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vasiktomis · 3 years

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Pomegranate, Chapter 18: Quiet Earth, Part II.

John Seed x Female Deputy

Rating: Explicit.

Read it on Ao3 here! Notes: Co-angels @honeysides, @shallow-gravy, and @lilwritingraven all provided immense support while I toiled over this chapter, which I am forever immensely thankful for. Never would've been able to give people second-hand embarrassment like this without y'all enabling me. As always, thank you for reading!

WARNINGS: Canon-typical violence. Sexually-explicit content. An angry cult leader with performance anxiety. You know the drill.

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The comparative tranquillity of Seed Ranch had a way of making Cora feel like time was moving slower than it should have. In all seriousness, the chain-reaction of their escape from Fall's End was still firing, but without the gunshots and the shouting, approaching the property felt more like being in stasis. It was too still. Too unassuming.

The Project members awaiting John on the steps of the property were vigilant about a thorough, yet strangely distant reception of the man, as if they’d been hard-wired to anticipate his moods; warmly welcoming him home, but giving the man such a wide berth that one might have assumed he was carrying a live grenade.

Cora supposed he was at least consistent in his inconsistency; just as volatile toward his allies as he was his enemies. She wondered if the serenity of the ranch was a natural element of John's sect; whether they simply cared enough about the man to know his boundaries to the inch - or whether such a light-hearted environment was manufactured deliberately and specifically around his temper.

The Deputy’s presence did well to break the façade, however. It brought with it a range of cautious exchanges from the followers that ushered them into the home; some in fear of re-living the bedlam of her bunker escape, and others casting stern looks between her bare midriff and their leader’s refusal to leave her side.

She noticed it, too - how he stuck to her like Velcro.

It was only after she was administered pain medication and had her wound dressed (they’d been gracious enough to re-dress the haphazard bandaging on her hand, too) that John abruptly took his leave, excusing himself to apparently more pressing matters. Cora was simply confined to the foyer, drifting in and out of snoozing consciousness on one of the couches in front of the fireplace.

All in all, the mental and physical exhaustion of conceding defeat to the Project proved in all honestly a little boring. The blonde had expected she might break down once she was left alone. It seemed about the right time for it, and yet, all she felt was tired. Was it the cult who had done this to her? Run her so ragged that only anger remained?

Ideas of escape waxed and waned with cultists moving in and out of the space periodically to check in on her, lessening in their hostility with each passing visit until their warnings not to cross them turned into beratements over her refusal to sit still, for the love of Joseph.

In her restlessness, she sorted through thoughts and memories, deciding on the conclusion that while yes, today had been devastating, she’d long since thrown away her capacity to recognise it. It had been so long since she’d spared herself any emotion beyond rage that everything else felt only vaguely different. She might’ve broken down, had she not forgotten how to do such a thing. Trying only gave her a stomach ache, and so she resigned herself to waiting it out, growing more and more impatient with how undramatic this aftermath had turned out to be. How her captor had left her so unceremoniously after being declared victor.

Maybe he was similarly nonchalant about all this.

...No. That was impossible. He'd probably just excused himself to go dance a celebratory little jig. Perhaps he'd stepped through a hornet's nest in doing so, or been ambushed by coyotes. Something beyond mere choice that warranted the excuse to disappear like that.

The skylights in the ceiling changed hues over the course of what felt like hours, however, and John did not return.

It felt weird, being in his home without him present. It felt weird being fussed over by house staff who muttered for her to stop picking at her bandages while she lay across his furniture, warmed by his fire. It felt weird that her exposure to Sharky and Jess had finally led her to identify that the strange smell she’d always detected in the Baptist’s home was unmistakably raw cannabis.

Eventually, the clatter of plates and bubbling conversation drew the Deputy away from the couch and around to the other end of the foyer. The gigantic table she’d only ever seen stacked high with bibles in the past now carried an assortment of food, picked at by passing cultists like a barbeque line while they chattered away.

Watching them almost felt like watching her family back in Brooklyn. Waiting out the messy crossed streams of conversation in hiding until the coast was clear and the kids could swarm the reward of food without the labour of having to hang out with the adults. It was strange, how they mimicked a family, when the only similarity Cora could gauge between them were the logos printed on their clothes.

The spying didn't last. One pair of eyes flickering to her quickly became ten, and Cora's heart rate skyrocketed. Instinct kicked in. Eyes combing over each Peggie around the table for weapons. Hands reaching for her own absent holster and emptied pockets.

The group did not respond in-kind. Apparently, they were too preoccupied with loading up their plates to deal with a leader of the Peggie-killing movement in their space.

Cora didn’t buy it. Not straight away. Not until her gaze darted around the rest of the room, weighing up which of the Baptist’s gaudy home decorations might be most effective at bone-crushing and-

“Look who’s got her colour back.”

…

What?

The same cultist who spoke up - a woman - one of the group who’d been at the church earlier, gestured at the table. “Hungry?”

What?

One Peggie with a particularly heavy beard slid a plate over the table toward Cora. Two younger girls over his shoulder giggled to each other.

“Do you think we should offer her a shirt?”

“I’m not that brave. Leave it to John.”

“Anything fresh is all from the garden.” The bearded Peggie spoke, pulling Cora’s scowl away from them with a smile.

She inspected the table. Undersized apples and strawberries. Home-grown, by their imperfections. Multi-coloured silver beet and slightly burned sweetcorn. Homemade bread piled an end of its own, surrounded by a selection of preserves in blank jars. All of it, against her will, served as a reminder that she’d only ingested coffee today. This was bizarre, but she was hungry. Not to mention the Resistance diet consisted mostly of canned spaghetti.

Gingerly, the Deputy picked at one of everything, and while the group of cultists continued chatting, she stood awkwardly by on the side-line, trying to figure out the most efficient means of eating corn while still maintaining a hostile air about her and lot letting slip that it was fucking delicious.

Apparently tearing into the thing wasn't adequately frightening. The same talkative man split from the party to approach her, ignoring the roll of her eyes. A spot of shine glided over his bald head while he moved around the table, and as he neared, he gave her a moment to squint at him.

There was something familiar about that overbearing air.

“We’ve... -”

“Met.” He confirmed. “Briefly.”

“When?”

“Months ago now. I, uh, almost baptised you.”

Cora chewed the inside of her cheek, considering that. Somewhere in the back of her mind the memory of wet rocks beneath her feet swelled with the lapping of shallow waters. Just tap my arm if you need to come up for air.

He shrugged at her silence. “You were pretty Blissed-”

“No, I remember you.” The Deputy mumbled, turning her attention back to her food, intent on keeping it there. It didn’t last long. A hand stretched out before her, and with a laboured, full-mouthed sigh, she shook it.

“Andrew. Glad to see you again.” He offered.

“Okay.”

The silence was as painful as she’d hoped to make it, but tragically, he was resilient.

"Andy works, too-"

"Andrew's syllabically identical and perfectly sufficient. Where's your boss?"

“Upstairs, working.”

“And he’s asked not to be disturbed.” One woman interjected. “So don’t get any ideas.”

Cora blinked at that. Then, plate still in-hand, she spun on her heel and made for the staircase.

Behind her, the group exchanged a collective look of panic.

"Ma'am?"

"Sister?"

"Hey!"

“We’re not allowed up there!”

“Perfect." Cora grumbled back, already ascending the steps. "Then you don’t have to worry about following me.”

The second storey of Seed ranch was dead still in comparison to downstairs. A hallway presented a quiet stretch of closed doors and branching hallways that led out to balconies, part way between residential space and tactical efficiency.

Back in the day, she’d assumed the Baptist just had a thing for doors. Looking around at the space now, it was clear that John was well-aware of how many enemies he’d generated thanks to his work.

The crackle of a radio up ahead drew the Deputy’s attention, and as she drew closer, a hushed curse.

“Pick up. Come on, pick up.” John murmured. Then, in a brand new tone: “Joseph. Brother. I need you to call me back. Please, it’s been - just...whenever you can. I’ll be here.”

She found him beyond a cracked doorway, hunched over a desk. His fingers smoothed through damp hair hair, tugging, jaw clenched and brow furrowed.

The door creaked as Cora pressed against it, and in the time it took for her to cringe at the noise, John had sat up straight, shifting out of whatever private mood she’d spied him in. He blinked up at her, inhaling deeply, reeking of uncertainty.

She felt it too. Of all the scenarios to catch him alone in, the blonde hadn’t expected that she’d be brandishing sourdough.

A moment passed. Both of them trying to feel out this new territory.

“Hey.” Cora eventually muttered.

John exhaled. “Hi.”

“Brought food.”

He looked away. “Deputy, pleased as I am that you’re making yourself at home, I asked for privacy.”

“Since when did you value privacy?” Cora asked, pushing into the room and seating herself on the desk. The tired irritation on John’s face when she set the plate in front of him was worth the day of boredom already. He glanced up at her, and she responded with a wolfish smile.

“You have corn in your teeth.” He mumbled, relenting, posture slackening. “And you’re getting blood flakes on my desk.”

The Deputy tried not to look so hurried about picking. “Isn’t that a garnish in Japan?”

“That’s fish. You’re thinking bonito.”

“I know what I’m thinking.”

Another pause.

“Is that what you thought you were filleting in the church? Bonito?”

Annoyed silence.

“It was Nick.”

Finally, John scoffed, glaring at her, offering a reluctant nod when she flashed her teeth to confirm she’d gotten rid of the food in her teeth. “You are so funny.”

“Thank you. Eat something.”

Cora watched the man regard the plate in front of him.

“How generous of you to take a bite out of everything first." His gaze landed on the shredded corn cob. "Except for that. That, you demolished."

"Yeah, well." Cora plucked up the same piece of bread he'd been reaching for. "Why're you hiding up here? Thought maybe you would've starting laying on the torment by now. Not...brooding."

"Brooding."

"Yes."

"Pardon me for needing to adjust to having a murderer in my home."

Cora hummed at that, casting a look around the room. "Took you about 2 seconds to adjust to a murderer's tongue in your mouth-"

"Deputy." John spat, pushing the plate away from him in a final display of denial. "Please, leave. I'm busy."

“No, you’re not.” Cora bit back. “I want to know what your plan is. Now you’ve got me, what’s next? What’s the point in me sitting around on your couch all afternoon? You don’t leave me alone, ever, and now that I’m here you want me to make myself scarce?”

The Baptist's jaw rolled in annoyance, and when Cora shifted her legs to face him easier, he jerked away from her, avoiding contact. “You’ve grown too accustomed to being in the spotlight." He grumbled.

“Stop avoiding the question.”

“What question?”

“What’s your deal? What's the plan? What happens now?”

“The plan is to get back to work. My apologies if your assumption was that you were the main goal of this valley, but there are dozens of things that require my attention-“

“Like sitting by the phone for your brother for hours?”

John paused at that. Something old and familiar flashed over his expression, and he stood from his seat. “You’re jealous.” He accused.

Cora’s lip curled, ears running hot. “You’re wasting time, and I want to know why.”

“Is that why you're nosing through my business? If I gave you details - what I'm working on - what the next step is - is that a strategic win for you?" His palms slid against the desk, planted on either side of her legs. "Or is my lack of undivided attention so awful to you that anything to help rationalise it would do?"

Something in her celebrated that look on his face. The renewed confidence in his attitude. It enraged her, but it was scores better than his absence.

She scowled, but she didn’t pull away when John leaned down into her space. It didn’t work the way it used to. Now it didn’t feel close enough. Now she wanted to part her legs and pull his hips against her.

It was a discomfort she’d never known before, and now, even with her wounds dulled, it almost felt painful. She wanted to know what the plan was. She wanted to plan an escape. She wanted to have just this one little victory if this was the end of the line. If he was going to convert her, then she could at least undermine him by ruining his faithfulness. It might destabilise him enough that she could find some advantage to getting back to Fall’s End. That would make it okay, if it were all driven by strategy or revenge. Her curiosity would be sated.

But then, as if he could hear her thoughts from the sheer volume of their demands, John drew away from her.

“You should shower.” He muttered quickly, snatching the radio from the desk. “Across the hall, on the right.”

He didn’t look at her as he left the room. He didn’t look back when he disappeared down the hall and made for the stairs.

Cora glared ahead at the space he'd left emptied.

What a fucking coward.

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Despite her soured mood, Cora had done as she was ordered. She spent all of two minutes rinsing the old blood from her skin, and another ten reflecting in quiet judgement over the bottle of 3-in-1 sitting in the shower caddy with her. Maybe she should've allowed herself the opportunity to warrant having to bathe here earlier. Maybe she'd have developed more of a sense of disgust for the man if she had.

The clothes she’d arrived in were still stained, but it was an improvement. Less of a sensory distraction while she sorted through her thoughts, at least.

While the Deputy dried off and re-dressed, the haze of pain relief began to lighten, and she was able to focus on cobbling together some kind of a plan to get herself out of Seed Ranch. She might have conceded defeat, but the hideous tattoo marking her sternum didn't mean she was suddenly going to behave. Especially if her captor was refusing to even the playing field and let her know what the hell they were supposed to do now.

Whatever John was keeping from her, it was urgent enough that his entire demeanour had changed. What did he need from Joseph so desperately? If it had anything to do with the Resistance, or if had anything to do with Joseph coming here, the Deputy intended to put a stop to it.

If John Seed’s intention was to avoid her, he should’ve thought twice before locking her in his home. Ensuring that he’d keep his distance, however, was the easy part.

The real goal would be getting him away from that radio.

Descending the stairs, Cora found John in solitary silence in the foyer. There was no sign of the Peggies serving up supper anymore, and the dining table had been cleared.

John was alone, sitting on the couch by the fireplace with his head in his hands, no less agitated than when she’d first found him. The hand-held sat close by on his left. In front of him on the coffee table was a landline phone that hadn’t been there previously.

He didn’t notice her at first. To his credit, she didn’t announce herself until a creak of the stairs did it for her. Then, the snap of his gaze toward her was instant. Hyper-vigilant.

Cora reached the first floor. “Where’d everyone go?”

“Minding the perimeter.” John answered, making space for her to take a seat but keeping himself faced away. “You’ll be pleased to know that your troop is still yet to be captured. Little doubt they’re aware that you’ve been brought here. Even less that they’re on the hunt for you, given the state Fall’s End was in when we left. Boshaw seemed happy enough to blow up half the town to get to you. Shorty."

There was no mistaking his bitterness at the nickname.

When she approached, Cora found a folded Project sweater sitting where she intended to. John’s jaw rolled when she slowed to glare at the thing.

Still, he refused to look at her.

“Put it on. You’ll freeze.”

“I’d rather not look like one of you when the Resistance comes to rescue me.”

“You are one of us, now. Almost. Once you’ve pledged yourself to the Project, they needn’t consider it a rescue effort any longer.”

Cora huffed in response, pulling the sweater over her head and slumping into the couch. “You sound a lot less happy about that than I’d expect.”

“I’m fine.”

Stonewalling. Now she was beginning to understand how annoying it was when she did it.

“I’ve made enough of a career out of it to know what you look like when you’re not fine.” The Deputy remarked.

“I think I preferred it when I was asking all the questions.”

“I think you preferred me when I was tied up in a basement.”

That comment caught a glance. Amusement, unnoticed on her part.

“So, what - you’ve been sitting beside a radio all day and somehow weren’t inclined to terrorise me? Or were you just that busy arranging flowers for my Atonement?”

“Are you feeling stood up?” John asked. “If I didn’t know any better I’d say you were projecting, Deputy.”

Her ears flushed hot. Immediate rage flooded pitted in her stomach, but as much as the blonde would have liked to get up and stomp elsewhere, she had little other option without any better ideas.

Right now, this was all she had.

Channelling her inner Adelaide.

Cora inhaled, swallowing back a cursory retort. “Both work.”

In her periphery, John ceased all movement, staring straight ahead.

All she had to do was pressure him enough to move away. Then it was over. She’d been rejected by him before - anticipating it happening again shouldn’t have needed to feel as gross as it did.

“Maybe I think you got scared, not having me under your control.” She went on, finding the words already prepared on her tongue as she turned toward him. “You seemed like you were enjoying it when it was you-”

“-and then you punched me in the face.” John cut in stiffly.

“Didn’t deter you.”

“We shouldn’t be talking about this.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because it’s against the rules.” The clip in his tone signalled a warning. Then, an impatient sigh escaped his nostrils. “And you said it yourself: it was a mistake.”

He wasn’t going to look at her. There was no pulling at his attention while he could hide her in his periphery.

“Is that why you’re upset?” She made a quiet move to touch her fingers to his forearm, but he pulled away with a scoff.

“If you’re trying to buy time -”

“Are you frustrated?” Cora pressed on. His shifting had given her enough leeway to get herself between him and the phone, and she took her opportunity, sliding down to kneel between the couch and the coffee table. Directly in front of him. “Knowing what people say about you?”

John finally inclined his head to sneer down at her, but if he had anything he was intending to say, it was silence by the bob of his Adam's apple. A gulp. His breathing was the only audible sound in the room, barring herself; shallow and staggered.

Almost there.

Cora kept her eyes on his. She wouldn’t lie - despite sitting at his feet like this, she could still gauge the power that she held. That while, yes, there was a spark of disappointment that came with watching him ignore her advances, there was also some odd thrill in watching the man who’d made multiple attempts on her life struggle so much. Knowing that, even with her unarmed and kneeling - even with all his connections and soldiers, and everything he'd done to her - he was powerless.

He’d taken her freedom, but she could get that back. She’d compromised his loyalty to dogma. Nearly made the tallied notches on his arm into a lie. He'd have to start again from the ground-up. He'd be middle-aged before he found the same progress.

“Now that I’m atoned. Now that no one’s watching.” She sat up, drawing closer to his thigh, inwardly cursing at his refusal to move away this time. “All that work you put into catching me, and now what? Nothing?”

“Deputy.” John growled, low and dangerous.

“You want this.” Cora concluded, watching the flush of red bloom from beneath his collar and the flex of his jaw while he grit his teeth.

“There are bigger things at stake right now-”

“And even now that you have me, you’re too scared to do anything about it.”

John inhaled a swift breath, averting his gaze. “That’s beside the point.”

“You want this."

“Would you quit it? You’re wrong.”

Finally, the Baptist shoved himself out of the couch, back-stepping several paces until he was half-way across the room. Once he’d gotten himself to a safe distance, he regarded the Deputy once more, gaze cold and angry while she cycled through unknown victory and equally unknown disappointment.

He wasn’t going to be made to give in.

“You haven’t been atoned. Not yet.” John breathed, turning on his heel and marching into the kitchen.

Cora stared at the doorway he'd escaped through. Now was her chance.

One...two...three...

Okay. He wasn't coming back in a hurry. She'd successfully scared him off.

There was no time to waste.

While the faucet ran in the next room, Cora twisted around, snatching the phone upside down and hastily unclipping the cable from the device. The dial-tone cut to silence. Communication blocked, but cord hooked up to the damn thing was already conspicuous without evidence of tampering. She couldn't just discard the cable.

There was no way John wouldn’t notice its absence when he returned, and so the Deputy did what any effective home invader would do.

She bit down on the cord, close as she could to the adapter, chewing hard until grinding wire snapped between her teeth. When she plugged the cable back in and set the phone straight again, the machine remained dead, but intact.

Good. That'd buy some time.

The radio was next. Rather than switch the device off, Cora tuned it a few notches, finding a dead station and placing it back right where John had left it.

Done.

Sabotage successful. If Joseph had any intention of making a call-back soon, he’d be going unheard. There was no telling how long it would last, but unless the Baptist was stocked on landlines, half of his communications were disabled entirely.

Cora exhaled, inviting in the momentary relief. Being kept here was one thing. Having to be in the same room as Joseph Seed was another dimension entirely.

“That doesn’t answer my question.” She called, rising to a stand and following the Baptist’s trail.

No response.

When Cora entered the kitchen, John was dabbing his neck with wet hands. The moment he sensed her, he grumbled a sharp curse, bracing his hands against the counter to keep from facing her.

“Is this the plan? We just sit and wait?”

His shoulders seized. “...Yes.”

Cora stalked past him, finding a counter of her own to lean against, finding her own patience dwindling. Coiling irritation at the very notion of Joseph having so much sway over the Baptist that he could seemingly halt time.

“So what’s the point in taking me? In bringing me here?” She spat.

“Disregarding our personal rapport, it’s no small matter, having you here.” John ground out. “My family will want to know-”

“Have you tried calling Jacob?”

Something twitched in John's expression. A button, pushed. Dispelled rage.

“The Father will-”

There was no holding back the snarl that brewed in her throat. Hitting its boiling point. He did have that much sway over the man. They were sitting here in stasis, all because of him.

“Are you that fucking sad? We’re stuck here just because you need to hear Joseph tell you how well you did? A whole fucking resistance effort just blew up half of Fall’s End. You caught me. Dozens of people are dying, and all you can do is sit by the phone?” Cora demanded, scowling while his muscles trembled. “Are you serious?!”

“WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE ME DO, CORA?!” John bellowed, head snapping around to fix her in place, eyes blazing. The sheer volume of him froze her to the spot. "Did you assume that you were somehow different from anyone else the Project takes in? That your place here; that you're even alive had anything other to do than Joseph requesting it? Did you think that you'd somehow slipped through every possible crack in the system for any reason beyond this path being carved specifically by the Father? Because, frankly speaking, YOU HAVE NO FUCKING CLUE WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!"

The Deputy didn't reply. She couldn't.

Not that it would've mattered.

John, it seemed, was far from finished.

“You're so selfish. One moment you insist on making your own salvation impossible. The next, you assume you can simply start calling shots." He bit, voice already hoarse from yelling, but with no less poison. "You think I enjoy waiting around for whatever order comes next? That I enjoy you waltzing around my home, eating my food, whining that I'm not doing enough for you? After all the wrath you’ve wrought - after all the death and the destruction - you’re still so fucking entitled to assume that I’d throw aside my loyalty to the Father. All just because you’re here, and not even by fucking choice.”

Cora swallowed, calming the nerves that egged her on to snap back at him. "I didn't - I don't - "

After a moment, the hostility thinned. John's shoulders sagged.

"I know it's not optimal. It might not seem like it, but we're lucky. Things could be a lot worse for both of us, but on Joseph's order, they're not. It's his wisdom that made you being here even possible. So yes; the plan right now is that we sit and wait."

John turned toward her, then. He looked positively miserable.

“What happened last night…can’t happen again.” He explained. “It doesn’t matter that you’re here now. I’m the Baptist. Joseph is my brother. There’s nothing he doesn’t know, and there’s nothing he won’t find out. We need to do everything we can to stay on his good side.”

He did have a point. As much as she wanted John to be the last of her enemies, he was only one of three, and likely the lowest ranked of the Project's leaders. Pushing John to defy a higher power was unwise.

Her job was done, anyway. There was no more need to pursue him. Curiosity didn't matter. Want didn't matter. No meant no.

“Okay.” The Deputy croaked finally, nodding.

John raised his eyebrows, unconvinced. “Okay?”

“Yeah.” She attempted a smile. "Water under the bridge."

He returned the expression. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Great.”

“Cool.”

They both stood still, watching each other for a long moment.

Then Cora’s heart sank, and she felt herself detach from the counter. John did the same, marching toward her while she advanced on him with equal urgency.

Her fingers found the front of his shirt just as his found her face, and his mouth was on hers in a heartbeat. For all her rationalisations, the blonde reciprocated immediately, clutching him closer, humming into his kiss with a pitch she’d normally find mortifying.

“I’m sorry.” John breathed, hardly breaking away long enough to put the words together before he was kissing her again. “I’m sorry. I didn't mean that."

Cora nodded, barely able to formulate a response against him. Every word she reached for melted on her tongue, completely enraptured by the heat of his mouth and his desperate hands not knowing whether they wanted to grip at her hips or keep cradling her jaw.

She didn’t even know she’d been walked backward until she felt the cold countertop hit the small of her back, and then - much more pleasantly - the warmth of John’s body pressing against her front. She gasped, winding a hand into his damp hair and slipping beneath his shirt with the other, pawing at whatever skin she could access and drawing another one of those pitiful sounds she’d pulled from him last night.

“Wasn’t - ah, fuck,” the Deputy choked, not anticipating the Baptist’s impatience when he dipped his head to kiss her neck, arms coiling tight around her waist, “Wasn’t a mistake.”

"Fuck no." John moaned against her throat, tongue barely darting out to taste her skin. “Won’t hit me this time?”

“Not this time.”

He pulled back then, leaving a half inch of aching dead space between them. Swallowing back a pant and looking at her directly. Like he was weighing up every possible pro and con about this scenario. Cora stilled, trading hesitation with the man, sobering for all but a few fearful seconds.

“If you don’t-”

“Don’t.” John breathed. “Just let me commit this to memory.”

“I mean it.”

“Deputy, you have no idea - how many times I’ve -...how much damage this could do."

Cora shifted under his gaze, searching impatiently to find which direction his resolve would fall. "I can keep a secret."

Amusement tugged at the corner of his mouth, breaking through apprehension.

“You want this.” She murmured.

“God, yes.”

He kissed her deeply, holding her steady through the shiver sent through her as his tongue slid across her bottom lip. Then, as soon as it felt like they were picking back up where they’d left off, he pulled back again. The grin he flashed at her frustration pulled a little noise of protest out of the blonde, and when she chased his mouth, he held her still.

“For the sake of being on the same page,” He began, “you do, too, right?.”

What a ridiculous assertion. What kind of answer was he hoping to gain from that? He already had her consent; did he really need the pride of knowing how badly she wanted this too? It wasn’t even something she’d actively considered, anyway. She’d have to think about-

“Yeah.” Cora breathed, ragged. “Yes.”

John settled into a more comfortable smile, and while the eye contact wasn’t something she could uphold for long, Cora mirrored the expression.

Then, a sigh rolled out of the Baptist. “Thank fucking Christ.”

She didn’t have time to chuckle at that.

His mouth was back on her in a instant.

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“What’d I tell you?” Jess hissed, looking Sharky up and down while she waded toward him through torn up asphalt and cement debris. “What’d I tell you about making a fucking idiot of yourself?”

Sharky traded a look with Hurk at that. The man was nearly unrecognizable from all the dust clinging to him.

“I thought we did pretty good.” The arsonist defended.

“The town’s half blown-up, dipshit.”

“We did real good.” Hurk weighed in.

He wasn’t wrong. They didn’t even kill nobody they weren’t supposed to. There’d been bumps in the road, sure, but all in all, things hadn’t been a total disaster. Once you translated that into the kind of situation they were in, total disaster was actually kind of...well, awesome. Especially once the Cougars had arrived.

Sharky hadn’t heard word from over East since they’d left, but things must’ve been mighty fucking boring up there at the County Jail for a whole fucking convoy to come charging through town.

He’d never seen so many baseball jerseys in one place, let alone jerseys toting assault rifles.

There wasn’t any chasing leftover Peggies out of town once they’d shown up. It was a purge so quick and so direct that the blonde understood a little better why Shorty had been so pissed about not getting the extra help earlier.

Everyone had found their way back to each other pretty quick once the chaos had died down. As luck would have it, Kim had been walking Boomer when Eden’s Gate had arrived. She’d managed to get a couple of the general store clerks to safety and found a cattle shed to wait out the fight about a mile up the road.

It might’ve been the adrenaline getting him going, but Sharky could’ve sworn her tits were even bigger than yesterday.

Grace and Mary May reunited quick, but disappointingly did not start making out. Instead, they helped Kim cart Nick and Pastor Jerome off to Dr. Lindsey.

After they’d rounded up any remaining hostages, the team made their way back to Sharky as the stand-in replacement for the Deputy. That part didn’t surprise him. He was best mate, after all...after the dog, at least. The part that did surprise him was that the Cougars seemed to do that same.

Tracey surveyed the wreckage on her way toward the group with Sheriff Whitehorse and that tight-lipped Marshal in-tow.

“Jerome says Stammos got carted out with John’s people.” The woman announced. “They took the road down to the airport.”

“Then unless they’re plannin’ on looping back around, they’re probably headed to the ranch.” Adelaide replied.

“Probably a smart move after last time.” Hurk added.

The Sheriff inclined his head, incredulous. “Last time?”

“Long story.”

Sharky watched the disappointment pass over Whitehorse’s face. Must’ve felt shitty; losing all of his employees to the cult.

“I tried chasin’ ‘em down, Sheriff.” He said.

“And given how you’re dressed, Boshaw, it’s no surprise they were so quick to leave.”

“Okay. Ouch.”

“So what’s the plan?” Jess asked.

Tracey was already turning back around, headed for the truck she’d arrived in. “We keep liberating.” She answered. “Stammos called us to take back the valley, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

“John’s ranch is almost the Southernmost point before the border.” Whitehorse elaborated. “If we do everything right, he won’t have many friends left to help him cross it once he gets word of us coming.”

“Sounds like the same plan as last time.” Adelaide commented.

“No stone unturned.” He affirmed. “Same as last time. Take care of John the same way we took care of Faith and bring our girls home.”

The Marshal, however, didn’t look as happy about that option. Dude always hated taking the long way around. “And what if John’s taken care of your Deputy before we get there?”

Sharky exchanged a look with the others.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

John’s fingers tangled in Cora's hair, hurriedly tugging out the damp tie and wincing when a caught snag caused the Deputy to hiss. “Sorry. Sorry.” He muttered, breathless.

“You’re - you’re certain this is okay.” She huffed against him. If there was any acknowledgement of the apology on her part, it was only in how she clawed at his vest, dragging his mouth back to hers.

“Not at all.”

“What about your -” A gasp briefly did the trick of silencing her, but then: “What about your brothers-”

“Please don’t mention my brothers right now.” John whined.

Cora eyed him. “Door’s locked?”

John stifled a chuckle at that. “No, why would it be?”

Cora eyed him dangerously.

“I’m kidding." He defended. "What, you think I let people walk in and out of here unannounced?"

“Fucking prick.”

“Obviously, I’m kidding. You’re a-aaah…” His retort dwindled when the blonde’s hands slid down his front, stopping short of the hem of his vest and creeping back up to his collar again. He pulled back to glare. “A captive.”

“And you’re sensitive.” She replied, simply.

“7 years is a long time.” John’s own hands fell from her hair, slipping down her sides until she couldn’t feel them anymore. “Not sure how much I can...handle.” That last phrase came cautiously. Awkwardly.

The blonde’s fingers traced back down while she listened, more quizzical than apprehensive at the warning.

To her, that sounded more like a challenge.

"What." John grunted at the smirk that played on her lips.

"Just the audacity of you asking for mercy."

A shiver worked its way out of him when she went lower, ghosting over his hips and then back up again. Deliberately avoiding the ever-insistent graze of an erection against her stomach, sporadically tensing against denim confinement whenever her hands got close. Every reminder of it sending a fresh wave of heat through her.

“Seriously-”

“Mr. Seed, either we carry on like this, or you fuck me. Right now.” The Deputy spoke low, watching the Baptist’s pupils dilate more with each word. “Either way, we’ll find out how much you can handle, but 3 years is also a long time. I’d hate for only one of us to break a streak.”

