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soldmysoultootomeboys · 4 years

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Obey Me Brothers Wedding HCS

Just some wedding headcanons for the boys bcuz i’m soft for them, Gn MC

Thinks about marrying Asmo => 😡💕💕

Lucifer

I can not stress how much this man would be a bridezilla

He’s probably the MOST high maintenance demon when it comes to this, even over Asmo

He gets so stressed over it too and when he's stressed he gets extremely snippy

It takes you knocking a little sense into him to get him back on track

He just wants your day to be perfect and with his brothers causing trouble it's hard to really focus on choosing a tablecloth

He won’t be any nicer to his brothers but he will try to avoid causing fights at this time simply because it's really important to him that ALL of his family is there.

The night after proposing you find a beautiful envelope on white paper with gold trim in your room you realize it's a congratulation note from the celestial realm, presumably from the big man upstairs, it's still a heartstopping realization when you realize who your father in law technically is

Are you committing a sin marrying a fallen angel? Do you care?

It’s easier to ignore it than do anything else, although you do appreciate them registering for the coffee maker you had on your registry. You needed that. Mammon broke the last one.

Kindly begs asks you NOT to do anything crazy in the week leading up to it

Please MC his heart he's about to explode from stress please don't add to it, just for one week

Diavolo plans his bachelor party at the Fall with Barbatos. Invites you along and you have to explain how bachelor parties work

If it’s up to him the wedding will be all black with red accents eDgY mUcH?

At the altar he kisses you twice, first to show everyone that your his, the second time is just for you two, he hides you away from sight curling his black wings around you and holding you as close as he can bear

In the end it's a very happy celebration filled with good food, family, and friends

When you cut the cake feel free to smash a little bit in his face, this is your only chance, he'll be in too much of a good mood to retaliate...much

Mammon

Luxury luxury luxury

He wants solid gold altars, diamond encrusted bouquets, jewels imported from every corner of the world

He has so many plans (as well as a ridiculously long wedding registry)

But the moment you say you want anything he abandons them

Whatever you want he wants, but if you wanted some diamonds too that would be great

He absolutely would be down for a wedding bouncy castle

He gets you the biggest diamond ring ever that he buys with his own money from a lot of shifts at Hell's kitchen and modelling gigs

He totally believes in the tradition of not seeing you until your wedding day but he also forgets so he walks in and as soon as he realizes you're getting ready he shuts his eyes and tries to run out. He'll only talk to you from behind the door.

When he sees you walking down the aisle he falls in love all over again. And he feels like that a hundred different moments. It doesn't matter what you're doing, playing with your veil, wiping cake off the corner of your mouth, yawning, he loves you and loves that you’re his.

He could get married to you in a ditch and still be the happiest man in the world.

He's an absolute goofball and is smiling the entire time

The couple that during their wedding night end up jumping on the bed and having pillow fights while play wrestling

Levi

You really want to marry a gross otaku like him??? Why??

Not that he's complaining! He just doesn't get it. His brothers are so cool and Asmo is so much prettier than him and he doesn't have anything to offer.

It takes a lot of reassuring to convince that this is what you want to do

You two have this same conversation about a million times before the wedding. He just doesn't get why you actually like him. Once it finally sets in that this really is happening and it's not just some big joke he gets really into it and definitely puffs up around his brothers to show off

His first thought is a cosplay wedding and he'll beg for it to be Ruri-chan themed

Good luck getting Lucifer or any of his brothers to agree to dressing up, as funny as it may be

If you shoot that down it's pretty easy to convince him to do something else since mostly he's just excited to be with you

He still has a little Ruri pin on his suit collar and cufflinks

When you walk down the aisle he feels like he’s going to faint from nerves and when it’s time for vows he pulls out a huge list of all the reasons he loves you and why your his Henry, although about half of it compares things you’ve done to things in TSL

He only makes it through a quarter of the way before he gets embarrassed

When he lifts your veil he panics because your so pretty and he can’t handle it

You have to initiate the kiss and when you do he turns as red as a tomato

He tries to play it off but keep a strong arm around his waist unless he really does decide to pass out

He cools down once you guys are at the reception and gets especially excited the little custom made toppers of you two in cartoon form

Satan

He's a bridezilla but in the lightest sense of the word

He won't get upset over mix ups or even really wedding stuff like Asmo or Lucifer but his temper will be extremely fine during this time, especially when it comes to his brothers.

Throws an entire table through the window when Lucifer asks him if he knew where Mammon was

It’s a lot of stress to create the perfect wedding and he buries his nose in different books that can help him

He’s a bit of a perfectionist

The most classic and elegant wedding ever and he’d want to be involved in every step of the way

Very interested in your opinion and if it compares to human weddings

He flushes with pride whenever you compliment something he picked out

Includes casual literary references in his wedding but only so people who really know will realize

Wears a navy suit

Asmo

Also a bridezilla and a petty one at that

There will be drama, there will be tears, there will be a part where he cries off his mascara because Andrealphus of the damned brought the white bouquets and he wanted the PINK ones. This is HIS day why is she trying to ruin it.

It’s a lot of work trying to keep the damage to a minimal

Part of the reason he gets so upset is because this is your day too and he wants it to be perfect.

Prepare for a million dress rehearsals.

He wants to help pick out your outfit and makeup! But he also doesn't want to break human tradition...But he wants to help pick out your outfit and makeup so bad!!

If he manages to restrain himself he picks out the makeup artist and the stylizer because he knows what makeup you like and what looks best on your skin.

Most likely tho he'll want to see anyways and bugs you to let him in

You compromise by going shopping with him as he tries on a million dresses and suits

MC the suit on the right or the one on the left?

They both look exactly the same.

"...Left love." "That's exactly what I was thinking. I knew I could trust you to pick out the right answer!"

Even though he's very good at fashion your opinion matters a lot to him. Sure he could make himself look perfect but he wants to look perfect for YOU. He wants to be your version of perfect and if that means he picks the high cut dress instead of the low cut which flatters his waist better then he'll do it. For you.

He's the type to want to have all the spotlight on him so if you're walking down the aisle he's going to do it too! He does it first. HE says for the attention. In reality he wants to be able to see you the moment you step out the doors and down that hall.

Looks super perfect as he waits for you at the aisle but the moment you get married he starts ugly crying. He throws his veil back on so no one can see it but you just lift it up and kiss away his tears.

Even though it's a lot of work it's worth it to be with the demon you love...but if you shove cake in his face he'll seriously kill you, MC do you know how long this took?!!!!! :'(

Beel

He’s more than happy to do whatever you want

Whatever vision you have he's willing to make happen

He does his best but feels a little useless since keeps having to break for snacks

Wonders why you’d want to be with him when all he ever does it eat but he tries not to bring it up in case it would upset you

He honestly does have a lot of fun planning with you and his favorite part was when you got to taste test different cakes because he got to impress you by explaining all the little differences between each one

He ends up being in charge of everything food related and it helps him feel a bit better

Barbatos ends up cooking the dishes

During the rehearsal he falls in love with you all over again and doesn’t want to let you go the entire time

He gets especially nervous during the month of the wedding

He starts stress eating, going through even more food than normal, but then he gets worried about fitting into his suit and starts working out even more than normal, which makes him hungry again. It’s a terrible cycle

Belphie manages to break him out of it by reminding Beel that you love him more than anyone else

Even though its his wedding he starts setting up just to get out some of his nervous tension until the others shoo him back inside

A huge 20 layer cake each tier a different flavor

He has his own personal cake that's even bigger than the other cake but he’s more than willing to share with you

You two do the cute bit where you smash cake in each others faces

Beel still eats it tho

As much as he loves his family he's so happy to be able to steal you away at the end

Belphie

Planning a wedding is sooo much work

He lets you choose whatever you want as long as you let him sleep

if it was up to him he'd want a small informal celebration with his family but if you want something bigger than he guesses it's fine. As long as he doesn't have to talk to anyone like Diavolo

He uninvites Lucifer like three times, each time using extremely formal paper with beautiful cursive that must have taken hours. When Lucifer confronts him Belphie just says that it’s too late because he already gave away his seat.

He only brings him back when you make him

He sleeps more than usual in the weeks leading up to the wedding. You think it’s because of the stress but in actuality he’s trying to save up his sleep so he’s more awake for the ceremony

As much as he may act like he doesn’t care, he really does want to marry you and it makes him happy to think that you’re going to be all his

Beel is obviously his best man and while Belphie waits for you to come down the aisle he leans against him to take a small nap. Or that's what he had planned. The moment the music starts he perks up and finds himself unable to even close his eyes, too fixated on the doors about to open.

Feeds you the first bite of cake and then just...doesn't stop

He’s so in love with you all he can do is stare

Gives his slice of cake to Beel he'd much rather pay attention to you than eat

However he does smash a little in your face but it’s out of love <3

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theclockworkmonk · 3 years

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Cultural Exchange

Written for @kataang-week

Day 2: Blending Cultures

Words: 2,009

Read on AO3

Read on FF.net

Summary: Katara has some selfish reasons for encouraging Aang to explore Fire Nation culture.

*******

Katara was starting to get worried as she walked up to Zuko's old family house on Ember Island. The outdoor furniture was smashed and splintered, and the door was ajar, hanging off its hinges. She sped up, beginning to panic, and ran up the stairs onto the porch.

She threw the door all the way open forcefully. "Hello!? Aang?"

She was greeted by a chorus of pained male groans.

"Close the door!" Haru wailed, shielding his eyes from the bright morning light that was now flooding the front room of the house. All the other young men, basically every male friend their group had made since leaving the South Pole, gave similar cries of distress from where they were strewn haphazardly across sofas and armchairs.

Katara sighed in relief, but then grew annoyed at the boys for scaring her. Instead of closing the door, she moved to the windows and threw all the curtains open.

"You're evil!" moaned Te'o from the floor, where he had fallen out of his chair.

"What exactly happened to those plans for a laid back, calm bachelor party?" Katara asked the room harshly, "How did it go? 'Oh don't worry, Katara, Zuko's not one to throw wild parties!'"

"Uggghhh, I"m not, but I'm friends with a lot of bad influences," came a weak voice from under a coffee table.

Katara laughed at the sight of the soon-to-be-married Firelord crawling out from under the table, looking like he had been put through a dozen successive Agni Kais. But her laughter died and she gasped when she saw what was on Zuko's head.

"Zuko, what happened!?"

"What does it look like? Your brother got us drunk."

"No, I mean what happened to your hair!"

Katara bent all the water from a nearby vase and froze it into a flat, shiny mirror, and held it up to Zuko's face. His eyes widened in horror and he leapt to his feet, upending the table.

All of his hair had been reduced to a narrow strip down the center of his head. That hair had been left long, and was tied back, but both sides of it had been shaved down to his scalp.

He recognized this look. It was exactly the way Sokka had his hair when Zuko had first encountered him.

"Aw Zuko, I'm touched!" crooned Katara dramatically. "Showing your support for rebuilding Southern Tribe culture by sporting a warrior's wolf tail!"

Zuko stared in disbelief at his reflection. He raised his shaking hands to the sides of his face.

"I look like I stuck my head between two grinding stones," Zuko muttered.

"Oh, don't say that, I'm sure once the Firelord is seen sporting this hairdo at his wedding, it will be all the rage across the Fire Nation," said Katara with a grin.

Zuko buried his face in his hands. "Oh, spirits, the wedding! Mai's going to kill me."

Katara was about to agree, but was interrupted by a scream of anguish and horror coming from the bathroom.

Katara and Zuko both bolted across the room and down the hall. She whipped out her bending pouch, ready to slice the door open, but lucky it was still unlocked. She kicked the door open and her blood froze in fear again as she saw Sokka doubled over, his face buried in the sink and his hands over his head.

"Sokka, what's wrong!?" asked Katara urgently, placing her hands on her brother's back. "Are you hurt—oh…."

She jumped back and gasped when Sokka turned to face her, his lip quivering.

He was completely bald, with a crude painted blue arrow leading from the back of his head, ending between his eyebrows.

Katara's chuckle at Zuko's expense was nothing compared to the explosion of laughter that erupted out of her now. She had to put a hand on the wall to steady herself as she shook until she was out of breath.

"Well, it was just a regular festival of cultural exchange last night, wasn't it?" she squeaked out.

"This isn't funny, Katara!" said Sokka desperately. "You don't understand, it's not coming off! It's real! And my hair! Next time I visit home, my brain is gonna freeze!"

"Oh, calm down," she said dismissively. She grabbed her brother's cheeks and pulled him down to inspect his new body art. "There's no inflammation on the skin, it's not a real tattoo. You just found some...wow, really durable face paint."

She looked him in the eye suspiciously. "Where did you get this stuff?"

"Uuuuhhh," said Sokka uncertainly. He turned to Zuko. "Where did we get this stuff?"

"Uuuuhhh," Zuko concurred.

Katara rolled her eyes. "Seriously? You don't even remember last night?"

"I can remember most of it," said Zuko defensively. "Things just get a little fuzzy after that bottle of moonpeachshine got opened. He was the one who brought that, so really this is all his fault."

"Hey, I don't remember tying you up and forcing the stuff down your throat, Lord Lots o' Shots," replied Sokka.

"Where's Aang?" Katara suddenly said, her grin wiped from her face.

For a moment, they just looked at each other in silence, then ran through the house again.

After searching the whole house and not finding Aang, Katara was beginning to panic again. But when she checked the back garden, she found Appa there sleeping soundly. A lumpy mass was sitting on the bison's head: a human body, the top half covered by a blanket, but long legs protruded from underneath, with blue arrows ending at the feet.

"Aang!" Katara called as she ran towards him, and thankfully the tattooed feet stirred. Aang slowly sat up, squeezing his eyes shut at the sunlight as the blanket fell from his face.

"Oh come on!" Katara sighed in relief. "You too?"

"What?" he mumbled, getting his bearings. He reached up to scratch his head, and discovered what was itching him.

Aang was wearing a wig. Avatar Aang, the mightiest being in the world, was hungover with a lopsided wig of black hair glued to his head. The foreign hair was pulled back into a knot that was contained by what Katara recognized as Avatar Roku's old hairpin.

Aang reached up and felt the hairpin, and winced. "Oh Spirits, I had hoped that was a dream."

"So you actually remember what happened?" asked Zuko, joining them outside along with Sokka, who had put a hat on to avoid getting sunburned.

"Well last night, Sokka got excited by this idea of me wearing Roku's hairpin at the wedding, as a sign of the Fire Nation's commitment to the Avatar and the balance of the world. I wasn't as intoxicated as he was, so I pointed out to him that one needs hair in order to wear a hairpin crown."

"Oh yeah!" said Sokka, remembering now, "Seems like a short sighted fashion decision."

"It's not short-sighted, that's the point," said Zuko irritably, "When royals or generals suffer a great defeat, they cut their hair off. The crowns of the Fire Lord and Prince are designed so that you can't wear them unless you've gone long enough without a defeat to have enough hair to wear it."

"Yeah, you said all this last night," said Aang. "Then Sokka suggested that I could borrow some hair, and we asked who would have extra hair to borrow, and that's how we ended up partying with the—"

"The Ember Island Players," Zuko finished in horror. "Oh, kill me now, this is going to be the subject of their worst play yet."

"I certainly hope so," said Katara. "I'll be there opening night."

"The wig and the facepaint….seemed like a good idea at the time," finished Aang painfully.

"Well if this stuff doesn't come off my face soon, then the Firelord is going to have to have them interrogated about how they undo it," said Sokka.

"Oh I will?" asked Zuko, raising his eyebrow. "The way I see it, I just have a bad haircut, I didn't put any crap on my head, so you can go begging for them on your own."

"It is not a bad haircut!" said Sokka angrily. "You're now the best looking guy here, saving my dignity is the least you can do."

"I might need help getting this thing off me too," mumbled Aang, futilely pulling at the wig. "And we should probably put this back in a safe spot."

He detached Roku's hairpin crown from his knot, and Katara gasped as his hair (that wasn't actually his hair) fell from it.

The messy black hair fell to the base of his neck, covering his ears and hanging in bangs over his forehead, partially obscuring his eyes. He scrunched his face in annoyance and brushed the hair away from his face. Katara felt her face grow hot as she watched her boyfriend's fingers run through the hair, and an image floated up in her mind of her fingers replacing them.

Zuko and Sokka went back into the house, Zuko cheekily offering to melt the facepaint off of Sokka, and promised to keep most of his face intact, as Aang climbed down off of Appa, still pulling at the mop glued to his head.

"I need to find a way to get this thing off me," Aang grumbled. "It won't stay out of my face, people can't see my arrow."

"Well, we can't have that," Katara chuckled. "The world can't know that the last airbender has broken such an important air nomad requirement as the sacred chrome dome."

"Well, it's not a requirement," said Aang, "but I still suspect I look far too much like Zuko for my taste—"

"Wait, really?" Katara cut him off, her eyes widening.

