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grumpygreenwitch · 3 months

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The Witches and Wizards Job 15-16

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FIFTEEN

Nate sprinted through the trail of destruction, chasing it all the way up the stairs and over several upturned benches. He skid to a halt at the sight of the shattered window, the marble floors battered but still smooth enough that he overshoot them. "Parker!"

"Nate!" She ran for him. "So the painting's a door with a lock and the man from the painting's real and he's a wizard -"

Nate gritted his teeth and focused on the onslaught. Everyone else tempered their reports; Parker didn't. Any information he didn't get now, when she was volleying it at him fresh out of her perceptions, would later be skewed from the thief's… unique perspective on the world. He could translate, he normally did, if only because usually he just wanted to make sure she was safe, they were all safe. But things had gone so ballistically out of control that he didn't dare.

Eliot dragged their battered consultant up, righted a bench the Golden Bear hadn't managed to destroy in its blind charge, and sat Dresden on it. "I'll be honest, man," he said calmly, "I liked it better when I thought it was just rabbits out of hats."

"You and me both," Dresden ground out, his head down. He was ashen with pain, and when Eliot put a hand gingerly on the wizard's shoulder he nearly swooned.

"Alright, my man, that shoulder's out." Eliot tried to catch Dresden's gaze.

"I know."

"It's dislocated -"

"I know."

"I can fix it -"

"I don't want you to, but I know."

"Harry, look at me."

"I can't," Dresden ground out at last. "You people trust too easy and I've been dodging soul-gazes since I met you all."

That brought the hitter up short. He could count the times he'd been accused of being too trusting in one hand, and for most of them he hadn't been old enough to drink legally. "S… Soul-gaze? What, you can look into my soul?" he tried to joke, even though something told him the wizard wasn't being funny.

"Sort of. Kind of." Dresden swallowed hard and tried to find any one position where his shoulder would leave him in peace. "It's a mutual sort of situation, though."

Eliot found himself both horrified and curious. It seemed to be a very common state of being where Dresden was concerned. "So you… look into my soul, and I get to look into yours?"

"Yeah. Reviews have been mixed for the show, so I prefer to skip it when I can. Makes it hard to keep friends." Harry gave him a wry grin, forgot himself and tried to shrug, and nearly fell off the bench.

Eliot hurried to steady the man, and suddenly Nate was there. "Hold him up, Nate."

"Yup. Getting your incidentals in, aren't you, Dresden."

"You pay those?" the wizard asked dizzily, then howled when Eliot, taking advantage of his moment of distraction, jerked the shoulder back into place. "That was about as painful as I thought it would be," he ground out breathlessly.

"Enjoy it later," Nate helped the hitter drag Dresden to his feet. "We've gotta get out of here before the cops swarm the place."

"I'm getting a little worried about what you people do for a living," Dresden admitted as they hurried past the massive gouges the Golden Bear's claws had left on the stairs, and the fine shale it had made of everything else that had gotten in its path. The leshy had been no tidier, just smaller. At least they didn't have to go back into the lab area; they bypassed it and headed further into the museum, through it, and then past to the open storage area, full of far more modern and precious things like floor cleaner and trash bags by the gross.

By then the wizard was moving under his own power, which worried Eliot a bit. He crossed a look with Nate, and saw the mastermind pinch his mouth into a thin line. It wasn't just that Dresden had the sort of quick recovery that said he was used to working through such injuries, it was the fact that he hadn't been meant to get injured to begin with. The trip to the museum had been meant to be a look-don't-touch: Harry had been hired to advice, not to be caught in the crossfire. Neither hitter nor mastermind were pleased with how things had gone down, and they were entirely too aware that it was no one's fault; that didn't mean they didn't feel the burden of it.

Sophie was waiting for them at the wheel of the white van. They shoved the wizard on the shotgun seat and piled into the back, where Mouse greeted them with great concern. Followed by Lucille 2.0, where Hardison had already cleared them to break through the police cordon, they drove back home, to try and figure out if they had a win, a loss or something else in their hands.

They took the chance to lick their wounds, sorting through what information they'd gathered. While Hardison ordered them all dinner and Eliot sorted out Dresden, Nate stepped out, fingers twitching for a drink that, for the first time in a long while, he didn't dare have. He was already having trouble coping with everything he'd seen and heard and learned that day while sober; he wasn't sure his rational incredulity wouldn't turn him beligerent if he threw whiskey into the fire.

"Nate?" The voice that steered him like a lighthouse through his life was gentle. She was always gentle, even when the steel peeked through the gorgeous satin and lace. Sophie came to stand by him. "Are we dropping the case?"

"I don't know," he admitted to her as he would have no one else, staring at the street and the few passing people, all of it wrapped in the deep golden haze of a New England summer sunset. "We should, shouldn't we?" She shrugged delicately and they stood in silence for a long moment. "You're sure it was real? That it couldn't have been anything else?"

"Some part of you must've known it was real," she told him. "Or you'd have never agreed to hire Harry."

"Harry, is it?"

She grinned. "I know what you're thinking, stop it. I think it's cute, like a schoolboy crush."

He couldn't help but snort in amusement at that.

"It was real." Sophie chewed lightly on her lip. "I thought I believed, you know? I thought I was ready for it. It seemed so exciting, so fun." She scoffed at herself. "It was a man with a shotgun and we were sheep in a pen." When she heard him hiss a breath out, she spoke before he could. "Parker never doubted. Never even hesitated."

"Parker has a view of the world I envy somedays," he admitted. "I think… it can't be my call, not alone. I want to drop it. But I don't think Dresden would." He saw the grifter make a face, something he caught only because he knew the gamut of her expressions so well. "What?"

"What? Sophie replied innocently.

"No, no, what was that face for?"

She clung to the pretense for a moment longer. "It's Harry."

"What about him?" Nate's tone sharpened.

"Not like that, Nate," she told him tartly. "It's just… Harry. Parker believed him. Eliot doesn't care. Even Hardison likes him."

"I don't like him."

"You don't like anyone. But you're still including him in the planning, you're still making him part of the con. Tara had to fight for it with all of you."

Nate let out a soundless little 'ah'. "You hired Tara."

Sophie shifted away from him, her eyes going hard.

The mastermind shifted forward to match, catching her shoulders. "And it was the right call." He watched surprise flicker over her features, but he was long past the point where he'd allow himself to believe such admissions were a weakness. "We needed a grifter. None of them were ready to step into the role, and I'm not the greatest at it -"

"Nate Ford, admitting he's not perfect?" She teased him to hide her surprise and smiled a little, fussing with the lapels of his shirt. "But?"

"But you hired Tara. None of the team got a say in the matter. We all agreed to hire Dresden, even me."

She licked her lips and thought on it. "I don't think we should drop the case. I don't think we can," she looked up at him.

"Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of," he admitted. "If they come after Parker, they'll be dealing with all of us."

"Even Harry?"

Nate sighed, deeply put upon. "Even the wizard." The streetlights came on at that moment, and a familiar car pulled up next to them along the curb; Nate brightened up. "Food's here."

"You know, we got that house and everything, we were supposed to have meetings there to protect Hardison's equipment, and I don't think anyone's set foot on it except his dog." Sophie pointed out as they rode the elevator up, arms full of Chinese take-out.

"Hopefully that'll change soon. I don't want to beat Fedorov on the exploding equipment department."

SIXTEEN

Parker came to find me with a cup of coffee and a very confused expression on her face. Of all the Leverage people she was the less emotive of the bunch, the hardest to read. Sophie flickered through her emotions depending on the situation, but they were still honest. Ford was just angry, so rigidly controlled I was honestly surprised the man didn't snap like a string pulled too far. Eliot and Hardison were relatively normal, if that word even applied to any of the team. But you know. Wizard. Stones and glass houses and all that.

It took me a moment to realize that she was worried. "What's that look for, me?"

"Yes." She admitted readily.

I scoffed. "I've been worse."

"You weren't supposed to get hurt," she protested. "You were just supposed to answer questions and explain things."

Ah. I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that, when Leverage had hired me as a consultant, they actually meant a consultant. I scooted myself over; I was resting on the only couch in the place, Mouse half-sprawled on my lap, staring mournfully at me. I'd showered, and Eliot had wrapped me up like a mummy so my ribs were only twinging occasionally. My arm was on a sling; I didn't want to ask why there were so many high-grade medical supplies at hand.

"We did, you know. Break into a museum."

She scoffed even as she sat next to me. "That's the point."

"A point I'm not following."

"If we just wanted you to see the portrait, Dresden, she could've stolen it for you." Eliot came out of the back of the loft, behind the wall of silent, dark screens. "She could've even put it back, but it would have taken too long to do it undetected." He marched into the kitchen and found a beer in the rattling fridge.

Parker popped her mouth. "So yeah. It was me."

"It wasn't you."

"He's right," Ford swept into the room, Sophie behind him, both their arms full of Chinese take-out. Hardison's head popped up from under one of the desks around the screens, and in a moment there was enough food going around that no one spoke for a few minutes.

"What do you mean it wasn't me?" Parker finally demanded.

"I mean we've been wrong about this from the beginning," Ford explained, and then his mouth pressed to a very thin line. "And we put mister Dresden in the line of fire with that misunderstanding. We did. The team did." The anger simmered minutely. "I did."

Oh. Oh. It was himself he lived angry at. Oh, boy.

"We agree that the malfunctioning fire suppression system at the Gardner was a sloppy job?" Nate asked the table, to general assent. "And we're still stuck on the targets?"

"Couldn't have been us, Fedorov wouldn't have been sloppy, that only leaves the woman," Eliot replied.

"No," Ford said. "It doesn't only leave the woman, because there was a fourth target."

"The portrait," Sophie breathed.

Hell's Bells, he was right.

"The attack was already planned," Ford explained. "Something simply accelerated the timeline. Now, it wasn't Fedorov because again, his visit was planned. It wasn't us, we hadn't taken the case yet."

"Baba Yaga," Parker breathed.

"Yes." Ford confirmed with deadly certainty. "This man, the man in black, he wasn't just coming by. He was coming in, to make sure everything was in place. Then he saw the woman and decided, why not. We were a monkeywrench, a snag he wasn't expecting." He stared levelly at Parker. "We've kept him from stealing the portrait twice. Once, when we derailed the impromptu attack and twice, because without the cylinder he couldn't go through with the actual, scheduled theft."

It worked. I saw Parker straighten up minutely, tension leaving her shoulders. More, it made sense. Ford had taken the bare-bones fragments that his team had managed to pick up here and there, and he'd put them together into a complete map of a plan I hadn't even glimpsed. Everyone in the Leverage team had a specialization; I was beginning to understand what Nate Ford was good at, and Jesus, he was really friggin' good.

"They should have never moved the collection," Sophie breathed.

"But they did," Ford declared with deadly finality. "Moving on. Parker, what else did you get from the man in black?"

"Wait." I went into the kitchen, found the salt and a paring knife, and came back. I made a protective circle around the chairs and the coffee table, empowered it, and looked up to find all five of them staring at me curiously. "People move," I explained. "You rarely get a good trace on an item when it's on a person, unless it belongs to them. I can't tell you if the man in black is good or bad at it, but I can tell you that as soon as he feels Parker doesn't have the stuff on her, he's going to try and track it down." I focused on the six of us being the only ones free to come and go past the shield, and poured a bit of my will into it. It snapped into life and I tried to hide a grimace; just that tiny bit of magic had felt like sandpaper scraping over a barely healed wound.

"Can you make something a little more permanent or, uh, less kickable than salt?"

"Did you get the brass piping from my shopping list?"

Ford looked at Hardison, who shrugged. "I got abou a third of the way through the list. It's all in the back room."

I wasn't sure I'd heard him right; the list hadn't been endless, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit I'd gone a little overboard, just because Ford's attitude had rubbed me wrong. "A th… A third?"

Eliot chuckled. "Harry, you know what's a few miles down that way?" He stabbed a thumb over his shoulder.

Fishman Central immediately came to mind, but I wasn't sure the hitter meant that. "Innsmouth?"

"Salem," he corrected, grinning. "Salem, Massachussetts."

I could have kicked myself. I was a bus ride away from one of the few places in the States that openly celebrated magic and witchcraft; granted a lot of it was just kitsch and tourist traps, but I didn't know how much of it was real. I had no idea how much of my shopping list Leverage could have acquired by basically walking down to the corner store.

"A lot of it was just hardware." Eliot looked terribly amused.

"How long will it take you to make a permanent…?" Ford waved his hand at the salt.

"Uh… Not long if I had both my arms, but -"

"Hardison and I can be your hands," Eliot pointed out.

"Alright, hardware mode," Hardison sounded outright gleeful. It probably had something to do with the look of utter resignation Ford was suddenly wearing. Eliot and Hardison shared a fistbump.

"Should I wait, then?" Parker sounded uncertain.

"I want a look," I admitted, curious in more ways than one. Sure, she'd stolen my wand, and my shield-bracelet. And my wallet. But how much could she have possibly got off the man in black given the only time she'd been near him he'd been practically strangling her?

"So do I," Ford relented after a moment. "But it's more important than ever now that the man in black doesn't find us."

"I want to know what those things were," Sophie said, not bothering to hide a shiver.

"Leshy," I said. It was a little jarring when I wasn't the only one who offered the answer. I looked at Eliot; everyone, in fact, was looking at Eliot, who looked as flustered as I'd yet seen the man.

"Leshy, that's Russian," Ford managed to look at me instead, but it was a struggle. Hell, I could barely look at him rather than at Leverage's heavy hitter.

"Yeah, they're Russian fairies. Dug up your fields, broke your tools if you left them out, you know. Engaged in general mayhem. When the modern age rolled around they turned into rent-a-th - how." Nope, couldn't look away from Eliot. "How do you even know about leshy?"

"I've had a couple of run-ins with them," he admitted sheepishly. "To be fair I thought leshy was the name of the organization, their last name, something like that, not like a, a name for what they are."

"How did you know it was them?" Ford asked curiously.

"Their accent." Eliot looked even more flustered. "It's a very distinctive accent, alright?"

"So the man in black can hire fairies to do his stealing for him," Sophie ground out disdainfully. "How nice for him."

"The leshy aren't the problem," I told her. It was still odd, somewhere between gratifying and scary, to find people who weren't trying to explain magic away, who were simply taking it in stride as much as possible, making it part of their plans, dealing with it. "You didn't see how he summoned the bear."

"That was seamless," Eliot agreed thoughtfully. "You've worked ahead on everything you've done. He didn't. That's a problem, isn't it."

"Portals aren't easy. They're expensive, in time, in materials, in magic. You can sort of cheat if it's a spot where people keep coming and going -"

"Where a path's been worn in," Ford mused.

"Yeah. But what he did? I know maybe two people who could open a portal like that, no prep, no tools. I know none who could also open it exactly to the Nevernever creature that they wanted to summon, unless they're also from the Nevernever, and this guy isn't. He's a wizard. He's human."

"You don't look happy to know that." Ford was watching me with hyperbolic attention. He'd been the hardest to avoid for a soul-gaze; the Leverage people used their eyes like they did everything else, voice, posture, brain - like a weapon. Ford still didn't like me, even if he was willing to both believe me and work with me. He kept trying to stare me down, and I really didn't want to see what the ice in his gaze hid.

I also didn't want him to look into my soul and find out he was mostly right about me. "Wizards are strictly forbidden to use magic to harm or kill others."

"Ah." I watched him digest that. "Men in grey and big swords?"

"Yup."

"Is there anything in your world that doesn't carry a death penalty?" Sophie protested, incredulous.

"Between him and me we just blew up an entire lab in that museum. Men in grey and big swords are… about the only thing that works." I couldn't believe that I was agreeing with the White Council but the truth was, the Wardens existed for people like the man in black. I'd run afoul of them, and I'd been snagged for a scapegoat way too often to ever make peace with the Council or their attack dogs, but until the system got fixed, they were what we had.

"Hm." Ford filed away that information. I could almost hear his mind whirring, coming up with ideas, thoughts, possibilities - a computer that no magic could short out. "Parker, you about done?"

"Almost," she informed him.

I looked back at her. She had knelt by the coffee table, just shy of my circle, and was still pulling things out of her pockets.

… how?!

She saw me staring and gave me that wicked grin. "He had a lot of stuff. I left his stick, though. I left anything I thought he might notice was gone." Finally she pulled the key out.

"No, don't put that down," I stopped before I caught her hand. Parker, I'd noticed, was one of those people who don't like to be touched. She didn't mind Hardison doing it, but I was beginning to suspect they were an item. She didn't mind Sophie, but if anyone qualified as a Team Mom, Sophie was it. But even Eliot and Ford made sure never to initiate contact, leaving her to breach the distance at her leisure. "You're the best protection it has right now."

"Oh."

"Just let me have a good look at it. We already know what it opens."

She held it up obediently for me.

It was a very old key, small, the sort that might open a keepsake box. It had a slim bar with the expected toothy bit at one end and an incredibly elaborate flower design on the other, full of tiny jewels. At first I'd thought it was silver, but with my life not being threatened I could tell that the shine of it was too bright. "Platinum."

"Yes, and diamonds. Can you turn it, Parker?" Sophie's head tipped as she stared. "Beautiful. Old. Those are the Finnish techniques Faberge learned from his mentor, and later perfected. Those aren't sapphires."

"No, they're emeralds. Egyptian emeralds. They look blue because no one has gems of that purity anymore, not even the Colombians." Ford had walked behind the couch so he could lean closer without disturbing the circle. I'd made a guess on the platinum; I was pretty sure neither Sophie nor Ford were guessing. "Dresden, do any of those have any… significance?"

It was almost refreshing to have the one disbeliever. "Platinum's a good magical conductor. Gold's better, but platinum's a little more resilient." Hardison, across from me, was laughing again, and I took a guess as to why. "Same with technology?"

"Where did you lose your way, man? When did you, and all this, start running on a proprietary OS? We could've been friends. Cyberpunk. Magitech Imagine the possibilities."

"Hardison, I can't even keep a fridge. I'd be your first convert." I returned my attention to the key. I expected the squiggly details on it to mean something, but not what I found. "Huh." I put my hand out for it.