John stared, dumbfounded.

Then, his hands reappeared, tugging around her waist, wrenching her up and onto the countertop. Her wasted no time pushing her knees apart, drawing near enough between her legs that she could reach for his belt, but not close enough that she could find the friction she was looking for. His fingers pawed her thighs, then gripped hard when her fingertips ghosted over the bulge that impatiently jutted between them.

“Ah. Shit.” He shuddered, folding down to balance his forehead in the crook of her neck, holding onto her like she was the only thing keeping him standing. Cora found that she liked the idea of that. Ten times the amount of experience she had, and yet here he was, barely functional.

She pressed her palm against him, content with the hitch in his breath and the little jerk of his hips. A responding, dulled twitch pressed back. Through the obstruction of clothing, it was impossible to get a sense of him, but biology didn’t discriminate. She wanted him in her.

“Doing good.” Cora murmured against John’s temple, running her fingers through his hair in reassurance while his dug into her thighs in a vice grip.

“So good.” He choked when she slowly began to move back and forth. “So - so good. Feels - ah, fuck - let me -“

Maybe a little too quickly, Cora pulled herself closer to the edge of the counter, tugging John’s unbandaged hand further up her thigh and hoping he’d get the message while she busied herself with his belt.

She knew his smirk too well to mistake it for anything else when she felt him hum against her throat.

John straightened, pulling Cora’s attention back up to him. Lo and behold, he was looking as arrogant as ever; as if he hadn’t just been whining at her mercy. “Deputy, have a little patience.”

“After all that ranting about giving, you sure are selfish.”

“Oh, so you were listening.” He grinned, tracing a thumb back and forth over the junction of her hip. “Tell me, what happened to my little ranger who loved to play by the rules?”

“Hypocrite.”

“Takes one to know one.”

“Hurry up.”

John flinched when Cora’s hand shoved beneath his still-fastened pants, palming him through his underwear. He managed to hold strong, though, even if his voice near-cracked. “Or what?”

“Or John Seed’s gonna come in his pants.”

Again, he twitched in her grasp, but his movement remained torturously slow.

Realisation hit the Deputy at his resistance.

He was getting a kick out of this.

He was testing her.

“How crazy does it drive you, not having total, complete control?" He asked. His thumb reached the seam of her pants, almost too light to feel. She still throbbed all the same.

"You're an asshole." Cora growled.

“You know, I always suspected you got off on that.”

“Evidence suggests it might be the other way around.”

“Answer me, Deputy.”

“Fuck off.”

“I’ll do just that if you don’t cooperate.” John tutted at her frustrated ineptitude at deciphering his belt buckle. “Are you really in a position to be calling the shots?”

Cora stopped to consider that, locking to his gaze with a scowl. Why did every interaction with him have to feel like a chess game?

Fine.

Not breaking eye contact, Cora simply pulled her sweater over her head in response.

John’s gaze broke immediately. He tried to recover, but the damage was done. There was no picking his composure back up after the attitude slid from his face and left him with nothing but prying eyes and a slackened jaw.

“Well,” He croaked, “when you put it that way…”

“Help me with this.” Cora urged, still tugging at his belt. He acquiesced immediately, although with the two of them hastily fumbling with the same mechanism, the extra help wasn’t much better. John swore under his breath, pulling out of Cora’s reach while she clicked her tongue. “Does that thing double as a chastity belt?”

“It’s not my fault we have a single functional hand between us.”

“You stabbed me first.”

“For God’s sake - fuck - got it.” John sighed, finally unbuckling the monstrosity, rushing back to the blonde’s reach. She dealt with her own belt while he hurried with his jeans, tattooed fingers shaking. The moment he’d succeeded, his hands flew to her waist, revering bare skin and savouring her impatience for him to touch her where she wanted to be touched.

She would have cussed him out, had his teeth not grazed her lip, refreshing the taste of him with his tongue slipping into her mouth - right as his left hand wriggled it way into her pants and pressed.

Cora saw white for a second. Untouched nerves awakening in a frenzy that had her gasping into that bastard’s mouth. Jesus, she could feel the grin on his face.

“Hm. Hypocrite.” Came the reminder, followed by a strangled noise when her fingers enclosed around his cock; separated still by underwear, but gripping him all the same. His body shoved against her, crushing their arms between them in the attempt to find his way closer - to find more. “Ah - shit. Careful-”

A knock from beyond the kitchen sent a collective jolt through both of them, and John’s head whipped around in a panic.

“W-...what is it?!” He called, voice cracking.

“John, have you got a minute?” A deeper voice Cora didn’t recognise responded from outside.

“Doubt I’ve got more than ten seconds.” The Baptist hissed to himself. “I recall saying emergencies only! Ask yourself - is this something I need to find John for, or can I find my own way?”

Christ. He spoke to his followers the same way she spoke to hers.

“O-okay. Sorry.”

John didn’t reply. He simply turned his attention straight back to Cora, stroking up and down along the material of her underwear. His cock twitched impatiently in her hand, at odds with his leisurely pace. “You’re soaked through.” He taunted, but the tremor in his voice delivered it as a revelation.

Cora’s brow furrowed. She stroked once, sweeping her thumb over the head of him. “Speak for yourself, Baptist.”

A grunt sounded from the man. His hands moved quickly, yanking her to the edge of the counter and gripping at her pants. Tugging the material down and off her legs while he dropped to his knees on the floorboards. The Deputy’s initial instinct to draw herself together and hide from scrutiny was jarred by the way the Baptist gaped between her legs. Like closing them would be some cruel disservice to him. So, she let him stare. Held still while he drew close, dotting a kiss to her knee and shivering when his beard skimmed her inner thigh.

“Thank you for wearing white.” John murmured, stroking a careful thumb over the cotton, leaving only aching want in his wake.

“That a religious thing?” She tried not to croak, raising an eyebrow.

“Not in this circumstance. Just...thought about it.”

“Oh. You just - casually speculated on the colour of my underwear.”

“Something like that.” He continued the action. Back and forth. Up and down. Trying to find the same spot as earlier. For all his enthusiasm, however, he was still out of practice and just as impatient as she was. He’d draw close, but any hitch in her breath pulled his gaze up to her face, searching for praise and losing his place in the process.

When his mouth suddenly descended upon her, though, fingers giving up their place to yank the material to the side and grant him direct access, the Deputy found herself uncomfortably on the complete other end of the spectrum. From not enough, to way, way too much. A squeak shot out of Cora, and her legs clamped shut on John’s skull just as her fingers gripped his hair in an attempt to pry him away from her. Both actions earned a separate “Ow,” from the man.

John pouted up at her. “What?”

“Stand up.” “I like where I am right now.” He protested. “You’re not shy, are you? I want to-”

Cora tugged at him anyway. “I don’t want you to practice on me. I want you to fuck me.”

John blinked. “Okay - not shy.” He pulled himself back to a stand, averting his gaze while she guided his hips back between her legs. “I’m - er - it’s just…-”

He bit back a resigned curse when her fingers circled his erection once again, passing over the noticeable slick of precum on strained cotton.

“Just what?”

“I'd like you to - enjoy it." The admission came. "And I’m not going to last.”

“Good. I'll enjoy that just fine.” Cora replied, earning a questioning look. “Won’t look so smug anymore when you’re coming in record time.”

John's expression darkened at the challenge, but his hands shook as they swatted her away, struggling to manoeuvre the fly of his underwear into just the right position.

Anger was still the quickest way to get through to him.

“Just you wait." He warned. "I’ll-“

She cut him off with a kiss, pulling his hips against her, and his threats evaporated. They were pressed too close for her to see, but his cock grazed the hem of her underwear, finally pulled free. Then, John’s fingers hooked around the material, pulling it to one side.

The Baptist held her gaze, brow upturned like he was worried.

Was he nervous?

“Ready?” He asked.

He looked...kind of pretty like this. Pupils blown. Lips a little swollen. Hair all messed up. Eye-contact wasn't so uncomfortable when he looked this wrecked.

She nodded. "Yeah." The pitch of his gasp matched hers when the head of him slid with dangerous ease along the wetness of her cunt. All she could focus on was the heat of him. The blunt press, drawing closer and closer to her entrance until he was finally lined up. The ache of resisting muscles and relieved nerve-endings when he pushed forward, torturously slow, concentration and bliss fighting for equal real estate on his face, and okay, he was exceptionally pretty like this.

A tiny little 'fuck' crept out of John when Cora sighed at the feeling, insistently encouraging, tugging. She needed more. It wasn't fair. Didn't fucking matter how long for; she just needed to feel him. All of him.

Then, when he was barely two inches in, another knock at the door pulled her out of her stupor.

“John? I spoke to Andy. He says it’s an emergency.”

John froze. Then, his eyes scrunched shut in a long-suffering grimace, and once again, his forehead dropped to Cora’s shoulder. Frustration radiated from him, infecting her within moments.

"Has he been out there the whole time?" She grunted.

"Christ." The Baptist sounded almost amused at that. He pulled back to offer a half-smile.

He had to investigate.

Cora, meanwhile, had no patience for his imminent departure. Her legs locked against his hips, but he was gently prying himself away already, muttering repeated, gasped apologies at her protests.

“I’ll be right there!” He called back, already resetting his belt. “Give me a minute.”

“Are you kidding?” Cora hissed, sliding down from the counter.

“I’ll be 30 seconds. I swear. Then we can - we can go upstairs, and we can stay there. Emergency or not.” John assured her, punctuating his words with kisses wherever he could land them while she struggled to multitask between receiving and yanking her pants back on. Then, he pulled away completely, stumbling out of the kitchen on visibly shaky legs.

Cora took a moment to silently lament before heading back out into the foyer, buckling her belt while she surveyed the space in an attempt to distract herself from impotent fucking rage.

John murmured away with someone outside, half-visible through the gap he’d left in the door. His arms had crossed, but with his back to her, she couldn’t discern his mood any further.

Nonetheless, her concern grew, and when the man said his goodbyes with a nod and entered the building once more, the Deputy found it had good reason to.

John passed through the room, not sparing her a glance. He snatched the radio he’d abandoned on the coffee table, but to her fleeting relief, simply clipped it onto his belt and moved on.

He’d turned pale.

“Hey.” Cora frowned, following him to the trophy cabinet where he began rifling through memorabilia. “What’s going on?”

“We have to leave.” He muttered, unboxing a small case. It rattled as he shook the content into his hand. 38 Specials, most making it to his back pocket, some clinking to the floor, forgotten when he moved on to withdraw his revolver and tucked it into the back of his pants. “Now.”

John continued hurrying about with Cora hot on his heels, unable to really do anything but watch him build a collection of valuables on the dining table. His coat. His keys. A particularly raggedy old bible. He made some effort to conceal the zip-lock bag he pulled from behind the décor on the mantle; definitely the source of the odour that permeated the foyer.

They traded a look - critical on Cora’s part, and John rolled his jaw while he shoved it out of sight, irritated. Perhaps embarrassed.

“Did you know?” He huffed.

“Mr. Seed, I studied in Colorado. I know what a half-bag looks like.”

“Did you know about the Cougars?” John’s voice hardened. “According to the Chosen, there’s one hell of a convoy inbound from the North. Did you know?”

Oh.

Fuck.

“Oh. Fuck.” Cora noted, still too dazed to even bother lying. “I called them in.”

They actually came?

“Wonderful.” John had stopped to run a hand through his hair. “Truly. Thank you.”

“Well sure, but I don’t see what good they’re gonna do you. They’re probably here to-”

“Sarcasm, Cora.”

“That makes more sense."

John started to pace, then, relenting. Dispersing his temper. He tugged the radio from his belt, holding it to his chin. “Joseph, for God’s sake, come in.”

Half a minute passed by. The little curses under John’s breath became more punctuated until his patience thinned. He angled the dial, and then stopped. Examining the station he’d been using, incredulous.

His gaze flickered to her for a split-second, eyes narrowing, and Cora’s stomach coiled.

Shit.

He knew.

She winced while the Baptist strode past her, anticipating his approach to the phone, investigating an absent dial tone and her now-obvious tampering. He turned the machine over, holding up the ruined cord for her to see.

"Your handiwork, Deputy?" The smile that spread over his face was sharp as ever. The mask was back on.

Perhaps this hadn't been her best plan.

She should've let him go down on her when she had the chance.

#dont read these tags until after you've read the chapter ok PROMISE!!#have you finished the chapter yet-#have i filled enough space yet #PSYCH yall thought either of them deserved to get laid yet?#come back for quiet earth part 3: john's day gets exponentially worse aka the asswhoopin #john seed #john seed x female deputy #far cry 5 #far cry 5 fanfic #cora stammos

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quillvine · 4 years

Text

Caffeinated

Aaron Hotchner x Gender Neutral Reader

A/N: Here have this monster of a fic. It’s been kicking around in my drafts for so long I had no idea what to do with or how to end it. I hope you guys like it! My requests are still open so don’t be afraid to drop a line :)

Masterlist

You’re awoken by the sound of Aaron’s phone ringing, it's his work tone. It’s too damn early for work especially considering it’s a Saturday. Next to you Hotch presses a quick kiss on your lips before reaching to grab his cell from the nightstand. He answers, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he listens to whoever’s on the other end. Before he even hangs up you know there's a case.

Aaron turns to you with his usual grim bossman look on his face. It’s a far cry from the cute sleepy look that you’re used to seeing in the mornings.

“Why don’t you start the coffee? I’ll go call Jessica and check on Jack.” He tells you.

He leans over again to give you another kiss. This time it’s long and slow, his lips molding against yours. Your hands find their way to his messy hair and he shifts to pull you closer to him on the bed.

All too soon he pulls away and you whine in disappointment, you’re not ready to start the day. Aaron just smiles pulling you up from the bed and pushing you towards the door. He pats your ass gently giving you another kiss before heading down the hall to Jack’s room.

He had food poisoning so you and Aaron had already been up later than usual making sure he was okay. The poor boy was hugging the toilet bowl way past his bedtime. You guys had hoped that you wouldn't get called away during the weekend, but alas the UnSubs of the world had their own agenda.

Flicking the lights on in the kitchen you get the coffee pot going. You also search the pantry for the individually packaged instant oatmeal that you guys keep for the mornings where Jack is running late for school. Neither of you are particularly hungry in the mornings but you figured that instant oatmeal is easy enough to make on the jet.

Pulling your go bags from under the buffet table in the hallway, you throw the oatmeal cups into your bag and then head back to the kitchen. You pour the hot coffee into travel mugs and then set them next to your go bags.

Heading back up the stairs to the bedroom where you see Aaron buttoning up his work shirt. He gives you a quick smile before grabbing the pair of slacks on the bed.

You walk over to the closest to grab clothes and get changed. After a quick glance at Hotch who is tying the tie you got him for his birthday you settle on a red shirt to match his power tie.

“Jessica is on her way,” He tells you, walking over to where you're standing to give you a kiss on the cheek, “Jack’s okay, he’s still sleeping.”

When Jessica arrives, you thank her for coming on such a late notice and then hurry out the door into the car.

Once you guys hit the highway it seems like whatever early morning energy you had left you. Your body feels limp and your eyes are drooping which really isn’t good considering the fact that you the coffee was supposed to kick in already.

By the time you reach the office you’re feeling a little worse for wear but you have a job to do so you reach into the backseat to grab your go bag. Before you can exit the car Aaron grabs your wrist and pulls you into a slow languid kiss.

“One for the road.” He tells you.

You smile as you exit the car, maybe this morning will get better.

It turns out the morning did not get better. The flight was bumpy and filled with turbulence adding a headache on top of your tiredness. By the time you guys get off the jet and to the station you’re really not in a good mood. For some reason the caffeine still has not kicked in and you’re still exhausted.

It’s six in the morning right now which means it’s still too early for you guys to check into a hotel so you have to leave your bags at the station. As soon as you’ve set your bags down, you’re beelining it to the break room, praying to whatever god is out there for a fresh pot of coffee.

Morgan is there already and smirks when he sees your disgruntled face. You groan internally, the whole team has been eyeing you since you got on the plane, they know how you get when you’re low on sleep. Morgan is the only one brave enough to toe the line with you.

“Oh ho ho, looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. What happened, Hotch keep you up too late last night?” Morgan as you push past him to the coffee pot.

“He’ll have your head for that.” You grumble.

Morgan just laughs, giving you a teasing smile as he follows you. He actually has the audacity to beat you to the coffee pot and starts pouring himself a cup. You come up next to him and grab a cup of your own, as Morgan pours you a cup you fumble with the cream and sugar passing them to him. He thanks you, adding some to his cup.

You stir your own coffee as you reach over to pour a cup for Aaron. He probably doesn’t need another cup, if anything he seems to be functioning fine but it’ll save you another trip to the break room if he doesn't drink it. Who cares if it’s cold.

Taking a sip from your cup you find that it is potentially the worst cup of coffee you’ve ever had in your life.

“Ugh, dishwater.” You grouse as you guys walk to the conference room the team has hijacked.

Morgan takes a sip of his own coffee and chuckles.

“Come on now you know that they never have the good stuff in these places.” He tells you as you guys walk into the conference room. “If you want anything other than dishwater you have to be like Pretty Boy and bring a whole pour over set.”

“Reid, I didn’t know you brought your Chemex on cases.” You say as you slide into the seat next to Aaron, giving him his cup of coffee.

He’s helping Spencer get the geographical profile going. There are no actual bodies at the moment, the girls are just missing. So you guys really only have the abduction sites and victimology to go on.

“You know,” Reid says as he looks up from the map. “The Chemex Coffeemaker was invented in 1941. It’s intention was to-”

“Yeah, yeah, we get it. All I know is that the last time we roomed together you woke me up with all that fumbling around.” Rossi complains.

Spencer at least has the decency to look sheepish. He squirms under Dave’s semi-annoyed gaze and turns back to the map. You chuckle at the thought. Only he would have enough coherence in the mornings to meticulously weigh out the ratio of coffee grounds to water.

As you reach out for the victim files you’re startled by Aaron pushing his coffee cup over to you. He takes your hand and squeezes it gently.

“You need it more than I do.” He tells you.

You sigh happily, dishwater or not caffeine is still caffeine. Buzz from the earlier cup starts to thrum pleasantly through your body. Although, you think it’s partly because of the fact that Aaron is being so sweet to you today.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” He asks.

You simply nod and squeeze his hand again. He’s so endearing when he’s worried about you. His big brown puppy dog eyes and the slight wrinkle between his brows makes you want to coo and plant a nice solid kiss on his lips. But the last thing you need is more teasing from Morgan so instead you bring Hotch’s hand to your lips giving his fingers a gentle peck.

He doesn’t look convinced though, still looking at you with a slight frown on his face. As cute as Aaron is when he’s pouty, he has you a little worried. Normally even a quick grab of his hand would warrant a gentle reminder about professionalism. The last thing any of you need are the local police thinking you're a two-bit agent sleeping with your boss for your position. You must be in really bad shape for him to act like this.

“Hotch I’m fine, really. I think it’s just a bad combination of lack of sleep and the turbulence from the plane ride here.” You tell him gently. “I’ll get some sleep when we get to the hotel, promise.”

You give him a small smile and Aaron seems to relax at your words. You scoot closer to him, grabbing the case files that sit on the table. Reid shifts the map a little so you can get a better view.

As you pour over the files to help with the geographical profile your feet find Aaron’s under the table. You nudge them gently to let him know that really you’re okay and not to worry about you. He nudges your back, as a reminder that he’s here if you need him. You smile setting in for a long day of profiling.

You know you promised Aaron that you would try to get some rest in the hotel but the hotel bed is so lumpy and you can’t seem to get comfortable. It’s not like Aaron’s sleeping either, his workaholic ass is still pouring over the case files.

You can tell he’s stressed, this case is weighing on him, you can see it in his eyes. But some of his stress is probably from the fact that he’s worried about you too. You feel so bad, he doesn’t need to worry about you, today was just an off day. He has enough to think about already with Jack and the case and everything else this job is pushing on him.

You yawn stretching languidly under the sheets. Hugging the blankets you turn to look at Hotch. He’s sitting at the desk in the corner of your guys hotel room still dressed in his normal work attire albeit a little disheveled. The crease between his brow is deeper than ever and you can tell that if he stares at those case files any longer he’s going to give himself a killer headache.

Luckily for him you know just how to stave off the impending headache. He could never resist your charms, especially this late at night.

“Aaron…” You croon, “Come to bed, baby. I’m so lonely, why dontcha come and keep me company?”

From his seat at the corner of the hotel room Aaron chuckles.

“Come on now, none of that.” He tells you. “You promised me that you would try and get some sleep.”

“I know, I know, but the bed is so lumpy and uncomfortable and I’m so cold. Why don’t you warm me up?” You purr.

You feel like a sultry young socialite waiting for her lover to come back to bed. The only thing that is missing are the silken sheets and the feather soft mattress.

Aaron sighs and rises from the desk chair. His suit jacket is already flung across the back of the desk chair and his tie is undone. He heads over to the bed with a large grin on his face. You smile back and make grabbing motions with your hands.

The bed dips as he climbs onto to lie next to you. Pulling you into a hug Aaron presses a kiss to the top of your head.

“What am I going to do with you?” He murmurs into your hair.

“Love me.” You say cheekily.

He laughs again and you laugh along with him. Oh god, his laugh is warm and honeyed and it feels like home. You could listen to it for days on end.

Patting his chest gently you say, “Come on baby get changed, you need to get some sleep too.”

Aaron gives you a quick squeeze before climbing out of the bed to change into his pajamas. As he slips out of his shit you purr in appreciation and grin wolfishly at him. He returns your grin as he wiggles out of his work slacks. Once he is fully changed Hotch pounces on top of you wrapping you into his arms. He flips you so you are resting on top of him, your head lying on his chest.

You bite your lip and bat your eyelashes at him. “Oh, so you want me on top tonight huh?”

“Stop it,” Aaron says with a low rumble. “You promised me that you would get some sleep.”

“Technically we would be sleeping together.” You tell him running your hand over his arms.

“Oh, you’re bad.” Aaron tells you as he leans up to nip at your lower lip. “But, you promised me that you’d get some rest, we need you at your best for this case.”

You sigh and roll off of him snuggling back into the blankets. He leans down to tilt your chin up so he can kiss you on your lips. He then reaches over to turn the lights off. With a soft smile you curl into Hotch and he gathers you up into his arms pulling you closer, the both of you settling in for a long night in a lumpy bed.

Normally, the sound of the engine is too loud for you to consider sleeping on the jet, but you’ve been running on fumes for the last couple days so you probably could sleep on anything that wasn’t a lumpy hotel bed.

You’re leaning against Aaron, your face planted firmly onto his side. Everyone else is asleep or trying to sleep, your boyfriend is the only one still awake. Honestly that silly stupid man would work himself to death if you and Jack weren’t around.

“Come on Aaron the paperwork can wait,” you tell him, “Why don’t we get some sleep?”

“You can get some sleep, I need to finish my report first.” He says not looking up from his papers.

You sigh and curl into Hotch’s side. It’s a little uncomfortable since he’s still upright and you can feel the movement of his arm as he writes. You focus on his even breathing and strong scent. Slowly, they lull you to sleep and you drift off dreaming of good coffee and nice hotel beds.

When you wake it’s to the sound of laughter. Rubbing your eyes bleary you see Derek and Emily with their go-bags slung around their shoulders. As you look around you see the rest of the team making their way off of the jet.

You look up when you hear a soft thud. Hotch has dropped your go bag next to his on the table. When he sees that you’re awake he leans down to kiss you on the lips.

“Welcome to the land of the waking,” he says with a teasing smile.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” you ask rubbing your eyes groggily.

“Well, you just looked so cute in my arms I couldn’t bear the thought of waking you up.” He tells you to reach out his hand so he can tug you up.

You sigh a little as you stretch, your back cracking nicely. Reaching out to grab your go-bag you find that Aaron is already holding it with his own bag hanging on his shoulders. You grab his free hand and as you walk off the plane together.

When you get home you thank Jessica for looking after Jack and go upstairs to give the sleeping boy a kiss on his forehead. Collapsing in your nice not-lumpy bed, and drift off into a peaceful sleep. Just before you fall asleep fully you feel Aaron slide into bed next to you cradling you gently.

“I love you.”

“I love you more.”

Tags (lmk if you want to be added or removed): @winterscaptain @yes-sir-hotchner @mrs-joel-pimentel-23-25 @crying-river @genevievedarcygranger @ange-must-die @ogmilkis @saintd0lce

@agenthotchner and @dr-reid-ismyspiritanimal I tagged you guys too, thought you might like it :)

#aaron hotchner x reader #hotch x reader #aaron hotchner #jack hotchner #reader #x reader #Criminal Minds #Criminal Minds Fanfiction #criminal minds x reader #derek morgan #david rossi #spencer reid #emily prentiss

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dawninlatin · 3 years

Text

‘tis the damn season, chapter 1

A belated gift for @ladywitchling <3 Merry Christmas my love, hope you appreciate this as much as I appreciate you!<3

Words: 1728

AO3 Link

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Manon prepares to spend Christmas alone. Little does she know Elide has other plans...

«Are you sure you’re fine with being alone on Christmas?»

Manon couldn’t help but sigh, hoping that Asterin wouldn’t hear it through the phone. She appreciated her cousin’s worrying, but calling four times a day to check in was a bit excessive.

«Yes, Asterin.» She twisted in her office chair, opening her laptop. «It’s not as if we ever did anything special for Christmas anyway.» Manon glanced at the clock, then at the amount of unopened emails. It would be a while before she was done for the day, but she didn’t mind. No one was waiting for her.

Elide had left this morning to spend the holiday with her family, and without the presence of her cheery girlfriend, Manon didn’t really see the point of celebrating Christmas. She had received an invitation to join Asterin, but she had a family of her own now. Manon would only feel like an intruder the whole night.

As if she’d read Manon’s mind, Asterin said from the other end of the line, «Not doing much for Christmas isn’t the same as being alone.»

«I know that, but-»

Before she find a way finish that sentence, Asterin interrupted her again. «Can’t Elide-»

«Elide has already left to celebrate with her family, as she should.» Manon tried to ignore the sound of defeat in her voice as she yet again was reminded of how empty their apartment would be. Maybe that was why she’d decided to work overtime on Christmas Eve.

Saying goodbye to her girlfriend earlier today had been torture, and all Manon had wanted was to pull Elide into a tight embrace and spend all of Christmas cozied up in bed, just the two of them.

She didn’t though. Instead she put on a brave smile and held back her tears as her favorite person walked out the door.

Rolling her eyes at her own dramatics, Manon said to Asterin, «Christmas is overrated anyway. And I mean it when I say I don’t mind being alone.»

Liar. Dirty, filthy liar.

«Okay,» Asterin sighed at last, obviously spotting the lie, but playing along nonetheless. «You’re probably happy to finally have some peace and quiet.»

«Damn right I am,» Manon smiled, her heart once again filling up with love for her cousin. Before Elide, Asterin had been the only person Manon had. The two cousins had been raised by the same cruel grandmother, and it had made them inseparable, always looking after one another.

«I’ll leave you to it then. I need to take a long nap before I can do anything else. Willow kept us up all night.» Asterin yawned, and Manon chuckled slightly at the sound of her tired cousin. Being the mother of a one-year-old wasn’t easy. Especially not when that one-year-old was also the daughter of Fenrys Moonbeam.

Speaking of the devil… «You still talking to The Grinch?»

Manon tipped her head back and laughed as Fenrys’ voice filled her ear. The nickname was one he’d lovingly began to call her after she’d voiced her aversion for the bright and merry season.

«Hello to you too, Fenrys.»

«Wait a moment,» Asterin suddenly said. «I’m turning on the FaceTime camera.»

Manon could hear some shuffling coming from the phone she’d pulled away from her ear, and then the small family filled her screen. She smiled warmly at the sight of a very tired Willow, who looked like she’d just been woken up from a nap of her own by the way her soft curls stood in every direction and how she clung to her father.

«Hey Willow,» Manon cooed, and the little girl’s face lit up at the sight of her auntie.

She babbled some nonsense, and Asterin handed her the phone, which she immediately put in her mouth.

«No!» Asterin was quick to steal the phone back, but the glare Willow gave her had Manon laughing again.

«Alright, it looks like someone is hungry, so I’ll hang up now.» Manon waved at her niece. «Bye, Willow!»

«Can you say bye to auntie Manon?» Even after a year, she still filled with pride whenever anyone called her that, and as Willow waved enthusiastically, Manon forgot all sadness from earlier.

Pressing a kiss to his wife’s cheek, Fenrys took Willow and left the frame. «Let’s go and feed The Kraken!»

«Fenrys!» Asterin called after him, but she was grinning.

«Merry Christmas, Asterin,» Manon said softly, ready to turn her attention back to her work.

«Merry Christmas, Manon. I love you.»

«I love you too,» she replied, and hung up.

Manon debated calling Elide as well, while she was at it, but it was getting dark outside, so she decided it was best to just finish for the day and go home to suffer through Christmas alone.

Three hours later, Manon was finally finished with her workload. There was only one last thing to do…

Groaning as she got up from her desk, Manon made her way towards the office of the only other person grumpy and joyless enough to spend the holiday at work.

If Manon was the Grinch, Lorcan Salvaterre had to be something far, far worse.

She knocked on his door, and he responded with an annoyed «What do you want.»

Stepping into his office, Manon scowled at the sight of her least favorite person in the world. She really didn’t have the patience to deal with this today.

«I’m done for the day, so I just wanted to check if you got the files I sent you,» Manon stated, examining her nails with a bored look on her face.

Lorcan’s signature frown entered his face as he checked his email, then looked back too Manon. «Yeah, so you can leave now. I wanna work in peace.»

«Too bad I came here to chit-chat then, since you’re like, my favorite person in the whoooole world,» Manon deadpanned, turning on her heel so she didn’t have to stay a minute more in his miserable presence.

Manon and Lorcan saw each other an awful lot for basically being archenemies. It wasn’t enough that they worked together. No, two years back, Elide had been taking her to a party so she could finally meet her friends, and none other than Lorcan fucking Salvaterre had greeted them, his smile quickly shifting to a scowl as Manon had muttered a not-so-quiet you’ve got to be kidding me.

Thinking about the memory, she stopped in the doorway, her longing from earlier having returned at full force. A small smile played on her lips as she looked over her shoulder. «Have a shitty Christmas, Salvaterre.»

Lorcan let out a small chuckle. «You too, Blackbeak.»

Sitting on the train, Manon suddenly began to regret not decorating the apartment. It felt wrong to know that she was on her way to an empty apartment, as ordinary-looking as always, when she was surrounded by so many people dressed in finery, on their way to see friends and family, twinkling lights passing in a blur.

A wave of sadness rushed through her. She would have given anything to have Elide by her side right now, holding her hand, talking about her day, smiling, laughing, just being there.