"Well you tell me. I don't have a mirror, but I suddenly feel the urge to sulk and reclaim my honor— "No, I mean, shaving your head isn't a requirement or anything?" Katara asked quickly.

Aang seemed surprised by her question. "Uh... no. Most of the boys did anyway, because it gives you a slight edge in airbending, since your skin is in tune with the air currents. We all had to shave it once, when we got our arrows, but most girls grew it back."

He continued to fidget with the wig as he started walking back towards the house, seemingly oblivious to the blush creeping up his girlfriend's face.

Katara tried to act casual as she fell in step with Aang and linked her arm with his.

"Sooooo...hypothetically speaking," she began, not looking at him, "you could have a full head of hair. If you wanted to."

Aang shrugged. "Yeah. But I've never really felt the desire to. With hair, you have to wash it, and there's so many different haircuts to pick from, it's easier to just shave it in the morning."

He turned to look at her curiously. "Why?"

"Oh, no reason!" she said innocently.

They walked in silence for a few seconds, then a strong morning breeze blew past them and Katara felt her knees grow weak as Aang's messy "hair" whipped in the wind, dancing around his handsome face beautifully, in a way his real hair had never grown long enough to do.

"I was just thinking Sokka might be onto something!" she blurted out before she could stop herself. "You know, about wearing Roku's crown. Maybe the Avatar adopting a few Fire Nation fashions will placate a few of the naysayers, who say that you're a foreign interloper. It will show them that you're their Avatar too. It would be a great exchange and blending of cultures, to reflect peaceful cooperation."

Aang frowned thoughtfully. "Well, I….guess that kind of makes sense." He shrugged and chuckled. "I'm still definitely going to get this hair off me, though. Then I can decide whether to start growing my own."

"Hmmm….yeah," Katara whispered greedily under her breath, "I bet that'll look even hotter."

"Hmm? What was that? I didn't hear you."

"Nothing!" she squeaked, and ran back into the house.

#kataang #kataang week #kataang week 2021 #kataang-week #aang x katara #katara and aang #aang #avatar aang #katara #fanfic prompt #atla fanfic #ao3 fanfic #atla #avatar: tla #avatar the last airbender #avatar #hangover #day 2: blending cultures #bachelor party

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touchmycoat · 3 years

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on Promising Young Woman

i was hesitant to watch bc i knew a spoiler, but @trixree convinced me to watch it and i’m very glad i did. all things aside, it’s just damn well-written—pacing’s top-notch, every act shift was action-driven with a female lead, and it balanced the pleasure of a revenge fantasy against the soul of the story SO well.

thoughts & spoilers below

elephant in the room: yeah I hesitated to watch the movie because I know Cassie gets murdered in the end. After watching the scenes that followed, I...have a better understanding of why that was the choice. I still hated that it happened, period. I literally said “fuck you” out loud to the morning after shot, with the sunlight pouring down on her in the white outfit and she had her arms outstretched—yes, she’s a martyr, yes, she’s the “morning angel,” but fuck that, I didn’t need her to be a martyr. I so desperately wanted the movie to give her more than that.

Like Jenna and Wesley said, it was a superhero movie. That lasted until the choice to kill her.

Thoughts on why they did it: for the ironic morning after, where the audience sees not-Zac Efron sob and whine about how he’s going to lose his marriage and family and job after he just knowingly murdered a woman. Where we get to see Schmidt (fnjdnfjdnf what a casting choice, i lost my mind) say the words to Al Monroe that women like Nina needed to hear—it’s not your fault. None of it was your fault. We get to see the violent and continuous forgiveness of men that dead girls have and continue to pay for.

But my question is, what part of the movie managed to give the audience comfort that legal authority is the solution to this problem? The ending felt squeaky clean wrapped-up, yes, but the anxiety that ran deepest for me throughout this entire film was the fact that Cassie was leaving these men alive. All the men she’s found in the clubs, the man whose car she smashed, the entire law firm that specializes in burying rape cases—to me, every man she left alive was one more factor that could come back and bite her. That was my concern, and it was by no means alleviated by the scene with Bo Burnham and the detective right before the wedding.

I guess that circles back to the question of what the film is trying to be, though. It’s a different take on a revenge thriller. It isn’t meant to deliver a smash-burn-kill catharsis. Rather, it operates on a realer level. Which I love, actually! When she told the fedora guy that she’s not the only one who does it, it felt like a very enticing call-to-action lmao, and like a moment that ought to haunt the “good guys” that watch this film. The movie did so well to manifest and deliver the “enough is fucking enough” attitude that everybody ought to have about sexual assault under the influence.

More on why they killed Cassie: to really lean into the specter of Nina who has so haunted the entire narrative. Even handcuffed to the bed, Al Monroe never said the word “rape.” Nobody wants to, they keep skirting around it and refusing to acknowledge it for what it is. That’s why the movie does it for us, the audience. Instead of saying it, the movie gives its thesis on what rape actually is—a murder. A squeezing-out of a woman’s existence. Al Monroe rapes and kills Nina Fisher before the start of the movie, and the movie ends with Al Monroe killing Cassie. It ends with the violent burning of Cassie’s body, and fucking Schmidt kicking her hand with the childishly painted nails back into the bonfire. The parallel destruction of women is evident.

Did the ending feel like enough of a resurrection?

On a fandom level, I am happy to do the work of seeing the Romance in it. Cassie evidently anticipated her own death, perhaps even sought it—it’s easy to picture a fic focused on Cassie’s thoughts pre-bachelor party, where she’s just so happy to finally be joining Nina again. Where she gets to sign a text Love, Cassie & Nina. I fucking adore how much of an agent she was in the action throughout the entire movie, and the ending definitely did some work in resurrecting that agency.

On a real life level though, I’m so, so fucking sad she essentially had to commit suicide to get the justice she sought. She really is a martyr, but no part of the story indicated she was happy to be. There’s no relief in what she chose—it was simply what had to be done, because nobody else would do a goddamn thing.

Oh boy, the movie did so well to play Ryan as a good guy up until the very end. When time came for him to own up to his mistakes, he flipped like a fucking dime. Suck it #NotAllMen.

The evocations of childhood were interesting. We have the notebook, the scrunchie, the pink bedroom, the childhood photos, the juice box, the friendship necklaces, the painted nails. What is that doing?

- It’s a visual touch point for the arc words “we were just kids!” used as a protestation by rapists and assaulters to excuse their actions. Men get to be “kids” who made mistakes, women get repeated insistence that their actions have consequences, that they shouldn’t have gotten that drunk.

- It signifies Cassie’s vulnerability, her childhood best friend that she’s never been able to move on from. Functionally, I thought it was a brilliant way of grounding how tender the center of her story is, that she’s actually operating from a very simplistic point of pain and loss, considering how cool and violent she gets to be throughout most of the movie.

- It becomes a symbol for destroyed innocence when it’s the last bit of Cassie we see before her body’s burned. The movie re-positioned the meaning of this word “innocence,” I think. It’s not about women being ruined after rape, it’s about these women being people. Cassie’s last monologue about Nina does so much work to hammer that home—Nina’s value was never about innocence before or after her assault, it was never diminished. She was loved because of who she was as a person, but Al Monroe squeezed the life out of her anyways. Childhood and innocence become about the happiness that existed before men attacked, and the men get to symbolically destroy it one more time with a kick into the pyre. But then comes the resurrection, and in a way, the movie returns Cassie to that happiness with the last texts she got to sign with her best friend and a winky face.

The penitent lawyer was a hell of a narrative choice. I did accept it, and I like it mainly for what it showed of Cassie—that she is capable of forgiveness. By putting the scene with Nina’s mother right after, it transitions Cassie into a spot of hope pretty damn effectively. I also like that it didn’t take Cassie’s emotional labor to get the lawyer to that place, and that he was already self-flagellating (the dead plants behind Cassie in that apartment were a great touch) before she got there. I like the possibility that Cassie could have forgiven herself for not being there for Nina.

That’s why I’m so damn mad she’s dead!!!! She recognized how destructive her pattern of behavior is, and put an effort to stop that for herself and for her relationship with people she cares about. Yeah, Ryan proved an asshole, but it wasn’t even about him!! She laid it clean out for that guy!! No forgiveness. He was not an innocent bystander. He does not get to get away with anything, and all the ways he chose to behave after the fact just further proves it!

Cassie was stunning, and dangerous, and incredible. Narratively, she really could have gotten away with it. I don’t want to buy this finale, that it takes the destruction of another woman to bring justice to the first. I don’t care how neatly framed it was, that was not a happy ending.

#promising young woman #it was fucking great #and i'm still fuming about it

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star-spangled-steve · 5 years

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His New Partner

Chapter 24: The Last Night Of Freedom

Series Masterlist

Previous Chapter

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader

Words: 3402

Warnings: Smut, vaginal sex, oral sex, fingering, nudity, Daddy!Kink, Dom!Steve, sub!Reader, dirty talk, cussing, alcohol, implications of female strippers.

A/N: Just so you know, Y/F/N means Your Friend’s Name and Y/C/N means Your Cousin’s Name; both female in this case. Though if you aren’t close with any cousins, you can just imagine another friend. Enjoy this chapter!

“May your bachelorette party be filled with and fun, love, laughter, and most importantly, lots and lots of liquor.” Natasha spoke with a smirk before shouting “To Y/N!” as a closer to her Maid of Honour speech, or what was at least a shorter version. The real one would take place in exactly a week, but instead of being in front of five other ladies, it would be in front of about two hundred wedding guests.

The small circle of women all cheered and clinked their glasses together, repeating “To Y/N!” with huge smiles before tipping their drinks back.

A group of people from a table nearby started to clap, making the bride-to-be blush and give them a small wave after she finished her sip.

Y/F/N turned around to the look at the supportive Las Vegas bar patrons before facing back to Y/N with a smile. “Ooo, N/N. Looks like that one guy over there recognizes you.” She discretely nudged her head towards the handsome brunette who was sitting right across from them. “He’s cute, you should go for it.”

“Dude, I’m getting married in literally a week.” The actress stated, shaking her head at her friend’s silliness.

Maria smirked. “Still, it’s never too late to call it off.”

Y/C/N laughed at the comment, completely knowing that it was a joke. You’d have to be completely blind to not see the pure love between Steve and Y/N. “Ya, then that way I could have the Captain all for myself.”

“Oh please.” Y/N playfully shook her head. “We all know that Natasha would have next dibs.”

The assassin scoffed in response. “Says who?”

The woman of the hour raised her eyebrows. “You, ‘ya big fiancé kisser!”

The table erupted in gasps and giggles.

“Wait, wait, wait, what happened?” Pepper chimed in.

Maria chuckled. “Oh ya, I heard about that!”

“She kissed Steve when they were in Washington like a year ago.” Y/N explained, pretending to be mad when in reality she was completely over it. “He wasn’t technically my fiancé yet, but you still kissed my boyfriend.”

“It was for a mission! The guys could’ve killed us if we were recognized! I did what I had to do to hide our faces.” Natasha stated, throwing an arm up and down in exaggeration. “How did you even find out? Did Steve tell you?”

“Well, duh!” Y/N said with a laugh. “The man apologized to me like five times.”

“But you kiss a ton of actors all the time for your job.” Pepper pointed out with furrowed eyebrows and tilted her head. “Do you apologize?”

The girl in question nodded her head. “At first, for sure. It was pretty hard for him to deal with, and that’s why he felt so guilty doing the same back to me.” She took another sip of her drink, watching Natasha’s expression from over the rim of her glass. The redhead had an uncharacteristically ashamed look on her face. “Relax, Nat.” Y/N spoke after putting her empty glass down on the glossy wood table. “I’m not really upset, I was just kidding.”

Y/F/N grinned. “So... free dibs to kiss Mr. America then?”

“Absolutely not.”

*****

“To Steve!” Sam cheered, urging the other four guests to repeat him, while the one man of the hour just stood there and beamed.

After taking a long sip of his beer, Clint slapped a hand on the Captain’s shoulder. “May your bachelor party be one to remember.”

“Your last night of freedom.” Rhodes added.

Steve shook his head with a smile. “Well, we can’t exactly call it my last night of freedom. The wedding is a whole seven days away.”

“Still,” Tony cocked his head to the side, “the last night where you’re not tied down to the responsibilities of becoming a husband.“

And it was exactly that. Y/N and the wedding planner had reserved the entire upcoming week to set things up for the ceremony, reception, and photoshoot in between.

“Come on,” Thor, who came back to Earth specifically for these festivities, let out a deep chuckle, “you can tell by the look in this man’s eyes that he truly loves all the weddingly duties.”

Sam nodded. “We all know that Cap would rather be snuggled under the covers with Y/N somewhere than be here with us.”

Steve gave them one of his half grins. “Regardless of what I’d rather or be doing right now,-”

“Or who you’d rather be doing.” Tony interrupted, making the circle of men laugh and the groom-to-be roll his eyes.

“Anyways, I really do appreciate you guys bringing me here.” Steve stated, glancing around their private room at one of Las Vegas’ fanciest bars. It was something that only the big names of the Avengers could book, and the big wallet of Tony Stark could afford.

“The evening’s only beginning though, right, Stark?” Clint waggled his eyebrows up and down with a cheesy smirk.

“Most definitely.” Tony snickered before checking the time on his very expensive watch, seeing that it was now 9:56 at night. “And in a little less than five minutes, the show will finally start.”

Steve furrowed his eyebrows. “What show? I thought we were just going to go back down and gamble some more.”

In order to avoid the man’s eyes, Sam and Tony glanced at their shoes as Clint took a sip of his drink in hopes to hide his smile. Rhodes started to chuckle a little bit, meanwhile Thor was just as confused as the super soldier.

“What did you guys plan?” Steve questioned, suddenly bringing out his special Captain America voice that was only reserved for missions; sometimes the bedroom.

Stark just shrugged mischievously.

“Tony, guys, I swear to Go-”

Roger’s words were interrupted by the sound of squealing women, high heels thumping down the hallway, and a big speaker that was playing some new sensual pop song that he had never heard before.

“You didn’t.” Steve ground his teeth in frustration, eyeing each of his friends. “Whose idea was this?”

Sam sheepishly raised his hand. “It’s my duty as Best Man to give you the best night ever!”

“I thought that we had discuss-”

The double doors suddenly burst open, revealing a large clan of attractive women wearing very, very little clothing. “Oh, Captain!” They called before skipping into the room and circling around the seemingly uncomfortable man.

Steve just sighed as he glanced around the approximately ten pretty faces surrounding him, eyes not daring to stray any lower than their chins. “Oh boy.”

*****

The music of the bar club just seemed to get louder and louder, clouding all of her senses as she took another sip of what was probably her third drink of the evening. Y/N wasn’t exactly drunk yet, but tipsy enough to not really care that she’d been sitting alone for the last half an hour.

Las Vegas was pretty fancy, the girl would have to give it that. The bars were lined with more liquor bottles than she could count, not a finger smudge on any of them, and she was pretty sure that her hotel room was at least 50% marble.

But of course, that could’ve just been Tony’s miraculous planning skills; or Tony’s miraculous stack of money. Y/N couldn’t even imagine what it would cost to bring all twelve people in the wedding party to Las Vegas for the weekend, let alone stay in the two nicest casino hotels in the area.

Yes, two. One for the men, one for the women. Sam and Natasha took great responsibility in their Best Man and Maid of Honour roles, deciding to have the two groups bunk separately, almost ten blocks apart. It was Steve and Y/N’s bachelor and bachelorette parties after all, one of their last nights being two singles. Everyone wanted the pair to spend it to its full extent.

Vibrations coming from her clutch broke Y/N out of her slightly tipsy haze, making the girl take out her cellphone and instantly smile when she saw that it was Steve calling her. “Hello?” She spoke after answering it.

“Hey, sweetheart.” The man said from the other end.

“Honey.” She greeted as she sat up straighter on her barstool, becoming excited at the sound of his voice, “What’s up?”

“Just miss you, that’s all.”

Y/N beamed. They had only been apart for half of a day, and he had already wanted to see her. “I miss you too, Stevie. You having fun?”

“Uh,” the Captain puffed out a breath, “ya, ya, tons of fun. T-Tame fun, nothing too crazy.” He told her, trying to hide the fact that there had just been plenty of almost-naked women dancing around him. “What about you?”

“Well,” Y/N looked around the noisy bar that she was in, still seeing none of her friends around, “it’s been okay.”

“Only okay?”

“I mean, don’t get me wrong, it started out great.” She explained. “But, uh, everyone ‘sorta went off to do their own thing.”

“They ditched you?” Steve sternly asked, mad at the fact that Y/N was all by herself in the busy city of Las Vegas.

“No!” She shook her head back and forth, even though he couldn’t actually see her. “Pepper and Y/C/N we’re doing so well in the casino that I just let them keep going, last time I saw Nat and Maria they were playing pool, and Y/F/N went off somewhere to hook up with this random guy.”

“Awe, doll. I’m so sorry.” Steve comforted.

