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beneaththetangles · 3 years

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Sasaki and Miyano, Vol. 1

Miyano is a Boys Love (BL) manga fan and Sasaki is an older boy who seems to constantly get into trouble. When they meet, Sasaki realizes pretty quickly that he has a crush on Miyano. What follows is an leisurely-paced first volume featuring the flirty Sasaki and an oblivious Miyano, who sometimes brushes off the advances as a joke. The chapters vary from longer form story-telling to quick, 4-koma bursts of bite-sized moments between the characters. It’s a slow burn story about a blossoming friendship as they share an appreciation for BL manga, with romantic overtones strewn throughout. It’s cute and innocent so far, and I may give the next volume a go when it drops. ~ MDMRN

Sasaki and Miyano is published by Yen Press.*

Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for My Retirement, Vol. 2

It took a while, but we finally got volume two of this series. It’s a FUNA story. In case you’ve never read the author’s other works—Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?! or I Shall Survive Using Potions!—then you should know that a FUNA story means absurd, comical isekai adventures with a nerdy, wisecracking heroine who wishes she had a larger bust (no, seriously, why is this a thing with every FUNA protag? I don’t get it?). The unique aspect of 80k Gold is that protagonist Mitsuha can freely, effortlessly jump between our world and the fantasy world. She exploits this for all its worth—literally. While pursuing profit, she also has a chuuni moment where she calls herself the “Lightning Archpriestess,” helps a family restaurant, brings in otherworldly backup to defeat dragons, starts a blog, promotes rural economic development, and trolls Russian spies in absolutely magnificent fashion. Like FUNA’s other stories, 80k Gold is a generally lighthearted, silly tale; don’t expect especially deep characters, world-building, or plot. I had a blast reading this volume, and happily recommend it (but start with vol. 1, obviously). ~ JeskaiAngel

Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for My Retirement is published by Sol Press.*

Penguin Gentlemen

Do you like penguins? Would you like to read an educational manga that teaches you more about different species of penguins with window dressing of pretty manga boys running a restaurant? But mostly, do you really, really want to learn about penguins? Then Penguin Gentlemen is the manga for you. This single volume is mixes in gags while educating readers about the different kinds of penguins in the world, all the while beefy gentlemen serve as anthropomorphized versions of the individual penguins. That’s about it. There’s not really a plot to speak of—the manga is almost entirely interesting facts about penguins. But I do mean interesting! The writers provides information about mating practices, different head shapes, the differences between an Emperor and King penguin, and more. I never knew there were so many different kinds of penguins in the world! Definitely recommend even if you are only remotely interested in penguins. While it’s a Teen-rated manga, there really wasn’t any content that was problematic enough that I wouldn’t let my 9- or 11-year-olds read it if they were interested. ~ MDMRN

Penguin Gentlemen is published by Yen Press.*

Ride Your Wave

This adaptation of the lovely Masaaki Yuasa film is extremely faithful to its source material—even more so than most anime-to-book adaptations. Despite essentially being my third experience with Ride Your Wave, however, I found Mika Toyoda’s novel to an engaging read as he capably rearranges and moves the movie to narrative form, thereby creating a story that stands on its own—quite a feat considering that Yuasa’s film is visually sumptuous. Explaining the tale of the love that develops between admirable firefighter Minato and bumbling surfer Hinako, Toyoda’s writing is most effective in its gentle, funny, and sometimes weepy material centered on the relationship between the two, and particularly in how each moves the other (and others around them) to grow. The fantasy components that make up the latter half of the book never quite feel right—they’re less whimsical and moving and more disquieting and awkward—though the earnestness of the story, those elements included, pushes it forward toward a satisfying conclusion to this lovely romantic tale, which perhaps is the perfect, quick read as summer approaches. ~ Twwk

Ride Your Wave is published by Seven Seas.*

Turning Point: 1997-2008

Between 1997 and 2008, Hayao Miyazaki directed perhaps his four biggest hits: Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, and Ponyo. Focusing on this period of unmatched success, during which Miyazaki challenged himself thematically and creatively while receiving international acclaim, Turning Point: 1997-2008 is at once a rich collection of essays, poems, interviews, and other documents by and involving the master that animation historians can bury their heads into, and a work that provides sharp insight into some of the most beloved of Studio Ghibli’s works and the director himself for those desiring a less academic read. For instance, it was fascinating to read how historic ironworks and the Emishi people fed into Princess Mononoke, but just as intriguing is Miyazaki’s philosophizing on a variety of other related subjects, from how parents and the education system do a poor job with Japanese youth to his thoughts on (and sometimes criticisms of) those he admires, like Osamu Tezuka, Akira Kurosawa, Roald Dahl, and Gary Cooper. As a collection of pieces divided by film, Turning Point sometimes lack the flow of a secondary work, but like his films, Miyazaki’s words—yes, sometimes accompanied by a grumpy, old man vibe—are imbued with an immense heart for children, the environment, and Japan, making for a work that equal parts enlightening and inspiring—much like the films of the master himself. ~ Twwk

Turning Point is published by Viz.*

The Ancient Magus Bride, Vol. 1

Purchased at a disreputable auction and spirited into the home of an imposing, demon-like entity, Chise is surprised to discover that her purchaser’s plans for her aren’t nefarious at all. In fact, she is to become the mage’s apprentice, and her natural talents and ability to see magical creatures will be honed and developed under his awkward but warm tutelage. Volume one of The Ancient Magus Bride sets the stage for a magical tale with beautiful illustrations of faeries, dragons, and Elias, the ancient mage, himself, whose character design is one of manga’s most memorable. The rest of the volume isn’t quite as outstanding as the art and design, particularly with the mangaka struggling to convey the dialogue of Britain and the language of the isle’s mythical beings, but there’s enough here, particularly with a beautiful interlude involving dragons and a conflict that ends volume one, for me to anticipate future volumes—even without personal experience from watching the anime informing me that this series is headed toward somewhere magical. ~ Twwk

The Ancient Magus Bride is published by Seven Seas.*

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Reader’s Corner is our way of embracing the wonderful world of manga, light novels, and visual novels, creative works intimately related to anime but with a magic all their own. Each week, our writers provide their thoughts on the works their reading—both those recently released as we keep you informed of newly published works and older titles that you might find as magical (or in some cases, reprehensible) as we do.

*Thank you to Yen Press, Seven Seas, Viz Media, and Sol Press for providing review copies.

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tagsecretsanta · 3 years

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From @I-am-chidorixblossom

to @nibenhutracycas

Full credit to the author above, secret santa does not own this piece!

Gordon’s Fashion Faux Pas

“Hey, John. You copy?”

John Tracy turned at the sound of his eldest brother’s voice and pushed his way over to the monitor. “Always, Scott. What’s the situation?”

Scott tilted his head a little. “What makes you think there’s a situation? Can’t I just check in to see how you are?”

“You can,” John confirmed. “But you already did that a little over two hours ago, and our next scheduled communication isn’t until--”

“Okay, okay.” Scott held up his hands. “You got me. There might be just a little issue I’d like you to look into for me.”

Bingo. John knew Scott far too well.

“And what would that be?”

A pause.

“You know that big conference and dinner Lady Penelope was telling us about that’s happening later today?”

John nodded. “Yes, the one in Singapore where she’s a keynote speaker.”

“Yeah. Lots of people, far too much paparazzi, high profile and of significant importance to the GDF.”

“And, indirectly, us.” John felt a sigh coming on. “Get to the point, Scott.”

He watched his brother pull an awkward expression while wishing he could go back to his programming. Just once John would like to escape from all the dramas of the planet below him for twenty-four hours or so. Was that really too much to ask?

“She’s invited Gordon as her plus one.”

Ah. Right… John was starting to see where this was going. Scott was always such a worrywart at the best of times, but especially when one of them had to step into the limelight as a representative not only of International Rescue but Tracy Industries as well. And while they were all well educated and versed in the proper protocols for such high class events, some of them were better equipped and prepared than others.

The family’s very own loudmouth, prankster, happy-go-lucky fish did not fall into that category. At all.

John folded his arms and let out that sigh. “You don’t think Gordon is well suited for this assignment, am I right?”

Scott made a vague rocking gesture with his hand. “Lady Penelope asked for him specifically, but your use of the term ‘well suited’ is very on point.”

John felt his own face morph into one of horror. “Oh, no. Absolutely not.”

“Please, John! You know Gordon never listens to me, and trying to get Alan to talk to him is a waste of time.”

John grasped for an excuse or alternative option.

“What about Virgil? He’s always good at corralling Gordon?”

Scott’s jaw tightened and he quickly shook his head. There was even a grimace. “You forget what happened last time I called Virgil while he was on vacation?”

Ah. Yes. Alan’s trip to the dentist four years ago. Temper tantrums, lots of shouting and one very frazzled Virgil by the end of it. If memory served he’d threatened to park Thunderbird Two on Scott’s head for not being man enough to deal with their monstrous baby brother in his hour of need. Whether that was because Scott should have seen to Alan’s needs himself or simply because Virgil had been forced to fly home early, John had never found out.

“Scott, I’m in orbit. And working. I can’t just drop everything and come rushing down when you’re right there on the ground, on the same island and in the same house.”

“I’ve got that board meeting in the morning to prepare for,” Scott retorted. A convenient excuse, if John had ever heard one. “You’re the only one available.”

“What about Grandma?”

“Not interested.”

“Brains?”

“Working on a new project.”

“Kayo?” He was definitely clutching at straws now.

“Ha, that’s funny.”

John bit back a curse and let himself float away for a minute, hoping the zero gravity would help him feel better. It didn’t.

“Do this for me and I won’t ask for any more favours for the rest of the year.”

John’s head shot up and he sent a glare at his big brother. “That’s only two weeks!”

Scott scowled. “Fine, the next three months.”

“Six.”

“Four and a half.”

John considered it. “Done.”

He watched Scott’s shoulders drop in relief. “Thank you.”

John sighed and pulled up the launch procedure for the space elevator. “Don’t thank me yet. I’ve only agreed to come down and try. I make no promises that it’ll do any good.”

“Just remember it’s for the honour of our family.”

Turquoise eyes rolled in exasperation. “Quit with the melodramatics. I’ll be down in fifteen.”

“F.A.B.”

John took a little too much satisfaction in swiping Scott’s face away to end the call and took stock of the situation.

So Gordon was going along to a big fancy event with Lady Penelope, huh? In all honesty John had seen it coming for a long time, and he was incredibly relieved that he wasn’t the one being dragged along again like last time to that supposedly small charity auction. The one which had ended in disaster thanks to the Hood.

Now it was Gordon’s turn, and he actually wanted to go. He liked attention and he definitely liked Lady Penelope.

So what was Scott getting his contrails in a twist for?

Surely it couldn’t be that bad?

~*~

It was that bad.

Barely out of orbit, on the ground and out of uniform, John was quick to make his way towards Gordon’s room. He felt as ready as he could be with such short notice, but no amount of time could have prepared him for the atrocity his gaze fell upon the split second Gordon’s door slid open.

Scott’s request for help suddenly made a whole lot more sense, but in reality it should have been the fashion police their eldest brother had called.

John tried to keep the judgement out of his tone and failed miserably. “You’re not planning to wear that, are you?”

Gordon blinked in the full length mirror he was facing, apparently unsurprised by John’s sudden arrival. “What? I like this suit.”

“It’s dayglow orange, Gordon.” Good God, John thought he was going to go blind. “Pinstriped and dayglow orange.”

“Which matches my bright and cheery personality just nicely,” the aquanaut retorted. He went about trying to straighten his matching tie and John looked away, trying to save his eyes from the torture they were being subjected to.

That suit really was awful. Whoever had designed it should be locked up.

“You know I don’t like to interfere,” he spoke up after a moment. “But I really think you should reconsider.”

“La-la-la, I’m not listening.”

Oh, how very mature. No wonder Scott had called in help. Where was Virgil when they needed him? He was the artistic one with an eye for colour coordination.

John let out a low suffering sigh. “Do you know what Lady Penelope is wearing?”

Gordon hummed at his reflection. “Nope. Parker sent me details, but I didn’t really read them. He’s always sticking his nose in whenever me and Penny are around each other.” A snort. “Makes sense, given his nickname I guess.”

John leaned against the doorframe. “Well if you’d bothered to read it then you’d know why I think that suit is completely the wrong choice.”

Gordon spun round to face him. “You mean you read it?”

John sent him a deadpan expression. “It was a communication with a marker of high importance. I’m the communications expert.”

“It was addressed to me!”

“With no confidentiality data stamp. Besides, I needed something to read on the way down here.”

John almost smirked when Gordon squirmed.

“But back to the main point. That suit looks ridiculous and if you wear it I highly doubt Lady Penelope will ever invite you out to another public event again.”

Gordon ran his hands down his own lapels and John could see the gears in his head starting to turn. He was successfully getting under his little brother’s skin and in all honesty it was quite fun.

Then Gordon pouted. “I can’t believe I’m actually listening to you, of all people, about fashion. That shirt you’re wearing should be burned.”

Ignoring the jibe he had heard oh so many times, John stepped into the room and navigated his way through all the clutter to Gordon’s wardrobe. “Lady Penelope is wearing an off shoulder ocean blue dress with a thin diamond belt, matching necklace and earrings. You need to pick something more subtle that will compliment her.”

“But orange and blue go together!”

“When it comes to that particular shade I respectfully disagree.”

“That shirt is definitely getting burned.”

Flicking through Gordon’s way too bright and colourful wardrobe, John finally found what he was looking for and pulled out one of the wrapped suits that had been shoved to the back. Dark blue, tailor made by an old friend of their father, and one that was far better suited - pun unintended - for the event Gordon was to be attending later that evening.

Removing the protective cover, John presented it to Gordon. “This is much better.”

His little brother immediately pulled a face. “But that suit is so boring and generic. It says nothing about my personality at all.”

Oh, for crying out loud…

“It’s a good fit on you, Gordon, and high quality. Remember that you’re attending as Lady Penelope’s plus one tonight, not the other way around.”

A golden eyebrow quirked up towards the ceiling. “Your point?”

John was quickly becoming both exasperated and exhausted. How on Earth did Virgil manage being the family peacemaker and make it look so easy? Just dealing with Gordon was a monumental task.

“A gentleman does not outshine the lady on his arm.”

Silence. Those caramel eyes widened. John wanted to drop to his knees and give thanks to whoever would listen.

Finally, he gets it!

~*~

John was more than a little relieved when the space elevator docked and he drifted through the airlock and back into his natural habitat. Now a comfortable distance from Earth and any annoying younger brothers, the middle Tracy was quick to return to the programming he’d been doing before he’d received Scott’s S.O.S.

Eos filled him in on what little he had missed, with no distress calls and only minor generic chatter across all the channels and frequencies.

It seemed that, for the moment at least, all the attention was on a very specific event in Singapore which was just getting started. High profile guests were arriving, reporters flocked to the edges of the red carpets in their hordes, and the eyes of the world looked on.

The first pictures and clips started to find their way online, and one in particular was quick to draw attention from John and apparently many others. The reblogging and sharing counters were going into overdrive.

John took a moment to feel just a little bit proud as he admired the image.

Gordon, wearing the suit he had recommended, standing face to face with the elegantly dressed Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward as cameras flashed all around them. She was smiling up at John’s rather bashful looking younger brother with an expression that could only be described as affectionate, her delicate hands raised towards his neck as she adjusted…

...that hideous tie which matched the equally grotesque abomination his brother had so laughingly called a suit.

Ugh. John felt he needed to bleach his brain and eyes to unsee it. It was vile.

The suit may be absent but the presence of that tie mocked the middle Tracy something chronic. Gordon had actually worn that?! What was he thinking?

It warranted a very rarely used John Tracy facepalm.

Still, his reservations and opinions aside, it wasn’t a complete disaster. A flick of a finger brought up all the leading stories across the news networks and social media in front of him, and John noticed that that one picture kept popping up again and again, followed quickly by others as Gordon and Lady Penelope made their way along the red carpet and into the venue.

John found himself smiling as he flicked away the images and returned to his duties. So Gordon hadn’t completely listened to him after all. Hardly a surprise, but John wasn’t about to lose any sleep over it. His brother seemed happy and Penelope clearly approved of his attire, ghastly tie and all, so what more could John really ask for?

#thunderbirds are go #tag team secret santa #thunderbirds 2015 #secret santa 2020 #John Tracy #Gordon Tracy

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chicksung · 3 years

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Snow Angels and Snuggles || Kim Jungwoo

Genre: Fluff, established raltionship au, non idol au, part of the Walking In a Winter Wonderland collab hosted by @neocitybynight and @starlit-jeno

Pairing: boyfriend!jungwoo x fem!reader

Word Count: 1.6k

Warning/s: Slight argument at the beginning

Synopsis: As much as you loved the spirit of Christmas, there was one thing you didn’t. The Christmas Rush. That week had turned you into a humanised version of The Grinch, but your boyfriend was determined to change your outlook for the week

Prompts: 11. Merry Christmas, you filthy animal 21. I planned out our whole day: First, we’ll make snow angels for two hours, and then we’ll go ice skating, and then we’ll eat a whole roll of Toll-House cookie dough as fast as we can, and then we’ll snuggle

A/N: Thank you for letting be part of such an amazing collab! I tried my best with the little time I’ve had, so I hope you enjoy. I really do think this concept fits woo perfectly.

The gentle falling of the snow, the cuddles that were received over hot cups of hot chocolate, the tree decorating, you were down for it all. You loved Christmas, you truly did. But there is one part about it that made every money maker dread their part time job at the local toy store. The Christmas Rush. And you have just about hit your breaking point.

The amount of rude and snappy customers (usually moms who were trying get away with a lower price than what the store was offering like it was an auction), the higher demands meaning the store had to raise prices to meet it, which resulted in more angry and rude customers and you, being the store’s manager, had to be extremely patient with the blonde haired bimbos you had manoeuvre through each and every day, to the point where you hated receiving the call to go down to whatever checkout it was to settle whatever stupid dispute was going on.

Your patience was starting to ware thin, and it was starting to rub off at home. Your boyfriend had noticed too and he couldn’t help but feel bad for all the shit and stress your job had been laying on you.

And today was just like one of those days. You had trudged through the front door, looking like the identical twin of a zombie, ripping your coat off of you, lazily hanging it up and landing face first onto the couch. You admit, it probably didn’t look very attractive to anyone walking part but you really couldn’t give a flying fuck.

Jungwoo heard you come in and saw your state on the couch, a pout making a firm appearance on his face. “Tough day?” He asked.

“Was it that obvious?” You replied in a monotone voice. Jungwoo sighed, threading his long fingers through your soft strands of hair. You groaned lightly, letting him rub the headache out.

“You’ve been pretty out of sorts lately. Has everything at work been alright?” His question made your blood boil for some unknown reason, before you sat up and grimaced.

“No, Jungwoo. Everything has not been fine. Everything has been awful, miserable, stupid, frustrating. I’m having to answer stupid questions from people every single hour of the day, and to come home to answer more stupid questions just makes it one hundred times worse.” You snapped at him before pushing yourself off the couch and stomping all the way back to your shared bedroom.

Jungwoo watched after you, an ache in his heart piercing itself through. He didn’t mean to push any of your buttons, but your sudden outburst was enough to plant an idea seed in the boy’s head. You needed this now more than any other time.

Morning arrived too quick in your opinion but you were pleasantly surprised when you saw a tray of toast, smothered in jam and a steaming hot cup of tea with a tiny sticky note next to it.

Enjoy breakfast, my love. Bring your dishes down and talk to me. I have something to tell you - JW xx

While the thought of him telling you something had you in a bit of a panic, you were too focused on the breakfast that had been lovingly prepared for you. You munch down on the toat while you crolled through your Instagram feed, occassionally double tapping the screen.

Once you graciously finished your meal, you carefully stacked the dishes onto the tray and sauntered out to the kitchen. Jungwoo was leaning elegantly (if that was even possibe) on the countertop, phone nested in his right hand. When he saw you enter the room, a smile lit up his face before he rounded the counter, took your dishes from you, placing them onto the counter and wrapped you in a warm hug.

You reciprocated the action quickly, not able to resist the homely feeling you got when you were in his arms. You pulled away from the hug, gazing lovingly into Jungwoo’s soft, puppy like eyes. He took the opportunity to steal a kiss from you before he reeled back, his hands still holding yours.

“Did you enjoy breakfast?” He asked, busying himself with your dishes, you nodded even though his back was turned to you.

“I was about to say thank you, so thank you, love.” You thanked, your fingers playing with the hem of his shirt. A question continued to poke at your curiosity and you weren’t sure if you could handle it’s poking much longer. “Are you going somewhere? You dot eve get this dressed up to take Snoopy for a walk.”

Your comment came from the fact that your boyfriend was decked out in black pants, white T-shirt and denim jacket, but when it came to walking your beagle, Snoopy, he would wear more than baggy sweatpants and a plain T-shirt. Jungwoo smiled, shaking his head of golden brown hair.

“Well, I decided to surprise you. I know you’ve had a pretty shitty couple of weeks so I decided that today, I would take you out and treat you. You deserve it, think of it as some much needed R&R.” The way Jungwoo’s face lit up as he spoke, the excitement in his voice made it evident that he was just as excited to experience his himself as you were.

