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#no matter what happens we’re in this together with bat i love a family who wants to walk down hardships with you we’re all family 😭😭😭
akkivee · 8 months
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i think the tl gets this across great but for full context, the saying kuukou’s using here is transliterally ‘the buddha’s face thrice over’ which is an analogy used to say that even the most gentle of people will lose their cool when repeatedly subjected to injustices
but kuukou follows this up with ‘i’ll laugh it off no matter how many times’ which is him telling us no matter what life throws at him he’ll be positive thru it all and face with a smile
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ladytanithia · 7 months
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Writing WIP Whenever (11/4)
I had nothing on Wednesday. Been in a slump. But last night I decided to dust this one off. On my first Skyrim playthrough, I chose to be a male Khajiit, even though I knew zip diddly squat about Khajiit or the Elder Scrolls world.
I pulled a name from The Sword of Shannarah and dove in, and I fell in love with Lydia right off the bat. This is from the story I started writing during that very first playthrough.
@dirty-bosmer @guarmommy @gwilin-stay-winnin @mareenavee @skyrim-forever @thana-topsy @thechaosdragoness @thequeenofthewinter
Balinor and Lydia stayed in Whiterun for a few days to get the girls acclimatized to their new home and family. Lydia seemed to be a natural at mothering, and it warmed his heart to watch them all cook and clean together as Lydia showed them how to fulfill their household responsibilities. It pleased him when they called him “papa” with no regard to his being of a different race.
The more he got to know them and became familiar with their habits and quirks, the more love and protectiveness he felt for them. He was almost loathe to return to life on the road. His plan was to go to Riften and see what the Thieves Guild wanted him to do next. He was procrastinating on the showdown with Alduin, trying to sharpen his combat skills as well as amass more wealth to leave to the girls if anything were to happen to him.
“They’ll be fine,” Lydia told him as they lay together in bed the night before he went back out on the road. “You said so yourself. They’re very self-sufficient, and they’ve been well-trained on how to maintain the house while we’re gone. We’ve given them plenty of coin to buy whatever they need. They’re safe within the city walls. Stop worrying.”
Balinor sighed, closing his eyes and smiling, squeezing Lydia’s shoulders and pressing her head into the crook of his shoulder. “I know. I can’t believe I’m a father now. My parents will be surprised, but I’m sure they’ll also be pleased that I adopted some needy kids as they did with me. Although I have to give them more credit: they raised me from a kitten, whereas I just took on some girls who are nearly women.”
“The age doesn’t matter. What matters is you helped someone. I’m sure these girls’ parents are looking down from Sovngarde or Aetherius and are thrilled that their daughters are safe and cared for. Their souls can rest at ease now.”
“That’s a good way of looking at it, my love.”
“I know,” Lydia said with playful smugness.
Balinor moved his hand down and smacked her bare ass. “Ever the smartass,” he chided.
“So, do you want to make love in a real bed one last time before we head out?”
“Is the Thalmor a bunch of self-important assholes?” Balinor asked in reply, allowing Lydia to extrapolate.
Lydia sat up and reached for the night table drawer, where Balinor had a stash of sheaths. “So, not just yes, but hell fucking yes?” They laughed together as Lydia returned to him, laying the sheath next to the pillow so it was ready when they were, and the nuzzling, stroking, and snuggling commenced.
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phoomwhoosh · 2 years
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Tagged by @mauvecardigans and called-out by @macchiatosdumptruck  😘 (I might not have as many WIPs as you but I do still have a number lol). Thank you both of you!
Post your WIP file names (no matter how nondescript or off the wall), let people ask about them, and reply with a snippet or description or other related blabbering!
I’m gonna just start with the one I’ve most recently worked on and work my way down the line:
CK AU of September 12, 2022 (yes, that really is the name of the document and, no, there is no real title yet lmao)-basically a rewrite of CK except it’s set in 2004 and the teens were born in 1996-97, which makes them 12ish. Told from Daniel’s POV. Overall having a lot of fun with this one. It’s hit 14,000 words recently.
Mirror room fic-one-sided Silverusso wherein Terry desires Daniel carnally but cannot attain him so he fucks young men who look similar enough. He has a room of mirrors that he hopes to get Daniel in one day. This has barely been started but I had to get the idea down so it’d leave me alone. (You see one tub surrounded by mirrors and suddenly there are pillows and it’s not a tub area but a sex room. 🙄)
September 10, 2022 CK fic (yes, that is for real the name of the document)-Diverges from season 5, episode 5 in that Terry takes Daniel home with him and decides to fuck with his mind some more by nursing him back to health himself. It’s a little over 3,000 words right now.
The true weakness-another fic that diverges from season 5, episode 5 except this time it’s Kreese kidnapping Daniel while he’s still in recovery. Kreese broke out of prison not long after Tory told him what happened between Daniel and Terry. Why this one is named and the other one isn’t is beyond me. Amanda might get to beat Kreese with a bat.
We’re in this together, kiddo-Post Karate Kid fic. Daniel burns himself on a hot pan and has to recover from that after literally just getting rid of his knee brace. Anyway, while Lucille is updating him on the LaRussos, Daniel asks her about her own family. (Basically finished, just gotta edit it)
Restoration fic aka It’s the circling-Daniel works at a restoration and repairs shop in 1989. Terry and Kreese crop back up because they can’t let him be. Daniel’s life can never be easy in any of my fics, apparently. I just loved the idea of Daniel restoring old stuff. Like, have y’all ever seen somebody restore an old register to make it look brand new? Well, this is the video that inspired this fic. Well, actually, there’s two versions of this fic but this is the one I love more.
When the world shook-Daniel experiences his first earthquake with Mr. Miyagi. He was recovering from being sick when the earthquake wakes him up. This one’s about 50% done since it’s just supposed to be a one shot.
Golden himbos fic aka Sunshine on my shoulders-Johnny gets a kitten and a new neighbor. I’ve talked about this one before and I love this story. Very slowly working on it, though. According to my file manager, I last touched this fic on August 28th. Oof.
Tagging: my mind went completely blank so, if you are reading this and haven’t been tagged, knock yourself out! Say I tagged you if you want! XD
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squishneedsahero · 3 years
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Motherly Instinct
Awesomest of Them All 2.0 | One-Shots
Part 8.5 of 13
Word Count: 1541
Batman x Batmom!Reader
You know what the bat family needs? Someone to pull them together and give them all the love they deserve. Who better to do that than you? An author rising to stardom in Gotham who catches the eye of a billionaire with your standoffish attitude at a huge social gathering. You are yourself and never pretend to be more or less than that. Plus you're the most stubborn person in the world, refusing to let good things go without reason.
This is a bonus part that I’ve just thrown in cause I felt like it and I have other ideas for the series <3
Some shit had been going down with the Justice League, you had no idea what exactly it was but you hadn't seen your husband in at least a week. Needless to say you were tired of not seeing him and your two sons. So, you decided to do something about it. Something you hadn't done before now.
You walk down to the cave, after warning Alfred you were leaving, and find the suit Bruce had gotten made for you in case of an emergency. For you this qualified as an emergency. You put the mask over your eyes and prepare to head up to the watchtower. One way or another you're going to drag your family home for some rest.
Bruce didn't trust every member of the League to know who he was even if he trusted them to protect the world. It was a bit paranoid but you'd deal with it and wear the mask if it meant you could drag him home. You step up to the teleport and announce the number you were assigned then step in and when you step out you're in space.
Not exactly in space but being in the watchtower was close enough. You take a look around, seeing no one you recognize you approach someone in a green suit and ask, "excuse me, do you know where I could find Batman?"
"Of course I do beautiful, I'll show you the way," the man says, obviously he's a flirt. "The names Hal by the way, and I can call you?"
You decide to bs something on the spot, and say, "just call me SH/N." From there you follow alongside him as he leads you to wherever it is Bruce is located.
"So, why are you looking for the grumpy bat? You know he's quite boring, I'm sure the two of us could have much more fun."
He clearly has no idea who you are and you can only hope this walk won't be long. You go ahead and have a little fun with your response anyways, "yeah? What makes you so sure about that?"
"Well, he's Batman, all dark and brooding I've never seen the guy smile. Just don't tell him I told you that," Hal responds.
You can't help but laugh, "of course I'd never tell him that."
Hal opens up a door and waves his arm, letting you in. "Hey Bats, this beauty is looking for you, though why she's here to see you I have no idea."
Bruce had been standing there talking with Clark and Diana about something. He doesn't respond in any way to the sight of you besides a slight nod, but you can tell that Hal's flirting has already hit a nerve. You let the slightest smirk cross your lips and you pat Hal's arm saying, "thank you for the help," before walking across the room to your husband.
First thing you do is kiss his cheek and say, "hello love." You tilt your head and cast a side glance at Hal, seeing the color somewhat drain from his face. You wrap your arms around Bruce's neck.
His arms come to rest around your waist as the door closes behind Hal as he leaves. "What are you doing here dear?"
"I haven't seen you in over a week so I'm here to drag you home." You let go of him long enough to take the mask off since it was already bothering you, "also don't kill Hal I think I scared him enough," you laugh.
Bruce sighs, "I can't come home there's... a situation we need to figure out first."
You roll your eyes, "okay, what is the situation because I'm not going home until you and the boys can come home with me." You can tell that Bruce is just goi g to argue so you turn to Diana and ask, "what's going on?"
Diana quickly explains that a clone of Clark, a teenager, had been found and they were trying to figure out what to do with him. The fact that they were still trying to figure it out told you more than enough and you turn to face Clark.
"So, should I ask why it is you aren't taking him in?"
"He was created by Luther and is most likely a threat," Clark states simply.
"So?" You ask. "He's a kid." Clark doesn't have a good answer to that so you turn back and look at Bruce for a moment. "You go get the boys and tell them it's time to go home?"
Bruce agrees to go find Dick and Tim, taking Diana with him and leaving you there with Clark. "Hey, y/n, with Lois and Jon I can't risk their safety by bringing a  strange clone into my house." The large alien tries to defend himself.
"That's not a good enough reason. It's understandable but not a good reason. You're there and can protect your family if anything goes wrong, this boy is a child who was probably raised in a lab. Abandoning him is the stupidest idea I've heard in a long time," you cross your arms.
Somehow Clark found you scarier than Bruce was. No wonder Bruce didn't argue when you told him to go find your kids. He once again doesn't have a good answer. "So, you don't have a good response so that usually means I am right. You should talk to Lois about this before deciding anything but for now I'm going to have the kid come stay with us."
The two of you stand in an awkward silence as you wait for Bruce to come back since you don't know how to get back to where you'd started. When they finally come you put your arms around your boys and press a kiss to the top of each of their heads, "we have one more thing before we can go."
You look at your husband and the boys look between the two of you. You smile at them, "we're going to have someone staying with us for the foreseeable future." They all understand what you're saying and go get the superboy and you take him home to the mansion with you.
Once you're home you send everyone to bed and you take care of the boy. You introduce yourself to him and ask if he has a name.
"A- name?" He asks with a pause, obviously thinking about it.
"It's alright if you don't have one, we can come up with something for you." You offer him a kind smile. "So, here's the deal, I'm going to take you upstairs and give you a room to stay in rather than leaving you down here because my husband is paranoid. You'll get to see who we are and in return you'll eat some food and get some sleep, alright?"
"Okay," he says with a little hesitation before you lead him upstairs. You take him to the kitchen where the two of you get some food, quickly being caught by the rest of your family.
Bruce gives you a look upon seeing that you'd brought him upstairs, which you return but just say, "hello Love, he's going to be staying with us so I brought him upstairs to get some food. I figured he can stay in a spare bedroom because we have plenty of room."
Bruce nods slightly, "alright." He looks between you, Alfred, Dick and Tim before turning back to the boy, "so, I'm afraid I forgot to ask your name," he says, putting up with you and your mom instinct.
You jump in, saving the kid from another awkward answer and say, "we were just thinking about a name he'd like. Maybe all of you could help us come up with some ideas."
Alfred makes sure everyone is fed and you try to make sure the kid feels welcomed. He's a little awkward and doesn't talk much but he's polite, eventually you fin a name he likes, Kon-El, and then if needed he could go by Conner. You make sure that he gets to bed before going to face your husband.
You sit on the bed next to him, and face him, "okay, go ahead, let me hear it for letting him in our house."
He sighs and shakes his head slightly, "it was reckless to just let him in and see who we are." He puts his arms around you and pulls you to him, "I love you, and can't exactly be mad at you for making the call on this one when I've done it the other times." He presses a kiss to your temple, "I trust you and your instincts, so it will be fine no matter what happens."
You lean into his chest and smile softly, "thank you, I love you." You tilt your head to press a kiss to his jaw, "he needs someone to take care of him, I don't care where he came from but I'm going to make sure he has a home."
Bruce presses another kiss to your head and pulls you onto the bed with him, tucking the both of you into the covers and holding you tightly to him as he finally gets some reset.
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if I can never give you peace — two || Jungkook
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Pairing: Jungkook x reader // Word count (chapter): 5.8k // Genre: Mafia AU, Hybrid AU, enemies to lovers // Ao3
↳ It starts like quite a few stories do, in your world. Girl meets boy, who happens to be a hybrid, girl buys him at an auction where hybrids are sold, boy falls in love with her, girl gets bored of him. Then it’s not so typical anymore, when the boy ends up forced into illegal fighting rings, until he makes a wrong move and the girl’s father decides he needs to be killed.
Where does that leave you? Well, you’re the one who handled Jungkook’s fight and generally organized his life, and, when the girl’s father, your boss and mafia leader, tells you he wants him ‘put down’, you’re the one who has to get it done. Except, instead, you let him escape, and everything turns out fine.
Until he comes back.
Warnings and tags (chapter): Descriptions of violence, Threats, kind of dark in general
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The car is late, you think as you smooth over the fabric of your skirt, your mouth twisted in a disapproving scowl. Annoyance is one of the few emotions that ever appear on your face, and you don’t even bother to hide it. You have only been standing there, waiting, for a few minutes, but it already disrupts your perfectly well-oiled routine. This is just one of the many changes that have come with Jungkook taking over, but it could be the one you are the least fond of.
You used to have the routine down to a T. You knew exactly when to leave your apartment so that the car would stop in front of you right as you reached the pavement. There were small hiccups every now and then — traffic, last-minute phone calls —, but most of the time, it went perfectly. You liked that. Having that kind of control, when your life had always been completely out of your hands, was comforting.
That went out the window the day you started working for Jungkook.
When the car stops in front of you, five minutes, that’s three-hundred seconds, after the agreed-upon time, you take a short breath before opening the door and stepping in.
There, of course, is your new boss, sitting with his legs widely spread on the leather seat. He changed your discreet sedan for a limousine, which you find obnoxious, but you didn’t protest. You liked to think that you were better than that at picking your battles
“Mr. Jeon,” you say with a nod, voice even.
Jungkook grins when you call him that. You know he enjoys the title, the power it indicates, particularly since hybrids are supposed to only ever have the same last name as their owners.
“Lot of work to be done today,” he comments, and you know he’s just saying that to rile you up. You used to report to Mr. X, but you worked on your own more often than not. Now, you’re basically Jungkook’s glorified secretary. You wouldn’t particularly mind the change if it didn’t mean that you had to sit and watch him superbly ignore your carefully crafted schedule, as he had every single day for the past week.
“Indeed,” you reply without batting an eyelid. “This morning, you have a meeting with Suga,” this one he should go to, he never misses them, “then you are supposed to eat with Fred Lucas,” chances were he wouldn’t show up to that and make you take him to a fancy restaurant instead, and you would be the one to have to handle the situation with him, “and later today I think it would be important for you to pay a visit to the Mystery Room.” That place was one of the few legal aspects of the business at the moment, if you ignore the drugs that get sold there, and it was not a location you should lose right now. “They have been quite… difficult, since the change in direction.”
That last one is new, and you’re not sure how Jungkook will react to it. Of course, there is plenty more work to do, but you’re trying out new methods to get him to do at least what really matters. You don’t understand why he would hire you if he doesn’t let you do your job, but hey, at least you’re alive. And so is your family.
You don’t know how long that will last, though. Unless Jungkook seriously gets his act together, it won’t take long for someone to think that they can do the same thing he did, and have him murdered. You’re even mildly surprised it hasn’t happened yet. That’s the thing, when a leader gets killed. It weakens the whole structure, and it gives people ideas.
The grin disappears from Jungkook’s face and he nods gravely at that last piece of information. That catches your eye, because it’s new. You tell yourself that maybe, just maybe, he spent the last week riding the high of his victory against Mr. X, and that he will be efficient if there’s trouble, at least.
“Cancel that second thing,” he says. “I want to eat at that restaurant I went to last week. You should get me a reservation there.”
Or not.
“But you can go meet him,” he adds, and you blink.
“Mr. Lucas is expecting to see you,” you say, in case you weren’t clear.
“And he doesn’t get to demand my presence like that,” Jungkook snaps. You bite the inside of your cheek to stop yourself from wincing. His voice sounds harsh, cutting. Dangerous. “Did he think that I’d go ask for treats because a human joined us? That’s not how that shit works.”
Okay. He’s not wrong here, but you don’t know about this— approachto the situation. Fred is, indeed, one of the two human leaders who decided to immediately join Jungkook when the news of the death of Mr. X and the uprising of hybrids in various parts of your branches in the city spread. You wouldn’t be surprised if he expected a treatment of favor for that, too, but you’re not sure letting him know how little his gesture was appreciated was the way to go.
“I don’t think—”
“He’s replaceable,” Jungkook says with a dismissive movement of the wrist. “I’ll swap him for one of my men the second he makes a mistake. It would be a lot better if no one forgot that.”
The look he gives you makes his message crystal clear. You feel your mouth getting dry, but you know nothing is showing in your expression, and that at least is a relief.
“I’ll go to the meeting and get you your reservation, then,” you say, pulling out your phone. “Does the rest of the schedule work for you?”
Jungkook frowns, and the tiniest feeling of satisfaction spreads in your chest. You know he’s just applying pressure and waiting for you to crack, but you won’t.You’re used to contorting yourself to please everyone. You’ve made it work for years, and it will take much more than those childish games for you to snap.
Or, at least, that’s what you’ve been telling yourself for the past week.
“Fine.” Then he closes his eyes and leans back in the seat. You raise an eyebrow at the sight. You know it’s not because he trusts you, but because he doesn’t think you have the guts to do anything to him — and because, even if you did, he’s pretty confident he wouldn’t have any trouble stopping you. You hate that you find something endearing in that vision. Jungkook was genetically designed to be handsome, and he is.More than that, though, when you look at him right now, even though his long bunny ears are skillfully hidden under a headband, he looks cute.
And he could — and would — take less than a second to snap your neck.
“This afternoon should be fun at least,” he mumbles under his breath, and you hide your grimace.
Shit. That can’t be good.
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It’s been clear to you from the very first day that Suga knows exactly what he is doing. It’s also been clear that this isn’t his scene. Being at the forefront of operations, taking the lead — it’s obvious that he would much rather stay in the shadows. You’re not sure how important he was to Jungkook’s organization before, since no one has bothered trying to inform you of that, but you suspect that he’s usually more the type to be in the field.
Right now, though, he’s standing in front of a small group, exposing what the recent developments have been. Sitting behind Jungkook, you listen to him attentively. Those reunions should become less frequent, but right now things could still change completely, and you cannot afford to be taken by surprise.
You are, however, starting to feel less and less comfortable with the fact that nothing seems to be coming out of them. Sure, Yoongi informs you of the people who have sided with Jungkook and of those who are openly opposed to him — a minority, so far — but there is a large group in between that seems to be in no hurry to take position. And you don’t like it.
It hasn’t been long since Jungkook has taken over, but you should at least have gotten someintel by now. You’re not sure what isn’t working here. For now, you don’t want to risk provoking anyone by offering your services. Worry is starting to gnaw at you, though. You could all be driving into a dead-end street at full speed, and that stupid struggle you’re having with Jungkook just isn't worth dying over.
“So not much has changed,” Jungkook comments, tapping his fingers onto the table. He looks nonchalant, but you notice a muscle in his jaw twitching. You wonder if he understands more than he lets on.
“Things have been stagnant,” Yoongi admits without batting an eye. “There hasn’t been any open rebellion, but communication is lacking.”
“That needs to get better.”
“We’re working on it.”
They probably are, but it doesn’t look like that’s going well. Word has reached your ears that some of the branches have been keeping hybrids at bay as discreetly as possible.
“What about that Mystery Room thing?” Jungkook asks, frowning. “What’s going on over there?”
“The what?” Yoongi frowns.
Jungkook looks puzzled — pissed, actually — for a second, then glances at you over his shoulder, and the attention of the whole room suddenly shifts to you. You straighten your back, swallow.
“The owner of the bar has missed a payment to us,” you state calmly, “and it seems that he has no intention of making it and is trying to get out of his contract with us. It would be better if we didn’t lose it right now.”
“What do you mean, ‘it seems’?” Yoongi asks, narrowing his golden eyes at you. His voice sounds more like a hiss, and this time, you struggle to hide your reaction. You haven’t forgotten what it felt like, when you thought he was going to kill you. It’s affected you more than you’d like to admit.
“I have a contact who—”
Yoongi clicks his tongue, and you close your mouth.
“I’m going there today,” Jungkook informs him, and Yoongi nods.
“I’ll be around.”
The two men have a silent exchange of looks. Their relationship is somewhat atypical, not something Mr. X had with anyone. It looks like they genuinely rely on and trust each other. You suppose someone else would find it touching, but you don’t have it in yourself. Especially not when that means they both have it out for you.
“Haven’t you been following what we’ve been talking about here for the past week?” Jungkook snarks at you, and you blink. “Any information you get from now on needs to get to Suga so he can factor it in.” At that, you give him a disbelieving look. That just won’t work. It can’t. Not for the first time, you wonder how much he underestimates you, exactly. If he knew anything about the way you work, about how many contacts you have and how much information you’re usually juggling with, he would never ask that of you.
Yet you nod. You don’t know yet if you’ll send a believable amount of intel to Suga, or just absolutely drown him under it until they tell you to stop, but once more, this just isn’t worth fighting over.
Especially when fighting over something can so easily mean dying over it, in your current situation.
