mad at him. Should it be Kirishima, the Bakusquad and hell even damned Izuku he'd right his wrong. Or at least try too. Heaven knows he's been trying with Mina since woke up and that's three years running just goes to show that forgiveness really is a two way street.

He just didn't like missing out on their lives. He wanted to see Daichi and Iwao before they got too big and she hardly let him over.

He sighs, thinking to himself that maybe he can at least apologize to his wife even if all they've done for the past three years is bicker and fight. Dressing in a t and gray sweats heading straight for the kitchen.

His hands moved on their own as they made coffee. Scooping up the ice and getting the sweet creamer that he would drown the coffee with. Making sure he put it in his studded travel mug with the straw that she liked so much. She only liked it cause it was his. The thought of it makes him smile, makes his heart full that even though she's away so much she likes to carry around a little piece of him.

He checks the roses on the counter, the painted kind with a few peonies tacked in because he thought she'd like them.

Momo comes out to see Bakugou in the kitchen with his travel mug in his hand.

"Going somewhere darlin?" She asks sweetly walking past him to grab herself a mug. Bakugou's smile falters.

"No, I just made you coffee. You know the way you like it." He shakes the mug and the ice clinks inside. Momo's perfect brows furrow.

"Come on, don't play with me." He tries to laugh off the growing frustration, "I put it in my cup for you and everything."

"Baku- Katsuki. I don't drink…"

Suddenly Bakugou's blood starts to heat up. He's watching her mouth move but he can't hear anything over the rushing sound of his blood. Can only see her grab a package of tea as the room gets hotter and fucking hotter.

It's hot.

It's hot

It's fucking hot

Skin searing as he tries to swallow down the burning anger. Tries to let the bloodied half moons in his palms calm him, talk him down from the edge as he holds his breath.

But his body betrays him and burnt sugar hangs heavy in the air. Igniting at his palms in agitated pops as he screams at his wife for the first time in a long, long time.

Breaking the promise he made at 19 that he'd never explode like this again.

How many promises has Bakugou broken now?

"THIS IS HOW YOU TAKE YOUR FUCKING COFFEE I SHOULD KNOW IVE BEEN DOING IT FOR ALMOST FOUR FUCKING YEARS!"

His voice echoes off the wall of windows and rounds back to him bringing with it rotting guilt. Momo has tears in her eyes. Falling down her cheeks in movie star action and sadly this wasn't a scene out of one of her scripts. She sniffles as she tries to hold her head up high.

"Bakugou." She says sharply, "When was the last time you've ever seen me drink anything other than tea?"

She throws the box at him for emphasis and the earl gray blend just bounces off his chest. Loose leaf tea spilling into the wood grain tile. She storms off then, rushing towards the elevator with her purse and phone in hand. Begging into the receiver as the chrome doors shut.

"Shouto please! Just this once. Please!"

As the elevator travels to the ground slower than his failing relationship Bakugou sighs out. Sweeping up the tea as the nagging starts in the back of his head.

Oddly enough it's his Mother's voice today. He hadn't spoken to her in a while. He can't remember why but he knows he should keep contact to a minimum. Was it the way he was treating his wife? Heated words flying from his tongue at the old hag for insulting the love of his life?

That couldn't be right. She loved Momo for some reason. Maybe for her image, maybe because she improved his too but that's all any of this was. Superficial.

Shallow.

With the mess cleaned up and his cluttered thoughts Bakugou begins to pace debating on calling Kirishima or not. He decides against it , having just bothered him a week or so ago.

So he goes with his other reliable friend, almost dreading the call half hoping it goes to voicemail.

"Kaachan?" Of course that nerd would pick up on the first ring, "Everything okay."

"No." He says gruffly, least there was one constant in his life. Bakugou always was blunt and honest.

"What's going on? Do I need to end my shift early? I-"

"No no. Shut up and listen a sec will ya?"

With that Bakugou lays it all out for Izuku, telling him about the turbulent last few years although leaving out some details. He's sure to mention his dream though. If anything he figures this nerd could see where this road was leading and quickly at that.

Divorce.

Fuck

"Look Bakugou honestly. I-" Izuku bites the inside of his cheek, debating everything he can think of in the short amount of time he has. Letting copper coat his tongue before he sighs and tries again.

"Maybe it's best that you stop chasing ghosts and focus on your relationship with your wife. With Momo."

Ice floods his system, carrying in his blood threatening to freeze his already guarded heart.