Actual tears burned behind her eyes then, and Manon silently cursed Christmas for making her so emotional. She never cried! And now she was being all sappy because she’d been away from her girlfriend for a grand total of ten hours. What was wrong with her?

Her phone chimed in her purse, interrupting her sad music video moment, and when Manon saw who had texted her, she had to fight even harder to hold back the tears.

Elide<3: You on your way home yet?<3

Manon: On the train now

She thought for a second, before sending another message.

Manon: Thinking of you<3

Elide<3: Thinking of you too, can’t wait to see you again<3<3

Had her younger self seen this, she would have snorted at the sappy words and heart emojis, but there was no denying it, no one could resist the charm of Elide Lochan.

Looking up once more, Manon saw that it had started to snow, the world already covered by a white blanket.

Next year she would accept Asterin’s invitation, Manon promised herself.

Standing before her door, Manon spent longer than necessary fumbling for her keys. Maybe some part of her didn’t want to enter the empty apartment, she was mature enough to admit that.

Because whether she wanted to acknowledge it or not, it was Christmas, and she was sad because Elide wasn’t there, and her home wasn’t decorated and her dinner was a miserable plate of yesterday’s leftovers and her only plan was to watch a movie, alone.

Manon let out a sigh as she let her head hit the door, needing a moment to gather herself. «it’s your own fault for trying to be so fucking independent and untouchable the whole time,» she whispered.

She gave herself one more second to brood, then she twisted the key and eased the door open.

A few steps into the hallway, Manon stopped short, a confused look on her face. She’d turned off the lights this morning, hadn’t she? And was that…?

It was music, the soft tones of some Christmas song, coming from the kitchen.

Looking around, there were even a few decorations put up, a mistletoe hanging over the entrance to the living room.

«Hello?» Manon called, not letting herself really think about who this had to be. Not letting that kind of hope come to life.

Heart pounding in her chest, she stepped into the living room, and could do nothing but gasp in awe as she took in her surroundings. A Christmas tree stood in the corner, the room lit up by its softly glowing lights, and everywhere there were little trinkets and other decorations. On the mantel of the fireplace was a picture of her and Elide that hadn’t been there before. It was from last week, Manon recognized, when they’d been at the Christmas market, and on the frame were the words: Make the yuletide gay. A bubbling laugh escaped her, and she couldn’t hold the tears back this time.

A voice sounded from the kitchen, and Manon turned around, only to be met by a pair of shining eyes and a bright smile.

«Merry Christmas, my love.»

Taglist: @ireallyshouldsleeprn @ladywitchling

I keep a separate taglist for every ship, so let me know if you want to be added to any of them!

#malide #manon x elide #manon blackbeak #elide lochan #lorcan salvaterre #asterin blackbeak #fenrys moonbeam #asterin x fenrys #fensterin #sarah j maas #sjm #throne of glass #tog #queen of shadows #qos

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writing-mermaid · 4 years

Text

This is the night, it’s a beautiful night and we call it bella notte

Summary : When just a tiny push was what missed to make Sonny ask the new SVU detective out.

Pairing : Sonny Carisi x reader

Warnings : None I think

Word Count : 3 721

Author’s note : For the Anonymous who asked for the prompt : “Somewhere deep down, there’s good in you. Pretty far down”. I hope you will like it. Slightly inspired by Lady and the Tramp at some point. Pick a prompt or two or three and send an ask and a character or you can ask for stories with original characters Don’t forget that feedback is appreciated and really important.

Song of the title : Bella Notte - Ruby Summer

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Buy me a ☕

“Somewhere deep down, there’s good in you. Pretty far down”, detective Y/N Y/L/N says, looking at the teenage girl at the other side of the table in the interrogation room.

The dark haired, tanned skin girl wears a NYPD hoodie and a pair of sweatpants that the detective in front of her gave her when they both arrived at the precinct two hours ago, in replacement of her ripped one. She was covered in blood and bruises.

“Listen Sira, if you don’t tell me what happened and who did this to you, I can’t help you. I can even help you to find your family again and make sure that something like that doesn’t happen to you again. So, tell me. Like I said, I know that there is good in you, even if it’s deep down. If you help me, I can talk to my ADA and we can find a solution if you don’t want to go back with your parents. I’d do anything to help you but in exchange, you have to help me.”

Sira looks at Y/N. She’s pretty, she thinks, with her Y/E/C eyes and her mid-long Y/H/C hair, her pink lips, and she looks brave too, what happened to me would never had happened to her. On the other hand, Y/N wants to slap herself, she referred to Carisi as “my” ADA, instead of “the precinct’s ADA”, feeling her cheeks blush. But it seems that Sira didn’t notice and she’s glad to have her back on two-way mirror, so nor her captain or the ADA would have noticed her slight blush at the mention of him.

“I’m starving”, Sira finally states after a few minutes. “I want to eat, and then, I’ll tell you what you want to know.”

“Well, that’s a first step”, Y/N says, rising from her chair. “What do you want ? Chicken ? Ham ? Tuna ? Veggie ?”

“Tuna, with a Cherry Coke please.”

“I’ll be back in ten minutes”, Y/N tells her, taking her notebook with her and exiting the room.

Meanwhile, in Olivia’s office, the captain and the ADA are looking inside of the interrogation room, watching, and listening to Y/N trying to convince Sira to tell her what they need.

“She’s good”, Sonny turns to his former captain when he sees Y/N looking at Sira, who seems to be thinking about the detective’s offer.

“Why do you think I hired her, Carisi ? Not because she’s good looking. I mean, she’s a beautiful young woman, but that’s not the reason why I hired her”, Olivia tells him.

“Where did you say she worked before ?”

“Interpol.”

“Why would an Interpol agent leave her post to work for NYPD ?”, Sonny questions.

“I don’t know”, Olivia sighs, “Maybe she was only tired of it”, she shrugs.

“I’ll be back in ten minutes”, they hear Y/N say to Sira, making them looking back in the interrogation room, where they see Y/N getting up from her chair, her notebook in her hands.

Olivia turns off the intercom when Y/N opens the door.

“It seems that you managed to convince her to tell us things.”

“Well, I can be very persuasive apparently”, Y/N answers to her chief. “I’ll probably need your help for her when she tells me what we need to know”, she adds, turning to Sonny. “I have to go for a few minutes, she’s hungry and I promised her a tuna sandwich and a Cherry Coke.”

“You should eat something too”, Liv tells Y/N, removing her glasses and sitting behind her desk.

“Yes mom”, Y/N replies, smiling playfully at Olivia.

Y/N exists her captain’s office and goes to her desk to take some money in her wallet, Sonny looking at her from the inside of Olivia’s office.

“You should go with her, instead of watching her from afar. As she said, she’ll need you for Sira. And you should eat. I’m sure she would be glad of the presence of her ADA”, Olivia says, smiling to herself, insisting on the “her ADA” to give Sonny a hint.

“See ya later Captain”, Sonny grabs his suite jacket before taking the same way Y/N took two minutes before.

“Those two, not even seeing the oblivious”, Olivia sighs, watching Sonny jogging towards the elevators.

A few minutes later, and thanks to his long legs, Sonny manages to catch Y/N at the store down the street.

“Hey, do you mind if I join you ?”, he asks her, after he spots her in the snack area.

“Not at all”, she smiles up at him, hands full of food. “Sonny can you take a can of Cherry Coke up there please ? My hands are kinda occupied and I’m too tiny to grab one.”

“Sure, let me help you”, he says, taking her burden, in his big hands after grabbing some food for himself. “Do you intend to nourish a regiment ?”, he playfully questions, looking at all the food Y/N took.

“I don’t know how long Sira stayed without eating, so I might get carried away with all of this”, she motions to the food. “But I rather have too much than not enough.”

“My treat”, he says when they reach the checkout and Y/N takes her wallet out of her purse.

“You don’t have to”, she looks up at him. “I can pay for my food and Sira’s.”

“Let me buy it for you, it’s my pleasure.”

“Dominick Carisi, you’re too good to be true”, Y/N says, taking a shopping bag out of her purse to put the supplies in it.

Sonny takes the bag of food from Y/N’s hand, his fingers grazing hers, and without knowing it, they both feel their cheek heat up at the light touch of their skins.

“Do ya think she’ll tell you want you want to know ?”

“I hope so. I just want to help her, she seems lost and she needs us to help her.”

“Us ?”, Sonny raises one of his eyebrows.

“Yes, I thought that, as you are the ADA, you could help me with her, or help her with me. I… I just…”

“I see what you mean, and for the record, I’ll help you, don’t worry”, he smiles down at her.

“Thank you, Sonny.”

Back at the precinct, the detective, followed by the ADA, goes back in the interrogation room.

“Here for you”, Y/N says, handing the food to Sira.

“Thanks”, the teenager takes the sandwich from the Y/H/C haired woman in front of her, rips open the package and starts to devour it, barely taking time to chew.

“Slow down, you’ll choke”, the detective tells her protégée, putting down the can of Cherry Coke in front of her, along with a bottle of water.

“Sorry, I was hungry, haven’t eat for three days”, the teenage explains, her mouth full of bread and tuna, while Sonny and Y/N take a sit in front of her.

“Sira, I’d like to introduce you to someone. This is Dominick Carisi, the Assistant District Attorney I told you about.”

“Hey !”, she stops eating for a few seconds, just to gulp her Coke. “He’s cute, I understand better when you said he’s your ADA, and why you blushed”, Sira shoots at Y/N, with a sly grin on her face, looking at the two grown up in front of her turning red.

“No, I… Hum… When I said my ADA, I meant the precinct’s ADA. He’s a former cop, he used to work here before I arrived, so he knows everyone pretty well”, Y/N explains to put up a front.

“So Sira, detective Y/L/N told me you probably will have something to tell us. In exchange, as she said, we can help you. This is particularly important to be sure that what happened to you, never happened to anyone else.”

“Okay, I’ll tell you”, the teenager says.

And she told them everything she knows. The name of her pimp, how many girls he has, what he makes them do and the way he treats them when they refuse. By the end of the day, Y/N has enough information to arrest the man.

“Well, it should be enough to arrest him and lock him up for a while”, she tells Sonny after Sira left with a social worker that will take her in a shelter for the night, while she’s walking back to her desk in order to collect her things.

“You did a good job there Y/N.”

“Thanks.”

“Wanna have a drink ?”

“No, not tonight, I’m tired, and to be honest, I would have rather go with the others and arrest that bastard, but Liv said I earned my rest, so I’m going home”, she smiles up at him.

It’s now or never, Sonny thinks, gathering his courage.

“Y/N ?”

“Yes, Sonny ?”

“Would you like to have dinner with me on Friday night ?”

“Dominick Carisi, are you asking me out ?”

“Yes, I’m totally asking you out.”

“I’d love to”, she answers. “Friday night, I finish at six. I’ll text you my address and you pick me around seven ?”

“Sounds good to me”, he answers.

“See you on Friday night then”, she kisses his cheek and leaves the SVU floor, a smile on her face, leaving behind her a grinning Sonny, who reaches with his hand the spot when she kissed him.

“Are you okay Carisi ?”, Olivia asks, coming behind him.

“More than okay”, he answers, putting his suit jacket on one shoulder and going out, humming.

Friday night seems not to come fast enough for Sonny, who barely had a glimpse on Y/N for the rest of the week as she’s busy with the victims and Sira’s testimony. She made an amazing work, what he mentioned to the court, while she was trying to reach all the families of those girls, kidnapped to serve as sex slaves. Most of the families were glad to find their children again, some other were unreachable, but he knew that Y/N wouldn’t abandon those girls until she finds a solution for the last one.

“I’ll never be out of her”, she complains to Amanda, who’s finishing some paperwork at her desk.

“You’ve got something planed tonight ?”, the blonde detective asks her friend.

“Yep, going on a date with Carisi”, Y/N answers, making Amanda spitting the water she’s drinking.

“What ?!”, she says, wiping her chin and moping her desk. “You’re freaking kidding me ?”

“I don’t.”

“Jeez, he finally made his mind up to ask you out, was about time. I was tired to see him staring at you with blankly, and even if you didn’t notice it yourself, you definitely had a thing for the guy too.”

“Thing is, I’ll never be out and ready for him to pick me at seven… It’s almost six thirty…”, Y/N sighs.

“Okay, you know what, give me your size and there’s a store down the street, I’ll pick a dress for you, something that could do with your faux leather jacket and the shoes you’re wearing, and I’ll text Carisi to take you here instead of at your apartment. I’ll help you get ready and I’ll even help you to finish that case. Which girl do you have to finish with ?”

“Sheena Cassady, she’s the last one, I couldn’t reach her parents yet. I don’t understand if they don’t want to see her or don’t want her back or if there is another reason, but I don’t want to give up on her.”

“Give me fifteen minutes and I’ll be back to doll you up for Carisi. Don’t worry, I have some make up in my desk, just in case.”

Y/N just nods, not really knowing how to stop or answer Amanda who rushes outside of the precinct. She sighs and returns to her work, still trying to reach for Sheena’s parents. After ten minutes of tone in her ear, she decides to stop, feeling bad for Sheena. The detective gets up from her desk and goes straight to the break room, where Sheena is waiting for her to know if she has news from her family.

“Hey Sheena, I hope you’re okay”, Y/N says, entering the room.

“It’s getting a little long detective Y/L/N, did you manage to call my folks ?”, she asks.

“I’m sorry sweetie”, the older woman apologizes. “It seems that I can’t have them on the phone. I tried the neighbors too, but nothing. I’ll have to call social services again for you, and I’m sorry.”

“That’s alright, don’t worry, I knew that they would probably don’t want me back”, Sheena shrugs.

“Okay, I’m back”, Amanda shouts from behind, going to the break room. “And I’ve got the perfect dress for you”, she adds, pulling a wine-red dress, with a fake leather brown belt. “I know you have a pair of black ballet flat in one of your drawers. Just a little make up, and he’ll fall at your feet.”

“I heard you had a date with the cute ADA”, Sheena smiles at Y/N.

“Yes, I do, I hope this will be okay.”

“I’m sure it’ll be. He seems to be a decent guy”, the teenage adds.

“He’s more than decent”, Amanda answers. “Hey Sheena, wanna help me doll Y/N up ?”

The young girl nods and rises from the couch, a smile on her face, following the two detectives in the bathroom, picking up Y/N shoes on the way. A few minutes later, Sonny, dressed in his blue three-piece suite, goes out of the elevator, looking around for Y/N, or at least Amanda to tell her where the Y/H/C haired woman is.

“What’s up Carisi ? I heard you got yourself a date with Miss Interpol”, Fin greets him, clasping his shoulder. “Be nice to her, she’s a great girl.”

“I know Fin, don’t worry I’ll treat her well”, Sonny responds to his former coworker and friend.

“Great, you’re here !”, Amanda states coming back to the bathroom, Sheena on her heels.

“What are you doing here ?”, Sonny asks his friend.

“Me ? Just playing fairy godmother for your date”, she just replies.

“You’re playing fairy godmother, you ? That’s new. Not a role I would see you in”, Sonny mocks her, but his voice fades when Y/N passes the door of the bullpen, leaving him speechless.

“We should have made a princess out of her before, I’ve never seen Carisi shutting up that long before”, Fin says, from behind the still silent ADA. “You look stunning Y/N”, he adds, moving towards his coworker to have a better view of her.

He’s right, Sonny thinks, she’s stunning. Rollins really worked well.

“Hey.”

“Hey. You look, magnificent.”

“Thanks Sonny. You don’t look that bad either”, Y/N smiles at him.

“I booked a table in an Italian restaurant if it’s okay for you.”

“Perfect. Have a nice night everyone”, she waves at her colleagues, before taking the tall and handsome Italian’s arm.

From the precinct to the restaurant, Sonny acts like a real gentleman with Y/N, who tries to remember if she already has been treated that well by a man once in her life. Sonny is perfect, holding the door, letting her walk in or out before him, pulling her chair once they’re settled at their table.

“May I ask you something ?”, Sonny questions while they’re eating their pasta plates.

“Sure”, Y/N answers, taking a bite of her pasta dish, and humming in delight.

“Why did you leave your last job ?”

“I felt like, something wasn’t here anymore. A sense of weariness. I was tired. Tired of being constantly chasing after bad guys.”

“Well that didn’t really change”, Sonny laughs.

“You’re absolutely right about that. I was never home, I didn’t really have a social life, couldn’t really see my family, couldn’t have a love life”, she adds, looking up at him. “So, after seven years, I decided to resign. I wanted stability, to see my family more often, finally settle down somewhere, have a pet, find someone to spend my life with, maybe getting married and have children. It was hard for me, I didn’t have the impression to be useful. When I left, I took some vacations, because I really needed it. I came back here, looked for a place to live and one day, my former boss sent me an email with a job opportunity, saying that SVU needed a detective and that I would be perfect for the job. And to be honest I love it, I finally have the impression to do something good, to be useful.”

“And he was right”, Sonny states, “you’re damn good with the victims, the way you investigate. How you managed to convince Sira, Sheena and all the other girls to testify. How it made possible to dismantle that network. You’re an amazing cop.”

“Thanks Sonny, but to be honest, I would never have managed to convince Sira if you refused to help me.”

“I can’t refuse you anything”, he blurts, taking another bite of his plate, before realizing what he just said. “I mean…”

“That’s okay Sonny, I’m not going to demand you to offer me a ring just because you gave me a compliment”, Y/N says, taking a sip of the Italian wine in her glass, watching Sonny turning red. “Can I taste those ?”, she suddenly points at his plate.

“Sure, be my guest.”

Y/N leans a little over her plate to sink her fork in Sonny’s, who wraps a bit of his own spaghetti on his fork. Neither of them notice that one particularly long spaghetti wrapped itself on both forks. And the particular way this restaurant places people, helps a lot in what happens next. As they both eat the spaghettis, musicians come around, distracting them from looking at each other, the spaghetti disappearing in both their mouths, until their lips are pressing against each other. They both move back, looking at each other with a small smile, and start to eat again, in a comfortable silence.

After dinner, Sonny takes Y/N to an Italian neighborhood party in East Village. The street is full of people, music and there are some attractions here and there. A carrousel, a Ferris wheel, a band playing music and people dancing around the square. Fingers intertwined, Sonny and Y/N, wander through the fair, their eyes trying to watch everything. With the warmth of the evening, both of them left their jackets in Sonny’s car, enjoying the mild temperatures.

“Do you want to dance ?”, Sonny asks, after a moment, pointing at the people dancing and at the band.

“I’d love to”, Y/N answers.

He grabs her hand and leads her to the improvised dancefloor in the middle of the street. Sonny takes Y/N’s right hand in his left and put his right hand on her waist, while Y/N lays her left hand on his shoulder. As the band starts to play a very familiar tune, they start to sway, looking at each other, a small smile on their lips.

Oh, this is the night, it's a beautiful night

And we call it bella notte

Look at the skies, they have stars in their eyes

On this lovely bella notte

Sonny spins her around, while the two singers continue to sing the main theme from Lady and the Tramp. When Y/N is facing Sonny again, she moves closer to him and wraps her two arms around his neck, laying her head on his shoulder, letting the words of the song lull her, wishing that this moment never ends.

Side by side with your loved one You'll find enchantment here The night will weave its magic spell When the one you love is near

For this is the night And the heavens are right On this lovely bella notte

At some point, she rises her head and Sonny kisses her tenderly. At the end of the song, Sonny takes her hand back in his and they leave the now crowded dancefloor.

“What’s next ?”, she asks with bright eyes.

“Well detective Y/L/N, what do you think about this ?”, he says, showing her the Ferris wheel.

“I think this is a very good idea ADA Carisi”, she smiles at him, pulling him towards the merry-go-round.

Sonny buys two tickets, and they are seated in the cabin, enjoying the view as the wheel goes up. When it stops at the top, they can see a few neighborhoods, and look up at the stars.

“This night is perfect”, Y/N says, leaning into Sonny’s side. “I don’t want it to be over. I’m so glad you finally asked me out.”

“I’m glad I did it”, Sonny answers, putting his arm around her shoulder, his chin on her head. “I should have asked you long before if I knew this would be so perfect.”

After another hour spent at the fest, and after two gelatos, Sonny brings Y/N back home.

“This was the best date I’ve ever have”, Y/N says when Sonny stops in front of her building’s entrance, his car parked a little lower down the street. “Thank you, Sonny.”

“Me too”, he replies, scratching the back if his neck. “Does this mean I can have hope for a second date ?”

“I’ll gladly go out with you again Dominick Carisi, a second time, and a third time and a fourth time”, she pulls him down to her by his tie, her lips crashing on his.

She releases his tie when he kisses her back, wrapping her arms around his neck, to pull him further into her, while his hands find their way to her hips. When they pull away, lips swollen, Y/N smiles up at him one last time, before climbing the few stairs to her building’s front door.

“I’m waiting for your call ADA”, she playfully says.

“And I’ll call you detective”, he answers, on the same tone.

Y/N blows a kiss and closes the door. When the door closes, Sonny goes back to his car, almost dancing on the way, already planning his next date with Y/N. He is more than happy to finally have been able to ask out the woman of his dreams and to have make it the start of something that he knows he’ll cherish for the rest of his life.

Taglist :

@bastard-man-barba, @storiesofsvu

#Justine's writings #Prompt Game #This is the night it's a beautiful night and we call it bella notte #Law and order : SVU #Dominick Carisi #Sonny Carisi #dominick sonny carisi #Sonny Carisi x reader #Dominick Sonny Carisi x reader #Sonny Carisi fanfiction #Law and order : SVU fanfiction #Law and order : SVU imagine #sonny carisi imagine #Dominick Carisi x reader #Dominick Carisi fanfiction #dominick carisi jr x reader #Dominick Sonny Carisi imagine #Dominick sonny carisi fanfiction

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dalamjisung · 4 years

Text

childlike love ✾ kim yugyeom

word count: 6909

genre: hospital!au, fluff

pairing: Pediatrician!Yugyeom x Pre-School Teacher!Reader

description: he’s a big baby and you wouldn’t mind taking care of him too.

“Everybody inside!” One of the teachers call. “Let’s go, kids! We have a fun day ahead!”

You smile, watching the parents drop their kids in their classrooms. As per usual, you are waiting by the front door for your kids, having a quick word with each of the parents to calm them down. It is always the same, even though you’ve been teaching their kids for almost a year now– will they be okay? or call me if they need me! As a pre-school teacher, you are used to these kind of requests, and you only smile and assure them that everything will be okay.

“Okay,” You mutter, looking around the classroom and counting the children. “We’re only missing–“

“She’s here!”

Your head snaps to the side to see little Choi Minjae grabbing tightly onto a man’s neck as he runs into the school. Knowing for a fact that that is not her father nor her mother, you slowly approach the stranger, eyes trained on the little girl in his arms, looking for any sign of discomfort, but you see none. She looks pretty comfortable with him, so you smile, feeling a little more at ease.

“Good morning, Minjae-ah!” You say softly once she’s on the ground and next to you. Her shy giggle makes your heart warm up and you pat her head as she hugs your legs.

“Goo’ morning, Ms. Y/L/N,” She smiles and then looks back at the man. “Bye-bye, Uncle Yugyeom!”

He waves back and high-fives her with the promise of coming back to pick her up in five hours.

“I’m sorry for barging in like that,” He says looking at you with a light blush tainting his cheeks. “Youngjae called me thirty minutes ago and told me was caught up in the hospital and his wife has been away on a business trip and–“

“It’s completely okay,” You smile, trying to calm the ranting man down. “Next time, however, could you just ask that either Mr. Choi or Mrs. Choi call the principle and let him know that there will be another guardian coming?”

“Of course!” He smiles. “I’ll ask him as soon as I leave here. I’m Yugyeom, by the way. Kim Yugyeom.”

“I’m Y/N Y/L/N,” You shake his hand and look in the classroom, noticing that the kids are starting to get antsy. “I have to go, but it was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Kim!”

He makes a face and laughs. “Yugyeom, please. I’m too young to be Mr. Kim.”

“Yugyeom, then,” You wave. “See you in a few hours when you come to pick Minjae up.”

“See you, teacher.”

You chuckle at the nickname and go inside, clapping your hands excitedly to get the children’s attention. It’s time to start the day. As always, the kids are incredible; there are a few fights here and there but nothing that interrupted with the flow of the classroom. What you love the most about teaching pre-school kids is seeing their development with basic understanding, starting to make sense of storytelling and memories. You love each of them with your whole heart, even if you had a few favorites. The bell signals the end of the school day and you smile, feeling exhausted but content.

“Good bye Ms. Y/N!” Some kids shout as they run to their waiting parents. You wave and watch as they get picked up by their guardians, always on the lookout for anyone that seems strange to one of the kids. You are leaning on the door, watching everyone go, when you feel a weak pull on your pants.

“Ms. Y/N?”

You look down to see Minjae hugging her yellow backpack tightly, eyes wide and confused.

“Yes?” You smile, crouching down to match her height.

“Where is daddy?” She asks, voice dying down in the end. You can hear the sadness of being left behind and you pet her head lightly.

“Daddy is working, Minjae-ah,” You say slowly. “Remember? Daddy brings babies to the world to make people happy! But your Uncle should be here soon, he said he’d come pick you up today.”

“Uncle Yugyeom?” She asks and you nod. “But Uncle Yugyeom works with daddy… so isn’t he busy, too?”

“Yugyeom is also a doctor?” To say you are surprised is an understatement. You knew that Minjae was smart, but her train of thought it a bit advanced for someone that’s only four.

“Yes,” She nods and sits down on the floor, pulling on your hand until you are seated too. “He takes care of the babies daddy brings into the world.”

Oh, so he’s a pediatrician?

“That’s nice, isn’t it?” You get up and bring her some paper and crayons. “What do you want to be when you grow up, Minjae-ah?”

“I want to be a doctor!” She says firmly and you assumed that would be her response. Her father is a doctor and everyone in her life seems to work in the medicine area. “But not like daddy, I don’t like babies. I want to be a doctor like Uncle Mark and Uncle Jaebeom.”

“And what do these uncles do?”

“They save people who are dying.”

You choke on air. “W-what?”

“I don’t want people to die, Ms. Y/N,” Minjae says with an odd softness to her voice. “So I want to save them.”

“That is very brave of you, Minjae,” You say and you hope, you really, really hope that in the future, when she is grown and haven’t thought of you in years, she’ll remember these words. “I’m really proud of you. I’m sure your parents and uncles are, too.”

“We are.”

Minjae is on her feet instantly, running to the tall man at the door. He is still wearing his white coat and you chuckle a bit, getting up from the floor, as he leans down to hug his niece; the hight difference making you coo in adorableness.

“I’m sorry for being late,” He sighs, and looks at you. “A patient ran late and–“

“It’s completely fine,” You nod at him. “She is a wonderful kid and we had a good time while waiting.”

“I see that,” He points at the drawings on the ground, where colors are mixed and matched. “Minjae always has a good time with you.”

“Oh, did she say that?” You ask, looking at the child resting on his lap. She giggles and nods.

“I did, I did!” Her little arms wave around and you laugh. “Can we go, now? I’m hungry…”

“Of course!” Yugyeom nods. “Thank you again, Y/N.”

“No problem,” You smile, waving. “She’s always welcome.”

“Oh! I already talked to the principal, by the way,” He says with a big smile. “I am not sure exactly when Youngjae will need me to come pick her up so they put me down as a permanent guardian.”

“That’s great, thank you for talking to him,” You smile.

“No problem! See you whenever Youngjae is busy!”

As they walk away, you can’t help but smile widely, thinking of this odd man and how you just know you’ll see him again. You also think about how much you want to see him again and you shake your head, laughing at your own foolishness.

No way a man like that is not already taken, you think starting to clean the classroom. And even if he wasn’t, he wouldn’t choose me, that’s for sure.

——————————————

The things about accidents is that you never see them coming, but somehow, it’s always your fault. It’s supposed to be a simple painting exercise; you tell the kids that they can draw whatever they want– family members, friends, animals, shapes. It’s all up to them, and later, you’d put them all on the wall to let everyone see each other’s work.

Things go south when Jaemin, a very excited and energetic little boy, decides to grab the blue pain on the top shelf by himself. He’s usually like that and that’s why you always keep an eye on him, but today you are busy helping Mina with mixing blue and yellow to make the perfect green, and you don’t see Jaemin climbing on a chair and reaching for the heavy pot of paint. You make it fast enough to stop the whole thing from collapsing on top of the child, but he’s already crying from falling off the chair and hitting his head on the floor. In consequence, the cabinet falls on top of you, and you wince as pain shoots through your body, but you forget about it quick enough, pushing it back in its place and scooping Jaemin up in your arms.

“Are you okay?” You ask, hands softly roaming around his head, looking for any sing of blood, and thankfully you find none. Still worried, you call for a substitute teacher for a while so that you can take Jaemin to the nurse.

He’s still crying desperately once you get to the nurse’s office, but you don’t see the sweet old lady that is usually sitting by her desk; instead, there is a note of absence, and you can’t help but panic for a moment.

“What the f–“ You stop yourself before you scare the little boy even further, and you almost run to the principal’s office. “Sir, I need the guardians list.”

“What happened?!” He asks, alarmed. Chanyeol is a very competent worker and he deeply cares for the children under the care of the employees in the school, but he’s never been good with emergencies. “Oh my god, oh my god, oh–“

“Chanyeol,” You breathe out softly, trying to calm both males in the room. “I need the guardians list. Now.”

“Yeah– okay!” He is moving as quick as possible and soon enough you find what you need.

Kim Yugyeom.

The number is scribbled next to his name and you are quick to dial it, barely letting him speak before interrupting.

“Hello, this is Kim Yugy–“

“Yugyeom!” You call in relief. “I am so sorry to call you during work hours, but we had an accident and the nurse is not here and–“

“What happened?” H asks, and you hear some ruffling on the other side of the line.

“One of the kids fell on his head,” You mumble quickly, ashamed of yourself even though you know that it’s not your fault. “He won’t stop crying. I’m really sorry to be calling you, but Minjae mentioned you’re a pediatrician and the nurse is not here.”

“I’ll be there in ten.”

He got there in seven, along with Jaemin’s mother.

“What happened?” She asks rudely, looking at her crying son and then at you. Sighing, you pull her aside, allowing Yugyeom to rush to the crying kid.

“We were painting and Jaemin tried to reach for something on a high shelf,” You start to explain, knowing that nothing you say will change the way that this mother is looking at you– it’s all your fault, her eyes say. “He didn’t call for me and instead decided to climb on a chair. The cabinet fell and I was able to stop it from falling on him, but he fell off the chair and seems to have hit his head on the floor…”

“And where were you while all of that happened?!” She shouts, finger pointing directly to your face. You understand the anger, she’s a mother after all, but the disrespect starts to get to you and you have to take a deep breath.

“Ma’am,” You start calmly. “There are about fifteen kids in the classroom, and I try my best to watch over all of them, but it’s only me in there. I’m sorry that Jaemin got hurt, but I was helping other kids and–“

“You should’ve paid more attention to him!” She screams and at this point Chanyeol and Yugyeom are watching you two carefully. “He got hurt because of you!”