“Will do, Mr. Jeon.”
He looks displeased, and you know it’s because all he’s waiting for is for you to slip.
“I shouldn’t even bring you to these meetings. You’re not even taking any notes. That’s fucking useless.”
It takes everything in you to bite back a scoff at that. You could tell him you don’t need to take notes when Yoongi is talking about minimal changes in a landscape you know on the tip of your fingers, that maybe you would if he said anything of value, and that this wouldn’t be an issue if people actually feared him.
You marvel at how annoyed that quip makes you. You suppose you don’t like it when your competence is questioned. You don’t like the threat either, though. You don’t want to risk falling out of the loop.
“I’ve gotten you a reservation at that restaurant,” you say. “If things are done here, I’ll be on my way to meet Mr. Lucas.”
Changing the subject. Deflecting. Trying your best to live to see another day. It seems like it’s all you’ve been doing for the past week. You know you can keep it up for a long time, you’re patient enough. You also know that this game is set up to make you lose.
Right now, as Jungkook looks at you, clearly not amused by your attitude, there is a terrifying moment during which you fear that he might just drop the charade. The only point of this whole thing is to get rid of you. He could decide he only wants to do that any second.
“Yeah, right. Be on your way.”
He dismisses you like you’re some low lackey, but that, at least, isn’t anything new, and you know how to handle it. You bow politely, then exit the room.
“You really wanna keep her around?” Yoongi asks once you’re gone, and Jungkook groans.
He doesn’t know why he had expected you to break easily. He’d seen you work for Mr. X, do that same shit he makes you do and survive as long as you had, so he should have known you’d be good at it. He supposes he’d been used to you making decisions for him, back then, and had thought that was a normal thing for you, that you wouldn’t enjoy being in the position of taking orders. But you were, after all, just someone who worked for others that whole time.
Not that he gives a fuck about it. He couldn’t care less why you did the things you did. All he wants is to give you a taste of your own medicine. Dangling a false chance of survival in front of your eyes and let you handle the rest yourself. So as long as you push through… well. He’ll let it slide.
It’s not like you can keep doing it forever anyway.
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Fred Lucas worries you. He’s always smiled too widely, been too loud, made too many jokes. You know Mr. X considered him to be some sort of buffoon, but also kept his distance from him. Mr. X didn’t like people who pretended to wear their hearts on their sleeves.
“Always a pleasure to see you, (Y/N),” he greets you warmly when you walk up to him and you give him a nod. If he’s upset that Jungkook isn’t there, he doesn’t show it, just like you don’t show your distaste for his use of your first name. “I’d like to discuss with just you, though,” he adds, eyeing Hector, who’s standing beside you. The fact that you still have him by your side is the only good thing that has come from working for Jungkook so far.
You don’t like that. You’re all too aware of the fact that this is his land, and that the only reason why he’s saying that is that Hector is a hybrid. If that gets back to Jungkook, it wouldn’t be good for Fred — but you don’t think he’ll go down without a fight. You glance at Hector, who looks as placid as always and offers no help. The gears in your head are turning fast. Before, you were protected by how indispensable you were considered by Mr. X. That is clearly not the case anymore, but Fred likely isn’t aware of that. Yet.
On the other hand, sending Hector away would show weakness, and you can’t afford that.
“Hector goes where I go,” you say.
Fred’s smile widens even more.
“Of course, of course, can’t trust anyone those days, can you?”
You wonder if it’s a jab at you and how quickly you changed sides, but he is more or less in the same position, so you could just be paranoid.
“Come on, come on in, let’s get ourselves a drink.”
You don’t want a drink, but you do follow him in. The sooner you do that, the sooner you will be out of here.
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Fred has a lot of things to say. Most of it isn’t relevant to anything that is happening right now, but you’ve never been able to tune things out. You always worry you’ll miss an essential piece of information. So you listen as he babbles about his business — getting weapons in and out of the city, something he is decently good at — but also about his family, his friendships, and his favorite kind of alcohol. You let him pour you a glass, even if you have no intention of touching it.
“I hear you,” you manage to interrupt him, “but I am curious to know why you wanted a meeting with Mr. Jeon. It seems to me that you have the situation here under control.”
Flattery has always worked on Fred, and you have no issue in using that against him.
“Of course we do,” he gloats. “It’s just— There are a lot of rumorsfloating around those days, you know?”
You do know. You suspect Fred has heard the same things as you. You also suspect most people have been very careful not to let those things reach Yoongi’s ears.
“People are talking about a ‘human opposition’ forming,” Fred gasps dramatically. “Can you believe it? Some people are really not happy about being led by a hybrid.”
That seems to be more concrete than what you’ve heard, which means that Fred could be exaggerating things… or that he was contacted to join that opposition. And you don’t like that second possibility, not at all. You trust Fred about as far as you can throw him, and that means you certainly don’t trust him to not try and play both sides.
“That was to be expected,” you reply calmly. “I do not doubt that Mr. Jeon knew such a reaction was coming.”
Fred narrows his eyes at you, trying to gauge what you knew then and what you know now. Which isn’t much, but that’s not something you plan to let slip out.
“Do you know of anything specific?”
You see from the glint in Fred’s eyes that he knows the game is on. If you know something and he doesn’t tell you, he will look suspicious, but he could also reveal too much, and you doubt he wants to play his cards so soon.
“I— don’t, unfortunately,” he finally says, and you nod. Either he hasn’t heard of the Mystery Room, or he is voluntarily hiding it from you. Regardless, that limits how useful he is to you. “But the word on the street is that Jungkook may not know what he’s doing all that well.”
You send him a sharp glance. He’s taking a risk in telling you that, you both know it. That doesn’t make the information any less precious.
“I see. And, again, I don’t suppose you know where this— ‘word on the street’ is coming from?”
He shrugs, a true picture of innocence, and maybe you’d have believed it if Fred hadn’t been in the business for longer than you. He knew, he just wasn’t telling because he wanted to preserve his opportunities if something happened.
“I have to go, then. Thank you for the drink, Mr. Lucas.”
“Please,” he says, holding out his hand. “Call me Fred.”
That won’t be happening.
“Goodbye, Mr. Lucas.”
Once you’re out, you take a second to collect yourself, Hector following like a shadow and waiting for you silently.
“Is everything okay?” he asks after you’ve mulled over the conversation that just happened for several minutes.
“It’s fine,” you say as a reflex. You couldn’t stop thinking about how Fred had taken a gamble when he’d proclaimed his allegiance to Jungkook. He’d bet on him coming out on top, and yet you didn’t trust it. You couldn’t think of a reason why he would do that instead of carefully waiting to see how things would go, like everyone else. You didn’t like this. Not one bit. “We need to get to Mystery Room,” you add.
“Of course,” Hector nods, gesturing towards the limo, and you don’t bother repressing a groan this time.
“God. That’s so tacky.”
That brings a smile to Hector’s lips, but you don’t smile back. You never do. Instead, you climb in, roll your eyes at the whole thing, and let yourself be driven away. You can’t come to a conclusion about Fred Lucas just yet, but you have no intention of forgetting about him either.
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It takes you a few seconds, once you’re out of the car, to understand that something isn’t right. You’ve never been good with feelings — instincts, as hybrids call them — and the air doesn’t feel particularly tense or charged to you. Hector stands a little close to you for comfort, and you piece things together from there. There are a few cars around, but not too many, which isn’t surprising considering it’s the middle of the afternoon. Still, you can hear voices from inside, and you know there’s an argument going on there.
“Let’s go,” you say with a decided nod, and Hector leads the way, shoulders tense, ready to pounce if needed. You trust him to do his job, and that’s a lot, coming from you.
You frown when you walk into the bar, taking a few seconds to let your eyes get adjusted to the lack of luminosity, and that frown only deepens when you hear the argument going on and recognize Jungkook’s voice. God. The concepts of subtlety and discretion are completely lost on him, aren’t they?
Making your way through the room, you try to evaluate the situation. Yoongi is leaning against a table, looking bored out of his mind, though you’re sure he doesn’t miss anything from what is going on in the room. As if to prove your point, his golden eyes flick towards you for a second when you approach, before looking away, clearly uninterested. Other than him, it seems that the only other people present are the owner and various employees. You think it’s stupid and dangerous that they showed up here basically alone but, for the millionth time today, you grit your teeth and don’t say anything.
There are five men around, including the bouncer and a security guard. They’re probably armed, and that’s to say nothing of anyone you cannot see. Outside of Yoongi, though, no one pays attention to you, not until the bartender asks loudly “Mojito, as usual, Miss (L/N)?”
It’s a bit early for that, actually, but you give him a nod. The Mystery Room isn’t quite your scene — you’ve always been one to prefer classy restaurants — but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re well-known here, and everywhere, actually, which is something that everyoneknows, except your own boss. That is obvious by the way people’s attitude shifts when they see you. The owner bows to you politely. You acknowledge it with a curt movement of your chin. Jungkook raises an eyebrow at that. He doesn’t look happy about it.
You wait until you have your glass in your hand to say something. The silence that fills the room is heavy, and you can feel Jungkook’s anger emanating from him, having lost the men’s attention. He’s the man who murdered Mr. X, took over half of his operations without anyone noticing, and their fucking boss, and they’re still treating him like a low-life hybrid.
“You haven’t been paying what you owe us,” you say, almost lightly, when you get your drink. “Has business been slow?”
You know it has. You know people aren’t too sure what to think of Jungkook yet. You also know they’ve still made money. Better yet, you’re sure the men in the room know youknow that. You’re giving them an obvious way out. All they have to do is say “yes”, and you’ll come up with something. You won’t let them go off scot-free, but there’s no need for this to end in a bloodbath, either.
“That’s not the issue,” the man says, voice raspy, and you don’t let it show, of course you don’t, but you’re still taking the hit. They’re underestimating Jungkook.
This might be the last mistake they make.
“I think it would be better for everyone if we could work through whatever issue there is,” you say slowly.
Better for them, really, especially because this is you giving him a second chance. There won’t be a third one.
“I’m afraid we don’t, uh, approve of the recent change in direction,” he replies, a stupid grin on his face. He’s mocking you and your infamous overly procedural speech. You know people say you can’t accept who you’re working for, that you can’t take the idea of having blood on your hands.
You may not care, but you’re well-aware of it, and you really don’t appreciate him saying that to your face. You’ll have to make an example out of him.
You sigh and shake your head at his answer. You’re not going to enjoy this. You’ve seen people’s attempts at rebellion against Mr. X, even if those were few and far between, and no matter how much of a fight they put up, it never ends well. For them.
You’re prepared to just leave the place and arrange for it to be set on fire during the night, when Jungkook’s voice snaps you out of it.
“What’s your problem with the change in direction, fucker?”
The mood changes immediately. Hector’s hand on your shoulder gently pulls you back, and Yoongi hops off the table to come stand next to Jungkook, hands in his pockets. He looks nonchalant and relaxed. He could probably easily kill everyone in this room and not get a drop of blood on his jacket.
The owner squares his shoulders and walks up to him. He’s slightly taller and much larger than Jungkook.
“Listen, bunny…”
You barely have the time to widen your eyes at the word, to think about all the ways Jungkook has made it clear that he’s not your typical rabbit-hybrid before his right hook connects with the man’s jaw, so fast you would have missed it if you’d blinked.
A moment of stunned silence follows, during which the man stumbles backwards, hand coming to cup his face in disbelief. And then, he seems to decide that it’s a good idea to retaliate. The dozens, hundreds maybe, of fights you’ve seen Jungkook win flash before your eyes. He doesn’t stand a chance.
People start moving around you, but it seems like it’s only a fistfight. No guns are drawn, for now, and you’re reminded of how much you fucking hate watching people fight. You take a step back, bored already at this stupid display of strength and violence. Still, you can’t help it when your eyes are drawn to Jungkook. There’s a— curiosity within you. How much has he truly changed, in the past two years?
For one, he certainly isn’t pretending this time, isn’t trying to make this fight last for a few more rounds. There iscertain showmanship there, though, you note. He’s giving time for the owner to recover while he takes out some of the other men with hits of surgical precision. He wants them to seewhatever he’s going to do to their boss. Hector and Yoongi keep the fight contained, don’t let anyone escape or call for help, but Jungkook doesn’t need their help. No one here is a threat to him, and it doesn’t take long for the men to be on the floor, groaning in pain.
The owner pushes himself up, spits some blood on the floor. Jungkook turns to face him and beckons him closer with a flick of his hand. He looks amused.
“You fucking piece of—”
This time, Jungkook doesn’t go for the head. His fist gets the man in the ribs, and that first punch is followed by dozens of others, not giving the man any respite, not letting him breathe. When the man falls back, Jungkook doesn’t stop, though the hits slow down, based on what you can see and hear. You have to clench your jaw to stop yourself from grimacing at the sound of flesh hitting flesh, of the bones underneath clashing. It was drowned out, back when he fought in a ring, but knowing it was there disgusted you back. You don’t know why, you just hate it. It makes you sick.
When Jungkook finally gets back up, he hasn’t even broken a sweat. There are five men on the ground, clenching different parts of their bodies and crying out in pain, and he isn’t even out of breath.
“You should fucking reconsider,” he spits out.
They won’t have to. This place will be gone soon enough.
His eyes meet yours as he walks out, and his expression turns to a disgusted scowl. It almost draws a scoff out of you, but you hold it in, and instead, you follow him dutifully.
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Jungkook doesn’t speak to you in the car, eyes instead on his bloody knuckles. It will heal fast, you know, and that’s probably why he doesn’t bother taking care of it. When the car stops, you look outside and find yourself faced with your own apartment building. It’s not even five in the afternoon yet. You turn around to give your boss a quizzical look.
“You’re not needed anymore,” he shrugs. He doesn’t sound like he’s playing this time, though you’re still sure that he wants to get on your nerves.
You hate that it’s working this time.
“The day isn’t—”
“I think you’ve proved exactly how efficient you are today,” he says, obviously dismissing you. “I have no fucking idea how you got this job.”
You bite your tongue not to reply. You don’t care about the job, you don’t care about his opinion of you, you barely even care about the Family. You should just nod, give him the usual “yes, Mr. Jeon,” and walk out. But something keeps you in place a little longer than it should, and that’s how much you hate jobs that aren’t well done.
Your voice sounds distant to your own ears when you say what you’re supposed to, your body doesn’t feel like your own when you walk out and close the door. Your breathing quickens while you hear the car leave behind you like it’s all happening in a dream, your head spins, and you stand frozen in place, staring right in front of you.
Is this your life now? you wonder, feeling your heart thumping like it’s trying to get out of your chest. Are you going to let yourself be so disposable, so mediocre, let everything you’ve spent years building fall apart? This isn’t the time for pride, you’re well aware of that, but it’s still eating at you inside.
You walk back to your apartment like you’re in a trance. There’s a heavy weight on your chest, and you realize you have to make a choice. If things stay like that, you suppose Jungkook will have your head at some point. This is a fight of patience. One you cannot win. But if you make yourself indispensable, then maybe, maybe you can survive it. You’ve done it once already.
You brush aside the little voice mocking your reasoning, telling you that you’re doing this because you don’t want to lose your status. Not because it’s wrong, but because you know that’s not enough of an incentive for you to take a risk. You need something stronger than that. Even if you know it’s a lie.
That doesn’t stop your hand from trembling as you dial Yoongi’s number. You’re happy there’s no one to see you, because God, you couldn’t take your carefully crafted facade crumbling right now.
“Yes?” he answers quickly. If he’s surprised to hear from you, it doesn’t show.
“What are the plans for the Mystery Room?” you ask, satisfied that your voice doesn’t quiver, even if you’re a mess right now.
There’s a silence at the other end of the line, and you suspect he’s considering not answering you, so you take the initiative.
“You need to at least replace the owner,” you say, kicking off your shoes. “You can convince him to sell to us,” — convince, one of your favorite euphemisms — “or get rid of him and get the place from his family. Burning the place down is also an option. We can’t let what happened slide like that.”
“Hmm,” Yoongi says.
“Also, it would better if Mr. Jeon could avoid fighting with people. The last thing we want is people who think they can challenge him.”
“He can take them.”
“That’s not the issue. If people think they have a chance, they’ll keep trying. We don’t want them to do that.”
Another, longer silence.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because he’ll listen to you.”
“And you think I will listen to you?”
You roll your eyes. It’s strange, you know you’re gambling your life right now, but the tension you were experiencing earlier has been replaced by an eerie calm. You feel detached from everything.
Maybe you’ve been doing this for too long.
“You don’t have to,” you say, “but this is my job. I’m good at it. If you just let me do it, it would be far more efficient than whatever has been going on for the last week. I know you don’t trust me, but you can probably come to the same conclusions as me in this situation at least.”
Your heart is hammering in your chest. This is an explicit critique, something you would never have risked with Mr. X, and it’s the most open act of defiance that you’ve ever done — and it’s to convince them to let you workfor them.
“We’ll see about that,” he replies dismissively, and your shoulders fall at first, but then he adds, almost reluctantly, “I’ll take what you said into consideration.”
“Good. We also need to talk about tomorrow’s meeting. I’ve gotten some important information about the opposition to Mr. Jeon, and I think—”
As you explain the situation to Yoongi, you feel yourself calming down. Maybe it’s because you’re doing something that’s familiar to you, you’re not sure, but you can breathe again, and that solidifies your conviction that you’re making the right decision.
Finally, you’re ready to take back your life.
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Tag list: @chaiwivluv @mintyrae @btswdwsmhrdt @xxquenwxtchxx @fekitza @kimmieloveswho @deeepvibes @lonleycoffee @gookiebts @kpop-baka @taecallsmenoona @mimiinluv @dabbingangels @jooahchu
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tinybriewrites · 2 years
Text
Like A Drama - 2
Climbing into the attic, Marinette could see her brother Lewis working on his latest invention.
"We need to talk."
"Can it wait? I just need to fix the last bits of wiring," he said without turning around.
"It's serious," her voice cracked, catching her twin's attention. Looking at his upset sister, he gave her a gesture to start talking.
"I think we're adopted," she said with her face in her hands.
"That's ridiculous. Maman kept a pregnancy diary. You've even seen all the photos in the album," he said.
"I know, I know, but I just can't shake this feeling off."
"You saw something," he deduced. "When you got hit by the akuma."
"I saw a woman leaving twin babies in front of the bakery."
"That could just be another soap opera plot. Heck, a guy claiming to be my future son came to me with a time machine during the fight."
"That's what I thought too, but then I saw him. He was a boy who looked exactly like you, except with my hair. It was uncanny."
"That could still be a coincidence," he argued.
"I can feel it," she whispered. Lewis took a deep breath at the implications. Ladybug instincts were rarely wrong.
"Okay, alright, um," he said. "Here's the plan. We'll confront maman and papa after dinner."
"Forever together."
"Forever together."
 ---
Sabine turned pale the moment the twins brought up what Marinette saw. Tom immediately pulled her into his arms.
"We never meant for you to find out this way. We were going to tell you when you were a little older," the man admitted.
Lewis winced. Marinette gasped. They were adopted. It slowly sunk in for the two. Their birth mother had abandoned them on the steps of a random Parisian bakery.
Tom pulled the two teens into the hug, as well. "This changes nothing," he whispered. "You are our petites étoiles. No matter whether you're related to us by blood or not."
"But what about the pregnancy pictures? And the ultrasounds?" Lewis questioned, a weak attempt at denying the truth in front of him.
"I had a miscarriage," Sabine said, eyes closed. "The night after we returned from the hospital, we found you two. It was fate. I'll forever be grateful for that one summer night. You twins brought light into my life when it was darkest. My little lucky stars, don't you forget it. We love you so, so, so much," the small woman said, silent tears streaming down her face.
The family of four spent the rest of the night talking openly about everything that had happened sixteen years ago. There were tears, and there were laughs, but this was undoubtedly the clear, unblemished truth. Marinette and Lewis Dupain-Cheng were loved.
 --- 
On the outside, nothing had changed for the twins. They were both still absorbed in their respective hobbies: Marinette with her designs and Lewis with his inventions. Secretly, however, the two burned with determination to crack Hawkmoth's identity. The only clue they had to their birth father was Batman. Of all people, it had to be Batman. That made things complicated. Ladybug had met him at a meeting with the Justice League International two years into the Hawkmoth situation. He was respectful of her and Chat Noir's abilities, considering their positions as untrained teenage heroes. Although, from what Tikki and Plagg had said, Wonder Woman and Aquaman may have played a bigger role in that. She hadn't seen him since she requested all associated heroes to stay away from Paris while Hawkmoth was active.
Marinette couldn't leave Paris. The city needed their Ladybug. If their father was in any way related to the big old bat, then he was probably nowhere near France, and Marinette couldn't take any chances. So, the twins had to end Hawkmoth once and for all before they could even begin the search.
Lewis spent hours creating different prototypes of miniature trackers for Ladybug to place on the purified akuma. Each time, the signal magically disappeared without a trace. Tikki told the twins that it was likely Nooroo's instinctive protection at work.
"Fusing miraculous magic with the tracker might be helpful, but you'll need really high precision for that. It would be dangerous to attempt otherwise," the small goddess had said to the two.
Marinette became more devoted than ever to honing her creation magic. She wasn't slacking before, by any standards, but now she was driven with purpose. And, that made a load of difference when it came to magic - willpower. Her skills with the magic skyrocketed, both in and out of the suit. Akuma attacks, in turn, became more manageable for the Parisian heroes. Hawkmoth was improving, but Ladybug's speed left him in the dust.
Two years passed before Tikki had told them that Marinette was ready. The two were one step closer to unmasking Hawkmoth and freeing all of Paris. They were closer to the starting line of their search for their father. Their efforts were finally bearing fruit.
But just like some sort of cosmic joke, Hawkmoth chose that very day to suddenly go radio silent for three weeks. No akuma attacks, no public disturbances, nothing. Paris was the most peaceful it had been in half a decade. Newspapers questioned whether Hawkmoth had finally left. Everyone was celebrating, everyone but the twins.
As each day passed, they hoped more and more than an akuma would show up. They, along with Chat Noir, knew better than anyone that Hawkmoth wouldn't have left Paris alone. No, he was planning something. Something big.