"I thought you wanted me to keep it," Parker protested.

"You can, but I don't think you have to. It does have an enchantment worked into it - a tracking foil."

"It can't be tracked?" Ford perked up.

"No. Not by the man in black, not by anyone." The key pinged lightly against my hand and my magic. It was powerful, just as powerful as I'd come to expect from any object involved in this whole mess, but carefully contained. From up close the confusion enchantment upon it was even more complex, the work like lace. "This is… It's like everything else involved so far. Way too powerful to be found out here in the real world. This is a thing of the Nevernever, of fairy tales, like the mirror the leshy were using." I handed the key back. "Can I borrow that later?"

"Why?"

She wasn't being rude, but literal. Hard as she was to read when it came to emotions, Parker was very straightforward when it came to most other interactions and I actually appreciated that a lot. "Because I'm gonna tape it to the death bottle downstairs."

She frowned thoughtfully at me as she took the key back, and then put it all together. "So the key will make it harder to find."

"Now you're thinking like a wizard."

She beamed.

"Dresden brings up an important point," Ford stepped back around. "This case has gotten way bigger than anything we usually handle. These are not the type of people we usually take on. These aren't the risks we normally take." He caught and held the eyes of each of his people; he tried with me, but I was looking at the mess of things Parker had left on the coffee table. "Are we staying on this job?"

"Why would we drop it?" Parker asked.

"Because a giant bear and multiple fairy thugs just tried to kill you," I told her mildly.

"Yeah, but people are always trying to kill us."

That was a little jarring to hear. "What is it you people do again?"

"Steal things," Parker went back to sitting next to me, the key disappearing somewhere on her person.

"I - Yes, but - I mean, other than the obvious!"

"I knew from the beginning this was gonna be big," Eliot slouched comfortably back and shrugged peaceably at Ford. "The leshy are real. The bear was real. We've managed, and honestly, I don't want to think of what might have happened if we hadn't gotten involved at the Gardner museum, or at the MFA."

"He's right," Sophie laced her hands and leaned forward to stare at the oddities on the coffee table. "This might be bigger than we're used to, but if not us, no one. I just -" She shot me a quick look that I almost missed.

"This is what I do," I told her.

"But not what we hired you for," Ford said with quiet force. "You were supposed to advice, Dresden, to inform. Not get caught in a firefight."

"Or almost get eaten by a bear," Eliot added mildly.

"You hired me for my services as a wizard. If there's a rogue wizard running around Boston, this is exacly where I'm supposed to be, and exactly what I'm supposed to be doing."

Muscles twitched along Ford's jaws. "Hardison?"

Leverage's tech-man was quiet for a moment before he shrugged lightly. "It's just screens, Nate. I'm like, the least at-risk person here, and I agree with Eliot. We've managed so far, even without knowing what we were dealing with. Now we know, sort of. We've done a lot more with a lot less."

Ford frowned. Unlike Sophie, he could actually not look at me when he chose to.

Seriously. It felt weird to have people worry about my well-being that were also paying for my work.

"Fine. We stay on the job. Dresden." He waved my attention on to the table.

There were a dozen things, some of them nearly as glorious as the key, some of them plain and unassuming. There was a wooden egg, unpainted, without decoration except for the grain of the wood. I opened it to find a hollow inside, lined with ancient lamb's wool.

"Oh, a nesting doll!" Sophie exclaimed. "Is the inside lost?"

I set the egg aside and looked around. "Looks like it." There was a beautiful comb, the sort you use to pin your hair back if you're a lady of high standing, gold and lacquer and tiny pearls. I picked it up and dropped it almost at the same time; it reeked of death magic, dormant but powerful, like a high-voltage cable lying on the ground.

"Is that bad?" Ford asked.

"It's not nice." There was a wooden cup done in an archaic style, without handle, with a high base and beautiful carving around the rim. A greasy, aging rabbit's foot, the claws yellow with age. A scrap of coarse blue fabric that might have been a handkerchief. A box of matches. A stub of a candle that felt so loaded with magic I had to carefully roll it to one side. "You know what." This was absurd; Parker had apparently pickpocketed a magpie. I dug into my pocket and threw two additions onto the pile: a few black feathers and the shards of the enchanted mirror.

"What are the feathers from?" Parker, next to me, asked.

"From when I tried to grab him and the leshy picked me off him. I don't know what I actually got hold of, but it was on him."

"And the mirror?" Ford stared at all of this curiosly.

"The leshy were using it to communicate. Bit like your earbuds," I nodded at Hardison.

"Aren't magic mirrors supposed to be big and fancy?" he replied.

"They are." I didn't have to explain anything else; I could feel their understanding in their tension.

There was a small scrimshaw duck; the ivory felt like the tooth of something old and highly predatory, and when I examined it more closely I realized it was a whistle. Some chicken bones bound up in a napkin I figured belonged to a local joint. A random chess piece, a black tower, plastic. An empty, crumpled envelope. I un-crumpled it and put the feathers in it. "No wallet?" It was meant to be a joke. I was trying to hide my shock; some part of me wondered if Parker had even left the lint in his pockets.

She shrugged. "He'd have missed that. He did have a pocket watch, but -"

"But he'd have missed that, too. And you said he had a, a stick, a blasting rod, a wand like mine." She nodded.

I stared at the mess in front of me.

"Spell?" Eliot asked.

"Ritual?" Sophie suggested.

I shoved aside the comb and the candle. "These two are magic. These," I waved the handkerchief at the rest of the stuff and threw it in with the lot, "are not."

"But it's a rabbit's foot," Parker protested.

"Didn't bring the rabbit a lot of luck, did it? Luck is hard magic, Parker. It's like a whip, the recoil's always gonna come back to bite you in the face if you push it too far." Even with the three things out of the way, I couldn't think of any spell, any ritual, any magic that would require all the things in front of me. I was pretty sure a wizard of the caliber of the man in black didn't shove chicken bones in his pocket out of a driving desire not to litter, so even that had to have meaning, weight in some fashion. "I need a scrying crystal. I need to make sure there's no magic to them, or a connection between them - is this table important to someone?" I rapped my knuckles on it and fished my sharpie out of a pocket in the duster.

"Go ahead," Ford replied. "How long would it take you to make your… crystal?"

"Not long." I wanted to be in bed. I didn't care if it was made of nails and crushed glass, sleeping on the train hadn't been nearly as restful as I'd made it out to be, and I'd just had a serious throwdown with a wizard that was at least two centuries old and powerful accordingly. But I also needed answers; my employers needed answers. "It makes no sense that only these two things would be magical. I'm thinking there's a Veil on them."

"What's a Veil?"

"Head magic, mind magic. You hide something, or you make it look like something else, someone else. Like the man in black did, back at the vault, wearing your friend's face." I gathered everything together on the table and drew a circle around it. The sharpie already had some of my blood in it, I kept it exactly for the kind of use it was currently seeing: circles on the fly that needed more solidity than chalk.

"Oh, yeah." Parker scowled at nothing; apparently she was going to hold that grudge unto the end times.

"He what?" Hardison exclaimed.

"He stole Jess' face."

Yup, definitely unto the end times.

"He what?" Hardison's brow furrowed in concern. "This isn't a T-1000 thing, is it?"

Ok, I was beginning to feel like the only one who hadn't been invited to some kind of worldwide party, and I could only hope the look I was giving them conveyed that feeling.

"Uh, it's from a movie," Hardison explained hastily. "Killer robot made of liquid metal, it steals the looks of other people so it can get close to you."

"And it kills them?"

"Yeah."

"Dopplegangers and Veils don't work like that. If you're copying someone's look, you need them close at hand so you can refresh the illusion regularly. And if it's just a quick thing, they're not gonna care. It would even make things easier if he looked like Parker's friend while stealing the painting -"

"Portrait," Sophie murmured.

"- portr- there's a difference?"

"Small but crucial. In any case, he could have blamed Jessamine, so it benefitted him to leave her alive."

"Exactly."

"Cameras can't see him," Hardison protested. "Tech overclocks and explodes, there'd be no evidence."

"Wouldn't matter if he had witnesses. No one would be looking for another culprit when they had one right there already. Besides, you can look at a Veil, Hardison. It's them you can't look at. The Veil's what comes out blurry." He gave me such a look. "Go on. I bet if you look at any footage from the vault, you won't see him, not until the very end, when we got out, but it also won't blow up your computer. Go ahead. Triple dog dare you."

I could see the challenge hit him, and caution war with curiosity. Hardison was a deeply curious man. Like me, he wanted to know what made the world tick. I did it with magic, he did it with his computers. Potato potahto.

"I swear, Dresden, if I lose another screen…" He moved over to the desk, revealing a keyboard in one of them and activating the central screen.

"Dresden, could I have the envelope, please?" Ford requested. I pulled the feathers out and handed it over. It was plain, coarse, with some sort of engraving on the front. "What about the mirror shards?"

What about those, indeed. I had an idea, but I wasn't sure it was going to work. Not to mention I didn't have the skill or the know-how to pull it off in a hurry. "Can any of you make jewelry? It doesn't have to be fancy, just… sturdy, I guess."

Sophie suddenly gasped. "Does it still work?"

"Fingers crossed that it does." She'd already seen the shape of what I planned. "Magic mirrors aren't automatically connected. They're like a phone - you call a number, connect from one mirror to another. That spell's gone, shattered when the mirror did. But the mirror itself, that's still magic. Heavy-duty magic. There's one number it can still call."

Ford shifted minutely and for just a second I saw the real man behind the slightly rumpled, harmless facade, all ice and fury and single-minded focus. "So the shards can talk to one another?"

"Yup."

He dug a handkerchief out of his own pocket, spread it on his hand and put it out. I surrendered the shards without question. "No silver. Platinum would be best. Gold will do in a pinch."

"Mm. 'Not long' isn't a very precise quantity, Dresden."

"Look, Ford, I ran my magic empty. That first blow the man in black threw? It ate everything I had. All of the fight after, that was me talking Boston at him. To create a scrying glass, I have to empower it, to empower it I need magic, to get magic I need some rest -"

"Ah, so you mean tomorrow." God, the man couldn't even let me get properly angry at him! I'd have mustered a surly growl if he didn't look pleased at having a deadline, rather than angry that I wasn't about to pull an all-nighter. "That's fine. Will your… circles hold until then?"

"I hope so. I think so. But this guy's swinging a lot of power. I'll feel much better when I have everything behind a proper circle - the brass piping's for that. And I'm probably going to go down there and tape the key to the Witchwell now, rather than later -"

"You win, Dresden," Hardison called out from across the room, and every head turned toward him. He had three screens active, all of them showing what I was pretty sure was security footage no one outside the cops ought to have.

The others gathered around him. I sat down on the couch and rubbed my dog's ears. He snored at me. Ah, to be loved.

I tried to follow the conversation going on around the screens, but I hadn't lied to Ford: I was beyond exhausted, scraped clean to the bone. I could feel power seeping back into me, but again, it wasn't the firepower that worried me so much as the fact every bone in my body ached just to think of doing even the most minimal spellwork.

I snapped awake to a hand on my good shoulder. "Dresden."

For a moment nothing made sense. The air felt wrong, the man looking down at me was a stranger. I didn't know who I was, who he was, what we were doing, where we were.

So I didn't think to look away.

For a moment, all I saw were chains.

A Soulgaze is dangerous when you're prepared, let alone when you're not expecting it. It's not going to show you any deep dark secret about a person, or what they think of themselves, or anything like that. It's the truth of them, clean of all the masks that culture and society puts on us, all the lies we tell ourselves. It can be an interesting insight into someone's personality, or history.

There were chains everywhere, some corroded, some fresh, some shattered and haphazardly piled up here and there on a vast plain of ice. They all came from nowhere, moving sedately, like the coils of some unseen beast, to wrap around a massive block of ice. Their motion filled the air with whispers, a hundred, a thousand voices, all pleading for help. There was a man trapped inside the ice, and as soon as the chains reached him they changed, turning into lines of light, splitting, dividing, multiplying, rushing away like immense fractal trees along the ice. Each line was a whisper, a word, an image. There were gaping holes in the ice block, as if something had struck it and shattered it, threatening to free the man inside it.

The man was Nathan Ford.

I threw myself back and away from the Soulgaze so hard I fell off the couch. I heard, vaguely, Ford staggering back and crashing into the kitchen bar.

"Nate!" Sophie rushed at him.

I'd fallen on my bad shoulder. I didn't want to move. I didn't want to be awake. Mouse was licking my face, whining anxiously. "Dresden, you alright?" That was Eliot. Two pairs of hands caught me and forced me up, back on the couch. "What happened?"

"I told you." I had to get the words out, even if my throat felt full of ice. "You all trust too easy. You shouldn't look a wizard in the eyes like that."

"Sophie, I need a drink," Ford croaked from the kitchen stool. It was tendered to him in record time.

"Do you want a drink?" Parker asked me, utterly serious.

"Coffee," I managed. I didn't sound any better than Ford. She brought me a cup and I drank, and the silence went on for a good few minutes.

"Dresden." Ford sounded so mild. I knew better. I knew what the ice hid. "What did you do?"

"Soulgaze. Little gift of True Sight. If I stare too long into someone's eyes I get a peek into their soul… and they get a peek into mine. One time only. Not gonna happen again, not with you."

It wasn't gonna happen with any of them, not the moment Ford decided I was too much of a liability to keep around. I have done things I know have put scars on me. I'm carrying sins I can never forgive myself for, can never atone for. I had no way of knowing what he'd seen, but I knew it was neither pretty nor reassuring.

Well, at least I had the one day's paycheck to look forward to.

"Parker," Ford said, his voice still full of that calm, mild tone. "You and Eliot take Dresden to the safehouse. Make sure he actually goes to bed, not to do more work."

"What about the death bottle?" she asked. Which was an excellent question, I just wasn't thinking about it at the time because I wasn't sure I was hearing Ford correctly.

"He was just going to tape the key to it, right? I trust you two can do that without reading the thing or taking it out of the circle."

"Ford -"

"We'll talk tomorrow. I think that's enough of… all this for one day," he declared, his voice going brittle before he charged up the stairs and out of sight.

#fantasy #fanfiction #my writing #urban fantasy #crossover #leverage #the dresden files #harry dresden #nathan ford #parker #sophie devereaux #alec hardison #eliot spencer

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bakubunny · 3 months

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I gotta ask the hard hitting questions. Gimme your top 5 blorbos from any fandom. And yes that means ranked >:)

If you don't feel like ranking them tho that's cool. I just wanna let you gush about your top 5 boyos since you're stuck in bed :)

okay okay okayyyy so 😭 i’ll try to rank them but that’s challenging.

emet selch (ffxiv) -> tl;dr he’s a villain, and a very well written one at that. he has complexity and humanity. all while being a (helpful yet) insufferable pain in everyone’s ass because he’s very old and tired as fuck. he’s seen civilizations rise and fall at his hand for the specific purpose of restoring the world he knew at any cost. there’s so much i could say about him, but the short version is i liked his personality at every stage of his story. by the end, i was obsessed and have been since.

g’raha tia (ffxiv) -> not a character i have a self ship with, but still easily one of my favorite characters. he’s my crème puff cat boy, so sweet and genuine but also an incredibly strong individual. again, he’s another one whose story arc i really enjoyed, and any time he pops up in the story, i get a little grin. he’s such a wonderful character that leaves me with all of the warm, fuzzy feels.

aizawa shouta (bnha) -> not sure i need to say much on this one lmao. i enjoy his canon personality a lot. he’s got similar vibes to the first in that he’s also very tired and very unwilling to put up with bs. he’s the kind of person i can see myself wanting to spend a lot of time around.

bakugo katsuki (bnha) -> i’ve really enjoyed his story arc, and his little grumpy faces make me giggle. he reminds me of a pomeranian, but also a cat who’s grumpy as hell, hides most of the time, and is very vocal if you don’t feed him on time or give him attention on his terms. 😂 but if we’re talking about aged up kats (we always are), he just. makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. i want to snuggle him up and pretend to tolerate his sass even though we both know i love it.

mamoru chiba (sailor moon) -> my first and longest lasting fictional crush. a handsome (traumatized) hero who’s protective and caring, sassy as heck, blunt when it’s necessary, and makes me feel like a pretty princess? yes, please. he has always made me swoon. mamoru holds a special place in my heart.

bonus: kaoru sakurayashiki (sk8) -> he can be a bit harsh on the outside, but i think it’s fairly clear he’s sensitive and caring underneath that. another one i just want to spend a ton of time with. sure, he has his high strung and slightly immature moments, but i do, too. the kind of person that (once i get past being flustered so easily), i feel safe being around.

#ask games #bnha #ffxiv #sk8 #sailor moon #emet selch #g’raha tia #aizawa shouta #bakugou katsuki #mamoru chiba #kaoru sakurayashiki #self ship nonsense

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pagodazz · 5 months

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OKAYYY,,, SOO I HEARD THAT YOU MIGHT WANT PEOPLE TO ASK MORE

Soo,, I ask of you

Evan headcanons

:] not forced though !!

YAYAYAYAY!!! MY FAVVV GUY IN EVERRR, I have so many thoughts about him please forgive me if I ramble on and on.

Evan Myers is deeply misunderstood. Like, you all can talk about how you love him and how hot he is, but none of you ever seem to grasp his story and just how complex and beautiful it is. It's so insanely tragic.

And I don't just mean the fact he ate his own friends and child either. Don't get me wrong, of course that is a major part of his story, but ITS ONLY A PART OF A MUCH MUCH BIGGER THING.

He has so much to offer, so much to give, he's full of so much love, only to be possessed by something who is so hateful.

The conflicting thoughts he must of had in his head, the nights he probably spent very wide awake holding head in his hands just repeatedly hitting himself trying to to knock out the poisonous words HABIT is feeding him.

Knowing Evan, he's going to act like he's completely fine the next day, and of course, Vinnie will always be the one to notice. And Vinnie will always get Evan to open to him and he'll do anything to distract Evan from his thoughts.

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

To me, Evan is a really confident yet deeply insecure guy. he's really good at deflecting his feelings by using humour, even if he's aware he's doing it or not.

