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lovelyirony · 4 years

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"a single thread of gold/tied me to you" for ironhusbands?💛

If there is one thing that James Rhodes cannot stand, it is “love at first sight.” In his professional and personal opinion, there is no such thing. It is simply a concept that Disney invented so they could make cutesy stories about princesses finding their princes immediately and give people hope about love, but in the end it is all about the money.

“You’re a cynic,” his sister Jeanie tells him over breakfast. She flings a stray Cheerio at him. “You are a cynic and you’re never gonna date someone because they’re going to think you suck.”

“People are going to date me and realize that I’m a good, realistic choice,” James responds, sticking his tongue out and stealing a drink of her orange juice. “People are going to date you and you’ll be disappointed because you watched too many romantic movies and you let it taint reality.”

“Loser.”

“Dork.”

And then he’s in college.

Surprisingly, he doesn’t meet Tony Stark for two years despite the fact that every single year, they live in the same building on different floors. He has had to evacuate about twenty different times because Tony cannot stop himself from doing experiments in his room.

The third year, James is an RA and required to live with one of the residents because of “experimental tendencies.” They don’t elaborate on why he’s stuck with a roommate, what the tendencies are, or who he is.

“You’ll know,” comes the email from the coordinator, and he has never wanted to curse so badly in an email before, but here he is.

But he’ll deal with it. Just like how he’s going to deal with everything this year.

He thought he would get the room to himself for a little while before everyone moved in and brought everything and he would check them in.

But no.

There’s his roommate, lounging on a bed, and grinning.

“Simply enlightening to meet you, James. They told me I could come back if I had a trusted roommate.”

“And they stuck you with me?”

“Well they were going to stick me with some dude who got the email, and then immediately transferred to Dartmouth. So I think you were the second option.”

“Great.”

He hates life, maybe just a little bit.

Tony wants to do things. Which is fine, but he isn’t really in the mood to have the conversation of the fact that he can do things, but he doesn’t want to do them. He has to focus on being an RA and preparing for the Air Force.

“Why prepare for that when you could be living?” Tony asks, lounging on Rhodey’s bed.

Oh yeah, that’s new too. Rhodey. Apparently, “Jim,” “James,” and “Rhodes” were unacceptable nicknames.

What is acceptable is Rhodey. And of course, the “honey bunches of oats” and “loveliest RA of all time in the history of MIT” and “sugar-puff” and “sweetness overload”

He’s responding to all of them, by the way.

Rhodey didn’t think his mental health would get this bad by the beginning. He had actually scheduled it to be around October.

And then the students come. There are nervous freshmen, the sophomores who don’t say anything as they move in and get settled, and the returning juniors and seniors greet Rhodey and Tony with familiarity and laugh about the posters that Rhodey’s worked hard on.

“So, we’re having joint-RA’s or something?” Miles asks, throwing his comforter over his bed.

“No, we’re not,” Rhodey says, hoping his expression is somewhere along the lines of not-showing-emotion. “Tony’s just...”

“I’m simply too exhausting for Housing to deal with anymore, so I have a babysitter,” Tony says with a wink. “And who better than our lovely Rhodey?”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Sugar-puff?”

“Still no.”

Miles snorts.

“This year should be good. Tony, you gonna pull any fire alarms this year?”

“Rhodey has expressly banned experiments in the building, unfortunately,” Tony sighs. “It’s like he doesn’t want everyone to bond over having to leave at two in the morning...”

“Nothing says bonding like hating a rude wake-up call,” Rhodey says, and Tony nods. “We’ll let you get all moved in, Miles. Remember that floor dinner is at six!”

“You got it!”

Rhodey gives Tony a look.

“You know, I can do this on my own.”

“Aw shutterbug, I’m not gonna let you.”

“Are you really this intent on following me around?”

“Well, what if I want to overtake your position next year? What if you tragically get a raging headache and it’s up to me to know what to do? What if your mother kidnaps you and never lets you come here again?”

“I’m sure the college kids will be fine,” Rhodey stresses. “And I’ll still have access to email and the groupchat, genius.”

Tony just laughs.

“Alright, okay. I gotta go get some shit for my new class. The teacher sent out an email stating that the textbook is mandatory, and we have to do book work. This feels like eighth grade all over again.”

Rhodey snorts.

“Is it for Professor Casper?”

“Yeah, did you have him?”

“Yeah, you don’t need the book. You can find it online for free, and he never collects the book work. It’s a waste of time to get the book.”

“You’re an angel-and-a-half, love of my life,” Tony says. “And for that, I’ll snag an extra pudding for you at the dining hall.”

“Is it vanilla or chocolate this time?”

“Chocolate with cookies in it.”

“Oh my god, seriously? Already?”

“Guess they must have had a jump,” Tony teases. “I’ll see you at dinner.”

Tony has a specific way of getting people to open up and actually talk with others that Rhodey envies.

If Tony wasn’t so hellbent on convincing the group that if Miles and Kamala create a distraction, they could totally sneak out one of the pictures of the mascot.

“We are not doing that the first week,” Rhodey says. “Maybe the last.”

“It’s a beaver,” Tony whines. “Who’s gonna miss it, a Canadian?”

“It’ll be the floor bonding activity,” Gwen says, finishing off her fifth (maybe sixth) slice of pizza. “Better than talking about your feelings about the campus or whatever.”

“No.”

“We’ll convince him soon,” Tony whispers conspiratorially. “Also, who here is a freshman? I have some advice regarding the math classes and which teacher you want...”

Rhodey does have to admit, that sometimes it’s easier to have Tony around, who is so willing to stay up until the late hours because of some stupid drama or to help Peter at his chemistry homework and also ease his anxiety about leaving his Aunt May all alone.

Tony isn’t all wild and crazy as stories have led him up to be.

"I wore out all my crazy freshman year after going to two frat parties and deciding that no one knew anything about how to have fun,” he declared. “I mean, come on. Why have beer pong when you could quiz people about obscure fashion facts?”

Rhodey snorts.

“Don’t make that the next game night. Hey, what do you think about having a movie night this Friday? I’m thinking something not scary, we’ve been doing a lot of those.”

“It is October, what do you mean not scary?”

“Some of our residents don’t like scary,” Rhodey reminds him. “Honestly, I think we could do with a bit of Halloween fun.”

“Hocus Pocus? Double Double, Toil and Trouble? If you want to be slightly scared of old women and clown parties, I’d recommend it.”

“You weren’t scared of clowns beforehand?”

“Of course not, I wanted what they have; the ability to fit eighteen people in a car.”

“Couldn’t you just gut the car?”

“Not the same effect, honey-pie. Not the same effect.”

Miles and Peter both end up lobbying for Hocus Pocus, with little to no competition other than a promise that the other choice would be shown later on in the semester.

They’ve shoved all the chairs together and multiple people have brought out their own chairs, and Tony saves a seat for Rhodey under the premise of “Rhodey organized it, he gets a seat.”

It’s a tough squeeze, and Tony and Rhodey get all tangled up together.

Tony smells like expensive cologne and coffee, and he grins up at Rhodey and maybe the lights from the TV aren’t bright enough, but for a moment his heart skips a beat.

Well. Shit.

When he goes home for Thanksgiving break, Tony seems a bit...sad.

“What, your mom cook the worst turkey in the world?” he jokes.

"Sure,” Tony says, eyes unfocused. “Yeah.”

"Dude, you okay?”

“Yeah,” Tony says, turning. His smile brightens, eyes crinkling. “Why wouldn’t I be fine, buttercup?”

Rhodey gives him a look.

“I’m gonna call you when I get home, okay? You better answer.”

“I always answer to you,” Tony says, and damn Rhodey’s mind shouldn’t be going where it is.

Rhodey waves, gets in his car, and thinks about how Tony most likely has a problem on his mind, how he should probably not room with him, and his Aunt Ada’s green beans.

God, he loves those green beans.

Tony is alone for Thanksgiving. Jarvis and Ana got an opportunity to visit Aunt Peggy in England, and he knew that they hadn’t seen her in two years. He didn’t want to be selfish, have them stay just for him.

So, it looked like deli turkey sandwiches were in his future. If there’s still some soda in the fridge, maybe that too.

He sighs, and turns towards the lab. Dum-E’s not even here, as he didn’t fit in the travel car, so Tony let him loose on the floor to “keep guard” over the dorms and make sure that no one broke in or stole the cords that he knows he accidentally left in the common room.

The odd thing is, he had almost told Rhodey. Almost let him know that he’d be alone for Thanksgiving, but is that weird? That’s weird, right? To tell people your emotions just...it’s so messy.

They have to deal with it, you have to deal with the fact that they’re dealing with it, and then other people know that you both are dealing with it and it’s just a whole mess of epic proportions, you know?

Rhodey finds out on Thanksgiving, when they’re doing the parade on the TV and there’s a new snippet on the gossip channel when they go on commercial break.

Howard and Maria Stark, vacationing off the Mediterranean Coast.

“It’s reported that Tony Stark has preferred to spend his time in the vacation home,” the news reporter said, her smile wide and placid.

“Tony’s lucky,” Mama says, wrapping golden yarn around her fingers as she works on another sweater. (A small one, a tiny one. It’s for the new baby in the family for Christmas.) “He tell you about it?”

“He’s not there,” Rhodey says numbly.

“He’s not?” Dad says, eyes raised over the newspaper.

“No.”

“He didn’t tell you, did he?” Dad asks.

“No, no he didn’t.”

“Well then. Next time he’ll come with us.”

Rhodey nods.

“Christmas?”

“Clear it with his parents if they’re not spending time together.”

“Got it.”

Rhodey’s Thanksgiving is...nice. He can’t stop thinking about Tony going alone.

So he calls him. It’s two in the morning, he might be asleep, and Rhodey’s not sure if he got the “eight” in the last four digits right or not.

“Howard’s out, who is it?” comes a sleep-addled voice.

“Good thing I’m not looking for Howard, Tones.”

“Rhodey? Why are you calling me?” Tony asks, and Rhodey can imagine his eyes lighting up and that’s...that’s something.

“You spent Thanksgiving alone, I wanted to see how you were.”

“Aw, checking in your residents?”

“Checking in on you.”

Tony stills for a moment at the phone.

Besides Jarvis, no one had ever really checked in on him.

“Um, I’m fine?”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. I mean, it sucks to be alone on Thanksgiving, but I don’t really like any of the foods that people usually have, so I’ve been fine. I ordered wraps from my favorite place.”

“Good to hear, good to hear.”

There’s a silent pause for a moment, the one where they both try to find something to say.

“Listen,” Rhodey says. “If you’re ever stuck for a holiday alone, you’re coming with me, okay?”

“I don’t want to intrude on your family,” Tony says softly.

“They all wanna meet you. Jeanie says she can kick your ass at ice hockey!”

“You guys can actually play ice hockey?”

“With limited degrees of success.”

“Oh, now that I gotta see some time.”

They come back to college, and Tony is back to his usual antics, greeting everyone who comes through the elevator with a shower of shredded paper.

“Welcome to Winter Wonderland! Next stop: suffering through finals!”

“Ugh,” Kamala groans, “stop it. Stop making me think. I have to memorize Byronic poetry. Do you know how boring that is?”

"Speak for yourself, I have to build a wooden chair,” Riri whines. “Who works with wood these days? It’s so old-fashioned.”

“Create the most bitching chair alive,” Tony says. “And I’ll help you with the necessary tools. Your professor isn’t expecting much, mainly just that it can support the weight of two people, you’ll be fine. Kam, Byronic poetry is not that bad, you will be good. We will bake cookies.”

“Can we even bake cookies? I thought our floor got banned from kitchen usage,” Peter says. “Hey Rhodey.”

“Hey kiddo,” Rhodey says. “First of all, yes we are banned from the kitchen. Second, we’re only banned and get in trouble so long as they know we’re there. And since more than half of us are nocturnal creatures and I am willing to wake up to help, we can bake cookies.”

There are cheers around the room, and Tony mocks offense.

“You don’t trust me to help the future youth?”

“Given that we’re not allowed to rent out any more equipment from the front office? Yes.”

“You wound me, darling.”

“Only as much as kitchen equipment goes, sweetheart.”

Tony grins.

“Aw, you missed me.”

“Yeah, I did. Now come on, you gotta help me with a billboard about the movie night this Friday. We thinking a romantic comedy or something mildly terrifying but probably won an award?”

“Mildly terrifying!” Gwen calls from her dorm. “If we watch two people falling in love I’ll choke! We’ve been doing it all year!”

“We’ve only watched, like, three rom-coms?”

Gwen rolls her eyes, as if he’s missed something completely obvious.

“You don’t get it. I’ll try again later. Hey, are we doing floor dinner tonight?”

“They’re serving pizza sandwiches, so obviously,” Tony says. “We will feast like kings.”

Christmas is a festive time for Tony. He loves it, and goes overboard with decorations. Rhodey lets him, because you can’t stop Tony once he loves something (and Rhodey is kind of. Fond of him).

Pepper comes up from the fifth floor, whistling.

“Damn, Jim. I knew you would do a good job with decorations, but not this good. Is this...did you buy a miniature village? How was this budgeted?”

“It wasn’t,” Rhodey says. “Tony’s really into Christmas and the floor convinced him that the theme should be Christmas Village. He’s been crafting identities for each villager instead of studying for any exam. The craft store employees know him by name now.”

“Well, we all have our vices. You two seem to get along well. Housing is pleased that he hasn’t blown up anything yet.”

“If they try to serve cheese ravioli again, he might.”

“That’s a problem for Dining,” Pepper reminds him.

“Still, it’s abominable. Where did they get them, bottom of the Hudson River?”

She snorts, adjusting her shirt.

“Probably, but hey. They still got eaten, even if that one freshman threw them all back up at the entrance.”

“It was payback, they were vile.”

Tony waltzes into the lobby, arms filled with glittering tinsel.

“We are not letting you hang that,” Pepper says, gaping at it all. “Do you know how hard it is to get rid of tinsel?”

“We’ll manage!” Tony says. “Also, are you free at six-thirty?”

“No, that’s when we’re getting dinner on my floor, what do you need?”

“Just that little tidbit of knowledge,” Tony says, looking down at his phone.

A message buzzes from the groupchat, and Rhodey glances at it:

We are a go for the real Christmas tree. I have the vacuum, and a believable lie. Rhodey’s gonna tell us when the RA on duty is gonna come so we can hide it.

Rhodey looks at Tony, grinning. He smiles right back.

“Is there some weird roommate telekinesis I’m missing here?” Pepper asks.

“Yes,” Rhodey says. “We’re discussing dinner plans.”

Another text from Harley:

I’m already picking one out with Peter. I have good taste. When is the ornament-making party?

Pepper looks at them.

“You’re planning something that I probably would have to disapprove of. I’ll tell people I got your floor watched tonight.”

“Pepper, light of my life, my absolute sunshine? You’re the best,” Tony says, grinning. “Rhodey-darling, help me with tinsel?”

He can’t say no. Simple as that.

That is how tinsel gets strung throughout his hair as he’s watching Tony climb onto chairs that shouldn’t be climbed on to hang it from everywhere.

“People deserve to have a good-looking Christmas,” he says. “Besides, I wanna win the decoration contest.”

Rhodey laughs.

“Okay, okay. I think we got it in the bag.”

Later on in the week, Tony can be seen flitting about from room to room with help and jokes to lighten the mood.

Rhodey has to admit, being an RA with Tony around is...nice. Better than he thought.

And maybe he has feelings. He’s not going to say anything about it. After all, they’re roommates. He also isn’t allowed to have a relationship with anyone on the floor, regardless of anything.

It doesn’t mean every RA follows it. God knows Sharon’s snuck down to the fourth floor to see Sam near-about every night, and her residents usually keep it a pretty good secret.

Still. There’s also everything else to consider, and the fact that he doesn’t even know if Tony likes him like that.

He doesn’t have to focus on it.

At least, not until the week of finals when he’s dying and Tony’s made him peppermint hot chocolate and sits on his bed, just about an inch away from his notes for his history class.

“Do you remember what you told me on the phone?” Tony asks softly.

“You up to compete against Jeanie for this year’s ice hockey championship?” Rhodey asks, smiling.

Tension releases from Tony’s shoulders.

“Only so long as you’ll have me.”

“Always, genius. Always.”

After the last resident leaves for the holiday and Rhodey checks in with those who are staying, he and Tony hit the road, dragging suitcases behind them.

“Are you sure I’m allowed?” Tony asks. “I can always find a hotel along the way...”

“Mama wants to meet you, I keep telling them a ton about you,” Rhodey says, laughing. “They told me they want to hear your side of the great Glitter Debacle.”

Tony laughs.

“You mean the truth?”

“Uh, I’m sorry, how are you going to convince them that green glitter was needed? And that you could clean it out of carpet?”

“Determination and grit?”

Rhodey laughs again as they pull onto the highway.

After a couple of hours, they make it to Rhodey’s home. His sister comes out, hugs for both.

“Good to meet you Tony,” Jeanie says. “I’ve heard a lot, and I think we’re going to get along awesomely after I tell you every single embarrassing thing that Jim’s ever done.”

“Only if I get to share stories too,” Tony teases, grinning. “Aw, they call you Jim?”

“What do you call him?” Jeanie asks.

“Jim-Jam, angel-dear, sugar-puff, Rhodey. You know, the usual.”

Jeanie snorts, taking one of Rhodey’s bags.

“Calling you the first one from now on.”

“Tony did you have to let her hear any of those?” Rhodey asks, exasperated in a teasing manner.

“Of course I did,” Tony sing-songed. “Now after you, I’m sure your mom is waiting to hug the living daylights out of you.”

It’s not until Rhodey gets all settled in and Tony is downstairs competing with his dad in a round of chess that Jeanie sits on his bed, the intention to annoy.

But it’s...different. She looks at him.

“You love him a lot, don’t you?”

Rhodey stills.

“You wouldn’t have told him he could come here if you didn’t.”

“You’re right.”

“I’m always right,” Jeanie says, flipping braids over her shoulder. “Nice of you to finally realize that I’m the smart one.”

Rhodey doesn’t say anything as she saunters out of the room.

He makes the decision not to tell Tony.

If it goes wrong and if Tony says no, he doesn’t want it to be an awkward family event but more importantly, the most awkward rest of the year ever. He can say it as they’re moving out, and that’s that.

He tells Jeanie as such.

“I thought you didn’t believe in love,” she says as they’re preparing the soup for dinner.”

“I don’t believe in love at first sight,” Rhodey says. “I do believe in love. There’s a difference.”

There’s a hell of a difference.

First sight, you don’t know everything. The second, third, fourth, fifth, and so on? Oh you learn so much more, and they become that more important.

He learns that he doesn’t mind picking up tinsel, so long as Tony is laughing and singing along to all of the worst Christmas songs ever, and maybe. Just maybe he could picture looking at Tony underneath the fairy-lights that they hung in the dorm room for all time.

Love is terrifyingly exhilarating, even when it isn’t supposed to be.

Rhodey did not think his heart would race so much as Tony listened to his Mama talk about her wedding china, about the utter disaster that his father was.

“He forgot his tie,” Mama said, smiling. “Oh my lord, my mother had a cow about that. I thought he looked kind of dashing.”

Tony’s eyes drift towards the wedding pictures, which are slightly shaky, but everyone had such wide smiles.

It’s a far cry from the publicity photos from the Stark wedding, Rhodey remembers the solemn expressions, the stuff tuxedos.

“I love it,” Tony says softly. He looks at Rhodey across the table, setting down the final plate. “Tell me more, Mrs. Rhodes.”

“Call me Mama, honey, Mrs. Rhodes is for people I don’t like that much. I think you’re gonna be my new favorite.”

“Even over me?” Jeanie says, grinning as she kisses Dad on the cheek. “I’m your favorite.”

“You’re my favorite until now,” Mama says. “Don’t think I don’t know that you skipped out on setting the table because Tony was here and graciously offered.”

“It was nothing,” Tony says. “Just happy to help. Thank you for letting me stay at your home for the holidays.”

“We’re always lucky to have guests,” Dad says, setting down the main dish. “Now let’s eat.”

Family dinner is a brand new concept to Tony. He’s had maybe four or five of them, and the majority of which were staged for some holiday shoot or some “celebrating American values” shoot.

It was awkward, weird, and he didn’t get why.

Now, he does. Jeanie has been steadily moving mashed potatoes away from Rhodey’s plate, and Mama caught her eye and winked, distracting him with talk about his college major and news about the neighbors.

Mr. Rhodes watches it all with a careful eye and a lax smile.

After dinner, they play cards.

It should be boring, but Jeanie puts on an old record and Rhodey keeps trying to count cards, and Tony didn’t think you could count cards in a game of Spoons.

“You can’t, he’s just a try-hard,” Jeanie stage-whispers.

“You-”

Jeanie laughs, rolling herself out of Rhodey’s grasp as he chases her around the family room. Tony leans back into the couch, and shouts with surprise as Jeanie trips Rhodey into the couch.

His body twists, and Rhodey’s facing him on the couch and they’re close and with the fire roaring in the fireplace and the Christmas lights outside shining through the windows, it’s almost magic.

It is magic, but Rhodey is kind of terrified of that.

Tony breathes in, breathes out.

“Hello sugar-puff,” he says.

“Hello genius,” Rhodey says, a smile on his face.

Oh.

The night does not get much sleep.

Tony doesn’t sleep anyway, but Rhodey finds that quite often he can’t sleep without some softly-playing rock in the background, doesn’t matter if it is a highly-questionable AC/DC song. That and Tony softly murmuring about his plans, and it’s like a personalized lullaby.

Rhodey cannot sleep. Tony’s in the guest room, and he can’t sleep.

There’s a soft knock on his door.

Tony’s there in shorts and a t-shirt that’s probably expensive, but he’ll never say if it is or not.

“Can I...I can’t sleep.”

“Get in here, Tones. I can’t sleep either.”

The bed is a tight squeeze, but they make it work.

Rhodey whispers until he drifts off to sleep about Christmas and school and everything else.

Tony watches with quiet eyes, interjecting with his own stories occasionally.

They fall asleep tangled up together, and Rhodey doesn’t mind it one bit, not as he pulls Tony in closer.

Waking up is bittersweet, honestly. Rhodey has Tony in his arms, and that’s...that’s perfect. He thinks this is going to be the best thing that’s ever happened in his lifetime.

“It’s too early, darling,” Tony groans. The light from outside is already peeking through the blinds, and he has stuffed his head right back into a pillow.

“Jeanie’ll be here soon to bother us for Christmas breakfast,” Rhodey says. “And unless you want her pouncing on the bed and landing on wrong everything, we better get down there.”

Tony smiles sleepily, stretching.

“Thanks for letting me sleep in your room, honey-bunch.”

“No problem,” Rhodey said. “Missed the constant AC/DC and late-night discussions about robotics.”

“Not like I did much talking, Mr. Sap,” Tony teased. “Or was it me who mentioned that they had a favorite plate for dinner?”

“Listen, it’s superior and you did not once interrupt that story to complain. I think I did a great job explaining it.”

Tony laughs.

“I’m gonna go get dressed, okay?”

“Not until after present unwrapping,” Rhodey says. “We stay in pajamas.”

“I’m cold,” Tony whines.

Rhodey chucks his sweatshirt at him.

“Then here you go.”

Tony’s eyes light up as he shrugs it on, wiggling as he brings it up to his nose. It shouldn’t be that cute. But it is.

“You are the light of my life.”

Rhodey laughs, rolling his eyes.

“Maybe. Now come on.”

They head downstairs together, and they both get swept up into the speed of things, with Jeanie racing around the house and telling Tony that he got treats too, they just didn’t have a back-up stocking.

“Hush,” Mr. Rhodes says, handing Tony a carefully wrapped gift. “After breakfast, we’ll go ahead and open it.”

He smiles, and Rhodey thinks it’s the best thing he’ll ever see.

Christmas gifts, Rhodey thinks, are his new favorite thing to see Tony interact with.

It’s painfully obvious that he’s never really had any personal gifts, anything that reminds people of himself. He carefully unwraps the paper, careful not to rip it.

“You nerd,” Rhodey says, grinning. “Come on, show us what you got.”

Tony laughs as he opens a box with two coffee mugs from the rest of the family, emblazoned with “Rhodes” on one cup, and the other being a simple red with gold trim.

“They’re perfect,” he says. “Thank you so much.”

“You’re feeding his coffee addiction,” Rhodey answers.

“Like you aren’t doing the same,” Jeanie teases. “You made him his cups of coffee this morning.”

“That is because I have trained him well,” Tony says, grinning. “Rhodey, here’s my present to you, open it.”

He’s nervous.

Both of them are, but Tony especially so.

He told Rhodey once that he’s not good at shopping for other people. He tends to have the phrase “go big or go home” permanently circling in his mind, and it can lead to...complications.

(Rhodey remembers the overhaul of his closet for his birthday, complete with a visit from a rather well-known designer.)

Inside is a beautiful jacket. It’s all patchwork, artfully sewn together with embroidery thread spelling out “James” at the lapel.

“I commissioned Janet,” Tony says, smiling softly. “She wants you to still walk in her fashion show, by the way. Says you’re a model.”

Rhodey snorts, shrugging on the jacket.

“You helped with this, right?” Rhodey says. “I can see it in the gold thread you got on the sleeves.”

“I may have had some creative input.”

“I love it,” Rhodey says. “Now here’s mine.”

Tony breathes, and Rhodey wonders if this gift will be enough. He feels a bit stupid, it doesn’t seem like that great of a gift, in retrospect-

It’s a puzzle.

A puzzle of their favorite cafe and restaurant to go to at MIT. It was in a shop window, and Rhodey could tell that Tony would love it.

On top is a scarf, since Tony gave away his last one to another student in their philosophy class.

“I love it,” Tony breathes, tackling Rhodey in a hug. “I love it, I love it! We have to do the puzzle after this.”

Mrs. Rhodes sends her husband a look.

Yeah, Tony would be around for a long time.

They set up the puzzle on the floor of Rhodey’s room, clearing away any luggage. It’s silent for a while, Tony moving around the pieces and Rhodey looking for edge pieces.

They work closely together, side by side.

Rhodey can’t stop staring.

He should be able to. He’s stopped himself before, but now?

Sunlight is coming in through the window, playing around Tony’s fingers as he nimbly picks up puzzle pieces, and this is the eternity that Rhodey wants so badly. If he died right now, he thinks he would choose for Heaven to look like this.

“You okay?” Tony asks, eyes looking up. He took his contacts out, and now he’s just in his tortoiseshell glasses, the ones that he secretly likes more and Rhodey loves.

“I’m in love with you,” Rhodey blurts out, because he can’t stop thinking about how beautiful Tony is and how much he loves him.

He realizes that this could very well be considered a mistake. Because they still have to live together and drive back together and it won’t be the same, and the residents will notice no matter how well they both act--

Tony pops his head right under Rhodey’s chin.

“Kiss me?”

That’s all it takes.

They mess up part of the puzzle, but that’s okay. They find they don’t mind it too much. They can work on it later, when Tony’s done getting Rhodey out of his new jacket and Rhodey works his hands underneath Tony’s sweatshirt.

Mama takes one look at them for dinner and grins.

“Jeanie, you owe me a night of dish-washing.”

“Seriously?”

“Mama!” Rhodey hisses, embarrassed beyond belief.

Tony just cackles, and elbows Rhodey out of the way so he can get to his chair at the table.

“Couldn’t have fooled you for a second, could we?” Tony teases.

“Not at all,” Mama states proudly.

Rhodey rolls his eyes and squeezes Tony’s hand under the table. All will be well.

When they both get back to college, none of their residents are surprised, at least not until they have to have a “knocking before entering” policy put in place after one particular late morning.

#lovelyirony writes #jeanie rhodes #mama rhodes #rhodeytony #ironhusbands #pepper potts #harley keener #gwen but i can't remember her last name #spidey gwen #gwen spider-man #kamala khan #peter parker #tony stark #rhodey

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txtniipped · 3 years

Text

red rover, red rover

genshin impact -- childe/zhongli, zhongli & qiqi, childe & qiqi

modern au / female zhongli / implied thoughts of infidelity (1856 words)

ao3 version

Zhongli hasn’t caught sight of their new neighbor yet. However, she can only imagine them as one of two people: a young lady with a busy schedule, who knows how to be brutally efficient in the mornings before Zhongli is even up, tending to her rose bushes’ every need and then disappearing to go to her day job, or an older gentleman with ample time on his hands, shelves lined with every horticulture book known to man, who just so happens to be excellent at avoiding Zhongli’s watchful eye.

Zhongli is a housewife lacking the love she deserves. Though, between her darling daughter Qiqi and their new neighbor, she's appreciated for everything under the sun.

The apartment across the yard has been empty for a few months now.

For Zhongli, the patio and soft grass between the buildings outweigh the stomping of neighbors upstairs. She’s seen the lackluster balcony gardens some of the other tenants maintain. It’s not due to a lack of trying, oh no--even the most dedicated of gardeners can only do so much with so little room. Her little Qiqi’s garden, however, flourishes under both the space and care they can offer it. Several of the other ground floor tenants, Zhongli knows, strive to have plants as well loved as theirs.

When beautiful new rose bushes seem to appear across the yard, planted carefully around the little patio connected to the usually-empty apartment, Zhongli is surprised, to say the least.

She hasn’t caught sight of their new neighbor yet. However, she can only imagine them as one of two people: a young lady with a busy schedule, who knows how to be brutally efficient in the mornings before Zhongli is even up, tending to her rose bushes’ every need and then disappearing to go to her day job, or an older gentleman with ample time on his hands, shelves lined with every horticulture book known to man, who just so happens to be excellent at avoiding Zhongli’s watchful eye.