“Ma’am–“

“Is this what I pay this school for?!”

“You’re scaring your son.”

Everyone stops and looks at Yugyeom.

“Excuse me?” The mother mumbles, looking at her child as he hides behind the doctor’s legs.

“You are scaring your son,” Yugyeom repeats, voice soft yet serious. “You are deliberately disrespecting the woman he sees as authority in the classroom, and that he cherishes so much, and you are scaring him. I’ll have to ask you to control yourself.”

“And who the hell are you?!”

“Dr. Kim Yugyeom,” He offers her his card. “I know Ms. Y/N and she called me over to do an assessment of his condition. Your son is perfectly fine, ma’am, just scared. If it wasn’t for Ms. Y/N, however, I am not sure what could’ve happened.”

“Yu–“

“Now let me take a look at you,” He says, pulling you to his side and sitting you next to Jaemin. “I saw you flinching… please turn around and raise your shirt.”

“This is not appropriate in–“ You try to push him away but he’s bigger and stronger than you.

“I am here as a doctor and you are my patient,” He whispers so that no one besides you can hear him. “Now please, a cabinet fell on your back. It must’ve hurt.”

“Is my teacher hurt, Doctor?” Jaemin asks grabbing your hand as you allow Yugyeom to slightly raise your shirt.

“She is, a little bit,” He probes your skin and you recoil in pain. “But she is a strong woman and she protected you.”

“She really did!” Jaemin says excitingly. “Ms. Y/N ran really fast, mommy! She didn’t let the things fall on me.”

“You have cuts and bruises all over your back,” Yugyeom says after cleaning the injuries with rubbing alcohol. “What the hell was on that cabinet?”

“Books, paint, and other stuff,” You wince once again and only allow yourself to breath normally when he puts your shirt down.

“You’ll be fine, but you need to clean this once a day,” He sighs, turning you around to look at him. “Do you have anyone to help you?”

You hesitate, but end up nodding.

“Just in case your lying,” Yugyeom offers you his card and you take it. “You can call me. I promise I don’t bite.”

“But I might…” You whisper to yourself as he leaves, putting the card in your back pocket.

——————————————

You don’t hear from or see Kim Yugyeom for the next week or so. Cleaning your back with the disinfectant is probably the hardest part of your day, but you manage. You keep working, if your back is constantly hurting when you pick kids up or when they accidentally hit you as they run by; you refused to stop because of a stupid injury.

It’s Friday and you just got home, and only after a steaming shower that you realize two things: you are craving ramen and you don’t have any at home. You quickly put on some shoes and make your way to the market nearby your apartment, walking slowly as you enjoy the cold air and the beautiful snow. You’ve always loved the winter and how comfortable the nights turned once it is cold; people are out on the street, huddled together, laughing as they enjoy warm snacks by the river. You smile sadly, overwhelmed with a sense of loneliness above everything else, and you enter the market.

“Ramen, ramen, ramen…” You mumble to yourself, trying to find the right isle to turn into.

“It’s the next isle,” Someone says from behind you and you quickly turn around, finding yourself face to face with Yugyeom carrying Minjae on his shoulders. “Hi.”

“Hello,” You say, amused with the view. “Here for ramen too?”

“Yeah, Minjae has been wanting some all day so…” He shrugs and the little girl giggles as she bounces on his shoulder.

“Hi Ms. Y/N!” She shouts and you wave. “Uncle Yugyeom, can I have some strawberry milk?”

“We can go get it after you chose your ramen,” Yugyeom says and smiles at you, nodding at the selection with his chin. “Which one for you?”

You laugh and chooses the jjajangmyeon flavor, already giddy with excitement to get home and eat this with some snacks.

“Good choice, good choice,” Yugyeom muses, a smirk playing on his lips. “But predictable.”

“Oh really?” You ask, squinting at him. His playful demeanor makes you join his antics. “What would you recommend then, Doctor?”

“Ah,” He looks up at Minjae and they do a weird exchange of glances, and they both look at you. “We all know nuclear ramen is much better.”

“My insides will melt if I eat nuclear ramen,” You gasp. “I can barely eat spicy tteokbokki!”

“Weak,” Minjae says, nodding to herself.

“Hey!” You say, laughing at the four-year-old.

“Uncle Mark told me that all the other uncles are weak because they can’t handle spicy food,” She explains. “And Uncle Mark is never wrong. That’s why he’s my favorite.”

“I thought I was your favorite?” Yugyeom gasps, removing her from his shoulders and carrying her in his lap.

Minjae shake her head. “It’s Uncle Mark.”

“That’s gotta hurt,” You mumble, eyes wide in surprise with how daring your student is. “Really.”

“But I love you, too,” She says, patting his head and wiggling to be put down. “I’ll go get the milk!”

“Yah!” Yugyeom shouts, still in shock. “I cannot believe this!”

“Honestly,” You sigh, patting his shoulder in an understanding manner. “Me neither. She talks about you so much that I definitely thought you were the favorite…”

He nods, and looks at the hand on his shoulder, bitting his lip.

“She talks about you, too, you know?”

You take a step back, retrieving the hand. “She does?”

“Oh yeah,” He laughs, and you love his laugh– it’s loud and vivid. “We all know about the pretty teacher.”

“The pretty teacher?” You echo, laughing incredulously. “Is that my official title?”

“Of course,” The two of you walk through the isles, looking for Minjae, and you see the way he looks at you sideways, hiding a smile. “It fits you.”

“I see,” You blush, looking down. “You fit your title, too.”

“And what’s that?”

“The big baby,” You giggle and walk ahead as you hear him gasping. “Let’s go, we need to find the small baby.”

“Yah!”

You leave, giggling like a teenager. The rest of what was supposed to be a quick trip to the market is surprisingly fun. You learn that Minjae is staying with Uncle Yugyeom for the weekend because it’s her parent’s wedding anniversary; you also learn that Yugyeom is putty in her hands, doing everything and anything that the child wants. What surprised you, though, is finding out that he is the youngest in his friend group, barely a year older than you– you thought he was way older than you, being a stablished doctor and all.

“I just focused,” He says when you asked him how he managed. “The rest just kind of fell in place…”

“Daddy says Uncle Yugyeom is really alone, and that is why he has so much time to take care of other people,” Minjae tries to whisper it to you, but he heard it. You know he did; his eyes are fixed on the ground, a sad smile forming on his lips. “He has the biggest heart, according to daddy. As big as him!”

You don’t know what to say to that, not really knowing how to make this situation less awkward for the man standing right next to you. He sighs and motions to the cashier.

“Let’s go, Minjae,” He mumbles, and something about him is different– gone. “Say goodbye to Ms. Y/N, we have to go home.”

“Or,” You say quickly, before you have time to convince yourself that this is a really bad idea. “You could be less alone and make me less alone by coming over and having ramen with me.”

His brows shoot up, mouth agape. “W-what?”

“You and Minjae!” You clarify, blushing wildly. “Not just you– I’d never! I’m not… I just meant you and Minjae. Company. For dinner. Tonight.”

“Can we?” Minjae jumps around her uncle, excited. “Pretty please, Uncle Yugyeom, can we go?”

“Are you sure?” He mumbles, still red from the previous misunderstanding. “We don’t want to impose.”

“She said you are lonely,” You say pointing to the kid. “And to be honest, so am I… It’ll be fun, I promise I don’t bite.”

He smiles. “Alright then. Let’s go pay.”

It’s a fight trying to pay for your own food once Yugyeom sets his mind on paying for you. We’re already eating at your place, is his argument. The least I can do is pay for the food. You roll your eyes and let him, but you promise to pay next time.

“Next time?” He mumbles, avoiding Minjae hearing him. “I like the sound of that…”

“The sound of what?” Minjae asks from behind you two and you grab the groceries and walk ahead, trying to escape the responsibility of having to explain to the little girl what ‘flirting’ is.

“Of seeing the pretty teacher again,” Yugyeom winks at the kid.

Minjae looks at you and then back at Yugyeom.

“You like my uncle?”

You choke on air.

“You like my teacher?”

“Yes.”

“Stop egging her on!” You hiss, slapping his shoulder.

“Then are you guys going to be like mommy and daddy?”

“Married?” You ask, still recovering from your shock.

“No,” Minjae shakes her head. “In love.”

And sometimes, like right now, you really think you’ve been lied to and that Minjae is actually a genius.

“I’m down,” Yugyeom says, picking her up.

“Seriously?” You joke, guiding them to your apartment. “I’m down?”

He groans. “At least I told her something.”

You two bicker all the way back, joking and laughing together. The night is, overall, a success. Minjae had a great time and you and Yugyeom managed to get to know each other better; but everything has an end and soon you are saying goodbye. Laughing softly, you open the door for a tired Yugyeom and a sleeping Minjae, kissing him in the cheek before he leaves.

“Thanks for today,” You smile. “It was really fun.”

“Are you free next week?” The question is quick and airy and you laugh, knowing just how nervous he is.

“I am, why?” You tease. “I was wondering if you’d like to get some dinner?” He asks. “Just you and I. Not ramen. Real dinner.”

“I’d love to,” You nod. “I’ll text you, I have your number.”

“I have yours too,” He chuckles. “You called me, remember?”

It takes a while, you two not managing to stop talking, but he leaves and you drag yourself to bed, sleeping peacefully and dreaming about the family you’ve never had– one that eats ramen on a cold Friday night sitting on the kitchen floor and playing children’s games.

——————————————

One week is nothing. One week is nothing. One week is nothing. You repeat your mantra as many times as necessary to convince yourself that you are not anxious, not at all, nope. But the weekend feels like a week and the week feels like a month, and when Friday finally comes again, you even feel older. He doesn’t text you in the morning like he did on the other days, but it’s okay, you’ll see each other later. It’s with that mentality that you go through school hours, Minjae being delivered by her mom and picked up by her dad.

“Oh, good to see you again, Mr. Choi,” You smile at him, even though by now you are feeling dejected and confused. You’ve had no life signal from Yugyeom whatsoever, and you wonder if the date is still happening.

“That sounds like a lie,” Youngjae points out. “Hoping someone else would pick her up?”

“I don’t know what–“

“Yugyeom told me,” He laughs, looking at you. “I think you two will work out pretty well, to be honest. He needs someone kind and caring in his life.”

“How do you know if I’m kind and caring?” You ask, looking at him suspiciously.

“A little birdie told me,” He points at his daughter as she packs her bag. “She adores you, and apparently, the night you guys had at your apartment was ‘the best night of her life.’ You raised the bar up for me and her mom, Y/N, I gotta say…”

You laugh. “I’m glad she enjoyed it.”

“Yeah, and so did Yugy,” Youngjae shrugs. “He’s been crazy busy today, so don’t feel bad if he has to reschedule. There was a really bad accident involving a middle school bus and they have him on call until everything is sorted out… He’s really sorry. He didn’t tell me anything, but I know my dongsaeng… he’s probably beating himself over the fact that he is too busy.”

“Ah, there’s no need for that,” You say, understanding the situation even though you feel a bit disappointed. “I understand how stressful it must be–“

“You know,” Youngjae looks at his watch and then at you again. “He’s probably going to work the night shift as well.”

“Oh,” You deflate. “That’s okay.”

“Which means he’ll probably skip dinner,” Youngjae continues, offering you a pointed look.

“Oh.” You finally get it. “That’s not good.”

“It really isn’t,” Youngjae smiles and you laugh, impressed with the fakeness of his grin. “I’d go and bring him dinner, but I have to take care of Minjae tonight… oh, what will we do?”

“I guess I’ll just have to assume the responsibility,” You say, sighing in false defeat.

“I guess you will.”

“Daddy!” Minjae runs to her father and jumps in his arms. “Bye-bye Ms. Y/N!”

“Bye Minjae!” You wave and then smile at her father. "Thank you.”

“My pleasure.”

You have some time to kill before dinner time, so you walk back to your apartment, already thinking of all the things in your fridge and what could you try and make for the overworked doctor. In the end, you end up ordering from a nearby place, deciding it’s a better idea to give him something good that someone else cooked than the burnt food you tried to whip up.

The hospital is nearby and the taxi take advantage over the fact that traffic is not horrible. You anxiously bounce your leg as the nurses tell you to wait since he’s in a surgery and will be back shortly. They smile warmly at you, noticing the food in your hands and the nervous look on your face.

“Dr. Kim will be really thankful,” One of them say. “It’s been a really bad day.”

“I’ve heard,” You nod, deep in thought. “I don’t want to intrude, though, so maybe it would be better to leave this here with you?”

“He’ll surely appreciate the company, ma’am,” She winks at you. “Dr. Kim tends to get really emotional with severe cases like this, and unlike his hyungs, there is never anyone waiting for him in his office after a hard surgery or a bad consultation.”

“Ah… he seems lonely,” You mutter to yourself.

“He is,” The nurse smiles. “And it’s really sad to see such a good person alone.”

“It really is,” You sigh. “Would it be possible for me to wait in his office?”

Looking at both ways in the hallway, the nurse motions for you to follow her.

“Don’t tell anyone I’m doing this,” She giggles. “But Yugyeom deserves to have someone waiting for him, too.”

“Are you two friends?” You smile, thankful for her.

“I’m his main nurse,” She nods. “We’ve been working together for a while… friendship is bound to happen.”

“I’m glad he has you looking after him,” And you really are; it makes you feel less worried knowing that his coworkers are supporting him.

“I have to go,” She looks at her phone. “He’s out of surgery, so he’ll be here any time now. Enjoy your meal!”

You wait. And wait. And wait. And just when you feel like you might bolt and leave him a note, the door slams open, a frustrated Yugyeom entering the room with red, puffy eyes and disheveled hair. His blue scrubs is wet with sweat and he is sniffling, hand furiously rubbing his eyes.

“Oh my god, are you alright?” You shoot out of your chair and run to him, hands grabbing his and pulling them down next to his body. “Are you crying?”

Yugyeom blinks a couple of times and then looks at the food, and then back at you.

“Y/N?” Even his voice is gruff and used. “What are you doing here?”

“I–I heard about the accident,” You gulp, suddenly in the spotlight. “And I thought you’d skip dinner… so I brought you some.”

“I’m so sorry,” He sighs and his shoulders drop in disappointment. “I completely forgot to text you; it’s just been hectic today and I–“

“It’s okay!” You say a little too loud and he flinched. “It’s completely okay, just… just tell me, are you okay? You look like you’ve been crying.”

“Me?” He goes around his table, sitting down and opening a drawer. He pulls his phone, looking at himself in the camera. “Oh. No. I mean, yes, I’m okay; no, I haven’t been crying. I just didn’t have time to take my allergy medication and it started acting up in the middle of a surgery, so this is why I look like this. Sorry.”

“Nothing to apologize for,” You smile relieved. “Hungry?”

His eyes are trained on you as you start pulling out the food, and before you can sit down he grabs your wrist, hands pulling you to him. One of his arms goes around your waist, holding you close, and the other holds your hand, and you only feel his tension once he rests his forehead on your stomach, your body frozen in between his open legs. Yugyeom sighs, and deposits your hand on his head, silently asking for scratches, like kids sometimes do.

“Starving,” He mumbles. “But exhausted.”

“You need to eat,” You say softly, not wanting to ruin the intimate atmosphere in the room. “And then I’ll leave and you can nap.”

“Stay,” He yawns. “If you don’t mind, stay. I’ve been super excited for our date and now I just feel like shit that I couldn’t make it.”

“Says who?” You chuckle, pulling away and ignoring his whines. You sit in front of him. “This looks like a date to me.”

“You deserve better,” He’s so serious that you move a little, uncomfortable with the weight on your shoulders. “A lot better.”

“But I want this,” You giggle. “A take-out dinner with the big baby.”

“Must you refer to me that why?” He asks dramatically.

“Yes,” You say and pushes some noodles in his direction. “Now eat.”

You don’t remember falling asleep in his tiny couch, but you will never forget waking up squished in his arms.

——————————————

I owe you a proper date. Let me take you out tomorrow.

Today is the tomorrow Yugyeom talked about and yet, nothing from him. You didn’t really expect much, but you expected something. You understand that his job is urgent and demanding, but so is Youngjae’s and he manages to balance social and work life. Because you don’t work during the weekends, it’s pretty much just you and Netflix today, and with the selfish anger that bubbles inside, you decide that Criminal Minds is just the right amount of violence for you. The torrential rain outside makes it so that you have the perfect mood for a chill Netflix night, even if that’s not what you wanted to begin with.

Don’t be an idiot, Y/N, you think to yourself, walking to the kitchen to make some popcorn. You want something that no one can give you.

As you make enough food for one, in your apartment big enough for one, you wonder just how much longer will you yearn for something that might not even exist. The Perfect Family is something that you’ve always wanted, ever since you were in middle school and your mom left; ever since you were in high school and your dad died; ever since you got to college and truly were completely alone. You had few friends, but you weren’t close enough to any of them to count on them when things got tough. But you always had the kids; you used to volunteer at a pre-school nearby and even when they’re small, kids are incredibly perceptive. They give love without expecting anything in return, and you love that. You love it so much you decided to become a pre-school teacher.

The TV is playing but you can’t seem to process anything that’s happening, eyes focused on your phone in hopes of… what? A sign of life? A rejection? An excuse? Even you didn’t know.

“Ah,” You sigh, pushing your hair back. “Forget it, Y/N, forget it.”

And then, right as you finally give up for good, your phone rings.

Kim Yugyeom.

You scramble to pick up, not really caring about petty vengeance and making him wait.

“Hello?” You sound airy and worried.

“Y/N?” He calls, and you can hear the rain outside. “Thank god you picked up– can you open the door for me? I’m outside your building and there’s a code and it’s raining so hard.”

“You’re here?!” You shriek, running to the door, forgetting all about shoes, and running the three floors down the stairs, only to come face to face with a soaking wet Yugyeom. “Holy shit!”

He laughs, loudly, and waves through the glass door. You let him in, quickly pushing him to the stairs again, deciding it’s the fastest way, and into your apartment, where you shove him in the bathroom and gives him towels and your largest sweatpants and t-shirt.

“Hey, hey, hey,” He chuckles, wet hands on your shoulder. “Calm down… I’m okay. It’s alright.”

“You’re going to get sick!” You frown. “Get out of those clothes, they are all– why are you wearing a suit?”

You finally notice everything you didn’t see before. His hands, pale white and shaking, but firmly holding onto what you assumed used to be a really beautiful flower bouquet, now only having a few flowers left; you notice his formal wear, his beautiful black suit and blue shirt; and you notice his smile, sad and embarrassed, eyes looking at you carefully.

“It was supposed to be a surprise,” He laughs humorlessly. “I even let everyone in the hospital know that I’d be busy and they are to call the other doctors in case of emergency… but I wasn’t counting on getting caught in the rain on my way over. These are all ruined, now, I’m sorry.”

He gives you the flowers and you cover your mouth, trying to hide your shock.

“I’m sorry, Y/N,” Yugyeom sighs. “I seem to keep messing up when I’m with you. When I’m with you I feel like a child and I guess I just keep embarrassing myself further…”

“Well, you are the big baby,” You joke, looking at him whine and stomp his feet on the ground. “Thank you. For these. I doesn’t matter that they are all wet, or that you are all wet– what counts is the thought, and you had me in your mind all this time. Thank you.”

“That’s such a childlike response,” He mumbles, surely not for you to hear, but you do nonetheless.

“Oh, really, Mr. I Feel Like A Child Next To You?” You squint.

“That was supposed to be romantic!”

“Stop whining and go take a shower,” You roll your eyes, sniffling a laugh. “I’ll go get something, but I’ll be right back.”

You run to and from the market, your umbrella barely holding on against the heavy rain. When you get back in your apartment, Yugyeom is sitting on the couch; the pants are too short and the t-shirt is too big, and you can’t help but giggle, thinking that he really does look like a kid.

“Where did you go?” He follows you to the kitchen and you don’t answer, choosing to simply show him the packages of ramen, wiggling your brows. “Ah, you’re the best, Y/N!”

“Thank you, thank you.”

Cooking is fun; Yugyeom is right behind you, his front glued to your back and you are flustered– so flustered that you almost drop the boiling water all over yourself. After a worried lecture from Doctor Kim about being careful, he assumes the position of main chef and finishes making the simple ramen. As he is putting everything in the bowl, you decided to just fuck it and you allow yourself to circle his waist with your arms, hugging him to you.

“Yah,” He says softly, putting both his hands over yours. “I need to finish here.”

“Just give me a minute,” You mumble, hiding your face in his back even though he can’t see you. “I’m happy.”

You feel him turn around. “Me too.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” He smiles, grabbing your face and pulling it closer to his. “I like you.”

“I like you, too,” You giggle, blushing furiously. “Oh my god, we’re such children.”

“Makes sense,” He snorts. “We both spend all of our days with kids.”

“But we’re adults,” Your argue, getting on your tippy toes.

“Thank god for that,” He smiles. “Now come here.”

He kisses you chastely, and you start to wonder just how innocent Yugyeom really is; but those thoughts soon vanish. He pulls you closer and that’s when he starts really kissing you; hie height overpowering you, body leaning over yours to get closer, as if that was possible. You are not sure how long you two make out for, but when you finally pull away, needing a pause to breath, the noodles are crumbling from how soggy they turned.

“No!” You shout, pushing him away and moving to the food. “Our dinner…”

“We can order in,” He mumbles, pulling you back to him. “Now come back here.”

“Control yourself,” You look at him, avoiding his puckered lips. “You fooled me… you’re no child, you’re a horny teenager.”

“Are you serious?” He rests his head on top of yours, giving up and just hugging you. “You looked like you were enjoying it a lot, you know jus–”

You slap a hand over his mouth. “Stop it!”

“You’re so cute,” He pinches your cheeks. “Getting embarrassed with things like that!”

“You say as if you don’t get embarrassed,” You poke his nose and walk to the living room. “What should we order?”

“Sweet and sour pork?” He suggests, sitting next to you, and you nod excitingly.

The rest of the night is a mix of kissing and talking. You learn all about Yugyeom hyungs and how close they all are, and in return, you tell him all about you; family, friends, past, present, and hopeful future. He nods and caresses your hand as you talk, and when you two fall asleep, once again in the couch, you feel happy and content. You feel safe.

——————————————

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” You say, grabbing his hand and not letting him get out of the car.

“What do you mean?” He questions, smiling. “It’s the best idea.”

“Yugyeom, what if they hate me?” You whisper, looking at your boyfriend with wide eyes.

“… what?” He bursts out laughing.

“I’m serious! What if they hate me? What if Minjae doesn’t like it? What if the other kids bully me?” You ramble on.

“Y/N, these are just my friends,” He says, bringing your hand to his lips and giving it a kiss. “You don’t have to be nervous. They’ll love you. I mean, Youngjae and his wife already do.”

“Oh my god, oh my god, I’m so nervous,” You mumble to yourself, following him out of the car and inside the house.

“They’re here!”

You barely see her, but when Minjae jumps on you, you are ready to catch her instinctively.

“Hi Ms. Y/N!” She shouts, arms around your neck.

“Hi, sweetie,” You smile, feeling yourself calm down.

“I missed you!”

“We saw each other this morning,” You chuckle.

“Yeah, but now we can see each other more because you and Uncle Yugyeom are like mommy and daddy!” She says and you remember her previous words. “Can you sleep over? Can you babysit me? Can we play?”

She wiggles to be put down and grabs your hand, leading you through the house and introducing you to everyone. That’s Uncle Jaebeom and his wife, and that’s daddy and mommy, and that’s Uncle Bambam and his girlfriend, and that’s Uncle Jackson– his girlfriend couldn’t come because she is punching people.

“She’s a professional MMA fighter, Minjae-ah,” Jackson explains with a smile. “Not a gangster.”

“And this,” She tugs you to a tall man sitting next to a beautiful woman. “Is Uncle Mark! He’s my favorite, but I can share with you and he can be your favorite, too!”

“YAH!”

You all look at Yugyeom, face red and frowning.

“I’m her favorite!” He pouts.

“Uncle Yugyeom,” Minjae sighs. “You’re such a big baby.”

They start to bicker and you smile, watching your boyfriend debating with a four-year-old, and thinking that you might have just found what you always wanted.

This could be my family.

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

and this is the end of the general hospital series! I have to say, it’s a little bittersweet, but I’m sure I’ll come up with something even better for a next possible series ❤️ thank you to all of you who were with me on this journey >.< love you all and as always, let me know what you think! It means a lot!

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tony-is-my-daddy · 3 years

Text

Dream a little dream of me pt2

The weather was bad, it was getting a bit cold at the middle of October now, but Peter and his little students were outside on the playground. He was pushing one of the youngest little boys in the swing who couldn't do it by himself yet, while watching over the rest of the children around him so no one would get hurt. Of course, you wouldn't think a class of fifteen kids was a lot to look after, but honestly, even looking after one was a challenge for some people.

It was nice, though, the kids were slowly starting to go home with their parents, even the little boy who he was swinging, and after a while, it was just him and Morgan. It was strange, Morgan was usually one of the first kids to be taken home.

"Hey princess. Who's coming for you today," he asked as he sat down next to the little girl who sat on a bench, swinging her legs that couldn't reach the ground.

"Eric..."

Peter frowned. "Who's Eric?"

"My new dad. I don't wike him too much."

Oh. "Your mommy has a new boyfriend?"

"Yes he's gunna be my new dad."

"Well, when did you meet him?"

"Last week..."

"That's a very little tiny short time," Peter said, his thumb and index finger almost touching as he showed how small he meant to the girl. "Why don't you wait until you get to know him better? Maybe you will like him."

"But I wanted you to be my new dad..."

His heart skipped a beat at that. "Now now, Morgan, daddy told you not to talk about this, right?"

"Right... sorry."

"It's okay, bub. Just be nice to Eric, okay? You can't be sure what he's like if you don't know him yet."

"Otay."

Just then, someone walked through the gate, a tall, broad man with black hair and brown eyes. He smiled when he spotted Morgan on the bench.

"Hi Morgan! I'm so sorry for being late, it won't happen again, I promise," he said as he walked over to her and Peter. "Hi um I'm sorry, this won't be a regular occasion, traffic was just a nightmare," he explained to Peter this time. "Eric."

"Peter. It's okay, I gladly spend my whole day with this little angel, ain't that right, Morgan?" The little girl giggled as Peter pinched her cheek. "Alright, now go home with Eric, bub."

"Goodbye, Mr. Parker," she said as she jumped off the bench.

"Bye bye Morgan!"

Morgan and Eric walked out and got in a car, leaving Peter alone on the school grounds. He sighed as he looked around, the playground that was a few minutes ago full of screaming children now so lifeless. It was scary and he didn't like being there without the kids, so he went back to his classroom where he collected all of his belongings. He checked his phone before leaving and saw a message from Tony.

Tony: Ready for tonight?

Peter: Not yet, just got out of work

Tony: You're still beautiful

Peter: Don't make me blush

Tony: ;)

It was Friday again, almost a week after their first date, and now they were going on a second. Peter was so excited about having their second date now, since he very much enjoyed their first one. It all still seemed so surreal, him dating Tony Stark, texting him every single day and seeing him occasionally when he came to get Morgan. He loved it, of course, but he wouldn't be surprised if this all were just some kind of fever dream or a bad joke. Though be prayed for it not to be.

When he got home, he laid down for a while, opening up his chat with Tony again as he put something on for background noise on the TV.

Peter: What should I wear?

Tony: ?

Peter: This is a fancy place

Tony: Not that fancy

Peter: Fancier than what a kindergarten teacher is used to

Peter: So what should I wear?

Tony: I'll be wearing a suit and tie, if that helps

Peter: Then we should match

Tony: You're adorable

Peter: I know :)

Tony: Literally everything you wear will look amazing on you because EVERYTHING LOOKS FUCKING AMAZING WHEN YOU WEAR IT

Peter: You say that because you haven't seen me in my lazy sunday attire yet XD

Tony: What does that look like?

Peter: A shirt that's 3 sizes big on me and sweatpants

Peter: And ugly glasses

Tony: I wear ugly glasses too

Tony: But that's even worse since I wear them because I'm old as fuck

Peter: You're only 10 years older than me

Tony: I'd like to point out that you have daddy issues but then that would seem like I'm not glad that you do so I'll just keep quiet

Peter: Shut up and get dressed XD

Tony: Alright, see you in a bit ;)

God, he loved their banter.

During the past week, they really spoke every single day, for the first two days Tony texted him first, and then Peter got brave enough to text first as well. They got to know each other more, they told each other about their traumas and families - Peter about that one aunt that he still had and loved, and Tony about his dad and mom, then his closest friends who he counted as family. Peter now also knew that Tony loved old school rock, cheeseburgers and liked to work on old cars in his free time, that he went to MIT and graduated early with perfect grades. Tony knew about how much Peter loved to cook and that he loved pets, especially cats, and he was really into the 50's and 60's songs, that he was a nerd back in school and he was part of the decathlon team.

So basically, now they knew a shit ton of things about each other, even just after a week. It was crazy, they wouldn't stop talking to each other, it was like they were fifteen years old in love again.

As Peter's mind was wandering back to Tony and to how amazing of a person he was, he slowly began to get ready for their date. He chose one of his two suits (wow, what a great job) and a baby blue tie that looked good with the light grey. He got dressed, gelled his hair back, and he was ready to go. Thankfully, not long after that Tony texted, saying he's just leaving his place. Peter waited until the doorbell rung again and this time, he let Tony in. There was nothing wrong in letting the man look around, right?

"Hey Tones," Peter greeted when he opened his door for the man. "Come on in, I just have to put on my jacket and my shoes and we can go."

Tony walked in and looked around the small kitchen and dining space. He peeked through the archway to the living room as well, then hummed. "Living cozy up here, I see."

"Very," Peter chuckled. "That's what the landlord said when I was looking around the place as well, I assume because the best was to describe a small ass apartment is ‘cozy’." Tony laughed at that.

"Well it might be small but it's very homey. I like it a lot." The older man leaned over to look at the succulents that stood in a perfect line on his windowsill. "I like the plants."

"Oh there's a lot of them in here, most of them I keep in the living room. Wanna check them out?"

"Yeah sure-" he looked at his watch, "oh wow, maybe not now. We're gonna be late for our reservation."

"Oh sorry, yes, let's go," he said as he pulled up the zipper on his jacket.

They went to a modern place which looked super expensive, but Tony assured him that ut wasn't actually. They sat down at a nice little table for two, a romantic candle lit between the two of them at the center of it. Everything looked so nice and Peter was so excited. They ordered their dinner and began eating as soon as the waiter brought it to them. They were both very hungry already.

"How do you like it," Tony asked.

"Oh it's absolutely amazing. How's yours?"

"Good. I think my mamma made it better, though."

Peter's eyes widened. "Your... mamma?"

"Yeah, my mother used to cook a lot of italian dishes that she learned from my grandmother. She always said that italian food was the best kind of food in the world."

"Wow, I didn't know that."