He's set up basically an invisible border to get through, If you're able to kick past all the the jokes he makes you can see how deeply he's hurting and how much the things in his life affect him.

But even though he's got this sadness in him, he's VERY MUCH SO A PARTY GUY.

He's the life any party, everyone will always have their eyes on him, he will always be doing something to make someone laugh or to make them swoon, he's just that kind of guy.

He's like the type of guy to grab his friends by the hands and force them to dance with him in the kitchen even though there's absolutely no music going on.

He'd probably say something like, "You just gotta feel it man."

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

I think Evan himself is a violent man. especially after years of being inHABITED, I think his brain struggles to separate his own thoughts from habits sometimes, he still has deep internal blood lust, something that can only be soothed by taking the life of the one who wronged him.

That being said, I don't think he enjoys that part of himself AT ALL. to the point where I think he would start trying not to touch things out of fear of destroying it or killing it.

Like say you gave Evan before everything started a kitten, he would be silly with it and mess with it.

But if you gave Evan AFTER everything went down a kitten??? he's gonna hold it like he's never held one in his life. He's gonna look at it with wide eyes, That sweet innocent life on his face, Evan doesn't want to see that go away again, hes almost never in control of his body, but he's always left with the memories. He'd basically force you to take the kitten back before he could accidentally cause harm.

I also think that this applies to people too, we see him being very very affectionate with his friends in the beginning, but later on, of course we don't get that. If anything, the most him and Vinnie can do is sit side by side.

They both would ache for some kind of affection but, Evan is afraid of hurting him and sometimes, Vinnie is a little afraid of getting hurt.

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

I believe that of course like most other slenderverse characters, he has horrific night terrors. But I personally think that his might just have some of the worst.

His nightmares probably include the things HABIT has done to his many victims, and it's probably in extreme vivid detail too.

It's enough to wake him up sweating and running to the bathroom because the shit is so horrific it makes him sick.

Usually after those nightmares he'll take a cold shower and he'll go to the kitchen and get water and he'll most likely be met by Vinnie who hasn't slept yet, and they'll end up talking on the couch until Evan passes out next to Vinnie. Being next to another person probably brings him alot of comfort. (even if the man he finds comfort in is betraying him.)

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

in a good world if the baby lived and slenderman wasn't around, I think that Evan and Steph's relationship probably would not have worked out in the end and Evan would be the best single dad he could be.

I think he'd have his own apartment and he'd throw away each cent of his paycheck to his rent and to spoiling his daughter.

Of course Evan wouldn't be raising her alone, Steph would still be around and they'd be best friends, just not lovers. (Steph is a lesbian, and she's in love with Jessa ‹𝟹) And I think Evan would of course have Vinnie and Jeff to help.

I think they'd actually all be roommates, considering their house is actually one, it just seems right to not separate them.

Evan needs his guys and they need him.

I also think he's just got that divorced dad energy, where he's pulling up blaring his dad rock and he's gonna drive too fast and recklessly, and he's gonna go to a gas station to get food instead of stopping at some fancy restaurant, but it's still one of the nicest times anyone could ever have.

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

PLEASE I HAD SO MUCH MORE I COULD'VE SAID. I LOVE HIM BAD. I JUST. yeah.... so I don't talk too much.

#everymanhybrid #emh #slenderverse #evan myers #vinnie emh #jeff emh #steph emh #🐍 ⦻#ethan rants 🐍#hes so perfect to me guys.#i hope you know that #hcs

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haloshornsinkstains · 2 years

Text

Why Wouldn’t I?

I’m not dead. And I bring you ~3500 words of Eddie x f!reader omegaverse smut. I’m not even the slightest bit sorry.

WARNINGS: female reader, omegaverse/abo dynamics, heat cycles (possible dubcon), PIV sex.

“So, what’s all the commotion about?” Eddie asked, taking his usual place at the table. Gareth hummed, nodding his head toward the jocks clustered around their table. “You mean those guys? There’s a new student, rumour is they’re an omega.” Eddie perked up a little. “Oh? Tell me more.” Jeff sighed. “I think I know who it is, walked past the Principal’s office earlier and there was some girl in there I’d never seen before.” “That would explain why the meatheads are all up in arms over it.” Gareth sighed. “Still, pretty weird to be moving this late into the year. And they’re probably a Junior if they’ve presented,” Eddie mused “could be a good story there…” “Some of the people in my year have started presenting, they could be a Sophomore!” Jeff protested. “Man, I am not looking forward to next year.” Gareth groaned, burying his head in his arms. “Enjoy your freedom while you have it my friend, from here on out it’s all secondary gender cliques and hormones.” Eddie chuckled. “Well, at least you’re used to the cliques already.” Jeff laughed, slapping him on the back. “Just gotta make it through this year and I’m out of here.” Eddie sighed. “Sure you do, we’ve all seen your grades. But look at it this way, it means an extra year with the new omega.” “And us!” The air in the cafeteria shifted all of a sudden, followed by the creak of the door opening. Eddie watched with feigned disinterest as the new student walked in, she didn’t look like an omega, she wasn’t skittish like the ones in his year had been when they presented. If he couldn’t smell her he’d have pegged her for a beta. Maybe she’d be more fun than any of the others, she didn’t seem like the type to only look for a strong alpha to defend her. His hopes faltered a little as she stepped towards the jocks table, where they were posing and throwing comments her way, though her smile looked a lot more like a snarl than he was expecting. Tommy Hagan, apparently fancying his chances, took a step towards her. Instead of swooning over him, she slapped away his hand and stalked off. Eddie grinned. “Y’know, repeating senior year might not be so bad.”

You paused just outside the cafeteria door. You could practically feel the testosterone seeping through the wood, the scent of alphas trying to posture was sickening. You didn’t hate being an omega, truthfully you hadn’t given it much thought, but times like this you would almost be tempted to. Bracing yourself you pushed through the door, wrinkling your nose at the smell that assaulted your nostrils as you did. “Steve didn’t tell us she was a looker” “come on pretty omega, we’ll take care of you” “come sit with us baby” The calls coming from the table of alphas started almost immediately, typical. Rolling your eyes you started to walk past them, looking for a quiet place to take a seat. You even flashed a snarl their way for good measure as they continued to call out to you. Clearly one of them really didn’t get the message, pushing himself to his feet and walking towards you. “Come on little omega, be a good girl and come sit with us. We’ll treat you right, won’t we guys?” He reached out a hand towards you, looking to grab onto your arm and pull you to the table. You snarled and smacked his hand away before it could connect, baring your teeth at him. “Don’t. Touch. Me.” You stalked off, trying to block out the sound of their insults as you looked for somewhere to go. On your way you scented another alpha and you turned to look in the direction of the smell, this one wasn’t posturing or calling out to you, though he was still watching. Relieved you smiled at him, heart fluttering in your chest when he flashed a bright smile back in your direction. Swallowing down your instincts to go to him you kept walking, finally settling on a quiet table at the far end of the room.

For the first week Eddie was content with just watching you. Smiling back every time you shot a smile his way, and doing his best to ignore the jibes his fellow D&D players threw his way. Dan, one of his fellow seniors, elbowed him hard in the side one day, after he was busy spacing out over you reading a book for way too long. “You know, you could just go and talk to her. Instead of staring at her like some kind of stalker.” He laughed, shaking his head. “You saw how she reacted to Tommy the first day, something tells me she’s not fond of alphas coming up to her.” He groaned. “I’m pretty sure she just wasn’t fond of Tommy.” Dan sighed. “But if you’re that worried, I have an idea.” Eddie glanced at him, frowning slightly. “Oh no, no you don’t.” Dan just nodded at Gareth, grabbing hold of Eddie’s arm and tugging him back into his seat as the younger boy darted across the cafeteria towards you. Eddie tried to shout after him, but the words were muffled by hands across his mouth. Instead, he had to watch in horror as Gareth reached you, gesturing towards their table with a dopey grin. He watched as you laughed, oh god, you were laughing at him. But then you stood up, and you were walking towards them. If the others hadn’t been holding him in place Eddie was pretty sure he would have dived under the table to hide. Instead he watched with mounting horror as you approached, still smiling, and took a seat at their table. He was so caught up in his terror that he didn’t even hear the jibes and insults being hurled at you as you sat down. For a moment all his senses were just filled with omega and the sight of you smiling back at him. “You know, you could have asked me yourself. I don’t bite.” You chuckled, eyes still on him. “I uh..” Eddie ran his hand through his hair nervously, “Uh… I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.” You tilted your head, considering him carefully. “Because you’re a ‘freak’-” you made little air quotes with your fingers “-or because you’re an alpha?” “Well…” Eddie glanced at the others for support, only to find them grinning at him, “you didn’t seem too fond of Tommy.” You laughed, shaking your head. “Was that his name? I don’t like being manhandled by strangers, especially strangers like that. But you’re alright, unless this is some scheme?” “N-no! You just, well…” “You looked lonely sat there all by yourself, though Gar probably should have warned you that sitting with us isn’t going to win you any popularity points with the rest of them.” Dan cut in, finally taking pity on their DM. You waved him off with a shake of your hand. “If I’d wanted to join any of their little groups I’d have tried it by now.” “So-” Ted, the other senior in their little group, cut in “do you play D&D?” “No. But I’d like to, if you’re willing to take a complete newbie?” Finally Eddie was smiling again, nodding happily as he launched into an explanation of the game and when their party met up. Even offering to help you set up a character if you didn’t mind coming over early.

Things continued that way the rest of the week. Eddie was still a little awkward around you, at least until you got him onto the topic of D&D or music, but the rest of the group accepted you happily. Even teasing you about your ‘mothering’ of Gareth, the assigned baby of the group. The first D&D session you joined really cemented your place in their little gang of ‘freaks’. Eddie had been so nervous in your presence while he explained the rules, helping you put together a half-elf thief that would fit nicely in their little group of warriors and wizards, that you almost felt guilty for forcing your presence on him like this. But when the game started you soon forgot all that. Eddie really came alive in the role of Dungeon Master, every word well crafted and his movements graceful and wild. The story came alive with him, his voice changing to suit the role of whomever he was playing, smile at once wicked and joyful. You couldn’t help the quiet purr you let out watching him, though you blushed furiously when he shot you a surprised glance. Thrilled by your first game you vowed to join them for as long as they’d have you, staying behind to help tidy up. Just as Eddie was packing away the last of his things and you were preparing for the long walk home he turned to you. “Hey, do you need a lift? It’s, well, I’m sure you’re fine but it’s dangerous walking around after dark.” The words came out as a jumble, his hand running through his air anxiously as he tried to look anywhere but at your face. “If it’s not too far out of your way? I heard there were some disappearances so I’ve got this spray, but I’d feel safer with you.” You cursed yourself for how omega you sounded, you were supposed to be stronger than this. But the stories of people vanishing not long before you’d moved here really did make you nervous. “Yeah, it’s no problem. Wayne doesn’t much care what time I get back as long as I’m not in trouble. Hell, he’d probably congratulate me,” his cheeks flushed slightly, fingers absentminded fiddling with his rings, “so, where’s home?” “Um, do you know the Forest Hills Trailer Park?” You mumbled, now your turn to be embarrassed. “If it’s too far out of your way that’s okay.” “No way! That’s where Wayne’s trailer is too, how did I not know you’d moved in?” He was bouncing on the balls of his feet now, energetically happy once again. “This way my lady, your chariot awaits!” Giggling to yourself you followed after him, happily singing along with him to his music as he drove you back to the trailer park. Pulling up outside his place he gestured towards the trailer. “My humble abode. Can you get back from here?” You nodded, pointing towards the row of trailers opposite. “Yeah, I’m just past that row there.” Eddie opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but shook his head when you paused. You waited patiently, tilting your head slightly as you waited for him to continue. “Um, I was just thinking… you don’t have to, but if you ever get bored you could, i don’t know, come hang out?” You gifted him with the brightest smile he’d ever seen, eyes practically sparkling and a soft purr rumbling in your throat. “I’d like that. I’ll see you around Munson.” Eddie sat and watched you leave, taking a few deep breaths to steady himself after you disappeared into the darkness before leaving his van. That night his dreams were full of a tough little omega with a shining smile.

The year went on and all too soon it was graduation, and the members of the Hellfire Club were thoroughly tired of you and Eddie dancing around each other. With Eddie failing to graduate this year the younger members found themselves begging the graduating two to do something about it. The something being Ted and Dan dragging Eddie off to tell him to do something, while he protested that omegas don’t like him. “This one does, clearly.” Dan hissed, “she wouldn’t have hung around you for a whole year if she didn’t.” “Come on man, girls don’t like me, no one likes me. I’m Eddie the Freak remember?” Ted smacked him on the back of the head. “Stop being dense. We’ve all heard her purring at you.” “But…” “No buts! If you two aren’t together by this time next year I’m officially telling everyone you cried while watching-” “Fine! Fine! But I’m telling you, she isn’t interested.” Dan laughed, patting his friend on the back. “Sure dude, and I’m not graduating today. Just remember what I said, I don’t back down from promises.” Eddie winced but nodded, glancing back towards the mass of students in their graduation robes. “Come on, we should get back.” If anyone noticed how you made a beeline right to Eddie’s side they didn’t mention it, though he caught more than a couple of knowing looks thrown his way by the rest of the gang.

Senior year, it turned out, wasn’t all that different from Junior year. The classes were the same, though with more mention of exams than before, the Hellfire Club still ran their campaigns, though now on the lookout for new members, and Hawkins, it seemed, rarely changed. The only real difference were the additional health classes on secondary genders, this time focusing on heats and ruts. They didn’t usually start until after 18, but much in the same way some people presented early or late, the heats and ruts could hit soon. Heats first, they triggered all on their own, whereas an alpha’s first rut was usually triggered by an omega in heat. You grimaced, great, this could blindside you at any time. At least the school nurse kept a supply of suppressants on hand. You left that particular class praying you were one of the late bloomers.

You wouldn’t be so lucky. A few weeks past your 18th birthday, you awoke in an empty trailer to a burning fever. You tried to ignore it, writing it off as illness brought on by the changing of the weather. You could skip school, it wouldn’t be the first time, you thought as you curled up in your bed again. Barely an hour later you were rudely awoken by the cramps starting. You cursed into the bedding, belatedly noticing you’d formed a nest around you in your sleep. “No. No. This can’t be happening.” You whined, curling into a ball and feeling the wetness start to slide down your legs. The feeling was almost unbearable. Being around Eddie made your chest flutter and sometimes something clench low in your stomach but this, this was everything turned up way past eleven. You whimpered, trying to resist the urge to move your hand down between your legs to lessen the ache. You could sleep through this, you told yourself, wake up and find it was all just a horrible nightmare. “Hey, you coming to school?” Your head snapped up at the sound of Eddie outside your trailer. You couldn’t let him see you like this, scared of what he might think of you. “I can’t, m’sick.” You called back, barely biting back a whimper. “You need anything?” You grit your teeth against a fresh wave of cramps, thankful that the trailer was at least keeping your scent from leaking out. This time you couldn’t keep the whimpering at bay, the pain stabbing at your insides. “I’m coming in.” He called, and you heard him fiddling with the lock on the door. “No. No, you can’t!” But it was too late, there was the familiar sound of the door clicking and the creaking of the hinges as it opened. You could sense him as soon as he stepped inside, all of your instincts screaming ‘alpha’ and begging you to go with him. Instead you curled up tighter in your makeshift nest, biting back the whimpers and mewls that tried to force themselves past your lips. He’d only got a few steps inside before he sniffed the air, and you heard the door slam hard behind him. You breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he’d left, only to hear footsteps coming closer to you again. “Is this…?” You whimpered again, nodding your head. “It hurts Eddie.” He crouched beside the bed and you cracked your eyes open to look at him, already flushed and breathing heavy just from being stuck with you for a few moments. “I could… I mean, um, I could help? We’re supposed to be able to…” You blinked at him, wide eyed and struck silent by your surprise. Eddie took your silence as rejection, his eyes dropping to the floor as he ran a hand through his hair. “Ah no, of course you wouldn’t want… I shouldn’t have asked.” As he started to back away you reached out, grabbing for his jacket. “Please, please stay.” He stared down, equally as shocked by your behaviour as you were, his other hand coming up to rest over yours. “You want me?” “If you’re okay with someone like me. A -ah shit!-” you whimpered, dropping his arm and clutching your stomach. Slowly he crawled into your nest, wrapping his body around yours and rumbling a purr against your shoulder. You whined, baring your neck and pressing back against him, the sound of his groan echoing in your ears. “Are… fuck you smell so good… are you sure?” He asked, voice sounding strained with the effort of holding back. “Yes, please please Eddie. Alpha.” He groaned again, his hips bucking against you and pressing his erection into your back. You whimpered again, trying to spread your legs for him but finding them trapped between his own. He hummed, nuzzling against your neck and breathing in your scent for a moment before turning you in his arms, until you were staring wide eyed back at him. He bent his face towards yours, lips hovering just above your own as if asking for permission. In answer you craned your neck forwards, pressing your lips against his insistently. Eddie rumbled in approval, hands coming up to twist in your hair as his tongue pressed into your mouth. You whimpered, rocking your hips against his in a desperate attempt to get some relief. Eddie growled, pulling back on your hair. “Ah, be a good girl and let me prepare you.” You watched, wide eyed and shocked as he pushed you onto your back and slowly crawled down between your legs. “Have you, um, this before?” you whispered, unsure why the thought made your heart squeeze painfully. He glanced up from his position between your thighs, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “Ah no, but I might have read some stuff.” You nodded nervously, watching as he slowly pulled your shorts down your legs, throwing an arm across your face in embarrassment as he started at you in wonder. When his fingers trailed up the inside of your thigh you squeaked, hips instinctively rocking up towards him. “So wet. This all for me princess?” He purred, his words sending sparks right to your most sensitive areas. When his tongue lapped against your slit you swore you saw stars, head falling back against the bed as his mouth worked on you. You could feel your body tensing, muscles trembling with some unseen force. When he finally slipped a finger inside you you cried out, hips arching up towards him, simultaneously begging for more and whimpering from all the stimulation. You lost track of what happened after that, you only knew the electric sensation that rippled through your body. When you came back to reality Eddie was no longer between your thighs, instead lying next to you and palming himself through his boxers. “You back with me princess?” He chuckled, gently running a hand up and down your side. “What… what was that?” you panted, trying not to stare at the bulge in his pants. “That was me warming you up.” He grinned, eyes still dark with lust. “Now, my lady, are you sure you want this?” You whimpered, nodding feverishly, and trying to move towards him. Eddie stopped you with a hand on your chest, pressing you back down into the mattress. “I need you to say it princess. Come on.” “Please Eddie, need you, wanted you so long.” It was those four words that broke him, near ordering you to take your top off while he feverishly shucked off his clothes.You almost drooled when you finally saw him, eyes tracing across his tattoos down to the thick cock that stood between his legs, already glistening even in the dim light of the trailer. “So big,” you breathed, barely even realising you’d said it out loud. Eddie grinned at you sheepishly, before crawling over you, caging your head between his arms. Resting his weight on one forearm he lined himself up with your entrance, carefully pressing into you. The slow pace was torturous for both of you, but he was determined not to let it hurt, even while you whined and begged for him. Finally he bottomed out, pressing his forehead against yours as he paused for you to adjust (and, in truth, to calm himself down). It was only when you started wriggling against him that he began to move. He tried to go slowly, he really did, but your scent was getting to him and soon his instincts took over, pounding into you as you keened and begged for more. It wasn’t long before a second orgasm ripped through you and it took all he had not to come right there, as you clenched around him, seeming to try and milk him dry then and there. With a pained sound he pulled out of you, chest clenching when you nearly sobbed from the loss. He groaned, burying his face in your neck as he rocked against you, seeking the last bit of friction he needed. As he came, spurting across your stomach, his teeth latched into your neck, marking you as his.

