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#since i got yelled at for missing some on a ten picture post in which i cant add anymore
goryhorroor · 2 years
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childhood → houses ii
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the-witty-pen-name · 3 years
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The Nanny Pt. 1
Lee Bodecker x Nanny!F!Reader
18+ 
Word Count: 3k
Warnings: mentions of alcohol, implied age gap (reader is in her 20s), cursing, Sandy and Carl being bad parents, 18+ content in later chapters 
Summary:
Based on this Request: The reader moves to Meade/Knockemstiff while answering an advertisement for a nanny in the paper. We learn that the ad was posted by Sandy, who has the reader watch her child whenever she and Carl leave to do their secret thing. After one of these trips, Sandy and her husband never return, so the reader is left caring for their baby. With the new investigation into these events, she meets Sandy’s brother Lee, the older, out of shape, alcoholic bachelor, and they are suddenly thrown into each others lives as he begins looking into his sister’s disappearance. Through it all, Lee starts to fall for her, and they slowly become a family.
A/N: Here is the first part of my newest series and I want to thank the anon who reached out to me with this idea! 
If I missed anything I should include as a warning that I missed please let me know!
Taglist Form is in my bio and should be updated to now to include this fic! (If for some reason it isn’t working send me a message and I’ll make sure you’re added!!)
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“Damn it, Sandy, can’t you handle that?” Carl yells from his dark room as the baby starts crying again.
“Fuck you, Carl,” Sandy shouts back, hurrying to put out her cigarette before heading to the nursery.
Their little girl was just about a year old, and neither one of them knew what they were doing. Carl was incredibly indifferent and despite her honest attempts at motherhood, Sandy’s maternal instincts never kicked in like she thought it would happen. Carl was annoyed that it cut into their time they would be on trips. They weren’t able to photograph models with the baby on the road, so he’d been itching to get back on the road.
“Is she hungry?” he shouts back, not even bothering to take his eyes off of the most recent photographs he had been developing.
“I just fed her!”
“Then why is she crying?”
“Fuck if I know,” Sandy shouts back exasperated. She scooped up the baby from her crib and started to rock her back and forth in her arms. Sandy also tried burping her, humming a little lullaby she made up on the fly… no luck. She walks around the house with the baby on her hip, trying to rock her back to sleep.
“We haven’t able to get back on the road in a year,” Carl says, clearly frustrated.
“That ain’t purely my fault,” she spits back, “Takes two to make a baby, Carl.”
“Fuck I know,” he groans, “But I need new inspiration. If I take one more picture of nature…”
“If she’s such a hindrance, pay for a damn sitter like I suggested months ago,” she counters.
“We can’t have no stranger walking around the house Sandy,” he points out.
“Just keep your damn room locked, it’s not a huge deal,” Sandy sighs. “Besides, no one is gonna snoop around if you pay ‘em enough. You damn well produce your own incriminating evidence; you should always have that room locked anyways.”
“We only have to worry about your damn brother,” Carl points out, “We hire a fucking sitter that’s two people we need to worry about.”
“You’re just to goddamn cheap to hire somebody,” Sandy states, moving back towards the nursery, the baby now snoring softly.
“You know what? Fine,” Carl says defeated. “But you’re in charge of putting the ad out and hiring somebody.”
“Thank you,” she says in a sing song tone, happy she got her way. But the moment of quiet that follows is short lived as they baby starts crying again.
“Please for the love of God can you just take care of that?” Carl yells, and the argument circles back to the beginning.
You had sat in the small dinner in the corner booth hunched over the newspaper and nursing your now cold cup of coffee. You had just arrived in Knockemstiff and were looking for work. “Any leads?” Julie asked as she topped off your coffee. Julie was your roommate. You had found her the same way you were currently looking for a job. You must have answered at least ten terrible Roommate Wanted ads until you had found Julie. The two of you now share an apartment- the top floor of a three-family owned by a sweet older couple.
“Thank you,” you say without looking up from scanning the ads. “Maybe this one?” You say pointing to one of the ads. She looks to see her manager stepped out for his smoke break before sliding in the booth across from you. You slide the paper over to her and she reads the ad out loud.
NANNY NEEDED Knockemstiff, Ohio
Couple that travels for work in need of a nanny for one-year-old daughter.
Temporary live-in position for several weeks at a time. Pay negotiable.
Call Sandy Henderson at the below number.
“I can sublet the room temporarily while you stay there,” Julie offers. “It’s a pretty vague offer,” she continues. “I wouldn’t commit until you call and speak to that Sandy woman.”
“Oh, I’m sure I’ll need to be interviewed,” you agree. “What kind of people are comfortable just leaving their baby for weeks at a time with a perfect stranger?”
“Paul is still out back I think,” she chuckles, “I’ll let you use the wall phone.”
You take a seat at one of the stools at the counter, and she dials the number for you and then passes you the receiver. You mouth a thank you and she waves her hand in dismissal as she heads over to take someone’s order.
“Whaddya want?” the woman on the other end answers abruptly.
“Oh, I’m calling about the ad in the paper regarding the nanny position. Is it still available?”
“Oh, shit. I’m so sorry, hun,” the woman says, now in a much nicer tone. “Thought it was my brother calling. Yes, it is, and we need it filled as soon as possible. When are you available?”
“For an interview?” You ask.
“Yeah,” she says mumbled, like she is dangling a cigarette from her mouth. “Can you come today?”
“Oh, wow. Yes, I can,” you reply.
“Great, um, you got a pen? Take down this address.”
About two hours, a change of clothes and a cab ride later, you were standing outside a house towards the end of town. It was a little run down, but what building in this town wasn’t? You were a little nervous of course, but it was also the most unconventional way you have gotten an interview. Part of you was relieved, because the woman on the phone sounded real, not phony, but the circumstances still made you uneasy. Julie had the address and said you’d call when you got back to the taxi dispatch.
“Welcome, welcome,” Sandy smiled, opening up the door for you. She had one hand on the doorknob and one of the cutest babies you’d ever seen in the other. “Come on in, make yourself comfortable.”
“Who is this?” you coo, leaning down to the baby’s eye level. “She’s darling.”
“This little sweetheart is Valerie,” Sandy smiles, passing the baby to you. “She’s so well-behaved. Hardly ever cries.”
“She’s adorable,” you smile, as the baby cuddles up close, resting her head on your shoulder. “I didn’t properly introduce myself on the phone. (Y/N) (Y/L/N).”
“I’m Sandy,” she introduces herself. “Please take a seat on the couch, get comfortable. I hate things that are so formal. Bleh.”
You take a seat on the couch, and readjust the little girl in your arms so she’s sitting on your lap and her back is resting against you so she is supported.
“So, my husband and I are on the road a lot, usually,” she begins, “We took some time off when we had Valerie, but we really need to start working again, you understand.”
“Of course, what do you both do?” you ask politely.
“We’re photographers,” she beams, “Mostly nature and landmarks- which reminds me! We have a darkroom in the house, but that door will be locked when you’re staying here. We don’t want any damage to any of the negatives we have stored in there you understand. Everywhere else in the house is yours to explore! And of course we gotta spare bedroom you can call your own.”
“Fair enough,” you joke.
“So, tell me about yourself, honey,” she smiles, crossing her legs in the armchair where she sat.
“Well, I just moved here a few weeks ago actually,” you begin, “I just recently finished school, and now I’m looking for work. I just got my degree in early childcare from the state college.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful,” she says with a clap of her hands. “So, you’re local?”
“Yes, I live in town.”
“Excellent! We’d also love for this to be like an on-call thing as well, you know for date nights and things like that for times when we’re home. Like for a few hours here and there. And of course, we’ll always live money for groceries or whatever you need on top of your pay for emergencies incase Valerie needs formula or diapers or anything.”
“Perfect,” you smile, surprised how well the conversation was going. Sandy was easy-going and nice to talk to. The two of you sat and talked for a little under an hour, her asking all the standard questions you anticipated. You also were able to ask her some more of your own questions as well. It was the most effortless interview you had been on easily.
“I’m sorry you weren’t able to meet Carl today,” she says when she is showing you out. “But hun, I feel confident to offer you the job. We haven’t had many applicants and you’re the most qualified one I’ve spoken to. The job is yours if you want it?”
“When can I start?” you smile, making her laugh.
“Your number is on the resume, right?” she says, scooping up the baby. You nod, waving goodbye to the baby and then saying goodbye to Sandy.
“I’ll call you when I speak to Carl, but I think once he knows he’ll want to head out as soon as we can. Plan for Sunday,” she says as you get into the cab.
Just like she had promised, you get a call from Sandy on Saturday afternoon asking you to show up the next morning at 9. You spend the day packing up your clothes and anything else you’d need for a few weeks. Sandy said they’d be back in two weeks but you pack for three just in case. Julie was also nice enough to help you. You didn’t need to do much. Ever since you had settled in Knockemstiff, you had been pretty lazy with unpacking and for once procrastination played out in your favor.
Julie insisted on taking you out to celebrate that night before starting your job tomorrow. There was a small little bar, a little shack of a place just on the outside of town you went to. Julie had a car and you drove, anticipating she’d have a lot more to drink than you. It was a hotter summer night, so you drove with the windows down and the radio playing a little louder than you normally would.
The outside was decorated with string lights of primary colors and the wooden awning looked like it was one more storm away from collapsing. But the atmosphere inside was to die for. The jukebox was playing loud dance music, and the place was crowded. Empty recycled glasses lined the walls on a high shelf as decoration along with weathered posters of anything Americana. A row of motorcycles and trucks were parked outside the little place and it looked like a pileup from how crowded the lot was. People lingered outside as well, and you both hoped you’d find seats inside.
The two of you found a high-top table and Julie made her way up to the bar, skillfully maneuvering through the crowd to grab you both some drinks. You let your eyes wandering, surveying the room and just people watching. Couples were dancing closely to the music that was rattling the jukebox, and a group of people were sitting at the bar huddles in to watch the little black and white portable television. You also noticed a group of men in uniform several tables down, local police. They weren’t paying any attention to anyone but their own conversation, except one.
He just so happened to have looked up just as your eyes landed on their table. Steel blue eyes cutting across everything and just staring right back into yours. It was a fraction of a second and his gaze was broken by Julie taking her seat across from you. You cleared your throat, and finally allowed yourself to exhale. You felt her raise an eyebrow at you but she didn’t press, just gave you a knowing smirk you brushed off. You still felt his gaze on you even if your view was now obstructed.
Sandy and Carl were in a rush when you arrived in the morning. Sandy ran you through the details of where everything was kept and told you that she would call to check in when she could when they made stopped. She helped you carry your bags in from the trunk of the taxi while Carl packed their bags in their car. He was polite enough, but you felt in your gut to just keep your distance. Sandy led you upstairs to the guest room she told you she worked to clean out for you. It was simple, a bed and a dresser with a small closet. She said it mostly had been storage and her weekend project had been clearing it out for you. It was simple, but good enough for you for sure. You thanked her and she dismissed it saying you were the one doing her a favor, making you laugh.
The whole ordeal was very hurried. Carl was rushing to get on the road as soon as possible and you could tell he was clearly irritated at how long Sandy was taking showing you around and explaining things about Valerie. Carrying the baby in your arms, you finally were settled in to your new role and Sandy gave one more big hug and a kiss on Valerie’s head before rushing down to the car. You waved to the pair of them from the small front porch, Sandy looking back and waving to the baby from the passenger seat until they were out of your line of vision.
The first day was a little daunting. New space, living in a house that isn’t yours and a baby babbling in your arms. She was a sweet thing, and she already had taken a liking to you. Heading over to her nursery, you saw that she had a little play pen folded up in the corner of the nursery and you quickly set it up in your room so you could unpack while keeping an eye on her. She babbled just happy utter nonsense to you while you navigated around the space and her big eyes just followed you, just watching you was entertaining for her for now. You were a new face and she was entertained just by that for now.
A few hours later, Valerie had settled down for a nap in the early afternoon. She was sleeping soundly in her crib and you were getting formula ready for when she woke up. It was quiet, the only noise in the house was the small sounds of your own rustling in the kitchen. You wondered when you would hear from Sandy, if it would be later tonight or in a couple of days. You just were lost in your own thoughts when you were startled by a loud knocking on the door. Instantly, Valerie began to cry. You wiped your hands quickly on the skirt of your dress before grabbing her. You rested her on your hip and rocked her gently, shushing her to calm down while you went to grab the door.
The first thing your eyes saw were the same blue eyes who was looking at you at the bar last night. The man’s eyebrows furrowed and he looked really confused. He had one hand rested on his hip and the other against the doorframe, but he stood up straight when he saw it wasn’t who he expected. Your eyes then went down to the shiny Sheriff’s Badge fixed in place on his uniform.
“Who are you?” he asks abruptly. “Where’s Sandy?”
“Sandy and Carl left this morning,” you explain, not sure if he recognizes you. “I’m their nanny.”
He laughs and shakes his head as he looks down, almost like he doesn’t believe you, or he just doesn’t believe the situation. “Carl? Carl Henderson hired a nanny?” he scoffs and you nod, holding Valerie a little closer. The little girl rubs her eyes and yawns, when her eyes flutter open, she looks at the stranger in the doorway and immediately reaches out to signal she wants to be held by him. You ignore her resistance to wanting to be in your arms until you get more information about why the Sheriff is at their doorstep, though she obviously knows him.
“I’m Sandy’s brother,” he explains, “Did she say when they were coming back?” He doesn’t try to hold the baby yet, just holds out one of his fingers and her little hand holds onto it tightly.
“Two weeks.”
“They hire a complete stranger to watch my niece and live in their house unsupervised while they drive around?” he scoffs, shaking his head again in disbelief.
“I’m more than qualified…”
“It’s not a jab at you, sweetheart,” the man tries to explain, “More so a reflection on my sister and her husband is all. They are… fairly selfish people and I wished this situation surprises me more than it does.”
“Should I tell her you came by when she calls?” you ask.
“If she calls,” the man chuckles, “Sure, let her know Lee stopped by to visit.”
“You don’t think she will?” you ask, tilting your head.
“We’ll see,” Lee shrugs, “Do I know you from somewhere?” He rests his arm back up on the doorframe and looks down to the baby again, extending out his free hand to her again and scrunching her cheeks.
“I don’t know,” you shrug, not wanting to admit you remembered seeing him last night. He purses his lips together and nods, not pressing further. He pushes off from the doorframe and puts his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket.
“Must’ve been in a dream then,” he smirks, and you feel your cheeks flush. He walks down the steps and back towards his cop car. “What did you say your name was?” he asks, turning back around.
“I didn’t,” you chuckle.
“Hmm,” he nods, and raises his eyebrows, waiting for you to fill in the blank. You tell him your name and he repeats it back to you like he’s thinking about it, trying it out to see how it sounds.
“Well,” he says, standing behind the open driver’s door, “Good luck, and I hope Sandy proves me wrong. Let me know if she calls.”
Taglist: 
@adelaide-walker @thedepressolit @samanthadegaro​ 
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peachyhan · 3 years
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happier
Genre(s): angst angst angst, sorta exes to lovers?
Requested: nope!
Pairing(s): choi yeonjun x reader
Word count: 776
Warning(s): heartbreak, it's kinda sad ngl :(
Synopsis: a month after your breakup with yeonjun, you still sat in your bed in a pile of tears while he was finding happiness with another girl. 
