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#is that weird I remember your abandoned fic from like two+ years ago? it’s stayed on my mind that long
rollercoasterwords · 2 years
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24, 11, 6
<3
6. When did you start reading and writing fic?
ok bear with me i feel like this is like a very weird timeline for getting into fic but
technically my first ever fanfiction was a quizilla wwyff (if literally anyone else remembers quizilla and wwyffs hmu bc sometimes it feels like a fever dream) that i wrote when i was 13 BUT i didn't actually start getting into like...actual fanfiction until i was lik 16/17 and got very into voltron (dark times) and started reading a little bit of fanfiction and writing a self-insert fic that i then abandoned when the show went downhill and i got bored of it lol. and then when i was in my final year of undergrad and home for the holidays losing my mind i read atyd for the first time, but i didn't really read any other fanfic after that, so it was kind of an isolated event. but i also started to rewrite the captive prince series and finished the first two books in the span of like 2-3 months i think and then just slowly chipped away at the last one over like the next 6 months, and i remembered ao3 from my voltron days so i was like might as well post this here in case anyone's interested and then there were like a handful of people reading it and i was like wow this is fun! nice :)
BUT i would say that i didn't actually start to get involved in fanfiction as any sort of community until literally exactly one year ago when i started posting my rewrite of atyd from sirius's pov thinking it would go the same way my captive prince rewrite went, where i was essentially just fucking around having fun getting to stay inside this story for a while and a handful of people would stop by and be like hey nice! and then someone on tiktok posted about it and it blew up all of a sudden like...two or three months after i'd started writing it i think? and so i feel like i kind of got dragged into the marauders fanfic community lmao because that's what led to me like making this blog and stuff. and then i started to get more interested in the marauders fandom generally and started to see people recommending fics so i was like hmmm maybe i'll branch out from atyd and read some other stuff and. well. now here we are a year later.
11. Do you have a comfort fic that you always come back to? What is it?
i mean....atyd i guess lmao. except after sirius's pov i think i've sort of got it out of my system in that i spent like...6 months thinking about it nonstop and so now i cannot imagine re-reading it anytime soon. i'm not really a big re-reader when it comes to fics though, like aside from atyd i don't really think there are any i go back to. except hackery i have reread hackery many many times but i wouldn't call it a comfort fic it's more like the fanfiction equivalent of snorting cocaine when i need inspiration to write
24. If you could go back and talk to yourself in the moments before you posted your first fic, what would you say to past you?
i'd say hey babe ur actually a lesbian <3 also they're going to make shiro gay anyway and the lance x allura thing isn't a joke they're actually following through with it he and keith will never be canon <3 hope this helps <3
this ask game
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tomurasprincess · 3 years
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Kinktober Day 24: Monster (The Asylum)
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Day 24: Monster Title: The Asylum Pairing: Mothman Shigaraki x Reader Word Count: 3.1k Warnings: Noncon, monster mind control stuff, oviposition, cumflation, belly bulges, breeding, forced orgasms, some slight descriptions of gore and blood, yandere Note: The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum is a real place, although parts of what I wrote is fake, mostly the part where they close down a second time in the fic. IRL, they’re still open and doing tours. Tagging @ichor-and-symbiosis​ and @kazooli​ as two of the OG Mothura writers 👀
Sequel: The Brood
Kinktober Masterlist
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You’ve always loved urban exploring, going to old mental asylums and hospitals to look around and see the decay of places that used to be so bustling with people. You especially liked the places that had tragic pasts, the ones where horrific things occurred. It sounds morbid to anyone you talk to about your interests, but it was the truth. You’ve always believed in monsters and ghosts just out of sight of humanity, lurking in the dark corners of abandoned places.
That’s why you instantly planned a trip to the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum the second you heard about it. It had been abandoned years ago due to extreme abuse of patients. A historical society had moved in later, renovating the place and making a history tour of it that also did ghost tours at night.
But even they ended up abandoning the place due to the fake ghost tours apparently starting to become real ghost tours. People began to see creatures out of the corner of their eyes, something they said was much larger than a human, with wings on its back and piercing red eyes.
It was initially dismissed as overactive imaginations, people who wanted to see ghosts so badly that they were seeing things that weren’t there. Or people who just wanted to start tall tales  for attention and were flat out making things up in order to scare the rest of the group.
But then the disappearances started to happen. It was almost always young women who got separated from the tour group, although a few times it was a boyfriend and girlfriend who got lost together. The tour guides scoured every inch of the asylum looking for the missing people, but they found no trace of them. At first it was dismissed as the people getting scared and running off without telling anybody.
Until one day, a regularly scheduled tour group stumbled across the bodies. Not the bodies of the missing girls, but their partners. They were viciously torn apart, with limbs scattered all over the room. Their blood covered the walls, the floor, even the ceiling of the room. The women were alive but traumatized, rocking back and forth in a corner of the room absolutely covered in blood, none of which was their own.
They told the same tales that the rest of the people did. They were captured by a monster, around 8-9 feet tall, with large moth-like wings and red eyes. The creature was surprisingly gentle to them, they said, at least until they saw that they were with someone. The creature had become enraged, tearing their partner to pieces as they watched. They knew for certain that they would be next, their eyes squeezed tight as they waited for their death.
But the creature did nothing, simply turning away and leaving the room like they were not what the creature wanted.
Although everyone agreed that something horrible had happened to the young women, none of them believed their story. They had stayed in that room for several days, covered in the blood of their loved ones, not knowing if they were ever going to make it out. Of course they were traumatized, thinking they saw monsters. But monsters aren’t believed to exist, and so everyone began to look for a human murderer that was never found.
The asylum tried to recover from the tragedy, but it was never able to. The amount of bad press they got for having lax safety standards and not taking care of their tour groups caused everybody to stay away. Finally, having no other choice in the matter, the asylum had closed.
When you heard this story, you were over the moon excited. Not just a historical landmark, but also a place with a possible real life monster sighting. Nothing was going to stop you from going there and seeing the place for yourself.
And now here you stand, in front of the building with a backpack full of supplies slung over your shoulder. You had your phone, flashlights with spare batteries, a spare change of clothes, matches and lighters, even a rope and various other tools should something happen inside of the building.
And so, with a deep excitement bubbling up in your stomach, you find your way through a hole in the fence and walk through the front door. The first thing you see is the reception desk with various odds and ends left over from the closure. There are even still brochures describing the various types of tours and listing prices.
You walk down the first corridor you see, going past various closed off rooms that look to be basic examination rooms. There is surprisingly little decay, mostly everything still looking rather clean and intact besides a thick layer of dust and cobwebs covering everything. You’re a bit discouraged but decide to continue on to see if things get more interesting.
After all, the murders occured in the basement, and you’re not anywhere close to that yet.
Soon you find yourself in the medical ward where the patients were kept, and you instantly realize one of the reasons this hospital was so nightmarish. The rooms are even smaller than jail cells, leaving barely enough space for patients to lay down in. There are so many rooms of that exact size that you wonder how the staff could accurately take care of the amount of patients there had to be. But you remember your research, remember the fact that they couldn’t.
That was why so many brutal procedures were performed such as lobotomies, in order to keep the peace at the asylum and make things easier for the doctors and nurses. You give a quick shudder and begin to move on, feeling a strange sensation that you desperately want to get away from.
The decay gets worse and worse the closer you get to the basement, rust and decay beginning to cover every surface you see. You walk past some of the surgery rooms and feel horror at the utensils and instruments you see in them. The historical society tried to keep things as accurate as possible, and as such, they had kept most of the equipment that you would see back in those days.
You’re beginning to wonder if this is a good idea, as that strange sensation continues to worsen and worsen. You realize with a start what this feeling actually is.
It feels like someone is watching your every movement. You whirl around, shining your flashlight in every direction as you try to see what’s watching you. But there’s nothing but darkness and the decaying walls of the hospital. You shake your head, laughing quietly at the fact that you’re spooked out by a few weird shadows and an odd feeling.
You’re not going to let it stop you from your goal, however, and you continue forwards until you get to the doors of the basement. The feeling here is overwhelming, simultaneously telling you to run and move forward all at the same time. The conflicting emotions leave you off balance and light headed, and you reach your hand out instinctively when you sway on your feet. You touch a section of the wall and instantly pull your hand back.
The wall is warm, not cold like it should be. A sense of unease crawls up your spine, and you decide then and there that it’s time to go. Making it to the basement is not worth this, whatever it is you’re feeling. But then you hear a soft humming and the flapping of wings, coming from deep within the basement of the hospital.
Instead of being terrified, however, you feel entranced. It’s one of the most beautiful things you’ve ever heard, and it’s calling you. You open the basement door without even thinking about it, walking down the stairs in a dreamy haze. You don’t even pay attention to how heavy the rot here is, how the walls are entirely blackened by decay that spreads out like veins on a body.
You don’t pay attention when the door slams closed behind you, locking you in with whatever is calling you closer. All you can think about is getting to that beautiful sound, that lonely haunting call that seems to burrow deep into your brain. You walk as if you’re in a trance, turning corridors that you’ve never seen before but somehow know where they’re going.
Finally, you get to a door that is deep within the bowels of the basement, a bright red door that seems to beckon you inside. You push open the door with no hesitation, walking through and letting it close behind you.
And you finally come face to face with the creature. He is about 9 feet tall, towering over your small form. He’s not overly muscular, but he has a thin wiry look to him that says he is deceptively strong. His red eyes bore into you like they’re staring directly into your soul. On his back are two massive wings, spread to their full wing span and utterly gorgeous.
The creature makes a small chittering noise as he motions you towards him, and you follow like he’s a puppeteer holding your strings. He pulls you tightly into his body, burying his nose into your neck and taking a deep whiff of your skin. His hot breath on your sensitive skin pulls a shudder from you. and he tightens his grip as if he’s worried you’ll get away.
A long tongue pokes out of his mouth, licking at the pulse point that is frantically beating. “Mine,” he groans into your skin, sharp teeth grazing you. “Mate.” You’re lifted up off your feet before being laid down on the ground, hips in the air and face down on the floor. He rips your pants off easily, leaving your panties on as he lowers his head down. You feel a flash of embarrassment as he sniffs them like he sniffed your neck, groaning again as his tongue drags across the wet abric. “Fertile,” he whispers as he pulls your panties aside, “fertile mate.”
The haze parts from your mind long enough for you to feel a sharp flash of fear, and then his tongue is lapping at your folds and the fear is quickly chased away again. You dig your nails into the floor as you feel him work his tongue inside of you, using it to fuck you like a cock would. You gasp when he hits your cervix with his tongue and keeps going, wiggling against the barrier like he’s trying to break through it.
Something in his saliva causes your body to heat up and your muscles to loosen enough for him to batter his tongue harder against you and push through. Your scream echoes through the walls of the room, but not of pain. Instead, a fierce pleasure overtakes you as your cervix gives way to the creature’s tongue, allowing him to enter into your womb.
The feeling of this tongue wiggling around in your empty womb causes you to tip over the edge and cum around the creature’s tongue as he eagerly laps at your juices. He withdraws his tongue, causing you to let out a whine of disappointment, only to be surprised when you feel something prodding at your entrance. It doesn’t feel like a human cock at all, with ridges and bumps along the length and much thicker than a human cock would be.
You have a single moment to wonder how it will fit inside of you before it’s pushing in, stretching out your tight outer ring of muscles and causing a sharp burning in your lower stomach. You whine and try to pull away, only for the creature to let out a snarl as claws dig into your hips, causing your blood to drip down onto the pavement.
Even though there is no pain, only more pleasure, you learn your lesson and don’t try to move away as the thick cock slides even further into you. It’s so much thicker than anything you’ve ever taken before, and you’re shaking like a leaf when he finally bottoms out inside. You think he’ll start thrusting like a human male would, except that he doesn’t.
He keeps pushing, humping into you with sharp movements designed to force your cervix open even further. You squeal as the cock makes it past the barrier, burying deep inside of your womb. You glance down and let out a choked sob at the bulge in your stomach where the tip of the creature’s cock is.
“Pretty - pretty mate,” the creature says hesitantly, rolling his hips experimentally into you and drawing a groan from your throat. “Tomura,” he adds, and it takes you a second to realize that’s the creature’s name.
“Tomura,” you murmur, and the creature chitters happily at the sound of your voice saying the name. You try to think of something else to ask, maybe even to beg to be released as the haze seems to clear a bit, but Tomura begins to hum again, and you instantly smile in bliss as all of your concern fades away.
You feel something else pushing into your entrance, and it takes a long moment to realize what it is as you feel it slip up your stretched out tunnel.
Eggs. The creature is filling you with eggs. Instead of being horrified, however, you moan as they continue to move inside of you. There are multiple eggs at once, small and gooey, and they coat your insides with wetness as they make their way to your still stretched out cervix.
You feel them pass through the opening to plop down into your womb, and you cry out and cum hard, pussy wildly fluttering around Tomura’s cock. He lets out a deep grunt of pleasure as he rocks his hips against you, and you feel more eggs pushing into you. This time, a few of them get stuck against a spongy spot inside of you, and you scream out your orgasm, legs shaking and eyes rolling to the back of your head.
“Fuck, oh god, shit, Tomura - “ you babble mindlessly as more eggs push into you, “it feels so good, why does it - “
Before those eggs can push fully in, there are already more entering you, and you feel so incredibly full. They drop down into your no longer empty womb, wringing another orgasm from your tired body. The skin of your stomach is stretching, making you look bloated, and Tomura still isn’t done.
You lose track of time completely, only aware of your body twitching and convulsing as more and more eggs push up into you, settling into your womb with the rest of them. Your stomach already looks 9 months pregnant, and you can barely hold yourself up.
Tomura sees this, and he gently picks you up and lays you down on your back. “Pretty mate,” he leans and kisses your forehead, “look so good with my children. Our children.”
“Oh god, no more, please no more, I’m so full Tomura,” you whimper as more eggs push into you. “Please, so full - “
Tomura hums softly at you, and you smile with bliss as the final eggs plop down into your womb.  His movements become more savage, thrusting hard into you as he grunts and groans. The force of his thrusts has you sliding up, breasts bouncing and your belly jiggling. The feeling of the eggs moving around inside of you has you howling out your orgasm, blackness dotting the edge of your vision as you almost lose consciousness.
Finally, Tomura is finished, and his cock begins to twitch inside of you as hot ropes of cum fill you up, shooting directly into your womb where the eggs reside. You sob as you watch your stomach bulge out even more as the creature’s cum fertilizes the eggs inside. You can no longer see the dents and valleys of the eggs along your stomach, and you reach down to gently run your hand over your bloated stomach.
You can feel the eggs through the barrier of skin, and it causes your eyes to roll back at the pleasure. Tomura gives a soft, happy chirp as he places his hand over yours on your belly, rubbing it gently. He pulls out slowly, causing a mixture of your cum and his to gush out of your now gaping pussy.
He reaches down to pick you up as he walks towards a door in the back of the room that you hadn’t noticed before. You’re shocked by what you see when you walk through. It’s an utterly untouched room, still looking brand new and with none of the decay that covers the rest of the basement. There is no bed, but there is a pile of clean blankets and pillows in the corner, piled up high and in a circle.
A nest, you realize. It’s a nest. For you. He tucks you in gently, chirping again as his clawed hand runs over your pregnant belly. “Mate,” he says happily, “my pretty little mate.” He stands up and walks towards the door, turning to you one last time as his gaze narrows and darkens just a bit.
“No running. Don’t want to have to tie mate down.” He continues to gaze at you, as if waiting for something.
“I won’t run,” you say quietly, and the dark look on his face is gone instantly as he beams at you.
“Good mate, good.” And with that, he’s gone.
With his absence, some of the haze lifts and you’re able to realize the horror of the situation you’re in. Nobody knows where you are, and you’re trapped. Even if you wanted to run, you don’t think you could with how large your belly is. No escape and no help coming for you, and the creature already seems so possessive of you that he’s not going to let you easily escape.
If only you had listened to your instincts earlier, if only you hadn’t been so fascinated with the grotesque, if only you had simply chosen to stay home.
You’ve always believed in monsters. You just never thought you would find one.
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✧༝┉┉┉┉┉˚*❋ ❋ ❋*˚┉┉┉┉┉༝✧
Kinktober: @thewheezingwyvern​, @vixen-scribbles​, @katsukisprincess​, @hisoknen​, @trafalgar-temptress​, @leeswritingworld, @burnedbyshoto​, @bakugotrashpanda​, @dee-madwriter​, @kittycatkrissa​, @reinawritesbnha​, @yanderart​, @dabilove27​, @anxietyplusultra​, @flutterfalla​, @angmarwitch​, @nereida19​, @babayaga67​, @fromsunnywithlove​, @dabis-kitten​, @bakugos-cumsock​, @yumeneji​, @the-grimm-writer​, @iwaizumi-chan​, @slashersheart​, @bunnyywritings​, @bakarinnie​, @angie-1306​, @lalalemon101​​, @videogameboiwhowins​​, @f4nficbaby​​, @tenkoshimmy​, @baroque-baby​​, @bbyspiiice​​, @thirstyforthem2dmen​​, @blissfulignorance2000​, @bluecookies02-main​
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laddieseddiemunster · 3 years
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Hi! Thx for replying by for specification, I really loved the rebel aspect about the little sister imagine and maybe you could do one for like when it’s the day after she drank the bottle and the guys didn’t find her in the cave but can sense her around the boardwalk. I read in a few that when a new member is added they can feel it so that’s the route I’m going for. If not it’s cool.
Thank you for this ask! I really love the whole little sister concept with the lost boys. This ended up kind of turning into a wholesome fic cause I didn’t want to copy my other one. Hope you enjoy!
New Arrival (Lost Boys & 13 y/o Sister!Reader)
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warning(s): mentioning of kidnapping, sneaking out of school, alcoholism, peer pressure
Some might say you were too young to be ditching school, but the hell with them, right? Though you weren’t sneaking out of school to a party. No, you were meeting up with friends to go exploring through some abandoned places. Sure, these places could be haunted, but the slight fear makes the experience more fun for you and your friends. Nothing spooky has ever happened before, so why should something happen now?
One of your friends came up with the idea. It was supposed to be a celebration for you and your friends most hated teacher because they had just gone missing. It was the ‘I’m glad you’re gone and I hope you never come back’ type of celebration. You didn’t know exactly what abandoned place you were going to, but wherever it was, it seemed to be really closed off near the mountains.
This abandoned place was beautiful, but it didn’t seem too abandoned. It was a cave that looked like it was something else originally, but it was decorated so nicely that you could hardly tell. The only problem was, there was some fire lit in the cave to bring light in, which probably means someone was in here not long ago.
Instead of deciding to leave, you chose to stay because you didn’t want to look like the one that was all scared. You’ve been to many abandoned places with your friends, but the slight fact that this place could possibly not be abandoned gave you the creeps.
As you all gathered up in the center of the cave, one of your friends thought it was a great idea to play a game of truth or dare. You made the smart move and decided to go with truth, because there was no way that you were doing a dare in this cave. One of your other friends decided to go with dare, and the dare they got was to crawl through the tunnel up hidden in the cave that no one had the balls to go into. You were thankful you didn’t have to do that.
Unfortunately for you, it came a time where you used up all of your truths, and now you were forced to do a dare. If you chose truth for a certain amount of times, then you had to do a dare no matter what. One of your friends came up with that idea, and you were currently hating them for it.
Your heart beat started to pump faster and faster as you thought of what horrible dare you would have to do in this cave. The answer to your question, was not thrilling or exciting as you might have guessed. Your friend handed you a tall looking wine glass that had been sitting on a table when you had first gotten to the cave. Your friend told you that for the dare you’d have to take a sip of whatever substance was in this glass.
Both of your eyes looked down in the direction of the bottle in your hands. The liquid inside was blood red, and it didn’t smell too appealing either. You almost gagged and immediately shook your head. There was no way you were going to drink this. All your friends started to whine and tell you that you had to do it because it was a dare. They started to chant “chug!” over and over again. You realized that if you didn’t drink it, then your friends would never let you live this down. You closed your eyes and took a deep breath. “If I die it’s their fault,” you thought to yourself before putting the opening of the bottle up to your lips.
The substance burned your throat the second you swallowed a tiny portion of it. You let the bottle drop onto the floor and smash into thousands of pieces. You started to cough as you felt the burning from the liquid practically in your chest now. Your friends crowded you asking if you were okay, but you couldn’t answer them. You were barely able to breathe, more or less speak.
While you were trying to catch your breath, you heard some screaming coming from the other end of the cave. You thought this day couldn’t get any worse, but boy, were you wrong.
The screaming was coming from your friend that was given the dare to explore one of the tunnels in the cave. Well, they were now squirming out of the tunnel, and they looked scared shitless. They were screaming loudly that you all needed to leave now, and you definitely weren’t going to argue with that. The rest of your friends now looked pretty afraid, so you all grabbed your things and left as quickly as you could.
Your friend started to calm down when the cave was no where in sight and you all were safe. They claimed that they saw a couple people hanging from the roof at the end of the tunnel. A couple of your friends thought it was all a bunch of bologna. Some of them actually wanted to go back and investigate, but you were quick to shut them down. There is no way in hell that you were going back to that place.
->
The boys woke up and immediately noticed something was off. They could feel in their blood that a human had just been turned. Though, they didn’t know how. David could tell that it was from his blood, so he knew that someone drank the bottle. That, or one of them didn’t fully kill someone, and they hoped to god that that wasn’t the case.
Once they all saw the broken bottle of David’s blood on the floor they knew what had happened. They could also smell in the air that their were humans in the cave just a couple hours ago. Their main concern wasn’t to go out and kill some people that were in the cave, the main concern was to find you. A new vampire out in public could be dangerous. Lots of terrible things could happen that they didn’t want to think about. They knew they had to find you. Before Max did.
->
You didn’t feel too bad after a couple hours. You were able to breathe, and the burning in your chest went away. It was almost like nothing had happened. Well, so far.
Once you felt 100% you decided to take a walk around the boardwalk. Your friends were most likely already there. You met up with them there almost every day. Your mom dropped you off at the boardwalk before scurrying away to the nearest bar. It wasn’t a surprise to you at all. Sometimes you wondered how your mother even remembered to pick you up after school cause of all her drinking. You hoped one day she’d get some help for herself and you, but you’ve been hoping for that for years.
After your mom dropped you off you decided to look around for your friends. You usually met up with them around the carousel, but when you got there, they were nowhere to be found. You figured that they were probably still spooked over what happened at the cave, so you decided to go for ice cream because you knew it’d be a while before your mom would come to get you.
While you were in the line to order some ice cream, you started to feel a pounding in your chest. It felt like your heart was about to explode. You fell onto your knees and tried to take a few breaths. You could practically hear your own heart beat. It sounded like your heart was a ticking time bomb that was ready to detonate. A couple people in the line crouched down to your level and asked if you were okay.
As you looked over at the people trying to help you, you noticed that a weird feeling appeared in your throat. Almost like a thirst. Not a thirst for water though. You could practically smell the blood from their veins. It was quite unsettling, and the thirst in your throat kept increasing. It was like you were looking at them as if they were a meal. The people didn’t understand. They probably thought you were about to pass out.
The thirst was too much for you to handle, so you pushed past the people to try and stop it. Of course, that didn’t work at all. There was hundreds of people walking around, and you were stuck right in the middle of the crowd. The thirst didn’t go away, and the crowds only made it worse. The pounding in your chest didn’t help much either. You felt like you were dying, and no one around you seemed to care.
Your vision started to blur, and now your head was pounding along with your heart. You almost felt like your legs were about to give out. Until you felt someone grab onto both of your shoulders to keep you upright.
“Are you okay, kid?” Your vision came back and you looked up to see who was talking to you. It was a tall blond looking rocker, who definitely was considerably a lot older than you.
“Y-yeah! I’m fine,” you tried to get away from him, but he wasn’t budging. He hard a firm grip on your shoulders.
“Oh good, you found her,” you turned to your left to see a shorter blond with curly hair. He had a leather jacket on that had lots of vibrant colors. Since you had been on the boardwalk a good amount of times, you knew who these guys were. They were a part of the biker gang that was known for being feared. These guys were bad news.
“Wh-what?” The fact that they had been looking for you only sparked red flags. Luckily, your thirst started to become manageable. You didn’t quite feel it anymore. It was strange that the second these guys showed up was the second your thirst started to wear off, but you weren’t exactly complaining about it.
“Uhh, kid, you’re going to have to come with us,” the shorter blond said trying to take your hand.
“No!” You pulled your hand away from him, but the taller blond still had a grip on you.
“Kid, listen, you’re a-”
“No! Let go of me!” The blond rocker now grabbed onto your wrist. He was pretty strong, so no matter how hard you pulled, he didn’t budge one bit. The two remaining members of the gang had now joined in. Four against one.
“This is the one, right David?” The shorter blond asked. David. Now at least one of them was revealed.
“Yes,” the one called David said. He was definitely the leader. You recognized him because he always led the pack whenever you saw them around the boardwalk. “We have to take her back.”
You cursed under your breath realizing that you had to get out of this and fast. “Help me! I’m being kidnapped! Help!” You screamed for anyone to hear, but everyone just kept walking. It was like you were deaf upon ears.
“Stop it, kid! Ow!” The blond rocker yelped in pain as you bit down hard on his wrist that gripped onto your arm. He still didn’t release you, no matter how hard you tried. The other two blonds laughed at the two of you.
“Jesus Paul,” the brunette scoffed. “You’re scaring the hell out of her!”
“You’re not being kidnapped,” the shorter blond said with a mischievous smile appearing on his face. You could tell that he liked scaring people. “Well, not literally.”
The brunette shoved the shorter blond aside and walked towards you. “What’s your name?”
“Why would I tell you that?” You replied trying to back away from him.
“We’re not here to hurt you. You’re not being kidnapped,” the brunette said and turned back to glare at the shorter blond. “We’re here to help you.”
“From what?” You asked still unconvinced.
“We’re gonna explain that. Just tell us you’re name first,” the brunette said.
You rolled your eyes at told him your name. They all followed by telling you their names. The brunette was Dwayne. And the shorter blond was Marko.
David pushed Dwayne aside to walk towards you. “Let’s get to the point, okay?” You nodded even though you didn’t know exactly what he meant. “You drank from the bottle, didn’t you?”
You gasped softly. Dammit, you knew that you shouldn’t have drunk from that bottle. All because of some stupid dare. You shut your eyes and nodded.
David sighed. “Look kid, this is going to be really hard to explain, and I can’t do it here. You’re going to have to come back with us.”
“How do I know you’re not going to hurt me?” You asked not fully trusting them.
David chose not to put his hands on you. He felt that that would probably freak you out even more. “I swear to you that we won’t. We are here to help you, and protect you.”
“Protect me from what?” You asked.
“Yourself in a way.” You gave David a questioning look. What the hell was in that drink? “Listen to me very carefully,” you nodded. “You’re no longer...human. That drink contains something that turns you into... one of us.” He said which didn’t help your confusion.
“It’s hard to explain, but I can explain it better if we’re not in public. You’re going to have to trust us. If you don’t, it can be bad for you.” David said which still didn’t make much sense to you. But, you wanted to know what was the matter with you, so you nodded.
The boys took you out of the crowds and towards their motorcycles. You still didn’t exactly trust them, but if they could fix whatever was wrong with you, then you were willing to take the risk. David motioned for you to get on the back of his bike, and you had to take a breath before getting on it. Millions of thoughts raced through your brain, but you tried to convince yourself that these guys might actually be trying to help you.
The ride was actually kind of thrilling. You could tell David had no intention of driving slow. It didn’t surprise you when you saw them stop right in front of the caves entrance. You hoped to never see this cave again, but it didn’t look like this cave was ever going to leave your life.
You walked in trying not to look at the broken glass on the floor from the ‘wine’ bottle.
“Is this what you drank from?” Marko asked picking up some of the broken glass.
You gulped and nodded.
David and Marko shared a glance. Unfortunately, it didn’t look like a good one.
“Y/n, we are not exactly human,” David started. “You’ve seen all the missing posters around the town I’m sure?”
You nodded again.
“Those people are missing because of us. We are...killers. We have to feed from people to survive. If we feed, we will never die.” David said. You started to fidget. Maybe they weren’t trying to help you. Maybe they wanted you to be their next victim.
“So, you’re...cannibals?” You asked hoping that that wasn’t the truth. The two blonds started to laugh, but Dwayne glared at both of them internally telling them to stop.
David shook his head. “No, we’re...” David took a deep breath. He didn’t like stating the exact name of what he was, “...vampires.”
You scoffed in disbelief. You weren’t only in the worst place in the world, but now these guys claim to be vampires.
Marko and Paul shared a glance and mischievously smiled at each other. You were about to call them crazy, until you saw both of the blonds faces change completely. Their eyes turned golden, and their teeth were now sharp fangs that could pierce anyone’s skin.
Before you could scream, Dwayne put his hand over your mouth. “It’s okay, they’re not going to hurt you.” He tried to sound reassuring, but it didn’t work too well. The blonds turned back to normal after a few seconds, and you started to calm down. After Dwayne took his hand away from your mouth, you started to put two and two together.
“Is that what...I am?” You asked hoping that your conclusion was incorrect. The last thing you wanted to be was a vampire.
David nodded. “In that bottle, was my blood. Since you drank it, you’re now one of us.”
You couldn’t believe what you were hearing. Vampires were supposed to be fake! Not real! You couldn’t imagine killing people in order to survive. “Is there any way to turn back?”
David looked away before shaking his head.
“You mean I’m stuck like this forever?!” You raised your voice. This was worse than death.
“It’s not as bad as it looks,” Marko said.
“It’s worse than it looks!” You fired back making Marko look to the ground.
“Well, on the bright side you’re going to be our sister now,” Paul said with a smile.
“I don’t want to be your sister!” You said which made Paul’s smile fall. “I want to be normal!”
“Look, I understand that you probably want to think this over. There is a bedroom over there if you want to be alone.” David said pointing over to a room that was covered with curtains. You wondered why. You didn’t want to argue with them anymore, so you got up and walked over to the bedroom closing the curtains behind you. This was definitely the worst day of your life. You had to bite your lip to fight the tears that were threatening to fall. Crying wouldn’t help anything at this point.
You ended up spending the night there. The boys brought you food before the sun came up, but you never said a word to them when you came to give you the food. You woke up the next day assuming that it was morning. Instead, it was six in the afternoon. The sun was probably already down. You groaned realizing that your mom was probably pissed right now.
A couple minutes later, Dwayne, Paul, and Marko walked in your ‘bedroom’. You sighed and sat on the bed trying not to look at them. Marko walked to the side of the bed you were closest on, and he showed you a teddy bear that he had been hiding behind his back. He gestured for you to grab it, and you hesitated before grabbing it. The bear was brown, and it had a big smile on its face. You looked over at Marko and he shrugged his shoulders with a grin. You smiled and hugged the teddy bear tightly letting your head rest on the toys head.
Paul walked over to you and showed you a cake he had been hiding behind his back. On the top of the cakes was writing made out of frosting that said “Sister?” on it. You chuckled and took the cake.
“Is this...breakfast?” You asked not exactly knowing what to name this meal.
“Hey, if you don’t want it, I’ll eat it,” Paul said laying down on the bed.
“Did you write this?” You asked Paul pointing at the writing on the cake.
Paul nodded.
“Well, you have terrible handwriting,” you giggled looking at the words on the cake that were so hard to make out. It looked like someone drunk had written it.
Paul glared at you before grabbing the teddy bear and throwing it at your face. While you were distracted, Paul took his chance and wrestled you down to the bed and grabbed the cake looking like he was about to drop it on your face. You screamed for him not to do it.
“Take back what you said!” Paul pretended to be angry, but you could tell that he was just playing. Though he probably would drop the cake on your face.
“I take it back!” You gave in and Paul put the cake down on the bed.
You looked over at Dwayne who looked like he was trying not to bring up the elephant in the room. “Where’s David?” You asked him.
“He went out.” Dwayne said with a frown on his face. “Look y/n, you’re not a full vampire yet, you’re half. In order to be full, you’ll have to make your first kill.”
You looked away from Dwayne. Your good mood was now gone. “Do I have to make a kill?”
“Well, it’s probably best that you shouldn’t right now,” Dwayne said which gave you some hope. “You’re pretty young, so it’d be best if you wait til you’re older. It’ll be hard, but you’ll be able to do it.”
You sighed. “Will I ever get to see my friends and family again?” You asked Dwayne.
“It’s probably best that you don’t. You won’t be going to school anymore, so it’d be hard to explain to people why you aren’t going,” Dwayne replied.
“I’m not going to school anymore?” You asked.
“Well, as long as you’re with us, then no,” Dwayne said. No school? You hated school. Maybe this life wouldn’t be so bad after all. Then you remembered about your mother. You couldn’t just stop seeing her. Even though she wasn’t the best mother, you still loved her.
“What about my family? I can’t just leave my mom. I’m all she has!” You told them.
“It’s probably best that you don’t see her. If you see her and she calls the police, it could be bad,” the brunette explained.
Your mom was probably worried sick about you. The least you could do was check up on her, and make sure she’s okay.
“Can i at least go check up on her? Just to see if she’s okay? I won’t talk to her, I’ll just look through the window,” you suggested.
Dwayne looked over at Marko and Paul for an answer. They both shrugged their shoulders.
“Okay,” Dwayne agreed. “But just this once.”
You were glad that they were letting you see your mother, but at the same time it felt like they were controlling your life. You didn’t choose to be like this, but now you can’t get out of it. All because of a stupid dare.
Dwayne drove you to your mothers house. It sucked because you wanted to see how she was doing, but you couldn’t speak to her. You could only look through the window. You hoped to god that this wasn’t the last time you’d ever see her. The thought of that made you sad.
You told Dwayne to stay on his motorcycle, and that you wouldn’t be long. As you walked over to the front window you noticed a car pulled up in the driveway that you had never seen before. You shrugged it off and decided not to pay much attention to it. You crouched down next to the window and took a look trying not to look suspicious.
When you looked inside your house, you saw that your mom was sitting down on the couch. She looked like she was talking to someone, but you couldn’t see who. Suddenly, someone walked over to her. It was some guy you had never seen before. He grabbed onto the back of her neck and started to kiss her. She definitely wasn’t trying to push him away. He ended up getting on top of her, and she let him.
Your breath hitched and you started to see red. You mother didn’t seem like she was worried about you. It looked like she was having the time of her life. You had been gone for almost a full day, and she cared so much about you that she was hooking up with some guy in your own house. You knew she wasn’t perfect, but this was crossing the line.
You felt tears start to form in your eyes, and you tried to blink them away. Some still fell, but you were so angry that you didn’t care. Angry and sad. Angry because you just realized that your own mother didn’t look like she cared that you hadn’t been home for almost a day. Sad because of the same reason. She obviously didn’t care. She cared more about alcohol and this random guy more.
Dwayne noticed you wiping away tears from your eyes as you walked back to his bike.
“Are you okay? What’s the matter?” He asked.
“Nothing. Just drive,” you ordered him as you hopped on the back of his motorcycle.
“Is she okay?” Dwayne turned around to face you. He saw that your lip quivered and that your eyes were watering.
“Yeah, she’s just perfect, okay?” You barked back not looking at him.
“Tell me what happened,” Dwayne said while grabbing onto your arm.
“Nothing! Just take me home!” You said with a slight whimper. Dwayne decided not to keep bothering you with the question. Obviously something happened, but you weren’t going to tell him. Dwayne was a little surprised that you told him to take you home. Because you meant the cave. You wanted to go back to them. Dwayne realized in that moment, that whatever you did see, made you not consider the place with your mom ‘home’ anymore.
Dwayne said nothing to you on the ride back to the cave. He didn’t want to upset you any more than you already were. Dwayne wasn’t planning on telling the other guys about what had happened. They’d probably get worried and shower you with more questions.
David was already back at the cave when both you and Dwayne came back. When you walked in, you noticed that Marko and Paul had big grins on their faces. Too bad you didn’t feel like smiling along with them.
“Where’d you guys go?” David asked.
“We went for a ride,” Dwayne said which was half the truth.
David nodded before standing up. “Y/n, I got you something.” You sighed. You weren’t exactly in the mood for any more gifts. All you wanted to do was lay down in bed for the rest of the night. It was a terrible day, and you felt like nothing in the world could make it better.
Before you could tell him that you weren’t in the mood, David pulled out a black leather jacket that looked around your size.
“I thought that sense you’re one of us, that you should look like us,” he said handing you the leather jacket. You took it in your hands and admired it for a few seconds. It wasn’t too crazy like Marko’s, but it did have some design. The front had some golden print, and some beads were stamped on the upper part of the sleeves. The edge of the sleeves also had some golden printing. There was no zipper or buttons. It looked like a smaller version of David’s jacket.
“If you don’t like it I could go get another one,” David suggested.
“No! No, I like it,” you said still admiring it. You had never owned a leather jacket before. Up until now of course.
“You could decorate it, too,” Marko said pointing to his very decorated jacket.
You still felt a little hurt from the past situation, but you weren’t sad anymore. You felt welcomed by the guys. Even though they’re vampires, they’re now your brothers. Whether you like it or not, that’s not going to change.
“Try it on,” Paul said and you obeyed. You pulled the sleeves over your arms and noticed that it was a perfect fit. David sure knew how to pick the right size and jacket. You couldn’t exactly look into a mirror to see how it would look, so you looked over to your new brothers.
“How do I look?” You asked them.
“Like one of us,” David said and you smiled.
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unmaskedagain · 4 years
Text
To all Guys a Chat Loved Before
Okay, this is it. I’ve been working on this story for over a week. It’s seventy pages and twenty thousand words. I basically wrote you a short story. Enjoy it. Review. 
I’m not fond of Rom-Coms and rarely if ever watch Romantic movies. But there are a few that i’ve liked. So THROUGH OUT THIS i’ve sprinkled some of my favorite lines from my favorite romantic movies over the years. Some also came from tv shows. See if you can point them out.
This is Adrien-centered fic. It’s also slash.
Don’t you wish that people came with warning labels?
           Adrien did. He wished more than anything because his life would be so much easier if everyone could see each other’s warning labels.
Bustier: Terrible teacher. Needs to please everyone. Hates confrontation.
Lila: Waring massive Liar, manipulative shrew.
His father: Workaholic, possible sociopath. Might be allergic to hugs and any affection whatsoever.
Adrien: A little needy. Emotionally scarred. Touch starved. Famous. Trust issues. Lacks some basic social skills. Probably going to be in therapy for the rest of his life. Likes to run around in a skintight leather bodysuit.
           You know? The basics.
           Okay, maybe that’s too much. Too personal. Fine. Whatever.
           But at the very least, if he could meet someone and just know, you know?
           Know that this is the one.
           This is it.