Afterwards he lay panting beside you, turning his head slightly as you gently pressed your fingers against the mark on your neck. “Shit. I’m so… I shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry.” He mumbled, giving you what could only be described as sad puppy eyes. “No. No, it’s fine. I like it.” You murmured, still touching the mark. “You do?” You turned your eyes towards him, surprised by the shock you saw there. Eddie was staring at you as if you’d made some great revelation. “You mean that?” His voice was barely above a whisper. You blinked back at him. “Why wouldn’t I?” Grinning, he threw his arms around you, burying his face back into your neck and nuzzling against the mark he’d left there.

#halo.writes #halo.afterdark #eddie x reader #f!reader #omegaverse #eddie munson

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spookyserenades · 10 months

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lemme gush abt the chapter freely in here cuz the word limit when commenting is annoying I loooooooooove the chapter and I mean it this was some much needed fluff after the angst of previous chapters the scenting scenes were so lit!! you made me feel bad for the beef i had with Namjoon in here he's too cute for his own good, Yoongi is full on househusband mode now ig he's the sweetest soul, well Jin is sweet too well all of them are I really like your writing like you are the best :) like the plannin you hv put into this is insane the little details of their characters are literally awesome I love how you have mapped out the characters like jungkook's antlers and incorporating the shedding into it makes it all the more realistic I srsly love how real everythin is And it's endearing how they are slowly becoming more clingy and also the shifting was swoon worthy fr and I love how you slowly reveal more about their pasts in a steady pace with each chapter I wonder what happened to Jimin's family and Namjoon's trailer O.O I feel like I'm in a treasure hunt trying to find clues and stuff 😄 Can't wait to see Jungkook's reaction when y/n surprise him with her birthday plan and since this was a mild one I hv a feeling you'll have some more angst in store for us anyways I love this chapter well I love all the chapters I love the whole story tbh!! like your work can never disappoint me this story has a special place in my heart🥺🖤 love you take care, now I gotta binge read everything again until the nxt 7th hope you have a lovely month!!

AHHHH Thank you so much I'm overjoyed that you loved this latest chapter!! I agree, there was some much needed fluff in this update after some of the angstier moments in Chapter Seven. Joonie definitely began to make up for his behavior after the cookout, thankfully! And my househusband Yoongi PLEASE he's just loving life at the moment, growing pretty comfortable with MC! UGH and Jinnie baby too, he's a total sweetheart as well and the next update will have more of him in it! 🥺💜

And ahh thank you for your sweet words, all of the planning that goes into the story and the characters is super fun and I'm really happy that you're enjoying the developments! The shedding of Jeongguk's antlers was such a fun detail I was excited to include, and I'm glad it's finally out there! I also am loving how clingy each of the hybrids are becoming, writing those tender moments are amongst my favorites. I think there'll be more shifting scenes in the future, too (how cute would some snuggles with bear Tae be....🥲)

I love that you feel like the story is a treasure hunt!! In a way, it sort of is, and there are lots of clues tucked in each chapter. Jimin's family and backstory will be touched on more in the future, as will the subject of Joon's trailer (maybe MC will find it in time for his birthday...) 🤭

Jeongguk's birthday will be in the next update!! I'm super excited for it, the next update will have more backstories of certain hybrids and we'll see a bunch of them getting closer, too. A tiny break from some angst!

Thank you again for being such a sweetheart and sending me this lovely message, I'm so grateful for you and you support and love of Trouvaille! I hope to hear from you again soon! 🥰💓

#trouvaille #asks #dana's thoughts

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awakefor48hours · 11 months

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The Rewritten Maribug Fic

[Fanfiction.net] || [AO3]

[Prev Chapter/Chapter 1] || [Next Chapter (3) >]

Alright, I meant to write this chapter yesterday but I got busy. Anyway, really glad to see you guys are enjoying this. Now onto the crack.

Cat Noir jumped into his room then said "Claws in" and felt his suit disappear from his body.

"Plagg, did you hear?" Adrien said with the excitement of a child. "Ladybug has a crush on Marinette!"

"Yeah, yeah, I heard," Plagg complained. "But why does that have you so worked up?"

"Because it could work. Ladybug and I were never meant to be, she made that clear. But Marinette and Ladybug, that should work." With each word, Adrien started to swoon almost as if he was the one in love.

Marinette has been in love with Cat Noir and Ladybug has a crush on her. The two of them must've been attracted to the courage and strength they both had. If he managed to show his support to his best friends, he could help them get together. But what to do?

First of all, when he gets to school, he should try to be as inconspicuous as possible about the fact that he knew Ladybug had a crush on his dear friend. Then he should also try to find out if the crush was mutual, there's no point in trying to get them together if Marinette was in love with someone else.

Yeah, but how to do it? Well, he could figure out in the morning because he had to finish some homework.

Adrien spent the rest the night doing his homework but he definitely struggled to concentrate due to the amount of thoughts he had. He wanted to make a plan, no matter how complicated it could get, for Ladybug and Marinette to fall in love.

But he had to get past step 1 first. He had to make sure that Marinette had feelings for Ladybug too.

Morning couldn't come quicker. Adrien almost jumped out of bed as soon as his alarm signaled for him to wake up.

"Today's gonna be a great day, Plagg!" Adrien said with far too much excitement for first waking up. "I get to talk to Marinette and see if she has a crush on Ladybug!"

"Are you sure this is the best idea, Adrien?" Plagg asked with more concern than usual. "I mean, sure I don't completely understand being in love but from what I've learned, you just gotta leave these things alone. If Marinette and Ladybug are supposed to be together, they'll get together on their own."

"I know about that, Plagg." Adrien slipped on his jacket and grabbed his bag. "But I could help move things along. It's not even like Marinette would know how to get into contact with Ladybug anyway."

No matter what came his way today, he would stop at nothing to show his friends all the love and support they need.

Adrien quickly ran downstairs and gobbled the pancakes his father made for him today, barely giving himself time to breathe or to taste them. The speed at which he ate them concerned both his father and Nathalie and maybe even Plagg. But needed to see Marinette as soon as he possible could.

Once he was done eating, he dismissed himself and ran to the limo faster than he's ever done in his life. Each passing second the drive took, he felt the butterflies in his stomach grow more and more. It was to the point where he could've easily been confused for the one in love himself. But if he couldn't find romance with Marinette, he could at least help his dearest friend find romance with her.

That's the end of this chapter. Really excited the for the juxaposition between Adrien's reaction and Marinette's reaction. Anyway, thanks again for reading.

#my fanfiction #ladynette #maribug #adrien agreste

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mmriesoftvat · 1 year

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just because she's the only one that doesn't talk down to him doesn't mean he enjoys katelyn scratching his chin. he's known her and the others for only a couple of years at this point, and to this day, kami still can't read her. she's definitely the kind of person that's used to getting all the attention, and it shows in the way she's constantly touching kami, hoping to mold him into the perfect idea of some gentleman that swoons at her every glance.

she is pretty, kami will give her that much. with a shirt that's almost too tight and a skirt that seems to ride up a little too high, kami can see where she gets the idea that men will fall at her feet. she probably clearly expects kami to join her personal hoard of zombies.

she's not entirely too far off from getting her way. she's the only one that treats him semi decently. with her voice, at least. katelyn hasn't shown too much of an interest in kami outside of offering him alcohol, and talking him through his crashes. he's grateful for her in that aspect.

but right now? she's scratching his chin and cooing at him. irritably, he swats at her hand. with a laugh, she pulls back to face one of her cohorts. "i think he's cranky," she teases. but she's turning back to kami and resting her hand on his head. "you're cute," she adds. "maybe i'd like you more if you weren't always scowling."

"oh fuck off," kami gripes. there's no malice in his voice though. it's that sort of playful banter that's he's half grown used to in all the time he's known her. it's hard to tell what's genuine or not from her. she's not good, but she's good enough.

kami can almost trust her. he just doesn't want to flock to her every time there's an issue.

"you want me to fuck off, or just fuck?" katelyn retorts, removing her hand. "you're a hard one to read, kaminari." she crouches so she's eye level with him. "come on, we've known each other for how long, and you still haven't come onto me? i thought you'd have thrown yourself a long time ago."

"short man's gotta know how to treat a lady," one of the others says. he's pulling out a spray paint can. his tone is definitely mocking. kami loathes being referred to as 'short'. it's not enough to induce a fiery rage, but kami's only able to keep himself in control because katelyn is shooting him a look. "no i'm serious," the other guy continues, still in that same jeering tone. "you can tell that some level of respect is instilled in him. maybe it's some sort of mommy issue."

"werner, that's enough." even katelyn seems to notice the way kami's fallen deathly quiet, staring hard at werner. kami can't decide how he wants to main the jackass. maybe choke him a little. or maybe bash his head against the brick wall they're standing against. both sound like viable options.

"kami, don't listen to him," katelyn says with a laugh. "werner's an idiot, it's not worth getting riled up over."

she's right. letting out a slow breath through pursed lips, kami forces himself to turn away from the group as a whole. it's in moments like these where kami really wants to get high as hell to forget everything. then he'd forget about everything else. like the concept of family-

"i know what'll help you relieve your rage," katelyn says. she's crouching next to kami again. lowering her voice so only he can hear. "i can tell something's eating at you," she all but whispers. "i've seen that look on your face too many times, and i get it." she's scratching his chin again.

this time, kami almost falls for it. how does she know so much and so little at the same time? kami WANTS to believe her. "i've got issues too," she continues. "with my mom, dad, grandparents. all of them wanting me to be someone i'm not. i won't pry into your past, but i know how you can get some of that shit off your back."

"how?" kami asks. when katelyn removes her hand, he leans forward, chasing that physical contact again. that smirk on her face has him immediately righting himself. damn it, he's falling right into her trap. she's molding him already.

"instead of punching out werner, you need something that won't hurt people," katelyn says. "i know the perfect location. and actually, i have something." she turns and reaches into her purse, pulling out a fucking rock.

eyes narrowing, kami leans forward to look at it. "why the fuck do you have a rock on you?"

"i took it off the street," katelyn responds. "didn't want people hitting a rock and getting into an accident. i just forgot i've been carrying it."

"okay but that doesn't answer my-"

"to smash things." werner interjects. "jesus kami, are you always this slow?" he barks out a laugh. he'd keep laughing, but kami's jumping up again, grabbing at werner and twisting his arm behind his back. "okay fuck, ow!" werner gripes. "okay okay, fuck. let go!"

"don't insult me," kami growls, showing werner away from him. "i'm not slow, i just don't get the point of a stupid rock."

"like werner said." katelyn shares a glance with the other kid. "it's to smash shit. i know a good place to go target. the owner is an asshole too. always leering at me like he wants me. creep."

kami doesn't buy that, but the idea of breaking something that isn't human is appealing. he'd been itching to do that for some time. "where it is?" he asks.

"oh, it's actually down the street!" she pulls out a blunt. "want to smoke before we go?" she's holding it out, wearing a pleading fade toward him. kami stares hard at it, before finally nodding once in her direction.

she's offering him a way out. something that won't land him in jail for murder. even if she's completely manipulating him, kami doesn't care. the high over knowing he's falling for her overrides the high he feels after smoking. everything in this moment seems to blur into one until kami feels like he's walking on air. nothing really matters except the way she's scratching his chin occasionally, draping an arm across his shoulders.

after this, kami can finally see himself getting into bed with her. and wouldn't that just piss werner off? kami being her latest toy, with katelyn completely doting on him, giving him all of her attention.

he's giggling. kami is still laughing when -after a few words of encouragement from katelyn- he chucks the rock through the window of the store.

kami's heard glass shattering in movies before. the sound had always made him cringe, being too loud and obnoxious. he'd always thought it was exaggerated for movie's sake. glass shattering in real life is even worse. his ears are ringing from the sound, but even more sobering is how easy it had been. the front window had shattered from one single rock?

no, werner has a fucking brick. or had, really. because he'd chucked it at the same time as kami. so now this stupid bookstore is missing a front window, and there's an alarm screeching.

werner is the first to bolt. he doesn't say anything, he doesn't need to. some of his friends, that kami had completely forgotten about, take off with him. it's only him and katelyn now. she's standing in shock for a second, before swearing loudly.

"shit, the bastard rigged an alarm!" katelyn snarls. she doesn't even turn to console kami. "fuck you," she screeches, "i can't afford to go to jail over this!"

"what are you talking about, we can just run!" kami's already turning to do just that, but she grabs his arms and swings him back against the building. the sound of glass crunching beneath his feet has him wincing.

"i was never here," katelyn orders. "if my parents find out, i'm dead. this is all on you, okay? thanks babe."

there's no more chin scratching. no kiss on the cheek. not even a goodbye as katelyn takes off running. and damn it, she still looks beautiful as she turns a corner. kami's staring off in her wake, wondering why she abandoned him, why everyone left him. he doesn't even hear the policeman approach him from behind.

there's a lot of yelling, and as kami turns slowly to face the pair of cops, realization hits him square in the face. kami can't even muster up the energy to argue back. going completely limp, it makes it easier for them to handcuff him and put him in the back of the car. there's no point in resisting or even trying to resist.

"do you have anyone we can call?" one of the officers asks. "parents, a family member, or anyone?" those words sting. kami doesn't have any fucking parents. the closest he'd have is his aunt, and it'd be a cold day in hell before kami called her up for any help. she'd probably through it back in his face. her stupid kid, too. they'd no doubt look down on him.

and his sibling... arakan wouldn't help either. kami is certain of it.

"anyone?"

everyone kami had just considered a friend, shaky or otherwise, had just abandoned him. katelyn might help if he called her, but that would also mean dragging her down with him. she'd set him up to take a nasty fall, while she got off easy. probably for the best, it's what she does best. he'd seen her do it countless times.

swallowing down the lump in his throat, kami shakes his head. he will not cry, not anymore. but he can't look at the cops either. instead, he stares straight out, off into nothingness. "no," kami finally whispers.

"it's just me."

#( DRABBLE. )#( SELF | KAMINARI. )#( IC. )#( V. MODERN. )#drugs tw #mild violence #manipulation tw #long post

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chuubachelor · 1 year

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Romeo Monty was playing the guitar very passionately when Juliette Capp and Tank Grunt (interesting pairing and totally chosen by themselves) entered the room determined to woohoo on the couch.

It's ok tho, during their teen years Juliette and Romeo seemed end game, but after he refused Juliette's proposal to go steady twice, she moved on. It was only there she met different men, and even Mercutio Monty put some moves on her, which she didn't very much enjoy and rejected (enough Montys for her I guess). Romeo got to the Uni only after Juliette was already a senior and had been dating Tank for a while. She also changed her Aspiration by the end of graduation to Popularity, since she had so many best friends and wants to have friends and parties and none for family stuff. She and Romeo are BFFs and don't seem to mind the each other's love life (even though Romeo jokes around Tank to make him uncomfortable with the situation... just for funzies).

Romeo: So... Did you know we used to date? In fact, our love was so powerful it revived a past family feud in the whole town. It was wild! You gotta impress me if you think you can handle my best friend ex-girlfriend, Tank! Haha! Just kidding, man... 😅

Tank: Erm... Yeah! Sure, so..-so you guys were together in Highschool? 😳 Fo-for how long? *this guy looks like the whole deal, all the ladies keep swooning over him, no way jules will want to be with me now that he got here!*

Juliette: Yeah, yeah Romeo... I was all over him and he rejected me. Twice! Talk about an ego. *how could i date this guy?? our lips touched.... i can't believe it*

[those are fragments of my belladona cove, pleasantview, strangetown and veronaville megahood. these are some of the college kids from my first round]

#the sims gameplay #ts2 #sims 2 stories #sims 2 pleasantview #sims 2 megahood #sims 2 uberhood #sims stories #sims 2 #juliette capp #romeo monty #tank grunt

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burningpaths-ffxiv · 3 years

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FFXIV WRITE 2021 // Prompt #11 Preaching to the Choir

🛑TW: mention of sex? idk is that a tw?

“He’s so attractive~.” The keeper woman covered her mouth as the group passed, soft blue eyes locked on her prize as white tipped ears perked to attention in dark hair. The golden elezen woman beside her tucked her head, cupping one corner of her mouth to feign a murmur conspiratorially.

“Do you see the tiny little blonde next to them? Do you think he’s the assistant or something? Would he help us get that big dusky one on the right on a dinner date?”