“I planned out our whole day: First, we’ll make snow angels for two hours, and then we’ll go ice skating, and then we’ll eat a whole roll of Toll-House cookie dough as fast as we can, and then we’ll snuggle.” Your boyfriend beamed at you as he told you today’s schedule. Your eyes were blown to the size of dinner plates and you couldn’t really process it.

“And you planned all of this when?” You asked, Jungwoo trying his best not to burst out in laughter at your expression.

“Last night.” He shrugged, his arms connecting themselves around his waist. You never took your shocked eyes off him and just kept staring at him.

“Really?”

“No.” He chuckled. “I’ve have been planning this for a couple days but I didn’t really get serious about it until last night.” He said before pushing you towards the way you had came only minutes ago. “Now go change so we can start having fun!” His giggle was airy and childlike, a way that warmed your heart.

You couldn’t help but laugh at your boyfriend as he tried to steady himself on the ice but unfortunately for him, he leaned too far back, landing on the floor of the rink, straight on his ass. He grimaced in pain and gave you the puppy eyes. You rolled your own before skating over to him, offering your hands to him so he could pull himself up. He accepted and was back onto his newborn foul legs.

“You seemed pretty confident about your ice skating before, what happened to that attitude?” You teased, skating a circle around him to just to rub in the fact that your legs weren’t shaking like the bone had been removed from them. He pouted before forcefully taking your hand.

“I don’t wanna fall over again. That shit hurts and I can’t bruise the money maker.” You choked on your spit at his words, his laughter overlapping it as he triumphed a successfully landed joke.

“Shut up!” You thought about nudging his elbow but decided the thought of him sliding to the other side of the rink was a bit too much for you to handle. Jungwoo let you take the lead and you slowly guided him around the rink, watching all the parents and kids, friends and siblings all skate on the same designated ice floor as the both of you. “That might be us one day.” You heard Jungwoo said to himself but it surprised you.

“What?” You whisper-yelled at him, causing his head to whip around and his eyes large and round as realisation sunk in.

“I said that out loud, didn’t I?” You nodded in faux sadness before bursting into giggles at his silly mistake.

“Come on, Woo. Let’s take you home before you say anything else you might regret.” You said, slowing to a halt at the entrance/exit to the rink.

“Who said I regretted it?”

“Not the time, Jungwoo.”

“Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal.” You recited along with the movie playing on the tv. You were snuggled into Jungwoo’s side, his left arm draped around you and blanket thrown over the two of you and fingers intertwined underneath the blanket.

Jungwoo was hardly paying attention to the movie. Okay, in a way he was because you were reciting the script along with it, but that’s besides the point. He was mesmerised by the twinkle in your eye as you were indulging in one of your favourite Christmas movies, the way your grip would tighten on his hand whenever the movie’s plot reached to one of your many favourite parts.

He couldn’t word it any simplier. He was in love with you.

“Hey, babe?” Jungwoo called out to you in hopes of wrenching you out of your fixated state. Luckily for him, you had heard him.

“Yeah, sweetie? What’s up?” You responded, your focus snapping away from the tv and now onto him.

“I love you.” He said, the speed of his words coming out a lot quicker than he had anticipated but got the hint that you had understood him.

“I love you too.” You said, wrapping your arms around his torso, your head sitting on his shoulder. “And thank you for today. It was amazing.” You told him, feeling his own arms sneaking around you.

“I’m glad. I’m glad I get to spend this holiday season with you.”

You chuckled. “Ditto.”

#kpop #fanfiction #kpop fanfiction #kpop fluff #nct fanfiction #nct fluff #nctnetwrite #kpop smut #nct smut #kim jungwoo #nct jungwoo #nct 127 fluff #nct 127 #kpop christmas #christmas

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mdelpin · 3 years

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Male Order Bride - Chapter 3

AO3 | Prev: Ch 2 | Ch 3 | Next:

Chapter 3

“Did you have to bring everything you own?” Lyon groaned after loading another one of Lucy’s suitcases onto the carriage that Gray had hired to take them from the inn where Lucy had been staying to their new home.

“These are just my winter clothes,” Lucy said, “but I’ll be sure to let you know when I send for the summer ones.”

“Don’t feel like you have to.”

“You should be used to it by now, with the way Erza packs,” Gray said, laughing away Lyon’s complaints.

“That’s different, we’re engaged!”

Natsu tuned them out from inside the carriage. He rested his head on the seat, eyes sliding shut as the exhaustion from days of not sleeping very much, and eating even less caught up to him.

He awoke to the feeling of his stomach staging a full revolt. Groaning in misery, he covered his mouth and willed himself not to throw up.

“Is she okay?”

“She gets motion sickness,” Lucy explained, “Been like that ever since I can remember. She’ll be fine once the carriage stops.”

Natsu tried to say something to reassure Gray, who had sounded concerned, but all that came out was a worrying gurgle.

A hand brushed his, so lightly Natsu wondered if he’d imagined it, but Gray’s assurance followed it. “It should only be a few more minutes.”

“You could try icing her neck,” Lyon suggested, “That works for Erza when she’s feeling queasy.”

“Queasy? You don’t mean to say-?”

“Get your mind out of the gutter!” Lyon spluttered, causing both Gray and Lucy to dissolve into giggles. “I meant when she gets sick after eating too much cake.”

After months of self-imposed isolation, the sound of their laughter cheered Natsu immensely. Even if he wasn’t clear on what it was they were laughing about.

A moment later, he felt Gray’s hand touch his again, this time squeezing it to get his attention. “May I ice your neck?”

Natsu figured it was worth a try, so he grunted his assent, worried about what might happen if he tried to talk. Gray moved the hair away from the nape of his neck, replacing it with his hand.

“Ice-make: compress.”

The resulting mist was soothing against Natsu’s neck, the ice creating a welcome distraction from his misery. It didn’t cure his nausea, but it made it feel much more bearable.

“Thank you.”

It was all the words he could manage at that moment, but he hoped Gray understood he meant it not just for the ice, but for all the times he’d already come to his rescue.

“We’re here.”

There was a tinge of excitement to Gray’s voice, but Natsu didn’t dare open his eyes, preferring to wait for the moment the carriage finally stopped.

0-0

Lucy exited the carriage along with Lyon and Gray. She stared at the two opposing staircases with a frown. From her visit the previous week, Lucy knew each staircase comprised seven steps leading to a small platform, from which a shorter set of stairs ushered visitors to the manor’s front door. It was nothing strenuous, but given Natsu’s current condition, it might as well be a mile’s walk.

“How long is she going to be like this?” Gray asked, peering into the carriage where Natsu had remained, hunched over his stomach as his body continued to struggle against his motion sickness.

“It usually takes a bit for her stomach to settle. She’ll be fine,” Lucy said, pulling Natsu out of the carriage and trying to force him to stand on his own, which was no easy feat given the high heels that were part of the outfit her spirit Virgo had brought from the Celestial World.

Gray attempted to carry him in his arms, but Natsu protested, just as Lucy knew he would. So they compromised, with Gray offering Natsu his arm to hold on to for support. It was slow going, and Lyon gave up on waiting for them, using the other stairs to make his way inside.

“I remember him being more charming,” Lucy muttered, and narrowing her eyes at Gray she added, “and you being decidedly less so.”

Gray only shrugged, focusing his attention on helping Natsu tackle the stairs, “You know, this would go much faster if you’d just let me carry you the rest of the way.”

“You don’t have to help me at all,” Natsu replied, his lips pressed together stubbornly, “I can do it myself, you know.”

Gray snickered as Natsu lost his balance on the icy steps, “Of course you can, dear.” He switched his attention back to Lucy. “I asked the staff to prepare my apartment for the two of you. I’m not sure how long it will take to get it ready. It’s been a while since anyone’s lived there.”

Lucy frowned. Gray had called Natsu love at the auction house, and now he was calling him dear? He’d also been rather attentive in the carriage, his behavior a sharp contrast to the aloofness she’d experienced during their meeting. She had a bad feeling about where this was all going, especially with Natsu so focused on whatever was happening with his magic that he didn’t seem to care about anything else. What was he even doing in Isvan, and where was Igneel?

She chose her next words with care. “Are you planning on living there as well?”

Gray shook his head.

Lucy was about to move on to her next question when Gray cut her off.

“I’m sure you have a lot of questions, and I promise I’ll answer all of them once we have some privacy.”

They were already at his house, it’s not like she had any choice but to accept his promise. She rubbed her arms, trying to coax some warmth back into them. “Ugh, is it always this cold in Isvan?”

“No,” Gray laughed, “Sometimes it's colder.”

“Lovely.”

They finally reached the platform, but rather than continuing on to the next short set of steps, Natsu clung to the banister with one hand and Gray with the other, his breath coming in shallow pants. Gray stood next to him, looking bored but voicing no complaint. Lucy wanted to scream in frustration, and though she had half a mind to wait for them inside, she was wary of leaving the two alone together until she knew more.

“Natsu, can you please just let Gray help you? I’m freezing!”

“It’s only a few more steps,” Natsu pointed out, but Lucy didn’t feel like waiting any longer. She grabbed on to his other arm and pulled, ignoring his protests, until together she and Gray had lifted him over the remaining steps and into the house.

Lyon met them at the door carrying fire warmed blankets he draped over their shoulders. It felt heavenly, and Lucy took back every mean thing she’d ever said about him.

Gray disappeared for a moment, returning with a pair of fur lined leather slippers for Natsu. “Here you go, these should make it easier for you to move around.”

Natsu took off his shoes and replaced them with the slippers, “That is so much better.”

On her last visit, Lucy had been too nervous about her impending meeting with Gray to pay much attention to her surroundings. The only reason she remembered the number of steps was because she had counted each one off in her head to steady her nerves. This time around, she gaped at the large foyer, admiring the two elegant wooden staircases that curved gracefully to the second floor before following Lyon and Gray up the left staircase.

A large sitting room awaited them at the top of the stairs, furnished with plenty of chairs and couches, all facing three full-length picture windows. It was almost dark, but Lucy could still make out the outline of the mountains and at their bottom a darker area she thought might be a lake. She couldn’t wait to see it in daylight.

“Do you like it?” Lyon stood next to her, and when she nodded, he smiled. “Gray’s grandfather designed it for his wife. It’s one of my favorite parts of the house. Sometimes you can even see the aurora borealis from up here.”

The thought excited Lucy. She’d heard several people talk of the phenomenon, but she still hadn’t glimpsed it.

Gray walked over to the door on the left, “This is where you’ll stay. That other door is the entrance to my father’s apartment, where Lyon and I live.”

That same door opened, revealing two women exiting the apartment. They walked over to them with welcoming smiles. The older one reminded Lucy of Gray, with pale skin and short black hair that framed her face. She assumed that was his mother. Her companion was a beautiful girl with long red hair that came down to her waist. She wore a hird uniform and peered at them with interest.

“Oh boys, since you’re both here,” the woman said, “I’d like a word with you.”

“I should get them settled in-”

“Nonsense, I’m sure Erza wouldn’t mind doing that for you,” the older woman waved away Gray’s protests.

“Not at all. Hi, I’m Erza,” the red-haired girl introduced herself with a friendly wave, and the way Lyon moved to her side reminded Lucy of Gray’s teasing in the carriage. This must be the fiancée who loved cake.

“Hi, I’m Lucy and this is Natsu.”

“Nice to meet you and welcome to Fullbuster Manor. I’m Ur, Gray and Lyon’s Master.”

“Master?”

“Yes, I’m their magic teacher,” Ur explained to Natsu, “I can feel a lot of magic in you, both of you actually. What types of magic do you practice?”

“I have fire dragon slaying magic.”

“And I’m a celestial mage.”

“How exciting! Both are pretty rare.” Ur said, her mouth curving into an inviting smile. “Perhaps you’d like to join us for training while you’re here? It’s a bit too dark right now, but you can normally see our training hall from here.”

“I’m all fired up!”

“I’ll think about it, but I guarantee you won’t be able to keep Natsu away,” Lucy couldn’t help but giggle at how ridiculous Natsu sounded, saying his favorite phrase while using the feminine voice her celestial spirit Lyra had enchanted him with.

“Great! Well, I’ll leave you in Erza’s capable hands. You should have just enough time to get settled before dinner. I’m looking forward to hearing all about you then.” Ur waved, and Lyon and Gray followed her back to their apartment.

“She’s nice,” Natsu commented, earning an approving glance from Erza.

“I hope you don’t think me rude for asking, but what is your relation to Gray?”

“Oh, not at all,” Lucy tittered, scrambling to decide what to say that wouldn’t mess Gray up later. “He hired me at the employment auction this afternoon.”

Lucy figured she might as well say as much of the truth as she could, “As for Natsu, I’m afraid Gray wants to announce that himself.”

She changed the subject, “What about you? Did I hear you’re engaged to Lyon?”

“Y-yes,” Erza stammered, her face crimsoning as she showed Lucy and Natsu her ring.

“That’s a beautiful ring!” Lucy gushed, holding Erza’s hand up to the oil lamp’s soft light.

Erza seemed flustered by the attention, but also pleased. She opened the door of the apartment and led them inside.

0-0

“He got away from you?” Ur frowned at Lyon. “That doesn’t sound like you.”

“He used the crowd at the auction to his advantage,” Lyon shrugged, fiddling with the beads in his braid. “I’ll get him next time.”

“For your sake, I hope there isn’t a next time. Silver is already furious it’s gone on this long. Were you at least able to get a good look at him?”

Lyon scratched his head, pretending to think it over. “Not really, I mostly saw his backside. He had short spiky pink hair, and his clothing was strange. Definitely not from around here. Maybe Erza saw more?”

“No, she said about the same, I was hoping you’d have more information.”

“Sorry, not this time.”

“Well, go talk to Silver anyway, he insisted on a report. Invel complained about the hirdmen presence at the Auction, so I’m sure he’ll have more questions.”

Ur turned to Gray, “He’ll want to speak to you as well. Invel apprised him of your presence.”

Fucking Invel!

Gray met Lyon’s gaze, unsurprised to see a triumphant smirk that screamed I told you so. It made him glad to have heeded the advice. The smirk, however, was short-lived. A more nervous look replaced it, as Lyon went off in search of Silver, filling Gray with guilt.

Lyon might attempt to act aloof, but Gray knew how much he hated to lie, especially to Ur. Now, Lyon would have to lie to Silver too, and he wasn’t likely to be as forgiving. Gray promised himself he’d make it up to him at some point.

He turned his attention back to Ur, who was gazing at him expectantly.

“It’s something Farfar1 felt strongly about,” Gray said. And it was true, even if he’d never known about it until that day. “I was just taking an interest.”

“And it’s a good thing I did,” he continued, not giving Ur a chance to ask questions he might not be ready to answer, “or I wouldn’t have met Natsu.”

“The fire dragon slayer?” Ur’s lips pressed into a slight frown as she listened.

“Yeah, her. We met at the Auction, and it was just, I don’t know. Love at first sight, I guess?”

“Oh, Gray, honey,” Ur grabbed his hand and peered into his eyes, “You can’t expect me to believe that. Not after you’ve refused to even consider any of the other girls. I know about the ultimatum your father gave you, and I promise, I’ll work on him until he changes his mind about Juvia.”

It was tempting to let Ur fight his father on his behalf, but he knew it wasn’t fair to put additional stress on her and Silver’s relationship. Plus, he was an adult, or close enough to count. The time for hiding behind his mother’s skirts was long past.

Still, Ur was the one person Silver might listen to. Gray had hoped she’d be so excited about him meeting someone he was genuinely interested in that she wouldn’t question his story. But it hadn’t worked out that way. He’d have to find another way to get her support or give up on his plan altogether.

From a young age, Silver had taught Gray that lies were something he should avoid as much as possible. But he’d also said that sometimes they were a necessary evil. An effective leader, Silver had lectured, resorted to lies only after he had exhausted all other avenues, and he was wise enough to include enough fact to lend the lie an air of truth.

Gray thought about Natsu, trying to settle on a truth that might convince Ur of the lie. He soon realized it wasn’t as hard as he’d thought. All he needed to do was remember Natsu’s smile and how it had made him feel, or even the anxiety that had come over him at his motion sickness in the carriage. If he could get that through to her, there was no way she wouldn’t be on his side.

“I know how it sounds, but when she smiled at me for the first time. I- I felt something in my heart,” Gray moved their joined hands up to his heart. “Nothing like this has ever happened to me before, Ur. I don’t know how else to explain it but love at first sight.”

Ur let go of his hand, her expression softening. “Sweetheart-”

“Let me have this,” Gray pleaded, “All I’m asking for is the chance to get to know her better and see if maybe she’d want to be mine.”

“You’re right, you do deserve that chance,” Ur said, offering him a tired smile, “I just hope you know what you’re doing.”

“Thank you, Ur.”

She pressed her hands to his cheeks, patting them gently. “How could I say no to my adorable student?”

“You should get ready for dinner, I’ll go tell Ooba to set two additional plates.” She walked toward the door, turning to him with an impish grin. “She’s beautiful.”

Gray looked away even though she didn’t wait for his reaction, surprised by the unexpected flush that crept up his cheeks at her parting words.

Yeah, he really was.

He hurried to his room to change his clothes, determined to speak to Natsu before they faced his father at dinner.

0-0

“I thought she’d never leave,” Lucy complained after closing the door behind Erza, who had promised to come get them for dinner.

“I like her.”

“I like her too,” Lucy admitted, “She just didn’t leave us much time to figure out what’s going on.”

Natsu sat in one of the room’s rocking chairs, swinging back and forth wildly.

“Stop that,” Lucy scolded, “that chair is worth more than everything you own.”

“That wouldn’t be too hard, seeing as I don’t have anything.”

Lucy studied him with concern, but shook her head, “Nevermind, we’ll discuss that later. Where did you put your envelope? We need to figure out what we’ve gotten ourselves into.”

Natsu knew nothing good would come from Lucy finding out he’d received more offers than her, so he changed the subject.

“How do you know Gray, anyway?”

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Lucy raged, eyes shooting sparks at the memory of whatever had happened between them. “My father sent me here hoping Gray would choose me as his fiancée. The jerk turned me down, said I was too perky for his taste. Can you believe that? I mean, it’s not like I wanted to marry him either, but - What’s wrong with being perky?”

Natsu could absolutely believe that, despite loving Lucy like a sister. She’d been the only person besides Igneel and now, Gray, to take an active interest in him. He’d risk his life for her in a second, but he also knew that many people found her personality overbearing. The little he’d seen of Lyon and Gray made him think they’d fall into that category.

“I’m sure he’ll tell us more when he gets a chance,” Natsu stood up, stretching his arms above his head and examining the room they were in. It was the first time he’d set foot inside a residence since he’d arrived in Isvan, having spent most of his time hiding in abandoned buildings, trying to figure out how to search for Igneel in a strange country. At least he was lucky the language was mostly the same.

“Shouldn’t you be more concerned?”

Natsu turned his attention back to Lucy. “About what? I already said I’d do whatever it was.”

“You can’t just make promises like that, Natsu. People will take advantage of you.”

“You worry too much,” he said, waving away her concern, “I just wish I didn’t have to keep wearing these clothes, I feel stupid. Not to mention I don’t know the first thing about acting like a girl.”

“Well, you look fabulous!”

Natsu sincerely doubted it, but he appreciated the sentiment.

“Why were those hirdmen after you, anyway?” Lucy’s forehead furrowed with worry.

“I think that’s a longer story than what we have time for right now. Don’t you have to get ready for dinner?”

“It’s not just me, Natsu. Didn’t you hear Gray’s mother? You’re invited too.”

“That’s not his mother.”

“What are you talking about? She looks just like him.”

“Maybe, but they smell nothing alike,” Natsu said absently, his mind full of this fresh problem. Why would they want him to join the family for dinner? When he’d lived with the Heartfilias, he’d always taken his meals with the staff.

“Well, but isn’t your freaky magic on the fritz?”

“My senses have nothing to do with my fire,” he explained, “Are you sure about dinner? I never had to do that at your house.”

“You really have no clue what’s happening, do you?” Lucy looked heavenward in one of her over dramatic gestures that drove him nuts.

“I’m the one who’s with the staff, you are part of the family.”

“Part of the family? What are you talking about? We were both hired by Gray, weren't we?” Natsu paled. Suddenly there was the looming threat of forks to remember and napkins to use, all while wearing this ridiculous getup. Igneel had tried his best to instill manners in him, but Natsu had just never been that interested.

“Oh ho! Not feeling so relaxed now, huh?” Lucy watched him panic, her mouth twitching in amusement.

“What am I going to do? It’s going to be a disaster! You gotta help me!”

“Well first, I guess we should figure out what you’re going to wear,” Lucy headed into the room she had claimed as her bedroom, her suitcases already lined up against the wall.

“Can’t you just summon your spirits again?” He called out. If he felt uncomfortable wearing this dress, he shuddered to think of how he would feel wearing one of Lucy’s skimpy outfits. Not to mention she was several inches shorter than him.

“That’s not how celestial contracts work, I’ve already called on them today.”

“Your magic is weird.”

“And yours is out of whack,” she walked out of the bedroom, holding up a small piece of fabric that only she would consider clothing. “What’s up with that?”

“I dunno. I got sick right before I was supposed to leave with Igneel. Spetto took care of me, but my magic has been screwy ever since.”

“That’s strange,” Lucy muttered, “If we were still at home we could have searched my mother’s library. I doubt there will be much here that will be of help. Maybe Grandpa Crux might know something. I could try summoning him later.”