Tony smirked. "You also didn't know I was half italian."

"No way!"

"Yep."

When they got back from the date to Peter's place, it was already quite late, yet it seemed too early to let the man leave just yet. Peter desperately looked around his house to find something, anything, that could make the older man want to stay for a bit more.

"Hey, I have some leftover wine. It's not Chardonnay or anything like that, but... if you wanna stay for a while and drink some then I think... I wouldn't be very opposed to that."

Tony smirked. "Well how can I say no when you're asking so nicely?"

They took of their jackets, shoes and blazers and Peter grabbed two glasses and the bottle on their way to the living room. They sat down on the couch and started drinking. Tony was looking around the place, the stairs behind Peter's desk catching his eyes and he finally looked up to see a loft bedroom.

"You actually sleep up there?"

Peter laughed. "Yeah, I do."

"There's no walls, aren't you scared of falling off?"

"There's fencing up there, Tones. See, all around the flooring."

"And where's your bed?"

"Oh I don't have a bed. I have a mattress on the floor."

"What the fuck?!"

"Yeah, I mean, it didn't seem like a good idea to have that old hardwood flooring hold up not just my weight but also a bed's weight. So I thought a mattress would be enough. It's actually quite nice up there, I have lots of plants."

"Yeah, and if you come home drunk you might break a leg on your way to your... mattress."

"That's why I mever drink until I get drunk."

They discussed Peter's living situations for some time, and when they finally stopped talking for a minute or two, Tony looked at his watch.

"It's late, isn's it," Peter asked.

"Almost midnight."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to keep you here for so long."

"No, it's fine. I didn't really... wanna leave anyway."

Peter smiled, looking away from the older man's eyes shyly. "You know, if it's already so late... and you had a lot of wine now, maybe... it wouldn't be a great idea to drive home."

"Peter Parker, are you asking me to sleep over?"

He glanced up at the older man through his thick lashes. "Would that be okay?"

Tony put the glass half full of wine down on the coffe table and leaned in to capture Peter's lips in a soft kiss. "It would be more than okay," he breathed when they pulled away. Peter grinned from ear to ear and he pulled Tony back in for another kiss by his tie, this one deeper, more passionate than the one before. They ended up making out for about ten minutes on the couch, Peter's arms around Tony's neck and his legs in Tony's lap, the man's arms wrapped around his body and hands stroking his back. It was perfect. Sexy. Until Peter forgot that he still had a glass of wine in his hand and spilled it all over the back of Tony's shirt.

Tony, of course, forgave him, but it definitely killed the vibes. Tony's dress shirt ended up soaking in the sink while the two of them fell asleep, cuddling on Peter's mattress.

After that great second date, Peter invited Tony over on Tuesday the next week to bake a pumpkin pie together. Yes, it was a lame idea for a third date but it was his turn to finally ask Tony out, and he didn't really want to go anywhere, he just wanted to stay in his apartment, bake a pie and maybe cuddle with Tony under a blanket afterwards. Let a man dream!

Tony didn't seem to have any problems with the idea and on Tuesday, after both of their shift was over, he went over to Peter's.

"Hey! So great to see you again," Peter greeted him with a kiss.

"You saw me yesterday night when we FaceTimed," Tony said.

"Yeah, but that was on FaceTime, it's not the same. Come on, get undressed and we can get to it. I hope you're ready for cutting it open because I can't do that."

"Are you serious," Tony chuckled.

"Don't laugh at me! Just help."

No, Peter was obviously not serious. Cutting a pumpkin open was difficult, but he could've done it if he wanted to. But then he wouldn't have seen Tony roll up his sleeves and his biceps flex as he cut the pumpkin open, which would've been a shame. God, the man was so damn hot...

They cut the pumpkin and cooked it for a while for the filling while they made the pie crust together. It was such a great thing to do together, Peter enjoyed it, to be honest, more than he enjoyed their other dates. He loved cooking and spending time with Tony, mixing the two together only made things that much better.

"It says lightly floured hands, Tony," Peter yelled. "You don't have to take a handful of flour!"

"Oh I know what the recipe says, this isn't for the dough. I just thought maybe I could return that you ruined my favorite shirt last weekend." He wiggled his eyebrows while not taking his eyes off Peter.

"Nooo, no no no no, I said I was sorry!" But it was too late. His date threw the handful of flour at him, covering his shirt (he wasn't wearing an apron because he only had one and gave it to Tony, God damn it!) and even a little bit of his neck and chin.

"Yeah, that's what you get," Tony laughed wholeheartedly, his entire body shaking with his genuine laughter. It was adorable, honestly, and if Peter wasn't covered in flour, he would've smiled at how sweet Tony's laughter was.

"You're a meanie! That wine thing was an accident but this wasn't," he said like he meant it, but honestly, he was enjoying it a bit as well.

"Oh, I'm sorry my dear." The older man cupped his face with his floury hands and kissed him. Peter completely forgot about what happened for a minute, but then Tony's hand slipped into his hair, ruffling it so that the flour got everywhere.

They pulled away from the kiss, Tony grinning widely while Peter tried to mask his own smile and look angry. "White looks so good on you, baby."

"Oh yeah? Let's see it on you!" Peter reached into the flour bowl as well and the next thing Tony saw was him blowing the little white particles at him, he had just

enough time to close his eyes before they hit his face. "Aww, so amazing," the younger man laughed, rubbing the flour into his date's beard.

"You're so immature."

"You started this!"

While they fought over who was more childish, constantly throwing more and more flour at each other until there was barely any more left, they almost overcooked the pumpkin and they made no progress with the crust. Tony also told Peter that he was a terrible cook, which started out another playfight between them until they were wrestling on the dirty kitchen tiles, laughing and screaming as they fought for dominance. The older man ended up on top of Peter, straddling his hips while holding one of his wrists in each hand to stop him from fighting. Their laughter soon died off and Tony leaned down to kiss Peter, the kiss tasted like flour, but it didn't matter.

"I forget why I came here now," Tony joked.

"I wanted to bake a nice pie with my boyfriend, but nooo, you just had to ruin it," Peter said, laughing through the sentence and he wouldn't have noticed what he said if it wasn't for the smile on Tony's face changing into pure shock. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry. I- that was so wrong, I know we've only had two dates so far and we never even talked about where this whole thing was going. I'm sorry for being so forward, I wasn't thinking."

"You really think about me like that?" Tony's head tilted to the side slightly, like an adorable curious puppy's. And Peter would've commented on that if it wasn't for how nervous he felt at that moment. He swallowed thickly, his mouth suddenly very dry.

"Well..."

"Because, you know, I've never... felt this way with anyone before." Tony finally let go of his wrists and scooted off his hips to sit on the tile, now Peter sitting up as well to face him.

"Me neither..."

"It's so weird, I mean, we really haven't spent much time together but this whole thing feels so... natural."

"It does, doesn't it?" He felt so relieved. He wasn't the only one feeling that way! "I mean, talking to you is just so easy and I really like it. You make me happy."

"You make me feel like I'm twenty-something again," Tony joked and Peter smiled slightly, pushing at the man's shoulder. "No, seriously now, you make me feel young, happy, whole. I have never ever felt that before with anyone, and you... like, this is literally our third date and look at us!"

Peter laughed out loud now. "Where are we going with all this, Tones?"

"I think... I think it's a bold move, but how about we just become official?"

"You mean like actual boyfriends?"

"Yeah! I mean, what could go wrong? We both want this and we seem to perfectly match!"

"It's kinda early though, aren't you scared?"

"Hella fucking scared. It's like bungee jumping off a cliff. But everyone who's been bungee jumping and didn't die say it was an amazing experience."

"And what if we die?"

"Then... we'll know not to bungee jump again."

Peter chuckled. "So... boyfriends?"

"Boyfriends." He crawled into Tony's lap and kissed him again, this time it lasted longer. Their first kiss as an actual couple, and it happened nowhere else, but on Peter's dirty kitchen tiles while they were both covered in flour and who knows what else. And the pie was long forgotten.

Tony invited Peter over to his house as well. He said he'd seen Peter's multiple times while Peter had never seen his. So Tony drove him over to the Stark Tower and they went all the way up to the penthouse at the top of the huge building. On their way, they ran into Pepper as well, who greeted Peter with a big smile and told him that Tony had said a lot about him already. Peter was happy and Tony was blushing, but no one saw that (Peter did see it).

When they got up to the penthouse, Peter's jaw dropped to the floor. The living room itself was bigger than Peter's whole apartment and probably just the furniture costed more than his rent.

"Wow, this place was probably a chick magnet," he noted as he walked through the living room.

"It was but it doesn't work anymore. Now I just use it to amaze beautiful doe-eyed teachers with it."

"Well, it fucking works. This place looks great, Tony!"

"I'm glad you like it." His boyfriend stepped up behind him, wrapping his arms around his middle. "You know, it's definitely bigger than your... cozy apartment. And it has a bed. A king sized one, actually, that can fit the two of us perfectly."

"What are you saying, babe?"

The older man started peppering kisses on Peter's shoulder and up his neck, making him shiver. "Well, you could spend some more time here, you know. It has a nice working area, a big kitchen where you can cook whatever you want, and I have Netfix, Hulu and Disney+. It's a real dream, you know."

"Tony, babe, this is very nice of you but what if Morgan will get confused? I mean, she already wants me to be her dad-"

The kisses stopped. "She does?"

Peter mentally smacked his own head. "Uh... she might've been saying things to me about that ever since you first asked me out."

"Wow. She never told me about that. I mean, she asked about how you were when I told her I met you again, but nothing about... that."

Peter turned around in Tony's arm to face the slightly taller man. "On the first day Eric came to pick her up, she was all gloomy because she said she wanted me to be her new dad. And she once gave me a drawing where he drew Pepper, herself and you and me."

"Well, maybe that's a sign then?"

He frowned. "What kind of sign would that be?"

"If Morgan likes you then we really were meant to be. If everything's going so smoothly then maybe the universe is trying to tell us that we belong together."

Peter smiled, leaning his head against Tony's chest. "I want this all, Tony. I really do. But I'm so scared something will go wrong," he whispered.

Tony pushed his chin up with his fingers to make Peter look into his beautiful dark brown eyes. "Let's not worry about the future just yet. Let yourself fall, baby, I'm here to catch you, okay?" Peter nodded, and Tony pulled him into a sweet, loving kiss.

The kiss turned into making out, and then soon enough, hands were roaming bodies and their kisses grew more and more hungry. Tony pulled Peter upstairs into the master bedroom where they settled on the king sized bed, clothes flying off and touches becoming bolder, until they were completely naked.

And they made love. It was amazing, better than any sex they've had before, it was sweet, sensual, passionate, loving, and their bodies fit together so perfectly. After reaching their climax together, they laid in each other's embrace for a while, breathing heavy as they recovered from such an amazing orgasm. And those three little words were so close to slipping from Peter's mouth, but he wasn't gonna say it. Not just yet. But someday.

Someday...

#starker #starker fanfiction #starker fanfic #teacher x parent au #fluff #slightly nff #tony x peter #tony stark/peter parker #tony stark x peter parker #au #no powers au #teacher peter #single dad tony

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flashlightbaee · 3 years

Text

Magical // chapter one (the vampire diaries)

first 21 chapters on Wattpad now! user: mscvro

discription:

[Book 1]

QUOTE| ❝I'm Nike❞ ❝Like the goddess of victory❞

━━ 歡迎

. . . Witches in Mystic Falls are nothing new. Hell the entire Bennet family originates from there. Amongst other supernaturals, they are considered great helpers and sometimes even dear friends. Will the new witch in town be able to find her place in the strange town.

❨ multiple x fem!oc ❩

❨ the vampire diaries ❩

❨ season 2 - probably 8 ❩

❨ ©️ mscvro ✧*.｡ ❩

Disclaimer

this story will narrate the protagonist story over many seasons/years in the tvd-universe. there will be multiple love interest for her but everything is "realistically" paced and mostly follows the plot of the show(s). if you want something that is solely focused on a love story and faster paced maybe try my other stories. if you decide to read, i am thankful that you take on this journey with me.

have fun!!!

"Honey? Are you ready to go to the masquerade ball?" Kira Rose asks her daughter who is staring at herself in the mirror, trying to figure out whether all of her hair is curled or she missed a strand.

"In a minute. Even though I'm still not keen on going. Mom, I don't know anyone here." Nike complains. Her mother sighs.

"One more reason to go. Maybe you'll find some friends." Mrs Rose walks up behind Nike and begins to caress the girl's arms. "Just like a normal girl."

"But I'm not normal, mom. I'm a witch." Nike says and turns around, deciding that her hair is fine. She gives her mother a look before grabbing her back. "It's hard to make friends when you have magic in your veins and trouble keeps on coming your way."

"That's why we moved, baby. So that you can have a fresh start. Just give it a try, okay? For me." Mrs Rose smiles softly.

"I will try but I don't guarantee for anything."

"Good enough for me."

Nike soon comes to regret her promise. The Masquerade ball is boring and not being able to see anyone's face makes this whole getting-to-know-thing even harder. With a glass of lemonade in her hands, Nike paces through the hallways and watches the other guests drink, talk and dance. No one catches her interest until she spots a blonde girl, standing next to the staircase.

She isn't wearing a mask and can't seem to take her eyes off a blond boy who is joking around with two girls. Nike studies her and tries to figure out whether she is an Ex-girlfriend or secret admirer. Soon the boy catches her look and sends her a small yet awkward smile which the blonde replies.

However, as soon as he turns around to walk off with the girls, her smile fades and turns into an almost regretful expression. Nike first hesitates but finally walks over to check on the girl. After all it's only appropriate and she has proof that she at least attempted to find friends.

"Hey, are you okay?" she asks. The blonde jumps in surprise but then nods.

"Yes, it's just my Ex-boyfriend...long story. Thanks for asking." she forces a smile but still seems genuine. "You're not from Mystic Falls, are you? I've never seen you around."

"I just moved here from New Orleans with my mom."

"Uhh, well, welcome then." The girl smiles widely.

"Thank you."

"I'm Caroline, by the way. Caroline Forbes." she introduces herself and extends her hand.

"I'm Nike Rose. Nice to meet you." They shake hands.

"Nice to meet you too. Do you go to Mystic High now?"

"Yes, Monday is my first day," Nike says and Caroline opens her mouth to say something when her phone peeps. She pulls it out of her little back and looks down at it.

"Nice meeting you, Nike. I gotta go. See you on Monday." she says as she starts walking away. "I'm really sorry." Nike doesn't even get a chance to reply when Caroline has already disappeared in the crowd.

"That went well." The brunette mumbles to herself and takes another sip from her lemonade. As she is starting to feel hungry, she makes it her mission to find a Buffett. The only one she can find is in a room full of candles and a massive mirror. It almost looks like a room in one of the castles she visited in Europe.

The room is completely empty except for a girl and a woman who are having a rather heated conversation. Assuming they are mother and daughter, Nike walks in, grabs a muffin from the desk and is about to leave when the conversation catches her attention.

"Look, I have no interest in fighting you." The woman says.

"Then stop the spell you put on my friend." Spell? Nike silently leaves the room and hides behind the door to keep listening to them without having to fear them seeing her. If there is another witch in town that could either solve many of her problems or cause a bunch of new ones.

"Give Katherine the moonstone and I will."

"Why are you helping Katherine? Don't you know what she is?" The woman gives her a challenging look.

"Tell your friends to hand over the moonstone and all will be groovy." She attempts to leave but the girl blocks her path.

"You're not leaving this room until you stop the spell." The woman sighs.

"I don't wanna hurt you."

"No, I don't wanna hurt you." the girl seems really serious about this and is very brave to challenge a much older witch like this.

"Look, I don't have a choice. The bitch saved my life, and now I owe her. I have to pay up." She wants to leave again but the girl grabs her arm, making the woman look up shocked.

"You have the moonstone." The girl quickly let go. "I can sense it on you." The woman grabs the girls hands and the lights start to flicker. "Do you feel that? You can trust me. Give it to me. It's ok."

"Even if I do, what are you going to do? You can't give the stone to Katherine. Trust me, you cant." Nike studies the woman's face and soon finds that she has no answer.

"I think, I can help with that." She gathers all her courage and steps out from behind the door. The witches give her a shocked look.

"Who are you?" the girl asks anxiously.

"I'm Nike. I'm a witch too." The girl eyes her for a moment.

"I'm Bonnie. This is Lucy." she says and slowly starts to walk over to Nike. "What did you mean, you can help?"

"Well, I overheard your conversation and I think I might have an idea how to fix your problem."

"Why would you want to help us?" The woman asks and crosses her arms in front of her chest.

"Because witches need to stick together." Nike shrugs. "Do you want to hear about my idea or not?" Bonnie and the woman share a look and then nod.

"Shoot."

#the vampire diaries #the originals #stefan salvatore #damon salvatore #caroline forbes #bonnie bennett #tvd #katherine pierce #elena gilbert #jeremey gilbert #klaus mikaelson #elijah mikaelson #rebekah mikaelson

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dailybeastarsthings · 3 years

Text

Chapter 7 - Lunch Date With My Victim 7.1. Eden's Errand Boy

It was awfully quiet. Haru and the boys looked each other straight in the eye but no one said a single word. The wind was gently blowing, mixing the fragrance of the thousand blossoms into the air, gently caressing the animals’ noses. Finally, Haru broke the silence…

‘I don’t usually have visitors in the Gardening Club, so this is really a pleasant surprise’ she said.

The other two were still speechless, sunken deep in thought. Haru was pacing them with her eyes, waiting for them to say anything.

‘My word, they are helpless’ she thought. ‘I wonder what they might be thinking.’

Both boys were uncomfortable with the situation. Legoshi could feel his stomach shake. He just wanted to leave this mess, never to come back.

‘It’s the girl from that night! I didn’t think she’d be so small… I must leave… now!’ he thought. ‘But what excuse do I make…? Stomachache or perhaps emergency bathroom break? How about »I just remembered, I’ve got some errands to take care of!«? Yeah… I think that might work.’

‘Oh, umm… I…’ Legoshi tried to say but Kibi was faster.

‘Oh, I just remembered some errands I have to take care of!”

Legoshi was devastated. Just when he came up with the perfect excuse, it was used against him to leave him in the stickiest of situations. He sent a shocked and angry look towards Kibi. If looks could kill, Kibi would’ve died right then and there. Legoshi crouched down to him.

‘Wait, why are you leaving?’ he whispered.

‘Sorry, I’ll buy you an ant shake, but please don’t try to stop me’ Kibi replied. ‘I’ll leave the rest to you – I owe you one.’ And with that, he said his goodbyes to Haru and left through the rusty green door.

As Haru watched them fight, she thought of two possible reasons, why the other two acted like this. One, they were seriously afraid of girls. Two, this was some sort of act on their sides – perhaps a prank of the Drama Club.

‘I thought you came here to get some flowers for the New Student Welcome Event’ she said, momentarily breaking the tension. ‘Am I wrong?’

‘No, of course not!’ Kibi replied to her. ‘We’re gonna need your flowers… It’s just that I really need to take care of some errands. This friendly wolf knows everything you need to know’ he said with a forced smile from the other side of the entrance. Legoshi sent some devastating glares towards him. He tried his best to make Kibi stay, but all was in vain.

‘Look, I’m really sorry about this’ Kibi said. ‘You need to do this for the Drama Club, okay?’

He could finally gather enough strength and slammed the door on Legoshi, almost jamming his fingers in the process.

There was at least a good half minute of awkward silence before anyone said anything.

‘We’re alone’ Legoshi thought.

‘Well, your friend’s gone’ Haru said, while dusting off her uniform. There was some mud on it from watering the flowerbeds at the back of the club previously. ‘It’s always the bad rumors that spread the fastest. I probably scared him off.’ Haru sighed.

Legoshi was still afraid to say a word.

‘Well, all boys are scared of girls in some respect, so it doesn’t really bother me’ Haru said while putting her hands on her waist. ‘Are you different?’ she asked Legoshi with a soft smile on her face.

‘No… not really’ Legoshi responded – his ears drooped.

‘This can’t be happening right now’ he thought. ‘I literally tried to eat you! Of course I’m scared of talking to you! I don’t have the right to talk to you!’

‘Every club gets busy every year, trying to do something big for the event. What club are you in?’ Haru asked, trying to finally break the ice.

‘The Drama Club…’ Legoshi answered. He really just wanted to get this over with. ‘I’m a stagehand and I really need flowers to decorate the assembly hall.’

He handed Dom’s plans to Haru about the decoration. She inspected them thoroughly.

‘I see. So you want to decorate with roses, huh? Well, you shouldn’t decorate the entire hall with pure red roses. They are very poisonous.’

‘Oh, I see…’

‘I’ve got many other roses of many different colors. I’ll show them to you.’

‘Thank you.’

Haru took the lead from then on and they walked to a huge flowerbed, covered densely in roses of all colors. The rabbit girl was not kidding; every color of the rainbow was there, proudly blooming in the golden rays of sunshine, emitting their incredible fragrance in the air for everyone to smell. It was a sight to behold and a scent to enjoy. But Legoshi still couldn’t escape his thoughts.

‘Her head is so far away from mine. I bet she sees the world in a much different way than I do. This may be the first time I’ve ever talked to a small animal.’

‘See, here they are’ Haru said. ‘You can take as many as you want… On one condition.’

‘What condition?’ Legoshi asked nervously. ‘Damn, I can’t look her in the eye!’ he thought.

‘Well, these plants are like my children and I won’t give them away for free. Could you take those plants over to that other flowerbed? I’ll be perfectly honest, I really care about these children, but a girl can only do so much by herself’ she said while pointing towards a dozen of potted plants.

Legoshi sent a kind of confused look towards Haru, but he still agreed to help.

‘It’s settled then’ Haru said, while grabbing Legoshi’s tail. She squeezed it under his suspenders. The situation was definitely shocking for the shy wolf.

‘What are you doing?’ he asked.

‘I can’t just have you break my plants with this big monster tail of yours. Don’t worry, I won’t chop it off’ Haru giggled.

‘She... touched me…’ Legoshi thought.

Legoshi had never seen a small animal touch a large-breed carnivore before, but to experience it himself was something he would’ve never even imagined in his life. After all was settled, Legoshi picked up one of the pots Haru instructed him to and carried it to its new place: next to the club’s fence.

‘I’m a third year student by the way’ Haru said. ‘Which year are you in?’

‘I’m a second year.’

There were quite many of the pots Legoshi had to carry but it was not a task he couldn’t manage. He actually began to enjoy himself and started to become more open towards Haru.

‘Are there any other members in this club?’ he asked.

‘You don’t have to be so formal. There were two older students before but they graduated four years ago. No one joined ever since.’

Legoshi was surprised and amazed. ‘Wow! She’s been taking care of all these plants for four years all by herself? What’s this if not dedication?’

After putting the last pot at the designated area, he picked up a notepad he found nearby. On it, he found a calendar, on which besides the weather, there was a detailed list of the days’ achievements, and how the plants were progressing.

‘It must be rough to do all this work alone’ Legoshi said.

‘Well, it’s not easy for sure, but there are other events where clubs need my flowers so it all works out’ Haru said, while watering some of the flowers nearby. After finishing, she picked up a pot with a beautiful lotus inside it and proceeded to put it to a place with more sun.

‘These plants are like my children: they need me. And I need them. Perhaps a wolf like you wouldn’t understand, but weak creatures need to live by depending on each other. Acting brave doesn’t do me any favors. Sometimes it could be fatal’ she said with a soft smile on her face.

These words sent Legoshi’s mind running to the events of that night. How he hunted down the rabbit girl, how he caused her injury and how she wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Zoe to break him away from his feral side. He looked at Haru’s arm and gulped. Seeing her wearing all those bandages was a painful sight for Legoshi, knowing it was because of him. ‘Don’t say a word’ he thought. But he couldn’t help himself.

‘What happened to your arm?’ he asked. ‘I know exactly. It was me! It was all me! I’m so cruel!’

‘Well... to be honest, I don’t know’ Haru said. Legoshi raised his eyebrows in surprise.

‘I wonder what it was though’ Haru continued. ‘I know it hurt a lot but I don’t have a clear memory of what happened.’

‘You don’t?’ Legoshi asked in disbelief.

‘Nope. Anyway, I’m sorry if I scared you or anything. I know it’s creepy for a small animal like me to be wearing a bandage now of all times, but I’m doing fine. I’m sure it was just a nightmare’ she said with a wide smile on her face.

Legoshi couldn’t believe what he just heard. Does he tell her, or keep it a secret forever? It would’ve ended horribly anyway – never seeing this rabbit again. He finally decided not to say anything else.

‘I bought some scarlet sage seeds by the way. Would you like to plant some with me?’ Haru asked.

‘Sure!’ Legoshi nodded. ‘Her words don’t fill me with salvation or guilt. I just can’t stop looking at her. I enjoy talking to her so much. I usually rarely enjoy getting to know others… I want to become her friend.’

The work was soon done with all the seeds planted and watered in just a couple of minutes. Gardening, of course however, is a dirty job so it’s no wonder both their hands were covered in mud and dirt.

‘We should probably go to the club room to wash our hands’ Haru said. Legoshi nodded in acceptance. The club room was only a few steps away. When they arrived there, they washed their hands with warm water.

The room was filled with furniture and books mostly. There was a bed in the corner with a desk next to it. A table full of pots and watering cans. Underneath the table were pesticides and on the walls, there were gardening tools neatly placed. Even though it felt quite crowded, Legoshi felt cozy in that environment.

‘Thank you so much for moving all those heavy plants for me! They haven’t been feeling well at all, but now they can recover and have flowers, too. Let me give you a reward. What kind of food do you like?’

Legoshi was surprised by the question. Did that rabbit really just ask him about his favorite foods? Does she actually want to spend more time with him?

‘Well, honestly, I’m not really hungry right now’ Legoshi said. ‘But I’m in the mood for some ant shakes. What do you think?’

Haru nodded in agreement and together, they headed for the cafeteria for their late afternoon snacks: shakes.

#beastars #beastars fanfiction

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pansexualgrapes · 4 years

Text

All Better: Part 1

Daryl Dixon x reader

Warnings: mentions and descriptions of abuse, really guys if that bothers you a lot don’t read it, angst, its gonna get pretty sad folks, fluff, implied smut, but no actual smut, kid!Daryl, violence, bullying, smoking, I think that’s it, but if I left you something important please let me know.

Author’s note: I took a really long time writing this one so I hope its good. Please send feedback! I take constructive criticism, but not rude comments from assholes. I hope you enjoy it guys!

You first saw him when you were five years old. You were walking to school holding your mother’s hand when a big yellow school bus stopped in front of the school, its brakes squealing loudly. You watched as kids your age piled out of the bus and disappeared into the crowd of children and parents entering the school. You were amazed at how many there were. You thought that that had to be all the kids, but then you say a pair of tattered shoes with frayed laces going down the bus steps. The ripped cuffs of a pair of jeans covered the tops of the shoes. They were far too big, and they hung off his skinny legs, barely staying on with the help of an old black belt. His shirt was in the same state, the hem was hastily tucked into the front of his jeans, but the back was lose and hung almost to his knees. The long sleeves were rolled up so that his fingertips poked out, and you could see his chewed nails. When you looked up at his face you saw blue nervous eyes obscured by messy brown hair. But what captivated you was the fading purple bruise that was on his cheek. It was yellowing around the edges, and looked about a week old. He quickly looked away from you and ran his sleeve across his nose. Your mother tugged you away from the boy and out of your thoughts, dragging you towards the school.

“He looks a lot like me,” you thought, your fingers gently poking the bruise on your shoulder as you stumbled to catch up with your mother.

You saw the ragged boy in all of your classes. He was seated far away from you in the back, staring out the window or scribbling on his desk. He would often tap his pencil or bounce his knee up and down until the teacher had to tell him to keep still. He never said anything, just set his pencil down and clasped his hands in his lap and stared at them, almost as if he was afraid.

You saw him again at lunch, sitting alone in the cafeteria. The other boys and girls crowded together, opening their lunch boxes and comparing what their mothers had packed them. He ate a gross-looking sandwich from a cheap plastic baggie. You looked down at your sloppily made PBJ in your hands, in similar packaging. You had been reassured by your teachers that making friends is easy, so you pushed back you fear and walked over to him.

“Can I sit here?” you said in a small voice.

He glanced at you, and hunkered lower in his seat, but nodded. You sat down opposite from him, and looked at him again. He seemed really nervous. You’ve never had a friend before, and maybe he never had one either. Maybe you could be eachothers friend.

“I’m Y/N,” you said.

He was quiet for a moment before speaking. “Daryl.” he mumbled..

His answer gives you the confidence to talk again. “It’s my first day.” you said, taking another bite from your sandwich, swinging your legs that were to short to touch the ground.

“Me too,” he answered, still not looking at you.

You were quiet for a little bit. Daryl finished his sandwich, and sat there picking at the flaking paint on the table, his knee bouncing nervously. He still looked hungry.

“Do you want the rest of my sandwich?” you questioned.

His eyes got wide and he quickly shook his head no, his cheeks getting flushed.

“You can have it. I’m really not hungry,” you reassured him, holding the half-eaten sandwich out to him. He stared at it for a while, before tentatively reaching and taking it from you. He munched on it hungrily and you giggled. He smiled a little and bent his head down so you wouldn’t see him blush.

“I’ve never had a friend before. Do you want to be my friend?” you asked hopefully.

For the first time he looked you in the eye, brushing the hair from his with his thin fingers. He nodded, and you grinned happily.

After that day, the two of you were as thick as thieves. Every recess and lunch break was spent together, either pushing each other on the swings or playing in the dirt. Daryl still didn’t talk much, but he seemed content to listen to you jabber about anything and everything. Sometimes you’d talk about your mom and you’d both get super serious.

One day, he reached out brushed his fingertips along the bruise barely hidden by the collar of your shirt. You flinched.

“Sorry,” he mumbled.

“It’s okay,” you whispered.

He looked at the bruise again. “Does it hurt?” he asked. You nodded.

“Do yours hurt?” you questioned. He nodded too.

You held your hand out for him, and he took it. You gently pulled back his frayed sleeve to reveal the purple fingerprints on his wrist. He tensed, but didn’t pull his hand back. You leaned down and placed a tiny kiss on his damaged arm.

“All better,” you said, smiling up at him. He smiled back, blushing slightly. Then he did something that he had never done before. He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around your shoulders carefully. You were shocked, but you squeezed him tightly in return. The hug only lasted for a few seconds before he pulled away, and his arms returned to his sides. You both sat in comfortable silence as you watched Daryl’s fingers draw meaningless patterns in the dust.