“We should definitely ask!”

An irritated throbbing was starting in Shear’s temples. He followed just behind Kalona and Kolli through the winding cobblestone streets of Vylbrand’s capital city-state, Limsa Lominsa. A leather bound ledger book in his hand and a pen in the other, keeping track of the two other viera’s purchases while the gulls squawked and called as they circled above the merchant’s row. It wasn’t thrilling work and he’d rather be working a mission or having his face stuffed screaming into his bedsheets, but here he was.

Miserable and unable to tune the only-half-correct chittering hens out of his ears.

The two women bounced to their feet off the bench they’d been perched on and crept after the trio winding through the crowded stalls. One long blonde ear half turned to listen to the clicking of their heels on the stone. Kalona and Kolli just in front of him were discussing purchasing rope, roof anchors, a new set of bracers for the former, and a new sword for the latter and seemed to not be paying attention. Shear scribbled the items down on the left of his column for the future.

A vendor hawking blades gleaming in the sunlight caught Kolli’s attention, who elbowed Kalona and pointed.

“Hoy, look. You see that?” He spoke Golmoran’s mother tongue while it was just them, and Kalona turned from looking at a different merchant towards the direction where Kolli motioned. Giving a snort, the older male arched a brow.

“Do you want to take a look? I think I want to go take a look there. Shear,” Kalona stopped and patted the blonde’s head. “Please keep him from spending too much, ay?” Giving them both a nudge, Kalona turned and waved over his shoulder. “Join me when you’re done or I’ll join you when I’m finished.”

Excitedly, Kolli’s teeth bared in a broad grin, gripping Shear’s arm as he started off. His fingers dug into the pliable skin and Shear gave a sharp exhale at it. As the rava dragged him towards the stall, he leaned in to mutter in his ear, “Don’t fucking tattle on me and only write down what I don’t cover on my own. You hear me, snitch?” He then pushed Shear away as they arrived in front of the rows of blades to immediately pick up his favorite to inspect.

Rubbing the place where Kolli’s fingers had dug, Shear nodded and moved out of the way with a sigh. Much to the disappointment of the women sneaking behind them who crept closer, wanting to hear what they were saying. The gossip clucking continued.

“I can’t hear what they’re saying. Did you catch any of that?” The miqo’te gave her friend’s skirts a yank as she realized they’d stopped, spinning to face the end of a fruit cart and pretending to look over the oranges arranged on the seller’s tray.

“Cause I don’t think it’s Eorzean, Miya.” Sharp green eyes peeked towards Kolli around her friend, squinting. “Also did that seem a little strange, the way he grabbed at his assistant?”

Miya shrugged, ears giving a tiny flutter and waved a dismissive hand. “Don’t you Ishgardians manhandle your servants all the time, Faiyelle? Maybe the blonde said something stupid like ‘You can’t spend too much gil here!’ or ‘Gosh you big hunk of dusky muscle, do you need another sword to match the one between your legs?’ I’m just guessing here, of course~.”

“What?! Miya, that's so dirty! And no! Where did you even hear-? Ugh, nevermind. It just struck me as rude, is all.” Faiyelle wrinkled her nose and tucked a curl of brown hair behind one delicately pointed ear. A dark hand came up and poked at her nose. Faiyelle swatted it away with a small hiss.

“Don’t make that face, you’ll get wrinkles.” Miya cupped both sides of her own face, casting her eyes down at the stone while she squished her cheeks. Her lips puckered in a pout. “Do you think he’ll want shy and demure or,” The hands released her face to squeeze a fist and pull one corner of her mouth wide in a crooked grin. “Brave and cocky?”

“I think you’re ridiculous and we all get wrinkles. Eventually.” A golden hand rose to pinch at the tuxedo colored ear and Miya gave a whine, batting at it. “Have you tried, I dunno, just being yourself?”

“That’s boring! And I don’t want to be boring, I want him to want me.” Settling her hands over her chest, Miya gave a longing sigh. “I want that thick lug of attractive muscle to pick me up and rail me so hard I can’t stand for a moon--”

“Ahhh, Miya shhh! That’s disgustinggg~!” Cackling and giving her friend a shove, Faiyelle covered her ears after. Miya, who echoed the laugh and shoved her back, pointed and cackled at the elezen as she wobbled. A tiny growl from the windmilling woman and the two started a small shoving match beside the fruit stall, laughing all the while.

Much to the dismay of the fruit seller, whose current customers were glancing between the fruit and the women and wondered if this sudden hysteria was caused by the oranges.

The laughing ruckus, however, also caught Kolli’s attention off the blades and stormy grey eyes peered in their direction, curious. Shear angled himself in front of Kolli’s bent form but the rava stood straight to see over his head. The blade was set back into the weapon’s rack.

“Hoy yeah? What’s going on over there? A fight, maybe? Ooo, a woman fight? Nice.” Kolli spoke aside to Shear, even if his attention wasn’t on him and was focused on the elezen yanking at her whining companion’s ears.

“N-no, it’s… Just some idiotic women are just playing with each other. Pay them no mind.” Shear pointed at the blade Kolli had set down. “That seemed nice. Do you want it?”

“Idiotic women playing with each other, eh? Sounds like my kinda scene. And nah, it’s shit. The weight’s off and the handle is going to shatter apart the moment the blade gets struck with anything heavier than a dead dodo bird. It just looks good to make people buy them. I’m gonna go check out the fruit seller instead~.” Looking amused and wandering towards the women shrieking with laughter and wrenching at each other, Kolli sidled to lean on the end of the cart they’d previously occupied to watch.

Shear, even more miserable and thoroughly annoyed now, followed.

Miya had gotten Faiyelle in a headlock as they stamped around, still trying to one up the other. Her hand was buried in the brown mass of strands, currently in the process of pulling the pins out of her carefully coiffed hair. “Ha! Ugly hair! Ugly haaair!”

“Miya you rat, stop that this instant! This took forever to do! I’m going to kill you!” Faiyelle pulled at the arm around her neck with a wail, the threat obviously empty.

From his lean, Kolli gave a tiny whistle and both women paused, expecting a Yellowjacket to have shown up to break up their fun when they looked up. Miya squeaked and dropped her friend’s head abruptly who immediately toppled forward at the lack of support to land on the cobblestones at the viera’s feet with an audible ‘oof’.

“Hello~ ladies. Looks like you two are having fun?” Kolli’s deep voice spoke Eorzean fluently, although the underlying accent tipped at the edges of his tone. Faiyelle quickly pushed to her knees, spluttering.

“H-hi. Y-yeah, t-tons of fun.” Miya stuttered her reply, raising a waving hand in greeting, still flushed from the two of them playing around.

“A damn shame your dress got dirty,” Kolli crossed the road from the cart, leaning down to offer Faiyelle help up from the ground. The elezen woman turned pink and accepted the hand, murmuring her thanks. Pulled to her feet, Kolli retracted the hand and tipped his head. “What were the two of you fighting about, anyroad?”

“D-duh… uhhhh-” Miya’s thoughts stumbled and Faiyelle backed up a step to elbow her friend sharply in the side to kickstart her brain. “DUMPLINGS.” Jerking upright, Miya blurted the word, then… looked confused why she’d blurted that word.

Faiyelle beside her covered her face with her palm. "Hopeless." Dropping the hand and clearing her throat as if she hadn't just mumbled it into her hand and hair now a tangled, half pulled-apart mess, Faiyelle offered a wide smile. “We were just considering what to get for dinner, and there’s a lovely dumpling place on the other side of town. It’s new! We were debating which dumpling was better. I’m a fan of the sauced boar, my friend Miya prefers the shrimp. Do… Do you have a preference?”

Starry-eyed at how smoothly her friend had covered her blunder, Miya raised a thumbs up at Faiyelle. The elezen quickly grabbed and stuffed it behind her back.

Kolli considered the question while he watched them fuss, clearly delighted, arms crossing as he thought about it. “I think my favorite type of dumplings are the ones with the tiny rolled balls of meat and the strong soup inside the wrapper. The ones you eat off the wide spoons?”

“Ah! I have ah, always wanted to try those, and they sell them at the place we were considering going to. W-would you… want to join us?” Faiyelle cocked that gun and fired it, bravely. Who needed the assistant’s help anyway?

The veena looked smug from where he stood. There’s no way Kolli would-

“Sure, I’d love that. Let me tell my companions they’re gonna be on their own for dinner. Where’s the place again, and when would you like to meet up?” Kolli smiled wide at the two suddenly excited women who gave him directions and planned to meet a bell later.

Shear’s teeth grit, lip curling in disgust as they talked. Mood curdled, when Kolli waved goodbye and turned his direction as the women hurried away, a brow perked at the sour expression. The Golmoran tongue returned. “Did something fucking crawl inside you and die while I was gone? Why the fuck are you making that face?”

“Forget it. You wanted to buy a sword, right?” Shear turned his poor mood down at his ledger, flipping a page. “We can hit a different stall and--”

“Hold up, fucker. Don’t lie to me. What’s your problem?” Kolli gripped his chin and turned it up, glaring down at him. “Speak.”

“Th-the… I did not lie, I only said to forget it. We can-” The hand on his jaw shook it firmly, rattling Shear’s thoughts and making him dizzy.

“Spit. It. Out.”

“Fine! You are going to go on a stupid date with some stupid women you don’t even know and leaving Kalona and I to eat by ourselves. Ass.” In a grumbling mutter, Shear met Kolli’s narrowed gaze with one of his own.

“... Pff. Wait. You think it’s a date?” The returned amusement broke the stern look on the rava’s face and the grip on Shear’s chin squeezed hard. The veena’s hand with his pen rose to try to ease it off, eyes widening as the rava stepped close. He leaned down to murmur against the pained veena’s mouth. “It ain’t a date. I’m gonna go eat my fill of dumplings on their coin, fuck one or both of those annoying prats for the meal, and then I’m gonna come back to the room and fuck you even more fucking stupid than you’re being right now, later. Okay?”

Shear’s face flamed red, struggling to speak a moment at the private and rather close declaration of Kolli’s intentions as well as the painful hold he had on his jaw. He squeezed at the hand, speaking low while Kolli was so near. “Y-you are bathing first. I d-don’t want whatever they have a-anywhere near me.”

Releasing his face, Kolli moved away from Shear giving a loud whoop of laughter. “You’re so fucking pathetic, it’s embarrassing! Go buy a toy or something thick to occupy yourself with until I get back to the room. You gotta know even those two bitches aren’t going to come close to satisfying me, and I’m gonna be just riled up by the time I return.” Angling his shoulders in the direction of their mentor with a snicker, he flashed a wink. “Seeya later. I’m gonna go tell Kalona about my date.”

Watching the chortling rava move to join Kalona at the other stall, who was holding a sturdy looking fishing rod while the vendor pointed at the various pieces, Shear slapped the book closed around his pen. Jamming it into the bag at his side before he dropped the damn thing, the viera turned on his heel and started away in a blind direction further into the markets. Stopping a few stalls away at a potter’s cart to inspect a cup without really seeing it, his mind buzzed around wildly as his face burned.

Kolli didn’t have to tell him those women wouldn’t satisfy him. He already knew that. And yet he had anyway. Was it gloating, or reassurance? Shear didn’t know, and he had no idea why Kolli would tell him to get a toy to play with while he was gone. Let alone a thick one?

He wasn’t a kid.

The dawning realization of what Kolli had meant slapped him suddenly and the cup in his hand dropped, shattering on the cobblestone below him. Both hands rose to cover his beet-colored face as he ducked in a squat, ears laid back against the harping of the potter behind her bench at his recklessness.

From back the way he’d come, Kolli’s laughter echoed loudly amongst the chattering din of the market.

#ffxivwrite2021 #Shear Kinestti #ffxiv #new muse #introducing: more fucking npcs #prompt 11 #preaching to the choir #lets be real Miya and Faiyelle are based on the real thirsty thoughts ive had expresed about Kolli #Pls he's such a bastard and I love him #Id have him not actually be dead except that'd make it real weird for Shear #just gotta enjoy him in the past /swoon #tw: sex talk #i guess #since they mention it

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todoshotoroki · 3 years

Text

𝘽𝙖𝙠𝙪𝙜𝙤𝙪 𝙜𝙚𝙩'𝙨 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙚'𝙨 𝙟𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙨

Warnings: smut, light spanking, heavy degradation, sub f bodied reader x Bakugou.〤 Minors DNI

Word count: 1.7k

Katsuki didn't like sharing. He made it very clear, the things that were his were not to be touched. Now, this didn't mean he wasn't good at hiding things. Nobody could have known that you and the great Bakugou Katsuki had been fucking behind everyone's back. So while he couldn't exactly show you off, he had other ways to make sure you'd always come back to him.

So you should have known better then to start hanging around that fucking nerd.

You should have known he would have found out, how Izuku Midoryia would walk into the common room absolutely swooning about the wonderful chat you two had together in the elevator just moments before. You had been on your way to class, and happened to pass each other on the way out.

It was harmless, really. Izuku was a good friend to you.

Bakugou had to teach you a lesson. That was why he waited outside for your class to finish, before wordlessly grabbing your hand and pulling you down the hallway that was packed with students. You tried multiple times to avoid eye contact with anyone else, Katsuki was literally holding your hand for the first time in public. Plus, it only added to the suspicion when he yanked open the nearest janitor closet, pulling you inside and slamming it shut. He clicked the lock into place.

“So are you going to explain, Bakugou? You do realize everyone just saw that right?” Your voice was irritated, and you crossed your arms over your chest. Clearly, you weren't happy. That didn't matter to him though, he wasn't here to make you happy right now. “Don't talk” He said, taking a step forward to grab your backpack, pushing it past your shoulders and onto the floor. “Excuse me? What do you think-”

His face instantly turned into a scowl, and his hand came up to grip tightly onto your jaw, the pads of his fingers and the tips of his nails digging into your cheeks. “Shut your mouth before I fucking shut it for you” He growled, leaning close to your face to make sure you could hear him clear enough. “You think your so fucking hot, hiding away in an elevator with that fucking idiot. You wanted to make me jealous? That why? Fucking brat” The closet was dark, but his piercing red eyes burned into yours as he pushed you all the way to the back of the wall.

“W-What are you talking about? I wasn't flirting with Izuku-” Your protest was interrupted by a harsh slap to the cheek, your face lurching to the side from the impact. “Say his name one more fucking time, I dare you little girl”

This was new. Katuski had always been dominant, it was his personality. Though, you had never seen him practically seething with jealousy. Your thighs were already getting sticky. “B-but I really wasn't” You weakly defended yourself as Katsuki’s free hand traveled down to your skirt, shoving it down past your hips. “B-b-but i-i-” He mocked your voice harshly, his fingers reaching behind you to roughly grab at your ass, before landing another harsh smack to your lower cheek.

“Your so fucking dumb, you don't even realize the effect you have on people. You need glasses? Huh four eyes? Couldn't see how he was gushing over your little talk today?” His grip on your jaw slowly slid down your neck and across your throat, pinching the sides between his thumb and index finger. Enough to hurt, but air still flowed to your lungs. “Maybe I just have to show you baby. You were a virgin when i first fucked you, my little virgin, right?”

“Y-yeah, Katsuki, please..” Your face burned in shame, but you couldn't deny the desperation he made you feel. It was so hot to see him all bothered like this, how possessive he could be. You weren't even publicly dating yet.

“Guess ill just have to show you that I'm the first and last cock you'll ever fucking have” His hand came down to unbuckle his belt, yanking it off his hips and letting his jeans fall to the floor. “The only fucking one that can make you cum baby” He let go of his grip on your neck, instead placing both hands on your hips and turning you around to press your breasts up against the cold wall. It wasn't cold for long though, because Katsuki’s burning hot hand slithered between your shirt and the wall to grope at your breasts, pushing your bra up your chest.

His knee parted your thighs, his foot kicking each of your ankles to spread them. “Open your fucking legs” He grunted in your ear, his free hand gripping tighter on your hip. You weren't sure when he took his briefs off, but you could feel the throbbing head of his cock parting your folds to rub up against your clit. “Katsukiii- Just fuck me already” You begged in a small whine, tilting your head back to lean up on his shoulder.

Bakugou leaned down to press a loud, sloppy, wet kiss to your lips as he began to gently fuck his cock between your thighs. “You want me to fuck you baby girl? You sure you deserve this cock? You've been naughty, so fucking naughty” He growled in your ear as he began to teasingly fuck himself between your thighs, smearing his precum all over your soft skin, painting them white in his milky substance.

“Yes, yes please, I want it Suki, I want you nooow” Your whine was switched into a sing-songy tone. You reached between your legs, your fingers dancing on the tip of Bakugou's cock as it rubbed at your clit each time he fucked himself between your thighs. His hard cock throbbed between your legs for attention, and his breathing shuttered at your touch.

“Naughty girl” He muttered, pulling his cock back just enough to push it as far as he could go into your pussy.

“Fuck, Fuck, your so tight baby” He groaned, his arms circling tightly around your waist as he felt the weight of your body slack against his at the sudden intrusion of his cock. “K-Katsu- you- you went all the way in-inside” Tears pricked at the corner of your eyes, Katsuki leaned forward, his tongue rolling across your salty cheek to lap up your fallen tears. “Yeah baby, it's because you've been such a bad girl, gotta show you, gotta.. Fuck, gotta teach you to be good”

He pulled almost all the way out, just barely emptying you before slamming his cock back into your guts. He instantly hit the right angle, his cock filling you so perfectly and hitting you in all the right spaces. One of the lewdest moans you've ever heard fell past his lips and slipped right into your ear, and you were so thankful his mouth was right next to your ear.

“Your such a fucking slut, getting my cock wet like this”

“Katsu- Katsuki wait-”

No, only good girls were able to make demands, and you had infuriated Bakugou Katsuki to the point where even now he was holding back from fucking you too harsh, constantly aware if he was setting his quirk off or not. He almost wanted to say fuck it.

Too fast? Too harsh? Too deep?