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dreamwritesimagines · 3 years
Text
Burn The Witch 4 - Making Believe [Bucky Barnes x Reader]
A.N: Thank you so much for your wonderful support and feedback my loves ! ❤ Here’s the next chapter, I hope you like it as well and please let me know what you think! ❤ Thank you! ❤❤❤
Warnings: Enemies to lovers, fake dating, mentions of blood, sex, violence, death, manipulation, language, guns, knives.
Summary: A lot can happen in a coffee shop. 
Series Masterlist
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Considering all the missions your superiors had sent you, this wasn’t the first one to make you end up with a gunshot wound, but it was the first one that you were assigned to seduce the target and ended up with a gunshot wound as a first impression.
Now that you had met Bucky, the next step would be easier. You just hoped he wouldn’t suspect something was up like General kept warning you about, so you had to make sure to memorize every single detail of your cover story.
Instead of being a trained assassin, you were now working in a milkshake shop.
Instead of having lived there your whole life, you were now clueless about the city since you had recently moved there.
Instead of liking horror movies, you now loved rom-coms.
New identity, new apartment, new car, new everything. It was as if the real you had never existed, but none of that was your biggest issue right now.
It was your new uniform for the milkshake shop.
“Jesus Christ,” you muttered to yourself, looking in the mirror before fixing your skirt. Even after a week, you still weren’t used to wearing it, the uniform was some sort of a retro diner waitress costume with red and white stripes, cinched waist and a white apron over the short skirt. “I’m going to kill whoever picked this after I’m done with the mission.”
“Y/N?” Chloe called out from the living room, “Come on, we need to go over everything for today.”
You ran a hand over your face and walked to the living room to find your two best friends sprawling on the couch. Keith let out a laugh as soon as he saw you in that outfit, but managed to hide it by pressing his fist on his lips while Chloe kicked at his boot.
“I didn’t say anything!” He held up his hands, “Will you break my phone again if I take a picture?”
“Yeah,” you pointed at him, “I will, so don’t even.”
“We need to go over the plan,” Chloe said, “Today is the day you accidentally run into Barnes, he’ll be at that coffee shop.”
“How do you know where he will be?”
Chloe scoffed, “Hello? I’m a genius hacker?”
Keith sat up straighter, turning the pages of your file.
“Okay so,” he said, “You guys will probably make some small talk, let’s have some practice. Pretend I’m Bucky, how will you talk about yourself?”
“We don’t need to practice it, it’s not my first rodeo,” you reminded him “I got this.”
“Y/N, no offense but he isn’t some clueless civilian okay? The guy was going after targets before you or your parents were born for that matter. The tiniest mistake could tip him off.”
“He has a point.”
“Fine,” you sighed, fixing your nametag, “Let’s practice then.”
Keith took a deep breath and cleared his throat, “Look at that, we ran into each other again.”
You frowned at his deep voice, “Bucky doesn’t sound like one of those robots in the Terminator, Keith.”
“I’m in the zone, just go with it,” he said as offered you his hand, and you shook it.
“Yeah, hi again.”
“I haven’t seen you around here before.”
“Oh that’s normal, I just moved here. A month ago.”
“You just moved here?” he repeated “Really? Did you get used to the city yet?”
“A little.”
“I bet your family misses you.”
“Not really, I grew up with my grandmother. She passed away last year.”
“Any siblings?”
“No.”
Keith raised his brows, “Can you be less specific?”
“Keith—“
“You’re not acting like a civilian right now, you’re acting like a spy who has been forced to socialize and he will see right through that,” he told you. “You have to give him more details, civilians talk about themselves a lot.”
“It’s true,” Chloe said, “Once I was in this speed dating thing and just- don’t ask. They don’t stop talking about themselves.”
Keith pursed his lips only for a moment, stealing a look at Chloe before turning to you,
“Let’s try again. Any siblings?”
You rolled your eyes, “Unfortunately not. I’m an only child but when I was a kid, I kept begging my parents for a sister. My mom asked me what would happen if I got a brother, apparently I went like “but mommy, you can give him back then!””
“There we go, embarrassing childhood memories,” Keith grinned, “Good idea.”
You checked your wristwatch, “I gotta run,” you said, “You guys can see yourselves out.”
“I was actually hoping I could stay a little more,” Chloe said, “To make this place look a bit more appropriate. I suppose you’ll bring him here at some point?”
You pulled your brows together, looking around. “Yeah, so? There’s a bedroom.”
“Ever the romantic, this one,” Keith said and Chloe shook her head,
“Y/N, he needs to see something personal otherwise he might get suspicious.”
You pursed your lips, deep in thought, “You mean like sex toys?”
“Oh Jesus…”
“Contrary to popular belief, when people say they want to see something personal, they don’t refer to sex toys.” Keith stated helpfully, “That being said, we’re all screwed if you end up falling for a civilian, you have no idea how to act like one.”
“I meant personal as in stuff to make your place look more homely,” Chloe explained, “Things from your cover’s past that show him we didn’t fabricate this whole identity.”
“Even if we did,” Keith mumbled under his breath and she nodded.
“Even if we did. He needs to see something personal when he comes here, like…” she motioned at the walls, “Like your childhood pictures or your art projects from when you were seventeen.”
“I was learning how to use a pencil as a knife when I was seventeen, Chloe.”
“Exactly. Just let me handle it, I’ve been watching so many makeover shows lately.”
You shrugged your shoulders, “Knock yourself out,” you said, “I have milkshakes to fill, see you guys later.”
“Go get him tiger!”
“You got this!” Chloe called out as you walked to the door, “Just be confident and your milkshake will bring all the ex-assassins to the yard!”
You let out a small laugh, then closed the door behind you before throwing your shoulders back and going down the stairs.
                                                         ***
Approaching the target as your training taught you had to have certain steps. You couldn’t just implant yourself in their life, you had to wait until they thought it was their choice to include you in their lives. Sometimes it took more time than you had patience for, but in the end it was worth it.
Seeing that Bucky Barnes was no civilian, every single step had to be checked twice.
Well the uniform would help the mission, at least a little.
A distracted target was a good target.
You lowered the binoculars before pushing them into your purse and fixing the apron wrapped around your waist. Bucky was sitting with Sam at the coffee shop and they seemed to be in a deep discussion, not even aware of what was going on around them. You took a deep breath and approached the door before you pushed it, then slowly made your way to the barista.
“Hi, can I get a cappuccino please? Small.” You smiled at her and went to the counter on the right to wait for your order. Out of the corner of your eye you could see Sam looking at you with a frown before saying something to Bucky, nodding in your direction. You kept your eyes on the counter, rocking back and forth on the balls of your feet before you scratched around the tape of the bandage over the bullet wound absentmindedly.
Come on…. you thought Come on, approach me already, just come here….
“Here you go, miss.”
“Thank you,” you said, taking the cup off the counter before you started pouring sugar into it just to stall, and finally heard someone clear their throat behind you.
Bingo.
You looked over your shoulder and turned around, your jaw dropping.
“Come on,” you let out a giggle, “Is this real?”
Bucky smiled slightly and pursed his lips together as if he wasn’t familiar with the gesture, “Uh…hi.”
“Hi!” you said, your voice way too high pitched for a moment, “Wow. We meet again, my hero.”
His smile widened and he rubbed the back of his neck, “How’s your arm?”
“Healing,” you ran a finger over the tape of the bandage, “I didn’t die, that’s something. But the doctor said that was the worst bullet wound he had ever seen in his life.”
Bucky frowned, “Wait, really?”
“No, I’m just trying to look badass,” you admitted, making him chuckle, “They didn’t even think it needed stitches.”
“Ah,” he said and motioned at your uniform, “So you’re a…?”
You scrunched up your nose in what you hoped to be a cute manner and shot him an abashed look, “I know. I thought the exact same thing when I first saw myself in it.”
“I doubt that,” he mumbled more to himself and you tilted your head, batting your lashes.
“Hm?”
“Nothing,” he said quickly, “So the uniform?”
“I work at this milkshake shop just around the corner,” you said, “Apparently retro shops are popular nowadays. It’s supposed to look like this pin up style— can you tell me what’s wrong with the dress so that I can tell the owner what a ridiculous idea it is?”
He opened his mouth and closed it again, looking you up and down, “I don’t- it’s-“ he stammered “You know, it was such a long time ago. I think it looks perfectly fine.”
“Does it?”
“Absolutely.”
You grinned at him, “Well in any case, you should drop by sometime. Milkshakes are better than the uniform, I promise.”
“Yeah?”
You nodded, “Yeah! I would’ve invited you sooner but by the time I was done at the hospital you had already left, and they also told me you paid for the whole thing and the taxi, so…”
“Don’t worry about it,” he waved a hand, “It’s nothing.”
You bit down on your lip, “If you don’t mind me asking,” you said softly, “Why did you leave in a hurry? I mean obviously you didn’t have to stay, I’m sure you’re very busy and—“
“No no, it’s nothing like that,” Bucky cut you off, “I just didn’t want you to think you owed me anything, that’s all.”
“Huh,” you clicked your tongue, “I see. I was wondering what the catch was, didn’t have to wait that long. That’s good to know.”
He raised his brows, amused for some reason, “What’s the catch?”
“You’re too much of a gentleman.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“Not really,” you taunted him “Just unfamiliar.”  
His gaze lingered on you as you took a sip of your coffee, keeping your eyes on him.
“I hope you got home safe though,” he said after a beat and you thought for a moment.
“I did, and now I know to stay away from dark alleys in New York,” you said, “Lesson learned I’d say.”
“You’re not from around here?”
“I- no, I actually moved here just a month ago,” you said, “I grew up in a small town, we didn’t really have robbers or anything. And I managed to get mugged within the first thirty days in a big city. A true New York experience, I feel like I belong here already.”
“Your folks must be losing their minds if you attract trouble that fast in the city.”
“No one is losing their minds, it’s just me,” you said and when you saw his quizzical glances, you felt the need to explain. “I grew up with my grandma and I lost her a year ago, so…”
“I’m sorry.”
“Ah it’s okay,” you said, “She wouldn’t want me to live in sadness, she told me that herself. You can’t focus on what ifs, you know? We just decide what to do with the time left for us and that’s it. Past would drive all of us crazy otherwise.”
He looked almost surprised at your take on loss and when you saw the soft light in his eyes, you knew you had just hit jackpot.
“You’re a glass half full kind of person, huh?”
Nope, I’m more of a “use the glass as a weapon” kind of person.
“Yeah,” you said, “There are enough pessimists in the world, and they don’t need me within their ranks. No one really did anything nice by thinking the worst anyways.”
“Oh you were definitely not raised here.”
Your jaw dropped, “You know what Mr. Barnes, I’d take that as an offense but lucky for you, you saved me the other day, so I’ll let that slide.”
“Mm hm,” He looked like he was struggling with himself not to laugh, “Lucky me.”
You narrowed your eyes at him playfully, then checked your wristwatch.
“I should probably go, my boss cares a lot about punctuality,” you said, “But is it okay if I gave you my number?”
He stared at you for a couple of seconds as if he couldn’t believe you.
“Wait- really?”
“I mean I was going to wait until you asked me, but apparently you’re too much of a gentleman,” you joked as he hastily grabbed his phone from his pocket and handed it to you. You typed in your number, then saved it.
Y/N (The Milkshake Girl)
Bucky tilted his head, his brows furrowed, “What, you didn’t think I’d recognize your name?”
“Well it’s better to be safe than sorry,” you joked, “Besides you should really come by sometime. We have the best chocolate milkshakes. It’s on the house.”
He smiled, “I will.”
You took a step, then held your breath and turned around as if you had just remembered something.
As if it wasn’t all practiced.
“But not after 4 on Mondays and Wednesdays,” you said, “I volunteer at the soup kitchen then.”
That light in his eyes was almost gentle, as if he was worried he could hurt you just by looking at you, but couldn’t stop himself from doing so.
“I’ll see you not after 4 on Mondays and Wednesdays then,” he said and you giggled, then turned around and walked to the door. Sam was watching you with a small, proud grin on his lips so you waved at him and left the coffee shop, still holding the warm cup tightly in your hand.
As soon as you were sure you were out of their sight, you dropped the smile, exhaled a relaxed breathe and grabbed your phone to touch the contact on the screen.
“I’m sorry, our delivery service is down right now,” the voice said and you scratched around the tape on your arm before telling her the code;
“That’s okay, I can wait until the rain stops.”
There was a click on the other line and soon enough you heard the assistant’s voice.
“Hello?”
“This is Shrike, put me through the General.”
“Of course, a second please,” she said and you tossed the cup into the garbage can, then General’s voice reached you.
“Shrike?”
“Sir, I just called to inform you that I’ve contacted the target for the second time,” you said, “Everything is going according to plan, my report will be on your desk by tonight.”
“He didn’t suspect anything?”
“No sir.”
“Okay,” he said, “Don’t move too fast, alright? We don’t want to spook him.”
“Of course.”
“And Shrike?” he said, “Good job.”
A smile lit up your face, “Thank you sir,” you said and hung up, closing your eyes and leaning back to the wall.
“Okay,” you whispered to yourself, “You got this, he’s just another target. Let the games begin.”
Chapter 5
590 notes · View notes
deleteddewewted · 3 years
Note
Hey, I just read your Kurogiri omega and was wondering if you could do a part 2, but with Kurogiri remembering his time in the AU when he was Obroro and how he met the alpha reader until the day of his "likely" death?!
I've been trying to find an excuse to continue that, so thank you for being that excuse, anon!
Omega! Kurogiri Part 2
🚨spoilers🚨
Kurogiri x M! Reader
Omega! Kurogiri Headcanons Part 1
TW: Angst, Death, Unhealthy Coping Mechanism
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You couldn’t tell him he was your mate. It would place you and him in danger.
You kept going to Tartarus to visit him but decreased the frequency of them.
Kurogiri did not take this lightly.
You were leaving him again.
You both had built something meaningful and you were leaving.
Kurogiri laid down on the bed he was given and stared blankly ahead of him.
The world became dimmer as the time passed. Eventually his eyes closed and he drifted away to the lovely abyss of sleep.
“Shirakumo!” The blue mist haired boy turned around and spotted his two friends call out to him.
Yamada, the loud blond, was dragging the dark hair Aizawa with him. He looked eager to tell him something.
“Hey man! Uh, something going?” He asked. Yamada was way to energetic for it to be his usual and Aizawa didn’t look all that annoyed either.
“You won’t believe it man! One of our classmates is super hot!” Yamadas face held a small blush to it while Aizawa turned his head around to ignore them.
He was also blushing.
Shirakumo laughed at the two and wrapped his arm around Aizawa's neck.
"Oh really? Tell me more." He teased.
Yamada gave him an entire speech about how their classmate was hot as fuck and how the guys name was really pretty. He was fanboying over someone he barely knew.
Shirakumo thought it was cute how affected Yamada was by the new student so he couldn't wait to meet him.
When he did meet you, his inner omega purred.
Everything about you was perfect and beautiful to him.
He wanted to get to know you better.
Thats what allowed a friendship to bloom between you both.
He smiled a lot throughout the day but it became brighter when you would walk into the room.
His omega purred at him, begging him to get closer to you so he could take your scent in. Look at your beautiful eyes and your beautiful face.
You would catch him staring at you, the lingering trail of smokey blue hair giving him away every time.
You also liked him, a lot actually.
Easy on the eyes but with a big personality.
Welcoming, comforting, everything you would ever want in a significant other.
You found it endearing how he took the initiative to keep Aizawa away from rude and mean people.
You could also see how your guys friend, Yamada, would falter. His smile dropping for a moment when he thought no one was watching.
That always happened when Aizawa and Shirakumo were together.
You were all young, so it didn't matter who was dating who or what the future would hold. The now was more important then anything else.
Shirakumo contemplated what he could do to court you.
He jumped to the conclusion of courting instead of asking you if you were wanting to try a relationship with anyone.
He told Aizawa and the black haired boy just looked at him. His eyes saying something that his mouth wouldn't.
Didn't matter how well Shirakumo knew him, he didn't know how to read his eyes.
"Should i get him a bouquet? Maybe his favorite foods? Ah, i dont know what to do! Aizawa help me!" Aizawa recommended he just asked you out.
"You're so not romantic, but i still love you." He missed how much his words affected Aizawa. The black haired boys face was tinted red, his neck taking most of the blush he couldn't show on his cheeks.
Shirakumo made up every possible scenario inside of his own head and instead asked Yamada for some help.
"Yo! You should totally make a dramatic confession!" Shirakumo and Yamada planned everything out.
It did not go well.
You made it clear to him that you weren't looking for anything at the moment and that you just wanted to be friends with him.
Shirakumo and his omega became upset. His spring like scent became muddled, dirty water and a harsh smell overlaying itslef in a thick blanket.
His personality didn't change around you, he was still smiles and laughter.
When class would finish he would walk with Aizawa back to the train station and vent about everything you did that day.
"He looked so handsome eating that pudding and the way he leaned on his arm. So hot." Shirakumo sighed.
Aizawa felt very conflicted. He was happy for his friend but something else made itself present when he spoke about being with you.
Shirakumos pinning wouldn't stop and it finally got to a point were he would openly flirt with you.
You didn't mind it, in reality, you were as much of a flirt back.
This game between the two of you played out with him complementing you with big charades.
You would be more tactile. Occasionally touching his arms or running your hands threw his smoke hair.
It was pleasant. His hair parting into tendrils and at times having a mind of its own.
It would wrap itself around your wrist preventing you from removing your hand.
Enough time had passed that you felt like pursuing something more with him.
Something more romantic.
Shirakumo dragged you to the roof top one day.
All he said was that it was important.
"I like you, a lot. You're just so...handsome and pretty and beautiful and everything else thats good really." He stopped and began to walk around the roof top of the school.
"My omega is going nuts with your scent and it honestly drives me crazy too." Shirakumo danced around you.
"If you only knew how much i want to hold you and kiss you every time you help Aizawa out. That one time you helped that omega by fighting those meat heads off of them. Purring for you, baby!" Shirakumo got close to the roofs edge.
"Everything about you makes me and my omega want you. I-" Shirakumo slipped from the edge and fell.
You ran to catch him, maybe you could save him.
Shirakumo would most likely die, you wouldn't get there on time to catch him.
Your heart pulled with dread and dropped when you heard him scream.
Then, a peak of mist made itself seen from the edge of the roof.
“Shirakumo!” You yelled at him as he floated above you.
He flew around in his cloud, circling around you laughing.
“Was that intentionally?” You asked once he got down from his cloud.
His face became red as he watched you look at him expectingly.
“Ah, yeah?” You laught at his response and pulled him towards you.
You ran your fingers threw his smoke like hair and cupped his cheek in your hand, thumb gently caressing his face.
“You know? You should really stick to just two word phrases. I don’t think you have the mental capacity or brain cells for anything more.” You teased.
He gave you a goofy smile while he practically melted into your touch.
You were heaven and safety for him.
His inner omega begging him to ask you to be his mate. To bond. To do everything with you.
To be yours and you be his alpha.
His mouth a body moved on their own. He couldn't stop himself from getting closer to you and wrapping his arms around you.
"I'm sorry,” He stared at your eyes and admired them more a moment, “but you’re to perfect to just put into two words.”
Shirakumo closed the gap between you two and kissed you.
Both you and him, and your secondary sexes, we’re overwhelmed and overjoyed.
It was a thrilling emotion that coursed through you. The giddiness of being able to say that this was someone you would like to invest all of your time on.
You both loved each other so much, nothing in that moment or the ones to come could ruin that.
Then in your second year, Aizawa brought you Shirakumos speaker.
It was battered and broken. Wet.
Destroyed.
Aizawa said nothing to you, the other alpha walked away from you without batting an eye or even acknowledging the blond beta running after him.
You felt your legs give way as you fell to the floor. Vision becoming blurry and warm streaks falling down your face.
“So what should we do? We both want to mate but we can’t risk our careers.” “Don’t worry about Y/n. You’re already my mate. My omega is telling me that you’ve already been accepted and naturally, I’m always glad to call you mine. Fuck the rules!” “Sure, whatever you say, my mate.”
The happy memories and the planned out future you both had with each other was now just a dream.
It was delusion you had set yourself up for.
Your mate was gone.
“So that’s who you are.” Kurogiri spoke into the empty cell. The dream having woken him up.
He turned to lay on his side and stared at the invisible cell door.
He didn’t attempt to fall back to sleep.
You laid awake in bed, face pressed into an old jacket that was clearly worn down.
It was faded in color and no longer had that signature scent you adored so much.
It no longer smelled like spring.
Or like fresh air.
It smelled like you and your laundry detergent.
Your mate was dead and you both never got the chance to make it official.
Would never have a family of your own. Never have your first anything together.
Never have another moment with each other.
He was gone and yet still here.
Your mate was a terrorist who found no issue in killing others.
“Goodnight…my omega. Sweet dreams, Oboro.” You drifted off to sleep once your eyes closed.
254 notes · View notes
spencersawkward · 3 years
Note
i’m so happy ur on tumblr now!! i love between the lines so much, could you write a blurb or one shot about mgg and a younger co-star, but like very spicy if possible 🙃, idk i just love that scenario🥵.
i was literally about to write "omg i love this concept too!" and then i was like “well no fucking shit, sophi.” lol. YES i can 10/10 write you a one-shot with a similar scenario! also thank you for your kind words that was the first fic i ever wrote so it’s very near and dear to my heart!
summary: reader goes to a holiday party with her co-stars and best friend, Matthew... but all the fun happens in the dressing room.
content warnings: this one is quite dirty but i’m also proud of it lol. unprotected penetrative sex, oral (female receiving), degradation, use of the term “little girl,” creampie, age gap. dirty talk?
pairing: Fem!Reader/Matthew
word count: 4.7k
masterlist
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"no."
"what do you mean, 'no’?” Matthew laughs, looking between me and the mirror.
"I look like the Ghost of Christmas Past." I lift up the soft white tulle of the dress, watching it float back down to settle over my skin. he's got his eyebrows raised and there's a smirk on his lips like he's holding back a laugh. I resist the urge to reach around and hit him.
"would you rather wear that?" he points to the punch-stained gown that's now laying pathetically over the back of the vanity chair. I genuinely ponder the idea for a moment.