Bakugou felt like his life was turning into an old VHS, parts of the film blurred with snowy static, or overlapping scenes, very few parts of it are clear. A movie Bakugou so desperately wanted to see, wanted to remember.

But nobody wanted to help fill in the blanks.

Bakugou turns the dusty pink phone in his hands while the other holds up his red phone. Over and over and over the phone flips in Bakugou's deadly, powerful hands.

And yet he never felt so powerless before. Frustrated tears burn his eyes as he's watching his wife fall out of love with him.

Again.

All fucking over again. He has really tried to see his accident as a blessing. A second chance to show his wife he's a better man but all he's done is explode like a jackass.

Like a 21 year old but he was 27 now wasn't he?

Letting out a shaky sigh Bakugou finally answers letting the visage of "his wife" from that dream fade to the back of his mind.

"Yea, you're right. I should stop chasin fuckin ghosts."

Three years later…

“Hey Daiki, why do you and Daichi share a daddy but you aren’t brothers? Do you have two mommies?”

“I don’t have a daddy.” Daiki says proudly, “Kiripima is a God Daddy. Plus I’m six now, I’m old enough to be my own daddy!”

“Yea!” Daichi shouts, sharp teeth in a crazy smile as he stands next to the wild haired ash blonde, “We’re our OWN daddies.”

“Your own daddies?” Kirishima pouts, having overheard the kids shouting well before he got to the gate that led into the school.

“Yea our own daddies!” The troublesome duo shouts in unison while still rushing towards Kirishima while the other kids stare in awe. Somehow forgetting just how big Pro Hero Red Riot was. He was older but still one of the cooler ones. Just like Dynamight, Deku, and Shouto who still hold the top rankings from their youth.

“Mr. Riot, can I sit on your shoulders again?” One of the kids asks and of course Krisihima indulges. Taking the kid to new heights as they scream in delight. You and Mina just roll your eyes, finding out how the day went from the teacher to make sure these kids of yours stayed out of trouble.

“Daichi was very helpful today, he tied Hinta’s shoes when she was having a hard time. Daiki was a bit grumpy at first but I know he’s not the best in the mornings. By the end of the day he was just as helpful as Daichi and both answered questions right today. Although Daiki was feeding Daichi the answers.” The teacher laughs before passing their little book bags off to each corresponding mom.

“Why do you say feeding?” Mina asks and the teacher looks at the lively ones fondly, “Well Daichi was standing in the front of the class, suddenly shy in front of his peers and Daiki let out a little pop to get his attention. Mouthing the answers until he got more confident.”

“He’s using his quirk in class again?” Agitation laces your voice, ever the saint, Sensei Susuki waves it off.

“Daichi did too, half the class does. They’re just at that age.” She watches the kids vie for Red Riot’s attention, starting to wonder if the Pro hero wore his outfit on purpose, “Besides Mrs. Baku- ahem.”

She clears her throat, it was always tough not to call anyone by their last name but especially you. She curses her old mind for trying to fail her before she quickly adds.

“Daiki is very careful with his hands. Very careful.” She praises, thinking of how the little rough thing pockets his hands when his emotions get the best of him.

When he’s angry, when he’s excited, when he’s upset, they find their way into the small pockets of his khaki school pants. The white fabric scorched and left with a large whole at the bottom.

Still, Sensei Susuki doesn’t know that your son learned after only one accident. Having been overly excited to meet his “baby bro” Iwao when he came home from the hospital. Daiki’s favorite stuffed dinosaur that he wanted to “hammydown” so his little brother would have a piece of him to hold on to. Something to “scare the monsters away and protect Iwaoy”

But in his excitement his hands got too sweaty, too hot and the toy exploded into ashy fluff. A sad way to discover his quirk. Little five year old Daiki never felt his eyes burn so much. Crying to his Momma who comforted him and told him he would just need to be mindful from here on out.

And mindful he was. Always thinking about his hands, sometimes fearful of reaching out to his friends but the more the two of you practiced his quirk. The more confident he got.

"Come on kids! You too Eijirou!" Mina calls and the children scramble away from Red Riot with delighted giggles.

"Aw come in babe. Five more minutes? Not everyone got a turn!" He gives the biggest puppy dog eyes Mina has ever seen. She rolls hers, cocking her hand on her hip.

"Fine but anything more than five and we're leaving without you!"

Kirishima sighs for what feels like the thousandth time causing Mina to groan. Why couldn’t men just come out and say it?

“What’s wrong?” She says absent mindedly, rummaging in her side drawer table for cream for her growing stomach.