“Too fucking bad, your my little bitch right now” He growled, his movements speeding up and causing a new course of pleasure to shoot through both of your bodies. He reached up with his left hand, gripping your jaw and tilting your head to press a sloppy kiss onto your lips, roughly digging his teeth into your bottom lip as the sounds of smacking skin echoed in the room. “You- you’re so mean Kacchan” Maybe he was, but the way your pussy clenched and desperately sucked at his cock told him how much you were enjoying yourself.

“No, no I think you're the mean one. Letting dumbass Deku think he has a chance with you- no fucking way” His sentence ended in a growl as the hand on your jaw returned to its place around your throat. “Not that he’d ever want you if he knew the truth- if he knew how much you loved fuckin’ creamin’ all over my cock, hah, fuck” His movements sped up, your legs felt tingly and the knot of ecstasy begin to pile in your stomach.

“‘M sorry, ‘m sorry Katsuki, please make me cum, please” Your words were weak, pathetic little whines tumbling helplessly past your lips. “M so sorry, I won't do it again, just please” God you sounded so hot. Your voice sounded so hot. The wet sounds the mixture of his dick in your pussy made together were so fucking hot.

“Dirty little girl, aren't you ashamed to be cumin all over me? All over my cock?” Katsuki couldn't deny his own release approaching, but he held off for that beautiful moment when you finished together. “No, betcha get off on it, you sick, twisted slut. My cheap little whore”

He knew when your head leaned back into his shoulder and your hand reached behind to grab the base of his hair, that you were cumming. As if the tightening around his cock wasn't already enough intel. On top of that, you knew what pulling his hair did to him, you knew, you dirty little succubus-

“Fuck baby, that's it, cum all over me, cum all over my cock sexy” His hips sputtered as you both came, his cock vibrating inside your pulsating walls as he shot out long spurts of semen inside of you. “So good ‘Suki, so good inside of me”

Both of you spent a few moments panting, catching your breaths. Bakugou laid his head on your shoulder, placing kisses along your collarbone. With a breathy chuckle, he was reminded of the hectic hallway just outside. Surely there would be rumors now, rumors that would reach Izuku Midoryia and crush every single one of his hopes and dreams.

Slowly, he lifted his head up to smile at you. “Hey, dumbass” He said with a cocky grin.

“What would people say if they knew you were such a slut for me?”

𝐼𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒, 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑚𝑎𝑦 𝑎𝑙𝑠𝑜 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒: "𝙇𝙪𝙨𝙩, 𝙆𝙖𝙩𝙨𝙪𝙠𝙞, 𝙡𝙪𝙨𝙩”

𝑂𝑟 𝑚𝑎𝑦𝑏𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢'𝑑 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑖𝑐𝑘 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡 ♡

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bxcketbarnes · 3 years

Text

Falling In Love

Pairing: 50s!Bucky Barnes x Reader

Words: 3500+

I’ve been listening to some great playlists on youtube and this 1950s one made me think of this idea I wrote out. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did writing it. As always, let me know what you think! Much love! xox

Your heart pounds in your chest as you walk into the private club, seeing couples scattered across the room. Your fingers play with the small purse in your hands while walking towards the bar area.

You arrive thirty minutes early to the date you're supposed to be going on with an old friend. Nerves fill your body as you sit down at the bar, raising your hand to call the barkeeper over to you.

Bucky's eyes meet yours, causing his breath to hitch in his throat at how gorgeous you look. He notices the nervous look on your features and walks over to you. "Evening, doll. Something I can get for ya?" Bucky grins while cleaning the glass in his hands.

You swoon a bit at the sound of his voice, your eyes raking up his torso before landing on his face. "I- Can I get a martini?" You ask him with a tight smile.

He chuckles and sets the glass back in its spot. "You got it. Dry or dirty?" He asks while grabbing a martini glass.

"Uh, dry, please. Not a fan of olives," you laugh while scrunching your nose a bit. Bucky laughs as well before nodding his head.

"Got it, doll. Dry martini is coming up!" He grins before walking away to gather the correct ingredients.

You chuckle quietly and you gently chew on your bottom lip, watching the barkeep in front of you. "What's your name?" You call out to him, your fingertips tapping against the wooden bar.

His blue eyes meet yours before the man makes his way back towards you. "Name's Bucky. What's yours?" Bucky grins while shaking the contents of your martini.

"Y/N," you inform him as he pours the liquid into the glass.

Bucky pushes the drink towards you and you fumble through your purse to pay him. "It's on the house, doll," he says with a smile, causing your lips to part.

"Thank you, Bucky," you flash him a small smile before tucking a strand of hair behind your ear.

You glance at the clock that sits on the wall, a frown coming to your lips as you realize it's been almost fifteen minutes past the time Richard set. You glance around the club, seeing smiles on couple's faces as they enjoy each other's company.

Bucky's eyes watch you from the other side of the bar as he makes a customer's drink. He notices you keep glancing towards the clock before figuring out that you're waiting for someone.

He walks back over to you when your glass is empty. "Need another?" Bucky asks quietly and you pick your head up, noticing the tears in your eyes.

"U-Uh, yes, please," you clear your throat, giving him a tight-lipped smile. "Thank you."

You watch Bucky make you another martini as regret washes over you. Never should've said yes… You think to yourself while glancing down at the semi-fancy dress you're wearing.

Another martini slides in front of you and you go to pay for it. "Hey, it's-"

"I'm going to need more drinks and I can't keep letting you give them to me for free," you cut Bucky off and hand him the dollar bills.

Bucky sighs in defeat before taking the money from your dainty hands. "You know," he starts while you're gulping down the martini, your eyes glancing up at him, "he's an idiot for standing you up."

Your throat burns from the alcohol, sliding the glass back towards him as you don't say anything. Bucky wets his lips before taking the glass back from you, becoming a bit worried at how fast you're drinking.

"Are you sure you want another one?" He asks cautiously.

"Please," your voice cracks, wanting to forget that tonight ever happened. Bucky can feel his chest clench at the sound of your voice and nods his head in response.

You're one of the last patrons in the club as Bucky begins to clean up. Your giggles echo off of the wall as you laugh to yourself. You got six in before Bucky decided that you have had enough.

"Bucky," you breathe heavily as your giggle fit calms down. His blue eyes dance over to you, seeing you sloppily lean onto the bar. "I'm so glad I met you tonight. You made this night way better than it would've been."

A smile comes to Bucky's lips as he walks over to you, his hand resting on your waist. "Easy there, doll," he chuckles as you almost fall off of the padded chair. "Why don't I take you home, okay?"

You nod in response before resting your head against his chest. "That would be so kind of you," you slur your words and look up at him. "How come there aren't more men like you?"

Bucky tucks your hair behind your ear and lets out a deep sigh. "I'm not sure, doll. C'mon, let's get going," he mentions and you move to grab your purse.

The two of you walk out of the private club, halting for a moment so Bucky can lock the doors quickly. You lean against the concrete wall, watching the rainfall from the sky.

A hand slips around your waist and snaps you from your daze. You glance up at the brunette beside you, a small smile coming to your lips as Bucky leads you to his vehicle.

Little squeals escape your lips as the cold rain hits your skin. You and Bucky quickly walk over to his car before the blue-eyed man opens the passenger door for you.

You thank him quietly and slip into the vintage vehicle. You shiver a bit while putting your seatbelt on, your eyes watching Bucky as he quickly dashes around the car.

"Alright," he shivers a bit before glancing towards you, "you remember where you live, yeah?"

A scoff leaves your lips and you shake your head. "I know where I live," you tell him while leaning your head against the headrest.

Bucky laughs before starting the vehicle, the engine roaring loudly in the quiet parking lot. You proceed to tell him your address and luckily, he lives close by.

Soft jazz music fills the vehicle as Bucky drives on the semi-empty streets of New York City. You glance out the window, feeling the sadness start to consume you again.

You didn't understand why Richard would ask you out if he wasn't going to show up. You press your lips together before releasing a sigh.

"You okay over there?" Bucky asks, glancing towards you.

His eyes meet yours and he can see the sadness in them while you nod your head. "I'm okay, Bucky," you reassure him before looking away.

Bucky taps his fingers against the steering wheel as he pulls up to your place. He turns the vehicle off before exiting. You undo your seatbelt and prepare to open the door when he beats you to it.

"Doll," he jokes with a teasing grin, causing you to let out a laugh.

You grab a hold of his hand before pushing yourself out of the vehicle. It's raining heavily as your eyes meet his, causing the two of you to just… enjoy the moment.

A smile graces his pink lips, water droplets dripping off of his jawline. "We should probably get you inside," Bucky laughs and wipes the water from his face. "We're gonna catch a cold if we don't."

Bucky follows you up to your porch steps and you unlock your front door. "Come inside for a few," you mumble to him while leaning against the door.

"Of course, doll. Gotta make sure you get to your room alright. Been stumblin' all over the place," he mentions and steps into the cozy place.

Warmth hits his reddened cheeks immediately as you close the door behind him. A squeal leaves your lips as you try to take your shoes off, causing Bucky to quickly reach out to you.

"See what I mean," he smirks and you let out a snort.

"I don't usually drink this much," you confess while the two of you head towards your bedroom.

Bucky hums in response, his arm draped across your lower back. "I've noticed, doll. It's alright though. I've got you," he whispers the last part, causing your heart to flutter.

You smile up at him as you walk into your bedroom. Tiredness begins to consume your body as you lay down on the bed. Bucky stands beside your bed, his eyes watching you as you grab a hold of your pillow.

"Thank you for bringing me home," you mumble loud enough for Bucky to hear.

He crouches so his face becomes level with yours. "It's no problem, doll. Come see me again?" Bucky asks while reaching his hand out to you.

You grin as his fingers brush against your cheek. "Yeah, definitely," you whisper as your eyes begin to droop.

Bucky stands back up after you fall asleep, noticing a blanket draped over a chair in your room. He grabs it before placing it over your body, his eyes glancing towards the nightstand beside him.

He writes down a note for you before leaving your place, a large smile resting on his lips.

The sounds of birds chirping wake you from your slumber as you push yourself off of the bed. You squint as the sun peaks into your bedroom and you move to sit on the edge of your bed.

Your eyes glance towards the nightstand and notice a note sitting under your pen. A smile comes to your lips and you pick up the piece of paper.

Hi, doll. I hope you slept well after the kind of night you had. If you happen to be awake early, meet me down at the pancake joint for breakfast. If you want. You don't have to.

Bucky

Your heart flutters in your chest at the note, feeling your cheeks heat up. You glance towards the clock on your wall, noticing that it's almost nine in the morning.

You spring up from your bed and decide to quickly get changed. You're a bit nervous to meet up with Bucky, especially how you were acting last night, but you really enjoy his company.

"You got this, Y/N. He seemed to like your company last night," you tell yourself as you finish getting ready, taking a quick look at yourself in the mirror. "You got this."

Three Months Later…

You grin widely as you walk down the busy streets of New York City as your heart starts to pound against your chest. Flashes of the night before having you a little breathless.

You fiddle with the small bracelet Bucky got for you at Coney Island as you currently make your way to his place. The past few months you've been hanging out with him have made you realize that you like him… a lot, and hopefully, he likes you as well.

"God, this is nerve-wracking," you whisper to yourself while heading up the steps to his apartment.

You feel a bit nauseous as you knock on the man's door before taking a step back. Footsteps can be heard on the other side of the door, making your heart beat quicker.

When the door opens, you lift your head to see a beautiful woman standing in front of you. Your heart drops into your stomach as she smiles at you.

"Can I help you?" She asks sweetly and you swallow the lump in your throat.

"I-Is Bucky there?" You mutter shyly and the woman nods her head.

You press your lips together as she closes the door slightly before going to retrieve Bucky. Your eyes look around, wondering if you should make a run for it to save yourself from embarrassment.

"Y/N?" Bucky's voice calls out and snaps you from your thoughts. His blue eyes stare down into yours, a smile etching onto his lips. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

"I, uh," you clear your throat and glance down at your wrist. "I came to give this back to you."

Bucky furrows his brows and watches you take off the bracelet he gave you. He becomes a bit confused at your actions as you hold out the blue object. "Why are you giving it back? I got it for you," he asks in a low voice before grabbing the delicate jewelry.

"Uhm, well, I'm sure your girlfriend will want it more than I would," you tell him as tears pool in your eyes. "I-I gotta go."

Before Bucky can say anything you're racing down the steps. He watches you quickly walk away from him, your dress swaying slightly in the wind as notices you quickly wiping your cheeks.

His chest clenches when he looks down at the bracelet and decides to give you a bit of space before chasing after you.

"Who was that?" Dolores asks, her head peeking over his shoulder to see the jewelry in his hand. "Oh… was that her?"

Bucky clears his throat and turns to face the woman. "I-Yeah, it was," he whispers before stepping into the apartment.

"Why did she give it back to you?" She asks with cinched eyebrows.

"She thinks you're my girlfriend," Bucky mutters while sitting down on the couch.

Dolores frowns and sits down beside her friend, resting her hand against his arm. "Bucky, you need to go after her and tell her the truth. All of it," she tells him, causing the brunette to glance up at her.

He wets his lips and shoves the bracelet into his pocket for safekeeping before resting his hands on his thighs. "But, doesn't she need space?" He questions the woman, not knowing much about girls.

"If you wait then you're going to lose her," Dol mentions with an eye roll. "Go, now."

Bucky gets up from the couch and quickly throws his shoes on. "Uh, you know where the key is to lock up, yeah?" He asks while opening the front door.

Dolores let out a laugh while nodding her head in reply. "Yes, now go!"

He mutters okay before rushing out of his place. Bucky runs through the crowd of people as he grows closer to your place. His heart pounds rapidly against his chest and makes sure the bracelet in his pocket hasn't fallen out.

"Y/N!" He yells after jogging up the steps of your porch. Bucky pounds on your front door before looking through your windows. "Y/N, please open up."

Tears stream down your cheeks as you hear pounding on your door. You jump in your spot before hearing Bucky yell out your name. "Bucky?" You whisper and push yourself out of the chair you're sitting in.

You look through the spyglass and see Bucky frantically pacing on your porch. You sniffle a bit before opening your door.

Bucky's head snaps up at the sound and a sigh of relief leaves his lips. "Y/N, hey," he mumbles while taking a step closer to you.

Your brows furrowed in confusion, wondering why he's here and not with the beautiful woman at his apartment. "W-What are you doing here?" You ask him and Bucky gently grabs a hold of your wrist.

Your breath hitches in your throat at the feeling of him slipping the bracelet he got you on. "She's not my girlfriend," he breathes out, his blue eyes locking with yours. "She's just a friend."

"She is?" You whisper and he nods his head in response. Bucky lifts his hand to your face, his thumb gently stroking your cheekbone.

"She's getting married next month," he breathes out and you notice his chest heaving heavily. "And she knows how I feel about you."

Your lips part in shock at his words and feel your cheeks flush. "I-Come in," you stutter as you notice a few neighbors looking at the two of you.

Bucky closes the door behind him and grabs your hand, leading you towards the couch. "You gotta believe me when I tell you that she's just a friend," he almost pleads, his hand squeezing yours as the two of you sit down.

Your leg brushes against his while looking at your conjoined hands. "Bucky, I like you," you mumble out, lifting your head before meeting his blue eyes.

"I like you too, Y/N. I wanna take you out and make you feel special," he grins, bringing his free hand to your face.

Your heart flutters in your chest before you scoot closer to Bucky. "I would like that a lot," you whisper, feeling his forehead resting against yours.

Bucky lets out a breath of relief and moves his hands to your hips. "Are you free tomorrow?" He asks and you nod your head in response. "Will you go to dinner with me?"

"Absolutely I will."

Your dress flows in the wind as Bucky leads you into the diner. His fingers are laced with yours as the waitress brings the two of you to a booth in the corner.

You thank the woman quietly and sit down across from Bucky. His hand never leaves yours and you watch his thumb gently stroke the back of your hand.

"Did you know that I love this place," you giggle and Bucky's eyes light up.

"I actually didn't. You never told me that, but it's a good thing I brought you here then," he winks and chuckles. "Brownie points."

Another laugh leaves your lips and you shake your head. "You're such a dork," you grin while placing your free hand on top of his. "Thanks for taking me out."

Bucky lifts both of your hands to his face before pressing a gentle kiss to the back of it. "Thanks for saying yes," he mumbles against your hand, causing your stomach to do a couple of flips.

The waitress comes back to take your order and the two of you decide to share a basket of fries and a chocolate milkshake. The woman nods her hand while writing the order down before heading back towards the kitchen.

Bucky brings his attention back to you before getting up from his seat. "I'll be right back, doll," he mumbles before placing a sloppy kiss on your cheek.

You giggle while mumbling okay and watch him head over to the jukebox. Your waitress brings the milkshake to you along with two straws. "Thank you," you smile up at her to which she returns.

"You're welcome. The two of you are adorable by the way. Remind me of my grandparents," she compliments you before walking away.

A blush covers your cheeks as the music begins to softly play through the speakers. Bucky comes back and sits down next to you, his thigh bumping yours.

"Hey," he whispers while grabbing one of the straws.

You look up at him, watching him place the straw into the glass before taking a long sip. His blue eyes flit towards you and a smile comes to his lips. "Hi," you whisper back before leaning your head against his shoulder.

Bucky's left hand drapes over your shoulder, his fingers gliding along your soft skin. "Did that guy ever get back to you?" He asks, feeling your arm slide across his lower back.

"Yeah," you mumble and sit back up. You lean forward to take a sip of the milkshake before explaining what happened. "He called me a few days later, apologizing about not showing up and whatever."

His eyes widen and he glances down at you. "Days? He didn't contact you for three days? What a jackass," Bucky hums while shaking his head.

You return your head to his shoulder and him in agreement. "Yeah, I'm actually glad he didn't show up," you tell him as Bucky runs his fingers through your hair. "Possibly wouldn't be here right now if he did."

"I think this is the fastest I've ever fallen for someone," Bucky confesses and you tilt your head to look up at him.

"Me too," you smile softly and Bucky leans forward to kiss your forehead.

Butterflies soar around your stomach as you push yourself up to capture his lips with yours. The brunette lets out a tiny groan before adjusting his position to kiss you back. Giggles escape your lips as both of your hands touch the other's face.