"honestly, the crime scene vibes might work well with the theme of our show."
"seriously, it's not bad, Y/N!" he insists, drawing my attention back to the mirror.
"you're just saying that because you're the one who spilled on me and you don't want people making fun of how clumsy you are." I cross my arms over my chest. he gives me a dubious expression in our reflection on the wall.
"do I seem like I care about that?" he challenges.
"I--" the truth is that no, Matthew is not the type. Matthew is the kind of person to flounder in front of anyone and proceed to crack a joke about himself. he's humble. but I kind of like when we talk like this, our back and forth.
after a year of working together on the same show, he and I have grown incredibly close. I'm friends with all my co-stars, but he and I just have the natural friendship chemistry that makes me want to spend all my time with him. when we're not on set, we're hanging out on his couch or ordering dinner or driving out of town to check out wacky sites around California. we just have fun. pure, clean, honest fun.
of course, in my dreams it isn't pure or honest. frankly, there's a lot of sordid scandal to what goes on in my head when he accidentally touches my arm or brushes his fingers over mine. the amount of times I have gone to cast parties trying to work up the nerve to kiss him are embarrassing. he's older and more experienced and, obviously, he has no interest in me.
but that doesn't matter.
the only reason I'm standing in a dressing room alone with him is because he knew someone on the crew who could hook me up with a replacement for the night. he left while I slipped out of the old one and came back in only after knocking and checking, like, twice to make sure I was decent. he's so respectful that it's almost like he's afraid of making me think the wrong thing-- which makes me feel absolutely stupid for my almost schoolgirl crush.
"come on, you look great. let's go enjoy the party."
"was this a dress one of the victims was wearing?" I ask with a laugh.
"probably. not like we carry a lot of gowns on set." he grabs my hand, makes my heart leap into my throat. he only does it to urge me along, but it still feels intimate as I follow him out of the room, tossing one more evaluative glance at myself in the mirror. I seem terrified.
we continue to do our rounds at the party, Matthew filling my glass of eggnog even though I hate it. I wince and take a sip while we talk to some of our co-stars.
"what's wrong with you?" Shemar chuckles at my expression.
"lost a bet."
"with whom?" he glances between Matthew and me, knowing damn well already from the mischievous grin on the former's face.
"I told you not to take it." Matthew says over the rim of his glass.
"if you mention it one more time, I'm gonna throw up eggnog all over your outfit." I threaten him, but we're both smiling. Shemar frowns.
"what was the bet?"
"you know David-- the guy I was telling you about?" I reply quickly, determined to give my side of the story. Shemar nods; I told him last week when David oh-so-chivalrously danced up on me at a club and asked me out. usually in those situations, guys just want a one-night stand, so I was impressed and agreed. "anyway, Matthew said if it turned out that he was a weirdo, he would get to pick my drinks for the next week whenever we go out."
"your drinks? that's specific."
"she's so picky!" Matthew teases me.
"leave me alone, you dick!" I elbow him and he dodges just in time.
"tell him why he was a weirdo." he grins. the glare I give could kill. but Shemar is waiting expectantly for me to share the information, so I sigh and set my jaw before telling the truth.
"he collects antique dental tools."
"what?" Shemar laughs disbelievingly. I throw my hands up.
"I don't fucking know. we went back to his apartment and he showed me his whole collection."
"you're attracted to weird people, Y/N." Matthew says. I raise my eyebrows and almost say something that dooms me. I hold my tongue, however, and turn back to Shemar with a reserved smile.
"anyway, how are you?"
...
the cast holiday party is actually pretty fun. I tend to leave these functions early in favor of my couch and some ice cream, but something about the bright colors and the smell of wintergreen in the air makes me want to linger in the studio.
I stuff myself with sugar cookies and Matthew mercifully lets me switch from eggnog to Sprite. normally, I'd drink at such an occasion, but I'm a messy drunk and this is one of my first real jobs as an actress. I don't want to even come close to jeopardizing that by breaking some expensive equipment or something.
my throat gets a little sore from all the talking I do-- Paget and I spend about half an hour horribly belting out Christmas carols at the baby grand piano they brought in. they originally had someone hired to play it, but the guy disappeared about an hour ago.
by the time it hits around ten pm, my limbs are tired. I thought people would be leaving (a lot of them have families), but the party is still very much raging when I start to wind down. maybe it's because I'm sober.
"hey." Matthew sidles up next to me as I sit at the piano bench with a slice of lime in my mouth. I like to suck the juice out of them; sour things are my favorite.
"hi." I pluck the fruit out and drop it back into my soda. he sits next to me, his cologne filling my senses with the kind of sensual warmth that it shouldn't be making me feel. he always smells so good.
"ladylike." he gestures to the movement.
"is that why you call me 'princess?'" I smirk, half-joking.
"once-- I called you that once!" he defends. it's not a lie. he used the nickname when he was mocking me for my somewhat selective food preferences. it was sarcastic, but I wish it wasn't. something about the way he said it in the moment made me blush.
"is there a reason you've come to grate my nerves?" I raise an eyebrow and he turns away from me as he bites back a smile. I pout. "what?"
"you're talking like a Jane Austen novel."
"what's wrong with Jane Austen?" I defend, skin heating up. his proximity is doing things to me that it shouldn't.
"nothing," he glances at me before moving his gaze to the ivory keys. "do you play?"
"elementary level, sure." I giggle. he runs his fingers over them, never pressing down hard enough to release a sound. I'm entranced by the delicate nature of his actions, the veins and the curve of his fingertips, the sheer width of his hand. I think about it too much for it to be healthy.
"show me." it's a direct order, one that doesn't feel directive but still ends with me placing both hands on the piano and wracking my brain for something to play. I decide on a piece that Paget and I were doing earlier, "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."
I've never been quite good at piano, and the nearness of his body is like an anvil on my fingers, but I play anyway. and it feels good. his eyes are on me, drawn to my tracings over the instrument as they press and lift and glide.
"sing." I tell him.
"no!" he protests. I don't stop playing, only now getting into the thick of the tune.
"oh, come on. just the chorus..." I plead, turning my head to beg. "please?"
I bat my lashes playfully, fully intending it as a joke, but Matthew softens a bit. for a fraction of a second, I think he looks at my mouth. he turns his head back to the piano and lets out a quiet "here we are as in olden days... happy golden days of yore..."
"there you go!" I egg him on, and he starts to get more into it. his voice is absolutely off-key; he's no singer, and somehow that makes him even more endearing to me.
Matthew has always been this flawless, intimidating figure in my mind. even when we first met, I was certain that he was hiding something because everything else about him is so... perfect. he's funny, sweet, genuinely kind, handsomer than hell. it didn't make sense. but knowing that he can't carry a tune makes me feel a bit better. it humanizes his beauty.
while he sings, I can't help looking at him. his side profile is even more enchanting; the curve of his features meeting a smooth elegance in his jaw and cheek, especially when his mouth is open. he catches me smiling at him and returns it with his own gleeful face, now totally fine with singing like a fool in front of everyone. nobody is even really looking at us-- they're several drinks in and lost in their own universe of drunken laughter.
there's something kind of magical about that, I think. we're sober. when the song draws to a close, I lift my fingers off the keys and into my lap.
"you're quite the Pavarotti." I joke.
"the who?" he furrows his brow with a smile.
"he's a famous opera singer."
"oh," he laughs, "thanks, Mozart."
I twist my face up as I hide my smile. this is also part of the reason I could never tell Matthew how I feel; we just fit together too well. he almost always gets my references and I understand his, even though there's an age gap between us. he's an old soul with a youthful heart.
"how's your night going?" I ask him softly, changing the subject. he sets his hands on his lap, absent-mindedly toying with his fingers. it's not a nervous tendency at all. he does it whenever we're on set.
"as of right now? pretty damn good." he replies with a smile. I get warm again at the implication. he doesn't mean it like that, but god, do I wish he did.
"very smooth." I compliment appreciatively.
"how about you?"
"it was kind of boring, but then this rando sat next to me and started singing Christmas songs and it got a little better." I say flatly, grabbing my glass off the top of the piano and running my fingertip over the rim. he drops his head in a giggle.
"you're something else."
"insult?" I clarify.
"definitely a compliment."
"I like compliments."
"well, I wasn't lying before. you look really beautiful in that dress."
"the murder dress?" I glance down at it to hide the absolute wideness of my eyes at his words. he's completely flustering me and I'm starting to find it hard to breathe. he said I look beautiful. not "pretty," not "great"-- beautiful.
"yes, the murder dress." he gets a little pink in his cheeks, and that makes me want to explode on the spot.
"well, say goodbye to it because I'm gonna go change back into my plebeian clothes," I stand from the piano bench. "it's past my bedtime."
Matthew looks up at me with an unreadable expression and I feel my heart flutter in my chest. I hate leaving him. "do you wanna come with me? like-- walk with me?"
"sure." he nods, stands, and follows behind. I can feel his presence like a delightful reminder of the emotions surging in my stomach. we wind through the crowd of party-goers until we end up back in the dressing room, away from the party. it's quiet.
Matthew walks in with me, carrying our drinks in his hand, and he's about to stroll back out so I can change when I touch his arm. the door shuts automatically behind him.
"wait," I swallow quickly. "can you unzip me?"
"oh." Matthew looks at me, then at the glasses in his arms, then at the vanity. he sets them down and comes back quickly, his frame behind me while his fingertips locate the little piece at the top of my gown. my breath hitches in my throat when he brushes over my spine by accident, one nail dragging accidentally against my skin as the fabric slowly gives way. I don't know if he hears it-- it's nearly imperceptible-- but he definitely hesitates once he reaches the place where my back starts to curve into my ass. he pauses, doesn't breathe until he reaches the end of the zipper.
"there you go." he mutters. his voice is a little more hoarse than usual, and he clears his throat as he steps away. I know he's going to back out. he's going to back out of the room and wait for me to slip into nothing and I know, somehow, that he's going to be thinking about how I look in here with my clothes off. he's going to wish he stayed.
and I'm going to wish he'd done more than stayed.
before I can lose my nerve and allow the moment to be swallowed up by practicality, I shrug the straps of the dress down my shoulders and let gravity take over. it drops to the floor, leaving me in only my bra and panties. I can sense him behind me; he's silent for a moment.
"Matthew." I say, the name sitting on my tongue like a sugar cube. perfectly formed, slowly dissolving.
"y-yeah?" he stutters for the first time since I've met him.
"are you looking at my ass right now?" I ask, still turned around. the way he's frozen in place tells me that I'm right.
"yeah." he admits.
"you can touch it, if you want." I murmur softly. part of me doesn't think this is real, the way each sentence leaves my throat like it's been pre-planned. truly, I don't understand how my brain is moving so quickly.
"are you... sure?" he's hesitant, but even I can taste the longing.
"yes."
his hand smooths over my butt, softly at first like he's still not believing his own eyes, before moving back to grab it. he squeezes the flesh, and a low exhale from him tells me that he's excited.
"do you want more?" my voice barely carries. my head is almost foggy from how good it is to have his grip on my body, even in such a simple way. I can feel myself getting wet.
"how much more?" his lips brush over my shoulder and I get goosebumps. my mouth opens and closes for a moment, searching for the right words.
"however much you want."
it's flint and steel, the way he sparks. the air literally leaves my lungs when Matthew grabs my hips and spins me around to face him. my lips part as I peer up at him, at the lust that now darkens those hazel eyes and the way he holds mine. his touch is certain. he pulls our bodies together, tilts my chin up to kiss me.
it's passionate, strong, the kind of kiss that causes me to lean back a bit just to receive the full force of his desire. but I return the affection easily, moaning into his mouth. I've never been held the way that Matthew holds me. like I'm made of sugar glass, like he wants desperately to feel the soft give of my skin and make a home of me.
the heat between our bodies is almost overwhelming, and I sigh when he subtly pushes our hips together. his erection is against my stomach.
"fuck." I mutter when I pull away for air. Matthew doesn't stop his perfect movements, though, tugging my earlobe between his teeth and starting to leave love bites up my skin and over my shoulder. he chuckles against my throat. I shiver.
"you alright, little girl?" he asks.
"just--" I let out a moan at the sensation of his fingers exploring my bare waist. he reaches behind me to unclasp my bra. "just surprised."
"about?" he slides the straps down my shoulders and looks me in the eye. the lack of physical contact makes me whine.
"that you want me."
"how is that surprising?" he smiles, using one index finger to guide me to look at him.
"you don't seem like it."
Matthew raises his eyebrows as if I'm a crazy person. truly dumbstruck. "what?"
"you-- well, I don't know." I frown, but Matthew takes my hand and moves it over his torso until my palm is resting over the considerable bulge in his pants.
"is this enough proof?"
I struggle for words, sputtering. "yeah-- yeah, it is."
he bucks into my hand a little and I bite my lip, eyes moving up to meet his. something passes between us that I don't fully understand, but feel in my bones. I have never, in my life, wanted someone to fuck me as much as I want Matthew to fuck me right now. my jaw clenches.
"I need you." I tell him like this is the most relevant piece of information that will ever pass between us. he smirks.
"yeah?"
"mhmm."
"then lean against the wall and let me give you what you deserve." he orders. for a second, I try to think through what he means. then I look behind me at the open space and back up, him following me closely. his hands move up to cup my breasts, kneading and tweaking my nipples as he kisses my lips. the coolness against my back causes me to gasp, and he swallows the sound with his tongue before moving down my body.
he's torturously slow, taking one of my nipples into his mouth while he shrugs off his suit jacket. he switches to my other peak, one hand splayed over my stomach, and then proceeds southward with his lips. his kisses are delicate, open-mouthed, as they find their way to the waistband of my panties.
he hooks his fingers in them and looks up at me.
"can I eat you out, baby?" he asks. I bite my lip.
"please." like a beg.
"oh, you're polite tonight." he smirks, tugging the garment down my legs and discarding it somewhere in the room. I don't respond, and he doesn't seem to need me to, because he pushes one leg up for better access to my pussy. "let's see if it lasts."
my back curves off of the wall involuntarily when he holds the flat of his tongue against my clit suddenly, trying to roll my hips against his face. my fingers tangle in his hair, one leg resting over his shoulder.
he starts to flick at my clit. I lose grasp of my own language.
"Matthew, that feels so good, I--"
he attaches himself to my bundle of nerves, seemingly turned on by the sounds I'm making for him. he groans as he laps at the wetness between my legs, dipping into my folds and sucking the soul out of me. I whine and use his curls as leverage to gain more friction. he peers up at me.
"needy little girl." he mumbles against my pussy. I shove him back into me.
"make me cum, then." I beg. I can practically feel the devilish smirk on his face as he devours me like he'll never get enough. every twist and lick of his tongue is sending me to new places. I'm panting, chest heaving, while I grab my own tits and buck into his mouth.
he moans. my orgasm hits me like a wave, causing me to nearly thrash with pleasure as I cry out.
"Matthew, keep going, fuck yes!" I feel tears prick the back of my eyes, the culmination almost too much to bear as we hold contact. he stares into my fucking soul as he eats me out, and I want to stay like this forever. it's hard to support myself with my legs going weak, but I love it. the sensations are otherworldly. it's only when I'm about to collapse that I push his face away from me.
"I love your pussy." he tells me, licking his lips as he sets my legs down. I grin and let my head fall back against the wall.
"thanks."
"come here, princess." he takes hold of my hips and guides me over to the mirror, turning me so that he's standing behind my frame. the pet name causes me to smile.
"what?" I reference our reflection. he stares at me, reaching around to squeeze my tits.
"I wanna fuck you in the mirror." such a vulgar thing, said so beautifully. he kisses my cheek. "if that's okay with you."
"I don't care what position we do as long as you're fucking me." I breathe honestly. he chuckles and draws me towards him so his clothed boner is against my ass. I reach behind and work the button on his pants. he undoes the ones on his shirt. we're silent, him watching my naked body move like he's trying to memorize every detail.
when he's finally stripped, he lets me stroke his cock for a couple moments before pushing my upper back forward so I'm holding onto the sides of the mirror. I see him biting his lip as he lines himself up at my entrance.
"you ready?" he checks. I nod and he smiles at me once. pushing in, the smile melts into a jaw-dropped haze, eyes rolling into the back of his head. "Y/N..."
"it's so big." I try to breathe. he's so deep, I grip the mirror until my knuckles turn white. he's going to snap my body in two with the angle of his cock, filling me easily.
"tight little thing." he grunts as he holds himself inside. I can only watch in shock as I try to adjust to the sheer feeling of him. Matthew runs his hands over my sides, my ass, touching whatever he can. "how's that?"
I start to wiggle my hips and he groans at the feeling of my walls desperately swallowing him up. "Matthew, I need it."
"need what?" he thrusts into me and I have to fight a scream.
"need you."
"fuck... yes." he hisses out, sliding into me. "you're so wet I don't even need to try."
I bite my lip to withhold my sounds and he stares me in the eyes in the mirror as he starts to fuck me harder, building a pace with his hips. he growls a little if he hits certain angles, getting ruthless.
"so many times when I wanted to be inside you, princess..." he trails off. I start to play with my clit with one hand, using the other to stabilize myself with the mirror. the idea turns me on.
"when?"
"whenever you have attitude," he pants. "tonight, in that innocent fucking dress. making me wanna pound you like a little slut."
I make a high-pitched sound at the shudder of pleasure that jolts through my stomach at his words, wanting more. I've never heard him talk this way before.
"Matthew, shit--" I rub myself in circles, caught between watching his face and watching the way his hips slam into mine.
"you're begging to be fucked, you know that?"
"am I?" I smile sweetly in the mirror. we're in our own world, locked in a fantasy that I never want to leave. I can feel him in every corner of my body, sinking beneath my skin. he digs his nails into my ass.
"mhmm." he hums. I can feel the familiar weight in my stomach that indicates how close I'm getting. a knot that screams to be undone by his perfect length. I would do anything for more of this. I can taste everything good in the world on my tongue.
"I'm so close." I whine.
"I can tell," he studies my face in the mirror. "so pretty when you're breaking."
"oh--" I feel my thighs tense and my body pulses, the euphoria almost overwhelming. we move steadily, rhythmically, and he pushes my climax to new levels. "faster." I cry.
Matthew is quick to respond, gripping me closer while he plows into me like he's never going to have my body again. the sound of it is filthy, perfect, a mess. he groans at the sensation of my cunt pulsating around his cock.
"cum for me, princess." he moans, losing himself in the embrace of my core. the foggy stare in his eyes is like drowning in the ocean. I sink below, not caring at all about the consequences of him inside me. fuck working together; I need him. "where should I cum?"
"in me." I groan.
"beg." he commands easily, watching my face contort in pleasure. I could pretend to fight it, to give a little attitude, but I don't want to. I love begging for him.
"fill me up, Matthew. please." each word punctuated by the breathlessness of my voice. he gets even more ferocious with me, beating up my pussy until I'm sure he's going to leave me sore.
"right there, right there," he gasps, hitting the same spot that makes me go cross-eyed. "such a good little slut."
his cum shoots into me, deep and warm and erotically twisted, and I nearly collapse. it feels weird, but so good at the same time. full. he groans out my name and withdraws, quick to grab my shoulders and hold me up as I almost fall. I hadn't realized that most of my body weight was supported purely by his thrusts.
"whoa." he lets out a tired laugh, gentle in his touch. I'm heaving air into my lungs.
"sorry." I apologize, my body unstable.
"are you okay?" he seems genuinely concerned and I nod.
"yeah, I'm fine. just a little overwhelmed."
"here," he scoops me into his arms and brings me over to the old love seat in the dressing room, laying his jacket down before putting me on top of it. "can I get you something?"
"Sprite." I gesture to the glass on the vanity, and he smiles as he goes to get it. I gulp down whatever remains of it. "thanks."
"of course." he keeps glancing at my face and the red marks on my hips where he was clutching me like a lifeline. "I'm sorry."
"what?" I set the cup down. "don't ever be sorry for fucking me like that."
"no, I meant--" he laughs, but then he sees my playful expression and realizes that I'm genuinely alright. I think my legs were asleep.
"you're a saint." I tell him. he frowns and shakes his head bashfully. I'm already getting up and collecting my clothes. "or maybe what we just did prevents you from reaching sainthood. I don't know."
he places his hand on my lower back, kisses my forehead tenderly.
"seriously. you're okay?"
"I'm perfectly fine," I assure him. "but I would be better with a milkshake."
Matthew breaks into a slow grin, staring at me like I've done something miraculous.
"how are you so perfect?"
523 notes · View notes
butterbeerblurbs · 3 years
Text
tired but never of you (f.w.)
💌 : when you look tired and fred can sense it, he does what he does best. stealing you away from the crowd and self-care freddie activates.
📝 word count: 2,618 words / fred weasley x reader / 🌸 a fluffy mess
💬: just... live with me thru this guys 🤡
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after numerous hours of studying and days of all-nighters, you finally had room to breathe again. It was nearly a couple more days before christmas break and boy oh boy you were excited to get a long week full of rest ahead. (though, you doubt you’d be able to squeeze in a week, maybe a day or two. mindful that you’d be spending christmas with fred and his family back in the burrow)
as you decide what to wear for a night out, there’s a knock on your door. angelina announces she’ll go answer and you reply with a mindless thank you as you stare yourself in the mirror, debating between two outfits on hangers over your body. with a small pout, unsure of which to choose, you hear the door closing and you call out to-”angelina, could you help me choose?”
you remain looking at your reflection, and when it feels longer than the usual time angelina takes to rush to you, you’re greeted with-”would freddie be alright?” you flinch at the pair of arms that sneak around your waist and you gasp as fred pops his head over your shoulder, grinning at you through the mirror.
your elbow nudges him playfully, getting him to move but he refuses, only squeezing you tighter, “you cheeky prat,” you huff at him, only to literally have heart eyes sparkling at him as he smiles at you with such warmth it’s making your heart full.
“hey there, beautiful,” fred murmurs, pressing a kiss to your lips, earning himself a satisfied smile from you. he pecks your lips a couple more times until he’s satisfied, moving himself away to sit on your bed as he watches you get dressed. you turn around to face him, now making him decide since he probably shooed angelina out of her shared dorm with you (as fred weasley would).