A long stretch of silence as Kirishima puts away clothes in the closet half heartedly.

“Do you think he’s okay?”

“Daichi?” Mina asks, rubbing lotion on her stretched belly, as she looks at the baby monitor to see Iwao fast asleep, “He always activates his quirk before he hits his head. Kid has my reflexes.”

Mina looks up, smirking at her own joke but when she sees her husband’s handsome face crestfallen she straightens, giving her full attention.

“It’s just…with what Daiki said today as we were walking up….” He trails off and Mina rises to cup his face.

“Didn’t you hear him, Red?” She says softly, “He sounded okay when he said he has no daddy….”

“But he does. He does damn it. It’s not like the man is dead…it’s it’s….” He sighs out, tears forming in his soft garnet eyes.

The three of them always said their kids would hang out. Brag on their, at the time, imaginary kids. How one of Bakugou’s kids was bound to get his quirk with his good genes and how Kirishima’s would get his hardening quirk and the other would spit acid. How they’d play fight and all the adults would have to watch out for their powerful quirks.

And yet only Krisihima and Mina were the only ones who got to see those daydreams come true.

The red giant finally breaks the silence with a wavering voice,

“It’s just my best friend deserves to see his son grow up and he can’t. He needs to come back. He’s fucking missing all of it.”

Mina blinks away tears now too, pulling Kirishima into her arms.

Quietly, so quietly, Daiki takes a few steps back. Holding his breath as he stops heading towards Daichi’s room, discarding the plan of an impromptu sleepover in his “brother’s” room. Instead he tiptoes back to the room across from you. Gingerly sliding open the door hoping the tatami doesn't grind before he can slip into his futon and feign sleep.

Daiki just wanted to be a good boy.

Because maybe if he was a good boy, Daddy would come back.

“Mommy mommy look! LOOK!” Daiki jumps from the kotatsu almost plastering himself to the screen, “Dynamight MOMMA DYNAMIGHT!”

He points to the screen and his shirt as you look over the morning paper without ever looking up. Debating if you wanted to get another job soon, the Kirishimas’ were kind enough to let you stay here rent free this long.

But surely you overstayed your welcome?

“Mhmm I see.” You hum, biting the inside of your lip as nothing has the hours you need to make sure your son is practicing his quirk properly. If there was one thing you remembered Bakugou talking about it was that he had to do a lot of training to get his quirk as precise as it was.

And despite not knowing who his father was, Daiki still wanted to grow up and be just like him.

The number one hero.

Reckon the apple really doesn’t fall far from the tree.

“No, you’re not looking!” Daiki yells, to which you give a stern look. Especially when you smell something akin to caramel scenting the air, “Momma please!”

“Okay, only because you asked nicely.” You glance up at the TV looking over the broad shouldered ash blonde. Grinding your teeth to keep the frustrating tears at bay. Frustrating because you were trying your best to raise a level headed young man by your fucking self. Frustrating because you knew it was only because he lost almost a decade of his life and he'd be here if he could. Frustrating because you knew those two were still out there playing house. Holding hands on live television and you look away before the camera pans out to see him looking at his wife lovingly.

Frustrating because it still hurt so fucking much. Like the wound was fresh and you were in that hospital room again. Bleach burning your nose as you tried to find any semblance of hope, playing his favorite albums and humming the songs and it was you who washed the nasty gash on his temple carefully. Washing out the blood that would dye his blonde hair strawberry. Hearing that fucking beeping sound that brought with it new and more horrifying thoughts.

After almost seven years, it wasn’t supposed to still hurt like this.

“Isn’t Momo so pretty momma?” Daiki shouts.

“Mmhmm.” You hum again, except this time it’s clipped and Daiki doesn’t ask again.

“Not as pretty as Momma though.” He adds softly, pulling at your heart strings. Before you can say anything the doorbell echoes through the sizable house.

“What are you doing here?” A vicious bite to your hushed tone as you use your body to block her from seeing indoors.

“I was looking for you. I just want to talk about Bakugou, he hasn't been well.” She says matter of fact, as if she hasn’t been a bitch for the majority of your marriage and now just wants to see you out of the blue?

For what to fix her fucking son?

Been there, done that and look what it did for you.

You ended up alone and a burden to your best friends.

Wait? Was Bakugou really why she was here or?

Did Kirishima fuck up and mention your son to her? Did he let slip after one too many drinks that a carbon copy of Bakugou was sitting at his house being raised by his very single mother.