“Who?”

“Don’t worry about it. For now, let’s get you into this dress.”

Natsu held up the dress that Lucy handed him against his body. The skirt would barely reach down to the middle of his thighs.

A knock on the door saved him from having to put it on. Lucy walked to the door and opened it. To his surprise, Erza stood on the other side holding several items in her arms.

“Erza, you’re back so soon,” Lucy gestured to her to come inside, closing the door behind her.

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Erza looked stunning. She had changed out of her hird uniform and into a cream colored long-sleeved gown that reached down to her ankles. Over it she wore a woolen apron dress in a deep shade of blue that was open at the front. It was several inches shorter than her gown, in the fashion worn by well-to-do maidens in Isvan. Two gold brooches attached the straps of the apron dress to the gown, with strands of colorful beads strung between them. A third brooch held the fabric in place, creating the illusion of a neckline. A light blue patterned belt added a splash of color around her slim waist. Her long red hair was tied in a ponytail knot held in place by an ornate hair stick.

She offered Natsu the items she was carrying. It appeared to be several outfits similar to the one she was wearing. “I remembered you saying you had no belongings with you, so I brought you some of my clothes to wear until you can get some new ones.”

“Thank you so much,” Natsu cheered, giving Erza a quick hug.

“It’s nothing, Lucy is shorter than you, so I figured her clothes wouldn’t fit you very well,” Erza said, seeming bewildered by his enthusiasm. “If you put on one of the gowns, I can help you secure the hangerok2.”

“Okay!” Natsu entered the bedroom he’d chosen for himself and closed the door. He heard another knock on their door just as he’d wrestled out of the dress he’d been wearing. Soon there was another voice in the room, male this time. He pressed his ear to the door to listen.

A voice that sounded like Gray’s greeted Lucy and Erza.

“Is Natsu ready? I came to escort her to dinner.”

“She’s still getting dressed,” Lucy informed him, “She should be out any minute.”

“Already? Isn’t it still early?”

“I, uh, wanted to speak to her before she met Fader.”

Gray wanted to talk to him? Natsu supposed that made sense. He still hadn’t told him what it was he wanted from him. Natsu hoped Lucy had just been reading into the situation like she sometimes did, because if not, passing himself off as a girl would be child’s play compared to what awaited him. What would he do then?

“What are you doing here? I thought you’d be with Lyon.”

“Lyon was... busy, so I figured I’d bring Natsu some clothes she could borrow.”

“Busy?” There was a momentary pause, followed by a muffled, “Oh.”

“Is something wrong?” Natsu heard the concern in Lucy’s voice and wondered what Erza and Gray’s expressions looked like to merit it.

“Nothing for you to worry about. Lyon and I were chasing a suspect today, and we lost him,” Erza explained, “The Chief isn’t happy with us.”

Natsu listened with interest, recognizing they were talking about him. Had Erza been one of the hirdmen chasing after him? He’d only seen Lyon before he took off, and it had taken all of his energy to stay ahead of him.

“I’m sorry,” Gray replied, and there was something in his voice that confused Natsu.

What did Gray have to do with any of that? Natsu had a vague recollection of having seen another guy before running into the building. Could that have been Gray? Well, even if it had been, he’d obviously not recognized him in his disguise, which meant nothing had changed.

Natsu continued to listen to them talk about how the Chief had yelled at Lyon and how Erza felt guilty because she hadn’t received the same treatment. As soon as they moved on to a different topic, he tuned them out, examining the dresses Erza had brought him with distaste and a little trepidation. Unlike his regular clothes, these weren’t fireproof.

All he could do was hope for the best and remind himself it wouldn't be forever. He selected a white gown and put it on with a dispirited sigh, covering it with a heavier crimson apron dress and opening the door to join the others.

They all looked up at his entrance, with Erza unfastening brooches she had attached to the inside of her hangerok. She approached him and fussed over him while he tried his best to stand still as she pushed the pins through both layers of fabric.

“There you go,” Erza made some adjustments before straightening up and evaluating her efforts. “That color looks lovely on you. You should keep it.”

“Oh, no, that’s not necessary,” Natsu was quick to protest, even though he appreciated her gesture.

“Nonsense, we’re friends now, aren’t we? Besides, it looks better on you than on me.”

Natsu guessed she wouldn’t feel the same way if she knew who he really was. This was a dangerous game he was playing, and he could only trust that he’d be able to find Igneel before this farce blew up in his face.

“Something’s missing, though,” Erza studied him with a thoughtful expression before removing some of her beads and attaching them to the brooches on Natsu’s dress with a satisfied smile. “Perfect! Don’t you think so, Gray?”

Gray muttered a response that even Natsu’s enhanced senses couldn’t make heads or tails out of, turning a moment later to bow to Erza. “Thank you for thinking of Natsu, I appreciate it.”

Erza nodded, her expression turning thoughtful as she peered at Gray, her eyes lingering on his hair. On his braid, to be exact.

Had Gray had that before? Natsu couldn’t recall.

“You should get going,” she said, clapping Gray on the shoulder so hard he barely missed slamming into him. “I’m sure you two have lots to talk about. Lucy and I can wait for Lyon together.”

Erza sounded almost giddy, but Natsu had no clue what had set her off. He peered at Lucy to make sure she didn’t have any objections before agreeing.

Gray finally glanced at Natsu, although he looked away the moment their eyes met. “I’ll have Ur talk to our seamstress about making you some suitable clothes.”

“Oh, that’s okay,” Lucy said, coming to his rescue, “I brought plenty of clothes, she can just wear some of mine.”

“I feel we might need to get some made for you as well. You’re going to freeze to death wearing dresses like that around here,” Gray laughed, and Natsu and Erza joined in.

“Shall we?” Gray gestured to the door, his eyes still crinkling at the corners. “There’s something I’d like to show you.”

Natsu nodded, following him out but feeling a little awkward now that he knew they’d be alone together.

0-0

Gray had been looking forward to this moment for hours, but now that it was here, he didn’t know what to do. How should he treat Natsu? Did he already know what Gray was going to ask of him? How did people do this so easily?

He offered Natsu his arm when they reached the top of the stairs, only to have him descend the stairs on his own, yanking his skirts up above his slippers and claiming he didn’t need his help. Gray could only smile at the defiant glare he’d glimpsed in his eyes. He liked Natsu’s independent spirit, especially given he was in a strange place and in the middle of what had to be a nerve-wracking situation.

He followed Natsu down the stairs, not sure what to do with his hands, which were becoming sweaty in anticipation of being alone with his crush. It made him wish he’d paid more attention to Lyon when he was first trying to gain Erza’s favor.

Gray had never given much thought to his looks before, but given the reactions of girls like Juvia, he figured he wasn’t hard to look at. That was to girls, though. How did he make himself attractive to another man?

He’d done his best, changing into his finest set of clothes and taming his hair with a comb. After some consideration, he’d worked in the traditional engagement braid that announced his courtship status, embellishing it with beads to make it stand out more against his dark hair. Hoping to make a good impression on Natsu and to send a message to his father that he was taking this courtship seriously. But maybe he’d just made himself look like he was trying too hard. Natsu certainly hadn’t given him a second look.

Gray led him out the front door, walking toward the ice sculptures that decorated their front yard, figuring it was far enough from the house to give them some privacy. Plus, it couldn’t hurt to show himself in a positive light. Maybe he could even impress Natsu with his molding.

It was only when Natsu shivered next to him that Gray realized he hadn’t had him grab a cloak.

“I’m doing a terrible job as your host. First, I forgot about your clothes, and now I didn’t think to make sure you had a cloak before I brought you outside. I’m so sorry, please take mine.”

Gray removed his woolen cloak, draping it over Natsu’s shoulders and pinning it with his brooch to keep it in place. “There you go, that should keep you warm.”

“Thank you,” Natsu bowed his head, “Won’t you be cold, though?”

“Nah,” Gray waved away his concern. “I’m an ice mage, it needs to get much colder than this for it to bother me.”

Natsu appeared skeptical, but his expression softened when Gray showed no signs of discomfort. “You know, it’s strange. I shouldn’t even be able to feel the cold.”

“At all?” That surprised him. Gray was a powerful ice mage, but even he felt cold sometimes.

“Yeah, my magic causes my body temperature to run hotter than other people’s. It usually heats the air around me to a comfortable temperature.”

“I didn’t know that, you’re the first fire mage I’ve ever met.”

“I can’t imagine too many of them would want to travel here,” Natsu said, plastering a smile on his face, but not soon enough for Gray to miss the tinge of sadness it replaced. “Even though it is quite beautiful in its own way.”

Natsu’s sudden change of mood puzzled Gray. He knew there was something to it, but he had a feeling he wouldn’t get an answer if he asked, so he changed the subject.

“I wanted to show you this,” Gray drew Natsu’s attention to the grouping of sculptures that he and his family had made during the Winter Solstice.

Natsu gasped, allowing Gray to take his arm and help him maneuver through the deeper snowdrifts until they stood in front of the first sculpture, a snow tiger Lyon had made. Next to it was a large trellis covered in roses which Ur had made. An enormous wolf, Silver’s contribution, towered over the others.

“How did I not see this when we arrived?” Natsu wondered aloud.

“In the sorry state you were in?” Gray teased, “That wolf could have come to life and attacked the carriage and you wouldn't have noticed.”

“Did you make all of these?” Natsu moved from one statue to the next, his hand extending out but stopping shy of actually touching. “They all look so real.”

“I made that one,” Gray pointed to his creation, a sculpture of the thunder god Thor holding his hammer, Mjolnir, in mid-swing. “This is my magic. I can make just about anything out of ice, so long as I can visualize it in my mind. Most of the time I make weapons I can use to fight, but I enjoy doing stuff like this too. It helps to hone my control.”

It pleased him to see Natsu admiring his sculpture, even walking around to examine the back of it. “Your magic is beautiful,” he complimented with a smile which stretched into a grin as he added, “but I bet you I could melt it without too much trouble.”

Gods, that grin. Gray was learning he was weak to it. And Natsu’s words felt like an invitation to a game, one he was desperate to play despite not understanding any of the rules.

“Is that so?” Gray raised an eyebrow at the taunt, “Those are some mighty big words coming from someone who could barely hold on to her magic at the Auction.”

He could have kicked himself when Natsu’s smile wilted in front of his eyes. He’d made his first move and failed miserably.

“I didn’t mean- uhm, I just wanted to-,” Gray struggled to explain that he’d only been trying to flirt, but he was a clueless pathetic mess. He was glad Lyon hadn’t seen that, he would’ve never lived it down.

“I don’t need your apology. Not when it’s the truth.”

Natsu turned away from the sculptures, avoiding Gray’s eyes as he asked, “So are you ever going to tell me what it is you want from me in exchange for helping me get my magic under control?”

Could there possibly be a worse time to ask him that? Still, Gray had put himself in this mess, he’d just have to crawl his way back out.

“I- uhm, I’m not sure how to start. I suppose short is best, since they’ll be expecting us for dinner soon.”

Natsu slipped him a curious glance, “I don’t understand what you’re acting so nervous about, I already said I’d do whatever it was.”

Gray was fairly certain that would change as soon as he heard what it was.

“Okay then, I’d like you to pretend to be my fiancée.”

“Except for that.”

“I know how this sounds, but at least hear me out?”

“Gray, it wouldn’t be right for me to-”

“Please hear me out?”

“This is insane,” Natsu frowned, but gestured for him to continue.

“Thank you,” Gray wrapped his arms around himself, feeling a tad shaky now that the time had come to explain what he wanted. “My father is the Chief of Isvan, and someday I will take his place. Because of that, there’s this stupid law that says I have to get married on my next birthday, which is in October. I tried to get out of it by running out the clock, rejecting every girl my father brought to my attention.”

“Is that what happened with Lucy?”

“Yeah, I thought my plan was working, but it backfired. When I rejected the last girl this morning, my father told me if I didn’t find someone I could accept as a wife then I’d have to marry her, and she’s the worst one of the lot. I can’t spend the rest of my life with her, Natsu. To me, that would be a fate worse than death.”

“Now you’re just being dramatic,” Natsu’s mouth twitched into a smile at his declaration. “She can’t possibly be that bad.”

“No, I’m not,” Gray objected, “I can promise you I wouldn’t be going to all this trouble if that were the case.”

“You’re still better off asking Lucy for help,” Natsu argued, “I’m sure she’d agree. She knows all about this stuff, whereas I don’t even know which fork to use or-”

Gray cut off Natsu’s protest, “You don’t understand, it has to be you. My father already approved of Lucy. If I chose her as my fiancée, I’d have to marry her. But he doesn’t know you. If you agreed to marry me, he’d have to find your family, and enter negotiations with them.”

“Hold up. Let me get this straight,” Natsu peered into his eyes, “You’re saying if I agree to do this your father would have to find my family?”

“Yeah, but don’t worry about that,” Gray assured him, not wanting it to be a sticking point, “We can think of ways to keep him from doing that. Maybe I could hire some actors or-”

“Are you crazy?” Natsu cut him off, his excitement such that he was almost bouncing on his feet, “I want him to.”

Natsu’s reaction left Gray dumbfounded. “I don’t understand. Are you saying you want to marry me?”

“No, you idiot!” Natsu grinned, punching Gray none too gently on the shoulder. “I came to Isvan looking for my father. He came here a few months ago, and I haven’t heard from him since. If you can help me find him, I’ll pretend to be anything you want.”

Gray bristled at being called an idiot, and the playful punch had shocked him, although he had to admit it was also a little refreshing. For most of his life, everyone had tiptoed around him. Natsu was apparently not planning on doing any such thing, and it exhilarated Gray.

He was eager to get to know the real man hiding behind the dress, the one he’d glimpsed outrunning Lyon with ease and who was bold or insane enough to pull off this disguise in plain view of his pursuers.

“It’s a deal then,” Gray said, “We’ll start working on your magic tomorrow morning.”

He was pleased that Natsu had agreed, although he was a little worried about what would happen once they found his father. But that was a worry for another day. They had to get through dinner first.

His excitement ebbed as he thought of what awaited them. “I have to warn you, my father won’t approve at first. It might get unpleasant. I’m sorry for that.”

Natsu shrugged, his hands moving up to his waist. “It’s okay. I’m more worried about my magic flaring up than anything he could say to me.”

“I won’t let that happen.”

He felt the urge to give Natsu a hug, but instinctively knew it was a bad idea. It would only end up being awkward. So he crossed his arms over his chest to keep himself from doing anything stupid, offering him an earnest smile instead.

Natsu returned his smile, and suddenly they were staring into each other’s eyes with neither of them looking away. Natsu’s smile grew even wider and Gray could feel the blood rushing to his ears, which were thankfully hidden by his hair.

“We- uhm, we need to come up with a story so that we don't mess each other up when we get in there,” Gray said, trying his best to hide how flustered he felt by the moment they’d just shared. “Something simple that’s mostly true is probably best.”

They discussed a few ideas until finding one they both agreed on.

“We should go inside.”

“Yeah.”

They walked back to the house’s entrance, Gray’s stomach tying itself up in ever more complicated knots at the thought of facing his father.

Natsu stopped just shy of the front door, pumping his fists in the air and crying out, “We’re gonna do great!”

Gray was so enraptured by the display he let himself believe it. He grabbed Natsu’s hand in his and led him inside towards the dining room.

Notes

Farfar is the name for a paternal grandfather

The hangerok (sometimes spelled hangerock or hangeroc) was a type of dress worn by Viking women and some other early medieval northern European cultures. The garment was shaped somewhat like a pinafore, with two straps over the shoulders secured by brooches.

A/N: I'm happy to finally bring you this chapter. It will be the last one for a bit as I will be working on the next chapter of The Red Dragon and those tend to take a while, along with some collabs that have been waiting for a bit.

@ft-ez-bb

#fairy tail #gratsu #update #gray x natsu #ftezbb2021 #MOB #chapter 3 #fanfic

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fortheloveoffanfic · 4 years

Text

What Happens At The Oscars...

Keanu Reeves x Reader. (A/n- its long, I got carried away. Sorry not sorry. Also, the thing is that one necklace lock thingy from Ocean’s eight and it’s probably not real but I’ve never worn million dollar jewels and Google won’t tell me, so let’s pretend it is. A/n2- I was really confident when I wrote this on a whim on Monday, but now, as I’m about to post it, not so much, so be gentle please.) Warnings-NSFW/SMUT

The crowd went wild the minute he stepped out of the car, fans screaming his name just as he was announced, “Keanu Reeves along with wife and nominee, Y/n Y/l/n-Reeves has arrived.”

For a minute, Keanu lingered at the door of the limo, offering his hand to Y/n, who gratefully accepted, smiling lightly as another round of cheers erupted, along with excited chatter about her dress; a custom made piece that left very little to the imagination at the top with a black and grey ombre skirt leading to a sweeping train. It wasn’t her first time at the academy and Y/n knew that she’d have to really show up, with something bold and original if she wanted to avoid a couple weeks of bad press because of a fashion flop.

Keanu looked equally dashing; in a new designer suit embellished with little diamond details where necessary. His stylist had even managed to have him trade in his signature his brown boots for a shiny pair of dress shoes. Collectively, it had taken them hours to get ready, especially when it came to Y/n’s hair and make-up, but in the end, it was worth it.

“You seem nervous,” Keanu bent to whisper near her ear.

“I am,” she breathed, “These shoes are already killing my feet,” Y/n paused as they stopped in front of some cameras, trying out different poses with Keanu before continuing as they walked, “And most of these diamonds aren’t even mine. What if I lose one?”

Keanu chuckled quietly, “Isn’t that necklace like, locked onto your neck,” it was, the company was one that never hesitated when it came to securing their pieces, especially ones that typically only went on loan to those with the right connections. Thankfully, both Y/n and Keanu had several of the ‘right connections’, and they had ultimately loaned her a gorgeous diamond and sapphire necklace; the deep blue stone sat comfortably in the center of Y/n’s exposed cleavage while the platinum chain was barely visible underneath the white diamonds lining it as it went around her neck. It was worth millions and did in fact have a little lock that could only be opened by way of a strange looking key held by the company’s employee. When she had seen it, Y/n had laughed it off, thinking that things like that only existed in fiction, but when the security guard holding the case didn’t join in, she quickly signed the necessary forms and proceeded with business. “Why are you so worried, it’s not like you haven’t done this before.”

“I’m always worried,” she shot back, “You’ve just never been to this thing with me,” again, they stopped briefly for another photo op. Like Keanu, Y/n had never been big on smiling for pictures, but when the photographers cheered louder, she graced them with a winning grin. Eventually, his press manager encouraged them forward and they started talking again, “And this necklace can’t move, but the earrings can. If I lose one, they’ll sue me.”

Keanu smiled at her little fit, she really did over think things sometimes. Kissing the top of her head, he reassured her, “You’re not gonna get sued because you’re not gonna lose anything. Just relax.”

“I am relaxed,” she grumbled and when Keanu teased something about her not acting like it, Y/n playfully rolled her eyes. Because they had both ultimately gone with different designers for their outfits, Y/n and Keanu had to separate for just about fifteen minutes for a round of solo pictures. When they regrouped, it was for an interview on a raised platform, with a popular entertainment news outlet, “Well would you look at these gorgeous newlyweds!” The woman greeted, beaming. Blushing, Keanu and Y/n thanked her and she quickly continued, “So, I have ask, even though you’ve probably gotten the question already; who are you wearing?”

Keanu gestured for Y/n to go first, and she quickly tired to get her nerves under wraps, silently wondering how she could still be anxious about interviews after ten years in the business, “Custom Doir,” she breathed with ease, pulling lightly on skirt, “It’s probably one of my new favorite pieces. Might be even better if someone stopped stepping on it,” she teased, briefly turning to Keanu who held her close to him with an arm secured around her waist.

“I’m trying!” He returned with a quiet laugh, “It’s just so much dress!” Keanu joked, quickly skimming over the story of how he had to hold some of it on his lap on the way over.

“Are you gonna keep it?” The reporter asked; it was common knowledge that most of the dresses usually went right back to the designer’s warehouse for display, and then auction in a few years, unless otherwise had been arranged.

“Well Anna,” Y/n laughed giddily, “I’m not sure, but I’m certainly going to try to convince them to let me.”

After another bout of light laughter, Anna shifted the microphone to Keanu, “And what about you? What is the legendary Keanu Reeves donning tonight?”

At the word ‘legendary’, Keanu blushed, “Dolce and Gabbana,” he nodded, passing a hand over the lapel of his jacket.

“Ohh,” Anna mused, “Well it looks amazing. I’m kind of wishing I could be Y/n right now,” she joked and everyone laughed. “You two do look amazing tonight; as usual. But then again, being Hollywood’s newest power couple means you always have to bring your A-game, doesn’t it.”

“Power couple?” Y/n shook her head, “I don’t know about that.”

“But you are! You’re both so talented and influential in the business. Not to mention beautiful inside and out. Kind of like the prom king and queen of Hollywood,” at that, Y/n and Keanu offered each other curious glances, unsure of what to say. Thankfully, they didn’t have to think on it too long with Anna continued, “So, Y/n, you’re nominated for Best Supporting Actress, are you feeling good about your chances? I mean, you’ve won every time you’ve been nominated, and if you win tonight, it’ll be you’re sixth Oscar.”