           This one.
           They’re the one that’s gonna break your heart.
           Adrien’s life would be so much easier if he could at least get that one warning.
           Maybe he’d run the other way. But maybe he wouldn’t. Adrien had a terrible habit of always making the stupid choice.
           Still, it would be nice to know before he gets into deep.
           Before his heart isn’t just broken…
           It's shattered beyond repair.
Iron’s Kid: When did you realize you weren’t like other guys?
Chat Galore: I was twelve. You?
           The first time Adrien realized he might not be like other guys his age came AFTER he put on a magic ring and ran around Paris as a superhero in black spandex. And yes, that statement alone makes him realize how insane he sounds.
           But in his defense…
           Okay, there was no defense. He didn’t need to defend himself. There was nothing wrong with him. He knew that. There was nothing wrong with…
Iron’s Kid: Fourteen. And it took me completely by surprise. Like a bite in the neck.
           Adrien always really liked his penpal. It had been Chloe’s idea. Adrien signed up when he was thirteen, anonymously, through a program at school and was given an American penpal the same age as him. The schools vetted all participants in the program for authenticity. They’ve never told each other their real names, never seen so much as a picture of one another, but still, Iron’s kid became one of the few people who knew him best.
           The blond knew a lot about Iron’s Kid too. He even had a list.
Iron’s kid:
A year older than Adrien.
Huge geek like Adrien.
He was a guy.
He loved Legos
Said he had brown hair and eyes.
He was bisexual.
He was really funny.
Really smart. Like Genius smart.
He was an intern at Stark Industries.
He was a huge iron man fan and adored Spiderman a bit as any New Yorker did.
He loved superheroes and memes (like a lot) and stayed up late a lot.
He made as many puns as Adrien did as Chat Noir.
.           They got along really well. They texted constantly. And, Iron’s Kid slowly became one of Adrien’s dearest friends. After the first year of being Penpals, Adrien asked if Iron’s Kid wanted to meet. The answer was no. Adrien asked Iron’s Kid at least once a year if they could meet up (or skype or trade pictures); the answer was always No. It was only after Adrien revealed that he was a supermodel, that Iron’s Kid revealed he had a famous face too and just wanted to be treated normally.
           That did stop Adrien from still asking once a year. Iron’s Kid was one of the few people, outside of being Chat Noir that Adrien could just be himself with.
           But unlike Iron’s Kid…
           Honestly, Adrien always kind of knew, ya know?
           He was always as into Harry Styles as Chloe was. Maybe a bit more.
When he binged watched Stranger Things with Marinette; he noticed Finn Wolfhard as much as the bluenette did.
Maybe, he noticed Kim’s biceps just a bit too much.
           So he started to suspect early on.
           He didn’t know for sure until…
           Luka.
           And that’s the worst (and craziest) part because knew Luka. He had been sort of, kind of, friends with the guitarist for quite some time. He had never even thought of the blue-haired boy like that.
           Until one day, Adrien, Marinette, and Luka were playing video games after school. They were just laughing and chilling out like they always do. It was perfectly ordinary.
           Then out of nowhere, Adrien noticed just how blue Luka’s eyes were. Then that was it. Suddenly the blond couldn’t help but think how cool Luka was, how funny he was, how artistic. And Adrien was really self-conscious. When Luka was in the same room as him, Adrien was hyper-aware of everything his own body was doing and everything he was saying.
           It was like he existed outside it for a few seconds and was just watching the chaos.
How does my hair look?
Why did I JUST say that? No, don’t say that THAT’s even worse.
What is wrong with you?
Don’t stand like that! Who stands like that?
Does it look weird?
Am I being weird?
He totally thinks I’m weird.
Iron’s Kid: How could you NOT have seen Princess Bride?!!!!!?!!
Chat Galore: It doesn’t look like not my type of movie
Iron’s Kid: But you’ve seen the Labyrinth???!!! WTF
Chat Galore: It was my mom’s favorite movie!!! You haven’t seen vampire diaries yet!!!
Iron’s Kid: That is BESIDES the point. Princess Bride is a classic!!!!
Chat Galore: Oh just shut up
Iron’s Kid; As you wish.
           Adrien slowly became a blushing, stuttering mess.
           And he didn’t know how but somehow this was how Marinette figured it out what was going on.
“…You have a crush on Luka,” Marinette said slowly and quietly, one day after school as they sat in Marinette’s living room as if the words were as hard for her to get out as they were for him to hear.
The two had gotten closer as friends as a result of the Lila situation at school worsening. Once most of the class made it clear how quickly they were willing to drop Marinette for a shiny golden ticket; the blond and bluenette quickly washed their hands of the situation. They decided to let their ex-friends sink or swim on their own.
Adrien did not need fair-weather friends. Marinette was tired of being everyone’s doormat.  They decided to sit in the back together and wait for the fireworks. Surprisingly, not long after Nino joined them. The glasses-wearing boy hadn’t cared if Lila was lying or not (though Adrien and Marinette would provide him with enough evidence to convince him later), he just knew that Marinette was his childhood friend and Adrien was his best friend. Nino trusted them, and sure wasn’t going to abandon them.
That was over a year ago. Marinette, Nino, and Adrien were best friends. Then the bluenette and the blond found out they were really Ladybug and Chat Noir effectively ending their crushes on each other. (Though Marinette took a bit longer)
“No!” Adrien said quickly. “I mean, I can’t, I, uh. I used to love Ladybug, remember!”
           Marinette shrugged, “So? I dated Kagami for like three months last year, and I’d still wouldn’t say no to seven minutes in heaven with Luka. Or longer,” She smirked. “I used to like you. I’m bisexual; lots of people are.” She then tilted her head. “It’s okay if you like boys.”
           Adrien glanced down shyly. At that point, He hadn’t thought too much about his sexuality. He always figured he was straight. It was the standard some people would say. But… Did he? Did he like-like other guys like that?
           …He definitely liked Luka like that. But was it just Luka? Maybe Luka was special. And dreamy. And nice to look at. And he made Adrien’s stomach feel a little weird when he was around, “…I have a crush on Luka.”
“Everyone does,” Marinette nodded. “It’s a fact of life. He gets Kagami to blush. Chloe says he not completely awful. Hell, even Nino said, and I quote, ‘if I ever I had to pick a dude.’” She said but then her eyes widened as she looked at Adrien. “Wait! I just realized have you ever had a crush on a girl besides Ladybug? I never heard you talk about any. This is the first crush besides Ladybug.”
           Adrien blinked and then blinked again. “I went out with Kagami once,” He offered, and then gave Marinette a playful glare. “Before you stole her away from me.”
“It’s not stealing if she practically jumped into my arms,” Marinette defended with a laugh. “Don’t hate the playa!”
           The blond snorted.
“I mean, what did you like about Ladybug?” Marinette asked. “Not me! Not now. But before you knew that I was Ladybug. What did you like about her?”
           Adrien bit his lip as he thought, “She was always fun to be around. When I was with her I never had to worry, you know? I could do what I wanted, say what I wanted. There was no pressure or anything. I was just me… but more. And I liked that. It was easy being around her.”
           Marinette nodded, “Ladybug used to be the only one you could be free around,” She said. “As Chat Noir, you never had to censor yourself for fear of what your father would do. It was freedom. A type of freedom you always wanted; to be wild and carefree. You got to do that whenever you are Chat Noir, and whenever you were Chat Noir, Ladybug was there. Did you ever… you might’ve… I think you,” She sighed. “…Adrien, I don’t think you ever loved Ladybug. I think you loved how you got to feel when she was around. You might have equated the two.”
           It went quiet as Adrien thought about what his friend said. It helped that his crush had been long gone so he could view it without the bias he used to have. And yeah, the more he thought about it, the more he realized Marinette was right. Adrien had been more infatuated with the fun and freedom of being a superhero, being Chat Noir that he ever was with Ladybug.
           He also comprehended that His crush had ended it rather instantly the second he found out who was behind the mask. Marinette was amazing; the girl of most guys’ dreams. Yet Adrien just didn’t see her like that. He didn’t have romantic feelings for her. It was then he realized that no matter who was behind the mask, what girl, Adrien wouldn’t have been happy. “She wasn’t real to me,” He admitted. “Not really. Ladybug was this unattainable dream. Anything was possible with her. I got to think up outlandish fantasies all the time of what our future could be and nothing was too extreme or impossible. The second she became real, the fantasy ended, and… I didn’t want her anymore; not like that.” He told Marinette. “Don’t get me wrong, I love you! You’re practically my sister. You’re the best! But… It is strange, I know.”
           Marinette shook her head, “It’s not!” She would know better than most what it was like when the fantasy ended and you had faced reality. “We’re kids. Feelings are all haywire.”
“It’ll get easier.” He asked. “I mean it has to. Soon, right?”
“No!” Sabine, Marinette’s mom, called from the kitchen. “Try in about a decade. If you’re lucky!”
“Mama!” Marinette yelled as she face-palmed. “Private conversation.”
“In our very public family room,” Sabine sassed back. “Adrien, honey, besides Luka, have you ever thought about any boys like that?”
           Marinette just sighed.
           Adrien turned bright red. He had more or less been adopted by the Dupain-chengs, and he was still getting used to having an involved parent. “I, uh, like Kim’s arms.”
“Who doesn’t?” Marinette asked. “Drool-worthy.”
“Harry Styles,” Adrien offered. “I like his face.” The bluenette snorted, earning herself a face full of the pillow. “Oh, you are so helpful!”  After that, they erupted into a pillow fight.
Chat Galore: I’m late
Iron’s Kid: For what?
Chat Galore: Reality.
Iron’s Kid: Oooh someone’s feeling deep today. What’s up?
Chat Galore: I’m
           Adrien paused writing.
Iron’s Kid: You’re…
Iron’s kid: Chat? You still there?
Chat Galore: I’m gay.
Chat Galore: You’re the first person I’ve told.
Iron’s Kid: I’m honored. And proud of you man.
Chat Galore: TY!!
Iron’s Kid: So who made you realize you were finally into Luka?
Chat Galore: …I hate you. GO AWAY!
Iron’s Kid: As you wish.
           It took another month, and a lot of introspection but Adrien finally came to terms with it, and while getting ice cream with his friends, he said, “So, yeah, I’m gay.”
“And the sky’s blue,” Chloe shrugged.
           Marinette elbowed, “That’s not how we’re supposed to react.”
           The blonde huffed, “What? We’re supposed to pretend to be surprised. I’ve known him since we were in diapers. I was there through OUR One Direction phase. We were just little kids but just because he blocked it out or whatever doesn’t mean I forgot he called dips on marrying Harry.”
“All good, dude,” Nino told Adrien. “Still my boy.” He told him. “Does this mean you’re finally gonna ask out Luka?”
“NINO!” Marinette groaned. “I didn’t tell them. I swear!”
“What?” Nino licked his ice cream. “It was obvious Sunshine digs Luka.”
           Adrien’s froze. “…How obvious?” Dread slowly crept onto his face.
           His friends quickly went to assure him.
“It’s barely noticeable!” Marinette said.
“Everyone wants Luka; he probably doesn’t even realize it at this point!” Went, Nino.
“It’s not as obvious as the crush Marinette had on you!”
“Chloe! Seriously?!”
“What!”
Chat Galore: My friends suck as much as you!
Iron’s kid: Ahh, they call you out on the Luka thing too?
Chat Galore: Fuck off
Iron’s Kid: lol
Iron’s Kid: As you wish.
           Adrien just groaned, seriously wishing the earth would just swallow him up. It was official all of his friends were completely awful.
           Not long after he came out to his father, Nathalie, and Gorilla. His father barely blinked twice and told him not to make a fool of himself. Nathalie scheduled when he’ll announce it officially on twitter. Gorilla at least hugged him.
           Lila attempted to convince the class that Adrien was just confused and hiding his feelings for her. But even that was a bit too much to buy. Instead, the class shot the Italian girl pitying looks for being in love with an unreachable guy. Lila seethed with fury as what she thought was her ticket to fame and fortune going up in flame.
Pretty much everything stayed normal though. There were no big fireworks. Adrien never confessed to Luka about his crush; instead joined his dozens of other admirers in mooning from a distance.
           Adrien was fine with that. He wasn’t looking for anything for his life to radically change. Or to completely lose his mind over some guy (though he did come close with Luka). In fact, he was rather happy if that never happened.
           But since when does he ever get what he wants?
Iron’s Kid: If you could punch anyone in the face, who would it be?
Chat Galore: What did Flash do now?
Chat Galore: And the answer’s: Lila. But Marinette has dips. And then Chloe. Then Kagami for some reason. I’m also after Nino, which doesn’t seem fair.
Chat Galore: …There’s a line to punch Lila.
Iron’s Kid: lol.
Iron’s Kid: Flash embarrassed me in front of Liz. He got everyone at this party chanting the stupid nickname he gave me.
Chat Galore: What a jerk? I vote revenge!
Iron’s Kid: What happened to the high road?
Chat Galore: It went nowhere. Time to light someone’s car on fire now.
Chat Galore: OOOOHHH!!!! Get MJ to put a porn virus on his computer! Let it hit during that school project you guys got next week.
Iron’s Kid: You’re a cruel man. And you and MJ are never allowed meet!
Chat Galore: Lol
Iron’s Kid: I can’t do that. Revenge isn’t my thing. I wouldn’t even care if Liz wasn’t there.
Chat Galore: You really like her, huh?
Iron’s Kid: Yeah I do
           Adrien grinned at his phone. Iron had fallen hard for Liz a while back, and it was the cutest thing when he gushed over her. Plus it gave the blond some relief to know that there was someone as bad as him when it came to romance.
Iron’s Kid: So my dads suck
Chat Galore: We should start a club!
Iron’s kid: Lol.
Chat Galore: Your dad or your pops?
Iron’s Kid: Both. They totally freaked out on me! They’re so overprotective it is insane.
Chat Galore: Been there. Am there.
Iron’s Kid: Me and dad totally got into it. He thinks I’m reckless and stupid. Like I don’t know what I’m doing. I just wish he’d trust me
Chat Galore: Stop treating you like you’re a little kid?
Iron’s Kid: Exactly!!!!! I can do this! I know I can! If he just trusts me!
Iron’s Kid: Instead I’m grounded.
Chat Galore: What are you going to do?
Iron’s Kid: Whatever I have to!
Chat Galore: just be safe, ok? I don’t know what’s going on. And I know you can’t tell me. But just Be. Careful. I’d miss you.
Iron’s Kid: I’d miss you too.
Chat Galore: Goodnight!!
Iron’s Kid: As you wish.
           It was Christmas. Adrien was staying with Marinette’s family while his father was away on business and avoiding all things happiness. Marinette told him that her Uncle was coming. Her dad’s great uncle from New York. He broke up with his boyfriend not too long ago and wanted to get out and see more of the world.
           Adrien had expectations of what Marinette’s great uncle would look like – like any Uncle. Old, kind of fat, who made way to many dad jokes, and smelled like mothballs. And he definitely wore tacky clothes.
           The guy who walked into the Dupain-Cheng home, following a laughing Tom Dupain, was NOT that guy!!
           First of all, he was young; like two or three years older than Adrien and Marinette. He wore was pale with dark eyes and hair. He was dressed in all black and wore an old black leather bomber jacket. He was unnaturally handsome.
“Who is that?” Adrien hissed.
“My uncle,” Marinette said. “I told you he was coming.”
“How is that your great Uncle?”
           Marinette shrugged, “Magic. Demigod. Prince of the Underworld. What can you do?” She said. “His name’s Nico.”
           Adrien’s life was already so bizarre he didn’t even question the demigod part. All he could see what Nico. His mind turned to mush. “Boing!” He pointed.
“That’s my Uncle, Adrien,” Mariette reminded him
“Sweet! I would be your Aunt,” Adrien said. “Uncle. I don’t care. I’ll be whatever he wants me to be.”
           Marinette laughed and got off the couch to greet the newcomer, “Uncle Nico!”
“Marinette!” Nico smiled as he hugged his niece. “I told you to call me Nico.”
“Uncle is a bit weird,” Marinette nodded in agreement as she let go.
           As soon Nico let go, he found his arms full of again but this time by a blond, “Uncle Nico.”
“Adrien, right,” Nico said as he hugged the smaller boy, “I’m not your Uncle.”
“Even better!”
           Marinette snorted and pulled her friend away.
           Nico looked them up and down. “Aww, it’s good you two are still so close. I still got that picture your dad sent me of you two in Halloween costumes; Harry Potter and Ron Weasley.” He said. “Adorable. You two must have been, what eleven?” He shrugged and smiled at Adrien. “It’s been a while. You grew up gorgeous.” And then walked off to say hello to Sabine.
           Adrien turned bright red and a big grin spread across his face.
           Marinette crossed her arms, and gave him a serious look, “You are not going to be my Aunt.”
“I can’t hear you!” Adrien sang. “Buh dah Bu da da Da!”
“He’s almost eighteen; physically and mentally anyway!” Marinette said. “We’re fifteen.”
“Almost sixteen,” Adrien snapped quickly. “Which is practically seventeen. Which is a skip away from eighteen. Two plus Two, you know?”
           Marinette rolled her eyes, “I know Two plus two equals four. But with your logic, two plus two is three with a wig on.”
           He hissed at her.
Chat Galore: I think I found my Liz
Iron’s Kid: Someone Completely unattainable, and probably a bad idea?
Chat Galore: MJ or Ned?
Iron’s Kid: …
Chat Galore: Seriously? Give Iron back his phone!
Iron’s Kid:
Chat Galore: WAIT! What do you mean about Liz? What’s going on? Why is she a bad idea?
           He would get a response an hour later. It was just after dark.
Iron’s Kid: Sorry! MJ took my phone!
Chat Galore: NP. What’s this about Liz?
Iron’s Kid: A good friend will ignore whatever MJ told you!
Chat Galore: A best friend’s gonna get answers out of you!
           Adrien’s phone remained silent as he waited for Iron’s reply.
Iron’s Kid: ‘sigh’ Liz’s dad a supervillain. He tried to kill me.
Chat Galore: Shit. I’m sorry. Are you okay?
Iron’s Kid: It sucks. Liz’s dad in prison. She had to move.
Chat Galore: that blows
Iron’s Kid: Yep
           Then Adrien did something daring; something he thought about doing before but just stops short of being brave enough.
           He called Iron’s kid. It rang a few times before finally answering?
“Hello?”
“Iron’s kid?” Adrien whispered.
“Chat Galore?” Was said. “You called?”
“I thought you might need someone to talk to,” Adrien said. “Really talk to. It is fine if you don’t want to. I just thought…”
“No!” Was quickly said. “This is great. I mean, yeah. I’m cool with this if you are.”
They ended up talking to each other for hours like they always did. But this time it went on even longer; to the point where Adrien was genuinely surprised to see the sun starting to rise.
It was the first Adrien began to suspect he might be falling a little bit in love with Iron’s Kid.
           It didn’t end there. As the weeks went on Iron Kid and Chat Galore kept texting and talking. Iron Kid was going through a hard time and Adrien just wanted to be there for him.
Iron’s Kid: It’s never been easy being me. I love my parents. But normal doesn’t exactly coincide with our last name
Chat Galore: It is like no one can look past it, right? They don’t see you, they see your name. It’s all they care about.
Iron’s kid: Exactly!!!!! Who I am doesn’t matter. Its who my dad is, who my pop’s is. Hell sometimes who my grandfather was, and he died way before I was even born. It’s not fair!
Chat Galore: And you never know if anyone likes you for you. Or if they just want something from you. Or from your dad. You just want people to see YOU for who you are!
Iron’s Kid: Makes it really hard to trust people. My parents always did their best to give me a normal life but
Iron’s Kid: it’s whatever I guess.
Chat Galore: It’s not whatever. And its okay to feel like this.
Iron’s Kid: It’s sometimes I feel a little lost. Or maybe just…
Iron’s Kid:  I mean, I can be surrounded by a sea of people and still feel all alone. Like no one really knows me or sees me. Then I think of you. I think of talking to you. And I don’t feel so alone anymore.
Chat Galore: I see you.
Iron’s Kid: I see you too.
           Then once more Adrien asked Iron’s Kid if he wanted to meet, even though he knew he’d be turned down. That was fine. Adrien would wait.
If Marinette thought it was over when the holidays ended, she was dead wrong. Nico got an apartment to stay in Paris and to spend time with his family.
           And Adrien got used to his brain going all gooey when Nico was around. He always said goofy things; things that made him wish he’d never learned to speak in the first place. He read books that Nico casually mentioned just so they’d have something to talk about. He did ridiculous things try to get the older guy’s attention. And whenever, Nico asked the gang if anyone wanted to hang out, Adrien would be the first to shoot up and practically yell yes.
           And all Adrien would get from Nico would be a placating smirk; the same type Nino would give his younger brothers’ when they did something outlandish to impress him.
           The weird thing was when Adrien was going all googly-eyes at Nico, they got along really, really well. They both loved art and classic noir films like Gun For hire and Laura. The two once spent an entire afternoon in the museum just talking about the pieces, ignoring the whines of Marinette and Nino who got dragged along.
           Still no matter what Adrien did Nico never took the hint to ask Adrien out. Or even hint that he was open to Adrien possibly asking him out.
           His friends got used to Adrien sighing wistfully.
“Gods’ he so handsome, it makes my face hurt,” Adrien whined.
Marinette giggled, “You’re young, you’re dumb.”
“Just so we’re clear,” Chloe pointed a fork at him that still had a bit of salad on it, “That those are not necessarily correlated. You’re just an idiot.”
           Nino leaned forward, “Bro, just ask him out!” He said with his mouth half full of pizza.
“I can’t do that!”
“Why not?” Marinette, Chloe, and Nino asked/yelled at him.
“What if he says no?” Adrien asked, because duh, why else wouldn’t he have asked Nico out already.
           Chloe glared at him, “Then you look in the mirror and remind yourself that you’re the second hottest dude, around our age, in Paris?”
“Ahh, Luka’s first,” Marinette put in.
           Nino raised his hand, “Just so we’re clear, I’m at least in the top ten, yeah?” Silence. “Guys? Top fifteen?” Nothing. “Top twenty?”
“Eehh,” Chloe offered as she flipped her hand side to side rapidly.
           Nino grinned, “I’ll take it!”
           It all came to a head during the Dupain-Cheng family game. Marinette invited Chloe, Nino, and Adrien, who had become Tom and Sabine’s additional adopted children, when Tom walked in, with Nico trailing behind him. “Family game night to the max!” Tom cheered.
           Nico chuckled and gave everyone their hellos.
           Marinette holding a hat on her lap, “Time to pick the games tonight: Mom, Chloe, and Nico’s turn to draw from the hat.
           Sabine drew Uno.
           Chloe drew Pictionary.
           Nico drew dungeons and dragons which caused everyone in the room to groaned, “What?”
“That game always takes forever,” Nino whined.
           Marinette flopped on the couch dramatically, “Mom’s always the dungeon master and she never lets us win. Dad always dies before anything good starts.”
“We always get frustrated,” Chloe added with an eye-roll. “And snap and try to kill each other!”
“In the game?” Nico asked.
           Nino glared at his friends, “Not. Always. Marinette!” He called her out, and she had the decency to blush. “Some people walk with scars.”
“Mental and emotional ones,” Adrien winced. “Marinette.”
           Chloe caught Nico’s confused look, and explained, “Marinette’s a bit competitive.”
“A bit!” Everyone else in the room said.
“Let’s just play!” Marinette gave them a playful glare.
           Uno was fast. Marinette won, of course.
           Pictionary resulted in tears. (Sabine was just as competitive as her daughter, and Tom was a bit sensitive.)
           The Dungeons and Dragons came took hours. Tom died right away and was content to watch the show. The kids turned on each other by the second hour, and it took Nico’s taking leadership and forcing them all to work together to achieve victory, for the suffering to stop.
           By the end, nearly everyone in the room was dead asleep, their characters long since dead, apart from Marinette, Sabine, Adrien, and Nico. Until the die was rolled for the final time and Marinette raised her tired arms in victory, “Finally. Six hours, friends came together on a harrowing quest; the longest game of my life. And we finally, finally won!”
Seconds after she was cuddled against her mother, both having fallen asleep.
           Adrien gave them a sleepy smile from where he sat on the floor before every cell in his body suddenly felt like it was hit by lightning when he caught Nico’s dark eyes staring at him. It was then that Adrien realized that, with the others all asleep, this was the first time Nico and he were ever technically alone together.
Be cool, he thought. Just be cool, damn you.
           It was all for naught as Nico got up off the couch and went to sit next to Adrien, who let out a small happy squeak.
“Let’s talk,�� Nico told Adrien, who fought to stop his entire body from shaking. “We’re sort of friends, right?”
           Adrien winced a little but nodded eagerly, “Yep, friends, totally. I’m happy being friends. Yeah, friendship!” He waved his fist around in a small cheer and died a little inside as soon as he did it.
Why am I such a loser, he asked himself.
“Can I tell you something?”
“Yes, sure,” Adrien said. “Anything. Whatever you want. You can ask me anything too. I’ll probably say yes. I’ll defiantly say yes. Yes!”
           Nico just gave him a small smile, “When I was just about your age, maybe a bit younger, I had a crush on this older guy Percy. I was ten when I met him. He was fourteen, almost fifteen. In my eyes, he was all my dreams come to life; a real-life Greek demi-god hero. He fought monsters, saved lives. I had the biggest crush on him instantly,” He told Adrien. “Not that I knew it then. I was too young. I was from a completely different time where things like a man liking a man just were okay, or… Or Legal. I didn’t handle it well. Even worse after my sister died and wrongly placed at least part of the blame of unfairly on him. It took me a long time to realize I never hated him, I hated myself. I only stopped hating myself when I realized and accepted I was gay. And a little bit in love with Percy.”
           Adrien had no idea where this was going but he listened intensely. He always enjoyed listening to Nico whenever he told tales about his life as a demigod.
“Still I ended up doing a lot of stupid things,” Nico said. “Just to get his attention, to help him; to get him to fall for me back. A lot of stupid things.” He chuckled. “When I found out he was Bi, I thought I had a chance. But I didn’t. I never would’ve. Percy just saw me as a brother. I was too young for him. Way too young. There was no way Percy could’ve ever seen me like that. I accepted that. I moved on. I got over him. I even admitted to him about my crush; after telling him that he wasn’t my type. Asshole fell down laughing.”
           Adrien laughed a bit.
“We’re still friends,” Nico added. “Great friends actually. And I’m glad. Do you know why I’m telling you this?”
           The blond frowned and suddenly found the game board very interesting. Because, yes he did know why Nico was telling him this.
“You know I’m too told for you, right?” Nico asked quietly as to not wake up the others.
“Yeah,” Adrien nodded slowly, his throat felt a little dry, and his eyes stung. “I know. I kind of always knew.” He glanced at the Dungeons and Dragons, and a strange sense of hope-filled him. The blond shot the older dark-haired boy a smirk, “But I’m playing the long game.”
           Adrien tried to be hopeful about it. Or least pretend to but…
Chat Galore: I just got my heartbroken.
Iron’s Kid: That Douchebag. I knew that weird death kid was no good!
Chat Galore: He’s not that bad. He said I’m too young for him. I get he’s trying to be a good guy but…
Iron’s Kid: It still hurts.
Chat Galore: Yep
Iron’s Kid: I get that. How about we watch Star Wars and make fun of Kylo Ren, that’ll make you feel better!
Chat Galore: I’ve seen less teen angst in my high school. The dude has problems!
           And that’s what they did. They texted each other while watching Star Wars: The Force Awakens; sending each other stupid memes and jokes. And Adrien felt a lot better by the end it of it.
Chat Galore: Thanks for this btw. I think I really need this.
Iron’s Kid: No Problem
Iron’s Kid: And for what it’s worth, I’d never turn you down.
           Adrien stared at that message for an hour, mentally screaming. Because… What. The. Hell.
Chat Galore: Oh be quiet! Lol
Iron’s Kid: As you wish.
           The next day, Adrien sent Iron’s Kid another request to meet. The answer was a simple: Not Yet. That was Fine. Adrien would wait.`
“You are not playing the long game, Adrien Agreste,” Chloe glared at him. “Do you hear me? I will not take this into my twenties.”
           They had talked Adrien into ditching one of his many lessons and were hanging out downtown. Eating ice cream.
“But!”
“No!”
“I agree with her man,” Nino said, and Adrien gave him big green puppy dog eyes. “You can spend your life swooning over some guy. There’s other fish in the sea.”
“I don’t want fish,” Adrien complained. “I just someone to ride the Ferris Wheel with me!”
“Ferris Wheel?” Nino asked confused.
“Gay culture,” Chloe explained.
           Marinette nodded, “We just mean that… You need to Get some more life skills. Learn how to talk to guys. Get cool!”
“I’m cool!” Adrien defended and was met with multiple snorts. “I am. I got my dad to let me have more freedom. I paint. I went to comic con last year. I ride the metro now. And I can talk guys. I’ve successfully learned how to be cool.”
           Chloe smirked, “Okay, let's see how you react when you see him,” She looked over his shoulder. “Guy’s been checking you out since we got here.”
“I’m cool,” Adrien said as he casually glanced over his shoulder and saw just who was checking him out, he let out a series of nervous chuckles. And couldn’t stop.
           The guy looked about his age, with dark hair and blue eyes, a jawline that was similar to ones Adrien’s had seen on Greek statues; and he had muscles, so many muscles. He sat on a park bench and was writing or sketching in a red notebook.
           Nino shook his head, “Yeah you still need some lessons in cool.”
“Lesson one: go talk to him,” Chloe demanded.
           Adrien’s eyes went wide, and he let out a squeak. “Nope! Can’t do it. Won’t do it!”
           His friends shared a look, and Adrien suddenly fears for his life. He found himself all but pushed/carried over to the guy on the park bench. He struggled a bit. Suddenly when they got close enough, Adrien was pushed (By gleeful and vindictive looking Chloe, his official witch of an ex-best friend), right into park bench guy, who caught him at the last second. And Adrien found himself sitting in the lap of a virtual stranger.
“Hi?” Adrien offered weakly. “Me and my friends were just talking about you.”
           The guy gave him a big smile, “I know,” He said. “I figured. I’m Jon.” He said with a southern American accent. “Jon Kent. And you can talk about me any time you want.”
“Adrien,” The blond laughed.  “Adrien Agreste.”
“I like your laugh, Adrien.”
“I like your smile, Jon.”
           Then Adrien’s phone started ringing. It was Nathalie and Adrien had to rush home. Mourning his chances of ever seeing Jon again. He was probably a tourist who’d be gone the next day, the blond figured.
Chat Galore: I have the worst luck with guys!
Iron’s Kid: I don’t know. I think you have better luck than you think.
Chat Galore: Lol. What’s up with you lately.
Iron’s Kid: Flash finally left me alone. All it took was a school field trip to my job. Suddenly I’m not a liar anymore!
Chat Galore: Oh I would’ve killed to his face, lol.
Iron’s Kid: It was basically the crying emoji.
Iron’s Kid: Oh yeah, I met this guy named Johnny; totally gorgeous, rides a motorcycle, and my dads’ hate him
Chat Galore: Last ones’s the best part, right?
Iron’s Kid: YES!!
           The next morning Adrien and his friends were happily sitting in the back of the class. The other kids in the class ignored them as usual. Even Lila more or less pretended they didn’t exist. (Though she had been reluctant to let Adrien go and had made several attempts to get him under her thumb. Until Adrien got his dad to fire her under threat of dying his hair neon green, and wearing plaid, the one pattern his father hated above all others.)
           They had entered a cold war with her. As long as she stopped trying to make their lives hell, they’d stop exposing trying to expose her.
           Bustier was once again proving she had no control over her classroom as she struggled to teach a simple history lesson about the French Revolution. It didn’t make a lick of sense and Bustier tried way to hard to get the kids to relate on a personal level.
“History shows that bad things happen when you don’t know who you are,” Bustier said just as the classroom door opened and in walked two boys and a girl.
           Adrien’s eyes went wide, and leaned over to Chloe, “Park bench guy!” He whispered.
“Foreign exchange students,” One of the boys said. He had dark hair, green eyes, olive skin, and a thoroughly unimpressed look on his handsome face. He wore a black turtle neck and slacks. “Damian Wayne, Gotham.”
“Lian Nguyen-Harper-Queen,” Said the girl. She had Auburn hair and gray eyes. Lian wore a pink headband, a pink cardigan over a white top and blue shorts.
“Hi I’m Jon Kent,” He said. Jon wore a red plaid shirt over a simple t-shirt and blue jeans. “I split my time between the Farm in Smallville and Metropolis.” He looked at the back of the classroom straight at Adrien. “And I’m happy to be here.”
           Bustier nodded, “Welcome. Always happy to get new students! Let's find you some seats…” She looked around the room.
“OH! Damian can sit with me!” Lila waved her hand. “I’ll be happy to show him around.”
“Declined,” Damian simply said. “We’ll sit in the back.”
           Alya leaned forward, “But Lila’s goes to Gotham and Metropolis all the time!” She said and didn’t notice the way Lila paled. She seemed to have forgotten Damian Wayne was apart of her many, many lies. “Damian, you showed her around last time she was there. You guys became such a good friend. She just wants to return the favor.”
           Damian scoffed, “I’ve never seen this girl before in my life.”
           Marinette smirked at Adrien, “You’re going to need to move. I have a new best friend.”
“Mean,” Adrien said. “But understandable. Still not moving.”
           Jon and Damian sat in empty seats in front of Adrien and Marinette.
           Jon turned around in his seat, “Hi.”
           Adrien smiled shyly, “Hi.”
           Then they just stared at each other.
           Chloe let out a long-suffering sigh, “Oh this gonna be exhausting.”
Iron’s Kid: Best day EVER!!!
Chat Galore: SAME! What happened?
Iron’s Kid: Johnny asked me out!
Chat Galore: AWESOME!!!
Chat Galore: Park Bench Guy is in my class NOW!!!
Iron’s Kid: ‘High Five’ Maybe fate DOESN’T hate us.
Chat Galore: …
Chat Galore: …I swear to the Gods if you jinxed us
           The two guys in class quickly joined the Adrien’s friends’ group. They blended in seamlessly like they were always there as the weeks went on. Before anyone knew it, they were pretty much attached to hips. Even going as far as joining family game night.
           Through them; Damian, Lian, and Jon were able to get all the information they needed to survive Paris. The three had heard whispers of Hawkmoth but had been a little shocked when the Akuma alert went off and everyone had to duck for cover. After the third or fourth time, the new kids got used to it and easily swallowed the excuses Marinette, Adrien, Chloe, and Nino made about having to run off and go home during alerts.
           Around the same time as the fourth akuma of the new semester hit, three new heroes arrived in Paris.
           Well, new wouldn’t necessarily be the right word. They weren’t new heroes, they were just new to Paris.
           Robin, Superboy, and Arrowette. They assisted in fighting back akuma that turned people into candy; a toddler whose mother refused to buy him sweets. Afterward, they explained that they would be in the city for quite some time, and would assist when they are able.
           They didn’t reveal why they were there though. All Robin said was, “Justice League business.” And the Parisian heroes decided to leave it at that after offering to help if needed.
           Paris went nuts over the arrival of the new heroes.
           Alya cried in class when she found out Ladybug gave Aurore the exclusive interview about what was going on. Ladybug also publically endorsed Bugout, Aurore’s website, as the only reliable main source for credible information on the Parisian heroes. She didn’t say a word about Ladyblog, which was pretty much all anyone needed to know what they had already expected.
           Ladybug hadn’t given an exclusive on the Ladybug blog in almost two years but now it was official…
           The Ladyblog was out. Alya was out.
           Time went on. The kids grew closer as friends. Jon and Adrien got closer as… Well, Adrien didn’t know.
           He did know that his dad despised Jon because of time he picked Adrien up wearing a green plaid shirt but Gabriel wouldn’t admit it. Jon was the son of famous reporters Lois Lane and Clark Kent, godson to Lex Luther. And Gabriel Agreste was anything but stupid.
“I miss my family,” Jon told Adrien one day while they were studying in the library. “All the time. But I guess also miss the pets I have.”
“I always wanted a dog,” Adrien said.
“In Smallville, I have twelve chickens,” Jon said. “Three horses, four pigs, two cows, and a dog.”
           The blond nodded, “You win. Tell me about them.”
           And Jon did. He told all about his life in Smallville and metropolis. And Adrien told him what it was like growing up in Paris and being a supermodel.
Adrien grinned, “I want to be a lawyer when I get older,” he told Jon. “I want to fight for people who can’t fight for themselves. Like I read about this law firm called Nelson and Murdock who take all these pro bono cases to help people who usually have no chance of winning against bigger, bad-er, and richer people. It gets really dangerous for them but they just keep helping. Because it’s the right thing to do. I want to do that too!”
“I think when I grow up…” Jon said slowly. “I want to be like my mom. She goes above and beyond to get her story; to find out what’s really going on in the world and reports it honestly. I want to do that too. I want to be an investigative journalist. I want to hunt down the truth. Because people deserve the truth, even if they don’t like it. I know the truth can be scary sometimes, and a bit sad. But They deserve to hear it. But I’ve probably said too much.” He laughed.
“No,” Adrien shook his head, and smiled, “Tell me more.”
Still the more their friendship and bonds of trust grew, the more Lila became frustrated.  As far as she was concerned things just weren’t going her way. First, she lost her future as the world-famous fashion model Lila Rossi/Mrs. Adrien Agreste. Then Damian Waynes comes to town and won’t even look twice at her; too busy trailing after Miss Goody two-shoes. Then she finds out that Jon Kent is the son of Lois Lane and Clark Kent, godson of Lex Luther, only AFTER she privately threatened to make his life hell for siding with Marinette. She didn’t bother to try to get close to Lian Queen, granddaughter of Oliver Queen, the girl had been glaring at her since the second she heard Lila tell her first lie.
So instead of The Italian girl, once again, tried to sow dissension in the class, tried to force Damian to sit next to her; loudly bragged about her trips and famous people she knew to get attention. Damian ignored her. Then she tried making Marinette look bad again; lied about how the bluenette was bullying her. It didn’t work. Damian was quick to point out inconsistencies in her tales.
           That didn’t stop the class from believing them.
“Morons,” Damian called them one day after school.
“They’re not that bad,” Marinette tried.
“They kinda are, dudette,” Nino said. “I really expected Alya to catch on by now. But it’s like she doesn’t want to.”
           Chloe scoffed, “Of course she doesn’t!” The blond sneered. “She betrayed her best friend, ditched her best friend, broke up with her boyfriend, pretty much led the charge in exiling us, spread Lila’s lies on her blog which included Lies about Ladybug. It’s not just admitting she was wrong.”