You go to slam the door in her face but fate was a cruel and twisted thing.

“Oi, Momma, who’s that?” Daiki pulls at your pants leg, looking up at the elderly lady, at her spiky blonde hair and dark red eyes, “We’ve got the same hair color, you and me.”

He points to himself and Mitsuki then himself again letting out a giggle.

“You know who else has blonde hair?”

“Daiki.” You try to stop him but his excitement gets the best of him as Mitsuki can do nothing but stand there shocked. Staring, staring through a timewarp as she sees what looks like her son, her baby boy except this kid, ‘Daiki’ has your eyes. Everything else is pure bonafide Katsuki.

For once she was thankful most kids spend all that time growing just to look exactly like their fathers.

Daiki shouts on, hands popping as he jumps into the same stance as the ash blonde on his shirt.

“Dynamight-kun!!! He’s my favorite hero, granny!” He just means it like all kids do when they talk to an elder. Grandpa, granny, a tease, a running joke with the youth. But the name crawls under your skin like mice in the woodwork. Tearing up everything as it competes with the loud tenor of your voice.

“DAIKI. To your room!” You look down at him, eyes a little too venomous as you hiss out, “Now!”

The boy deflates and you hate when you yell, mentaly reminding yourself to apologize later. Right now you have more urgent problems. When you turn back to dismiss the vile woman you are met with tears rushing down her cheeks.

“I didn’t know.” She says so softly, so fucking softly that it hurts. When it shouldn’t. When you should be angry, infuriated that this family was still somehow pushing their way into what was supposed to be your new life.

It was bad enough your son was obsessed with Dynamight, needing every poster, every action figure, anything with that asshole’s face on it, little Daiki needed.

“I’ll make tea.” You say through gritted teeth, letting her in and guiding her to the dining room with the low table, having remembered that’s the only setting for dinner she had in her own home.

Things are never easy with the emotionally constipated Bakugous. Making the first fifteen minutes of this meeting unbearably awkward.

“Why did you say that?” That isn’t what you meant to ask, you wanted to ask why she was here, instead over a decades worth of strife claws up your throat in a viscous bite, “Why did you say I wouldn’t last?”

She stares into her tea causing you to press on.

“Are you happy now? That I ‘gave up’ on him?” Your tongue was sharp again, if only it had been the night of your wedding. If only you set the tone then instead of trying to appease this bitter sad woman.

Least that’s how she looked at you now. Mourning her son just like you were. Except he wasn’t six feet under was he? He was living and breathing, still doing hero work, still keeping people safe. Still looking good in the eyes of the media so what the fuck could Bakugou Mitsuki actually be sad about.

“No, I’m far from happy.” She looks up at you, burning ember eyes, “I was wrong. I was really fucking wrong.”

You lean back, crossing your arms, closing yourself off from this conversation. You want to send her out. About to send her on her marry fucking way when she speaks again.

“Bakugou didn’t grow because of Momo, they married so young. No one is really a fucking adult at 18 but you know Katuski, you can’t tell him shit.” She sighs, taking another sip of her tea. You made it perfectly for her, like you always do. She watched Bakugou teach you how one day.

Guess there are some things you never truly forget.

“He grew because of you. Because he wanted to. Momo, she was a sweet girl at the time. I didn’t think my son was fighting hard enough but I should have known, I should have fuckin know he wasn’t telling me the whole story.” She tongues her cheeks, “I’m his mother and yet somedays I feel like I know nothing about him.”

“It’s your fucking fault for pushing him away. For being such a bitch to me for two years.”

“I know.” Holding your gaze with no animosity in her own, “Trust me I know and I was too stupid to figure it out sooner than that.”

Another awkward pause, you hear the apology in her voice, in her action of her showing up here today. Swallowing her pride whole, refusing to choke on it when it came to the well being of her son.

“I meant to visit earlier. But I figured you wouldn’t want me reminding you of him although I see you have an even bigger reminder of my son. Bigger than I could have imagined.”

“So no one told you about him. About Daiki?”

“Shining bright?” When you give a curt nod she smiles widely, proudly as she straightens, “He is bright isn’t he? He must get that from you.”

“But no, no one told me about him. I honestly had no idea. I came here as a shot in the dark.” She sets down her tea, “We need to get Bakugou back. He needs to see his son he-”

“No.” It’s cold and cruel, venom dripping from your lips, “He isn’t Daiki’s father.”