Taglist: @soleilsuhh @leggomylino @skz-c1ty
If you wish to be added to my taglust just send me an ask or dm!!
Note: i wrote this in like ten minutes and it’s not proofread lol.
Listen to happier by olivia rodrigo
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We broke up a month ago//Your friends aren’t mine, you know, I know
It was hard getting over a breakup. You used to think your friends were ridiculous for crying over a boy that no longer cared for them, but sitting in your bed surrounded by tissues and tubs of ice cream, you finally understood them. 
It has been only a month since your breakup for Yeonjun. It was a messy breakup. There had been too many arguments, too many nights spent crying and yelling at each other. The screaming, the yelling, the crying, the nights you slept alone, it was all too much for the two of you. 
You didn’t know how you got into this situation. You were together for two years, and there were rarely any arguments between you, you couldn’t even remember a moment where you were angry with him. 
Maybe that’s where we went wrong, you thought as you looked at the notification on your phone. Yeonjun had just posted a picture with some of his friends, Soobin and Beomgyu. You felt a sad smile grow on your face as you thought of how you once used to be in those pictures, posing happily with Yeonjun’s arms around yours as his friends stood beside you, smiles almost as big as yours. 
But they weren’t your friends. Or well, not enough to the point that they’d still be your friends now. Once you and Yeonjun called it quits, Soobin and Beomgyu disappeared from your life just like Yeonjun did. 
You’ve moved on, found someone new//One more girl who brings out the better in you 
You scrolled to Yeonjun’s last post, the sight making your heart ache even more. Yeonjun’s arms wrapped around Sua, a girl that you recognized from your college campus. You had seen her around every once in a while, but had never really had a full conversation with her. It was mostly just polite smiles and hello’s, or maybe even a compliment on the other’s outfit. Your eyes started to drift towards the caption that Yeonjun put under the picture, a sad sigh escaping your lips. 
“My better half,” you read aloud. 
You felt a wave of deja vu wash over you as you scoffed. Sua wasn’t the only girl that Yeonjun called his better half, you would know that better than anyone. You thought of all the times Yeonjun had said those exact words to you, and how hard your heart beat at the sound of it. 
I hope you’re happy but don’t be happier
You couldn’t even be angry at Sua. You were never close friends, so it’s not like she was breaking any form of girl code. She was gorgeous, and she was kind, and from what you’ve heard, she was also extremely smart. You looked at the bright smile on Yeonjun’s face, a smile that he usually reserved for you and only you. 
You felt like another piece of your heart was breaking as you looked at the way he looked at her, like she had hung up all the stars in the sky. Your heart broke a bit more at the thought that he used to look at you that way. 
You felt more tears start to form in your eyes as you thought of it that way. You had never thought of the  fact that Yeonjun could forget about you, not after being together for two years. But then you remembered that not everyone’s like you, not as sentimental, not as willing to remember than to forget. It was heartbreaking that you seemed like the only person who still cared for the other. 
Your thoughts were interrupted by the feeling of your phone vibrating, indicating that someone was calling you. You pressed the red button without even looking at the caller ID, not wanting to talk to anyone right now. Your phone started buzzing again, which at this point was only getting on your nerves. 
Without looking at the caller ID, you picked up, “hello?”
“Uh, hey,” you heard Yeonjun’s voice through your phone. “I was just wondering if you were busy right now?” 
You felt your heart race at the sound of his voice, his voice that you haven’t heard in over a month. “Don’t you have a girlfriend?” 
“Things didn’t really work out with her,” he replied sheepishly. You could almost hear Yeonjun look down at the ground in order to stop the tears forming in his eyes. The other line went silent for a moment, and you almost thought that he hung up until you heard him take a shaky breath. 
“I miss you.” 
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makeste · 3 years
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BnHA Chapter 294: A Half-Assed Escape
Previously on BnHA: Mirio was all “SURPRISE I’M BACK THANKS TO OUR RESIDENT SEVEN-YEAR-OLD WHO RECENTLY EARNED HER BACHELOR’S OF BEING A TOTAL BADASS.” Kacchan was all, “you know what, Dabi’s been trending long enough, time to remind the fandom what a real G looks like,” and he blasted his little bleeding body back into the fray and was all “FROM HERE ON OUT CALL ME DYNAMIGHT!!” Mirio was all, “AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA... oh, you’re serious,” and Kacchan was all “!!”, and so that’s the story of how my son got murdered twice in one day. Meanwhile in the Todoroki Drama Zone, Deku was all “STOP MURDERING MY FRIEND” and Dabi was all “THAT’S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS” and fandom had a whole big debate about Whether Or Not Dabi Trying To Murder Deku’s Friends And Mentors Is Any Of Deku’s Business, which went exactly how you think it went. Anyway, so then Deku yelled at Dabi, and Endeavor was all moved by his manly words and randomly went to go uppercut Machia in the chin. And, seeing as how the Momoserum finally chose that exact moment to kick in, Machia is now down for the count.
Today on BnHA: The Miriosquad handles the Nearly High End Noumus, freeing up Jeanist to jasphyxiate (okay that one doesn’t really work so well) the rest of the League. Compress is all “TIME FOR THIS MILD-MANNERED SIDE CHARACTER VILLAIN TO SHINE”, except that by “shine” what he actually means is “use his quirk to punch a literal hole right through his own ass to free himself.” The rest of the chapter is basically just a back and forth between him and Jeanist, with Jeanist trying to recapture him, and Compress repeatedly thwarting him by chopping more holes out of himself because HE’S FRESH OUT OF FUCKS, AND THE ONES AT THE STORE ARE ALL SOLD OUT, MOTHERFUCKERS. Anyway, so with Compress basically dying and all, Horikoshi is all “you know what that means”, and delivers a freshly-baked villain flashback revealing that Compress is a descendant of Harima Ouji, a.k.a. the Peerless Thief, a.k.a. some famous guy whom Gentle mentioned this one time for like two seconds back in the day. The chapter ends with Compress finally demasking himself and dumping Tomura back onto the ground, a.k.a. The Worst Possible Place For Tomura To Be. ( •﹏•)
WHY IS CRUST HERE YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD
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-- OH WAIT, SHIT. OH
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AIZAWAAAA you’re alive and receiving medical help thank GOD. HOW MANY EYES DO YOU HAVE. AND MIRKO!! HOW MANY LIMBS DO YOU HAVE, OMG
so is this Aizawa dreaming about Crust’s final moments, then?? jesus. with All Due Respect to Crust’s memory, does Aizawa not already have enough misplaced guilt on his conscience as it is?? “nope, we’re gonna keep piling it on. that’s all he is now. three limbs, an indeterminate number of eyes, sexy hair, and Guilt” well shit
motherfucker y’all really out here placing an oxygen mask on Gran Torino’s corpse. fucking shounen characters. each one comes with a lifetime warranty
DAMN YOU HORIKOSHI WHY DO YOU KEEP SHOWING THESE CLOSE-UPS OF HAWKS’S UNCONSCIOUS FACE ALL WHUMPED OUT AND EXHAUSTED. HOW MUCH MORE OF THIS ARE WE GOING TO GET. ARE YOU PLANNING ON KILLING ME WITH THE UPCOMING CONVALESCENCE ARC, BECAUSE IF SO, AT LEAST HAVE THE DECENCY TO TELL ME AHEAD OF TIME SO I CAN MAKE A WILL
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for a moment I considered going back and checking my previous recaps to count how many times I’ve already made a joke about Dabi’s fire incinerating Hawks’s wings but not touching so much as a hair on his five o’clock shadow, so that I could calculate whether or not I could possibly get away with making that same joke one more time. but then I realized I could just do it in this kind of roundabout way I’m doing right now instead. so there you have it
FFFFFFFMT LADY AND MIDNIGHT NOOOOO
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PLEASE BE ALIVE. PLEASE RESPECT THE SIGN ON THE FRONT OF THE BUILDING. THE ONE THAT SAYS “NO LADY CHARACTERS ALLOWED TO DIE”, WITH THE FINE PRINT AT THE BOTTOM “AT LEAST NOT UNTIL HORIKOSHI GIVES US LIKE TWENTY-SIX MORE OF THEM FIRST IF THAT’S THE WAY HE WANTS TO PLAY IT.” IT’S A GOOD SIGN, PLEASE RESPECT ITS WISHES!!
so anyway though, Jeanist is giving a speech about how god knows how many people all worked together to bring Machia down. and now RHA is getting in on those fabric puns too, I see. “A SINGLE STRAND MAY BE THIN BUT TOGETHER THEY FORM A STRONG ROPE” oh so you think you guys are funny eh? I’m a frayed knot
MEANWHILE EXCUSE ME BUT WHY ARE YOU FUCKING CRYING BLOOD, HOLY SHIT
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fffffff. so much for him taking over as the Number One once all this is over. so let’s just recap real quick, because Horikoshi has long since made it clear that one of his plot goals for this arc is to wipe out every single member of the Billboard Top Ten. so how we doin?
Endeavor - was just figuratively eviscerated in front of the entire nation by his homicidal zombiepunk son. also burnt half to death and possibly down a lung. will almost certainly be forced to retire after this one way or the other
Hawks - lying prettily in a medical tent. wings status: gone. hair status: still perfect
Jeanist - WELL I THOUGHT HE WAS FINE BUT APPARENTLY HE’S OUT HERE DYING, JESUS CHRIST
Edgeshot - MIA, last seen fighting Re-Destro. I really want him to have kicked RD’s ass because fuck that guy, but realistically they probably fought to a draw at best
Mirko - alive but in critical condition and missing something like 1.5 limbs
Crust - dead, currently haunting Aizawa’s traumatized dreams. now he’s gonna be triggered the rest of his life by people giving him the thumbs up, THANKS A LOT
Kamui Woods - was set on fire which is His Weakness. thoughts and prayers
Wash - last seen floating hospital patients to safety as Tomura’s wave of decay descended towards him. probably dead ffff
Old Man Samurai - haven’t seen this fucker in a hot minute, who even knows where he’s wandered off to
Ryuukyuu - currently being treated for her wounds, looked pretty bad off. but it’s hard to tell how hurt she is since most of the injuries were acquired in her transformed state. SHE BETTER GET WELL SOON
anyways, so yeah. so much for the top ten. guess that’s another reason Horikoshi brought Mirio back now, huh
so there’s a big panel of everyone fighting the Noumu while Machia lies there all “blurgh.” good riddance my dude. it took like twenty chapters and a hundred people to stop this guy so I really fucking hope he stays down. you’ve had your fun
anyway so Jeanist is sending another steel thread towards Dabi! and he’s all “just a bit more!!” fklklj this is gonna go real well isn’t it
meanwhile Mirio’s fighting a Nearly High End with all of these weird rock formations jutting out of its skin. go on and kick his ass then, Mirio
“each of these guys is probably just as strong as the Noumu from Kyuushuu” hold on I thought Ujiko or Tomura or someone said that wasn’t the case? not that Mirio would know I suppose. anyways let’s just hope he’s wrong cuz if not these kids are probably screwed
kLSDKFHLSKHGLKLK OH MY GODDDD
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IIDA FUCKING TENYA YOU’RE A PEACH. THINKS THE NAME IS OUTRAGEOUS, CHECK. USES IT ANYWAY, CHECK. “JUST BECAUSE I DON’T UNDERSTAND DOESN’T MEAN I CAN’T BE SUPPORTIVE.” WHAT A CLASS ACT
AND KACCHAN IS RESPONDING WITH AS MUCH DIGNITY AS HE CAN MUSTER
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WOW, SON. IT’S ALMOST AS THOUGH YOU HAVE A HOLE IN YOUR TORSO, OR SOMETHING!! although listen up, real talk, the fact that Kacchan of all people can’t muster the energy to yell at someone questioning his ability to kick ass is HIGHKEY troubling and we may be in need of an intervention here soon :/
now Jeanist is finally turning his attention to the League! was... was it not already on the League. omg
ACTUAL SCREAMING AHHHHHH FUCK FUCKLK LK AHHLKHKFFFF
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hey so um. what the actual fucked up hell. my soul left my body. imagine if you saw the reflection of this panel on your bedroom window. you would never sleep again
OKAY RHA TRANSLATORS ARE YOU HAVING YOURSELF A LAUGH AGAIN
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THIS CANNOT BE WHAT HE’S ACTUALLY SAYING RIGHT. BUT IT’S RIGHT IN THAT UNCANNY VALLEY OF NOT BEING QUITE SURE, THOUGH... ( ゚д゚)
(ETA: just a next-day clarification here, apparently my sleep-deprived ADHD word-skipping brain completely skipped right over the “a” in that last panel, so what I read was, “and Shigaraki’s limp noodle.” so yeah, the moral of this story is always read the speech bubble carefully before you start making running jokes throughout the rest of your post, folks.)
oh wow he’s really freaking out lmao
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to be fair though, I’d argue that Dabi has gotten pre-tty close at this point :’) thrilled for him, really I am
but anyway, well then figure something out you big dramatic robot-armed fiend. didn’t you just say you could touch your own ass? can you not just Compress yourself to break free?? does it not work on you? or would you be stuck afterwards lol
(ETA: I was picturing him compressing his entire body at once, not just chunks of it. ghhhlkh.)
um
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holy shit Jeanist. are you stupidly trying to cut off their air, or are you going for more of a sleeper hold (jleeper hold??) thing instead. the latter would be way smarter and faster and probably safer as well just saying
but unless Spinner is just being super dramatic, it sure looks like he’s fucking strangling them djslkjlk. this will certainly cement his popularity among the villain stans. good thing you’re not running for office any time soon bud
anyway so I have no idea what these guys are trying to do now. what is this
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do you even have till the count of 5 at this rate. I mean
OH MY GOODNESS
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HE’S REALLY FUCKING DOING IT!! HE’S COMPRESSING HIS BUTT!! OMFG. TOMURA HIDE YOUR NOODLE!!!
WHAT THE FUCK
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DID YOU COMPRESS A PIECE OF YOUR OWN ASS. FUCKING WHAT. PUT THIS MAN’S PICTURE IN THE DICTIONARY NEXT TO THE WORD “LOYALTY”, HOLY CRAP
HOLY SHIT COMPRESS
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“HOLY SHIT DID THAT GUY JUST PUNCH A HOLE THROUGH HIS OWN ASS IN ORDER TO SAVE HIS VILLAIN PALS. FUCK IT, HE DESERVES TO ESCAPE”
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jeez, talk about... A HALF-ASSED ESCAPE ATTEMPT :D :D :D hahaha. but real talk though, Horikoshi has clearly never tried to leap twelve feet straight up in the air multiple times in succession with only half his glutes though. everyone, I regret to inform you that this panel right here on the left may be slightly unrealistic
also where the hell is he going to go?? did you pack a jetpack away in one of those little marbles sir. and what about Dabi?? and Skeptic too, I guess, but we don’t really care about Skeptic
(ETA: at this point I had to stop reading for about two hours because I had to go out and take care of something; that’s also why this is being posted later than usual lol. anyways so where were we.)
oh my lord
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the existence of a translator’s note here implies that the earlier line about Compress being able to reach Tomura’s junk was not, in fact, ad-libbed. hmm. hmmmmmmmm
anyway so now he’s grabbing Compress again because OF COURSE HE IS, so now we’re right back to square one! except now Tomura and Spinner are secured inside of little marbles, and presumably Compress is the only one who can release them
oh nevermind he’s just maiming himself again instead, SHEESH
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Skeptic a man is dying please have some goddamn respect
so, uh. is he gonna die, though??