Her first guess seems to be the correct one, when several days later, the previously empty apartment’s slider opens, and out steps a young lady--a touch younger than Zhongli imagined--with a head of fiery, messy curls. To her surprise though, a young man follows her out, a handful of years older than the girl most likely, sporting similar hair and a proud smile as the young lady seemingly inspects the bushes.

Zhongli watches from her living room as the young lady stands and smooshes her (presumably) brother’s face, who laughs as he grabs her wrists and tugs them away. They chat there for a moment, and then the young man pulls a cutesy watering can out from just inside the slider door, steps around his sister, and begins watering the roses.

It’s late in the evening, and normally around this time, Zhongli is helping Qiqi bathe and get ready for bed. Tonight, however, Qiqi is staying the night with the other family with a child in this section of the complex--her first ever sleepover. Zhongli’s husband doesn’t return until nearly midnight on the weekends, so she’s left alone for the first time in their little apartment in many moons with just her teacup and her books.

With her reading light on next to her, Zhongli realizes she must have been obviously staring at them, if the brother turning and looking directly at her is any indication. The young man pulls on a smile though and offers Zhongli a wave. She waves back mildly, somewhat caught off guard, widening the young man’s smile. He turns back towards his sister then, who’s also looking in Zhongli’s direction, and escorts her inside, that cutesy watering can still gripped in his hand.

Zhongli hopes she’ll see him around more often now.

As it just so happens, she does.

The young man seems to work on the weekdays, while on the weekends he usually appears midday on his patio, athletic wear on as he leaves through his slider with nothing but his phone and a pair of earbuds. She’s purposefully looking out for him now, and when he returns home sweaty and panting, Zhongli turns her gaze elsewhere.

It’s early Thursday evening when she finally talks to him, only after nearly bolting out into the yard in panic after hearing Qiqi’s soft voice choke up and dissolve into sobs. Zhongli nearly rips the screen door off to get to her child when she sees the young man knelt in the grass in front of Qiqi, a first aid kit lying open next to them.

The young man’s voice is soft as he asks Qiqi about her day, doing what he can to distract her as he pulls thorns from her little hand. Qiqi, normally not one for conversation with anyone she doesn’t know, answers through her blubbering, doing her best to tell the young man the plot of a children's book her teacher read to them today.

Qiqi’s no longer crying by the time the young man is wrapping the last bandage around her finger. Zhongli can’t help but notice the colorful characters printed on them, some she vaguely recognizes from when Qiqi’s cartoons switch over to the older kid’s programming in the afternoon. Zhongli only has a moment to wonder if maybe this new neighbor has a kid of his own before the two have gotten up from the grass and walked their way over to her, still in the doorway of her apartment.

“Hi, Mama,” Qiqi greets quietly as she gently pulls her hand from their neighbor’s, stepping forward to instead get picked up by Zhongli.

“Hello, darling.” As soon as Qiqi is settled on her hip, Zhongli lifts a hand to brush some of Qiqi’s hair out of her face, speaking once more. “Are you alright?” A nod. Zhongli turns her attention to their neighbor from there. “What happened?” The smile the young man gives her is a bit on the guilty side, like he had personal responsibility for a child that isn’t even his. “She tried to pick one of my roses with her bare hands, ma’am,” he answers, voice boyish and, frankly, lovely. “I was just coming outside as she tried--I didn’t react in time. But, uh,” he pauses, one of his hands lifting to rub the back of his neck. “I keep a first aid kit right by the door, so she didn’t suffer for long.”

“Oh,” Zhongli replies, blinking at the man. “Thank you.”

“Of course!” He says with a bit of a laugh, though Zhongli can hear the slight nerve in his voice anyway. Surely she’s not intimidating in her cooking apron of all things.

“Well,” Zhongli starts, returning her gaze to her daughter. “What do we say, Qiqi?” Qiqi squirms under the gaze of her mother, her face flushing as she tucks herself up against Zhongli, mumbling her thanks to the air behind Zhongli instead of towards their neighbor. The young man laughs good-naturedly regardless, his stiff shoulders relaxing with Qiqi’s shyness.

“You’re welcome, Qiqi. Oh!” He perks up, quickly turning towards his own apartment. “One second!” The young man half-jogs over to his patio, stepping just into the threshold of his apartment and reaching towards the same spot Zhongli sees him grab his watering can from. Instead he pulls out a pair of pruning shears and a single glove, steps back out, and beelines to one of the rose bushes. Zhongli hears the snip of the shears after a second despite the young man putting himself between her and whatever he’s cutting, and when he turns around, he’s holding a beautiful rose by its long stem, his gloved hand pulling off the leaves towards the bottom.

“If you cut about an inch off the bottom of this every time you change the water, it should last a while.” He holds the rose out to Zhongli as he steps up to them, a small smile on his face. Zhongli can admire his features more readily like this, and takes delight in noticing the stroke of freckles across his nose and cheeks.

“Thank you.” She returns his smile as she takes it, which only serves to widen his own, a set of dimples revealing themselves to her. How darling.

The young man shrugs. “Consider it a gift for being understanding. I know my mom wouldn’t have been as calm as you if one of my siblings was under the care of someone she doesn’t know, no matter how brief.”

Zhongli laughs, much to the obvious delight of their neighbor. “Why don’t you tell me your name then? So you’re no longer a stranger.”

He laughs again, then smiles at them both, though his eyes return to Zhongli barely after a second of looking at Qiqi. “Ajax, but my friends call me Childe.”

“Childe, then.” Zhongli nods, then jostles Qiqi a little on her hip, pulling a little disgruntled noise from her daughter as she’s dislodged from her hiding place. “This is Qiqi, as you heard earlier. You may call me Zhongli.”

“Zhongli,” Childe tests, his deep blue eyes wandering over her face. Zhongli feels her cheeks flush ever so slightly. She sincerely hopes Childe doesn’t notice.

To help distract, Zhongli speaks. “Well, I suppose I should put this rose in some water...”

“Oh!” Childe blinks, then laughs, light and happy. She can guess the young man is laughing at himself. “Yeah, that would be good.” He steps back from their patio with a smile, passing his pruning shears from his ungloved hand to the gloved one, then waves to both Zhongli and Qiqi, a pleasant smile on his face. “When that one dies, I don’t mind replacing it. Just let me know.”

“I will,” Zhongli nearly whispers, watching as Childe drops the leaves he plucked into the dirt his roses rest in. He pulls that single glove off as he looks over his shoulder back towards Zhongli and Qiqi once more, giving them both another smile and a wave. Zhongli lifts some of her fingers from her rose to wave in return, watching as the young man smiles just a touch more, then steps into his apartment, returning his tools to their spots.

Zhongli hums as Childe comes back out once more to collect the first aid kit still in the grass, then she finally turns away, stepping back into her own apartment. She bends over to place Qiqi down, then stands back up and turns herself to close the slider. She spots Childe standing on his patio then, eyes clearly glued to her, and she pauses, her hand resting on the handle of the door. The young man seems to snap out of whatever trance he was in around then and hurriedly stumbles inside his own apartment, his slider nearly getting slammed in his rush.

Zhongli blinks at the commotion, then shuts her own slider in a much calmer fashion. “I suppose…” she starts as she watches Childe’s silhouette disappear from the little amount of the interior of his apartment she can see, then huffs in amusement. What a peculiar young man. She closes the blinds over the door, then makes her way through the living room, gently patting her daughter’s head. “I suppose we should start on dinner, lest we risk your father’s grumpiness by waiting any longer, hm?”

“Yes.” Qiqi points to the rose, then to herself. “Qiqi will get water.” The little girl hurries herself into the kitchen after saying so, much cleaner than Childe did into his apartment. Zhongli hums in amusement with her daughter, then directs her gaze to the rose still in her hand. Carefully, she lifts it to her nose, inhales, and sighs pleasantly as she pulls it away. She’s looking forward to the smell of flowers in their home from now on.

#genshin impact #chili #zhongchi #tartali #zhongli #tartaglia #qiqi #txt.cat #txt.fic #fanfic #writing

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yourdeepestfathoms · 3 years

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The Grey Palace

So this a book I’m really hoping to actually finish! It’s a horror slasher story, but it’s set on a cruise ship. I’m posting the first chapter for my followers to read if they’re interested in following along with the creation and storyline! Feedback is greatly appreciated!

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A sleek grey seagull was perched on the wooden guard rail around the churning green ocean. It shifted from foot to pink foot, ruffling unruly feathers, and squinted beady black eyes up at the giant ship looming above it. It looked suspicious of the vessel, and even more suspicious of the people boarding its mass.

The Grey Palace was the greatest cruise ship to ever exist--or so all the Yelp reviews claimed. It included casinos and spas and waterparks and food! But only if you pay for it, because it’s not like you already paid $425 for a single ticket for your four person family.

It was a colossal sea beast, made out of the finest and toughest extra-strength steel plates and boasting the largest size of a cruise ship in the whole world at a staggering 1,854.25 feet in length and 265.74 feet in height. It had a tonnage of 230,000 gross tons, outweighing every other ship in the business. Its hull could shatter icebergs, its bow could split the sea in two, its propellers were more powerful than any jet or rocket in the entire world. Luxurious lounges and steamy spas promised the best relaxation, the waterpark and Kid’s Club proclaimed full entertainment for children, and the restaurants provided the best food on the seven seas. It got its name from the lustrous grey color it was painted, reflecting rainbows all across the body of the ship.

Everybody wanted to board the floating Palace, and only a select few got the invitation into the Aquatic Kingdom.

But in this case, a “select few” meant 8,700 people.

The boarding dock was clamored with passengers. Families that made the mistake of keeping their luggage on them instead of turning it in to the porters, families that trying to keep all their kids from running off, families already bickering over what they were going to do first, all packed into one area that was treacherously close to the ocean and a giant ship that would easily be able to sweep a fallen victim underneath its mass. One woman had her toddler on a child leash like it was a dog, tugging on the rope every once and awhile when the kid tried to run off. Another mom was herding her family in close to take a selfie, earning disgruntled noises from the children when they had to squint and smile up into the sun. A man was loudly talking to a video camera he was holding, most likely making a vlog for YouTube that would only probably get 67,000 views and 1,230 likes. Worryingly close to the edge of the dock was a pair of kids, pointing into the water and calling out what they saw while their parents obliviously chatted with some other people. Several porters were furiously helping everyone board, sweat beading their brows as they worked diligently.

The seagull watched them all, raising its beak in a haughty manner. It seemed miffed by the intrusion of so many humans in its territory, but didn’t have the strength or size to do anything about it, so it just gazed judgmentally from a distance. Its dark eyes shifted over to the girl looking back at it, then screeched in surprise when she was shoved, jerking open its narrow wings and leaping away into the air.

“Come ON, Violet!!” Ethan shrieked.

Violet staggered to the side, nearly tottering into someone behind her while she attempted to regain her balance. She clenched her fists, growling softly in her throat for a moment before letting her anger dissolve away.

“I’m coming,” She said.

“You’re being SLOWWWW!!” Aiden yelled, earning a few glances from other people because of his volume.

“Sorry,” Violet muttered, hunching her shoulders in.

Her family bustled across the port, getting closer and closer to the gangway with each, but before they could cross the threshold, a ship photographer jumped into their path, wearing a painfully cheery grin and brandishing a bulky camera.

“Would you like to take a family photo before boarding?” She asked, waving an arm to a photobooth set up. The backdrop was of The Grey Palace sailing.

“Can we, Mama?” Felicity asked Deandra eagerly, tugging at her arm.

Deandra smiled down at her. “Of course, dear!”

They hustled over to the backdrop. Violet attempted to follow, but Tobias stood in her path and firmly said, “Not you.”

Violet backed away obediently, not bothering to argue.

She watched as the seven of them posed for a photo, the epitome of a white, rich family. Deandra was fifty-four, but she was constantly being praised for how good she looked for her age. Unblemished, glowing ivory skin, clear of any wrinkles, and dyed champagne blonde hair. Her neck and wrists were loaded with jewelry, but her hawk-like amber eyes were sharper and brighter than the diamonds she wore, always locating every one of Violet’s flaws.

Tobias was like her toy, even though he was older, bigger, and burlier than she was. He was as nicely dressed as his wife, clad in a tweed jacket despite the summer Whittier heat and expensive jeans and a gold watch that cost more than all their tickets combined, but he still had the face of a lizard, dull blue eyes, and brittle, greying hair that he would slather with enough gel to start a fire. But he was rich, being one of the top congressmen in the state, and had a sharp-tongue that pleased Mother, both audibly and physically, and was very easy to walk all over. Violet guessed that was why Mother even kept him around.

Carly was their pride and joy. She had a supermodel body, thin and tan, with long, luscious blonde hair and the bright blue eyes of Father. She was pretty, but cruel, like a diamond wrapped in barbed wire. Her words were always loaded with venom, manipulative and cunning and bearing no mercy or guilt over what she said. She was harsh and cold, which was probably why she still wasn’t married at twenty-seven, and when Violet told her this after her favorite paints were stolen, she beat her into unconsciousness. Violet still had the long, winding scar across her left side from when she had been lashed with the sharp edge of a broken flower vase.

Tobias Jr., or just Toby, was the exact opposite of the man he was named after. Out of all her siblings, he was Violet’s favorite. He was a coward and a boot-licker, but he was genuine and had a good heart. He got Violet into The Walking Dead and once cleaned off her back when Father whipped her with his belt after she talked back over something controversial, but provided little help against her mistreatment, being just as scared to stand up to their parents. Still, it was a step up over everyone else. His dark amber eyes were doe-like and his brown hair was always unruly no matter how much he brushed it. In a way, he almost reminded Violet of the seagull, watchful and cautious.

Felicity was Mother’s mini me and Father’s little princess. Her wavy hair showed the natural hue of Mother’s, honey blonde, but her eyes were the deep blue of Father’s. She was incredibly slick and deceptive, as well as exceptionally greedy, always able to get whatever she wants whenever she wants it. She was dripping with as much jewelry as Mother was, maybe even more, and looked at everyone else with great disdain, disgusted at how ugly they were compared to her. Her voice was like the squeal of a pig, and she often preened herself in any reflective surface that could serve as a mirror. At age eleven, she already thought she was the queen of the world.

Aiden and Ethan were nothing but imps. Violet didn’t even know why Mother and Father had them; there was no point in their existence. They just lived to take up space and time and money, but their parents treated them like they were heirs to the throne. They were near identical, with dirty blonde hair in a mushroom-like shape around their heads and eyes so dark they looked brown instead of amber. All they seemed to know how to do was eat food and cause chaos, often forcing themselves into Violet’s personal space just to annoy her.

That was the Nicotero family. The rich, flawless Nicotero family, perfectly happy without the illegitimate child chained to them by blood.

Violet, the kid who the congressman cheated on his wife to have on accident, named after a flower because her father couldn’t think of anything better than the plant he saw squashed on the side of the sidewalk when he was fleeing the scene after stealing her from her mother’s breast mere days after being born.

Violet, the girl with weirdly pale grey eyes that no one else in her family had and hands that never seemed to stop fidgeting with things and an overly anxious mind that contrasted with a bursting internal temper.

Violet, the library for all the should have’s-could have’s-would have’s, an encyclopedia of everything that shouldn’t have happened, an example of what her siblings were not supposed to be.

Violet, the fifteen-year-old with vibrant petals curled towards her family, but poisonous roots lying beneath, just like her name’s sake.

“Say ‘cruise ship’!”

“CRUISE SHIP!!!”

The camera flashed and the photo was taken.

Violet blinked her eyes; they were sore in the sunlight. She shifted from foot to foot as she waited for her family to finish up at the photobooth. She wondered if they would put it on the fridge like all the other photographs she wasn’t a part of. They never put up the things she was in.

“Come on! Come on! Come on!” Felicity yipped, pulling on Father’s arm. “I wanna get on already!!!”

“We’re coming, we’re coming,” Father chuckled. He somehow had all the patience in the world when dealing with the squealing Felicity, but once yelled at Violet for taking too long to tie her shoes.

The Nicotero family pushed their way through the crowd to the closest gangway, shoulder checking other people and trodding over feet without pity in the process. Violet did her best to apologize to anyone they disturbed, seeing as no one else was, so she walked down the walkway and glass doors slightly turned around, and when she faced forward again, she got her first glimpse of the place where she would be spending the next one hundred days.

The main atrium was a giant room with a high-vaulted ceiling and looked like it had been carved out of glass; every surface was shiny and spotless. There were spiral staircases and grand steps and visible catwalks coiled around the walls, all bursting with activity. A marble fountain with intricately designed leaping dolphins was burbling softly in the center of the room, and King the Silver Polar Bear, the mascot of The Grey Palace, was standing in front of it, waving to passengers as they came in and occasionally taking photos with kids who came up to him. Violet must have been staring for a bit too long because he spotted her and pointed, then waved her over. Violet shook her head and said, “No thanks” but Felicity shoved her over with a shrill, “Go say hi, Violet! Someone actually wants to see you!”

Violet staggered forward, feeling that sensation of rage bubble up inside of her again, but, like before, it dissipated rather quickly, as there was nothing she could do. She merely sighed and looked up at the large grey bear now looming over her.

“Umm… Hi.” Violet said awkwardly. What were you even supposed to say to the mascots? Especially when you have to talk to them against your will?

King waved cheerfully. The head of the suit was set in a petrified, open-mouth smile and the eyes were permanently wide and glowing with glee. It was almost unnerving in a way. Was the person underneath the mass of grey fur as happy as the skin it was wearing?

“Uhh… Sorry, I don’t really know what to say.” Violet said, cringing internally. Her cheeks felt like they were on fire.

King made a dismissive hand gesture, then pat her head. The action felt profoundly awkward, but Violet was polite and said goodbye before shuffling back over to her family with her head ducked. Felicity and the twins exploded into high-pitched giggles.

“Violet. Don’t run off.” Mother said sharply, staring down her nose as Violet.

“Yes, Mother,” Violet muttered.

Carly suddenly looked up from her phone. “We should go get drinks. The rooms probably aren’t ready yet.”

Mother nodded. “Good idea.”

She led the pack through a wide hallway, whisking by other passengers like she was the queen of the Aquatic Kingdom. On the way, Toby shuffled over to Violet.

“I don’t like those people in costumes,” He said. “Gives me the creeps.”

Violet peered up at him. “How old are you?”

“Oi! Rude!” Toby elbowed her gently. He never tried to purposely hurt her. “So… What do you think?”

Violet gazed around the hallway. It was lit up brightly, casting colorful shadows across the painted walls.

“It’s nice,” Violet said. “Nicer than any place I’ve been to. Aside from the house, of course.”

She had been shocked when Mother told her about the cruise a week before her freshman year ended. It was going to be a big family trip, and she was actually invited. Usually she was left out of these things. Being alone at their mansion for a week or so at a time while the rest of her family was out travelling or on vacation had been a normal affair ever since she was eleven.

Toby frowned for a moment at that, then quickly said, “It’s gonna be fun.”

They passed through a set of glass doors and entered onto one of the many decks. Surprisingly, there weren’t too many people out yet, as everyone was probably still getting checked in or exploring. Mother glided over to a canopy bar and began ordering.

They probably spent an hour at that bar, sipping brightly colored cocktails and chatting avidly over their plans for the trip. Violet stayed out of it, of course. She sat at the smooth wooden counter, twirling a pink drink umbrella and scrawling mindless thoughts in a small purple notebook to pass the time.

An elbow as pointy as a dagger jabbed into her back at one point, making her pen streak across her page, leaving a permanent black like through the written words. She clenched her jaw and turned around.

“Yes?”

“Come ON!” Felicity said. “We’re going to go eat!”

“Didn’t you hear us talking?” Father squinted at her.

“Sorry. I must have dozed off.” Violet said.

Carly scoffed. “You shouldn’t even be here.”

Nobody said anything against this. Violet didn’t, either.

They went to the buffet where lunch was waiting, and Mother grumbled about how many people there were, but they eventually sat down to eat, their plates piled with food. Violet got more than she intended, but ate everything, just now realizing how hungry she was. She got judgemental looks from her family, but she did her best to just ignore them.

After lunch, they finally checked into their cabins. They got the suites, of course.

Mother, Father, and the twins got the largest room, one with a queen bed and bunk beds for Aiden and Ethan. Carly and Felicity room together, while Violet stayed with Toby. It was fine with her, really. She rather be with her older brother than any of the others.

The rest of the day was spent preparing for the trip. Toby took the twins and Felicity to get signed up for the Kid’s Club, while Carly hooked up with some friends also on the cruise, Mother went to make reservations for the spa, and Father already began drinking.

Violet stayed in her cabin, writing away in her notepad while listening to the TV drone on. She finally got up and went out when the sun began to set, unknowingly stumbling right into a departure party on the main deck.

Music blasted as thousands of bodies writhed around together. Several people were in the pool, splashing around loudly, while others were watching the entertainment shows with great interest. Violet couldn’t stand all the noise, so she ventured to the back of the ship and watched as the land slowly disappeared on the horizon.

A man leaned against the railing a few feet away from her as the golden-orange sunset was starting to turn a bright red color. After he blew out a wisp of smoke from the lit cigarette he had, he said, “This is gonna be one hell of a trip.”

As the first firework was set off at the deck, Violet replied, “You can say that again.”

#the grey palace #lizzie’s dumb book #my writing #horror #horror story

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13-reasons-ideas · 4 years

Text

Can’t Go Back Part 8

A/N: I apologize for the delay on this chapter. I had issues writing their second date.

Our ice cream date on Wednesday was great. I didn’t realize Monty could be so… fun. He was kind of a goofball when he wasn’t with his friends. It started with a funny look when I asked for a spoon with my ice cream cone. “Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of an ice cream cone?”

“No, it mostly just makes it easier for me to steal bites of yours.” I teased.

“Oh-ho, I see. This date was all a ploy to get extra ice cream.” He smiled. I shrugged and scooped a bite of my chocolate ice cream. I licked it off my spoon and felt a smile spread across my face.

We walked around for a bit, making our way to the docks, where it was less populated. We aren’t hiding. It’s just easier to not have to explain whatever this is for now. Trying to be discreet when we found a place to sit, I leaned over and scooped a sliver off of his cookie dough ice cream off, quickly sticking it in my mouth. He pretended not to notice. I sat against a tree with my legs stretched out in front of me. I leaned on his shoulder while we watched the ducks in the lake. There was a baby duck that was straggling at the back and the mama duck was not having it. Montgomery laughed quietly when mama swam around to the back and seemed to give the duckling that look every mother gives their kids. With him distracted, I snuck another sliver of ice cream. Once again, he pretended not to notice.

My yellow dress had ridden up slightly and my knee was exposed. He placed his hand on it and squeezed absently. Soon after the duckling was given crap by mama duck, they hopped out of the water. They walked in a single file line around the shoreline. “Awe. They’re so cute.” I said more to myself than to anyone.

“They are. Danger Duck seems to have fallen in line.”

“Danger Duck?”

“Yeah. The one at the end.” Awe. He has a soul. I didn’t acknowledge that he named the duck. Instead, I decided to nick another bit of his ice cream and mix it in with a bit of mine. “My ice cream good Addy?”

“Mhmm.” I answered through my mouthful of ice cream. He laughed again. His laugh is so nice. “Very.” I said after finishing my bite. We had both gotten near the end of the cones, and it had begun to melt. I wasn’t sure if our silence was because we were comfortable or if we just hadn’t figured out what to talk about yet. Growing tired of the quiet, I leaned forward to stretch. I felt his eyes on my back and turned my head to peek back at him. He quickly looked away and pretended he wasn’t looking. I shrugged and turned my head back. Soon after, I could feel his eyes on me again. I turned again, catching him watching me. I stuck my tongue out at him and he smiled. His smile is so nice. I wish he did it more.

Finally, the silence was broken when I leaned back again. “How did your English paper go?” he asked.

“It was okay. I read The Book Thief for fun a couple of summers ago. It made it easier to find the literary devices and things, so I didn’t have to hunt through the book again when I was done reading it while I wrote.”

“Did you get the grade you wanted?”

“Yeah. I could have done better but it wasn’t like I did bad or anything. How was your physics test?”

“It was okay. Mr. Brown tests fairly easily though so that isn’t surprising.”

“I cannot explain how glad I am that I don’t need to take physics. I hated the physics unit in science class. I’m much more of a chemistry or biology person.”

“It’s not really that bad. He can at least make it interesting.”

“I guess. I just don’t really have the brain for it. I’m more of a memorizing things person than a mathematic formulas person.”

“Is that why you’re friends with Zach?”

“No. I happen to like Zach. Sure, he can be kind of an ass sometimes, but he’s not bad when you get to know him. And we aren’t best friends or anything, just see each other sometimes outside of school. I don’t tell him things very often. Having a study partner isn’t a bad thing either.”

“That’s fair. Is that why you keep Foley around?”

“Yeah, he’s my best friend. Justin is the person I talk to about things. We’ve been friends for as long as I can remember.”

“You talk to him about everything?” He asked, with a playful wiggle of his brows.

“Depends how it goes. I do stick to basics though. You know, if it was good or not. No specifics.”

“I see. So, you aren’t the virginal queen he makes you seem like. Interesting.”

“No. And I’m not telling you who it was so don’t even bother asking.” He shrugged, as though he would get it out of me eventually.

“Will you talk to him about me?”

“That depends on if I have anything to tell him.”

“You might. How do you feel about movies in the city?” We had begun walking back to our cars by now.

“I don’t do slasher flicks. I think they’re dumb.”

“Not because you’re scared?”

“No. It’s because I can’t justify paying for bad acting like that. If I wanted to watch that bad of acting, I would go on incognito and watch the before sex part of porn.”

“Oh! She’s got jokes too. That’s fair though. If you are scared though, that’s what you have me for. Action?”

“I’m down for that.” I nodded.

“Saturday? Pick you up at four? We can take a drive into the city.”

“Sure. Meet me at the end of my street?”

“You got it Addy. I’ll see you at school.” I nodded and leaned up to kiss him softly.

I arrived home a short time later and found my mom sitting in the kitchen at the desk. “Hey Mom. What are you up to?”

“Just looking at some recipes I can copy onto note cards. I finally decided to go through Nan’s box of cookbooks we brought home from Boston.”

“Sounds fun. Need any help?” I asked, walking towards her and grabbing a pen.

“Sure. You can start with Mastering the Art of French Cooking. You did your homework at the library, right?”

“Yeah. It was mostly just some reading comprehension stuff. What recipes do I do?” I made my way to the island with the large text.

“I tabbed them off. Some will need more than one note card.” I nodded and set to work.

A while later, I had written out five recipes and took a bit of a break to stretch my hand. “While I’m thinking about it, Justin and I are going to a movie in the city on Saturday night.”

“Okay. I’ll let your father know. Maybe we can have a date night or something.”

“You’ll let me know what?” My dad asked, coming downstairs.

“Addison is going to a movie Saturday night.”

“That’s nice.” Was all the response he could muster on the topic. “I’m sure the two of us kids can find something to do for the night.” He said, leaning down to kiss my mom’s temple, lovingly. She beamed up at him like it was the first time she was seeing him. It was really sweet to watch. “You’ll do the dishwasher before bed, right Addison?”

“Yeah.” Satisfied, my dad went to the living room to watch one of his shows. Open concept may look pretty, but it can be distracting.

Once I had called it quits on recipes for the day, I quickly did the dishwasher. I made sure to mark dishwasher packs on the grocery list before I went upstairs to get ready for bed. Upstairs, I checked my phone for the first time since I had gotten home. I saw that I had a few Instagram and Twitter notifications. I cleared those away. I had a couple of texts from Justin and a few from Monty. I opened Justin’s texts first.

Didn’t see you after school. Everything okay? Followed by, Mom is out of it for the night again. just a few minutes ago.

I answered him quickly. Hey sorry, I just checked my phone since getting home. Everything is good. I just had some stuff to do. Are you okay? Do you want to come over?

With that handled until I got a response, I checked the texts from Monty. I got home okay. That’s normal enough. I read the other two quickly. Had a great time today. Followed by How did you lose it by the way?

I rolled my eyes before responding. Sorry. I was helping my mom with some stuff. Glad you got home okay and I had fun too. I assume you know how Monty. I went about my nighttime business while I waited for the boys to respond to me. While I was brushing my teeth, I got a text from Justin. Seth is back. I’ll be over in fifteen.

Window will be open. Unless you want me to let mom and dad know?

Sure. It’ll be easier to come in the front door.

Okay, door will be open. See you in a few. “Mom? Dad?” I called, poking my head out the door.

“Yes?” Dad answered.

“Justin is coming over for the night. His mom isn’t feeling very well and doesn’t want him to get sick.”

“K. Whatever.” I raised my brows and rolled my eyes as I closed my door. I threw on my pyjamas and ran down to unlock the front door. A cup of hot chocolate was then set in the microwave to heat up, along with some leftovers. I knew he probably hadn’t had dinner.

Ten minutes later, Justin knocked on the door and walked in.

“Hey, thanks for letting me come over.” I watched as he placed his gym bag on the floor near the stairs.

“Of course. You know you’re always welcome here.” I watched as he walked over to me in the kitchen. I searched his face to see if Seth had done anything. His face seemed fine and he walked normally. That’s good. The microwave dinged as he got over to me and he jumped a bit. “I put some cocoa in for you. There’s also whatever leftovers we had from today. I wasn’t home for dinner.” He nodded and hugged me. I held him close for a few moments until the microwave beeped again and I heard his stomach rumble. We both laughed quietly. He grabbed his plate and mug and sat at the island.

“You weren’t home today?”

“No. I had stuff to do, like I said Justin. By the way, my parents might ask you about plans on Saturday to go to a movie. Just agree.”