Y/N gloomily tapped her nails against the sleek wood bar top, her other hand still holding the phone to her ear. “It’s alright. You know that these clubs and all aren’t exactly my scene anyways.”

“Here,” the man spoke up, coming upon a realization, “I have an idea. Why don’t you go down to the lobby, and I’ll meet you there?”

“You ‘wanna come over here?”

Steve answered like it was obvious. “Of course.”

Y/N was confused. “But hon, it’s your bachelor party. The whole point of the night is to be away from each other. I don’t ‘wanna ruin your fun.”

He shook his head at her words, telling even from blocks away that there was a sheepish look painted on her face. “You honestly think that you’d be ruining my fun? Baby, you are my fun.” Steve looked around the room that he was in, making sure all of his friends seemed alright on their own. “Just meet me down there, N/N. Then we can go up to your room, and I’ll give you the best bachelorette party that you could ever ask for. That’s a promise.”

*****

Y/N fumbled with her hotel room key card as she struggled to unlock her door, getting the red light instead of the green light every time. Though to her defence, there was a major distraction grinding up against her backside.

“Better hurry up, baby girl. I’m getting impatient here.” Steve whispered huskily into her ear, leaving her shivering.

The girl finally managed to unlock her door, and the moment she did, it was closed from the inside and she was shoved against it. Y/N’s legs around Steve’s waist, his lips against her neck. She let out a high-pitched moan.

“Oh, you like that, baby? You like it when your daddy’s rough with you?”

Another whine in response.

“I need an answer, baby.” The man added with a particularly harsh bite to her neck. Y/N instantly knew there’d be marks the next day, worrying that they’d still be there for the wedding, but was too turned on to say anything.

“Yes.” She managed to let slip past her lips.

“‘Yes’ who?”

“Yes, daddy.”

“Good girl.” Just as every time, the word ‘daddy’ went straight to Steve’s dick; the evidence was extremely prominent against Y/N’s thigh.

He had-had enough by now. And so, he grabbed on to the neckline of her olive green dress and ripped it straight down. His plump lips instantly attacked her chest, which to both his surprise and delight, was not clad in a bra.

“I knew it.” Steve rasped. “Have you been braless all night, my naughty girl?”

“Yes, daddy.” Y/N said shakily. But who could blame her for not wearing one? It was a strapless dress and the top part was double-layered anyways.

“I bet you aren’t wearing any panties either.” He said in between sloppy kisses to her breasts. “I think I have to check.” And with that, he strongly pressed the fingers of his right hand against her clit, being correct about the lack of underwear. But once again, who could blame her? The bottom part of her bodycon dress was very thin, and she definitely couldn’t have panty lines.

“Daddy.” The girl whined.

His fingers then slipped inside her tight, aching hole, repeatedly thrusting in and out.

Y/N’s legs turned to jelly, instantly hanging against Steve’s sides. Luckily though, due to his brute strength and the sturdiness of the hotel’s door, she stayed upright as he continued fucking her with his fingers.

“Cum for me baby, cum for your daddy.” He ordered, his thumb and forefinger instantly pinching her clit.

So with that, Y/N let go of any last bit of control she had left, and came. Hard.

The room was filled with the sounds of whines, panting, and the squishing of Steve’s fingers inside of her wet opening.

“Shhh, shh.” He cooed as she came down from her high. “You did so great, my precious girl.” Right as Y/N felt brought back down to Earth, he started counting in a low voice “That’s one.”

Uh oh, she though to herself. It was one of those nights. Those nights were Steve repeatedly made her cum until she was so sensitive that she couldn’t even move. And it’s not that Y/N didn’t enjoy these nights, because she sure did, but she also knew that once he was getting started, there was no way of getting him to stop.

Steve brought his right hand up to his mouth, slowly and sensually licking the juices off each individual finger as if savouring the taste of her. The man adjusted his hands underneath Y/N’s thighs before he quickly walked them both to the bed, throwing her onto it.

Just as quickly, Steve took off his sport coat and crawled overtop of her with a low growl; this just added to her wetness. “Let’s see how many more you’ve got in you, little girl.” He said with quirked up lips. But that sly smirk was soon out of Y/N’s field of view, as his mouth descended to her dripping pussy.

“Oh, Jesus.” She said as she felt his tongue against her.

He peered up from between her legs. “That’s not my name, princess.”

“I’m sorry, daddy.”

Steve went back down and continued his delicious assault on her core. With every stroke of his tongue, Y/N felt as if she was being pulled further and further away from her coherent thoughts. The only two things on her mind being the feel of his mouth on her vagina, and the slight brush of his nose against her clit every time he shifted his head.

“Daddy, I-I-I’m going to cum again.” Y/N stuttered.

The words “Do it, babydoll.” vibrated against her pussy, pushing the girl over the edge for a second time.

Steve lapped up every last drop that Y/N had to offer, and once he went up the bed so that they were eye to eye, licked his lips. The man looked every bit as much as a cat who just got his cream. “Two.” He proudly rumbled into her ear.

Y/N was still in her post-orgasm bliss as she heard the sound of Steve’s belt being undone and dropped to the floor. She turned her head just in time to see him finish unbuttoning his shirt, revealing his sculpted chest and abs. Next to go was his pants and boxer briefs, Steve’s large hands pulling them both down all at once.

Y/N’s mouth watered at the sight of his delicious cock. No matter how many times that she had seen it and felt it before, the size continued to overwhelm her.

As if the man had read her mind, “You like what you see, my baby?” He took the handy condom out of his wallet, rolling it on and stroking himself in the process.

Too caught up in the sight of what was him, all that Y/N could do was nod her head.

Once again, Steve made his way to hover above her. One moment, the girl was staring up into his beautiful blue eyes, and the next, she was moaning out in surprise at the sudden impact of him inside of her.

Just as suddenly, his dick started to thrust in and out of her at a slow, leisurely pace. Steve was doing it specifically to drive her insane. It had worked.

“Faster, daddy.” Y/N whimpered.

“Baby girl, is that how you ask daddy a question?” The Captain retaliated as he continued to move in and out of her wanting hole.

The girl was almost crying at this point, “Please, please daddy, can you go please faster?”

Steve, starting to get impatient himself, began to fuck her more quickly. He could see how easily she was falling apart underneath him by each squeeze of her walls around his member.

And with a gasp, Y/N was cumming again.

“Three.” Steve groaned out as he was slowing his thrusts. The man then pulled out of her, his dick still as hard as ever.

Without warning the girl was tossed onto her stomach, Steve’s big hands harshly grasping her hips and bringing them closer to his own. There would definitely be bruises the next day, matching the ones he already made on her neck and chest. But she decided she’d wear them all with pride, and maybe a bit of concealer if necessary.

Steve entered her a second time, his pace being even quicker than before; if possible. He could see Y/N’s hands strongly grasping the sheets from his place behind her, just loving how desperate she was for him.

Between the feeling of her tight pussy around him and the continual sounds she was making, the man figured that it wouldn’t be long before he finished. But, he knew he could give her one more first. Steve was the type who got off on getting her off. Y/N had no complaints.

As he started to rub circles on her clit, she loudly moaned out into the vast expanse of her hotel room.

“Come on little girl, give me one more,” Steve huffed. “Cum once more for daddy.”

With that last bit of encouragement, the girl came again; her biggest orgasm of the night triggering his own.

“Y/N, baby.” He groaned out as she collapsed on the bed from exhaustion. Steve swerved just in time to avoid crushing her, running a hand through his damp golden hair. “Best. Bachelor. Party. Ever.” He spoke in between pants of breath.

The girl turned onto her back and nodded her sweat-covered head. “Agreed.”

The man only stayed on the bed a minute before he was up and heading to the ensuite bathroom. He returned with a wet, warm washcloth and began to rub in between Y/N’s thighs, cleaning her up.

“Thank you.” She said hoarsely, her voice practically wrecked after the night’s activities.

“Of course.” Steve replied with a sincere smile. How in less than five minutes he went from a dominant sex god to a sweet and wholesome boyfriend would forever remain a mystery to Y/N.

He returned the cloth to the restroom before making his way back to the bed, turning off the room’s lights along the way.

“I love you so much.” The Captain stated as he tucked them both underneath the covers and pulled her into his arms.

The effect that this man had on her never failed, as Y/N was blushing at the simple phrase they’ve said over a thousand times. “I love you more.” She added cheekily.

“Not possible.” Steve contradicted, just as usual. And before she could counter back, he placed a loving kiss right on her lips.

“Goodnight, Stevie.” Y/N spoke as she turned in his arms, having him spoon her.

“Goodnight, my love.” But, it only took about three seconds before he was speaking up again. “Oh, and babydoll?”

“Mm-hmm?” Y/N replied, almost asleep.

“Four.”

Next Chapter

Feedback is always welcome!❤️

#steve rogers x reader #steve rogers x reader smut #steve rogers smut #chris evans x reader #captain america x reader #dom!steve rogers #daddy steve rogers #dom steve rogers #steve rogers fanfiction #dom!steve #daddy steve #dom steve #sub!reader #sub reader #chris evans x you #captain america x you #chris evans x y/n #captain america x y/n #avengers x reader

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splendidlyimperfect · 4 years

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Sting’s entire life changed when he was eleven years old and his best friend Rogue told a secret that he’d promised to keep. Taken away from the father who abused him and the best friend who’d tried to save him, Sting tried to start a new life with his uncle. But the trauma wasn’t easy to escape, and eventually Sting turned to drinking to forget the things that hurt.

Now he’s an adult, and he hasn’t been sober in years. But when drinking nearly kills him and a near-stranger saves his life, Sting has a chance to turn his life around, and maybe become the man that Rogue deserves to love.

Chapter Summary: Sting and Rogue's relationship progresses, and Natsu makes an important discovery.

Chapters (17/?): 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Rogue Cheney/Sting Eucliffe, Natsu Dragneel/Gray Fullbuster, Natsu Dragneel & Sting Eucliffe, Sting Eucliffe & Weisslogia Additional Tags: modern au, childhood friends, angst, emotional hurt/comfort, angst with a happy ending, child abuse, alcoholism, drug use, recovery

**A/N: In light of the protests and the horrific actions of the police – currently and historically – I wanted to take the time to comment on the impact of those events on this story. First of all, I wholeheartedly support Black Lives Matter and ALL of the protests, including (and especially) defunding the police. Cops are bastards who use their power to hurt, oppress and murder people. It’s a racist institution that needs to be dismantled for so many reasons.

So, why is this story heavily feature the police if I feel that way? Honestly, it wasn’t originally going to. Sting wasn’t supposed to be a major character in how to become a wildfire and he didn’t have a backstory when I started to write him. Then he started to become a source of safety and comfort for Gray; someone he could trust to help if he needed it. It was an ideal – someone who was powerful enough to change things, but kind enough to use that power for good.

Sting’s story here is one of someone using their trauma to help other people. It’s not representative of real life, and I recognize that this isn’t the kind of relationship that police have with people. It’s not the kind of relationship that I’ve had with the police either. It’s wishful thinking.

I had considered not finishing the story, but it’s important to me, so I’ve decided on this, instead. I’m going to continue to follow the plot of how to become a wildfire, and then Sting’s going to make some different decisions that will involve him leaving the police force and focusing on working with people and trauma instead. In addition, for each remaining chapter, I’m going to donate $20 to Black Lives Matter.**

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home \ ˈhōm noun : a familiar or usual setting: congenial environment also : the focus of one's domestic attention

xvii winter age twenty-four

Sting proposes to Rogue completely by accident.

“I can’t believe it’s been five years.” Sting stares down at the sobriety chip in his hand, running his thumb over the raised ‘V.’ They’re sitting up in the tree house in Rogue’s parent’s back yard, wrapped in a blanket to stave off the chilly winter air.

“You’ve come so far,” Rogue says, kissing Sting’s cheek and shuffling closer to him. Sting returns the kiss, then looks out across the yard toward the house. The lights are off – it’s just past midnight – but Sting remembers the view from when he’d slept up here as a little kid. He’d stay hidden, watching Rogue’s mom kiss his forehead and Rogue’s dad help him with homework, wondering why his dad didn’t love him the same way.

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The memories ache. It’s worse than usual today, tugging at his stomach and making him feel untethered, and he grips the sobriety chip a little harder. Then Rogue’s hand closes around his and he runs his thumb gently across Sting’s wrist.

Sting exhales, turning his hand and sliding their fingers together so that the coin is pressed between their palms like a promise. Rogue leans in and kisses Sting’s nose, and the memories of being lost and lonely are replaced with a quiet, gentle affection.

“I love you,” Rogue says softly. “And I’m so proud of you.” He leans back and gazes at Sting, lips curved up in the smile that Sting’s loved for so long. It’s the same smile he’d give Sting when they were little – when he’d pop his head over the edge of the tree fort, dragging up a bag of snacks and making Sting feel safe.

“I love you, too.” Sting reaches out and tucks a wayward strand of hair behind Rogue’s ear. “Thank you.”

Rogue shakes his head, turning and pressing a kiss to Sting’s palm. “You did all the work,” he insists.

Sting shakes his head. “No, for…” He tips his head back to stare at the constellations through the roof of the tree fort. He feels six and eight and eleven and twenty-four all at the same time, and all of those versions of him are deeply, desperately in love with Rogue. “For being my home.”

Rogue kisses Sting’s hand again. “Always,” he says. The moonlight plays off his hair and casts shadows across his face, and his lips are warm, pressing against the flutter of Sting’s pulse in his wrist.

They sit in silence for a little bit, watching soft flakes of snow drift down to the ground and melt almost instantly.

“It’s weird,” Rogue says after a while. “Thinking about someone else living here.”

Sting nods. He can just see the edge of the ‘FOR SALE’ sign in the front yard, put up three days ago when Rogue’s mom had told him they were moving to a smaller house. The idea of someone else sitting in Rogue’s old room, someone else’s kids playing in the yard, someone else drawing on the driveway with chalk... it makes Sting feel empty, somehow.

“I wish...” Rogue sighs, voice trailing off as a puff of white into the night air. Sting tips his head, studying the expression on Rogue’s face. His brow is drawn, the same as when he’s doing the crossword in the mornings before he asks Sting what an eleven-letter word for ‘destiny’ is. His hand is warm, thumb tapping out an absent rhythm against the back of Sting’s fingers, and he kicks his legs in time to the beat.

“What?” Rogue asks, looking over at him, and Sting is suddenly hit by all of his memories of Rogue’s smile.

Five years old and hiding in the playground together, grinning at each other and digging in the sand.

Seven years old and kissing Rogue’s cheek while he holds a bouquet of dandelions Sting picked for him.

Nine years old, cuddled under a blanket and giggling while reading ‘Hardy Boys’ books with a flashlight.

Eleven years old and lying up in the fort, listening to music and wishing they could be together forever.

“Marry me.” The words tumble out before Sting can think about them and he watches Rogue’s eyes go wide. “Marry me, and we’ll buy the house from your parents. We can live here.” Sting can feel his hand shaking in Rogue’s and he can barely breathe, but it feels so right. “We’ll get all the Pokémon games, and we can buy ice cream all the time, just like we promised. Remember?”

Rogue nods slowly, expression somewhere between stunned and ecstatic, and Sting can feel himself starting to cry, even though the smile that’s creeping across his face. “Marry me,” he says again, softer this time. “We’ll make a home here. And maybe…” He takes a deep breath. “Maybe our kids can play here, someday. Just like us.”

“Sting,” Rogue breathes, and then they’re kissing desperately as the snow falls around them. Sting’s hand finds its way into Rogue’s hair and he pulls Rogue closer.

“I love you,” he whispers, a promise against Rogue’s lips. “Marry me?”

“Yes,” Rogue says, laughing wetly as he presses their foreheads together. “Yes. You’re my favorite person.”

Sting holds Rogue tight, not bothering to wipe away the tears, and whispers, “You’re my favorite person, too.”

Natsu cries when Sting asks him to be the best man.

“I thought I was the one who cried at everything,” Sting teases as Natsu wipes his face with his sleeve. The picture on the computer screen is a bit blurry, but it’s better than a phone call.

“Shut up,” Natsu grumbles. “I’m allowed to have feelings, too, asshole.”

Sting laughs, swallowing down the lump in his own throat and blinking to keep back the tears. “So, is that a yes?” he asks.

“Of course.” Natsu looks up at him with wet eyes and a bright smile. “When’s the wedding?”

“We’re, um... not sure yet.” Sting leans back in his chair as Lector pads into the room and hops up on his lap. “I kinda proposed by accident.”

“How the hell did you manage that?” Natsu asks, laughing, then shakes his head. “Why don’t you tell me in person – I’m gonna be in town next weekend for Laxus’ bachelor party.”

Sting nods. He’d gotten the invitation as well – a simple text with a date, time, and the address of a nearby bar. It’s been sitting on his phone for nearly a week, unanswered.

“You don’t have to come,” Natsu says gently. “He’ll understand. We can have brunch or something together later.”