You went through grade school side-by-side with Daryl, and your friendship strengthened every day. But middle school changed both of your lives. There was no longer alphabet songs, or read-aloud times. No, middle school was filled with boys who smelled like sweat and girls who wore too much perfume. On your first day of middle school, Daryl and you looked at each other with wide eyes and you gripped his hand. You braved the crowd of weird-smelling people and eventually found your lockers. Luckily his was only a few down from yours. Middle school had a different atmosphere. There was a definite hierarchy of kids. It was different that grade school, where the girls would giggle at your messy hair and drab clothes, but would generally leave you alone. At middle school, there were the popular kids, and basically everyone else. The popular girls would wear wedge heels and too much lip gloss. When they walked everyone moved out of their way, as if they were royalty, which they basically were. The popular boys were loud and disruptive. They would flirt with the girls, and they wore expensive sports shoes all the time. As for everyone else, if you were lucky, you were invisible to everyone, instead of getting beat up and bullied.

On this particular day, Daryl wasn’t lucky enough to be invisible. As he was walking to his locker, he accidentally bumped into a tall boy, wearing a black leather jacket.

“Hey! Watch where you’re going Trailer Trash!” the boy yelled as he shoved Daryl roughly back into the wall. Daryl’s head hit the wall hard and he instantly felt dizzy. You turned the corner just as the bully pushed Daryl. Protective anger filled you and you rushed to him, dropping your books. You shoved the boy back with all your strength and he crashed to the floor, landing on his butt. Everyone in the hall was watching now, including the bully’s friends. Another boy, with similar clothing and hair, grabbed your shoulders and slammed you against the concrete wall. One of his hands clamped around your throat, pinning you to the wall. You let out a strangled yell. Pain erupted through your throat as you struggled for air. Daryl was fighting to help you, but two boys were holding his arms, while another punched him. The boy landed a hard punch to Daryl’s stomach, and Daryl sunk to his knees, groaning. The students around you were cheering and yelling, like it was some sort of hyped up boxing match, and not a completely violent and unfair fight. A woman’s loud voice broke through the shouting. Finally a teacher had come to stop the fight. When the boys saw her they instantly let go of you and Daryl. You sank you your knees, coughing and wheezing. Your eyes watered, and your head pounded. You looked at Daryl to see that he was doubled over and gripping his stomach. The teacher marched the boys to the principles office, after instructing Daryl and you to go to the nurses office. You both staggered there, supporting each other till you were able to collapse on the bench. The nurse asked you what happened, and you explained it all, knowing that Daryl wasn’t one for words. He looked pale and afraid, and you realized what he just had. This was going to be told to your parents, and your parents never liked it when you messed up, especially in school, in a public place where people could see you and talk about you. You gulped and stared at him with wide eyes. He looked up at you and saw tears brimming in your eyes. He reached over and squeezed your hand, trying to comfort you. You gripped his hand just as hard. The nurse checked you both over, and luckily there were no broken bones. You had bruises, and Daryl had a busted lip. but you weren’t worried about the pain you felt now. It was the pain that was sure to come in the future that terrified you. The nurse finally let the both of you go, and you both gathered your stuff and walked out of the school together. You walked in silence until you got to Daryl’s street. He stopped and looked at you sadly. You pulled him into a tight hug, and he reciprocated the hug. You clung to each other in terror of what was to come. You buried your face in his shoulder, trying to hide your tears, but he noticed anyway. Your body shook with sobs. Daryl buried his nose in your hair. He could smell your shampoo, a scent that he loved.

“We’re gonna be okay,” he muttered. “We are.”

You nodded, and pulled back to wipe your nose and eyes. You looked up into his glassy eyes and took a deep breath.

“We’re gonna be okay.” you repeated, resting your forehead against his.

Eventually, the terrors of middle school were behind you. You were now in your sophomore year, sixteen years old. You had both gotten through the tortuous first couple years of puberty, and high school wasn’t nearly as hell-like as middle school. Though you still didn’t fit in, you stuck together through it all. A lot had happened in the last couple years. Your mom had been driving drunk, and hit someone. She was charged with manslaughter, and she went to jail. The relief you felt when you had been sent to live with your aunt, who was just fifteen minutes away, was indescribable. You still went to school with Daryl, and even though your aunt wasn't perfect, she took care of you, and treated you kindly. Daryl’s drifting older brother had shown up out of the blue, and Daryl had managed to get out from under his father’s roof. He lived with his brother now, and although Merle was a trouble-maker, and pressured Daryl into doing stupid things, it was still better than living with his father.

It’s May, and the sun was out as Daryl and you sat under a tree in the shade. You had discarded your sandals and now the grass tickled you toes. Daryl remained in his sleeveless button-up shirt, black jeans and scuffed up boots. You were jabbering away about something you’d seen on TV last night. Daryl wasn’t really listening. He was staring at you, your lips when you smiled, your hair framing the edges of your face, the way your nose scrunched up when you laughed. God he was so in love with you. He never could get up the courage to ask you. You friendship was so important to him, he was scared he would ruin it if he told you he liked you. His thoughts were interrupted by your voice.

“So what do you think? Pick me up around 8:00 tonight?” you questioned.

“Um... yeah, that sounds good.” he answered, not knowing what he was agreeing to. You laughed then. He loved that laugh, your head thrown back, eyes crinkled, a wide grin on your lips.

“You weren’t listening at all, were you Dixon?” you giggled.

He smiled. “Um, no. I wasn’t,” he admitted.

You laughed again. “I said we should go to that cliff by the lake tonight, swim a little maybe.”

He nodded. “Okay, sure.”

He picked you up right on time. You were in a t shirt and shorts. Daryl was in his regular clothes, with no intention of changing into anything that is above his ankles. You hopped on the back of his motorcycle, and wrapped your arms around his waist. You trusted him completely and he never drove unsafely when you rode with him. You rested your cheek on his back, feeling comfortable and safe, enjoying the wind rushing past you, and the feeling of Daryl’s heartbeat under your fingertips.

You finally got to the cliff, and carefully picked your way down the rocks until you got to the beach at the bottom. Daryl reached up a hand to help you down the last rock and you accepted it gratefully. You didn't let go of his hand as you lead him over to a patch of sand to sit with you. He took out a pack of cigarettes and offered you one. The both of you smoked for a while in a comfortable silence, just enjoying each others company. You stubbed the last of your cigarette out in the sand and stood up, holding your hand out to Daryl.

“Swim with me.” you whispered.

He just nodded, taking your hand and standing up. You stepped back to take of your shirt and shorts, leaving you in your bikini. Daryl’s breath caught in his throat, and he coughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head. You looked beautiful in the moonlight, the light from the water reflecting off of you, revealing the parts of your body Daryl knew you hated, all your freckles, stretch marks and scars, a lot of scars. He still thought you were just as beautiful.

You laughed at his nervousness, “Come one Dixon, you’ve seen me change before.”

You headed towards the water, motioning for him to follow you. He struggled out of his worn boots and took off his socks. Then he unbuttoned his shirt and shrugged it off his shoulders, feeling it slide over the scars on his back. He unbuckled his belt and let his pants fall down before kicking them to the side. He felt nervous, being this exposed to you, but he couldn’t imagine doing this with anyone else. He waded into the cool water after you. You swam up to him, your hair wet and dripping. You stood next to him. The water was chest deep on you, and a little bit over Daryl’s belly-button. You reached out and traced one of the scars on Daryl’s chest gently with your finger. You felt his heartbeat quicken. You looked up into his eyes, and they were full of pure love and adoration. He tucked a piece of hair behind you ear, and then let his hand rest on the side of your face, his thumb brushing against your cheekbone. You moved a little closer so you could wrap your arms around his neck, your fingers playing with hair at the base of his skull. His arms went around your waist, and the two of you just held each other, swaying a little in the water. Daryl couldn’t pretend anymore. He felt like his heart was about to burst. He pulled back enough to look into your eyes. He rested his forehead against yours, your lips were impossibly close.

“Y/N.” he whispered.

“Yeah?” you breathed.

“I love you.”

You stared up at him. “I love you too.”

Daryl kissed you then. His lips were soft and gentle, not demanding or pushy. The kiss only lasted for a couple seconds, and he pulled back to look at you, to make sure that that was okay. Your eyes fluttered open and met his.

“I have loved you since the day I met you, Daryl Dixon,” you whisper.

You brought your lips to his in another kiss. His arms pulled your body impossibly close to his. He kissed you soft, slow, and sweet. The two of you basked in that moment, so full of love for each other. Your legs wrapped around his waist, and his fingers tangled in your wet hair.

He made love to you that night, on the towel you had laid out on the sand. It wasn’t rushed or rough. He was gentle, whispering promises of love to you, telling you how beautiful you were.

After, he held you against him, his fingers nonchalantly tracing patterns on your bare skin under his shirt that you were wearing. The moonlight shone down on you, and the only sound was the waves washing up on the shore.

“I’ll love you forever.” Daryl whispered to you.

“Forever,” you repeated.

There will most likely be a Part II so stay tuned!

#daryl dixon x reader #daryl dixon #daryl x you #daryl x reader #daryl dixon fanfiction #twd #The Walking Dead #the walking dead fanfiction #Norman Reedus #daryl dixon angst #the walking dead angst #daryl Dixon x reader angst #daryl Dixon fluff #merle dixon #fanfiction #All Better #writing #daryl Dixon x you #daryl dixon x y/n

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themadauthorshatter · 3 years

Text

AWWP REWORK!

Part 2!!

SOOOO, with Tedros being manipulated by Aric, the School for Boys becomes the mess that it is, because Tedros is obviously not paying attention.

The girls get Evelyn as their dean, but I'm not having her turn Sophie back into a witch for Rafal, oh no. She's trying to bring back Rafal because she, in Lesso's words to Agatha later in this story, "is almost as infatuated with him like Sophie was for Tedros, but worse. More dangerous. It was more than an obsession. She wanted more than his evil, evil heart. She wanted the rest of him, too, his mind, his body, his soul."

And what's Aric's goal?

Let's just say, don't worry about it because it's going to be disturbing and honest later on.

Back on track, Agatha wishes for Tedros like before, and he hears it, leading to him waking up and asking for Agatha, which Aric hears and orders the death warrant on Sophie.

They get to the school, have the conversation from the book, including what I added in the first part of this rework, and even mention the shield put up and how Kiko, poor, brave Kiko, who decided to taunt the boys more with the notion of "boys can't hit girls," the notion Aric broke.

The teachers only think it was Tedros because he's the "leader" of the boys, and because in some talks with him before this HUGE divide, where he was irritable and snapped at them when they tried to see if he was okay after Agatha and Sophie disappeared to Gavaldon.

With that, the schools began to divide more, getting more and more violent with each confrontation until they weren't allowed to be together at all, not even during lunch and dinner.

Lesso and Dovey explain how Agatha has to make Tedros see what he's doing, and get her Ever after so things go back to normal, including leaving Sophie either in the School for Good, like she'd always wanted, or back on Gavaldon, so she can't muddle with Agatha's and Tedros's fairytale anymore and so she can get something of a reality check.

We get the same events, with Sophie getting her symptoms and being manipulative of Agatha, up until Agatha meets Tedros for the first time in what feels like forever.

Sophie still ruins the moment, but there's tension in this moment.

Aric sees Agatha and is very slimey, trying to get her to turn around and leave, so he can manipulate Tedros further, but it doesn't work and a Tagatha moment happens, AFTER ARIC LEAVES.

Tedros thinks he's in a dream when he sees her and hugs her really close, because he's missed her.

They have a conversation about how they mossed each other, and Agatha relays to Tedros the rumors about how he is basically going crazy and a becoming a homicidal maniac for hunting down Sophie and hurting Kiko.

He reveals that it's actually NOT HIS FAULT, just as she predicted and knew, but the fault of Aric.

"He probably went behind my back to do it, too. I kept telling Tristan to keep an eye on him."

"Why didn't YOU do it? Why didn't you do anything? You're their leader, surely you can..."

Tedros shows her the paintings and stories and a map he's been working on and explains that there wasn't a single moment where he stopped looking for her. He then asks her why she chose Sophie.

"I get it, if you love her, I mean." (Clenches a fist as he waits for that final blow, for his true love to say she loves her friend more than him. Whatever her choice, he'll accept. He doesn't want to trap Agatha; the only goal he has with her is making her a happy person, and if being with Sophie is that, so be it.) "You always were so close to her. I won't stop you."

(Agatha takes his hand.) "I chose wrong. I wasn't happy in Gavaldon. I missed the school, I missed the magic, I missed all the stupid princesses." (She grips his hand, avoiding his eyes because she's crying.) "I missed you. I missed you so much."

They go in for a kiss, but Sophie casts her spell like before, except she hits Tedros's eyes and temporarily blinds him. In defense, he shoots a spell close to the desk and screams for Agatha to run before she gets hurt.

Sophie escapes, Agatha is forced to leave after a casting a healing spell to Tedros, and Aric bursts in to see a heartbroken Tedros, the window open, and a dove flying back to the School for Girls.

"I told you. Keep that one alive and she'll take everything away."

"Shut up." (Tedros walks away with his hands running through his hair.) "Just shut up and stop talking. We've... You've done enough! ... That's it. We're done with all of this."

Tedros walks over to the desk and starts writing a note for Dovey and Lesso that he's relinquishing his status as leader and wants to call a truce between the two schools, the terms being that Agatha can stay with the two teachers until things are resolved between the schools and she and Tedros can live their Ever after and Sophie can go free with no worry about being hunted down, but she must stay out of both the school for good and evil, FOR GOOD. As in, she cannot come back at all. She can send letters, but she is not allowed anywhere near the schools, or Tedros, or Agatha.

He goes to deliver the message himself, but Aric keeps getting in front of him and claiming HE will give the messge to Dovey and Lesso.

Tedros barks back that he'll do it himself because he can't trust Aric, seeing as how he put a bounty on Sophie's head, which she doesn't deserve, even with all of what she's done.

Aric tells him off for ignoring the danger he's in for keeping BOTH Sophie and Agatha alive, as it was Agatha that attacked him.

Tedros reiterates that Agatha's finger glow is not pink, as she hates that color more than anything else, and pushes past Aric to let him give the letter to Dovey and Lesso so all this nonsense can end.

"Do you really think they'll let you near their school? They still think you attacked that one pigtailed girl; looked like a pig herself, now that I think about it."

"YOU attacked Kiko, and they'll know you did."

"Good luck trying to tell them that." (Aric watches Tedros walking away to hand deliver the letter.) "They all still think you've lost your mind, the boys, the girls, even the teachers. Do you really think you'll be able to just walk in, hand them a piece of paper, and walk out like everything's going to be okay?" (Tedros stops walking, frozen.) "Agatha thinks you attacked her, or that you were about to, anyway. She's not going to want to be anywhere near you after what happened."

Tedros reasons that instead of walking, he'll send a bird. Aric pats him on shoulders as a way to say, "good choice," and switches out the note Tedros wrote with one HE wrote, which is the declaration of war we see in the original story.

Agatha does get that note, though it is sent by an actual bird rather than by arrow; Aric reasoned to Tedros that it wouldn't discourage any animals behind the morgrif shield.

Shit hits the fam as the male professors wake up, take away Tedros's head master status, and then have him imprisoned for tampering with and hiding the Storian, even risking having the boys be slaves to girls.

Tedros tries to tell them that Aric wrote that letter and caused all if this, but Aric, in a huge, "fuck you" moment for the reader to feel, asks Tedros if he was the one that stole August Sader's paintings, hid the Storian, and fired the arrow WITH the note tied to it.

This is proof enough for the teachers, and they leave Tedros to go hungry for the night, telling him that he'd better be ready to tell the truth before Evelyn gets her hands on the storian.

The pieces side into place in Tedros's head and he glares at Aric.

"How much of it was a lie?"

"Enough. Did you really think that I'd follow a sap like you because you were doing something worth the time of day?"

(Tedros delfates a little bit, but stays strong to ask one question.) "Why?"

"Why not? You might not know how it feels because everyone loves you, boys, girls, even the teachers. News flash, your highness: people only want to be near you because of who's son you are. Without your crown, your friends, your stupid witch princess, who do you think you are?"

Aric leaves Tedros in the dungeon, sorrowful and more broken now than ever before.

#school for good and evil #school for good and evil tedros #sge tedros #tagatha #manipulation tw #verbal abuse tw #sge aric #sge agatha #tedros of camelot #agatha of woods beyond

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obvious-captain-rogers · 4 years

Text

For Evan Buckley Week: Day Five! I saw comfort in the prompt and immediately thought of the Buckley parents and Buck’s relationship with them vs. the Firefam so enjoy Buck’s childhood trauma

Prompt: “You’re a good liar” + comfort

Buck’s morning started out pretty nicely. He’d woken up, gone through his morning routine, and headed off to work with enough time to be able to stop by the new café that had popped up not too far from the station. He and Hen had been talking about stopping in there sometime, but Buck wasn’t exactly known for his immediate alertness after waking up- when he was on a long shift at work being an exception to that rule. He’d decided to just go ahead and grab coffee for everyone, knowing their usual coffee orders and preferences by heart already.

So he had a spring to his step when he walked into the station with the coffee carrier balanced in one hand and his duffle bag in the other. He changed into his uniform quickly and was whistling as he hopped up the last few stairs into the loft.

“Someone’s awfully chipper this morning,” Chimney said from where he was glaring daggers at how slowly their coffee maker was spitting out coffee.

“I don’t know, I’ve just got a good feeling about today,” Buck said with a shrug before setting down the coffee carrier. “They’re all marked. I picked them up for everyone on the way in,” Buck said and snagged his and Eddie’s cups from the carrier before taking a step back.

“Have I told you that I love you?” Chimney asked and Buck let out a bright laugh as Chimney and Hen came over to grab their own cups.

“Not recently, no,” Buck said and grinned as he took a sip of his coffee. “Should I be telling my sister that you’ve decided to try your luck with the other Buckley?”

Chim snorted as he lifted his drink out of the carrier. “In your dreams, Buckaroo,” Chimney teased before taking a sip.

“Every night,” Buck teased back with a cheeky wink that had Chimney and Hen laughing despite the previous early-morning funk that had been settled over them.

“This from the new place?” Hen asked as she just held onto the paper cup with a content smile.

“Yeah,” Buck said and moved to sit at the table so he could stretch out his leg. He settled Eddie’s cup in the open spot next to him and took another drink of his coffee. “Thought since I had some time I could swing by and pick up something.” Buck frowned as he looked around. “Bobby not in yet?”

“He’s in his office,” Hen said with a nod towards that direction. Buck nodded and he stood, leaving his and Eddie’s coffees on the table, before grabbing Bobby’s and heading into his office.

Bobby was on the phone- his office phone- when Buck came in, so Buck just settled the coffee onto the desk with a small smile. Bobby gave him a short nod and smile in response before he had to turn back to the conversation on the other end of the line.

Buck walked out and he grinned to see Eddie was up in the loft now, sitting beside the chair Buck had been in just a minute before, as he chatted with Hen. Buck made his way over and sat back down, nudging Eddie’s cup closer silently. Eddie grinned, glancing at Buck for a moment, before keeping up with the thread of his and Hen’s conversation.

Bobby had come out of his office and was about to start breakfast when the bell rang with a call. They all hopped up and made their way down to the truck, ready to start their day.

…..

Buck was washing the soot from his face and trying in vain to get the ash out of his hair when his cellphone started buzzing in his pocket. He dried his hands quickly and tugged it from his pocket, frowning when a number he only vaguely recognized lit up his screen. He thumbed the accept button and lifted it to his ear. “Hello?”

“Evan.” Buck nearly dropped his phone into the sink at hearing his mother’s voice. He felt like his blood had frozen in his veins. The casualness to his mother’s tone made Buck’s skin crawl. She was acting like they talked every day instead of the huge gaps that could span nearly a year. “I was calling on behalf of your father.” Buck felt like his tongue was glued to the roof of his mouth and he couldn’t make himself speak. But it didn’t matter because his mother’s voice bulldozed along. “He’s been sick, son. He wants to see you and Madeliene.”

“I can’t just pick up and go to Hershey. I have a job,” Buck said and scrubbed a hand over his face.

“And what if he’s dying?” His mother asked sharply and Buck flinched despite knowing that there was no way that a blow could come across the phone. “You wouldn’t come see your dying father, Evan?”

“That’s not what I said,” Buck protested weakly. He hunched his shoulders and ducked his head.

“You should come home and see him,” Buck’s mother said firmly before abruptly hanging up the phone. Buck took a shaky breath as he listened to the dull tone at the other end of the line. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt a hand touch his shoulder.

“Whoa, sorry, Buck. Bobby sent me to come get you so he could show you how to cook something other than eggs,” Chim said and held up his hands. He glanced over Buck’s face as Buck hastily shoved his phone into his pocket. “Everything okay?”

Buck let out a laugh that was just a little flat and put on a huge smile. “Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?” He bumped his shoulder against Chimney’s like he normally would. “I should go help Bobby, wouldn’t want my cooking skills to get rusty.” He stuck his tongue out playfully at Chimney despite the way his stomach was roiling.

“It’s pretty hard to fuck up eggs,” Chimney laughed and gave him a brotherly shove. “Go on, then. Just don’t burn anything, alright? I’m pretty hungry.”

“Got it,” Buck said before heading upstairs to the loft so he could help Bobby out. He forced himself to act normal despite the block of ice that had settled in his stomach, slowly leaking out so that all he felt was cold and vaguely numb.

He was right in the middle of listening to Eddie telling a story about Christopher’s science class, when his phone rang again. He hesitantly pulled it out of his pocket but was relieved to see Maddie’s name. “Sorry, it’s Maddie,” Buck said to Bobby before stepping away from the kitchen and heading outside to take the call. “Hey,” Buck said once he’d accepted the call and was standing behind the station, his back pressed against the rough brick.

“Did she call you?” Maddie asked, her voice a little worried.

“Yeah,” Buck breathed out and closed his eyes. “She did.”

“I’m so sorry, Buck,” Maddie said and Buck shook his head.

“It’s not your fault.” Buck sighed. “So what do you want to do?” He reached up and rubbed at the back of his neck. There was a long silence between them.

“I don’t know,” Maddie whispered. They both sat on the line for a little bit, not really talking. “You’re on a shift, I should let you go. We can… maybe we can talk it over tonight?”

“It’s movie night tonight,” Buck said, not willing to let his parents disrupt the one thing that brought him more happiness than anything else: the Diaz boys. “But tomorrow.”

“Alright.” Maddie told him goodbye and he echoed it back a little hollowly before hanging up and letting his head fall back with a thud.

He took a few more moments to compose himself before he put on his normal friendly smile and bounded back up to the loft to finish helping Bobby.

…..

Chimney scowled over at Buck as Buck was prying open the door of an SUV in their third car crash of the day. They’d been at back-to-back calls since right after actually getting to eat lunch and they were all starting to feel the strain of it.

“I thought you said you had a good feeling about today,” Chimney murmured as he stepped in to check the vitals of the driver.

“It’s not an exact science, Chim,” Buck said as he hefted up the jaws and moved to go over to the other car where Eddie was shoving all his weight onto the crowbar to little effect. He pushed away the tinny version of his mother’s voice on the phone, he didn’t have time to think about any of that. “Need a hand?” Buck asked and Eddie huffed out a laugh before Buck passed the jaws off to him and went to go and help Chim and Hen get the patient from the SUV and onto the waiting gurney.

“Cap’s already radioed for another ambulance, but we’ve gotta go,” Hen said and patted Buck’s shoulder once they’d loaded up their patient and Buck had closed the doors.

“Sure thing,” Buck nodded and he jogged over to where Eddie had extracted the other driver. Eddie was going over his injuries and doing what he could with his limited supplies, but something about the picture made Buck freeze up. A man dying. A man that vaguely- if you squinted a little- resembled his father. Eddie’s head jerked up and he pointed at the car.

“There’s a kid in the back seat,” Eddie said firmly, and Buck jerked into action and walked over to see the little girl still in her booster seat but surrounded by glass and twisted metal. Buck was surprised that she wasn’t more hurt, but she looked absolutely petrified.

“Hey,” Buck said after he’d managed to wiggle his way through the blown-out window so he could get a good look how to get her out. “My name is Buck, what’s your name?” Buck asked gently as he twisted to see if he could get to the seatbelt.

“Leah,” she said with tears streaking down her cheeks and making her voice tremble.

“I’m going to get you out of here, alright?” Buck made sure to keep his voice even and calm as he tried to pull the seatbelt from the latch. He frowned a little when he was sure she couldn’t see his face and then put a smile as he ducked into her line of sight. “I need to run out and grab some shears to cut you out of here, can you be brave for just one more minute?” She looked unsure as she curled her fingers into the arm of his turnout jacket. “You’ve already been so brave, Leah. I promise you I’m coming right back.”

“Okay,” she said and her voice wavered as she slowly eased her grip on Buck’s coat.

Buck crawled out through the same window he’d come in and ran to the truck to get the things he needed. “What’s the situation?” Bobby asked, joining Buck on his jog back to the car.

“Young girl trapped in her booster seat. I got in through the window, but I’m not sure she can come out that way. There’s too many broken edges of glass and metal.” Buck reported.

Bobby looked over the car and then clapped Buck on the back. “Let’s break out that back windshield and I’ll lay down my jacket so you can hand her off.”

So once Buck had gotten her cut out of her booster seat, he covered her with his turnout jacket while Bobby broke the window and laid out his own coat. Buck lifted her carefully and together he and Bobby got her out and handed off to the paramedics.

“Good job,” Bobby said and clapped a hand down on Buck’s shoulder, giving him a gentle shake. Buck felt a small flicker of pride at Bobby’s obvious approval. It quickly soured when Eddie joined them without any hint of a smile on his face. “Let’s pack up and get out of the officers’ way,” Bobby said, sensing the obvious shift in atmosphere. The police had shown up to document the crash and talk to the by-standers.

They did so in total silence and the ride back to the station was stilted until Eddie spoke, “That little girl’s dad is probably gonna be DOA.” His voice was mostly hollow but Buck could hear the undercurrent of anger in it. It made him squirm a little uncomfortably in his seat.

“I’m sure you did everything you could, Eddie,” Buck said and he wanted to reach out, but he could see the tense set of Eddie’s shoulders and knew his partner wouldn’t appreciate the touch, and Buck wasn’t sure he was completely up to the task of giving comfort.

“Sometimes, calls just can’t go our way,” Bobby said firmly, though there was a gentleness to the way it was phrased.

“She couldn’t have been any older than Christopher,” Eddie said with a scowl.

Buck bit his lip at that, unsure of what else to say. “We can’t take it personally,” Bobby said. “We’ve got to do what we can, when we can, and let the rest go. You did your best and that’s all that anyone can expect from you.” Eddie’s shoulders slumped a little but he didn’t seem any more relaxed than he had been when his shoulders had been up around his ears.

“Right. Thanks, Cap.”

Buck repressed a flinch at the clipped tone of Eddie’s voice. He turned his face out the window and tried desperately not to grimace.

…..

Buck felt like most of the tension from the shift and his unexpected phone call melted away the second he pulled into the driveway of the Diaz household. He’d picked up beers for him and Eddie and popcorn for Christopher. He was smiling as he opened the door to the house and stepped inside.

“Buck!” Christopher’s shout caught Buck somewhat off-guard and he flinched and nearly dropped the bag in his hands. Christopher didn’t seem to notice as he threw his arms around Buck’s waist and hugged him tightly.

“Hey, Chris,” Buck said and ruffled Christopher’s hair gently. He handed the stuff in his hand off to Eddie, who frowned a little as he took Buck in, before nudging at Chris’s shoulders playfully. “You going to let me actually get inside, buddy?” Buck asked with a laugh.

“Oh, yeah,” Christopher said and he dropped his arms from around Buck’s middle and he shuffled backwards to give Buck room to tug off his shoes and close the door behind him. “I picked a really good movie,” Christopher said with a huge grin that was already making Buck feel infinitely better.

As the night went on, Buck got sucked into the familiar comfort of a movie night sandwiched between Christopher and Eddie. He helped clean up as Eddie flitted between the mess they’d made in the living room and where Christopher was getting ready for bed. Buck was rinsing out the beer bottles while Eddie read Christopher his bedtime story when he found himself zoning out a little. Not necessarily thinking about anything, just drifting.

“Hey,” Eddie said, breaking Buck out of it, as he leaned his hip against the sink. “It’s pretty late, you wanna just take the guest room?” Eddie offered. Buck cracked a smile and nodded.

“Yeah, if you don’t mind. I’m beat.” Buck pushed a damp hand through his hair before rubbing at his temples.

“Go ahead and get some sleep, I can finish up with these,” Eddie said and bumped their shoulders together.

“Thanks,” Buck said and he shuffled his way down the familiar path to the guest room. He folded up his jeans and settled them on side table beside the lamp before slipping under the sheets. He thought that after everything that happened today he’d have trouble sleeping, but he must have been more tired than he’d thought because sleep came easily.

…..

When he woke up it wasn’t in Eddie’s guest room but his childhood bedroom in Hershey. He remembered the blank light blue walls with the navy curtains and cool brown dresser set, none of which he’d had any say in. He shuddered as he sat up and the flat grey sheets pooled around his waist.

He tossed the sheets aside and went over to the mirror that was hanging on the wall and he sucked in a sharp breath as he took in his reflection. He was younger than he’d been when he’d gone to sleep. He took in the soft curls and lack of any hint of stubble as well as how small he was. He looked like he had when he was sixteen and he felt something inside him tremble in fear.

There was a polite knock on the door before his mother, the same colored curls as his own framing dark eyes like Maddie’s, poked her head in. “Evan, if you don’t quit lazing around you’re not going to be able to have breakfast before practice.” He glanced at the corner of his dresser where his track uniform and shoes were sitting, just like always.

“How did I get here?” Buck asked and his voice was shaking.

“What do you mean?” His mother asked, taking a step into his bedroom, her hand perched on her hip perfectly. “You live here, sweetheart.”

“No,” Buck shook his head. “I live in L.A. I moved there years ago.” Buck sucked in a harsh breath and blew it out, continuing before he lost the thread. “I’m a firefighter with the 118 under Captain Bobby Nash. I work with Hen Wilson, Chimney Han, and Eddie Diaz.” Buck squeezed his eyes shut, feeling tears burning at the corners. “Maddie is with me because she finally left Doug.”

There was a pause and Buck opened his eyes, praying that he would have woken up, but his mother was still standing there and he was still in his room in Hershey. His mother took a step forward and cradled Buck’s face between her hands. “Oh, honey,” she said softly and stroked his hair back from his face. “You’re such a good liar. But you know we don’t allow that kind of behavior to happen under this roof.” Her perfectly manicured nails dug into Buck’s cheeks.

With a jolt, Buck woke up in a cold sweat and feeling like he’d been running a marathon, his heart hammering in his chest and not able to catch his breath. He let out a broken sob as he scrambled for the bedside lamp, but before he could get it on, the door was opening and the hall light was filtering into the room.

Eddie’s guest room.

Buck could only cry harder from relief, pressing his hands against his face to try and muffle it. He didn’t want to wake Christopher, or scare him if he was already awake from Buck’s nightmare.

“Buck, hey, what happened?” Eddie asked and Buck could feel him sit down on the edge of the bed.

“I got out,” Buck said and he knew that he probably sound like he’d lost it, but part of him was crying from fear, but the other part was relief. “I’m in L.A.”