For a minute, she stuttered, trying to find the most humbled answer, “Uh, yeah. You know, its always nice to be considered for these awards, but obviously, the best part about my job will always be making movies that the fans love and enjoy. Winning an Oscar is just like icing on a pretty damn good cake,” she chuckled, “Besides, there are some amazing women up there with me, and they all worked so hard on their films, they definitely deserve it.”

“She’s being so modest,” Keanu interjected, glancing at his wife lovingly. Her humility was one of the many things that had made Keanu fall for Y/n; no matter how far she had come, how much she was worth or how much she had achieved, she always managed to stay down to earth, taking everything with grace and sometimes even downplaying her own achievements in favor of supporting someone else. “I think her chances are pretty good. When Y/n gets in front of that camera, she always puts out her best, and with a role so emotionally taxing, she most definitely did it justice.”

“Aww,” Anna cooed, “We love a supportive husband.” Y/n just laughed quietly, looking up at Keanu with adoration in her eyes; he really was her biggest supporter, just as she was his, and it was something she’d always be grateful for. “I think I agree with him; you’ve definitely put out some of the best performances. And Keanu, you’re presenting tonight, is it your wife’s category?”

“It’s not,” he shook his head, “But maybe that’s a good thing, so I can be the first to congratulate her when she wins,” he beamed with pride, so determined that it would be Y/n on that stage.

“Or so it won’t be awkward when it’s not my name you’re reading,” she joked lightly. After that, the interview took a more professional tone as Anna asked about their respective careers; upcoming projects and what they planned to do next. When that was done, Y/n and Keanu made their way into the theater, ready to be ushered to their seats.

After about an hour into the ceremony, Keanu left his seat next to Y/n to make his where back stage to get ready for his presentation. When he finally emerged, it was with an old friend and former co-star. On stage, he and the older woman exchanged witty banter and Y/n was sure that she laughed louder than anyone else; Keanu could have told the worst joke and she’d still laugh, just because he was the one telling it. They were presenting the award for Best Original Screenplay and Y/n watched intently as they went through the nominees, and eventually after another round of light banter, they announced the winner. Everyone applauded and a standing ovation was even in order.

After the speeches and handshakes, Keanu returned to his seat, “I hope I didn’t look as ridiculous as I felt,” he joked, though Y/n could hear the telling shake in his tone.

“You looked amazing,” Y/n reassured him, pecking Keanu on the cheek as they hands joined on the arm rest, “You were funny,” and as her voce dropped into a whisper, she came close to his ear, “And really fucking hot. You always looked so sexy in a suit.”

Keanu chuckled, “Watch your words or might have to leave early.”

“Is that a threat?” Y/n winked, her eyes dark.

Keanu leaned in, close to her ear, kissing the warm skin at the top of her neck after he said, “Only if you want it to be.” Y/n’s cheeks went warm, and only when someone behind them cleared their throat, clearly annoyed that they were getting so chatty, did they settled down.

After about another hour, they were ready to announce the Best Supporting Actress, and as the presenters went through the string of nominees, Y/n held Keanu’s hand in a death grip, her heart thumping against her chest, the sound of it nearly drowning out everything else. When the moment of truth was up it, it felt like hours until they spoke the person’s name, and when they did, Y/n wasn’t sure if she had heard right. After swallowing tightly, her jaw hung loose as the a voice over the system explained that it was her sixth Oscar.

Slowly, she turned to Keanu, whose eyes were already on her, “I told you you’d win,” he chuckled.

Finally, giggling breathlessly, as if it were the first time, she admitted, “I won.”

He urged her to stand, immediately pulling Y/n to a into a tight hug, lifting off her feet before planting a passionate kiss on her lips. “I’m so proud of you baby,” Keanu said as he released her, his forehead still pressed to hers, “ You deserve it, you always do.”

“Thank you babe,” she kissed him again, right before other guests around her started pulling her into short, more plutonic hugs. On shaky legs, she made her way to the stage collecting her award and proceeding to give a quick speech. “I guess I should thank the usual culprits first,” Y/n laughed, “My parents, who I literally wouldn’t here without, thanks guys,” a bout of laughter ran through the crowd and she continued, “The Academy; it’s pretty awesome that you guys chose me when there were some incredibly talented ladies nominated as well. My manager, who’s been at least half responsible for all of my successes as an actress. And last but not least, my smoking hot husband who was up here a while ago,” her humorous mood sobered and Y/n continued, “I’ve won so many of these, but I’ve never had someone so dear to me to share the joy with, someone who believes in me more than anyone else does, more than I believe in myself, which is why I’m so grateful to have such a wonderful husband in Keanu, and to have won this tonight. Thank you babe,” she blew him a kissed and a collective ‘aww’ dominated the room as Y/n took her exit.

“Smoking hot husband?” Keanu raised his eyebrows as she reclaimed her seat.

“Its not like everyone isn’t thinking it,” Y/n smiled, leaning in to kiss him, her free hand high on his thigh, “But even if they are, I had to remind them. And also claim my property.”

“Your property?” Keanu hummed, “I should be the one claiming mine,” he said in between a series of quick kisses, “I mean, you went up there, and everyone had their eyes on my woman. This dress definitely isn’t helping,” Keanu’s eyes flicked to her exposed cleavage then to her deep red lips and finally back up to her eyes, “I knew it was sexy, but watching you up there; that was torture,” getting closer to her ear, Keanu’s hot breath fanned her cheek, “You looked like a fucking goddess.“

“Yeah?” She mused breathlessly, his words already having an effect.

“Yeah,” Keanu confirmed, ignoring the stares, the fact that the camera had probably lingered on them before panning to the rest of the room. No doubt that over the next couple days the press would have a field day with their hushed interaction, surrounded by all their collogues. “Think about how many of these fuckers are gonna get off to you tonight. And the ones watching on T.V,” he chuckled, “They’re probably already doing it.“

“I don’t care about them,” Y/n kissed the side of his lips, “I care about you. The effect I have on you,” she teased, her fingers discreetly brushing his crotch.

“Why don’t we go to the bathroom and I can show you,” Keanu suggested with dark eyes.

Standing abruptly, Y/n offered her hand, “Why don’t we?”

From the minute the stall door was slammed shut, Keanu shoved Y/n against it, his lips on hers, his hand searching her back for the zipper of her dress. As the fabric fell, pooling at her feet, Y/n was left in her designer heels and pulling away, Keanu took a second to drink her in, “Look at you,” he grinned, his fingers pulling on the band of her lacy, white thong, “They get to see you like that, but this is all mine.”

“All yours honey,” she purred, her lust blown gaze taunting him, “Just like you’re all mine,” her hands ran the length of his coat, all the way down to the button on his trousers, slowly undoing them; fondling him through his boxers.

“Only yours babe,” he moaned, his length hardening under her touch. When their lips connected again, their kiss was more heated and passionate than the ones before.

As she shoved his pants and underwear, and they only made it down to his calves as he sent her panties down to her ankles. As the skimpy fabric pooled around her ankles, Y/n quickly shook them off. Hastily, shoved Keanu onto the close lid, getting down on her knees, “Everyone else gets to imagine,” Y/n stared at him through her lashes as she pumped his cock slowly, “But you’re the only man I wanna get down on my knees for.”

Keanu offered her an arrogant grin, “That’s my girl,” he praised, sucking a breath when she spit into her hand, working his erection a little faster. When Y/n took his tip into her mouth, Keanu threw his head back, groaning loudly. It took every ouch of restraint to not grab a handful of her hair; Y/n’s hair stylist might murder him if he ruined her work before the night was over. Instead, he cupped her cheek, dragging his hand along the side of her face until it settled at the back of her neck.

Y/n’s head bobbed his lap, one hand working what she couldn’t take in her mouth and the other toying with his balls, “Fuck baby,” he moaned. Her tongue swirled around his sensitive head, before she dipped down again, her teeth barely grazing his shaft.

As Y/n continued eagerly, she moaned around him. Between her legs felt wet and warm, begging for attention and she shifted slightly to grind her own calf. It wasn’t nearly enough. Keanu’s strong hands guided her into a quicker pace until the first beads of precum started gracing her tongue. Anxious to taste more of him, she tried to go faster, only stopping when he held her back, “Not yet baby,” he breathed heavily, pulling her into his lap, “I want you to ride my cock first.’

As Y/n sank down on him, their moans filled the room and anyone entering the bathroom wouldn't have trouble figuring out what was going on in the stall at the corner of the room. The feeling of Keanu buried inside her never grew old; he always managed to stretch her like it was the first time, reach places that others couldn’t ever. With his hands gripping her hips, he commanded; “Move baby.”

Throwing her head back, Y/n bounced his Keanu’s lap, whimpering when he reached between them to rub her cilt. Y/n found herself clawing at his shirt, undoing the top buttons without even undoing the vest underneath his coat. Her palms slipped under the fabric, her manicured nails digging into Keanu’s skin as his free hand kneaded her firm behind.

Keanu’s hips bucked upwards to meet Y/n’s and she whimpered under his expert touch. When her arms slid around his neck, Keanu buried his face in Y/n’s neck, sucking and nibbling, not caring that he would leave purplish bruises behind. “Fuck,” she mumbled, “Keanu, I’m gonna...”

“Do it,” he encouraged, the words a throaty growl, “Cum all over my cock.“

Y/n threw her head back, moaning Keanu’s praises as her legs shook and she clenched around him; her hot release dripping down and coating their thighs. Her pace grew sloppy and Keanu took control with rigid thrusts, the tips of his fingers squeezing her ass as he came inside her.

With a final, breathy sigh, Y/n collapsed on his chest, her head resting in the crook of Keanu’s neck. He held her close, gently caressing her beck as their breathing took its time in slowing. “When was the last time we had bathroom sex?” She giggled quietly.

Keanu thought on it for a moment, “Probably at our rehearsal dinner,” Keanu wondered out loud; it had been the night before their wedding and both their parents were determined to follow old traditions and have them separated until the ceremony, so before they had parted ways; Y/n to the hotel where she would get ready and Keanu back to the house, they had stolen away to the restaurant's bathroom for a while.

“That was fun,” she giggled, thinking back on the night.

“It was,” Keanu grinned, “You couldn’t keep quiet.”

“Yeah, cause we were drunk. That old lady was mortified,” Y/n laughed a little louder.

“She was,” Keanu finalized, “Didn’t help when you asked if she was jealous.”

“She was! I had just fucked Keanu Reeves in a four star restaurant, who wouldn’t be? She’s just a bitch for not being able to admit it.”

At that, Keanu lightly slapped her ass, “You’re going to hell for saying that.”

“Funny,” Y/n scoffed, amused, “She said that too.”

Keanu chortled quietly and they lapsed into a bout of comfortable silence until he suggest that they get dressed before people started noticing that they were gone. Slowly, Y/n got to her feet and after they cleaned up, she started looking around the small room for her panties. “I think I’ll keep these; make things easier when we’re in the limo,” he grinned, pocketing her underwear.

“Humph!” She rolled her eyes, getting back into her dress, “Suit yourself.”

“I will. Come on, let me help you with that,” smiling gratefully, Y/n turned so he could zip up the dress, helping her smoothen out some wrinkles afterwards. Quickly, she zipped and buttoned his pants, then helped him fix his shirt. They were just about to leave when Keanu stopped her, “Wait,” he grabbed her arm, “Where’s you’re earring?”

“What?” Panicked, Y/n’s hands flew to her ears. Sure enough one of the diamond teardrops were missing, “Shit! They’re gonna kill me, I’m gonna get sued,” she was already on the verge of tears.

“Okay,” Keanu placed a comforting grip on her shoulders, “You’re not getting sued. You had it before we started, so it’s in here, lets look for it.”

“Yeah,” she nodded shakily, “Lets just look for it.” Without another word, they both crouched down, scanning the floor for her earring.

“Found it!” Keanu exclaimed after a couple minutes and Y/n breathed an audible sigh of relief.

“Thank god!” Quickly, she re-fastened it to her ear. Soon, they were washing their hands and on their way back to the main room.

They were walking hand in in hand, almost there when Keanu slowed down to check his watch, stopping in his tracks as he hissed loudly, “Fuck!”

“What now?” Y/n tried to gauge his expression, determining that it was similar to the panicked one she wore moments earlier, “What’s wrong?” She asked again when he didn’t answer.

With worried eyes, Keanu met hers, remembering how he had signed a contract similar to the one Y/n had for her jewelry. Put together, the studs clasped to his sleeves were worth nearly eight million dollars. “I’m missing a cuff link.”

*****

Tagging- @harrisongslimited

#keanu reeves #keanu reeves x reader #keanu reeves x you #keanu reeves fanfiction #Keanu reeves oneshot #Keanu reeves fanfic #john wick x you #john wick x reader #oneshot #fanfic #fluff #Keanu reeves fluff #Keanu reeves imagine #ff #fanfiction

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mochismilesbrighterthansun · 4 years

Text

Fragmented Glass

Chapter 5

Pairing: Kim Namjoon x reader

Warnings: This story deals with a miscarriage. Mentions of death. Dubious consent. Semi Smut.

Word Count: 5,973

Genre: Angst, Smut, Enemies to Lovers.

Summary: You had the choice of an arranged marriage, upon meeting Namjoon he acted as if he actually cared for you but as time passed you realize that this would not be a fairy tale.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading, if any of the topics above make you uncomfortable please don’t read.

It was the day for the charity, you had hardly seen Namjoon for the rest of the week but it was to be expected. Your last encounter with him had been bad, but he had made no move to better things between the two of you. The stylist who had come to do your hair and makeup had left and you sat in your robe staring at your dress laid out on the bed for you. You wondered if he even wanted you to go with him anymore, and you couldn’t ask, there was no way you would go to his room to ask.

You sighed and went to change into your dress, once you were done you stared at yourself and went to put your earrings on. That’s when you heard a soft knock on your door followed by the door opening.

Namjoon was dressed in a pair of sweats and a white T-Shirt, his hair was styled but he was not dressed for a party. When he fully saw you his back stiffened and you could see him eating you up.

“If you changed your mind about the gala you should have told me.” You said turning around and walking towards your closet to get rid of your dress.

Namjoon followed you into the closet.

“I came to get my tux, it’s in here.” He clarified he was looking anywhere but you. That attracted your attention the last time you saw that suit it was in Nari’s hands.

“Please in the future do not let your secretary slash lover come into my bedroom.”

That seemed to shock him.

“Excuse me?” He seemed affronted.

“I said-” he got right in front of you.

“I heard what you said and I am going to stop you before you make me really angry.”

He was defending her. As expected. You moved away from his reach and slammed the closet door closed. You went to sit on the bed and put your heels on.

“Let’s go.” Was all he said when he came out of the closet looking perfect as ever.

He led you to the limousine that would take you both to the event. And once the limousine was in motion he cleared his throat.

“We are going to be in a public setting please refrain from speaking to one of the many guys you would have preferred to marry you.”

You scoffed, “Same goes to you I sure hope Nari doesn’t show up to tell you you have an important appointment or just to see how you’re doing.”

Namjoon didn’t say anything after that, the ride was completely silent and uncomfortable. When you arrived Namjoon got off first and held his hand out for you. You took it and allowed him to lead you inside.

The event was much like the ones you were used to at this point, people wearing expensive clothes and drinking expensive drinks. You went to sit at your designated table to find Jimin already sitting there. You tried to sit down immediately but Namjoon grabbed your arm to prevent you from doing so.

“Park, I told Maximilian not to do this.” He almost growled but all Jimin did was smile gently.

“I understand Kim but this was my designated table to sit,” he lifted a small paper with his name scribbled. “See? Park Jimin.”

You looked up at Namjoon and he immediately pulled the chair next to the one that you were about to sit on. You sat down and waited for him to leave but he took the seat in between you. Jimin chuckled.

“I see you found a dress Y/N it’s very beautiful.” He commented.

“Thanks Jimin.”

“Don’t you agree Namjoon?”

Namjoon looked uncomfortable at the question and you almost stopped him from answering.

“My wife always looks beautiful Jimin.” He said this without looking at you and it surprised you.

“Will you be donating to spend a weekend in Namjoon?” Namjoon was reading the pamphlet with the locations acquired and almost rolled his eyes at his question.

“Where are your parents Jimin?”

“They had to travel to Tokyo for a business meeting. I am here representing them.” He explained, Jimin was going out of his way to be nice to Namjoon who you knew he disliked. “You didn’t ask but I saw there is a property in Hawaii I am excited to donate for that location. Have you ever been to Hawaii Y/N?”

You felt Namjoon stiffened beside you and you knew why Jimin was being so smug. He was aiming for Namjoon’s property.

“Not yet, but hopefully soon.” Namjoon and you had not been married for a long time and any pretense at a honeymoon was thrown out the moment he admitted to being forced to marry you.

“I really hope we can go sometime.”

“This is highly inappropriate Jimin I am right here and you are inviting my wife on a trip?” Namjoon was enraged, he was looking directly at Jimin.

“I was inviting her as friends obviously, but you shouldn’t be concerned after all the trips you’ve made with your secretary Y/N still trusts you. The same level of trust would be appreciated.” Jimin explained and you couldn’t help but admire the way he pushed not caring about the outcome.

Namjoon stood immediately and grabbed Jimin’s lapels. You stood at the same rate and grabbed onto Namjoon’s arm trying to have him stop. Jimin wore the same easy smile he always wore as he patted Namjoon's shoulder.

“Of course it could always be you, the one to take her.”

You felt Namjoon’s hold relax slightly.

“Namjoon people are staring.” You whispered, he let go and took his seat again. You looked towards Jimin to throw an apologetic look but he had a smug smile, he winked at you and sat right back down.

“Hello everyone!” Maximilian called through the microphone on the front. “I want to thank everyone for coming but also everyone who made this charity possible by donating your properties for weekends. We will begin these auctions shortly. Please look at the properties and where the bidding starts. Again thank you!” He handed the microphone to another person and stepped away from the stage.

The auctions began and one by one the properties were auctioned to the people around the room. Namjoon showed little to no interest in any of them. Until Jimin’s property.

He wouldn’t give up, whenever someone would outbid him he would raise it and raise it until finally he got it.

For the first time during the night you felt dread. The only reason he fought so hard for it was because he wanted to take it from him even if it was only for a weekend. He did it to hurt him. You excused yourself to go to the restroom and stayed there for a couple of minutes making sure the tears were at bay.

“Y/N!” Olivia’s voice snapped you from your thoughts. “I saw Namjoon and said hi to him and he said you were in the bathroom.” She saw your eyes, “Is everything okay?”

“I’m fine, your brother is fine. I just needed a breather from all of that.” You motioned outside.

“I see.” She looked down then back up, “Seokjin is out there if you want to say hi. I don’t think Alisson is coming. She is about to pop.”

You smiled at that. “I know she sent me a picture and said she couldn’t see her feet, Jungkook must be so happy.”

“Yeah as any soon to be dad should be.” You flinched at her words. “I didn’t mean…..”

“It’s okay, my baby ….. he just wasn’t meant to be if I hadn’t been so preoccupied with other stuff I might have noticed….” Olivia was shaking her head.

“This was in no shape or form your fault. So get that out of your head.”

“Thanks, I am heading out.” You looked away from her and walked out before she could try to further analyze you.

You sat back down and Namjoon was strangely gone. You left the seat in between you and Jimin empty but that didn’t stop him from talking to you.

“I got Namjoon’s property.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

You looked at him apologetically, “And he got yours Jimin.”

He laughed, “I don’t really like that thing, it’s too big and empty. I only bought it for real estate value but never stayed there for longer than a day.”

“You’re a little devil huh?”

He winked, “ oh you have no idea.” He licked his plump lips and made you do a double take.

You felt someone behind you and turned around to find Seokjin. You rose from your seat and allowed him to hug you.

“Hey, haven’t seen you since you were waiting tables.” He commented.

“Jin” you complained.

“Ha ha, it was a joke, relax.” He grabbed your hand and pulled you. “Let’s go take a little walk.” He led you through a set of balconies where several people talked in hushed tones. “The other day Namjoon called, he was really concerned for you. You were just gone.”

“I wasn’t gone, I was in a guest room.”

He groaned, “Is that why Namjoon has been in such a bad mood? You guys are sleeping in separate rooms again?” As he said this a waiter approached him and whispered something. “Hold on I’ll be back.” He walked away leaving you to lean against the railing. That’s when you heard it.

“How can you do this to me?!” You could be blind and probably half deaf but Nari would be someone who you would always be able to recognize. And her angry voice that came out in almost a yell would be no different. “Namjoon I told you I could come. You didn’t need to bring her.”

“Look Nari she is my wife what do you want me to do? Besides, you are only my secretary.” Namjoon’s voice was calm and collected.

She gasped, “You should have never taken her back.”

Damn if that didn’t hurt, you were about to leave without feeling the humiliation of being noticed when you turned and saw Seokjin. You almost ran to him but it was too late.

“Y/N! Let’s go back inside.” Seokjin’s voice was heard by everyone.

You turned to find both Nari and Namjoon staring at you. Nari as usual wore her sick satisfaction knowing how much it hurt to hear things like this.

You rushed to Seokjin but walked past him and reached into the closest tray with alcohol. You gulped the drink, one turned to two and then you simply lost count. It wasn’t until Jimin was holding you because you almost fell that you realized how drunk you were. And even then you reached for more alcohol.

“Okaay, now we are cutting you off.” Jimin said reaching for a cup of water and handing it off to you but you waved it away.