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I really can’t tell wtf is going on here, this is the most confusing the art has been in a while. Horikoshi put all of his spoons into that creepyass close-up panel earlier, that bastard
OMG WHAT ARE YOU SERIOUS
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DON’T FUCKING TELL ME THE “COMPRESS IS RELATED TO THIS THIEF GUY FROM OLDEN TIMES” THEORY IS ACTUALLY TRUE WHAAAAAAT. OH SHIT
so apparently Harima was a Robin Hood type guy who stole from... heroes?? wtf. are heroes the 1% in this scenario. y’all didn’t have any Fortune 500 CEOs to steal from?
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THAT’S THE BLOOD THAT FLOWS THROUGH YOU, OH SHIT. and in a related oh shit, the fact that we are getting a Compress flashback now of all times doesn’t bode super well for him. ffff
MEANWHILE THE TODOROKIS ARE STILL TODOROKI-ING
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listen here boy if you touch one freaking hair on Shouto’s candy cane head I swear to god --
WHAT DID I FUCKING SAY!!!
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SHOUTO NOOOOOO. WTF YOU’RE LITERALLY THE ONE GUY WHOSE WEAKNESS IS ABSOLUTELY NOT SUPPOSED TO BE FIRE. DABI YOU SHIT, YOU BETTER WATCH YOURSELF!! I’M PRINTING OUT A COPY OF THAT COMPRESS PANEL!!! KEEP AN EYE OUT ON THAT BEDROOM WINDOW YOU PUNK!!!
SO NOW POOR SHOUTO IS UNCONSCIOUS AND FALLING!! SOMEONE SAVE HIM!! WHO CATCHES THE CATCHER
COMPRESS LITERALLY HOW ARE YOU STILL ALIVE RIGHT NOW, WHAT IS HAPPENING
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PLEASE DON’T CALL TOMURA LEADER OF THE “PLF” YOU KNOW I CAN’T TAKE IT SERIOUSLY WHEN YOU DO THAT. ARE YOU DYING. ARE YOU JUST A FUCKING HEAD NOW WTF
(ETA: “masks are removable, makeste” you know what it’s been a long day okay lmao. or I suppose Compress is really the one who is lmao.)
GASPPPPPP
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okay. okay. looooool okay then
WHY WERE YOU COVERING THIS SEXY MOP OF HAIR UNDER THAT HOOD YOU TOOL. IT WOULD HAVE LOOKED SO GOOD WITH THE TOP HAT. I’M SO MAD AT YOU RIGHT NOW
as if it wasn’t enough for him to demask himself, he also had to get all shirtless and then do this weird attempt at a sexypose too huh
hard to say exactly how much of his torso is currently missing, but safe to say that’s proooooooobably not good. :///// fuck
on the other hand, Kacchan also has a torso hole and he’s still flying around like he just drank a dozen red bulls, so
this man lost his ass and he’s still out here monologuing like it’s the last two minutes of The Prestige. one might say he is monologuing his ass off
so he let Spinner and Tomura free, but is Dabi still trapped in his marble?? wasn’t he all on fire and stuff?? hopefully he can still turn off his quirk in there because if not that’s a pretty fucked up way to die. somewhere out there Snatch’s ghost is all “YEAH I’LL SAY.” oh how the turntables
last but not least, sooooooo. Tomura. back on the ground. that’s. um. ...shiiiiiiiit
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missymurphy1985 · 3 years
Text
The Groupie (part three)
Cillian has just turned 30, and has no children. Reader is a fan, has been since day one and is a plus size girl. I myself am a UK size 16, so I hope I don't offend anyone with my story (I'm writing about my own insecurities a little here so be kind please).
Taglist @queenshelby @margoo0 @being-worthy @peakyscillian @ntmynouis @janelongxox @elenavampire21 @noctvrnalmoth @ysmmsy @cloudofdisney @lauren-raines-x @namelesslosers @misscarolineshelby @screemqueen @cilleveryone @peaky-cillian @misselsbells06
A year had passed since that night. A year of you going through some serious soul searching. You'd become comfortable with yourself - to the point you were genuinely happy with your mind and your body, curves and all. You'd even been on dates - it surprised you when the men you'd been out with confessed they actually preferred a girl with a figure like yours.
You'd even began a university course in London, studying for a PhD in Psychology and Mental Health. You'd been to hell and back in your own kind, and made it through the other side. Now you wanted to help others achieve the same.
To help fun your course, you'd taken on work at a live jazz bar in Camden Town in the evenings and weekends. The music was always incredible, and you were allowed to wear 50s style dresses that accentuated your curves perfectly. Along with a slick new bobbed haircut and your favourite red lipstick, you relished in your new found life and emotional freedom. You had a new group of friends that you shared a flat with in Kilburn, and the regulars in the bar treated you like family. Life was perfect, a far cry from where you were just 12 months earlier. You'd also stayed off social media - and stopped following the career of the man that broke your heart.
It was one Saturday night, when your shift had not long started, when you were suddenly catapulted straight back to that morning.
"What can I get you?" You asked over the dimly lit bar. The man turned quickly without looking at you and ordered a Guinness. You froze. That voice... You'd know it anywhere... You swallowed the lump in your throat and poured his drink, carefully so as not to spill any. Praying to all that was holy that he wouldn't recognise you..
You placed it on the bar, holding a hand out as he placed a crisp £5 note in your hand, still not turning round. You handed him his change, which is when his eyes finally met yours. He did a quick double take, and you were just as quick to move onto the next customer.
You felt his eyes on you all evening and couldn't help but smile to yourself. Not that you'd ever show him that. You'd served him a couple of times through the course of the evening and was proud of yourself for not acknowledging him once.
Your shift came to an end around 10pm, and your flatmates soon joined you at the bar for a few drinks. Your best friend and flatmate Ella was due onstage any second, and as much as part of you wanted to crawl under the crowd and hide at home you couldn't miss her debut performance.
She came onstage a few minutes after you left your post behind the bar and sank into your seat in a booth with the rest of the Flat 76 crew. Your mojito in hand, you cheered with the rest of them as hour friend took to the mic and started to sing an Amy Winehouse classic.
"Y/n?" You turned at the sound of your name, and froze when those ice blue eyes made contact with yours. You ignored him, and turned your attention back to the stage. Your heart was pounding in your chest as you continued to ignore him.
"Y/n... I think Cillian Murphy is talking to you...." Your friend Stacey nudged you.
"Don't be ridiculous, Stace, he's clearly mixed me up with someone else."
"Y/n, for the love of God will you talk to me?!" His voice was louder now as he shouted across the table. Your friends looked between the two of you, stunned. You turned to face him and fought against your heart to stop yourself from bursting into tears. You stood up and walked over to him.
"I have absolutely nothing to say to you. Now leave me alone." You turned to walk away but he grabbed your wrist. Wrenching your hand back, your other hand quickly moved, slapping his cheek. A years worth of pent up anger and frustration buried deep in your damp eyes as he staggered backwards into a tall table, fortunately no one was sat on it and after a quick glance around it appeared no one had noticed either. Your friends on the other hand, saw everything and their faces wore matching open-mouthed expressions.
"What the fuck?!" He yelled, rubbing his cheek and grabbing your elbow, dragging you over to the restroom hallway. Once you were alone your emotions got the better of you.
"What's the matter? A hundred Euro not enough? Come back to see if you can double your money huh?!" You yelled at him, his face a picture of both anger and confusion.
"The fuck are you talking about? A hundred what?"
"Neve told me about your little wager Cillian - I hope you spent the money well! Tell me, what did you buy with it? New shoes? Fancy new shirt?"
"Wager? Neve? The fuck?"
"I'm not stupid Cillian - there's no way you'd be seen out in public with someone like me and that's okay!! I've come to terms with it, and I'm fine! I'm happier now than I've ever fucking been and NONE of it is down to you!!!"
"Will you stop fucking talking, and listen to me!!!" His voice loud, the Cork accent breaking through and stopping you in your tracks.
"Neve was trying to get with me from the first day of that production. Flirty comments, making excuses to be near me, it was fucking horrendous! I knew she wasn't interested in me, just wanted to boost her fucking career. I made it clear I wasn't interested immediately but she wasn't getting the message. Seeing me with you sent her fucking crazy! I never ONCE made any kind of wager about you or anyone else! I barely spoke to her by the end of the show run unless I absolutely had to!"
"You would say that wouldn't you? Irresistible Cillian Murphy, woman falling at your feet!"
"For fucks sake... You followed me for ten years. Ten years! Ever known me fuck around?"
"No..."
"One night stands?"
You shook your head.
"Scandals?"
"Well no... But..."
"But nothing!!! I'm not, nor have I ever been, THAT guy!"
You looked into his eyes.. he looked genuine. But you couldn't let yourself go back to that person you were before. That girl was weak. That girl was naive and stupid. You straightened your back and mentally reminded yourself of how far you'd come.
"What do you want from me Cillian?"
"Just you. It's always been you, y/n."
"Bullshit..." You scoffed, shaking your head.
"What do I need to do to prove it to you?"
"I can't answer that Cillian. I don't know."
"Come back to mine? We can talk properly?" You pulled back, almost laughing and shaking your head, immediately questioning his intentions.
"I'm not going anywhere with you. I'm going back to my friends and watching the rest of the show. I never want to see you again." You turned on your heels and walked back into the bar area, rejoining your friends at the table who were all staring at you. Full of questions that you'd never give the answers to. You didn't look back at him once.
All that talk, and all he was interested in was getting you back to his to use you all over again?
Not this time Cillian, not this time.
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Text
Crazy Rich Avengers
Chapter 1:
Summary: You and Peter have been dating for a little over 6 months and have not yet met the Avengers. You were getting curious as to when you would meet them, until you get an invitation from Tony Stark himself, inviting you and Peter to Wanda and Vision’s wedding in Hawaii over Spring Break. You thought that it would be nice to go and finally meet everyone, but what will you think after you’ve been tested by the team?
*Based on the movie Crazy Rich Asians, each chapter will be a different scene from the movie. There will be 15 chapters. Also includes a GIF from the movie scene at the beginning of each chapter.
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A/N: I’ve had this series planned for a little while now, and I just got this chapter done and edited and I feel really good about it. I didn’t know if anyone would want to read this until I posted about it yesterday and got some really good feedback, so thank you all who liked it and asked to be on the taglist so much! This chapter is the first scene of the movie, just some things are switched up to fit Peter and the Avengers. Just note that this one is kind of short and nothing much really happens in this chapter since it is just the beginning, but hopefully the next one is a bit juicer. 
Warnings: swearing and fluff 
Word count: 2166
Chapter 1
“Okay class, make sure to email me those presentations by Monday. I don’t want to keep reminding you guys over Spring Break because I’ve still got a life outside being a professor.” The whole class laughs at your professor’s bluntness. It kind of reminds you of your friend from high school, who would always spoke her truth, even when no one asked for it. You packed your things and waited for a clear space to exit your row. Who knew so many kids would be in a business class? Not you apparently. You were a culinary student at the Institute of Culinary Education or ICE for short. Your dream was to become a baker and own your bakery, hence the business class. This was your last class of the day, and you couldn’t wait to see your boyfriend. You two had been dating for a little over six months and it was the best six months you could ever ask for.
You exited out of the classroom, finally, and made your way towards the elevator. On the way down, you looked through your messages and saw that you had five new texts from Peter.
Peter: Hey babe! I’m out of my photography class now. (1:15)
Peter: Waiting by the couches (1:15)
Peter: I miss you (1:17)
Peter: I’m hungry. Let’s go to that pizza place for lunch. I really want some of their cannoli’s (1:20)
Peter: Y/NNN!!! WHERE ARE YOU??? (1:23)
The elevator stopped at the lobby and you walked over to Peter, who sprang out of his seat and practically ran over to you. He hugged with the force of what you assumed felt like ten tons just based on how tight he held you. You laughed at his clinginess and pushed him off of you.
“Dude my class ran like ten minutes late. What’s the matter with you?” you laugh.
He held your hand in his own and smiles at you. “Just missed you is all. Did you see my text about the cannoli’s?”
“Yeah I saw it.”
“And?” he asks hopefully.
“Aaaaaand what?” you played dumb just to see his cute pouty face.
“Can we get cannoli’s?”
“Yes, we can get a cannoli.”
“Ah! You’re the best! Cannoli’s!” he yells at an insane volume for someone who’s just walking down the street. This earns you both a weird look from the people on the sidewalk. You were about to kiss his cheek until he just took off down the street with your hand still in his. You guessed you never knew he liked cannoli’s so much. Maybe you should try out a recipe and make him some one day.
You get into the pizza restaurant and sit down across from each other and waited for the waiter to take your order. You order your drinks; Peter gets Diet Pepsi and you get a Sprite. Both of you talk about how your classes went and held each other’s hand while you talked.
“So, I’ve got to do this project for my class,” Peter began, “And my camera is at the Compound, so tomorrow I’ll be a little late getting home.”
“Okay, that’s fine. Oh! Speaking of which,” you slam your palms on the table, which makes Peter jump a little. “When am I going to meet them? I mean we’ve been dating for going on seven months now, and I still haven’t met them. And I know they know about me because I got a message from Nat telling me happy birthday two weeks ago.” You raise an eyebrow at him waiting for his answer.
“Speaking of said topic, that reminds me. We got invited to Wanda and Vision’s wedding. And it is next Friday in Hawaii, which is perfect because a) we don’t have classes because it’s Spring Break, and b) I know Hawaii is one of your bucket list places.”
Your jawed dropped for several reasons. One, it’s Wanda and Vision’s fucking wedding! You never met them, but from the way Peter talked about them, you could tell they were meant to be. You always thought that they were like what you and Peter had times one hundred.
“Are you serious? They’re having their wedding in Hawaii?”
“Yeah. They thought that since Mr. Stark – “
“What can I get you two today?” the waiter asked breathless. You didn’t even realize how busy they were.
You looked up at him, “I’ll have a slice of the cheese pizza please?”
“And I’ll have two slices of the meat lovers. And can I get three of your best cannoli’s please?” Peter smiled at the waiter as he wrote down your order.
“Alright that’ll be right out.” He walked away almost jogging to get your order in. Goodness they were slammed.
“As I was saying,” Peter continued. “Mr. Stark has one of those beach houses in Maui and so, they thought that it would be the perfect place for them to tie the knot.”
“Wow, so, we’re invited? Like we’re going to Maui and attending the wedding? And meeting everyone?” you asked now slightly worried.
“Yeah,” he drags out confused. “That’s what kind of what ‘You’re Invited’ means.”
“I know, it’s just…this will be the first time I’m meeting them and I always imagined it would be at a like Sunday dinner type of thing. Not a fucking Avengers wedding!”
“It’s okay, I know they’re gonna love you no matter what.”
You take a sip of your drink, “This is also works out for another reason because MJ has been asking us to come see her ever since she moved to Kahului.”