“You’re in L.A.” Eddie rubbed his back soothingly despite obviously being confused. “It’s okay, Buck. You’re here at my house. You’re safe.” Eddie turned and wrapped an arm around Buck’s shoulders and guided Buck’s head against his shoulder. Eddie shushed him before talking to him gently in Spanish, just like Buck knew he did when Christopher was really upset or scared. “Estás bien. No dejaré que nada te lastime. Estoy aquí.” Buck felt like he should be embarrassed that Eddie, who wasn’t really that much older than him, was treating him like his nine year old son, but the cadence of Eddie’s voice was soothing.

“What’s going on?” Buck lifted his head from Eddie’s shoulder to see Christopher outlined in the light from the hall.

“It’s okay,” Eddie said in the same soft tone he’d had since Buck had started crying. “I think Buck just had a bad dream, go back to bed.”

“I can help,” Christopher said and shuffled over to the side of the bed.

“Mijo,” Eddie started but Buck just shook his head, sniffing a little.

“He’s okay,” Buck mumbled and wiped at his face.

Eddie gave him an unsure look but didn’t argue. When Chris got to the side of the bed, Eddie lifted Christopher into his lap so he and Buck were somewhat level. “I had bad dreams too,” Christopher said and his mouth twisted up a little in the corner. “Daddy said it was okay to talk about them, but that I didn’t have too if it was too scary. Was your bad dream really scary?” Christopher asked as he reached out to play with Buck’s fingers.

“Yeah,” Buck said quietly, and he gave Christopher’s hand a playful squeeze. “You’re lucky that you have such a smart dad, you know that?”

“Yeah, he’s pretty great,” Christopher said and his bright smile as he tilted his head back to look at Eddie helped to ease Buck’s nerves. “Do you need a hug? Daddy gives the best hugs when I feel scared.”

Buck let out a weak laugh and a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “I bet he does.” Christopher merely hummed and then squirmed out of Eddie’s lap and into Buck’s, wrapping his arms around Buck’s neck and pressing his face against Buck’s shoulder. Buck let out a shuddering breath and he had to squeeze his eyes shut to keep any more tears from slipping down his face. He pressed his face into Christopher’s hair and gave him a light squeeze. “Thanks, Chris,” Buck sniffed as Eddie’s son pulled away.

“You’re gonna be okay, kid,” Christopher said and used the sleeve of his pajama shirt to brush away the tears on Buck’s face.

And that was more of a comfort than Buck could articulate.

“Alright,” Eddie said and lifted Christopher off of Buck’s lap. “You need to get back in bed, buddy.” He gave Christopher’s shoulder a pat and Chris started out of the room. “I’m just gonna make sure he gets back into bed. You’ll be alright for a minute?” Eddie asked, his hand resting on Buck’s knee.

“Yeah,” Buck nodded and he gave Eddie a watery smile. Eddie watched him with a conflicted expression. “Go on, I’m going to wash my face.” He knew that the salt would leave tacky spots on his skin and he was certain that his nose was going to start dripping soon. He shuffled across the hall to the bathroom and wiped his nose on a wad of toilet paper before running some cold water, pointedly not looking in the mirror as he splashed his face. He dried his skin off, just giving himself a moment to get his breathing back under control, and then made his way back to the guest room.

After a while, Eddie came in with an extra pillow in his hand. “Christopher said that I needed to sleep in here since I let him sleep in my bedroom after he has a nightmare,” Eddie said with an amused tilt to his mouth. Buck couldn’t help but let out a slightly congested laugh.

“Well then, we better follow orders,” Buck said and shifted to one side so that Eddie would have some room. Eddie grinned before tossing his pillow down and getting into bed with Buck. They were quiet for a while, the only noise the rustling of the sheets as they tried to settle.

“You don’t have to,” Eddie started, his voice just barely above a whisper, “but if you wanted to talk about it, I want you to know that I’m here, Buck. I’m always here.”

“I know,” Buck breathed and closed his eyes against the wash of emotions that threatened to choke him again. “Thank you, Eddie.”

“Anytime.”

“I’m not ready to talk about it just yet,” Buck admitted and squirmed a little.

“Okay,” Eddie said and he didn’t sound disappointed or angry or upset. “Goodnight, Buck.”

Buck let out a sigh of relief. “Goodnight, Eddie.”

#my writing #evan week 2020 #ew2020 #evan buckley #maddie buckley #maddie buckley kendall #chimney han #howard han #howie han #hen wilson #henrietta wilson #bobby nash #captain bobby nash #the buckley parents :/#christopher diaz #buddie if you squint #911 fox #911 fic #911 fanfic

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newbie-weeb26 · 4 years

Text

Welcome Newbie (Chapter 1)

I would like to thank my friend @lovely-wiccann for the quirk idea. Also, this might be a bit long.

First day of a new school, and you are already a wreck. You have this nauseous feeling in your stomach and you feel like you are over heating. “Hey, humming bird. Are you alright?” Your dad asked. No one would expect this, put present mic is your dad. He walks into your room and helps you to focus on breathing properly. You soon calm down and your dad starts to talk to you, saying that everything will be okay. “Everyone in class 1A are rad. Well, except for Bakugo. He has some issues, but hey, everyone else is brave.” You smile and hug him close.

You walk to school. Everyone looks nice. “Hey!” You hear someone say. Behind you, there is a person with green, and fluffy looking hair. He runs up to you. “I’m Izuku Midoryia. It’s nice to make new friends. So, where is your class?” He looks at you with his huge eyes, waiting for an answer. “Oh, uhm, I’m in class 1A.” You see his smile get wider. “Hey, I’m also in that class. We can walk together if you want.” You smile and nod. The both of you talk about your quirks. It’s nice to get to know someone. Once you started talking to him, you started to feel more comfortable.

You both walk into class. “Hey everyone.” Izuku said. “So we have a new member of class 1A. This is y/n.” Out of no where, a tall man with glasses jumps up and bows in front of you. “Hello y/n. I am the class representative. Tenya Iida. I promise to make sure that you feel safe to learn.” He sticks his hand out, so you can shake it. You gladly accepted the hand shake. Everyone started to introduce themselves. Well, all except the person with spiky hair and red eyes. Izuku whispers, “that’s kaachan, but everyone calls him bakugo.” Bakugo rolls his eyes. “So y/n, what’s your quirk?” Uruaka asks. You smirk. “I’ll show you.” You hum a tune, which turns your hair red. You bring out your palm, causing small flame to appear. “It’s called humming melody. I hum a certain tune and it gives me a certain power.” Everyone gets amazed.

“Yeah and the cool thing is that I can control it’s strength.” You explain to Izuku. In the middle of the conversation between the both of you, the door opens revealing Aizawa. “Alright now listen up. We have a new student. Now you better treat her with respect, because her dad works here. If you don’t, well, he will make your ears bleed.” You giggle lightly at his statement. Mina raises her hand. “What do you mean by that?” Aizawa sighs and looks at the alien girl. “Y/n’s dad is present mic.” “PRESENT MIC HAS A CHILD!?” The class shouts in unison. Let’s just say that the shouts made you jump a bit too much, so you decided to hide under your desk. Your face turns a deep red. Soon, you decided to sit back down at the desk to continue on learning.

The lunch bell rings and everyone goes to the cafeteria. You sit next to Uruaka and Tsyuyu. Across from you, is Iida, Izuku, and Todoroki. “So I have a question. Why is bakugo always angry?” You ask, causing everyone to tense up, except for Todoroki. He looks at you and says, “He believes that he is going to be the number one hero in the future. Bakugo’s main goal is to beat all might with all he could.” You turn back to look at Bakugo. He looks really angry when he eats. “Now I want to burn his face off,” you say under your breath. Todoroki smiles slightly at your statement. You start to eat, but only a few bites. You weren’t really hungry. You, Uruaka, and Tsyuyu walk up to the front, to take your trays up.

All of you go back to the classroom, so you can have a bit of quality time. When you arrived to class, You sit back at your desk and someone slammed on your desk. You turn around and see an angry looking Bakugo. “Listen here extra, I heard that you and your little group were talking about me.” You roll your eyes. “Why yes I did. Got a problem with that?” You rest your head on the palm of your hand. It looks like his red eyes are glowing with fire and rage. “JUST KNOW THAT I AM GOING TO BE THE NUMBER ONE HERO! I AM THE BEST IN THE CLASS!” You giggle at his statement. “Well listen here, we would all like to be heroes some day sparky sparky boom man, so maybe you change that attitude. Drop the attitude and people would actually like you.” You hum right away, turning your hair into a light pink. Right when he was about to explode again, you pull your cardigan sleeve down, and a scent emerges. The scent hits the angry boy’s nose, which causes him to pass out into a deep slumber. You quickly put the sleeve back in it’s regular spot and fan the excess scent, so no one else would pass out. “Pathetic.” You say under your breath.

Aizawa walks in and sees the sleepy boy. “Uhm, why is Bakugo on the floor?” No one said anything, since they were shocked that you actually did that to the class mad man. Well, everyone except for Todoroki, who was in his regular state. Good thing that your changed color, since you snapped your fingers. Aizawa looks at you and nods. “He was about to become unstable, so I put him to sleep. You’re welcome.” You smile. Actually, you were proud of yourself of showing your quirk. It was always hard to show it, since a lot of thoughts go into your mind about it. Is it good? Is it useful? Now that you are in the school where the heroes train and get ready for this crazy world you live in.

Since you left Bakugo on the floor, you ask, “Should we put Bakugo in his chair? I mean we can leave him on the floor, but I think someone should, you know, let him sit at the desk.” Kirishima stood up. “I got it.” He smiles. He picks up Bakugo and sits him at the desk chair. After that whole event, you go back to learning about control of quirks. In the middle of the lesson, Bakugo wakes up. You hold back asking him how his sleep was. You stay silent. He, on the other hand, glares at you and grinds his teeth in a back and forth motion. You pretend not to notice.

The school day goes by fast. Now, you are walking with Uruaka, Izuku, or Deku since he said that you can call him that, and Iida. “So, y/n, how was your first day of school?” Deku asks and you look at him. It was full of surprises I guess. I’m happy that I am almost confident in my quirk. That Bakugo incident was probably the reason.” You chuckle at the memory. “Yeah, no one does anything to him, since he is really intimidating.” Iida states, with weird hand motions. You talk some more to your new friends. You make it home and every single one of them say...

“Welcome Newbie!”

#new #deku #todoroki #bakugo #my hero academia #todoroki shoto x reader #deku x reader #katsuki bakugo x reader #boku no hero academia #mha #bnha

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ms-maj · 4 years

Text

Sadie Hawkins Dance

More songfic y’all! It’s only taken six months to do nine of them so, I’ll maybe finish this challenge before I’m ninety...

Again, ALL the love and thanks to @bettycooper for her amaze beta skills and wonderful header.

The Sadie Hawkins dance

In my khaki pants

There's nothing better

Oh oh oh

The girls ask the guys

It’s always a surprise

There's nothing better baby

Do you like my sweater?

Sadie Hawkins Dance- Relient K

Time: 12:47 p.m.

Location: The hallway outside the cafeteria

Objective: Get Jughead alone for five minutes to ask him to the stupid dance

The Sadie Hawkins Dance. It had been her idea, after all, in some convoluted (not-so-subtle) attempt to get control of the raging crush she’d developed on one of her childhood best friends. The natural course of events should have put her firmly crushing on her all-American neighbor and other childhood best friend, Archie Andrews, and for the briefest of moments, she had... until Jughead walked up to their favorite swimming hole the summer before ninth grade and inadvertently taught her all about what true desire was. To say Betty had been blindsided was an understatement.

Three years later and she’s still staring at him from across the room—though it might as well be the other side of the world for all he seems to notice—as he sits with the friends he made during his brief tenure at Southside High. Even if she made it impossible for him to forget her by calling and texting constantly, Betty hated (and still hates) those three months more than anything. When he walked back into Riverdale High with Toni Topaz—who was ten ways of sexy Betty could never measure up to—her heart broke.

Despite reassurances from Jughead himself that they were only friends and Toni was far more interested in the fairer sex, Betty couldn’t help but wonder what it would take for him to ever look at her the way she swore he looked at Toni, but wondering was all she did. Despite her initial beliefs, as time went on, she saw only genuine friendship between them, and nothing else.

As relieved as she was, she was more guarded with him than she’d been before. She tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to will her crush away on more than one occasion, but his proximity and renewed involvement in the Blue and Gold made it damn near impossible.

Read me here or on AO3

When she’d mentioned a Sadie Hawkins Dance a month ago, he scoffed. “Really, Cooper, did we time travel in our sleep? Is it somehow the fifties again?”

As annoyed as she’d been, she hadn’t exactly expected him to be enthusiastic about the concept. Jughead wasn’t particularly fond of any, or all, typical high school activities. Least of all school dances.

“Would you go?” He looked at her with furrowed brows and an incredulous smirk. “If someone asked you to the dance, would you go?”

She hoped her face didn’t betray just how anxious she was for his answer. “The only reason I ever went was for the food. I don’t know why that would change now.”

Her heart dropped from her throat to her stomach. All the other dances he’d gone to were with her, and apparently it had only been for access to the refreshments table. Choking back tears, she nodded and went back to work on her article.

That was the last time they’d spoken more than a few words to one another. He’d tried, on several occasions, to initiate conversation between them, but she always found a way out. Between the paper, the dance committee, and cheerleading, Betty always had a viable excuse, but it was getting harder and harder to avoid him.

Especially since nothing seems to get by their vulture friends. Veronica, Archie, Kevin, and even Reggie know about her crush and despite all their reassurances that Jughead would reciprocate, she simply cannot get their last conversation out of her head. Of course, he’d say yes if she asked him to go to the dance. She was in charge of the food which guaranteed the selection would be everything he wanted.

(Not that she had suggested his favorites first, or anything. That would just be weird.)

Betty pulls her phone from her back pocket and checks the time just as the bell rings. She knows he has Chemistry after lunch and if she keeps stalling, Ethel Muggs is going to ask him then. As much as she likes Ethel, she won’t let that happen...even if his saying yes only means he’s hungry.

“Betty!” She swings around, book and binder for her next class held tightly against her chest.

“Kev, what’s up?” Her tone is short and words clipped as she looks back at the now empty Serpent table.

“You will not believe who asked Jughead Jones to the Sadie Hawkins!”

Betty’s head snaps back to her brunette friend. “Wh-what?” She manages to stammer as she realizes she’s lost Jughead in the receding crowd.

“You know the new girl, Sabrina?” Betty nods even though she’s a world away trying to remember if she’d seen the petite blonde at his table. “Well, she just walked right up to him and sat on his lap—”

“Oh crap, sorry, Kev, I’ve got to...I mean I have this...I have to go.” Holding her books even closer to her, Betty makes her way to class trying to will away the bile and tears that keep threatening to spill over.

Of course, she’s glad she didn’t have to actually see it. She spent the majority of her lunch period psyching herself up to ask him, so Kevin’s unwelcome interruption saved her much of the face she’d have lost if she actually had caught up to Jughead.

There are only two periods left in the day, and one is study hall. She just needs to make it through Trig then she can have a proper breakdown in the Blue and Gold. Betty takes her seat quickly and wills the minutes to pass faster than they ever had in math.

Eighty-five minutes later she slinks into the Blue and Gold. Closing the door as she enters the room, Betty’s forehead smacks against it as it clicks closed.

“That hardly sounded pleasant, Coop,” the voice behind her causes her eyes to pinch tightly. “Now, you wanna tell me why you feel like you need to slam your head into doors?”

She takes a deep breath in and turns on the exhale, dewy lashes fluttering open. The smile on her face is forced and fake, and she knows instantly he can see right through it. Still, she steps toward where he’s leaning against the desk. “It’s just been one of those days, Jug. Nothing’s going my way, but, it’s mostly my fa—”

“Don’t you dare,” he punctuates with a sharply pointed finger in her direction. Her eyes roll as it retracts, and his arms cross over his chest. “I don’t know what’s going on with you, but I highly doubt it was your fault.”

“How would you know, Jughead? Where have you been?”

His bag falls to the ground as he stands up, confusion and anger sewn into his brow. “Excuse me? I’m right fucking here, Betts. I haven’t gone anywhere!”

Betty’s own brow raises incredulous. “No? Then where are you on movie night or game night? I know Archie misses kicking your ass as much as I do, but every single time we ask you…” her voice trails off knowing that, while this is all true, it’s nothing to do with the matter at hand. “I miss you, Jug.”

“Okay, so why are you freezing me out? If you miss me then why can’t I spend more than two minutes with you? Every single time I’ve seen you in the last three weeks you’ve literally run away from me.”

Her tongue feels heavy with the words she wishes she was brave enough to say. She wants to scream at him, ask why not her, why never her, what does she have to do to get his attention?

Instead, she drops her books onto the nearest surface and crosses her arms, staring back at him intently. “Why do you think, Jug?”

She’s met with a blank stare that hurts as much as if he’d just said ‘no’ to her. Betty tightens her ponytail and drops into the desk she’s set her stuff at. “Just forget it. Shouldn’t you be in class?”

“It’s just English. I will not be missed.”

Betty sits up a little straighter, slightly more curious than before. “I thought you had English with Sabrina?”

“I do,” he leans back against the desk directly in front of her.

“Well, I just thought after lunch you’d want to spend as much time with her as possible.” Somehow, her voice barely breaks as the words leave her mouth.

His head shakes as confusion emerges as the dominant emotion. “Were you even at lunch? I don’t remember seeing you...but no, Betts. After that Debra Morgan confessing love to her step-brother level of awkward, the last thing I want to do is see Sabrina.”

“Oh. I just thought since you were going to the dance together maybe you’d want to see her more, I don’t know. At least you have a real date this time and won’t have to use me for access to the refreshments table.” She tries her hand at levity, and it falls flat between them. She’s not sure she’s ever seen the particular look adorning his face.

“Betty,” he sighs softly as one of his dexterous hands pulls the beanie from his head and the other slides through the dark waves. “That wasn’t, I mean, that’s not what... You can’t actually believe that’s what I meant!”

She finds herself standing despite not wanting to react. “That’s what you said. It’s not like I was trying to decode it the way I do ninety-nine percent of our other interactions. For the first time since you came back to Riverdale High, you actually said what you meant.”

“Decode? What the fuck does that mean?” He pushes off the desk he’s been leaning against and surges onto hers. “I have never been anything but real with you. Only you. Only ever you.”

“Bullshit.” She leans in, both sets of their hands grip the edge of the desk as the staredown continues. “For the last year, I’ve done everything I can to try to get you to notice.”

Jughead scoffs. “Notice what?”

“Me, Jughead!” She sighs, pushing off the desk and turning away from him. “I wanted you to notice me.”

Betty runs weary hands over her face. She’s so sick of crying, so tired of feeling lonely even though she never seems alone. The tears crest in her eyes but don’t spill down her cheeks until she’s grabbed by the elbow and spun around.

“Do you really think I didn’t—that I don’t notice you? That I don’t see just how often you tighten your ponytail, or the way your hands ball up at your sides when you’re angry, or the red rings around your eyes—”

“I have allergies!”

“No, that’s what you tell everyone but I know they’re only bad in the fall. This is something different,” he stops holding onto her elbow but doesn’t stop touching her. In fact, his hand slides up her arm and cups around her shoulder before finally resting at her neck. Long fingers wrap around the base of her neck, he thumbs at the hollow of her throat and the breath stills in her body. “Betty…”

Her eyes flicker to his. They’re dark, tidal pools in a tempest as his body invades her space in the most perfect way. She wraps a hand around the wrist that holds her, his pulse pounding beneath her fingers. Betty doesn’t even notice he’s moved, not until his lips are on hers and she’s carding her free hand through his unruly hair. An undignified moan escapes her, and she stills, only to feel Jughead’s grip on her throat tighten as his other hand slips to her ass and pulls her tight against him. His thumb traces a path up to her chin, guiding her head so he can kiss her more deeply.

She’s not sure how long they’ve been kissing. Frankly, she’s not sure she even cares. If kissing him once feels like this, she can’t wait to do it again. And again. And again. Maybe at the dance…

She pulls away abruptly, Jughead’s eyes slowly blinking open and crossing in confusion. “What? Did I do something wrong?” Betty doesn’t break the contact, just leans back as his hands drop to her waist.

“No, Jug, that was perfect. This was everything I hoped it could be. My thoughts just got a little ahead of me.”

A frown creases his brow while a hand slides up her back and threads through the flaxen waves of her ponytail. “Then what is it, Betts?”

��Sabrina,” she blurts out. “I know she asked you to the dance, and here I am, practically throwing myself at you. But, to be fair, I had planned on asking you to the dance which is why you didn’t see me at lunch. I was too busy trying not to have a panic attack over it, and then I saw Kevin first, and he told me Sabrina made it very clear she wanted to take you to the dance—”

“Hey, hey, breathe Betty,” smirking, Jughead stops her before she rambles all of her oxygen away. “Did Kevin happen to tell you what else happened at lunch?”

Betty’s eyes drop in embarrassment as her head shakes no. The light tug on her ponytail forces her eyes back to his, which implore her to tell her story. “I kinda, sorta, maybe ran away from him after he said she sat on your lap.”

“So you missed the part where I said ‘no’ and asked her to remove herself from my space. She did not take too kindly to that, so avoiding English wasn’t unintentional.”

“Why did you say no, Jug? If you were just looking for an excuse, she’s a smart, funny, gorgeous one.”

“Because the only person I wanted to ask me is standing in this room.” Both hands come to frame her face as she holds onto the lapels of his threadbare flannel. “Because a few weeks ago I thought she was going to, and I was only recently made aware of how gloriously I fucked that up,” she laughs, feeling his thumbs sweep up her cheekbones while she drowns in his eyes. “Because I never wanted an excuse to go to the dance. I just wanted to spend time with you, be around you, and how could fourteen-year-old me have ever imagined that the girl of his dreams actually dreamed about him too?”

“Jug,” her voice a whisper swallowed by the silence. She grabs his face between her hands and pulls it toward her.

“Wait,” he breathes against her lips. “I think you have something very important to ask me.” She feels the upturn of his lips on hers, and her bottom lip finds itself between her teeth as she tries to hold her grin at bay.

“Jughead Jones, will you go with me to Sadie Hawkins?”

“Only for you, Betty Cooper,” he says no more, simply slants his mouth over hers and kisses her like she’s never been kissed before. For the first and only time, she's happy that it's taken this long for anything to happen, because she can't imagine there's a better feeling in the world than this. And she fully intends to test that theory for as long as he'll let her.

#bughead #bughead fanfiction #songfic writing challenge 2019 #*2020 #cat is a rock star

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nothingeverlost · 3 years

Text

Remus Evans

Summary:

When Lily Evans is eight years old her parents (both wizards) take in a child who needs a home. Remus Lupin's father is dead and his muggle mum has surrendered him, believing that she can't properly take care of a child who is both magical and a werewolf. Eventually, Remus is adopted and three years later Remus and Lily Evans board the Hogwarts Express together.

Notes:

Not a linear story. Will be jumping around the timeline.

Lily's family are wizards and Petunia is a squib. Other than that many things will happen the same, like the Marauders. But different too, of course.

Eventually, there will be Sirius/Remus and James/Lily.

Probably a sporadic verse, but I couldn’t resist the idea. Open to prompts.

Lily Evans was eight years old when she became a big sister. True, he was only a month and a half younger and an inch shorter, but that didn’t matter to Lily. She was ready to embrace being a big sister. It might not have been as important to her even a few months earlier, but during the summer a letter to Hogwarts had not arrived for her sister, who was eleven. Petunia hadn’t shown any signs of magic but there had been hope until the September of her eleventh year had come and gone without a letter. Now Petunia hardly talked to her. Hardly talked to anyone in the family, and spent as much time at the library or with friends as she was allowed.

“It’s going to take a little while, sweetheart. Why don’t you go play and I’ll call you when they’re here?” Lily was sitting cross-legged on the floor not too far from the fireplace in the drawing-room. It was the floo that her dad would be using when he came home. He wouldn’t be alone.

“I have a book.” She touched the book that she hadn’t opened today. “I want to see him when he gets here. It must be kind of scary, don’t you think? And kind of sad not to have a home anymore.”

“He has a home now. You can show him his new room when he gets here.” Marigold Evans kissed the top of her daughter’s head. The decision to bring home a foster child had only happened a few days ago, but they had spent most of the time since then transforming the guest room into something more personal. The walls had been painted blue the muggle way, but the stars the sparkled on the ceiling after the lights were turned off were magic. The quilt on the bed was one that Grandma Evans had made, and there was a bookcase next to the bed filled with books, some donated by Lily, some bought at a second-hand shop. A few of the stuffed animals that Petunia had declared she was too old for were on the bed. “I have to go check on dinner.”

Lily didn’t have too much longer to wait. Before her mother had time to come check on her the fireplace started glowing. A moment later her dad appeared, his hand firmly holding onto that of a little boy. Her new brother. Lily scrambled to her feet. “Welcome home, Remus.”

The little boy with the chestnut hair and the scar on his cheek stared at her for a moment before running from the room.

“It’s not you, poppet.” Her dad set down the bag he was carrying. “He’s had a lot happen already today. He probably just needed a minute alone. I’ll go check on him.”

“Can I do it?” She knew all the best hiding places in the house.

“If he asks to be alone you need to listen, okay?” Lily nodded solemnly. He’d been giving her the same advice about Petunia but it was easier to understand this time.

She found him in the loo, sitting with his knees pulled up to his chest and his back against the tub. The door was open so she went in and sat on the floor facing him. “Is it okay if I sit here?”

Remus looked up when she spoke, but only shrugged before looking down at the tile floor again.

“My name’s Lily. My dad says we’re the same age. He’s the one that told me your name. I’ve never met a Remus before but it’s a cool name. Cooler than being named after a flower.” She didn’t mind being named after a flower, not really. Tuney was named after a flower too, and mum. But so were lots of other people. It would be nice to have a name no one else had.

“My mum likes flowers. She has a garden.” His voice was almost a whisper and Lily had to strain to hear it.

“My mum has a garden too, I could show it to you.” Mum and dad had explained to her and Tuney that they weren’t supposed to ask about Remus’ parents. His dad had died a little while ago and his mum couldn’t take care of him. Lily didn’t know why it was important that his mum was a muggle but for some reason, her mum and dad thought that meant something. Remus shook his head.

“I could show you your bedroom? It’s more comfortable than the loo and it’s across the hall from mine but if you want to be alone you could just close the door. Dad charmed the ceiling to have stars on it but if you don’t like stars or blue we can change the color.” When she was little she had flowers on her ceiling but the charm had long since faded. She was thinking about asking her dad to do stars on her ceiling too. “Mum’s making shepherd's pie for dinner but it’s not ready yet.”

Remus shrugged again, but this time he stood up and Lily figured that was a yes. She reached out to take his hand but he didn’t take it so she stuck it in her pocket and let the way up the stairs.

Remus was cold. He was always cold now, it seemed, ever since that night in the garden but it was worse since they had taken him to the building they called Ministry and the little room with the door that didn’t open. There was a blanket on the bed but the floor was stone without a carpet and someone had taken away his shoes. They’d taken away his mum too. His mum had promised him that everything would be okay if he was a brave boy. Someone would be able to take care of him better than she could. She was a good mum and read him stories and made him soup when he didn’t feel good. He understood, though, that it was his fault that he couldn’t stay at home. Mum was a muggle and he was s monster, and muggles couldn’t protect themselves from monsters. In the beginning, after he’d been in St Mungo’s and his bites had healed, dad had been able to keep her safe but he was gone now. Dead, mum had said, but he didn’t like to think about that word.

“He’s a child. A human child with no more ability to hurt you than a flobberworm.” Usually there was only silence in the hall, but a few hours after lunch had been taken away Remus heard yelling. He didn’t like yelling. The floor was cold but there was space between the wall and the desk, so he crouched down as small as he could.

“Mr. Evans you can’t…”

“I think you’ll find that I can and I will.” The door opened and while Remus waited for more yelling he heard only the sounds of feet shuffling across the stone floor. “Remus?” The same voice that had been shouting in the hall was quiet now. “Do you remember me?”

Remus looked up and found the man that he had talked to the first day he’d been in the room. He’d brought paints and paper, and asked Remus if there was anything he needed. Remus had lied and said he didn’t need anything at all. He needed his mum and dad but he couldn’t have them anymore. Slowly he nodded.

“I know things have been very confusing and probably scary, but it’s going to be alright. I’m going to take you home with me, alright? My wife Mari is excited to meet you and so is Lily, my daughter who is just a little older than you. I have two little girls, Lily and Petunia, but I’ve always wanted a little boy too..” The man with the bright red hair was bigger than his dad had been, but he wasn’t scary. His hand when he reached out was warm. Remus looked at the hand, so much larger than his own, and bit his lower lip.

“I’m going to get your bag, alright Remus? And that picture on the wall, the one you painted. I’d like to take that with us too. Is that okay?”

Remus looked around the room. He wanted to go home, but he couldn’t. Somewhere else had to be better than where he was. He nodded.

“He’s hiding in the closet again. He’s such a freak, I don’t understand why he’s here.” It wasn’t often that Petunia was asked to talk to Remus in the three days he’d been in their home, but she’d been the only one around to call him to dinner. Her job a failure she sat down and dished food onto her plate, starting to eat despite the fact that everyone else was waiting.

“I’ll go get him.” Lily took a roll from the basket. Sometimes she couldn’t convince him to leave the closet and at least he would have something to eat until mum could take a plate upstairs. Since he’d come home Remus had rarely left his room and hadn’t gone outside at all.

“Remus?” She knocked on his door even though she knew that he wouldn’t answer. The room looked empty but the closet door was open. She sat down just outside of the closet door.

“Mum made chicken and mashed potatoes. Aren’t you hungry?” He hadn’t come down for lunch, though he had been down for breakfast and had three sausage rolls. She reached out and put the roll next to his feet. His face was hidden behind a robe but when he snatched at the roll she could see the now familiar scar on his hand. “I can bring you more if you don’t want to come down.”

“It’s better if I’m not there.”

“We want you with us. Tuney isn’t mad at you, she’s mad at everything because she didn’t get a Hogwarts letter and it makes her sad.” He didn’t say anything but she could hear him eating the roll.

“I’ll be right back, okay?” She ran downstairs and filled a plate with dinner, as much as it would hold, and took two forks, running back upstairs before mum or dad could ask any questions. Tuney was already gone from the table. When she got back to Remus’ room she joined him in the closet and handed him the second fork. “It’s like a picnic.”

He ate most of the mashed potatoes but she didn’t mind. After they ate he needed to wash his hands in the loo, and when he came back he say on his bed instead of in the closet.

Lily was in the garden. It was bright outside and he could see the sun on her hair as she checked on her pumpkins. Remus watched her through the window; she’d invited her out with him but he couldn’t go. He hadn’t been outside in weeks, not since he left his old home, and even then he’d only gone because he promised his mum he would. Bad things happened when you went outside. In April, a month after his birthday, he’d gone outside in the garden and when he’d woken up he’d been in the hospital and everything had changed.