“Um… okay.”

“Enough about me. What’s going on with you and Hannah Baker?”

“I don’t know. She’s pretty cute.”

“Do you like her?” I asked, cheekily.

“Maybe. She seems nice.”

“Okay.” I left it at that.

“Why do you need me to agree with your parents about plans Saturday, Addy?”

“I just have some stuff to take care of Justin. Don’t worry. Nothing really major.”

“Uh-huh.” He didn’t seem to believe me but didn’t press on. I think he was just tired.

“Ready for bed?” He nodded and placed his dishes in the sink.

We made our way upstairs to get him ready for bed for the night again. His varsity jacket was hung on my door rack and his bag was placed beside my desk. “Did you want me to take the floor tonight or did you want to sleep together?” i asked, as I ushered him into my bathroom.

“Together? It’s been kind of a long day.”

“Of course.” While he got ready for bed, I grabbed his pillow from my closet and switched it out with the one on my bed. I was doing a touch of reading for English when he climbed into bed beside me. He curled up beside me, almost immediately falling asleep, and I kissed his head softly. “Good night Justin.” I whispered into the darkness.

The next morning, I was able to rope Justin into helping me pick an outfit. We settled on a pair of black leggings and a longer red tank top, paired with a light grey cardigan and black flats. Downstairs, we made a quick breakfast of cereal and toast. “Hello Justin.” My dad greeted from his seat.

“Morning Brooks.”

“Morning dad.”

“Morning.” He half grunted to me. Justin glanced at me and I shrugged.

“Good morning Justin. How is your mum feeling?” Mom asked.

“Morning Margot. She’s feeling okay now, I think. Probably another stomach thing.”

Mom eyed me, knowing it wasn’t a stomach bug. I grimaced in response. “Well I hope she feels better soon.”

“Me too Margot. Me too.” He muttered. Surprisingly, they didn’t ask him about our “plans” Saturday. I suppose it wasn’t that surprising though, as I had never really given them a reason not to trust me before.

I drove us to school and we walked to his locker together. “I’m just saying. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing to you know, talk to her. She is totally into you.”

“I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

“Really? You’re Justin freaking Foley. You can just say words and she will fall at your feet. She’s already seen you shirtless.”

“That was different.”

“Right, right. Different.” At his locker, he was once again beckoned by Bryce.

“I swung by your place this morning to see if you wanted a ride. Didn’t look like you were home.” I rolled my eyes.

“Yeah, I was out last night. It’s fine.” Bryce’s eyes went back and forth between the two of us.

“You smell like strawberries.” Monty added. I tried to hide my blush and bit back a giggle.

“Do I?” He sniffed himself. “You said it wouldn’t be that strong Addy.”

“Yeah, it’s not. If you use a normal amount. You used more shampoo than I do. I wasn’t going to say anything about it though.” He made a face and I caught Monty’s eye. I smiled politely back at him, trying to keep appearances and all. “I’m sure you could ask Jeff for some of whatever makes him smell like that.” The group of boys looked at me with slightly wide eyes. “You want to deny that he smells good?” A few shrugs and head shakes were the answer. I turned when I heard him laughing with Clay and Leah. “Speak of the saintly devil. Hey Jeff Atkins.”

“Addison Hawthorne, what can I do for you today?”

“Justin smells like girl and apparently that’s a bad thing now.”

“It is when I smell like you.”

“Hey. I smell nice you jerk.”

“I know you do. But I don’t want to smell like you.”

“Ah. You need body spray. Come to my locker and I’ve got you. You coming, Addison?” He’s the only person who uses my full name and doesn’t sound like I’m in trouble. Maybe Monty will sound nice using it.

“Yeah. I’m headed that way for French anyway.” He nodded and the five of us made our way to his locker, Monty’s eyes boring into me as we went.

I was sitting in the library working on some homework during my free period, listening to a playlist on Spotify, when I was interrupted by someone dropping their bag on the table. “Jesus Christ.” I exclaimed. I looked up as my- my what exactly? -Monty sat in the chair across from me. “Oh, it’s just you.” Mystery solved; I went back to my homework.

“Sorry.” He mumbled as he leaned back. He appeared to be making himself comfortable.

“We are at school you know.”

“I noticed that, yeah.”

“People might notice you’re sitting with me.”

“We share classes. You’re friends with someone on the football team. Not going to cause that much of a stir.”

“Alright. Since you’re here and we share classes, did you finish the chemistry assignment?”

“Yeah. Need to copy some answers? Am I rubbing off on you already?”

“No, I just want to make sure I did question seven right.” I heard him hum and then dig around in his bag, looking for his assignment. “Is your bag also where things go to die?”

“Maybe.”

“Is that a boy thing?”

“Definitely. Here you go.” I compared the answers we had and the work we did. Seeing that it looked right, I nodded.

“Did you actually want something or are you just here to look pretty?” I asked after a while of him sitting and watching me.

“Why does Justin smell like you?”

“He spent the night last night and needed to shower this morning. We ran out of his regular soap and I haven’t had a chance to go to the store to replace it.”

“Why?”

“Why did he stay over? Or why does he have no more soap?”

“Both.”

“His mom was sick, and she didn’t want him to catch anything. He has no more soap because he didn’t tell me he was out until he was going to shower this morning.”

“He has soap at your house?”

“Yeah. He showers at my place when he spends the night and doesn’t always want to smell like, and I quote, ‘girly soap with frilly names’.” He hummed in response. It didn’t seem like he was too impressed with my explanation. Oh well. Before he could voice his displeasure, the bell rang. “I’ll see you tomorrow Monty.” I muttered as I gathered my things and walked away, leaving him to brood by himself.

Saturday came around and we had a fantastic time on our movie date. He gave me some playful crap about my movie snack choice. We drove around for a bit afterwards, just listening to the radio and enjoying each other’s company. He had his hand placed on my thigh, as though it was made to fit in his grip. It felt like the natural place for it to sit. We didn’t really want to call it a night just yet. But we also didn’t know what to talk about. Our superficial conversations flowed easily. The issue came when we had deeper things to talk about. It felt like to go any deeper, we had to define what we were first. That didn’t seem like the kind of conversation to have after a movie date, at this time of night. It was past ten when he dropped me off. I crept into the house quietly. My dad was sitting in the living room watching tv. He didn’t even acknowledge that I had gotten in. I didn’t really care anymore, since I was used to him paying little to no mind to me.

Upstairs, I changed into my cat pyjama bottoms and an old t-shirt. I was ready for bed shortly after. I cracked my window open some to let in some fresh air and spent some time scrolling through Instagram under my blankets. I liked some of my friends’ posts and commented on others. I lost track of time when I started watching videos and was brought back to reality when I heard what sounded like my name being called quietly outside. Thinking it was Justin coming over unexpectedly, I stood up and opened my window all the way. I motioned for him to climb the ‘decorative’ ladder I had my parents install. It does fit the house better than lattice. I was startled once again, when Monty poked his head up in my window. “Monty? What are you doing here?”

“Hey. I couldn’t sleep. Can I come in?”

“Yeah, sure. You’re up here now.” He nodded and I watched as he climbed and then fell through my window, extremely ungracefully. The accompanying thud did little to make the situation better. “Fuck Monty. Make some more noise why don’t you? I don’t think the people in Tibet heard you.” I glanced at my door and waited a minute. When no knock came, I let out a breath.

“Sorry. I’m sure I could knock a thing or two off the shelves while I’m here though. Oh, by the way, you should really look before inviting people in through your window. I could have been an axe murderer.”

“Please don’t. I thought you were Justin. He comes over unannounced sometimes.”

“Still.” He sat on my bed and took in his surroundings, now that I had turned on my lamp. “Cute room. Very much what I pictured.” I sat next to him and tried to put myself in his place as I looked around. I examined the cream walls. The black and white furniture. The books piled on my desk neatly. The fresh lilacs on my dresser between pictures of my friends and me. My jewelry holders in the corner of my dresser. The mirror on my closet door. He’s not wrong. It’s what I would have pictured too.

“Not that I’m upset about seeing you again, but what are you doing here Monty?”

“Told you. I couldn’t sleep. I needed to see you.”

“Alright. Uh… were you planning on staying or…?”

“I could stay if you want. Or I can go in a while. It’s your room.”

“If you stay, you have to be gone out the window in the morning.”

“That sounds doable.” He leaned back and made himself comfortable. Okay then. I mean, not opposed to him sleeping in my bed, but it’s a little early for that. I shrugged and crawled in beside him. I felt him pull me closer into his side and rolled over to face him.

“I wouldn’t have pegged you for a cuddler.”

“What can I say, I’m full of surprises.”

“Clearly. The first one was that I make you nervous.” I giggled.

“And why is that surprising?” he smirked back at me.

“Because you don’t seem like the type to get nervous around girls. And don’t say you weren’t nervous.”

“I wasn’t.”

“Bull. But whatever helps you sleep at night.” I smiled. “Are you going to sleep in your jeans?”

“Do you want me to take my jeans off?” he asked, smirking slightly.

“It just seems like it would be uncomfortable to spend the whole night in jeans, is all. Don’t be getting any ideas, you.”

“I said nothing.” He laughed. I smiled and rolled my eyes at him.

“You thought it. I know you did.”

He shrugged. “Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t. No rule that says I can’t think that about my girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend?” I squeaked. We hadn’t defined what we were. I wasn’t expecting this conversation to happen for a while yet, if at all.

“Yeah. Did you think I just ask anyone on dates?”

“I mean, I guess not…?”

“I don’t.”

“Okay.” I nodded, before resting my head on his broad chest. After a few beats of silence, I spoke up. “Hey Monty?”

“Yeah Addy?”

“Can… would it… could we keep this between us for now?”

He paused for a minute, “yeah. If that’s what you want, then we can keep it quiet for now.”

“It’s just that I don’t want to deal with people’s opinions or anything, you know?”

“By people’s, do you mean your friends?”

“And other people. You know how the kids we go to school with can be.”

“That’s true. They’ll run with this.”

“Yup.” It was quiet for a time again, while we just listened to each other’s breathing. “Monty?” I whispered.

“Yes?” he whispered back.

“Good night.”

“Good night. I’ll wake you before I leave in the morning.” I kissed his chest softly before drifting off to sleep.

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death-himself · 4 years

Text

Hidden in Shadows—Remus’s Story (pt. 2)

Summary: Remus gets a second child, because you know what the world needs? More eldritch abominations

Word Count: 1,139

Warnings: Body Horror

Part 1 (AO3 Link)

What the hell. If it were physically capable, the darkness would growl at its creation. How did two in a row manage to fail? Its monsters had never failed before, and the darkness lacked the energy and desire to make another!

It watched as its most recent monster—who had begun calling himself “Janus,” the disgusting thing—arrived at the front door of the home that human had been searching for. It watched as a human with glasses opened the door and, with much surprise and fear, welcomed the two in. Unbelievable, a second human had welcomed in his horrific monster.

One final attempt. Humans never trusted what they couldn’t understand. While that idea hadn’t necessarily worked with his second monster, why not kick it up a notch with his second? Three years of preparation. That was all the time the darkness was willing to spend.

“He’s really cuddly.” Emile spoke softly.

“I know, right?” Remus watched as Janus curled up with Emile on the sofa, hands woven into his shirt and mouth slightly open.

It had been no surprise that Emile had let Janus stay. What had been a surprise was Emile’s moms’ reactions. His mom had been there when the two arrived, took one look at Janus, heard his voice, and nodded as if she had adopted him herself. Emile’s mama on the other hand, arrived home from work, looked over at Janus, and stared down at the floor as she walked away with eyes the size of dinner plates.

Things had settled down since then, and with time the two mothers had proudly brought Janus in as their grandchild. Janus, Remus, and Emile were hanging out in the living room while Emile’s moms were at work. After Janus woke up from his nap Emile ran him through some addition and subtraction problems, as they would usually do at that time of day.

And that’s when a shadow creature fell from the ceiling and launched itself at Janus. Janus hissed and jumped away from the creature, who crashed into the sofa before quickly righting itself and preparing to attack again.

Remus chucked his phone at the creature, hitting it dead in the jaw. “Emile, snatch the bitch!” Emile jumped onto the creature, pinning it down with all his body weight. “I didn’t say doggy pile, but that works too!” Remus shouted as he jumped on top of the creature as well.

Janus growled at the creature, a claw out and ready to slice its throat open. “Woah, hey, let’s calm down for a second, okay kiddo?” Emile spoke quickly, grabbing his clawed hand. The creature under them screeched out something in an inhuman language. Remus blinked, before grinning maniacally and saying, “Aww, baby’s first inhuman screech!”

“Baby?” Emile looked over the creature with furrowed brows.

“Well if this guy is anything like Janus, it’s probably just a kid. Which means,” Remus turned excitedly to Janus, “guess who’s got a new sibling!” Janus huffed stubbornly.

“Can’t I just take his soul?”

“I don’t think he has a soul, bud. Nice try.”

“Dammit.”

The creature said something in that inhuman language, calmer than before, but clearly annoyed and upset. Black tears dripped from his pure black eyes as his talking turned to babbling the more upset he got.

“Hey, little guy,” Emile spoke softly, giving him a reassuring smile, “is it okay if we get off you? You won’t attack or anything?” The creature nodded his head frantically. The two got up quickly, watching the creature cautiously. He pouted up at them, his expression looking like a toddler who didn’t get what he wanted, but everything else about him seeming to oppose that.

Just like Janus, his body looked stretched and warped, making him maybe three feet tall instead of what was usually expected of a child whatever age he was. His body was covered with cuts bleeding a gooey black liquid, dripping all over the place. His jaw hung slightly, as if constantly slightly unhinged. His body was also hunched, and by the looks of it, his usual posture was made to walk on all fours.

He got up to an unsteady crouching position, watching them with uncertain eyes. “Are you okay?” Emile asked. The creature let out a sort of chirping sound. “Is that a yes or a no?” He nodded. “Well that’s good.”

Emile thought for a moment, looking the kid up and down. “How old are you? Could you hold up how many fingers you are old?” The kid hesitantly held up three fingers. Remus’s eyes widened.

“Holy fuck that’s a toddler.” The kid proceeded to growl and whine out a reply that must’ve been really insulting, considering how proud he looked after.

“I thought you said whatever created you had to wait five years for each of you?” Janus glared at the creature, still clearly uneasy.

“That’s what happened with me and the first one of us. It said it was to make sure we knew what we were supposed to do.” The creature grumbled something else out.

“So what do we do about this guy if we have no idea what the hell he’s saying?” Remus asked. Emile hummed to himself, looking the kid over.

“Well, he seems to understand English, so that’s a lucky start. If you want to take the longer, more thorough route, we could grab a dictionary and record him repeating every single word—”

“Oh fuck no.”

“—or we could just learn as we go.”

“Yeah, let’s do that.” Emile smiled, turning to the kid.

“Alrighty then! Heya kiddo, my name is Emile. Could you say that back to me?” The kid tilted his head, a slight pout still on his lips, and he hesitantly let out a small squeaky click. Emile clapped excitedly. “Very good kiddo!” He went in to hug the kid, who growled and backed away.

“Oh, sorry. Got a bit excited there.”

“I’m Remus, I’m your daddy now! Can you say my name?” The kid responded with a hiss, followed by a small click. Remus cackled excitedly.

And that’s when Emile’s mama walked through the door. She looked out into the living room, her eyes widening at the sight of the new child. She seemed to attempt to come up with something to say, before shaking her head and turning around, mumbling, “I’m too young to have two demonic grandkids.”

Interesting. A year later the darkness’s first creation was adopted by the uncle of this strange human. Perhaps having the ability to care for its monsters was a genetic defect that ran in their bloodline. Perhaps not. Either way, it didn’t really matter. The darkness had used up too much energy. It would strike later, but not in this uncle and cousin’s lifetime. It observed its third failure for a moment, before retreating to recharge.

#sanders sides #hidden in shadows #remus sanders #emile picani #remy sanders #janus sanders #monster!janus #monster!remy #kid!janus #kid!remy #body horror tw

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pandawritesmanythings · 4 years

Text

Coriander

(@writingsoftheloser 1.5k Writting Challenge)

A/N: Finally posting something after having such a long writing block. Anyway, thanks to @writingsoftheloser for allowing me to participate on her challenge! Congrats darling!

Summary: You decide to make an old brew your mama used to make. Loki is quite interested in finding out what your secrecy about it is about.

Warnings: None. Just a bunch of ol' fluff... And maybe some making out but I don't know if it counts.

Word Count: 2010

》》》》

The market buzzed with activity.

It was common for the vendors to see you run around since you were little through the market. Yet, they could still see the spark of wonder in your eyes now, years later.

"What will you be needing for today my dear?" Asked the old woman.

You smiled and finished looking at the menagerie of spices that she had in display. "I'll need some cumin, cilantro and basil please." You pointed to what you needed. "And give twice the portion for lavender."

People knew what a portion for you was. Three handfuls to be exact. So the old woman was slightly worried that you would take all her lavander and leave none for other people. Although is not like she could refuse.

People had noticed your affinity for magic and brewing potions since you were little. To be trained by the queen herself was not a small feat. The moment you were taken to the palace, the townsfolk had half expected for you to not come back ever. Yet here you were, every week at noon finding all the spices that you needed.

You skipped happily towards the castle. Leaving the sounds of the townsfolk behind. When the doors closed behind you, a small void opened in your heart. Oh, how you missed your home and your people.

Carefully, you grabbed some of the cilantro and crushed it your hands, the aroma of the spice reaching your nose and reminding you of home. Of cooking with your mom. Of the market you had just left behind.

With a sigh, you kept walking towards your chambers. Servants and maids walked past you, and you made it your job to say hi and smile at all that you could. Something that you noticed in the palace was the lack of gratefulness towards the lower classes. That included the servants and maids.

Asgard had no slaves, but you were sure that this castle had to be built somehow. Specially knowing how Odin had been before his sons were born.

Reaching your chambers, you opened the door to be greeted by the different smells of spices and brewings that happened in your room.

The room was fairly small. The walls had shelves in them that were littered with books, maps and jars, giving the room a messy look. The fireplace where you brewed your potions made it feel cozy and gave the room a tint of orange.

Your bed was on the corner of the room. Simple with just two pillows and a sheet to cover yourself in the cold nights.

Walking towards the fire place where your cauldron was in you poured some water and placed it over the fire to warm up the water.

Then, taking the recently bought spices from your basket you started arranging them where they belonged. Little boxes right next to the fireplace that were labeled. The only organized part of the room.

As you did that you felt a chill running up your spine. You smiled to yourself and kept working, as if nothing had happened.

Reaching out with your seiðr, you sensed the second presence in the room and waited long enough for it to get close to you, and then...

"Hkk!" Loki was impressed. You were getting better at it.

"I think I won this time." You panted as you held him down in a key.

"Yes. But could you please let go?"

You released his arm and he stretched it to release some of the tension on it. "Good girl. One day you could get close to challenging me."

"I could beat your butt any day beanpole."

"Hanging out with the Widow really didn't do you no good did it?"

"She may have taught me a thing or two." You laughed as you turned around to close the box that Loki had distracted you from closing.

"Ah. Yes. Remind me to not let my brother drag you to one of his little heroic adventures ever again." He walked around your room and took a book to examine it.

"I am a free woman, I will do as I please." You said half joking and half seriously.

"So you are." He said as his eyes scanned the book.

He snapped the book close and walked towards you. "So. What kind of mischief are you brewing today?"

"The only one brewing mischief here is you Loki." You smiled pushing lightly to walk towards your now boiling cauldron. "But if you really want to know you can drop by in an hour."

"Oh, yes, I am interested. And may I know why I can't see the brewing process?" He leaned towards you as you started to add the spices in.

You turned to look at him raising an eyebrow. "Would it hurt too much if I told you it was a suprise?" You said shaking your hands sarcastically.

"Keeping secrets from your friend? You hurt me darling."

You started pushing him out of the room. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Come back in an hour if you are so interested."

"But what if I lose interest by then? What will you-" He started with a smirk teasingly, but you interrupted before he could finish.

"Well, I guess it will become my best kept secret!" And you closed the door on his slightly shocked but amused face.

You breathed out a laugh and walked back to the cauldron to keep working on your special brew.

It was a special brew that your mother had taught you before any spell or potion.

"If there is something a woman needs, in a world dominated by men, is to know how to take care of herself. This will help you whenever you need it my dear..."

Those had been her words before she taught you your first brew. The most basic of them all.

About an hour later you were almost done, you just needed to add the last ingredient. Coriander, or as it was better known, cilantro.

Just as you were about to add it, Loki quietly opened the door to your room.

"Alright, let's see what-"

He stopped as he entered the room, he looked at you as you added the spice, your eyes trained on him.

Loki had never experienced such an aroma. He had expected one, usually your room smelled fresh and what he could only describe as tasty because of the different spices and brews that you did in your room.

But this was different. It was an aroma that seemed to wrap him in a warm hug, as if it could melt his problems away just by tasting what was inside the cauldron. It made him hungry for whatever you had concocted.

"What is... that?" He asked, trying to reign his emotions and thoughts.

"My mum's special brew." You smiled tenderly and with a wooden spoon you stirred the blend.

"Well, what is it?" He walked closer, hands itching to grab the spoon from your hands and try it.

What sort of magic spell had this brew casted on him? What spell had you wrapped him on?!

"What I need when I'm craving home." You dipped the spoon in the water and raised it to his lips. "Chicken soup."

"Soup?"

"What were you expecting exactly?"

"Definetly, not soup."

"Aw, you big baby, try it."

You passed him the spoon and warily he sipped the steaming liquid. He had never tried anything that didn't come from the castle's kitchen, but norns if this had poison, give him more of it.

He savored it, but reserved his opinion.

"So? How is it?" You asked, slightly nervous since you hadn't prepared it in years.

"Would me saying that I wouldn't mind having a bowl of that count as an opinion?" He raised an eyebrow mockingly.

You smiled, knowing that was the closest to a compliment you were ever going to get. "Yeah. That counts."

You served him a bowl and then another on for yourself. You added a branch of the cilantro to decorate the bowls.

Both of you sat on the bed and started to silently eat the soup.

"So, your mum's brew?"

"Yeah."

"Haven't tried it in a while, I suppose."

"Yeah..."

You didn't notice the moment that silent tears started running down your cheeks, but you supposed that the nostalgia and the sudden longing for your home had become too much for you.

To your suprise you weren't the only one who was having a problem controlling her tears.

Loki was silently crying.

It was kind of beautiful. The light of the fire giving his face a tint of opaque orange as a single tears ran down his cheekbones, would recollect on his chin and then drop to the ground. He was looking straight ahead. No muscle even indicating that he was weak in anyway. No trembling lip. No shaky shoulders. And no messy crying. Just single, strong tears falling down his face.

Trying to wake him up from his sort of trance, you wiped away a tear that was falling with your thumb. He snapped his face at you, a look of surprise crossing his face.

"Mum's chicken soup had an affinity from letting you get all you fear and sadness out." You smiled, your thumb still stroking his cheekbone, occasionally wiping another stray tear.

He silently reached his hand to your face to wipe your own tears.

So now, both sitting in your bed, arms slightly linking, each wiping the other's tears, you noticed how intimate you were with eachother.

"What do you think makes it so?" He moved closer to you, his hand moving from wiping the tears of your face to cradling your neck.

"I think, it must be the coriander..." You whispered.

"And why is that?" He asked, running his hand through your hair, making you loll your head into his hand at the relaxing motion.

"I believe... The coriander can make you show your true colors... Your hidden worth... But only to those who hide who they are."

He moved even closer, your knees now touched and his other hand had found a place in your waist.

"And what darling could we have to hide?" He was only a whisper away.

"Who we are. How much we care. How we think of ourselves based on others."

"Do you want to know how much I care?"

"It would be lovely if you could enlighten me..." You teased giving him a peck on his lips.

He then, took your bowls and without breaking eye contact with you, placed them on a bookshelf, where they wouldn't fall and mess your carpet. But as soon as the boiling bowls were no longer a hazard he sealed his lips to yours.

The movement of his lips was hypnotic. Making you melt on the spot from the simple conection of his lips and his hands on your jaw and your hips.

The hand in your jaw softly guided you away from his lips, and you were sure that he was done when he started kissing your neck.

However, even though it should have been quite intimate. His kisses made you more ticklish than anything.

"Wait! Loki! Stop- you're- Oh norns- Hahaha! Stop!" You laughed as he attacked your neck.

You both fell on your bed and he hovered over you. You just stared at eachother for a bit before he spoke.

"Do you really think I have something to hide?"

You stared into his eyes silently.

"Maybe." Your hand caressed his face. "I just know, that people are wrong about you. You care, Loki. I can see how much you care. I know you'd do anything for your mom and Thor... And I even like to think that you would do anything for me."

"If you keep saying things like that I'm going to think you're in love with me." He avoided your claims, but you could see in his face the tenderness.

A silence settled between the both of you.

"I think I am." And you closed the distance once again.

#loki #loki x reader #loki x you #loki x y/n #loki (marvel)#fanfic #loki fanfic #writingsoftheloser 1.5k writing challenge

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doedreamss · 4 years

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The Cowboy and the Mustang (Part Three)

links: part one, part two, [part three], part four

Ship: Hangman Adam Page x Jane (FOC)

Summary: Jane and Adam have been dating long-distance for five months ever since their chance meeting on her road trip. They’ve grown closer than ever and the reality of their complicated future is drawing nearer. Jane decides to spend her winter break in Montana with Adam, much to the disappointment of her mother, who was hoping Jane would come home for the holidays.

Rating: Explicit (smut scene, cause these two couldn’t handle a reunion without one)

Length: 7,932 words

Available below the cut or on AO3 HERE

“Are you really not going to be home for Christmas this year?”

Jane worried at her nail, biting it (a horrible habit), as she held her phone to her ear and tried to fight the guilt her mother’s voice plagued her with.

“Mom, I told you already…” Jane started gently and suppressed the sigh pushing up her chest.

“I know, I know…” Her mother said before Jane could start. They’d already discussed it in full length when Jane had gone home for Thanksgiving and first broached the subject.

Adam and Jane had been dating long distance since the summertime when they’d met on her road trip with her best friend, Kate. Jane had one semester of college left after winter break and then, degree in hand, it’d be time for her to put it to use. Jane still wasn’t sure what to do. They were too early in the days of dating to suggest moving in together and the bigger city was still a few hours’ drive from Adam’s. Adam’s town was small and not in need of any type of equine veterinarian. They already had a town vet, and Adam already said the man was still years off from retirement.

Stuck in circles with no concrete solution in sight, Jane decided she’d spend her winter break with Adam and his daughter. It would be a month of time together when they’d only had a few days previously. Jane hadn’t admitted it out loud, but it was sort of a test, too. The way she felt about Adam was exciting, but terrifying, too. She’d dated in the past and even thought she was in love before, but those relationships paled in comparison to this.

Every time her phone rang, and it was Adam calling or facetiming, her heart felt as if it was in her throat. Her cheeks always hurt after they finished talking from how much she’d been smiling. They texted back and forth constantly in paragraphs, trusting one another and letting down the walls past hurt had made them build. Jane had never connected with anyone like she connected with Adam. She considered herself a reasonable person, but they’d only known one another for around five months and she already knew she was in love with him.

Not that she’d told him… even if Kate had tried to convince her that she should.

“Jane, honey?” Her mother’s voice gently broke her out of her thoughts, and Jane looked in dismay to see she’d broken off a tiny chip of her nail.

“Sorry mom, I just have a lot on my mind.” She got up from the couch and started pacing.

There was silence for a few seconds before her mother sighed. She’d already told Jane previously that she shouldn’t be focusing on a relationship with a man when she was so close to graduating. School, she’d said, should be her main priority. Men would come and go. Jane wished her mom could just meet Adam. She’d understand. Adam wasn’t like any man Jane had ever met.

“Well, just know that if you change your mind we’d love it if you were here.”

“I know mom.” Jane’s heart sank. She hated disappointing her mother and she loved being home for the holidays. Her family was the sort that went all out, singing to classic Christmas tunes as they decorated, making a trip of going to the tree lot to pick the tree, dressing in big, comfy warm clothes and getting coffee before they walked the neighborhoods and admired everyone’s light-up decorations, sugar cookie baking and decorating, and so much more. Jane loved it, especially her rowdy, excited nephews and nieces running amuck around the house and filling it with cheer.

“I love you dear,” her mom said gently. It was weird for them to disagree on something. Jane had always made such sound, reasonable decisions, she could tell the way she was chasing her heart with Adam had confused her mother. This wasn’t like Jane.

“I love you too mom.” Jane said, and then the call ended.

She had two text messages waiting from Adam.

I was just out talking to Lucky and he reminded me I’ll be seeing you in just a few days. Can’t wait darlin. I miss you.

Lucky says he misses you too.

Jane smiled, her heart immediately lifting. A soft giggle and she was quickly replying, texting back.

I knew you could talk to horses! Tell Lucky I miss him too.

Oh, and I miss you too, I guess.

She added a little emoji with the tongue sticking out, then one with a little angelic halo circling its head. It didn’t take long for Adam to reply with laughing emoji’s and then for three little bubbles to appear, telling her he was texting back.

Shit… I guess the game is up, you know my secret that I’m the only person on God’s green earth than can talk to horses. Hope I can trust you to keep it… otherwise…

Are you all packed? Excited? Second thoughts?

They’d discussed the trip in lengths over the last month or two since Jane decided she’d spend her entire winter break with Adam. Initially, Adam had argued against it, not that he didn’t want her to spend time with him, but that he felt it was important she not sacrifice her family traditions and her time to go home and spend the holidays with them. He’d also felt bad, knowing her mother was giving her a hard time over it. But Jane hadn’t budged, and he’d eventually caved to the excitement of getting to have her with him for an entire month.