“help me choose, freddie? which one looks better?”
the boy snorts, “neither. maybe consider your pajamas?”
your brows knit together, face scrunching in confusion, “love, we’re going to the three broomsticks,”
“yeah,” he nods, leaning back into your pillow as he stares at you, “but you should be going to bed,”
he watches as you take a couple of seconds to process his words, before you groan and roll your eyes at him. you decide to go with your first option - a black velvet turtleneck dress paired with a white wool duffle jacket, shoving the other into the closet. fred makes himself known as he pulls your shirt off your body, staring at you through the mirror.
“c’mon, love, you know i think you look gorgeous everyday, anytime - even now! but you look like you got hit by a train,”
you nod a couple of times, a little preoccupied with getting dressed, half-ignoring him, “yeah? do i?”
he nods firmly, arms crossed in front of his chest, “absolutely. like the train dragged you for a few rounds to reach hogwarts and decided to keep going, too,”
“you’re quite the charmer, aren’t you, weasley?” you huff at him, blowing your fringe from your face as you grab ahold of your shedded clothes and shove them into the laundry basket. as you gather your hair to the side, fred smirks at your back exposed in front of him. but when you frown at him at the mirror at his lack of helpfulness, he decides to play later and helps to zip you up.
before you can reach for your jacket, he smoothen his palms on your waist, reeling you in as you make grabby hands at-”i want my jacket, freddie!”
“and i want you to stay in with me,” he tuts, spinning you around and locking you in front of him, not letting you budge even when you hit his chest playfully.
“y/n, you hadn’t had proper sleep the past few days. you promised you’d sleep as soon as christmas break rolls around,” he frowns, swaying you back and forth and he watches as the small movement is already driving you to sleep. yet, you keep your feet grounded, snaking your arms around his neck and pulling him down so you can kiss him. he’s a little surprised, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t enjoy it as he reciprocates the kiss, pressing his lips deeper against yours and relishes in the soft mewl he swallows from your lips.
before he can go any further, you push him back enough for you to have space to snatch your jacket, rushing out the door in a hurry; not bothering to check if fred is coming after you. but the rummaging from behind you, followed by loud thuds, already indicate fred is running.
“hey! at least change into your boots first! your feet are going to be ice before we even get there!”
//
“it’s not too late to back out now, y/n,” fred whispers into your ear as the whole lot of you make your way together. george and angelina were taking lead in the front, followed by katie, jordan and oliver in the middle and the pair of you were in the back. you squeeze fred’s hand in his pocket, hissing at him, “you can’t be serious! i got dressed for this!”
he presses a kiss to your temple, swinging your hand back and forth as much as he can despite being confined in his pocket, almost child-like it’s making you giggle, “and you look absolutely gorgeous! but you would also look much better if you had some sleep,”
“why do i feel like you don’t want me to have fun?” you pout at him, and he huffs, “hey, that’s not fair and you know it. you know how much fun we can have together,-”yep, no lie there. sometimes, you and fred alone caused more havoc than fred and his twin. that statement is a lot coming from most people-”-it’s just, you know, love. i’d want to have fun with you when i know you’re enjoying it too,”
“but it feels wrong to miss this,” you whisper this time, and fred leans down a little so you wouldn’t need to reach him with much effort, “we won’t see them in a bit and i promised i’d come. didn’t want to be a downer,”
“love,” he calls out, earning a huh as you look up to him. he sneaks in a kiss to your lips, grinning at how you blink at him profusely before you register what he had done the thing he’s done countless of times before, “you can never be a downer. have you seen yourself?”
your mouth opens to respond and you swear you see fred about to lean in to shut you up but-“oi! lovebirds! try to keep up, yeah?” george hollers as they’re a good distance away, seeing there’s already enough snow to cast between you and your friends. you yank your hand along with fred’s out of said boy’s jacket, pulling him to follow your lead, “coming!” you only laugh as you hear him yelp, trying to keep up at your sudden spurt of energy. 
//
the place was already packed with people but it wasn’t a surprise to any of you. of course it would be, nearing a time like christmas and all friends would be on their different ways (except a couple), but the vast majority would be. so it wasn’t a surprise a lot of friend groups would try to sneak in one last meet up like the ones you had with your friends (and boyfriend, and boyfriend’s brother).
drinks were poured and downed, a couple of bites here and there but a shared feeling of comfort and belonging. secrets being exchanged, chatters of what happens within the castle, out of the castle - the works. it’s a cogwheel of how the group functions - all in good fun, mutual excitement and trust that what is said here would stay here.
it’s been a little over an hour and a half since the group started getting loose and shaking off the nerves of the semester ending, buzzing for the holiday soon arriving. fred would enjoy it without a thought as well but seeing how the light alcohol is getting the best of you, lulling a bit here and there in the midst of loud chatter, leaning against him for support, he decides to call it a night. especially when there’s a lack of response coming from you.
it captures the group’s attention as they watch how your cheek is pressed to fred’s arm, though, seeming like you’re trying your hardest. fred has puppy eyes as he stares at your sleeping figure against him and he can’t help but allow his heart to swell at the sight.
“i’m always fascinated by this,” katie snorts, earning a nod of approval from oliver, “i’d say. truly, the only person who can tame the wild fred weasley,”
fred exhales deeply and as he wiggles his brows to your group of friends, they already know what’s to come. “well, we’ll be taking our leave now,”
“just make sure you don’t lock me out,” angelina chastises, remembering the night fred did that by “accident” and she had to snooze off in the common room. “you’re welcome to join me, if he does!” george calls out, earning a fake look of disgust from angelina before she decides to laugh it off.
the short yet loud interaction between george and angelina jolts you awake with a yes?, snapping out of your slumber almost instantly. your lips quickly zip shut as you notice how all eyes are now on you, and fred is like your shield, willing to bat away any takers to tease you. before they can, however, fred is reminded of the many reasons why he loves you. a joke, is something you can take, never making it an awkward situation on anyone. (unless necessary)
“good morning, your highness,” george coos, and you grin sheepishly, rubbing the back of your neck, “good day, sire!”
“had a good rest?” katie chuckles, reaching out to playfully mess with your hair. you managed a small yawn, covering your mouth with your hand, shaking your head, “could’ve been better. this place is too loud for a nap,”
the group erupts with a small round of laughter before fred pulls you up with him, preparing yourselves to exit. it’s not after a quick moment for you to say goodbye to everyone and wish them a good break (including george, who he reminds you he’ll be with you during the break because you’re going to stay at his house, as a matter of fact his room too with freddie that it makes you blush before laughing it off). once that is done, fred quickly snatches you away and the pair of you make your way back to the dorms.
fred keeps your hand warm together with his in the pocket of his jacket, idly humming the walk back. it’s peaceful, being in fred’s presence and the way he checks on you every now and then to make sure you’re still walking, doing his best in creating conversations with you so it actively keeps you up. your heart feels all sorts of things, mainly love as you stare at fred’s side profile.
when he catches you staring, he can’t help but tease.
“enjoying the view there? might want to look where you’re going, love,” he says quietly, yet, seeing there’s no affect on you as he effectively dodges anything that’s coming your way, guiding you to a safe path. when he sees your eyes aren’t shifting from him, he’s full on laughing, enjoying the attention he’s receiving.
“hello? is my girlfriend still awake? may i ask the reason why she’s staring at me and not saying a word?”
“she’s... enjoying the view,” fred swears he feels his heart almost leaping out of his chest when he glances to see her smiling so wide, her eyes dissolve to mini crescents. he stops walking and it grants her to do the same. he grabs onto her shoulders and gives her a light shake, “woman, you can’t be this adorable even when you’re sleepy. choose one,”
this was a coded question for: “are we going to have fun tonight? or sleep?” (though, you know fred already knows the answer as they line the under of your eyes, another yawn escaping softly).
“sleep, please,”
“yes, ma’am.”
//
you think in your past life, you must’ve saved an entire kingdom to be with fred. (no doubt, he’d say the same thing about you, if not double up and say two kingdoms but these are your thoughts and he can’t possibly argue with you in your mind). still, you think it’s very much true when fred patiently undresses you and redresses you in your sleeping clothes - a loose sweater and joggers, followed by a t-shirt underneath because it gets a bit more chilly as the night transcends.
now bundled up in the covers, in his arms, his warmth, scent and his voice is the perfect recipe to lull you to sleep.
before you do, though, you’re staring at him and that’s when fred says: “you’ve done so well, y/n. get some sleep, hm?”
“this is so unfair,” you whisper under your breath, staring at the way he adores and is amused at the same time. he decides not to show it as much, only squeezing you around him as he stares down at you, allowing you to let your train of thought escape your mouth as you fall into deep slumber. “you can’t be that handsome, that clever and love me that much... you’re...” there’s a small yawn that captures fred’s heart even more “...absolutely... bonkers...”
fred only snorts quietly, watching as your eyelids flutter shut and you’re dozing off pretty quick from all the all-nighters and lost sleep due to papers and assignments. not only were you trying to be on top of your grades, he recollects how you’ve helped him as well, which he was very grateful for. his eyes remain on you as you get the rest you truly deserve, his hand coming up to brush your hair from your face and he stares at you lovingly.
you were unfair, too, he thinks. you, the person who accepted him fully for who he is and encourages him to chase for his dreams, willing to be by his side regardless of what happened. you, who was insanely patient with him, yet, took no bull and gave him the honest pill he needed from time to time. you, who came into his life like the light he’d been searching for in the dark, only to get blinded once he was within reach. when he was in your heart, however, his days have been warm ever since.
as you snuggle up against him, arms gingerly wrapped by his torso and resting your face to his chest, fred smiles at the thought he’s able to return the gesture you’ve done to him. his eyes close after a while, hoping to see you in his dreams as well.
as he's halfway drifting into sleep, he hears a soft murmur of freddie... that makes him smile, certain his smile would still be there when he wakes.
399 notes · View notes
dragonsdomain · 3 years
Text
Lair
“Well that explains why you’ve never been to your lair,” Ember said, smirking. “You didn’t even know it existed.”
Danny laughed before turning his attention back to the oddly familiar door in front of him. “Well I do spend most of my time in the human world. And I don’t even usually pay much attention to these doors. There are so many. How’d you find it?”
“Ectosignature, silly,” Ember said, rapping a knuckle on the wood. “Don’t you know anything about ghost culture?”
Danny looked away, rubbing his neck sheepishly.
“Er, sorry. I guess that was a dumb question,” Ember said. She gestured to the door. “Well here you go! There’s your lair. You can… ya know… explore it and stuff.”
Danny moved to open the door but let his hand hover over the knob, strangely apprehensive. “What was… what was inside?”
Ember’s eyebrows flew up. “You think I went inside?” She sounded dumbfounded. “Even if lair doors weren’t locked until the owner of the lair first opens them, Don’t you know how- I mean…” She corrected herself. “It is super rude to enter a ghost’s lair uninvited.”
Danny’s mouth formed a silent “O”, causing Ember to perform a facepalm. That did explain some of the encounters he’d had in the Ghost Zone.
“Well, uh…” Danny’s attention fell back to the door in front of him. “Do you at least have some idea of what I might find in here? I mean… what’s a lair usually like?”
“Eh, I don’t know exactly how it works,” Ember said, leaning back in the air thoughtfully. “I think sometimes they’re connected to your obsession. Sometimes they’re just like, where you’d be happiest or thrive the best.” She shrugged. “I dunno, I’m no scientist.”
Danny exhaled a puff of air. “Okay. That doesn’t sound so bad.” He placed his hand on the handle of the door. He hesitated. Why was he so nervous?
Vaguely ominous notes began strumming from behind him. Danny turned towards the girl behind him who was currently plucking out the foreboding background music on her guitar with a mischievous half-smile on her face.
“You know, you’re not helping,” Danny said in slight exasperation.
Ember stopped playing as she stifled a snicker. “All right, all right,” She said, feigning offense. “I’ll take my leave. Don’t die in there!” She said before speeding off into the foggy expanse of the Ghost Zone.
“Still not helping!” Danny called after her before turning back to the door.
Danny put his hand back on the handle. He hadn’t noticed taking it off. Perhaps because of curiosity, perhaps because of some unidentifiable anxiety, he paused before opening the door to examine its exterior. It looked familiar somehow, yet he couldn’t quite put his finger on where he’d seen it before. It was something he knew he should know, but the recollection of where the door was from escaped him.
He sighed. Come on. Just open the door. There’s nothing to be afraid of.
He opened the door.
And he suddenly remembered where he’d seen that door before.
Behind the door lay a perfect replica of his own bedroom. He looked around in puzzlement as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him. Every detail was the same, all his model spaceships exactly where they should be, the little glow-in-the-dark stars arranged on the ceiling as close to the night sky as he’d been able to get them, everything precisely where it should be all the way down to the math homework laid out on his desk which he’d only gotten that morning.
Danny looked behind himself at the door, an eyebrow raised questioningly. Had the door just taken him to his own bedroom? His own house? Was the ghost lair of a halfa just his own home?
He looked back at his room and let out a laugh, changing back to human form. He felt a little disappointed that his adventure had simply led him back to where he went every day, but mostly relieved. He’d been afraid he’d find… well, something… in his lair that he didn’t want to find. His lair simply being his own bedroom was a bit underwhelming, but far from the worst it could have been.
In fact, he thought as he looked back at the oh, so familiar door, it was a little convenient that he’d been dropped off straight at home. He’d had his little adventure, and now he could commence his evening again right off the bat.
As Danny opened the door, he was pleased to see that it opened to the hall of his house, not back into the Ghost Zone. Yep, he was back at home.
“Danny, come down for dinner!” his mother’s voice echoed up the stairwell.
“Coming!” Yep, very convenient that he’d been brought straight here. He didn’t want to make his parents suspicious by missing dinner again.
He reached the bottom of the stairs and was promptly greeted by his parents and sister, all sitting down at the dinner table.
“Hey,” Danny said as he sat down, looking around dubiously. “...Why are we all eating dinner together? What’s the occasion?”
“Nothing, Danno! Except that your mother and I thought it might be nice to have family dinners more often,” Dad explained.
“We know you’ve been having a bit of a rough time with school and, well, everything, and something’s obviously going on with you that you’re not telling us,” Mom began.
Anxiety spiked in Danny’s gut. Did they know? Were they going to figure it out? How did he mess up enough to tip them off to that fact? They couldn’t figure out his secret; they’d hate him if they knew that he was a-
“...But we just want you to know that we love you no matter what. And nothing could ever change that.”
“We wouldn’t even stop loving you if you became a ghost!” Dad bellowed jovially. Mom rolled her eyes at him but smiled at Danny in silent agreement to the statement.
Danny sat back, stunned. Did he hear that right?
Jazz looked as surprised as he was. “Did you just say you’d love him even if...?” Her question trailed off.
Mom cocked an eyebrow. “...He was a ghost? Of course. He’d still be our Danny.”
It was too good to be true. Danny still almost couldn’t believe what he’d heard. Tears pricked his eyes. “Thanks. That’s… good to hear.”
At the sight of the tears Mom wrapped an arm around Danny’s shoulders. “Oh, sweetie, was that what you’ve been worrying about? Why you always look so scared when we talk about ghost hunting?”
“It’s just that, the way you’ve been treating Phantom…”
“Oh, we actually just made a truce with him this morning.”
...Wait. What?
Danny glanced at Jazz in confusion. She was grinning at him, but stopped when she saw his confusion. What? She mouthed.
Danny’s eyes dropped to the table in puzzlement. Something was wrong here. That hadn’t happened. At least not to him. Was there a ghost impersonating him or something? He really needed to get Jazz alone to talk about it.
Just when he was about to speak, something beeped loudly down in the lab.
Mom and Dad’s eyes met. “Jack, did you forget to-” Mom started.
“Yes.”
At that, they both rushed down the stairs.
“...Perfect timing.” Danny muttered to himself. He looked at Jazz. “I didn’t make a truce with Mom and Dad this morning.”
Jazz frowned. “But you told me about it during lunch. It happened during first period, remember? You missed that chemistry test to go fight Skulker? And you told me about how you were worried that was going to make you fail chemistry but I told you your grades were great even if you couldn’t retake it?” Danny looked more confused by the second. “You don’t remember any of that?”
“Jazz, since when have my grades been great?”
Jazz raised an eyebrow, pulled out her phone, and showed him his grades on it. He stood up and walked around the table to get a better look. Straight A’s.
Danny stumbled back. That- he didn’t have straight A’s, what- something wasn’t right-
“Jazz, where are Sam and Tucker?” Danny asked hesitantly.
“I think they said they were going to be coming over any minute now.”
At that exact moment the door burst open. Sam and Tucker entered, looking too happy, too healthy, much too carefree. Oh no, not them too.
“Danny!” They called out, rushing to give him a hug. Danny returned their embrace stiffly.
“Hey guys. You look like you’re doing… really well.”
Sam snorted, pushing him away. “Well you sound weirdly disappointed about that. What, do you miss all the ghost fighting we used to do?”
“Used to do?”
Jazz looked down at Danny in concern. “Are you okay, Danny? Don’t you remember all the truces you made with the ghosts? You’ve hardly had to fight anyone for weeks.”
“...I…” Was he in some kind of alternate timeline? How did he get here?
He suddenly remembered something Ember had said about ghost lairs: “Sometimes they’re just like, where you’d be happiest or thrive the best.”
Of course.
“...This isn’t real…” Danny whispered.
“What?” Jazz asked.
“It’s not… you’re not real!” Danny stepped back and glared at the things that looked like his friends and sister.
“Dude, of course we’re real,” Tucker said, reaching out a hand in concern.
Danny slapped it away and stepped back again. “No, you’re all just figments of my imagination or something.” He stepped back again and found his back against the door. “This isn’t real. It’s all just… fake.” He wasn’t really talking to the people in front of him anymore. He slid down to the floor and buried his face in his hands. “Why would Mom and Dad actually make a truce with me? Or be willing to accept me? Of course it’s not real.”
A hand rested on his shoulder. “Danny-” Jazz began.
Danny flung her hand away and phased through the door behind him, ignoring the shouts of surprise from those in the room. He found himself back outside his lair, in the Ghost Zone. A glance over his shoulder revealed the door, which looked like his bedroom door again, still shut. No concerned voices leaked through. Nothing thrust the door open to search for him.
He stared at the door numbly. It had been nice while it lasted, to have a dinner with his family, to have his parents not plotting his murder for once, to see Sam and Tucker without injuries stemming from his folly. Even if it wasn’t real.
A wry chuckle escaped his lips at the same moment as tears began to well in his eyes.
Of course it couldn’t be real.
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badgirlcovenrep · 3 years
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The Goddess' Blessing (of a daughter)
Chapter One
(NOTES: the raylla adopts Tiffany fic everyone's been asking for
this is going on AO3 once I get home from my sister's but I wanted to post here first. If you'd rather read it there follow me and I'll post once it's officially in there.
Obs: Tiffany is six in this. Mostly because I wanted to write our witch moms carrying their baby and canonically she's like ten so..... and she's also like severely traumatized. We'll get to the healing soon enough though.
+ Edwin is the best papa. And Scylla has p much already adopted this kid, she just doesn't know it yet.
It's half past six p.m when their train screeches to a halt at the Chippewa station. In all the chaos of the last couple of weeks, Scylla hadn't realized Yule was well on it's way. It is still mid November, but the station has been prematurely decked in civilian Christmas decorations, and almost every wall and corner twinkles in golden speckles and fake pine.
Tiffany had been dozing in and out of sleep on the bench next to her, holding tight to her stuffed parrot as well as Scylla's coat sleeve with her restless small hands that spasmed in pure energy even as she slept. Since coming back from Nicte's mission, Scylla had been in a frenzy to get everything ready for their trip, and Tiffany had followed her around the (no longer safe) safe house, clinging on to her attention with wide blue eyes. She'd always liked kids. Before everything happened Scylla even used to babysit for dodger families.
It was never a lot of money, but she appreciated the levity and humor kids carried. They had hope Scylla prayed she could one day get back. Hope that could only come from the fleeting innocence of childhood. But even then, Tiffany was special, she still had all those wonderful, bright things, and she carried them in bulk, spilling out of her tiny little hands for anyone to see.
Yet she was also touched by things so horrible Scylla sometimes shuddered awake in the dead of night, when her mind conjured up terrible nightmares of being in her place. Of being squeezed into a tiny cage, fed dog food, strung up on a stage as masked psychopaths snickered and passed around stones bigger than fists. It showed, sometimes, in how every once in a while her expression became somber and reserved. How she stopped mid-sentence, and Scylla could see the glint of tears in the corners of her eyes.
It reminded her of Raelle - Raelle, who'd sat in her bed just yesterday and snacked on the stupid expensive popcorn her mother had bought - Raelle, who also carried so much darkness behind her strong, steady demeanor - those were the parts of her Scylla couldn't help but want to protect, and as a result, those feelings also extended to Tiffany. Scylla lost a lot of people in her life, and she'd decided the day she found the child's parents that she would do whatever it took to keep her safe. Just like she wished someone might have done for her. Because that sort of hidden, desolate pain could just as well transform itself into something entirely awful if exploited the right way.
People around her start getting up from their seats, reaching to the compartments for their luggage, there aren't many of them making their way up North this time of year but they still fill the cart in humming conversations, deciding on what to do next or where to get dinner. Scylla takes this as her cue to skim her fingers through Tiffany's hair, gently nudging her awake, "Hey, T, wake up, we're here."
The little girl sits up, bleary eyed, and yawns, looking around at the commotion, "it's already Christmas?" She asks, catching a glimpse of the boisterous decorations set up outside.
"Not yet, no." Scylla chuckles, getting up from her seat to retrieve their own bags - they had everything the two could think to bring, and yet were still not much. A duffel bag for Scylla and purple backpack for Tiffany, with unicorn stickers and colorful buttons sewn to the front. Scylla had retrieved it, along with some toys and clothes, from the girl's home, "People just love decorating early."
"Oh." Tiffany quips, as Scylla helps her fit her arms into the straps of her backpack, then takes her hand in a steady grip once they are done, pulling the young girl towards the door to leave the train, "The lights are pretty!" She exclaims happily, blinking in wide eyed wonder.