“There’s some gobstones on the bookshelf by the back door, sweetheart. Why don’t you take them out and play with Lily, I’m sure she’d love a game.” Mari Evans, who told him he could call her Mari or mum, whatever felt comfortable, joined him at the window. Remus shook his head.

“Did you want to help me make some cookies? I was going to do some baking.” Remus thought for a moment, because he liked watching his mum bake, and usually where there were cookies there was also chocolate. Lily was outside, though, and someone needed to watch her and make sure nothing happened. He shook his head again.

“Okay, sweetheart. If you change your mind come join me. When they’re done I’ll make some cocoa and we can all have a nice afternoon treat.” She kissed the top of his head and let him stand at the window in peace. Every once in a while he looked over to where she was working, but mostly he watched Lily. She watered her pumpkins and picked up a gnome, sending it over the garden wall. Finally she started back towards the house and Remus sighed with relief.

“Do I smell cookies?” Lily grinned when she came inside.

“Your mum is baking.” It was easier to talk to Lily than anyone else.

“Our mum.” Lily wrapped an arm around his shoulder. “We’re sharing, remember?”

Remus nodded slowly. It was hard to say the word mum, even to Lily.

“I want to go.” It was after dinner when dad and Remus headed for the fireplace in the living room. Lily didn’t understand where they could be going so late in the day but she knew that Remus needed her. After almost three weeks she was still the only person in the family who could get him to say much more than ‘yes please’ and ‘no thank you.’

“They’ll be back before you wake up, love. Why don’t you run up and brush your teeth? The sooner you’re asleep the sooner it will be morning.” Lily’s mum was making bread, a sure sign that she was worried. She always brought bread unless she was worried and needed something to do with her hands.

“But mum…”

“You can’t go with them, it’s not safe.”

“Why is it okay for Remus to go?” He’d barely left the house since he’d arrived, and even then he’d only been in the garden a few times, never too far from the door.

“You have to trust that your dad knows what’s best, Lily. You know he cares about Remus.” Mum kneaded her bread and behind them, the sound of the floo meant then Remus was already gone. Upstairs Petunia was in her room with the door closed, and Lily knew that even if if the door was open they wouldn’t be able to talk.

Lily went to bed reluctantly and tried to stay awake until her dad and Remus returned. The moon was bright enough that she could read a book without using a light, and for a while that was enough to keep her awake. She didn’t quite make it to midnight before falling asleep and woke up hours later to her mum and dad talking in the hall.

“I can’t do that again, Mar. The room looked like a cage and the way they treated him…”

“We’ll figure something else out for next month, sweetheart. We’ll do everything we can to protect him.” Lily listened until her mum and dad were gone before creeping across the hall. If dad was home then Remus must be too.

She figured he might be asleep already but when she saw him it was the bandages on his arms she noticed, bits of blood seeping through. He was sleeping but shivering despite the blankets on him. Lily bit her lip, trying to keep herself from making a noise. If mum and dad knew that she was awake they might try and make her go back to her room and Remus needed her. She didn’t understand what had happened but she knew that she needed to keep him safe. Carefully she climbed onto the bed, pulling the covers over her. Making sure to avoid any bandages she wrapped an arm around his waist. She could keep him warm for now, and she would learn how to keep him safe. He was her brother, after all, and that’s what sisters were supposed to do.

#remus lupin #lily evans #harry potter fic #my fic #remus & lily

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dalamjisung · 4 years

Text

see me ❋ bambam

word count: 5877

genre: hospital!au, fluff

pairing: Ophthalmologist!Bambam x Photographer!reader

description: it takes him a while to see the bigger picture, but when he does, it’s so worth the wait.

“Ah!”

“Are you fucking blind? Watch where you’re going.”

Funny to think that that’s how you met him. In college, running late to your class, and then running late into him. After his rude remark, this happened again twice; one in the cafeteria, where you dropped your noddles on his designer shoes, and once in the library, where you ‘accidentally’ kicked him in the chin as he tried get to the book you both wanted. After that, as you giggled nervously while hugging that godforsaken book to your chest, he sighed, blocking your way out of the isle.

“I guess there’s no other way,” He says, crouching down to match your height. “Hello, there. I’m Bambam… can you see me? How many fingers I’m holding up?”

“Of course I can see you,” You roll your eyes, pushing his hand out of your face.

“Just had to be sure,” He scoffs and straightens his back. “This is the third time you run into me in a month. That can’t be normal.”

“I’m just… distracted,” You mumble, blushing furiously. “Sorry. I’m Y/N.”

After that, whenever you’d run into him, it would mean another step towards your friendship– bumped into him outside of class, introduced him to your friends; tripped over him as he sunbathed in the grass outside of the literature building, exchanged numbers; ran into him after work, went out for drinks. It felt almost as if you two had been friends for ages and, the next day, once you woke up next to him, memory wiped clean and feeling like your head might just explode, you knew Bambam would be in your life for a long time. And you were right. To this day, you still bump into him, even though it’s been years of watch out! and be careful! He is not really as bothered as he used to be, but he still wants you to go for an eye check-up every six months.

“What’s the use of having a doctor best friend if not for the health benefits?” He’d always say.

And really, what’s the use? So there you are, waiting at the front desk of the hospital Bambam works, talking to Nurse Kim as if you two had been long lost friends.

“You should visit more than just for check-ups, Y/N,” She whines. “We all miss you. Even Dr. Jaebeom asked about you the other day! He said he wanted to introduce you to his girlfriend, she needs someone to photograph her cafe for a magazine ad, and he instantly recommended you.”

You smile. Thanks to the short period in which you and Bambam lived together right after college, you had been lucky enough to meet his group of friends– all of which are doctors. You are set for life in this hospital, and you know it.

“Y/N!” You hear someone shout and you are suddenly being lifted from the ground, Jackson’s laugh ringing behind you. “We missed you!”

“I missed you too,” You chuckle. “But please put me–“

“Jackson Wang, you better let go of her right this instant,” You laugh at how serious Bambam sounds. “Or I will kill you. She is a patient, Jackson, a patient.”

“Routine eye check?” Jackson asks once your best friend pulls you behind him.

“You know it,” You sigh. “Bam’s been insisting for me to come, so… here I am.”

“You tripped five times,” Bambam scolded. “In a day. I can never take you to the mall again, you were considered a safety hazard to yourself and others!”

“It was just an accident,” You pout, hugging his arm to you, pulling on it like a small child. “I was too focused!”

“Looking at disposable cameras,” Bambam deadpans while hugging you closer.

You two had always been, and will probably always be like that; touchy. You best expressed your self through touch, hugging him closer when your sad, gabbing his hand when your nervous, jumping on him when your happy. It’s always been easier to express yourself thought touch then words and he didn’t seem to mind; in fact, you think he feels the same way, always hugging you silently, or shaking you in excitement.

“Okay, I get it, I get it,” You grumble, pulling away from him and dragging him to the elevators, having the way to his office engraved in your mind. “Let’s go, I have a date in a couple of hours.”

“A date?” Bambam asks, wiggling his eyebrows. The fact that there is a doctor sharing the elevator with you two and he is staring makes you blush. “Who with?”

“A guy I met through a friend,” It all you say about it, voice curt and distant. You never liked discussing these things with Bambam for various reasons– you feel shy, you’re scared he’ll react badly to the news, like he used to in college, you didn’t want him to think you are replacing him. Those are just a few, but the main reason is simpler than all of those together; it’s stronger, too. You love him. Not like he thinks you do, though. More. You love him in a way that makes you wish he’d be there in the morning to wake you up, and that makes you fall asleep thinking of him kissing you goodnight. You love him in a way that he remains your best friend, but also becomes something else. You just love him. But he never really saw that, and you don’t think he’ll ever see it.

So you allow Jinyoung set you up on a blind date. Apparently his girlfriend works with a guy that knows a guy that is also single. And nice. And cute. And all of the other adjectives Jinyoung used to convince you of going. He’s just not Bambam, but you’ve learned to deal with that. It’s been years, after all; of watching him with other women and of letting him watch you with other men. You feel as pathetic as it sounds, but what can you do? You are in love with your best friend.

“Oh?” Bambam’s eyes widened. He holds the elevator doors for you and you walk in front of him, too shy to look him in the eyes. “What friend? I thought I was your friend!”

“Best friend,” You roll your eyes sitting on his desk, knowing he hates it when you ignore the papers on top of it. “And I know other people, too…”

“Yeah,” He shrugs and squints, as if examining you already. “But I know everybody you know, so spill; which one?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about.”

The thing about your friendship with Bambam is that he knows you inside and out. He knows when you are lying, he knows when you are tired, he knows when you are hungry– all from just looking at you. So it’s only natural for him to also know when you’re uncomfortable, like right now. Bam knows all about your past relationships and how none of them seem to have been…. good; so his protectiveness extends even to his friends, especially when they try to take you places you don’t really want to go, or to do things you don’t really feel like doing– like going on a blind date.

“Y/N,” He frowns, looking stern. “I told you already, tell them no! The boys are pushy, but they adore you and they won’t get angry if you–“

“But I want to.”

You see the surprise in his face.

“I’ve been single for a while,” You nod to yourself, chuckling humorlessly. “I need to be single after a while after what happened with my ex; but I want to go on dates, Bam. I miss it. I miss the prepping, and the excitement, and… well, you know. I miss having someone telling me I look beautiful and that they had a good time and we should do it again. So I asked Jinyoung, because at least he’ll be able to choose me someone nice.”

“So it was Jinyoung,” Bambam hums, deep in his thoughts. “I would’ve guessed Jackson or Youngjae, but not Jinyoung.”

“Yeah, well, this time I wanted someone sane,” You joke, but he doesn’t laugh. “Now let’s get this done.”

The consultation follows as it usually does– messily. After the initial shock left him, Bambam went back to his goofy self, making jokes about you dressing up and “getting some” as he checked your eyes. Besides your glasses prescriptions going up– again– there is nothing wrong with you, as predicted, and you are soon released to go off on your date.

“Call me if you need anything,” Bambam laughs, winking, and for a second you allow yourself to feel sad over the fact that he looks more excited about this date than you. “And don’t forget we have our weekly sleepover tonight! See you later, and bring me the deets!”

“The deets?” You repeat, laughing.

“The details, girl!” He waves you off. “Now go, I don’t want you to be late to meeting the possible love of your life because of me. And don’t trip him! Actually, do! You can say he fell for you at first sight!”

“Yeah, that won’t happen,” You smile tightly, starting to back away before this conversation takes a path you are not sure you’ll be strong enough to brave.

“You never know,” He shouts after you. “You might just run into the love of your life!”

“I did,” You mumble to yourself, and with one last glance at your stupid friend– who’s laughing at his own joke still,– you leave the hospital, feeling as insecure as ever.

This might be it, you try to reassure yourself. The guy that makes me get over him. This has to be it.

————————————

The guy, Wonpil, is… okay. Unfortunately, you don’t have much to say about him, because all he’s shown you is that he is an okay guy, with an okay talk, and you two went on an okay date. Nothing about him made your heart race, he didn’t make you feel anything at all; no laughter bubbling inside, no frustration over disagreements, no anger, no happiness, not even nervousness. You are as numb as one gets.

“Y/N?” Wonpil calls, smiling a bit. “Are you okay?”

“Ah,” You smile back, hopefully disguising your lack of enthusiasm. “Sorry, I got a little distracted.”

His smile falters a bit at that. “I’m sorry.”

“What?” You freeze, feeling guilty. “Why are you apologizing?”

“I know this is not being exactly fun,” Wonpil sighs, allowing his head to fall in his hands. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” Reaching out to him, you uncomfortably tap his shoulder. “At least you’re trying, you know? I should be the one apologizing; I should be trying harder, I’m just–“

“Nervous? Sad? Frustrated?” He lists, looking at you with knowing eyes.

You shake your head. “I’m just… here.”

“It’s worse then I thought, then,” He mutters, and takes a deep breath. “Jinyoung told me.”

“Told you what?”

“About Bambam.”

If you were drinking water, you are sure you’d be choking to death now. Or at least you wish you were.

“What about Bambam?” You whisper, too scared to speak up.

“You don’t have to be embarrassed,” Wonpil chuckles and you can just hear the sadness in his voice. “I’m not much different right now…”

“Wonpil–“

“The love of my life left me,” He almost shouts, and a few people look at you. Your mouth opens to say something but you don’t know what, as you listen to this odd man spill his guts. “She left because she said I didn’t appreciate her… but at least I had her at one point, I guess. It’s not as bad as your situation.”

“First of all,” You say, sounding just as you felt, confused. “No need to rub it in. Second of all, Jinyoung knows?!”

“Uh,” Wonpil scratches his head, as confused as you now. “I’m pretty sure everyone but Bam knows.”

“Excuse me as I go jump off of a bridge,” You try to get up but just as you are about to turn around and leave, he grabs your hand.

“I have a better idea.”

And that’s how you find yourself sitting on a bench, looking at the river, and drinking cheap, shitty coffee. Wonpil tells you all about his ex; how she left, what she said, and how he’s miserable without her. It’s been almost six months, now, and he still hopes that one day he’ll come home and she’ll be there.

“She was– is– my best friend,” He chuckles, taking a sip of his cup. “So I understand. Your situation; I understand. Too much to lose.”

You nod. “Yeah…”

“But it can work out, too,” Wonpil shrugs. “He can feel the same.”

“For a while I thought he did,” You smile, remembering how you would spend nights thinking of how to confess to Bambam back in college. “We were closer than ever, that time, and I thought he liked me too. I’m not sure why, I could just feel it. But I guess I lost my chance once he started dating a girl from his Biology class, and even since then I just never felt it again; I just assumed it was a phase.”

“Jinyoung told me all about you two,” Wonpil whispers, almost as if he is telling you a secret you shouldn’t know. “He told you are a photographer, and he showed me some of your work. Why is Bambam the only person you photograph?”

You close your eyes and tilt your head back, allowing the evening sun to warm your cheeks. This is not the first time someone ask you this, and you are sure this wouldn’t be the last; but the answer would always be the same– I don’t know.

“Everything else is scenic,” Wonpil continues. “All landscapes, buildings, art. Bambam is the only person.”

“I don’t–“

“You do,” Wonpil laughs. “You know why. You don’t have to tell me, Y/N, but it’s all over your face…”

“What is?” You open one eye to look at him sideways. “Tell me, Mr. Know It All, what is written on my face? Why do I only photograph Bambam?”

“Because you see him,” Wonpil sighs. “You see him the way he is. The way you wish he’d see you. That’s why.”

When you part from Wonpil, the sky dark and the streetlights shinning the way to your building, you tell him he’s an odd guy and that this was the weirdest date you’ve ever been to, but that doesn’t stop you from texting him once you lay down to sleep.

You were right.

————————————

“What the hell happened yesterday?”

You don’t have to open your eyes to know that Bambam is behind you, hands on his waist, and eyes trained on your back.

“What about yesterday?” You groan, still waking up and regretting giving him the code to your door.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Bambam says sarcastically climbing in bed and getting comfortable under the covers; he slides his arm under your head and turns your body to face him. “You went on a date with a stranger, didn’t text me, didn’t call me, and didn’t show up for sleepover night!”

You shoot up, blankets falling on your friend’s face as your body moves wildly, hand pushing your hair out of your face and covering your face.

“Bam, I’m so sorry!” You say, looking at him from where you not sit. He sighs, sitting up too.

“I thought something happened, Y/N,” He scolds you. “You never missed sleepover night… ever! And when you didn’t show up and you didn’t pick up I got scared that he might’ve done something to you and–“

“No,” You shake your head, groaning in frustration with yourself. “He’s great. Weird as fuck, but a great guy, and we talked until it was dark and then I forgot and came home and fell asleep.”

“You forgot?!” Looking offended, Bambam grabs both of your hands and looks into your eyes, looking for any signs of deception. “What happened yesterday? Did he do something to you? Were you uncomfortable? Are you okay? I’m going to kill Jinyoung!”

“No no no, it was nothing like that,” You roll your eyes, walking to the bathroom as he follows you. “We just talked about… stuff. And I needed to think and I guess I forgot– I’m really, really sorry Bam. We can do it tonight! Sleepover here; I’ll get snacks and we can order from that Thai place you love so much– it’ll be great!”

“Of course I’m going to sleep here,” He points to the backpack near the bed and you don’t know how you didn’t notice it before. “But that’s not the point, here; what happened yesterday? What stuff were you discussing? What made you need to think so much?”

“Bam, drop it,” You mumble, trying to walk away from him and into the kitchen, only to have him following you. “It’s nothing big.”

“That’s a lie and even you know it,” He says. “You missed sleepover night, Y/N!”

“So what do you want me to do?” You shoot back, turning to look at him. “I’m sorry, Bam, really, but you also missed sleepover night before and I never interrogated you about it!”

“That’s different!” He defends himself, and you know what’s about to happen; it’s not like you never fought before, but something about this is feels off– something about him. “I was dating! I had a girlfriend!”

“Oh, so it’s okay for you to miss sleepover night because of your girlfriend, and it’s not okay for me to miss it because of my date?” You question, and you honestly can’t believe this is happening. A fight over something as stupid as this.

“Yes!” He shouts and this is wrong. It’s all wrong; Bambam never shouts at you like this, with so much anger and frustration. He’s usually dramatic, but never angry. “It’s different because–“

And he stops himself before he says something he knows he’ll regret it.

“Because what?” You taunt him. “Come on, Bam, tell me; what’s so different?”

“Drop it, Y/N,” And he turns around to go to your room, but this time, you’re the one not letting him leave.

“No, I won’t drop it,” You say and you wonder if you sound as hypocritical as you feel. “Tell me, Bambam! What is so damn different?”

“Y/N–“

“Tell me, goddammit!”

“Because I liked her!” He is on your face in a second, and never before you felt uncomfortable with Bambam’s proximity, but this time you are shaking; not in fear, never in fear. You are shaking with anticipation. “I liked my girlfriend, hell I might have even loved her!”

“And who says I don’t like Wonpil?!” You question, rage bubbling in the pit of your stomach. “Who–“

“Me!”

“And how would you even know?” You cry out, tears pricking the corner of your eyes. You’ve never been this frustrated with your best friend, and you know why. You know why you feel so angry, so sad, so everything– which is why you’re not surprised when he looks at your with empty eyes.

“Because you like me!”

You let out a sigh, eyes shutting and hand rubbing your face, as if the friction could bring you back to reality.

“You knew?” Your voice sounds weak and small, and when you look at him, face stained with silent tears, you see the regret in his eyes. “You knew all along?”

“Y/N–“

“Just answer me, Bambam,” You ask, voice choking on a sob. “Please.”

“Yeah,” He sits down on your bed, looking down at his clasped hands in his lap. “I’ve known for a while.”

“How long is a while?”

“… a year.”

“Oh my god, I think I’m going to be sick,” You mutter to yourself, feeling your pressure crash as the adrenaline in your body fades. “Why? Why didn’t you say anything before?”

“And risk losing you? I would never!”

“But you just did!” You shout, and everything is blurry. You don’t see Bambam precisely, but you see his outline and you just want him to leave. For the first time, you want him to leave you alone. “If you told me, if you shot me down, I’d still be your friend! Goddammit Bambam, I love you! That is worth more than anything to me– you are! But this? What you did to me? I’m not sure–“

“Don’t say that,” He begs, walking to you and grabbing you by the shoulders. “You’re my best friend, Y/N– you’re my family!”

“Friends don’t do this, Bam,” You whisper, hands softly wiping his tears. “You knew, and you watched me hurt. You watched me go on dates with other men, and you watched me cry myself to sleep pretending ignorance… I don’t know what to do.”

“Don’t leave me.”

“You knew, Bam,” You repeat like a broken record, and then you take a step back; and then another, and another, until you are next to the door. “You knew, but you never really saw me, did you, Bambam? I was just the best friend that would always be waiting for you, arms wide open.”

“I saw you, Y/N,” He walks after you as you leave the room, walking to the front door. “I see you!”

“You don’t,” You don’t have the strength to shout and fight anymore; what’s done is done. “You never did.”

And you left, ignoring the man you loved the most in your life; ignoring his cries, and shouts, and pleads. This was it. It finally happened and although you’d give anything to go back in time and prevent this ridiculous fight from unfolding, you felt lighter than even as you walked out of your own apartment.

————————————

“Wait, wait, wait– he knew?!”

“I’m telling you he knew,” You nod. “And we had this huge fight and now I kicked myself out of my apartment.”

“Why were you the one to leave?” Wonpil asks sipping his beer. “It’s your apartment!”

“Because I could never, for the life of me, kick Bambam out,” You sigh. “I love him too much for that.”

“Oh wow, was not expecting that,” Wonpil mutters.

“What does it matter?” You shrug and waves to the barista, asking for another shot. “I didn’t like saying it outlaid before because I felt like if I did it would be too real and he’d know… stupid, right? He’s known all along. I feel pathetic.”

“This is the last one, Y/N,” The barista says and you look at her with a pout.

“But we’re friends!” You hug her around her waist.

“That’s exactly why,” She laughs. “You have to slow down, dear.”

“You sound like Jinyoung,” You mumble, letting go of her and downing your drink. “It’s freaky.”

“He is my boyfriend,” She chuckles and takes the cup away.

“And your boss,” You point out with a wink, feeling the alcohol getting to your head. “Kinky.”

“I’ll ask Jisung to bring you some water,” She says and goes back to her position behind the counter.

“She’s probably going to call Jinyoung,” Wonpil says looking at you with wide eyes. “Is that okay?”

You just shrug. “I texted him before and asked him to keep an eye on Bambam; so I’m not sure he’ll come over here.”

“Say that again.”

You look to where Wonpil is pointing and you see Jinyoung running to his girlfriend at the counter, and then she’s pointing at you. He’s not alone though; Jaebeom and Youngjae are with him, looking as worried if not more.

“Well, fuck me,” You whisper, ignoring the sudden need to up and leave.

“Y/N!” Youngjae shouts and runs to you, enveloping you in a tight hug. “Oh my god, we’re so sorry about what happened!”

“Are you okay?” Jaebeom’s eyes do a once-over and he nods, satisfied that you don’t look physically hurt. “What happened?”

“It’s a long story…” You sigh, and they all sit down around the small table. Your eyes find Jinyoung’s and you know he’s worried. “How’s he?”

“Jackson, Yugyeom, and Mark are with him back in his place,” Jinyoung says softly. “But how are you?”

“Angry,” You say instantly. “At myself, mostly. I shouldn’t have blown up like that, guys. I’m sorry I hurt Bambam but–“

“Right now,” Jaebeom says grabbing your hand. “Fuck Bambam. He was an idiot for doing what he did. We didn’t think he knew…”

“W-what?”

“We’re here for you, Y/N,” Youngjae smiles. “Don’t look so surprised!”

“I just thought–“

“You’re family,” Jinyoung says. “And Bambam made a mistake. He knows that now. Give him time and he’ll be back.”

You just nod, holding in tears that threatened to spill. You never knew this is how they saw you– as family. Having met them through Bambam, you really thought they’d be with him right now, but the fact that they are here, holding your hand and comforting you, makes you want to cry. They show you, again and again, how much they love you, and in the end of the night you are drunk and tired and Jaebeom is carrying you on his back to your apartment.

“Youngjae,” You call out, half mumbling, half shouting. “Tell me you didn’t leave your pregnant wife alone to come here! I will destroy you if you did!”

“She’s not alone,” He chuckles. “She’s with Jaebeom’s fiancee. They are having a girls’ night.”

“Girls’ night,” You echo. “Sounds nice. I never had one… it’s always been Bam and I.”

No one says anything, and you don’t blame them. You just fall asleep.

You think you’re dreaming when you open your eyes to see Jaebeom on the phone; and then again when you see him letting someone in. Everything is hazy from the alcohol and the sleep, but when you feel someone press their lips to your forehead and whisper in your ear, you start to doubt yourself. When you wake up, there is an envelope next to you, and on it are the words you heard last night.

“I’ve always seen you.”

————————————

You don’t open the envelope for two weeks. You stare at it, you shake it, you touch it, but you never open it. You also don’t hear from Bambam during these two weeks, and you know that whatever is in that envelope is his way of reaching out to you; you’re just not sure if you’re ready for that. The days now consist of working, viciously, until you don’t have any more work to do and you have nothing to do but think about it; about him. It was during one of those weak moments that you decidedly grabbed your camera and went out in the streets, walking to the park and taking sporadic pictures on the way. Wonpil’s words echo in your mind, you see him the way he is. The way you wish he’d see you; and you decide that this is the perfect moment to prove him wrong.

You snap what is probably hundreds of picture of strangers; it’s ridiculous the amount of pictures you had to delete later, once you see them and frown, realizing that none of them have that thing you’re looking for. And that’s when you realize that ‘that thing you’re looking for’ is Bambam.

“I have to do this sometime,” You sigh, putting your camera and computer aside. “Might as well do it now.”

Inside the envelope is a letter. And pictures. Dozens of pictures of you; selfies with half his face in the frame and focus on you, pictures of you eating, laughing, making faces. Some of them you remember, but others you aren’t even looking.

Hey you,

I know you don’t want to hear from me right now. And I’m sorry. It’s all my fault and I know. You know it, too, so don’t blame yourself like I know you’re doing. And stop frowning. I know you’re frowning– stop it!

I wish I was there to show you these in person, but I also know you are stubborn as a mule and you won’t ever open the door if I just show up, so here I am; writing a letter, like one of those books you like so much.

Y/N… Do you hate me? Did I ruin us? Because we were an ‘us.’ We’ve always been an ‘us.’ If you hate me, you should stop reading this here. If you don’t, forget that last sentence and continue. I have a lot to say, and it all start back in college, that one night. Do you remember? We went out drinking and then you woke up in my bed. Don’t worry, nothing happened. But I wished it did– for so, so long, I wished something happened that night. I was in love with you and I’m surprised you never realized it. I’m not going to say I got over you because I don’t think I ever did, or else I wouldn’t be writing this, but I do think they fluctuated. When I started dating my ex, we weren’t in love. I’m not sure I even liked her like that, but I liked her in a different way– she made me forget about you for a while. That’s why I would skip sleepover nights. It took me a while and I’m sorry for being so stupid, but I finally realized I didn’t want to forget you, and if I had to silently love you from afar I would. I know you know what I mean. You did the same.

I didn’t find out through anyone but you. You’ve shown me you love me again and again, and by then I think I spent so much time telling myself that this would never happen that I convinced myself that I didn’t love you anymore. But I did– do.

Do you believe me?

You told me you’ve always seen me; and that I never saw you. That’s wrong. I see you. I’ve always seen you. And if you don’t believe my words, then believe what you love the most– pictures. Those are just a few of many, because even though I’m not a professional like you, I still love the nostalgic feeling that those pictures carry. You taught me that pictures last forever, and I wanted ‘us’ to last forever, too. I’m just too late in realizing that maybe that wasn’t the ‘us’ I thought we were.

So please, Y/N, give me a chance. Give me a chance to show you that I see you as you are; that I see you as you see me.

Come see me, again. I won’t mess up this time.

Please.

I love you.

BB.

You are out the door before you can find your jacket and you run. You run the fifteen blocks to his apartment, knowing that if he’s still at work, you can just wait inside with his cats. People look at you in a way that would make you shrink within yourself, but right now you don’t care. You even give a guy the finger, for cussing at you. All you can think about is getting to Bambam, scolding yourself for taking two weeks to read the letter.

“He probably thinks I didn’t forgive him,” You mumble to yourself, panting like a dog once you slow down in front of his building. You fast walk into the elevator and anxiously waits until it reaches the seventh floor. “Come on, come on…”

Running to his door, you start to punch in the code but the door suddenly swings open, hitting you in the face and pushing you down to the floor.

“Ah!” You shout holding your forehead in pain.

“Y/N?” Bambam’s head pop up from behind the door, eyes wide and puffy. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry, I didn’t know–“

“Yeah, well, I didn’t really call in advance,” You joke, hand shooting up to show him the envelope your finger are holding onto. “Can I come in?”

“O-of course!” He stutters a bit, and you smile, knowing he’s nervous. “Let me help you up.”

He offers you a hand and you grab it, not letting it go even after you are inside the apartment. You hold onto to him, now, throwing the letter and pictures in the coffee table, and dragging him to the couch, where he sits silently, still in shock. As you try to let go of his hand, he tightens the grasp, pulling you to him. His arms circle your waist and he rests his forehead on your belly, hugging you closer to him.

“I love you,” You say. “But you know that.”

“Not the time,” He groans and pulls away, tears running down his face.

“Why are you crying?” You chuckle softly, grabbing his face in your hands and kneeling in front of him so that you are eye to eye. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

“What took you so long?” He frowns. “It’s been two weeks!”

“I needed time, Bambam,” You roll your eyes. “But I’m here now.”

“Yeah, you are,” He sniffles and you melt on the inside from how cute he looks. “I missed you.”

“I missed you more.”

“Impossible,” He whispers, pulling you to sit on his lap. “Look at me. I’m a mess! Can’t you see how much I missed you?”

“According to you,” You poke his nose. “I can’t see at all.”

“And according to you, I can’t see either!” He smiles and you feel a giant weight leave your body. “We are a couple of idiots.”

“We are, aren’t we?” You chuckle, hugging him and nuzzling your head on his neck. “I ran into you and we became best friends; now I ran into your door and–“

You stop yourself, not knowing exactly what will happen now.

“Now you ran into my door,” He whispers, turning his head to face you and ending much closer than expected. “And you are my girl.”

“I’ve always been your girl,” You whisper and allow him to kiss you.

It feels weird. Weirdly good, but weird nonetheless. I’m kissing my best friend, you think, scooting closer to him. And I love it. Bambam groans and pulls your by the neck, trying to get as close as possible, and you feel a shiver run down your body, and stop at the pit of your stomach. Oh.

“Babe,” He whispers, lips grazing yours.

“Hm?” You hum, wanting more of him.

“Nothing,” And he’s back to kissing you, taking over you, making you hot and bothered. “Just wanted to test it out. Feels right.”

“You feel right,” You say, pulling back just to wiggle your eyebrows.

“Don’t be weird,” He sighs, but you know he’s holding his laughter in. “Please.”

“This is all weird,” You say, moving from his lap to the couch, despite his protests. “I’m just following the concept.”

“Oh god, should I schedule an appointment with Jaebeom, now?” He jokes. “Did the door hit you too hard?”

“Fuck you,” You pout.

“You want to,” Bambam winks, partially joking. It takes you a minute to answer, but once you do, he’s already carrying you to his room.

“Yeah, I do.”

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I am so sorry for the delay loves! I hope you all enjoy this one! Bambam is such a lovely idol to write about ❤️ his personality is so strong! Let me know what you think! Likes, comments, reblogs, they all matter for us writers ❤️ thank you for the constant support loves!

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