You know I’m not having any second thoughts, dummy. And I’m so excited I can barely sleep! I feel like this is already my Christmas present, just getting to see you.

She chewed at the inside skin of her lip, yet another of a list of bad habits she had when she was worriedly thinking. She didn’t want Adam to be upset that she and her mom were still on the outs because of this, but she wanted to tell him, too. He was always so good at knowing the right things to say to help ease whatever little aches were plaguing her heart. Jane had never had a boyfriend as sweet, genuine and attentive as Adam was. It scared her a little bit.

This was what love was.

They still hadn’t said those words to each other, but Jane knew. She was completely and helplessly in love with Adam Page, the mustang-taming cowboy and single-father from Montana.

That was what made the approach of her final semester a little scarier as well as the looming shadow of her future, where she’d go, and what choices she’d make. Would she sacrifice her heart for her career, or her career for her heart? She’d spent her entire life, from early childhood, working her ass off to get to where she was. She’d always known she was going to work with horses and veterinary school wasn’t easy, nor was it easy to earn and keep her full-ride scholarship to so she could attend. Her professors were already helping her gain connections with vet clinics across the United States. She could have her pick after graduation and she knew that made her luckier than most university graduates.

But Adam was in Montana and she knew she couldn’t do a long-distance relationship forever. Eventually she wanted to be married, to share the house and the white-picket fence, the ten-acre farm with a few horses, goats, chickens, and dogs. She wanted to hear children’s feet running through the house and their shrill, youthful giggles followed by Adam, laughing warm and happy as he playfully chased after them. She wanted it so badly it terrified her. Jane’s plan had always been to focus on her career until she was graduated and had been working at her chosen clinic for a year before she started dating or even considered the idea of marriage and children.

One chance meeting and everything was being thrown up into the air. Jane wasn’t sure where the pieces were set to fall, either.

Her phone buzzed, and she glanced down, realizing she’d missed a couple texts from Adam. The first had been sent shortly after her prior reply and read: Now hang on, I’m not that thoughtless of a boyfriend, darlin’. You’re getting spoiled on Christmas whether you like it or not. Me getting you for a month is my present, not yours. Keep that in mind.

She smiled. In the absent gap where she didn’t reply, tangled in her endless circling thoughts, he’d just texted again.

Everything alright?

He knew. Even hundreds of miles apart, he somehow knew. Jane didn’t know how he did it. She took a breath and began to text, telling him the truth.

Sorry babe, I just got off the phone with my mom before I text you and she’s still being… well… my mom.

Rather than receive a text reply, her phone started ringing. A selfie they’d taken with Avery in the middle, all three of them smiling wide and happy – Adam distracted and looking at Jane instead of into the camera – flashed up on her screen and made her smile again. It did every time she saw it. She pressed to answer the call and put the phone to her ear.

“Hi baby,” she said softly.

“Hey darlin’,” she heard the metal latch of the gate swinging and locking into place and the air moving around him as he started walking. He’d been working out with the horses while he was texting her. “I’m sorry your mama is giving you a hard time, but you know she’s just worried about you.”

“I know,” Jane admitted, but frustration clung to her tone. “I just wish she’d trust me. She acts like I’m throwing everything away, like we’re not constantly worrying about what the future is going to mean. Like I’m wasting everything I’ve worked hard for just because I fel-” she cut herself off abruptly, realizing with a start as she got worked into her rant she almost said it then and there. Like I’m wasting everything I’ve worked hard for just because I fell in love.

“I know darlin’, I know.” After a slight pause – long enough to make her worry that he’d figured out what she nearly said – Adam spoke. “Just give her time. Do what you think is best for you. That’s all that matters. Alright?” He didn’t corner her or ask her what she’d been about to say. Maybe it hadn’t been as obvious as she thought.

“Yeah,” Jane sighed and wrapped one of her arms around her waist, wishing she could be curled up in his arms again, laying on his broad, muscled chest while he spoke gentle reassurances and ran his wide palm in calming strokes up and down her back. Her heart lifted when she realized that would be a tangible thing she could have in just a few days’ time. It had felt like this vacation would never get here. “I just can’t wait for you to hold me again.” She confessed in a soft, small voice. Showing her weakness and need to someone was strange for Jane, so used to having to take care of everyone else and herself all on her own.

But Adam let her slip. He took the weight of the world off her shoulders without complaint, happy to be her solace.

“Darlin’, when you get here, you’re going to spend all night in my arms. Hell, we might be together so long we’re going to start growing into one person.” He joked, helping lift her weary spirit and making her laugh. “You know… I was going to let this be a surprise, but I think it might help you to know it now…”

“What?” Jane blinked, wondering what trick he had up his sleeve. “What is it?”

“The night you fly in to Billings, me and you are staying in a hotel and heading to the ranch the next day. My ma is watching Avery and looking after the horses, so we can have a little time just the two of us.”

“Oh, Adam,” Jane sighed, unable to keep how happy and relieved by the thought she was. She loved his daughter and she adored his mother. The woman had been a blessing at smoothing over the awkward situation when they’d first met and before they’d parted ways she’d gripped Jane’s hand tight and smiled, telling her she couldn’t begin to say how happy she was Adam had found a good-hearted girl like her. Jane and Avery were still figuring one another out, but Adam assured her Avery would get more comfortable the more time she spent around them. Jane was the only woman Adam had dated since Avery’s mother had left when she was too young to remember her, so it was an adjustment for the little girl.

“That sounds like heaven.”

“Good,” he said, and she heard the happy smile in his voice. “I’m sorry darlin’, but I’m going to have to cut this call a little short. I’ve got a guy coming from out of town to look at some of the colts I gentled, and it looks like he just pulled up.”

Jane hoped the man liked them and bought them. Adam made his living training horses, both clients who brought their horses to him for training and by adopting wild horses from the BLM holding facility a couple hours from his ranch which he gentled into sound, hardy little workhorses. If no one was buying, he wasn’t profiting.

“That’s okay! I need to finish packing anyways. Good luck baby!”

“Thanks, darlin’, can’t wait to see you again.”

“I can’t wait to see you too.”

“Bye darlin’.”

“Bye baby,” she said, and listened for a just a few seconds longer as Adam lowered the phone from his ear and called out in his happy, robust country drawl to the man who’d just arrived at his ranch. The call ended, and she sighed, feeling better and more excited to get to Billings and into the arms of the wonderful man waiting for her.

*****

The minute their eyes met, Adam cut through the crowd of people waiting in the airport lobby for their loved ones, opening his arms and grabbing Jane up before she could say a word. He pulled her close and dipped, pressing their lips together in a kiss that told her how badly he’d needed to do that without saying a word. Jane pulled away dizzy and a little breathless, cheeks flush as she looked up into the face of her handsome cowboy, who made her heart race with just a look.

“God woman,” He sighed and whispered against her lips as their foreheads pressed gently together, “I missed you more than I thought it was possible to miss someone I was talking to every day.”

“Me too,” she said, heart already soaring. Adam was so open about his admiration of her, he never gave her a chance to worry he didn’t feel just as strongly about her as she did him. His hands dropped to hers as he pulled away, wrapping gently around them, squeezing and rubbing the pad of his thumb over her palm.

“Let’s go get your suitcase and get out of here,” he said, grin climbing higher into his round cheeks and making the laugh lines around his eyes more prominent. He was turning away, bringing her with him. “I need to get you alone in that hotel room before I explode.”

Jane laughed softly and blushed – even though they’d slept together, done naughty phone calls, texts, snapchats and facetime calls together, she still felt flush any time Adam’s attention turned ravenous. Sometimes the way he looked at her stunned her. Jane didn’t think she was particularly unattractive, but everyone had their little spots they stared at a little too long in the mirror and she was no exception. Adam drowned her in earnest compliments and pointed out parts of herself she’d never appreciated or took a second to see as beautiful. Seeing herself through his eyes was a new experience and sometimes, when she was having a moment where she felt particularly cute, she could hear how he’d compliment her and get giddy before snapping a picture and sending it his way.

Adam never disappointed. The moment he had a chance to look at it – which was normally quickly after she sent it unless he was working with a horse – he said just what she imagined he would and then some.

The pair retrieved her suitcase and headed out to his truck. As they made their way through the crowds, Jane caught the eyes of other women that were drawn toward Adam as they walked. A small nagging bite of insecurity threatened to wiggle its way through. He was so damn handsome in his Stetson – a black one this time, set on his fluffy, shoulder-length blond curls – workman’s jacket, plaid button-up, dark-wash tight-fit jeans, big silver belt-buckle and brown ostrich leather boots. Jane couldn’t blame them for looking, but she glanced down at herself and wondered what they thought of her. Did they think he could do better?

“Darlin?” Adam’s concerned voice drew her eyes back to his. “You alright?”

“Yeah,” she said and smiled, which was easier beneath that Montana summer sky blue-eyed stare. “I’m perfect.” She smiled a little deeper, remembering she was here to be with Adam and he was here to be with her, and Adam matched the grin before ducking in to steal a quick kiss, squeezing their joined hand and maneuvering up to his truck. No one else mattered. A thousand woman could look at Adam, but his eyes were always on her.

Jane climbed in the cab and Adam loaded up the suitcase before climbing into the driver’s seat. The truck started with a gentle rumble and he reached to turn the music station down low enough they could talk if they want to. Before she could buckle in to the passenger’s seat, he gently patted the wide breadth of his palm against the middle bench seat beside him.

“I’ve had enough of getting to see and hear you but not touch you,” he said, “c’mon.”

Jane grinned and let go of the seatbelt she’d just grabbed, scooting over until she could curl up against him. He wrapped one arm around her and tucked her in close as she buckled the waistband seatbelt. As the truck pulled out of the airport lot and onto the road, Jane remembered to ask him about the horses.

“Did that rancher buy any of your colts?”

Adam looked down at her and brightened before looking at the road ahead with a nod. “He sure did! Bought all five I had trained up. He had his eyes on Lucky too, but I’ve barely started ground manners and I told him I don’t rush a horse. They learn at their pace. I told him if he was still in need of good horses by the time Lucky was ready I’d let him know and he could come take a look and see if he was still wanting him.”

Jane felt her heart sink. She knew it was stupid, but she would hate to see Lucky go. She felt like he bonded she and Adam together. The first time Adam had been working with the wild colt was the first time she and Adam had met. But Adam’s horse training was a business and he needed to sell horses to keep it operating.

“That’s great!” She said, because it was true that it was great. Sometimes it took one rancher who knew other ranchers who were looking for new stock to put him in demand. Hell, they might even ship a colt or two his way to have it trained up, too. The more word spread about Adam’s work with horses, the more opportunity he’d have to gentle them in a way that respected the bond between man and horse, and the more chances he’d have to keep bringing in fresh stock and training them up.

“Yeah,” Adam said, “actually, because he bought so many, I figured we could make a little stop before we go grab the Christmas tree tomorrow.” He glanced over at Jane as they stopped at a red light, one eyebrow quirking.

“Oh? What’s that?”

Adam decided they’d wait to get the Christmas tree until Jane was there, and the three of them – himself, Jane, and Avery – would go pick one out, bring it home and decorate it that night. It was a way of helping Avery adjust a little more to Jane’s presence in their little family, even though the situation was a little bit strange. It was also a way to give Jane a little bit of her family traditions when she wouldn’t be back home to participate in them.

“Well, my buddy who’s a handler up at the BLM facility called and let me know they got some nice-looking colts in that he thinks I could do something with. They were shipped in out of state. I figured we’d go up to the BLM facility and see if we might come away with a horse or two.”

Jane couldn’t help the way her heart lifted in excitement. “That would be fun!”

“Yeah, and,” his grin stretched a little wider, “I think it’s time Avery got her first horse. There’s a yearling filly there, a little bay roan that makes me think of her. They’ve got the same personalities, I swear it. They could grow up together a little bit. The filly wouldn’t be ready for saddle training for a year or two at least, so that’d give Avery time to get used to the responsibility of keeping a horse. And they’d have each other for a long, long time.”

Jane’s heart swelled. She remembered being a little girl obsessed with horses, daydreaming about when Santa would finally give in to her pleading letters and deliver a pony for her on Christmas day. “She’s going to love that so much.”

He grinned. “It’s about time, the girl started riding before she could walk, and she’s wanted one of her own for long enough now.”

Adam pulled the truck off the freeway and down to the parking lot of the multi-story hotel. They checked in and Jane’s excitement had her breath hard to catch the further down those door-lined halls they traveled. She was going to have Adam alone again. In person. There wasn’t any phone to clutch to her ear. There wasn’t any time she was going to close her eyes and feel a sharp ache in her heart for how badly she wished he was tangible. She was going to be held in those big, strong country arms of his and up against that broad, thick-muscled chest. When she put her ear to it, she was going to hear his heartbeat.

Jane glanced up at Adam, who she caught watching her. A gentle flush crept across his pale cheeks, just barely hidden by the blond of his beard. She knew he must’ve been thinking along the lines of what she’d been. The last time they’d physically been together they’d been practical strangers, drunk on some powerful, near-divine feeling of soulmate like proportions. Now they’d spent months talking and texting and facetiming on the phone. He’d listened to her meltdown rants about school and helped talk her back up. She’d listened to him gush about how well one of the colts had done or have him pull Avery up to tell her how good she did at school that day. They knew one another more intimately than ever.

Adam’s free hand grabbed hers and entwined their fingers. He gave them a little squeeze and his smile deepened. Jane exhaled and smiled too, heart pounding in her ribcage.

They entered their room. The door hadn’t even swung shut when Adam was on her, hand leaving hers to instead frame her face between his palms. He crashed her back into the wall beside the door and smashed his mouth hot against hers. Jane moaned into his mouth, which stretched hers wider, and his tongue plunged between the open invitation. His hips dug hard, belt buckle pinching into her stomach. His thick fingers curled in her hair, around the back of her head, and held her firm as they kissed.

Jane worked her hands up between their bodies, dragging her nails over his stomach and up his chest. He groaned into their kiss and dug his hips upward between her legs again. She pushed at him, though his strength was immovable. It wasn’t that she wanted the kiss to end, but that she needed to breathe. Her lungs were starved, apparent by the way she gasped for air when he finally pulled his mouth from hers.

Adam’s heavy breaths fell hot over her, body frozen where it’d pinned her, tension leaking slowly from his muscles. He’d needed the breath too but had been so ravenous that he hadn’t been able to break the trance that kissing her became. Now they stood in quiet, chests heaving, ears roaring with the blood rushing through them.

“I missed you,” Jane said, voice small and sad. They’d talked every second they could, but she’d still missed him.

“I missed you too,” his voice was a similar ache above her. He leaned in and pressed his lips in a tender kiss on her forehead.

Adam stepped back but let one of his hands catch one of hers. He led her down to where the hotel bedroom opened and turned them, so her back was to the bed. Despite the need built inside him for her, Adam forced his fingers slow as he stripped her clothing. As each new item fell away, his eyes appraised her, and he breathed low under his breath. When he popped her bra off and slipped the straps down her shoulders, he licked his lips and groaned low in his throat.

Adam knelt and helped her step out of her boots and jeans, carefully setting her feet right. He tilted his head back, blond curls barely maintained by his Stetson and looked up her naked body, catching her eyes with his. Jane flushed and swallowed.

“Sit back, angel.” He demanded, country drawl soft, and Jane lowered to sit on the plush white comforter atop the bed. He pinched the crown of his hat and pulled it off, setting it to the bed and running a hand through his hair to smooth the pressed-down bend the band of it had created.

Adam peeled her socks off and fell to holding her right ankle. His touch traveled slow up the back of her leg as he leaned in, gently pressing his lips to her skin. He kissed up her leg, beard scratching her thigh, and drew closer and closer between them. She could feel the warmth of his breath against her and it pulled a moan from her throat just as his mouth settled wide atop her skin. The muscle of his tongue curled, pressed between and drug up, then down. He ate her slow, letting her moans build and spill out of her caught-open lips, her back arched and hips rolling toward him. His wide hands splayed on her backside, fingers pushing and encouraging her as physically close to him as possible. His teeth grazed her raised, swollen clit and made her jerk at the electricity that spread along her nerves and flashed in the muscles of her thighs. The surprised yelp she made had a chuckle rumbling from his mouth and vibrating his lips and stubble against her sensitive, wet, needy clit.

Jane dropped her chin to her sweat-dappled chest, looking down her naked body at the halo of gilded curls buried between her thighs. Sensing her gaze, Adam raised his brow and let his blue eyes meet hers but didn’t once stop the way his tongue flicked and curled, or how he sucked back hard, as if the intent was to drink every drop. Caught in his hungry gaze, Jane’s heart beat quickened, and she sucked in a shaky, needed breath. Her thighs trembled on his shoulders and her eyes rolled back, unable to keep hold of his any longer.

Adam dipped against her with a more feverish passion, concentrating flicking the tip of his tongue over her clit and suckling with his lips. He drove her wilder and wilder, her hips gyrating against his mouth as he feasted. But, he didn’t let her cum. When nirvana was in reach, every muscle in her body freezing tight, fingers curling desperate into the sheets at her sides, Adam pulled away from between her legs and sat back on his heels, watching her body tremble with need. Jane blinked away the beginning phase of fog as her body realized it was left to be driven wild by the sensations he’d stoked, but not offered final reward.

She pushed herself up with her palm flat on the mattress and looked at him where he knelt, smiling knowingly and wickedly at her. Mischief flashed in Jane’s eyes – she wasn’t going to let him look so satisfied – and she pushed herself forward, practically leaping at him. His shocked expression was satisfactory, as was the grunt when his back hit the hotel room floor and he looked up at her, dazed and then amused, and then hungry all over again.

Jane sat with more purpose on his hips, feeling the length of his erection still trapped painfully in his fitted denim jeans. Her hands flattened over the button-up shirt he was wearing – he’d stripped his workman’s jacket off when they’d entered – and she slowly began to slip the buttons through each little hole and pushed the material open. She pushed her fingers through the faint dusting of blond hair on his chest and curled them, raking her nails down his torso and smiling as he sucked in a hard breath, groaned and pushed his hips up toward hers. Oh… she was going to enjoy tormenting him as much as he’d enjoyed doing it to her.

Using his body as leverage, Jane began to rub her hips over his, the stiff denim over his zipper pushing against her clit and making her moan. They may as well have been ruining his jeans, the way Adam was moaning and bucking his hips up to meet her strokes, likely leaking already for her. She didn’t tease him very long – at least not clothed – and only when their breaths were both ragged and he was shaking beneath her did she stop and slowly slide down his body. When she released the tension of his belt-buckle and undid the button and zipper of his jeans, Adam sighed in relief. His cock was swollen thick and had been painfully restrained.

Jane’s hands slipped beneath the band of his boxers and pushed the material down as her fingers slipped around his hard, throbbing cock. Adam moaned to feel her touch on his bare skin. Jane repositioned her body, putting either one of her knees on the other side of his, free hand flat on the carpet by his hip. Jane dipped and opened her lips over his leaking head, tasting the most intimate part of the man she loved. Her tongue swirled and dipped over the sensitive lip. Only the stretch around his girth kept her mouth from curling into a smile at the way he moaned and thrust greedily up into her mouth. The length of his shaft slid atop the bed of her warm, wet tongue.

His long-reach brought a hand to gather her hair, pulling it out of her face and holding it back so he could keep his chin at his chest and watch her bob up and down the length of his cock. She wet it with her saliva and where her mouth didn’t entertain, her fingers picked up the slack, curled around his shape and stroked with a soft squeeze of pressure. Jane dipped and ran the flat of her tongue down his length to his sac, sucking each of his balls in turn as Adam groaned and his muscles in his thick thighs tensed, showing their definition beneath fat. She curled the tip of her tongue and ran it along the taint, then up again so she could stretch her mouth around the head of his precum leaking cock and slide him back inside her mouth.

His fingers in her hair curled tighter and tighter. He jerked beneath her ministrations and leaked a tense curse in a strained whisper. His blond brows knit together and almost made him look angry with the concentration it was taking him not to cum. Adam’s hand in her hair pushed her down, forcing his cock to kiss the back of her throat where she gently gagged and the soft skin there wrapped tight around his girth. He moaned and dropped his head back, chest heaving with a needed breath.

Then, he let her go. Jane slipped off his cock, sucking back the saliva that’d gathered while she’d been held on it, and took a deep breath as she did. Sitting up on her knees she wiped at her lips with the back of her hand and looked down at the half-dressed, ravished cowboy laying beneath her. Adam’s dazed, but hungry eyes looked up her naked body and met hers. They’d been so caught up in how desperate for one another they’d been, it took them until now just to breathe and settle in with what was happening.

But nothing was going to slow down. Jane needed him too badly for that and he clearly felt the same. Adam curled his torso to sit up just enough to tug the long sleeves of his shirt off, uncaring how he tossed it to the ground beside them. He wanted his hands back on her too quickly to bother with it.

Crawling over the top of him, Jane lowered her hips as Adam grabbed the base of his thick, saliva-wet cock and pressed the tip inside her. His hand jumped up to the pinch of her hip and settled heavy, pressure guiding her slow down over the top of him. A moan poured low and long out of his mouth, thick and smooth like molasses. Jane’s muscles clenched tight around him as she adjusted to the feel of his girth stretching her again, head tilted back and mouth open as she voiced her pleasure. For a moment they sat, joined, and then Adam let up on her hip and Jane began to ride him.

Her palms pressed against his sweaty torso as she slipped up and down his cock, taking him in deep. Their hotel room was filled with breathy, heavy moans, soft whines from her lips and occasional shared whispers of their names, spoken with not only passion, but the love they’d found for one another. The stickiness of her wet slick covered her thighs and his hips, combining with the sweat pooled on their warm skin. Adam’s hands were still on her hips, fingers digging sharp into the layer of fat he could grip and pinch. Initially he seemed to hold himself back and let her take the reins, but a few thrusts in his need took over and his hips began pushing up to meet and quicken her pace. He buried his cock up inside her, grunting with each forceful shove of his hips and squeeze of his hands on her hips. She’d be surprised if she wasn’t bruised tomorrow.

Eventually he took over and Jane’s toes curled, nails raking into the fine blond hair on his sweaty chest, mouth locked open and eyes rolled back, body jerking with each hard-thrust Adam buried up inside her. He was going faster and faster, and they’d both built themselves to the brink of pleasure, making nirvana a quick and easy reach. Jane wished they could stay like this forever, no matter how exhausting it’d be. To be intimate with Adam in this moment, as close as two people could be, let all the worries of their future and the unanswered questions remain meaningless. The only thing that mattered was the two of them in one another’s arms.

“Adam!” She squeezed out from her tight throat and forced her chin down, eyes open, so she could look down at him.

Adam’s brow was furrowed hard, jaw clenched, and nostrils flared. The muscles in his arms bulged against the skin as his body tensed and he forced her to meet his driving hips. His eyes met hers and the desperate, feral nature of the beast inside him subsided just briefly, just enough to lock gazes and show her the man still existed behind the need. But there was even something in that – something in Adam losing himself and just fucking her raw and ruthless, that excited her. This man with a heart of gold, who she knew from the instant she met him she could trust her life with, couldn’t help but be so needy for her that he lost all the civility when the doors were closed, and they were left alone.

“Adam!” She cried again, a ripple of pleasure shooting through her body and curling a knot in her lower abdomen.

“Yeah,” he grunted in a hot breath and pushed his cock up inside her soaked lips. “Cum for me, darlin’,” he could barely speak, his vocal chords were so tight. Instead, Adam’s words were a growl from that deep, barrel chest and it rumbled beneath her clinging hands. She hadn’t realized she’d drug red marks down his chest when she’d raked across his skin but saw them then in slightly raised lines.

“Oh, fuck, I’m –” her brows pulled tight inward and her body froze. A small cry squeaked past her lips as her brow furrowed. Adam grunted and plunged as deep inside her as his cock could go, balls sucked up to the base, legs shaking with the effort it took to keep from cumming too soon. Jane twitched, stilled, and cried her release in a mix between a whine and a long moan that filled the room to the ceiling. Those wet, warm velvet muscles wrapped around his driving cock clenched tight around him, pulling and coaxing him to his own release.

“Jane,” he managed, “I lo- nnngggghhh!!!…” Whatever he was going to say was stolen by the force of his orgasm. Adam’s vocals fell to moans spilling in tight together as his body jerked hard enough to nearly unseat her while she quivered and came herself. She felt the heat of his orgasm pouring inside her and knew she should worry – they needed to stop fucking unprotected unless they wanted to further complicate their already complicated situation – but only let a satisfied smile smear across her lips before she collapsed forward atop him.

One of Adam’s arms lazily lifted and rested around her bare back, squishing her sweaty body against his. The haze of gratification fogged their minds and they could only heave hot breaths that slowly melted into gentle laughter shortly after when they realized how crazy they’d been. All their plans – they’d get to the hotel, check in, and then go get something to eat and enjoy the town – had been derailed the split second they had a moment alone. They couldn’t even wait a few hours.

Adam’s fingers raked her hair away from her face, where it’d stuck to the sides with sweat. Jane turned to look at him and smiled warmly, matching the look he was giving her. Her heartbeat felt as though it skipped. He had a way of looking at her like he was in awe of her, like he was trying to memorize every pore in her skin and every subtle dip of her face, so he could remember it to perfection any time he wanted.

“You’re perfect, you know that?” His words were slower, country drawl a little stronger, voice heavy with exhaustion as the adrenaline of their lovemaking gently eased from his body.

Jane laughed. “I think you’re bias.”

“Hmm,” he shifted her body carefully, still tucked hard inside her, both still sensitive. “Maybe.” He admitted, and his grin deepened.

“We didn’t even let you get undressed all the way,” Jane pointed out, rubbing her foot gently over his half-worn denim jeans. They’d only tugged them down his thighs enough for her to ride him.

“I didn’t think it was very polite to stop a lady when she’s on a mission.” He countered playfully, to which Jane laughed. He was good at that… being silly and making her smile and laugh. Sometimes her cheeks ached after they’d talked, he’d teased her to laughter so much.

“Good call,” she remarked, nodding firmly. “I definitely had no intention of being slowed down.”

“Mm, no you did not,” he said, voice low and deep, making a ripple of need tighten in her belly. How the hell did he manage to make her want him even after she was physically exhausted? His fingers skimmed up and down her spine in a delicate, comforting touch. “And thank God for that.”

Jane laughed softly again and then fell to just letting Adam hold her. She nestled her cheek against his chest, still lightly damp with sweat and slowly cooling, just as the rest of her was. Her eyelids threatened to drop after a day of travel and their lovemaking, but the night was far from over. She let her eyes close only to wrap her other senses more securely around Adam and soak in the sensation of being held by him. When she’d had to go back to university she hadn’t thought she’d miss being physically present with Adam so badly – they’d only spent a few days together in totality – but her heart had ached for this. She never knew being with anyone could feel like this.

“Hey,” he beckoned gently after a few more minutes of quiet, his fingers still tracing delicate patterns on her naked skin. “Do you still want to go out on the town? I don’t mind calling in room service and staying here all night if not.” His voice rumbled in his chest against her ear.

“I do,” she said, blinking her eyes open and readjusting to the lights they’d left on in the room. She glanced up at him and smiled. “I was just enjoying being in your arms again.”

He melted at that. “I was enjoying holding you again.” He dipped and placed a sweet, loving kiss atop her head and leaned back down. “But c’mon. Let’s shower, get dressed and head out. I got a lot of people to make jealous as I show my pretty little girlfriend off, and I’ve got a mind to spoil you a li’l too.”

“Spoil me? Why?”

“Because I said so.” His grin climbed a little higher in his cheeks, making them rounder and pronouncing the smile lines at the creases of his eyes.

“We’ll see about that.” Jane said, rolling her eyes, and slowly started to lift her pleasure-tired body from his.

“Mhm, we sure will,” he said and reached to playfully smack her ass as she turned, pushing his jeans off the rest of his legs and climbing to his feet to follow close behind her.

They were delayed again when, in the shower, slipping soap suds along each other’s bodies, Adam got hard again. His touch began to wander down her body and he stirred her again into madness quicker than she’d thought possible. His lips had placed warm kisses against her wet, clean skin, over her shoulders and between her shoulder blades as he wrapped his grip around her hips and sank his cock inside her again. Every high thrust slapped their wet skin together, his balls smacking against her cunt, and droplets of water from the shower stream flying around them. His low grunts and moans joined her high whines, bouncing and echoing in the acoustics of the tiny bathroom. When they finally finished showering and shut off the water, Jane’s palms had indents of the shower tile and the muscles in her thighs ached with exhaustion. She even had to hold on to his firm forearm for leverage as she stepped out, feeling wobbly-legged. He grinned, and she shook her head, mesmerized he’d had it in him so soon for a second round. If he kept this up, Jane wasn’t sure she’d be able to walk the rest of the time she was here.

She made a comment as such, which made Adam laugh that low, warm rolling laugh and melt into an almost sheepish smile.

“You’ve kept me a hungry man, darlin’. What can I say?”

At that she could only grin, and the pair of them finished getting ready before going out to see what Billings had to offer. They walked in the cold along the downtown streets and red-brick buildings near their hotel, peering in Christmas-decorated window displays hand-in-hand, cuddling up and stealing kisses just because they could. Any time Jane got particularly excited about something she saw, Adam encouraged her into the store and tried to talk her into letting him buy it for her. He was relentless and while she was able to argue her way out of a few gifts, they still ended up with a few bags by the end of the night. She managed to buy something for him, despite his best attempt to play down his excitement – a folding knife with a wood carved handle depicting a mustang running free on the range.