“I want one of those.” You slurred pointing to the waiters.

“Come on Y/N, you’re drunk.”

You hugged Jimin and lay your head on his chest hearing his heartbeat. And you wondered what if you had married him instead. What if you had not ignored the red flags. What if….

“I think you need to go home.” He mumbled but he wasn’t done by the time you were shaking your head.

“I don’t have one.” You said sadly and almost burst into tears.

“I’ll take you to my place then.” He offered, you made no objections. He began leading you outside when Namjoon showed up.

He reached for you but you pushed his hand away. You slipped and with your heel your ankle got hurt. You groaned in pain and both men were on you in an instant.

“Are you an idiot why would you let go?” Jimin complained in a hush tone.

“She pushed me away.”

“She is drunk.” Jimin argued.

“And she is right here and she is getting annoyed.” You slurred and then laughed. “I’m going with Jimin so you can take your precious secretary back to your house and have sex with her comfortably” your laughter shook your whole body but you felt tears at the corner of your eyes. “Is okay I pinky promise Jimin won’t touch me. Your merchandise will be returned untouched to you in the afternoon, because the merchandise is tired and dizzy.”

People were beginning to look towards your direction and Namjoon lifted you in his arms. “Tell the driver to meet me in the front.” Namjoon barked. Seokjin moved quickly and by the time you exited the limousine was there.

He pushed you in and stood talking to Seokjin. “The shit you do is just…” he trailed off.

“Jin!!” You yelled from inside, he leaned in and smiled. “Can I stay with you tonight? I’m trying to give privacy to the love birds but Namjoon is so stubborn, tell him you won’t ruin the merchandise please.”

He smiled almost sadly, “I’ll make sure he takes care of you.” He leaned back and looked at Namjoon, “You are truly a piece of crap for making her feel like she is an accessory to you, if you are gonna make her feel that way the least you could do is cut her loose.”

“He can’t! He paid for me already so I have to stay!” You yelled from inside.

Seokjin never acknowledged your statement. Namjoon went inside the limousine and sat down next to you.

“You are still on time” you singsonged. “I think Nari is going to be disappointed she came all-”

“Will you stop!” That shut you right up, you waited until you reached home and then Namjoon still carried you to your room.

When he set you down on the bed you didn’t let go causing him to fall on top of you. When he tried to get up you didn’t let him.

“You know I didn’t have to go. Would have saved me the trouble of getting ready.” You commented.

“You didn’t, someone got you ready.” His eyebrow rose and you burst in laughter. Something about seeing you laughing made him smile showing his perfect set of dimples.

“I like these.” You said touching them, “but you are never happy when you are around me.” You almost cried then, “I am sorry you’re stuck with me, I shouldn’t have done this to you.”

“Y/N what are you talking about? Stop okay?”

“Namjoon I……” you gagged and he lifted both of you immediately and led you to the bathroom, you began throwing up. He held you as you threw up and you could only gag as there were no more contents in your stomach.

At some point he had taken his jacket off and folded his sleeves to help you keep your hair off your face. When he saw you were done he lifted you and took you to wash your face and brush your teeth. He was gentle in his ministrations, he took your dress off slowly and almost groaned at the sight of you in only a set of panties. He put on the Shirt he had taken off when he came to change. He took you to the bed and laid you, he pulled the covers on top of you and he was about to leave when you pulled on his hand.

“Please stay?, I know I’m probably the last person you wanted to spend the night next to but please?” You begged pathetically, you didn’t expect him to agree so quickly. In an instant he was getting into bed behind you wrapping his arms around you acting like he cared.

“Try not to throw up on me please?” His hot breath brushed your ear and you shivered. You turned around in his arms to face him and tried to kiss him but he shook his head. “Not like this Y/N.”

Not while you’re all drunk. But you had semi sobered up. You turned back away from him and allowed him to embrace you. You fell asleep exactly like that.

You had pain, your whole body hurt. Your head. Fuck everything hurt. You didn’t realize you were groaning until Namjoon’s voice made your eyes pop open

“Are you okay?” He asked sounding concerned, you hated the warmth that spread through you whenever he gave you kindness.

“I don’t know I have a headache and everything hurts.” You moaned, squeezing your eyes shut.

“I’m going to bring you something, it must be the alcohol you drank last night.”

“What?” Your eyes finally opened and you turned to face him. You had no memory of drinking.

He looked confused at your question, “You don’t remember? You drank like a champ last night.”

“Why? I don’t remember …” you turned back and hugged a pillow to you.

Namjoon would be damned if he reminded you why you were drinking. He could only shrug, “I am not sure but it’s okay, it happens.” he was being too comprehensive for your liking.

You tried to get up but groaned at the pain that shot through your leg.

“Stop trying to move, you fell yesterday.”

“Oh God.” you moaned covering your face. “Why did I make a fool out of myself?” you complained, “Why did you let me drink that much!”

“Right.” he chuckled, “Like I can stop you from doing something you want to do.”

“You should have at least had the courtesy to bring me back home if I was getting out of hand.” you said through gritted teeth.

You rarely called his house home. He heard you telling Jimin you didn’t have one. Hearing you say that so offhandedly, like a habit was heartwarming for him.

“I’ll try to next time.”

“Trust me there won’t be a next time.” you groaned, squeezing your eyes.

“I’ll call someone to bring you something for the hangover.”

Nari, he was calling Nari. In your self induced painful state that hurt even more, without thinking about it you reached for him and pulled his arm around you. You didn’t turn to see his reaction and you missed the surprise that flashed across his face.

“Can you just stay?I really feel like shit.” you said, your voice wavered afraid of his rejection.

“Yeah I just have to call someone.” he muttered, not moving an inch.

“It’s okay I’ll just go back to sleep.”

“But you need to eat something,” he argued.

“Not right this second, it can wait. I can wait.” you closed your eyes and pulled his arm a little tighter to your body too afraid to let go.

Namjoon stared at your sleeping form, the way you clutched his arm as if it were your lifeline. He couldn’t complain, he had never held you this way before. He couldn’t remember the last time you had asked him to be in the same room as you by your own choice. He dialed a phone number and had the driver bring over food and some medication to help with your surely swollen ankle.

You slept for a while before you began stirring again, you weren’t sure if it was pain or hunger what woke you up. But as you did you felt Namjoon holding you tightly. You tried to move from his hold but it was too tight.

“Namjoon?” you shook his arm. “Namjoon?” you called out more forcefully.

“MMhhh.” his deep growl did something within you, and him nuzzling your neck did not help.

“I need to use the bathroom.” you tried again, finally he moved slightly. Allowing you to climb over him off the bed.

But as soon as your feet touched the carpet a pain shot through your leg and it gave out, you fell on the floor but Namjoon was on you in an instant helping you up.

“Told you you fell.” his voice was groggy from the nap he had just woken from.

“I didn’t not believe you, I just didn’t think it was that bad.” you complained wincing at the tingling sensation all over your leg.

He carried you to the toilet, and helped you sit down.

“I got it from here thanks.” you smiled shyly looking down, missing the smile he threw your way.

After you were done he helped you brush your teeth and wash your face. He carried you downstairs into the living room where there was food set out on the square centered table. Namjoon sat you down and then took a seat next to you. He reached for the remote and turned on the TV.

You reached for the styrofoam container on the table. And laid it on your legs, “This smells great.”

Namjoon smiled, “Yeah you should have never drank.” he said, something snapped inside you and you almost choked on your food.

“You should have never taken her back.”

The words replayed in your head. Namjoon noticed your change and tried to reach for you but you jerked his touch.

“You should have never taken me back.” you whispered, your eyes stung with tears.

“What?”

“That’s what she told you.” if you raised your voice anymore than a whisper you would cry you just knew.

“Y/N”

“Why are you doing this?,” you asked, pushing the food away. You went to stand but your ankle didn’t allow it. He reached for you but you flinched his touch away, “Do not touch me.”

Namjoon related all of this with what had happened last time he did.

“Let me help you to your room at least.” he tried.

“Can you just leave me alone?” you yelled as you limped up the stairs.

You locked yourself for exactly two days. Susan had tried getting you to eat but you just couldn’t. This had reached a point that you just could not take. Namjoon rubbed on your face all the time how much he loved Nari and you just didn’t want to see it anymore.

⊱ ━━━━.⋅ εïз ⋅.━━━━ ⊰

“I didn’t do anything!, She won’t talk to me.” Namjoon said to Seokjin as he sat across from him.

“I think maybe you should go supervise this new thing with Maximilian in Paris and take her with you just leave all the bullshit here. You guys didn’t have a honeymoon, use this to get closer to your wife.” Seokjin tried.

“You think she is going to Paris for a month with me of all people?, yeah you are crazy.” Namjoon kept working on his computer ignoring Seokjin.

“Yeah I think, if you ask nicely. And for the love of anything, please do not take your secretary.”

Namjoon frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Listen to me, I don’t know what it is about this girl that you just will not let her go and this is messing with your marriage. If you actually have feelings for Nari, I’ll do you a solid and redact your divorce papers.”

“I am not divorcing Y/N.” he said with finality.

“Then do something!”

“Don’t you have anything else to do?Like anyone to sue, papers to see anything Seokjin.”

He chuckled. “Can you just listen to me for once?” he was not giving up.

Namjoon clicked on his phone, “Nari can you get two plane tickets for Paris to leave on Monday?”

“Yes Namjoon.” she responded and he clicked.

“Isn’t it weird she calls you by your first name?” Seokjin questioned.

“Can you drop it?” there was a knock on the door. “Come in.” he called.

“Hello, I have the two tickets. We leave at ten am and -”

“We?” Seokjin asked, “We?” he asked again, eyeing Namjoon.

“Yes, Namjoon asked me -”

Seokjin interrupted with a wave of his hands. “First of Nari this is Mr. Kim, secondly he is going with his wife.”

Nari turned to Namjoon, as if seeking for a confirmation. “Have the ticket changed immediately to my wife’s name.” Namjoon said.

“Yeah, she doesn’t think she is your partner.” Seokjin scoffed sarcastically and left Namjoon alone.

Namjoon had been calling you all day and you hadn’t responded. Usually when you were mad you would still answer his calls. Dread filled him but after the lashing Seokjin had given him he did not want to call Olivia. So he took it upon himself to go to the hospital to look for you. And surely enough he found Olivia.

“Namjoon!” she called and rushed to hug him. “To what do I owe this pleasure?” before he responded she waved at him. “No, don't tell me. I know!”

“Olivia, I’m here to meet my wife. She must have forgotten her cellphone at home.”

The small smile she had seemed to fade and almost pushed him away.

“You don’t remember what day is today.”

“Olivia -”

“You know whenever I feel like things are changing between the two of you you prove me wrong.” she interrupted. “She didn’t forget her cellphone, she was here earlier to see her dad. She was finally able to talk to him. But she should be at the cemetery right now.”

His face contorted in confusion. But then it dawned on him.

“Ah, he remembers.”

“Can you and Seokjin just be her siblings already? I swear you guys are always against me.”

“You are wrong, we love you so much Namjoon. I wish you could see things from my perspective. I know if you tried things would be so different between you guys. You have to fire Nari. Cause if you don’t then you will be signing divorce papers very soon.”

His head jerked to that, “Has she told you something about divorcing me?”

“No, but a person can only take so much. And by the way she was acting today.” she made a pause. “Did Nari really say you shouldn't have taken her back and you still didn’t say anything?”

“Nari is not the problem.”

“Namjoon you can defend her all you want, but she is ruining what little progress you make with Y/N. I love you but she is going to make you lose Y/N.” Olivia’s phone began beeping. “Agh fuck, always saved by the bell. Can we have a coffee sometime so we can talk?, I don’t want to attack you, I just want you to be happy.”

“I am going to ask her to go to Paris with me for Maximilian’s new business.”

Her shoulders sagged, “Please don’t take Nari,”

Namjoon rolled his eyes. “I am not.”

“Now I know this wasn’t your idea.” she gasped. “Seokjin, he really is a romantic.”

“You can both kiss my ass.” he groaned.

“No thank you.” she blew him a kiss and walked away hurriedly.

Namjoon stayed behind thinking of whether he wanted to disturb you or not. Making up his mind he made his way to the cemetery. When he arrived it didn’t take long to find you, crouched on one of the headstones with your mother’s name written on it. What he didn’t expect was the smaller one right next to it. A couple of toys scattered around, they looked new. He noticed your attire completely black. He felt like the wind had been knocked out from him.

It wasn’t the anniversary of your mother’s death. It was the anniversary of your son’s death. Something broke inside of him when he heard your quiet sobs. He had no idea you had taken the time to buy one for your child.

“Y/N?” your back went completely rigid. You didn’t face him, just tried to clear your tears in a desperate attempt. “Y/N?” He tried again.

“I was going to return the phone call after I was gone.” your voice sounded weak, you had no desire to argue or fight with him but he had a way to make things harder.

“I was worried.”

He was worried you were out with Yoongi or Jimin tarnishing his reputation, your mind screamed cruelly.

“I just need a few minutes. Do you mind?” you crossed your arms across your chest but didn’t turn around to face him.

“Would you mind if I stayed?” his voice was soft, you didn’t want to argue at his request.

“No that’s okay.” you mumbled.

You stayed but you were not sure what made Namjoon want to stay, you looked around the cemetery and a service was being held far away. Namjoon was enthralled looking at the small tombstone. ‘Angel’ it read. He had no idea you had even given the child a name.

His heart broke when he heard about your miscarriage. Or abortion, how Nari had called it. Olivia defended you so much, she had ended her friendship with the woman. But he could only think that it was womanly support. Not because you actually cared for Namjoon. He had put it in the back of his mind occasionally thinking of what could have been with this baby.

Suddenly you turned to leave.

“I told the driver to leave.” Namjoon called out.

You stopped and turned to him, his chest hurt at the sight of your swollen eyes and your red nose.

“I’ll take you home.” he said, walking up to you and placing a hand against the small of your back. He drove in silence for a little before breaking it. “I didn’t know you named our son.” he commented.

You faintly smiled. “Yes, Angel seemed fitting.” you turned to look at him. “I didn’t ask because -” you didn’t think he cared. But you couldn’t say it out loud.

“Angel is perfect.” his voice was so quiet and soft, as if he was afraid he could hurt you with the sound of it.

“I know.” you were looking out the window.

“This might not be the right moment to say something, but I was asked to go supervise the new partnership with Maximilian in Paris.”

He really had to hurt you this day of all. A fresh batch of tears stung your eyes. He was going to Paris with his secretary, he was probably bored of you already.

“When do you leave?” your voice was hoarse.

“Actually this trip will be longer than the ones I usually take. It should be around a month.”

Could he stop breaking your heart?, you wondered. He didn’t answer your question, he just dug the knife deeper.

“And I didn’t ask but I got you a plane ticket to go with me. We leave on Monday.” at his words your head spun.

“Me?”

“Yeah, uhm I know we…” he stopped. “I know you might not like it.” he finished.

“It’s fine, I … I just need to let my father know.”

“I heard you were finally able to talk to him, how is he?” he tried to reach for your hand but thought better of it.

You looked surprised at his words and leaned into the seat.

“He is doing so much better, slowly. Olivia said it would be slow but we could see the progress already.” you looked out the window again. “Thank you.” you mumbled.

You didn’t know what you were thanking him for exactly.

“Have you eaten?” he asked.

“No.” you said quietly.

He turned to you but you missed the look he gave you.

“Let’s go eat something then.”

He drove to your favorite Italian place. It was in moments like these that you hated yourself for lapping at the attention or kindness he would give you. He ordered the drinks and your favorite dish. You wondered if you really were that predictable, if that was the reason he grew bored of you. He turned to you and smiled, a soft small smile. He undid the button on his blazer and took it off, leaving him in only a light blue shirt.

You didn’t know how to ask if his secretary was going but you were terrified to ask.

“This business thing.” you started, “Who is involved?” you didn’t know if it made sense.

“It’s Maximilian, the guy who threw the charity and some french partners of his.” he explained.

“Where are we staying?” you inquired, the waiter came with your glasses with water and left. You reached for your glass and sipped on the glass.

“Maximilian has a couple of houses, he said we could take one.” your hands trembled on your lap, you wanted to know but you couldn’t ask directly. Namjoon mistook your discomfort with not wanting to go. “Listen if this trip makes you uncomfortable you need to tell me, I know things are not great with us but I thought maybe we could use a break.” he could not wait to take you away from Yoongi and Jimin.

If you decided not to go with him he could make up a thousand reasons to not go anymore, he would rather let that business fall apart than to leave you there by yourself.

You looked up surprised at his words. “I.. No, it doesn’t make me uncomfortable Namjoon. What time do we leave?” the waiter arrived with the food, and he set up the plate with pasta in front of you, Namjoon’s plate shortly after.

Namjoon made a pause and then looked at you.

“Our flight is at ten, but we have to be at the airport earlier.”

The rest of the evening was pleasant. You never asked whether Nari was going or not, you could not muster up the courage to ask. If you did it would be giving her more importance than she deserved. You could not think of what to feel, you were sure she was going. Namjoon could never spend a lot of time away from her.

As the driver loaded your bags into the car you felt nervous at the thought of Nari going too. You glanced towards Namjoon, he was busy in a phone call. You loved seeing him dress casual, in a pair of jeans with a beige turtleneck sweater. He turned around catching you staring and you looked away nervously.

He smiled. “Ready?”

He followed you into the car.

“Are we expecting anyone else to come with us?” you asked feigning ignorance.

“No, it’s just you and me. Is that okay?” he asked, eyeing you.

You relaxed against him, “That’s great.” Finally after days you finally let out a sigh and felt your body go completely limp.

Your arrival to the airport was normal, you went to check in with Namjoon. And he acted like a loving regular husband, and for a moment everything seemed perfect. That was until you heard her voice.

“Here you are!” Nari rushed with her suitcase towards the both of you.

You glanced at Namjoon with accusatory eyes. He had said it was only the two of you, of course you had to assume Nari was an extension of him. This hurt more than words could describe.

“Nari, what the hell are you doing here?” this was the first time you had ever heard Namjoon talk to her aggressively.

“You said-”

“I said get a ticket for me and my wife.” he interrupted.

“But you are going on business you might need-” he grabbed her arm and pulled her away.

“Nari, this is not a business trip.” he said bluntly. “This is a trip for me and my wife. I might check on some business but this trip is for her.”

Nari’s eyes glassed, “How can you say this to me?”

“Listen this was my fault. I let this go on for such a long time, I am not sure why. Y/N is my wife and it will remain that way for the rest of our lives. Go home Nari.” he said harshly, he didn’t wait for an answer he turned to walk back to you.

You stared at Nari and then Namjoon. He approached you and grabbed your hand.

“Let’s go.” he said before dragging you alongside him.

#bts smut #bts namjoon smut #bts namjoon #kim namjoon #namjoon one shot #bts scenarios

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maryellencarter · 3 years

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SO! A week or two ago I got the DVDs for both seasons of "Justice League: The Animated Series", which I hadn't seen in ten years and remembered loving a lot. Spoiler: I still love it a lot. I put off watching it for a while because I was scared I wouldn't, but then I watched it pretty much straight through without even stopping to liveblog.

So. THOUGHTS! ^_^ Any of y'all who've ever shared a fandom with me know I'm always around for one particular character. In this case, that's J'onn J'onzz, the big green guy, whose official comics codename (sensibly not used on the show) is Martian Manhunter.

(There's a bit in one of the tie-in comics where a parent is telling their kid "don't be scared, honey, he won't hurt you, that's the uhh... Martian Maneater..." which has never ceased to amuse me.)

Anyway, we all know I have a tendency to give reviews in the vein of "Good story but no werewolves", and it must be granted that I never did bother watching Justice League Unlimited because Carl Lumbly (J'onn's voice actor, Minnesota born and raised with Jamaican parents, which is apparently how you get a Martian accent I couldn't place to anywhere on Earth) wasn't a regular anymore. But y'know, it's a really good ensemble team too, even if I like Tim Daly's Superman (from Superman: The Animated Series in the same animated universe) a lot better than George Newbern's. Or, well, I did. I haven't heard *him* in ten years either. Anyway! Off topic.

SO ANYWAY. Obviously, spoilers hereabouts, although it's what, fifteen, twenty years old by now? But if you care about spoilers for somewhat elderly TV, you might not be following me anyhow.

So the meta premise, just in case anybody was unfamiliar, is thuswise: First there was Batman: The Animated Series, in which Mark Hamill was the best Joker while not being an asshole as a person, because he is a competent actor and not a dickwad. Then there was Superman: The Animated Series, which I remember as being a delight and I want to watch it again too someday. Then, because apparently if you have Batman and Superman the next step is the entire Justice League, there was this.

The actual premise is, that during an alien invasion of Earth, Superman and Batman rescue a prisoner, J'onn J'onzz, the last survivor of the Martian society the invader aliens wiped out. (J'onn and Clark get little bits of bonding over the last-of-their-kinds thing but I've always wanted more. In a fandom auction I once donated $60 for a fic on the topic, but life happened and I do not hold it against the person. Still a little sad though. It's not something I've ever quite been able to write myself.) J'onn has a whole grab-bag of superpowers including telepathy, with which he summons additional heroes The Flash (speedster, this one is twentyish goofball Wally West), Green Lantern (specifically John Stewart, a black ex-Marine), Wonder Woman, and Hawkgirl (a winged humanoid-alien woman with an energy mace). Together, they fight crime! Mostly.