Someone clears their throat, causing you and Bucky to pull away from each other. Your eyes find the waitresses and your cheeks flush with embarrassment. "Sorry," you apologize as Bucky nuzzles his face into your neck.

"No worries. You guys are very cute. Enjoy your fries," she tells you again and you thank her quietly.

Bucky laughs into your neck, one of his hands gently squeezing your waist. "I don't want the night to end," he sighs while sitting back up straight.

You grab a few fries from the basket and shove them between your lips. "I don't either, so let's make the most of it, handsome," you grin, causing Bucky to snort.

"Doll, you're going to be the death of me, I swear."

Taglist: @metalbuckaroo @jessalyn-jpeg @queen-of-mischief @thewxntersoldier @bumblebet-20 @broadwaybabe18 @hallecarey1 @glxwingrxse

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viastro · 3 years

Text

pacman | yoon jeonghan

ミ★ synopsis: being best friends, you and jeonghan know all there is to the disastrous effects of developing feelings for each other. that’s why you both make a sleep-deprived promise at 5 am to never fall in love with the other. however, jeonghan begins to question everything when he tasks himself with making you and the new transfer become a couple.

ミ★ genre: best friends / to strangers / to lovers!au, angst, fluff, some humor

ミ★ warnings: none !

ミ★ word count: 7,559

ミ★ pairings: jeonghan x gender neutral reader / jun x gender neutral reader

ミ★ notes: hi guys ! here’s my jeonghan oneshot that was inspired by jaehyun’s upcoming kdrama ! it took me a few days to finish this, so it’s pretty long and i would like to apologize in advance AJSKBGKB i also recommend listening to stay here by gaho on repeat for like top tier reading experience HAHAHA i hope you guys enjoy this oneshot, and remember to give jeonghan lots of love <3

Your eyes are closed as your head rests on the table, waiting for the lecture to begin. Your airpods are in your ears, playing a soft instrumental that has you on the verge of drifting off to sleep.

Until Jeonghan sits beside you.

“I thought you slept early last night?” Instead of hearing the piano, you hear your best friend’s voice fill your ears as you open up one eye. The newly dyed redhead is staring at you with an amused expression on his face, causing you to squint at him.

“Yeah, 2 am this time. Personal best for the year so far.” You tell Jeonghan, sitting up from the desk and stretching your arms over your head. Jeonghan rolls his eyes, knowing that is a lot earlier than the usual 6 am bedtime routine you’ve got going on. He sits down in the seat beside you, pulling out his things from his bag.

Yoon Jeonghan, your best friend of almost eight years now. The two of you met in middle school, having been paired up in science class to dissect a frog. Jeonghan was close to tears the whole time while you were practically gagging over the smell through your mask.

Someway, somehow, the two of you ended up sticking together after that unfortunate occurrence. No words were exchanged either, you both kind of just started sitting beside each other during lunch and waiting for each other at your assigned lockers.

In high school it got annoying, as Jeonghan suddenly started to become... pretty. He grew taller, cut his hair short, and had a smirk that made anyone and anything swoon. Well, everyone except you. It got worse when you both entered university, as Jeonghan is continuing to become prettier by the minute.

You can’t count on your hand how many times someone was jealous of how close the two of you were.

However, the two of you made a vow after watching one too many kdramas with the trope of best friends to strangers due to one of them falling in love. It might be a bit drastic, and it was in the wee hours of the morning when the two of you made this oath so who knows if Jeonghan remembers. You don’t even remember most of what you both agreed upon other than the fact that the two of you can’t fall in love.

“Hannie, our friendship is too precious to end like theirs did!” You say through your tears, with Jeonghan pulling out a bunch of tissues to throw at your face. He nods his head in agreement, running a hand through his black hair as he fights back his own tears, only to pause and turn towards you.

“You think I’d like you?” Jeonghan asks with a look of disgust on his face, making you halt your movements, looking at him with a glare. “Hey!”

“I’m teasing you.” Jeonghan says with a laugh, taking one of the tissues he threw at your face and wiping the snot that’s slipped past your nose from crying. You quietly let him, too tired and sad to tell him how gross that is.

“We gotta stop binging kdramas until 5 in the morning.” Your best friend tells you, and you nod your head silently as you stare into his pretty eyes. He lets out a yawn once he’s done wiping away your tears, turning off your TV and placing the remote on the table.

“Come on, lay down, yn.” You don’t move from your position on the couch, still huddled into the corner as you think of what could happen if one of you ever developed feelings for each other.

A small smile forms on Jeonghan’s face at how deep in thought you are, reaching out and patting the top of your head. You look up at Jeonghan, and he tilts his head at you.

“What’s up? I’m trying to tuck you in and you’re staring off as if you’re going through an existential crisis.” You purse your lips at his observation, wondering if you are having an existential crisis. Jeonghan sits back down beside you, and he rests his head on his hand as he turns his body towards you.

“Let’s make a vow.” You say after a moment of silence passes between the two of you. Jeonghan raises an eyebrow, “What kind of vow?”

You turn your body towards his, fixing the blankets on your lap before finally looking into his eyes again. You find Jeonghan’s eyes to be his prettiest feature, as you can always see what he’s feeling through his gaze. It’s how you’re able to tell when he’s lying.

“A vow for us to never fall in love with each other.” You state, and you watch as mirth pools Jeonghan’s eyes while his lips curve up into an amused smile. “I don’t think we can make a vow on something that’s out of our control.”

You bite the inside of your cheek, and Jeonghan watches as your eyes brighten when another idea comes to mind. He’s a bit taken aback when you suddenly reach out and grasp his hand, holding it tightly between your warm ones.

“Then we make a promise.”

“That’s the same thing as a vow-”

“No, shut up. Let me explain.” You say, and Jeonghan chuckles. He motions with his hand for you to go on, and you let out a breath.

“If one of us catches feelings, then we end our friendship.” Jeonghan stares at you with a serious expression on his face, and you find that you’re afraid at how fast the amusement left his eyes. Jeonghan leans in closer towards you, “You’d want to end our friendship just like that?”

“Nono! I mean like, for a certain amount of time. Essentially we’d just ghost each other until our feelings go away, and the other can’t intervene.” You explain, slightly shoving Jeonghan away, but you see that he still looks a bit put off by your idea.

“I’d feel like ass if you just left without a word, though.” Jeonghan tells you, and you slowly nod your head, understanding where he’s coming from. You let out another sigh, looking up at the ceiling.

“Pacman.” You peek at Jeonghan, wondering why he mentioned your guys’ favorite game when you were children. He gives you a tired smile, “It’ll be our code word. Instead of leaving without a trace for a couple months, or confessing our feelings and then leaving, we can just say Pacman. It’s not directly saying I love you, and who knows if either of us will remember the word. It’s the perfect thing to say before disappearing for a bit.”

You slowly nod your head, finding that it seems like the best option thus far. And so, out of your 5 am fatigue, you hold out your pinky towards your best friend.

“Pinky promise that you won’t fall in love with me.” You mutter sleepily, and Jeonghan chuckles, reaching out and intertwining his pinky with yours.

“I pinky promise that I won’t fall in love with you.” Jeonghan responds softly, pressing his thumb against yours, sealing the promise.

And now here you both are, still going strong after that sleep-deprived promise you made when you two were barely 16 years old.

You let out a yawn, covering your mouth with your hand while Jeonghan scrolls through his phone to try and show you the meme he saw earlier. Only for you to pause your movements when someone enters the auditorium.

“Look, I found it.” Jeonghan says happily, about to hold out his phone towards you, only to pause, seeing that you’re distracted. He turns his head in the direction of your awed state, only to find a handsome guy standing at the doorway, looking for a seat.

Jeonghan slowly turns back towards you, finding you still staring at the man. He’s never seen this expression on your face before when you looked at someone else, but he knows this look. And so, he lets out a grin, before standing up from his seat and walking down the steps.

Your eyes widen when you suddenly see Jeonghan’s red hair flash before your eyes, and you internally scream when you watch him walk up and bow to the incredibly pretty man.

“Hi! I’m Yoon Jeonghan.” This seems to startle the guy, but his eyes almost immediately turn up into an eye smile as he bows back in Jeonghan’s direction.

“Hi, I’m Wen Junhui.” Jeonghan grins back, before motioning over towards where you and him are seated.

“Oh God.” You mutter to yourself when the pretty man looks up at you, causing you to look down at your phone and check to see if you look at least half decent. You internally scream when you look back up to see him and Jeonghan walking up the steps, and you would’ve flipped Jeonghan off if it weren’t for the pretty guy looking at you.

“Yn! This is Wen Junhui, he’s a transfer.” Jun smiles at you, and you find yourself smiling back at him, warmth flooding your chest at the precious sight. “Hi yn, you can call me Jun.”

You nod your head, “Hi Jun, let Jeonghan and I know if you ever need any help!”

He sits down in the seat besides Jeonghan and bends down to take out the things from his bag, giving you enough time to quickly smack the back of Jeonghan’s neck. He squeaks, turning and shooting you a glare, only to stop and give Jun a reassuring smile when the pretty transfer looks at him in concern.

“Are you okay?”

Jeonghan nods his head, giving Jun a thumbs up. He glances towards you once more when Jun goes back to preparing his seat, only to find the slight sparkle to your eye as you stare at the transfer student. Jeonghan slowly looks away, knowing exactly what that sparkle will signify in the future.

Jeonghan walks towards the square with both airpods in, hands holding heat packs in the pockets of his coat to keep warm. He notices you sitting on the bench, bundled up in your large jacket as you wait for him, causing a small smile to form on Jeonghan’s face.

He’s about to call out your name, only to halt his movements when he sees Junhui heading the opposite way. Jeonghan looks between the two of you, knowing that you have a raging crush on the pretty man but won’t initiate anything, and that Junhui might possibly be interested in you as well.

It’s been a month since Jun transferred to Seoul National University, and Jeonghan’s slowly been trying to push the two of you together. However, he does it so that it’s not too obvious for the sake of him not getting yelled at by you.

When you yell, you yell for a long time.

And so, being the kind friend that Jeonghan is, he quickly walks unnoticed past you, and places both hands on Jun’s shoulders without a noise of greeting. This promptly startles the transfer student, considering the brief look of fear on Jun’s face, only for it to morph into a smile when he looks into Jeonghan’s eyes.

“Jeonghan!”

“Jun! Are you done with your lectures today?” Jun nods his head in response, and Jeonghan grins at his answer. He turns and points towards you, making Jun peek over his shoulder to see you practically shaped like an onigiri, with your shoulders to your chest and your large winter jacket wrapped around you. “Yn and I were just about to go and get lunch, wanna join?”

Jeonghan notices Jun’s eyes become a bit brighter when he looks at you, before he turns back to look at him and runs a hand through his hair. “That sounds great! I’m starving.”

Jeonghan nods his head, before turning towards you and calling out your name. You glance up at the sound of Jeonghan’s voice, looking over to find him and Jun standing a few feet away from you with small smiles on their faces. You shoot your best friend a look, and his smile simply grows wider as you stand up from the bench and walk over to the two.

“Jun! Are you joining us for lunch today?” You ask when you make it over to them, secretly slapping Jeonghan’s side for being a goddamn whore. Jun smiles and nods his head while Jeonghan inconspicuously rubs his waist to ease the sting from your smack.

“Where do you guys wanna eat?” Jun asks as the three of you begin walking out of the square. You think to yourself for a moment while Jeonghan stays quiet, letting you decide on where the gang will have lunch. You let out a grin when you finally think of where to eat, glancing at the two before saying, “Thai food!”

Jeonghan and Jun nod their heads in agreement, and you celebrate quietly between the two. You squeeze the heat packs in your pockets when Jun turns and looks at you, causing you to look back at him.

“What do you usually order at Thai restaurants?” You purse your lips at Jun’s question, fighting back the warmth from rushing to your face at the way he’s staring at you with so much interest. “It depends on my mood, to be honest.”

“Wanna order for me when we get there then? I’m not sure what to eat.”

“Horrible idea. What if I choose something you don’t like?”

“Then I’ll keep eating it, yn.”

“Jun!”

Jeonghan watches as you and Jun unconsciously walk faster until the two of you are now ahead of him. You are in your own little world as you bicker, but Jeonghan knows there’s no malice in your guys’ argument with the way you’re both smiling brightly at each other.

You pause when you don’t feel that familiar presence beside you, and you turn your head to find Jeonghan standing a bit far behind you and Jun. You squint at your best friend, before pulling your hand out of your pocket and waving him over.

“Hannie! What are you waiting for? Come here!”

Jeonghan tightly squeezes the heat pack in his pockets, before nodding his head and walking a bit faster to catch up to you guys. It’s only when he’s standing right beside you that the three of you begin heading towards the Thai restaurant again.

As the frigid temperatures hit him, Jeonghan’s left wondering why the heat packs no longer offer him any warmth as he watches you laugh with Jun.

Jeonghan sits beside you on your couch, invested in the new episode of the kdrama the two of you have been keeping up with. He turns his head when your phone lights up, and his eyes land on the contact name.

jun <3

“You got a text from Junnie.” Jeonghan says, taking a piece of popcorn and placing it into his mouth. You look away from the TV, picking up your phone and reading the message. Out of the corner of his eye, Jeonghan watches the dopey smile form on your face as your thumbs type out a text to your crush.

Suddenly the popcorn feels a bit too dry to swallow as Jeonghan reaches over to take a sip of water. It only goes down smoothly when you place your phone back down on the couch and adjust the blankets over you and Jeonghan.

“I love when the main actress stands up for herself.” You mutter, taking a few pieces of popcorn and tossing them into your mouth. Jeonghan nods his head in agreement, watching as the female lead starts cursing back at the man.

“There’s just something so satisfying about women proving that they don’t need a man to protect them. They need to show this more in kdramas, break the stereotype, ya know?” Jeonghan adds, and you smile softly, pride swelling in your heart at the simple sentence. He turns his head and catches sight of your soft smile, and he feels the undeniable feeling of warmth from the beauty of it.

A sudden bright light makes him glance down at the blankets, finding that your phone has lit up again. You notice as well, picking up the cool metal and reading the new text from Jun. Jeonghan watches as your mouth drops open and how you immediately stand up from the couch.

“Did something happen?” Jeonghan asks, only for your phone to be shoved directly into his face. The redhead curses quietly, muttering about how you need to update your phone to be able to turn on dark mode, before reading the message on the screen.

“He asked me on a date! Me! Wait, is it a date? What should I say?! What if he didn’t mean to send me that text?? Oh my God, I’m so nervous I could actually pee my pants.” You ramble, and Jeonghan’s eyes slowly trail up to your face, watching as you mumble to yourself and begin to pace around the small living room. He bites the inside of his cheek, before grabbing your phone out of your hands and typing out a message. Your eyes widen when you watch your best friend’s thumbs move swiftly across your screen.

“Wait, Yoon Jeonghan!”

“There.” Jeonghan states, handing you back your phone. You stare at the screen in silence.

jun <3: i was wondering if you wanted to go to the aquarium together on saturday? I remembered when you told me how you’ve never been, and the aquarium is having a christmas special even tho it’s november :3

It’s totally fine if you don’t wanna go by the way

you: that sounds great ! i can’t wait <3

jun <3: yay! I’ll pick you up at around 4 on saturday ~

Jeonghan watches as your eyes slowly trail up towards his face, and he wonders whether you’re gonna choke him or scream at him. Or both.

Jeonghan thinks it’s both.

It comes to his surprise when you instead wrap your arms around his frame, squeezing him tightly. Jeonghan slowly reciprocates the hug, cradling your head in his hand like he always does.

“Thank you, Hannie.” You mumble, and Jeonghan bites the inside of his cheek at the softness to your voice. He lets out a smile, nodding his head, “Of course, yn. Anything for you.”

“Did you know that you smell good?” Jeonghan raises an eyebrow at the random question, and the rumble of his chest from laughter makes you giggle in response, squeezing him tighter.

“Really? What do I smell like?”

You purse your lips in thought, before letting out a deep sigh. You close your eyes as you quietly say, “You smell delicate, it reminds me of Spring.”

Jeonghan’s heart thumps against his chest as he pats your head, “How can I smell like a season?”

“I don’t know. You just do.”

You pull away from the hug to flash Jeonghan a bright smile, and you watch as his features brighten at the sight. You rub the back of your neck, about to sit back down to finish the drama, only to pause when you realize something.

“Jeonghan!”

“Yn!”

“I have to choose an outfit for Saturday! Oh my GOD!” You sprint out of the living room and to your bedroom, while Jeonghan remains in the living room. He listens to the sound of your screeches, and the chaotic noises of clothes being pulled out of your closet.

“Hannie, come help! I’m not that stylish!”

Jeonghan bites his bottom lip, turning to look at the long forgotten drama. He lets out a sigh, bending down and picking up the remote, turning off the TV. The screen turns black, leaving him to stare at his reflection in the monitor.

It’s as if Jeonghan is having a staring contest with himself as he stares at the TV monitor, thinking of the answer to a question that he’s not willing to ever admit. He only looks away when he hears the call of his name, pursing his lips at the thoughts he was thinking.

Jeonghan pushes everything in his brain away, letting out a small smile when you walk out of your room with your head stuck in a hanger. You scratch the top of your head, confused as to how you even managed to fit your head through the small space.

“Please help.” You say, and Jeonghan chuckles, nodding his head and walking over towards your room.

“Should I ask how you even managed to get your head through the hanger?”

“No.”

“Good, because I didn’t plan out how I’d react if you told me about it.”

Jeonghan runs a hand through his hair as he looks out the window of his apartment, seeing the grand view of the city of Seoul at night. He tilts his head at the sight of a few fireworks shooting up into the sky, even though there’s about ten minutes left until it’s the new year.

“Hannie! My parents want to see your red hair.” He turns his head at the call of his name, finding you sitting at his kitchen table on FaceTime with your family. He grins and walks over to you, resting his hand on the back of your chair as he puts himself in the frame.

“Hi auntie and uncle! Happy New Year!” Jeonghan greets with a smile, and the two of you let out a laugh at your mom’s reaction to his bright hair color. He runs a hand through his hair, sending your mom a thumbs up in the camera. “Do you like my hair?