“All the more reason to go.”
You both get your food and Peter immediately starts on the cannoli’s that he’s been longing to eat and practically moans at the taste of them. You get the check and pay and tipped extra for your waiter, because they need to be paid way more than minimum wage. The two of you walk out and head home so you can spend the rest of the night together.
“So, when do we leave for Maui?” you ask, swinging your intertwined hands between the two of you.
“Umm, I believe on Saturday.”
Today was Thursday so that means that you only had tonight and tomorrow to pack for a whole entire week. “Shit! I have almost no clothes washed, are you kidding me?” you yell. “Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”
“I just found out this morning!” he yelled back.
“Okay, well it’s a good thing tomorrow I don’t have classes because now I have to do laundry all damn day.” You reach your shared apartment and go to change clothes and you go straight to the laundry room, faster than Peter could imagine. All of your good, cute clothes had to be air dried and so that’s what you did first. After half hour of folding, and drying, and hanging up clothes non-stop, Peter came in wrapped his arms around you.
“Baby, you’ve been here for forever, come sit down with me,” he pleaded.
“I will once I have all the clothes done, but until then,” you pat his cheek. “I can’t.”
He sighs an ‘okay’ and plants a kiss on your cheek and walks away. About twenty minutes later you had gotten all the laundry done and went to join Peter on the couch. He was watching reruns of Brooklyn 99 which was one of your favorite shows. He put his arms out and made grabby hands and you leaned into his touch. You laid your head on his chest with the rest of your body sprawled out on the couch. He put his arm around your shoulders and kissed the top of your head. You looked up and kissed his lips and sat up just a bit straighter. One of his hands went to the back of your neck and the other rubbed your thigh, and you relaxed even more into him. Your right hand carded through his hair and the other sat splayed on his peck, slightly gripping his shirt. You two stayed like this for what felt like hours, just basking in each other’s comfort. You pulled back to breathe and gave him one last kiss before going back to your original position, laying on him.
“What do you wanna watch?” He yawned.
“Well since your yawning and –“ you yawned this time. “And so am I, let’s just take a nap.”
He hummed in agreement and led you to your shared bedroom and he changed into just a pair of sweatpants. You laid down and he did shortly after. You turned, facing him as your chests were touching. You stared at him for quite a long time before you even realized that you were. His face scrunched up that was so cute you wanted to take a picture.
“What?”
“Nothing. You just look cute,” you said back.
“I love you.”
“I love you more.”
“Nope. I do,” he challenged.
“That’s impossible because I love you to Jupiter and back,” you kissed his nose, ultimately shutting it down because you were tired. School had kicked your ass this week and you hadn’t really had anytime to just lay with Peter. You scooted down a bit so, you could lay your head on his chest, your legs intertwined, as he held you against him so tight that nothing could slip in between you two.
The next morning you had woken up extra early to make some French toast for you and Peter. You got out the bread and butter and the rest of the ingredients and started cooking. Since you were the one who was in the culinary department, the silent agreement between you and Peter was that you would cook, and he would clean your mess. You tried to not make too much of a mess, because you weren’t that mean. After a couple more minutes you got breakfast done and at that exact moment you put the toast on the plate, Peter comes waddling out with his hair a mess. It was almost like it was scripted like a scene in a movie.
“I smelled French Toast,” he smiled.
“Mhm, I thought that I would be nice and cook breakfast for you this time.” You pecked his cheek and gave him the syrup.
“Eat up and get ready for a long day of packing suitcases, babe,” you winked at him.
“Oh boy.” You didn’t hear his sarcasm often, but when you did it always made you chuckle.
He went over to the couch and you followed setting up the coffee table and turning on Spongebob to watch as you ate. You turned towards him and smiled and received a kiss on the nose. Today was going to be a good day, you thought.
It was now four thirty in the evening and you and Peter were packing up all your belongings into your suitcases. “Okay so you need your swim trunks, flip flops, sunglasses, and what else?” You ask.
“Is that just for swimming?” You nodded. “Then yeah I think that’s it.” You went over to his drawer grabbing his trunks out along with your swimsuit. You had all your clothes spread out into separate piles consisting of swimwear, pajamas, nice shirts, casual shirts, and wedding attire. Peter grabbed all of his clothes and stuffed them into his suitcase and you did the same. After that you went to the bathroom to grab all extra stuff that consisted of teeth and hair products, and everything in that category. Peter went into the kitchen to the medicine and started to pack anything that might be needed for allergy’s and whatnot. You figured you would pack your purse of carry on items before you left tomorrow morning.
After two hours of packing and double checking, and once the bed was cleared, you flopped down face first and groaned. “I’m so exhausted,” you huffed.
“Aww, is my baby tired?” He asked this as he pressed feather-light kisses to your neck that always made you shudder.
“Yes,” you say as you awaited a kiss on the lips. He happily kisses you, slow and lovingly, and you feel like you could stay there for eternity. He pulls away for minute to catch his breath. “We should probably figure out what we want to do for dinner.”
“How ‘bout leftovers? There’s still some enchiladas or lemon pepper chicken in the fridge.”
“Ooooh, let’s do chicken.”
You get up from the bed to heat the chicken up in the oven. “Imma make some garlic cheesy rice too!” You shout from the kitchen.
“Sounds good, baby.”
You two make your dinner and eat in a comfortable silence, watching TV. You both decided to watch one more episode of Parks and Rec before calling it a night, and Peter figured it would be smart to go to bed early since you would both have a long day of checking flights and meeting the Avengers tomorrow; and that was tiring by itself.
Tag-List: @randomstufflol29​ @spideyspeaches​ @binnotjin​
134 notes · View notes
jaewin97 · 3 years
Text
Forever
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This year for his birthday, Jaehyun’s only wish comes true.
Words: around 1k
Fluff
AN: this is my first written post so please bear with me! I wanted to create something for my valentine baby on his special day <3. 
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   Jaehyun sighed as he finally sat inside the designated car that was supposed to drive him home. He took off his mask and reached for his phone quickly turning it on to be met with the time reading 8 pm and your smiling face staring back at him. 
He noticed he had a notification of a new message from you and he quickly unlocked it and opened it already feeling his heart rate pick up.
"hey baby, I know you're probably still filming but I wanted you to know that I spent the whole day thinking about you. I hate that I can't be with you on your birthday but know that I love you and I am always thinking of you.
your birthday gift should have arrived by the time you get home. get some rest babe I'll call you tomorrow.
happy birthday my Valentine baby ❤"
   Jaehyun felt his heart flutter as he saw your message, answering you quickly about how much he loves and misses you and thanking you for your sweet message.
His heart hurt knowing you were miles away and he couldn't see you because of the current pandemic. He missed you so much and despite calling, face timing, texting, and even sending pictures and voice recordings to each other constantly it wasn't enough. He had to have you by his side. He truly didn't realize how much you meant to him until he hadn't seen you for almost a whole year. He realized that he never again wanted to spend time away from you. 
With a tap on his shoulder he was snapped out of his thoughts as his driver informed him that they had arrived at his dorms.
   Jaehyun walked out of the elevator once he reached the 10th floor and made his way to his door quickly inputting the code and entering his dorm.
The lights were all off which he found extremely weird seeing as though it was still fairly early and his members usually were up until late at night. 
‘They probably went out to eat’, he thought as he took off his shoes and placed his backpack by the door.
As soon as he stood back up the lights flickered on and a chorus of "Happy birthday Jaehyun" and "Surprise" were heard.
To say he was startled was an understatement. All 22 of his members were standing in the middle of the living room with party hats and confetti poppers which were being aimed at him. He couldn't help but laugh as he realized his members had set up a surprise party for him.
   One by one his members went up to him and congratulated him.
"Wow you guys really caught me off guard" he laughed as he pulled away from Taeyong who was the last member to congratulate him.
"Yeah it took a while to plan and organize because everyone kept forgetting what they were in charge of," Taeyong laughed as he pulled away from the hug and turned towards the members as he spoke.
Jaehyun finally noticed that they had hung up birthday banners with his face on them and had blown up balloons and placed them all around the dorm. Seeing all the efforts his members went through he couldn't help but feel extremely touched that they did this for him.
"We even have a special gift area since there were so many presents," laughed Mark as he joined in on the conversation, quickly pointing to a corner near the living room window where Jaehyun saw all the gifts Mark was mentioning. There were different sized bags, fruit arrangements, gift baskets, and a huge box was right in the middle of everything wrapped in a bright red paper with white hearts everywhere. 
"OH which reminds me, it's time for the gifts!" Taeyong shouted as he turned to gather all the members.
"Already?" Jaehyun questioned "I just got here" he laughed as Taeyong grabbed Mark by his arm and dragged him towards the living room.
"Yeah just open them right now that way we can eat after" Kun said as he made his way to sit on an empty seat on the couch.
"Okay" Jaehyun said as he tried to make his way towards the corner of the living room where the gifts were, carefully maneuvering his way around his members who were sitting on the floor since the couch was full.
"Here I'll help pass you the gifts" Winwin spoke as he stood up from the floor and made his way to Jaehyun. 
"Open mines first!" Jungwoo screamed from somewhere on the living room floor "it's the bag with a whale on it." Jaehyun spotted the bag and opened it revealing a new hoodie.
"Ah thank you Jungwoo! I needed a new one" he smiled at the younger boy.
"Open the big box next! it was already here when we arrived I'm curious as to what's in it" Johnny said from the couch.
"Oh really? I think it must be from yn then" Jaehyun spoke feeling himself get giddy at the thought that it could be from you.
"Wow look he mentioned yn and he's already blushing" Haechan laughed 
"Shut up" Jaehyun responded earning laughs from everyone else.
He stepped closer to the box and waited for Winwin to finish moving the other gifts that were surrounding it.
"Okay open it" Winwin said as he moved to the side and pulled out his phone, earning a questioning look from Jaehyun "it's so yn can see you received it" Winwin laughed .
"Hurry on now" Doyoung encouraged with a bright smile.
Jaehyun nodded as he reached for a corner of the wrapping paper that was slightly ripped.
He ripped it off revealing the top of the box and before he could go any further the top flew open earning a startled yell from him.
"Surprise!" 
He nearly fell on the floor if it wasn't for Lucas who quickly grabbed him from behind. no way, he thought, this is a dream! he shook his head and cleaned his eyes with the back of his hands and looked back at the box only to be met with you staring back at him with the most beautiful smile he had ever seen.
"It's real" Lucas laughed, making Jaehyun realize he was speaking out loud earning laughs from all 22 members.
"Get yn out of there Jaehyun!" Yuta laughed.
Jaehyun quickly snapped out of his trance and basically pounced on you the moment he and Winwin helped you out of the box. 
You pulled away a little bit and were face to face with a teary eyed Jaehyun.
"Wh-what are you doing here?" he said as he engulfed you in his arms.
“I came to surprise you for your birthday, but why are you crying baby?” you teased him as you wiped away a tear that managed to escape and roll down his dimpled cheek.
“I’m just so happy you’re here. I missed you so much I feel like I’m dreaming” he whispered as he leaned into your touch, completely forgetting you had an audience watching. At this moment in time there was no one else there but you and him. You were the only thing he saw.
“You’re not dreaming angel, I'm here.” you smiled as you pulled your hand away and instead wrapped it around his neck pulling him closer to you and finally feeling his lips on yours. 
Jaehyun relaxed into your touch and quite literally felt like there was an explosion going on inside his body. 
“I’m never letting you go” he whispered as you two finally pulled away to catch your breath, putting his forehead against yours. “Stay with me. Please”
You pulled back and watched him with wide eyes, not quit believing what you heard.
“I mean it. Move in with me, marry me. Just please don’t leave me again:” he said staring into your eyes and grasping your hands for dear life.
“Jae-”
“I love you. All this time that I couldn’t see you I realized that I never want to go through this feeling again. I want to be with you forever. I want to wake up with you by my side and I want to do it everyday for the rest of my life.” 
At this point your tears had started running down your face. No words can explain what you are feeling or even begin to grasp what’s running through your mind. The only thing you know is that you love Jaehyun and you want to spend the rest of your life with him too. So with a watery smile you nod a yes, not trusting your voice to say anything.
Loud cheers are heard throughout the dorm as Jaehyun quickly twirls you around and kisses you passionately as he sets you down. 
When you pull away you’re met with the rest of NCT clapping, whistling and even crying.
“I can’t believe we just witnessed this” Ten cried into Johnny’s arms as the elder rubbed his back and tried to calm him down.
“Wow, our Jaehyunie is growing up” Taeyong said with teary eyes.
    The rest of the night was full of laughter about how the members helped you and almost knocked you over while getting in the box, congratulations and hugs from your new family, and loving touches and kisses between you and your forever love.
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genevievemd · 3 years
Note
It's that time again, Miss Sara! Newlyweds questions: photos edition!
Notes: Answer the following with pictures (dialogue from your characters is optional!). Collages are highly encouraged if you want to answer a question with multiple pictures because tumblr mobile only allows 10 total pics (there are 10 questions). Otherwise, tumblr on a desktop lets you add multiple pictures!
Also, don’t worry about picking pictures of your face claim (if any) to answer these! Any picture of the outfit/place, no matter who is wearing it, makes absolute sense! Have fun!
For MC
Favorite picture of Ethan at your wedding?
Favorite picture on your honeymoon (of him or otherwise)?
Favorite outfit(s) on him?
What does your home look like?
Picture of your spouse's last purchase.
For Ethan
Favorite picture of your wife at your wedding?
Favorite picture on your honeymoon (of her or otherwise)?
Favorite outfit(s) on him/her?
Picture of a dream getaway or date you would surprise her with?
Last picture she sent you.
P.S. Thank you so much for sending me some newlywed Qs for Ethan x Lilac. I am working on them and hope to post them soon!
MY FAVORITE TIME OF WEEK. You're an icon for doing these, a legend, a queen.
Also, I couldn't resist putting dialogue.
For MC:
1. Favorite picture of Ethan at your wedding?
Gen: Aside from the one of our first dance, it's the photo Henry posted of Ethan, when he was getting ready for the ceremony. I sent him this super long text about how excited I was to marry him and how much I love him, and Henry took a picture of Ethan reading it. Ethan: Because I sat there for a good ten minutes reading it over a handful of times. I had one of the many moments where I find it hard to believe that you agreed to marry me.
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2. Favorite picture on your honeymoon (of him or otherwise)?
Gen: *snickers* Ethan: It's one of the million -- Gen: Yes. It is. If you don't want me to take a million photos of you, stop being so freaking hot.
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Gen: Look at him, he's a freakin greek god. Unreal.
3. Favorite outfit(s) on him?
Ethan: I know the answer to this one. Gen: As you should. His all black suit, I don't know what it is about that freakin outfit but it makes him hotter, which seems impossible, but it does.
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4. What does your home look like?
Gen: Less like a unwelcoming dungeon of solitude since I moved in. Ethan: Did you just insult my taste? Gen: Yes. *leans over and kisses his cheek*
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(Oh Hey, it's me I'm breaking character to show you the floor plan that I envision for their/Ethan's apartment - because I'm extra)
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5. Picture of your spouse's last purchase.