Sting reaches into his pocket and fiddles with the chip there. He’s been around alcohol since getting sober – Rogue’s parents have a drink of wine with dinner occasionally, or Rufus will get a beer when they’re out for lunch. This is different, though, and Sting has grown enough now to know that he can’t handle it.

“Brunch sounds good,” he says, looking back up at Natsu and smiling. “Text me when you’re here and we’ll figure something out.”

It’s nearly two o’clock on Sunday morning when Sting’s phone goes off. He groans, rubbing his face and reaching out blindly for the side table to grab it. Natsu’s name flashes on the screen and Sting sighs.

“I meant in the actual morning, dumbass,” he grumbles, moving to turn the ringer off. Then the words under Natsu’s name register and he’s suddenly wide awake.

Ellie is here.

Sting pushes himself up on one elbow, blinking the sleep from his eyes and opening the message. A blurry photo is attached to it of a young guy with short, black hair, leaning against the bar with a drink in his hand.

He’s here, Natsu’s message says. I found him.

#fairy tail #stingue #sting eucliffe #rogue cheney #gratsu #natsu dragneel #gray fullbuster #angst #hurt/comfort #angst with a happy ending #recovery #new chapter #update #my fic

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xathia-89 · 5 years

Text

Chandeliers Part 1

It was a ball beyond anything that Japan had seen in recent years. Chandeliers had been bought in especially for the evening, the best champagne and sake had been sourced, and they had hired only the best in terms of waiters, chefs and security.

It made Shingen smirk to himself as he nursed the cognac in his hand. The Emperor had gone all out for this one as his friend, Kenshin was stood next to him and watching the room with a keener eye than the Duke of Kai could manage while knocking back enough sake that would tranquilise an elephant. He secretly suspected that the man had several livers, or he was a robot running on sake.

His date for the evening was a perky little girl who spent her life at these parties, she was all looks and no brains, but it was an easy date who didn’t complain at Shingen for his lack of commitment. Kenshin would often scoff at the man, but the two would never turn each other down for some gambling or drinking together. She was about to drag him onto the dance floor, amongst the spinning masses and allow him to possibly read the room some more. There had been no formal reasoning for the ball, but there were so many rumours flying around that it was nearly impossible to pin it down.

Then he spotted one of his contacts also on the floor. A daughter of a Lord, and as knowledgeable as they can. She inclined her head to the Duke as they caught each other’s eye. She would be his next dance partner, as he purposely spun off his date to meet up with Chiyome.

“Apparently there’s a princess present, from one of those little known places,” she smiled, performing her part in the dance perfectly as they breezed past several other nobles. “She’s meant to be a pretty face, but I’m not sure what nation she comes from or how far up in the line to the throne she is.”

“You’re slipping,” Shingen teased, spinning the woman away with grace.

“They’re playing this one close to the chest, she may even be looking for a husband,” Chiyome replied, ignoring the comment. “Would you even want to be considered as a potential husband?”

“I like what I do,” Shingen began, but a pointed look from the woman made him falter. Technically there was the expectation of continuing the line with a wife, but it was always something that he had put off, saying he wasn’t ready.

The song promptly ended, and then the room just seemed to turn to the platform at the far end of the ballroom.

“His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Naruhito!” The speaker announced, giving way to a room bursting into applause.

Shingen had already laid eyes on a few individuals who he had never gotten on with, including the Duke of Azuchi and the Duke of Mikawa. Both of whom were standing with the Earl of Osaka and looking equally disinterested in being present. He could assume safely that the Duke of Oshu would be around somewhere, probably within the range of the food and kitchens, and it was often that the Earl of Tanba would be about as well.

The Emperor’s speech was full of riddles, entrapping Chiyome’s attention as she stayed with her arm hooked in his.

Until she sharply pulled him down to meet her hissing voice.

“My rumour was true. A princess is looking for a husband!”

Shingen was trying to hold in his smirk until he locked eyes with the Earl of Tanba, who was also probably sharing that tidbit of information with the three men.

“-and I am delighted to introduce Princess Sienna of Rutwaki to Japan,” the Emperor was smiling like a man introducing his daughter at her debut.

The building shook with a force that hadn’t been experienced before. Shingen was keeping Chiyome upright, but the walls weren’t sounding so secure.

“Fire!” A staff member yelled and plunged the room into a panic.

Everyone was rushing now for the exit, expelled from their stupor and stunned status and in the need to survive. Shingen was being dragged by the woman on his arm, screams of terror and shouts of direction filled the air as the telltale noise of the structure failing was now the soundtrack to the event.

Names were being shouted through the air, and indistinguishable from each other.

“Shingen!” One of his longtime friends ran up to him, physically checking him over as Chiyoma waved her goodbye to go and find her father.

“I’m fine, Yuki,” he promised, trying to catch his breath on the grand lawn. It was a chaotic storm of staff and guests, not that anyone was in charge truly while trying to work out just what to do.

“You can thank Princess Sienna for this!” A mad cackle attracted the focus of the madness, and another explosion wrecked the building, sending up more debris, shaking the floor and plunging the whole place into further disarray.

The following morning showed the extent of the damage. Thankfully, no one had been killed, just a few people with broken bones and smoke inhalation who were treated at the local hospital on the Emperor’s insistence and expense. It was all over the news, and the focus was on the fact that the idiots had blamed Princess Sienna for their actions. A lot of the newsreaders were calling for her to go home, but it soon became apparent on the internet that things obviously weren’t that simple.

Shingen was staying with Kenshin, it didn’t feel normal at all to go home and sleep, instead, they were both glued to the news.

A knock to the door surprised them both, before Kenshin’s head butler let himself into the lounge area.

“Terribly sorry sir, there’s a rather insistent messenger who claims to be from the Royal Palace with a message for you and Duke Takeda,” his accent was clipped and precise, as to be expected from someone with his level of experience.

“Send him in then, I haven’t tried my swords out in some time,” Kenshin’s smile was haunting, and the other men knew he spoke the truth in not hesitating to strike a man down if he was in the mood.

The messenger was dressed in the royal crest and colours, a formal outfit that was seen on the inside of the palace only before he bowed swiftly to the two Dukes in front of him, before pulling out two letters. Both of them were stamped with the Emperor’s personal wax seal. Something that neither of the men had seen before, it was something that was only mentioned in the circles they drifted in. This was obviously something valuable from their Emperor before the messenger disappeared as quickly as he arrived.

“I get the feeling we’re about to find out more about the ball,” Shingen spoke with an uncertainty, weighing the envelope up with a great distaste.

***

Sienna was shaken to the core.

She hadn’t taken those threats seriously, everyone on her security detail had declared them to be trivial and merely to stir up fear. Now she had brought danger to another nation, and she didn’t blame the news reports one bit.

Her security was fired the second the Emperor had to take her in under his protection.

Now he was under arrest for giving the incumbents an opening to kill people.

Sienna was truly alone in a foreign country, though it wasn’t for the first time. It was the first time she was facing such a backlash for being herself though.

She had grown up in the British education system under the best private schooling that money could buy. Her mother had sent her away until she was eighteen to learn, without her father’s permission. She had been jailed for that action, but it was refused to return the princess on the basis that there was no need for a forceful extraction after she had voiced at the age of twelve that she wished to finish her education. Her friendship with two princes had always stirred international headlines, but there was never any romantic attachment between any of them, and she was just glad for the company and to have people who understood.

Her country was very set in its ways. Men were the rulers and were always in charge. Women were there to make house and children, and it was said the best way a woman could ‘repay her husband’ was to bear him a son to carry on his lineage. The education was clearly split between the genders, with women trained to do the housework and how to look after children, while men were educated for a career. Domestic violence was rife, and the bigamy laws were never enforced. If a man wanted a woman, and she wasn’t married, then the woman had no defence. Her only way to escape it would be to marry another man before she could be wed to him.

Sienna was also the King’s only child. She was the legitimate and sole heir to the throne, much to the disgust of the aristocracy. Even any mistress had failed to bear an heir, her father was impotent by all means, but it was only the woman’s fault, of course. It was disgusting to know what was expected of women in this era in her country.

They had tried marriages of all sorts between Sienna and the various Lords and their sons of Rutwaki. All failures of the highest degree. There was even a rumour that her father was reportedly going to bed her in order to produce a valid heir for the throne. Something that Sienna had previously dismissed as a fallacy, but now she was scared to return home without at least a fiancé.

The Emperor had taken her in out of sheer kindness, and their discussions were long ongoing. With repeated interruptions from staff members until it was confirmed that Civil War was brewing at her home. It left her with a difficult situation before she loathed to ask the Emperor if there was any way that Japan could help her.

His falter told her everything, and she smiled.

“I take no offence, you have gone out of your way as is, I can appreciate that this is a delicate matter,” Sienna had been all grace last night, but the Emperor had told her should she marry someone of significance from Japan then they could definitely argue intervention in the parliament.

The Emperor had called a morning tea with some of the bachelors of the aristocracy. Not that she was expecting this to be anything beyond a marriage of convenience. Saving her country was her priority right now, and this was the only way to do it that would cease the impending civil war.

A knock at the door brought her out of her trance, and the maids came in with a new outfit for her to wear for the event. A pale pink skirt with heavy netting that made it fluff out, and fell to just below her knees, and a simple shirt with sleeves to the elbow, and a faux cross front in just off white. She would look the soft wife to be in this combination, nothing like her true self that would be hidden until she could ensure that things were going smoothly.

Shingen was more than a little suspicious on his arrival with Kenshin to the Royal Palace in the mid-morning chaos. They weren’t the only ones who had been invited as Yukimura and Sasuke were also present, and then a string of other men.

A middle-aged man and woman were stood in front of the giant doors to the private tea rooms. Neither of them had spoken or even moved since anyone had arrived until a loud ring sounded out for silence was in the hand of the man, and the entrance was bolted shut.

“You have all been summoned here as a preliminary for meeting Princess Sienna,” the man opened. Shingen swore he looked so stiff that he was expecting to need some oil in his joints, but there was a seriousness that couldn’t be laughed off.

“You will go through several tests to whittle your numbers down and ensure the best chances for the Princess,” the woman stated. “Please stand around the edge of the dance floor and you will be called forward by name to show your etiquette.”

The tests were simple. It was ensuring that the man could actually dance, had the appropriate level of manners, could eat correctly at such events, how they presented themselves and their knowledge on Japan as a country. It surprised Shingen more how many of the fellow aristocrats couldn’t do it all. There were eleven of them in the end, and the tension was palpable.

“I see these are the gentlemen who could stand up to the global view then,” the Emperor spoke from behind them, startling the room as the staff then appeared exasperated. The Princess was on his arm, looking demure and feminine before she glanced over the candidates. “There was no point in allowing for those unable to uphold the scrutiny of the world to be put forward. This is a marriage which could define Japan of course,” he stated and caught several of them off-guard.

Then the Emperor’s gaze was on Shingen, before switching to Masamune. The two of them were known womanisers. If marriage was the end goal, then it was likely to not be him.

“I can tell from your gaze who to avoid,” the Princess spoke sharply and demanded the attention of the room. “Duke Shingen Takeda of Kai, and Duke Masamune Date of Oshu. Both of whom are not going to shine the best light on Japan, and will dig up more gossip than I could already cope with aside from ceasing a brewing civil war in my own country.”

Nobunaga Oda was captivated by the woman’s voice and defiance. She was everything that she didn’t look like. She knew why she was doing this before the princess was shown to a seat by the Emperor, and she was going to make them all work to impress her for sure.

#shingen takeda #kenshin uesugi #nobunaga oda #masamune date #princess AU #Princess OC #ikesen #ikemen sengoku #Ikémen Sengoku

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everythinginslowmotion · 5 years

Text

The End is the Beginning

So, like everyone else, I was very dissatisfied to say the least with the ending of Voltron. And people kept saying, “just ignore canon, fanon has always been better than it anyway”. Which is true, but sometimes for me, especially as soon as a show ends, canon is pretty hard for me to get out of my mind. However, the one thing I did like with the ending of 8 was the openness of it all. The fact that Klance could be canon for all we know somewhere down the line and we really wouldn’t ever know. So I decided to write something. Its just under 10k words and it is NOT a fix it fic (that would imply that I fixed the things that I found wrong with season 8, when really i just kept everything from canon despite how wrong and painful it is, and instead extended the openness of keith and lance’s endings into the future and wrote off of that). Enjoy! This takes place in the future after the war, right before Shiro’s wedding.

ao3- |x|

When he received the invitation in the mail, it almost didn’t seem real. His life now had become so slow and different from where it was when he was 17 years old that he had almost forgotten that the war was real. Had it really been five years since the end. Since her. He knew time had passed but even with their yearly meetups, it hadn’t completely caught up with him yet.

He was completely fine the whole day leading up to him opening the letter. His mom had called out to him while he was weeding the juniberry garden from the house letting him know there was an envelope addressed to him from Shrio. He had a feeling he knew what it was going to be. He was sitting at the table reading the back of the invitation when Veronica walked in.

“Oh hey, is that for Shrio and Curtis’s wedding? I was wondering when he was going to ask. It’s been, what, like four years that they’ve been together. It’s about time they just made it official.”

“Five years,” he whispered softly. “They’ve been together five years now.”

He wasn’t sure when his mood shifted. Coming inside he was perfectly normal, he had only come in for a glass of water and then he would be back off to work. While his cup was filling with water the white of the envelope caught his attention from the corner of his eye. He shut off the water and carefully picked it up. Lance McClain was carefully written on the back in Shiro’s neat handwriting. Sitting down at the table, he opened up the top and pulled out the black and white save the date card that had a picture of Shiro and Curtis on the back with their foreheads pressed against the others. Behind it was a letter asking him to be one of the groomsmen. After reading the note, he just sat there at the table alone, staring at the cards laying out in front of him. He doesn’t know how long he was in there before Veronica entered the room.

“Oh wow, five years. Yeah it really is time then that they just get married. They sure act married enough when they are at work.” Lance just softly laughed at that. It’s not like he would know. He really only goes around the garrison a handful of times a year anymore. “I’m guessing that other letter is him telling you he wants you as a groomsman. When was the last time you even saw any of them? It’s been a couple of months since Hunk and Shay came to visit. And I’m its been at least half a year since you’ve seen Keith.”

Keith.

It had been awhile since he had last saw him. Lance had been too busy with the farm and Keith had been off in space on missions and it just made it hard for them to see each other outside of their scheduled once a year meetups. In fact the last time he saw him was when they got together for their yearly dinner on the anniversary of the end of the war about four months prior.

He missed Keith. Besides Hunk, he was the closest one to Lance on the team. He was Keith’s right hand man. They could always count on the other to be there when they needed each other most. Lance would still trust him with his life, but everyone on the team feels so far away, but Keith just feels completely out of his reach for so much of the year that Lance just tries to not think about his former “rival”.

“Keith probably got the spot of best man, do you think? He is practically Shiro’s brother but I cannot imagine him planning a bachelor party for the guy. You’ll probably have to help him out with that one,” she said. Lance stopped really listening to her ramblings about the nearing future of the wedding after that.

He was happy for Shiro, he really was. But seeing the invitation in front of him seemed like a real end to the past. As if the end they had before wasn’t real but just a start of a transition period in their lives. And seeing this, no holding, this physical invitation in his hand started something in him. A reminder of what all had happened to get them to this point. And it hurt.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Veronica had ended up being right about Keith needing help.

Five and a half months had passed since he received the invitation. Since then Lance had seen Hunk and Pidge. They got together for a small birthday celebration. Shiro had been off on a diplomatic mission and Keith was somewhere off in space. So it was just the three of them, his family, a cake that Hunk made. Nothing special. Nothing huge. And now they were just five days away from the wedding.

Lance had just started packing his stuff for his weekend away for the event when he got the call.

It was 11:30 at night and everyone else in the house had fallen asleep already. The sound of his phone ringing across his room came blaring through the silence surrounding. He quickly ran over to answer whoever was calling so late at night. Turning the phone over in his palm the name Keith showed on the screen over a picture of his friend holding the middle finger up at the camera.

“Kei...”

“Oh thank god you’re awake. Lance I need your help.” His voice sounded rushed and panicked. Something that was almost unheard of from Keith. Keith, who was always so sure of what he was doing. Keith, who could do almost anything they put their mind to. Panic washed over Lance. It had been months since he had heard his friends voice, and he answers to just hear chaos.

“Keith are you alright? What’s the problem? Why are you calling so late? Help with what?”

“Lance, I have a big problem. I need your help planning Shiro’s bachelor party. Like now.”

“What the fuck, Keith. That’s in like two days and you are telling me that you don’t have something planned?”

“I didn’t know I was supposed to be planning anything. I’ve gone with him to a few things to help him with small wedding details but he never mentioned anything about me planning a bachelor party.”

“You do realize that the bachelor party is like the main thing that a best man does, right?”