“It’s having to deal with consequences,” Lian agreed. “That Alya got herself into this mess. If Marinette and all us aren’t the bad guys in this, that means she is. That’s a hard pill to swallow.”
           Jon shook his head, “I don’t understand why Lila lies so much,” he said. “Dad’s always told me honesty is the best policy.”
“You’re a long way from the farm, boy scout,” Damian tsk’d.
“Damian,” Marinette sighed and grabbed the boy’s hand and pulled him away.
           Adrien snickered, “Those two are so into each other, it’s not even funny!”
“I know,” Jon laughed in agreement. “I’ve never seen Damian be so nice to anyone before. I’ve known him since we were in the sandbox, and he just stopped calling me Kent last year.”
“Yeah…” Chloe drawled. “Watching two people dance around each other for months, neither making a move. It’s the worst.”
“Waiting for one of them to finally make a move,” Nino said, “Literally. Kill. You. Inside.”
           Lian nodded, “They like each other. Everyone knows they like each other. And Yet nothing. And we'll have no choice but watch and wait for them to pull their heads out of their asses,” She told them. “When all you want to scream is: hey, you two! Just freaking kiss already!”
“Yep the absolute worst,” Nino repeated.
           Then Lian, Chloe, and Nino stared blatantly at Jon and Adrien who merely shrugged.
“Damian will make a move soon,” Jon assured.
“I’ll try to get Marinette to say something,” Adrien promised.
“…I hate you,” Chloe said.
           Adrien gave her another confused look. Because what did he do wrong now?
Chat Galore: Dude!
Iron’s Kid: Dude!
Chat Galore: I need Hufflepuff support now!
Iron’s Kid: …Crap, I never told you Pottermore sorted me into Gryffindor, did i?
Chat Galore: WHAT!
Chat Galore: Traitor. Never talk to me again
Iron’s Kid: As you wish.
“How do I look?” Marinette asked as she twirled around in the living room. She wore a soft pink dress. Her hair was down and slightly curved. She looked like a princess from a fairytale.
“Flawless,” Adrien said, for the tenth time. “Why am I here?”
           Marinette narrowed her eyes at him, “Because!” She said. “You’re my bestie. I have my first real date. Chloe’s shopping with Lian. Nino won’t answer my calls. I need you here!”
“Take a deep breath, Mari!” Adrien told her. “You look absolutely beautiful. Damian’s already head over heels for you, and the way you look is gonna make his purpose.”
           The bluenette blushed a lovely pink, “Shut up!”
           The door opened, and in walked Nico, “Looking lovely, niece,” He said. “Big date tonight, huh?”
“Yes,” Marinette sighed dreamily. “He’ll be here soon.”
           Nico smirked, “Good. Don’t worry, I’ll only threaten him a little.”
“Nico!”
           The dark-haired boy chuckled before flopping down on the couch. “Hey, Adrien.”
           Adrien felt his mind go a little mushy. He never quite got over his crush on the older boy. At least not yet.
           The two still hung out every now and then, still always with Marinette. Nico frequently split his time between New York and Paris. So Adrien didn’t see him that often, though Nico had been around to wish Adrien a happy 16th birthday.
           Adrien tried to play it cool, but ended up sitting in awkwardly in the recliner, “Hey Nico!” His voice squeaked, and once more Adrien wanted to die.
           The doorbell rang.
           Damian brought Marinette a dozen red roses, let himself be mildly threatened by Nico, endured the massive amount of pictures Tom and Sabine took and ignored Adrien’s snickering in the background. Then the two love birds were gone. Sabine and Tom went to go finish closing the bakery for the night. And then it was just Adrien and Nico.
“So,” Nico said as he put his feet on the couch. “What are you doing tonight, Blond Wonder? Any plans?”
           Adrien shook his head, “Not really,” Jon was visiting his parents. Nino was watching his siblings. “I’ll just go home and watch Bleach. Or something.” Stuff his mouth with the hidden box of Oreos he had.
“Why don’t you hang out with me?” Nico offered. “The Maltese Falcon at the old theater on 3rd street. It’s your favorite right?”
           Adrien nodded eagerly, “Me and my Mom used to watch it all the time.”
           The two had a great time at the movie theater and ended up staying to watch another movie. They laughed. They ate lots of overpriced junk food. They talked. And Adrien finally managed to have a non-blushing, stammering, mind mushed, conversation with Nico. It was still just a bit awkward but it was not the cause of something either of them did.
           At the end, Nico walked Adrien to the front door of his house.
“It’s weird,” Nico said, “But I kind of always forget how great it is hanging out with you.”
           Adrien shrugged, “You’re not too bad yourself,” Then he smirked, “Though you’d probably be happier if you add some color to your wardrobe. Do own anything that’s not the color of sadness?”
           Nico barked a laugh, “I am the son of Hades,” He defended himself. “It’s our aesthetic, okay. And we all can’t be made from rainbows and sunshine.”
“Excuses.”
           The dark-haired boy shook his head, and smirked at Adrien, “This was fun. We should do it again sometime.” He said as he backed away.
“Yeah,” Adrien smiled. “Go to the beach, see what happens when you go out in the daylight. Even money, you burst into flames.
Nico chuckled as he turned around, “Goodnight, Sunshine.”
“Night, Twilight!”
“You’re dead to me!” Nico called back.
Ladybug and Chat Noir and the other Parisian heroes got used to the Three Justice League sidekicks appearing out of nowhere and assisting in battle. It had been strange at first; a little tense. Mostly due to Robin interrogating them every chance he got. Arrowette glaring menacingly at them. Even Superboy was a bit intimidating. Still, they never revealed why there in Paris.
           During this time, Adrien and Jon became much better friends. And the blond started to suspect that Jon would prefer to just stay friends with him.
Iron’s Kid: Johnny and Me are over.
Chat Galore: Ouch. What happened?
Iron’s Kid: ‘Dramatic Sigh’ we’re just too different, you know?
Chat Galore:  Different is not always bad. You really liked him, right?
Chat Galore: And did you actually type ‘Dramatic Sigh’, you dramatic bitch?
Iron’s Kid: I like that he was different at first. But we barely had anything in common. We were fire in and ice. Sure it is steamy at first but when the steam is gone…
Iron’s Kid: And yes I did
Chat Galore: You okay?
Iron’s Kid: I’m fine. I just realized I want someone I can talk to about everything and nothing.
Chat Galore: Someone to geek out over Star Trek with, and go to when you need a shoulder to lean on.
Iron’s Kid: Someone who’d stay up all night talking just because he wants to be there for me.
Chat Galore: Dating shouldn’t be this hard
Iron’s Kid: It’ll only get harder.
Chat Galore: Shut. Up.
Iron’s Kid: As you wish.
For Marinette’s sixteenth birthday, she had a party. It was much bigger than she wanted, but not smaller than her friends tried to make it. The bluenette was always there for them, and they wanted to remind her how special was.
           However, for the first time, Adrien was pleased to say, he was not the one trying to overdue everything to the extreme. Chloe was pleased that she wasn’t the one making the party planner cry whenever she called them. Nino was pleased that he wasn’t the one to be overly critical of the musical entertainment for being just a bit subpar.
           No! That was Damian Wayne.
           And unlike Marinette’s best friends, Marinette’s boyfriend’s craziness could not be contained.
           The party was huge. There were hundreds of balloons. Everyone was wearing fanciest party clothes. There were hundreds of balloons. Gourmet food. All of Marinette’s friends, close acquaintances, and anyone who loved and or adored her had shown up. Jagged had come. Cara Nightingale did a surprise performance.
           Adrien had a blast. His friends found out that while the blond boy had lessons in practically everything, dance wasn’t one of them. He was a terrible dancer. Laughably bad. Still, everyone had fun. Nino danced in a giant glow in the dark dinosaur costume.
           Then Marinette, Adrien, Nino, Chloe got on stage and sang Born to Brave from High School Musical: The Series. Damian, Jon, and Lian joined them. The crowd sang with. Bubbles filled the air. It was exhilarating.
           So much so that Adrien stepped out to take a small break. He sat on a white wood bench outside, looking up at the stars, and let the cool brisk night air relax him. Even from where he sat, he could still hear music playing from the party.
“Needed a breather,” Jon asked as he sat down next to Adrien.
“Parties,” Adrien shrugged. “They can be a bit much.”        
           Jon shifted in his seat, “Yeah. Yeah, I guess.”
           Then Blue eyes met green…
           And then everything suddenly felt really the world was holdings breath. Adrien had no idea where the tension came from but it was there. And it was like he was waiting for some imaginary bubble to burst. And Adrien just…  Ugh!
           He glanced down at his hands, suddenly not knowing what to do with them. He was also intensely aware of every millimeter Jon so much as moved. In fact, Adrien was aware of everything, including how many times he was blinking.
“This kind of reminds me of how we met,” Adrien finally blurted.
           Jon cast him a curious look but nodded, “Yeah, the park bench, right?”
“Mmhmm.”
           There it went quiet.
“Why are parties a bit much?” Jon asked.
“Not all parties,” Adrien said. “Just the ones my dad usually drags me to. Everyone is always overly polite while giving backhanded compliments; they pretend to be nice but they don’t mean it. No one’s straight forward.  I don’t know why it is so hard.”
“It’s not!” Jon turned to him. “Let’s try it now. Hi, I’m Jon and…” He took two plugs out of his ears, “…I wear earplugs because I can’t handle loud noises sometimes.”
           Adrien chuckled, “Hi. I’m Adrien. And apparently, I’m a terrible dancer.”
“God Awful!”
“Hey!”
           Jon laughed, “My little Pony is one my favorite shows.
“I once had an imaginary friend named Phineas!”
“I like fried broccoli!”
“I like fried Oreos.”
“You’re disgusting.”
“Oh because fried broccoli so much better.”
“Hey, being straight forward here!” Jon defended. “I like raining days over sunny.”
           Adrien smiled, “I like you,” he took a deep breath. “Like really like you.” He glanced down and then back up at Jon and tried to be brave. “Like I the way I thought you might’ve used to like me but don’t anymore.”
“Really?” Jon asked looking just a bit stunned. “How very straight forward of you.”
           Adrien stood up quickly, slightly panicked, “That’s it. That’s all I wanted to say. If you don’t like me anymore, I get it.” He said. “I… I just really wanted you to tell you. Even if you change your mind.”
“Adrien,” Jon said, standing up too, facing the blond. “I’ve never changed my mind.” Then he leaned forward and kissed Adrien. “I really like you too.”
           Adrien and Jon held hands as they walked back into the party.
           Later, after the party ended, Adrien would tell Marinette, Chloe, and Nino about his first kiss, and go partially death from Marinette and Chloe’s screams.
Chat Galore: You know what I like?
Chat Galore: Life!
Iron’s Kid: Things going good then?
Chat Galore: Jon kissed me. My grades are perfect. My dad’s letting me cut back on modeling.
Iron’s Kid: Awesome! You’ve need a break.
Chat Galore: We need a happy song!
Iron’s Kid: We. Do. Not.
Chat Galore: We need a happy song so when we can sing the happy song when we’re happy.
Iron’s Kid: We will never have a happy song.
Iron’s Kid: That’s more of a Hufflepuff thing
Chat Galore: I’d be offended if it wasn’t true!
           Adrien’s life really was going great. He became good friends with Nico. Lila’s lies in the class were starting to unravel, and she was quickly losing her supporters. Jon and him were sort of, kind of, officially dating. The sun was shining. Rainbows were everywhere.
           …He should’ve known it wouldn’t last forever.
           Adrien got a 911 group text from Chloe; with like a dozen exclamation points and several frowny faces so he knew it was serious.
           When he got to Chloe’s place, he found Marinette and Nino already waiting on the couch, while Chloe paced the floor. Adrien joined on the couch.
“Okay,” Marinette said. “We’re all here. What’s up? What’s the emergency?”
“They’re spies,” Chloe hissed, rage clear on her face. “Lian, Jon, Damian; they’ve been spying on us all this time.”
“What? Dude, no way!” Nino shook his head. “They’re our friends. Lian hates traitors!”
“Damian would never!” Marinette denied. “He loves me. I love him.”
           Adrien agreed, “They’d never do that us. Jon couldn’t. He’s like the most honest kid ever.”
           Chloe picked up a nearby face and smashed against the wall, “They’re two-faced lying little creeps.” She yelled. Though it was clear she was angry, they could also see the hurt clear in the blonde’s eyes.
“Chloe…” Marinette started slowly but was cut off.”
“Lian is Arrowette!” Chloe growled. “Jon’s Superboy. And I’ll give you one big fat guess who Damian is. And for the record he is not as wonderful as his nickname implies.”
           Pollen flew out from wherever she was hiding, “It’s true!” She said. “I saw them myself. They are the American heroes.”
“Pollen followed them,” Chloe explained. “She saw everything. They’ve been following us. Reporting intel to the Justice League all about us. That’s why they’re here. That’s why they got close to us. They know we’re heroes!”
           Horror and understandingly slowly crept over Nino, Marinette, and Adrien’s faces.
Pollen nodded eagerly, “They have reports all about your lives in and out of the mask. It's very detailed.”
           Adrien was glad he was sitting down because he felt like the floor has disappeared under his feet. Shakily, he stood up, “I need too…” He shook his head. “I have too…” He couldn’t finish his sentence instead he just ran from the room.
           And kept running and running.
           Until he found himself standing in front of the apartment where Jon, Lian, and Damian lived. He stared at the olive green door as if he didn’t recognize it. As if he hadn’t been there, in that same spot, standing in front of that door, a hundred times before.
           He closed his eyes and he knocked.
           Jon opened the door, “Adrien!” He had a large grin on his face that slowly disappeared when he saw the look on the blond boy’s face.
“Can I come in?”
“Sure, yeah!” Jon moved out of the way to let Adrien pass. “Is everything okay?”
           Adrien walked into the living room and saw Damian and Lian sitting on the couch, “Go see Marinette,” He ordered Damian. “If you want any chance of saving your relationship, if you ever really loved her like you said you; you will go see Her. Right. Now.”
           That was all Damian needed to here to fly out of the room.
           Adrien turned to Lian, “I need to speak with Jon alone, please,” He said as politely as possible. “I would suggest going to go speak with Nino and Chloe.”
           Lian frowned but nodded and left the room.
“Adrien, what’s going on?” Jon asked again. “You’re scaring me.”
           Adrien let out a shorter bitter laugh, “I’m going to ask you three questions, and I need to be honest with me, okay? Is your name Jon Kent?
“Yes,” Jon stated firmly. “Jonathan Kent Lane.”
“Are we friends?”
“Of course!”
           Adrien nodded and swallowed the lump that was building in his throat, “Why did you really come to Paris?”
           Jon frowned, “I’m here on a foreign exchange-” Adrien cut him off.
“Don’t lie to me, Superboy!”
           The boy of Steel flinched back.
“Tell me it isn’t true!” Adrien all but begged. “Tell me you didn’t come here to spy on Chat Noir and Ladybug and everyone else. Tell me this wasn’t all a big lie. Tell me you weren’t using me for information. Tell me! Tell me wrong I’m, please.”
“Adrien…” Jon whispered, pain on his face. “I’m sorry.”
           That was Adrien needed to here. “All this time. You… I thought… Was any of it real? Was anything you ever told me real? Do I even know you?” He asked. “
“The Justice League was concerned about Hawkmoth,” Jon tried to explain. “They received intelligence that Ladybug and Chat Noir were teenagers, and wanted to know more. They sent us.”
           Adrien just stared at him, “I like you,” He said. “I really liked you. You were my friend, Did you do all just because you were ordered to?”
“No!” Jon nodded, “I swear. I’d never do that to you, to anyone.”
“But you thought it was okay to kiss me,” Adrien said “To date me! When I had no idea who you are really?”
           Jon tossed his hands in the air, “You know who I am. Nothing’s changed. I’m still the same guy. I’m still me!”
“Everything’s changed!” Adrien yelled. “I’m questioning everything. Everything I’ve ever said to you, everything we ever did together!” His entire body shook. “You were sent to get close to us. You were sent to get close to me. To. Get. Information.”
           It went quiet. Neither knowing what to say.
“…That day in the park,” Adrien whispered. “You were on the bench and Chloe thought you were checking me out. You weren’t, were you? You were watching me, us. Gathering intel. Weren’t you?”
           Jon looked away, “…Yeah, I was.”
You knew I was Chat Noir even then?”
“I did.”
Adrien nodded, “It’s been a lie since the beginning,” He clenched his fists. “In the library, you told me that people deserve the truth. I believed in you. I trusted you. I told you things I’ve haven’t even told people who’ve known my entire life. Because I trusted you. I trusted you were honest and good and you would tell me the truth. Why didn’t I deserve the truth?”
He looked up at the mantle that was covered in pictures of people that Adrien knew as friends and family of Jon, Damian, and Lian, and at all of the pictures of Chloe, Nino, Adrien, and Marinette together with the three; laughing and smiling. And it hurt to look at it. “You’ve been here for almost a year. You three pretended to be our friends, to care, for almost a year.”
“It wasn’t pretend. Or a lie,” Jon looked ready to cry. “You are our friends!”
           Adrien ran a hand through his hair, “Then Why? If we were your friends, why?”
Jon shrugged, “I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say. Everything was so complicated. We were never supposed to be here this long. It was our first big mission. The first mission JL trusted us to handle alone. I could give you a thousand excuses but I know they wouldn’t be good enough.”
“They wouldn’t be,” Adrien agreed. “They aren’t. They never will be.”
           It went silent again. Jon and Adrien just stared at each other.
“You weren’t sent to get close us,” Adrien repeated. “Not just learn about Hawkmoth. But you were specifically sent to get close us; learn who we are as heroes and as civilians. Hawkmoth was a bonus. But you were sent for Ladybug and Chat Noir and Queen Bee and Carapace. Right?”
Jon looked down, away from Adrien’s soul-piercing gaze, and admitted, “You were the mission.”
Adrien closed his eyes, stood up straight, and with every ounce of control he could muster, he calmly said, “Goodbye, Jon.”
“I never meant to hurt you,” Jon said.
“That doesn’t really matter, because, in the end, it all hurts the same,” Adrien replied and left.
For the next few hours, Jon saying, “You were the mission,” Kept echoing in Adrien’s head on a loop.
Not long after leaving Jon’s place, Adrien would find himself in Marinette’s room, letting the bluenette cry her eyes out into his shoulder, shedding his own tears too. Chloe would arrive next with bloodshot eyes, and cuddle next to them. Nino, just after her, looking like a wreck and would take the spot next to Adrien.
It would be hours before they’d calm themselves down. But it wouldn’t be until the next day that any of them managed to ask what they should next.
Chloe spitefully suggested kicking them out of Paris.
Nino agreed halfheartedly.
Adrien was fine with just ignoring them. At least he hoped that he could. He would try really, really hard to.
Marinette didn’t say a word. Instead, she just let them talk with a faraway look on her face.
In the end, it wouldn’t matter.
By Monday, Jon, Damian, and Lian would be gone. Bustier would announce that the exchange program ended.
And Adrien would find himself frequently staring at Jon’s empty seat.
Chat Galore: So it turns out… Jon’s a big jerk
Chat Galore: He wasn’t who I thought he was.
Chat Galore: It’s complicated but to summarize he’s a jerk.
Iron’s Kid: Screw Prince Charming if he turned out to be a warty, jerky frog.
Iron’s Kid: You deserve better.
Chat Galore: To quote Gabriella Montez: Now I know you're not a fairy tale And dreams were meant for sleeping And wishes on a star Just don't come true
Iron’s Kid: Crap, you're quoting high school musical. You're really hurting, aren’t you.
Iron’s Kids: Want to watch shitty Disney Channel movies and talk?
Chat Galore: …Yes.
            Three months, two weeks, six days, nine hours, and twelve minutes. That was how long it took for Adrien to move on. For all of them to move on from the sense of betrayal.
Iron’s Kid: YOU STILL HAVEN’T WATCHED PRINCESS BRIDE
Chat Galore: It doesn’t seem like that good of a movie
Iron’s Kid: ‘Insulted Gasp’ How. Dare. YOU!
Chat Galore: You still have watched Vampire Diaries!
Iron’s Kid: I have taste!
           It took almost three weeks for Chloe to stop growling whenever someone mentioned Damian, Jon, or Lian’s name.
Iron’s Kid: I might need to hide out in Paris for a while
Chat Galore: Did you blow up your dad’s lab again?
Iron’s Kid: Worse!
Chat Galore: You superglue legos to your Pop’s shield again.
Iron’s Kid: That was an accident. They were supposed to come right off. And it's worse.
Chat Galore: Melt another hole in your living room floor?
Iron’s Kid: So. SO much worse.
Chat Galore: You didn’t call Natasha fat did you?
Iron’s Kid: Never that bad
Iron’s Kid: I may or may not have caused MJ’s laptop to crash
Chat Galore: … Shit
Chat Galore: Not even the gods could save you.
           A month for Marinette to not look like she wanted to cry when she thought about Damian.
Chat Galore: I’ve decided to learn to cook
Iron’s Kid: Sweet
Chat Galore:  Just think One day you will try my cooking.
Iron’s Kid: Sorry, Can’t I’m on a new diet.
Chat Galore: WHAT DIET?
Iron’s Kid: Photosynthesis
           Two months for Nino to redownload all the songs he deleted because Lian recommended them.
Iron’s Kid: Archie is one of my best friends
Chat Galore: *doing the Fortnite dance*
Iron’s Kid: I lied I don’t know you
           Three months for Adrien to be able to sit in the park and not think about Jon.
Iron’s Kid: I think are MJ and Shure are laughing at me
Chat Galore: Don't be so paranoid
Iron’s Kid: They're pointing at me and laughing.
           In the fourth month, things are pretty much the same as they ever were. Though everyone picked up the habit of pretending they didn’t know Marinette started texting Damian again. Eventually, the gang was okay when Marinette announced she was seeing Damian again; even if they, themselves, decided not to deal with the American heroes.
Chat Galore: I really thought 2020 would be a great year!!!
Iron’s Kid: …WWIII was trending in the first week of January.
           Time went on. Adrien went on dates, had fun, had a boyfriend or two. He grew up a bit, and kind of understood the position Jon had been in better. And then he wasn’t so angry. Still, a bit hurt though.
Iron’s Kid: I’m sending good vibes your way, they’re coming and there is nothing you can do to stop the
Chat Galore: that is the most threatening way I’ve ever been cheered up.
           By the time summer hit, Adrien decided to take a step back from love and romance and just focus on himself. He finally told his dad his wanted to be a Lawyer, and to his surprise, his dad helped him get a summer internship at a prestigious law firm.
Chat Galore: I’ve decided if I kill Lila, I’ll make it look like an accident.
Chat Galore: Unlike Chloe who has plans to mount her head on the balcony like a warning to the next that may come
Iron’s Kid: How will you make it look like an accident?
Chat Galore: I have a crowbar and a banana.
Iron’s Kid: Quick request: Go look up accident in the dictionary.
He quit modeling because he never really liked it. He found out he liked to paint and was pretty good at it. He tried and failed to learn how to dance.
           He did learn to surf.
           Adrien hung out a lot with Nico, who had become a good friend.
           By the time summer ended, the gang was back on speaking terms with Damian, Lian, and Job. Mostly at Marinette’s behest. She and Damian were going strong. And she really wanted everyone to forgive and forget and be friends.
           Chloe just agreed to be civil.
           Nino agreed to try being friends again after the three apologized.
           Adrien, mostly out of love for his all but sister Marnette, put his best foot forward and start over with them – even Jon. They agreed to be friends. Just friends.
Iron’s Kid: I don’t have a nervous system.
Iron’s Kid: I am a nervous system.
Chat Galore: I’m a Scorpio!
Their final year of school started with a bang. Next year they would all be off at University. And by Bang, Adrien meant Alya knocking Lila the fuck out during the first week.
           Lila had told the one lie Alya couldn’t just live in denial with.
“I told Ladybug, I just couldn’t do it anymore,” Lila sighed, “I already have so many medical issues. I couldn’t be Rene Rouge anymore. Ladybug was devasted.”
           Then the entire class heard Lila scream, and the thing they knew Alya was on top of Lila beating the hell out of her, screaming, “You lying little WITCH!!”
Chat Galore: ‘Video Sent’
Iron’s Kid: Lila’s the girl on the floor right?
Chat Galore: Alya SNAPPED
           Lila transferred out of the school Alya transferred out of class. No one got an apology. Adrien didn’t know why he was still a little surprised.
           Outside of school, Adrien was pleased to say the gang’s friendship with Jon, Lian, and Damian was back to full force. Even Chloe greeted the three warmly.
           Once Adrien decided to move passed any lingering romantic feelings for Jon, they managed to have a pretty good friendship. Even the Superboy and Chat Noir team-ups were going well.
Chat Galore: what should I be for Halloween this year?
Iron’s Kid:  a vampire, Batman, my boyfriend, Superman
           Adrien laughs until everything processed in his mind.
Chat Galore: What?
           He didn’t get a reply. And Adrien figured it was just autocorrected. But still… his mind couldn’t help but wonder. Just a bit… What if?
           A while ago, he had vaguely considered that maybe him and Iron’s Kid had something, could possibly be…
In the middle of Winter break, Adrien got the best gift he could’ve ever asked for.
Iron’s Kid: I’ve been thinking
Chat Galore: Well that can’t end well
Iron’s Kid: Have you and MJ been talking behind my back
Iron’s Kid: Wait don’t answer that. I’m afraid to know
Iron’s Kid: Ned made a point the today
           Adrien waited for Iron’s Kid to elaborate more, because what?
Iron’s Kid: I’ve been stupid.
Chat Galore: Ned makes a good point, lol
Iron’s Kid: WHAT I’m TRYING TO say is; I trust you
           Adrien smiled as his phone.
Iron’s Kid: We’ve been friends since we were like 11
Iron’s Kid: I want to meet
Iron’s Kid: I want to know what you look like.
           Adrien agreed instantly. Because he’s been waiting for like six years. They agreed to meet up that spring. Iron’s Kid’s was going on a trip to Europe for his spring break. It was just going to be him and a few classmates who were in the same club as him. Iron’s Kid said everyone else in their grade was looking forward to the Big Senior Ski Trip at the Brown Bear Ski Lodge that happened every year.
Adrien had family in England. They would meet at six pm at the London’s Eye.
Chat Galore: I always figured you were secretly a werewolf and knew we’d automatically be enemies.
Iron’s Kid: Wait, why would we be enemies?
Iron’s Kid: Oh You’re a Cat!
Chat Galore: And You’re supposed to be a genius.
Iron’s Kid: Meow!
           Adrien’s seventeenth birthday came and went without any fireworks; metaphorical ones anyway. His party was huge.
           He also met the Justice League and got to watch Chloe cuss out the greatest heroes in the world for the invasion of privacy. Marinette, Adrien, and Nino just watched with smiles on their faces.
           He was counting down the days. Until he and Iron’s Kid finally met. It was strange to think it was really going to happen.
Chat Galore: Would you say you’re an independent person?
Iron’s Kid: MJ told me to say to yes.
Chat Galore: Stop being weird.
Iron’s Kid: As you wish.
           Adrien chuckled.
“What?” Marinette asked. He showed her the text. “It kind of funny.
“Not the Mj thing,” Adrien shook his head. “Iron’s Kid always says ‘As You wish’ whenever I tell him to do something. It’s weird.”
“…Like in Princess Bride,” Marinette asked.
           Adrien shrugged, “Never seen it. It’s one of Iron’s favorite though. Irritates him that I refuse to watch it. But I won’t until he watches the Vampire Diaries.”
           Marinette stared at him, “And Iron’s Kid says ‘As you Wish’ every time.”
“Yep.”
“Adrien, WATCH. THAT. MOVIE,” Marinette ordered a firm look on her face.
           Adrien pointed at her, “No!” He said firmly. “It goes against my principles.” She shot him a curious look. “I have a duty to annoying Iron’s Kid in any way I can.”
           The bluenette nodded understandingly, a small smile on her face, “Makes sense,” She said. “I totally accept your reasoning.”
           Adrien smiled happily… Like a fool.
           In retrospect, he should’ve known Marinette would never back down that easily.
           And that was how he ended up literally hogtied on the couch, the Princess Bride playing on the TV, with a smug Chloe and a gleeful Marinette next to him. Nino watched from the recliner with an easy grin on his face.
“You’ve could’ve helped!” Adrien complained to his friend.
           Nino shrugged, “I did help!” He defended. “…Them.”
           Adrien sighed and allowed himself to watch the movie; he fully knows two things.
One; there was no way he was getting out of this
Two; Iron’s Kid was never going to let him live this down.
           The movie was actually pretty good. But then…
           The scene played…
Grandpa: Nothing gave Buttercup as much pleasure as ordering Westley around.
Buttercup: Farm boy, polish my horse's saddle. I want to see my face shining in it by morning.
Westley: As you wish.
Grandpa: "As you wish" was all he ever said to her.
Buttercup: Farm boy, fill these with water - please.
Westley: As you wish.
Grandpa: That day, she was amazed to discover that when he was saying "As you wish," what he meant was, "I love you." And even more amazing was the day she realized she truly loved him back.
Buttercup: Farm boy ... fetch me that pitcher.
Westley: As you wish.
           Adrien’s mind went blank. His heart started beating faster than it ever had before. It couldn’t mean…
           Iron’s kid didn’t mean…
           Right?
           But what if he did.
           Adrien always sort of held a small torch for his penpal. And he never had any concrete evidence that said he felt the same. And he was waiting until he did.
           But what if Iron’s Kid was waiting too. What if he was waiting for Adrien to finally say something; to finally get his message.
Chat Galore: So…
Iron’s Kid: So… Did we agree to stop sending cryptic messages
Chat Galore: We did not
Chat Galore: So I finally watched Princess Bride
Iron’s Kid: YES!!!!!!!!! Finally!!! Fuck yeah! Tell you me loved it.
Chat Galore: It was good, you freaking loser
Iron’s Kid: It’s amazing. It’s a classic you asshat
Chat Galore: Learned something interesting though
Chat Galore: ‘As you wish’, huh? You say a lot
Chat Galore: To me.
           Adrien stared as his phone waiting for a reply. It came after ten minutes.
Iron’s Kid: I do.
Chat Galore: Does it mean what it's supposed to.
           Another five minutes, and it felt agony.
Iron’s Kid: It does
           Adrien screamed a little
Chat Galore: Are you seriously just going to give me two-word answers? Why didn’t just you tell me
Iron’s Kid: In a way I sort of did
           Adrien glared at the phone.
Chat Galore: You are the most frustrating person to ever exist!!!!!!
Iron’s Kid: Thank you
           Adrien took a deep breath before dialing, “You suck!” He said as soon as it answered.
“I told you to watch the movie,” Iron’s kid defended.
           Adrien gripped his hair, “You don’t tell someone you love them by using some obscure 80s movie reference!” He snapped. “How hard would it be to say: Iron’s Kid, I’m pretty sure I’ve been in love with you since we were twelve-years-old.”
           It went quiet as both processed what Adrien just said.
“…That’s oddly specific,” Iron’s kid whispered.
           Adrien took a deep breath, “Yeah it is.” He said. He was forcing himself to be brave, braver than he ever had before. “But its how I feel. And I can’t help that.”
“I love you too,” Iron’s kid said. “And I’ve loved you since the first time stayed up talking while Binge-watching Harry Potter. It was the first time I realized you know me best in the entire world, and you don’t even know my real name. I could be honest with you in a way I can’t be with anyone. If I could dream up the perfect guy, he wouldn’t even come close to you.”
“Boys meets world,” Adrien let out a small laugh, that sounded a bit more like a sob. “Most of my life I felt alone, even when I was with people. That was until I met you.”
“Pretty little liars,” Iron’s Kid stated.
“In a few weeks, we’re finally gonna meet.”
“I’ll be there,” Iron’s kid said. “I swear.”
           Adrien smiled, “Good because I’ve been waiting for six years. And I know this is scary, but I will be there. Don’t let me down.”
“I won’t,” He promised.
           Valentine’s day came and went.
           Adrien was literally marking off the days on the calendar.  The trip was all planned already; Nino, Chloe, and Marinette were tagging along.
           Iron’s Kid and Adrien talked every day.        
“Okay if you sigh dreamily one more...” Nico teased.
           Adrien flushed a bright pink, “I’m finally gonna meet Iron’s Kid.”
“Ahh,” Nico nodded understandingly. “The mysterious penpal. It’s been what seven years?”\
“Six,” Adrien corrected. “Feels like twice that. We like each other,” He admitted. “Like really, really each other. We told each other a few weeks ago.’
           Nico frowned, “Just before meeting each other. Sounds like a lot of pressure. You ready for that?”
           The blond took a deep breath, “Yeah, I think so. It’s time. It’s going to be perfect. We’re gonna meet at London’s eyes, under the stars; it’ll be like a movie.”
“Your Ferris wheel moment,” Nico concluded. “Marinette told me,” The older boy explained. “Just… be careful okay.”
“I will be.”
           Nico gave him a hard look, “I’m serious. I know you. You’re all in. You always are,” he said. “Just don’t build this some more than you should. Don’t go in thinking it’ll be this picture-perfect movie moment. I don’t want to see you let down.” He told Adrien. “You’re my friend. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
           Adrien gave him a small smile, “I don’t care if the Ferris wheel is broken when I get there. Or its raining cats and dogs. It’ll be perfect.”
“Just be careful,” Nico repeated.
           The big day came. Adrien arrived in England on late Thursday with a stomach full of butterflies. Iron’s Kid had texted that he had been in London with his friends for a few days and that he couldn’t wait to see Adrien.
Iron’s Kid: I have brown hair. I’ll be wearing black slacks, and a rose lapel flower pin.
It wasn’t the first time the blond had been to England; he had more than a few photoshoots there. Yet somehow it all felt different. It all felt new. And it was like he was looking at everything again for the first time.
           He was to meet Iron’s Kid on Saturday at 6 pm. And he could barely contain himself
           He spent most of the Friday touring with his friends. They went to Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, The British Museum; standard tourist spots. And eating really, really British cuisine.
           Adrien woke up bright and early on Saturday and pretty much had a panic attack. It took Nino twenty minutes to calm him down. However, even when he was breathing normally again, Adrien was adamant about running back to Paris. That was when Nino called in Marinette and Chloe as reinforcements.
“If I have to drag to London’s Eye by your tacky boyband haircut,” Chloe growled. “I will.”
           Marinette tried the nice route, “Everything’s going to be fine,” She assured.
Chloe huffed, “I didn’t come all the way to London so you can be a little bitch.”
“You are so hostile,” Nino complained.
“What if this a mistake?” Adrien asked. “What if he’s disappointed? What if he takes one look at me, and is ‘You? I waited six years, and I get you. Waste of time.”
“That won’t happen!” Marinette said. “He’s gonna love you. He already does!”
           Nino nodded, “Yeah. You two are practically soulmates.”
“No!” Chloe held up a finger. “Listen to me clearly, Adrien Agreste; Just because he likes the same nerdy crap you do doesn't mean he's your soul mate. And if it doesn’t work out, not that it won’t, you will be just fine.”
           Marinette sighed, “No matter what happens everything is going to be okay.” She said firmly. “But you should really change that blazer. It’s not doing you any favors. Then we’re going to get breakfast and go to the museum. You have 11 hours until you have to be at the London’s eye. You’re going to relax until.”
“While we stop you from fleeing the country,” Nino yawned tiredly.
           That had to stop Adrien at least three times. One time Ladybug actually had appeared to pick Adrien up when he was halfway to the airport. This was all before one pm.
           The blond boy managed to calm down after that. Then he went back to bursting with excitement.  He was still afraid but he couldn’t let that stop him. Adrien has been waiting six years to meet Iron’s Kid, to meet Iron’s Kid.
           He arrived at the London’s eye, half an hour before six. He wore a silver suit Marinette had designed for him.
           Adrien took calming breaths. Marinette rolled her eyes as she fixed his tie, “See? This isn't so bad. You look amazing.”
“Are you kidding?” He gave her a nervous smile, “He traveled over three thousand miles to me. Any second now he's gonna get here, look at me and go, "Ha. Yeah, right, you're so not worth this.”
           Marinette gave him a hard look, “Yes, you are.” She patted his chest. “Take a lot of pictures. Text if you need anything.”
           And then she was gone.
           Adrien texted Iron’s Kid.
Chat Galore: I’m here. Blond; silver suit.
           The blond looked up at the London’s eyes, the biggest Ferris wheel had ever seen, and knew this was it. This was the moment Adrien had been waiting for. He smiled.
            When six pm came, Adrien was practically bursting at the seams. He was literally shaking in excitement. He watched the people go by and held his breath every time he saw a guy his age with brown hair but would frown when he didn’t see the rose lapel pin.
Chat Galore: You here yet?
           Six turned into seven. The sun had gone down. The stars were shining. Everything looked so perfect. Adrien was sure Iron’s Kid was on his way.
Chat Galore: If your running late it’s cool. I’ll wait.
           Seven turned into eight. Adrien refused to give up hope. He would wait no matter how long it took.
           Iron’s Kid was worth it.
Chat Galore: Still here.
Chat Galore: Did something come up?
           Eight turned into nine. The London’s eye closed. People started leaving. Adrien texted his friends that he was fine.
           He wasn’t feeling as hopeful as he did a few hours ago. But he’d wait.
Chat Galore: Still waiting.
Chat Galore: Well past feeling just a little pathetic.
           Nine turned into ten. Hope kind of then.
Chat Galore: Still here. Still waiting.
Chat Galore: What happened?
Chat Galore: Just say something!
           Ten turned to eleven. Adrien didn’t even know why he was still waiting.
Chat Galore: Anything! Please!
           A quarter to midnight, Adrien finally got an answer.
Iron’s Kid: I’m sorry.
           That was it. That was all he said.
           Adrien got back to his hotel room a little after midnight; feeling numb. His throat burned a little. His eyes were a little red.
           Nino greeted him with a big grin, “Back late, huh? Must’ve had a good time…” He trailed off when he saw the look on Adrien’s face. “Oh god, what happened?”
           Adrien shoved his hands in his pockets, “He, uh, he never showed up,” he said and swallowed the lump that had been building in his throat. “It’s fine. I’m fine. It’s okay.” Adrien nodded. “I need to, I have to, uh. I got to the bathroom.” And then he fled into the bathroom, locking the door behind him; willing the world to just stop existing for just a few moments.
“Dude, it’s okay,” Nino said through the door. “I know this has to be rough. But you’ll get through it. I’m here. I called Chloe and Marinette, they’re on their way.”
           Adrien didn’t say anything. He just wiped the tears off his face, and then gripped the bathroom sink.
“They’ll probably be banging on the door any sec,” Nino added. “Unless, Marinette’s trying to stop Chloe from committing murder,” He joked. “Which would be way rude by the way. I’d have liked an invitation. I thought our friendship was stronger.”