“It isn’t his fuckin fault he isn’t here! You think he’d ever leave you behind?! Kirishima gave me a letter on the year anniversary of him losing all memories of you. It was handwritten, you know.” Her lip quivers, clutching the cup to give her hands something to do, “It was all about you. How Kirishima and I needed to take care of you, were going to take care of you should anything happen to him. Whether that meant he was maimed, died or somehow lost his brain function. He was specific in what I was going to do in that letter.” She wets her lipstick stained lips.

“I was supposed to fight for you. Reach out to you, nurture you since you don't have anyone left. In that letter it said I only made you feel welcomed once. That it was nice even if I was just pretending for the holiday. I’ve been thinking about that since. Thinking about how I was really shitting on such an amazing woman. A woman that not only loved my son but that he loved with his whole fucking heart. I know it seems the shoe is on the other foot. I was debating seeing you at all until Bakugou called a few months ago. About a dream. He asked me what it meant, why he dreamed such a vivid thing of another woman in a wedding dress when he didn’t plan on remarrying.” She pulls a photo of your wedding out, of you and Bakugou gingerly feeding each other cake. Huge smiles the two of you not knowing the hardships that were to come.

That you’d endure seemingly by yourself.

Her manicured nail taps on your dress, “This is exactly what he described to me.”

You look anywhere away from the picture, body rigid from the heavy sea of emotions that wars between your lungs stealing the air from your chest. When you meet her eyes you see desperation.

“This is Daiki’s father, this man right here.” Her voice cracks causing you to squeeze your eyes shut, “Even without his head on right he’s still fuckin looking for ya. He’s just unwell right now, Sweetheart.”

The nickname sends a new found rage into your body, straight to your bones as you draw in a breath to scream at her to just fucking leave but instead a booming voice comes form the hall way.

“You found daddy?!” Daiki couldn’t help himself, shouting it from his hiding spot in the hall, jumping into the threshold. Demanding to be seen and heard.

“Daiki!” You hiss, rising to try to take him back to his room but he squirms. Falling to the floor like dead weight as he screams.

“HE’S MY DADDY! I GET TO KNOW HE’S MY DADDDDY!” Tears burn your eyes as you stare down at him. You should have known that eventually he would start asking questions. That him being “old enough to be his own daddy” was just a front.

A brave face kids put on when they have emotions that are a little too big for them to understand. Scooping him up you place him in your lap reluctantly sharing your cookies with Daiki only for him to ignore them.

“So you found daddy?!” Stubborn just like his fucking father. Mitsuki looks from Daiki to you to which you give a glaring shake of your head. Clearly mouthing no.

Mitsuki pursed her lips, eyes starting to water as she tried to find the right answer in her head.

“No, not yet. He’s still a little bit lost.” Mitsuki stands abruptly, “I should leave. I’m so-tsk- sorry I disrupted things here.”

“No, don't go!” Daiki tries to crawl out of your tight grip, “Momma please, she knows about daddy, I wanna hear about him too! ‘Ts not fair!”

Again Mitsuki looks at you, vermillion eyes boring into your skin, the same way her son’s used to. With a heavy sigh you gesture to the seat across from you again. Slowly she lowers back down, staring at her grandson with this dreamy smile.

“How about I tell you some stories about your daddy when he was your age.” Instantly Daiki perks up and you just hope this doesn’t fuck you over later.

Bakugou hates these, hates these fucking meet and greets so fucking much. Too many people, too many unfamiliar faces and the heroes had to spread out too far apart. Plus his wife is never here, never by his side as she’s “busy” much more busy than he ever is.

Yet still he always finds time to make it to her premiers despite his hectic work schedule. Always finds time for her only to be told there weren’t enough hours in the day for him.

It stung, really fucking hurt to watch his peers grow. Watch their families grow as he all but begged Momo, again, to try for a baby.

She always said no.

She was too busy.

And that was that.

Bakugou was getting too old to remarry and he wasn’t going to marry just anyone. Bakugou needed someone special in his life, never one to fall easy. Slowly until he’s already soaring over the edge falling and falling and ever fucking falling for -

Besides, he didn't like how he felt here, looking at all his friends through hazy green lenses.

Everytime Bakugou looks at Kirishima’s pretty little wife, with her swollen belly it sends a jolt to his heart. Jealousy eats at the muscle mass under Bakugou's skin, like rot he can never quite dig out.