“I do now. But before about three hours ago, no, I had no fucking clue. I just arrived at Shiro’s apartment and he was talking about last minute details and then suddenly goes ‘And oh, I hope you have something good planned because the last few days have been so stressful with getting these last few details ready’ and of course I had no idea what he was talking about and he just gave me a look and said ‘Keith… you do have my bachelor party planned, don’t you?’ And then I panicked and said of course I did then spent the next two hours trying to come up with something for this stupid thing and I still have nothing. Please help me, I don’t want Shiro to know that I am basically the worst best man ever.”

“So let me get this straight… you need me to help you,” he said smirking. It was always fun when Keith actually asked for his help. And now that he knew that Keith wasn’t dying and that the world wasn’t ending again, he let himself have fun with this.

“Ugh Lance, not now. Please just help me before I hang up and call Pidge.”

“Fine, but you so owe me one buddy.”

“Yeah yeah I know, I know. Now just tell me your ideas before I lose my mind. Or my head after Shiro finds out I lied.”

They spent the next three hours on the phone coming up with Shiro’s bachelor party. He could finish packing in the morning before he left.

Two days later he found himself back in New Mexico with his family. When they arrived, they went to the hotel and Lance made his way over to Shiro’s apartment where everyone was at already, waiting for him. After just one knock on the door, Hunk swung it wide open for him, immediately pulling him into a bone crushing hug. Pidge, Shiro and Matt were next to greet him. When he finished hugging them he searched around the room for the last of them, but Keith was nowhere to be found.

Down the hallway he heard a door close, followed by the familiar voice.

“Hey does anyone know when Lance is getting here? We are going to be…” he looked up as he came around the corner. Lance froze, taken aback from how different Keith looked from when he saw him. His hair was significantly longer, and also pulled back into a ponytail. His face had matured as well. He was wearing tight black jeans, a red shirt and his leather jacket. He looked good and it suddenly made Lance feel very out of breath for a moment.

“Hey man,” he manage to breathe out before taking a couple of steps forward to greet him. Keith pulled him into a quick hug.

“Okay everyone, let’s get a move on. I’m ready to see how Keith managed at pulling together a party,” Pidge exclaimed.

“Hilarious Pidge. I’ll have you know that I actually pulled this together fine.” Lance gave him a look but Keith just ignored it and took a couple of steps towards the door. “Besides, you won’t even get to experience all of it because someone is still too underage.”

“Barely, by like five months. No one would even be able to tell the difference. Plus Matt is here and he will help me get in,” she said gesturing at her brother who just looked shocked as well as guilty.

“Pidge, I wish you could go, but I’d rather not get killed by your mother just three days before my wedding day.”

“Ugh, fine. But only because I know the wrath of my mother. Also I’m still going to complain about it the rest of the night.”

All of them made their way outside, Keith going towards his bike and the rest of them making their way towards Shiro’s car. As they got closer to it, Shiro looked back at the four of them and back at his car.

“Uhh, one of you guys might want to ride with Keith. Theoretically we could all fit in the car, but the back is kind of a mess and it’ll be tight for all three of you.”

“I’ll ride with Keith,” he said before making his way over to where Keith and his parked bike were. “Guess I’m stuck with you,” he said to Keith, who had his back turned.

Keith turned around and looked at Lance, obviously not expecting him to be there. “Oh, uh, yeah. Okay, cool. Cool. Well, uh, hop on then. And here, you can take this helmet, if you want it.”

Lance straddled over the back of his hoverbike. It was much newer than the one that they rode on all those years ago when they found the blue lion. Still red and similar in design, but definitely more high tech. Keith got on in front of him and Lance put his arms loosely around his waist. Keith powered up the bike, turned his head to the side to say “You might want to hold on tight,” and then took off, Shiro following closely behind as they drove out to the city.

It had been a while since Lance had been out here. He forgot how pretty the desert could be at night. There was nothing but the mountains in the background, the distant lights of the only city around for miles, and the stars shining above them. The November air was so fresh as it blew against his face and through his hair as they made their way down the empty road out towards the middle of nowhere.

They finally arrived at their destination. Lance was sure Shiro must have figured out where they were taking him by now. It seemed like only a place that Keith would be able to think of, where him and Shiro used to race back when Keith was a student at the garrison. There, were two parked hoverbikes Keith had managed to borrow from the garrison. Keith and Lance dismounted Keith’s own bike and looked at them.

“This was a really good idea, Lance.”

“I didn’t come up with it all on my own.”

Pidge ran out of the car and up behind the two of them. “Keith, how did you manage this! Did you steal these from the garrison?”

“What? Why would I steal them? Your dad let me borrow them for the night.”

Shiro came up behind them and put his hands on their shoulders. “This is great guys, thanks.”

Lance just gave Keith a look of how does he know? and Keith just looked back at him just as confused, shrugging a shoulder before shoving Shiro’s hand off of him and moving forward towards a bike.

“So, who’s first?”

Keith and Shiro had gone first in racing. Shiro won despite Keith’s insistence that he cheated. After that they split up into teams, him, Pidge and Hunk on one and Matt, Shiro and Keith on the other. Overall, the three of them got crushed. Lance was the only one that won a race and it was against Matt. Hunk had thrown up on his when he went off the side of the hill and decided he would stick the rest of it cheering from the sidelines.

Keith and him ended up racing once. Lance had mounted the bike and looked over at the other boy before putting his helmet on.

“Ready to lose, mullet,” he said smirking.

“Oh, I think you should be asking yourself that question, Blue,” he said. Right before slipping his helmet on over his head, Lance could’ve sworn he saw the other boy wink quickly followed by a small smile. Lance just started back in disbelief before putting his helmet on. He didn’t even hear Pidge say “Go”. He was still trying to figure out if he had really seen a wink from Keith or if it was the darkness and his mind playing tricks on him. He heard Keith’s bike rev and then saw his vision blur from the dust kicking up in front of him, knocking him out of his thought and allowing himself to take off as well directly behind Keith. By the time they made it back up to where everyone else was, Lance was only slightly behind Keith, but he still lost. Keith dismounted from his bike, making his way over to Lance’s where he held out his hand to help Lance down.

“Better luck next time, buddy.”

Lance took his hand, feet hitting the ground soon after. Lance didn’t snap back a response to his friend about how he would have beat him if… well if Keith hadn’t caught him so off guard. He still doesn’t know if what he saw was completely real or not.

“It’s getting pretty late, so if we are going to go out more then we should probably go unless someone else wants to race,” Keith said. Lance looked down realizing that his hand was still locked into Keith’s grip. His palm was warm through his gloves, a pleasant contrast to the cold November air. Lance was thankful it was dark outside because he felt the heat rise up his arm up to his face that he was sure was bright red by now. He slowly took his hand back from Keith’s and took a step closer to Hunk.

Matt and Pidge were the only ones to want to race again, Pidge insisting that their last one hadn’t been fair. After that they loaded back up in the vehicles and made their way back into the town. Shiro dropped Pidge off at her parents house and followed Keith and Lance to the bar. It was a small one that was a few blocks down the road from the garrison. It wasn’t something that someone would just know was there, but Shiro had found it when he was a student and it was the place where he and Curtis really first connected after the war ended. Keith figured it would be the only bar that Shiro would really want to go out to if they were going to one.

They walked into the crowded room. They found a spot in the corner where they could all fit. Matt had already begun begging Shiro to go dance before they had even made it through their first round of drink.

“If you are going to make me dance at least let me get a decent amount of alcohol in me first,” Shiro groaned.

“Ugh but drunk Shiro gets all cuddly and handsy. And we don’t need that a couple of nights before you get married to another man now do we?” Matt replied. Hunk just gave Shiro and Matt several glances back and forth.

Shiro’s face fell flat, unamused, “Ha ha, Matt. You’re hilarious. Let me at least finish this one before you subject me to your awful dancing.”

After Shiro finished his drink, as promised, Matt dragged him out to dance. On his way out of his seat, he latched onto Keith’s wrist. Keith’s face filled with panic as he struggled to free his arm from Shiro’s grasp.

“Shiro let go of me,”

“Oh nononono you don’t hotshot, this is a bachelor party and we all get to participate in the humiliation,” Lance said as he stood up from his spot beside Keith. He put his hand on Keith’s shoulder and nudged him forward. “Come on, Hunk.”

“Aw man, Lance, that’s not fair. I can’t even drink anything to make this any easier.”

“What are you talking about dude, none of us are even drunk right now. If the rest of us have to suffer sober, then you, as the dd, gets to also.”

It didn’t take long for Hunk to get pumped up like Matt and Lance were. They all danced around an awkward Shiro and a pouting Keith. At least Shiro was trying to dance. Keith just stood there with his arms crossed tapping his foot and lightly bobbing his head to the beat of the music. Lance grabbed his arms to uncross them and started to swing them around.

“Lance what are you doing,” he deadpanned at the boy in front of him who was still shaking his arms around to the beat of the music.

“Uhhh, what does it look like, Keith. I’m helping you dance since you are incapable of having fun.”

“What! I am not incapable of having fun,” he said as his scowl hardened as Lance continued to haphazardly flop his arms in random directions.

“Well considering I have to do this,” he waved Keith’s arms in front of his face, “in order for you to move any part of your body, I would say that you are pretty incapable of fun.”

Keith just shook his head in disbelief as he ripped his arms from Lance’s grasp. “I’m more than capable of having fun,” he said. Lance just raised an eyebrow at the boy in front of him before Keith started swaying back and forth, matching the rhythm of the song.

“You call that dancing? Come on man, loosen up some,” Lance said to him, putting his hands on the others shoulders and shaking him a little. Keith just took a breath in and started slowly mimicking the movements that Lance was doing in front of him. As the song continued on, he did in fact loosen up. He got less awkward with his movement and more into what he was doing.

Lance watched as the boy in front of him closed his eyes and let the music move through his body. He watched as the long bangs that hung down in front of his eyes bobbed up in down with the movement of Keith’s body. Some of his hair was beginning to stick to his forehead due to sweat beginning to form in the warm room. He stopped for a minute just to watch Keith dance. It had been awhile since Lance had seen his friend so free. He was usually so run down by the duties he had been carrying around since he was 17, but now, in this small moment, none of those were present. Keith just let himself go. He was dancing, awfully, Lance might add, but he was still dancing. And it was the most beautiful thing Lance had seen in a really long time.

After a while, Lance started to get pretty tired. He gets another drink and then makes his way back over to their spot. By this point, Shiro and Matt were getting pretty drunk. They had more drinks in between every few songs, but Lance had just stayed dancing with Keith and Hunk. He almost never wanted that feeling to end, the one that he was getting from watching Keith dance horribly in front of him as if he hadn’t ever had a care in the world. It was so unlike the hard cold Keith that usually was present during these types of situations. He almost felt like he was living in a dream, until of course something had to come and wake him up.

The song switched and he opened his eyes and stopped dancing for a moment to catch his breath. He was looking at Keith again when a girl walked along the back of the room behind Keith. White hair, fastened neatly up into a large bun on the top of her head. Ears coming to a point on the side of the head. Dark skin contrasting to the mark glowing just under her eye. Allura.

Lance’s breath seized up inside of his chest. He took a better look at the girl passing by in the background. No, not Allura. Allura was… It was just an altean that looked so much like… like her. Lance felt his chest drop and he looked down at the ground. His head suddenly feeling very heavy. He was just… tired. So he took a break and now he was sitting alone in their corner trying to catch a glimpse of the girl who was now long out of sight. He took a sip of his drink and sighed. Keith and Hunk were still dancing. Matt and Shiro were nowhere to be found at the moment.

He is still searching the crowd to try and get just one more look at her, but Lacne can’t find the altean girl anywhere in the room. He looks down at the ground when he feels an elbow hitting his shoulder. He looks up to find Keith with a drink in each hand, bangs stuck to his forehead and hair draped messily on his neck, having come loose from his hair tie. Lance moves over to make room for the other boy to sit next to him. Keith hands him the full glass, taking a sip of his own at the same time.

“You’ve been over here by yourself for a while now, is everything alright?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine buddy. Just got a little tired.” Keith just gave him a look but took another drink rather than pushing the question any further. Lance took a glance out onto the crowd of people and aliens dancing in front of them. “Where’d Hunk go?”

“He went to go find Matt and Shiro. I told him to look in the bathroom. Shiro tends to end up there pretty quickly after he gets a few drinks in him and Matt definitely put more than a few in him.”

They dropped the conversation after that, continuing to drink their drinks in the comfortable silence that had fallen over them. After they both finished, Keith offered to go get another round and Lance didn’t turn it down. Maybe after a few more this feeling would fade away. Keith quickly returned handing his friend the new glass.

“I never thanked you for helping me the other night with this.”

“You don’t need to thank me dude, I figured it was only a matter of time before the panicked call came in begging me for my genius help in party planning.” Keith shoved Lance over, spilling some of both of their drinks onto the ground. “Now look what you did.”

“Shut up, Lance. I’m serious. This turned out great. Everyone is having a good time and we all get to do it together. I would’ve never thought of anything like this without you, hell, I didn’t even know I was supposed to plan anything in the first place.”

“It’s nothing. Besides I just led you into the right direction. You came up with the bikes and bringing Shiro to this place. But I will accept your gratitude because I really don’t want to know what we would’ve done if you hadn’t called me.”

“Honestly, neither do I,” he said laughing under his breath. “I’m glad you still have my back, Lance.”

“Hey man, we’re partners. I’ll always have your back when you need me. I don’t know what you’d do without me.”

Keith just looks up at him and gently smiles. “Yeah. I don’t know what I’d do either.”

They stay like that for a while going through a few more drinks, talking about nothing in particular. Eventually Hunk walks out from a hallway with Shiro and Matt following behind. He makes them sit down for awhile but they tell him that he isn’t any fun and that this is Shiro’s night so when Hunk turns his back for a second they are up and gone back out to dance. Hunk just lets them go, but doesn’t take his eyes off of the pair the entire time they are up.

Lance’s mind is now turning into a stronger buzz, the feelings that he felt when he originally sat down now replaced by a bubbling happiness that really acted up everytime Keith looked at him, accidentally brushed his arm against his own, or even talked to Lance.

“Keeeeeith. Let’s go dance again,” Lance said leaning his body against Keith’s as if he were trying to push him out of his seat.

“I’ve done enough dancing for a lifetime,” he mumbles pushing back against Lance’s weight.

Lance continues to push, but eventually he begins pointing the other boys side. “Pleeeease Keith. I like it when you dance. You start to look pretty.”

“Fine, but it's too hot in here for me to keep this on,” he says as he begins to strip off his leather jacket revealing the tight red shirt underneath. Lance feels his breath catch in his throat again, and the room suddenly does feel very warm as Keith had suggested it did. “Hunk, hold this for me pleeease. Thanks I love you.” Hunk looks shocked and slightly annoyed, but takes the jacket from Keith’s hand nonetheless.

“Please be careful you two, you are starting to look almost as bad as Matt and Shiro,” he warns them. Lance just takes Keith’s hand and scoffs at Hunk.

“We’re fine, buddy. We are just going to go make Keith pretty again.” With that, Lance tugs on Keith’s hand and drags him out to the area where Shiro and Matt are “dancing”.

He grabs Keith by his other hand and they start to dance as they had earlier but now hand and hand. Keith’s eyes are already closed as he lets himself go once again, but Lance doesn’t close his this time. He keeps them open the entire time watching as the others hair flies in all directions with the motion of his head and as is body moves in -sort of- time of the song. Their hands start to get slippery in the grip of the others, but neither one of them lets go of the others while they are out there. Shiro and Matt make their way more over to where Lance and Keith are standing and try and dance along with them, but Lance doesn’t pay much attention to what they are doing.

It doesn’t take much longer for Hunk to decide that it’s time for everyone to go home. He rounds them all up and takes them out to Shiro’s car where he piles him, Keith and Shiro into the backseat after Matt had whined about not sitting in the front yet.

“Waiit, Hunk. Keith’s bike, someone’s gonna steal it from him. What are we going to do?”

Hunk buckled himself into the driver's seat and just looked at Lance through the mirror. He looked tired. Lance suddenly felt a finger touch his lips.

“Shhhh, I’ll just get it in the morning. It’ll be okay,” Keith whispered into Lance’s ear.

“Remind me never agree to be the designated driver again. All of you are weird drunk.”

Lance decided to ignore his friends comment about them and just leaned his head against the back of his seat letting his eyes begin to close. Right before he started to slip into sleep, he felt the gentle weight of a head resting on his shoulder, bangs gently tickling against his neck.

The next thing he knows is that he is being shook awake and helped out of the car. They all slowly make their way up the stairs of Shiro’s apartment complex and over to his place. Matt just falls onto the couch and Shiro takes the chair next to it, curling up and immediately falling asleep. Lance is about to sit down and pass out on in the middle of the living room with the other two, but he feels a warm hand curl around his wrist, pulling him into the hallway leading to the two bedrooms. Keith guides Lance into the guest room where he is staying for the weekend and pulls back the covers of the bed in the middle of the room. Without a word, he strips down his pants and removes his jacket, leaving him in just his boxers and his red shirt, before climbing into the bed and pulling the covers up over his head. Lance doesn’t put much thought into deciding that what Keith did would be the most suitable option for sleepwear before doing the same and going to the otherside of the bed. As soon as his head hits the pillow, he starts to drift off, again only feeling the draping of an arm over his side before he completely falls into the darkness of sleep.