Specific episodes: I'm going to use "episode" to refer to the runtime covered by a single title so I don't have to say "two-parter" or "three-parter" every single time, because this show had literally only one single-part episode out of the whole 52 episodes.

* Secret Origins, three-parter: In which the Justice League is formed and repels the invasion of Earth by the aliens who wiped out J'onn's people. A very strong start, good character intros. I will never be over the very small worldbuilding fact that J'onn is rescued by Superman and Batman, and has seen nobody else on Earth yet but invader aliens (these are what used to be called the White Martians but the show does not use this name either which I think was a wise choice), so when he shapeshifts from his more alien "natural" Martian form to the look which will be his default for the series, he chooses a briefs-and-cape look because based on the two examples he's seeing, that's what Earth people wear. It's not explicitly called out, but it's a great way to make it a little less... comic-booky that you have no less than three extra-beefy guys with almost identical costume silhouettes here.

I think the arc between Batman and J'onn is one of my favorite parts of this, the way Batman starts out being like "I still don't trust him" and winds up trusting him enough that it's their teamwork which saves the world this go-round. Also, speaking as a fan who likes me some whump, can we talk about the scene where J'onn is being mindprobed with all those tentacles under his skin? I have so fucking many feels about that scene, okay. God, that whole climactic sequence is so damn good. And his tiny lil smile at the end of the last episode! I do love me some microexpressions, nonetheless that they are animated. (I can't draw so I am constantly boggled by just the skill it has to take to draw a character so on-model that varying one line by a few pixels Says Things.)

* In Blackest Night, two-parter: The one where the extremely Kirby-designed cop robots frame Green Lantern into believing he blew up an inhabited planet. Introduces several alien members of the Green Lantern Corps. Flash trying and failing to act as GL's lawyer is fairly embarrassment-squicky to me; many of the things anybody does with Flash on this show are fairly embarrassment-squicky, although he does get some great moments. René Auberjonois does two voices, as a spherical Green Lantern and as the "witness" who helps frame GL. The climactic scene is great -- sometimes the Green Lantern ditty just doesn't work, but between the sound design and the animation and Phil Lamarr's voice acting, this scene blows me away every time. I feel like this one could have been shorter though.

* The Enemy Below, two-parter: In which (blond) Aquaman guest-stars, J'onn takes on the first of many roles where he acts as bait by impersonating a villain's target, and the thing where Aquaman cuts off his own hand to escape a manacle is very tastefully handled for a kids' show. I probably would have found that scene way too suspenseful and traumatic as a kid but I was an extremely sensitive small child. Opinions on this episode: I don't really have many. This universe's Aquaman is a *dick* who appears to live by the rule that you must always fight a superhero when you meet one on the street before explaining your business. I always squee when somebody turns out to be J'onn, because I've usually forgotten. (He usually is people and not animals or, like Odo more than once, a bag. I wonder if he has some conservation of mass thing going on or if it's just easier to animate when you keep your same basic arrangement of limbs.)

* Injustice for All, two-parter: Lex Luthor, dying of kryptonite poisoning, puts together the Injustice Gang to try to destroy the Justice League. He didn't invite the Joker, but Hulk expy and heavy hitter Solomon Grundy is also voiced by Mark Hamill, so the Joker naturally turns up around the point where Luthor captures Batman, commentating on Luthor's misguidedness in keeping Bats alive and generally providing a running peanut gallery. Clancy Brown and Mark Hamill are both always fun, so this one is pretty entertaining.

* Paradise Lost: Wonder Woman backstory-ish episode. A sorcerer turns the other Amazons to stone, then blackmails Diana into stealing four artifacts for him, which he assembles into a key to free the god Hades from Tartarus. Notable mainly for the extreme mangling of Greek mythic cosmology into an aggressively Christian shape. Not good. It does have J'onn and Flash teamed for a bit, which is interesting, and J'onn gets to one-punch a giant magic brass cobra, but that's about all there is to speak for it. It looks like the writer also did my very least favorite two-parter of the whole series, unless this is some sort of Alan Smithee situation, because the name is Joseph Kuhr and I have a half-memory I can't catch that there is *something* more than coincidence in the whole, you know. "Joe-Kuhr" thing?

* War World: Apparently this one was pretty nearly universally hated. I do not hate it, because the concept "Superman and J'onn are accidentally blown across the galaxy together and sold to an alien gladiatorial arena" is something I am 110% down for, but I wanted a lot more interaction between them and possibly a lot more fic. I can't decide if I actually want to ship them, but they're obviously very close and I want to see more than snippets of that, dammit.

That's halfway through season one. Imma go sleep. more later.

#dcau #justice league animated series #j'onn j'onzz

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vgckwb · 3 years

Text

ML: Isolation Chapter 17: Full of Surprises

Tom and Sabine were nervous. They looked at each other, and then back at this young woman who was asking them about Ladybug. “Uhhhh, well…” Sabine started. “She IS mysterious. So, it would be hard to find her.”

“What do you mean?” Kagami asked. “She’s upstairs, isn’t she?”

Tom and Sabine got more nervous. “Um, what makes you say that?” Tom asked.

Kagami was confused. “She told me? Hang on.” She got out her phone and messaged Marinette.

Soon after, Marinette came charging down to the bakery muttering “Nonononononononononononono.” She saw Kagami and her parents face to face. “Ughhhhhhhhh” she said.

“Sweetie, what’s wrong?” Sabine asked.

Marientte was not prepared for this. Still, she felt like the truth was the best course of action from here on. “She knows I’m Ladybug.”

There was a silence. “WHAT? No” Tom said, feigning ignorance.

Marinette let out a little laugh. “It’s OK. I told her.”

“Oh” Tom said.

“Well, if she knows…” Sabine said, tepidly.

“It’s fine,” Marinette finished. “I...just wasn’t expecting this.”

“Oh” Kagami said. “I’m sorry. I thought…”

“It’s fine,” Marinette said again. “I’m just surprised is all.” There was a bit of silence. “Well, since you’re here, um, do you want to come up to my room?” Kagami nodded and both girls headed upstairs. “Here we are,” Marinette said, showing Kagami her room.

Kagami looked around. “You have more than a few posters of Adrien.”

Marinette quickly got embarrassed. “Um, yes, well, he is a model,” she began, “and I do work for his father’s company. So…”

Kagami smiled. “It’s fine.”

Marinette sighed. “So, what’s your idea? And why do you need me?”

Kagami took a deep breath. “Well, I was thinking. If Adrien is Cat Noir, and Cat Noir can sometimes function to undermine Lila, then I propose that, um, I could be a second Cat Noir?”

“A second Cat Noir?” Marinette said, confused.

“Yeah,” Kagami said. “So that way if there’s something Adrien can’t do, I can be there. Also, if it so happens that someone starts to pick up on the fact that Adrien is Cat Noir, there could be a chance meeting of the two.”

“I see,” Marinette said. “I’ve gotta say, that’s actually kind of clever.”

Kagami nodded. “So, um, I don’t know what Adrien all got from you to be Cat Noir, but…”

“Oh, that’s why you asked me for help,” Marinette said. “Well alright then. The basic tenets of Adrien’s Cat Noir costume are the hoodie, the gloves, and the mask. The hoodie, you can just get in a store. The gloves you could also get, but it would be weird, since they’re more featured in motorcycle stores. I think I have a pair here, but it would take some searching.

As for the mask, well, that was a design that was rejected for a photoshoot just painted black. I can make one for you, but it will take a bit. Now, there’s one other thing. Whenever Adrien goes out as Cat Noir, he has a Cat Noir phone case. I can make that as well, but again that will take time.”

Kagami was stunned. “Wow. I knew I came to the right person for this.” She smiled.

“Erm, yes, well,” Marinette stammered. “Thanks?”

“Don’t mention it,” Kagami said. “So, I guess I’ll just leave you to it then?”

“WAIT!” Marinette cried out. “Um, well, uh,, see, it’ just been a while since I’ve had company. I was kind of hoping this might last a little longer, you know…”

Kagami smiled. “Sure,” she said, Marinette looked up, confused and delighted. “To be completely honest, I was asked to come here by my mother. An organization she works with is hosting a party, and she was tasked with supplying the food. She asked me to come over and place an order for some confectioneries. I just thought I would do this while I was here.”

Marinette was delighted. “Oh. OH! Oh that’s GREAT!” she hugged Kagami. “Thank you.” When she didn’t get a hug back, Marinette got embarrassed, and quickly let go. “Ahem. Sorry” she said.

Kagami smiled. “It’s alright. I wasn’t expeccting it is all. No need to worry. I should head down and place the order now. But I’ll be back.”

Marinette let out a quiet “OK” as Kagami headed down the hatch.

Kagami walked back into the bakery. “Um, there’s another reason I came here” she told the couple.

Tom and Sabine were shocked to hear this. “What would that be?”

“My mother asked me to place an order for an event next week Friday,” Kagami explained. “She gave me a list of everything needed for the event.” She handed the list to them. “Is that going to be doable?”

Tom and Sabine looked it over. “You say you need these by next Friday?�� Tom asked. Kagami nodded. They looked at the list again. “What do you think dear?”

“Well, it seems doable,” Sabine said. “But we’d have to work especially hard.”

“Is there any other way we do things?” Tom asked jovially.

Sabine blushed and shook her head. “Oh you…”

“So, you’ll do it?” Kagami asked.

The two looked at her. “Of course” Sabine said.

“Great,” Kagami said, excited. “I’ll get you the details on how to deliver the food on Monday.”

“Thank you dearie” Sabine said.

“Um, I’m going to stay a little longer,” Kagami said. “Marinette asked me to stay.”

“She did?” Sabine said, confused.

“Yeah,” Kagami said.

Tom and Sabine smiled. “Alright then. Thank you for telling us” Sabine said.

“Thanks,” Kagami said. She headed back upstairs.

Marinette was working on something when she heard Kagami walk in. “Oh. How’d it go?” she asked.

“It went well,” Kagami answered. “They said they could do it.”

Marinette smiled. “I knew they could.”

Kagami looked over Marinette to what she was working on. “What’s that?” “Oh” Marinette said. She turned around and showed Kagami. “It’s your mask. I started working on it. It should be ready in a few days. I also found those gloves.”

Kagami looked at her impressed. “You really are good at this stuff” she said.

Marinette blushed. “Thanks,” she said. She set the mask down. “So, what’s this event?”

“It’s a charity auction at the Louvre,” Kagami explained. Marinette nearly fell over upon hearing that. Kagami helped her get readjusted. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” Marinette said. “That just took me by surprise is all. The last time we helped cater an event for the Louvre…”

Kagami got concerned. “What happened?”

Marinette was still hesitant. “Well, Alix, one of my former classmates, her dad works at the Louvre. I agreed to help with the catering. However, I can be clumsy at times. I tripped and fell onto the table she was sitting at.”

“Well, that kind of thing can happen to the best of us,” Kagami explained.

“It gets worse,” Marinette continued. “She had just received an heirloom and had it with her. I smashed it to pieces” Marinette began tearing up. “I apologized relentlessly, although I don’t think she forgave me. Her dad said it could be fixed, but one of the parts was lost in the shuffle.” Marinette sighed. “I didn’t know what to do.”

Kagami thought about it. “You said it’ll take some time for both the mask and the phone case.” Marinette nodded confused. “Well then, I have an idea.” Marinette was surprised. “Let’s see if we can’t find the missing piece during this event!”

“That’s...a tall order,” Marinette said. “This was a while ago, and I hadn’t heard anything about it since.”

“Well, it couldn’t have just disappeared,” Kagami explained. “Something must have happened to it.”

“Yeah, but how?” Marinette asked. She then realized something. “Wait a minute… Lila was there! You don’t think-”

“Whatever you’re about to say, I do think she would” Kagami answered. “I don't have the highest opinion of her”

Marinette got more frustrated. “Well, she didn’t have it when she left. They did a thorough search of everyone before they left, and they didn’t find it.”

“Which means she must have hid it,” Kagami affirmed.

Marinette focused. “I don’t know. This all seems ludicrous.”

“Well, it’s worth a shot,” Kagami said. “She faked you stealing her necklace, right? Who knows what else she would do?”

Marinette thought about it more. She did just recently try to get Chris to beat up Manon. There’s no limit to what she would do for power. “Alright. It’s worth a shot I guess.”

“Great!” Kagami said. “I’ll contact the others and explain the details.” She got out her phone and messaged Adrien and Chloe

Adrien looked at the message. He messaged them back. “Wait, I know about this event. My parents are planning to make an appearance there.” He looked up. He was still with Lila after they had just sorted out the whole Chloe-Kim debacle. He spoke with her. “Hey, are you aware of a charity auction being held at the Louvre next week Friday?”

Lila seemed excited. “Oh, of course Adrien. I’m going to be there with my mother.”

Adrien smiled. “To be honest, my parents are thinking of attending as well. Although I was on the fence about making an appearance myself until now.”

Lila gasped. “You mean?”

“Yeah, you’ve convinced me,” Adrien said. “I’ll be there if you’ll be there.”

“Oh my GOSH! This is so amazing!” Lila said. “I cannot WAIT!”

“Me either” Adrien said. “Well, I should probably get going. I need to tell my parents so I can fully prepare.”

Lila smiled. “You do that.” Adrien walked out and hopped in his limo, driving off. Lila’s smile turned devious. “Man, this is going easier than I thought. Maybe Adrien will become my boyfriend sooner than anticipated.”

Meanwhile, in his limo, Adrien also donned a devious smile. “It’s working. She believes I’m eating out of her hand.” He messaged the group. “I think we should meet tomorrow to discuss strategy.”

Back at Marinette’s, they received the message. “Sounds like a plan” Kagami messaged back. She looked up at Marinette. “Alright, so it looks like we’re meeting tomorrow. What do you want to do with the rest of today?”

Marinette thought on it. “Well, to be honest, all of this took me by surprise. I just kind of want to relax a little.”

“I can get behind that,” Kagami said. “I know when I like to relax, I watch cooking competition shows. You wanna try that?”

Marinette smiled. “I’d like that.” The two of them sat down in front of Marinette’s screen to watch some cooking competition shows for the rest of the afternoon. It really surprised Marinette how relaxing it can be to watch something so seemingly intense.

After a while, Kagami got ready to leave. “Thanks for doing all this,” Marinette said sheepishly.

Kagami smiled. “No problem. It’s been a while since I’ve felt like this too. And thanks for helping me with this second Cat Noir costume.” She took the gloves from Marinette’s desk. She started to leave. She stopped. “Oh, and by the way, I won’t tell Adrien you like him.”

Marinette’s face turned ruby red. “What? No. Psh. Come on.”

Kagami smiled. “Like I said, your secret’s safe with me. Well, talk to you tomorrow” she said, leaving.

“Bye” Marinette said. Once the flush left her face she sat down and smiled. “Today was a pretty good day after all.”

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug fanfic #Marinette #kagami #TOM #sabine #adrien #lila #no kwami #NICE GABRIEL

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fiction-in-my-blood · 4 years

Text

History’s Finest Part 1 (KBTBB) (No Pairings.... Yet)

So this is a lil idea I had which will likely turn into a series. I don’t know how long it’ll be or who will end up with MC but I know it’ll be fun! Hopefully. If you guys have any specific requests on who’ll be the lucky guy, I’d love to know! I love to here your thoughts.

Potential Warnings: Bad language, Gun wounds, Stitches.