           Adrien heard loud knocking and the sweet voice of Marinette asking where he was, and the furious voice of Chloe already talking about how she knew how t to hide a body.
           The blond boy figured it was only a matter of time before Nino or Marinette convinced him to open up the door. Or Chloe broke it down.
           However, surprisingly after twenty or so minutes of his friends pleading with him to open the door, the door would gently swing open to reveal Marinette kneeling with a lockpick set in her hands.
           That got a smile out of Adrien. After all these years, the bluenette was still full of surprises.
           Adrien spent the rest of the night letting his friends comfort him. They left England the next morning.
           When they got back to Paris, and Adrien was back in the comfort of his room, he finally texted Iron’s Kid back.
Chat Galore: Why didn’t you show?
           He’d wait for a reply all day but wouldn’t get one.
           The next day, Adrien texted again.
Chat Galore: I’m not mad.
Chat Galore: I promise
Chat Galore: just a little hurt.
           Again, he’d wait for a reply all day, but it didn’t come.
           Though his friends tried to get him to talk about it, Adrien wouldn’t budge. He just couldn’t…
           It just stung too much. It burned too much.
Chat Galore: I get it if you were afraid or something
Chat Galore: It’s okay.
           And was the truth; it was fine.
           He would be fine. Everything was good. It was okay.
           Adrien would be fine.
           That was what he told everyone.
Chat Galore: We can pretend this never happened if you want
Chat Galore: Just be friends.
           Adrien still didn’t get a reply. That didn’t stop him from waiting for one. He figured Iron’s Kid was just embarrassed that he didn’t show or something. Everything would go back to normal after a few days.
Chat Galore: I’m going to see Onward. Heard its pretty good.
           But a few days became a week. A week became two. Two weeks a became a month of radio silence. And a seed of worrying starting to grow in Adrien’s stomach. Nevertheless, Adrien wrote Iron’s Kid once a day. He refused to give up hope.
           Adrien kept a smile on his face to stop his friends from being concerned. There was no reason to. He would be fine. It was okay. It wasn’t the first time he got his heart broken; probably would even be his last.
His days were split between studying and fight Hawkmoth. The villain was getting bolder and more desperate. Every Akuma seemed worse and stronger than the last. The kids got used to the feeling of always being dead on their feet.
           Marinette finally decided they needed a break and ordered a family game night. She got the newly permanent heroes Luka, Kagami, and Aurore to cover for them.
           Adrien tried to give all his attention to the monopoly game they played; laughed when he was supposed to. Tried to ignore that in the back of his mind, his attention was still a bit focused on his phone, and that fact that it's been a month since he heard from Iron’s Kid.
           A month since London.
           He barely even blinked twice when Marinette successfully bankrupted him, even though he was the first one out. Instead, as soon as the game got more intense, Adrien stuck away. He found himself on the roof the bakery, staring at the stars, clutching his phone in his hand.
Chat Galore: I’m running out of things to say
Chat Galore: Hard to have a one-sided conversation.
Chat Galore: I’m not even sure you’re reading this.
Chat Galore: Maybe I’ll just you send you movie quotes until you respond
            Adrien looked back up at the stars and wished. He wished never agreed to meet Iron’s Kid. He wished he never told him he loved him. He wished he could take it all back because at least he’d still have his friend.
           He wrapped his arms around himself. Adrien blinked back the tears that were building.
           He heard the door open behind him and figured it was Chloe or Nino coming to check on him; whoever got kicked out of the game firsts. Because Marinette was going to win.
“Beautiful night,” A voice said. “Nothing quite like Paris in the springtime.”
           Adrien cast a quick smile at Nico, “I always preferred it during Winter. A Snowy wonderland.” He went back to looking up at the stars.
“You know someday someone will walk into your life,” Nico said as he walked to stand next to the blond, “And make you realize why he never worked out with anyone else.”
“Go ahead,” Adrien laughed bitterly. “Tell me I told you so.”
           Nico shrugged, ‘Iron’s Kid’s a kid. And an idiot.”
“Yeah,” The blond sobbed. “That doesn’t mean much coming from you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Nico crossed his arms.
“Nothing,” Adrien rolled his eyes. “I’m just tired… I'm so tired of falling for guys that don't fall back. It hurts.”
“Adrien, I…”
           Adrien cut him off, “It’s the same thing every time. I’m all in, and they’re not. I’m the one left out in the cold. I’m waiting, looking like a total idiot. Because I was stupid enough to give all my heart when no one else ever does. So you wanna help me, Nico? Tell me what I do wrong.
“Nothing!” Nico gripped Adrien’s shoulders. “There is nothing wrong with you. You’re smart and talented. You’re caring and you’re funny. You look at this world like everything is possible, and you make me believe it too. You’re not the problem.”
“Tell me why I'm so easy to give up then,” The blond asked. “And maybe I can fix it”
“You’re asking the wrong guy, Sunshine,” Nico whispered, his forehead against Adrien’s, their lips inches apart. “There is no time or place or world, where it would ever be easy to give you up.”
Nico moved closer; so did Adrien…
“Hey!!” A voice called from downstairs. “New games starting. It’s Poker! Hurry your butts up!”        
           The two guys snapped back to reality and away from each other.
“You should go,” Nico said dryly, looking away from the other boy. “I’m going to stay here for a bit.”
“Nico…” Adrien said, looking a bit confused.
           The older boy shook his head.
           The blond nodded and started for the door.
“For what it’s worth,” Nico called. “He made the wrong choice.”.
           A small smile spread over Adrien’s face, “I know.”
“I wonder what would’ve happened if we met when we were older,” Nico asked.
           Adrien shrugged, “Someday we will be.”
“Long game?”
“Long game.”
           He went back to the living room where everyone was waiting, with the cards and poker chips already dealt.
           Adrien settled in the seat next to Marinette.
           The bluenette shot him a concerned look, “You okay?”
“I’ll be…” Adrien sighed. “Eventually.”
           The blond boy decided to chalk up whatever happened on the roof with Nico as… Just the two of them being caught in the moment. Emotions were high.
           …That didn’t stop Adrien from smiling every time someone mentioned Nico’s name.
Chat Galore: Everything is possible.
Chat Galore: Even the impossible.
           He still wrote Iron’s Kid once every day. Adrien didn’t say much. He just sent a movie quote he liked, just to let Iron’s Kid know he was still there. He was still waiting… if Iron’s Kid ever changed his mind.
Chat Galore: When you can’t look on the Brightside, I will sit with you in the dark.
           A month became two.
Chat Galore: In the garden of memory, in the palace of Dreams,  that is where you and I shall meet.
           Two became three. They figured out who Hawkmoth was. The battle had been epic. Adrien’s father had hesitated when he realized Adrien was Chat Noir, long enough for Ladybug to make the killing shot.
           Figuratively anyway.
           Ladybug blasted Hawkmoth into a wall. The heroes banded together to remove his miraculous. Then they erased his memory. And then Natalie’s. Of any and all knowledge of magic permanently; defeating Hawkmoth once and for all.
           As far as Gabriel knew he was just a recluse workaholic with what barely passed as a decent relationship with his only child.
           Adrien was devastated to learn who his father really was. Even so when he discovered the reason behind Hawkmoth’s villainous pursuit; his comatose mother and learned from Fu there was no way to save her; not even with a wish.
           The blond boy had long ago mourned his mother and moved on but that it didn’t hurt.
           Emilie Agreste was officially declared dead and buried on a sunny Tuesday afternoon in the middle of Spring.
Chat Galore: Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it
           Three months became four.
           At this point, he knows Iron’s Kid’s never going to write him back. And that was okay. Adrien was okay.
           People move on. And while Adrien would always wonder why Iron’s Kid never showed, he could live without knowing.
           If anyone asked why he was still writing, Adrien would say he didn’t know.
           But that was a lie.
           He did know.
           Iron’s Kid had been a really big part of his life, had been one greatest friend he ever had; had been his first love in a way.
           So yes, Adrien knew exactly why he was still writing.
           He could live without Iron’s Kid in his life but he couldn’t live without one thing.
Chat Galore: Here's looking at you kid
           Adrien officially graduated from school. He was accepted into Columbia. He’d be living in New York. And so, would Chloe, Marinette, and Nino. They decided they wanted to stick together and keep being heroes.
           Chloe would be going to Columbia with him to study business and public relations. Marinette would study business and fashion. Nino decided to dedicate his life to being the next great movie director. Adrien would study Law.
           They decided to get two apartments across from each other like in F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Because that was pretty much all they knew about New York.
           Damian would be attending Columbia; he was gearing up to take over Wayne Industries one day. Him and Marinette were still going strong. Lian would be going to Princeton, as Oliver Queen would be damned if his granddaughter went anywhere else. Jon would take a year off to explore the world before attending Metropolis University; he still wanted to Major in Journalism.
           Damian kept hinting hard that the Titans, not the Teen Titans, were looking for new members. And as he was the current leader of the Titans, it was less of a hint and more like being actively headhunted by the most aggressive Robin to ever walk the earth.
           It was official, they weren’t kids anymore.
Chat Galore: You know that place between sleep and awake where you’re always dreaming? That’s where I’ll always love you. That’s where I’ll be waiting.
           They had a few months before they had to move completely to New York, and decided to do something special. Or rather Tom and Sabine did.
           And mostly because they just wanted to see where their kids would be living from now on.
           Sabine and Tom claimed to find this great deal on a ski resort near New York.  Everyone was invited; Nico, Kagami, Luka, Aurore, Lian, Jon, and Damian.
They did the whole tourist thing, led by Nico who was excited his cousin would be living in the same city as him and explored the great New York City, and Tom and Sabine got to see the penthouses, Gabriel and Audrey had bought each their perspective children and were assured their kids would be living in a safe location.
Chat Galore: So maybe it won’t look like you thought it would in high school, but it’s important to remember that love is possible. Anything is possible. This is New York
           The Brown Bear Ski Lodge was packed, apparently, some class from a school called Midtown had booked a trip at the same time they did. So the entire lodge was filled with graduating seniors, between the ages of seventeen and eighteen years old.
           To say it was wild was an understatement. Sabine vocally wondered why the school though three chaperones to watch over an entire class of students were enough. Tom just comforted Mr. Harrison when he started to cry.
Adrien got to meet loads of kids his age, a few that would even be starting at Columbia the same time as the French kids. It turned out most of the kids from Midtown were insanely smart.
           The blond boy ended up spraining his ankle while skiing and ended up spending most of the time on sitting on the lodge’s bay window watching nature and relaxing. He ended up sitting there long after nearly everyone else had gone off to bed.
“Having fun,” A boy his age asked, one of the few people left in the room. He was handsome with light brown hair and kind brown eyes.
“As close as I can get,” Adrien answered.
The brown-haired boy smiled, “Well if you get bored out of your mind, I got some movies on my tablet if you want to watch. I know some pretty good ones.”
“I’m good,” Adrien said. “You can join me if you want. I wouldn’t say no to company.”
           The boy did, “Name’s Peter.”
“Adrien.”
“By your accent, I’m guessing your not with the Midtown group,” Peter asked. “Also, because I’m from the Midtown group.”
           Adrien snorted, “France. I’ll be living full time in New York come autumn.”
“Is that right?” Peter looked excited by the news. “You’re gonna love it.”
“Yeah, and why’s that?”
           And then Peter went on to tell Adrien all about the places and people he loved in New York. They talked for hours until morning rays hit them through the window.
           Over the next week of the vacation, the two ended up finding themselves repeating that; talking and letting time disappear.
Chat Galore: I wish I knew how to quit you.
           Adrien introduced Peter to Marinette, Chloe, Nino, and the others. Peter introduced him to his friends Michelle, Ned, and Gwen. Like Adrien and his friends, Peter and his friends were pretty much attached at the hip.
“He pissed me off, so I put a porn virus into his computer,” Michelle answered the Marinette’s question as to why a Eugene kept running from her.
           Marinette and Adrien had decided to enjoy a nice cup of hot chocolate by the fire, only to be joined by Peter’s friends: Michelle and Ned. Another would’ve joined them but he scampered away the second he saw the girl.
“He deserved it,” Michelle added.
“He totally did,” The large Asian boy nodded in agreement. “But MJ you might’ve taken it too far when you made it happen during class.”
           Marinette giggled. “Harsh!”
“No mercy, Ned!”
Adrien laughed until his brain processed what was said, “Wait, I thought your name was Michelle?”
Michelle and Ned froze like deer caught in the headlights.
“MJ’s my nickname,” Mj explained cooly. “And we should really be going…”
“Geniuses,” Adrien suddenly recalled; his mind finishing a calculation, he didn’t even realize he was trying to figure out. “Who goes to a school for super-smart kids. MJ, scary queen who could rule the universe,” He pointed at her. “Ned; loveable teddy bear nerd with a fixation on Legos. A bully named Eugene who I’m guessing goes by Flash.” He swallowed hard, and fixed hard green eyes on the two kids in front of him. “Did you take a class trip to Europe in Spring? Keep in mind I would really like you to say no.”
           Ned and MJ paled.
“Ned and MJ,” Adrien repeated. “Iron’s Kid’s best friends…” He whispered. “Peter’s best friends. Peter is Iron’s Kid, isn’t he?”
           MJ narrowed her eyes at him, “Chat Galore: Adrien Agreste.”
           Adrien’s entire body froze. He tried to remain calm, “This can’t be happening.”
           Marinette glared at them, “Your friends with Iron’s Kid!” She growled. “Peter is Iron’s Kid. What was he thinking? How could he just stand Adrien up? I’ll kill him!”
“I never told you my last name!” Adrien realized. “How did you?”
“We hacked into Peter’s phone a few months ago,” MJ shrugged. “And traced your Ip address.”
           Adrien glared, “And Peter knew? When I got here, he knew who I was didn’t?” He accused. “He lied right to my face!”
“It’s complicated!” Ned looked at Adrien with wide eyes. “Yeah, he knew who you were when he saw you. He just wanted a do-over. It’s weird I know. I told him not to do it!”
           MJ looked at Marinette, “You should kill him. It was a bitch move,” She said. “But if it means anything, he regrets not showing up at London’s eye.” This part she told Adrien.
“Like super regrets it!” Ned added. “You can’t beat him up half as much as he does himself.”
“I can try,” Marinette crossed her arms.
“He reads your texts every day,” Mj said.
           Adrien stood up angrily, “Then why doesn’t he text back?” He demanded to know. “Why didn’t he show up at the London’s eye. I waited! I’ve been waiting!”
           MJ shrugged, “I can’t answer that,” She said. “Only he can. I can only tell you he was stupid. And he overreacted. You deserve to hear everything from him.”
           Ned nodded eagerly, “He really likes you. He nearly dropped dead when he saw you were here. Just let him explain!”
“No!” Adrien snapped. “I don’t want to see him. Ever.” He clenched his fists. “I… I just can’t.”
           And he stumped away.
           He went to his room and packed his bags. He was getting out of there. He was leaving he had nothing to say to Iron’s Kid. Or Peter. Or whoever he was.
           There was a knock on his door.
“Go. Away!” Adrien snapped.
“I can’t do that!” It was Jon that surprisingly said that.
“Come in!” The door opened. “What do you want?” Adrien asked. “Sorry, I’m just a bit busy right now.”
           Jon wore a red plaid shirt over a white t-shirt and blue jeans, “Don’t leave,” He told Adrien.
“I have to,” The blond said he snuffed his suitcase.
“You can’t!”
           Adrien all but snarled, “Look you don’t understand. You don’t get it.” He said. “I have to leave.”
“Yeah I do,” Jon said and shut the door behind him. “Super hearing, remember? I know everything that’s going on. You can’t go, not like this.”
“Yes, I-” The blond started but was cut off.
           Jon grabbed his shoulders and sat him on the bed, “You deserve an answer. You’ve been waiting for an answer,” He stated. “You deserve to know why he didn’t show up.”
“And why he decided to mess with me for the last week?!!”
“That I understand!” Jon said. “He wanted to start over. Second chances are hard to come by. And once upon a time, there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t have done for one.”
“And you think he deserves one?”
“Just talk to him,” Superboy said. “Or scream at him. Whatever.”
           Adrien ran a hand through his hair, “I haven’t been waiting for an answer,” He admitted. “I would’ve liked one, but I wasn’t waiting for it.”
“You love him,” Jon said. “You did. Or do. I know. Because I remember how you used to look when he texted you. I know… Because you used to look like that around me.”
“Jon…”
“I saw you two together,” Jon said. “You’re good together. Leaving now would be a big mistake. I’m saying that as your friend. Meet him, talk to him. Even nothing happens. Or everything does.”
           Adrien hid his face in his hands and groaned, “Even if it’s just to reject him?” He crossed his arms. “Wouldn’t it be better to just leave?”
“Not for you,” Jon shook his head. “Look, if you reject him now, he's gonna make it his life's mission to go out there and meet the most perfect, beautiful guy or girl in the world just to try and get over you. And he'll end up marrying this other person and spending the rest of his life with them. And you know, he'll tell himself that they're perfect and... He really must be happy, but they won't be you, you know? And that’s the worst thing that will happen.”
           It went quiet.
“Follow your heart, Adrien,” Jon added. “It’s what you do best. And it’s the best thing about you.”
           Then the boy of steel left.
           And Adrien was alone with his thoughts.
Chat Galore: Relationships are messy and people’s feelings get hurt. Who needs it?
           Adrien left. It wasn’t his finest moment and not his bravest. But he left. Because he wasn’t ready to see Peter. Not yet. He texted his friends and tom and Sabine that he was leaving and that he’d okay… eventually.
           He’d go back to New York City, leave on the next flight out. He’d back to the big Apple two months later, move into his apartment with Nino, Marinette, and Chloe and start his life there.
           Two weeks after that Chloe would get the opportunity of a lifetime, a PR internship for college credit at Stark Industries. The blonde girl invited them all to go on her tour with her; apparently, she was told she could bring friends.
           Adrien would frown when he heard but not say anything. Peter wasn’t the only one with friends that could track an IP address.
           It was time. No more running.
           Stark Tower was everything, the kids all dreamed it would be. A scientist, futuristic wonderland. They oohhh’ed and awed. And Adrien tried to enjoy himself and keep his mouth closed.
           Even when the most advanced elevator in the entire world “mysteriously” malfunctioned and took them to the very top floor; otherwise known as the place the Avengers lived.
“Sorry about that,” Tony Stark, himself, gave them his most charming grin when the doors opened and he was standing right there. “We’ll get that fixed right away.” He promised. “Come on kiddies, let me show you where the big kids play.”
           He led them to the living room where Captain America was watching TV.
“Hey, babe!” Tony grinned. “This is Chloe, Pepper’s newest intern. Marinette, Nino, and… Adrien.”
“Tony…” Steve Roger gave his husband a chastising look.
“Cap…”
           Adrien huffed and glared at the occupants in the room, “Cut the crap,” He ordered them, drawing surprised looks from his friends. “Where’s Peter?” He asked. “Iron’s Kid,” Tony smirked at the name. “Is Peter. Peter Stark-Rogers.”
           His friends turned fierce glares at the Avengers.
“It’s a setup!” Chloe accused.
“Heroes are supposed, to be honest,” Marinette chided.
           Nino crossed his arms, “What a letdown.”
“Where’s Peter?” Adrien asked again.
“He’s coming,” Tony said. “You three and my hotter than the sun husband come with me; I’ll show you the training room that you can use full time If Ladybug, Queen Bee, Carapace, and Chat Noir decides they wanted to ditch the Justice League and hang with the Major Leagues.”
           His friends paled at the fact that Tony Stark and probably all the Avengers knew their superhero identities and followed Iron Man out of the room.  Steve just sighed at his husband’s antics and follow him out.
           Adrien crossed his arms and waited.
           The elevator would ping, and five minutes later Peter would walk into the living room. They just at each other for a few moments.
“I’m sorry,” Peter finally said.
           Adrien shook his head, “I don’t want your apologies. I came here… I waited here… for the same reason I’ve waited the last seven months,” He said. “I only waited to say goodbye.”
“Goodbye?” Peter gave him half a smile. “We’ve only just met.”
           Adrien pointed him, “Don’t!” He said. “Don’t quote movies at me.” He snapped. “Why?” Adrien asked. “Why weren’t you there? How could you not be there?!”
“I was!” Peter said. “I was there. I saw you. I was terrified. And I left.”
“I was afraid too!” Adrien said. “The difference is I still showed up. I waited six years to meet you. And I waited at the London’s eye for almost seven hours, and you just left me. You blew me off.”
“I’m sorry!” Peter yelled. “I’m so sorry. It was the biggest mistake of my life.”
Adrien clenched his fists. “Why didn’t you write me back? Why did you pretend at the lodge?”
“I don’t know,” Peter admitted. “I really don’t. I don’t know what I was thinking. I just saw you and my mind just went blank. I thought it was like fate giving me a second chance. I didn’t do it right. I screw up. Again!”
“A second chance?” Adrien glared at him. “You think that was your second chance? No. Your second chance was I texted asking what happened. You got another chance every time I texted you. I texted you every day for six months. Those were your chances!” He yelled. “If it was over for you, you could have told me. Said something. But you left me in the dark. If you didn’t feel the same about me, you could’ve told me. I just wanted my friend back!”
“Adrien, I…”
“Why didn’t you write me back?” Adrien asked, tears burning in his eyes. “Why? It wasn’t over for me. Six months, that’s one hundred and eighty-two days. I wrote you one hundred and eighty-two times. I waited for you! It’s too late now. It’s over!”
           Peter looked ready to cry, “I wrote you over three hundred emails. I have them saved on my computer I never sent them. I didn’t think they’d be enough. They’re still not enough. It’s wasn’t over for me. It’s still not over.”
“Why?” Adrien asked again. “Why didn’t Iron’s Kid show up? Why was he so afraid?”
           Peter just looked at the blond boy for a moment, before taking a deep breath, “Iron’s Kid thinks about that moment every day. He used to think he didn’t show up because he was afraid of what would happen; that it wouldn’t work out. That he’d lose one his best friends.” He said. “That them being together would ruin everything. Because they were just kids; they were stupid and young. But that was just a lie he told himself because he was afraid. The truth is, He was at the London’s eye that night, he saw Chat Galore: the most perfect person he’d ever seen and got scared for a completely different reason.”
“Why?”
           Peter stepped towards Adrien, “Once he figured that out, and he figured that out really quick but only when it was just too late, Iron’s Kid didn’t know what to do. Didn’t know what to say to make it right. So he said nothing. And it killed him every day. Iron’s Kid would give anything to go back to that night at the London’s eye, to back to that moment when they were supposed to meet. Before everything went wrong. Iron’s kid would tell Chat Galore everything he always wanted. But he couldn’t. Because doesn’t work like that. Instead, he was so sorry for what he had done.”
           Adrien just listened.
“Because Iron’s Kid realized,” Peter said, “That he wasn’t afraid that night because he thought it wouldn’t work out; that Chat Galore wasn’t the one. He was absolutely terrified because he knew he was. And if Adrien could just give him one more chance. Just one more chance, he’d spend the rest of his making it up to him.”
“Peter…”
“I love you,” Peter said. “I’m totally and completely in love with you. And I don’t care if you think its too late. I’m telling you anyway. Because if I don’t, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life. Because I know in my heart, you’re the one for me.”
           Adrien just sighed and looked away, wondering what he should do.
“I don’t what’s going to happen in the future,” Peter said. “I don’t if in the time I was an idiot if Jon or Nico or Luka,” He chuckled, and so did Adrien. “Won your heart. I just know… I may not be your first love, but I intend to be your last. However long it takes.”
           A smile spread across Adrien’s face, “You watched it,” He said. “You finally watched the Vampire diaries. It only took you, what? Seven years.”
“Six and a half,” Peter corrected. “Sorry I made you wait.”
“I know,” Adrien nodded. “I need some time, okay. I need to get my head on straight. Before I decide anything.”
“I understand,” Peter agreed eagerly. “I get it. I’ll wait.”
           Adrien would take two weeks to decide what he was feeling and what he wanted to do. And when the two weeks were over, he knew exactly what he wanted, and who he wanted. So he made a call.
           And then ended up a Coney island, next to The Wonder Wheel, one of the most famous Ferris wheels in the world. He waited in line and happily got on the ride. The seats next to him were quickly filled by Marinette, Chloe, and Nino.
“Finally getting your Ferris wheel moment?” Nino asked as the ride started.
           Adrien smiled, “Yeah. Except I wanted the people I love the most with me.”
“Awww,” Marinette hugged him. “We love you too.”
“That’s a dollar for the overly sentimental jar,” Chloe glared at him. “And no more rom-com for you.”
           Adrien snorted.
           The kids enjoyed the ride, and when it was over, and they got off, Marinette asked, “So you didn’t choose anyone?”
“Well…” He motioned to the guy waiting at the exit of the ride. “I wouldn’t say that. I’m done. No more waiting, no more long game, no more… anything. Its time I get a little more proactive.”
           Chloe smirked, “About time. Get it, Agreste!”
“Just remember you have a roommate,” Nino smirked.
           The three walked off to enjoy the rest of the amusement park.
           Adrien smiled at them, and then smirked at the guy waiting for him, “Wait long?”
“I’d wait forever.”
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Big News  ~ An Idiot (Affectionate) Story
A.K.A. part 2 of “Where do babies come from?”
A/N: While this is technically a continuation of Late Night either fic can be read alone. And I hope you enjoy! Word Count: 1365 Rating: T Content Warnings: pregnancy, fear of illness, a lot of crying
Ryne shifted anxiously on the exam table, grimacing at the sound of the paper crinkling beneath her, her hands twisted in her lap. She wished that the doctor would come in soon, and that she would stay out forever. 
She was scared, even if she didn't tell Derek just how much when he'd asked that morning if she was okay. She had been too young to know what was going on when she'd lost her mother, but she remembered her being tired and in pain and then gone. So when she made the appointment, she was fully braced for the doctor to tell her the fatigue and headaches were a sign of something serious, that drastic steps had to be taken or her days were numbered. (She attributed the cramps to her fear and the other aches and pains to something in her head.)
It wasn't fair. They'd barely been married a year. She wasn't yet thirty. There were so many dreams and plans ahead of her. After everything they'd been through, the idea of breaking this news to Derek made her feel like she was going to be sick.
The doctor came in. Ryne tried to calm her racing emotions as she explained everything. The doctor nodded sagely and started drawing up an order for bloodwork.
“Now, Kathryn,” the doctor said as she typed, and Ryne suppressed a roll of her eyes at the use of her full name, “you got married about a year ago, is that correct?”
Ryne did the math quickly in her head. “Yeah. A little less than that. Why?”
“And do you and your husband have a...busy marital bed?”
“Are you asking if I have sex with my husband?”
“I don't want to presume what kind of relationship the two of you have, but yes, that is my question.”
“Yeah. We're...I mean we do...pretty regularly…” she found herself tripping over her words suddenly, face growing warm.
“Do you use any methods of birth control?”
“I'm on the pill, but that's it. It's not like either of us has to worry about STIs or anything, we have no other partners.”
“Ah. I'd like to add one more test to the bloodwork then. It'll still take at least a few hours, so we'll call you tomorrow with the results.”
“Tomorrow? What's so serious it has that short a turnaround?” She asked nervously. 
“I don't want to jump to any conclusions, but based on what you've described today, I think you might be pregnant.”
“I...oh.”
Her mind struggled to wrap around the doctor's words. That would be a very different kind of news to break. Her heart skipped a beat. Would he be excited? Nervous? Scared enough to run away?
~
Ryne chewed nervously on her lower lip. It had taken all her willpower not to call her husband immediately when the doctor had confirmed the suspicions shared the day before. But this was news best delivered in person, if only to be able to see Derek's face. 
She thought she might burst by the time he walked through the door that evening. She struggled to maintain her composure, greeting him with a smile and letting him catch her around the waist for a kiss as he passed her in the kitchen.
“Hey baby girl,” he drawled, nuzzling into the side of her neck. “How're you feelin?”
“I'm fine,” she answered maybe too quickly, laying her smaller arms over his. “Today's been good.”
“Really? Cus this morning you seemed pretty sick...you didn't even drink your coffee…”
She could hear the concern in his tone and bit her lip again. 
“Plus you're still kinda pale and look tired. Not that I'm tryin t' insult you or nothin but…”
“I'm not insulted, Derek. You know how much I appreciate you looking out for me. But I promise I'm okay.”  
She fell silent for a long while, just leaning into his touch. She liked this, the casual little moments together, and wanted to savor them while they could. 
“I heard back from the doctor about some of the tests she ran,” she said finally, regretting that she had to break their stillness.
“That was quick,” he hesitated. “Are you...how bad is it? Is it bad? Whatever you need, whatever we gotta do baby, you know I'll take care of you.”
His arms tightened around her waist, a castle against whatever dangers she faced. A sense of calm washed over her then, and she twisted around to face him.
“That depends,” she said, her fingers dancing briefly over the scar on his temple. She met his eyes, finding warmth and love and dedication there, the kind that said he would be on her side through anything. “How do you feel about it not just being the two of us?”
“You mean like a nurse in the house or somethin?”
She giggled, burying her face into his shoulder and unable to stop now that she had started. 
“No, you goof,” she managed eventually. “I don't need a live-in nurse. I mean a baby.”
Derek's face scrunched in a frown of confusion that made her heart flutter. When he remained silent for several long, agonizing minutes, Ryne spoke his name softly, a question. 
“Really?” he asked, the whisper lower than anything she'd ever heard from him before, full of hope and fear in equal measures.
“Yeah,” she said, smiling at him and reaching up to wipe at the tears building in the corners of his eyes. “Really.”
“You're gonna have my baby?”
“Well it's not the second coming of Jesus so it had better be yours. Otherwise there's some weird shit going on.”
“For real?”
“Oh my god Derek,” she laughed. “Yes. For real. Not a joke, not a dream, high nineties percent accurate test. We're going to be parents.” 
The grin that split across his face was dazzling as he whooped and lifted her off her feet, spinning her in an excited circle. 
“I'm gonna be a Dad,” he cheered and laughed before setting her down and repeating the sentence in a subdued and stunned tone. “I guess I should stop calling you baby girl now huh?”
Now it was her turn to frown, puzzled. 
“We don't know yet, it might be a daughter in there, and I can't have two baby girls can I? That'd be cheatin.”
She laughed again, rolling her eyes at her husband's logic. “And if we ever have more than one daughter? What will you do then?”
He opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again, face drawn in careful consideration. Ryne watched the emotions travel across his eyes: the excitement and wonder, the fear, the love. And then suddenly he was ducking down to bury his face in the crook of her neck. Her hands traced soothing patterns wherever they could while she held him, carefully guiding them both through the apartment to the couch without letting go. By the time they were seated, both their faces were wet with tears. 
“I can’t believe this is real…” Derek breathed.
“In a good way, right?” Ryne asked, stomach twisting with nerves, his rollercoaster emotions leaving her scared that he’d settle on ‘abandon ship and run away.’
“Is that a real question? Of course in a good way. In the best way. You’re having my baby. I get to be a Dad. And then you were talkin about maybe more in the future and I just...I love you so much baby girl, and I’m gonna love this kid and you and them are gonna be my whole world.”
His words sparked something in her, the realization that she was really going to be a mom and be able to raise a little life and give them everything she never had, and she had her best friend and partner in crime by her side to do it, and she let out a sob as she threw her arms around his neck. Their lips were salty and wet as they met in their passionate, overjoyed embrace, but neither seemed to care.
“I love you Derek,” she murmured against him.
“Not nearly as much as I love you.”
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helenazbmrskai · 3 years
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title ‹ Christmas bribery ›
pairing ‹ soldier!seokjin x oc ›
genre ‹ Christmas/holiday au, strangers to lovers, fluff, angst but barely there ›
summary ‹ This is the first time you can’t go home and celebrate Christmas with your family so your mom makes sure you don’t spend the holidays alone happy to learn that Seokjin, your mother’s best friend’s son is taking his annual leave near the 22nd of December from Military services. This story is about the biggest Christmas bribery of the century. ›
warnings ‹ swear words here and there, bad puns? ›
word count ‹ 6.2k ›
notes. I’m here to deliver a light read to set the mood for the holidays and I hope all of you will enjoy it as much as I enjoyed the process of writing it. In this Christmas collab, I had the chance to meet with these amazing people so I’m sharing this story as a gift and as a thank you!
this is part of the Christmas fic collab that was suggested by @kooala​ please check out the masterpost and enjoy every story we share! 
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”You did what?!” I feel dizzy due to the sudden movement of my body jerking up in a sitting position, crisscrossing my legs under me as my hand holds up the phone to my right ear a little bit more pressingly after hearing the breaking news. That she tells me with a singing tone sounding so excited but I can’t seem to share her sentiments as the bewilderment decorating my voice is in sharp contrast with the silence that settled on the cosy apartment like a thick feather-filled duvet. Nibbling on my thin lips I locate the single gingerbread scented candle on my desk still illuminating the interior of my messy bedroom the flames licking up the walls and disappearing near the ceiling, creating pretty shapes and lights over the dull paint, it helps me regain my composure before I realise that mom is not yet finished talking.
”Well he needed a place to stay and busses won’t go out because of the upcoming storm his apartment is in Daegu and I’m sure he’ll be tired from the flight.” Flicking on the lights I take in the sight, clothes piled up on the chair’s armrest whilst dirty plates littering every usable surface, fuck, if my room looks like a pigsty I don’t want to imagine how the other rooms are looking right now.
I was so immersed in doing great on my finals that I don’t think I cleaned the space up for a while.
I should start doing my laundry so I have something to wear as I already look to be out of clean t-shirts inspecting the pile of unwashed jeans and other garments, momentarily embarrassed to see I’m also out of room to place new dirty clothes on top of all these.
”What are you implying mother?” Pursing my lips, I honestly start to lose her train of thoughts as her rant goes on and my eyes wander over the state my apartment is in after stressful weeks but knowing her ways she’ll start with building on my conscience until she realises that I’m no longer an unsuspecting five-year-old girl and she’ll pull out the big guns and dust off her bribing skills.
Whatever her plan is, she always makes me go accordingly no matter how much I try to resist or protest and I feel a knot form in my throat at that. If this is about my non-existent dating life again that she called me to discuss in the dread of the night, I swear I’m gonna flip a table or something.
”You remember Sunha’s eldest son?” Answering back with a question as she often likes to do, doesn’t throw me off balance as it used to.
I’m long ago accustomed to getting her ways to twist the conversation to her favour so I’m ready to fire back my reply in the same form matching her up. ”How is your best friend’s son has to do with any of this?” Utterly confused by the mention, that must lace my tone since she lets a lightsome laugh bubble up in her chest I can picture her dimples are showing in full display because of it.
”Did you even pay attention to a word I said?” She sounds more amused than accusing, letting me know that she actually doesn’t mind how my head gets airy sometimes, her playfulness earns a groan from my side of the line, it’s getting pretty late and I have not enough brain cells left for her mind games.
”Spit it out, mom. You know I love you but I had a rough week so spare me of your wicked schemes.” I breathe out the words orbs closing involuntarily as I rest my head against the door frame. Where was I going anyway?
Maybe I should go for a hot chocolate before bed.
It’ll be weird not seeing my family for the holidays but I don’t want my mom to worry about me so I made sure to be extra cheerful all the time when she called only ignored her attempts of reaching me like one or two times as I had to study for two last exams and now that I can finally relax the exhaustion seems to catch up to me. I’m fine being on my own, making food and seasonal sweets while I watch tv without any interruptions, sounds like an excellent plan for Christmas, not caring how loud my music is or how bad my singing voice is under the shower.
No family means sweet alone time awaits, no one will tell me to go to sleep and I didn’t need to worry what kind of a present I should purchase at least for a little while.
”Do you remember Seokjin or not Y/N? This conversation will last longer if you don’t cooperate with me.” I can practically see her eye roll directed at me in front of my eyes despite she’s twenty miles away from here, wishful thinking on my part that she’ll let this conversation go if I ask her to stop beating around the bush.
”I don’t know. Maybe?” A fragment of my memory is triggered by hearing his name, and a scenario appears out of nowhere that was a few years ago in Sunha’s second marriage ceremony as I stand in a pastel lavender dress.
Mother was otherworldly happy for Sunha that day she dragged me with her as she chatted away mixing with the guests until we settled down to our table - when the cake cutting took place - that consisted of the bride and groom themselves and close family members like Sunha’s sons and his significant other’s daughter and, of course, my mother and I was present too.
I remember sitting down and just looking ahead aimlessly when I locked gazes with a handsome man his posture was immaculate and he seemed happy for his mother but couldn’t hide how restlessly he fidgetted in his seat, his eyes couldn’t settle watching only one thing, he even looked skittish as he jumped in his seat when the girl sitting on his left tried to catch his attention. Our eye contact lasted less than five seconds and his presence remained for thirty minutes at most as he apologised to her mother and everyone at the table since he had some urgent affairs to attend to.
I probably looked shocked for the reason that mom whispered the words into my ear when he left so suddenly to make sense of things. ”That’s Jin, her eldest son he serves in the army he probably couldn’t get a full day off because of his duties.” After humming in an understanding gesture I fixed my gaze onto the cake slice in front of me.
I remember that man clearly but with purpose, I don’t elaborate further than that, so she doesn’t have the compromitting piece of information to latch onto and make it a bigger issue. She would be elated to know I do remember Kim Seokjin, well, he’s hard to forget in the first place, he smiled only once as his mother hugged him at the table and even if it lasted for less than a second the expression was captivating. Howbeit if she tells me that she organised a date with him I’m going to slam my head to the closest hard surface I can tell. He’s so out of league and dating someone with such a dangerous profession at that, it’s not going to work, doesn’t matter how much I find him attractive and charming.
”It doesn’t matter I guess. You two could get to know each other eventually as he’ll stay at your apartment.” She drops the bomb before disconnecting the call, she doesn’t even wait for my protests this time around. A groan leaves my lips while I look around the house promptly throwing my phone to land on my bed in the means of letting out some of my frustration. I need to get going and make this house presentable again, that hot chocolate needs to wait I guess.
 from: unknown number
[7.22 AM] Hi it’s Seokjin. My plane will take off at 9ish can you send me your address?
 Grabbing my phone from the kitchen counter I open the message from the unknown number the device almost slips through my fingertips as I rake my eyes over the content hesitant about how to reply I turn to my friend who so generously offered her help to tidy up my living space a little before my unrequested guest arrives. With a broom in her hand, she looks back at my weird facial expression.
”What is it? It’s him?” Gaun asks abandoning her cleaning tools to read the message as well peaking over my shoulder in order to do that. ”He sounds so uptight even in text. Brr.” She shakes her shoulders in simple displeasure that earns an eye roll from me, it’s not that he’ll send hearts when our encounter was years ago for like five seconds. Honestly, I’m surprised that mom and Sunha were able to talk him into this in the first place.