Outside, November has definitely made itself known, and Scylla is glad they are both warm in their coats as the wind bites her cheeks until they turn a dark blush. She looks around for Edwin, not sure she'll recognize him from the pictures she'd seen Willa scatter around the house, but still willing to try.
For a second, in that moment, she thinks this might not have been a good idea. When Scylla agreed to it, she'd admittedly not been in her full faculties, brain too preoccupied with seeing Raelle again after so long to completely comprehend what she'd been offered.
After everything that happened, she can't help but be a little nervous to meet the father of her ex (?), the same girl she still very much loved. The girl who had run back to her in that dark forest a day before and clung onto her face until all they could breathe was each other.
If she thought too much about it, Scylla could still feel the soft, almost painful impact of her lips as Raelle knocked her off her balance and breathed fire into her chest like molten lava. It'd been so long, she almost forgot the kind of power Raelle had when she kissed. Like she was always on the verge of tasting your very soul. Their whole day back together before was so very delicate and tentative, air fizzling with electricity like the tension of a bow, pulled tight with an arrow ready to shoot.
The time they've been separated her heart was squeezed tight under an elastic band. Whenever she stopped to think, even for a minute, she could feel it taught, so very strained, reaching from the very inside of her ribs. It was there from the very start. The tightness was what propelled her diaphragm into breathing Raelle in that very first night they spent together, even if she knew she shouldn't, and then, it was what kept them orbiting around each other like their very own solar system. Never too far apart. Always wishing to be closer.
When they kissed in the clearing, hairs messy with the wild strumming of the bat just a few feet away, for the first time, she felt like the band released. The invisible string, so very tight, loosening from under her heart to extend around the both of them and wrap them in what Scylla could only describe as exhilarating, shaking relief. The touch of Raelle's cotton gloves, that she never thought she'd feel again - the taste of her lips, like blood and rain droplets and a mouthful of just her.
It left Scylla running on a high since she walked away from Raelle just the day before, in the early hours of the morning.
It's not how she hoped she'd meet Raelle's dad. Deep down, no matter how much she tried not to, Scylla had imagined herself, more than once, coming to the Cession hand in hand with the blonde fixer. In love and together, going home to meet the parents. It's bittersweet to be here with Tiffany instead, and she has to squeeze the young witch's hand slightly to ground herself from the urge to run.
To just take the child's small body in her arms and run- leave the station in lieu of a cheap motel, one with vending machines, where they could hide from the world a little longer.
When the witch looks down, however, Tiffany smiles reassuringly back at her, squeezing her hand slightly in return, and Scylla can't help the wave of affection that washes over her.
"Excuse me? Are you Scylla and Tiffany?" A voice coming from behind wakes them back from the moment, and when they turn, both come face to face with Edwin Collar.
Scylla's sure it's him. If not because he does still look quite a lot like the pictures she's seen, then because the necromancer can definitely see the telltale signs of Raelle written all over his face. It's mostly there in the kind drop of his eyelids, and the way his mouth creates tiny wrinkles of soft skin when he smiles, but it's there, nonetheless.
"Yes, we are, nice to meet you, Mr. Collar." Scylla greets, settling down her bag to shake his hand.
"Of course, it's amazing to finally meet you. Raelle talked you up a storm," he declares, chuckling proudly, "only good things, I assure."
"Oh, I'm sure I don't deserve that." She let's out, hoping it sounded more playful than it feels for her.
"Nonsense. You seem like a kind girl." The man decides, with a solemn nod, before turning to Tiffany, "and you- Tiffany, I'm very happy to have you with me this week as well, I'm sure we'll have lots of fun together."
"Thank you, Mr. Collar." The small blonde replies, half-hiding herself behind Scylla's pant leg.
"Let's go then. It's getting cold." Edwin finally declares, taking Scylla's bag from the floor without a question. The girl goes to complain, but he cuts her off before she can - "and don't fight me on this. Raelle also never let's me carry her bags, for once I'd love to help."
Scylla still wants to protest. Mostly because she feels that they have already asked so much - and she doesn't quite deserve the kindness - but he seems sincere, so she nods instead, and with the affirmative, all three begin their way to the parking lot.
"Is Raelle your friend?" Tiffany asks innocently, skipping happily over her boots.
"Uh- she- yeah, I guess you could say that."
"Well, you said we were going to a friend's dad's house." Tiffany notes. "Where is Raelle then?"
"About that-" Edwin stops in his step, "did you see her? How is she?" He asks, an uneasy tension settling over his demeanor as he studies Scylla for answers, "they told me she was alive but that was it-"
"She's okay. I saw her yesterday, she was well." The brunette assures, and that seems to send a wave of relief over the man, who breathes deeply before continuing their walk along the various cars.
"Oh, thank goodness." He sighs, "when those people took her I thought- I'm so glad she's okay."
"Yeah. We were all worried." Scylla declares. And this, she can relate to. The way he cares so much for Raelle, it spills into the very movement of his expressions. It's familiar, and it warms her heart. She decides right then that she likes Edwin.
"Did the bad people take Raelle too?" Tiffany questions, frowning in scared surprise as they reach Edwin's old truck.
Scylla sighs, not having revealed much of the mission she'd gone on the day before. She knew it'd be scary for her. Tiffany was still very much traumatized, and rightfully so, after everything she'd been through. But Tiffany was also very smart- and observant. She'd catch up eventually and Scylla feels stupid for not dealing with this before coming.
"Yeah. They tried to hurt her, but me and her other friends didn't let them." The necromancer assures, as she helps the girl into the backseat and clicks in her seatbelt, "she's okay now. We're all safe here."
"Oh- Okay." Tiffany nods, but Scylla can see the doubt shining under her eyes.
Scylla wishes she knew what to say, but words fail her, so she squeezes the girl's hand reassuringly once more, winking in what she hopes is humorous solidarity, before closing the door.
***
Raelle's house is just like she imagines- small, rustic - surrounded by a thick canopy of trees and bushes. It reminds her of the places she used to stay with her parents, scattered over random cities all over the U.S. Scylla likes it.
"It isn't much, but we always have warm dinner and pancakes in the morning." Edwin quips, humbly, as he leads the pair of witches to Raelle's room, "you can stay here. Hope it is comfortable."
"This is more than enough, Edwin." Scylla smiles gratefully, "it's too much, really. Thank you for letting us stay."
"Nonsense." He waves his hand with a half embarrassed chuckle, "It's good to have people here again. After Rae and Tally left everything feels a lot quieter." Scylla nods in agreement, as the man turns to leave the room, the two witches inside watching him carefully, "You guys should change and rest a bit- I'll call you for dinner.
Scylla thanks him, and waits until the door clicks behind his back to turn her attention to the luggage that had been settled over a random chair. The room is filled with so much Raelle, she can't help but notice the letters, pictures, memories and song lyrics, glued to every single wall, from a time before Fort Salem, before them.
The blonde used to leave notes on her dorm walls back at Fort Salem. Lots of silly things like "I'll be back after training" or "You fight people in your sleep. It's cute.". Scylla wonders if they are still there or if they've been taken by the army when she was captured. It doesn't matter anymore, the necro realizes, and she shakes her head in an effort to bring her attention back to the room.
"You should put on some pajamas." Scylla says toward Tiffany, who sat, grievously quiet, at Raelle's bed.
She looked thoughtful, in a way regular six year olds don't quite show unless they have to go through way too much. Her small, bright eyes hide barely concealed darkness as she shifts her looks everywhere but at the older witch.
Scylla sighs, finding this place - this relationship - so very painfully familiar. She'd been the scared little girl last time, feeling so very small and alone. And now, as the adult, she was definitely going to try her best not to fuck it. As difficult as it might be. The world didn't need another suffering witch.
After a few minutes of silence, Scylla realizes she was not going to get an answer, so she opens the girl's backpack and fishes out a pair of mermaid themed leggings and t-shirt, along with the small bag that carried her tooth and hair brushes along with some other toiletries. Scylla places the items by Tiffany on the mattress, kneeling in front of the young witch and studying her clear, soft little face.
"Hey. Are you feeling alright?"
"Are the bad men coming here to hurt us?" Tiffany asks, instead of a response, and Scylla frowns in worry.
"No, of course no-"
"They came and took Raelle too." Tiffany notices, tears escaping from her eyelids that Scylla dries up with her thumb, "and they hurt Miss Willa, the other kids' at the office and my mommy and daddy. What if they come here again? What if they really hurt us this time?" As the questions stumble out of her mouth, sobs begin to wreck across her throat until she's shaking, ever so slightly, with the force of her tears and heavy, panicked breathing.
Scylla sighs and rises from the ground to cuddle the girl close to her chest, squeezing tight until she can feel Tiffany's little arms squeeze her back. Scylla's afraid too - most of the time, if she allowed herself to be honest - Ever since watching Raelle leave her in that cell the year before, the girl could feel even more perfectly the path of death and destruction that marked their (the witches') way through the world.
One of the bad things about being a necro - Death didn't like not being known, and it showed itself insistently, to anyone able to notice.
"We don't know whether or not they'll come again." Scylla ends up responding, sincerely, as she squeezes her arms even tighter around the little girl, "but I won't let them hurt you, you hear me? I dealt with them before, I can deal with them again."
"No" Tiffany shakes her head, frowning up at her in teary-eyed fear, "You too. You're safe too. I don't want you to get hurt either."
"Hey." Scylla forces out a chuckle, trying to lighten up the situation for the young witch's sake, "don't be silly, ok? I'm pretty much invincible."
Tiffany doesn't laugh, her breathing having somewhat returned to normal. The girl just stares back at Scylla with a seriousness that's all too unfair, coming from a six year old, and she reaches out, her pinky finger lifted in expectation, "Pinky promise you'll be safe too? Please?"
Scylla knows she shouldn't. The truth is, she doesn't know what will happen. After their plan to capture Nicte was said and done, Scylla barely had any idea what she would be doing now. But Tiffany obviously needs the reassurance, from the way she stares ever so desperately at the necro's face.
"Okay, I pinky promise." Scylla smiles, trying to convey some calm toward the other girl as she let her pinky link with the smaller one. It seems to work, as Tiffany's expression softens and her tense posture falls, "now let's get you under a shower and into some pajamas, ok? You're a very smelly little witch right now."
"Am not!" Tiffany replies, and Scylla can't help but full on laugh this time, pulling the small girl to Raelle's bathroom as she mockingly protests.
Second chapter is almost done, just needs to be read over for mistakes. For C2, Raelle calls home, Scylla meets old dodger friends and she also has an important conversation with Edwin.
Hope you guys enjoyed!
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It’s come to my attention that a good majority of people on this website have a really poor understanding of the conflict between Toph and Katara in “The Chase.” As somebody who loves both characters and their friendship, this irritates me. Without further ado, let’s unpack that in what is in theory supposed to be a meta but turned out more like a rant. 
“Katara was hostile towards Toph because the fact that she’s a gender non-conforming girl made Katara uncomfortable because Katara is obsessed with gender roles.”
Alright, so right off the bat this is just... completely idiotic and clearly fuelled by an agenda (and likely also a lot of projection). First of all, how is Katara of “I don’t want to heal, I want to fight!” fame “obsessed with gender roles?” There’s an entire episode in Book One dedicated to Katara refusing to conform to societal norms for women in the Northern Water Tribe! Katara routinely calls Sokka out on his misogynistic bullshit! (Mind you I adore Sokka but he could be a little twerp at times and Katara was 100% right to challenge him on it) Katara is the feminist icon of ATLA! The fact that people act like Katara is some sort of conservative tradwife who loves gender roles instead of the outspoken feminist and political activist she is makes me incredibly angry.
Second of all, Katara was extremely kind and welcoming towards Toph at first. She gently encouraged her to join in with the group as they all set up camp together as opposed to setting up her own private camp. It’s only when Toph refuses to comply with her that Katara begins to get irritated. Mind you, Toph has her reasons for this, something I’ll get to in a minute, but from Katara’s perspective (key word here is perspective) she’s just being an annoying little stubborn, selfish, lazy, anti-social, entitled brat. Of course we the audience find out later that this isn’t the case at all (or at least in theory we should find out later but apparently some people on here skipped that part), but for all her many talents Katara is not a mind reader and has no way of knowing what’s going on inside Toph’s head, nor does she know her well enough yet to fully grasp the context behind why Toph acts the way she does. Katara is somebody who greatly values community and believes in teamwork, so Toph turning down her warm welcome in favour of “carrying her own weight” likely felt like a slap in the face. Not to mention that she’s already emotionally exhausted from having to constantly mother Aang and Sokka. If I were Katara, I likely would have reacted the same way. 
Oh and I agree that the “the stars look beautiful tonight, too bad you can’t see them, Toph” comment was out of line, but it doesn’t make her a horrible person. It makes her a 14 year old, and 14 year olds can be nasty, especially sleep deprived 14 year olds. Katara is otherwise a very kind and compassionate person. Other characters have said worse than that. Hell, Toph herself has said worse than that. That being said, it was a deeply hurtful comment and I do like to imagine that she apologized for it off-screen. 
“Toph is a lazy, entitled, and classist spoiled rich brat who just didn’t want to do chores and expected other people to wait on her.” 
This is another one that makes me roll my eyes and ask if they even watched the show. First of all, the presumption that Toph is a lazy or entitled person is just... laughable. I feel like people forget that Toph isn’t actually an earthbending prodigy in the way that Azula is a firebending prodigy (I could say more about Azula and how her belief that she was the unshakeable prodigal daughter ultimately caused her downfall and how by the end of the series Zuko is arguably a better firebender than her but this isn’t a meta about Azula and Zuko, now is it?). Nah. Toph was a sheltered kid who discovered she had the ability to earthbend, was told that she could never become great at it because she was blind, and in response said FUCK THAT and decided to work her ass off until she was not only great but the very greatest all thanks to her crazy, stupid, off-the-charts nerve, drive, grit, ambition, and desire to prove people wrong about her. Does that sound like a lazy person to you? Believe me when I say that you do not achieve that kind of skill level by sitting around on your ass and expecting to have things handed to you. And entitled? Don’t make me laugh. Toph hates having things handed to her, that’s one of her defining characteristics. 
As for the implication that she’s classist and enjoys basking in her family’s wealth and being waited on...... are you stupid? Did you even watch the show? Toph absolutely despises everything about her parents’ lifestyle. Growing up like that was traumatizing and restrictive for her. We’re talking about a girl who likes to play around in the mud for fuck’s sake. Toph does not care how much money you have. She never wanted any to begin with. She even says it herself; “I guess I shouldn’t be complaining. They gave me everything I could have wanted. But they never gave me what I actually needed - their love.” Not to mention that she easily could have continued to freeload off her parents wealth but instead chose to sneak out of the house and make her own money doing what she did best; disproving people’s assumptions about her earthbending. Oh and I’ve seen someone point this out before but WWE is generally considered a “low brow” activity that “proper” people frown upon and shouldn’t associate themselves with. Toph fucking loved it. I don’t know how seriously people take the comics, as they often miss the mark when it comes to characterization (Toph’s, however, was generally pretty accurate), but there’s a part in The Rift where Sokka asks her when she’s going to start charging people to learn metalbending and she gets all serious and flat out tells him that she will never do such a thing, because money doesn’t matter to her. Sharing her one true passion with the world is what matters to her. Oh and the part where she basically tells a bunch of rich and sleazy businessmen to fuck off and “stop thinking about money and start thinking about people’s lives” is just... *chef’s kiss* Sorry my thoughts here are so incoherent but this take is so piss poor and makes me so angry that I don’t even know where to start. As for “Toph enjoys being waited on” I just- *sigh* Toph has such a visceral and defensive reaction to any implication that she is unable to take care of herself. Like I said earlier, that’s one of her defining characteristics as well as the reason for her behaviour in “The Chase.” Where are people getting these takes?
You wanna know why Toph acted the way she did in The Chase? Well, first let’s recap her life up to this point. Toph was born the blind daughter of one of the wealthiest families in the Earth Kingdom. From day one her parents treated her like glass due to her disability. She was not allowed to leave her house unsupervised, and even then she was only permitted to walk around the gardens of her home. Every day of her life she was pitied, gaslit, babied, ignored, emotionally neglected, and made to feel ashamed of herself. She was not allowed to make any decisions for herself. She was not allowed to do anything for herself. She was not allowed to talk to other children. She had no friends. Other people didn’t even know she existed on account that her parents kept her locked up in her own home and didn’t tell anybody about her because they were so ashamed to have a blind daughter. Flash forward to “The Chase.” Toph begins to set up her own camp separate from the rest of the Gaang. Considering that she flat out was not socialized as a child and hadn’t even interacted with anybody her own age prior to a few days ago, this is understandable. So then Katara comes up to her and asks her why she isn’t setting up camp with the others as if she’s somehow incapable of taking care of herself (again, this is just what happened from her perspective) like she’s her mom or something and it just angers her because she thought she joined this group to get away from all that and she doesn’t understand how friends work because she’s never had one, all she knows is that apparently this girl thinks she isn’t capable of taking care of herself, and that infuriates her because it’s the exact same bullshit she thought she was running away from.
There’s a lot more I could say about this but I’m sick of typing so yeah in conclusion both of these takes are piss poor and I’m sick of having to read them. Stan Toph, Katara, and their friendship. 
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Only Friend
Character: Jason Todd x Fem!Reader [Robin!Jason Todd]
Summary: Gotham mourned for Robin. But who mourned for Jason Todd? Y/F/N Y/L/N wasn’t just another one of Jason Todd’s friends. She was his only friend.  
Word Count: 7,000 [One Shot]
Warnings: Violence, Death, Loss, Grief
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Y/N didn’t know what time it was. She hadn’t opened the blinds in her room for days. And she didn’t plan on doing so anytime soon. In fact, she didn’t plan on getting out of bed anytime soon.
She heard a knock on her bedroom door. From the sound alone, she knew it was her mother.
“Y/N, dear. Can I come in?”
She wanted to say, ‘No.’ She wanted to say, ‘Go away.’ But Y/N didn’t even have the energy to do that. So she just laid still with the covers over her shoulders and said nothing. 
Her mom slowly opened the door.
Y/N’s family had been tiptoeing around her since it happened. They didn’t know how to handle the situation. Most parents don’t expect for their daughter’s best friend to die. No child should have to face grief like this.
But Y/N had no choice.
Because Jason Todd was dead.
“Hi, honey,” Y/N’s mother cooed as she walked into the room. Then she placed a plate of food on her nightstand. “I brought you something to eat.”
Y/N didn’t even so much as look at her mother, just continued to stare off into nothing.
“Is it alright if I open of your blinds and windows. I think you could use some fresh air.”
Y/N gave what appeared to be a half shrug, barely visible underneath the thick covers.
But her mother seemed relieved, it was starting to smell musty in the room.
Her mother sat on the edge of the bed and stroked Y/N’s face. “The funeral’s tomorrow.”
Y/N’s eyes finally looked up at her mother – desperate and scared. “Do I have to go?”
“I think you’d regret it if you didn’t, honey. You deserve your chance to say goodbye. Your father and I will be there with you.”
Then Y/N closed her eyes and burst into tears. “I had a dream about him last night. And I woke up and remembered–” she had to pause to catch her breath. “I-I-I remembered he’s g-gone.”
“Oh, honey,” her mom whispered as she pulled Y/N into her arms. “I know you miss him. I know. He was your best friend.”
Y/N pulled away and looked up at her mom. “He was my only friend,” she corrected.
———
Jason Todd was sitting at a lunch table by himself and reading when someone slammed their tray down across from him. His eyes flickered up in a glare, already expecting someone to try and pick a fight with him or something.
But instead he found a girl standing above him, smirking down at him.
No, not just any girl, the prettiest girl in their grade. No one else at this stupid school seemed to think so. But that just further proved Jason’s theory that everyone here were idiots.
“Hi,” she said confidently.
“H-Hi?” Jason stuttered back.
“I’m sitting with you,” she announced as she sat down. “I’m Y/N.”
Jason finally smirked and remained confused. “I know who you are…”
“You’ve never talked to me, so how was I supposed to know?” Y/N said back. “And you’re Jason Todd.”
“Yes?” He responded.
Y/N laughed at his confusion.
Jason Todd wasn’t popular. There was a disconnect between him and his peers. The kids at Gotham Academy were trust-fund babies and spoiled brats. They were such snobs that there were even cliques separating the kids who came from old money from those who came from new money. It all seemed ridiculous after literally starving in the slums of the city. 
Jason Todd wasn’t a rebel. He didn’t lash out or let his inability to connect to the other students make him feel down. Ask any teacher who had him and they would say he was a straight-A student and he never once caused trouble in their class. He was always polite and respectful, responsible and well-behaved.
Jason Todd wasn’t bullied. Maybe it was a vibe he gave off, but somehow the other kids knew not to mess with him. Jason came to school with a black eye once, and he always wondered if it freaked them all out enough to never try to mess with him – not that they would ever stand a chance against him.
In regards to the middle school hierarchy, Jason was nobody.
Because Jason Todd wasn’t really a kid. He just had the misfortune of also not being an adult yet.
He was just a poor punk from the Narrows, who just happened to try and steal the tires off the car of Gotham’s notorious vigilante. He didn’t belong at this snobby prep school.
But going to school was one of Bruce’s demands after making Jason his new Robin.
Jason just didn’t know how to make a convincing argument for why he didn’t need social interactions with kids his own age.
“Is this some kind of dare?” Jason asked Y/N.
She froze her eating and scoffed at him. “You’ve watched too many bad teen movies. What kind of asshole would I be to do something like that?”
But Jason still looked around the cafeteria, expecting to find a table full of people watching this interaction and trying to hide their giggles.
Y/N finally slammed down her food, sat back, and crossed her arms. “People at this school suck.”
“Uhh…OK?”
“I saw you reading Pride & Prejudice the other week. And you were wearing a Led Zeppelin t-shirt yesterday. You helped pick up Jill’s stuff when her backpack ripped open, while everyone else just laughed.” She paused. But Jason waited. “What I’m saying is that I’ve decided that you don’t suck.”
“Oh,” Jason blurted out.
“Do you honestly think anyone at this school even knows who Jane Austen is? And some dude in my English class tried to tell me Nickelback was his favorite band.”
Jason laughed at that. “How did you even respond to that?”