Premise: The Bidders have been employing a treasure hunter to bring in new and unique things to the auction, but after a year of working together, how close have they grown? And how little do they trully know about her?

~~~~~~

“She’s late. Again.” Soryu grumbles as he and the King continue to sit in the Executive Lounge for the passed 30 minutes. A new contact for the auction was supposed to meet them with an item to list, but, being consistent with the last two times they had used her service, has yet to arrive on the agreed time.

With an inkling they’ll be stood up, Soryu drums his fingers on his gun, which is rested on the arm of his chair. He stares down the elevator doors, daring them to open so he can shoot the first person that enters.

Eventually, those doors did slide open, and there, hobbling out with a brief case hung over her shoulder, stood the woman they had been waiting for. She was wearing her usual fatigues of a dark blue button up shirt, the buttons done up just to allow for a bit of cleavage, mainly because she couldn’t be bothered to be modest after her long ship ride, and black jeans, simplistic but sexy, a belt with a pouch wrapped around her waist. There was also an empty holster attracted to the back, covered by the over hanging top.

“You’re late.” Now also ticked off with his arms draped over the back of the couch, Eisuke stared down on her. Her tired, positive expression didn’t falter as she crossed her arms, trying to restrain herself from jumping forward and strangling easily her most difficult client. It was lucky she wasn’t armed. The treasure hunter had just docked off from Panama, having gone through weeks of gun fights and crumbling ruins to acquire the piece of history she had set out to find, and this was the greeting she got for recovering the relic worth millions? And who here wasn’t grateful?

However, she knew not to talk back. In her field, most people were one word away from blowing a fuse and then she’d lose the limited clientele that would buy from her. There weren’t many buyers she trusted, and the ones she had; double crossed her a number of times. And this guy was right-handed by a Chinese mobster in the heights of a famous casino hotel. Not someone you want to piss off.

“Oh, Ichi, it’s nice to see you too.” She didn’t think she’d ever get away with nicknaming the CEO of a multi-million, maybe even billion, dollar company, but every time she used it the guy’s face eased into an amused smirk, even now, when he was just reprimanding her for her short-comings. That eased her secretly racing heart; knowing she wouldn’t be gunned down right in the middle of his luxurious penthouse. Although, he was probably just worried about bloodying the marble.

“Do you have it?” The mob boss was less easy to impress, scowling the woman to high hell. She huffed out a laugh, trying to ignore how easily angered he seemed, and carefully dropped the case from her shoulder onto the coffee table in front of the CEO.

“All in one piece.” Lila decided, as usual, it would be best to leave out all the soldiers and crazed war mongers she had to fight off to get the artifact, knowing it would likely scare off any buyers that would be willing to buy something lost for centuries.

Leaning forward, Eisuke slipped on his special gloves, which led Lila to hide a smirk, before he clicked open the locked box. Never in her life had she taken such precautions when handling her finds. Usually, there would be a gun to her head and any belongings she had brought with her would alays end up as dirty as she was from sliding through mud, climbing dirt covered walls and- more often than not- blood from her or her enemy’s wounds. A life or death scenario never justified such preventive measures when she hardly ever remembered a snack bar for her lunch.

Eisuke’s expression didn’t change from that skeptical stare as the lid popped open to show the solid gold idol that laid inside. It was encrusted with green gems, a bracelet of similar design embedded in the padding. The King took no mind of the jewelry that wasn’t meant to be there and picked up the surprisingly heavy object.

“What is that?” Soryu, however, did take notice, pointing an accusing glare at the hunter to which she smiled.

“Just a present I found on my travels. Think of it as a thank you for being so accommodating.” Lila hid her own glare behind a spiteful smile. It was a shame the man was so good-looking, she would be happy to trick him into bed to sift through his cabinets for expensive things if it wasn’t for his hate for the opposite sex. Soryu merely sighed, directing his gaze to his old friend.

“What’s the condition?” He eyed the ancient Inca statue that Eisuke held up to eye level, turning it every which way to find some clue to prove it being a fake. He didn’t speak when he spotted something odd, but it wasn’t the shine from a modern day power buffer.

“There’s blood.” He swiped a snow white finger tip over the jelly substance and Lila’s face went just as pale as his gloves. As she had reached for the idol that stood above the room on a pedestal, she was shot by this month’s model of competition. The bullet ripped through her side, luckily not causing any serious lasting damage, but had obviously left evidence of her troubles on her wares.

“O-Oh, well, treasure hunting isn’t a clean job. Always getting cracked fingers and all. Nothing to worry about.” Lila was never good at lying. Not when the nuns at her orphanage asked her why her bully had punched her or when clients asked her why she didn’t manage to bring anything back from her travels- it was difficult for them to believe the cities had crumbled into the earth, never to be seen, or heard of, again. Her cheeks heated up, and not because of the light sunburn she had received being in such a hot climate, but due to a sign that she was, in fact, misleading them.

Both men grew suspicious, one raising an eyebrow and the other looking her body up and down. They never knew about her expeditions being dangerous. They believed she just waltzed into a temple hidden deep in a jungle or a cave high in the snowy mountains and plucked the ancient artifact right off the floor. It didn’t occur to them when she called to extent the meeting time to a week later that she had run into some seriously dangerous trouble or needed to rest in a hospital somewhere in the third world country she had found herself in that time from whatever bullet wound she had earned from her newest enemy.

“What happened?” Even though the three had only acquainted a year ago and only met two other times, Soryu- to be honest, both men- had grown rather fond of the treasure hunter. Although, his tone was harsher than she had ever heard it.

Lila tried her best to control her limited temper and had the body of a super model. Her manners, in the limited amount of time they did see her, were abysmal. She didn’t close her legs when she was sitting- she only ever wore her jeans or tight cargo pants- and gulped down any drink she was given in seconds. She was smart, despite looking as dumb as an uneducated delinquent. They had met experts before, they were the ones that confirmed the items she brought in, but even they didn’t know as much as she had told them. She had the wisdom of the old man she was mentored by and the street smarts to find whatever information that would lead her to her next find.

However, Lila was less inclined to respond. She was never comfortable with someone dotting on her, even when she was a kid. It wasn’t in her second nature to rely on anyone else. Let alone her first. The old man that had taken her in from a young age after she tried to pick his pocket took years to gain her trust, even though he didn’t act like he cared. She was just a scared little kid at the time, and he introduced her to a world of adventure and danger, that he ensured he would protect her from. She was heading there anyway, might as well have a few connections.

She bit her lip, avoiding their intimidating gazes.

That’s when the CEO lost his patient. Throwing himself forward made her want to step back. They played this odd dance until her back bumped into the person behind her, which she hadn’t noticed beforehand. She jumped around to see a man in a suit, who had greeted her on every one of her visits. Kenzaki, seemingly one of Eisuke’s well-dressed henchmen.

However, Lila didn’t get to greet him when she felt a different warmth on her back, rotating around again like some sort of spinning top. She was struck of all thoughts as Mr Ichinomiya’s towering figure pinned her in place. She gulped, an awkward grin gracing her lips as she tried to regain composure. The old man always warned her about going into a meeting alone. Maybe he had a good point.

“Y’know, you can just get it out with a tissue. I don’t have any on me, but I’m sure you can afford the additional expense.” She tried not to sound intimidated with a short chuckle, but that would be difficult when her tone was a little shaky.

“What happened?” Eisuke glared between gritted teeth and she responded almost instantly.

“I got shot. But it’s nothing, really. I won’t charge you medical expenses or anything and it didn’t damage the artifact.” As always, the buy came first, so she didn’t worry about her own physical health. Or, she didn’t think they cared about her physical health. Why would they? This was a business relationship. A transaction of wealth so she could fund her less than lavish lifestyle of bribing prison guards to get her out when she gets caught scoping out museums for information.

“Where?” Eisuke surprised her with his prying. Sure, she would expect him to return to the artifact and check it for bullet marks. Maybe even ask who the hell had a gun when she had never mentioned any danger. But she definitely, certainly, did not expect him to inadvertently ask how critical the wound was.

Sighing, she didn’t want to lose a client due to rejecting him, so she turned, surprised to find the hotel manager gone, and lifted her top to so the stitches that were still waiting to heal just above her hip bone on soft skin could be seen.

Although, she was trying to hide the multiple other scars she had gained over the years. A few long ones graced her arms and shoulder from grazing bullets. Once, she got stabbed in the thigh with a ceremonial dagger from Nepal. Last year, on her first job with the Black Market Auction, her leg got caught under a stone pillar from an impatient competitor of her’s who used dynamite in a underground temple cave. Not the smartest idea, and it left her with an awful looking scar around her calf from torn skin. It was weird seeing your own muscles. Bikinis and any sort of swimwear that wasn’t a diving suit were definitely ruined for her now.

“See, not that bad. I’m used to it. Comes with the territory.” She breathed in sharply when she lifted her arms to show him, trying to mask her pain with a forced smile. Even though she had been looking at the man, she didn’t notice his fingers, now ungloved, reaching for her wound because she was so concentrated on consoling whatever worries he had so she could get the hell out of there. She wanted to leave and read her journal to go through the memories of her last trip. That was her favourite part: reliving all her exploits.

A searing pain shot through her system when Eisuke’s finger’s grazed the bruised skin and she shot him the worst glare she could subconsciously muster. “What the fuck?” She screamed the instant she noticed his outstretched hand and sly smirk. What kind of sadistic fuck thinks its funny to touch up a new wound? She couldn’t help but grow furious at how he had just treated her. Who did he think he was? Jesus? Had he hoped to heal her with whatever magical power he thought he had been gifted with?

“So, it is bad?” His smirk quickly turned into a frown when he caught her lying. She gulped, not knowing what will happen next. Usually when she was confronting someone, whether a warmonger or crazed mercenary, she had a way to escape. Either through the window of a third story window in a warring city or through the dense jungle away from the excavation cite, she had the luck of whatever deity was watching over her.

But, not here. This was ‘civilised’ society. Not to mention his house. There’d be no way she could make it to the lobby and away from the gun the mob boss had under his fingers this very moment. She had had a lot of close calls in her life, but was this it?

“Any gun shot wound is bad! I was fucking impaled with metal! What do you think’s gonna happen when you stab it!” She cried, finally remembering to push her shirt back down and not touch the healing wound. She really hoped it hadn’t opened again. She had a habit for doing that. Accidentally, of course.

“I didn’t stab it.” Eisuke couldn’t help but chuckle at how loud she was being. This was totally out of character, and she, mad, was very amusing. He knew she was always holding back, he could see through anyone, but he never thought she was holding back this much.

“You may as well have.” She huffed, crossing her arms and turning her gaze away to try and calm herself down again. She didn’t usually lose her cool like this, but she found it hard to control herself with two deliciously hot men she wasn’t allowed to touch because of work, and her own chastity. She wasn’t one for meaningless exploits, she wasn’t interested nor had the time. All she wanted was the adrenaline from her treasure hunting ways. Although, she did feel lonely sometimes, especially when everyone else in her line of work were sex-crazed young adults who couldn’t seem to keep it in their pants. They were here for a fun time, not a long time.

But, the CEO’s next actions were what surprised her most. He turned to his hotel manager and ordered him to take her to a room upstairs. She jumped out of her sulking, ignoring the settling pain in her abdomen, and flat out refused any hospitality he was going to show. All she wanted to do was deliver the package, collect her money, and go home to watch a movie. And by home, the nearest motel. Lila didn’t live anywhere, she was always on the go, so she didn’t bother investing in any of the countries she had loved when she visited them. Domestic life wasn’t for her. And the glimpse of peace she had seen in her infancy showed her she didn’t want that mundane existence.

“If you collapse outside my hotel it won’t look good. Go with him.” He demanded and Lila frowned, breathing in to argue again, when Kenzaki grabbed her arm and started pulling her to the staircase. She yelled and struggled, but wasn’t as strong as she usually was with her handicap, and was taken away to a lavish penthouse suite.

“You’re happy.” Soryu commented when Eisuke turned around and sat back down, staring down at his newest treasure. He was smirking, but there was actually a hint of happiness behind that egotistic grin that wasn’t usually there nowadays. He wasn’t going to admit he had been waiting for an excuse to usher the woman into his hotel. Albeit, it was for her to stay the night with him, but he was content with nursing her back to health. He was definitely looking forward to delving deeper into this new character she had been hiding from them both.

Which made Soryu mad. He had also grown a longing for the woman, and he was even more weary about making that apparent to both his friend and the subject of his curiosity. She wasn’t annoying like other woman. She didn’t wear overbearing perfume like other woman. She could get away with deodorant and her own scent. Although, he would have to get closer to smell that on her skin. She was like some sort of divine being, sent down to test how unwilling he was to give affection to the opposite sex. And he definitely wouldn’t be mad about having her in his own apartment, laying on his bed or showering in his shower to clean off the dirt and grim she gained from her expeditions.

However, knowing she got hurt on a job they had sent her on tore. him. up. Even if it was the ‘territory’ for her profession, or she had gone through similar circumstances before, he felt responsible. If they hadn’t agreed to buy the artifact she promised she could get, she might not have gone. Truthfully, she would have just gone to the next buyer, she only came to them because they paid well. Better than collectors or museums. But that didn’t mean he didn’t blame himself for sending her there.

“Merely amused.” Eisuke chuckled to himself as he lifted the thick, bangle-like bracelet with the hook of his finger, peering at the exquisite piece while resting his chin on his fist. It somehow sparkled, even after centuries, maybe even a millennia, buried under dirt or covered in dust. The style was simple and timeless, no one could mess it up. And yet, because she had thought to add it into the brief case for him to see without asking for more made the item special. So, when Soryu got up to clear his head of his guilt, he dropped the jewelry into his pocket, planning to keep it for his own personal use.

#kbtbb #kissed by the baddest bidder #eisuke ichinomiya #soryu oh #kbtbb eisuke #kbtbb soryu

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wolfpawn · 4 years

Text

I Hate You, I Love You, Chapter 85

Chapter Summary - Danielle and Tom wake up after finally being able to sleep properly again, but the day is anything but easy.

Previous Chapter

Rating - Mature (some chapters contain smut)

Triggers - references to Tom Hiddleston’s work with the #MeToo Movement. That chapter will be tagged accordingly.

authors Note - I have been working on this for the last 3 years, it is currently 180+ chapters long. This will be updated daily, so long as I can get time to do so, obviously

tags: @sweetkingdomstarlight-blog @jessibelle-nerdy-mum @nonsensicalobsessions @damalseer @hiddlesbitch1 @winterisakiller @fairlightswiftly @salempoe @wolfsmom1

If you wish to be tagged, please let me know.

Tom woke after sleeping soundly for the first time in over a week. Danielle was curled up against him, her fingers gripping his t-shirt as she seemed adamant to keep him next to her.

They had enjoyed their meal in the pub, it was as delicious as she had said it would be, their conversation, since they had discussed the serious matters in the car, was light-hearted and pleasant; Tom telling her about Milan and some of the clothes he had seen and Danielle telling him of what occurred in Ireland during her time there.

He shifted slightly and Danielle groaned, her head getting tucked in more next to his shoulder. "That is not an overly comfortable place to be." He smiled.

"I beg to differ, it's a great place to be."

"How long are you awake?" Tom questioned, noticing her sleep was neither slurred nor half incoherent as it tended to be immediately after she woke.

"A few minutes."

"You said nothing."

"I didn't want to, I just wanted to relax like this."

"I can relate." Tom looked around the room, it was dated, but in an antique manner. "So this is your grandparents' house?"

"Yep, my dad was born in this room."

"Really?"

"Mmhmm, my aunts and uncle too."

"Wow, what about the hospital?"

"Tom, the nearest hospital is over an hour away in Galway, my grandparents didn't have a car, my dad would have been starting school by the time she'd have walked there." Tom chuckled next to her. "It was the done thing, you had them at home with a neighbour helping."

"You said your grandparents were farmers?"

"Yeah, the farm sheds are mostly gone, but there are a few outhouses left. The fields were sold by Nan so she'd be able to keep the house after granddad died, hence why this little acre is going to be worth a pittance." She stretched. "I better get ready for the auctioneers actually." she made to move but Tom stopped her, his cerulean blue eyes filled with lust. "Tom, we can't," she warned; her voice a whisper. The night before they had been tired on their return from the airport and their stop for dinner meant they were late getting back, so they stripped to their underwear and had fallen asleep quickly.

"I know," He acknowledged, Danielle had warned him that the walls were thin at best and her cousin was in the next room and she knew her aunt would be there soon. It was one thing to be in a bed together, something she knew Bernadette would be angered by anyway, but if they were heard doing anything, that would only cause issues. "But you know what we have not done in a week?" Danielle's brows furrowed. "I have not kissed you." he leant over her, looking for permission to kiss her silently.

"If we do, will you control yourself?" She asked quietly.

"I have little choice." leaning up, she pressed her lips to his, a sensual moan escaping her as she did so. "Okay, enough; I can't, not if you are making noises like that, if you are going kiss me like that, I will…" Tom pulled back.

"Yes, I can feel that." She grinned, implying she could feel a very hard and eager appendage on her thigh.

"You can hardly blame me, I have you back." He smiled, looking down at her before his face went solemn. "I am so sorry about…"

"It's done." Tom's brow furrowed. "Though next time we have an argument, don't try and use sex as a Band-Aid."

"I wasn't trying to, I just wanted to show you how much I love you." He explained. "I hope there isn't a 'next time'."

"We will argue Tom," She scoffed, he toyed with his hair, "We just need to deal with it better."

"I like how you say 'we'." He smiled. "So many people, myself included, can be unable to look at their actions."

"No one is perfect Tom."

"I come fairly close though, right?" He joked.

"Maybe to some of your crazier fans, but I know you better." Danielle kissed him again. "I better get up for the auctioneer."

"This room is cosy," Tom commented, watching as Danielle got some clothes out of her suitcase.

"This whole house is really, wait until you see everything. We came in in darkness, you have not seen it properly yet." she grinned.

Curiosity got the better of him and Tom got out of bed too. "I know this might seem vain, but your cousin…"

"Yes, she was staring at your ass yesterday," Danielle laughed.

"You aren't…"

Danielle tied the button of her jeans and zipped them up before coming over and cupping one of Tom's ass cheeks. "Well, it just happens I am with the man that won 'rear of the year', I have to accept that that can mean girls are going to be staring at your ass from time to time. I am also aware that a considerable amount of people are somewhat interested in the this," She snaked her hand to his crotch, "And you, in general."

"Out of curiosity, is it a dislike of doing anything in your grandmother's house in general or when others are here."

"The former," Tom swore. "You sound like someone who is going to suffer 'blue balls'," she scoffed.

"I may just, I have my sexy girlfriend and a desperate want to show her in a very thorough manner, just how much I care for her in every way." He said in a sexy voice.

Danielle was about to say something else when raised voice caught their attention. "The hell?" Tom finished putting on his pants and she opened the door, as soon as she listened to the no longer muffled voices, she groaned. "Bernadette is back."

"Your aunt?" Danielle nodded. "Was she supposed to be gone?"

"Herself and her husband Kevin were supposed to come back this morning after dropping Laura and Richard to Galway," Danielle told him. "Jesus, this is going to be fifty shades of bullshit now, she is going to be an absolute bitch." More arguing began, causing Danielle to listen to the words being spoken. "Oh?"

"Elle?"

"You know what, I think we better go down." Tom looked at her in confusion, "Laura needs saving."

"I thought you didn't really like her."

"I don’t have anything in common with her and we are not close, but I don't dislike her and right now, she needs someone to take some attention off her," Danielle explained. Unsure why Danielle was being so kind as to allow herself be a scapegoat, Tom tied his shoes and walked out the door behind her, on hearing what an older woman was effectively shouting at her daughter, he immediately agreed with Danielle's choice to go downstairs.

"And where is he in all of this, or is there even a he?" Bernadette demanded of her oldest daughter.

"There probably is a he, otherwise we've got the second coming happening in Galway, fuck Mayo and their beloved sighting of our Lady in Knock." Danielle scoffed walking into the sitting room. "And could you keep it down, there are people on Croagh Patrick that can probably hear you."

"You keep out of this," Bernadette warned.

"I would believe me, only as someone with a background in a medical field, I know the damage to the health of a pregnant woman that stress can cause, but you are being so loud it is involving me and you are making a holy show of yourself, which is utterly embarrassing for me."

"What embarrassment to you, this is nothing to do with you?" Bernadette dismissed. A moment later, Tom entered the room, doing his best to seem unphased by the horrible atmosphere and demeanour. "Who is he? Some hitchhiker you found on the side of the road last night I suppose."

"Yeah, I thought it wise to bring a random stranger home with me," Danielle stated sarcastically. "This is my boyfriend, his name is Tom and I can say here and now that though his family has never been anything but lovely to me, you have, in thirty seconds, embarrassed yourself in front of him, from your manner or lack thereof to your daughter, me and indeed him, so cheers for that anyway Bernie, and if you have nothing better to say or do, I would ask that you talk and not yell as we are all in the one house, which, though you seem to think is the size of Kilkenny Castle is actually a small farm cottage, so you know, we can hear you." Danielle walked into the kitchen, not saying any more to her family as her aunt stared at her in anger, her uncle looked at Tom as if wondering how he had not noticed the other man in the time they had been at the cottage, while Laura, who had been upset, stared at him as she tried to recognise how she knew him.

Tom, who felt incredibly awkward, gave a small nod of his head and walked into the kitchen after her. "She's as lovely as you described," Danielle said nothing. "Elle?"

"I'm sorry," She gave him a smile that was more of a grimace. "I literally look like I come from absolute mud."

Tom put his arms around her, "No, you warned me about your aunt and I met Siobhan and spoke to Richard who are both normal, well, Siobhan is a tad mental, but she is a nice person, so I know that you come from a normal family, but every family has that one person, they are not always a snob, but there is something about them that makes them less than pleasant," he kissed her head. "Though she's a special case on many levels."

"You have no idea." Danielle groaned.

"This house is gorgeous." Tom looked around. "Exactly everything I imagined a small farming homestead to be."

"Look out the window." Danielle pulled the curtain back. The design of the house meant Tom had to stoop down, the way he inhaled confirmed Danielle's idea of how he would take it. "That's why I love it here."

"Now I understand why you moved to Suffolk."

"It is a lot like here."

"Did you live nearby?"

"Not too far, a few kilometres away, a bit closer the water."

"Will you bring me there?"

"If you want, today is fairly full-on, but we will have to get a few bits, so we can pass it on the way to the shops." Danielle smiled before sensing someone in the doorway, looking around, she saw Laura. "You okay?"

"Thank you."

"Where's your Mam?"

"Gone to the car to call Uncle Richard that you have some 'dirty Brit' staying in Nan's room with you."

"Well then, at least you're not the only slut for the laundry." Danielle winked.

"Were those things actually real?" Tom asked, horrified.

"Yes, they were," Danielle informed him, causing Tom to shiver. "Tom, this is Siobhan's sister Laura, Laura, this is my boyfriend, Tom." Danielle introduced them to one another. Laura waved from the doorway. "How far along…?"

"Ten weeks, I thought I wasn't suffering too badly so I could come, but she went snooping my bag and found my folic acid and my appointment card," Laura explained.

"Bitch," Danielle growled. "What's your plan now?"

"I rang Julia, she's coming to collect me, Evan is going to meet me in Galway."

"Good, look after yourself, forget your Mam, you've someone else more important that needs you." Danielle smiled.

"Are you okay, mum is going for you in this thing."

Danielle winked at her, "I can handle Bernie, I have my dad's stubbornness and my mam's bitchiness."

"She always hated your mum."

"The feeling, I can assure you, was mutual."

Laura gave another small wave. "I am going to flee while she is on the phone having a conniption." She turned to see someone behind her. "Hey."

"Ready, I have the kids in the car?"