The next morning, Keith wakes up first to the morning light coming through the blinds that he forgot to close. He brings up his hand to cover his eyes from the blinding light that is causing his head to pound. As he slowly begins to wake up more, he realizes that his body was curled up into Lance’s side, head resting on his shoulder, hand draped over his stomach. He looked up at the sleeping boys face before slowly removing himself from the bed. Quietly, he slipped on a new pair of jeans and a new shirt, grabbed his jacket, closed the blinds and left the room deciding that it was best to do so before Lance woke up.

The light eventually starts to make its way under Lance’s eyelids, slowly waking him up. The first thing he notices is the pounding sensation in his head. The next thing is that he is alone, and the covers on the other side of the bed are messed up. He carefully and slowly sits up in the bed grabbing his head in his hands as the pounding gets harder with every movement. He eventually makes his way out of the bed and grabs his pants that were laying on the ground next to the bed.

Keith.

That’s who he shared the bed with.

Then it all came back to him. The wink, the lingering hand holding, the dancing, the touches, how pretty Keith looked when he was free. Lance looked back at the unmade other side of the bed.

Oh.

He puts his pants on and makes his way out to the kitchen where Shiro and Matt are sitting at the table with Curtis who must have returned this morning. Hunk was in the kitchen making pancakes at the stove.

“Oh hey Lance. Nice of you to join us.”

“Geez, buddy, can you keep it down some. Pounding headache over here.”

“Oh yeah. Sorry Lance. Forgot you guys were totally wasted last night. There is some aspirin on the counter,” he said. Lance made his way to over to him where he took the two pills and grabbed a plate of food that Hunk had made up for him. He sat down at the table in the last chair and began to dig into his food with the rest of them.

“Does anybody know where Keith went this morning?”

“Oh, I think he slipped out to go get his bike earlier. He’ll probably be back soon if you want to talk to him,” Hunk mentioned as he pulled up a spare chair to the table and started on his own food.

“No, uh, I need to get going after this. Me and Veronica were going to go do some stuff around town today. I don’t want to keep her waiting.”

He took the last few bites of his food before getting up and taking his plate to the sink.

“I’ll see you all later,” he told them making his way over to the door. Shiro stood up from his chair and made his way over to the door along with Lance. Shiro opened it up and Lance stepped outside.

“Hey Shiro, let Keith know I said thanks for letting me use his bed last night.”

“Will do. And thanks for helping him plan the party.”

“Uhhh…”

“Don’t act like you didn’t help him. There is no way Keith had anything planned when I asked him the other night. Are you sure you are good to drive back? Does your head feel alright and everything?”

“Well my head still hurts, but I think I’ll be good. It’s starting to go down some. Alright, see you later tonight for the rehearsal,” he said before turning and making his way to his car.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He doesn’t know why, but seeing the altean two nights before had brought back the nightmares. The memories. The last of their teenage years wrapped up in the middle of a war they hadn’t even existed before they had found Blue. But worst of all, it brought back the hurt that came after her.

The feelings that usually dragged him down from thinking about his life before were being repressed. Pushed back by something. Something familiar yet new all at once. They were being drawn away by the red, fiery nature of black hair and violet eyes. By the electricity that ran through his veins when their arms brushed. The smile that burns brighter than any star he ever saw out in the universe. The vague memory of an arm wrapped around him, holding him close as he drifted off into sleep.

Feelings for Keith weren’t something he was unfamiliar with. For years he felt his heart race as they challenged one another over something ridiculous. When Shiro went missing and suddenly their rivalry morphed itself into something more. The feelings of loneliness after Keith disappeared with the blades. The soft flutter that reappeared in his chest when he returned. But by that point he had himself convinced he had moved on from Keith. That Allura was who he needed and that Keith obviously didn’t see him as anything other than his friend and teammate. Overtime those feelings faded completely into the background, unnoticed by Lance among the new ones that had taken their place eventually. That is, until two nights ago. And all it took was a wink.

Now it’s the night of the wedding and they haven’t gone away. He feels weird now after having shared the bed with Keith and then not being able to speak to him since. The familiar feeling of possible rejection climbs up his throat every time he passes by the other. That, followed by the undeniable guilt that builds afterwards. As if Keith is somehow a betrayal to what he felt towards Allura. And he hates it.

He wants Shiro to be happy, but he wasn’t expecting something as simple as his friends wedding to bring up so many emotions that were extremely unwanted.

It’s an hour until the ceremony starts and Lance still hasn’t had the courage or the time to talk to Keith about the other night. The night before at the wedding rehearsal and dinner, he avoided most eye contact with him. That of course got him several worried glances from Hunk but never an actual question of what was going on. And today, while they were all putting in place decorations and getting ready, Keith was gone almost the entire time helping Shiro prepare. When him and Shiro finally showed up, Keith was already dressed in his white tuxedo with his red vest and bowtie. Keith spared him one glance before ushering Shiro into the next room. Lance’s eyes followed, stopping and staying locked on the door, breath hitched up in the back of his throat, until an elbow nudged him gently in his side.

“Hey dude, you okay?”

Lance looked up at his friend who was fastening his own yellow bowtie on his neck in the mirror next to where Lance was standing.

“Uh yeah, I’m good. Totally fine.”

“You sure because you sure have been acting weird everytime Keith is around ever since you woke up at Shiro’s the other day. Did something happen between you two that night? I noticed you guys were pretty close all night long. Oh my god, dude! Did you two…”

“What!? Nononononononono. We didn’t do anything except share the bed. I swear, geez Hunk. And I am not acting weird around Keith. Why would I be acting weird around him?” Hunk just stopped what he was doing and stared at Lance who could feel his face heating up by the second. He just turned around avoiding his best friends intense and knowing stare that always got to him eventually. “I’m fine dude, promise.”

“If you say so, Lance,” he said placing a hand on Lance’s turned shoulder. It dropped almost immediately after, footsteps falling in its place, leaving Lance alone and lost without the comfort of his friend to distract his mind from the red that he can't seem to shake from his mind.

The ceremony was beautiful. The room was decorated in white and black with purple flowers occasionally standing out against the white ones they were surrounded by. Lance stood next to Keith on the stage, but his mind never wandered over to thoughts about him. His entire focus was on his friend who he had never seen happier as he vowed to be with the love of his life forever. Everything went relatively perfectly throughout the entire thing and tears were forming from the corners of his eyes almost from the moment that he saw Shiro’s face as Curtis started walking towards him.

They make their way over to the reception after they get in a few pictures of the new married couple. The decorations here are more purple, the rooms lighting is dim and the music is already playing the background. The moments directly after the wedding were full of a high. Everyone was crying and laughing, happy that their friend finally gets to experience permanent happiness after everything that he had to go through. It was the reception that started the low from that.

The lights were dim and the feeling floating around the air was one of light happiness. The room was crowded with people, some dancing, some sitting and chatting, others mindlessly eating away at the food laid out on the tables along the wall. He should have been happy. And he was in a way. He doesn’t think the happiness he felt for Shiro would go away for a long time. But at the same time the nagging is creeping up from the back of his mind again. Gnawing away at his thoughts slowly, making him think of what could have been, or even what could be. Reminders of the past and how they shaped the future and their current lives. He hates it. He hates being like this. Especially in a place where he is really not supposed to be like this.

Lance missed Keith’s speech. He was there, sitting at the table with him and the others, but he completely missed everything he said. He had spent the entire time staring. At his face and how his mouth formed carefully around every single word he said. At how his brows would twitch when he had to think a little longer about what his next sentence would be. At his hands and how they nervously intertwined themselves together throughout the entire speech. He had never seen Keith so nervous about speaking in front of a crowd before. Usually he was so confident, calm and collected as he spoke out among a crowd of people. But this was different. This wasn’t a talk about how they would come back triumphant in their quest to save the universe or a speech to unite alien civilizations. It was his best friend’s- his brother’s- wedding, and Lance picked up on how it was cutting through his confidence in a way none of them had ever seen.

The night carried on like that for a while. Hunk held his wrist and walked him around to different spots in the room to chat with people, took him to get food, and even took him out to dance. He felt fine while he was with Hunk, but something was still digging its way through his mind and even Hunk’s persistence couldn’t rid of it completely. They were dancing to a song Lance had never heard when Shay asked if she could cut in. Hunk just gave Lance a look, but Lance just smiled and nodded, moving out of the way so that Shay could take his spot.

“Have fun you two crazy kids. And don’t do anything that I wouldn’t do.” He continued to smile as a blush covered Hunk’s cheeks, but he turned around without another word and walked back to his seat at the table.

He looks out at the dance floor for a while, watching as his friends and the other guests dance along to the music. He hears the chair next to him slide out and feels the presence of someone next to him.

“You know, I just spent 10 minutes listening to Slav go on about how many realities there were to get us to this wedding and about how my bowtie being crooked would alter so many realities after this and now I feel like my head might actually explode.”

Lance turned his head to look at the man sitting beside him. His bowtie was crooked.

“You spent 10 minutes listening to that and you didn’t even think to straighten out your bowtie? Here, let me help you,” he said reaching his arms out to connect with the bright red bow around Keith’s neck. He looked up at Keith’s face briefly before concentrating back at his task. “Why were you talking to Slav anyway?”

“He had been talking to Shiro and I figured I should go save him since it was his wedding day and we don’t need this to turn into a crime scene today.” Lance finished straightening out the tie and slowly took his hands back, looking up at Keith and smiling. “Thanks. Maybe now realities are altered back to how they should be.”

“I don’t know a lot about the alternate reality thing, but I’m pretty sure that’s not how it works.”

They sat there after that, once again falling into comfortable silence as they stared out onto the crowd. Even with Keith sitting by him in the moment, there was something still clawing at his mind. How could everything here seem so right but wrong at the same time? As if something was missing from it all, changing the way everyone was experiencing it.

“You are thinking about her, aren’t you.”

Oh. It’s her. The guilt, the pain. The missing piece from today. Her.

Lance just looked back at Keith.

“Yeah. I guess I was.”

“It’s been bothering me all night. I was trying to figure out what it was and then it hit me. It just kind of seems wrong without her, but this is what she would want for him. For all of us actually. To be happy and living out lives as we should be.” Lance didn’t know what to say to that. So he just picked up his cup and took a sip from it. “Oh, I.. sorry. You probably really miss her right now.”

“Yeah I do, but not like I used to. Just sometimes when we are all together, experiencing things, it just gets a little hard.”

“Yeah I understand. But she would want this for you most of all, you know. To be happy, and to move onto new adventures as they come to you.” Keith is really looking at him now, face soft and comforting.

“I’ve moved on from her. Really, I have. But you’re right, it’s just hard sometimes to do that second part. With the new adventures and all. I just, I don’t know, I think I feel like if I stop what I’m doing now, it’ll be a disservice to her.”

“Allura cared so much about you Lance. She liked you for who you were, for the Lance that knew exactly what he wanted in life. She knew from the moment she met all of us that we were destined for greatness and I don’t think that you could anything that would ever be of disservice to Allura and her life. You are capable of new adventures, Lance, and you will never convince me otherwise.”

Lance softly smiled back. “Thanks. I, uh, I really needed that Keith.” His mind was starting to calm. He didn’t know if it was the reassurance about Allura or the look that Keith was giving him in the moment, but it didn’t really matter. “Now I guess I just have to figure out where to start, “ he said laughing lightly with it. Keith turned his head away from Lance and back out to the crowd of dancing people, then stands up, holding his hand out to Lance. Lance’s eyes follow up his arm and find his face. It’s still soft and appears confident, but he can tell there is something hidden in his eyes- nervousness.

“How about right here,” he says softly keeping his hand extended. Lance feels the blood rise up to his cheeks.

“What do you mean?”

“You can start right here. With me.” Lance goes back to looking at his extended hand. He then looks down at his own and back up at Keith. A smile forms on his face as he reaches out with his own and takes hold of Keith’s hand, letting himself be pulled out of the chair and led back out to the middle of the room into the crowd of people.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~Half a year later~

He was out in the garden weeding the juniberry garden when the roar of the ships engine began to grow louder as it came closer. Lance smiled down at the large pink flowers in front of him, picking one from the ground before standing up and wiping off his hands. He threw the rake that he had been using earlier over his shoulder and looked out on the fields of his family’s farm. It was beautiful outside, sunny and clear but not hot so that it was miserable. They were all outside working today. His mom, niece and nephew were gathering flowers that had been ordered for bouquets and arrangements. His father had been milking Kaltenecker. Everyone had a job to get done but there was no stress out here. Everything out here was exactly how it was meant to be.

Lance had been out working since the sun rose in the horizon. He was always up earlier than anyone else on these days because it was hard for him to stay asleep. It was pickup day. The day that was guaranteed to be his favorite of the whole week every week. It had been since mid-November. He had finished all of his usual daily chores early on in the morning and went out to the Juiberry garden to pass the time. It always calmed him, working out there. Made his excitement tone down for a while so he wouldn't be restless the entire day.

He made his way down to the barn where all of the crates that were ready to be picked up were located. He tucked the flower behind his ear for safe keeping as he leaned over the boxes, counting to make sure they were all there and labeled correctly.

He stood up and straightened his back when he heard the barn door open up behind him, the soft creak of the hinges acting as a warning. A smile spread across his face and his heartbeat picked up as he pretended to continue counting the boxes. Eventually, two strong arms found their way around his waist followed by a head full of long and soft, black hair nuzzling its way into the crook of his neck. Lance wrapped his arms over Keith’s, his hands molding perfectly over the others. He opened up the arms around him and turned around, looking into the face of his boyfriend.

“I brought you something,” he said pulling the juniberry from behind his ear and pushing Keith’s hair back so that he could move it to stay behind Keith’s ear. “Beautiful,” he whispered to him before leaning in to kiss him gently on the lips. And it was true, Keith was beautiful and Lance didn’t think he could ever get enough of it. He pulled away, slipping his hand into Keith’s and turning back towards the crates.

“Everything’s ready to load up, partner.”

After Shiro’s wedding, Lance decided it was time to start his new adventure- baby steps at a time. Him and Keith started dating not long after the wedding and everything started to build from there. Keith eventually decided that his humanitarian efforts throughout the universe could really use some good, homegrown products, thus starting their partnership. Lance’s family was all for giving what they produce towards Keith’s cause. They’d do anything for Keith. All of them already treat him as if he were a part of the family.

The best part of the pick up days was that after everything was loaded into Keith’s ship, they had the rest of the day to themselves. Keith usually ended up staying the night since he didn’t really have to take off again until the morning.

The last crate of the day gets loaded into the cargo hold and Keith takes Lance’s hand in his own.

“So what is on the schedule for today?”

“I was thinking that we could just have a do nothing, chill day. Maybe walk around later. I’m fine with anything just as long as I get to spend all of it with you.”

Keith looked at him, smiling that smile that made Lance’s insides feel as if they were about to explode. “Yeah, that sounds nice.”

So that’s what they did. They laid around inside, watched movies, and helped his mom cook and set up for dinner. After they ate and helped clean up, they went outside for their walk.

The sun was just starting to set, the sky changing from blue to a painting of yellows and oranges as the sun began to disappear behind the hills in the distance.

“Look at us, babe. Lance and Keith, hand in hand,” he says, holding up him and Keith’s entangled hands to admire them.

“I like that a lot better than Lance and Keith, neck and neck.”

Lance laughed, “Yeah, so do I. We’ve come a long way since then, haven’t we.”

They sat down next to each other on the top of a hill, sides pressing into one another's. Lance put his arm around Keith’s shoulders as Keith rest his head on Lance’s.

“Do you remember our last night on earth before the war ended?”

Lance paused at the question, looking off into the orange sunset.

“Yeah, of course I do.”

“And how you came and found me on the black lion watching the sunset?”

“Yeah.”

“That was the night I was going to tell you how I felt about you.”

“Wait, you were going to do what?”

“Shiro had told us all, spend the evening with the ones you love. I had gone up to Black with Cosmo to think about it, and I came to the conclusion that I wanted to spend that night with you. And I got to, because you came and found me, but obviously after that I couldn’t tell you how I felt. But it was fine, I was really happy for you.”

“Oh, I… I didn’t know that.”

“No offense, but I even then I had a feeling that we would always end up here anyway. I mean, not necessarily on your family farm watching the sunset, but together. You were always the flame that I was drawn to, that I couldn’t resist. And from the moment I met you in that tent in the desert I had a feeling I was going to be stuck with you forever, I just didn’t realize at the time that forever isn’t enough time for me to spend with you.”