“I asked him if he was fucking with me and then the teacher yelled at me for swearing. And I told her, ‘How am I supposed to react to a Nickelback fan without using profanities?’”
Jason laughed again.
That was how Jason and Y/N became best friends. That was all it took.
Jason would soon find out that Y/N didn’t belong here just as much as him. She didn’t come from money – just your normal, middle-class suburban family. She’d won a full-ride scholarship to Gotham Academy, which was impressive since they only handed out one per grade.
Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne made one 30-second call and Jason was accepted – no questions asked.
Y/N was rather mature for her age, but it wasn’t the product of being Batman’s sidekick and fighting the criminals of Gotham City.
Any second Jason had to be a normal kid was spent hanging out with Y/N. Jason was at Y/N’s house all the time, loving Y/N’s parents and envious of the stable home Y/N got to grow up in.
It took awhile for Jason to feel comfortable inviting Y/N to the manor, despite Alfred saying he was welcome to have friends over whenever he wished. Jason eventually got over his embarrassment. While Y/N seemed in awe of Wayne Manor, the evidence of Jason’s wealth didn’t make her treat him any different. They mostly hung out in Jason’s room anyways. Or in the kitchen when Alfred made them snacks.
While they were at school, they always ate lunch together and walked to classes shoulder-to-shoulder any chance they got. They only needed each other.
They ignored everyone else. And in return, everyone else left them alone.
For the most part.
Jason should’ve known something was wrong when he heard the commotion on his way to third period.
When he heard kids start chanting “Fight!” his gut somehow knew Y/N was involved.
Jason shoved his way through the thick circle that was surrounding the drama.
He reached the opening just in time to see Y/N tackle a boy named Parker to the ground. The crowd gasped, not actually expecting them to actually go through with violence. Then Y/N lifted her fist and landed a punch to Parker’s face.
But Jason quickly stepped forward and pulled Y/N off.
“He’s not worth it, Y/N.”
Recognizing the voice of her best friend, Y/N allowed him to pull her away.
“Gonna let your boyfriend pull you away?” Parker yelled out.
Y/N whipped back toward him, but Jason wrapped his arms around her and held her back. “Y/N, leave it!”
“I’m not the one with the a black eye and bloodied nose, asshole!” Y/N screamed, only half fighting Jason’s hold. “Next time, I’ll kick you so hard in your tiny dick that you won’t be able to have kids.”
Jason managed to drag her through the halls with a vice-like grip on her hand.
Y/N scoffed at his efforts, “Where are you even taking me?”
“We’re ditching class.”
She shrugged. “Sounds good to me.”
Jason knew exactly what exit didn’t have an alarmed rigged to it or any video surveillance. He also grabbed a cellphone in his back pocket and started to type frantically.
“You have a cellphone! What? Since when? My parents said I can’t get one until high school,” Y/N groaned enviously.
Little did she know, Jason had set up an AI system that would call the school with Bruce’s voice and leave a recording about how Jason needed to be dismissed from school. It was perfect for Bat emergencies. 
He had added Y/N’s parents voices to the algorithm a few months ago, having a hunch it would come in handy.
As soon as they were a safe distance away from the school, Y/N let go of Jason’s hand and walked slightly ahead of him.
With their freedom secured, Jason could focus on Y/N now.
“What did he do?” He asked her gently.
Y/N was smart and calculated. If she’d picked a fight with someone, Jason knew it had to have been caused by something serious.
“Doesn’t matter,” she mumbled.
Jason rushed forward and stopped her walking. “Hey, come on. It’s me you’re talking to…”
Y/N nodded, knowing he was right. They told each other everything, or so she thought.
Her eyes went to the ground, too embarrassed to meet his gaze. “We were in health class. Today was the unfortunate lesson for learning male and female anatomy. Mrs. Martin started talking about…” Y/N hesitated. “She started talking about boobs. Said something about when girls start seeing a change.”
“And?” Jason urged softly.
“Parker chimed in and said, ‘Or if you’re Y/L/N… never.’”
Embarrassed by her confession, Y/N started walking again – quicker, this time.
Jason jogged to catch up to her. “Fuck him. Only a loser asshole would say something like that.”
“Well…he’s probably right.”
Jason shrugged. “Who cares?”
This time Y/N stopped walking. “You don’t get it,” she snapped. “Every girl in our grade is growing up. And I still have the chest of a boy. My mom won’t even let me buy a bra because she says I don’t need it yet.”
Jason was speechless. 
To be honest, he had never really noticed. Y/N wore baggy band t-shirts or flannels all the time. He wasn’t exactly studying her silhouette when they hung out. But he never imagined that Y/N would be bothered by something like that.
“Sometimes I’d just like to…I don’t fucking know…feel like a girl.” She paused. “A pretty girl,” she emphasized.
Jason stared into her eyes. “You are a pretty girl.”
Y/N sighed and rolled her eyes. “J, you don’t have to say that.”
“I’m serious. You’re the prettiest girl in our grade, Y/N.”
That caught her off guard. He’d never said anything like that to her before. 
Sure, Jason said nice things to her. But it was usually him complimenting her taste in music or thanking her for showing him a new book he loved. But he’d never called her pretty before.
Jason, worried that he’d exposed himself, pulled her to him so he could give her a noogie. And the moment was broken.
“Jason! I think I’ve proved today that I will hit a bitch!”
He just laughed and playfully shoved her away. “Come on. I’ll buy you one of those embarrassing frappuccinos from Starbucks.”
“Excuse you! They’re not embarrassing. They’re delicious.”
Jason could tell Y/N didn’t want to talk about the fight anymore. So he thought distracting her was the next best thing. 
And, by some miracle, they returned to school the next day without any punishment.
But Jason wasn’t done yet.
Parker didn’t realize he was messing with Robin’s best friend.
Jason was patient. He waited for the precise moment when Parker would be alone.
A week after the fight, Parker turned the corner of an empty hallway and jumped when he nearly ran into Jason.
“What do you want, Todd?”
Jason took a step toward him and lowered his voice, “If you ever say anything like that to Y/N again – or to any girl, for that matter – I won’t hesitate to beat the shit out of you.”
Parker side eyed him. “Yeah, right.”
Without hesitating, Jason reached forward, grabbed Parkers palm, and snapped the index finger of his dominant hand.
Parker let out a screech of pain and fell to his knees.
Jason kneeled down to whisper in his ear, “No witnesses. No cameras. And I’m actually in gym class right now, running the mile. No one will believe you.”
Parker looked up at Jason like he was a madman.
Jason smiled and patted him on the head. “Remember what I said.”
After that, Parker never even so much as looked in Y/N’s direction.
Jason and Y/N looked out for each other, protected each other
And Jason may have kept his other life of Robin from her, but Y/N seemed to already sense that there was something Jason was hiding. It wasn’t just something, it was dark.
When Y/N started noticing bruises and cuts on Jason’s body, she grew concerned. But she wanted to observe and think of all the possibilities before she ever brought it up.
Then one day at her house, she made a joke and slapped Jason playfully on the back.
He hissed uncontrollably and his entire body froze.
“Jason?” Y/N asked with concern.
“I’m fine. You just surprised me and knocked the wind out of me,” Jason said hurriedly.
But Y/N wasn’t stupid. She quickly grabbed the hem of his t-shirt and ripped it up so she could see his back.
“JASON! What the fuck!” She gasped in horror as she saw the bruises scattered across his skin. She had never seen anything like it. 
“Shh!” Jason tried to calm her to stop her parents from coming in and then having her immediately showing them too.
“What happened?” Y/N whispered, her eyes glazed over with tears.
“Nothing. I’m fine, Y/N. I promise.”
“You’re not fine. And this isn’t the first time,” Y/N countered. “You think you do a good job of hiding them, but I see the other bruises and cuts, Jason. And don’t think I don’t notice how often you skip school because your ‘sick.’”
Jason stayed quiet. He didn’t want to lie to her. But he couldn’t tell her. It could put her in danger. And if Bruce ever found out, he’d put a stop to the whole thing. Jason would never be Robin ever again.
“He does it,” Y/N whispered.
Jason blinked. “Who?”
“Bruce,” she clarified. “He beats you, doesn’t he?”
Jason’s eyes widened in horror. He knew Y/N was weary of his adoptive father. She noticed how absent he was from Jason’s life, then took note of how cold he was when he was present. But her theory made perfect sense. And if the roles were reversed, Jason probably would’ve come to the same conclusion.
“Y/N, Bruce has never hurt me.”
She frowned. “You don’t have to protect him. And you don’t have to take his shit. I knew something was off about him ever since I met him. But I didn’t think it was this.”
“Y/N…” Jason began.
“Does Alfred know?” She couldn’t imagined him every letting something like this happen if he did. Y/N had grown to love Alfred almost as much as Jason.
“There’s nothing for him to know, Y/N.” Jason laughed. “I was trying to walk across the railing above the great hall and fell and landed on my back. I didn’t tell you because I was embarrassed, OK?”
He knew from Y/N’s face that she wasn’t convinced. But she also knew not to push someone who was in the position she thought Jason was.
But to his horror, tears started falling.
“I just…I want you know that I’d do anything for you. You can live here! My parents love you and they’d take you in! Or-or-or we can run away together – just you and me.”
Jason hated seeing her cry. She rarely ever did it. And to know he was the cause made him feel sick.
Not knowing what else to do, Jason pulled her into a hug.
“I’m OK, Y/N. Promise. You don’t have to worry about me. Please don’t cry.”
“We just have to steal some of the stupid jewelry he has laying around and we’d be set for life,” she mumbled into his shoulder.
Jason laughed and pulled away. “Bruce took me in. Gave me a better life. He’s protected me. I know you don’t believe me, but the bruises aren’t because of him.”
Y/N wiped the tears away sloppily and nodded, but they both knew that Y/N didn’t believe him.
Y/N didn’t look at Bruce the same since that day. Not that she spent a lot of time around him.
But Bruce shared a look with Jason when he received the first very harsh glare from the pre-teen girl. It ended with a very uncomfortable conversation between Bruce and Jason where the boy explained what theory Y/N had come to.
Though Bruce said very little in response, he was wracked with guilt. To learn that someone thought he had the potential to behold the evil he tried so hard to eradicate in the world? It made Bruce sick to his stomach.
———
Now Y/N stood with her head hung low, in a crowd dressed in black.
These people didn’t know Jason Todd. Maybe they played the part of mourning funeral goer well. But Y/N saw their performances still.
The only people Y/N recognized were Bruce Wayne, Alfred, and Jason’s older brother, Dick Grayson. She’d never met him before, only seen pictures of him around the manor. Jason always seemed disappointed when Y/N brought Dick up or tried to ask about him. Y/N got the impression that he wasn’t all that great of a brother to Jason. Especially when it was obvious Jason looked up to him and was desperate for some sort of fraternal relationship.
Y/N looked up at her mother when the priest was finished with whatever he was saying. His words were impersonal, sullied by religion, and did nothing to comfort Y/N. He didn’t even say one thing about what made Jason so great. 
“Can we go now?” She whispered to her mother.
She patted Y/N’s back. “There’s a gathering inside the house now. We should say our condolences to Mr. Wayne and Alfred.”
Y/N frowned at that. The last person she wished to talk to was Bruce Wayne.
She had been watching the man through the entire service. He was stoic and collected. There didn’t seem to be any sadness to be found in his eyes.
The longer Y/N watched him, the angrier she became.
“Please, let’s just go,” Y/N begged her mother.
People were making there way into the manor now and weren’t paying any attention to a girl, despite the fact that she was the best and only friend of the boy they were pretending to mourn.
Her mother gave her a sympathetic look. “Honey, don’t you want to say hi to Alfred. I’m sure it would make him happy to see you.”
Y/N knew her mother was right. She could do that for Alfred. Plus, he gave the best hugs, and Y/N could sure use one of them right now.
They waited in a sort of informal line. Y/N wanted to hit everyone in front of them as she was forced to listen to their empty and rehearsed sympathies. Bruce didn’t say much in return, simply thanking each of them.
But when Y/N and her parents were finally up, Bruce Wayne’s expression shifted.
It was the first time Y/N saw any sort of emotion from the man. He looked heartbroken at the sight of Y/N, who’s hand was tightly gripping her mothers.
Bruce, standing at 6’2, knelt down to be at Y/N’s eye level.
“Hello, Y/N.” He greeted quietly so no one lingering around them could hear.
Y/N only glared at him. 
If she were being honest, she was surprised he even remembered her name. 
But Bruce continued. “Thank you for coming today. I’m sure the past few days haven’t been easy for you.”
Then he cleared his throat. And Y/N’s brow furrowed at the sound. Was he trying to hold back tears? No, that couldn’t be possible.
“I wanted to thank you for being such a good friend to Jason. He talked about you all the time. I’m glad he had someone like you in his life.”
Y/N felt nauseous at how genuine Bruce Wayne’s words sounded. His eyes were even more sincere.
What happened to the cold and distance man she’d had little to no interaction with?
‘He has an audience now,’ Y/N told herself. ‘He knows everyone’s watching. He’s performing just like the rest of them.’
“What did you do to him?” Y/N finally whispered to him.
Where she got the courage to speak to an adult in such a way, she had no idea – especially one as powerful as Bruce Wayne.
Bruce tensed at her question. Was that hurt in his eyes?
“Y/N!” Her mother hissed down at her.
“It was you. I know it was,” Y/N muttered as her lips trembled and tears started falling. She thought she’d run out of tears, but this was her final outburst.
“Y/N, enough!” Her mother hissed again and then made eye contact with Bruce and Alfred. “I’m so sorry. She’s not…she’s not handling any of this well.”
“You did this to him!” Y/N yelled. “He always had bruises…and-and-and cuts! You used to hurt him!”
“Y/N!” Her father finally chimed in, completely stunned by his daughter’s accusations.
“I hate you!” Y/N screamed in Bruce’s face as tears flowed down her face.
With that, she ripped her hand from her mom’s grasp and made a run for it. She heard her parents yell her name, but she ignored it and kept running.
Bruce stood up, looking unfazed from Y/N’s hateful and accusatory outburst.
“We are so, so sorry,” Y/N’s mom insisted. “She’s never done anything like that before.”
Bruce held up a hand, stopping them from continuing. “It’s alright. Really.” Then he sighed. “I’ll have Alfred go find her in a bit. Perhaps she just needs to let out some steam.”
Y/N didn’t even realize where she was running until she ended up at Jason’s bedroom.
Her entire body shook with sobs as she opened up the door.
It looked exactly the same, like nothing had even happened.
Y/N walked to the other side and slide against the giant windows, curling into a ball on the floor with her arms hugging her knees to her chest.
She cried and she cried and she cried.
There was no way for her to know how long she’d been there. But her head snapped up when there was a knock on the doorframe.
Dick Grayson leaned against the doorway with his arms crossed and a sad smile on his lips.
“Hi,” he greeted softly.
Y/N sniffed and rubbed the snot from her nose with the back of her fist, “Hi.”
“I’m Dick,” he introduced as he closed the door behind him and sat on the foot of Jason’s bed, making sure to give Y/N her space.
“I know,” Y/N answered back through a stuffy nose.
“Alfred tells me you and Jason were good friends.”
“We were each other’s only friend,” Y/N corrected him.
Dick nodded slowly.
“I hate him,” Y/N mumbled.
Dick winced. “Jason?”
“Bruce.”
“Believe it or not, I know how that feels,” he sighed.
“Did he hit you, too?” Y/N asked with wide eyes.
Dick opened his mouth, but was so shocked by the question that no words escaped.
“Why didn’t you help him?” She followed up with. “Where were you?”
Dick knew she wasn’t asking what he felt like she was: Why didn’t you stop the Joker? Why was Robin all alone? Why didn’t Batman call you for help?
But that didn’t stop her interrogation from hurting him.
“I haven’t always been there for him,” Dick finally admitted. “Actually…I’ve never really been there for him.”
Y/N looked at him with bewilderment. “Umm…” she sniffed. “I should find my parents.”
When she stood up, something caught her attention on Jason’s desk.
Y/N’s hand shook as she picked up Pride & Prejudice. He was the only middle school boy she’s ever seen reading a Jane Austen book. It was one of the reasons she wanted to befriend him in the first place.
“Keep it,” Dick surprised her by saying.
She quickly turned around and gave him a questioning look.
“You should keep it,” he told her. Then he looked at the overflowing book case she was standing near. “Take whatever ones want. He’d want you to have them.”
Y/N’s eyes flickered through the bookcase. Her heart was telling her, ‘No, they’re his books. He’ll need them when he gets back.’ But Jason Todd wasn’t coming back.
So she reached up and grabbed Jane Eyre and then Frankenstein.
“That’s it?” Dick asked. Because he would’ve let her take Jason’s entire collection.
Y/N nodded shyly.
Dick escorted her through the house and back to the gathering.
When she saw Alfred, Y/N rushed forward.
Dick’s heart ached as he saw the butler immediately kneel down and pull Y/N into a hug. He wondered what the man whispered to her. Whatever it was, it seemed to comfort her in a way that apparently nothing else was.
Then Y/N’s parents returned to her side. Dick expected them to scold her for her earlier outburst, but they just seemed concerned and started making their leave.
Y/N looked behind her and searched through the crowd to find Dick again. When she did, she gave him a sad wave.
Dick returned it with a sorrowful smile.
———
8 Years Later...
Jason had been keeping tabs on her since he returned to Gotham. He kept his distance, remained out of sight. He would jump from rooftop to rooftop as she walked home from a night class. Or he would wait for the window of her apartment bedroom to go off if it was a slow night of patrolling.
He told himself it was out of curiosity. But he knew deep down he was making sure she stayed safe.
Jason was happy to see that Y/N didn’t retain her lonesome ways in her life after his death. He frequently spotted her having dinner or drinks with friends.
But Jason didn’t know how to feel when it was clear that Y/N had no romantic partner. Was he relieved? Was he irritated that someone didn’t love and care for her the way she deserved? Would he have been jealous if there was someone in his life?
Jason wanted to find her as soon as he was brought from the dead. Even when he felt like he’d gone insane, when his thoughts didn’t make sense and he was confused…her face still echoed through his mind.
But vengeance became his priority.
And with it, Jason slowly convinced himself that it was best to stay far away from the only person he still cared about.
But that didn’t mean her didn’t want answers still.
After his war with Bruce – or really, his attempted murder Batman and the Joker – Jason allowed himself to actually look back on his old life, the parts that didn’t involve being a child vigilante.
Still not on speaking terms with Bruce. Jason decided to get his info from another source.
Cue a month or so after his brush with Bruce, Jason blindsided Dick the next time he was in Gotham and slammed him against the closest brick wall.
Jason used to look up to Dick as a kid, despite his older brother rarely even giving him the time of day.
But now, Dick was quite literally looking up at Jason. 
While Jason died a 13-year-old Robin, he was now a 6’3 man who had the set of a heavyweight boxer. Dick might be more flexible and acrobatic, but Jason had brute strength.
“What? B tell all of you not to talk to me?” Jason challenged when Dick didn’t fight his hold or speak to him.
“What do you want?” Dick asked evenly.
“Why did you keep tabs on her?” Jason growled, his voice distorted through his helmet.
“Keep tabs on who?”
“Y/F/N Y/L/N.”
Dick finally had enough of being bullied and shoved Jason’s grip off him. “Why don’t you look her up yourself? I’m sure you have no issue with hacking every personal database of hers.”
“That’s not why I’m asking,” Jason growled.
In fact, Jason had already done everything Dick had suggested. Which made him see that she had made a third-party domestic violence report to the police a week or so after Jason had died. And she had kept following up with it until the police finally came clean and told her there was no evidence to support her claim and she was wasting her time.  
It seemed Y/N was the only person that fought for Jason after he was gone. She had just picked the wrong fight.
“Why did you keep tabs on her?” Jason clarified.
“I just wanted to make sure she was OK.”
That caught him off guard a bit, seeing as Dick never gave a shit about Jason when he was alive. So why would he look after his best friend?
“What? Out of the goodness of your heart?” Jason ridiculed.
“She didn’t handle your death well, Jason. She even picked a fight with Bruce at your funeral.”
Jason smirked behind the safety of his helmet at the image.
Dick sighed and finally put down his defenses. “I failed you, Jason. All of us failed you.” He shook his head as he got lost in a memory. “Y/N even asked me why I hadn’t tried harder to protect you.”
Dick’s eyes saddened. “I figured if I couldn’t be there for you, the least I could do was make sure the most important person in your life was OK.”
It wasn’t the answer Jason was suspecting, but it was all he came for.
“Will you go see her?” Dick asked as he saw that Jason was about to take his leave.
“We were kids. Things have changed,” Jason grunted.
“I don’t think any of that would matter to her,” Dick defended. “I think she’d like to see you and know you’re OK.”
“Mind your business,” was the last thing Jason snapped at him before jumping off the rooftop and disappearing.
————
Jason did what he said: he left Y/N alone. 
He watched over her when he could. But most importantly, he didn’t drop a ghost from the past back into her life.
But he also tried to find that ghost in himself.
Somedays he thought that Jason Todd was lost forever.
But other days, like today, he still seemed to live on.
Jason browsed through the books on the shelves. He missed so many of them when he was dead and then when he reinvented himself.
Now he saw books as a time to fill in the empty space.
He was lost reading the back of covers when he heard it. No, when he heard her.
Next thing Jason knew, he was walking toward it.
“I’m sorry, dear. We’re all sold out of that title. You should’ve reserved it weeks ago,” one of the clerks told her with sympathy.
Jason peered between the shelves and caught a glimpse of y/h/c.
“I know. I just totally spaced. I think I’ll just browse for something else. Thank you for your help.”
Her voice sounded mostly the same, maybe a bit more mature. But he still would recognize it anywhere.
Jason knew he shouldn’t move any closer.
But he couldn’t help himself.
He was just one aisle away from her now, only a bookshelf separating them.
He slowly edged around the corner and smiled as he saw the massive pile of books that Y/N was trying to juggle in her arms. When she tried adding one more, they broke free from her grasp and stumbled loudly to the ground.
Jason didn’t know what he was thinking as he jumped forward and bent down to help her pick them up.
He saw her blush, but keep her head dipped from the embarrassment.