They found a cute little diner to eat at, tucked inside beneath the twinkling, warm string lights wrapped around wood beams. They talked and talked, and Jane was amazed they never ran out of things to talk about, even after talking every day for month’s straight. It seemed neither could be without the other’s touch for too long. Jane would lay her hand on the table and Adam’s would blanket it, warm, secure and soft. The pad of his thumb would skim across her skin, inspiring goosebumps.

And when the night ended, and they lay, naked, tangled limbs beneath and atop the hotel comforters, Jane began to drift peacefully off to sleep, never once remembering that earlier in the day, Adam had nearly said something that she was sure was on the tip of her tongue, too. Every second that passed with him was going to make it harder and harder not to say. Every time he lifted her heart and made it race, the words were there, wishing they could be spilled. It drifted in her mind as her eyes closed, but she had enough sense not to say it. Not yet.

I love you, Adam.

Adam sighed a content breath and wrapped his thick arm tighter around her, pulling her closer in. A smile formed sleepy across his mouth, eyelids closed and light lashes gently tickling his round cheeks. He felt more content than he had in years. Like everything made sense. That thought he’d had earlier – the one he’d almost said out loud – drifted across his mind, but he held his tongue and kept his mouth closed, too afraid to add pressure to what had been the perfect day they both so desperately needed.

I love you, Jane.

#hangman page #hangman page fanfiction #aew #cowboy fanfiction #wrestling fanfiction #aew fanfiction #my fanfiction #the cowboy and the mustang #hapedit

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t0ngue-tech · 5 years

Text

Deadline | Three

“Without saying a single word, you emerged turned around and reached out to wrap your arms around Jungkook’s torso. He stumbled a bit before finding his footing. You knew you caught him off guard because it took him a few seconds before he snaked his arms underneath your hair to secure them around your neck.

‘U-Uh--’ Jungkook stammered.”

↠fluff, angst, highschoolAU, fakerelationshipAU↞

word count: 7.4k

↠series: 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ↞

A/N: HI GUISE OMG IT’S BEEN SO LONG HASNT IT, BUT HERE I AM!!!! ive honestly been working on this since finals and even when finals finished, i hit a writer’s block. then, all of a sudden i was hit with a rush of motivation and this is the outcome huhu. i hope you all enjoy!!!!

The clock ticked endlessly on and on as the students of your history class were in disarray. Usually everybody would be working with their partners on the history project, but a substitute teacher sat at your teacher’s desk instead; this meant a free period.

Jennie sat with you, huddled in a corner of the classroom catching up on other work for another class. You assisted her with whatever she needed while also proofreading a paper from your AP English class.

“Are you sure you don’t want to sit by Jungkook?” Jennie whispered.

Your eyes darted across the room and spotted Jungkook with his head down on the desk, buried within his arms.

“Yeah, I’m sure.” You brought your attention back to your paper.

“You do know that two of Chaeyoung’s goons are in this class, right? They’re probably going to tell every single detail about you and Jungkook that happens here.” Jennie leaned in closer to keep her voice at a hushed whisper.

Jennie did have a point, but despite that, you stayed planted in your seat. You were used to having Chaeyoung’s friends’ eyes glancing at you from time to time in class but ever since the night in the diner parking lot, they’ve been watching you like a hawk. It was a bit concerning.

The substitute reminded everyone that the sign-in sheet was at the front of the class and to straighten out the desk before leaving. Before the bell rang, Jungkook awoke from the sound of the desks scraping against the tile floors. He stretched out his limbs and lazily threw his backpack over his shoulder.

As soon as the bell rang, the students stampeded towards the door and Jennie bid you adieu. Jungkook glided across the class to where you were, still putting papers in their correct folders. He held your water bottle and phone in one hand, patiently waiting for you to get situated. When you finished adjusting your bag on your bag, he silently reached for your hand and slid his fingers in between yours. It’s been roughly two weeks and you still weren’t used to the feeling of holding his hand.

“I’ve never seen you look this tired.” You spoke over the rush of students in the hallway.

Jungkook yawned deeply and shook his head to wake himself up a little. “I’ve had three consecutive late night training and it’s been a while since I’ve done this.”

“Do you have a fight coming up?”

“Next month, but I need to make weight and train as much as I can so I have a lot of work to do.” He explained.

“Hm,” you hummed. “I guess this means you have to cut back on the fries.”

Jungkook dropped his jaw slightly. “Oh my god, you’re right.”

Since the two of you started this fake relationship, Jungkook always walked you to your fourth period. He didn’t mind being a few minutes late to his class because his teacher was “cool.” It worried you a little, but he stressed that it was really no big deal.

“Do you have a meeting after school?” Jungkook stationed you against the wall near your classroom to let other students pass through.

“I just have to drop off a few folders to the club classroom and then I have to pick up a package for my mom at the post office right after.” You reached for the items Jungkook held for you and he gave them back to you with ease.

“Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow then. I’m gonna head straight home after school to sleep before my practice tonight.” Jungkook sighed as he enveloped you into a tight hug. The hug lasted roughly a minute and just before he let go, it felt as if he placed a soft kiss to the top of your head; unless that was his chin bumping against you because of how tall he was compared to you.

You were used to seeing Jungkook with an abundance of energy and seeing how physically exhausted he was now worried you a lot more than it should have. Instead of focusing like how you usually did, you spent the entire class period looking up different kinds of foods that boxers could eat while trying to make weight. A lot of the information you found were similar lists of light proteins and reminders to watch the sugar and fat intake.

A lightbulb went off somewhere inside of your head and you were now creating a small shopping list in the notes section of your phone. This wasn’t your problem, but somehow you felt compelled to support him. Maybe it was the title of being his “girlfriend,” who knows.

↠↞

You [3:04]: hi mom, i just picked up your package and i’m heading to the grocery store. let me know asap if you need anything

When you arrive at the grocery store parking lot, your mother replied with a short list of a dozen eggs, cherry tomatoes, and a bag of salt and vinegar chips.

“Ground turkey...ground turkey...ground turk-ah.” You dropped the package of lean meat into your shopping cart.

You never tried cooking any of the dishes you had bookmarked on your phone, so your nerves were shaking inside of you. There was a lot more options that weren’t as complicated, but of course, you didn’t want to settle with that.

It never occurred to you that there was a possibility you could poison Jungkook just before his boxing match. This thought made you want to put everything back on the shelves, but you also thought about how tired Jungkook looked today and it gave you some strength to follow through with your plan.

“Ooooh, mama y/n. Making dishes for your man.”

On your way home, Jennie called you to talk for a bit before she took her sister to her dance lesson. You filled her in with your plan to make a few meals for Jungkook so he can keep his energy up and Jennie was elated.

“Jennie, calm down. He’s not my man. I’m just trying to better a good...person? For him?” You pulled up to your driveway and disconnected your phone from your car. “Am I taking this role too seriously?”

“Sigh, y/n. You’re doing exactly what you need to do.” Jennie explained in your ear. “This is going to help you feel more like a girlfriend-girlfriend for him! I’ve seen you hang out with him at school and I can tell you’re still awkward with this whole thing.”

You shuffled into your house with your bags of groceries dangling from your arms and your phone tucked in between your shoulder and ear. “I’m still trying to get used to him, okay? You still have a point, but I might kill him.”

Jennie laughed in your ear and sighed. “That’s okay!”

Your mother waved at your from the kitchen counter and rushed over to help you with your bags.

“I’ll let you know how it goes, bye! Love you!” Just like that, you hung up before Jennie could say anything else.

You remembered that you didn’t tell your mother about Jungkook and you weren’t ready to confront her about him yet.

“How was school, y/n?” Your mother glided over to help you unload your bags.

“It was fine—it’s okay mom, I got this, you can continue with whatever you were doing.” There was a tinge of panic in your voice which didn’t sound as convincing as you wanted it to be.

Your mother lifted an eyebrow and reached in to grab her bag of chips. “Okay, honey. Just uh, don’t forget to put the eggs in the fridge.”

It took a few minutes for your mother to leave the kitchen because she rummaged through the fridge to retrieve a bottle of iced tea to have with her chips. She sat down at the dining table where her laptop was set up as well as a stack of papers.

You silently moved around the kitchen to put certain foods inside of the fridge and laid out a cutting board and other cooking utensils. The first order of business was to wash the lettuce and other vegetables you were going to use.

“Let’s see, lettuce wraps…” After rinsing the vegetables, you tied an apron around your waist. “Season the ground turkey with salt…” You whispered the instructions to yourself and carefully measured the spices and dropped them into the bowl with the ground turkey. It was such a delicate process and you wanted to get everything right on the first try because besides preparing him a few meals, you wanted to surprise him during his training tonight.

To an extent, you knew your way around the kitchen. You could easily whip a meal for yourself that could be done with minimum ingredients, but you weren’t skilled enough to create detailed meals meant for others to eat. This was one of those cases.

You were tempted to ask your mother for assistance because she cooked more often than you did. It wouldn’t hurt to do so, plus you could easily say that the food was for yourself.

“Mom…?” You called out quietly.

Your mother hummed and typed away at her keyboard.

“I may or may not need help.”

She stood up from her chair to take a glance at whatever you were doing. All of your ingredients were sprawled out all over the island in the kitchen. Everything was in disarray and your mother chuckled at the chaos.

“And what in the world are you making?” Your mother closed her laptop and strolled over to the mess of vegetables and packages of meat.

“I—uh, I’m making a whole bunch of shi—“ you stopped yourself from completing your sentence. “Stuff. A whole bunch of stuff.”

You barely started the cooking process and you already felt defeated. It was in your nature to figure things out and handle things on your own, but this was cooking for another party so you needed all the help the universe could give you.

“Okay, well, what exactly are you making y/n?” Your mother asked while tying on her own apron.

“Ground turkey lettuce wraps, roasted vegetables, sweet potato fries, and some sort of protein bowl with these chicken tenders, and a lot more stuff.” As you listed your menu, your mother stared at you suspiciously. “What?”

“Nothing, I just—I didn’t know you had such a healthy diet that’s all.”

There were two reasons why you felt yourself sweating: 1) prepping ingredients was tough work and 2) you hated lying to your mother.

“Yeah, I just wanted to try something new, you know? Gotta stay in shape somehow someway.” You let out a nervous chuckle and your mother stared at you, unconvinced.

It took a few seconds before your mother scaled the island to stand next to you. She eyed out the mess in front of you and sighed.

“You know, y/n,” she began and you swallowed the lump in your throat. “When your father was still alive, I used to prepare a lot of meals for him just like this because he always left for work before the sun came up.”

You knew exactly what your mother was trying to tell you and yet you still hesitated.

“I may be going out on a limb here, but is this for that boy who dropped you off back home a few days ago?”

Right on the money.

It only took a matter of seconds plus the piercing gaze coming from your mother to crumble and nod your head. You had no problem in confining in your mother with absolutely anything, but this was painful for you to do. Despite what you told Jungkook, the reason why you didn’t tell your mother about your “relationship” is because it was only temporary. She had just witnessed you sulk throughout the entire summer and you didn’t want to burden her a second time by telling her that you and Jungkook “broke up.” Keeping the relationship a secret would have been hard work but you had to do what you had to do.

“You saw him?” You asked quietly.

She nodded her head and pulled out an extra cutting board from one of the compartments in the island. “I was repotting some of my flowers at the side of the house and when I got up to stretch, I saw you two through the gate; he opened the door of his car for you.”

For the record, you and Jennie both bet that your mother was going to say something within the first week.

“Uh, y-yeah. His name is Jungkook.” The smile that appeared on your face happened on an impulse.

You proceeded to tell your mother the forged story Jungkook came up with and also mentioned that you known him since elementary and that he was your partner for a history project.

“Wait, is this the same Jungkook who put the gum in your hair?” Your mother exclaimed with a laugh.

“That’s—That’s the one.” The bitter memory of having to cut your hair just below your shoulders flashed in your head. You also remembered the moment when Jungkook’s mother showed up the next day to pick him up from school and made him apologize again. She also gave you a ziploc of powdered brownies because of how terrible she felt.

“Wow, what a small world, huh?” Your mother smiled fondly at you. “Y/n, you know that I don’t want you hiding this kind of thing from me. You can trust me.”

It truly broke your heart hearing her words. If it was already difficult admitting the relationship, you knew you were going to suffer when the deadline would occur.

“I know, mom. I’m sorry.” You replied sadly.

She patted your back and grinned. “Don’t be sorry, honey. Now let’s get this chaos in order because first and foremost, you should always prep all of your ingredients first.”

Cooking took a lot longer than you expected because of your lack of skills. It was a trainwreck, but your mother managed to assist you in making a few days worth of meal prep for Jungkook. Even though you burnt your fingers on the pans from roasting the vegetables in the oven, you were satisfied with the outcome.

“Hopefully Jungkook isn’t going to die.” You sighed.

Your mother pulled out a reusable bag from the cupboard and neatly stacked the tupperwares inside.

“He’s going to be fine, y/n. I taste tested your food and it tastes fine. Just be sure to tell Jungkook that I’m going to be needing my tupperware back.” She instructed.

You nodded and mentioned that you were going to use her car because your keys were in your room which was “too far” for you.

As you boarded the driver side of her car, you sighed deeply thinking about if this was too much of a gesture. Giving someone food is one thing but making a home cooked meal was another.

“It’s fine, y/n. It’s fine. It’s just food, it’s not like your kissing him or something—okay wait, no. Just shut up and drive.” You muttered to yourself and started the engine.

↠↞

The gym that Jungkook trained at was about a fifteen to twenty minute drive from your house which meant it was most likely closer to his house. It was no secret where Jungkook trained, plus you had him on almost all of your social media platforms so you saw parts of what the gym looked like.

When you pulled into the parking lot, you spotted Jungkook’s car easily because of how bare the lot was at that time of night. You had time to abort your mission, but you found yourself stepping out of your vehicle and grabbing the bag from the passenger seat.

Entering the gym, there was a strong stench of overused body spray mixed with the tiniest tinge of sweat. There were a few people still using the exercise equipment and a few boys and girls working with a trainer. You took a couple of more steps inside and you easily spotted Jungkook sparring with his coach in the boxing ring towards the left wing of the gym. You approached the surrounding area cautiously, not wanting to distract Jungkook from his training.

You watched Jungkook take forceful jabs to the sparring equipment that his coach was holding. The sound of his boxing gloves hitting his coach’s punching mitts was intense, almost making you flinch with each punch. With the headgear blocking majority of his face, it was still clear it was Jungkook because of his strawberry blond hair.

From where you were standing, you could hear his coach tell him to take a break for a bit. He helped Jungkook remove his mouth guard and boxing gloves. Jungkook took off his headgear and ran a hand through his sweaty hair. He quickly glanced in your direction and took a double take just as quick. Jungkook climbed out of the ring and you met him half way as he wiped down his body with a towel.

“Hey, uh, this is a nice surprise.” Jungkook chuckled.

“Hi.” You said blankly. You didn’t realize you were spacing out until Jungkook waved his hand in front of your face. “I come bearing gifts.”

Before handing him the bag, Jungkook offered you a seat at a bench nearby. He sat down a couple of inches away from you, apologizing that he probably smells disgusting and is drenched with sweat.

“I couldn’t shake the thought of you being exhausted all day and you also mentioned that you had to make weight. So I took the liberty to meal prep you some food.” You explained and handed him the bag.

Jungkook smiled at you with a shocked expression and peered inside of the bag. He rummaged through the tupperware that were labeled with post its.

“Y/n, I--I don’t know what to say, thank you so much.” He couldn’t erase the smile from his lips and opened up the tupperware that contained a thick turkey wrap that was cut into two. There was also a batch of roasted sweet potatoes, parsnip, and red bell peppers stuffed inside. “Did you eat dinner yet?”

Well shit. You were so focused on cooking for Jungkook that you haven’t even eaten anything since that afternoon.

“N-No, I haven’t.”

“Great! No, not great but, wanna stay for about ten more minutes? I’m gonna do one more session and I want to share this with you.” Jungkook closed up the tupperware and stood up.

You were worried that Jungkook felt hesitant about eating the food you made yourself; with the help of your mother of course. But he looked extremely excited about asking you to eat with him that saying no didn’t seem like an option.

“Yeah, I’ll stay.” You answered sweetly.

“Okay, just sit tight.” He spoke, practically skipping all the way back to the boxing ring.

Before getting started, Jungkook and his coach exchanged a few words and peeked over Jungkook’s shoulder to wave at you. It was most likely he introduced you as his girlfriend; it was still a weird title to have under your belt.

It was exhilarating watching Jungkook in the ring. You didn’t mean to stare, but you found yourself gawking at his biceps that were glistening under the fluorescent lights. You remembered Jungkook being scrawny back in middle school and freshman year. Then all of sudden, he grew taller, gained muscles, and gained the habit of dying his hair often. Honestly, he had always been adorable but you never saw Jungkook in that way, ever. It was difficult to admit, but he looked attractive in his element.

That was it though. Just attractive.

The ten minutes flew by in a blink of an eye. He politely asked you to wait for another five minutes because he wanted to wash up before sitting in close proximity with you for the second time. Just like those ten minutes, the five minutes passed just as quickly. Jungkook came out from another room, waddling with his drenched hair bouncing everywhere and his duffle bag swinging from his side. He gestured you over to exit the gym which you were thankful for. The overwhelming smell of the body spray started to give you a headache.

↠↞

“Are you sure you want to share this with me? I made this for you, Jungkook.” You questioned as you sat on the parking block in the empty parking stall next to Jungkook’s car.

Jungkook tossed his duffle bag into the backseat of his car and proceeded to sit next to you. He changed into a dark gray track suit and still had water dripping from the ends of his hair.

“Yeah, I’m sure. I always drink some protein after training and that’s going to fill me up pretty well. You can have the other half of this wrap since you didn’t eat yet—oh fuck, my blender bottle.” He retreated back to his car and retrieved his blender bottle that already had a measured amount of protein powder and a bottle of water. “Have you made one of these before?”

You shook your head and he handed you both bottles and just as you were making his meal prep, you felt like you were going to ruin his protein.

“You see this line here? 12 ounce? Fill the blender up to there, close it tightly and then shake as if your life depended on it.” He instructed.

The instructions were simple and yet you still continued to second guess yourself over something so trivial. You did as you were told and as you shook the bottle, Jungkook laughed at the strained look you had on your face.

“Hey! Cut me some slack. I don’t shake protein on a regular basis.” You abruptly stopped the motion and Jungkook continued to laugh whilst pleading for forgiveness.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, it’s just--” Jungkook still failed to stifle his laughter. “Your face---” He took the bottle from your hands and imitated the look of your eyes screwed shut and your lips pursed closely to your teeth. Jungkook’s expression caused a burst a laughter to rise out of you and playfully shoved him off of the parking block.

“Just eat your food, Jeon!” You chuckled.

Jungkook recovered from him fit of laughter and proceeded to take the lid off the tupperware. Your fingers trembled as he handed you the other half of the wrap. While your eyes held the gaze of anxiety, he had the gaze of astonishment mixed with hunger.

“So, what’s in it?” He asked whilst examining the wrap.

“Uh, turkey breast slices, yellow bell pepper, spinach, tomato, and hummus.” As you explained, Jungkook lifted the wrap closer and closer to his mouth.

The deafening silence between the two of you as Jungkook bit and chewed was astounding. Your throat had gone dry and it felt as if your half of the wrap was going to slide out of your hands.

Jungkook abruptly stopped mid-chew and looked at you with his eyebrows knitted together. Your eyes turned into moons as you felt your heart break piece by piece.

“Y/n…” Jungkook mumbled slowly.

You swallowed the lump in your throat, trying to prepare yourself for the rejection of your food. However, you did expect it.

“This is fucking delicious.” He said in pure bliss. “I don’t ever eat anything like this, but holy shit, this is amazing.”

The disappointed look on your face twisted into a confused facial expression. “Really?! Are you sure?”

“Try it.”

Even after your mother’s approval and Jungkook’s compliment, you were still hesitant in taking a bite. Jungkook gestured at you to try the turkey wrap as he took his own bite.

You took a breath and proceeded to follow through with the action. After chewing for a bit, you came to the realization that, “wow, okay, this isn’t bad.”

“See?! It’s great!” Jungkook gave you a pat on the shoulder. “Why were you so nervous about it?”

“It’s because the only people I’ve ever cooked for are my mom and Jennie.” You explained. “I make the most basic things ever, so you know, of course I’d be nervous making you something that I made.”

He nodded his head and reached for one of the vegetables in the tupperware. “Well, I really appreciate it, y/n—for doing this, I mean. You didn’t have to.”

“I know.” You sighed. “I wanted to.”

Jungkook smiled at you with his cheeks puffed out from the food that he stuffed inside. You felt compelled to poke one of his cheeks, but you fought it because bringing him food was already as “intimate” as you could get.

You still found it hard to make the first move to hold Jungkook’s hand in school or even hook your arm with his. He always initiated skinship first which you were grateful for because you were obviously too chicken to do it yourself.

“So,” You started after swallowing another bite of the turkey wrap. “I uh--my mom, she uh, you know, knows.”

Jungkook stopped midway through his bite and stared at you with concerning eyes. “What happened?”

You began to tell the tale of your mother’s smart instincts. Jungkook’s cheeks flushed for a moment.

“She remembers you as the kid who put gum in my hair.” You gently nudged his shoulder and he snorted at the memory.

“Ah, yeah, I remember that. My mom got so mad at me.” He sighed and flicked at a lock of your hair with clean fingers. “Sorry about that, by the way.”

You envisioned the eleven year old version of Jungkook who “stealthily” stuck a wad of gum in your hair but tripping over someone’s backpack while trying to flee.

“It’s alright.” You chuckled and put your hand up.

Jungkook quickly finished the rest of his wrap and chugged half of his protein shake. “You want to try some? It’s chocolate.”

You hesitated at first, only because you had that split second thought of sharing an indirect kiss with him.

I need to stop watching anime.

After what seemed to be forever, you reached out and took a swig from his protein bottle and scrunched your nose.

“It tastes like...grass.” You shuddered and smacked your lips, still tasting the chocolately-grass flavored protein on your tongue.

Jungkook laughed sharply and escaped to grab another water bottle to give to you out of his duffle bag. “Yeah sorry, it’s a vegan protein. You get used to it when you drink it often.” He offered you another sip which you declined with a sour facial expression.

Your brain sifted through the thoughts that were racing inside of you and you thought about whether or not Chaeyoung was used to the taste of Jungkook’s protein flavor. You wondered if she ever gave him a home cooked meal or if she randomly showed up at the gym while he was training.

Duh. Of course she has y/n. She was his girlfriend.

You weren’t trying to compare yourself to Chaeyoung, but he did date her for three years which meant he was accustomed to random acts of flirtatious banter and actions. On the other hand, you were also used to those things but with Sehun, not Jungkook. It never really occurred to you before, but you wondered why he never hesitated to show public displays of affection to you; his breakup with Chaeyoung was just as “recent” as yours and yet it almost seemed like a second nature for him.

Just this once, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to ask.

“Hey Jungkook,” you began softly waiting for a signal from him to continue your words. “How is it so easy for you to do this?”

He tilted his head and pointed to his blender bottle. “Do what? Drink my protein?”

“No.” You chuckled. “I don’t know, pretend to be in this relationship with me. Pet names, holding my hand, you know, the works.”

Jungkook stretched his legs out in front of him and took a deep breath. “Honestly,” he started. “It isn’t easy.”

You raised an eyebrow. You weren’t expecting this answer at all.

“For three years, I’ve only affectionately held one girl’s hand and called only one girl babe or whatever. It’s all I’ve ever known--routine, you know. So, jumping right into something new terrified me a little, but I knew I had to be confident about this so Chaeyoung could finally leave me alone.” Jungkook explained.

This was probably one of the most serious moments you ever had with Jungkook. While you always made it known that you weren’t used to PDA with Jungkook, he remained confident with every move he made that you never suspected him to feel the same way as you did. It was honestly impressive.

Also, Jungkook was right. He had to do this in order for Chaeyoung to finally get off his back. Although you held his hand in the hallways and hugged him whenever he initiated it, Chaeyoung and her lackeys could probably tell from a mile away that there was something suspicious just from the look in your eyes; a woman’s intuition.

If you put as much effort as Jungkook did in the beginning, then maybe this whole thing would be over much quicker. After all, that was the stipulations of this fake relationship: it would last until Chaeyoung gives up. You also had a hidden goal embedded in this relationship which was to make Sehun jealous. Selfish? Yes. Did you care? A little.

You left the conversation as that and carefully eased into a different subject. Jungkook never questioned your question, he just casually followed your lead.

You decided to spend another ten minutes with Jungkook before deciding to head home; it was still a school night. Jungkook tidied up the backseat of his car to make proper room for the bag of meal prep so it wouldn’t fall over while he drove.

“By the way, am I still picking you up tomorrow morning?” Jungkook asked taking the bag from you.

“Yeah, if you still want to.” You gave yourself a few more seconds before continuing. “My mom actually starts a little later than normal tomorrow, so if you want to come out to say hi then..”

Jungkook took a noticeable breath and rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, yeah. I’d love to say hi. I’ll stop by the usual time.”

You nodded your head and waited for Jungkook to ready himself to get into the driver’s seat. Instead, he shut the backseat door and gestured you your car. You cocked an eyebrow and spun around on your heel with Jungkook walking closely behind you.

“New car?” He asked.

“No, my mom’s.” You unlocked the car and just as he’s done every single time, Jungkook moved ahead of you to open the car door. You placed your phone into one of the cupholders and opened the middle console to double check if your wallet was still there.

There was a voice inside your head screaming at you to turn the fuck around and give Jungkook a hug or at least a high five. You hesitated because it’s what you do, but the voice grew louder and louder until your thoughts boiled over.

Without saying a single word, you emerged turned around and reached out to wrap your arms around Jungkook’s torso. He stumbled a bit before finding his footing. You knew you caught him off guard because it took him a few seconds before he snaked his arms underneath your hair to secure them around your neck.

“U-Uh--” Jungkook stammered.

This was your cue to release him and you did just that.

“Drive safe.” You playfully swatted his chest, making him flinch and then sliding into your mother’s car.

“You too. Drive safe.” Jungkook closed the car door and before he shifted his body, you caught a glimpse of a smile on his face. You started the engine and rolled the windows down. Jungkook turned back around to you and you waved him off so he could go to his car. He also waved goodbye and you waited until he got into his car before you pulled out of the parking stall.

The hug you gave him was going to be the first of many that you were going to initiate first. You promised yourself to actually act like a girlfriend for once. Hugs were a bit on the easy side for you because you didn’t need to look at him while doing it. Little by little, you were going to push yourself to initiate PDA towards Jungkook. Sehun would get jealous, Chaeyoung would officially call it quits with Jungkook and then everything would go back to normal.

↠↞

You loved it whenever your mother started later in the mornings. This meant you could sit at the table with her and chat before heading to school. It was rare for her to be home before you went to school because even on her days off, she would catch up on some sleep.

It was a quiet Wednesday morning and you were enjoying a plate of waffles drizzled with maple syrup and dusted with powdered sugar. Your mother sliced you up a few strawberries and poured you a nice tall glass of orange juice. Whenever she prepared a decent size breakfast like this, it reminded you of your childhood; breakfast with your parents on a typical Sunday morning with you begging your father to add whipped cream to your waffles and your mother nagged at you to not pile on more sugar on your breakfast. There wasn’t a lot of memories stored in your headspace, but you cherished them all.

“So that’s what you were working on yesterday.” You forked a slice of your waffle into your mouth.

“Yeah. I don’t know why the head honcho decided to move the meeting today on such short notice.” Your mother spoke from the kitchen, spooning another serving of the batter into the waffle maker. “At least I finished it, but I might be coming home an hour or two late because today’s schedule got completely rearranged.”

Nowadays, it was not uncommon for you to be home alone or alone until late hours of the night. Over the years, your mother worked hard and became head of her department in the office. By the time you were a sophomore, she went on a few business trips that left you home alone for a few weekends. You had to admit, it was a bit lonely at times, but you were extremely proud of her accomplishments.

Your phone vibrated against the hardwood of the dining table with a surprising text message from Jungkook.

[6:53] jeon kook: Outside

Your fork clattered on top of the plate and you bolted towards your driveway, disregarding your mother’s question.

“I thought the usual time meant 7:15?” You questioned Jungkook as he stood at the passenger side of his car, flattening out his shirt and ruffling his hair. He nonchalantly opened his car and pulled out a drink carrier that held three drinks.

Your eyes grew wide and your jaw dropped slightly.

“What--What is going on?” You asked suspiciously.

“Iced hazelnut latte for you and two orange-mango iced teas because I don’t know how your mom takes her coffee.” Jungkook explained holding up the carrier and shutting the car door.

“O-Okay.” You stuttered, still confused as to why he was doing this. “Let’s go in then.”

As the two of you walked up the pavement, you suddenly remembered this would technically be the first time he’s been in your home; the one time during elementary didn’t count because it was for your birthday party. Jungkook would be stepping into your home as your “boyfriend” and it was nerve wracking. Was your mother going to embarrass you? Were you going to embarrass yourself?

“Mom!” You called out, almost hesitant to let Jungkook inside. “Jungkook is here.”

You stepped out of the way to let Jungkook in who was struggling to kick hi shoes off before entering.

“H-Hi! Good morning Mrs--”

“Oh just call me ‘auntie’, Jungkook. It’s alright.” Your mother always instructed your friends to call her ‘auntie’ while Jennie called her ‘mom’.

“A-Auntie..” Jungkook repeated with a small smile. “I’m sorry to drop by on short notice.”