”He’s a soldier Gaun and on the contrary, we don’t know each other he has no reason to be friendly.” Gnawing on my lower lip I click on the message to reply, typing a few lines before I deleted it and rewrote it before hitting send.
 [7.34 AM] Hey of course. Call me if you don’t find your way.
[7.34 AM] *google map link attached*
 from: Seokjin
[7.35 AM] I will thank you
 ”Let’s hurry up we don’t have that much time.” I place the phone back on the counter resuming my cleaning and Gaun starts to swipe the floor where she left off all the while I can hear the washing machine work in the distance.
 I could feel my heartbeat in the pit of my stomach when the doorbell finally rang and at the other side of the door, there’s Kim Seokjin in all of his glory, that handsome soldier I got a sneak peek at his mother’s wedding wearing a formal suit and tie combo that he pulled of so nicely. I wipe my hands with a towel leaving the leftover plates in the sink as I rush to open the door for him.
”Hi.” I greet him with a friendly smile plastered on my face, I have to tilt my chin upwards to meet his eyes, he’s even taller than I remembered and he’s wearing his military uniform. My hold on the doorknob tightens how unfairly handsome he is with his hair parted in both sides leaving his forehead uncovered his uniform is well fitted and compliments the curves of his waist and thighs the cherry on top is his platform jet black boots that matches with the colour of his hair that I love so much.
A well trained German Sheppard sits near his foot with his tongue out as soon as I crouch down to pet him so focused on the animal that I almost don’t catch Seokjin’s timid ’hello’ in return, the dog’s tail starts to wag furiously seeing my face at his eye level he throws me off balance as he marches forward for more pets.
”I’m sorry he’s not normally like this.” The handsome boy offers a hand to help me up with a sheepish look, I accept the extended hand with a faint blush ignoring the pain that shoots up to my ass because of the impact with the floor. His hand is bigger than mine as it gets fully enveloped in his warm ones.
”Mom didn’t tell me you have a dog,” I chuckle lightly as I pet the dog’s head one last time unsure what to do with my hand that he no longer holds. ”I mean, she didn’t tell me much just told me you’ll come today.” His unique laugh sounded nice ringing in my ears, it made me smile up at him as he playfully shook his head. It’s weird how relaxed I feel around his presence when I was shaking with nerves just moments prior, and I’m still not entirely comfortable with him but his whole aura has a calming effect on my body. I don’t think I’ve ever met with someone that makes me feel so at ease when it’s basically our first meeting.
”Yeah, well, I think we both got played by our mothers.” I have to agree on that one with him. Realising that we’re still standing in front of my entrance I beckon him to come inside stepping out of the way so he could easily slide his luggage beside him his dog’s paws leave imprints on the clean floor but I don’t mind it as he looks so excited about everything inside sniffing and exploring while Jin tries to make him behave scratching his neck when his dog doesn’t seem to listen to a single word.
”Sorry he’s making a mess.” Seokjin apologises seeing the muddy paw marks after connecting our eyes for a few seconds he follows the steps into the kitchen. ”No Cookie that’s not food for you.” The young soldier immediately runs after his companion when he tries to steal the cinnamon rolls from the kitchen counter and I can’t help but laugh at the sight as he scolds the dog.
This is going to be an interesting holiday season I can already tell.
 ”I can’t believe this fucking jar.” I contemplate to smash it against the counter after spouting several curse words when a hand landed on mine directly on the jar’s lid, I feel Cookie’s fur brush against my exposed leg having enough evidence to know who’s this arm belongs to and I turn around in a moment of weakness. Jin’s hair rests on the top of his head in a messy style sweat dampening the ends.
”Need some help?” His eyes hold a childlike glow in them as he brushes his fingers against mine replacing my digits with his and the lid pops easily in his hands.
I can’t say this display of physical strength doesn’t make him even more attractive in my eyes I barely pay attention to the fact that he stands so close I can feel his chest meet mine as we breathe handing back the opened strawberry jam.
”Thanks.” I hastily turn to avoid his gaze even though that doesn’t offer much advantage as he leans closer pushing his chest against the line of my back watching as my hands spread the jam over the walnut biscuits.
”Want a taste?” Feeling bolder than usual I face him again holding up a finished treat to his mouth, Jin makes a surprised sound in the back of his throat but parts his lips obediently letting me slip the food between his teeth.
”I’ll leave as a stuffed chicken if you keep feeding me these delicious treats.” Despite the indication, he doesn’t seem against the food I offer as he tries to steal one more from the plate but I pull his hand away curling my fingers around his wrist.
”Let me finish before you devour my hard work you pig.” I roll my eyes watching his childlike antics, he seems to take pleasure in riling me up from time to time. It’s been two days since he and his companion Cookie arrived and things just worked out smoothly Jin is a nice person with horrendous jokes but he does help out a lot around the apartment he even fixed my broken ladder so we can decorate the Christmas tree that he insisted we need to purchase when I told him I was not going to go all out and celebrate this year. After all, I was supposed to be here on my own.
He’s so used to training at headquarters that he leaves every morning to run for an hour before he comes back all sweaty and satisfied finding me eating my breakfast or drinking my coffee it doesn’t matter what’s in my hands he always needs to get the last bites from it. He’s really not good for my heart.
”Since you’re doing the sweets how about I make us lunch today?” Jin asks excitedly resting his head on top of mine gently careful not to put too much weight on me, my heart speeds up at the sweet gesture not trusting my words so I nod instead. One of these days I can’t wrap my head around his intentions, he looks so nonchalant as he does things like resting his head on me or patting my knee when we watch tv together with Cookie curled around us on the couch.
”I can’t work like this.” I use the excuse to separate our bodies, is it just me or the kitchen is getting hotter by every passing second, or it’s just my cheeks heating up due to his body moulding perfectly with mine. It doesn’t help either that I remember he’s sweaty under his shirt after his daily exercise smelling nice when he probably shouldn’t have. I busy my hands to glue the biscuits together with the jam moving slightly to the side a little further from Jin’s warm body, he doesn’t say anything else as he decides to leave the kitchen Cookie stays for the sake of finishing his meal before going on a quest to find his owner leaving me behind with my thoughts.
I wrap things up quickly after that, placing the treats in the middle so Cookie can’t reach it and clean up the jam stains before retreating to my room.
It’s a pleasant surprise to check my phone and see that my mom tried to reach me an hour ago, she’s up uncharacteristically early. Too curious to find out what she wants I dial her number without a second thought, it’s been three days that she called and that time she told me Jin will stay at my place until he has to go back to the army. Whenever I think about that a frown seems to climb its way up to my expression I got used to seeing him around the house that I tend to forget he won’t be around when the new year comes and it’s scary to think about how attached I feel to him or rather how lonely I’ll feel once this is all over. He’s a busy man in general and serving under the Military’s name means he can’t be here when I need him, it would be as painful in the long run as a long-distance relationship would be. Not that I assume he’s interested in me that way.
”Hey mom sorry I didn’t hear your call. Is everything alright?” I press my phone to my left ear, closing the door behind with the help of my foot before sitting down at the edge of my bed. Seokjin’s low hum and the sound of pots and pans indicate that he started soon after I left the kitchen, it’s early to start lunch already but Jin is always restless like that.
He needs to find things to do or fix because he gets bored easily, he told me that when I picked up on his punctuality that he always has to move like a clockwork at the base he developed a habit of making use of himself and he needs to constantly do things to keep his restless energy at bay so he can sleep well at night.
He wakes up exactly at six in the morning every day even without setting up his alarm. I think it’s endearing when he thumps his foot absentmindedly even if he’s watching a movie he’s interested in, legs spread wide in a comfortable position on the sofa, his body just never relaxes completely.
”Yes dear I called early to say Merry Christmas to my baby!” I giggle in response hearing her excitement conveyed through her voice. ”I hope you enjoy your Christmas present.” Her tone turned suggestive and my laughter died down, heat rose to my cheeks and my thoughts spiralled to Seokjin’s direction.
”What’s that supposed to mean?” I glance at the door listening for the noises to make sure Jin can’t hear my flustered tone, he’s still in the kitchen and that helps me relax a little until my mom’s knowing hum filled the silence in the conversation.
”Are you getting on well with Jin right? He’s a real sweetheart so treat him nice ok?” Can’t help but all the more agree with her, he’s very considerate and funny, I think he’s the one who’s treating me nice even though I supposed to be the host, he helps out a lot and good company to be around. He sometimes misplaces my things like moving plates to a higher shelf when he knows I can’t reach it there without his help and he cracks terrible jokes that I secretly like very much and Cookie is the apple of my eye already, I think he listens to me more than he listens to Jin at this point (there might be a tiny connection that I often give him special treats during his owner's absence) and I found it hilarious as he sulks on the couch calling his dog a ’traitor’ when he decides to rest his head on my lap instead of Seokjin’s.
Little things like that make me like Seokjin more and more with each passing day.
”I’m treating him just fine mom he said he gained weight since his arrival blaming it on me, don’t worry and enjoy the holidays with dad, after all, it’s the first time that you two could celebrate with just him after so long.”
”Will do darling. I hope you’ll have a wonderful time as well I know that finals were stressing you out so I hope that you are able to relax now.” We deemed the conversation finished after wishing each other happy holidays again and for once I feel like I can mean my words as I feel relaxed around a certain someone.
”Want to place the star on top?” Jin shoved the decoration piece in front of my face whilst I placed food on the coffee table to feast upon as we watch classic Christmas movies until we can’t keep our eyes open since it’s the first day of Christmas.
”I’m not stepping on that ladder you fixed, it looks like a death trap.” Eyeing all the nails and patches on the poor thing.
”If it can hold my weight so can yours.” Jin states the facts, placing the star into my opened palm with a mischievous grin. ”I’ll hold you so don’t be a baby and decorate with me, it’s not as fun doing it alone.” That pout, dangerous and he knows that I can’t possibly say no to that when he asks me so nicely with that adorable full lips of his.
”If I fall I’m dragging you with me, just saying.” I keep our eye contact to get my point across with a meaningless glare, the corners of my lips twitch to morph into a smile hearing his happy chuckles using that moment to turn to the ladder taking the first step up the stair the scent of Jin’s aftershave hit my sensitive nose feeling his hands curve around my hip squeezing my sides to reassure me he’s here to catch me. I can blame my wobbly legs because of the shaky ladder or on my fear of high places but I can’t fool myself that the delicate shake that overpowers my body is because of the excitement I feel as I daydream about his hands on different parts of my body. It feels nice to be held by him.
”Hold on for deer life then.” A fond smile appears on my face hearing him laugh on the pun he just told me, forget my inner turmoil in the meantime placing the star to add the last piece before we declare it’s complete.
I almost can’t mask the look of disappointment I feel when he lets me go once my feet are planted on the ground the star placed on top.
”Told you it’s safe. I’m here to keep you in one piece, sugar.” His hand landing on the top of my head, caressing my hair for the time length of two outdrawn strokes before he lets his fingers fall beside his body to prop around his hips observing the tree with so much excitement that he failed to see my blush due to the pet name that probably just slipped out without any meaning behind it.
”No Cookie it’s not yours love.” I catch him before he can bite a big chunk out of our late night dinner as we’re not paying attention, it created an opportunity for him that he would’ve been foolish to disregard.
”Cheeky pretty thing just like his owner, huh?” It slips out as I pet Cookie’s head kneading the soft short furs around his ears that he knocks our heads together in beaming excitement because of the affection.
”Cookie really likes you Y/N.” The affectionate gaze he looks at me with knocks the air out of my lungs, it sounded like for a split second that he means he likes me too. Wishful thinking I remind myself before looking away clearing my throat to get things started plopping down onto the couch with a big huff leaving my lips.
”I’m starving, get your fat ass over here so we can watch Grinch.” I beam at him acting like his previous comment doesn’t hit hard as I pull my plate closer taking a bite out of the grilled chicken.
”How rude-olf of you!” He fakes his crocodile tears but as his ass hits the fluffy blanket nearly ripping my hot cocoa out of my hands it doesn’t seem like he’s feeling an ounce of hurt over my words. It’s silent for a while as we bash under the Christmas lights our faces illuminated by the tv munching on our food and sweets laid out before us Cookie resting on the rug near our feet.
”It’s been a while since I had such a nice Christmas.” Jin sighs burrowing his face onto my shoulder I can feel his breath fan over my skin the movie is long forgotten as I let his words sink in. Tired to fight the urge I tilt my head to rest it against his the moment appears to be too intimate for strangers let alone friends. ”You smell nice too.” I feel his nose around my neckline turning further into me as he inhales the scent of my hair, maybe it’s because it’s getting late but I let the feelings wash over me.
”Did you drink from my mother’s ’secret Santa’ labelled punch or something? I told you she’s a witch when it comes to alcoholic beverages.” I laugh lightheartedly and Jin follows suit hitting my left thigh when his laugh makes me laugh harder that results in my stomach twisting in pain from all the giggling even so as he starts to tickle me to take his revenge. He manhandles me with ease as he pins my wrists with one hand over my head ticking my torso with the other straddling my hip so he can restrict my squirming under him.
”You’re stronger! That’s not fair Jin.” I whine under his crushing weight, cheeks flushed from the exercise and his close proximity an innocent smile lits up his entire face as he regards me under his form, the Christmas lights are illuminated in his dark orbs creating a pretty image of him. Hair sticking to every questionable direction full lips stretched to house his angelic smile warm radiating from his body so close to mine.
I wish this moment could last forever.
”What are you thinking about?” Tilting his head in question he looks into my eyes with a fierce expression, I gulp not knowing to say the truth or come up with something on the spot. I decided it’s time for the truth.
”That I..” My sentence gets interrupted by Cookie’s barking I haven’t realised that he around the time we were occupied left his spot and watched us with curious eyes. He licked both of our faces as soon as he had the attention and Jin got up from the couch to pet him as Cookie nudged him with his nose to show him his empty bowl.
Maybe it’s a sign that I shouldn’t. Right. What was I thinking? Seokjin is never home he serves the country all the time, married to his work to the extent that he has no time left for himself, he doesn’t have the capacity to form a serious relationship with me and he’s probably not looking for love either.
It’s for the best that we separate after the new year.
 I formed a plan after almost confessing my love for him to avoid any other scenarios like this in the future, to be honest, I hated it but there’s no other way for me to get over him quickly even if my heart told me I should enjoy my little time left with him I choose to ignore his attempts at spending quality time with me.
If he asked for a movie night I told him I was busy or tired I took my meals to my room telling him that I need to pick up my studying schedule for the next semester, I had the most ridiculous reasons and I’m sure he figured me out after the second time I dismissed our plans and I can’t say seeing him hurt over my words and futile attempts at lying doesn’t felt like I was stabbed with a dozen knives into my heart.
I should have stopped myself before I got too deep because now I’m hurting both of us even if he’s only mourning for a lost friend.
A scratching noise interrupted the flow of my thoughts I tiptoe all the way to the door looking around before my eyes land on a restless Cookie. He reminds me so much of his owner but he normally stays with Jin I wonder what is he doing here scratching on my door. Is he out perhaps?
”What’s wrong? You seem sad.” I crouch to his level so I can caress his fur and his tail begin to wag instantly when I pull back Cookie grabs my sleeve with his teeth careful not to hurt me before he pulls me out of my room. I try to regain my footing but he pulls me harder until my door shuts behind my back.
”Cookie. What’s up with you suddenly?” I ask him even if I know there’s no reply to wait for I observe his body language before realisation lit up in my round orbs. ”You want me to follow you somewhere sweetheart?” Hearing that he let go suddenly making me lose my balance and collide with the floor cushioning the hit with my butt just like the first time I met him when he nearly run me over with excitement. He tumps his foot as he walks away hardly leaving enough time to catch up to him. He sits down in front of Seokjin’s door, or precisely the guest room he occupies for a short period I remind myself. My eyes soften after noticing it’s his way of showing that he doesn’t want us to part in bad terms. He’s smart.
I take in a deep breath mulling over if I should talk to Jin but looking at Cookie’s hopeful eyes I can’t possibly turn around and ignore this anymore. Jin deserves a better explanation than just accepting the fact one day I ghosted him.
I raise my hand to knock on his door when I hear his voice, he’s talking to someone over the phone since I didn’t hear the front door opening or closing that would mean we have a guest and I don’t think he would invite someone here without discussing it with me, no matter if we are in speaking terms or not.
”I don’t know what happened. I thought we are good but then the next day she didn’t want to do anything with me. I’m confused.” Is he talking about me? To whom? I know eavesdropping is bad but I can’t make my body pull away from the door as I listen intently. I don’t hear what the person from the other side says only Jin’s answers that I’m able to make out as I press my ear to the smooth surface.
”Of course I tried talking to her mom! What if I said or did something that made her hate me? I don’t want to leave like this, we had so much fun. I don’t want it to end this way.” Jin groaned frustratedly while listening to his mom, hearing his voice so worried and tense talking to his loved one about me that knows me very well, I feel ten times worse for ignoring him without giving him an honest explanation.
”I like her mom, but maybe it’s already too late.”
Retreating to my room in sheer panic when he cuts the line to afraid to be caught to rationalise the words I overheard. He likes me too.
All this time I thought that my feelings are not reciprocated whilst in reality I’m just a big coward, I hid behind the fabricated words that his profession is something that doesn’t sit well with me and he has no time to have a girlfriend, but I never tried asking what he wanted. If he wanted to give us a chance or not.
These thoughts plagued my mind until I fall asleep that night, however, tomorrow will be something different.
”Good morning.” I greet Seokjin as he walks out with only his sweatpants on eyes puffy from sleep, he’s so startled by my voice that he jumps at least five centimetres above the ground and the chuckle I let out witnessing his fright confuses him more.
”Uh, good morning.” He replies, at last, passing my form to pull out a mug probably for his morning coffee but I have his fill in my hand while mine is placed on the counter next to my hip. ”The ghost of Christmas visited you last night or something?” Jin watches my form suspiciously but accepting the steaming cup of coffee with a soft ’thanks’ rolling off of his tongue.
”Something like that. Can we talk?” I meet his gaze shyly picking up on my nervous habit as I nibble on my lower lip his eyes soften up.
”Yeah, let’s sit.” He prompts and I nod following his figure to the dining table where we sit on the opposite sides of it. We drink our beverages in peace for a few minutes before I lick my lips nervously opening my mouth to talk.
”I like having you here Jin. This Christmas with you was wonderful even your bad puns are surprisingly funny.” The man in front of me giggles at that, hearing that I had fun with him dismissed some of his insecurities and he looks more relaxed sitting before me sipping on his drink occasionally, waiting.
”I’m sorry for ignoring you it was very childish of me and you deserve an explanation. If I’m being honest you scare me.” His eyebrows shoot up at the mention and I’m eager to make things clear. I don’t want him to take my words literally. ”Or maybe it’s me. I don’t know. But what I do know is that I like you a lot. It scares me because you’re a soldier and you’re never home and I would be so worried wondering about if you are safe.”
”Even if I say all of that I couldn’t make myself to unlike you because you’re funny bad pun or not, caring and affectionate and too good for this world...I just really like you.”
Shying away from his intense stare I choose to observe the rim of my mug watching the dark liquid swirl in my cup when a finger tapped on my chin to look up. The brightest smile adorned Jin’s face that is so close our noses almost touch.
”I normally hate to say that our moms were right all along but right now I’m just glad that they made us spend this Christmas together.” Seokjin’s forehead knocks against mine as we laugh, nodding subtly to avoid more damage as my smile spreads wider I notice how Jin’s eye keeps looking between my eyes and lips and I can’t wait for him to finally reduce the short distance closing my eyes to fully appreciate his finger caressing my jaw, cupping my face letting our breaths entangle for a short second before I get to taste the coffee on his lips.
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ola-elaina · 4 years
Text
JEALOUS
Summary: harley and y/n are best buds ++ harley proposes a social experiment
Word Count: 2k+
A/N: I decided to commit to my one fic a day challenge. here is my entry for the day. Feel free to let me know what you think. <3
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“HARLEY! Oh my God! I can’t believe you’re hereEEE!” You shrieked. Running across the lab and throwing your arms around Harley when you saw him entered the glass door. Peter who was working beside you, jolted at the volume of your voice. The tech that he was working on now dropped on the floor and your lab table abandoned.
The first time you and Harley met was when Tony took him and his family to visit the Stark tower. After you met, the two of you immediately clicked. He was like the brother you’ve never had. Harley was only a few years older than you. He is currently on his third year of college while you are a senior in high school. The small age gap helped the two of you connect and relate to one other. All of your banters and conversation flows smoothly and there is never a single dull and awkward moment between the two of you.
It’s been so long since you and Harley seen each other. The last time he went to visit was when Tony threw you a birthday bash 3 years ago that also turned into a going away party for Harley because he was going to MIT for college. That night was one of the best nights of your life. The two of you caught up, watched movies and ate ice cream until the sun went up. After that the two of you has never really seen each other if you don’t count the occasional FaceTime calls.
Even though you don’t see each other a lot, you have always felt a comfortable presence around him which made you trust him easily.
This was weird for Peter. Seeing how you and Harley interacted. He has never seen you so fond of anyone outside this tower but if you were, those people could be counted with only one of his hands. A pang of emotions hits Peter’s chest as he saw you hug the young man once again.
Peter then cleared his throat, reminding him that he was in the room with you.
“Oh, Harley this is Peter. Peter this is Harley.” You introduced, holding Harley’s arm as the two of you approached the lab table that you and Peter shared. Excitement dripping your voice. You can’t believe two of your favorite people in the world is finally meeting.
“Hey man, nice to meet you.” Harley greeted, as he offered a hand to shake.
Peter took his hand and shook it firmly. You look at him weird. “Pleasure to meet you.” He said.
“Peter is one of Mr. Stark’s… intern. Like me, I guess.” You shrugged, feeling a slightly tense vibe between the two. You looked back and forth between Peter and Harley. None of them breaking eye contact. Never in your life have you felt an awkward feeling with the two young men in front of you.
Thankfully, Mr. Stark walked in breaking the tension.
“Oh good, you’re here. I see you’ve met Peter.” Tony muttered mostly to Harley. Looking up from the hologram that appeared from his watch. He gazed at the three of you for moment. “Three of my brightest mentees in one room. I never thought I’d see the day.” He said dramatically. His watch beeped, taking away his attention from the young people in the room.
“I’d love to stay and chat but I have a meeting in Washington… in an hour?” He mentioned, confused. Obviously he wasn’t aware and he was going to be late for the meeting. But it’s not like he minds. “Okay, let’s go Harley. I’ll introduce you to Bruce before I go.”
You waved as Harley and Tony nodded and left the lab.
“So, who’s Harley? You two are obviously close.” Peter inquired, not looking up from the tech he was still tinkering.
You turned around then leaned against the table and watched what Peter was doing. “Mr. Stark met him in Tennessee when he was like 11 and then I think they kept in touch. Now, he’s one of his scholars and mentees. We met a couple years back when he and his family went to visit the old Tower.”
“What’s he doing here?”
“From what I’ve heard, Mr. Stark recommended Dr. Banner to help him on a research he’s doing. I think he went here to consult. Heard he’s conducting a study on gamma radiation.”
Peter hummed, nodding to what you have said.
“Hey, do you want something to eat? I’m going to take break. Maybe make some snack.” You asked, putting away the tools you were using earlier. Clearing up the lab table you and Peter were sharing. It always annoyed you when there are a lot of scattered stuff that are not being used around your work area.
“Hmm, no. I’m good. I’ll catch up with you once I’m done.”
“Okay, tell F.R.I.D.A.Y. to call me if you need anything.” You called out, leaving the lab to Peter.
As the elevator doors opened to your floor, you saw an obviously lost Harley inside.
“Oh, thank God, you’re here! I’ve pressed into every single damn floor just to find the common room.” He breathed out.
***
The two of you were now on the kitchen adjacent to the common room. Harley sat at a stool on the counter in front of you as you prepared to make some sandwiches and drinks. He looked at you intently as you gather ingredients that you needed.
“Are you and that Parker kid a thing?” He inquired.
“What?” Heat spreading across your cheeks.
“You’re blushing. How long?”
“A year, maybe?” You answered as you cut a loaf of sourdough. “It took that long and you’ve never bothered to tell me there’s a cute guy on this tower? How selfish.” Harley gasped, faking an offended tone.
“He’s off limits.” You hissed.
Harley put up both his hands as if telling you, “Okay, calm your horses.”
“Plus I’ve been a little occupied.” You said, pulling your hair in a ponytail to keep it away from falling in front of your face.
He nodded in agreement. “I can see that.”
You laughed. A second of silence passed, you looked up from where you were making bread to see Harley staring at you.
“What?”
He pointed at the crook of your neck.
“You, naughty girl! Is he a good kisser?”
You rolled your eyes. Pink dusted your cheeks. Yeah, Peter is definitely a good kisser and you’re the only one who’s supposed to know that.
“Don’t worry, he’s all yours but he definitely thinks I’m into you.”
You look at him weird.
“Oh please. Don’t tell me you didn’t feel like he wanted to kick the living shit out of me when you hugged me in the lab.”
“He doesn’t!”
“I would like to prove you wrong.”
Few minutes later, Harley finally forced convinced you to do his ‘social experiment’ against your boyfriend.
***
Peter has finally had enough. His stomach grumbled, begging for food. He remembered your offer of a snack. Peter then left the lab and headed to the common kitchen but not before tidying up the lab table and putting away the tech he was working on.
Before he entered the kitchen he saw glimpse of you and Harley sitting next to each other leaning in and he felt like punching a wall. The nerve of this guy to be sitting so close and touch his girlfriend like that. He doesn’t care how close you were but your boyfriend is literally in front of him. Peter clenched and unclenched his fist, trying to keep himself calm as he walked to the fridge to get something to drink.
“Hey, babe! There’s more sandwiches and smoothie here. Have some.”
“Uh, maybe later. I’m not really hungry.” Peter lied. His stomach was practically begging him to eat but his pride and irritation stopping him.
“Oh, you’ve got cream on your—” Harley pointed on his left cheek to let you know. He sneaked a glance at a now red-faced Peter and widened his eyes a little at you for a second.
You then purposefully touch the wrong cheek. This is so dumb. Peter would not fall for this shit. You wanted to beat Harley up for making you do this.
Harley then leaned again. “Here let me get that for you.” Gently brushing his thumb across your cheek and the rubbing his now cream covered thumb over your nose.
“Hey!”
Peter dropped the cup he was holding on the sink and stormed off the kitchen. Both of your eyes following him.
“Told you.”
“Okay, you were right but know he’s pissed off.”
“Then go after him. I have to meet with Dr. Banner now anyway. Good luck!” He waved goodbye.
That piece of shit. Ugh.
***
After Harley left, you followed Peter and found him on the common room angrily munching on some trail mix that was on the table and glaring at the TV. You’ve brought some ice cream in his favorite flavor and two spoons as piece offering.
“I’ve brought ice cream. Want to share?”
“Why not share it with Harley? Done catching up with him?” Peter sassed, not even looking at you. You mentally cursed Harley.
“But I wanna share it with you.” You slumped on the couch beside. “C’mon, it’s mint chocolate chip. You’re favorite…” You showing him the pint of ice cream and offering one of the spoons you’ve brought. You beamed, encouraging him to take the spoon by putting it up closer to his face but he ignored you and continued to pretend watching television. You were about to put the spoon down the table when he grabbed it.
Ha! You knew he wouldn’t be able to resist you and ice cream. Both of you dug into the ice cream but you were more than halfway through the pint and he still hasn’t talked to you yet. You couldn’t stand it any longer—
“Are you mad?”
“No.” He said in a monotone voice.
“Then look at me in the eye and tell me you aren’t.”
Peter looked at you dead in the eyes and said, “I’m not mad.”
Harley, you ass. You can’t believe you let him put you through this.
“Well if you’re not mad then something is definitely bothering you. What is it?” You sat on your legs, the right side of your body leaning on the back of the couch. Your left hand touched Peter’s cheek and softly guided it to face you.
Peter contemplated whether to tell you the truth or not. But you furrowed your brows, making puppy eyes, staring at Peter. He sighed. “I don’t like that Harley guy. I know the two of you are close. And I’m not familiar with what kind of relationship you have but I’m not comfortable with him being able to touch you like that. But I know he’s your friend and you like him and I don’t have the right to dictate who you can and cannot hang out with.” Peter rambled. A soft smile forming on your lips from his confession. You stare at him for a few before talking.
“Thank you for being honest with me. I’m sorry, if Harley bothered you. He was just messing around in the kitchen. He can be affectionate and touchy but there’s no malice in that, I swear. He’s only like a brother to me and I’m a little sister to him. Okay? And if it makes you feel any better, he definitely does not swing my way. I think he finds you hot.”
“I’m sorry for acting such an ass.”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to apologize. I love you.”
“I love you, too.” Peter pulled you closer to him, now you were straddling him. Your face nuzzled on his neck and arms wrapped around each other.
Looking up at Peter, your nose rested against side of his face. Lips on his jaw as you pressed soft kisses. He then faced you, kissing you on the lips.
You were getting quite uncomfortable with your position so you sat up straight as you deepen the kiss, both of your hands cupped his cheeks and both of his on your hips.
In the midst of making out, Harley casually walked in grabbing his phone that he had left on the kitchen counter.
“Woah, kids. Get a room.”
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poptod · 3 years
Note
hi ! i absolutely love your work 🥺 i’ve been having a really tough time lately in life and your fics have really helped me stay sane. i recently watched the twilight saga for the first time, so i was wondering if you could do another benjamin fic where the reader is younger transman (ftm) brother of edward with psychometry powers?
Notes: hello! and thank you sm! i am happy to write this and i'm glad my weird fics could be of help lol. still haven't watched twilight but here we go again! WC: 2k
+
Besides Bella, you're the most modern thing in this temple. The arches that loom above every room are hundreds of years old, if not thousands, outmatched only by the altars carved carefully into every bedroom, there for any religious need any guest may have. You, though – you're about 16, both physically and mentally, as your transition had happened about three months ago. There's this joke you tell that absolutely no one gets; you say you're used to transitioning, and one more transition wouldn't hurt you.
He still doesn't know what it means.
For the most part you keep quiet, keep to yourself in your room where you do God knows what all day. It's a little funny – Benjamin is hardly ever in his room, but then again, he does have a rather strict training regime. Not that it's his choice, but it's something he must do nonetheless. During these times he thinks of the many guests in his home, joining his family during hunts, and studying in an extensive library that hides in the back of the temple.
That's where he finds you one day. Curled up on a tall ledge that you probably shouldn't be able to reach, with a large book in your hands that your face is entirely buried in. He shifts the elements around him for ease, allowing him to take a seat beside you on that tall ledge, carefully looking over your shoulder.
It's one of those books on the anatomy of vampires, one that he and his family consider a work of satire. You wouldn't know the difference, and for that he decides it's alright to interrupt, if only to give you the proper books for such knowledge.
"What is it that you're reading?" He asks, startling you out of your close concentration on the words.
"Oh, um, hi," you say, eyes switching rapidly between the book and the man beside you. "Just – just a book I found, on anatomy. I don't think it's quite accurate."
"This one isn't accurate at all," he says as he leans forward, glimpsing the front cover as if he didn't know what it was you're reading. "Would you like me to find a proper one for you?"
"That – that's not, uh, necessary. It's alright," you say with a sweet smile that brightens the anxiousness in your eyes.
He knows oh-so-little about you, he realizes, watching your mannerisms and the tone of your speech. These little things that he's gotten so used to knowing about people, it's made him accustomed to knowing the most arbitrary facts about everyone he interacts with. Now that he doesn't know, now that he's blind in his interaction – it spurs him on all the more to know you better.
The first thing he can note about you is that you're very kind, very polite, and very, very shy. He can taste your fear as he sits beside you, drifting off you in plumes that set his senses on edge. It's intoxicating, and you taste just like the hunt, the trailing hormones that follow terrified prey.
"It's no trouble," he says, taking the book from you and drifting higher, where an empty slot lay that once carried that book. Once he tucks it away he comes back down to you, helping you off the ledge and onto the ground, where the more important texts are kept.
"Thank you," you mumble, keeping your gaze on the floor.
"Of course. Now what questions are you seeking to answer?"
You freeze up and instantly your panic is overwhelming, so thick in your vicinity he swears he could faint. This taste is stronger than prey, sweeter than wine's blood, and more alluring than he could ever deem appropriate.
If this is what being around you is like, he never wants to leave.
"It's a little embarrassing," you admit in a soft voice, raising your hand to your mouth to bite at your fingertips.
"I won't laugh," he says, and that seems to be of some comfort to you, though it takes a little longer before you finally answer his question.
"... everyone here has these special powers, and I.. don't. And I don't know why. I want to find out," you say, hesitance claiming your every word despite you forcing them out.
"What? I'm sure you have something. You've only been like this for.. a month?"
"Three months," you say.
"That's no time at all. How about this; I will help you find your power, and you can... help me with a favor," he suggests, but is ready to notice any doubt in your expression.
"What's the favor?"
"Just a hypothesis I have. I'm sure you won't get hurt."
That is in no way comforting to you. You stand there for a moment more, chewing on your bottom lip as you contemplate your situation.
"Alright," you finally say, "but nothing too strange."
"Of course not."
He takes you outside, leading you in close steps towards his own training grounds. In the rough terrain of the mountains, the both of you stumble over loose rocks, latching onto boulders in order to push yourself up. The top of this particular mountain is a good place for training; not a living thing in sight, plant or animal, and no one from the ground can see you.
The waterfall running off the ledge of the platform is a perfect place to start, from the caverns filled with pools of water encased in crystals, to the waterfall itself, in constant swirling motion. He stands at the side of the falls and beckons you over, watching with a smile as you make an awkward running-walk to his side.
When he falls to his knee you follow, kneeling before the rushing water.
"Can you feel the pulse of this water?" He asks, holding his own hand above it. He can feel it – pounding in his fingertips, running like blood as he raises droplets of water into the air.
"I can.. feel the vibration," you say tentatively, staring at the water with a fixed worried expression.
Vibrations aren't indicative of a power, but it's best to fully rule something out before abandoning it. Thus he takes your hand, holds it right beneath his palm as he works his own magic, making it so droplets of water rise to your palm, only to fall like rain back upon the foam. A sort of cloud forms beneath your hand, rising through the gaps in your fingers like smoke from a fire.
"Try to contain the cloud," he says when he notices the wisps of grey.
You do your best, but in the end the control you have is nothing more than a mirage borrowed from Benjamin. Still, you look rather disappointed, and he frowns. He misses your smile already, and the hesitant eagerness of your original stature.
"It's very rare for vampires to be able to physically bend the elements to their will, so don't be worried," he comforts you, pulling you up with him when he stands.
You nod absently but say nothing.
"Should we try fire?" He asks, but the second he does so you tense up, and once more pheromones are flooding his system. He steps closer to you at some point – he doesn't remember doing so, but he's pressed up pretty close to you when he opens his eyes. That only worsens it, and your taste is tangible and thick on his tongue.
"I'm – I'm good with fire, I – um – I have a, sort of, thing against, um, fire," you stumble out, taking a few shaky steps back. It snaps him out of his trance, the unpleasant warmth of shame overtaking him as he realizes what he's doing.
"That's fine, uh," he pauses for a moment, wracking his brain for what to do next. "Here's.. an easier, um, trick. A fair amount of vampires end up with this power."
"Really?" You perk up a little and relief begs a sigh from him. He didn't fuck up.
"Yes, most have a form of telepathy. Connecting to different minds, or influencing the mind to perceive things that aren't truly happening, or simply ensnaring the opponent," he comes up behinds you, rests his hands on your shoulders and dramatically mimics grasping something far away, "to command them to their bidding."
You chuckle, and your breathing begins to steady once more.
"Right, and how do you check?"
The two of you were hardly ever close and never alone together before this point, but you knew some information about each other. You know his powers – the effect he has on the elements, and just how rare that sort of power is. He knows you as Edward's younger brother, a product of the modern world, a little confusing but all around worth being confused over. You know he won’t be able to show you true telepathy.
"Just concentrate deeply. Try and move that stone," he says, motioning towards one of the smaller pebbles near the stream of water.
Your eyes drift shut as you try to follow his advice, brow furrowing in concentration. He steps closer, till his chest is at your back, and though it breaks your train of thought for a second you realize he's trying to steady your breath. With your eyes once more closed, you follow the steady rhythm of his chest.
Nothing.
"Telepathy can be a little odd, as I'm sure you know. No two versions work quite the same," he says when he notices your shoulders drop. "Here, try this."
Instead he stands in front of you, hands square on your shoulders to force your attention to him. You wait intently with open eyes and ears.
"Try and connect to me," he says, and holds your gaze as you try your best. There's a strain evident on your face – you desperately want this, and every failure bleeds massive disappointment from your high expectations.
Can you hear me?
"Um.. y.. yes?" You answer gingerly, wondering if the words came from your own mind or his. By the way he beams you think they're his own words, and instantly a grin splits your face.
"Wonderful! That's a very helpful talent to have," he says, and you giggle, delighted by his enthusiasm for you.
Over the following hours – neither of you can tell the time with the sky so full of clouds – he goes over powers both common and rare. He gets you to try and manipulate the flame on the tip of his finger, but you can't do it. You try to create gusts of wind and it fails. In fact, the only victory you have is the mind telepathy, but it's enough to satisfy you.
As the sky begins to lighten ever so slightly, he decides time is up for now, even though there are several more things he wants to try. You tell him it's alright, but he insists; and of course you want to know more, so it doesn't take much to convince you.
He offers you his hand and says, "good work today."
You clasp his hand, but when he tries to shake you're stock still, completely spaced out. It takes a second before he even realizes what's happening, but once he does he shakes you out of it.
"Are you alright?" He asks, his brow knitted tight in concern.
"I... think I.." you pause, "I think I found a power."
"How so?"
From shaking his hand? That's.. not common.
"Well, um, I just felt a very strong.. surge of emotions, directed towards me," you say, clearing your throat as nerves get the best of you.
Oh shit, he thinks, and he knows you catch how his expression falls. He's got a reading power.
"Oh," he says, and the word sits there between you for a while. "You might have, um, psychometry. The ability to read things by touch."
"I – I have to go," you stammer out, but the second you release his hand you've vanished, leaving Benjamin atop the mountain alone.
He twists each way, scanning the area for any sign of you and finding none. It's either some sort of invisibility or teleportation, either of which he's sure would excite you. Still, it's hard to taper his own disappointment in himself, which drags on his mood the entire walk home.