"Yeah, thanks, Julie."

"No problem, who is…?"

"Danielle and her boyfriend."

"Danielle has a...?" As another one of Danielle's cousin's poked her head in the door, her face turned to one of shock. "TOM HIDDLESTON!"

"Who?" Laura looked at Tom again.

"You…but…Danielle…Him…"

"Yes, he is Tom Hiddleston," Danielle confirmed.

"You are going out with Tom Hiddleston, you, Danielle, my cousin?"

"Yes." Danielle nodded.

"How?"

"I lived next door to his mother, we know each other a few years."

"You never said anything," Julia stated indignantly.

"In all fairness, who'd have believed me?" Danielle laughed. Julia continued to stare. "You're married with kids." Danielle reminded her. That did not stop Julia from staring. "Go, before your Mam is off the phone." Danielle encouraged.

"Wait, so he is famous, my mind isn't messing with me?" Laura asked.

Danielle sighed. "You literally asked Siobhan two days ago if she would see the new Kong movie with you."

"Wait, he's THAT actor…how did you…?"

Danielle shook her head. "As you can see," She turned slightly, Tom still had his hand on her waist, "my extended family thinks so much of me."

"But you're normal," Laura said, as though it was some type of defence.

"Well, I feel special." Danielle scoffed. "Thank you both, you are so good for the old confidence."

"But, he was with Taylor Swift…"

"Yes, was, now I have upgraded, substantially." Tom smiled politely, bringing Danielle closer to him.

"You have all the luck," Julia growled.

"Yes, I do." Danielle grinned. "Now, we are coming again soon so if you want a proper conversation, we'll meet then, as for now, you need to leave."

She's right, come on." Julia insisted, ushering Laura to the door. "You alright to handle Bernie?"

"I'm Mattie Hughes's daughter."

"Uncle Mattie always kept her in her box."

"Now it's my turn." Julia went outside, a cold comment to Bernadette as she did.

"She'll be in in a second," Danielle sighed.

Tom kissed her head, "You're able for her." Danielle gave a non-committal noise, "Will they say anything?"

"Does it really matter?" She heard Bernadette coming in. "Here we go." She inhaled deeply.

"In my mother's room." She began in disgust.

"Well, you want to sell the house so if me having my boyfriend in her room is a desecration to her, your going against her command to not sell this house will have her turning in her grave."

"Your father would be sickened."

Danielle felt her pulse race, "Yes he would, that his sister would think she can decide for the whole family what is to happen because she wants more money, a woman that doesn't know a days work getting up her own arse and for what, to keep up with people that wouldn't piss on you if you were on fire." She spat. "My dad would only care that I am happy and three seconds in Tom's company and I know he and Mam would be delighted. You hated dad, though that means nothing, you hate everyone, and now your daughter is having a baby that will have to realise that you are a twisted bitch too, so just go and get a loan like the rest of us and leave nan's alone."

"I will do no such thing you little tramp," Bernadette hissed, "And it's going to happen, so you better get out of the way."

"I can't actually, I have a realtor on his way." Bernadette's eyes bulged. "Oh, didn't Uncle Richard tell you? I am getting the house looked at, so it can get a proper assessment. I know you had your friend's son give a price, which I know it is fifty thousand over market value for anything in the area, so I am having a guy from McCarthy's in Galway take a look at it to make sure anything that any assessment given is a proper one." Bernadette looked at her in disgust. "So, you can stay or go, but I am staying, and I am getting it priced honestly. Then we will get back to you about it."

Bernadette looked to Tom, "What are you even bothering with her for?"

"Well personally, I find Elle to be a beautiful, intelligent and wonderful person to be around, my family adore her and in truth, I find her strength and independence to be exceptionally alluring."

"Too many big words for her there," Danielle warned. "Tea?"

"Please, darling." He smiled back. "Is there any porridge?" the pair began readying their breakfast as Bernadette became more enraged at their lack of attention to her and stormed off. "Luke will have heart failure with you yet."

"I know, I am worried for him."

"Are you serious you want too…?"

"Yes," She confirmed. Tom smiled at her lovingly. "You're all clear." At that, he frowned.

A moment later, Siobhan snuck out of the back room that held the washing machine. "Phew, so what are we having for breakfast?" She asked walking over, before turning to Tom "Ooh, is Chris single?"

"He's married, remember." Danielle reminded her.

"This is Marvel, there are about thirty guys called Chris." She retorted.

#I Hate You I Love You #chapter 85 #wolfpawn #tom hiddleston #tom hiddleston fic

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ofwizardsandmen · 4 years

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Inside Mark Yang and Tara Lee's elegantly artistic London Townhouse

If the names of Mark Yang and Tara Lee ring more than just artistic bells for you, there’s a reason. As part of one of the —quite literally— biggest boy bands in the world, Yang has experienced his fair share of touring, traveling and, well, being a pop star. Meanwhile, his ‘fiancée’, —Mark pronounces the word with a massive grin on his face— has quickly become one of the most awarded authors of her generation with stories that are as far out on the cutting edge as they can get. Well known for their work in the art and music industry; from Mark’s impeccably produced songs and raw lyrics to Tara’s best selling books and endearing illustrations, it is little surprise that their London townhouse embodies what one would define as an ode to creativity.

A lot has been said and written about the quirks of the English already. Known for a certain kind of charming eccentricity, it’s a trait that often carries through to their humor, manner of dress –and yes, even their homes. It’s something that comes to mind when looking at the three-story, 680-square-meter Anglo-Italianate townhouse the famed pair calls home. The record-breaking British couple, who met 20 years ago in a kindergarten only a few blocks away from their current residence, moved back to Kensington earlier this year. After losing out on a bid to purchase Mark’s old apartment and after Tara spent few months in a rental home in Oxford, the couple sought to plant firm roots in the city by purchasing this Anglo-Italianate-style house. “I have a bit of philosophy: dream in Paris, have fun in New York, work in Seoul, but live in London. London is home.” says Yang as he slides next to Tara onto the velvet mohair sofa in her personal study room.

After a carefully planned purchase, the couple recently completed the renewal of its first two floors that boast British design influences that seem to fit their heritage and faved aesthetics. Of course, there is the background check Tara did on both the house, built in 1852 by a Chelsea-based merchant; and the surrounding neighborhood (she can easily quote statistics about the college education level, racial diversity, linguistic skills, and single-sex parentage of the demographic). There are also the four months it took for the couple to move into their new home, during which time Tara —an English Language and Literature Oxford graduate—, would regularly invoke Waiting for Godot. And then there are the 3D mockups, sample boards, and interiors presentations that Tara and her team of decorators assembled for her future husband’s sign-off while he was touring across the globe. “Mark is an emotional person; he’s always had this fantasy about family life and making his living space feel special, so I had to make sure he liked what was being done,” says Tara of her fiancé.

“The day we moved in was very special,” adds Mark. “At the time the guys and I had finished the Asian leg of our world tour, so I felt very fortunate to return and have a new place to call home. Of course, I didn’t get to witness the renovation process in person, so I was pleasantly surprised with the result”.

Working together isn’t always plain sailing, though. “We barely made any advances the first month” Tara recalls. “It took a while to figure out what we wanted to do and the style we’d go for”. The final result though, shows a flawlessly combined aesthetic that is very much natural as it is deeply but subtly narrative. The couple’s artistic sensibilities are evident throughout. A darkly dramatic entry plays up the house’s Victorian heritage with a red Louis de Poortere stair runner and an antique Thonet side table. The couple confesses that they themselves picked most of the pieces decorating their home carefully “T and I went on a two-week-long buying trip around Europe and purchased almost everything in this house.” Says Tara’s fiancé with a wide smile. The singer further explains “We started in a couple of auctions in London, then went to the flea markets and the Left Bank in Paris, took the train to Belgium and then traveled to Italy.” Yang says proudly

On the second floor, Tara and Mark privileged a more serene setting. There, the space they call the White Room boasts 16-foot ceilings and is furnished with icy-hued vintage armchairs and curving sofas, offsetting the original antique chandelier and windows overlooking Kensington Gardens. “It’s where T and I will go to sit and chill. It’s very clean and calming” notes Mark, who’s also set up his home studio on the third floor and calls it his personal project on the works.

The third floor also acts as Tara’s studio space where she has built a stunning home office that uses color and print to give a classic, traditional space the perfect pop of wow. From the animal-print rug to the bold green bookcases, this interior is designed to match the fictional world of Tara’s books. The blush and gold tones add a feminine touch to the massive bookcases, making this space the ultimate in sleek and sophisticated design. This might even be amazing enough to make just about anyone want to pull up a chair and join her in her workday. Something, that Beauté+ CEO, Minah Delacroix, a close friend of the couple, agrees on “They are just so innately artistic, their life is almost an artwork“ she says when asked about their home decoration “I would call them both Renaissance people because they pretty much do anything and know so much about everything. Sometimes I would visit and get totally immersed in their world that I could basically spend the whole day there”

For Mark and Tara, the joy of coming home each day has only cemented their decision to make this place their home after their wedding that’s set to take place early next year. “Everyone says when you walk into the house, it kind of wraps its arms around you and it has amazing energy. It’s such a warm, eclectic home. We’re certainly planning to make it our forever home and it’s most likely to evolve with us over the years.”

…

#tara #mark #magazine #interview #home #oc #edits #otp

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shy-magpie · 4 years

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RQG 146

[Author’s note: Sorry about the long break! I caught a bug and haven’t been able to edit for love or money. I have been writing the live blogs as the episodes come out but I suspect I will have to edit the stuffing out of them to get something that is both coherent and not twice as long as the show. Also I’m going to try to remember to toss a cut at the top of these things so it doesn’t take up so much of the dash etc.]

I love when they go auctioneer because they want to get to the content faster. Ooh reminder that the party have slightly conflicting goals. I almost spaced that Zolf's priority is the info to save the world while Cel is more narrowly focused on taking out the threat to their village.

Final bets on whether: 1) the timelines are simultaneous 2) its the same room 3) who(or what) is in the chair ~Hamid time~ Another stealth check and I think Alex rolled something secret. I love these nerds, I don't think they even noticed they slipped into the more precise language of math to describe the place, always makes me feel trusted when people don't hide that kind of thing. Bulk head doors are a good sign. Alex might be trying to build up to it but Bryn wants to get a description of the figure in the chair as badly as we do if not more. Full blank-masked male, cables from the chair to the organ. Ben, sweetie, we aren't going to shoot-first-ask-questions-later, or even take that as your serious suggestion moments after you reminded us Zolf is aiming for capture. "Could be another one of the dead bodies" Pardon me while I glitch on the idea that it being another member of the doomed party is the only thing that I can't recall being proposed over the last week. Am I forgetting or did Figgis actually come up as a suggestion but not that? Alex adds a ladder, to save Hamid one of his last spells "Tension, tension, tension" I can't parse how many of them are chanting but who ever that is, know I adore you. I should be vibrating from stress and instead I'm grinning like a fool. Thats my boy! Hamid's spell slots might be running scary low but his mind is sharp as ever, he remembers his potions! Oh dangerous game, but the extra time invisible as he gets closer sounds worth it. Picked up a few things from Sasha. "Think" Alex is actively trolling. The lights are bad? You choose to do that, Alex, put away the "victim of circumstances" tone. Oh the organ! I needed a better description of that. Lydia might be the only one who loves this description more than me. A pipe organ that makes potions instead of music? Bryn has heard of one where each key is an alchemical symbol. I might need to hunt down art for that if its a known pathfinder thing. Hamid recognizes it but is the wrong school to understand this, both by training as a wizard and as sorcerer. The pipes are actually full of various fluids and powders. Yes Cel needs to see this. Thank you Helen! How much money has he spent on this? Where is he getting the money? I need that clipped! (tension chant evolved) Oh hell of a bet Hamid Sasha would be proud. The table is so proud of him. FTR I think that was Ben not Bryn saying "I stroke his cheek", because Bryn wouldn't risk Alex making that joke canon and using it to hurt Hamid. (naturally there was such no risk if Ben made that joke) Cable to the back of the neck, in clerical robes (crap I remember a “Shoin the healer painting”(?) but I thought he was an alchemist? Is this an assistant? Mini boss? Or is he multi classing), a party mask? Back to that theme. Its a prop corpse and its not the same room, I'm going to scream. Hamid don't you dare! Dollars to donuts its going to stand up and be some kind of creepy corpse robot Hamid waves Skraak in Speaker time, Shoin sounds worse maybe off script. ~~party time~~ Oh Cel has to lose most of the beast voice. Never mind! Smaller pencils acquired! I love this description even better the second time around. Oh bless Lydia for giving the fuller description. 55 HP! 14 Con! Comfort beard. Ooh Azu has a potion to make her even further stronger than Zolf. (iirc she had 1 point over him already) Yes he is in fact lawful evil and no he doesn't ever let them rest. Wise Cel/Lydia! I love Azu's auras! Aura of courage sounds especially useful. Yes yes Azu is good, brave, and resolute. Oh poor Zolf can't prep without either sleep or knowing for sure the fight is coming. Cel actually has 59 HP thank goodness! Another hall? Its circling the dome Hamid is in. It better be the same dome! I feel a bit like I'm betraying the party to enjoy the set design when the set is designed to kill them. They go as fast as they can while checking for traps. I refuse to parse that any other way. Oh poor Alex, we appreciate the set design even if the characters don't. Next door has a porthole to look through. Bless Helen/Azu for reminding them to check for traps. Cel can still disable it! It was a hand buzzer? Oh, to waste spells. Missed an in laid wood image of Shoin as a saint. This guy has too much ego and money. Anyone else thinking of that old joke where a guy has to become a monk to be allowed to find out what is behind a ridiculous number of doors and the punchline is you have to become a monk to find out what he saw? Ok it is a good thing its not the right door ~Hamid time~

Alex you troll! I refuse to concede we needed something to bleed to the stress levels. Shoin’s voice officially probably not a pre recording. I love Hamid! Hangs a handkerchief over the corpse's eyes. Poseidon? Couldn't be any god other than Zolf's ex? Ok doesn't seem in good enough shape to be a necrobot, but the organ might change that. Metal chairs sized for the party bolted to floor. I think Hamid is officially having fun not following Shoin's suggestion to sit at the table. Look at the leader in him collecting the paperwork Official connection between blue veins and the simulacrum! Also a spot for the power source Liliana was working on? Red string joke! ~break~ He Acid Blasts a speaker and it pisses Shoin off. Yeah "young man" was exact wrong thing to try. Were you trying to hit his daddy issues? I love one troll and 1 Kobold! Minion this! If Hamid speaks up? Shoin’s sense are fallible, might come up later Hamid is the best! Might die of being the best, but if he has to go its fingers up. Halfling, Dragon and troll, not a damn inch of leverage except what he gets Shoin to give him by refusing to follow orders. Pretending to attempt to comply is so much more frustrating (and better listening) than if he simply went "shan't". The party comes in! A swear! Not really another way to put it. The corpse explodes! Is Shoin the organ itself? A hug! A Cel & Hamid hug! Zolf backs Hamid's play, and joins in Shoin baiting. Hamid hugs Azu and Zolf! Finally a proper Zolf hug! Cel finally gets to check out the organ. It prioritizes looks over efficiency and isn't just a potion maker. Some of it goes over Cel's head. Cel blocks the outlet. Lydia still thinks slightly sideways like me, and I love it. The cylinders are near boiling. Hamid orders Skraak to safety! Cel tries to hug Skraak, but Skraak doesn't recognize them. Poor brave little guy tried to attack before they can explain. Cel takes chatty!Skraak well and they have another little bonding growl exchange. They get ready to skip Shoin's game and go to the next room. Bad sounds. Fist sized drops of luminous green liquid from the top of the room that don't act right. Zolf attempts open the door to the next room, Hamid sprints towards it. Thank goodness someone wants to live. Natural 1? But its initiative, so that shouldn't hurt too badly right? Right? No effect thank goodness Homing blobs? I am torn exactly between that being cool and not something I want the party to deal with. How many fire balls does Hamid have left? I think Cel is out of bombs, and if we remember nothing else from Kew its that swarms require explosions. Zolf! Its the big brother of the buzzer door and is locked to boot. Azu attacks the goo nearest Zolf. Helen is too wound up to remember how to roll. Bryn and Ben couch her through it in that RQ way. Cleave! More blobs and the existing ones move towards people. Magic missile! 4 pews! 2 at the nearest to him, 2 at the one nearest Cel. I'd say squishy solidarity but Cel is pretty tough for once. Cel shoots the nearest 3? Then flies up 10 feet up and towards Skraak. Zolf blesses the party! Fair Alex! Not everything has to have a mechanical effect. Azu attacks again. It explodes, if Azu hits it it will die. At least one person should be safe. Skraak! He froze! Worth a shot Ben You'll see? It tries to blob Skraak and isn't big enough to hurt them. Is Skraak safe from collateral damage? Hamid and Cel both protect Skraak. Hamid tells Skraak to use his spear, Skraak runs instead. Thank god he might not die trying to be a hero. Something drains into the pipe organ and the pipe organ attacks! OMG it is a 50ft tall brain soup drinking electric monster! Yes Ben! Perfect! Shoin Mr Ceiling-ed himself theory has player buy in! Bye! Also I will eat my hat if the drop blobs aren't able to merge into something more dangerous.

#Rusty Quill Gaming #RQG spoilers #live blog thingy #RQG season 4 #RQG 146

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xxgoblin-dumplingxx · 5 years

Text

Tempest in a Teacup: Five

“How is she doing?” Nat asked, helping herself to one of Clint’s fries as she took a seat across from him.

Clint put down his burger and sighed, “Better, I think. Now that she’s actually seen me. And gotten some sort of affirmation that not everyone hates her because she likes girls.” The spy winced, “Any progress on getting her to move here?” Clint shook his head, “No, and I see her point,” he said, “She has one more year with her friends. And her first girlfriend... who I think she’s in love with. Like hardcore.”

Nat smiles softly, “Did you get a picture?” Clint smiles and reaches for his phone, “No, but there was one she posted on facebook this morning.”

It’s a sweet picture. Kat is kissing your cheek and you’re cheeks are already red. You’d just handed her some frilly coffee drink from the Cafe near the school. He slides his phone across the table and Nat smiles, “That’s adorable,” she says. “She looks happy,” she encourages. “In spite of everything right now,” Clint said nodding. That was a comfort.

“So,” Nat asked, “Is she bringing this girl to the Gala?” He nodded, “They’re going to go dress shopping next week. Or at least, Y/N is. I think Kat wants her dress to be a surprise.” Nat grinned, “I’ll warn Tony that if he makes fun of Y/N when her brain melts for a few seconds I’ll kill him.” Clint snorted, “Probably a good idea.”

_________

The Afternoon of the Gala, when Clint greets you and Kat as you get off the plane, he’s happy to see you look okay. Even a little excited. Kat sticks close to you as you make introductions, her fingers laced through yours.

Thor scoops the both of you off your feet in a massive hug, Steve is polite, Bucky teases you, Tony asks which one of you wears the docs and which one wears Birkenstocks which makes you flip him off cheerfully, and Nat pulls you into a hug. Clint doesn’t know what she says but when your eyes fill with tears that she wipes away carefully, he’s glad there’s one adult woman in your life. Pepper takes the two of you so you can approve the art display and Kat looks around a little awed, “Babe, you made all this?” she asks.

You blush, “Yeah. I make a couple pieces a year,” you explain, “And they auction it off. It makes some money for the cleanup efforts.” She stops in front of this auction piece, the Panoramic Asgard with a rainbow bridge and wraps her arms around you gently, “This is amazing,” she said kissing you softly, “you’re so talented, babe.” You melt into her and for a few seconds you can’t think. There’s white noise in your head and nothing but the taste of coconut lip balm and her hips under your hands. It’s a little hard to breathe and you don’t want her to pull away but she does, brushing hair out of your eyes as you stand there blushing and stammering. “You’re also a mess,” she teases. You smile shyly and hug her, hiding your face in her shoulder, “Not my fault you’re fucking gorgeous.”

Pepper approves the final design and smiles over her coffee cup. “Don’t make me get the hose,” Tony said strolling through. There’s no real heat in it but you pull apart and now you’re both blushing. “Tony,” Pepper hisses warningly. Tony just smirks. It’s cute but not cute enough that he can resist the impulse to make fun of you. “It’s all really beautiful, Pepper,” you say hugging her, “I love it.” Pepper grins and chucks you under the chin, “I’m glad you like it. It’s the least we could do after not giving you the credit you deserve.” You shake your head, “Pepper, it’s okay. I promise.”

“Okay or not, I have one more thing,” she said, “Nat’s waiting with it upstairs.” You cock your head curiously and she grins, “Go on and see,” she said, “It’s in her suite.” You take Kat’s hand and lead her to the elevator.

“You grew up here?” Kat asks looking around. You nod and shrug, “Kind of. I mean. Not here. Dad worked with SHEILD for years and mom’s ex-IRA so... places like this unless I was with my gran.” Kat smiles a little, “And you get your accent from your mom?” You smile innocently, “What accent?” you ask, letting your voice sink into the familiar lilt that you know makes Kat shiver. You stop in front of Nat’s door and steal a kiss before you knock on Natasha’s door.

The Spy opens the door with a smile and lets you both in. “Welcome,” she said, “Do you want to start with mani-pedis or facials?” she asked. “Tasha,” you say laughing, looking around, “What is all this?” Nat smiles, “I figured some adult supervision was probably a good idea... and also, I know and Pepper knows how much you hate these things. So we thought some pampering was in order.” You snort, “And you know Gran’s been horrid about everything and you’re trying to keep my self-esteem from completely bottoming out.” That time, the extra lilt in your voice is completely accidental and Natasha knows it’s a product of you being irritated. But she doesn’t miss the look Kat gives you.

“Well,” she teases, “Is it working?” You hug her, “Yeah, I think it might.”

There are all the girly giggles coming from the Other side of Nat’s door and Clint doesn’t bother to knock. Girl time is sacred and he knows some things he just shouldn’t hear. Also, it’s a chance for Nat to get a feel for your girlfriend and decide if Clint was paranoid.

Once you’re all dressed and you’ve had a few minutes to remember how to breathe. And not stare. Nat drags you both down to the Gala. Nat is in a sleek, green satin gown, yours is black and slinky hugging your curves in a way Clint isn’t sure he’s ready to see all over papers, and Kat, in her sky blue dress, looks like an honest to god, princess.

There’s a moment when flashbulbs are going off in your face and reporters are asking questions. You’re explaining your artwork. Your process. And Kat is looking at you like you’re the most incredible thing she’s ever seen. They ask who she is and without a moment of hesitation, you tell them she’s your girlfriend. It isn’t until the questions look like they’re about to get invasive that Clint catches Nat’s eye and she redirects their attention to Tony. Someone a lot more experienced with the press. It doesn’t take long for them to forget about you. Or Kat.

It also doesn’t take too terribly long, while no one is paying attention during the auction, for Kat to drag you into a dark corner to make out for a little while. You’re pretty sure you’re in heaven as Kat backs you gently against a wall and trails searing kisses down the side of your neck. You can’t help the lilt that creeps into your voice as you murmur her name and she grins, licking into your mouth briefly, “Do that again, baby?” she teases. “Jesus Christ, Kat,” you pant. You’re so intent on each other you don’t even notice Bucky until he clears his throat. “Pretty sure they’re gonna be looking for you in just a second, kid,” he said pointedly not looking. “Thanks,” you say a little breathless, blushing and trying not to giggle. You’re really successful until you catch Kat’s eye and the both of you were both giggling so hard that when you walk around the corner again, everyone assumes your red cheeks are from not being able to breathe. Clint looks at Nat and raises an eyebrow. The spy only snorts.

Hormones still happen, even when it’s girls. “It’s fine,” she says as you shake the winner’s hand. “Oh?” Clint says. “Bucky said they were just making out. Everyone still had clothes on,” she said. She didn’t bother to include the detail that your accent had apparently been Thick enough that at first, Bucky didn’t think Kat was making out with you. No sense in giving him nightmares. “Well that’s fine. I guess,” he said. Nat smiled a little, “I’ll keep an eye on them tonight before we send Kat home tomorrow. Make sure everyone keeps their clothes on.” Clint groaned, “Nat. Please,” he groaned, “I don’t want to think about that.”

____

The next day, as you lay across the couch in the commons, Bucky sits on the arm of the sofa smirking, “So,” he teases, “The accent... is that for fun or?” You look up from your book, “Feck off,” you say blushing even as you try not to smile. “Oh my god, it’s not!” Bucky says laughing. You lapse easily into the Gaelic you learned alongside English. “Steve,” Bucky calls, “What the fuck is she saying to me?” he asked. Steve actually snorts, “Trust me, Buck,” he said, “You don’t want to know.”

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