“It’s no problem. Have a seat and have some breakfast before you two head out.” At your mother’s words, you flashed her wide eyes. Even if this was all apart of the relationship package, you only prepared yourself for them to exchange greetings not have an entire conversation over breakfast.

“I don’t know how you take your coffee--or if you even like coffee, so I got you an orange-mango iced tea.” Jungkook took a few steps forward, nervous to enter the kitchen. You gave him a gentle push and he glided across your wooden floor to hand over her beverage.

“Oh, Jungkook, thank you.” She traded the drink with a plate of waffles for him to indulge in.

As he walked back towards you, you gave him a reassuring “okay” sign with your fingers. Jungkook seemed to want extra “good-boyfriend-points” and he seemed to be on the right track.

↠↞

Breakfast with your mother went surprisingly well.

One of the first things Jungkook said was an apology for ruining your hair and with a full hearted laugh, she forgave him. Your mother asked about school and shockingly, he didn’t quite lie about his academic performance. He expressed his struggle to focus in class sometimes and he was glad to have you tutor him from time to time. Nothing embarrassing, nothing too cringey, everything went exceptionally well.

Your mother thanked Jungkook for picking you up and also thanked him once again for the iced tea as you two were preparing to leave. She even witnessed him open the car door for you. You have to admit, you were impressed and proud of Jungkook for doing this.

“I’m pretty sure she likes you.” You commented and rolled down your window.

Jungkook chuckled and slicked his hair back. “Of course, why wouldn’t she?”

“Oh my god, I take it back.” You leaned further away from him, cringing at his greasiness.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding!” Jungkook gently tugged at your wrist to bring you back to how you were sitting before. “I swear I was shitting bricks though, but your mom is a lot easier to talk to than what I thought.”

You smiled as you listened to Jungkook rant about how he couldn’t sleep last night because he was too nervous. His eyes flickered from you back to the road and even still holding onto your wrist, he still spoke with a few hand gestures. This would have been your cue to wriggle yourself free, but you suppressed the urge. You had to get comfortable somehow, someway and this was your way of trying.

“By the way, how does your mom take her coffee?” Jungkook released your wrist as he reversed his car into a parking stall.

“Straight up black. Iced or hot. Ugh, it tastes disgusting.” You shivered and rubbed your wrist.

“I guess I’ll bring that over the next time I meet with you two.”

Small words were exchanged as the two of you exited Jungkook’s car. You had both of your backpacks at your footside during the whole car ride and he walked over to your side to take his bag from you, you offered to put it on for him. He squinted his eyes at you, wondering what you were up to this time. But you nudged him on to slip his arms through the straps.

“Hmm, y/n. What’s going on? First the meal prep then--oh fuck, my waffles!” Jungkook thrashed around and quickly opened the passenger side door of his car to reach for the ziploc with extra waffles that your mother made for him. “Anyway, first the meal prep, then that hug you gave me--which by the way, you never do first. During breakfast, you dressed up my waffles for me and now your helping me put on my bag? What exactly are you planning, Ms. y/n?”

You rolled your eyes at him. “First of all, at my house, it’s called manners. Second of all, I’m not planning anything. I’m just...playing my part.”

Jungkook chuckled and slyly weaved his fingers in between yours because of the amount of students that were in the parking lot.

“Well, whatever pushed that on, I’m glad it did. Chaeyoung was seriously doubting us.” He whispered.

“You know that for certain?” You asked intrigued because he did sound certain.

“Yeah, she told me.” Jungkook kept his hushed tone. “Remember at the diner? She went on and on saying that you didn’t seem like a ‘girlfriend’ because you acted differently with Sehun or whatever. I told her to just mind her business.”

A quiet sigh slipped past your lips. Chaeyoung wasn’t wrong, which was why you were trying your best to push past your boundaries and act like a better girlfriend. Jungkook hasn’t done anything that you didn’t like. He always quietly warned you if he was going to do something out of the ordinary like a back hug. You were always grateful for this, so you needed to meet him halfway for once.

“I--” You started. “I’ll try my best to do better, okay?”

Jungkook smiled at you and shook his bangs out of his eyes. “Thanks.”

He guided you all the way to your locker and leaned against the cool metal. This was practically routine for the two of you; you’d head to your locker first to grab whatever textbooks you needed for first and second period, then head over to Jungkook’s locker to grab a single notebook.

“Any plans for lunch?” Jungkook asked as he entered his locker combination.

“I was going to go to the math lab. I have to go over some criteria with Chanyeol since I didn’t get to stay for a full meeting for the past week.” You explained.

“I feel like that’s my fault since you’ve been helping me with my math work. Sorry about that.” Jungkook kept his head in his locker searching for god knows what.

“It’s no...problem.” You said barely above a whisper. Across the hall, you easily spotted Sehun with his group of friends chilling against another row of lockers. There was no doubt that he was staring right at you while his friends became background noise.

It wasn’t fair. You wouldn’t need to be making Sehun jealous in the first place if you two didn’t break up in the first place. You and Sehun would have been happy together and nothing would be messy right now.

Ugh. Shut up, y/n.

You didn’t even need to make Sehun jealous in the first place; this was just you being selfish. Sehun became unhappy at some point in the relationship and you had a personal duty to show him that you were happy with someone else.

“I guess I’m seeing you after school then.” Jungkook shut his locker, making you break the eye contact with Sehun. He kept his back turned without knowing who or what you were staring at.

“Yeah.” You absentmindedly tugged at Jungkook’s shirt to smooth out a couple of the wrinkles that splayed across. In return, he gently pushed a few hairs out of your face with his fingertips.

“Alright, let’s get you to class, Ms. y/n.” Jungkook took the textbook out of your grasp so he could properly hold your hand.

As you laced your hand into Jungkook’s, you stole a glance of Sehun whose eyes were still trained on you. You swore to yourself once again that you were going to show Sehun that you were happy with your boyfriend, Jungkook. Sehun was going to have to watch in the background as you walked the halls of the school with someone who wasn’t him.

Your class was in the opposite direction of where Sehun stood with his friends. Just as you started to walk off with Jungkook, you softly squeezed his hand and lean your head against his shoulder. There was an intense feeling of eyes piercing through the back of your head and just before Jungkook could look down at your face, you smirked.

Bingo.

♡ rae jagi

#bangtan boys #bts #jungkook #bts scenarios #jungkook scenarios #fake relationship au #high school au #bts angst #bts fluff #jungkook angst #jungkook fluff #baby kookie #rae writes

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i-think-2-much · 5 years

Text

Morgan Stark+Babysitter Peter Parker

Peter nearly lost his balance as Karen’s voice startled the white noise of the city below him. He had been perched on his favorite gargoyle (a hilariously deformed figure on the roof of an apartment complex on 54th and 3rd) for what felt like an hour, his vision scanning the streets for some sign of trouble. It was relaxing. The only sounds were the hum of conversation, cars, and various machines that blended together into a pleasant, familiar hum. The wind that came along with being so high whipped past him, gently cooling him and preventing the spider suit from getting too hot.

That’s when Karen spoke up, “You have a call.”

He was in such a meditative state that when Karen’s clear, robotic voice shattered the silence, he jumped and had to scramble to keep himself on the gargoyle, “Oh jeez, Karen! You scared me!”

“Peter. You’ve fought aliens, monsters, and fought in a war unlike any seen by an Earthen, and you got scared by a voice?” Karen asked, confused.

“Well, yeah,” Peter huffed, trying to get his heart rate under control, “It came out of nowhere and-- wait, you said I have a call? From who?”

“Pepper Potts.”

Peter blinked, “Weird. I don’t really talk to her that often. Answer it, please,” Peter let a moment pass before launching into his usual phone call introduction, “Hey, you’ve reached Peter Parker. What can I do for you today Ms. Potts. No wait! Mrs. Stark, right? You guys got married while I was… you know. I’m sorry. This has already turned sad. What’s up?”

“I just found an old upgrade Tony was planning on making for your suit, and I was wondering if you wanted to swing by and pick it up. I can’t make any sense of it, but you’re a clever kid. You might be able to figure it out,” Pepper explained.

“Yeah, I’ll make sure to drop by Miss uh…” Peter hesitated, “What do you want me to call you?”

“Pepper is fine.”

“Okay, Pepper,” Peter affirmed, testing out the name, “Any specific time?”

Pepper sighed, “Just whenever you can. I’m going to be working from home all day. Morgan’s babysitter quit without any warning and I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

Peter hadn’t run into the daughter of Tony Stark very many times. He didn’t interact with the Starks as much as he wanted to, really. He had always been closer to Tony than Pepper, and now since they didn’t have Tony in common, it was sort of awkward. The two couldn’t be any more different: the single mother who was CEO of Stark industries and was constantly finding new tech in her house, and the high schooler who could barely get his homework done because he just happened to be a superhero. Or maybe they could be more different. Whatever the reason was, Peter and Pepper never clicked like they had with Tony.

Due to their lack of a relationship, Peter hadn’t seen much of Morgan. He spoke to her briefly at Mr. Stark’s funeral, and a few times at the formal events Pepper was sometimes forced to make her attend when her babysitters backed out. Still, Peter could hear the stress and the frustration leaking through his suit’s speakers.

He already regretted his decision, but spoke anyway, “You know, the city’s really calm right now. I could keep an eye on Morgan for a bit. I’m generally pretty good at making sure people don’t kill themselves or die in some form. I should be able to keep her alive. Other than that, I make no promises.”

Pepper laughed, but it was tense, “I appreciate the thought, but it’s okay.”

Peter pushed himself to his feet, “Okay, well then I’ll just swing by webber you want me to or not,”

Pepper sighed, “Can you superhero types go a day without making a pun?”

“Sorry Miss, that’s against my contract,” Peter joked.

“Just come pick up this upgrade before Morgan finds it and does something she’s not supposed to,” Pepper pleaded.

Peter took a few steps back, crouched into a sprinting stance, and took off in a mad sprint. When he reached the end of the building, he pushed off with all his might, effectively launching himself in the air.

He hung with a final, “On my way,” and turned his attention to the challenge in front of him. He sent out a web and gripped the coarse cord. He’d probably have to find somewhere to change and just take the bus to the Stark’s place… Or he could just hitch a ride on a bus. Was that legal?

Peter dismissed the concept and turned his mind to other matters, “Karen? Would you please call Aunt May for me?”

The speaker in his suit rang a few times before the woman picked up, “Hey Peter! Everything alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I helped a kid get home after school. He got lost, so I gave him a ride. That was adorable. And I managed to prevent a bank robbery the second it started. This dude was acting, like, super suspicious, so I followed him into a bank and caught him as soon as he took out his gun. Not a single shot fired.

“ Anyway, I just got a call from Pepper—you know, Tony’s Pepper— and she found a suit upgrade Tony had been working on before… Anyway, she wants me to pick it up ASAP. Apparently Morgan has developed an interest for that sort of stuff.”

May let out a little laugh, “Well then you and Morgan have a lot in common. How are you planning on getting there?”

Peter had to dodge a particularly low-flying bird before answering, “I’ll just take the bus. It’s not too long of a ride,”

“Don’t you have an essay due soon?” May reminded him.

He considered the problem before making a decision, “I can type it out on my phone during the bus ride. It’ll be fine.”

May sighed, “Okay, fine, just stay safe. I lost you for five years. I never want to lose you again. You know how much I love you, right?”

“Yeah, don’t worry. I love you too. I love you too.”

With immense difficulty, Peter located the next bus to the Stark’s neighborhood and secured himself a little spider-nest on the top and began typing away. Thankfully, he had had the foresight to download a digital copy of the book he was analyzing, which meant that he could just switch between his writing app and the ebook. It was annoying, but doable. By the time the bus was off the highway, his essay was completed and sent to Ned for a peer review.

Not too long after that, Peter found himself ringing the doorbell of the Stark’s house. He hadn’t been on this property since Tony’s funeral. He could remember crying on the bench on the front porch with May running her hands through her hair mumbling reassurances, but May hadn’t been there. She wasn’t the one holding him as the life faded out of his body. Watching as the life—

Pepper opened the door, pulling him out of her thoughts, “You’re wearing your suit? Of course you are. Why not. Come in.”

Peter lowered his mask as he entered the house. He had briefly seen it during the funeral, but he was a bit distracted. Now that his eyes weren’t blurry from tears, he could admire the rustic decor. It drastically juxtaposed with his original expectations of the Stark’s home. The CEO of the most powerful company in the US and one of the generation’s greatest innovators lived in a warm, quaint, older home without the stainless steel accents and whites Peter had expected.

“You have a lovely home,” Peter notified Pepper.

Pepper brushed a strand of hair that had escaped her ponytail behind her ear, “Yeah, Tony built it himself. I had no idea what he was up to. I actually got mad at him, because I was pregnant and he just ran off, but then he showed me…”

Peter brushed a hand against their kitchen table, studying the wood grain, “And let me guess, the Table’s actually a 3D model rendering system that can be used for calculating quantum theories?” He speculated.

“I’m pretty sure you were being sarcastic, but it actually is,” Pepper confessed.

“Oh no, I wasn’t. Mr. Stark always thinks of everything. He made me a space suit and a parachute built into this suit.”

“Mama, can we please play now?” A small voice pleaded from the adjacent room, “It’s been ages.”

The tiny girl went around the corner and froze at the sight of Peter, “There is a weird human in our house. You’re human, right?”

Peter grinned, “Yeah. I’m Peter Parker.”

The girl smirked and crossed her arms, “No you’re not. You’re Spider-Man.”

Peter froze, “How did you—“ he paused and looked down at his Spider-Man suit, “Oh.”

Morgan walked over and grabbed Pepper’s leg, “Mama, why is Spider-Man at our house?”

“Daddy made something for him awhile ago before everyone came back. He just came to pick it up,” Pepper explained.

Morgan gasped, her hands darting to cover her mouth in disbelief, “Daddy knew Spider-Man!”

“She’s a fan,” Pepper explained. Morgan just stared at Peter in awe.

Peter grinned at the little girl’s adorable reaction. He lowered himself to her level and made eye contact with her, “I knew your daddy very well. He made me my suit and—“ tears welled up in his eyes”— and taught me almost everything I needed to know about being a superhero. He made me an avenger, a good person, and a hero. In fact, he was like a dad to me in some ways. I really miss him.”

“Daddy was pretty cool,” Morgan agreed, “He was friends with Scarlett Witch and promised me he’d teach me how to make my own radio,”her face fell, “but he never got around to it.”

The look on her face broke Peter’s heart. She was so hopeless and resigned…

He made up his mind right then, “Maybe I’ll have to teach you,” he decided, “If it’s okay with your mom, I’ll show you right now.”

Peter looked up at Pepper. He took some delight at seeing the surprise written on her face as she protested, “No, Peter, you don’t have to—“

“Pepper, please, it’s the least I can do. Besides, she’s a Stark. Something tells me that if no one shows her, she’ll figure it out herself eventually. I might as well save her the time.”

“Please Mommy!” Morgan pleaded, using a child’s most important tool: the puppy eyes.

“Fine,” Pepper relented, “All of our scraps are in the garage.”

Morgan squealed in excitement and gripped her mother’s leg tighter before letting go and snatching Peter’s arm. Morgan pulled him into the garage and showed Peter to the scrap pile.

Peter rubbed his hands together, “Okay, so how about I get everything we need and then I’ll explain everything to you.”

Morgan seated herself on the floor and nodded.

Peter rummaged through the pile and gathered everything they would need, “Okay, so now… oh. Uh…” he turned to look at Morgan, “What do you know about radios?”

“When you turn the dial, it’s a different song. That’s it,” Morgan admitted.

“Well okay. Do you want me to explain it quickly or the real way?” Peter inquired.

Morgan perked up and squeaked, “The real way!”

“You sure? It’s gonna be a bit harder to understand,” Peter warned.

“I can do it!” Morgan slammed her firsts against the ground with a loud BANG.

Peter raised his hands up in surrender, “Okay, jeesh. So there’s something called radio waves…”

Morgan was a surprisingly good student for someone so young. She was eager, constantly grabbing things straight from Peter’s hands, and forgot everything that Peter told her, but Peter expected worse. After lots of consideration and promises that she would be careful, Peter let her solder a wire or two, but for the most part Peter did all of the hot stuff. Morgan’s job was to line everything up and to learn.

By the time they were done, the radio was a mess. Peter would have done a much better job on his own, but that didn’t matter.

He raised an eyebrow at Morgan, “Okay. I think it’s ready!”

Morgan gasped, “Really!”

Peter shrugged, “Only one way to find out,” he held their small metal box of wires out to her, “Do you remember which one was the switch?”

Morgan nodded and pressed it. Immediately, Black Sabbath filled the room. Morgan squealed of joy, the sound twisting with the heavy bass of the band.

Peter barked out a laugh at the girl’s reaction, “You did it!”

“And then we change the channel by doing…” She frowned at the device, “THIS!”

The song was replaced with some song by Imagine Dragons. Morgan squealed again, “Can I show my Mama?”

Peter nodded, “Yeah, I’ll come with you!”

Morgan sprinted out of the garage with surprising speed. Peter had to run after her in order to keep up.

“Mama! Mama! Look what me and Spider-Man made!” Morgan squealed to a closed door.

There was a short scuffle from the other side of the door before Pepper opened it and knelt down, “Oh, what is it?” She asked, feigning ignorance, “Is it… your lunch?”

Morgan giggled, “No, silly! We made a radio! See!”

Morgan pressed the button and shone with pride as the music blasted out of the speakers.

Pepper raised her eyebrows in surprise, as if she hadn’t been expecting their endeavors to be so successful, “Wow! It sounds so good!”

“I know! And look! It can change songs!” Morgan squealed, showing her how she turned the knobs for the channel and volume, “Spidey said that the numbers we see on our car radio are actually the frequencies of radio waves!” She launched into an explanation that summarize exactly what Peter had just explained to her, going into the science and everything.

Peter laughed when she finished, “Wow, Morgan. I’m surprised you remembered that much.”

Morgan seemed even more surprised than Peter, “I just listened and asked questions.”

A small, wistful smile wormed its way onto Pepper’s face, “Well, she is a Stark after all.”

———-

“But MOOOooooOom,” Morgan complained as Peter slipped his hood back on, “Does Spider-Man have to leave?”

“He has school in the morning, honey,” Pepper chided.

Morgan crossed her arms with a “Hmph”. She moaned before relenting, “Fine. Bye Peter. I love you… Ten. That’s close to one hundred, right?”

Peter couldn’t help but smile, “Close enough.”

#peter parker #spiderman #funny #cute #fluff #domestic #one shot #head canon #morgan stark #pepper potts #pepper stark #endgame #spoilers #end game

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apathycares · 5 years

Note

general relationship headcanons for Bakugou, shoto and dabi? btw, any rules for this blog like NSFW and hard limits?? good luck with this blog!!!💗💗

General Relationship Headcanons

First of all, thank you so much 😀

To answer your question though, I did plan to put up some rules or something along those lines but I thought about it and I’ve decided against it. I kinda wanna try writing stuff I’d generally avoid. Once upon a time, I only wrote for humour, and now look at me! Getting all romantic and shit. So, if you’d like me to do some NSFW or some sketchy shit, let’s tussle.

Thanks again. I hope you like this.

※ Warnings: none!

※ Pairings: Bakugou x Reader, Todoroki x Reader, Dabi x Reader

Bakugou Katsuki

Bakugou is in a relationship?!

And honestly, who would believe him, knowing how he was.

You knew about his crush on you before he knew about his crush on you. The guy wasn’t really subtle when he liked someone a little more than the rest.

At first you thought he was a little more gentle towards his friends in general, up until he “casually” asked what type of guy you’d be into.

You gasped, to his chargrin, then with a sly smirk asked him out on a date.

Bakugou holds that against you. Any disagreements, any fights you ever have always ends with a “Well I guess you shouldn’t have asked me out on a fucking date first!!” or “Guess you’re regretting asking me out first huh?!”

He’s a little insecure.

For your anniversaries, valentine’s day and the like, unless you spell out what you’d like a few days prior, he wouldn’t really do anything special.

To him, stuff like that is unnecessary and dumb.

If you really want him to be a certain way, you’d have to bait him.

“You know, I was talking to Yuki the other day and apparently her boyfriend bought her some diamond earrings.”

“………”

“And apparently, it was for no special occasion. No reason. It was just a token of his lov-”

“SHUT YOUR FACE I’LL BE BACK.”

Proceeds to buy you a whole set.

He’s a little private with this relationship.

Therefore, your regular dates consists of taking walks in secluded areas (ex: beach in the night), chatting and snacking in each other’s rooms, and the occasional lunches in slightly pricey restaurants.

Bakugou becomes handsy when your attention is away from him. Especially if you’re ignoring him. He will either disrupt what you’re doing with an angry pout at the least or wreck it at most.

In terms of affection, he likes playing hard to get. He’ll demand invite you over after a while of not seeing each other and you’d think that any normal boyfriend would jump you immediately.

Oh no. Bakugou grunts at your arrival and continues to do whatever he was doing prior. He gets off on seeing you irritatedly climb onto his lap or grab his shoulder and jerk him around to face you.

He’ll keep the uninterested act going for a bit, looking away and avoiding your touch. Depending on your mood you’ll either -

Kiss him because you’ve missed him, and he’d loosen up almost immediately, so that when you pull away you both smile at each other lovingly before going in for another one.

Ditch him because he’s being annoying, and he’d barricade the door first before ravaging you.

Since his parents are in the fashion industry, Bakugou always critiques you on what you’re wearing. He even steals a few pieces he likes from their collections and gifts them to you, claiming you’d make it work better than those hungry models.

His mom doesn’t like you immediately, his dad does.

Not that Bakugou cares.

During a particular dinner date with his family (it was his dad’s birthday and of course he announced to his parents that you’d be joining them) his mother made a snide comment about his choice in partner.

“Actually Bakugou-san, I’m the one who initially asked him out.”

The table went quiet for a moment, before the older woman bursts out in an obnoxious laughter eerily similar to her son’s, who was glowering angrily at you in silence. You politely smile despite your confusion, and glance at the only other sane person on the table, Papa Bakugou, who nervously chuckles, knowing exactly what his wife was on about.

“Oh, I was so wrong about you!”

“…excuse me?”

“I never knew Katsuki would take up from his father in his love life!” Mama Bakugou leans in with a warm grin, her eyes full of mischief. “Safe to say the Bakugou men like a woman who knows what she wants.”

You’ve never heard Bakugou cuss someone out as much as he did that night.

But, you got along better with his mom and that’s all that mattered right?

“We are never going back there.”

Guess not.

“Sure, I got what I needed anyways.”

“Hah?”

You lean in until you’re inches from his face, enough to think that you’re about to kiss him as his eyes fall to your stretching lips, only for you to whisper, “Apparently you like a girl who takes charge huh?”

He grunts, pressing his forehead to yours, just about to kiss you, when you confess -

“And baby pictures for future blackmail reference.”

Todoroki Shouto

Todoroki is in a relationship?!

All the females (and the occasional few men) were devastated when this came to light.

Thanks to Endeavour’s A+ parenting skills, this boy was pitifully clueless in everything not heroics.

So, when he first feels…differently about you, he thinks something’s wrong with him.

Of course he asks his mom the next time he visits her, whom, with a gentle smile, tells him he has feelings towards you.

You’re a little confused as to why he pulls you aside and asks to talk somewhere private, and even more confused when he has the gall to tell you about his newfound feelings and not ask you on a date but rather he has to think about them before he acts upon them (or not).

You don’t know whether you’re flattered (because it’s Todoroki) or offended (because he asked you to remain single until he figured it out).

Deciding to humour him a bit, you agree and go about your week.

It takes him about two weeks before he decides he wants to experience a relationship with you and approaches you at lunch. As soon as he voices these thoughts, you nod your head, fighting back a smile as you tell him you need to think about it before answering.

“Oh.”

“Yup. I’m going to disappear for a while and see if I like you.”

He tilts his head, eyebrows raised as he says, “If you didn’t like me back, you wouldn’t have agreed or waited for me back then.”

Your smile drops like hot potatoes.

“In fact, I don’t think any normal person would do that. Maybe you like me more.”

“N-no! I…uh…”

“That’s why I like you too.”

Todoroki is a precious good boyfriend.

If he meets someone, anyone, he’ll immediately introduce you as his significant other.

That may not seem out of character for any regular boyfriend, but imagine stopping conversations just to make that announcement.

“Midoriya, Iida, this is my girlfriend.”

“Oh it’s a pleasure to finally meet yo-”

“Yaoyorozu, this is my girlfriend.”

“Oh, ah -”

“Kaminari, this is my girlfriend.”

“Hey-”

“Kirishima -”

“Shouto! Stop running up to people only to cut them off, that’s rude!”

Todoroki turns away from Kirishima, looking between you and his shocked classmates, before nodding. You smile, about to start a conversation with Midoriya and Iida (i.e. where he left you) when you notice Todoroki tapping furiously on his phone. You exchange looks with his friends before approaching him and asking what he was doing.

“I’m texting a picture of you to everyone I associate with.”

“Oh boy.”

Todoroki is totally the type to research on how to be a good boyfriend.

You’re always recieving flowers and the like so often that the particular store he buys them off of know you two by name.

He is very diligent with anniversaries and special occasions. He’ll go more than all out for you.

Eventually will stop referring to online when he gets to know you, but leaves a long review on a site that he preferred to follow about his findings and experience in order to help the next lovesick fool.

Todoroki is touch starved.

You grab his hand one day and at first he doesn’t seem fazed or affected by the change.

But the next time you see each other, he immediately holds your hand like he missed it. It breaks your heart every time (in a good way).

He likes it when you play with his hair.

Your usual dates can be anything from movie marathons, going to fairs and amusement parks, and chilling under a kotatsu telling stories to each other.

It’s probably after a few months of dating that he kisses you.

After that door is open, congratulations, you’ve just won a koala bear.

As in, his clinginess is OVER 9000!

You meet his family soon after his affection skyrockets, starting with his mother, whom is a little weary but gradually warms up to you after she sees how happy Shouto is.

His siblings like you instantly and attempt to get you to spill stuff about their baby brother, before he promptly pushes you out of the house.

And of course, he runs into his father as he’s leaving.

“So you are the distraction!” Endeavour booms as soon as he sees his son’s hands on your shoulders.

Before your boyfriend blows up on his dad in your honour, you touch his hand, bringing his attention to you, before you bow graciously to Endeavour and drag Todo with you. You both aren’t out of earshot when Endeavour calls out to you two with a sly, “If you are able to tame my Shouto so easily, young lady, I will allow this little courtship.”

“Hmm, that was easier than I thought.” You admit non-commitedly as soon as you two were alone. His opinion didn’t really matter enough to Todo for you to care anyways.

“Let’s see what that bastard has to say when I propose to you.”

“Huh?!”

“…..huh?”

Dabi

Shigaraki asked Dabi to go get information from the LOV’s personal source, and when Dabi didn’t find anyone to dump the burden on, he grudgingly went himself.

What kind of person would help that twit enough for him to trust anyways?

Who would’ve thought that the personal source for the villains would be so…

Well, you.

He crudely asked if you were seeing anyone right off the bat, and when you replied with an irritated, “Yes, now cork it and listen.” he could’ve sworn you said you were taken.

But all he heard was “Yes, now cork them and listen.”

As in you gave him permission to snuff them out.

Shigaraki was royally pissed and threw a whole tantrum when Dabi came back and told him the wrong information, only finding out when one of his villains were captured by the police.

He was tasked with getting the job done in the end.

“ - and Shigaraki Tomura has decided not to send you to our source in the coming future.”

“What?”

Dabi took to the streets after that, avoiding populated areas, and occasionally threatening to burn the scum who attempted to talk to him. Why did assholes decide to bother him when he least wanted to be bothered?

He’s turning a corner when he stumbles upon you and a random group of thugs, in what seems to be like you exchanging information with them.

Dabi leans against the wall and waits for you to be done, when one of the thugs grabs your hand out of nowhere.

He burns them all to ashes.

You stand there, shell shocked, as you watch the men scream in pure agony before they’re reduced to nothing, and then your horrified eyes look up and see the same asshole Shigaraki sent days ago.

There’s something sickeningly beckoning about the way the blue flames barely lick your face before diminishing before your eyes, pulling you to nearly step over the remains of your associates to follow it. As soon as you realize what’s in front of you, the spell is broken and you’re focus is snapped back on.

“What is wrong with you?! These people pay me good money and now you’ve gone and did that!” You scold him, waving at the pile in front of you with disgust. “Oh god…”

“I save you from those pigs and that’s all you have to say to me?”

You sneer. “Don’t get all presumptuous, you’re no Hero.”

“Hmm, you’re probably right but,” he’s walking towards you as he talks, tone absolutely smug when he steps over the grotesque mush and you stare dead into his eyes. Eyes bluer than his flames. “You’re still blushing like I am.”

“E-even so,” you push past him, nose scrunching as you evade his mess. “I don’t like what you did.”

“Me neither.”

“What?”

“I don’t like what you did either.”

You don’t stop again to ask him what he meant, and you don’t see him much after that.

In fact, the next time you see him is weeks after that and he began to drop by wherever you were as often as possible.

A little too often.

Often enough to find out about your significant other - your child.

At first he’s torn between relief that you weren’t really involved with anyone, surprise that you of all people had a kid, and doubt on whether or not he could deal with that.

You tell him about your little girl Yuki, who wasn’t biologically yours, how you found her abandoned and hungry. She made the bleakness of your days a little more bearable.

Dabi decides then and there that he’d protect the both of you, and leaves without a word.

You think he’s not interested in you anymore and feel a little heartbroken for a while, only for him to return the next day, pursuing you as if nothing happened.