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writeyouin · 4 years
Note
oho Bet. Guy from The Croods x Gender Neutral Reader where they were childhood friends/neighbors and they meet again at the "new world". (instead of Guy and Eek falling for each other they become friends) Sorry if it's weird to read, it's 3:30 am.
Guy Crood X Reader – The New World
A/N – Writing this fic was the only way I ever found out that there’s a Croods sequel in the works.
Warnings – None.
Rating – T
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You hid in the bushes, cautiously watching the family before you as they violently tore hunks of meat of a huge bird. The speed and ferocity with which they ate was sickening, not to mention the gristle and fat that dripped grotesquely down their fronts. You had thought that you would be safe in the New World, never suspecting that cavemen would also find the way to it, unevolved as they were. Only one of the females looked anything closer to the evolution that had taken place in your tribe generations ago, but you doubted her intelligence was any better than theirs.
You wondered whether you ought to kill them; you had tried to communicate with cavemen in the past and it never ended well. Then again, it might not even be possible to take on all six of them. You were sure that you could kill the Alpha male with your speed against his strength. The other male would probably die of a self-inflicted injury in the heat of combat; he certainly looked dim enough. The alpha’s mate would hopefully be preoccupied with the fate of her son. It was the last three that worried you. The elder might look frail but she had to be tough to have survived so long. The young girl was clearly fast and strong, a combination of her parent’s best traits. That left the worst one of all; the baby. You had seen her bite the head clean off a lizard only seconds ago; she was clearly the most dangerous member of the pack.
Regretfully, you decided to abandon any thought of fighting, as well as that area of the New World. Perhaps you could make your home elsewhere, with the hopes that the cavemen wouldn’t find you.
“Ugh, that was delicious,” The alpha-male belched.
You slung your bow over your shoulder, tiptoeing quietly away, only stopping when you heard the girl speak. “Hey… where’s the leg I saved for Guy?”
‘Guy!’ Your breath hitched in your throat as you remembered your childhood friend. It couldn’t be him, could it? Was Guy a common name nowadays? The Guy you knew was as afraid of cavemen as you were. He wouldn’t travel with them, right?
On the slim chance that it was your Guy that the cavemen knew, you decided to stay and wait for him to come back to the pack. Coating yourself in mud to camouflage yourself and hide your scent, you hunkered down, clutching your bow tightly in case a fight should occur.
You continued observing the family, bemused when a fight broke out over who had eaten the last bird leg. You soon learnt that their names were Grug, Ugga, Eep, Sandy, Thunk and Gran, and together they were the Croods. Should a confrontation arise, their names might come in useful to diffuse the situation.
As the night drifted on and the Croods occupied themselves with stories for Sandy, you thought back, losing yourself in memories of when you and Guy were children.
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“Help.” A sniffly voice on the verge of crying called from the bottom of a steep slope.
You poked your head over the edge, finding the new boy, whose family had just moved into the cave next door to yours.
“Hey,” Guy said upon seeing you. “Please, help me.”
You giggled upon seeing him fail to scale the shale wall, trying to reach you.
“You’re not supposed to play there, new boy,” You grinned.
“Okay, I won’t ever again. Now, get me out of here.”
“What’s your name?”
Guy stared up at you exasperatedly, “Come on, get me out.”
“I will, if you tell me your name.”
“It’s Guy.”
“Hi Guy, I’m (Y/N).”
“That’s not a name.”
“Neither is Guy,” You pouted.
“Yes it is, and you promised to help me if I told you, so there.”
“Uh huh,” You replied non-committedly, looking around for anything that might aid Guy. You lowered a long, withered stick down into the pit for him to grab hold of. Gratefully, he began climbing it, trying his best to be quick.
“You’re heavy,” You whined. “Hurry up before I drop you.”
Guy did his best to speed up, but with no footholds in the shale, he had only his arms to work with.
“How old are you?” You grunted through gritted teeth.
“Seven,” Guy groaned.
“No way. I’m seven and I’m not nearly as heavy as you are. You must be…” You paused, trying to think of the highest number you knew, “Twelve.”
“I’m not twelve! I’m seven, like you,” Guy insisted, finally reaching the top and dragging himself out.
You let him catch his breath before asking, “Now what?”
“I’ve gotta go home or my parents will worry. Are you coming?”
“I guess.”
With that, the two of you walked back to your adjacent caves within the tribe, talking the entire way back. Afterwards, the two of you became fast friends. Growing up together, Guy always shared his best ideas with you; his family seemed to be full of great thinkers. In return, you taught him the tribe’s way of hunting, camouflage, and how to mentally map out the terrain. You asked him once why he hadn’t learnt such important things from his old tribe, only to find out that he and his parents had been loners living in the wilderness until they came across your tribe.
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In your early teenage years, Guy invented puppet shows, explaining the concept to you so the two of you could tell a story at the nightly gathering.
You giggled as you made a tiny old woman puppet on your hand bow. “The tribe will love this.”
“Yeah… The tribe will,” Guy said, thinking of how he had invented the puppets as a way to get closer to you than he normally would.
That night was one of merriment and wonder for the entire tribe. While you kept peeking around the boulder that acted as a stage to enjoy the audience’s reactions, Guy was watching you, preparing to ask you out before some other, braver tribesman did. After the show, when everyone was preparing to sleep, Guy finally plucked up the courage to ask you out, an action that led to what was simultaneously the best and worst night of your lives.
“You what?” You asked, trying to make sense of the rushed invitation Guy asked moments prior.
“Sometime, I mean, anytime you’re free, I was wondering if you uh, might want to go out with me,” Guy said slowly.
A grin spread across your face, “We could go now.”
“Now?! But it’s night time. There’s- There’s no light.”
“We’ll take torches.”
Uncertain about going, yet unwilling to lose his chance with you, Guy borrowed two torches from the communal fire pit. The two of you walked far beyond the edge of the tribe, into the wilderness where you could be alone together.
When the two of you reached the cliff, the two of you sat with your legs hanging over the edge. In a comfortable silence, bathed in moonlight you gazed up at the stars. Guy kept his eyes on you, smiling boyishly.
“(Y/N),” Guy murmured, drawing your gaze to his face.
Instead of speaking, he leaned forwards. You mirrored his action, relishing the way your foreheads touched, then your noses. Everything felt so intimate under the moon’s watchful gaze. Any second now and your lips would meet his, or at least they would have, had the ground not started shaking.  The two of you jumped up, backing away from the edge of the cliff.
“What’s going on?” You gasped.
“I don’t know. I-” Guy was interrupted by the distant screams that echoed through the previously peaceful night air.
“THE TRIBE!” You cried out.
You broke into a run with Guy close behind you, each of you struggling to keep your balance on the unstable ground. Trees began uprooting themselves as large fissures opened in the earth below.
You were nearing the screaming tribe when Guy roared, “(Y/N), LOOK OUT!”
He had warned you just in time for you to leap out of the way of a newly formed chasm that swallowed the earth where you were standing only moments before. Guy morosely called your name, painfully aware that the two of you were now separated.
“Don’t worry about me,” You called back. “Get back home, I’ll find another way to get there, I promise.”
Guy nodded assent and ran towards the tribe just in time to watch his family slowly die in tar and hear their last goodbyes. You, on the other hand, never got to keep your promise. The new terrain provided no way back to the only home you had ever known, and eventually you were forced to flee as fire, lava, and tar pursued you.
In the years of isolation that followed, whilst searching for a place safe from The End, you often thought of Guy, hoping that he had survived that terrible night. Now, you had been provided a chance to see if it was your Guy travelling with these Croods. You desperately hoped it was him, so you could finally know that your friend was safe, and maybe even put an end to the solitary life that fate had forced upon you.
The rancid smell of bog water intermingled with wet fur drew you out of your reverie. Suddenly on edge about a possible animal attack, you squatted into a fighting stance and readied your bow. A large carnivorous cat pounced through the surrounding foliage, launching itself at Grug. You prepared yourself to watch a bloody massacre that would lead to the Croods’ demise, but instead found yourself watching the creature affectionately groom Grug, purring the entire time.
Soon enough, more animals followed, one for each Crood so it seemed. You scowled, thinking that perhaps Guy was the name of Eep’s pet, but your expression quickly transformed into one of radiant joy as a man followed the animals. He was older, his hair longer, and there was some kind of odd creature hugging his waist, but there was no mistaking it; that was your Guy.
“Next time, it’s Thunk’s turn to walk the pets,” Guy said bemusedly. “There’s just no keeping them out of that stagnant water.”
Shouldering your bow, you wasted no time in getting up. You were still afraid of the cavemen, but if worst came to worst, you could always grab Guy and run.
“Uh hi, room for one more?” You asked awkwardly.
You immediately began to regret your choice not to get Guy alone as you were grabbed by several pairs of hands.
“WHO ARE YOU?” Eep demanded, pulling you in one direction.
“EEP, I’LL ASK THE QUESTIONS,” Grug reminded her, pulling you in the opposite direction. “WHO ARE YOU?”
“Can we all ask?” Thunk grinned. “Who are you?”
“Sweetie, this isn’t a game,” Ugga warned Thunk. “Hold onto Sandy before she eats the intruder.”
“I SAY WE RELEASE THE BABY,” Gran cackled wickedly.
Throughout the interaction, Guy had been entirely too shocked to say anything, but he finally stepped in, pushing himself between you and the Croods.
“Everyone, wait. This is (Y/N), the two of us grew up together. We- We know each-other.”
Reluctantly, Grug let you go, but Eep’s grip only tightened and you were faced with a barrage of ecstatic questions. “You knew Guy? What was it like growing up? Do you have ideas too? Do you make fire? How well do you know him? What’s the curvy string stick on your back for? Do you have a pet too? Were you being chased by The End? How did you find your way here? What do you-”
“Eep,” Ugga said quietly. “I think that Guy may want some time to catch up with his old friend.”
Eep fell silent, looking up at Guy, finding an expression of sadness and awe written on his face. “Oh, right, yeah. We’ll just leave you too it. Uh… C’mon Croods, let’s go for another pet walk.”
All of the group left except Gran who took a seat, waiting for the show to start. Grug quickly came back and put her over his shoulder; she grumbled cantankerously as he carried her away.
“So…” You said awkwardly, unaccustomed to talking to others after so long alone.
“So…” Guy parroted, having been caught completely off-guard.
“Cavemen?”
“Yeah,” Guy laughed nervously. “But they’re good ones.”
“And…our tribe?” You asked, hoping that Guy wasn’t the only one who had made it out.
He shook his head, “Gone. We’re all that’s left.”
“Oh…”
“(Y/N), I never stopped looking for you. I always hoped… I mean- and now you’re here and I don’t know what to say.”
“I know what you mean. I kept hoping if I travelled far enough, I would find you and now I have. So much has changed, where do we even begin?”
“Well… I suppose we could begin where we left off,” Guy said thoughtfully. “We tell each other everything that’s happened, no matter how long it takes and we learn who we’ve both become.”
Guy sat down on a log, offering you the space next to him. You sat down tentatively,
“Okay,” You said quietly. “That sounds good. You go first. Tell me your story Guy.”
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jaminjims · 4 years
Text
found family {imagine}
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@catsandstrawberries​ requests: Hi I have a request. Can you do an ot7 x youngest female 8th member reader maybe late teens (like 17 18ish) maybe fathers day is coming up and reader never had a good relationship with her father or any male in her life (abuse, abondment, trauma, etc) and maybe just a bunch of fluffy and angsty scenarios of her relationship with the boys when they become more like older brothers/father figures to her. Maybe one where she choreographs a dance and shows Hobi and he openly stares how proud Cont. 🐣
He is of her and maybe it just really touches her. Or maybe one where she falls asleep on the couch and one of the boys brings her to her room. And maybe a final angsty one where she tells them how much she loves them and how hard it is to know her own family didnt care about her but the b o us are like, you're wrong, your family does care about you, were your family. Something like that. I really love your writing and hopefully you can write this, if not dont worry, much love! 🐣
a/n: ahh this was the fic i wrote 4.3k words for but then decided i didn’t like it so i started over lmao. i don’t really know why this fic was kinda difficult for me to write but it was still something i enjoyed writing a lot and i’m proud of myself for finishing it! and this is probably one of my favorites that i’ve written if i’m being completely honest. the found family troupe is what i LIVE for and this one literally melts my heart. and of course thank you so so much to the lovely catsandstrawberries for the request! i really enjoyed writing it so i hope you enjoy reading it! 
pairing: platonic ot7 x f!reader (reader will refer to the older members as hyung though!)
genre: angsty in the beginning but it turns really fluffy so just hang in there! 
warnings: brief mention of child abandonment, child neglect, bad father daughter relationship, loneliness, insomnia, forgetting to eat 
words: 6k
[disclaimer: when writing idol aus, i will only be focusing on the struggles of the reader, not of the idols themselves because i don’t personally know what struggles they go through and how they handle them.] 
{song(s) i recommend while reading: someone’s someone - monsta x}
~**~
here’s the thing about family: it’s sometimes fickle and sometimes strong
you came from a prestigious family of bankers, except you wouldn’t really call it a family 
it was more like relatives tolerating each other more than anything 
your mom had left when you were young so you only had faint silhouettes and hollow laughter to remember her by. but that just left the two of you 
you and your father 
instead the memories you grew up with were of a dad who was cold and controlling and never really around long enough for you to truly feel like he loved you 
it was always “y/n you have to look good for the family” “y/n you have to do this for the families reputation” “y/n you have to smile for the media so they think we are a happy family” 
the word family was thrown around so much you didn’t think you really knew what it meant anymore
because it was always “y/n you need to do better” “y/n why are you so flawed?” y/n you’re more of a disappointment that a daughter”
never “y/n, i’m proud of you” 
it was always what he wanted and never had he asked what you wanted
he never once helped you with your homework, never once had a family meal together
never once said he loved you 
you had to instead learn to cook yourself, learn to swim, learn to ride your bike, all by yourself 
all things a father should have done, he never did 
instead it was all fake laughter and smiles in front of the media and cold stares and loneliness behind closed doors 
you used to cry yourself to sleep because of how lonely and lost you felt but now you just opted to barely sleeping at all 
and you often forgot to eat because it would just remind you what you could’ve had but didn’t 
you also tended to be alone at school because everyone knew of you but no one really knew you 
the only thing that really saved you was dancing
it was the only way you could really express yourself without needing words and you found that comforting 
it was intimate and deep and it was your raw soul being transmitted through movements 
and it was your only reprieve from the fake media, the fake smiles, the fake laughter 
and the fake family 
so most of your days were spent in a dance studio, choreographing your own pieces and dancing your heart out and it was really the only way you knew how to express yourself
it was when you were fifteen when you had discovered that music companies were hosting auditions and you wanted more than anything to be up on a stage and preform
you had never longed for something more than you did now
but you knew your father would never allow it and maybe that was the thought that pushed you to make the decision of joining
because you knew if you continued to live the way you did now, you would never be enough for him and you were sad and lonely and just tired of faking everything
so if you were always going to be a failure to him then at least you could have fun along the way, right?
so you auditioned to every single company you could and in the end it was only one who had accepted you and for the first time you were really happy
so, so happy that you danced all the way home and cried and for once didn’t pay mind to the eyes looking in
your dad was of course furious when he found out and it hurt that he was so against your dream 
but the elation you felt at finally doing something for yourself, with no other reason but because you wanted too, it was something thrilling and if you had known that freedom would feel like this then you would’ve done it a long time ago 
but it still stung when he cut you out of his life completely, like you weren’t even there in the first place. like you never existed
cut off all means of financial support. insurance, healthcare, even schooling
all because you didn’t want to be what he wanted you to be
and you cried for the first few nights because this was your conformation. conformation that he really didn’t love you and only saw you as a means to continue his legacy 
but you continued on. confidently packing your bags and leaving that place that was never really a home to you 
and when you moved into the dorms bighit had for trainee’s, you felt like this, this was your chance. and if you failed, then you would go crawling back to your father and beg for forgiveness like you knew he wanted 
you only had one opportunity, and you used it for everything it was worth 
you had gotten a part time job, something you wanted to experience because for every other kid it was normal. got to stay out late and dance and sing and just experience things that you had never gotten to do in the confines of your old home 
in the confines of your father
and even if you didn’t get to continue your education (which you were greatly distressed about) you were happy because you were doing stuff you wanted 
it was when you were eighteen, when you spent two years as a trainee before you got the news that...
you made it 
you had made it! you were going to be put in a group! and even if they had already long ago debuted, you were going to show them that you were worth it 
you were worth more than what you father had said about you, than what he had planned for you 
but with that elation came hesitance
because you were joining a group that was composed of all males, seven of them, and you didn’t have a good experience with any males (well, male) in your life and you would be lying if you said you weren’t even a little bit scared
because you were never good enough for your father, what made them any different? what if you weren’t ever going to be good enough for anyone?
but they were different. they showed you that not every male was going to be like your father, that you were enough and more 
when you had first met them, you were a timid little thing because you had previously been sheltered and didn’t really have any friends 
you didn’t really know how to open up to anyone because no one ever cared to really try to connect 
they were all smiles and politeness and you blushed under their attention because no one really showed an interest in learning about you, not like they had
but you didn’t tell them everything. actually, you didn’t really tell them anything because you were scared that if the found out the truth, they would think you were useless just like your father
so you told them your name, age (which they were surprised about because you were young compared to them), and half truths 
about how you were not really close with your family, about how you weren’t really close with any friends 
and you expected them to look down on you for your answers but instead they welcomed you with open arms and treated you like they would treat anyone else 
and you loved it. loved that they saw you for you instead of just a rich mans daughter 
so slowly, you started opening up to them
they treated you like a normal person (a thing which you craved because it was something you never experienced) and they never only pointed out the things you were doing wrong, like your father had 
instead they pointed out your flaws and also pointed out what you had excelled at
“y/n, you should turn your body and bend a bit more for that move, but your energy was really good!” “maybe reach a little bit higher for that note? it went a little flat for a second, but your part in the bridge was perfect.” 
and it was those comments that you held close and cherished because they pushed you to do better but it was different than than the way your father pushed you
because you refined the things that you could actually fix instead of just thinking everything about yourself was horrible 
and maybe it was weird, but you really started to look up to them and that only caused you to work harder so that you would make them proud
but it wasn’t until a late night in the dance studio with jimin that really shifted your relationship with all of them
you couldn’t sleep again (like most nights) and you were dancing to a song that you had choreographed yourself 
you slightly overstepped and pushed your body forward by accident and had ended up twisting your ankle 
you almost started crying because what if the boys thought you were going to be a hindrance? what if they thought you were a failure for holding them back? 
but then the the dance studio door opened and in came walking jimin and you felt yourself shrink in, trying to make your body as small as possible because you were so scared 
and it was weird because you never felt this scared when you thought your dad would look down on you and you had only been in the group for two months and you shouldn’t be feeling this attached
and everything was overwhelming and jimin gasped when he spotted you on the floor crying with a bruised ankle 
his heart hurt to see you this upset so he quickly walked over and tried to get you to slow your breathing and when his calm and soothing voice reached your ears, you couldn’t help but relax slightly because he didn’t seem to be angry, only worried 
and then what he said next had you crying for a whole different reason
“is it ok with you if i look at your ankle?” 
he had asked. he had asked if it was something you wanted and that surprisingly meant more to you then it probably should 
and once again they proved that they were different than your father because your dad would just do, without any concern to what it might do to you. but they thought about you, about your well being 
you found yourself nodding and once he saw you were crying still he creased his eyebrows with worry, “does it hurt that bad?” 
you shook your head again and managed to get out, “you aren't mad at me?” 
and the world seemed to stop for a second and you held your breathe as you waited for his answer, and when he opened his mouth you got scared that he was actually angry
“you thought i would be mad? of course i’m not, it wasn’t your fault. it’s ok, you’re ok.” and even with your hurt ankle you leaned forward and hugged him because you were so relieved that he didn’t think you were a failure, glad that he still thought you were worth it
and even though he was confused at your reaction, he hugged you back anyway because he wanted to be there for you in any way he could
and your adoration for them only increase since then. you were really starting to feel closer to them and really starting to rely on them 
the week your ankle was healing, they made sure to check in every hour to see if everything was ok and it was a little overwhelming at times because you had never been this looked after before and it was new to you
and at least one of them would arrive home from practice early and give you everything you needed 
one time when yoongi came back early, he had come into your room and asked if you needed anything and you said no because you didn’t wanna hinder him but then your stomach growled in betrayal and you blushed 
he frowned and sat beside you on you’re bed, rubbing the back of his neck, “now, i know that i don’t look like the comforting type, but i’ll still help if you ask.” 
and your eyes widened and you shook your head, shooting up in bed because it really wasn’t that you thought he was bad at comforting but it was because you really just forgot to eat again
and that’s what you told him and he frowned for a different reason, “you forget to eat?” and then you would look down in shame because you thought he was disappointed in you 
he looked at your lowered head and sighed, lightly bumping shoulders with you, “hey, it’s ok. i’m not mad or anything. just worried.” 
and you tentatively looked up at him, hiding behind your hair, “i... just don’t eat that much. reminds me of the things i can’t have.” and then you looked back down
and yoongi thought that his heart broke a little bit because you sounded so small and sad and he was confused as to why but what he did know is that it hurt him to hear and see you like that 
he then bumped his shoulder with yours again so you would look up and then he flicked your forehead when you did 
and you looked at him with a slightly offended expression while bringing your hand up to touch the spot he flicked and once he saw the look on your face, he smirked a little, “what are you thinking about now?” and you would get this confused look on your face, because why was he asking? “why you flicked me.” 
and then he would smile triumphantly, “then it worked.” 
and it wouldn’t be till later that you realized that he had gotten you too think about something else so you wouldn’t dwell on the bad memories you had, and you smiled brightly trying to fall asleep that night
but you noticed that they all would start to bring more snacks in their bags whenever they went anywhere and offer them to you and it was hard to say no because you were kinda hungry when you thought about it 
and food started to taste a little better when you were around them 
and as time passed, they only surprised you more and more with their personalities and you started to really like just being around them, you felt like a better person 
and over time you had all grown closer too, up to the point where you would get into petty fights like real siblings (at least you liked to think of it that way, you never had any siblings)
for example, one time you were sitting on the couch scrolling through a phone the company recently got you and here comes jungkook running down the hallway 
he then jumps and lands right on top of your sitting figure on the couch and you yell because it scared you and why was he sweaty? 
“yah! get off me!” you then would push him on the face but it would get you nowhere because he was quite literally almost twice your size 
“no, i don’t wanna.” then he would shrug and pull out his phone while he was crushing you with his body weight and then you would scream out “hyung!” in hopes anyone would hear you and all of them would come running into the room because you never yelled and they thought it was an emergency 
but then it would sink in that, that was the first time you had called them hyung and they would get these goofy smiles on their faces (even jungkook, from where he was sitting on top of you) and you would look at them and then realize what you did 
you gasped and started apologizing because what if they didn’t want you to call them that? (obliviously not getting the message that they did from their faces alone)
but they would just shoot down your apologies because they would be happy that you finally felt close and comfortable enough to call them that 
and jin would walk up and ruffle your hair - well as best he could while jungkook was still sitting on you - and “come help your hyung in the kitchen.” and your smile would be worth more than anything to them and you would push jungkook off of you easily this time while yelling yes 
you then stuck your tongue out at him and he made a funny face back that had you giggling 
but something was always weighing on your mind, and it was the lack of your education. since your father had cut you off, you had no means on furthering your learning and it was something that really upset you because who couldn’t even complete highschool education? and you were afraid that the other members would be disappointed in you 
so you asked manager sejin (which he had grown pretty fond of you over the months) for a computer because you wanted to complete your education online if anything and he was completely behind the idea and backed you up 100 percent 
so you started your online learning but you had to admit, it was hard when you didn’t have a teacher to consult things with 
and you would get so frustrated because why couldn’t you just get this right? it was simple math! and you were disappointed in yourself because this was a big blow to your ego 
you were afraid that the others would would laugh at you but then you thought about how they proved time and time again that they were different than your father and so with that thought in mind you summoned your courage and went to knock on namjoon’s door
he was surprised to see you but smiled anyway and you sat down on his bed with your hair covering your face because you were still embarrassed and they didn’t know that you hadn’t finished highschool 
and he saw that you were struggling with what to say so he waited patiently because the last thing he wanted to do was scare you off
and you were grateful for that, so after a few minutes you gathered your thoughts and decided to just plunge right into the conversation, “hyung,” and they still smiled when you called them that, “i’m doing online school and um, was wondering if you could help me? i mean you don’t have to or anything but i just-” and he put a hand over your head to stop your rambling and smiled that dimple smile of his, “of course i’ll help. what do you need me for?” 
and he would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little surprised because it was highschool sophomore math because he thought that you had already graduated highschool but he still was glad to help you anyway 
and you could tell he wanted to ask but was hesitant, so you made it easier for him, “i wasn’t able to finish highschool.” and he looked perplexed for a moment but when he took in your sad expression he didn’t say anything more so you quietly added on “i don’t have a relationship with my father so..” and you trailed off and he sighed silently because it was hard for him to wrap his head around why someone would make you so sad, especially if that someone was your father so instead he opted to take your mind off the issue 
so he spoke up, “yah, the pythagorean theorem isn’t gonna learn itself.” and so the two of your stayed up and you understood the subject more when he explained it than in any real class you ever had 
so, these teaching sessions are almost a daily routine and sometimes it would be the others helping and it became something that you really enjoyed
because no one was ever willing to help you like this 
after months of living and knowing them, it was finally the crunch time to get ready for your first comeback with them and you were so nervous 
you would stay up later than usual to practice and they would be lying if they said they weren’t a little worried about your lack of sleep but they used to do the same thing before comebacks so they let it slide somewhat
but what they didn’t know was that you were also going to be doing a solo dance performance and you were so scared that no one would like it so you finally crumbled and asked for hobi because you wanted his opinion on your routine 
but his reaction to your dance sequence was one you didn’t expect 
as you flipped and glided through your choreo, hoseok stared wide eyed at you in wonder because he knew you were an amazing dancer but when it was just you and him in the dance studio, the emotion that you portrayed... it was just an astounding site to see
and when you finished you saw his expression and blushed, hiding your face in your hair because no one had looked at you like that before
“what? was it bad?” and it was a couple more moments before hoseok really gathered his thoughts to put them into words and he just walked over to you and put his hands on your shoulders so you would look at him
“y/n-ah, that was amazing. just everything about it... aish you have me speechless.” and he gave you that hobi heart smile and you couldn’t keep your eyes from tearing up but what he said next really got the waterworks going
“i am so, so proud of you, y/n” 
and you openly cried and hearing that sentence from someone you really looked up to was something you never knew you needed and you hugged him so tight and said ‘thank you’ over and over again because you really were 
you were so, so thankful 
and he carded his hands through your hair because namjoon had told him about you not having a good relationship with your dad and knew this was probably something that meant a lot to you. but he really was so, so proud of you because you had grown so much since being that little timid girl he had met months ago 
so you went home and played videogames with everyone and just had a good time so you wouldn’t get to stressed and later when you had finally managed to fall asleep, hobi would gush about your dance to the other members (without knowing you were going to be preforming it soon) and everyone was excited and wanted to see it too
but with hobi’s encouragement came more determination for you to work harder because you were going to amaze everyone if you had anything to say about it 
so you started to stay out late to the point where you would come back to the house when everyone else was sleeping and just be so tired that you would fall asleep on the couch, not even making it back to your room
and they would wake up and see you and look at you so fondly because they could see that you were working so hard and could see how badly you wanted everyone to succeed
and it would usually be jungkook who would pick you up and bring you back to your room so you could sleep just a little bit longer
they really were so proud of you 
and then it came to your comeback date and you were still so nervous but they’re presences made it better 
it was taehyung who came up to you then right before they were supposed to go onto the comeback stage and what he said would always stick with you, “no matter what happens out there, i, we, will always be there for you, no matter what. we will always be proud of you.” and you would tear up and the makeup unnie’s would get angry and push you back down in the makeup chair but they would have this gooey smile on their faces anyway
and your performance went perfectly 
it seemed like the audience was just as memorized as hoseok had been when you preformed your solo and army, thrown off by your presence, still accepted you because they could see the bond you had with the boys and how pure it was
and even though some didn’t agree, it was ok because seven other people where proud of you and that’s all you really needed
and then because of the amazing performance the eight of you go out to eat and you all joke and laugh and the food tastes amazing
and you think, this is what a family dinner must feel like 
and you almost cry again because this is all you really ever wanted, to be accepted, to be seen for your achievements instead of your flaws 
and you've only spent five months together but in those five months, you had grown so close to these people that showed you that you were more than what your father had told you, that you were amazing and perfect in your own way and they would never look down on you for your flaws
you could definitely get used to this 
so the next day taehyung took you out on a shopping spree because he wanted to spend time with you and you both basically wrecked havoc in a gucci store trying on everything you could 
and he wold tease you when you came out of the dressing room with a size that was way to big for you and you would taunt him back and bicker back and forth 
then you both went to the store and got ice cream for everyone and you all set up a fort in the living room and it was easily one of the best days of your life 
and after that the eight of you experienced things and created memories together and they showed you what real friends were, what real companionship and love felt like
and before you knew it, fathers day was in two days and you didn’t know what you were going to do, but you still felt like you should do something because father’s day is a day to celebrate the important males in your life
you had never felt like doing something like this when you lived with your actual father, and that spoke volumes to how close you had come to these boys
so on the saturday before the actual day, you tried to wake up as early as you could and get all the ingredients you needed
when you saw that you were missing eggs for the cake that you wanted to make for them, you tried to be as quick as possible so your hyungs wouldn’t be wondering where you went if they woke up 
it was the probably the fastest trip you had ever taken but it was all for naught when you walked back through the door 
you almost dropped your newly bought eggs when you heard a scream come from the living room and suddenly there were arms wrapping around you in a tight hug
“j-jimin?” was all you could squeak out before a barrage of voices tumbled over each other in efforts to scold you for leaving and not telling at least one of them, if not all of them 
“what were you thinking!? you scared me! you scared us!” jin said in your direction, where jimin was still wrapped around you 
“yah! we thought you left! or-or got kidnapped!” hoseok’s raised voice was one you decide you didn’t like 
once jimin let go, yoongi was quick to envelope you in a hug, “aish. i never wanna wake up to that kind of scare ever again.” 
once he pulled away you spotted taehyung and jungkook pouting with their arms crossed sitting on the couch, namjoon fixing you with a serious stare. “promise me you won’t do that again.” 
“promise us!” taehyung quickly added in and all you could do was nod because your head was still trying to process what just happened over the span of the last ten seconds
it wasn’t until your pinky was wrapped around jungkook’s in a pinky promise that the situation really set into your head and you lowered your head in shame and embarrassment, “i’m sorry.” 
jin sighed and ruffled his hair, “we were just worried. sorry for yelling y/n-ah,” and it warmed you with how protective they were over you and you looked up at him teasingly, “sorry eomma” and jin frowned while you and the maknae line snickered
it was when you got up to finally put the eggs away that jimin pulled you back down to sit beside him, hugging you again, “we worry about you because you’re our yodongseng, y/n-ah” and it was that one sentence that had you all smiley and giggly because that was the first time any of them had called you that, the first time anyone called you that and you were so happy 
because they saw you as their little sister and a bond like that was something you hadn’t felt before, and one you would never want to break
“thank you” you whispered as you got up and went to put the eggs away, the boys following after you 
“so why did you go to the store?” taehyung said as he looked at all the ingredients littered around the kitchen counters 
you gasped and remembered what you were doing and quickly turned around, “all of you, out! go away!” you yelled while physically pushing hoseok and yoongi out the kitchen door 
“wha- why?” namjoon got out before almost being pushed over and into a table by jungkook 
“surprise!” was all you yelled as you got all of them out of the kitchen but seokjin waited by the door. “hyung, what are you doing?” hoseok questioned. “just wait for it.” was all he said as he started counting down from five. and as he was just about to say one, you popped your head back through the door and shyly asked, “hey jin-hyung, can you help me with something?” and then he looked toward the others and smirked at their bewildered expressions. “i told you. she always asks for me when she needs help in the kitchen, and she always needs help.” you then hit him on the arm, “yah. i’m not that bad.”
then the both of you would enter the kitchen and you would try to explain that you needed to make a cake without really telling him you needed to bake one and it just led to a lot of confusion 
in the end you gave up and told him you needed to make one but you didn’t tell him what for, still trying to preserve a least a little bit of surprise
the both of you joked and laughed about useless things while mixing the eggs and milk and flour, making a cake from scratch and the others listened to your banter and smiled among themselves 
when the both of you settled down and put the cake in the oven, seokjin called your name, “y/n-ah,” and as soon as you turned around a wad of flour hit you in the face and jin’s windshield wiper laugh echoed out
but that was only the begging 
“this is war!” and then all of them came running into the kitchen and the flour that was supposed to hit jin, hit yoongi instead and you could’ve sworn you heard namjoon face plant at one point and then fifteen minutes later everyone was covered in flower and the kitchen was a mess
and you all found yourself sitting on the floor, waiting for when you had to take out the cake. and just being surrounded by all their presences, suddenly got you emotional 
“thank you” you said again, for the umpteenth time since you’ve known them. you took a deep breath, “i never got along with my father and-,” you sniffed and they waited for you to finish, jungkook nudging you with his shoulder and taehyung gently holding your hand, “and, all of this, the comfort and compassion you’ve shown me,” tears started to fall from your eyes and hoseok who was sitting across from you leaned over and wiped them off your face, “and i’m really grateful.” 
but before they could say anything to that, the oven went off and you took another deep breath and gathered your emotions, once again pushing them out of the kitchen so you could decorate the cake you would show them tomorrow
and while they were sitting in the living room together, waiting for you to finish, they all looked at each other and they could easily say that they would do anything for you because you really were their little sister and they cared about you so much
and while you decorated your cake for them, you thought that a giving them their surprise a day early couldn’t hurt (and you knew one of the maknae line would definitely come and sneak a bite of the treat in the middle of the night) 
so you walked out, flour caking your hair and clothes, holding the vanilla frosted cake that said ‘happy father’s day ‘ in purple, messy icing 
and oh my god they were so touched they could have cried (and some of them did)
and you stood in front of them, gathering your thoughts and as soon as you saw that jimin was about to say something, you started talking. “so, uh, originally i was going to give you all this tomorrow but i figured that it wouldn’t hurt to give it today. and father’s day is not only to celebrate fathers but to celebrate the important males in your life.” and there you go tearing up again, “and when i was younger, my mom left before i could really remember her, and my dad, he-” tears fell and you wiped them, “aish, i’m crying.” then you giggled and their hearts were simultaneously breaking and filling up at the same time. “he was never a father to me, so i never knew what it felt like to have one, to have a family. and it hurt everyday to think that no one in my family wanted me.” god you were a wreck and your words were coming out blurred now. “but then i came here-”
and before you could get out anymore there were seven pairs of arms wrapping themselves around you and your burrowed your head into the chest of nearest person (which happened to be yoongi) 
“that’s not true y/n” namjoon murmured and for a second you were confused because why would he say that about your situation? but then he continued, “we will always, always, want you in our lives. we are your family. and always will be.” and you were full on sobbing and so were they
and all you could get out was a sloppy, sobbed filled: “i love you” but they understood perfectly
“we love you too, y/n” and that was the single best moment in your life.
and then perhaps the next day you did anything they asked of you which led to the younger ones being scolded about how you weren’t their maid but then you would get up and get what they asked for anyway because this was their day
and the bickering, the love, and even the fights you would have sometimes, it would all be worth it in the end if it led you back to them 
[end]
end note: oh. my. god. i’m not crying, you are. the ending? when i was writing the flour scene? PLEASE I WAS SOBBING. this is one of the fics that i am most proud of and i really didn’t mean to make it this long, but here i am. i hope everyone has an amazing father’s day, and you get to celebrate it the way you want to! everyone reading this (and those who aren’t) deserve happiness, no matter who you are. and you are more then what people say about you. i love you guys to the moon and back, make sure you stay safe! (and as always, sorry for any spelling errors!)
~**~
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I've had a really hard day today and I saw someone wanted more Jimary crack, so I decided to write it to cheer myself up. I hope three fics in a row isn't too excessive. (All credit goes to the anon who suggested this.)
--
‘She’s drunk.’ Joe said very matter-of-factly, lifting his wine glass to his lips, only to discover there was nothing left in it.
‘Very drunk.’ Replied Phoebe, reaching for the bottle nearby and giving them both a refill.
It wasn’t as though they had never seen Mary drunk before. She was usually all giggly and bouncy after a few drinks, perhaps more talkative than usual and, in Joe’s opinion, far less uptight. But they had never seen her like this; her eyes heavy lidded, downing her wine like it was water and clumsily swaying to the music that filled the busy lounge, stumbling every now and again to keep her balance. She was clearly taking her break up with Piers very badly.
‘Freddie’s livid.’ Joe murmured, glancing over at the singer who appeared to be deep in conversation with Peter Straker, but kept glancing over at the intoxicated woman who was trying to coax Brian into dancing with her, much to the displeasure of Anita. ‘Prepare yourself for a screaming match later on.’
‘I already have the popcorn ready.’
Mary eventually gave up on Brian and loudly announced she was heading into the kitchen for another bottle of rosé, almost stepping on Delilah as she staggered through the door. She surveyed the kitchen a moment, the room spinning as her alcohol consumption finally caught up with her, before she noticed Jim sitting alone at the kitchen table, trying unsuccessfully to uncork a large bottle of champagne between his knees.
She had always been a little jealous of Jim. Before he came along, she had always held out hope that Freddie might return to her one day, discover he wasn’t actually into men or something daft like that. But then this Irishman appeared, who wasn’t like Freddie’s other boyfriends; for the first time, it seemed like Freddie was in love and ready to settle down, happy in a way she had never seen him before. It had been hard for her to accept; but when Piers had finally had enough of her obsession and left her, she realised that she would never be able to properly move on with her life if she kept latching on to the past. She had to let Freddie go. She had to accept that, while they would always be friends, Freddie was gay and what they had all those years ago was over.
Jim noticed her hovering and looked up, giving her a small smile. ‘Enjoying the party?’
Mary hummed in response, going to the cupboard where the booze was kept and digging around until she found the rosé she was looking for. When she looked back at Jim, he still hadn’t managed to remove the cork and was quietly cursing under his breath in his thick Irish accent.
It was quite a nice voice, her inebriated mind told her.
‘You have a lovely voice.’ She suddenly said aloud, her words slurred. She wobbled up to him, heels clinking against the kitchen tiles as she unscrewed the top of the rosé bottle. ‘Where is it you’re from again?’
Jim blinked at her dumbly. He wasn’t used to Mary initiating conversation like this; she was usually so reserved. ‘Um, a town called Carlow. It’s near Dublin.’