Gen: He bought a boujee new office chair. Ethan: It was necessary. Gen: It was expensive. Ethan: But necessary. I spend more time in my office as chief than I do seeing patients, I needed a new chair. Gen: *whispers* also because we may have broken the last one... Ethan: *clears throat* that too.
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For Ethan
1. Favorite picture of your wife at your wedding? 
Ethan: It’s technically a photo of the two of us, but I only see her.  Gen: Such a smooth talker Ethan: I’m being honest, G. The only thing I see is your smile, how happy you are.
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2. Favorite picture on your honeymoon (of her or otherwise?)
Ethan: I don’t think I can show that one. Gen: Ethan! Ethan: It’s my favorite picture from our honeymoon! That was the question. Gen: Pick a different one. You can’t show that one. 
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Gen: Where’s that from?  Ethan: The boat tour.  Gen: Oh yeah, one of the few times we left the resort... and our room. Ethan: And you wonder why the other is my favorite. 
3. Favorite outfit(s) on him/her?
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Gen: Why? Ethan: It’s distracting.  Gen: I’m not showing anything... Ethan: Oh, trust me, that skirt is showing enough.
4. Picture of a dream getaway or date you would surprise her with?
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Ethan: St. Lucia. We almost chose it for our honeymoon, but decided to go to The Maldives instead. So her dream getaway, is St. Lucia.  Gen: Its so pretty. And tropical. 
5. Last picture she sent you.
Ethan: Can I... am I allowed? Gen: Why not. 
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Gen: During a meeting to. I got yelled at. Ethan: I was with Leland and the board! Gen: I was trying to entice you to come home sooner.  Ethan: And it worked. 
(I love this new game so much, please keep sending me things. Also I totally forgot that I sent you questions 😂)
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sineala · 3 years
Text
The gay Invaders
Hi, internet! Today I'd like to talk about one of the chronologically-first canonically-gay couples in Marvel Comics history: Brian Falsworth (the second Union Jack) and Roger Aubrey (The Destroyer). (I mean "chronological" in terms of in-universe timeline rather than RL publication date; I'm pretty sure Northstar is still the first to publication as far as unambiguously-gay Marvel heroes go.)
If you are a fan of reading or writing about Captain America being queer, you should care about Brian and Roger, because they were two of Steve's fellow Invaders in the 1940s, meaning that they are two of the people on the list of Steve's Old Gay Friends And Teammates, because, yeah, Steve sure had a lot of canonically gay friends during the war. Probably more than you'd think he would have had in the forties! (The other two are Percival Pinkerton, who's part of Nick Fury's Howling Commandos, and of course Steve's childhood friend Arnie Roth. Pinky is gay by word of Stan Lee, IIRC; Arnie was as canonically gay as DeMatteis could make him in the early 1980s, so they didn't say the word "gay" but it's really, really not subtle. Steve compares what Arnie feels for his "roommate" Michael to what Steve feels for his girlfriend Bernie. Yeah.)
I previously made a Tumblr post about Brian and Roger, rounding up some of the canonical evidence of their relationship, but that post is six years old now, and in the intervening years, Marvel has thoughtfully put the rest of the 70s Invaders run on Unlimited as well as the two Citizen V miniseries that star Roger and retcon his relationship with Brian as romantic. So I've read them now, and I've got panels.
Okay. I should probably begin by saying that Brian and Roger are not canonically gay in their first significant appearance together, which is in Invaders vol 1 #19 and #20, published in 1977. Roy Thomas does not seem to have intended them to be a couple, and they aren't canonically one in any of the original Invaders run. However, if you enjoy gay subtext, it's very nice.
This whole arc is the one that introduces Roger in modern canon. He's been brainwashed by the Nazis and the Invaders rescue him and get him back to his normal self. But in #19 we get his backstory in flashback, as related by Montgomery, Lord Falsworth (Brian's father; yes, MCU fans, the name should look familiar) and it turns out that Roger and Brian were basically best friends since childhood:
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They were the dearest of friends!
Anyway, they both ended up captured by Nazis, they presumably changed their minds about appeasement as a policy, Brian got out and joined the Invaders, then they had to rescue the brainwashed Roger, and it's a fair amount of fun in a two-issue arc.
The subtext is even more prominent in Invaders #34, in which they find out that someone going by the Destroyer (which is Roger's codename) has been doing villainous deeds, and the Invaders worry that Roger's gotten himself brainwashed again. Brian immediately insists that it can't really be Roger because he knows Roger and Roger Would Never:
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Unsurprisingly, Brian is right. It's not really Roger; Master Man is impersonating the Destroyer, and the villains have taken Roger captive, and the Invaders break him out and there is an extremely significant moment where it just so happens that Roger has to catch Brian, saving his life for a change, and they stare deeply into each other's eyes and Brian seems to be having difficulty finishing his sentences:
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Some people who read this therefore concluded that Brian and Roger were extremely gay for each other. While ordinarily this sort of shipping is mostly confined to fandom, in this particular instance, one of the people who started shipping Brian/Roger was Fabian Nicieza, and Fabian Nicieza, as you probably know, writes comics for Marvel. I think you see where this is going.
However, first I must inform you that, sadly, Brian has been canonically dead for years. Captain America vol 1 #253-254 -- the two-parter about Baron Blood in the Stern/Byrne Cap run in the 80s -- establishes that Brian died in a car accident in 1953. (This is also the run where Joseph Chapman -- a friend of Jacqueline Falsworth's son Kenneth -- becomes the third (and current) Union Jack.)
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(Roger then appears in a bunch of T-Bolts issues; I assume there's nothing interesting there on the gay front because I feel like someone would have told me. I should probably read more than three T-Bolts issues someday.)
So, anyway, in 2001, Fabian Nicieza wrote a miniseries called Citizen V and the V-Battalion. Roger, who is still superheroing as the Destroyer despite being pretty old by this point, is part of the titular V-Battalion, and he has a very prominent role in this miniseries. And in #1, we have the usual splash page of character backstory, and there's a very, um, interesting line there:
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Regarding Brian and Roger's relationship, the narration informs us: "It sounds much gayer than it probably was."
This is interesting, obviously for a couple of reasons. One is that, up to this point in canon, as far as I can tell, literally nobody thought any of this sounded the slightest bit gay at all. (Other than, I guess, Fabian Nicieza.) The other reason is that, as we soon find out, it actually was as gay as it sounds. Thanks, Fabian!
In 2002, Nicieza wrote a second miniseries, Citizen V and the V-Battalion: The Everlasting. Issue #1 opens with a flashback set in 1953; specifically, we see Brian's funeral:
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Roger is extremely sad, and when Lord Falsworth expresses his sympathy about the death of Roger's "friend" and saying that he knows how much this hurts him, Roger mutters under his breath that he doesn't have the slightest clue:
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All is revealed on the next page, when one of the other characters tries to ask Roger about superhero business and Roger snaps at him because, as he says, "I just watched my friend die in my arms."
Except "friend" isn't the word he starts to say:
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Yep. That would be "lover." So Roger nearly outs himself. So, yes, now it's absolutely canon. Hooray.
Later on in the issue, which is set in the present day, we have a couple pages of Roger staring at pictures of the two of them and continuing to be sad:
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Yeah. They were a couple.
So the question you -- being a Captain America fan -- might ask yourself is, okay, did/does Steve know about any of this? (The reason I started looking all this up was because I wanted to know if Steve knew.) I don't know if we have a panel of Roger specifically admitting any of this to Steve (and if we do, I would like to know about it), but I would be comfortable saying that Steve probably knew back then -- because, well, he seems like the kind of guy who would actually have been fine with it in the 40s, what with all his gay friends -- and also that I can't think of a reason why he wouldn't know now. Because he's definitely worked with Roger again in fairly recent comics, and also Roger is very much out, these days.
In fact, New Invaders #4 (2004) opens with Roger attending Pride:
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So, yeah, he's out.
(Then he has to fight, as far as I can tell, homophobic Nazi vampires. They're yelling slurs in German. Great.)
In All-New Invaders #10, which is from 2014 (and which is not the same series as New Invaders), Roger shows up to help out the Invaders, and in passing, he just happens to mention to another character (Joseph Chapman, the current Union Jack), that he is in fact gay:
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He and Joseph don't really like each other much; as far as I can tell, their acquaintance in New Invaders consists of Joseph being vaguely homophobic and Roger being bitter about him being Union Jack because he actually wanted to be Union Jack himself to honor Brian's memory -- you know, that thing superheroes sometimes like to do to honor their dead superhero significant others, viz. Hank when Jan was dead after Secret Invasion -- and now Union Jack is this annoying kid and not, y'know, the love of his life. This exchange from New Invaders #4 seems pretty representative of their relationship:
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Anyway, yeah, he's pretty obviously out.
Steve isn't actually present for this conversation in All-New Invaders, but he mentions in a later issue of this run that he knows what Roger and his pals have been up to, plot-wise, so I feel comfortable assuming that he's talked to Roger at some point in the previous ten years or so, and therefore, since Roger is completely out at this point in canon, there's no reason Steve shouldn't know now.
On an unrelated note, it's also a fun issue if you're a Steve/Tony fan because this is clearly running in parallel with Hickman's Avengers run, which means that he spends half a page telling Namor that he's mad at him and the rest of the Illuminati (but mostly mad at Tony because... he's just obsessed with Tony in this run, I guess?) about the mindwipe:
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This is the sum total of my knowledge about Brian and Roger. No, wait, I know one more thing, which is that Brian was a character in the late, lamented mobile game Avengers Academy, in which he was also actually gay; Roger does not seem to have been there. There's a CBR article that you can read about the whole thing, which mentions some of these details from the comics in passing. (I have no idea why it says that their relationship was alluded to in the Stern/Byrne run; unless I missed something big, the only thing those issues do is establish Brian's death. As far as I can tell, no one is gay in them.)
So, yeah, that's Brian Falsworth and Roger Aubrey, the two gay Invaders. Steve sure has a lot of gay friends.
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artzychic27 · 3 years
Text
Evillustrator Part Deux
These people have some nerve. Barging into the art classroom, his safe space, the only place in school where he can be himself without people looking at him weirdly. He can be loud and goofy and show his art without fear of being judged. But they just had to ruin it. By 'they' he means his classmates. Not the smart ones like Marinette, Alix, Rose, and Juleka. Yes, that sounded a little rude, but it was the truth! Ever since Lie-la came along with a big mouth full of lies, it's like the rest of the class had lost a good chunk of brain cells. He knows they're trying to be nice and accommodate for the 'disabled student', but they can't tell a con-artist when they see one!
Lila's been nothing but a thorn in the art club's side since she arrived, and all because they knew she was nothing but a lying, manipulative creature. So far, she's lied about Marinette doing a bunch of stuff she'd never do to her and almost got her expelled, Alix spray painting half of her wardrobe so Mylene, Sabrina, and Alya had to buy her more clothes with their money, Juleka cornering her in the bathroom and telling her to kill herself so the goth girl got detention she didn't deserve, and Rose stealing her lunch money which is how she afforded those cute new ballet flats and the other students had to buy Lila's lunch for her. Now it was Nathaniel's turn.
What has Lila said about him? She didn't really lie, but more like got on his bad side by suggesting he should find a new writer since Marc's work was "amateur", making little jabs at his art by saying loudly for the class to hear that her work has gotten many comic book artists' attention which then led to the class telling Lila that she should introduce them to Nathaniel. He said no, of course, since the artists were either dead or not real and they did not react well. They said he was rude, Lila was trying to help, and that's how he became one of the bullies of the classroom.
But then one morning, Lila told everyone that he stole her artwork. They were hesitant to believe her even despite believing Nathaniel was a bully since they knew he HATED art thieves with a passion, probably more than Marinette hated Hawkmoth. But when she showed them the hideously bright orange sketchbook with a crudely drawn cursive L on the cover in black sharpie and flipped through the pages slowly so the class could admire what Nathaniel realized was other artists' work he saw on Instagram that she was claiming as her own.
After seven long minutes, Lila finally stopped on a page that had the class immediately go off on Nathaniel when they recognized that it looked exactly like the art, the original art, on the school website. Alix and Marinette tried to defend him the best that they could, but the sausage-haired brat was a step ahead, saying that she sometimes brings her sketchbook to school and keeps it in her locker because she was always so nervous about what people would say about her art, and Nathaniel must've broken in, took a picture of the page, traced the art, and passed it off as his own. The class was torn, but they were leaning more towards Lila’s side because 'Why would Lila lie?'
Throughout the entire day, Nathaniel was forced to listen to the class asking if he was jealous of Lie-la's art being 'far better than his' (Her words), interrogating him to see if he stole anyone else's art, and they even had the gall to tell Mme. Bustier what Lila had told them. He missed his lunch and was instead tortured by Mme. Bustier lecturing HIM on why art theft is wrong, and that he needed to be the bigger person and apologize for stealing Lila's art. No matter how many times he explained to the woman that Lila lied, she just wouldn't listen! He had so much more respect for Marinette than he already did. She would go on and on about Mme. Bustier telling her to be an example and apologize when she was the one who was wronged. He was going to learn how to bake and make that girl some macarons. When she finally let him go, lunch was already over! Thank God Marc, the best boyfriend in the world saved him half of his sandwich and an apple. He did not apologize, and he had no intention of doing so.
The rest of the day was spent with his actual friends coming to his defense every five minutes when one of them would try and get him to apologize for stealing Lila's art. And when they weren't doing that, they were tracking down the people whose art was stolen by Lila when Mylene found the art Lila had traced on Instagram and Twitter. It's like they're her personal guard dogs. He wanted to knock some sense into them and go- what Lila inappropriately calls- 'feral-mode' on them; a nod to his bipolar disorder. Going against his instincts, he went to Mme. Bustier about what Lila had said about him being Bipolar, but she told him, 'Oh, but Lila doesn't understand your condition. It's your job to explain it to her.' ... He just wants Hawkmoth to come in here and have an Akuma pummel this woman.
Finally, the day was over, they were all gone, and he could now spend time with his friends and a real teacher without being yelled at or accused of being an art thief... For about seven minutes.
"Just apologize," Alya urged.
With a glare, Nathaniel yelled, "For the last. Damn. Time! I didn't steal any art!" Where was M. Haberkorn when you needed him?
"Then explain why Lila's art is in your sketchbook!" Kim demanded.
Lila sniffed, "Nath, if you're jealous of me, I could have-"
"Why the hell would I be jealous of you of all people?"
"Don't be so rude!"
"Why are you saying this stuff?"
"Lila didn't do anything to you!"
"Guys," Alix snapped her fingers to grab their attention and quiet them down, "Nathaniel loathes art thieves. Why would he steal someone else's art? And what would he have to gain from it? He's already the illustrator for one of the best damn comics in Paris, and he's won contests with some of his work." She shot the redhead a proud look before turning back to her classmates, "So do tell us. Why would Nathaniel steal another person's art?"
None of them could come up with an excuse. None of them except Lila just when the art club thought they had won, "Well, maybe he was just insecure," she ignored Nathaniel's offended look and continued, "I didn't want to say anything, but some students were looking at his art on the school website and said it seemed... Amateur compared to mine."
Marinette whispered to Juleka, "Oh, she did not just say the A-word."
Alix coughed into her fist, "Bullshit!"