“Thank you,” she quickly laughed as she tried to pile the books back together as fast as possible.
Y/N opened her mouth to say more, but the words got caught in her mouth when she finally met Jason’s eyes.
He wondered how different he looked to her. Could she even recognize him? Or was he fooling himself when he became convinced he was an entirely different person after being brought back from the dead?
But his questions were answered when Y/N looked in shock, only unfreezing when her eyes began to tear up.
“It’s not possible,” she said so quietly that it was barely a whisper.
“Everyone good? I heard a loud noise.” The clear interrupted loudly.
Y/N jumped in response.
Jason stood and faced the clerk, “We’re fine.”
But when he turned back around, Y/N had booked it.
“Fuck,” Jason hissed before carefully handing the books to the clerk and quickly following after Y/N.
She made it further than he would expect. He actually had to look around the streets outside the store for a moment before he could spot her.
As soon as he did, he ran. But he called her name before he reached her to make sure he didn’t terrify her more.
Y/N froze when she heard him and whipped around. “Who are you?” She asked roughly.
There was a moment, when she first met Jason’s blue eyes, where she allowed herself to believe that perhaps a miracle had occurred.
But now she only saw this as some sort of heinous prank.
“It’s me, Y/N.” Jason almost sounded like he was begging her. 
She then fully took him in. Yes, he had the same face. But now he was a full-grown man – and an extremely handsome one at that.
“I shouldn’t have spooked you like that. I’m sorry.”
“You’ve been dead for 8 years,” she muttered.
“I know. It’s a…” Jesus. Jason didn’t even know how to go about this. “It’s a long and complicated story.”
“Were you ever really dead?” Then Y/N’s eyes flashed with a realization. “Did you stage your death? To get away from him?”
Bruce. She meant to get away from Bruce.
Jason looked around. This was no place to have this conversation. He couldn’t believe they were having it at all.
“Fuck. OK.” He quickly shuffled through his pockets until he found an old paper receipt and a pen. He quickly wrote something down.
“I know this is…a lot.” He ran a hand through his hair, a gesture that reminded Y/N of the Jason she used to know. “If you want nothing to do with me, I understand. You’ll never have to see me again.”
He took in a deep breath and handed her the receipt.
Y/N slowly took it and looked down to see a phone number written down.
“You deserve time and space to…” he couldn’t find the right word, “process all of this.”
Y/N watched him as if she was expecting him to vanish like some sort of hallucination.
“After you do,” Jason continued. “If you’re willing to hear me out, I’ll be there,” he told her sincerely as he gestured to the number Y/N now held in her hand.
He waited for Y/N to say something, or maybe even try to make a run for her life.
But after what felt like forever, Y/N gave a short nod.
Jason gave her a shy grin as he slowly started walking backwards. He hesitated saying one last thing for her. But his mind finally told him, ‘Fuck it.’
“I’ve missed you, Y/N.”
————
Jason told himself not to get his hopes up. Y/N had every right to be horrified by him and wish to never see him again. From what Dick described, Y/N hadn’t handled Jason’s death well at all. What child could?
But when Jason got a text from Y/N’s number a week later, asking him to come to her place, he couldn’t help but beam.
Except reality then quickly settled in. And it reminded Jason that this conversation would involve talking about his past for the first time.
‘Suck it up. She deserves to know,’ he heard his past self screaming in his mind.
An hour later, Jason was knocking on Y/N’s apartment door.
“Hi,” she greeted stiffly.
“Hi.”
She led him to her bedroom. “My roommates aren’t home right now. But who knows how long that’ll last.”
Jason didn’t stop himself from looking around. Maybe it was a habit, all of his training of taking in every new environment with acute detail. But really Jason just wanted to take in Y/N and her new life.
That’s when he spotted the three books.
Jason immediately reached for one of them.
“Oh,” Y/N said sadly as she saw what he grabbed. “Umm…Dick told me I could take those. He…umm…said you’d want me to have them.”
“You kept them all this time?” He muttered, still looking at Pride & Prejudice.
“Of course.” Then a thought suddenly occurred to her. “You can have them back. I mean, they’re yours after all.”
Jason smirked at her fumbling. “No, keep ‘em.”
Then the tension from this strange reunion returned to the room.
Y/N gave him a heartbroken look and sat on the edge of her bed. “Jason,” she whispered, “what the hell happened to you?”
Jason slowly joined her on the bed.
His breathing shook as he tried to prepare.
But Y/N deserved to know the truth – the whole truth.
So he told her everything. He told her he was Robin. He told her how he died. He told her how he came back to life. He told her where he’d been.
The only thing he left out was how she was all he could think about when he watched the bomb tick down to 0 and he knew he was about to die. 
But the hardest part was explaining why returning to her wasn’t the first thing he did.
“It wasn’t Bruce. It…you…you were Robin that whole time?” Y/N couldn’t even seem to process it.
Jason just gave a curt nod.
“I reported him,” Y/N gasped. “I was convinced he had something to do with your death.”
Jason winced at that. “Well, if you asked him, I’m sure he’d take responsibility for it still.”
Y/N’s eyes glazed over as she tried to take another look at the past now that she knew the real truth that had been hidden. So many things made sense: all the injuries, Bruce’s behavior, Dick being a distant brother – all of it.
“Y/N,” Jason whispered. Her eyes whipped to his. “I’m so sorry for leaving you like that.”
Y/N finally allowed herself to cry. “Missing you is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”
Jason didn’t care about keeping his distance any longer. He pulled Y/N into his arms, just like he used to when they were kids.
Eventually, her crying slowed and Jason knew he needed to finally say the hardest thing about this all.
“But I can’t stay, Y/N.”
Y/N wasn’t expecting that. “What?”
“I’m not…I’m not that kid anymore. I’ve done things – terrible things – that won’t ever let me return to the person you knew.”
“I don’t care,” Y/N said surprisingly harsh.
“What?”
“I said I don’t care,” even though she knew he heard her. “You think I’m the same person after 8 years, Jason? You think that little girl didn’t face the consequences of losing the best friend she’s ever had?”
Jason didn’t know what to say to that.
Y/N wiped away her tears and her entire body shifted. “From everything you’ve told me, you don’t seem to have many friends – if any. So, sounds like you could use one.”
How could Jason have overlooked Y/N’s stubbornness when he anticipated how this would all end?
“I lost you once. I’m not losing you again. Especially not with all I know now,” she added. 
Jason didn’t even bother fighting her on it. Y/N had always been his greatest weakness. At least he knew that hadn’t changed.
“OK.” He agreed. “So what now?”
Y/N smiled at his surrender. “Now…we have a whole lot of catching up to do.”
--------------------
Wow. I did not realize how long this was going to take me. 
Please, please, please let me know what you think. Reactions and feedback and reblogs are the only thing that keep me writing on here. 
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verymuchimmortalcat · 3 years
Text
Familiarity
For Bio Dad Bruce Wayne Month Day 3: Identities
ao3
@maribat-bdbwm
part 1
Marinette couldn’t quite put a finger on it but there was something about the Waynes that felt familiar. Rose would say it’s because they’re family but Marinette knows it not that. In fact, they remind her of the Bats. The simultaneous inclusion and exclusion, the chaos, the feeling of knowing them, everything.
She isn’t quite sure yet if she likes the idea of her family being the Bats but she does know it would explain a lot of things that have happened in the two days since she arrived at the Manor for the first time.
.oOo.
Steph watches as Tim and Marinette plan out pranks, it’s creepy how well the two of them work together. It’s almost like they’ve worked together before. From the way Cass is analysing Marinette, Steph knows she’s picked up on the strangeness of it all too.
Duke had told her they’d asked Marinette to join so they could get to know her better and to spite B, who had told them not to drag her into their chaos. They hadn’t really expected her to be so good at planning pranks. From what she’s learnt she was brought up as an only child. Not that it really matters, they’re going against Babs, they’re going to need all the help possible.
Duke looks thoroughly lost, Steph doesn’t blame him, Tim’s thought process is hard to follow normally but Marinette and Tim, Steph’s just as lost. As the three of them stare at the two of them in the middle of their planning, Steph can’t help but feel they’ve been here before. Which makes absolutely no sense she’s never even met Marinette before today.
.oOo.
His sister’s time has been monopolised by Drake, Cassandra, Duke and now Stephanie. Planning, probably. A pointless endeavour, he's going to win in the end, just because his team has lesser people doesn’t mean they’re going to lose.
However, he has spoken to her. She’d approached him the first day and while their conversation had been awkward and stinted, it had been a conversation. Damian wasn’t planning on telling Grayson but speaking to him had helped.
But what’s been bothering Damian is that it feels like they’ve had that conversation before. Which they haven’t, Damian’s sure he’d remember if they’d somehow met. Jon says he should talk to her but Damian’s sure he can figure it out on his own.
.oOo.
Tim has a theory: Marinette is Ladybug. He doesn’t bring it up with the others, if she had wanted them to know her identity, she would have told them herself a long time ago. Besides, it’s just a theory and even if he is right, he remembers the feeling of betrayal when B had told Steph his identity, so he doesn’t pry.
.oOo.
Cass knows Marinette. She’s not able to place it and it makes absolutely no sense, but there’s something very familiar about her. For someone who walks into objects at least three times a day she carries herself with a grace that Cass hasn’t seen outside vigilantes or dancers and Marinette denies being able to dance. Even if her new sibling is one of the Parisian heroes, Cass doesn’t know the Parisian heroes very well, having met them only a few times. Their training had mostly been taken care by Dick, Tim and Damian, since the three of them spent the most time at the Tower. She leaves it alone, Tim mentioned that the miraculous holders' identities were protected by magic, it would be impossible for her to figure it out.
.oOo.
Dick had wanted to see if he had left his phone in the gymnasium, when he enters the room, Marinette’s there. He watches in shock as Marinette leaps and flips her way through the gymnasium. She’s a surprisingly good gymnast for a civilian. A lot of the moves she uses are familiar to him. Things that he had taught to some of the younger heroes as fighting sequences. He wonders what kind of teacher she must have had to be taught that.
When she finishes, he claps and she turns back in shock, her eyes widen in recognition and she becomes a vivid shade of red. He holds back the urge to laugh.
“That was amazing! Where did you learn all of that?”
“Oh, uh here and there, I went to classes for a while and I have a friend who’s really great at gymnastics.”
Dick frowns, she sounds unsure of her answer, but he lets it pass.
“I’d love to meet that friend of yours.”
She looks like a deer caught in headlights for a second before her expression smooths over and she grins at him and says, “I’ll be sure to ask him!” before skipping out of the room.
Dick is officially very curious.
.oOo.
Thursday morning, she’s informed by Duke that they usually have family dinners on Thursday and a few of Tim’s friends would be attending today too. Marinette’s excited, it’ll be fun to meet Tim’s friends.
Alfred’s banned all pranks for the day since they have guests visiting in the evening. There’s some complaining but in the end they all give in. Tim heads to his room saying he has something he wants to work on, Dick and Damian are going out for the day, she can’t find Duke, and Jason isn’t at the Manor. She’s currently searching for Cass. When Marinette finally gives up and returns to her room, she finds Cass waiting for her there.
“Want to join me and Steph? We’re going out.”
Marinette agrees and the two of them leave the manor to join Steph in the actual city. They spend the day roaming around, eat enough junk food to give Alfred a heart attack and just pass time. Steph returns with them to the Manor in the evening for dinner. They’re late but only by a bit, they’d hopefully only get a disappointed frown from Alfred.
Alfred lets them in with a sigh of disappointment. The three of them offer him sheepish grins before running off to the dining room. They can hear all of them laughing, Marinette doesn’t pause to analyse their voices.
She wishes she had.
It’s not surprising really, she’d already known how highly possible it was but nothing had prepared her to be staring at Kon, Cassie and Bart.
Jason notices her staring and asks, “why’re you looking at them like they’re aliens?”
She takes another second to finish processing, and then grins, “Well, Kon is half alien.”
Their reactions are priceless. Plagg would be proud of the chaos she’s unleashed.
Jason’s staring at her in shock. Tim’s yelling, “I KNEW IT!” Dick and Cass look like things make more sense now. B, Steph, Duke, Kon and Cassie. Damian’s jumped onto his seat and is pointing his katana at her. Bart had attacked her in a hug, yelling, “Bug!” which had thrown her to the floor.
Groaning she gets up, “not wearing a super suit right now, Bart.”
“IforgotI’msosorry.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Oh my, what is going on here?”
They all turn to look at Alfred who’s standing at the entrance.
There’s a lot of apologies as they sit in their seats and everyone settles down. She ends up sitting next to her father.
“So,” he starts, “you’re Ladybug.”
She smiles, “and you’re Batman.”
Before she can reply, she’s dragged into the others’ conversation. Her father offers her a smile and returns to his food. Marinette grins and joins the argument about the stupidest villains.
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woahajimes · 3 years
Text
So I have this little headcanon (well,,,, not really a headcanon but more of a nice-to-think-about headcanon because it would never happen but it’s- like the title- nice to think about so im sharing it here) in which they’re all going to the beach in this sorta mini-van that bruce rented. And take in mind that this is the wayne family, but at the same time most people that wear a bat on their chest,,,, so they had to whack some things up.
BUT ANYWAYS, it was Bruce’s dumbass idea to buy a van and call it a road-trip, and honestly? no one was ready. That usually happens with big families, even with one that has most kids over 18. And how everyone was on board with the idea doesn’t matter because this is my headcanon and they are all now squished in a minivan and there are bags in the back and towels in the seats and there’s a cooler on top because it didn’t fit. 
and just for reference the van was like SMALL. it was sort of like the school buses but way smaller, so they’re like buses in which there are three seats in front, driver, and then like two others (the middle one doesn’t really count because that’s where you put waterbottles and stuff). There’s a sort of space in the back, where you usually put the backpacks (these are like elementary school buses and every single kid has those backpacks with wheels and it’s a pain in the ass-) and then there is another set of four seats (that’s more like a sofa but no armrest- god please have patience there is literally not a single image on google im trying to be specific- and those are facing the back of the bus (so the backrest (?) is facing the place with the bags).
THEN we have another seat that’s close to this one but facing the opposite way but it’s only THREE seats so there’s a space for the next row of three seats and then there’s the back one that’s four again.
In conclusion, you can fit 18-ish people, driver counted. 
and continuing with my story, it’s Bruce driving, Alfred as shotgun, a water-bottle or two in the middle, the bags in their respective places... and then... 
disaster. 
Babs is the only one sitting in the four-seat closer to the bags, harper is in the three-seat, Dick is there as well. 
and then there’s the rest. Steph, Cass, Duke, Jason, Tim, Damian, they’re all screaming in the back and they’re throwing towels around and there’s an “OW! THAT WAS MY HAIR YOU DICKHEAD!” and a “THAT’S MINE!” and so many other things because. the back of the bus, it’s cURSED. And Bruce is just driving with a strained smile because he wants so badly to turn around and throw a waterbottle at each of their heads to get them to shut up (of course, it wouldn’t work because not even god can calm down the back of the bus)
Tim and Jason somehow get into this argument of how tim ‘has no friends’ and Tim shoots back that in fact he DOES, that he’s calling them right this instant. And bruce doesn’t even have a chance to yell at them, because now there’s a speedster and a cloned kryptonian right beside the moving minivan and Bruce is lowkey freaking out because none of them (the ones in the van and the ones out) are wearing their superhero costumes, and then Tim is just with his hands pressed on the window and he’s like practically banging the glass and waving and they can’t hear him but he’s like “HEY! HEY HYE HEY YOU GUYS MADE IT!!!” and then dick is just telling them to cut it out and slow down because you know, identities, and Steph is like HOLY SHIT THEY DID MAKE IT and Damian is just sitting upside down with his legs in the backrest off the seat and Duke is in the same position, making fun of Damian because his feet don’t reach. 
Kon and Bart seem to get the hint because they slow down, but not before bart has literally jumped towards the MOVING VAN and vibrated through (i’m like 99% sure he is able to do that so-) and then he literally landed on Tim (tim actually softened his fall, because Tim’s back literally made a ~crack~ sound by hitting somebody’s knee) and stood up real quick and then started waving and laughing at kon, who was now running normal-speed beside the van. 
And then bruce went FASTER and kon was like WHAT THE HECK OLD MAN and he can’t use his powers so he’s literally running behind the van and bart is laughing his ass off and then tim is like “BRUCE STOP THE VAN!” and then Bart is already calling cassie and telling her what happened and you can hear cassie laughing from over the phone and then Tim is just yelling at bruce in the background. Bruce eventually DOES stop, and Tim opens the door for him and Kon crawls in and Bart’s still laughing, and he’s practically leaning onto Dick and Harper, and they’re squished together and bart’s just laughing on the phone while Kon sits on the really far end of the opposite seat (practically on the door) so he’s the furthest from babs as possible because he’s actually terrified of her. Tim is just sorta awkward because he now realizes that he was a bit TOO excited to see kon, and then the back of the bus/van is staring at them and like what the hell and then Tim goes “who doesn’t have friends, huh?”, and Jason goes ‘pfft’ and he calls roy but he’s spending time with lian; he calls artemis and she goes, “but wasn’t this a family trip? what do you need me for?”, SO jaosn calls bizarro and then he barely answers the phone when bizarro goes “RED HER SAID NO. BYE” so Jason slumps and it’s quiet for a second when steph goes “is that GUM IN MY HAIR”. And then jason laughs and its chaos all over again. (i might make a ‘things that were heard from the back of the road trip bus post bc i have so many ideas oh my god)
and then they are at the beach, the bus barely stops and there’s a few bags thrown out the window, and people yelling at Kon to open the door, and Kon not being able to work under pressure so tim opens it and everyone’s pushing each other and Steph has an uneven strand of hair, because Damian went to ‘extreme measures’ and cut it so now steph’s hair is uneven and they were going to keep cutting it “to make it even” but then Alfred was like “you’re all going to clean the van afterwards so think carefully” and then nobody did anything and there’s literally a ziploc bag with steph’s strand of hair (damian didn’t even cut to where the gum was, he cut even FURTHER but yes, the gum is in the bag). 
As I was saying, they get out of the van, and the bags are out and Bruce has NO IDEA what to do. none. It’s alfred that rents a tent and then Damian’s chasing duke into a random restaurant’s changeroom and showers and then cass is dragging harper that’s dragging steph that’s dragging jason and tim is getting the bags with Kon and bart and bart realizes that he doesn’t  have a swimsuit and then he stops walking and Kon seems to realize too and it’s like OH MAN and they can’t run back (because no powers, rule set by bruce when two super-powered bros came in the bus) and They’ recarrying the bags to this tent (do you guys know what im talking about? i feel like we’re imagining completely different things- it’s this but much more people and there’s a bunch of people selling stuff like sunglasses and doign hair, piercings, tattoos even - for the tattoos thing it’s just promo for an actual shop they don’t tattoo you in the actual beach - ) and It’s literally Kon, tim and bart carrying the bags (which they CAN carry between the three, it’s not like they packed up half the manor) and then a minute later or so Steph is sprinting towards Tim and she’s yelling something Tim can’t understand and then Steph points at her bag (that tim’s carrying) and she screams something like “SAND! HOT!” and then she’s like high-knee-ing/sprinting even faster and Cass is just walking barefoot in the sand, super calm, but she’s got Harper on her back. Damian and Duke are racing towards the shadow (because the sand is cooler there), and next thing you know Jason’s aready in the tent with a coconut. 
And if you haven’t thougth about how the Batfam would be in the beach then let me tell you, you don’t have enough spare time because i know for a FAT FACT that: 
It was Jason that insisted on Bruce buying sand toys (a whole bag, i swear)
Damian tried coconut water, didn’t like it all that much (altho he loves the inside- idk what it’s called but it’s edible i swear)
Bruce put on an excessive amount of sunscreen
Duke has swimming trunks with the robin logo just to piss damian off (also Damian has matching ones but with the batman one)
Steph, Cass and Harper rented a banana boat (here’s a picture) and they dragged Jason and Tim along, just to toss them off in the end 
Jason 1000% got stung by a jellyfish 
Bruce bought like seven friendship bracelets from this guy that made them because they looked deadass cool 
They played beach volleyball and let me tell you Damian can throw a really mean overhand serve (actually, i don’t think you THROW a serve, but like,,, serve one-)
dick got buried in the sand, courtesy of Jason
bart was pissy because he couldn’t go in the water, so he and Kon sprinted with normal speed (they both had water-proof anklets that sucked their powers, so it was REALLY  a no-powers vacation, courtesy of Bruce, again.)
the only ones in stock were neon, and they settled real quick so now theyre sprinting back and cardying a bag of keychains they thought looked rad as hell and now tim caught up to them and all three are practically skipping towards the water
,,,,they forgot to put sunscreen on.... all of them,,, they forgot....
tim made a sand castle
in teams of two (kon/bart, tim/cass, duke/harper, steph/jason, dick/damian) got on each other shoulders and basically spent five minutes trying to see who would be the last team standing, splashing water everywhere and stuff
first team to go down was Dick and damian, because steph pushed damian and by trying to keep himself on Dick's shoulders, damian accidentally poked dick's eye (sort of CLAWED in so you know what i mean).
second team to go down was steph and jason, because damian doesnt play fair and so he swam down and literally just scratched Jason's ankle, knowing damn well that the jellyfish sting was there. Jaosn shrieked and steph lost her balance. so much for vigilantes at night with stealth and talent, huh.
third team to go down was tim and bart because kon insisted on being on bart’s shoulders and that’s easy peasy because i mean, bart’s not WEAK, but he’s not TALL either and it’s not like Kon weighs a feather and they’re on the deeper side,,,,, you can imagine the rest
Now there’s two teams, and they call it a tie because otherwise someone’s gonna end up injured (altho tim likes to say that he and cass won)
There’s music playing in the background, with really vulgar lyrics that alfred disapproves of, but you know. It’s not his beach. 
THIS IS REALLY JUST A SCREAM POST SORRY IT’S NOT WHAT YOU GUYS SIGNED UP FOR BUT TAGLIST ANYWAYS: @red-hood-redemption @screennamealreadyused @bikoncon @catxsnow @thesporklecat @thesesickfics-justmakemesick @hauntingsonofrobin anddd i think i forgot someone sorry 
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