“I’m honestly just surprised that you pull it off so well.” Your mom responds, and you chuckle. Your dad nods in agreement, giving Jeonghan a thumbs up with a proud smile on his face. Grinning, you reach out and ruffle Jeonghan’s hair.

“Of course Hannie can pull it off! He’s one of the prettiest guys ever, I wouldn’t be surprised if he were able to rock green hair.” Your mom and dad laugh, while Jeonghan just stares at you for a moment, feeling slightly empty when you pull your hand away. Your mom lets out a mischievous smile, and you raise an eyebrow at it. “What are you planning, mom?”

“Since you think Jeonghan is so pretty, why aren’t you dating him yet?” Warmth immediately floods your face, and you let out a whine, causing your mom and dad to holler over in laughter. You turn to Jeonghan to apologize, and he just gives you a small smile, nodding his head in understanding. When you glance back at your phone to scold your parents, Jeonghan’s smile turns bitter, and he looks away from your screen to hide it.

You and Jun have been dating for a month now.

“I’ll talk to you guys later! Jeonghan and I have to take our annual New Year’s photo.” You say, waving at your parents with a bright smile on your face.

“Bye Jeonghan!” Jeonghan glances back over at your phone, finding your parents waving at him with happy expressions on their faces. He forces out a smile, waving back at them with the same energy they’re giving him. “Yn and I will try to visit soon!”

“Yeah you better!” You let out a laugh at your dad’s comment, waving at them one last time before ending the call. You lean back into the chair, closing your eyes to try and muster up some energy.

“Your parents’ love suck all the life out of you?” Jeonghan asks with an amused expression on his face, and you wave him away with your hand, eyes still closed as you do so. He chuckles, reaching out and pinching your cheek before walking back over to the couch.

“Are we gonna take a picture or what?” You open your eyes to see Jeonghan already preparing the polaroid camera, and you stand up and walk over to him. You rest your chin on his shoulder, making Jeonghan stiffen slightly, and he hopes you didn’t notice. However, you’re observant.

“Why’d you freeze? Oh! Is your shoulder bothering you again?” You ask in concern, immediately stepping back and assessing Jeonghan’s shoulder. He watches as you begin to ramble about how he should go to the doctor about his shoulder pain as you poke and prod at him. Biting the inside of his cheek, he moves his shoulder out of your reach, “It’s fine, I just slept wrong last night.” He lies through his teeth, and you stare into Jeonghan’s eyes as your hands slowly fall to your sides.

His deep brown eyes bore into yours, seeing a reflection of his own as he does so. After a moment of searching, you look away with a sigh.

Jeonghan’s eyes are your favorite feature of his, as his true emotions always show through them. They’re his most honest feature, you’d say.

so why can’t I tell if he’s lying right now?

You shake your head, before looking back at Jeonghan with a smile. You nod your head, reaching out and softly patting his shoulder as a means to not accidentally hurt him. “Let’s take the photo, I need a post for Instagram.”

Jeonghan scoffs, holding up the polaroid camera, “You only want to take photos with me so that you get more likes on Instagram.”

You smile, peace sign up towards your eye as you nod your head, “Of course. If I have a pretty boy beside me in my photos, then everyone will like them!”

Jeonghan smiles, winking into the polaroid camera as the flash goes off. The film photo immediately pops out, and you take the small photo and wave it around. Jeonghan purses his lips, before holding up the camera again.

“Let’s take one more.” He says, and you raise an eyebrow, surprised that he wants to take another photo with you. You place the polaroid down onto the coffee table before posing without question, as you’re afraid he will immediately take back the request.

“1, 2, 3-” Your hand makes your way to Jeonghan’s face, squishing his cheeks when the flash goes off. Jeonghan turns to face you, finding you giggling happily as you take the developing polaroid, flapping it around a bit before placing it onto the coffee table.

“I wanted to look handsome in that one.” Jeonghan whines, and you roll your eyes.

“You’re always handsome, be quiet.” You respond, and Jeonghan opens his mouth to argue, only to stop when you glance at the time.

“15 SECONDS!” You screech, grabbing the noise maker and confetti, handing one to Jeonghan in the process. You jump up and down as the two of you begin to count down.

“10!”

“9!”

“8!”

“7!” Jeonghan glances at you, feeling as if time is starting to slow down as you excitedly dance while counting down.

“6!”

“5!”

“4!” You laugh happily, doing a small dance as you prepare the confetti in your hand.

“3!”

“2!” Jeonghan feels his heart sink in his chest when you turn to face him with a bright smile, seeing all the stars in your eyes as you stare at him.

“1!”

“Happy New Year, Hannie!” You squeal, throwing the confetti up as high as you can into the air. Jeonghan swallows, noticing how dry his throat has become as he takes in the sight before him. Time comes to a slow as the fireworks explode in the air behind you through the window, while the confetti sparkles fall around the two of you. All the background noise drowns out, all of his senses honing in on you and you only. You look nothing short of ethereal in this moment.

The realization of what he’s been denying for the last three months comes to the surface as he stares at you, and he wishes for nothing more than for it to not be true. That it’s just a fluke.

However, when you turn back towards him and wrap your arms around his frame, greeting him Happy New Year once more, Jeonghan knows it’s the truth.

“Happy New Year, Yoon Jeonghan.” You say softly with a grin, and Jeonghan slowly wraps his arms around you, biting the inside of his cheek as he closes his eyes.

“Happy New Year, yn yln.” Jeonghan mutters, and you pull away to pull out your phone from your pocket. You wave it around Jeonghan’s face with a mischievous smile, “I’m gonna go greet Jun a happy new year, I’ll be back in a sec.”

Jeonghan squeezes his fist at his side, nodding his head as he gives you a smile. “Tell the handsome man I said Happy New Year.”

You give the redhead a thumbs up, before dialing Jun’s number and heading towards the bathroom. Once the door closes behind you, Jeonghan reaches up and clutches his chest, biting his bottom lip harshly as he looks down at the floor. He notices the now developed polaroids, and lifts up the one where you're squishing his face.

You’re staring at Jeonghan with stars in your eyes as you smile widely, hand squishing his cheeks. Jeonghan purses his lips, before pulling out his wallet from the back of his jeans, placing the polaroid into the slot before his driver’s license.

The photo reflects back at him underneath the light from the fireworks behind him, and Jeonghan lets out a breath. Running a hand through his hair, he closes his wallet and places it back into his pocket. Just in time too, as he looks up when he hears your bathroom door open, noticing the happy smile on your face.

“Ready to make midnight snacks to celebrate the new year?” You ask with a wink, and Jeonghan throws on his best fake smile, nodding his head.

“Of course I do, don’t ask me no stupid fucking questions.” Jeonghan teases, and you let out a laugh at the sentence, sending the redhead’s heart into a frenzy.

“Let’s go make food then.” You say, turning and heading towards the kitchen. Jeonghan slowly walks after you, a sad smile on his face as he watches you dance as you walk.

Just one more day. Jeonghan thinks to himself, before speeding up his pace and wrapping his arm around you. You turn to look at your best friend, and he smiles at you.

“Let’s make rice krispy treats.” Jeonghan suggests, only to let out a laugh at how your face brightens just at the mention of the delicious dessert, and you nod your head excitedly. You lead him to his own pantry, and begin explaining who’s gonna do what as you take out all the ingredients. All while Jeonghan watches fondly, knowing that he needs to ingrain this moment in his brain.

Just one more day with yn.

Jeonghan shuffles in front of your door, dreading what’s going to happen as soon as he knocks on the surface. He lets out a sigh, resting his head on the wall for a moment, questioning everything.

What if I just pretended?

I could just walk in and we could hangout like we usually do, like nothing has changed at all.

No.

Jeonghan lifts up his head, raising his fist and knocking on your door without a second thought. He bites the inside of his cheek when he hears you say, “Coming!”

Your front door opens after a moment, and his eyes trail over your outfit. An oversized vest over a white dress shirt paired with straight leg pants and sneakers to match. Jeonghan’s eyes slowly go back towards your face, just to find you staring at him with surprise painted over your features.

“Hannie! I wasn’t expecting you, what’s up?” You ask, and Jeonghan stays quiet for a moment. He gestures to you, and you raise an eyebrow.

“Are you going somewhere?” Jeonghan asks, and you nod your head. Letting out a smile, you show off your outfit and do a timid spin for emphasis on the oversized vest. “I have a date with Jun today, you like the fit?”

Jeonghan doesn’t respond, instead squeezing his fist in his pocket. He looks down the hallway, making you look in the same direction as well. You find Jun walking towards your apartment, and you let out a smile.

“Speak of the Devil. Did you need something from my apartment? You can just lock up when you’re done.” You tell Jeonghan as you turn back towards him, and you find the rest of the words die in your throat at the sadness in his eyes. You reach out to grasp his arm, and he takes a step back.

“Hannie, what’s wrong-”

“Jun is lucky to have you.” Jeonghan cuts you off, and you stare at him as he struggles to utter the next word. He turns back to look at Jun, seeing that he’s almost to your door, having not noticed Jeonghan yet.

“Jeonghan?” You ask, and you watch as the pretty man turns back to look at you.

“Pacman.” Jeonghan breathes out, and you feel your heart stop, unsure of why.

He turns around and walks away without another word, and your eyebrows furrow in confusion. You step out to ask him what he means, only for Jeonghan to stop and turn around himself. He gives you a bittersweet smile, waving his hand at you.

“You look beautiful, yn. Have fun on your date.” And with that, Jeonghan turns around and walks away, sucking in a deep breath to try and hold back the tears that threaten to escape. Leaving you alone by your doorway, confused.

“Was that Jeonghan?” You turn your head at the sound of Jun’s voice, and he gives you a soft smile. You nod your head slowly, turning to look back in the direction that he left in. “Yeah, he seems sad though.”

“Wanna go and check on him?” Jun asks, and you bite the inside of your cheek, remembering the tickets Jun bought in advance for the two of you to go to this garden. Regretfully, you shake your head and give Jun a warm smile. “It’s okay, I’ll check on him after our date.”

You quickly grab your phone and bag, locking the door to your apartment and turning to Jun with a grin. He extends his hand towards you, and you intertwine your fingers with his. The two of you walk towards the elevators, but you’re left in confusion as to what Jeonghan meant, and why he was so sad.

Hours turned into days, days turned into weeks, and months eventually turned into a year.

You and Jeonghan haven’t spoken since the day he stopped by your apartment and said that cursed word.

You tried to reach out once you realized what he meant, even stopping by his apartment multiple times to just get him to say something, anything. You were quite literally talking to a door, as there was never a response. There were times that you fell asleep in front of his apartment on the floor, and would wake up in Jun’s arms as he carried you back to your own place.

Many tears were shed, hearts were broken on both sides as you lost not only Jeonghan, but Jun as the two of you broke up four months after Jeonghan left.

“I’ll always love you, but I know that your heart belongs to someone else.” Jun tells you softly, and you bite the inside of your cheek. He gives you a small smile, grasping your face, making you look down at the floor as he presses one last kiss to your forehead.

Jun pulls away, and pats the top of your head. “Don’t be a stranger, yn. I love you.”

You wanted nothing more than for Jeonghan to be there with you at that moment, to help you take the baby steps in healing, but you couldn’t get through to him no matter how much you tried.

It was what you two promised to do, anyways.

He even managed to avoid you on campus successfully, you couldn’t be surprised though. The university is huge, you wouldn’t have been able to find him if you tried, which you did. He stopped frequenting all the places the two of you used to go to, it was as if he disappeared.

And the hole in your heart grew and grew the longer Jeonghan was gone.

Now here you are, a year later, sitting on a park bench as you let the music flow through your airpods. The weather is nice, a contrast to the rain that’s been pelting the city of Seoul for the last few days. The sky is blue, and there’s a slight wind to cool you down from the warmth of the sun. You tilt your head back, letting out a sigh as you remember the pile of assignments sitting on your desk back at home.

And so, placing your hands into the pockets of your hoodie, you get up off the bench and begin to walk down the path in the direction of your apartment. Your eyes stay on the ground the whole time, just trying to focus on the soothing piano as you ignore the other people walking by you.

You only look up when you get to the crosswalk, seeing a crowd of people across the street from you. Your eyes trail along the numerous faces you see, and you’re about to look back down when you lock eyes with a familiar pair.

“Jeonghan.” You breathe out as he stares at you with the same amount of shock written across his face. His red hair is now dyed black, emphasizing his sharp features. His eyes still hold all the warmth that you remember as he stares directly back at you, making the pain in your chest more evident at how much you miss him. You bite the inside of your cheek harshly at how much prettier he’s become, wondering how he’s capable of doing so as time passes.

The crosswalk signal turns green, but you remain where you are for a moment, as does Jeonghan. The reminder of the promise the two of you made flooding through your mind.

“Pacman.” You peek at Jeonghan, wondering why he mentioned your guys’ favorite game. He gives you a tired smile, “It’ll be our code word. Instead of leaving without a trace for a couple months, or confessing our feelings and then leaving, we can just say Pacman. It’s not directly saying I love you, and who knows if either of us will remember the word. It’s the perfect thing to say before disappearing for a bit.”

Jeonghan begins to cross the street first, and you look down at the road as you step off the sidewalk, melting in with the crowd as you walk in Jeonghan’s direction. Your heart is breaking within your chest as you do so, knowing that you have to keep the promise you made with Jeonghan.

The two of you pinky swore, after all.

Tightly, you squeeze your fists at your side as the piano instrumental reaches its climax in your ears. Numerous questions flood your brain as you reach the middle of the street.

Is this it?

Are we never going to be best friends again?

Has he already passed me?

Does…

Does he still love me?

All thoughts rush out your brain when a hand grabs your wrist unexpectedly, the sudden jerk of your arm making your earbud fall out of your ear and onto the road, the soft key sounds of the piano disappearing with the wind. You open your mouth to protest, but the words die in your throat when you’re pulled into a tight embrace. It’s only when the familiar scent of Spring fills your senses, that you immediately wrap your arms around Jeonghan’s frame, tears filling your eyes from the overwhelming feeling of relief.

“Hi, yn.” Jeonghan mutters into your ear, tears falling from his own eyes as he holds you tightly, never wanting to let you go. You let out a sob at the sound of his voice, closing your eyes as you clutch onto him just as tight, scared that he’ll disappear without a trace again if you let go.

And so, through your tears, you whisper, “Hi, Jeonghan.”

“Yn! It’s only a few more minutes until midnight!”

“Coming!” You shout back, checking over your reflection once more. You step out of the restroom once you’re sure that you look decent, and walk over to your living room. You let out a smile once you lay eyes on Jeonghan laying upside down on your couch, scrolling through his phone.

“What are you doing, Hannie?” You ask, and the black haired beauty peeks at you past his phone, flashing you a smile.

“It’s more comfortable this way, wanna try?” You roll your eyes, flicking his forehead as you grab the polaroid camera. He lets out a whine, fixing his position so that he’s now sitting properly and not upside down.

“Why’d you flick me?”

“Cause you’re cheeky.” You answer, preparing the polaroid film to take the annual New Year’s Eve photo. Jeonghan grins, quickly fixing his hair to make sure it looks presentable. “Do I look okay?”

You quickly turn towards him, taking in his features. His soft eyes gaze into yours as you stare at his pretty nose and high cheekbones. You reach out and pinch his cheek with a smile, “You look pretty, Hannie. You always do. Now let’s take this photo.”

Jeonghan smiles happily at your compliment, before taking the polaroid camera from you and holding it out as you have trouble doing so. You let out a bright smile at the camera, Jeonghan doing the same as he takes the photo. The flash goes off, and you’re quick to take the film out and wave it around.

“Another one.” You command as you take the polaroid camera out of Jeonghan’s hands, and he chuckles, nodding his head. You hold the camera out and send a wink towards the camera, Jeonghan doing the same pose.

“Okay. 1, 2, 3-” Jeonghan quickly changes his pose last minute, reaching out with his hand and squeezing your cheeks with a laugh. The flash goes off, and you let out a whine, turning back towards the pretty man to see him still giggling as he takes the polaroid out and waves it around.

“Are you happy now that you’ve gotten your revenge?” You ask, and he nods his head with a grin. “Very happy, actually.”

You’re about to respond, only to pause when you see that there’s only 30 seconds left until the clock strikes midnight. You practically screech, standing up from the couch to grab the noise makers. Jeonghan watches you with a fond smile on his face, getting up from the couch to snatch the confetti.

“You’re doing confetti this year?” You ask when you scramble back over, noise maker now in your grasp. Jeonghan chuckles, “Why do we always get confetti when it’s a pain to clean up afterwards?”

You purse your lips, refusing to answer the question as you begin to count down the seconds instead. Jeonghan rolls his eyes at your antics, starting to count down along with you.

“10!”

“9!”

“8!”

“7!” Jeonghan nudges you a bit, and you stumble over, making the latter laugh loudly as you squint at him.

“6!”

“5!”

“4!” You and Jeonghan turn towards each other, bright smiles on your faces as you continue to count down.

“3!”

“2!”

“1!”

“Happy New Year!” You both cheer, and Jeonghan throws the confetti up high into the air. You laugh excitedly as it falls around the two of you, feeling your heart warm when he turns to you and grasps your face with his hands.

Your eyes softly fall shut as Jeonghan leans in and captures your lips in a kiss to celebrate the new year. Your hands trail up and rest on his sides, gripping his shirt as a smile breaks out onto both of your faces. He pulls away and rests his forehead on yours, staring into your eyes.

“I love you, yn.” He whispers, and you feel your heart swell from joy.

“I love you too, Jeonghan.” Warmth fills Jeonghan from those three simple words that hold so much depth as the two of you begin to sway side to side to the soft music filling the background.

The polaroid that Jeonghan kept in his wallet for the last two years sits up on the frame behind the both of you as you slow dance, the bright colors of the fireworks exploding outside casting an iridescent glow over the two of you.

As you scoot closer and rest your head onto Jeonghan’s chest, and his hand softly cradles the back of your head, you realize that sometimes,

Promises are meant to be broken.

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