You don’t really date as much as you two meet up and spend time together, as that was the most ideal thing for two villains in love.

Was he in love with you? A hard yes. He wouldn’t be going through all the motions of sneaking out of the bar and finding you if he didn’t.

One of his favourite things to do was tease you enough to get you blushing. Amongst other reactions.

Dabi loves it when you kiss him out of nowhere, your body pressing onto him as you claw at his own, begging for his attention, only for you to abruptly pull away with a sly smile and run off leaving him flustered and irritated.

The needy dance you two had was addicting.

Eventually, when you learn of his past, you give him a gentle kiss and assure him you’re there to stay for however long your run may be.

“And of course, you’ll quit helping that twit as proof.”

“As long as you’re willing to get a relatively normal job and -”

“Nope sweetheart, not happening.”

“Well then, that twit stays.”

And if you’re wondering, Imma keep using Yuki as a filler character every. Time.

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all-things-skam · 5 years

Note

Hey! I love your writing, so I thought I’d send you an idea with the prompts 69 and 30 :-) how about something set after the fight where both of them are sulking and (obviously) missing each other. Edoardo goes out to get drunk with his boys as a distraction and ends up calling ele in the middle of the night and she picks him up?

Incantava angst please! Edoardo regretting that he offered up the breakup and Eleonora wishing she had said something. Skam Italia’s silence over Easter break is killing me 😭

30. ‘‘I don’t feel well…’‘

69. ‘‘You’re drunk. The night’s over.’‘

Title: Drunken pillowtalk

Ship: Skam Italia | Eleonora Sava and Edoardo Incanti (Incantava)

After tossing and turning for over an hour and half in her bed, Eleonora came to the conclusion that sleep wouldn’t come easy tonight. She even tried a relaxing herbal tea that would hopefully help her find sleep but, the camomile didn’t do much to her case.

She let her mom believe that she had napped during the afternoon and that it was the reason she couldn’t sleep but, deep down, Eleonora knew what was keeping her up but she didn’t want to think nor talk about it. It’s not like she could talk to anyone anyway.

The weight of she and Edoardo’s fight - and breakup - earlier today felt heavy in Eleonora’s head and chest. She had replayed the scene over and over in her head so many times since she got home and, every single time, a new feeling bloomed, going from anger to regret.

After much thinking, she still stood by her moral, thinking that violence wasn’t the right way to solve problems. Breaking a chair on someone’s back too violent for her taste, she couldn’t have someone like that in her life. Even if Edoardo was defending her friends.

She regretted bringing up Edoardo’s family. Eleonora knew that this family was a touchy subject, something he verbally told her he wasn’t ready to open up about yet, she went and used that against him, hurting him where she knew he would hurt. It was vile.

In moments like this, Eleonora wished she was close to her mom. She wished they had this kind of relation where they were each other’s best friend and would tell each other everything but, sadly, the woman whom she called Mama was too caught up in her work life to care about her daughter’s personal life. Although she liked to remind her kids that she loved them but the brunette doubted her mother would listen to her if she were to tell her about her boys problems.

With a sigh, Eleonora picked up her phone, going over the groupchat’s chat once again.

Silvia: Girls! Do you think Edoardo will be at Marco’s party tonight?

Sana: Here she goes again…

Silvia: Does any of you knows?!

Siliva: Or, should I put a sexy dress on just in case?

Fede: Guess packing will have to wait! Party time🎉🎉

Fede: Wear the gold one. You know, the ones that makes your boobs look amazing

Silvia: Yes, Fede!! I think Edoardo will like this one

Eva: Your boobs are going to jump at his face, of course he’ll like it 😂

Silvia: Eva!

Sana: Well, she’s not wrong

Eva: You coming, Ele?

Eleonora: Sorry. I can’t. My mom is here for Easter weekend and I want to spend time with her

She felt bad for lying to the girls but, it’s not like she could tell them the truth. Well, she could but, what would be the point? It was over between her and Edoardo. The revelation of their secret relationship would only cause drama in their group and probably hurt Silvia. Some things were better left unsaid.

Feeling the guilt fill her stomach, she put her phone on her nightstand and pressed her head into her pillow, wishing for sleep to take her.

Eleonora didn’t separate from the device long because the screen lit up, creating a cast of light through her dark room. She reached for it and saw Edoardo’s name on her screen. Eyebrows furrowed, she took the call.

“It’s almost midnight, Edoardo, why are you calling me?” She scoffed. “Don’t you have a party to attend?”

“I shouldn’t have said that… Why did you break up with me, Ele?” His voice was unusual, much slower and slurred.

“I didn’t breakup with you, you did,” she reminded him. He was the one who said she wasn’t obligated to stay with him. He gave her an out. She never replied.

“I miss you, Ele.”

Eleonora bit down her lip, closing her eyes. She missed him too but she wouldn’t admit it. It was difficult for her to admit her feelings and lower her guard to someone…just like it was difficult for her to admit and recognize her wrongs.

“It’s late, Edoardo. I-I’m gonna hang up now.”

“No! No, please don’t leave me, Ele. I need you in my life. It was a mistake to leave you, Ele. A huge mistake and I-” She heard a rustling followed by a thud, as if something had fell. “Fuck.”

Eleonora sat up in her bed. Wait. Was he…drunk? Of course he was, it was Friday night. Something didn’t feel right though. Out of all the time Eleonora saw him at parties, she couldn’t recall ever seeing him drunk or even tipsy. She had seen him drink a beer or two at parties but Edo was always the most sober of the house. Something must be really wrong if he had drunk himself into this state.

“Edoardo? Edoardo, where are you?” she asked, suddenly growing worried.

“At Chico’s. C-can you come here? Please, I don’t feel well…”

Slipping on a random sweater and jeans, Eleonora grabbed a jacket along with a pair of boots and went over to Chicco Rodi’s house. Lucky for Edoardo, she had gone to his house in the past and knew where he lived.

The party was still in full swing when she got there. Someone offered her a drink but she ignored him and moved past him, searching for a familiar head or dark curls. Not seeing Edoardo anywhere on the first floor, she messaged him, asking where he was and followed his directions, pushing open the door of the room where he took Silvia too the first time she met him.

She felt wrong going in this room, as if she was giving in and giving up her morals for someone who didn’t deserve her heart. She felt like she was penetrating in a place she shouldn’t be going.

“Edoardo?”

There he was, sitting on the cream colored armchair, a glass of what seemed to be strong liquor, whiskey or rhum. He looked like a mess, the first two buttons of his dark shirt were unbuttoned, probably feeling sweaty from the alcohol he had drank.

As his name left her lips, he looked up, his glassy eyes meeting her clear green ones. “You came,” he stated, sounding surprised to see her.

“I was worried about you.”

“You? Worried about me?” He scoffed, shaking his head. “Since when do you worry about me? Last time we spoke, you cared more about pacifism than me.” Edoardo balanced the drink in his hand, watching the amber colored liquid swish in the glass.

Eleonora sat on the edge of the bed right in front of him. He couldn’t be more wrong. Pacifism was important to her and stood by her reasoning that conflicts shouldn’t be solved with violence but, so was Edoardo’s safety.

“That’s not true. Why do you think I’m here tonight? Why do you think I walked all the way to your friend’s house in the middle of the night after you drunk called me if I don’t care about you? I do care about you, Edoardo Incanti…more than I should…more than I let myself think I do.”

He chuckled in response, taking a gulp of liquor.

Annoyed by his behavior, Eleonora stood and took the glass from him, deciding it was enough for the night. “You’ve had enough. You’re drunk. The night’s over.”

Eleonora was pleasantly surprised when Edoardo didn’t protest, letting her take the glass from him. She was even more surprised when he silently sat into the cab with her and let her take him home.

The drive to Edoardo’s seemed to have helped him sober up. Or, maybe he wasn’t that drunk.

“Are you staying for the night?” Edoardo asked as they entered his bedroom. He doubted she would stay but, it didn’t hurt to ask.

“I don’t know. It depends.”

He furrowed his eyebrows. “On what?”

Eleonora stayed quiet, having a look at the decoration in Edoardo’s bedroom, frowning at that weird lamp with a guitar as body in the corner. “I don’t know. Are you going to yell at me again?”

Edoardo drew an intake of breath and sighed, taking a seat on the bed, feeling a bit dizzy from the liquor. “Okay. I shouldn’t have yelled at you this afternoon. But, I don’t retire what I said.” He looked up, searching for Ele’s eyes. “You don’t listen to what I say, ever. You hear me but you don’t listen to me. It’s like your opinion is the only one that’s right but, in life, you’re gonna have to accept that you can’t always be right. You’re not perfect, Eleonora. And me either. The human nature is flawed.”

Bitting into her bottom lip, Eleonora casted her gaze down. She hated for her flaws to be pointed but, Edoardo was right. She was stubborn and always wanted to be right. The way she scolded Edoardo regarding the fight and his violent behavior sounded like her moral judgement was above everybody else.

“You make me feel like whatever I do, I’m never going to be good enough for you.”

Before meeting Eleonora, Edoardo had never felt inferior to someone, he had never felt like he wasn’t good enough for someone. He had always been this confident, good looking guy who could get everything he wanted by flashing his charming smile and showing off his body.

Except with Eleonora, she wasn’t phased by it, she was indifferent to his charm. Or, that’s what she wanted him to believe. It took a lot of work from Edoardo to pierce her shell and get her to fall for him.

He shared with her part of him no one knew about and, the second she found herself being kicked off of her pedestral, she used his words against him, hurting him in a way only she knew.

He was visibly hurt by Eleonora saying he was always playing the victim and using his family to blame his behavior. She didn’t know half of what he went through with his family.

“I’ll admit that using a chair as defense weapon was wrong but, when I saw Fede on the ground, being held down and punched but one of those Giochi Square guys, begging for my help, I took what was available without thinking and helped by best friend. If I recall, last year, you didn’t hesitate to deffend Eva when Fede’s girlfriend came for her. I heard some rumors that people had to hold you back from jumping at her throat.”

Ele stiffled a laugh. “You’re exagerating. I wouldn’t have jumped at her throat, that’s a bit extreme.” She sat on the bed with him, about to make apologies of her own. “I’m sorry for what I said to you. I was wrong to bring your father and brother into this and say you were playing the victim. I said this to hurt you, because I knew it was going to hurt you.”

She kept her eyes on the comforter, unable to look at Edoardo in the eyes after being so hurtful to him. Sensing the guilt in her behavior, he reached out and intertwined their fingers together, silently accepting her apologies.

“Now, if you don’t mind, I think I’m gonna crash.”

After the liquor he drank, it wasn’t surprising that he was feeling sleepy. Edoardo stood and removed his clothes, slipping underneath the covers.

Just as he thought Eleonora was going to say goodnight and leave but, she didn’t. Eyebrows pulled together, he watched her taking off her jacket and standing up to unbutton her jeans.

“What are you doing?”

She gave him a small smile. “I’m staying.”

She got under the sheets with him, her cold feet brushing his bare leg, something she couldn’t have done the last time she had slept here.

A smile tugged at the older boy’s lips, followed by an amused chuckle. “Should I set up a pillow barrier or are we good for tonight? Oh! Do you need my jacket?’

Eleonora swatted him with a pillow, causing Edoardo to laugh.

#edoardo incanti #incantava #incantava fic #incantava prompt #edoardo x eleonora #eleonora sava #skam italia fic #skam italia #skamit

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shianhygge-imagines · 5 years

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[DMC5 Headcanons] Cooking with The Crew

AN: I was thinking about Dante’s poor eating habits and I started thinking what dinner with the DMC crew would be like...

I’ve been trying to finish this headcanon for the past two days! But every single time I go to save my progress on mobile, Tumblr goes “Oopsey doopsies! Something went wrong :P” and never saves anything I do! So I guess I’m confined to writing only on my laptop now... >.>

Also... since Dante is the main character, it’s so flipping easy to write about him! It’s like, I don’t even have to think about what Dante would do, it just happens. >.> So... yeah, I’ve given my best when it comes to writing enough for the others.

DMC Crew: Dante, Trish, Lady, Nero & Kyrie, Nico, Vergil & V...

|Masterlist Link|

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

Dante

It’s well known that Dante would gorge himself on pizza and strawberry sundaes if he had a choice.

Dante eats about anything, though, if you can make it for him

DON’T let him anywhere near the kitchen! Even boiling an egg is too much of a challenge for him

Somewhere, Dante yells at Shian, “Hey! I can totally boil an egg! It was that one time!”

”Yes, Dante, and you managed to not only overcook the egg, you boiled it until there wasn’t anymore water to boil!”

”Not my fault something caught my attention as I was cooking.”

”You can hardly call that cooking! AND you fell asleep!”

”I woke up in time, didn’t I?”

”THE ENTIRE SHOP SMELLED OF BURNING METAL!” (which smells really bad btw. And gives me a terrible migraine.)

Despite this, however, Dante would be the type to learn how to cook just to please his s/o. Dinner is still beyond him, but Dante eventually learns how to make a mean french toast.

Dante’s also the type to completely butter you up while in the kitchen, throwing compliments of how the food smells delicious. Saying that you’re a master chef.

He’s really doing it so that he can get extras later...

And he’s the type to swipe food as you’re cooking.

Make sure you didn’t do too much cleaning before you served dinner. Dante’s a messy eater most days, but if you force him... he’ll behave. Eva didn’t raise him to have no manners after all.

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

Lady

Lady’s had to look after herself for a long while.

She was raised to eat well, so Lady isn’t really picky about what she has for a meal.

She does have a fairly average sized repertoire of recipes that she can cook well.

Though most of the recipes that Lady can make were taught to her by her late mother.

By cooking the meals that her mother had when she was still alive, Lady kind of feels like she still has her mom.

When she gets the taste of something just right, you can see a faint sparkle of happiness that hints that Mary hasn’t completely lost herself.

She doesn’t trust Trish in the kitchen.

Lady has a large appetite.

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

Trish

Trish... she once short circuited a toaster... don’t let her near too many kitchen appliances, alright?

She can handle simple cooking, like pan fried eggs... pasta... but nothing too complicated.

Trish is content to eat whatever she can get her hands on, whether it be pizza or some expensive sushi at Dante’s expense.

She’s from the Underworld, so she has a monstrous metabolism

Trish honestly doesn’t care that Lady doesn’t like her using the kitchen, if someone is willing to cook for her, she’s all okay with being lazy.

That being said, Trish also doesn’t appreciate it when people assume she can or can’t cook. If she feels like cooking, she’ll cook damn it!

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

Vergil & V (Because they are essentially the same person)

Vergil isn’t picky about his food so long as it’s healthy and nutritious.

Like their personalities, Vergil is the complete opposite in regards to how he and Dante eat.

Vergil doesn’t like junk food... much...

He has a bit of a weakness for cookies

Eva used to make the most delicious chocolate chip cookies ever (so moist and soft mmmm)

So having a soft warm chocolate chip cookie brings back feelings and memories of a better time. Of course Vergil is never straight forward with his feelings, so he feels love, happiness, sadness, and bitterness all at once. Makes it so that before DMC5, he’s only slightly able to enjoy his favorite treat.

Out of the twins, Vergil was the one that helped Eva the most with chores, going so far as to learn how to cook basic recipes to make his mother’s life as a single parent much easier. He’s such a mama’s boy, that’s why he was so butt hurt when she never found him. (*Shian can feel Vergil glaring daggers at her back. She stares back at him cooly. “What, you’re mad that it’s true? I love you, but get over yourself.”)

Vergil doesn’t like to flaunt his culinary skills, but at the same time he doesn’t like it when people think he can’t cook. He’ll take it as a personal affront.

If he’s learning a new recipe, you can guarantee that he’s going to perfect it. There is no such thing as half-assed for this man. (*Shian: Except for relationships... [Vergil’s glare worsens])

As V, he is much more open about his love of cooking.

Given that V is physically unable to do much when it comes to fighting, he relishes in being able to cook a delicious meal... all while having that mysterious cocky smirk on his face. (*Shian: Ugh I wanna hit his face with my face)

V will occasionally make a few of Eva’s recipes in order to feel closer to his mother. Shadow would purr in contentment, but Griffon would tease V that he “misses mommy dearest.”

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

Nero & Kyrie (Because they are the OTP of this fandom)

Let me say that if I’m going to write about Nero, I absolutely HAVE to write about Kyrie as well!

Well... it’s already been stated that Kyrie always makes too much food, but it’s only because she’s used to feeding three people. Nero, herself, and her brother Credo. Even though Credo died during the events of DMC4, Kyrie hasn’t really changed the amount that she makes. She doesn’t seem to realize it either...

Nero never says anything because he doesn’t want Kyrie to be sad, and he’ll give a stern talk to anyone who tries to tell her.

Nero, for his part, knows how to make the basic breakfast... coffee... instant noodles... he’s never really had to cook because Kyrie and Credo have always looked after him.

If it’s for his lady love (or if you challenge him) he’ll learn how to cook. (He’s ugh... pretty petty...)

Nero doesn’t like tomatoes or mushrooms (*Shian: which is a shame since I love both), but if it’s in Kyrie’s cooking he’ll eat everything on his plate.

If Nero isn’t able to finish the food on his plate, he starts to feel extremely guilty for wasting Kyrie’s hard work... Kyrie will also make him feel guilty by saying that it’s fine that he can’t finish... and then proceed to make a sad face. (It’s all in good fun though. They just love teasing each other.)

Nico

Nico likes to pretend that she doesn’t know an ounce of cooking.

THis is a complete LIE!

NOT ONLY does she know how to cook. BUT she’s a better chef than even Vergil at times. (... don’t tell him that though)

Nico learned how to cook from her grandma because she idolizes everything about the Goldstein matriarch. As a child, she observed her grandmother in the kitchen and the workshop because Nell did everything with a fierce passion.

Southern food is an art as much as weapon-smithing is, and Nico painstakingly seasons her meals with just the right balance and presentation

Anything not up to par usually gets scrapped or fed to a homeless person

After meeting Nero and Kyrie, Nico has made it her mission to mooch off whatever meal Kyrie prepares. Not only because Kyrie is a pretty great chef, but because not having to cook means more time to focus on her new projects.

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

I’m sorry if it seems like I don’t treat other characters the same as some. But some characters only appear a handful of times in the series as side characters, and it’s just URGH My imagination will only work so much when I don’t know a character!

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atc74 · 5 years

Text

Let Me

Square Filled: Late Night Call and Police Officer!Dean

Warnings: angst, self doubt, loneliness, feelings of inadequacy, feelings of helpless, stubbornness, flaky friends, a touch o luff

Summary: Y/N is going through a divorce and feeling all alone in her struggle when she leans on her best friend for support.

Pairing: Dean x Single Parent!Reader

Word Count: 2433

Written for: @spngenrebingo and @spnaubingo

Beta’d by: @evansrogerskitten; thank you for helping me with this and thank you for listening.

A/N: This is a bit personal

You can read on AO3 here

“Hey Sweetheart. How you doing?” Dean’s voice was soothing as ever as his voice filled the interior of my car.

“Just driving home after a long day,” I sighed, a little too loudly.

“That doesn’t sound good. Where’s my usual happy chipper girl?” Dean asked.

“I don’t know where she is anymore, Dean. I can’t find her,” my voice cracked and tears welled in my eyes.

“Hey, pretty girl, listen to me. We’ll find her. I am on overnights tonight, but how about I swing by with dinner for us tomorrow night before my shift? That sound good?” he asked, his voice filled with concern.

“Yeah, that sounds good, Dean,” I breathed out, relieved at the thought of seeing my best friend.

“Listen, I gotta run, we hope to wrap up this big case tonight, but I’ll see you tomorrow about six, okay?” he asked.

“Be safe, don’t take chances,” I reminded him like I always did when he was on the job, and sometimes when he wasn’t. “Bye Dean.”

“See ya Sweetheart,” Dean said then ended the call.

I worried about him on the job as much as he worried about me. Dean was a great police officer, but when he got the promotion to detective, I started worrying a whole lot more. He wasn’t just a beat cop anymore. Now he was directly in the line of fire on every case he worked. It left a hole in my chest when I wouldn’t hear from him for days, or even weeks, when a case really got going.

I shook those thoughts from my head as I rounded the corner and my house came into view. I knew waiting inside would be my pride and joy; my reason for fighting. I pushed the button to open my garage door and slowed as I pulled into my drive. Easing my car inside, I killed the engine, shut the overhead door and took a few deep breaths. I hated bringing work home with me, even more so, I hated bringing the baggage from work home with me. I gathered my things and got out of the car, walking into the house. I set my bags down and called out.

“Boys! I’m home!” I was first greeted by a rambunctious wanna be puppy, who was begging to be let outside.

“Hi Mama!” My ten year old son answered from his room. “What’s for dinner?”

“I don’t know yet, Bud. What sounds good?” I asked. This is the same conversation we have every night. Some nights I plan, more often than not, I don’t and we wing it. Tonight sounded like a wing it kind of night.

“I don’t care, Mama. Whatever you want is fine with me,” he replied.

“Say, Dean is stopping by tomorrow and bringing dinner,” I informed him as I headed to my room to change.

“Awesome!” was the response I got back.

Dean was great with Noah and he was good for him, too. Noah’s father wasn’t really in the picture. He just stopped showing up in our marriage so I ended it. It was an easy decision to do what was right for me and my son, but that doesn’t make the situation any better. Noah didn’t have a decent male role model and now that he was entering those crucial years, I worried more and more if I could provide what he needed.

As I changed my clothes tears filled my eyes once more, something that happened a lot more than it used to. I couldn’t help thinking I wasn’t doing enough with him, for him. That I was failing as a mother. Somewhere deep in my mind, I knew I was good enough, but it was those loud voices that stayed in my head, telling me I was doing everything wrong. I wiped the tears away, shoved the voices back down and headed to the kitchen to make dinner.

We had a quiet night cuddled up in my bed with a movie and some popcorn. It was warm and cozy and before I knew it, I fell asleep.

I bolted upright in bed. I’d had another nightmare. Another nightmare where I felt like I was failing. At work, at home. At everything. It was one in the morning. I knew I needed to calm down before I could sleep again, so I picked up my phone, slipping out of bed.

*you have a few minutes?*

His text reply was instant.

*Yeah, everything okay?*

I tapped his number from my contact list and placed the phone up to my ear. I settled into the couch, pulling a blanket over my lap.

“Y/N? Sweetheart, are you okay?” Dean asked.

“No, not really. I had a nightmare,” I admitted,

“Oh, Y/N/N, I’m so sorry,” he murmured.

“Hey, it’s not your issue, but I just needed to calm down a bit, so I can get back to sleep and you’ve always been able to calm me down before, sooo…” I trailed off, my fingers playing with the frayed blanket on my lap.

Dean and I talked for about ten or fifteen minutes before I yawned loudly into the phone.

“You feel better Sweetheart?” Dean asked, his voice quieter.

“Yeah, I do. Thank you for talking to me,” I said, feeling lighter than before.

“Perks of working an overnight. I am here for you anytime, Y/N/N,” Dean reminded me.

My eyelids were heavy as we said goodnight and I dragged myself back up the stairs and into my bed. A quick glance at the clock told me I could get about three and half more hours of sleep. I curled up on my side and closed my eyes.

After shutting the alarm off, I sighed heavily, tossing the blanket aside and trudging to the bathroom to start another day. As I showered, I felt a smile creep up on me. At least Dean was coming over and that was something to look forward to.

I had another craptastic day, ending with yet another conversation with my boss about something I didn’t do to her expectations, which, by the way, are entirely too high. I am excellent at my job. I am a people person. Just let me do my damn job without you crawling up my ass about it every other fucking day. Okay, that is what I wanted to say, but I did not, because I also need to keep my job. Being a single parent without any support is a bitch and I couldn’t afford to take a pay cut if I had to look for another job.

Once more on the drive home, tears flooded my vision as my mind got wrapped up in everything. Stress is a normal state for me, having lived the life I have for the last fifteen years. I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy transition, but I also didn’t think it was going to be this hard.

I rushed through the door and quickly changed, greeting both my son and the dog. I cleaned up the table and straightened a few things around the house before Dean arrived. The dog jumped up on the sofa, sticking his head through the curtains and started barking and I knew our guest had arrived.

“Noah, Dean’s here!” I called up the stairs.

Dean knew better to knock and I heard the door open and shut quietly. The dog was still barking at Dean’s 1967 Impala in the driveway, not even aware he was already in the house. I walked to the kitchen to greet my friend. I don’t think I even knew how much I needed him until I saw him smiling. Tears immediately blurred my vision as I hurried to him. His strong arms pulled me in and wrapped around me. I buried my face in his chest, my tears running down his leather jacket.

“Hey, hey, Sweetheart, what’s wrong?” He asked, pulling back a bit. He placed one finger under my chin, tilting my face up to meet his. “Shhh, it’s okay.”

“No, it’s not,” I shook my head.

“Hey Dean!” Noah shouted, bounding into the kitchen. “What’s wrong Mom?”

“Nothing, baby. I’m just so happy to see Dean,” I lied.

“Here Bud. I brought your favorite pizza. I bet if you promise not to make a mess, your mom here won’t mind if you eat it in her room while you watch a movie,” Dean addressed Noah, handing him his dinner.

“Really?!” his eyes widened at the thought of getting to eat in bed without consequences.

“Yeah, really,” Dean nodded. “Your mom and I are just gonna catch up while we eat, okay?”

Noah didn’t respond. He just ran back up the stairs, holding tight to his mac and cheese pizza.

Dean ushered me to the sofa, then came back a few minutes later with dinner, a bottle of wine and two glasses.

“What are you doing? You have to work tonight,” I wiped the tears from my face.

“Nope, I called in. We wrapped the case last night, so now it’s just paperwork and I can do that tomorrow. My friend needs me right now, so this is where I need to be,” Dean informed me as he opened the wine and poured us each a glass.

“Dean, I can’t let you do that,” I told him, taking a sip.

“Y/N, you’re not letting me do anything. I am doing this because you need someone and right now that someone is me. What are sick days for if you don’t use ‘em?” he chuckled.

We ate in comfortable silence, just like always. There was never any pressure with Dean to make small talk. We had been known to sit for hours and not say a word, but that had been a long time, back when our lives were less complicated.

After dinner and one bottle of wine was finished, we sat back on the couch, a movie on quietly in the background. Dean was reclined into the corner and I curled up into his side. It was comfortable, Dean was comfortable.

“So tell me, what’s going on, Y/N/N,” Dean prompted. “You haven’t sounded like yourself the last few times we’ve talked.”

I took a deep breath. I knew I could share my feelings with Dean, he has been my best friend for years. I didn’t really know where to start so I just started talking.

“It’s just too much, ya know? How can I feel so alone when I am surrounded by friends and people most of my day? I feel utterly and completely on my own. You know how when you’re going through a hard time and everyone you know says ‘call me if you need anything?’ Well, guess what happens when you call? They’re busy. Or they hem and haw because they don’t really want to help, maybe, I don’t know.

“I haven’t been out, or had a night off in almost two months. I love my son more than anything, but I need some adult time, too. I have called and texted my friends and I don’t hear back from them for days. And even then, it is just a quick reply, telling me how busy they are. Then when someone asks how I am and tell the truth, they get all weird and apologetic. ‘I’m so sorry, I wish there was something I could do.’ I want to scream! I’ve been strong for so long, but do you know what the problem is with that? No one asks if you’re okay.”

“You are the strongest person I know, Y/N/N. You’ve always been there for me, even when you didn’t need to be. You were there for me through everything that went down when my dad died.” Dean shifted, pulling me into his lap, wrapping his arms around me. “Sweetheart, why didn’t you call me? Why didn’t you say something?”

“Dean, you have a life, you have a job, a very important job. You don’t have time for my personal drama,” you mumbled into his chest.

“Hey, I’m your friend. I know this is not easy for you. I know your ex dickbag loser isn’t helping. I know he doesn’t send you any money, I know he doesn’t come see Noah. But listen to me very carefully when I say this. I am never too busy for you, or Noah. Ever,” Dean’s voice was strong and determined as he spoke.

“Dean, you’ve known me for a long time. I worked so hard to become independent and I feel like I should be able to do this myself. It’s hard for me to ask for help,” my voice breaking once more as I felt the tears start.

“Hey, asking for help doesn’t mean you’re weak. Asking for help doesn’t mean you’re not independent, it just means you’re human and you need help,” Dean told me.

“How do I do this, Dean? I don’t think I know how to do this by myself,” I cried.

“Y/N/N, you don’t have to do it by yourself. You’ve got me, anytime you need me, I’m here,” Dean promised. “In fact, I have the next week off. You make plans with some friends this weekend and I will take Noah. We’ll go to the batting cages, gorge ourselves on junk food and pass out in our clothes on my couch while watching a movie we probably shouldn’t.”

“Dean…” I started, but he put his finger to my lips, halting any argument I had.

“I happen to know you’re off for the next week too. So Sunday night, Noah is going to go over to Sam’s. He’ll kick his butt in Fortnite and I am taking you out,” Dean declared.

“Oh, you are, huh?” I laughed, looking up into his eyes.

“Yeah, I should’ve asked you out a long time ago. I need you and you need me. It’s perfect. Let me take care you, Sweetheart. You and Noah. It’s about time you let someone take care of you. I want it to be me,” Dean ducked his head down. “I’m gonna kiss you now, if that’s okay.”

“I’ve been waiting twenty years for you to kiss me,” I whispered.

I’d experienced a lot of first kisses, but none compared to my last first kiss. With the past year almost behind me and Dean in front of me, I was optimistic about our future and knew there were more kisses to look forward to in the new year and for years to come.

A/N:... Remember, the nicest thing you can do for a writer is reblog their work and tell them, and others, how much you like it!