Suddenly a small hand grabs at his pants, tugging so hard it rattles the grenades on his belt. He looks down only for small palms to burn bright orange before they ignite. Popping explosions much too close to his temperamental grenades as the brat screams with delight cocky little smirk on his face,

"LOOK WHAT I CAN DO!"

Bakugou stares down at the kid, eyes wide as he replays what’s just happened over in his head once more.

Something isn’t right, explosion wasn’t a common quirk, if anything it was a miracle Bakugou got a useful quirk at all.

He knew that quirk better than the back of his own hand.

That little crackling, explosion quirk was Bakugou Katsuki's.

Was this ? Did he have a one night stand he couldn’t remember?

Fiery eyes burn into what looks like a mirror into the past except his eyes. His eyes aren’t the same burnt embers as his own, no they were a different color. Soft and yet strong in their own right. Quickly under the weight of Bakugou’s glower the boy’s smile fades, replaced with tears that start to gather in the small ones eyes.

Your son staring up into the darkening face of his favorite pro hero. The babe’s lower lip trembling as his little mind races. Did he…did he hurt Dynamight-kun’s feelings?

“M sowwy. Dy-dynamight-kun. I thought hicc I thought you'd think it was cool…” The boy sniffles as Bakugou stiffens. He never was good at this comforting shit. Especially not when it came to kids but if he ever wanted any he’d better fuckin try. Just as his glove is about to wipe away some tears a manicured hand pulls the boy into her leg. He follows up that smooth leg to find you in such a pretty sundress. A snarling face that makes his mind race. His chest aches lungs squeezed by the hands of Kamisama themself.

Shit made her mad again. Better get hydrangeas- Wait, what the fuck was he thinking, why would he care if he made some extra angry? It was your brat that charged at him.

It was one thing to look at you with disgust and make you cry. But to make your son cry? Fat fucking chance.

“Tsk.” You suck your teeth harshly, leaning over to pick up your baby, “Somethings never change.”

Three words, three words make Bakugou’s chest tight, as if an arrow lanced straight through the beating muscle and he could do nothing to stop it. He hears your voice soften as you speak to your son. It makes Bakugou's throat tighten up, like suddenly he can’t breathe.

“Daiki, sometimes people don’t realize what they’re doing, okay Sweetness?” You smooth down ash blonde hair as you start to walk away as the words finally decode themselves in Bakugou’s head.

“ssenteews efas yats.”

“Stay safe, Sweetness”

“ssenteews uoy evol”

“L o v e y o u s w e e t n e s s”

The voices in his head slow, blurring, together overlapping as he hears Momo’s voice and someone else's. Hears yours as the sound rakes sharp nails across his brain. Momo never said sweetness, hardly used a pet name anymore and sure as fuck never that.

Never told him to stay safe when he left the house. She’d have to be fucking home to do that.

His head splits in two, feeling as if someone bashed a lead pipe into his temple. The feeling reverberates around his chest and his voice tumbles from his mouth all on his own.

Frozen, the two of you stare at one another as if a predator caught prey and if you didn't move he wouldn't be able to see you anymore. He takes a step forward and you take a step back. Launching yourself and your son into the air to flee as quickly as you can, looking away only when you see Bakugou encumbered by a growing crowd. By Kirishima pushing his way through the fans towards the bulking ash blonde.

You never should have agreed to take Daiki to a hero meet and greet but it was his birthday. The only thing he asked for for weeks and besides Bakugou never used to come to these things.

Not as if you knew him anymore or even wanted to.

Liar, then why'd you wear his favorite sundress?

Daiki pulls at the collar of your dress to get your attention, little eyes staring down at the people as they become the size of ants.

“Mommy, why did Dynamight-kun say your name?” Daiki looks up at you eyes widening as he panics, wiping at your falling tears as best he can, “Mommy why are you crying?”

When you can do nothing but shake your head he parrots back to you.

“Sometimes mommy.” His little voice shakes, cracks almost as he tries to comfort you, “People don’t realize what they’re doing.”

You pull him closer to you as you fly straight back to the Kirishima homestead, mind hazed over with a list of essentials to pack to leave this country forever.

You couldn’t do this anymore, you weren’t strong enough anymore. It was official.

With the sweet syllables of your name, Bakugou Katsuki broke you.

Kirishima children first born son Daichi - earth second born son Iwao - rock third born - tba Bakugou children Daiki - big, shining bright

#bakugou x reader #bakugo x reader #bakugou katsuki x reader #bakugo katuski x reader #katuski x reader #bakugou angst #kitten writes 🖤🐈‍⬛🖋️

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