‘It is, isn’t it?’ Mary drawled and without any warning, she suddenly plopped herself down in Jim's lap, making him jump in surprise. ‘Ireland is sss-such a lovely place. Lots of sheep there.’
Jim’s face went red, and he carefully set the champagne bottle down on the table. ‘Yeah, I suppose there are.’
Much to his horror, Mary put the bottle of rosé to her lips and began downing the drink ruthlessly, not stopping until it was almost half empty. When she finally stopped, she carelessly abandoned the bottle next to the champagne and turned around to stare Jim directly in the eyes, her smile disturbingly wide.
‘You have beautiful eyes.’ She garbled, moving her finger as if she was going to poke them out, but she instead ended up giving him a weird boop on the nose. ‘And your arms are so big.’ She reached down to squeeze his bicep, giggling like a schoolgirl. ‘I bet you’re really strong. Remember when you lifted me up at Freddie’s birthday party?’
Jim remembered. He was so plastered that night he had almost dropped her on her head.
‘Are you feeling alright, Mary?’ he asked warily, not comfortable with how close their faces were.
‘I’m wonderful, Jim.’ Mary giggled again, though it sounded a little manic. ‘I really, really want to dance. Will you dance with me, Jim?’
‘I’m not much of a dancer, Mary.’ Jim coughed, glancing over his shoulder in hope that someone might come through the kitchen door and save him.
‘That’s not true! I’ve seen you dance!’ Mary insisted, pulling at his hands, ‘come on.’
Jim didn’t have the energy to argue with her, already a little tipsy himself, and he allowed her to drag him into the middle of the kitchen, face filling with colour as Mary threw her arms around his neck and sagged all of her body weight against him. He realised rather quickly that if he let her go, she’d probably fall face first onto the floor and never get up again.
The next five minutes had to be the most uncomfortable of his entire life, as he swayed in awkward circles with his husband’s ex-girlfriend, mindfully trying to keep his hands off her waist. He wasn’t a religious man, but in that moment, he prayed to every God in existence that someone would call him from the lounge and rescue him from this predicament.
Mary suddenly lifted her head from his shoulder and whispered in his ear. ‘Marry me, Jim.’
The Irishman stared down at her, eyes comically wide. ‘Beg your pardon?’
‘Marry me.’ Mary grinned at him, leaning so close that for one horrible moment he thought she might try to kiss him. ‘We can have lots of beautiful Irish babies together.’
Jim sighed. Next time they had a party, he was going to replace Mary’s wine with Ribena. ‘I’m very flattered by your offer, but there are two problems; I’m gay and I’m married to Freddie.’
‘Oh bugger.’ Said Mary, as if she had forgotten that detail. ‘You can still marry me though. We can run away to Cardiff together.’
‘Carlow, Mary.’
Her face suddenly fell and she stepped away from him, looking betrayed. 'Is it because of the cats?'
'The what?'
‘That's why you don't want to marry me, isn't it?’ Mary's lip trembled as if she was about to cry. ‘Freddie has cats and I don't!'
‘Mary, I’m going to get you some water.’ Jim replied, making a beeline for the sink.
‘No, don’t leave!’ Mary grabbed his sleeve, trying to tug him back. ‘Stay with me, Jim. I'll buy you all the cats you want!’
‘You’ll feel much better after drinking this.’ Jim said firmly, pouring a glass of water and turning around to hand it to her. As soon as he did, her lips were suddenly pressed against his own, arms locked around his neck so there was no escape as he yelled against her mouth in surprise.
‘Mary!’ he roared, as soon as she released him, half the water having spilled onto the floor during the struggle. ‘What the bloody hell are you playing at?!’
Mary grinned; lipstick smudged across her face, so she looked like the Joker. ‘I’ve never kissed an Irishman before. Does that make me Irish now?’
Before Jim could even answer, she suddenly dry heaved; he grabbed her and stuck her head into the sink as she vomited up the contents of her stomach.
--
‘What the fuck happened?’ Freddie demanded, as Jim walked into the lounge, his shirt ruffled, a smear of red lipstick on his mouth and a very drunk Mary giggling uncontrollably in his arms.
‘Your ex-girlfriend asked me to marry her, then threw up.’ Jim replied, as if this was a normal occurrence. ‘I’m going to put her in one of the guest rooms so she can sleep it off.’
He turned and walked out of the lounge before anyone could respond. Freddie clenched his glass so hard it was a miracle it didn’t shatter in his hand.
‘I’m going to murder her!’ he growled, lunging towards the door, only for Phoebe to grab him from behind and hoist him up. ‘Let me go! That backstabbing homewrecker is trying to abscond with my husband!’
‘Take it easy, Fred.’ Phoebe said calmly, holding onto the man effortlessly. ‘You can kill her tomorrow.’
‘Yeah, we haven’t even had dessert yet.’ Said Joe, holding onto Freddie's legs to stop him from kicking. ‘I spent all fucking day slaving over that baked Alaska, you’re eating it whether you like it or not!’
Firstly, I am so sorry you are having a hard day. I feel terrible that whilst you are doing so much to entertain us with this outrageous crackship, you are not having a good time. I can just hope that writing these stories bring you as much joy as they bring us.
And now, the fic. I AM WHEEZING. First of all, I fucking love Joe. Even though we've never heard him speak, or ever listened to his words through his own perspective, I feel that your characterisation is so realistic. His dessert comment slayed me lmao.
And oof, Mary being drunk off her ass is my new favourite trope. And lmao her thinking that Jim doesnt want to marry her because she doesn't have cats😂😂😂 Leave him alone, Mary. He doesn't want to have irish babies with you.
And hahahahaha Freddie's reaction is as epic as I had envisioned. And god, this is another nightmare that Jim isn't going to recover from soon.
This is such a fantastic crackship, omg. I absolutely loved this💙💙
(More drabbles by writer anon)
Also anon, if you ever want to talk, you can always dm me, if you are comfortable of course🧡
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hotpinkhoshi · 4 years
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the pact (1)
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pairing: jinyoung x reader
genre: romance, smut, a lil angst
warnings: sexual content, cursing, alcohol, cliche fwb to lovers, fuckboy!jb
word count: 6.5k
summary: you desperately need to get over your decade-long crush on lim jaebeom, and your close friend jinyoung needs to get over his ex—so the two of you make an arrangement: just sex, no feelings. what could go wrong?
A/N: this is the first fic i’ve posted in yearrsssss so please be kind! also, if there are any weird formatting issues please let me know, i had a hell of a time posting this and mostly could only edit on my ipad so it’s been rough. hopefully it looks normal on both the app and desktop website but if it doesn’t, send me a message!
↳ index here
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This was not how movie night was supposed to have gone.
You’d had a rough day at work, only looking forward to one thing all day—having all your friends over for your monthly movie night that inevitably always ended up as a mess. Your co-worker, Yugyeom, and his best friend Bambam were usually the culprits, turning every movie into a drinking game. You’d come to expect it after the third time you’d had to push Bam out before he puked on your carpet.
Your two bedroom apartment was barely big enough for you, your roommate, and your four closest guy friends, but you made it work every month and it was just what you’d needed tonight after the day you’d had.
It wasn’t usually difficult work managing a bookstore, but this week had been one of your lowest yet with sales, and you’d had to field multiple customer complaints as well as employee drama. It’d been enough to build tension in your shoulders and make you especially thirsty for Yugyeom’s special sodas—three parts alcohol, one part Sprite.
It didn’t help that you’d just seen your longtime crush, Jaebeom, post on his Instagram story that he was out with a mystery girl you didn’t recognize but had everything you didn’t. Stylish clothes, ridiculous curves, natural beauty, and most importantly, she had Jaebeom.
You’d been pining after Jaebeom for as long as you could remember—since you were in middle school with him and Jinyoung, at least. You’d had a decent amount of boyfriends in the ten years that had passed since then, yet you couldn’t shake your infatuation.
To make your infatuation even worse, three weeks ago, you’d been out with the guys and when you ran into Jaebeom, he was three shots deep and you ended up making out with him in the men’s bathroom. It wasn’t quite the romantic encounter you’d built up in your head, but still. He had a way of kissing you that made you feel like maybe he’d been wanting you just as badly this entire time. But then that was it—besides a couple of random text messages, you’d barely spoken to him since then.
So you’d gone a little overboard and ended up on the kitchen floor, your head resting on your roommate Sana’s lap while Transformers played in the living room and the boys argued over autobots and decepticons.
“I just—he texted me last week, I told you, right? He asked what I was doing, but it was two in the morning so I didn’t see it until I woke up...”
Sana stroked your hair and let out an exasperated sigh. “You want me to be honest with you, right?”
“Yes, please.”
“Jaebeom is a textbook fuckboy. He texted you because he was horny and his other playthings probably ignored him, so you were likely the first female’s name that he saw while scrolling through his contacts.”
It was a harsh truth, but deep down you knew she was right. Still, it wasn’t so easy to just brush it off and forget about it. You couldn’t help wondering what exactly was wrong with you, why you weren’t good enough for him. Sure, you were a little bookish, and you weren’t skilled in the art of seduction, but he had kissed you. That meant something, didn’t it?
“Besides, I don’t even get why you like him so much. He doesn’t even have a real job—“
You interrupted, “He’s a musician!”
“—I said a real job. He’s not a musician, he’s a DJ that sometimes posts half assed thirty second clips on Soundcloud with vaguely sexual titles.”
You pouted, knowing that she was right, and buried your face into her lap. “But he’s so pretty,” you whined.
Sana rubbed your back like the good best friend she was. “I know, Y/N. I know. But he’s a scumbag, and there are better guys out there. Like, millions of them. He’s not worth laying on your kitchen floor crying over.”
“Who’s she crying over?”
You lifted your head to see Jinyoung standing in the kitchen doorway with the empty bowl of popcorn. Sighing, you pulled yourself up from the floor and slumped against the counter. “Is Jaebeom dating someone?”
Jinyoung raised an eyebrow and set down the popcorn bowl, then grabbed a fresh beer out of the fridge. “How should I know?”
“I don’t know, you’ve known him forever,” you replied with a shrug. “Don’t guys like, tell each other that stuff?”
“No,” Jinyoung answered with a snort. “We say, ‘hey, what’s up, man? How’s life?’ And then we give a noncommittal response, say we should grab a drink sometime to catch up, and then we never do.”
You pursed your lips together, crossing your arms. “Well, he posted one of those mirror selfies with some girl I’ve never seen before. The caption was ‘late night with bae’.”
You were saved a snarky response from Sana when there was a sudden raise in the volume in the living room, indicating the guys were getting out of hand again. Someone was yelling about spilled soju and Bambam was making noise simply to make noise, it seemed.
“If they stained the couch, I’m going to kill them,” she muttered before huffing off, prepared to put her foot down and wrangle the boys back to a reasonable sound level. Your neighbors had already called the landlord last week when Jackson stood out on the balcony belting out Boyz II Men at passing men and women.
While Jinyoung rinsed out the popcorn bowl, you scrutinized him. He was an acceptable man, right? He had a steady job at a publishing house, he was polite, kind, and made you laugh. He always surprised you with advanced copies of your most anticipated reads and he was probably the source of half the sales at your store. And yet, there were no butterflies when you looked at him. Not like there were when you saw Jaebeom.
But he was attractive, objectively. Jackson had told you the last time you’d bothered him for advice that the best way to get over someone was to get under someone new. And sex didn’t always have to mean anything between friends...
“Why are you staring?” Jinyoung asked when he finally noticed you were practically studying him.
You shook your head quickly. “Nothing.”
After grabbing a water bottle to sober up, you headed back into the living room to finish watching the movie. Clearly this train of thought was the result of too many special sodas, considering you’d never once in your life looked at Jinyoung as more than a close friend. It had always been about Jaebeom for you.
Besides, he’d dated Yeri for five years. Two of those were long distance while she studied in the states, and they’d broken up just a couple of months ago not long after she returned. Maybe that was why you’d never seen him as an option.
Two hours later, Bambam and Yugyeom had abandoned your movie night after being invited out to a new club by some pretty girls. It was predictable at this point, and you’d rather have them getting smashed out on the streets than in your apartment.
Sana had left you, Jackson, and Jinyoung with the task of cleaning up fallen popcorn and throwing away the many empty bottles scattered throughout the apartment. She’d cleaned up last month, it was your turn this time.
You felt almost sober by the time everything was cleaned up and Jackson left to meet up with the other boys, unable to resist a night out. By the time you collapsed onto the couch and switched the TV off, the only remains of your alcohol was the heaviness in your limbs.
Jinyoung dropped onto the couch next to you, propping his feet up on the coffee table. “Tired?” he asked you, brows raised.
“A little.” You shrugged and pulled your legs onto the couch underneath of you, wrapping your arms around yourself. “Mostly just exhausted from the week. I think it’s just now hitting me.”
“Mm,” he agreed, letting his head fall back against the back of the couch. “Me too. Tonight’s the first time I got to leave the office before eight o’clock.”
You scoffed, shaking your head at him. “You work too hard.”
Jinyoung chuckled. “I like my job. I enjoy the work, most of the time. Keeps my mind occupied.”
That, you understood. You’d always been one to ignore your life’s problems by throwing yourself into work, and you knew it was one of the reasons you’d never had a successful relationship and found it hard to keep friends outside of the circle you’d always had.
Or, there could have been one other reason you hadn’t ever been able to stay with one person for too long—Jaebeom. As pathetic as it sounded, you’d always compared other guys to him, and they fell short every time.
You caught your mind wandering to him yet again and mentally slapped yourself. That was it, you had to find a way to forget about him. Once and for all.
“How did you get over Yeri?” You asked, somewhat abruptly. It caught Jinyoung off guard, you could tell. He’d been broken up with her for almost two months now, and hadn’t mentioned her in almost as long.
Jinyoung furrowed his eyebrows, chewing at his lip for a moment as if carefully choosing his words. “I don’t— I mean, maybe I’m not. Over her.”
Now it was your turn to be surprised. “You’re not? But it’s been two months, and I just kind of figured...”
He shrugged. “Some days are better than others. But every now and then, I feel like... like I’m still waiting for her to come back, and my whole life is on pause until she does.”
As far as you knew, Yeri had been the one to end things. Jinyoung was just too busy with work, he stayed late almost every night and she’d gotten tired of trying to schedule quality time with him weeks in advance. At least, that was as much as Jackson had told you.
You had no idea it would still be weighing on him, though. Jinyoung, of all people, was rarely shaken by anything. Always calm, calculated, and steady. No matter how long you’d known him, this was possibly the most he’d ever opened up to you.
“Sana thinks I need to get over my crush on Jaebeom,” you said as a slight change in subject, mostly because you had no experience in comforting Jinyoung and couldn’t begin to think of a proper response. “You know, for good.”
“You do,” Jinyoung responded with a light chuckle. “You’ve been obsessing over him since we were teenagers, and I have no idea why.”
You propped your sock covered feet on the coffee table, tipping your head back against the couch. “I don’t really know, either. I guess I just always thought... he’d settle down and want something serious, you know? He’d be done with the partying, the one night stands, the DJing, and he’d want...”
Trailing off, you chose not to finish the sentence because it was just too pathetic to say out loud. He’d want me.
Jinyoung was silent for a while before he leaned his shoulder into yours, a subtle gesture of comfort. “You deserve a lot better than him.”
When you were silent in response, Jinyoung nudged you again, more firmly this time. “Hey, you believe me, right? Don’t waste your worries on him, Y/N. There really are millions of better guys out there.”
Truthfully, you wanted to believe Jinyoung but there was still that nagging voice at the back of your head. Every relationship you’d ever had, and there weren’t many, had ended terribly. You’d been cheated on, lied to, and straight up ghosted. It was hard not to think maybe you were the problem.
You weren’t the most beautiful girl out there, you’d accepted that long ago. Not that you were hideous, but you knew there wasn’t much about your appearance that stood out to the average passerby. Looks weren’t everything, but they were still important.
“Would you have sex with me?” You blurted, realizing maybe you weren’t so sober after all. “I mean, hypothetically?”
Jinyoung’s eyes widened and he stifled a cough, looking at you like you had two heads. “Sorry?”
“I mean,” you cleared your throat and stood up in front of him. Long sweater, leggings, faded makeup and all. “You’re a guy. If you saw me at a bar, or just walking on the street. Would you want to have sex with me?”
The tips of Jinyoung’s ears instantly turned a deep shade of pink and it looked for a moment as if he was trying to keep his eyes anywhere except your body. “I—“ he shook his head, then finally made eye contact with you. “Yes.”
It was a new feeling, seeing Jinyoung flustered like this. It didn’t happen often, but you had to bite your lip to keep from grinning. It occurred to you, suddenly, that Jackson might have been onto something.
“Do you want to... now?” You asked, faking confidence. Sex between friends didn’t have to mean anything, and you both had people you needed to get over. It made sense, at the end of the day. And you trusted him, you realized—a lot.
“Stop being ridiculous,” Jinyoung replied, shaking his head once more. “Why are you asking this right now?”
You took a deep breath. “You want to get over Yeri. I want to get over Jaebeom. It makes sense, right? We’re adults, we’re friends, and it wouldn’t be anything more than physical. Whenever we need to let off some steam or get our minds off of them, we can help each other.”  
He looked away again, but you could tell with the way his jaw worked that he was considering it. Still, maybe he was the wrong person to ask. Jinyoung had never had casual sex, at least not that you knew of. He was a serious relationship kind of guy. You may have been better off asking one of the other guys.
“Okay.”
When he answered, your eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Really?”
“You might have a point,” Jinyoung admitted. “Part of the reason I can’t get over Yeri is because she’s the only girl I’ve ever been with. Memories of her are everywhere. But maybe,” he sighed, running his tongue over his lips. “Maybe we could make some new ones.”
The corner of your lip quirked up and you felt the satisfaction of winning, which truly didn’t happen often with Jinyoung. He was one of the most stubborn people you’d ever known, always having a comeback or a way to turn it around in his own favor.
“So...” you started, trying to hide your fidgeting fingers in the sleeves of your sweater. You decided to just go for it, lowering yourself onto the couch with your knees on either side of Jinyoung’s hips.
It felt awkward. This was your childhood friend, and you were about to have sex with him with absolutely no feelings involved. But as you settled onto his lap and he slid his hands up your thighs, you began to relax.
“So,” Jinyoung repeated, gripping your waist under your sweater. His hands were big and warm, and you instantly felt safe in his grasp. “I’m going to kiss you now. Is that okay?”
When you nodded, Jinyoung leaned in slowly and carefully until his lips just barely brushed yours. He was gentle at first, until you tilted your head and kissed him back, your hands resting experimentally against his solid chest.
To be honest, it wasn’t bad. Jinyoung’s lips were soft and plump, and he kissed politely, waiting for permission to deepen it further.
So you gave it to him, sliding your arms around his neck and bringing your body flush against his, allowing his tongue entrance into your mouth. The two of you kissed until you were breathless, and you silently thanked the gods that Sana was a deep sleeper and there was little to no chance she’d walk in on you with your tongue down Jinyoung’s throat.
As polite as Jinyoung was, he didn’t hesitate to trace his hands up your bare sides, leaving goosebumps in his wake. It had been so long since you’d been touched like this, you’d forgotten how good it felt to be pressed up against a warm body, both of you desperately trying to get closer.
Even though he’d agreed to sleep with you, for some reason you were still surprised when you felt him harden underneath you. Part of you had been expecting him to end up repulsed or chicken out.
Something about the way he felt underneath of you had you rolling your hips into his, the obvious bulge in his pants pressing between your thighs just right. You let out a breathy moan into the kiss and Jinyoung pulled you down against him more firmly, one of his hands slipping down between your legs to rub you through your leggings.
A surprised moan slipped out and Jinyoung pulled away abruptly, his eyes searching your face for any sign of discomfort. “Is that okay?”
You nodded quickly, grabbing his wrist and pressing his fingers back against your clit, sending warmth throughout your entire body. “Feels good,” you whispered, and you swore you felt Jinyoung’s cock twitch in his jeans.
“Bedroom?” Jinyoung asked, his fingers still drawing slow circles that were starting to make your brain fuzzy.
“Please,” you responded, and before you could make a move to stand up, Jinyoung was grabbing your thighs and wrapping them around his waist, lifting you from the couch like you weighed nothing. When had he gotten so strong?
He somehow got you to the bedroom smoothly, only stopping once to press you into the hallway and scatter kisses across your neck. Then he finally set you down after shutting your bedroom door behind you and you took the opportunity to lift his shirt up over his head.
You knew Jinyoung worked out regularly, but you had no idea he looked like that under his clothes. A firm chest, wide shoulders, and an actual six pack. If you’d known he was this ripped, maybe you would’ve tried to make this arrangement sooner.
“Seriously?” You asked, running your fingers down the lines of his abs. “Have you always looked like this?”
Jinyoung’s ears flushed again. “You know I like exercising. What did you expect?”
Shrugging, you settled your hands at his belt and ran your fingers along the metal of the buckle. “I don’t know. Now I’m a little scared to take your pants off, I mean, what have you got hiding there?”
He cringed, grabbing your hips and pulling you against him once more. “Oh, god. Please never say that again.”
Your giggle was cut off by Jinyoung’s lips pressing into yours again. This time the kiss was more heated, wet and punctuated by little nips to your lower lip. When he finally rid you of your sweater, you were so turned on you forgot to be insecure about him seeing your body for the first time.
Jinyoung laid you down on the bed, cradling his hand behind your head as it hit the pillows. His lips were on your collarbone in an instant and you slid your fingers through the soft strands of his hair, tugging in appreciation when he started sucking a hickey into your skin.
Tracing your sides with his fingertips once more, Jinyoung squeezed your hips and pulled back, sitting back on his heels to look down at you. His eyes raked your body from your face down to your waist, to where your legs were spread for him to lay between.
“Should we—“ Jinyoung swallowed, rubbing his thumbs into your hips. “Should we make some ground rules?”
It was fitting that he would be the one to suggest boundaries, but he had a point. Just because you trusted him and were both aware that it would be just sex, no feelings, didn’t mean it couldn’t get messy.
“Good idea,” you breathed, pushing hair out of your face. You’d never done this before, you didn’t even know where to start.
“Honesty,” Jinyoung started, his face looking quite serious despite the fact that he had a massive bulge in his jeans and he was naked from the waist up. “We tell each other what’s working, what’s not... what feels good, what doesn’t.”
Nodding, you agreed, “And, we have to tell each other if we start sleeping with someone else.”
“Or if we start to fall in love,” Jinyoung said, catching you off guard. Love? It hadn’t even crossed your mind.
He seemed to catch himself and cleared his throat, and you tried to ignore the adorable blush that was creeping onto the apples of his cheeks. “No feelings, right?”
You held your hand out. “Deal.”
Jinyoung smirked, then reached his hand out to clasp yours, shaking it just once. “Deal. Want me to eat you out now?”
You coughed in surprise. Was he always this forward with girls? If so, what was Yeri thinking walking away from him like that?
When you realized he wasn’t kidding, not even a little, as his hands played with the waistband of your leggings, you nodded once. “Okay. But I’m not—I wasn’t really expecting anyone to see me naked...”
Though you knew there was no good reason to be insecure, it was just Jinyoung, you squirmed your hips regardless when Jinyoung started to remove your leggings. “You want me to be honest?” He asked, tossing the ball of fabric behind him once you were left in just your bra and underwear.
“That’s the idea, right?”
“Right.” He scooted down the bed and laid between your legs, his shoulders nudging your knees apart to give him more room. “I don’t care. Most guys don’t. Besides, the underwear is cute.”
Blushing, you turned your face towards the pillow. You vaguely remembered mindlessly picking out a pair of snowmen underwear, simple cotton hipsters that were far from seductive. Though he said he didn’t care, you couldn’t help the knot of embarrassment in your stomach.
“Shut up.” You chewed your lip, then lifted your head to look down at him. “Guys really don’t care? About... what it looks like down there?”
Jinyoung held back another chuckle. “No. You care way more than we do, apparently. At the end of the day, if it’s the right guy, we just want to be inside of you. And if it’s really the right guy, we just want to make you feel good. Nothing else matters.”
It relieved some of your anxiety, but you still couldn’t look at his face as he pulled your underwear down your legs and tossed them to the floor. You trusted him, more than most guys you’d ever met, but he was about to get closer to you than even some of the men you’d slept with.
“Relax,” Jinyoung whispered and you conceded, laying your head back against the pillows and closing your eyes. “Tell me if you want to stop, okay?”
You nodded, tapping your hands awkwardly against the covers until you felt his fingers intertwine yours, holding them against the bed next to your hips.
He started slow. Kissing your thighs, building it up, getting closer and closer to your heat before finally, he licked one single strip from your entrance up to your clit. You whimpered involuntarily, not realizing how sensitive you’d be.
How long had it been, anyway? At least six months since the last time you’d had sex, and much longer since you’d had a man’s face between your thighs.
Then he locked his lips around your clit, alternating between flicking his tongue and sucking, until you were squeezing his hands so hard you were sure you left nail marks in his skin. You had to remind yourself Sana was just a couple of rooms over, and though she was a deep sleeper she’d most definitely wake up to you moaning at the top of your lungs.
“Faster,” you told him, still unable to open your eyes but he listened immediately, quickening the pace of his tongue against your clit. You whined breathlessly, hips lifting in an attempt to just feel more.
Jinyoung let go of one of your hands only to slide it down to meet just underneath his chin, taking the wetness that had gathered on two of his fingers before slowly inching them inside of you.
“Fuck,” you breathed out, moving your now free hand to clamp onto the back of Jinyoung’s head, fingers tangling in his hair. “Deep. Deeper, with your fingers,” you told him, words rushing together because you felt like you were going a little bit insane.
So he obeyed, pushing his fingers through your walls until he couldn’t go any further. He let you adjust, then began a slow, delicious pace inside of you. You could feel sweat pooling in your collarbone just from the heat Jinyoung was making you feel.
“Pull my hair,” Jinyoung whispered, and you didn’t have time to question it before you were doing as he said. He moaned into your clit and you arched your back, your mouth gaping open just as you remembered you needed to stay quiet.
He knew what he was doing, you could tell that much. Not only that, he enjoyed it. You could tell just from the quiet groans he’d let out when you clenched your walls around his fingers, like he was getting as much pleasure from this as you were.
“J-Jinyoung,” you stuttered, feeling the pressure start to build in your belly, your toes beginning to curl. He stared up at you, mouth still buried into your pussy. “I’m... I’m close, but I—“ you groaned. “I want you. Please.”
Within a second, Jinyoung was slipping his fingers from your folds, popping them into his mouth to get a taste and using his other hand to undo his belt. He worked fast, pushing his jeans down his thighs and kicking them off the bed with his underwear.
“Nightstand,” you breathed, taking your opportunity to check him out, head to toe. His dick was pretty. And that was truly the first time you’d ever thought that about anyone. You shifted your hips on the bed, desperate to have him fill you up.
It was new to feel this needy, and for Jinyoung of all people. The guy you’d known since you were both in your awkward phase, scrawny limbs and terrible clothing. He’d seen you throw up on your own shoes, and you’d seen him dance to Backstreet Boys at your high school talent show.
And yet, here you were, naked and wet underneath of him as if none of that mattered.
Jinyoung shoved his hand into your nightstand drawer until he found the box of condoms, grabbing one and tossing the nearly full box to the floor in his haste to get inside of you. You watched as he rolled it on, and it finally hit you that this was happening. It was almost too late for either of you to change your minds.  
“This is your last chance,” you said, finally looking up from his cock to his eyes. “If you want to stop, if you think it’s a bad idea—“
Jinyoung cut you off with his lips once more, his hand grabbing onto your thigh to hook it around his waist. “I’m not changing my mind. Are you?” He whispered against your lips and you felt him hard against your stomach.
“No,” you answered. “I want it.”
He pulled away and locked eyes with you, a smirk on his lips. “Oh yeah?” His tongue ran over his lower lip and he reached down, guiding his cock up your folds until the head nudged your clit. “I can tell.”
Even though he was clearly just as desperate, you blushed and pinched his arm. “Are you going to fuck me or what?”
Jinyoung’s eyes lit up and he chuckled, lowering his hips until you felt him at your entrance. “I had no idea you had such a dirty mouth on you.” He paused for a moment, making sure you were ready, then pushed inside of your heat.
While you’d just had his fingers inside of you, you would’ve never been able to tell with the way you squeezed around him. It was uncomfortable at first, but the feeling ebbed away quickly the more of him you took inside.
“Oh,” you breathed, and Jinyoung echoed your reaction with a groan.
“Tight,” he whispered, dropping his head down to your shoulder.
As soon as he’d filled you to the hilt, you couldn’t help the whimper that slipped from your lips. It was the best kind of stretch, putting every one of your nerves on edge. He stayed like that for a long moment, letting your walls adjust to his length.
When you couldn’t take it anymore, you shifted, tightening your leg around his waist. “Move. Please.”
Jinyoung’s movements were controlled and slow, but it was as if he knew all of the sensitive places in your body already. You gasped, your hands sliding up his back until they gripped tightly to his shoulder blades.
The way he fit inside of you felt incredible, and you weren’t sure it had ever felt quite like this, even with ex-boyfriends. Everywhere your body met with his felt like it was on fire, and as Jinyoung quickened his pace, you found it harder and harder to stay quiet.
His name fell from your lips over and over, and you could tell Jinyoung was holding back—when he lifted his head from your shoulder, his brows were knitted together in concentration. You slid your nails down his back, relishing in the way he shivered in response.
“God, you’re driving me insane,” he said, his voice low and strained. “Spread your legs more. Yeah, just like that.”
“Mm, faster,” you told him, clenching around him once he was all the way inside. “You don’t have to be gentle with me.”
“Fuck—“ Jinyoung groaned, hands squeezing the sheets where he held himself above you.
If someone had told you twelve hours ago that Jinyoung would have you covering your own mouth to muffle your moans while he drilled into you, you probably would have thought they were crazy. But here you were.
Jinyoung reached down, slipping his hand under your back to unhook your bra, pulling it off in one smooth movement. He cursed under his breath once you were exposed to him completely, breasts bouncing each time he filled you up.
“God,” he whispered, hand trailing down your chest until the tip of his index finger grazed over your nipple, a featherlight touch. You shivered, arching your back towards his hand. “Tell me what you like.”
Normally, it took you months to let your boyfriends know what you liked in bed and how you liked to be touched, but honesty was your number one rule in this agreement. There was no point in holding back.
“I like it deep, just like this,” you told him. Jinyoung seemed to just know already, or maybe that was how he liked it too. He was always the intense type, it made sense if it had transferred over to the bedroom. “I like it when you tell me how it feels, what you want to do.”
Your words were finished off by a moan that you were sure Sana could have heard if she weren’t asleep, and just the thrill of being caught was enough to send a wave of heat through your body.
When Jinyoung locked eyes with you, there was a hint of something new, like you’d unlocked a part of him that you’d never seen before. He smirked.
“Next time,” Jinyoung started, thrusting deep inside of you, “you won’t have to keep quiet. I’ll take you to my place, and when I’m inside of you, you can be as loud as you want.” His hand slid down your torso, over the sensitive skin of your stomach until it rested on your hip.
Next time. Just the idea of being with him again, though you probably wouldn’t admit it, excited you. It filled your mind with a flash of scenarios and possibilities, all the different ways he could make you feel good.
“Jinyoung, I—“ you moaned, biting hard onto your lip to silence yourself. Jinyoung brought his other hand to your mouth, thumbing your lip until you were forced to stop biting it.
“Would you like that?” he asked, the pace of his thrusts quickening. “Maybe I can bend you over the back of the couch, windows open for everyone to hear you crying out. Is that what you want?”
Your eyes squeezed shut, gasping as the mental image went straight between your legs where he filled you up so perfectly.
“Answer me.” His voice was deep but stern at your ear, and you knew his question was not rhetorical.
“Yes,” you replied, digging your nails into his back. “God, yes. Make me scream your name, Jinyoung.” And he almost did, as he attached his lips to your neck and bit down, teeth scraping against your tender skin just as he slammed inside of you.
You were close again, and you knew it wouldn’t take much more to send you tumbling over the edge. His thrusts were so deep and powerful that you knew you’d be aching tomorrow, but you couldn’t find it in yourself to care.
“Fuck, you’re so tight. Can’t get enough,” he said, voice husky and low against your neck where you could tell he was working on marking you. He could’ve left the biggest, reddest hickey for all to see and you couldn’t have cared less right now. It didn’t even cross your mind that this was meant to be just between the two of you.
You whimpered when his hand drifted from your hip to the place where your bodies met. He placed his thumb right against your clit and pressed quick circles into your most sensitive spot, and you had to restrain yourself from moaning out.
Jinyoung must have sensed this, because he pulled away from your neck and stared down at you, slipping his opposite thumb into the wetness of your mouth. “Suck.”
If you weren’t close before, you were now. You wrapped your lips around his thumb and did as you were told, hollowing out your cheeks and sucking on Jinyoung’s digit as it rested on your tongue.
As his gaze locked on yours, you found yourself unable to look away. He commanded every bit of your attention, his eyes filled with desire and pleasure that you were responsible for. Your heart pounded in your chest, overwhelmed with need.
Although Jinyoung didn’t say a word, you could read it in his eyes—cum for me. He drew tight circles against your clit, his fast pace relentless inside of you. His stamina was something else, you thought to yourself. He didn’t even look mildly tired out.
You grabbed at Jinyoung’s wrist with your hands, needing something to grip onto but you also desperately needed to keep your mouth occupied so that you didn’t wake your roommate and the neighbors with your cries.
Then something snapped. The tension got to be too much and your orgasm crashed over you like a tsunami, causing your back to arch and your thighs to shake, caging Jinyoung’s waist in and slowing his movements.
He still fucked you through your high and kept his fingers moving until he was sure you had come down. Once he was, he brought a hand up to push your hair away from your face, pressing his lips into your forehead.
“Good girl,” he whispered and you sighed, your limbs finally relaxing in exhaustion. You would’ve never guessed that Jinyoung would be the one to give you what was possibly the best orgasm you’d had in years. Polite, calm, and serious Jinyoung. The same Jinyoung that could barely look you in the eye when you wore a bathing suit in front of him.
His climax wasn’t far away, you knew that much. And you were thankful too, because you were already starting to feel sore and overstimulated, and you weren’t sure how much more you could take.
You wrapped your arms around him, your fingertips gripping deep into his skin, undoubtedly leaving scratch marks down his back. It was only fair, you figured. You slipped one hand into his hair and tugged, harder than before.
“Shit,” Jinyoung moaned, his thrusts becoming less controlled and more shallow. You pulled his hair again, your nails scraping against his scalp, and that was it for him.
He pushed inside one last time, his cock so deep inside of you that you couldn’t help clenching your walls around him as he came. He was mostly silent save for one throaty groan into your neck, a sound you were sure you wouldn’t soon forget.
You felt him relax a long moment later and he slowly pulled back away from you, stroking the side of your face with his fingertips. “That was...”
All you could do was nod, a blush creeping onto your cheeks. “Yeah...” Your heart was still racing from your orgasm, but the haze of your desire was starting to fall away, reminding you of reality.
You’d just had sex with Jinyoung. One of your best friends. What would happen now? Would it be awkward from now on, now that you’d seen each other naked? You’d literally had him inside of you. Something told you it’d be difficult to come back from that.
Jinyoung finally pulled out of you a moment later to remove the condom and put it in the trash, and you were eternally grateful that you had the master bedroom with the attached bathroom. For one, you could watch his backside as he went to get a washcloth, and you also didn’t have to leave your bedroom until both of you were fully cleaned up.
You shifted on the bed while you waited for Jinyoung to return, trying to ease your worries. The two of you had been friends so long, you figured it would take more than one hook-up to ruin it all.
Once Jinyoung came back with a wet cloth and climbed onto the bed, you told yourself you’d worry about it tomorrow.
You both got cleaned up and while Jinyoung got dressed, you grabbed your robe and wrapped it around yourself so that you could walk him to the door. Both of your footsteps were as silent as possible, careful not to wake your roommate.
“Jinyoung,” you said, as he slipped his shoes back on.
“Yeah?”
“Thanks,” you whispered, chewing nervously at your lip. You didn’t quite know what you were thanking him for, but you felt the need to say it anyway. Some part of you felt so grateful to him that you couldn’t let him leave without making him aware.
Jinyoung’s lips quirked just a bit. “You too,” he tucked your disheveled hair behind your ear. “I’ll talk to you later, alright?”
You nodded. “Drive safe.”
The moment Jinyoung was out of the apartment, your body leaned limply against the door as you stared up at the ceiling. No, this was not how movie night was supposed to have gone.
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cambionverse · 3 years
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envesseled (1 of 3): poker
HELLO >:)
so. as you may have noticed, the last time we posted anything about envesseled (the claire-centric, claire-pov fic intended to follow jesse's fic cambion and ben's fic only human) was in 2013. did we forget about it? did we cancel it? is the verse abandoned? no, no, and no. we had a lot of stuff to rewrite to get the verse in the right place for envesseled, and then we got busy, and THEN there was a pandemic. but it was never very far from our minds, and now it is FINALLY time for this to be the next thing we post.
most of the fans of this verse have been with us for a very long time. for being so patient, and so supportive, we decided to post not one, not two, but THREE scenes from the in-progress envesseled, for everyone to enjoy, but especially for the people who were readers when we posted the last one (again, in 2013, eight entire years ago). we aren't committing to a posting date yet, but we are ALL much closer to the end of this wait than the beginning.
this particular scene is only mildly spoilery and doesn't have any major content warnings to watch out for, aside from a mention of the ticking clock on claire's grace. it also introduces the minor character patrick, from spn episode 5.07, who has been on our cast page for some time; finally you can get some idea of what (small yet important) role he might play in this story. there are two more previews after this before the night is over - we hope you enjoy them.
---
Lucky for Claire, there's already a poker game in progress when she pushes the door of the pub open in a swirl of cold air. The man who wins the next hand looks younger than the others by far, though there's something about him that Claire can't quite place. He catches her eye across the bar and smiles around a toothpick as his compatriots grumble and wander away with their meager winnings.
"Room for one more?" says Claire, laying the sweetness on thick and her money on the table.
He waves a hand at the now-empty chairs. "I'm Patrick."
Surely he's faking that Irish accent; it's even more ridiculous than Jesse's Australia-Nebraska hybrid. And with the name Patrick, no less. "Amelia," Claire says, and pretends the accompanying flare of pain is only because she told a lie.
"Amelia," says Patrick, with an odd emphasis on the last two syllables. "You remind me of someone I once knew." He hands her a stack of poker chips and begins dealing out cards.
Claire leans forward so her braid falls over her shoulder and says, "How did you end up here, Patrick?"