“That’s… that’s exactly how I felt back at the garrison when I first heard of you. Keith Kogane, the pain in my ass who was always one step ahead of me. Keith Kogane, the boy who didn’t even bother to remember my name. Eventually I realized that all that anger I had towards you was just a stupid crush that I thought I would never get over, and to be honest, even when I thought it was gone, it was still there. Just waiting for me to realize that I need you in my life always.”

They stayed there on the ground until the sun set completely, laying down in the grass after that to count the stars. Lance turned on his side, resting his head in his hand to look over at his boyfriend. His face was lit up under the dim light of the moon, his black hair was spread out over the soft grass, and his face was filled with job as he gazed up at the stars above them. He quickly noticed Lance’s staring and turned his head slightly to look up at him.

“What?”

“I just…”

“You just…?”

Lance paused for a moment, looking back up at the stars and then out onto the hills in the distance as they faded into the dark sky. Everything out here was calm, exactly as it should be. He had never been happier in his life than he was in this moment. He thought back to the past several years of his life, the end of the war, starting up the farm with his family, the wedding, Keith. When he first boarded Blue all those years ago, never in a million years would he have thought this is where he would end up. He was so young and full of life and curiosity. Ready for the next adventure to come as the last one passed. But it’s where he is, and it was what he needed. He needed a break from the thrill of life for a moment, where he could be surrounded by what he loves most. He is truly surrounded by everything that he loves, and everything is completely clear now.

“Marry me,” he says quietly, looking back down at Keith now. Keith’s eyes go wide with shock and his mouth falls open. He sits up so that his body is more level with Lance’s.

“W..What? Are you joking?”

“No, I’m completely serious. It’s time for another new adventure and you said it yourself, we are meant to do this together. So, Keith Kogane, marry me, because I have never been so sure of something in my life,” he said taking Keith’s hand in his own and holding it close to them. He said it as a statement rather than a question. Because he knows Keith. Even if he doesn’t get a clear yes right in this moment, he knows one will come soon and no matter what happens that is where they will end up. Keith’s face is still filled with shock, but soon it starts to soften into the look that he saves specifically for moments like this with Lance.

“Of course I’ll marry you,” he says throwing his arms around Lance’s neck, tackling him back onto the ground. Keith’s weight is on top of Lance and he leans down so that their foreheads are touching.

“I don’t have a ring right now, but I’ll get you one. And then we will get married and we can go off and do whatever the hell we want.”

“I love you, Lance, so much.”

“I love you too, Mullet.”

Six years after the war had ended, their lives were really just beginning.

end.

archive of our own- |x|

#klance #keith #lance #voltron #laith #leakira #keith kogane #lance mcclain #voltron season 8 #post season 8 #vld keith #vld lance #vld klance #vld #my writing #fanfiction

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mooleche · 5 years

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Hi, hello, can I have the whole list for the latest OTP thing you reblogged? Yeah, the whole damn thing. Thank youuuuu!

THIS IS SO LATE BLS FORGIVE

1. Who tries to start talking conspiracy theories at 3am in bed rather than sleeping?Nina pbppt. After seeing all that Wade/Deadpool can do and seeing him break the 4th wall she ends up staying up late thinking about it which inevitably leads to Colossus being the victim of her 3am rants that only end when he smothers her with his chest in an affectionate method of telling her to s t o p t a l k i n g lmao2. Who puts items on the lowest shelf possible to make the other bend over?Nina. Colossus is too much of a gentleman to make her bend over for his enjoyment, but she on the other hand is a pervert at heart and knows no bounds. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)3. Who has the the other as a background on their phone?Colossus. After Nina sees that he's still got the most basic of phones ("Who needs those metal fists when you have a fricken' Nokia brick to toss at your enemies?") she goes out with him to get a new one and commemorate the moment by taking a cute picture with him as the first photo. Later on she sees that it's his background and melts a lil more over the sweet gesture.4. Who drunkenly tries to fight a bush?Nina. While she's overall fun as hell to be around when drunk, she's also intolerant to bullshit and will not back down if someone tries to have a go at her. Not even a bush. Meanwhile Colossus is a very boisterous flirt and often has to keep Nina tethered so she doesn't wander off and get into trouble.5. Who leaves cute post-it notes for the other?Both! Since their schedules are so different (various missions, college, ect) they tend to rely on these a lot when trying to be sweet on the go. Nina however takes it to the next level and will usually leave raunchy comments in french or russian for Colossus so he's quick to try and find any that she leaves him. His are more romantic and uplifting and she tends to save every one for times when he's away and can't write more.( ´ ∀ ` )6. Who falls asleep on the other?They usually fall asleep on each other, but since Colossus is so much bigger than Nina she's the one to fall asleep on him more. She likes sleeping on him in the summer a lot since his skin is cool on hot nights pbpbpt7. Who sneaks in candy to the movies?Nina for sure. It's the only way to keep Venom from talking during the entire movie, and as much as Colossus frowns upon it they agree that charging $6+ for some chocolate is criminal.8. Who sneaks up behind the other and kisses their neck?Colossus. He doesn't do it often because it turns Nina into putty when he DOES do it, so he saves it for days that he's got time to spare to really make it worth their while. ∠( ᐛ 」∠)＿9. Who steals the others fries?Nina skdkgsl. Venom likes its fries so it's hard NOT to take a few under the guise of a 'girlfriend symbiote' tax pbpbpt10. Who saves little things from their dates?They both do! Nina usually takes photos on their dates to later add to her corkboard so they can look back on them later whereas Colossus saves little mementos of their dates that he plans to use later if/when he decides to propose to her, kind of like a 'walk through their life together' type thing.11. Who always is always cold?Nina lsdkgsls This isn't necassarily a bad thing though as she usually just steals Colossus' clothes to wear since they're so big on her and keep her warm, much to his sadness because he can never find anything of his hoodies because of it

12. Who gets the most competitive?

It depends on what they're competing for. Colossus is usually the more lax one between them but he can get competitive when it comes to how many people he can take out in a mission compared to Nina as he sees it as a way for her to injure/maim instead of outright kill sglkdgsNina is usually competitive when fighting, mostly because she thinks people worry about hurting her when she's the last person who should be looked down on.13. Who is the first to bring up marriage?Colossus. While they end up getting married on the fly during a mission he still asks Nina her thoughts on it after they have the inevitable talk about his past relationship and where they see things going in their future.14. Who suggests “Netflix and Chill” only to fall asleep before the Chill part?Both of them sgkdls. Since they spend a lot of time around the mansion they often try to have stay-at-home dates on the fly, Netflix and Chill included, but they get so tired from their day life that they usually pass out before they can get to the fun part.15. Who pays for the dates?Colossus. He's pretty old fashioned so he still believes in being the gentleman and paying for the dates, and while Nina doesn't mind she will often try to pay for at least one dinner before he uses his height against her and foots the bill before she can retrieve it.16. Who pulls the other into the closet for a quickie?Nina. They have busy lives so she has to take it when she can get it, and as embarrassed as Colossus is about getting it on the the closet on the risk of getting caught ya boi can't escape Ninas lusty ways.17. Who gets overly invested in reality tv shows?Colossus skgdjgls He doesn't want to admit it but Nina will walk in on him getting emotional as hell over Ellen Degeneres or The Bachelor and usually end up sitting with him and getting pulled in.

"Why did Colton jump the fence for Cassie? That's so stupid!""Love makes you do stupid things.""Yes like binging the entire Bachelor season on our day off...Play the next episode."18. Who fakes being married to get into the other’s hospital room?Nina.This type of thing doesn't happen often so when she hears he's in trouble she'll go to ridiculous lengths to get to see how her partner is doing, even going out to a pawn shop with Wade to choose a cute wedding ring to really seal the deal and photoshopping their heads on a Vegas wedding if that's what it takes.19. Who burnt dinner after having a dance party while cooking?Nina. You better believe this poor dumb bidiot is busting her buns to Lizzo while cooking and almost burns the house down in the process. Colossus is the one to inevitably suggest they do carryout instead to say the night dlgksgsl20. Who makes the coffee in the morning so the other can sleep a bit long?Colossus. He knows all too well that Nina is terrible with mornings so being the morning bird he is will get up with plenty of time to do his morning routine and make a nice pot of coffee before Nina is even coherent.

#TY FOR THIS I CRY #it makes me really want to draw some of these out LOL #I'm cackling because I was thinking of a ship name #and since Niotr is already Nate/Colossus #I was going to settle with Pina #but it just makes me think of the song #I'm dyin'#long post #master-sass-blast

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dovebuffy92 · 4 years

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Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story Season 2 Episode 7 “The Shillelagh” Review

https://maewpower.wordpress.com/2020/07/09/dirty-john-the-betty-broderick-story-season-2-episode-7-the-shillelagh-review/

Betty murders Dan and Linda after nobody takes her declining mental health seriously.

Spoilers

Dirty: John: The Betty Broderick Story Season Two Episode Seven “The Shillelagh,” directed by Alexandra Cunningham, is about the murder of Linda Kolkena and Dan Broderick. The real or fictional Betty has no real excuse for murdering two people, but the television show documents how there were many warning signs. Instead of helping Betty, both Dan and Linda played with her mind. Betty is not a victim, but she could have been stopped. Her friends only try to contain her. Dan and Linda emotionally or legally destroy Betty.

Betty’s gun purchase should have been the first significant warning sign. Instead, everybody decided Betty was acting overdramatic. Betty shows her sons the handgun. She tells them never to touch the gun or tell anybody about it. Ryan informs Dan that Betty now owns a gun, but he still refuses to buy a home security system, even though Betty has threatened to kill him several times. Dan thinks that Betty is just playing mind games with him.

During his bachelor party, one of Dan’s lawyer friends asks him if he is nervous now that Betty owns a gun. Dan flippantly states that all Betty cares about is money. She would never kill the “golden goose.” Dan doesn’t realize that money is just part of why she is so crazed about the divorce. Betty wants the whole marriage back. She doesn’t know who she is without being Mrs. Broderick. She feels like Dan stole her entire identity. Betty worked hard, building the perfect family. Dan’s arrogance blinds him, and he doesn’t report her to the police. If Betty is willing to keep on leaving offensive voice messages even though it leads to her serving jail time, she is not acting logically.

Linda doesn’t help matters either. The new bride has enough after she steals her wedding guest list. Linda takes her anger out on the sons, attacking them for letting Betty into the house when she dropped them off. Dan stands up for his sons, knowing that they cannot control an adult. She and Dan fight over how they are going to get the guest list back. At the end of her rope, Linda breaks into Betty’s house while she is at her job. Betty now assists at a pre-school. She doesn’t find the guest list but steals Betty’s diary instead. Linda bumps into Betty’s cleaning woman as she leaves home.

When Betty comes back, the cleaning woman tells her that a blonde woman who is not her daughter was in the house. She knows its Linda when she can’t find her diary. Betty becomes more outraged. Back at her home, Linda shows Dan the journal telling him how she broke into Betty’s house. She doesn’t see the problem since Betty has broken into their house so many times. Dan correctly scolds Linda telling her that they don’t stoop to her level. They don’t violate laws by trespassing and stealing his ex-wife’s property. He tells Linda to return the diary.

Linda returns the journal after a judge forces Betty to fork over the guest list. If Betty didn’t, then Dan wouldn’t have to pay spousal support. But breaking back into the home to give back the diary leaves the ex-wife even more paranoid. She hallucinates Linda and Dan mocking her journal entries. “The Shillelagh” evokes Betty’s paranoia with an eerie voice-over of her internal hallucinatory dialogue as she stares obsessively at the diary.

Betty’s friends do their best to stop her from doing anything rash. They make up beeper codes to warn each other if they lose sight of her during Dan’s second wedding ceremony. Karen hangs out with Betty during the ceremony. Even though Betty continues to act up, her friends think that her not ruining Dan’s wedding means she is no longer obsessed.

I think that everybody is fooled by the fact that Betty seems to be making some progress. She is going to therapy. The therapist urges Betty to work toward getting her sons back instead of acting on her impulses. Betty looks for a new home to buy. But Dan’s happiness leads her further into manic depression.

After returning from a relaxing honeymoon in Cabo, Dan refuses to engage in any serious talks about shared custody until Betty stops leaving vile voice messages in contempt of court. Instead of changes her actions, Betty wallows in her pain. She steals keys to Dan and Linda’s house from her eldest daughter. Bringing it one step closer to the murder. If only Kim had remembered the keys or had realized she left them, then maybe there would have been no shooting. Dan could have changed the locks or finally called the police.

Betty finally snaps after Linda and Dan decide to try to conceive. Betty feels she has no real purpose after learning that Dan wants to have a child with somebody else. Betty breaks into tears, frustrated, and resentful that her son has to give up Disneyland to spend time with her. She doesn’t realize that the important thing is that her children love her more than a theme park, plus she can fight to gain more custody.

That night Betty lets her rage at Dan take control. She drives over to their house with the stolen keys. Thankfully the episode doesn’t show the actual murder. The loved ones of the victims don’t need to see the glorification of the killing. Instead, Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story shows Betty telling everybody about the shooting over the phone. “The Shillelagh” ends with Betty sitting in jail. Next week, we will see the theatrics of the trial.

#feminist #true crime #tv review #Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story #betty broderick #dan broderick #Linda Kolkena #Amanda Peet #christain slater #rachel keller #tv geek #blogger #feminist reading

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marylandprelawland · 4 years

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The Birth Of Asian Americans

By Charlotte Kim, Johns Hopkins University Class of 2021

June 24, 2020

With the celebration of Juneteenth just passed, I thought about another June 19thevent, one that occurred in 1982 and became the reason why I, and other Americans of Asian descent, call ourselves “Asian American.”That night, in Detroit, Michigan, a man was bludgeoned to death with a baseball bat. Why?His killers thought he was Japanese.

The victim was Vincent Chin, a 27-year-old man who would be considered Chinese American today but“Oriental” while he was alive.His killers were white autoworkers, Ronald Ebens and Michael Nitz. To create a clear picture of their motives, one must understand America in the 80s. Not only was Asian-based racism casual and rampant, there was a normalized disregard of Asian ethnic diversity and an accepted mindset of Asians as exotic, perpetual foreigners. On top of all that was Detroit’s economic climate.

In 1982, Detroit, which had housed the headquarters of the Big 3 auto makers (General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler) for decades, was at the height of a record-setting recession [1]. After the 1979 oil crisis caused gas prices to skyrocket, Americans, looking for smaller more efficient cars, turned to Japanese brands. One of every four cars sold in the U.S. was Japanese, causing anti-Japanese sentiment to grow, especially in Detroit where plants began to lay off tens of thousands of workers.Posters reading “Pearl Harbor II” depicted Japanese bombers dropping cars on North America [2]. Local unions sponsored events allowing workers to smash Japanese cars with sledgehammers at the cost of $1. Japanese cars were vandalized, their owners were shot at on the freeway, and casual anti-Japanese slurs abounded[3]. U.S. Representative John Dingell of Michigan claimed that the chief trouble hurting the auto industry was foreign competition, specifically “the little yellow people” [4].

Later that year, on June 19th, 1982, Ronald Ebens, a Chrysler foreman, took his stepson Michael Nitz, one of many assembly line workers recently laid off by Chrysler, to a strip club. They happened to sit in front of Vincent Chin and his friends, who were there to celebrate Chin’s bachelor party. Ebens was overheard saying racial slurs like “Chink” and Nip” and,eventually, “It’s because of motherfuckers like you that we’re out of work.” A fight broke out, and both parties were ejected from the bar. Ebens then grabbed a baseball bat from his car and started to chase Chin, who fled [5]. Ebens and Nitz drove around in pursuit of Chin for 30 minutes. When they finally found him in front of a McDonald’s, Nitz held down Chin while his stepfather hit Chin’s skull four times [3]. As his cerebral matter and blood pooled in front of him, Chin’s last words were, “It’s not fair.” He died in a hospital four days later, and instead of attending a wedding, his friends and family attended a funeral.

Ebens and Nitz didn’t deny that they had killed Chin, but their lawyers argued that what had happened was a bar brawl, not a hate crime [1]. On March 16, 1983, Wayne County Circuit Judge Charles Kaufman agreed with them; Ebens and Nitz were found guilty of manslaughter, a downgrade from their second-degree murder charge, and were each fined $3,000, $780 in court fines, and three years of probation. To this day neither man has spent a day in prison. Kaufman’s defense of his sentence was,

“These aren’t the kind of men you send to jail [5]. […] We’re talking here about a man who’s held down a job with the same company for 17 or 18 years, and his son who is employed and a part-time student. These men are not going to go out and harm somebody else. I just didn’t think that putting them in prison would do any good for them or for society. You don’t make the punishment fit the crime; you make the punishment fit the criminal” [6].

The outrage among the Asian American community was immediate, although people were unsure whom to turn to. Then, two weeks later,more than a hundred Asian Americans from towns surrounding Detroit met and formed American Citizens for Justice (ACJ)—the first explicitly Asian American grass-roots advocacy effort to extend nationally. Its top priority was to have Chin’s case become the first criminal civil rights case involving someone of Asian descent. [3]. Roland Hwang, co-founder of ACJ, explained that the Vincent Chin case was a wakeup call for anti-Asian racism. It “transformed a biracial discussion on race relations to be a multiracial one” [7].