Alya glared at the pinkette, "Stop ganging up on her!" She turns to Nathaniel, "And Nath, you need to stop being jealous of Lila just because some people prefer her art-"
"Will you shut up already?!" Nathaniel screamed, stunning his classmates at his outburst. "I am not jealous of Lila! I never will be jealous of her because there's nothing to be jealous over!”
Nathaniel let out a sigh. He didn't mean to yell, but they were all just so frustrating. He was telling the truth and they couldn't see it. They're choosing to believe a liar they've known only for a few months over someone they've known for years. They all knew Nathaniel was the resident class artist and not once has he stolen another person's art; it was a level he would never stoop to, not even if you paid or threatened him to.
"Dude, you need to chill," Nino calmly said.
"No, he doesn’t." Everyone turned to the source of the new voice and saw Marc standing at the doorway with his red pencil case. The art club students became relieved when they saw the writer. Marc was a reasonable, level-headed person who could find red flags easily. He'd talk some sense into them all and maybe their Lila nightmare would be over. During lunch, the art club explained to him why Nathaniel was missing, infuriating the green-eyed boy. Because of Rossi, his boyfriend was forced to miss lunch and endure a lecture by a teacher who should really consider pursuing a different career. "Nathaniel is not an art thief." He brushed past them and made his way over to his boyfriend before kissing his cheek.
"Marc, don't defend him just because he's your boyfriend," Mylene said. And in response, Marc rolled his eyes.
"Even if we weren't dating, I'd still defend him." He points to Nathaniel's sketchbook as if asking for permission to hold it. With a nod, Nathaniel hands Marc his sketchbook, and the writer flips through the pages until he stops on the page with the sketch that started this mess. On the page is a full-body sketch of Ladybug, running with her hair out of its pigtails and flowing through the breeze. It took all of Marinette's will-power to not blush when Nathaniel showed her and the others before posting it on the school's website. What she loved most was that she was not wearing a skin-tight bodysuit, but instead, she was wearing battle armor and actually had on shoes. Maybe she could ask Tikki for an upgrade on her current suit.
"Nathaniel always uses the same art style," Marc pointed out. "During lunch, I caught a look at some of the pages in Lila's sketchbook and noticed that she had about ten different art styles. The sketch she claims Nathaniel stole looks very similar to his usual style." Before Lila can defend herself, Marc continued, "And I also noticed that your line art is very dark."
Marinette realizes what her cousin is insinuating and adds, "He's right. Most line art is light so that when an artist makes a mistake, they can easily erase it." She smirks, "So, care to explain why your line art is so much darker compared to Nathaniel's?"
Lila stammered for a response, "I... We-well my wrist-" Before she could say anything else, Alya rested a hand on her shoulder and said, "You don't need to explain anything to them. We know your innocent." After nodding in agreement with Alya, the students headed out of the classroom. Alya pulled Lila out and didn't notice her smirking viciously at the art kids or Alix giving her double middle fingers.
With a sigh of exhaustion, Nathaniel sat down and rested his head on the table. "What is wrong with them?" he groaned. Rose patted his shoulder sympathetically, "It's okay, Nath."
Marinette shook her head, "I try to remind myself that it's not their fault; Lila's manipulating them, but it takes a lot to convince myself that."
Marc took the empty seat next to Nathaniel and brushed his bangs to the side so Nathaniel could see him. "Are you okay?" Nathaniel nodded and mumbled, "Thanks, Rainbow." With a smile, Marc kissed his forehead, slid Nathaniel's sketchbook toward him, and pulled out his journal, "Let's just enjoy the quiet while we still have it."
Juleka nodded as she grabbed her bass, "Yeah, maybe I'll just fake being sick tomorrow."
"Nope!" Alix exclaimed. "There's strength in numbers, Jules. If we all have to suffer, then so do you." Juleka responded by strumming a few cords on her bass.
The rest of the class, sans Chloe and Adrien, decided to spend the rest of their day, cool off from earlier, and cheer Lila up by getting some of André's ice cream. Poor Lila didn't have any money on her because she donated almost all of her cash to her favorite charity, one that helped children from lower-income families. Ivan, being a nice guy, paid for her cone and Lila promised she'd pay him back... Yeah, like that would ever happen. Five euros and all she got was plain vanilla because André couldn't see her being in a relationship with anyone.
"Girl, maybe he just messed up," Alya told her. "André is getting old."
Nino reluctantly nodded, "Yeah. Maybe that's it." He's been getting ice cream from André since he was five, and the man was never wrong. He predicted his first love by giving him cotton candy, peach, and blueberry ice cream, and his future love with tangerine, lemon, and raspberry. If André gives you vanilla, that's it. No love for you. 'But why would Lila end up without love?' he wondered. She's nice, charitable, always meeting exciting people. It confused him.
If Nino could hear what was going on through Lila's head, he'd take it all back. 'Stupid Marinette. Stupid Alix. Stupid Rose. Stupid Juleka. Stupid Marc. AND STUPID NATHANIEL! That idiot has some nerve going against me! Just wait, Kurtzberg. I'll ruin your reputation so bad that not even your freak boyfriend will look at you! With that spineless coward of a Principal on my side, I'll make sure no school will take you!' "Guys, this was sweet of you, but I just wanna go home," she said in a tone that contrasted her inner voice.
Alya smiled and pulled her in for a hug, not noticing the scowl on the Italian's face, "We understand. Maybe you can draw something to make you feel better."
'Yeah, I'll find a sucker on Instagram, make a few tweaks, and have you all eating out of the palm of my hand.' "Yeah," she sighed. "That always cheers me up. I'll see you all tomorrow!" She waved then headed off in the direction of her home. Then once she was out of view, she ran towards the school and threw her ice cream on the ground, not caring about the pigeon she just hit. She was not going to let that stupid redhead get away so easily. She already had a ton of sinister ideas going on in her head about what'd she'd do to Nathaniel the second she caught him alone and those art club brats aren't there to help him.
Once in the school, Lila waited around a corner for him. So that no one would suspect anything, she pretended to be texting on her phone. It took five minutes until finally, Nathaniel walked out of the classroom with his sketchbook in his hand. Lila's original plan was to jump him and drag him into an empty classroom so she could threaten him to comply with her or she’d drag his reputation through the mud, but Marc was with him. She couldn’t have witnesses, or this would never work. But then everything worked out in her favor. The idiot was too distracted by his boyfriend to notice her or that he dropped his sketchbook on the floor when trying to put it in his messenger bag.
She quickly picked up the sketchbook once they were gone, and darted for the locker room. She looked around to make sure no one was there and opened Nathaniel’s prized possession. She scowled at all of the drawings of Marinette with hearts around her. “Obviously has no taste,” she muttered scornfully then continued flipping through the pages full of drawings of Ladybug, and her frown worsened the more she looked. He should be drawing a REAL hero like Volpina. Then she found a few pages with drawings of that boyfriend of his.
“Disgusting,” she sneered, then immediately tore out the page with a drawing of the two boyfriends hugging. She aggressively threw the book to the floor and stomped on it with the dirt sole of her boot, tearing and crumpling a few pages and damaging the spine. She picked it back up and proceeded to tear out more pages before getting a cruel idea. She went into the girls’ bathroom, turned on the faucet, and dropped the sketchbook into the sink. A twisted smirk spread on her face as she watched the water turn an array of colors. Satisfied, she pulled it back out and turned off the water before leaving.
She wasn’t done just yet. She looked for Nathaniel’s locker, which was easy. All she had to do was open every locker until she found the one with photos of Marc taped inside. Lila gathered up the pages she tore out, crumpled them up, and threw them into the lockers along with Nathaniel’s ruined sketchbook. By the time he opened his locker tomorrow, the pages will be dry and everything he’s drawn will be unrecognizable. Slamming the locker door shut, Lila walked out of the locker room feeling proud of herself, but not before she added a little insult to injury and taped a sticky note with an insulting message onto Nathaniel’s locker door. Tomorrow morning, Nathaniel will learn what happens when you cross Lila Diabla Rossi.
Nathaniel was not having a great morning. He accidentally set his alarm clock for the wrong time last night and woke up and three in the morning. He couldn't go back to sleep so he decided to do some late-night sketching until he felt tired. The only problem was that he couldn't find his sketchbook. He wanted to tear his room apart and look for it, but he didn't want to risk waking up his mom and having her come in, wondering why he was up so early. So he waited until it was 7:00 am when his mom was up and getting ready for the day.
He looked all around his room but couldn't find his sketchbook anywhere. 'It could be worse,' he thought to himself. He lost his personal sketchbook and not the one he used for his and Marc's comic. Now that would be awful. But losing his personal sketchbook was just as bad and embarrassing. It still had some of the sketches he did of Marinette back when he had a crush on her and some fanart from animes he wasn't comfortable showing anyone except for Alix and Marc, who showed him some fanfiction that only he was allowed to read.
"Maybe I left it at school," Nathaniel told himself once it was pretty clear that his sketchbook was nowhere in his room. Taking a few breaths to calm down and assure himself that maybe someone found his sketchbook and took it to lost and found, he got ready for the day.
After getting showered and dressed, Nathaniel made his way downstairs to have breakfast with his mom. Hearing him walk into the kitchen, Aya looked away from the stove and greeted her son with a smile, “Morning, sweetie.” Despite Nathaniel smiling, she knew something was wrong. She could tell by the way he was clutching his messenger bag and darting his eyes around the room like he was looking for something. “Is everything alright?” she asked. When he didn’t answer, she asked, “Did something happen at school? Was it that Rossi girl?” Ever since Lila first lied about her son, Aya would always take some time out of her schedule to listen to him vent about the dreaded girl. And in Aya’s opinion, she sounded like a real nightmare in need of a spanking.
“Yeah, but she’s not what I’m upset about,” he answered. “I can’t find my sketchbook. The black one?”
Aya immediately turned off the stove and went to hug him. Nathaniel loved that sketchbook. His father got it for him when he was seven and used up all of his other sketchbooks. It was one of the things he had to remember him by. “Well, maybe it’s at school. I’m sure you’ll find it, sweetie.” Seeing him smile, Aya kissed his forehead and went back to making breakfast, “Now go sit down sweetie; the hash browns are almost done.”
With a nod, Nathaniel sat at the table and thought to himself over and over, ‘You’ll find it, you’ll find it, you’ll find it.’
When he arrived at school, Nathaniel only had fifteen minutes to look for his sketchbook until class starts. He rushed into the library where the lost and found box was stored and asked the librarian for access to it. He took Nathaniel into the break room where a large bin sat in the corner of the room between two shelves filled with items too large to go in the bin. Quickly, he sifted through or tossed aside anything that wasn't his sketchbook. Textbooks, jewelry, one shoe, pants, a purse, but no sketchbook. With a frustrated groan, he put the items he tossed back in the bin so the librarian wouldn't get on his case for messing up the break room. "Where is it?!" Once out of the library, he kicked a wall in frustration and continued to look around for his sketchbook.
He remembered walking out of the art classroom with it, so it wasn't in there. If it fell out of his bag, someone must’ve found it. But why didn’t they take it to the lost and found? Maybe they put it back in his locker. None of the lockers have locks, so if a student finds something that another student lost, they put it in that student’s locker. Maybe someone did that. He still had seven minutes left, so he ran down the stairs, moved through crowds of students in the courtyard, and went into the locker room.
Once at his locker, Nathaniel furrowed his brown in confusion when he saw the orange sticky note stuck to his locker door. He took it down and read it, “‘You deserve this.’”
Still confused and a little anxious by what the note meant, Nathaniel slowly opened his locker, expecting a bucket of paint to fall on top of him or a spring-loaded boxing glove to knock a couple of his teeth out… This was way worse. There at the bottom of his locker was a dingy black book with crispy pages like someone had poured water on it and left it to dry in his locker. He found a few crumpled pieces of paper and unfurled them. He felt like he needed to throw up. These were sketches of Marc, Marinette, and some rough sketches for comics. He realized that they were from his sketchbook and a look of dread spread across his face when he realized that the dried-up book in his locker was actually his sketchbook.
“No, no, no, no!” He quickly took it out and tried flipping through the pages to see if anything had been salvaged, but he could barely turn them without a piece breaking off due to the dry paper. He flipped to the back of his ruined sketchbook and immediately started crying. There was smudged writing that he could barely read, but he could make out what was written at the bottom, ‘Make something amazing, kid. -Dad’ He clutched the book close to his chest and slowly slid down his locker and sat on the floor where he silently cried to himself.
The butterflies fluttered around as the window opened and illuminated on Hawkmoth. He smirked cunningly when he felt a powerful wave of emotions coming from Francoise Dupont. The Akuma hotspot.
“Such feelings of rage, and even more of sorrow.” He beckons for a pure white butterfly to land in his open palm. “This poor, disturbed boy.” He covers the butterfly with his other hand and fills it with dark magic using the Miraculous. Hawkmoth uncovers the butterfly, now an Akuma, and it flutters out of the window. “Fly away my beautiful Akuma, and evilize that boy!”
The Akuma flew over the city and towards the school where its target was. It phased through the walls so no students or teachers would see it, and went into the locker room where Nathaniel was still crying. He lifted his head up at the sound of its wings flapping and with a yelp, he got up and ran around the room to avoid the Akuma. Soon, he was backed into a corner with no way out. He turned his head away from the Akuma and shut his eyes tight as the evil butterfly merged with his sketchbook and turned it pitch black. The glowing, purple Akuma symbol appeared over his face. Nathaniel gripped his hair as Hawkmoth spoke to him, “Welcome back, Evillustrator.”
“Stop it,” he cried. “Not now.”
Hawkmoth paid close attention to the emotions he was feeling right now. It was mainly anger from having his sketchbook destroyed, but he was also grieving. A feeling Hawkmoth knew all too well. He could see the Akumatized object in his head and saw the damage that had been done to it. As a fellow patron of the arts, he knew the importance of a sketchbook to an artist. But there was something special about this one. Perhaps someone he lost gifted it to him. He spoke, “But why not? I too understand the pain of losing a loved one. Let me help you.”
“You’re not going to help me.”
“But I will. That sketchbook must mean something to you. Don’t you wish to find the one responsible?”
"..." Nathaniel’s look of fear morphed into a scowl when he realized who could have done this, “Yes.”
Hawkmoth smiled, “I won’t stand in your way this time. As long as you bring me the Miraculous, you may use your powers however you please. Do we have a deal?”
“Yes, Hawkmoth.” Black mist bubbled up from his sketchbook and engulfed him. Seconds later, Evillustrator stood in place of Nathaniel with an upgraded outfit. His windswept hair is brighter and more vibrant, fading from orange to purple, to black. He had on a white v-neck tailcoat with four dark purple stripes and three circles colored red, yellow, and blue printed on, a black shirt that had darker cuffs with red, yellow, and blue buttons and a red swan neck collar, white gloves, purple pants, and red boots with a slight heel.
He lifted his right arm where his tablet was attached, tucked his repaired, dark purple sketchbook under his arm, and began drawing. Materializing out of thin air was a fake Nathaniel. With a smirk, Evillustrator handed the Akumatized object over to him and said, “You know what to do.” With a nod, fake Nathaniel opened the sketchbook to an empty page and pressed it to Evillustrator’s chest. Immediately, he disappeared in a flash of purple light. Nathaniel turned the book towards him and saw a sketch of Evillustrator motioning for him to leave. He closed the book and made his way to class.