He doesn't take the opportunity to look down her shirt, which is all the more irritating because she had half-hoped he wouldn't. "Luck," he says, snapping the k. He glances at his cards. "It's often on my side."
Lie. Claire doesn't often get such strong feedback from general statements like that, but this one burns. She ups her bet by more than she otherwise would have, careful to keep her voice neutral. "That must come in handy."
"Well, that is what we Irish are known for." He flips another chip onto the pile. "Ignoring the whole bit about the famines, of course. Pots of gold don't make very good eating."
Claire cracks a smile completely involuntarily, and brings a hand up much too late to hide it. Patrick quirks one eyebrow. His eyes stay on Claire's face for a long time, though, as his expression slides into something sadder.
She wouldn't, usually, but Claire asks, "Who was it?"
Patrick blinks, and the smirk is back in place like it never left. "Who was who, darling?"
"You said I reminded you of someone."
"She was a dancer." Patrick takes a chip from his considerable pile and spins it between two fingers. "Held herself like you do, especially when she was angry. Like if she didn't hold herself tight she'd float right up in the air."
Claire's muscles go even tenser when he says that, because he's not supposed to notice. "Raise," she says, dropping the chips in the pile.
Patrick exhales. "She wasn't much of a poker player." He puts his cards down, and slides them back into the deck before she can see them. "I fold."
Claire scoops the pile of chips toward her, stacking them carefully by value. Patrick's first bet this round was high, the highest he's played all game; why did he drop the bluff so fast? With this, plus the little extra hidden in her backpack, and if she's willing to eat vending machine food for breakfast—
The door opens, and a low hum starts up in the back of Claire's head. She knows who it is before Ben ever reaches the table.
"Claire!"
Patrick's eyes narrow the slightest margin. "Claire, is it?"
Fuck, and now she's been made, and he probably won't pay out and she'll have to sleep in a fucking snowbank because Ben Braeden can't keep his mouth shut. She opens her mouth the bare minimum required to say, "Leave."
She hears him settle harder on his feet but continues to stare at her cards. Patrick folded. She doesn't even have one pair.
"I know you don't forgive me yet," Ben says, and Claire breathes out hard. "But there's something Jesse and I need to—"
"I said leave, Ben," and she's turning to glare at him even though she wanted to play this cool. His cheeks are glowing red from being out in the cold, and a little behind him, far enough back to have a clear path to the door, Jesse's watching her too. When he sees Claire looking, his eyes drop to the floor.
"No, you don't get it," Ben begins, but Patrick interrupts.
"Is there a problem here?"
Ben seems to realize there are other people around, and he slides on his most affable grin. Claire can see how it's going to go, Ben charming everyone in a ten-foot radius, what a nice guy he is. Well, not if she gets there first.
"Yeah, there is," she says, savoring the lack of pain because it's true. "This asshole has been bothering me all night. I came here to get away from him."
"Oh, come on," says Ben, already rolling his eyes, but Claire said it loud enough that quite a few people heard her and some of them are starting to mutter. He notices, and ducks closer to her. "Look, Claire, can we just go?"
Patrick stands up. "I believe the lady asked you to leave."
Ben gives him a once-over. "Who are you?"
"Oh, I don't think you want to know the answer to that," says Patrick. His smile is not kind. "I suggest you be on your way."
Claire's not surprised to see Ben's jaw set at that. "Dude, this is so not your business," he says. "I know her, okay? We've been friends for years. I just want to talk to her."
Patrick bites a toothpick idly. "Think she can decide for herself who she wants to talk to."
Ben looks like he might be feeling stupid enough to throw a punch, but then Jesse is there at his side, one hand finding its way to the back of Ben's neck. Ben calms down instantly with Jesse touching him and Claire has been so, so painfully oblivious to never see this for what it was.
When Patrick notices Jesse his arms drop, and suddenly the air feels weird. "And who's your friend?"
"I'm nobody," says Jesse, though Claire would bet her pile of hypothetical money that his other hand is on the knife at his belt. "Just don't want to see this get out of hand."
Patrick looks at all three of them like links in a chain. "And did you not hear the lady's request, nobody?"
"Maybe you should stop talking for her, how 'bout," Ben retorts.
Claire appreciates the help, she supposes, but really what she wants is to be done with the displays of aggression and for everyone to leave her alone. "Go away, Ben," she says, and it comes out tired even to her own ears. He slumps a little deeper into Jesse's grip, and that's exactly the problem.
"Claire—"
"We're going," says Jesse, finally looking away from Patrick to catch Claire's eye again. He lowers his voice. "We'll be waiting outside."
"You'll be waiting a long time," Claire says, one parting shot for them to remember her by. "I do hope you two can find some way to occupy yourselves."
They both flinch, and Claire turns back to the table with bitter satisfaction in the back of her throat.
Patrick settles back into his seat, eyes still on the door. "You do have interesting friends."
"They're not my friends," says Claire. The lie burns like whiskey.
Patrick raises an eyebrow at her. "No? Then what are they?"
"We were playing," Claire says pointedly. When he doesn't move, she grabs the deck and starts to shuffle herself.
"I am playing," Patrick retorts. If he starts to go on about how you don't play the cards, you play the person, she might have to hit him herself. Instead he leans back and chews on his toothpick. "Let me see if I got it straight. You and Ben, you've been friends for a long time."
Claire places her bet, refusing to acknowledge that he's still talking. There's nothing impressive about repeating back what Ben let slip.
"And you're not one to make friends easily, are you, Amelia." She does look up at that, and Patrick, smirking, corrects himself. "Claire."
She deals the next card.
"So maybe you thought Ben was something special. But you didn't trust yourself with him. So you told him to wait."
"Raise," Claire says, and she doesn't even have that good a hand but she wants to clean him out. He won't stop fucking smiling.
"Some people would wait, you know," says Patrick. "Some people would wait a very long time."
Some while back Ben had told her, There is nobody else. Well. I'm nobody, Jesse said. Claire turns out her hand. "Triple sixes."
Patrick sighs. "You're letting me get to you, love. Can't play a good game if your mind's out that door." He tosses his cards onto the table in front of her. "Full house, and I'm guessing you could've used this cash. Quit while you've got any left." He drags the chips out of her reach.
Claire picks up his cards and the rest of the deck. "We're not done playing."
"All that ice isn't going to keep you safe forever." Patrick leans back. "Deal."
And because Claire is tired, and lost, and vindictive, she lets the cards slide through her hands with that special twist Ben taught her.
Patrick nudges a considerable pile of chips into the middle of the table. "Some free advice for you, love," he says, eyes dark. "Your life's too short to pretend you want nothing and no one to come near your heart."
Her grace flares up even before she can shape the words I don't. He doesn't know how right he is—Claire's life is looking very short indeed, these days, and nothing Ben or Jesse can do will put a stop to the invasive light eroding her body from the inside out. Her heart's probably toxic by now anyway.
Claire takes a deep breath and shows her cards, spades all in a row just like she planned. "Straight flush."
Patrick tosses his hand onto the table. "Four aces."
"What?" But there they are, even though Claire could've sworn she cut the ace of diamonds into the middle of the deck and buried the ace of hearts even further down. She locks her teeth as soon as the word escapes, but it's too late; his cold smile tells her he knows what she did.
"I don't like cheaters," says Patrick. He places a polished wooden box on the table and begins gathering the chips back into it, along with any chance she had of getting a hotel room tonight. "And you, of all people, ought to value honesty. Better luck next time, Amelia."
Claire clenches her jaw. She stands to leave—then Patrick catches her hand.
"I'm not doing this for you," he murmurs, and she feels the papery crinkle of fresh bills on her palm. She grips the money instinctively even as she draws back, other hand curling into a fist. No one at all is watching them. But Patrick just looks at her, an unsettling depth to his gaze. "You should tell him how you feel," he says, and releases her.
Claire pockets the money and bolts before he can change his mind.
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cutesuki--bakugou · 4 years
Text
Don’t Forget Me
Tumblr media
Art in banner done by me.
College Life / Mermaid / Kimi no Na wa (Your Name) inspired AU
It’s all nothing but a dream. A series of dreams that are all too real. That’s all it is. Your soul - or whatever it was - couldn’t possibly be swapping places with a Merman. One, mermaids aren’t real. Two, that’s not even possible! Is it? 
Mermaid!Bakugou Katsuki x Fem!Human Reader
Want to start from be beginning? Check the Don’t Forget Me tag. 
Genre: Romance / Angst Story 
Rating: Explicit | Adult Themes, Interspecies Sex (merman / human), Masturbation, Alcohol, Animal death / hunting (whales, fish, sharks, etc), Cursing, Descriptions of Injuries and Blood 
A/N: This is my part for the @bnhabookclub weekly collab event Just Add Water for MerMay! I know there isn’t much going on in this, but it’s just the first chapter to a new multichapter fic. Per the rules of the collab, I used the prompt “That’s just an urban legend”. I’m excited, because I’ve wanted to do a Mer!Bakugou x reader for a LONG time and could never think of anything. But when this theme was announced, I was watching Kimi no Na wa and immediately had this idea. So, full disclosure, the theme of switching bodies in their sleep / forgetting each other is inspired by that movie, but that is all that I take away from it. 
Prologue: Stone
Chapter Rating: Teen | Cursing
Words:  1,855
You were doing it again. 
How many times had you caught yourself staring at the delicate necklace in your hands? More than you could probably count on all your fingers and toes, and you were sure that number had nearly doubled just in the last week. You really weren’t sure why you were drawn to it so intensely, nor why it gave you such a deep sense of loss and loneliness. 
Where had you gotten it from? 
You couldn’t remember. In truth, you couldn’t remember getting it at all. As far as you could recollect, it had been around your neck when you woke up one morning, about two months ago. Since then, you refused to go a day without it, even if it didn’t necessarily match your outfit or any particular occasion. You felt so lost without it around your neck, like a part of you was away, off in some distant land or deep within the sea. 
Why did you think that? 
Of all things, why would you assume that this missing part of you was in the ocean? Was it because of the necklace? Probably. The silver clam shaped pendant that rested in your palm was most likely the culprit to make you think of the sea. But that particular piece of the jewelry wasn’t what kept you so entranced. Set in the middle was a small, perfectly round stone, and its brilliance is what you couldn’t help but stare into. To anyone else, it would just appear to be a small marble, with brilliant deep indigo, swirling turquoise and hints of radiant purples. There were sparkles of twinkling white, like light reflecting off a water's surface, and if you gazed into it long enough, you could have sworn that the colors were mixing and twisting, as if there truly was water inside the stone. 
It was so beautiful. Had someone given it to you? Whoever did must have cared about you so deeply to give you something so special. You had asked all your friends and family if they knew anything about how you got it, but no one knew anything. You received some weird looks and uncomfortable responses when you tried to ask them, but that didn’t bother you much, not when you had been dealing with people finding you strange for almost half a year now, anyway. 
Why did they find you weird again? You couldn’t remember.
All you knew was that it had to do with this necklace. You had tried to find out what it was made of to try and get any hints on where it may have come from, but each jewelry store or stone expert you took it to, they all had the same response. They just didn’t know. Many offered to buy it from you at varying prices, their interest peaked and their hopes of being the first person to discover a new stone pushing them forward. But you resisted, as just even letting it out of your hands so they could look at it enough to make you nearly burst into tears. You couldn’t let it go and you wouldn’t, either. Not ever. Not for anything. 
Because it was precious. It was the only thing that you had that could help to calm this nearly unending sense of longing. 
But what was it you were longing for? 
Or who? 
Why did that always pop up in your mind? There were so many pieces of scattered thoughts that you just couldn’t put together. A person. The sea. Feeling like a piece of you was missing. You wanted these feelings to end, but you knew that they wouldn’t, not until you found what you were searching for. 
With a frustrated sigh, you put the necklace back on around your neck, clasping it in place with skilled fingers. Standing from your bed, you shuffled your way towards your desk, lightly running your fingers down along the slender metal chain. Your mind was still in a hazy grip of sleep, barely registering that the electronic clock mostly hidden by books and other stationary read 5:49 AM, though that didn’t really matter. Your mind was racing with the overbearing thoughts, and as you sat down in your squeaky office chair, you were already near breaking out into tears.
The necklace wasn’t the only clue you had. Scattered among the desk were notebooks and papers, though you had refused to touch them for the last few weeks. At first, you had meticulously looked over every page and every written note, trying to do everything you could to learn about who this person was that you were missing. But now they sat on your desk, abandoned in defeat. There were many things in the notes that didn’t make sense to you now, though according to what you had written, you had understood it all at one point. 
What you had written. 
That was what was the most odd. There were two very distinct handwritings within the notebooks and scribbled on the scrap pieces of paper or sticky notes. Yours was so proper and easy to read, clean and steady. The other was rough with some of the characters almost completely illegible, requiring you to assume what the person writing must have been trying to say. Large and scratchy, it almost resembled the handwriting of a child or what you assume would be someone new to writing on paper. The phrases. The choice of words. All of it was completely different from yours. 
It had been another person. Someone sat in your chair, in your room, and wrote these messages to you. At first, you thought that it just had to be a prank. One of your friends was fucking with you. That was the only realistic solution. But none of them talked this way, and if you were honest, they weren’t exactly clever enough to pull off such a big ordeal over months and months. 
The way they talked… It was so strange. You just couldn’t wrap your head around it, and if you were honest, you thought that they must have been a little crazy. Yet, you weren’t all that rattled in most of your responses, like you knew what they had been saying to be the truth. 
The conversations were so… natural. In fact, most of it was like a diary, with the scratchy handwriting cataloging what had happened that day, how they felt about it, and what they had done. 
This school shit that you humans do is so stupid and pointless. Who the fuck needs to know about… what is it called? Calculus? You’re never going to use that shit, I’m not bothering with keeping up with it, fuck that. You always catch up on your own anyway. That bitch Midoriya or whatever gave you some fucking flowers today. I thought about stomping on them and telling him to fuck off, but I just took them and left. You need to tell that prick you’re not into him or this shit will never stop. Also, the way you humans handle courtship is fucked. I didn’t do shit today otherwise. Just stayed in the room. I did find your sketchbook though. You’re getting better, but you still can’t remember us for shit. 
Pulling your eyes up from the paper, they immediately landed on the mentioned sketchbook, which was tucked up beneath some schoolbooks. Carefully, you pulled it out, setting it down on the pile of papers to thumb through it. 
It had been so long since you had even opened this thing. The feeling of the coarse paper beneath your fingertips brought a small smile to your face, as did seeing all your old sketches and doodles. Though, the smile faded as you reached near the middle of the sketchbook, your eyes tearing up immediately at the contents of the page. The page was completely covered in drawings of what looked to be mermaids, or mermen, to be more accurate. They were mostly faceless and unidentifiable, the sketches geared more towards poses and anatomy. The only thing mostly consistent was the tail. It seemed to be the same over all the drawings, with matching fins and scribbled patterns. 
“Mermaids… I’ve never cared to draw them before, why did I…?” 
After another turn of the page, you were met with similar things, only this time they had heads and hair, jewelry, pieces of clothing, and even weapons. Only one of the sketches resembled the previous drawings, and his particular features called to you. The feeling of recognition and longing grew fiercer with another turn of the page, which was all nothing but sketches of that particular merman’s head with varying expressions and positions. He was particularly attractive, with slanted piercing eyes and a mass of fluffy spiked hair on his head. He had fin-like ears that were mostly drooped, but flared out on the drawings with a more intense expression, where his mouth was open in a yell or intense fanged snarl. 
A small gasp left your lips as a drop of liquid suddenly landed onto the paper, pulling you out of your daze. Crying? Why were you crying? Why did your heart feel like it was about to be ripped from your chest? It wasn’t possible for this to be the man that you had been longing for. You had drawn him as a mermaid! They weren’t real, and there was no way that was possible. He couldn’t even get into your room, let alone sit in your chair and write you letters. 
“I’m so ridiculous…” You whispered quietly to yourself, wiping the tears from your flushed cheeks. Had you been blushing? You didn’t even notice. “Mermaids… That’s just an urban legend. A myth. I must have just been in a phase… Maybe I saw a movie or an anime with them, and I got super invested? But then… they’re so…” 
Page after page, more sketches followed, some making you giggle while others made your chest ache so badly you thought you would pass out. But then, there was something scribbled onto a page that made your entire body grow cold, stomach twisting into such a tight knot you were sure that you’d vomit. 
Save me. 
“Save… Save you?” You choked out into the silent room with a trembling voice, more tears cascading down your cheeks as you reached up to grip the pendant around your neck tightly. It was in the familiar scratchy handwriting, though it was more frantic and messy than you had ever seen. Hiccupping, you brought the pendant up to your lips, pressing the stone against them as you struggled to calm yourself. 
Save you from what? What the hell happened? Did I save you? Why the hell can’t I remember!
It was then that you felt an odd pulsing against your lips, and as you pulled away in shock, your teary gaze was locked onto the pendant in your hands, which was pulsing slowly with a pale green glow. And with it came a thought, like a soft voice whispering in your ear that you couldn’t ignore. 
He’s calling to me… 
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hournites · 3 years
Text
still turn the switches on, just to see if it’s still gone
Stargirl fic
Warning: Blindness, Anxiety, Panic Attack 
Summary: Being blind never really slowed Beth down after her accident. She had Chuck, who guided her through hallways and used the words her friends failed to find to describe what she was missing. And her voice, well that wasn’t gone. She could still talk and she could still listen and in fact, she never read social cues very well in the first place, so really when it came to talking people’s ears off things haven’t much changed.
~.~
Being blind never really slowed Beth down after her accident. She had Chuck, who guided her through hallways and used the words her friends failed to find to describe what she was missing. And her voice, well that wasn’t gone. She could still talk and she could still listen and in fact, she never read social cues very well in the first place, so really when it came to talking people’s ears off things haven’t much changed.
Her mother doted over her more, which was weird because before she was found in her own emergency room Beth swore she was trying to pull away. Her dad bought her a bookcase full of her favourite novels in braille, which was very thoughtful. Pat gifted her with Dr. Mcnider’s owl for companionship and defence during missions. Most kids at school seemed to at least try to help her out. There was no use denying the need for extra assistance. Trying to explain that her artificial intelligence sufficed well enough to adapt to a handicapped life thanks to her superheroing pursuits was hard to explain, not to mention dangerous (and owls were strictly prohibited therapy animals in the Blue Valley High handbook—She checked). So Beth often found herself smiling at those who brushed against her arm or told her what time a teacher’s office hours were, even so far as helping her pack her bag.
Unnecessary, maybe. But it was nice.
This was why when she reached into her backpack during lunch on her way from the test accommodations room, her heart dropped to her gut. Beth only felt crumpled papers, her two binders, and her pencil case. Struck with alarm, she called out his name but was met with silence. Awful, sickening silence and a draft from the half-opened window in the staircase.
Her goggles weren’t there.
“Chuck?”
Her fingers flexed against the line of her inner zipper hard enough to get a paper cut. Her phone was also missing. Her phone had Chuck programmed into its assistance system. Her phone and Chuck. Gone.
Someone stole him while she took her test. Someone who would know she was dependent on him. Someone who knew she was Dr. Mid-Nite. Someone who went to this school.
Shiv? Tigress?
Beth’s mind raced as she jutted out her hand towards the cold railing. It was so silent. Too silent. She needed to hear Chuck’s voice in her ear. That reassurance was the backbone of her strength and confidence and her eyes.
She never had to deal with quiet like this. She’d have her own thoughts probing the back of her mind while she daydreamed or took her tests. She’d have Chuck’s constant chattering and Hootie’s feather rustlings, Yolanda’s giggles, Court’s cheers, Pat’s comforting words. And maybe there’d be that part of herself that mourned what it was like not to need that: True friendship and belonging, the assurance of who and what made up her definition of home.
That chilling loneliness from those days before JSA was miserable in a matter of fact way, but Beth was used to it then, independent and resilient and unknowing anything better.
Abandoned here was reminiscent of that time exemplified. Back when she was loser Beth. Not blind Beth.
She loved JSA, she loved her friends, but sometimes she preferred the crippling isolation that came with that. The safety of before. But she had to remind herself it wasn’t safe. It wasn’t safe and it wasn’t healthy. Whether she had her sight or not, all of Blue Valley was in danger and would be brainwashed now if she hadn’t stepped up to help.
But not like this.
Her breathing grew ragged as she clutched the side of the wall, mind spiralling. She knew Blue Valley High. She knew this school. This was her school, this was her year’s wing and this was the C block stairwell. She had the entire building memorized before she ever needed to.
She couldn’t remember the number of steps. The number locked itself in the haze of her anxiety. It could be twelve or fifteen or sixteen or twenty-six. Or, there could be chocolate milk spilt in the middle for her to slip on and break her neck and Beth wouldn’t even know.  If this was Cindy’s attempt at psychological warfare, it was working. She was immobilized, alone, afraid, and for the first time in too long, completely blind.
“Chuck?”
Why was she still calling out for him like a helpless child? He couldn’t help her. He wasn’t there.
Beth’s fingers shook as she felt along the dirty metal railing. She slid herself down, her back touching the wall. If Cindy was going to ambush her, she’d at least won’t make it too easy.
Two minutes morphed into five, then ten. Beth stayed in a fragile panic with her backpack clutched to her chest. Courtney was going to find her here dead because she was too afraid to walk down a flight of stairs. This was going to be by far the lamest death in JSA history and here she was, suppressing her hand over her mouth, still bawling her eyes out regardless of it.
The door from the bottom creaked open and Beth’s breathing ceased. The footsteps were slower but sounded heavy like the person was going up two at a time. Soon, two hands were on hers and she was throwing her arms around their neck, clinging tightly because she knew who they belonged to.
“Rick!”
“Beth? You weren’t answering your phone, Yolanda sent me out to find you. What happened?”
“Someone stole Chuck.”
He stilled, and she could feel through his thin shirt the way his heart sped against her ear.
“What?” His hand went straight to her hair, stroking it as his voice went harder. “Who the fuck would do that to you?”
She didn’t answer, sure that a handful of possible answers came to his mind.
“Why didn’t you come to find us?” he asked her a lot more softly.
It was hard to explain why Beth was paralyzed.
“I can’t,” she whimpered. “They took my phone. I got scared.”
Rick moved her back, pushing her from the edge of the top step. “I’ll carry you.”
“No!”
Rick paused just as the flat of his palms touched the underneath of her knees. He was going to carry her all the way to the cafeteria and everyone in the hall would stop and stare and whisper and Beth never cared about what people thought of her (she already knew—Chuck informed her weekly) but being carried around the school while clinging to Rick Tyler because she got disoriented would be the most mortifying experience of her existence.
The confusion in his voice was evident. And if she didn’t know better, she might’ve thought he felt hurt. “You don’t want me to—?”
Beth turned her head away. Of course, she wanted him to hold her again. Like she hadn’t dreamed of Hourman catching her over and over since that very first week over a year ago. She realized her fondness and interest in Rick’s friendship was less that of strong will and more of a swelling crush. That didn’t make it any less difficult to manage. She took a breath, chest still tight like half of the oxygen in her lungs had been swapped with something more noxious. This was starting to be too much.
The problem with Chuck was that she’d never really accepted being blind.
When her eyesight deteriorated after the accident, Beth had been in such deep denial she smiled and lied to her mother when asked if she felt okay enough to return to school, only to walk right into oncoming traffic. An older man yanked her by the arm of her backpack as two cars flew by fast enough to bring the rush of wind to her face. Rattled, Beth felt into her bag for Chuck, ignoring the swimming black spots in her vision. She’d rub her eyes with her fists too hard when she woke up that morning, she kept telling herself and refused to put Chuck away.
And then, when she had to confess those black spots weren’t going away, that they were only narrowing into her focal points and she tricked up her phone to get Chuck there too...That was it. She told the JSA that she was going blind after her doctor visit confirmed she was going to lose it all. They all burst into tears for her, but Beth didn’t, stuck in an accepting kind of numb.
The darkness snuck up on her like a shadow behind her back. Every blink and she wondered if it was the last one. It dragged on and her world got a little darker with every new day. Anxiety cracked at her spirit and broke her down, and she’d stay awake at night, staring up at her ceiling, practising for the familiarity of it without Chuck. Soon, she wished for it, begging the wait to be over.
Misery would not leave her until it did.
Beth could see in X-ray, infrared and pitch black when nobody else could. She used to tell herself that made her different. That she didn’t have it so bad. She knew everything there was to see, and with Hootie on her shoulder and the blackout bombs she deployed in battle, Chuck levelled the playing field. Maybe even tipped odds of success in her favour.
So really, maybe Beth had been living a disillusioned lie for the last few months.
She couldn’t be Dr. Mid-Nite all the time.
“I’ll do it myself,” she said, pushing a light hand against his chest. It was possible that her voice was trembling, and she didn’t sound all too sure, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t true. “I need to.”
Rick hesitated. “Beth, you’re shaking. I don’t think—”
“Please, Rick. They can take…” Her hands went to her face, wiping away her hot tears. He was right, she was shaking. “They can take my sight and my security and Chuck. But they can’t make me any less of who I am. I’ve walked down these stairs hundreds of times with sight and blindness. I can do this.” Her voice petered off, and she felt worried again at his silence. “Do you believe me?”
“I’m not the one that needs to believe it, Beth.”
Rick wasn’t the one doubting her. Her insecurities and self-doubt came from within. The words were harsh like a slap to her face, no matter how soft he uttered them. A cold reality check, but coming from his mouth, it was meaningful and not meant in any way to hurt her. Coming from Rick, it was different. And it was true.
He was a lot more clever than he let on.
She stared down where the grips on the bottom of her shoes teetered over the edge of the first step. Rick might’ve not been as close to her anymore but she knew he was hovering. It felt like a cliff or a massive waterfall. Her heart pounded like she was at the ledge of the world. She had to tell her brain to stop imagining those things. It only made it scarier. It’s like she said before. These were stairs. This was her cell block, the wing that led to the locker area. This was her school. It was familiar ground. She bit her lip, reining in the courage before it went away and held out her hand.
“Keep me steady?” Because the world could still turn at her anxiety’s whim. Or maybe she just wasn’t ready to let him go. Rick grasped her hand tight.
“How many stairs are there?”
“Twenty-three.”
Beth exhaled. Twenty-three. She could do that. Her other hand went to the railing, and she took her first blind step down. Her stomach swooped like the drop in an elevator. But then her foot hit solid ground.
That was it?
She stepped down again, and it was fine.
It was fine.
“There you go,” Rick encouraged her, squeezing her hand to let her know he was still there. “You don’t need me.”
She actually didn’t. Muscle memory and confidence guided her through, and eventually, on step thirteen, she let go.
When she reached the floor, a rush of pride flooded through her. She was perfectly fine. More than fine, she was great and not crying anymore. Whoever thought stealing Chuck would render her useless was in for a surprise because—
Beth spun around, realizing she had walked right on, pushed the door and made an angry beeline through the mercifully empty hall to get to the cafeteria, leaving Rick behind.
He grabbed her hand again after jogging after her.
“Hey!” he said, with a smile in his tone. “I didn’t mean that literally.”
Beth’s face heated up, mostly because she was acutely aware she was now clinging to his hand, deliberately locking their fingers together. “Sorry.” She wasn’t sure what she was apologizing for. 
He brushed his thumb against her knuckles. He didn’t seem to mind. “It’s my fault. So who am I killing tonight?”
Beth scoffed. “You won’t kill anybody.”
“I might,” Rick muttered, tugging her quickly to the side, presumably so she wouldn’t step on something. She stumbled a bit, but only ended up bumping into Rick. Beth flushed and reoriented herself.
“Thanks,” she murmured, slowing her pace to be more careful. Then returned to the conversation. “You said you couldn’t.”
“Yeah,” Rick said. “...Well. Whoever the hell thought they could get away with stealing Chuck—”
“Someone stole Chuck?” Yolanda cried over the chattering of everyone else on lunch break.
Her shins hit the bench of the table. Beth put her hands out on the surface to climb in and Courtney immediately ended up at her side. Beth wrinkled her nose as bouncy curls flew into her face.
“Are you okay?”
“She is now,” Rick said, now sitting beside her. He touched her arm. “You are, right?”
“Yeah, I guess,” she answered quietly, indulging in leaning against him because he was using a soft, gentle voice that made her want to hug him forever. “I’m not freaking out anymore.” Beth lifted a reluctant shoulder and wiped at her wet face. “He’s still missing though.”
“It’s Cindy,” Courtney said, narrowing her eyes across the room.
“We don’t know that for sure.”
“No, I do,” said Court. “She’s staring at us right now.”
Rick’s warmth was gone in an instant.
“Wait—” Beth called after him just knowing he now had his hourglass. Her hand reached out to empty space.
“I’m knocking the bitch out. Court, let’s go.”
“On it!”
“You’re gonna beat her up in the middle of the caf?” Yolanda hissed at them to sit back down. “You can’t do that!”
But then Yolanda muttered something under her breath.
“What?” Beth asked when the rest went quiet, but she could sense the way all of her friends tensed up.
“She has the goggles Beth,” Court said. “She’s taunting us with them right now.”
“Really?”
“Yeah,” Yolanda said tersely. It was obvious she also was exhausted by Cindy.
“Okay.” Beth stood up. “Bring me over so I don’t trip on a wet brown napkin or something.”
“You want to go over there?!?”
“Yes,” Beth snapped with a hard glare. It probably wasn’t aimed at the right spot but that didn’t mean it wasn’t fierce. “She wanted to scare me? She did. But Cindy has been cruel for so long and I’m not giving her the satisfaction of—” She balled her hands into fists and took a long slow breath to calm down.  She hadn’t realized she was almost yelling.
She released them after a moment and dropped her hands back to her sides. Beth was seething mad, that was for sure, but if she didn’t get her anger in check her plan would be no better than Courtney and Rick’s. “—I’m getting Chuck back so hurry up and get me there before I lose my nerve.”
Nobody said anything.
“Now,” she clipped.
“I—”
They realized she meant business and they all scrambled to catch up with her, realizing she wasn’t going to wait.
The three surrounded her like bodyguards. Her arm linked with Rick’s and Yolanda’s hand was on her back, guiding her to the popular table.
Beth touched her hair briefly and stiffened her spine. She didn’t know what she was going to say, but trusted herself enough to improv once she got there.
When Yolanda removed her hand, Beth knew they were in front of Cindy, Jenny and her other group of mean girls. She let go of Rick, choosing to fold her arms over her chest instead.
“What are you staring at, Beth?” Cindy drawled at her. There was a pause and she tittered. “Oh wait—”
The table straight up laughed.
“Burman!” Rick barked.
Courtney stepped up too, but both Yolanda and Beth blocked her with a warning hand.
“Hey,” Beth said coolly, with an eerie collectedness she didn’t even know she had. “I came to have a chat with you.”
“Oh, she wants to talk? That’s cute.”
“Thank you,” she said sarcastically, sailing over the condescension.
“Clearly you’re too naive and didn’t get the hint. I don’t want to talk to you. Get lost.”
Beth leaned in so close, she could hear the clinging of Shiv’s earrings. She felt movement, but she picked up on her intuition and honestly shocked herself by snatching Cindy’s bare wrist.
Cindy went still.
The worst part is that Beth knew what was underneath the soft skin and thousand dollar bangle bracelet. Cindy could so easily eject her knife and blade. She could stab Beth right through if she wanted. She’d done so to her dad in the basement of the tunnels.
But Beth wasn’t afraid.
“I don’t need to see you to know you’re smirking at me like this is the funniest thing you’ve ever done. I don’t need my eyes to know the way you were just leaning against your hand, wearing your Ralph Lauren polo shirt with one of your ridiculous berets and my visual aid dangling off the other hand like some next-season must-have accessory that you want because it’s something you can’t have.”
Beth dug her nails into Cindy’s skin. It’s not like it would scar. She continued, acutely aware of the way so much of the room seemed to have gone silent. If half the school hears her go off on Cindy Burman, maybe a few of the kids too terrified to stand up to anyone bullying them could learn a thing or two as well.
“But let me tell you something, Cindy. You can’t have it. I can’t see without them. I’m blind.”
“I know,” Cindy gritted out through her teeth.
“Yeah, I’m blind,” Beth raised her voice, just a little. “And so are you. Except you and I? We’re nothing alike. I lost my sight because of an accident, but you are blind and ignorant and grossly egocentric. And you did that to yourself. So take my phone out of your purse before I let Rick rip it from you, give me my goggles, and leave me the hell alone.”
Cindy dropped the goggles onto the floor, expecting the lenses to shatter.
They don’t.
~.~
“Rick?”
After Cindy dropped Chuck, Rick took her phone back as Yolanda ripped her a new one about being creepy with her phone theft habit, emboldened by Beth’s speech. The four left the cafeteria after, all wanting to leave, wishing the lunch period to be over with.  
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for holding my hand.”
He stopped walking, so Beth stopped walking. His hand in hers gave a light squeeze. Which was nice, because it meant he hadn’t let go since she put Chuck back on and blinked back at him after a shy glance, so relieved to see the outlines of his face again in any way she’s given.
“Whatever you need.”
She believed him, sure enough. Beth sighed as they walked through the hall. Courtney and Yolanda were behind them, talking about something Beth couldn’t care enough to listen to.
“Then...I need a cane. My dad bought one a while ago but I’ve left it in my room because I didn’t want it.”
“But…” He frowned at her, sounding confused. “You got Chuck back. You don’t need the cane now.”
Beth sighed. “Except, I do. I’m legally blind, Rick.”
“Yeah, but Beth—”
She shrugged her shoulders and bit her lower lip. “It’s true. I need to learn to live as I am. Not what I wish I could be.”
“You are Dr. Mid-Nite.”
“I know that,” she promised softly, patting his arm. “But I’m Beth Chapel, too. I can’t be afraid of being me.”
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Chopped Choice: Horror Fics!
We received thirteen (13!!!) SPOOKY, SCARY, & FUN Fics for the Chopped Choice: Horror Event! You are all so talented and we loved how you challenged yourselves this go around!
Please try to read as many fics as you can and leave some kudos/comments for the authors!
Voting begins on Tuesday, October 27th at 12:00am EST and ends Friday, October 30th at 11:59pm EST.
———
guess we're alike that way (Rated T) [Murphy/Octavia]
Summary: Octavia died 25 years ago. The answer, by the way, is ghosts. Just ghosts. Yeah, it's just as bad as it sounds. Especially Murphy. Why did the only living person who could see her have to be fucking Murphy?
The Haunting of Kane Manor (Rated M) [Bellamy/Clarke]
Summary: When Roan offers Clarke and Bellamy a hundred grand to stay at a fake haunted house for a night for his new reality TV show, they jump at the chance. But what happens when it turns out to actually be haunted?
cause i know in the morning you'll be gone (how am i supposed to carry on?) (Rated T) [Echo/Wells]
Summary: Wells liked things to make sense.
Allying themselves with Azgeda when the opportunity came up made sense. Doing whatever it took to make that alliance stick made sense. Entering an arranged marriage with a woman he'd never met for the sake of his people made sense.
The butterflies in his gut whenever he locked eyes with the Azgedan ambassador who was decidedly not his fiancée made no sense at all.
Imitation (Rated M) [Murphy/Emori] *Major Character Death*
Summary: In a remote research station on the planet Nakara, Emori is just starting to get into a rhythm with her work when things take a turn for the worse. It starts off with a dog bite but it leads into a desperate race to survive, as the infection spreads and it turns out that her fellow teammates aren’t all who they appear to be. The race against time will involve keeping emotions and personal feelings in check while trying to stop the creatures from picking them all off one by one.
you can stand under my umbrella (Rated T) [Clarke/Murphy]
Summary: Abandoning the children was definitely a no-no on field trips. But does it really count when you're just completely, genuinely lost in a corn maze?
OR
After six years of working with him, Clarke still doesn't know Murphy's first name, and at this point its definitely too late to ask.
Mad Women (Rated T) [Gen Fic]
Summary: Four-hundred-and-twenty-three days in the never-ending darkness of the uncharted universe, and Murphy’s starting to wonder if space madness really is setting in. At least he’s not as far-gone as Raven, hidden away in her laboratory, fiddling with alien tech; or Clarke, who is steering them steadfastly into the deep unknown of ‘haunted space.’
Something isn’t right here, even if Bellamy and Octavia don’t want to see it.
When their little ship receives a distress call from an old friend, the tensions between captain and crew finally come to a head, and Murphy faces more than one unpleasant truth.
Bury a Friend (Rated M) [Murphy/Emori, Bellamy/Clarke, Raven/Shaw]
Summary: As part of their Halloween tradition of trying to scare themselves, Emori, Murphy, Bellamy, Clarke, Raven and Shaw decide to step it up this year by exploring an abandoned Asylum - only, it's not as abandoned as they once thought.
it was only a dream? (Rated T) [Spacekru]
Summary: It's just another ordinary day on the Ring until someone points out that it's Halloween. That's when things get weird.
the ghost in you, she don't fade (Rated E) [Bellamy/Clarke]
Summary: The wooded area behind the Collins’ property stretches for about nine square miles with the highway into town bordering the far side and the Blake property guarding the southernmost corner. Nine square miles.
It might as well be a million.
Clarke takes another fortifying breath.
It does no good to think about Bellamy. He’s no longer part of the equation. He’s made that abundantly clear.
The Wanheda Tape (Rated T) [Gen Fic]
Summary: "It's the Wanheda Tape. You gotta remember this. It happened like five or six years ago. Those dumbass college kids went into the woods out past the auto shop and got lost and never came back... Seriously, what were you two doing in the fourth grade, living under a rock?"
de omnibus dubitandum (Rated M) [Lexa/Echo/Josephine]
Summary: After vampires took over the world, the Hunter Association was the only thing that stood between the creatures of the night and the rest of humanity. Lexa, commander of the association, was determined to bring the world to a better place, no matter the cost.
And then she met Josephine Lightbourne.
slay your demons (Not Rated) [Jasper & Monty]
Summary: He doesn’t like this. He never has. There is a reason he self medicates with booze and drugs: It’s to stop seeing people like her - dead people.
OR
Umbrella Academy AU but make it Monty and Jasper.
More Than I Do (Rated T) [Gen Fic]
Summary: Mysterious circumstances surround the sudden tragedies afflicting Clarke's loved ones. Can she figure out why before she loses everyone she cares about? Maybe not, but she's willing to die trying.
———
Honorable Mention of this submission to the Non-Anon Collection:
I’m Demon Proof, Baby (Rated T) [Murphy/Emori] by Anonymous
Summary: Arcadia Investigates is well into its fifth or sixth season, depending on how you count it, and Wilmington Hospital has been just begging for a visit.
Clarke thinks it's very scary. Murphy thinks it's very fake.
Bellamy and Emori are mostly just there to make sure someone gets some usable footage.
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