Over the next few months, public outrage continued to grow. Protests led by ACJ and other groups spurred the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and determine that Ebens and Nitz had violated Chin’s civil rights. Ebens was sentenced to 25 years in prison. According to Renee Tajima-Peña, a professor of Asian American studies at UCLA, “It was the first time Asian Americans were protected in a federal civil rights prosecution. […] Before that, Asian Americans were seen as not being a protected class” [5]. However, in September 1986, a federal appeals court overturned Ebens’ conviction and,in May 1987, he was cleared of all charges. Two months later, Ebens was ordered to pay $1.5 million to the estate of Vincent Chin [8], butas of 2015, Ebens hasn’t paid anything, and that amount has grown to more than $8 million [9].

Now, it may seem that the term “Asian American” originated from this turning point in history. However, it was created 14 years before Chin’s death in 1968 by two college students and even today is used secondarily to the more specific “Japanese,” “Thai,” etc., descriptive. Still, the term has power. Professor Daryl Maeda of the University of Colorado Boulder says that instead of describing family histories or personal identities, “Asian American” expresses the idea that “as Asian Americans, we have to work to fight for social justice and equality, not only for ourselves, but for all of the people around us.”

The cry for social justice and equality after Vincent Chin’s death forged a pan-Asian identity among once disparate groups.In the words of Helen Zia, co-founder of ACJ “…whether people wanted to feel like there was anything in common or not, they could not deny that if they looked that way, they could be killed, whether they were Japanese ethnically or not.” [9].

Before Chin’s death, this sense of pan-Asian identity even in cases of extreme racial injustice, was non-existent. In fact, to avoid being targeted by the same racism and exclusion facing other groups, different Asian communities stayed silent. When the Chinese Exclusion Act was set to be made permanent in 1902, Japanese immigrants didn’t protest. When people of Japanese descent were forced into internment camps during World War II, Chinese- and Korean-Americanswore buttons stating their ethnicity so as not be mistaken as Japanese (pictured below). The narrative is the same— the perceived injustice was being lumped together with another ethnic group rather than the injustice itself [9].

The term “Asian American” was created as a way to bring Asians into the American political conscience as a collective community (as well as a pushback against the derogatory blanket term, “Oriental”). According to Zia, “To the rest of America at the time, Asian people didn’t exist in the popular consciousness. […] They were like, ‘Oh, where did these people come from? What – they’re organizing, they have a voice, they’re talking about racism? What – they speak English?’ These were all the reactions we got…It was a teaching process” [9].

And it still is a teaching process.Although the diversity of Asian ethnicities in the United States needs to be respected and acknowledged, there is a common experience among all Americans of Asian ancestry of being lumped into one homogenous group facing prejudice and harassment. As a community, Asian Americans can come together to multiply their presence in the American conscience and thus shine light on the diversity of problems facing individual Asian ethnicities and strike down the idea of Asians as a homogenous, foreign, “model minority”.

________________________________________________________________

[1] Wu, Frank H. “How the racist killing of Vincent Chin sparked the Asian-American movement.” South China Morning Post, 20 June 2020, https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3089541/how-racist-killing-vincent-chin-sparked-asian-american-movement.

[2] Counts, Glenn, et al. “Detroit: The New Motor City.” EDGE, Ethics of Development in a Global Environment, https://web.stanford.edu/class/e297c/poverty_prejudice/citypoverty/hdetroit.htm.

[3] Wu, Jean Yu-Wen Shen, and Chen, Thomas C. Asian American Studies Now: A Critical Reader. E-book, Rutgers University Press, 2010.

[4] Clines, Francis X., and Weaver Jr., Warren. “Briefing.” nytimes.com, New York Times, 16 Mar. 1982,https://www.nytimes.com/1982/03/16/us/briefing-253650.html.

[5] Little, Becky. “How the 1982 Murder of Vincent Chin Ignited a Push for Asian American Rights.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 5 May 2020, https://www.history.com/news/vincent-chin-murder-asian-american-rights.

[6] Cummings, Judith. “Detroit Asian-Americans Protest Lenient Penalties for Murder.” nytimes.com, New York Times, 26 Apr. 1983,https://www.nytimes.com/1983/04/26/us/detroit-asian-americans-protest-lenient-penalties-for-murder.html.

[7] Wang, Frances Kai-Hwa. “Who is Vincent Chin? The History and Relevance of a 1982 Killing.” NBCNews.com, NBC Universal, 15 June 2017, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/who-vincent-chin-history-relevance-1982-killing-n771291.

[8] “Vincent Chin Timeline.” Vincent Who?,Tony Lam Productions, https://www.vincentwhofilm.com/timeline/.

[9] Kandil, Caitlin Yoshiko. “After 50 years of ‘Asian American,’ advocates say the term is ‘more essential than ever’.” NBCNews.com, NBC Universal, 31 May 2018, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/after-50-years-asian-american-advocates-say-term-more-essential-n875601.

[10] Wu, Frank H. “Why Vincent Chin Matters.” nytimes.com, New York Times, 22 June 2012, https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/23/opinion/why-vincent-chin-matters.html.

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mingyoozi · 7 years

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Wonwoo: Blood for Blood, Bloom for Bloom (pt 1)

photo cred ©

[table of contents] I. II. III. IV.

anonymous asked: hello! if its not too much, can i request a wonwoo hanahaki disease au scenario? like i want it very angsty bc i lov to break mi own heart but i dont want anyone to die. thank you, you lovely little bean hehe ^~^💛

Summary: a kind of fictional historical thing based in the tudor era but like u can’t really call it that cuz like did henry VII or queen elizabeth actually ever reign in this fictional world ??? that’s the real question.. also mingyu and wonwoo don’t wear those ugly ass balloon pants that were classic of the tudor era…. I wouldn’t do that to them… nor would I let them do that to themselves….

The sounds of an orchestra playing and feet shuffling in the background fade. Your shoes suddenly feel like nothing, unlike the previous iron weights that they had felt like before. Every blister and bruise becomes completely unknown to you. You lean against the window, the latticework cold against your cheek as fatigue settles into your bones, though only out of the anxiety of having to dance with strangers in the middle of a loud room.

“There you are,” You hear from behind you. You don’t turn toward the voice, knowing exactly who it came from and knowing also that you’d rather not see him right now.

“Here I am.” You state, your voice sounding pathetically weak and getting lost and muffled in the glass panes of the window.

“Your sister is looking for you.” Mingyu says. He reaches out for you, placing a hand on your shoulder, but you shrug it off with a sigh.

“When is she not?” You scoff.

“You shouldn’t be walking around with that kind of attitude. She may be your sister but she’s still the next queen and this is still her wedding party.” He scolds. It’s accompanied by a flick to the back of your head.

You grimace. “I wasn’t the one who gave her the flowers, I don’t see what good my help will do.”

“Your sister’s ineptitude of self control isn’t the problem here,” He hisses, taking you by the forearm and dragging you back through the palace. “It’s the fact that you’re not there to hold her hair back while she expels petals into her chamberpot that is.”

You scoff, but you let him drag you down the corridors and deposit you at the door to her room. You knock on the door, but you don’t wait for her reply. The lantern beside her bed is dwindling, providing only a dim light to only a small portion of the room. You can hear retching coming from the darkest corner.

“Oh, Jieun.” You gasp. You rush to her side almost immediately, letting the door swing shut behind you. The light from the corridor peers in through the cracks.

“I’m alright.” Jieun insists, wiping her mouth on her sleeve.

As annoying as the situation is, you still feel bad for her. She is your older sister, after all.

When your parents died and your uncle had shipped the both of you off to a neighbouring kingdom, a betrothal sitting heavy on Jieun’s shoulders, she had taken care of you. She watched over you and made sure that you still received the same love and attention that you would have had at home. And now, rubbing Jieun’s back as you watch the colour return to your face, it dawns on you that it’s your time to return the favour.

She takes deep breaths as she sits on the floor, her hand clutching yours as she feels the familiar pangs of the rose in her torso digging its thrones into her heart and her stomach. She had always loved roses as a child, and you can only think of one person who loves roses more than she does. That’s how you’d figured it out in the first place.

“Stupid Mingyu,” You curse. “I should’ve killed him as soon as the first petal fell from your lips.”

“No, you shouldn’t have.” She grumbles. She lets you help her up and onto her bed.

You kneel behind her, forgoing your expensive dress and your stiff crinoline. “Give me one good reason why.” You say as you untie the back of her corset.

“Because it’ll only make things worse. I’ll have a disease with no cure.” She says, tilting her head back so that you can brush her hair.

You clench your jaw. “You already have a disease with no cure. Mingyu is devoted to the king, he wouldn’t let himself fall in love with the king’s betrothed, even if he wanted to.” You say.

“Alright, then because he’s your best friend.”

“You’re my best friend.” You argue. She giggles, though it’s interrupted by a cough.

“I’m your best friend by blood,” She says. “Mingyu is your best friend by choice.”

“It wasn’t my choice.” You grumble. She giggles again, and it’s an incredibly sweet sound to your ears.

You had a quiet upbringing, a life and education without music. Jieun was trained in politics and the traditional instruments of your ancestors, where you were trained to hunt and read and write. Royalty had never suited you, and being the youngest of five in line for the throne had always been a relief as it allowed for more leniency towards your whims.

Jieun could have been your parents’ successor and you could’ve stayed at home with her, had it not been for your uncle taking over and promising her to the Jeon dynasty. Your three brothers had been allowed to stay in your kingdom, your uncle favouring a local education influenced by your family’s own beliefs than the education of another culture.

The cultural differences between your kingdom and the Jeon’s had never ceased to amaze you in the few months that you had been living with them. You hadn’t been allowed to go to school, only seeing tutors in the palace who were shocked to see a girl practicing writing. Only certain people were allowed access to the library, so you found yourself quickly lacking an entertaining pastime in the first few weeks, until you met Mingyu.

“You should go.” Jieun suggests as soon as you’ve finished brushing the knots out of her hair. “The queen will want to speak with me about her son.”

You roll your eyes. “He probably thinks the flowers are for him.” You say, getting up and returning to your pile of clothing. You struggle into your crinoline and your silk dress, silently thanking your dressmaker for putting the laces on the front of your bodice instead of the back.

“You’ve never even met him. He’s not that bad, Y/N. He likes reading, like you. And he’s actually quite tolerable.” She says, laying on her side and pulling the sheets over herself.

“Tolerable,” You mutter distastefully under your breath, so low that Jieun doesn’t hear it. “Get some rest, Jieun. You’re looking frail. I’ll call someone to light the fire for you.”

Jieun is right. You don’t have any right to be insulting the king when you’ve never seen him around the palace even once. Though, that is cause for concern, given your curious nature and the fact that you had investigated every corner of the bright-tiled castle within your first week of living here.

Mingyu is still standing outside when you exit Jieun’s room, leaning against the wall and staring down at his boot-clad feet.

“Oh,” You let out. “You’re still here.”

He chuckles. “Yes, I’m still here.” He says.

If it wasn’t for your sister’s infatuation and your general distaste for royalty, you might regard the next king’s best friend in a better light. Mingyu’s cheeks fill out just enough that they aren’t overly or underly pronounced, laying under perfectly sculpted cheekbones and bright, joyful eyes. A good face and a good build make Mingyu the most eligible bachelor in this kingdom and yours.

“Want to accompany me in crashing my sister’s wedding party? Seeing as she won’t actually be able to attend it herself.” You ask.

He grins at you with that perfect smile of his and extends his arm. “I’m not sure if crashing is the right term. It’s not like either of us weren’t invited.” He says.

You take his arm and allow him to lead you back towards the ballroom. He helps you down the wide flight of stairs, his arm sturdy and reliable under yours. You know that he would catch you if you fell, because he has before. You’re not worried about that. You’re worried about the crowd that awaits you at the end.

“You won’t leave my side, right?” You whisper as you near the bottom of the staircase.

Mingyu snorts. “And throw you to the wolves? Would I ever do that to you?” He says.

You shrug. “You’re very unreliable.”

He laughs, the action of laughing consuming him entirely. It throws you off kilter, and you stumble down the last few steps without much grace and without Mingyu to catch you.

You are caught, though, at the very bottom of the stairs, by someone with a slightly less muscular frame than Mingyu’s but just as much height. Mingyu rushes to your side as the stranger pushes you to your feet, his dark hair and dark eyes entrancing you for a mere second, though you miss the crown that sits atop his head.

“Pardon me, my lord.” You mumble, your cheeks blazing as you dip your head in a curtsey.

“Mingyu,” The stranger says, a scolding tone laced through his voice. “Is this how you treat a lady? You laugh at her and then push her down the stairs?”

“She lost her footing, your highness, and the laughter was all in good fun.” Mingyu defends himself.

The words ‘your highness’ ring through your ears, and your face starts to feel hotter than it had before. Mingyu elbows you in the side and you stand up straight, willing your face to cool down.

“Don’t look so flustered, my lady. I’m sure this brute was the one at fault here.” Wonwoo says.

Mingyu scoffs and Wonwoo chuckles.

“Just for that, you can find someone else to teach you sword fighting.” Mingyu threatens. He turns away from you, leaving you and forgoing the promise he had made to stay by your side.

Wonwoo laughs, wholeheartedly and deep in his throat. “Ignore him.” He suggests.

“I’ve been ignoring him for weeks, I don’t think he’s caught on yet.” You joke lightly, still nervous about being in the presence of your sister’s new husband.

“Tell me, what brings you to my wedding party? I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before.” He asks.

“Queen Jieun, your highness. She’s my sister.” You reply.

Wonwoo’s smile falters, but he clears his throat and it’s back in an instant. “My condolences, my lady. The flowers are a terrible illness that I wouldn’t wish upon my greatest enemies. I will watch over her well. I assure you that she is getting only the best medical attention.” He says.

“Of course,” You say. “I wouldn’t think anything less of the Jeon family. You’ve all been very kind and attentive.”

“Would you happen to have an idea of who caused the flowers?” He asks.

You stare down at your hands, guilt settling in your stomach.

“Does it concern you, your highness?” You ask, evading the question as much as possible.

You know that Wonwoo doesn’t love your sister, he doesn’t even feel anything close to the puppy love that your sister is harbouring for his best friend, but you can’t help but fear that he’ll do something regretful to either or both of them.

You keep your eyes low as he replies.

“Indeed, it does. Jieun is young and full of life, it would be a shame to see her taken so early by something so small as an unrequited love.” He says.

You nod. “I agree. Unfortunately, your highness, I haven’t seemed to come into that information. Jieun and I are close, but there are some secrets that you keep only for yourself.” You say. He sighs.

“That is unfortunate. But, I digress. I’ve heard a lot about you, my lady. Your sister speaks very highly of you and Mingyu seems quite taken with you.” Wonwoo says.

You shake your head, your cheeks turning red again. “My sister is my sister, and Mingyu is a fool.” You say, encouraging a chuckle from Wonwoo.

“Yes, you’re not wrong.” He agrees.

The song changes and he offers his hand to you. It’s a song with a slower tempo than before, and the floor begins to clear in favour of more experienced dancers.

“Er, pardon me, your highness. I don’t dance.” You say.

He shoots you a grin that takes your breath away. It’s the first time you’ve ever felt like this around someone of such high stature. His teeth are perfectly aligned, something that you rarely ever see. It’s possible that he might be even more attractive than Mingyu is, though it’s more in your personal taste than conventionally thought, a statement that you thought you’d never say or think.

His cheekbones rest high on his face and his jaw is strong and sharp. You find yourself wanting to reach out and caress his skin that looks so fair and so perfect. The inevitable heirs that he will have with Jieun are bound to be beautiful. They’ll most likely have his dark hair and dark eyes, and Jieun’s upturned button nose.

The thought sends a sour feeling straight to your core, the idea of Jieun holding his children in her arms. For the first time ever, you can feel something that you’ve never felt before. It twists in your gut in a way that makes you want to scream and laugh at the same time.

“Neither do I. I was wondering if you’d like to continue our conversation somewhere where we can actually hear each other?” He suggests.

“Oh,” You say, your voice doing nothing to contain your shock. “I suppose I’m not needed elsewhere. But what about you, your highness? It is your party.”

“Yes, it is. Is this not mingling?” He teases, his grin widening.

You roll your eyes. “You’re just as much a fool as Mingyu Kim.”

next.

#I'M REALLY EXCITED FOR THIS SERIES !!!!!#EVEN IF I DO ALWAYS ABANDON STORIES HALFWAY THROUGH #I never write 2.2k at the very beginning so... we're off to a good start hopefully #wonwoo scenarios #wonwoo scenario #seventeen scenarios #wonwoo #angst #bellybutton fluff #hanahaki disease!au #x #requests

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