Lila tried very hard to suppress a scowl when she saw the fake Nathaniel walking into the classroom with the sketchbook, she was so sure that she destroyed it. Was it all just a wonderful dream? No! She knew she destroyed that thing! But, wasn’t it black? She needed to destroy it so that redhead would learn his place. Before she could make her way to his and Marinette’s desk in the back, Mme. Bustier walked in, “Alright class, take your seats!”
‘Later,’ she thought to herself then went to her seat next to Alya.
Mme. Bustier began writing on the board, "Today, we'll- OW!" Out of nowhere, a baseball hit the side of her head, much to the shock of the class. She picked up the ball while rubbing the side of her head, "Where did this come from?"
Lila immediately shot her hand up and pointed to the back, "I bet it was Marinette!"
"I am way back here and it hit the side of her head!" She yelled, "If I had thrown that ball, it would have nailed her right in the back of the head!" The students on her side and the students on Lila's side got into a heated argument. Adrien tried to calmly tell Lila's side that Alix was right, but they just talked over him. Chloe, who didn't care, filed her nails. Mme. Bustier clapped her hands, trying to grab their attention, "Class, please!" They settled down, making her let out a breath of relief. "Now, Alix is right about the ball hitting me on the side," Alix shot Lila a victorious smirk. "We'll figure out who did this later, but let's just get to our lesson." She set the baseball down on her desk, eyeing it warily before turning back to the board.
Marinette rolled her eyes. It was way too early for Lila to be pulling this kind of crap. Also, where did that baseball come from? The windows aren't open, so it didn't come from outside. She turned to Nathaniel, intending to ask what he thought. None of the art club students really paid attention to Mme. Bustier's lessons since she rarely taught anything. And when she was teaching, Lila would steer the lesson over to an hour-long discussion about how she was related to some major historical figure. Marinette was pretty sure Vlad the Impaler and Catherine the Great weren't related.
Before she could say anything, she noticed him just staring at a page in his sketchbook. Just staring, not drawing. She couldn't see what he was looking at because he was holding the front cover of the book up. And what's even weirder was that he seemed to be nodding. When he saw her staring, he immediately closed his sketchbook and turned his attention to the front.
'Strange,' Marinette thought to herself then continued half-listening to the lesson.
Ten more minutes in, and Lila was telling a story about being the distant relative of some witch hunter from the Salem witch trials in the states. This allowed the art club kids to text each other on their group chat while everyone ate up whatever Lila said. But Marinette made a new group chat without Nathaniel.
Something's Up
Alix: Care 2 explain??
Rose: Is something wrong?
Juleka: You forgot Nathaniel.
Marinette: That's what this is about. There's something... Off about him today.
Alix: Oh, thank God! I thought I was the only one who noticed.
Rose: What's wrong with Nathaniel???
Alix: He's just all zoned out or something.
Marinette: I caught him nodding at his sketchbook.
Alix: I don't even recognize that one. All his sketchbooks usually have designs on them but that one is just solid purple. 🤔
Juleka: Now that you mention it... When everyone was arguing about the baseball, I noticed he didn't say or do anything. Just stared at his sketchbook.
Rose: That's odd.
Marinette: Maybe he's having an off day?
Alix: I did see him bump into the door frame when he walked into the classroom. So... Off day?
Juleka: Off day.
Rose: 👉🏻Off day👈🏻
Marinette: Off Day. Okay, Lila's wasted twenty minutes and we have two minutes left of class... Any weekend plans?
Rose: Family reunion! Can't wait!
Juleka: Luka and I are gonna watch a bunch of trashy high school movies from America. I'm interested in this one called The Outcasts.🍿🎥
Alix: Promised Jalil I'd do some nerd stuff with him.🤓
Marinette: Baking 🥐, sewing 🧵, typical day.
BRRRRIIIIIIING!
Marinette: And once again, we've learned nothing.
Alix: Ah, the glorious history of nothing.
Rose: My cousin majored in the Fundamentals of Nothing.
The students gathered their things and headed to their next class. As Nathaniel was packing, Mme. Bustier called out, "Nathaniel, can you stay for a minute?"
"Are you gonna be okay?" Marinette asked. At fake Nathaniel's nod, she left with the others, leaving him and Mme. Bustier alone.
The first thing she said was, "Nathaniel, I hope you apologized to Lila." When he didn't answer and just stared at her blankly, she sighed, "Nathaniel, I understand that you're upset."
"Upset doesn't even begin to describe how I feel, Caline!"
"But it's not Lila's fault," "Excuse me?!" "She just wants to make friends, and by antagonizing her," "You mean exposing an art thief?" "you'll be preventing her from doing so. Now, I expect you to apologize to Lila before the end of the day." "Or else, what, Caline?!"
The fake Nathaniel opened the sketchbook slightly, and immediately, a flaming arrow shot out of it and was dangerously close to hitting Mme. Bustier's foot. She looked at the redhead in shock before slowly backing away as he opened his sketchbook. "N-Nathaniel, wh-what are you- Aah!" The fake has pressed a blank page on her arm, and she disappeared with a scream. He turned the sketchbook towards him and there was Caline Bustier, now a pencil sketch hitting her fists against the paper and screaming to be let out. She was silenced by fake Nathaniel turning to the page with Evillustrator.
"Make sure there are none of those idiots left." With a nod, the fake shut the sketchbook and left just before the next class arrived.
Seventeen minutes in Mendelieve's class were spent learning about physics until the science teacher left once M. Damocles made an announcement over the PA system, telling the teachers to report to his office. That left Lila to take over and talk more and more about herself without the science teacher telling her to stay silent and pay attention. The art club was just minding their business in the group chat but listened closely when Lila started spewing lies about her famous artist uncle. They knew where this was going, and Alix got ready to fight tooth and nail for her friend. Finally, Lila brought up what happened yesterday, causing the students to give the fake Nathaniel wary looks or glares
"So," Kim said as he approached fake Nathaniel. "are you finally going to apologize for stealing Lila's art?"
Marinette huffed, "Guys, for the last time, Lila is lying! Nathaniel is not an art thief!"
"Well, let’s just see if that’s true," Alya said as she pulled out her phone to record and expose Nathaniel as an art thief. Before she could grab the sketchbook out of his hands, her phone was wiped away from existence. "MY PHONE! Where'd it go?!" Fake Nathaniel looked down at the sketchbook and smirked because he knew Evillustrator had something to do with that.
Alya continued to look for her phone, "It just disappeared out of thin air!" she exclaimed as she looked under the desk, believing she dropped it and didn't notice. "How does that just happen?!" As she and a few other students continued searching for her phone, Mme. Mendelieve walked back into class with a look of concern to replace her usually stoic face.
"Class, you wouldn't happen to know where Caline went, would you?" she asked. Everyone either shook their heads or said no. "Odd. No one can find her, When her next class went in, she was gone." She looks to the fake Nathaniel, "Nathaniel, you were the last to leave. Did she say she'd be going anywhere?" The fake looked like he was about to say something, but nothing came out. He instead shook his head. With a sigh, Mendelieve continued, "If she's not found or we don't hear from her in two hours, the school day will end early so the teachers can call the police to conduct an investigation." There were some scattered whispers. "I'm sure Caline is fine. Now, let's finish the lesson." The students who were helping Alya look for her phone comply and sit back down in their seats, but Alya kept searching for her phone, "Alya, sit down."
"But I can't find my phone," she said. "It just disappeared right out of my hand!"
"Miss Cesaire, you can try to look for it later," she said sternly. "But right now, we need to continue our lesson. Sit down." Alya reluctantly did so, and Mme. Mendleieve resumed what she was teaching the class before Damocles made his announcement. While she taught, Alix glanced over at the fake staring down at his sketchbook like Marinette said he was earlier. It was so weird. He was just staring and not doing anything. And how did Mme. Bustier just suddenly disappear without a trace?
Thirty minutes passed, and the students headed to lunch while Alya stayed behind to look for her phone with Nino helping her.
Fake Nathaniel managed to slip away from Marinette, Alix, Rose, and Juleka who were walking to the cafeteria as a group, something they did in case Lila tried anything, and he was now hiding in the locker room where Evillustrator was giving him instructions. “Kim often goes to the pool during lunch to practice,” he whispered. "Get him when he comes in." Right as he said this, the door was heard opening. The fake peered around the locker he was hiding behind and saw the athlete walking in and going to his locker. No witnesses were around. He opened the sketchbook to a blank page and sneaked over towards the athlete as he was pulling his gym bag out of his locker with some struggle.
When Kim finally managed to pull his bag out, it slipped out of his hands. The force he used flung the bag behind him, and it hit the sketchbook, making it disappear. Kim looked around to see where his bag went but only saw the fake, who shut the sketchbook before Kim could see what was on the pages. "O-oh. Hey, Nath." When he didn't answer, Kim sighed. "Silent treatment. Deserved that; I get it. Look, man I-I don't want to believe you stole Lila's art, but uh... I mean, why would Lila lie?"
"Because she's evil! Get him, now!"
"Still upset with me, huh?" He chuckled when the fake still didn't say anything.
"You have three seconds. Three."
"Again, I wanna believe you didn't do it."
"Two."
"But you and the girls have been kinda... Antagonizing her a bit?"
"One!"
The fake immediately clutched his left hand like he was in pain, getting Kim concerned. "Nath, what's wrong?!" He uncovered the fake's hand and was repulsed to find that his fingers were starting to vanish. "Oh my God!" Before he could say or do more, the fake mouthed, 'I'm sorry'. Then he opened the sketchbook and pressed the blank page to Kim's face. He disappeared with a scream. Fake Nathaniel dropped the sketchbook in favor of clutching his fingerless hand. The akumatized object was opened to the page with Evillustrator's angry glare, "Hesitate next time, and I'll erase your arm!”
The fake nodded frantically before letting out a sigh as Evillustrator drew on his tablet, making his fingers reappear. As he headed to the door, he heard a slight shuffling sound and turned around to see Myléne standing right outside the girls’ bathroom with her mouth agape.
”N-Nathaniel?” Myléne stammered as she began to slowly back away.
Fake Nathaniel approached her with the sketchbook opened to a blank page. Another silent ‘Sorry’, and Myléne was gone and trapped in the sketchbook. He flipped the pages back to Evillustrator, “Better. Now don’t stop until you have Rossi and those assholes!” The fake didn't want to do this, but he had to; it was how he was drawn. He was made to be a pawn in his creator's revenge plot, but he didn't want to do that. Evillustrator gave him the same personality he had pre-Akumatization, so this just felt wrong to him, but he couldn't go against his commands.
When fake Nathaniel nodded, Evillustrator arched an eyebrow and asked, "Can you speak?" He opened his mouth and tried to say something, but nothing came out. He shook his head. Evillustrator started drawing on his tablet, "Hold still." Fake Nathaniel's throat glowed a bright purple before dimming. "Say something."
"S... So... Some... Ting. S-something?"
"So glad I caught that. Now go!" Immediately, the fake put the sketchbook back into his messenger bag and left.
“Hey, Nath,” Marc greeted the fake as he sat down at their lunch table.
Fake Nathaniel smiled. He had his real counterpart's personality and all of his memories, so he knew exactly how to act and what to say (Now that he had a voice). “Hey, Rainbow.” He kisses Marc’s cheek and ignores the stinging sensation he’s feeling in his hand as one of his fingers is being erased. Evillustrator made him and can easily destroy him if he does something he doesn’t like. Apparently, kissing Marc is one of them.
”So, where were you?” Alix asked as she popped a grape in her mouth.
“Oh, I-I remembered that I left my locker open, and went to close it,” he fibbed.
“No point in that, Nath,” she shrugged. “Anyone can just go in and take whatever’s in a locker."
Marinette nodded in agreement, remembering her expulsion, then asked, “So, what do you guys think happened to Mme. Bustier? She couldn’t have suddenly disappeared; we all just saw her.”
Alix leaned back in her seat, uncaring, “Does it really matter? I think we could all use a break from her.” Juleka nodded, “Maybe Mendeleiev will be our substitute and actually put Lila in her place.”
”One can dream,” Rose sighed as she leaned on Juleka, making the goth girl wrap her arm around the blonde.
Juleka looked around the room. She furrowed her brow then asked, “That’s weird. Kim and Mylène aren’t here.”
”Well, Kim probably went to the pool,” Alix said as she looked for the activist. “But where’s Myléne?”
”Maybe she-“ Before Marc could finish what he was about to say, the doors slammed against the wall as Alya stormed in with Nino trailing close behind.
”Nino, a phone doesn’t just disappear like that!” she exclaimed. “There’s probably an Akuma around here!” Immediately, the cafeteria broke out into whispers about if Alya was right about the Akuma. “And Mme. Bustier suddenly disappearing? Explain that. She wouldn’t just ditch her job like that.”
”Tell it to the person doing most of her work,” Marinette muttered, making the students at the table laugh. Mme. Bustier would always force Marinette to do her work for her and say that they’re the duties of the class representative when really, the woman is just lazy to do the work herself. And when Marinette refuses, Bustier will use the ‘I’m disappointed in you’ voice until Marinette complied.
”You think this is funny?!” Lila whined. “Mme. Bustier and Myléne are missing, and it’s probably because there’s probably an Akuma loose in the school!”
Alix groaned, “Mind your own business, Rossi!” A couple of the students that were on Marinette’s side snickered. “And it’s called making light of a situation. Less negativity, fewer Akumas. You're welcome.”
”Why are you guys always so rude to me?” Alya asked before pointing to Marinette, “First you let your jealousy cloud your judgment,” then to Juleka, “you’re always telling Lila to kill herself,” Alix, “you ruined her clothes,” Rose, “you stole her money,” then Nathaniel, “and you plagiarized her art because you’re jealous of her, too! Why do you guys hate her so much?”
”Because she’s a liar,” Marc murmured. "Simple as that."
“I’m not!” Lila yelled with fake tears in her eyes that masked the glare she was sending the boy. “Why does no one believe me?!” Sabrina went to console her.
”We believe you, girl,” Alya reassured. “And we’re gonna prove you’re innocent...” Her eyes trailed to Nathaniel’s messenger bag, “Starting by proving Nathaniel did steal your art!”
Before the fake artist could react, Alya already had his messenger bag in her hands and now the akumatized sketchbook. “Lila, get your sketchbook, we’re gonna...” Her voice trailed off when she saw the moving sketches of Mme. Bustier, Kim, and Mylène, begging to be freed. The other students gathered around Alya and looked in horror at students and teacher trapped in the sketchbook.
Max pointed at the fake, “You-you’re the Akuma!”
With a sneer, he snatched the sketchbook out of Alya’s hands and pressed a blank page to Max’s face. He disappeared and was now trapped inside the sketchbook, alarming the students.
“Th-the sketchbook’s g-gotta be an Amok,” Nino stammered as he pulled Alya away from the fake. “H-he doesn’t even look like an Akuma!”
“There’s no Amok, and I’m not the Akuma.” He flips to the page with Evillustrator. “He is.” As the students stood in shock, the fake tore out the page, and it glowed a bright purple before morphing into Evillustrator, glaring menacingly at the Akuma Class.
”N-Nath?” Marc stammered as he cautiously approached his Akumatized boyfriend.