The Whole Enchilada: @closetspngirl @emoryhemsworth @iwantthedean @meganwinchester1999 @sis-tafics @wilde-abandon @wegoddessofhell @holyfuckloueh @horsegirly99 @smoothdogsgirl @dolphincliffs @thisismysecrethappyplace @neeadinghugs @roxyspearing @theoriginalvicki @andkatiethings @mrswhozeewhatsis @linki-locks11 @evansrogerskitten @hennessy0274-blog @hobby27 @kdfrqqg @gh0stgurl @charliebradbury1104 @blacktithe7 @the--blackdahlia @fortisetgloriosusinarduis @roseblue373 @hannahindie @pinknerdpanda @cherrycokegirls1 @seenashwrite

The Dean’s List: @supernatural-jackles @dean-winchesters-bacon @cameronbraswell @docharleythegeekqueen @maddiepants @squirrel-moose-winchester @amanda-teaches @thing-you-do-with-that-thing @adoptdontshoppets @wingedcatninja @akshi8278 @kathaswings @deansgirl215 @x-waywardaf-x @elara98azalea @jerkbitchidjitassbutt

#spngenrebingo #spnaubingo #Dean Winchester #Dean Winchester AU #Dean x Reader AU #Dean Winchester x Reader #Dean x Reader #supernatural au #supernatural fanfiction #Supernatural fanfic #spn fanfiction #spn fanfic

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edgeofmyniall · 5 years

Text

one

Monroe Falls is a simple town made up of fishing docks and home cooked meals. Boats lined up the wooden docks where fisherman would cast their nets into the Pacific Ocean in hopes of catching a school of cod. Monroe Falls sits on the edge of the Washington and Canada border line, so it was well known for its trading goods and fishing posts. The small town was always cold. The weather forecast almost never called for sun unless it was the first week in July where the sun rose and the air was warm enough to roam around town in shorts. Normally, the weather was gray and bleak: dark clouds blocked the sun and light rain was a permanent land mark in the town. Monroe Falls was a town that most people would leave as soon as they got the chance unless of course you wanted to be a man of the sea or you were apart of a family run business since the town was founded.

It’s not that Niall was stuck in Monroe Falls per say. It’s just that he never really felt the need to leave. The only time he ventured out into the world was when he went off to college in California, but he still had a piece of home with him. When moving off to the state of constant sunshine- something Niall rarely seen, he brought- well more like pleaded Isabella to come. He wouldn’t have made it without her, and he wouldn’t have moved back if it wasn’t for her. See, for Niall, he knew what his future was. It was planned before his birth. He would take over the carpentry and hardware store that his family built from the ground up. Hell, his great great whatever grandfather was one of the founding members. His ancestor built most all of the buildings in Monroe Falls so it was destined for him to stay in that small town in Washington. What wasn’t planned was for him and Isabella to become pregnant at twenty-four… a year before both of them graduated with their masters.

It was a shock to both families. Not that anyone was disappointed; it’s just that they were so young and didn’t know the ways of the world. Twenty-four is too young to have a baby without a good job or home.So after spring semester, NIall and Isabella packed up their one bedroom apartment and headed back to Monroe Falls. They transferred out of University of California, Los Angeles, and finished their masters online. It wasn’t like they had much left, but they didn’t get to experience walking across the makeshift stage to shake hands with their dean. Niall had a few business classes left, and Isabella only needed to intern at a local newspaper company before she graduated with a journalism degree. They spent the latter part of their last semester getting ready for the twins. Niall spent most of his free time working at Horan Building, LLC, saving up for when the babies came. Niall’s father, Bobby, provided two new cribs, while Niall’s mother and step father gave them plenty of clothes for the twins, diapers, and the essentials. Isabella’s parents- who were nothing but hard working middle class parents, put down a down payment on a house. They used up every penny of their savings account to provide a home for their youngest daughter. Isabella’s older sister provided car seats and a baby monitor- she even chipped in on the first house payment.

Once Iz graduated, Niall worked as the manager at the hardware store. Niall quit school to work and to help renovate the house in preparation of the twins. Life was hard, but Niall and Isabella loved every second of it. They made ends meet, but leftovers were a staple in the Horan household.

And not that he felt the need to, Niall asked Isabella to marry him the day they moved in. She was two weeks shy of being five months pregnant, and while unpacking a box of Niall’s personal belongings, Isabella found a purple velvet box. The ring wasn’t fancy- it was completely modest. The ring had one tiny diamond that set in the very middle of a silver band. Isabella knew that Niall had spent what he could afford on it, but she never needed a ring. She loved Niall with or without the materialistic things. She gazed over the ring as it shone under the bedroom light.

“Was gonna ask ya when we graduated, but things….they came up,” Niall said. He had been leaning on the bedroom door frame watching Isabella take in the sight of the symbol of forever. “Sorry it’s not fancy. It’s all I could afford with the twins coming and all.”

“It’s beautiful,” Isabella smiled. She placed the ring on her fourth digital on her left hand. Niall walked up behind her, wrapping his broad arms around her growing waist- his fingers barely touched each other now, and asked one of the most important questions of his life.

“Well, will ya?” He was sure he knew the answer already, but still, his heart was in his throat.

“Who else is gonna be my baby daddy?”

“My guess is Collin. He’s had a thing for you since day care.” Isabella’s brown eyes twinkled as she laughed. That was their relationship- a constant of bantering, but she knew in her heart, Niall was the one for her.

“Yes…” she finally answered. “Forever and always.”

“Forever and always.” Niall smiled, his life was complete.

The wedding was anything but perfect. Isabella couldn’t find a decent dress that wasn’t from the ‘80’s that would fit over her belly. No priest would bless the marriage so they settled for the court house.

The judge smiled at the young couple before pronouncing them man and wife.

When the twins arrived, there were complications. They came too early.

Mackenzie, the youngest, couldn’t get enough oxygen. He struggled to breathe and his immune system was failing.

Maggie was underdeveloped. Her heart was too weak, and she never cried when the doctor pulled her out of Isabella’s incision.

The twins spent weeks in incubators fighting for their lives. Isabella fell into a very dark depression, feeling like she failed as a mother, and seeing his newborns struggle to live nearly killed Niall. He drank every night to wash the pain away, but no amount of alcohol pushed the hurt aside. It was always there in the back of his heart.

Then one day, like clockwork, the twins grew stronger. They grew and won the fight of life.The first year of the twins’ lives was hard. Niall and Isabella fought, at least, twice a day. She’d snap at Niall over the littlest things. She was hiding that she was frustrated- she wasn’t producing any milk, and her head constantly hurt. She was always tired, and she forgot the simplest things- like turning off the stove top. She forgot it was even on and she had decided to draw herself a bath while the twins were asleep nearly burning down the house. She couldn’t see the TV even though she was right in front of it. The ever growing black spot covered the screen. She became distant and unwilling. Her loud laugh grew silent and she never wanted to leave the couch. Her words went from vibrant to slurred as she forced herself to put a simple sentence together. It wasn’t until Niall came home after working that he found Isabella laying on the floor unconscious. The twins were screaming, and a pool of vomit and foaming saliva was pouring out of Isabella’s mouth.

Niall shook, slapped, and rocked Isabella awake, but nothing worked. She was still laying limp in Niall’s arms.Their neighbor, Mrs. Rogers heard the twins screaming when she walked outside. She noticed the front door was wide open and assumed the worst. She walked over cautiously calling out Niall’s name. It was when she climbed the stairs that she saw the tear soaked face of Niall cradling Isabella’s lifeless body.

“Oh my God, Niall.” She covered her mouth as she pulled out her phone to call 91-1. “I got the babies. You-you go when the medics get here.”

The ride to the emergency room was the longest five minutes of Niall’s life. The paramedic in the back never stopped her work on Iz.

Niall couldn’t stop pacing the empty and silent waiting room as the doctors performed tests on Isabella.When the doctor walked into the room with a somber look on his face, Niall broke down. The doctor, Matt, who Niall and Iz went to school with gave Niall the news. Matt’s words faded out as Niall pushed his way to Isabella’s room in the ICU.

She was conscious, and her words were barely audible.

“Think something’s wrong with me, Ni.” Her head was shaved where they had cut into her scalp. The stitched up scar was red and swollen. He couldn’t take his eyes off it as he grabbed his wife’s hand, squeezing it gently- too afraid of causing more pain.

“Forever and always,” he cried as he kissed his wife’s forehead.

In the months that followed, there were more surgeries than Niall could remember. Stage four was embedded in his brain. The mass of cells nearly always doubled in size when they came back. Niall never had been violent until he punched Matt in the face after telling him there was nothing more that the doctors or surgeries could do. The tumor had spread beyond where he was comfortable going, and it had consumed who Iz was. After a night of milking busted knuckles and whiskey, Niall brough Isabella home for the last time.

The twins were now two, and when they saw their mom walk into their home, they waddled their way to her screaming, “Mama!”

Niall didn’t work a single day until Iz became better. They drained their bank account and the house payments were being taken over by Horan Building, LCC. Niall had refused to leave Iz’s side. She had grown weak- her eyes were sunken in, and one could tell just how fragile she was.

But, it was on a Monday, two months after Isabella came home that she would not wake. The night before was filled with laughter as the four of them played around in the living room.

Niall shook and shook Isabella, but no sound or movement came from her. Niall called Matt, but when he arrived, she was already gone. Niall fell to his knees beside the bed where Isabella was as he begged God to take him instead.

Everyone in Monroe Falls came to the funeral. It really was a beautiful service, but what shattered Niall’s heart was when the twins stood over Iz’s grave and waved “bye-bye” to their mother.

The house became silent without Iz’s laughter or singing. It grew colder without her warm smile or her need to cuddle under a blanket. It wasn’t the same. However, the twins, they gave him hope. They kept him too busy to grieve. The empty house filled with laughter, singing and running around again. Bare walls began to hold art projects and photos. It was becoming a home again.

Isabella’s parents, to Niall’s surprise, had a life insurance policy on her. When his father-in-law came by the shop one day, he handed Niall a check for one hundred thousand dollars.“To pay off the house. And to give the twins a decent college fund.” The older man stopped at the glass door before leaving.“She loved you, ya know. And you will always be a son to us.” Both men shed tears that day.

Every year on November twenty-fifth, Horan Building, LLC closes, and the kids skip school so they can grieve as a family.

Maggie has grown into a witty, book loving cheerleader whose heart is too big for her own good. Mack grew to be tall and lanky and loved soccer; Niall insistent that they join sports, secretly he was afraid they would become sick again if they weren’t active. He was happy taking care of is kids, and running the shop. He was content. He wasn’t lonely.

Or that’s what he made himself believe.

At night, the loneliness screamed at him as he tossed and turned in his bed- their bed. No, he’s moved on. It’s been fifteen years. He just doesn’t have time for a relationship. Until he met her. The green-eyed girl whose smile caused butterflies in his stomach. The woman whose concern over his daughter alarmed him. He clung to her kind voice and soft words.

But what he’s most afraid of getting too close her because everything he touches washes away in the tide.

#niall horan #niall #niall fanfic #niall horan fanfic #niall au #niall horan au #1dff #niall horan imagine #niall imagine #niall fanfiction #niall horan fanfiction

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whenimgoodandready · 5 years

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4 years ago, I heard about “Star vs. The Forces of Evil”. I didn’t think much of it, but I gave it a shot (it was like a childhood callback to my “Sailor Moon” phase when I was younger) to see how it was. I made a little review about it to let everyone know what I thought and after a couple of more episodes, I was drawn to it! A twist on the Magical Girl genre of the heroine open with her being magical and fighting villains while still going about an everyday life. Neat characters, funny dialogue, cool storylines, original music scores, plot twists and the shipping dramas! I was so obsessed I made fanart/animation, bought whatever merchandise there was of it! (Star and Marco’s Guide to Mastering Every Dimension (original and Stump Day Edition) and The Magic Book of Spells) and been having dreams of the show as well! My reviews have changed since the first season. It started out as just words, but then came frames and then later pictures and now, finally gifs! Writing is my passion. I just love writing down how I feel about things and having others see it and what I have to say about it as if I’m a voice to the people. Speaking of which, I gotta get to this finale review before I’m over my writing limit is up. Lol!

We open with what we saw in the promo for finale. Star transforms in her golden Mewberty form getting ready to enter the portal to The Realm of Magic, say The Whispering Spell there and destroy all the magic. Despite the major drawback to the aftermath (No Starco😢). She turns down Eclipsa and Moons advice on taking on Mina all together and is just single minded on her plan. Star, maybe that would’ve been a better idea. You know, like the whole Total Annihilation Spell thing that Eclipsa used! That could still work! Huh!? HUH!? HUH!? C’mon!!! (are we not gonna call her out for making a hasty decision based on her impulsive anger from her Moms betrayal!?) Before that however, she didn’t tell Marco the bad news of her plan to save him from heartbreak and Hekapoo was cool with Star going forward with her plan. Uh, seriously Hekapoo!? YOU’RE GONNA DIE! WHO’S THIS CHILL ABOUT DYING!? Guess after literally everything she thought, “Eh, I lived a long life. Besides, magic sucks a**”. Okay, I mean, if that’s how she feels then.

Marco goes with her and after getting one last back handed burning slap on the head (“Running with Scissors”), takes the wand from Moon and gives it the old “Marcos wand” look! (“Deep Dive”) Unknownst to Moon that he’s used it before. (the drawn on mole would’ve been a nice touch. I’m just sayin’). This is it! Their one last adventure before the whole things over. With that, they hold hands (Marco choosing the top arm of Stars left) and walk into the portal to destroy the magic. Oh God!

They arrive in The Realm of Magic and Star tries to do The Whispering Spell while Marco eats pudding that Glossaryck left behind for him and Star. Unfortunately, Star starts to lose her memories and Marco realizes he’s still fine. He finds out it’s the pudding! The Pudding!? OMG! You mean to tell me this is why Glossaryck kept eating pudding the whole time!? Not just because it was delicious! WOW! Marco shoves some pudding in Star which help keep her memories and then they see..............

Thomas Draconius Lucitor! Riding on the corrupted dark unicorn from “Mama Star”! Hey Tom! How you been!? Haven’t seen you since well, that episode I just mentioned! Last we checked, you were stuck in your demon form on fire and with that seatbelt still on!..............which you’re now wearing as a sash for some reason. Guess you never were sent back to Mewni, or the Underworld, or wherever else cuz no one bothered to mention what became of you. Tom, we can explain! A lot of sh*t happened in Mewni and it was all Mina (and Moons) fault! Also Starco is for finally canon and Stars gonna destroy the magic! Btw, why do you have glowing blank eyes like Stars real/fake ancestry?....................Tom, you’re scaring us............Tom, why are you charging at Starco!? Are you pissed that they forgot you!? TOM! TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Back on Mewni, River and Eddie finally make it to the sanctuary to save Globgor and just before they could open it, Mina catches them and the two biggest idiots of Mewni accidentally blurt out what they’re gonna do! (face palms). No thanks to that, Mina now tries to get into the sanctuary.

Over to The Realm of Magic again, Marco fights off Tom using the wand by blasting every bit of whimsical spell Star does and some with his own while Star finally does The Whispering Spell and for the finale, we actually hear what all that whispering was! “Break the bond, tear the fabric, cleave the stone, stop the magic” again and again. And it works! HOLY SH*T IT ACTUALLY WORKS! I didn’t think her plan would work by doing that, but it’s true! It’s freakin’ true!

However, it still doesn’t work. I knew it, I mean, saying the Whispering Spell in The Realm of Magic to destroy all magic! Puh-leeze! It’s only for the wand! :P. Just then, Moon and Eclipsa w/ Meteora show up and decide to help. That’s the quickest moment of forgiving I’ve ever seen, after all what Moon did, Star just accepted her again! Marco finally stops Tom from killing him w/ the corrupted dark unicorn by feeding him pudding, but in the process, getting stabbed! Don! Don! Don! After Tom is cured, he and Marco head back to Star.

Star, Moon, Eclipsa and Meteora Dip Down in their Mewberty forms (the fandom gets their wish on seeing Eclipsa do that) and are joined by the Past Queens of Mewni (starting from Skywynne not the 26 before her cuz that’s all the queens the book mentioned cuz the staff didn’t have enough time to come up with designs, personalities, history, etc for them and also Skywynnes mother, Lyric, didn’t save the original Magic Book of Spells :P) in spiritual form assisting them with destroying magic. They still don’t talk as they didn’t have time to that and cuz it’s the last episode and we’re about wrapping up here, so :P to that.

Mina finds The Realm of Magic and charges after Star, Moon, Eclipsa and Meteora, but gets distracted when she sees her queen, Solaria, and gets attacked by the dark corrupted unicorn. Mina calls out to her for help, but Solaria, the queen that created Mina, transformed her and thought of her as her answer to finishing off monsters, did nothing! Nada, ZIP! Sure she hated monsters, but did she hate monsters more than she loves her daughter!? Some things are just more important.

After he was done with Mina, the dark unicorn goes after the queens, but Marco f**king flips the horse! DAMN! Well, he’s fought monsters, did a bunch of cool sh*t in the Neverzone, helped save Mewni twice and punched Toffee right through him! So yeah! He can flip a horse!

Suddenly, the magic starts getting destroyed, the baby unicorns melt, the wand is no more and the realm prepares its destruction.

The Queens start disappearing with Moon seeing her mother, Comet, one last time, Solaria accepting of Eclipsas monster love and her hybrid granddaughter and most of all, Glossaryck goin’in bye bye. Farewell Glossaryck, you were pretty annoying, but kinda right. It was nice knowin’ ya.

Star then tells Marco he needs to go up the waterfall to Earth, but doesn’t answer him on the bad news that they’ll never see each other again :’(. However, I think he figured it out from their tearful good-bye.

Everyone comes out the well, but Star makes a big sacrifice and decides to go to Earth to be with Marco. Turns out, Marco stayed behind in the destruction of The Realm of Magic cuz he too thought, with or without magic, ღ they belong together! ღ STARCO FOREVER!

With that, they hug for the very last time with their last bit of magic giving them their glowing cheek marks, unknown what will become of them during the destruction (possibly death) and then 💥BOOM!💥

The sanctuary is now gone along with the magic, well dimension traveling, (the narwhal blasting) and most of all, no more signature cheek marks on Star or anyone else who had ‘em on the show! And Star floats a drift on an alligator where Moon finds her riding on another alligator like a jet ski.

The new Solarian army falls apart and all the Monsters, like Buff Frog and his kids, are now finally safe from harm all thanks to Star. Destroying the magic actually did turn out to be the solution to fix everything (I personally didn’t think so cuz I would’ve preferred Star go with Eclipsa’s Total Annihilation Spell from the beginning) and Stars tapestry did predict the outcome of it:Magic gone, no more Glossaryck, Mina defeated, Monsters safe, Reconciled with Moon, Eclipsa and her family alive and well and the Monster Temple still standing, but still, no Starco 😢. However, Star was still happy all the monsters were okay, her family safe and even Eclipsa and her family safe.

With the magic gone, Mina Loveberry has been brought down to normal and unfortunately, still coo coo! Now, with the other villains in the show, most of ‘em got redeemed (Ludo, Tom and Meteora) and others died (Toffee), but our final “Forces of Evil”, Mina, who can no longer transform into her Hulk-like warrior self, still remains mentally ill (there’s no cure for that). Moon tries to talk some final sense into her and help her out with her diseased mind, but Mina refuses her help cuz despite the fact that she’s depowered, she runs off continuing her goal on eliminating monsters cuz it “lingers to her”. Well, she’s a lost cause and no one really gives a sh*t about her anymore (except maybe Manfred), so good-luck to ya ya psycho b*tch!

Moon apologizes to Star for working along side with Mina and making the biggest f*ck up in history, but Star easily forgives her since she (Star) always f*cks up too. I guess the apple doesn’t really fall far from the tree after all, huh!? Star says it’s cuz all families f*ck up (some more so than others), but that what they need to do is just live and learn from it all. So yeah, it’s true. Star heads back to the infirmary to check up on her friends and since the magics gone, those Solarian fatal wounds have already disappeared and everyones okay. Like Pony Head and Rich Pigeon! Star tells Pony Head that destroying the magic was the only solution there was to defeat Mina and save everyone, but despite the fact that she’s happy all is well and done, the tragedy of it is there’s no more Marco Ubaldo Diaz! NO MORE STARCO! IT DIDN’T LAST! 😭 He’s just back on Earth with Janna cuz that’s where they belong much like how Kelly went back to Woolandia and Talon at that Dragon Spit bar thing and that she can’t deal with Pony Heads sassy character trait stuff right now!

Pony Head sees how heartbroken Star is and cheers her up by saying that Kelly is crying tears...........of joy! And happily goin’ on adventures with her “Battle Buddy” Jorby and that Talon is making up cool stories about his adventure to the bar taverns and it does in fact cheer Star up.

From the magic gone, we learn what became of the MHC and that they were reduced to just junk. Omnitraxus Prime is now a lifeless skull like the ones you see stereotypically in the desert, Rhombulus is now a lifeless crystal which was originally his head and his free will snake arms are now just regular old snakes and Idk what happened to Hekapoo, but I’m assuming since she was a demoness, she must’ve just turned to a poof of smoke or something. Omnitraxus was so close to be mature, but sadly he failed to realize what Hekapoo saw. Still disappointed in how Rhombulous turned out (sigh) oh so disappointed. Oh! And uh, Sean just overfilled himself on pizza. He was never important. Whatever.

Just then, Tom shows up and he’s okay too! Pony Head didn’t mention that he was looking for Star after she decided to supposedly leave Mewni to live on Earth and I think it’s cuz she ships Starco now cuz we all know Tomstar failed not once, but twice! Hey! It’s the finale, so I’m tellin’ it like it so :P (third times not always the charm). Any way, Tom shows Star a portal that”s floating around in the distance and that it leads to Earth! (gasp)

Speaking of Earth, since the The Realm of Magic was located under Britta’s Tacos, and is now gone, the restaurant is too. Oh great! 😒 First we lose The Bounce Lounge, then Quest Buy and now the taco place! (as if it wasn’t bad enough we don’t have Starco!). The whole destruction to them was known as an “earthquake”.

Marco is on a gurney, but he’s safe and healed now that the magics gone with that unicorn wound no longer there and his parents and baby sister are relived he’s okay. Sadly, much like Star, he's miserable without her.

Janna rolls in on her gurney attached to a heart rate monitor and she cheers up Marco by saying even though he lost Star, they still have each other as friends. Despite the fact that she drove him nuts most of the time, he did in fact consider her a friend and vice versa. Janna then tells Marco about a portal from a distance that leads to Mewni! (gasp). Janna then tells Marco that he should run for it while she fakes her death in 60 seconds to distract everyone. DAMN! RUN! DIAZ! RUN!

So I’m guessing their last bit of magic together while embracing one last time was the result of that portal (no it’s not a “gas leak” from the “earthquake”), but how long is it gonna remain open!? Both our heroes run like Hell to see each again with a build up theme tune playing with Star punching her way through the Forest of Certain Death and Marco violating traffic laws cuz one thing is set on their minds, make Starco canon!

Marco uses Jackies skateboard to head faster while Star turns down a friendly game of basketball with Ludo and Dennis. So nice that we saw more of the minor characters again. sk8er girl Jackie with her new French mate, Chloe, starter villain Ludo fully redeemed and happy, those two guys that Daron never wanted to exist, Alfonzo and Ferguson, fangirl Starfan13, mean girl Brittany (well finally! Where was she!? Still wish we saw Jeremy though even if he was a little sh*t, I’d still would've liked to have seen him) we even saw that creepy woman and her new dog, “Willoughby”! (”Fetch”).

Okay enough about them, let’s get back to Starco! They’re getting closer!........

closer!.........

CLOSER! AND-

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

WHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHY!? THIS CAN’T BE! YOU MEAN TO TELL ME I WAITED 4 YEARS, WATCHED 4 SEASONS AND WENT THROUGH 4 SHIPS (JARCO, OSTAR, TOMSTAR AND KELLCO) FOR NOTHING! Why does Daron hate us!? Huh, why!? This is it! THIS is how the story ends!? No Starco, no endgame, no HAPPILY EVER AFTER! NO NOTHING! WHAT’S IT GONNA TAKE TO MAKE STARCO HAPPEN!? WHEN DRAGONCYCLES FLY ACROSS THE EARTH SKY!?

Wait! Are those dragoncylces? Flying across the Earth sky!? Holy Sh*t! They are!

And are those, mermaids!? Swimming in the aqueduct!? (was that a giant spider?).

Is that Rich Pigeon getting chased up a tree by Earth dogs!?

Did a helicopter just fly by the Cloud Kingdom over the Pony Head family!?

Whoa! Whoa!.....WHOA! Are you telling me, that Earth and Mewni have merged into one whole dimension and that it’s now Earthni!? Was it that last bit of Starco magic from the embrace that caused that portal to open and explode to do this!? WOW! Now I get it! “Cleaved”! Good one there, good one! Okay, so it’s a little hectic what with the two worlds becoming one thing, but maybe with time, everyone will get used to it (shrugs).

So if the two worlds merged then that means.............................

STARCO AT LAST! The final unification! Better than the one from “Battle for Mewni”, not awkward like in “Lint Catcher” just pure unadulterated Starco and with their beautiful theme music playing once again to emphasize it. They meet, they smile, they walk towards each other and...............they say Hi. No big kiss or hug or even a silent stare, just plain old “Hey how ya doin’?”. It’s a little tame, but considering this is a children's show, it’s still sweet and more importantly, it was endgame ;).

🎶 I wanna be your endgame,

I wanna be your first string,

I wanna be your A-Team,

I wanna be your endgame, endgame 🎶

Since Star Butterfly wasn’t there to do her closing inner monologue like how she did with her opening one in the pilot of the show, I’ll be doing it here. So the show ended with Starco like we all hoped for except with the unexpected twist that both their worlds, Earth and Mewni, collided together. Never in a millions years would we have thought this would happen! I’ve seen fan works of Starco either living together on Earth or living as royals in Mewni with their “Starco child(ren)”, but the fact that we got a best of both worlds finale was a huge surprise! Now the happy couple can still be with their families and friends and even have Meteora and Mariposa grow up together like they promised they would. If you ask me, this sounds more like a new beginning, like how are the Humans and Mewmens gonna adapt to their new surroundings and interactions among each other like it’s the start of a whole new season! But I guess that was left to the fans to use their imagination on how that’ll go cuz so many people already had left the show to pursue other things and that they needed to wrap it up quickly. However, we’re still left with some unanswered questions such as why we didn’t see the Septarian, Seth, and how he was the head honcho of the Septarian army cuz he was a big deal in The Magic Book of Spells and since that book was foreshadowing everything in the final season, I assumed we might’ve gotten a look at him and maybe have him make an appearance since it was last said he disappeared, but I guess like in the book, he’s history. Second, there’s Toffee, from the very beginning he wanted the magic destroyed such as having Star use The Whispering Spell in the Season 1 finale and then corrupting it in the tv movie and it wasn’t until near the end where Star realized he was right to do so after all the chaos that’s been goin’ on. Granted it wasn’t for the same reasons she wanted, but overall just doing away with it to not give anyone an advantage to use against someone. I actually thought (like some fans) that he’d come back again, cuz he was mentioned a lot and it was hinted in the final seasons episode premiere about the use of magic and that he might’ve, but after two seasons and a movie, I suppose it was enough and at least he got a cameo in one. Still, his actions were a big concern for Star. Thirdly, the rebel princesses, last we saw, Meteora blew up the whole school after finding out about her true background and we never saw what became of ‘em. Hopefully, they’re fine like Pony Head is and that our minds shouldn’t go into a dark place thinking about that. Speaking of darkness, monster arm, he looked to be hinted at coming back after his defeat, but instead he was just left as a scare gag and irrelevance to the plot. Lastly, the same goes for that mysterious sun/moon/star room in St.Olga’s. It looked to be a big plot point to bring up in a later episode, but alas, we got nothing out of it! We suspected it had something to do with The Blood Moon, but even that was all for nothing! Never did we find out what that room was supposed to mean and I guess it was never meant to have been pointed out in-universe cuz that was for us fans to see it as an up and coming big Starco moment like how the Blood Moon was never magic and that it was just a gimmick with the whole “soul binding” thing to spice up it’s appeal. The finale was good. Could’ve done it as an hour long special or tv movie to close it off, but since Daron and the staff kept goin’ through so many changes in episode plots (and believe me, I’ve seen plenty of “what-could’ve-been” plots like the original idea for the show with Star younger and non-magical annoying everyone around her with her big imagination of her being a magical girl princess), I kinda think maybe they rushed into it, but even so, it was a nice finale and it left a good memory for me. I found some nice people through this fandom and just to name a few there was that ever popular head cannon blog, @svtfoeheadcanons which than went onto @seddm. Thank you for your words and blog and answering some of my questions (even though it was kinda anon, but I think you might’ve recognized me from my writings) you are brilliant, @moringmark, your comics of the Starco/Jarco child clashing story were fun as well as your Starco Child Headquarters comic and I am now enjoying your “F.R.I.E.N.D.S” parody of the Past Queens of Mewni and also the Meteora and Mariposa comic, thank you for your comics, I always check on and comment on ‘em and last, but certainly not least, my good svtfoe friend, @agentpfangirl1997. Hey girl! I love how I found her and we chatted about what we thought about the show and checking each others reviews and fan arts of it. Her drawings are awesome! Glad I got to know such a great person. Even with the show, we still keep it alive through our love for it and will treasure it for years to come. Thank you, Daron Nefcy! @daronnefcy

#svtfoe #cleaved #svtfoe cleaved #svtfoe finale #thank you daron #farewell svtfoe

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