“Then who’s he?!” Alix grabbed the fake's wrist to prevent him from running and glared at him.
Evillustrator scoffed. ”He's not important.” Then, much to the fake's horror, he put the eraser to his tablet.
”No! Wait!” The fake cried as he was erased from existence, horrifying the students, Marc especially. The sketchbook dropped to the floor with a thud.
“H-how did-“
”Ask her!” He points a shaky finger at the Italian girl. “You,” he draws a lock on his tablet, “will not get away with what you did!” A couple of students, Marinette being one of them, managed to escape the cafeteria right before Multiple locks appeared on the doors, making it impossible for the others to get out unless they were crazy enough to jump out of the window.
”I-I didn’t do anything!” She lied while rubbing her eyes to look like she’s crying again. “Why are you trying to hurt me, Nathaniel?!”
”It’s Evillustrator, now!” He drew a missile on his tablet, and that same missile appeared next to him. The students ran for the doors and tried to pull the locks off, but they were too strong. “NO ONE LEAVES UNTIL SHE’S GONE!” He points his pen towards Lila, and the missile goes after her as she runs around the cafeteria screaming for help. Seeing that they weren't going to get out of this, the remaining students ducked under tables and chairs.
Ismael and Ivan ran towards Evillustrator to try and grab the pen, remembering how that was the Akumatized object last time Nathaniel was Akumatized. Quickly, he jumped out of the way, causing the two boys to collide and fall to the floor, groaning in pain. Evillustrator grabs the sketchbook off the floor and pressed a blank page on them, making the two boys disappear into the sketchbook.
Seeing that the missile was getting closer to her, Sabrina quickly got up from under a table and tackled Lila to the floor before the missile could hit her. It instead crashed into a wall, creating a massive hole that allowed the students to escape. The art club students stayed behind, though, hoping that they could calm their akumatized friend down. Evillustrator was about to run after them, but Akux grabbed his wrist.
”Nath, wait!” she pleaded while trying to not look like she’s afraid of the enraged Akuma that used to be her best friend. “Let’s just talk about this, okay? What did Lila do to you?”
Evillustrator’s glare softened as he looked into Alix's eyes. He needed to get his revenge on Lila but she was keeping him from doing that... “Forgive me, Alix.”
”What?”
Before Alix knew it, she was trapped in the sketchbook, shocking the remaining members of the art club. Marc was about to approach him, but Evillustrator held his sketchbook close to his face, making the writer back away. “Don’t make me do something I will regret, Rainbow,” he warned then ran out of the cafeteria.
Many of the students took refuge in the locker room, their main place to hide during Akuma attacks in the school. They begged Damocles for months to actually build some sort of Akuma safety shelter in the school, but it was always the same thing, 'There's not enough money in the budget.' Well, there certainly was enough for him to create a secret compartment hidden behind the wall for his Owl stuff. Thinking about how much of the money they made during fundraisers being spent by him to create those toy weapons often gave the students horrible headaches.
The students flinched when they heard Evillustrator's booming voice from the second floor of the school, “WHERE ARE YOU LILA?!” A few brave students looked out the window and saw Evillustrator erasing the walls to every classroom he passed by. “YOU’RE WEAK, YOU KNOW THAT?!” He erases the door to a storage closet, revealing two very scared students cowering at the sight of him. The students not targeted by him couldn't help but feel sorry for the Akuma. Whatever Lila did must have been awful to make Nathaniel this upset.
With a frustrated yell, Evillustrator got the two students with his sketchbook. Once they were gone, he jumped down from the second floor and into the courtyard, making the students get away from the window, hoping he didn't see them. Jean Duparc looked around to make sure everyone was safe or not doing anything to attract the Akuma. A few were nervously biting their nails or twirling their hair, others were texting their parents, and next to him, Aurore and Mireille were updating their blog, 'BugOut & CatChat'. Instead of recording Akuma battles like Alya with the Ladybug, they analyzed the akumas and gave descriptions of their powers, let the public know of the Akuma's location so they could avoid it and so Ladybug and Chat Noir couldn't find it. And just for laughs, they critiqued Hawkmoth's fashion choices for Akumas. So far, there was nothing about Evillustrator's new outfit that needed critiquing. He bumped Trouble Maker down to 2nd place on the 'Best Dressed Akuma' list.
“Come out now, or so help me, I will-!” He stepped to the side when Ladybug’s YoYo flew right past him and retracted back to the spotted heroine standing at the top of the stairs. “You’ll have to be quicker than that, you pest!”
Chat Noir dropped in next to Ladybug, “Well, what’s got him so steamed up?”
“Lila,” she groaned, making Chat roll his eyes in annoyance at the mention of the liar. He's given that girl enough chances, as Chat and as Adrien. He was done. ”Let’s get this over with.”
The two heroes ran towards Evillustrator and were already dodging giant boxing gloves, buzz saws, and pitchforks drawn by him. Ladybug threw her yoyo, which he ducked under then drew something on his tablet. A hole that Ladybug would’ve fallen into if Chat Noir hadn’t grabbed her hand in time appeared under her feet.
Evillustrator drew two more buzz saws and sent them at the heroes. Chat Noir quickly got in front of Ladybug and spun his staff, making it act like a shield that deflected the saws. One sliced through the middle of a bench, revealing Lila. He smirked, "FOUND YOU!" He threw his sketchbook at Lila, but she ran out of the way and it hit one half of the bench before coming back to him like a boomerang. Evillustrator continues throwing his sketchbook at the liar while also drawing projectiles whenever the sketchbook was out of his hands. The first round of projectiles was easily deflected by Ladybug and Chat Noir, but there were just too many on their second round. One of them gets one of Ladybug's pigtails, cutting off a few inches and making her hair look weird. Another one nicked Chat on the ankle. He whispered a curse and clutched his ankle.
With Chat Noir subdued, Ladybug had to protect both of them and deflect the rest of the projectiles while Evillustrator went after Lila. As he chased her up the stairs, Evillustrator drew a couple of darts that pinned Lila to a wall by embedding them through her clothes. As she struggled to get free, Evillustrator calmly approached her while drawing on his tablet. "Don't look so afraid Lila. You had this coming after what you did."
"I didn't do anything!" she screamed. "It's not my fault that people like my art better than your-" She's silenced by a cleaver appearing in Evillustrator's hands.
He chuckled darkly, "I am going to enjoy this." After aiming for her head, he threw the cleaver. Lila turned her head away, believing that the cleaver hitting the side of her head would be less painful than it hitting her face. She waited, but the cleaver never came, and there was a 'clank' sound. Lila opened an eye and saw that Chat Noir, being supported by Ladybug, had deflected the cleaver with his staff.
"Took you long enough!" she complained. "Get me down from here!"
Ladybug took a deep breath as she assessed the situation. She could either be a hero and save Lila, or still be a hero and rid the world of Lila... 'Fine!' She made her way over to the sausage-haired girl and slowly took out the darts, and was clearly trying to keep herself from stabbing Lila with the very sharp ends. Once the last dart was removed, Lila pushed Ladybug into Chat, making him stumble a bit and lose his composure before making a run for it.
"WHAT THE HELL?!" Evillustrator yelled, enraged. He grabbed Chat's staff while the leather-clad hero was still gripping it, and flung him over the railing, making him fall and crash onto the hard courtyard floor.
"Chat!" Ladybug called out. Angered, she threw her yoyo at the Akuma, but he caught it and opened his sketchbook, much to Ladybug's horror. Before the weapon could make contact with the page, Chat's staff extended and the end hit the side of Evillustrator's face. He fell to the floor and clenched his jaw. With him down, Ladybug ran for the sketchbook, only for a glass wall to appear between her, the Akumatized object, and Evillustrator. He drew something else on his tablet, and multiple swords appeared, all pointed at Ladybug.
"Stay out of my way!" He growled. Ladybug swung all around the courtyard as the swords chased after her. Seeing that there were still some students around, she led the swords into an empty classroom and proceeded to dodge them there. Seeing Chat Noir about to vault over to him, Evillustrator drew a giant boxing glove that knocked Chat down to the floor. He was in the middle of drawing an anvil when suddenly, a gloved hand grabbed his wrist. He looked up to see who had the nerve to stop him, but his anger diminished when he saw that it was Marc. "Rainbow, what are you doing?"
"Nath, you gotta stop!" Marc pleaded as he intertwined his and Evillustrator's hands.
"You don't know what she did, Marc!" He exclaimed. "You weren't there! Now let me go!" He tried to pull his hand out of Marc's grasp, but the writer wasn't letting go. 'Rossi's getting away! I can't let her get away with this!' With some reluctance, Evillustrator raised his sketchbook and tried hard to ignore the sad look in Marc's eyes. Just as he was about to press the page to his chest, Marc was pushed to the side, and the page instead was pressed to Rose's face, making her disappear into the sketchbook.
"ROSE!" Juleka and Marc cried out.
Evillustrator hit his fist on the metal railing in anger, "DAMN IT! SEE WHAT ROSSI'S MAKING ME DO?!" Hurridly, he drew a jetpack that appeared on his back. He pointed to Chat, "If you or Ladybug get in my way again, I WILL ERASE YOU BOTH FROM EXISTENCE!" Before he took off, he noticed Alya peering from around a corner. She was recording the fight using Nino's phone. When she noticed his eyes on her, she quickly made a run for it, but Evillustrator was faster. He hoisted the journalist over his shoulder.
"You're coming with me!" he yelled. "I want you to be there when Lila finally gets what's coming to her!"
"Wh-what are you- AH!"
Evillustrator flew out of the school just as Ladybug ran out of the classroom with her pigtails missing a couple of inches, one side strand missing, and some cuts on her face. She knew Evillustrator was a dangerous Akuma. He nearly drowned her and Chat and almost killed Chloe with a buzzsaw, but this was next level brutal. Hearing a groan, she looked and saw Chat Noir slowly climbing up the stairs with a slight limp. "Chat, are you okay?"
He shook his head, "No, m'lady. He got my ankle bad."
"Ladybug, Chat Noir!" Nino called out as he and Sabrina approached the two in-pain heroes. "Are you two okay?"
Ladybug gave a nod, "Yeah, we're fine. And don't worry Nino, we'll get Alya back."
Nino let out a breath of relief before Sabrina said to Ladybug, "Hey, after you were helping Lila down, I-I saw her push you. A-and before that, she sounded so rude when you were trying to help her." Ladybug frowned at that. She's saved that girl's butt so many times, and not once has she shown any gratitude. "Are you two having a fight, or-"
"No. We're not."
"Then why-"
Chat cut Nino off, "They're not friends, okay? Never have been, never will be."
"... Lila was lying?" Sabrina whispered to herself.
"And the sun sets in the west," Juleka muttered, making Marc give her a little nudge with his elbow.
The two bespectacled students cast each other looks of disbelief. Lila was lying about being friends with Ladybug, and she pushed the heroine into Chat, knowing he was injured and trying to fight Evillustrator. If she lied about that, what else could she have lied about? Pulling them out of their thoughts was Aurore and Mireille running over to Ladybug and Chat Noir with their phones.
"Ladybug! Chat Noir!" Mireille called out. "Alya's live-streaming right now." She hands the spotted heroine her phone, and the screen showed a live stream of the Ladyblog. Alya was in an odd position with a look of clear terror on her face that she was trying to mask with a brave smile. "He-hey, viewers! So, I am..." She looks down, and her eyes bulge before she looks back at the camera, "About a hundred feet above the ground right now, and I have nothing to hold onto! B-but don't worry. I mean, I'm slung over an Akuma's shoulder like a sack of flour, but at least he's not handsy like Pharaoh." She panned the phone to Evillustrator. "Care to comment?"
Evillustrator looks to the phone with an enraged look. "Lila Rossi, if you're watching this, I will find you! Be sure of it! And I might consider letting you live if Ladybug and Chat Noir hand over their Miraculous!"
Marc felt a tear about to escape out of the corner of his eye. What did Lila do to Nathaniel?
Alya panned the phone back to her horrified face. The fear of falling from a great height didn't phase her anymore. Now she was scared of the possibility of seeing an Akuma murder someone. Finally, much to her relief, they landed on a balcony.
"Wh-what are you doing here?!" A woman yelled.
Ladybug paused the video, "Thanks, you guys." She turns to Chat, "You gonna be okay?"
Chat gives her a thumbs up, "I'll be fine." He extends his baton, ready to vault out of the school. "Let's go!"
The two heroes swing and vault out of the school and head over to where Evillustrator is, leaving Lila's former followers to awkwardly stand with her haters.
"... We tried to tell you," Marc told Nino and Sabrina after a long, uncomfortable silence.
"Evillustrator, this is going too far! Let her go!"
Evillustrator glared at the Italian woman tied up and gagged on a couch. Floating over her were about ten daggers, all of the blades sharpened to a deadly point. "Yes, spare the mother of a demon spawn," he said sarcastically. "You said that you'd stay out of my way!" He turns to Alya, who's trying to inch out of the room. "Don't. Go. Anywhere. And keep rolling! Let's see if Lila Rossi is all she claims to be."
Mme. Rossi lets out a loud muffled response. The Akuma approaches her and rips the duct tape off of her mouth, making her let out a pained yell. "What are you talking about?! What does this have to do my daughter?!"
Evillustrator gives the woman a pitiful look. It's sad how this woman doesn't know what her daughter has been up to. Well, now she'll know.
"MAMA!"
"Perfect timing," Evillustrator smirked as Lila ran up the stairs and into the living room.
"Mama, don't listen to him! He's an Akuma, and he's trying to hurt me!"
Evillustrator chuckled, "Well, that's not the whole story, is it?" He turns to Alya, still recording, "Paris, let's see how committed to her lies, Lila is. Would she put her own mother in danger just to avoid the consequences?" He approaches the scared and very confused woman. "Irene Rossi, your daughter has been claiming many things recently. Confirm a few things for me, okay?" Irene nods frantically. "Great. And if Lila tries to save face, then... I'm so sorry she's your daughter." He draws a ball and chain something on his tablet. That same one appears around Lila's ankle, preventing her from escaping. "Now, Irene. Tell us, have you ever met Prince Ali?"
Irene furrowed her brow in confusion. 'What is he talking about?' She shook her head, no. "What are you-"
"He's trying to make me look bad, mama!" Lila wailed. "Please, don't answer whatever he asks! It's a trick!"
"Damn, Lila," Evillustrator whispered. "I thought you loved your mother." He pointed to one of the daggers, and at his command, it dropped down, dangerously close to hitting Irene's shoulder and embedding itself into the couch cushion. All three women and everyone watching the Ladyblog Livestream let out horrified gasps. "This is what happens when you lie," he taunted. "So, you've never met Prince Ali? So, that would mean Lila's never worked on Go Green charities with him."
"What?!" Irene shrieked. "Prince Ali doesn't even work with Go Grene charities! He's devoted his time to helping children! Lila, what have you been telling people?"
Before the brunette has a chance to speak, Evillustrator interrupts, "Next question. Are you the descendant of a fox hero named Volpina?" Alya's jaw dropped at that question. "Did anyone in the family ever pass along a necklace with a fox-tail pendant down to Lila?"
Irene shook her head, "No! No one hasn't!" She glares at Lila, "The only family heirloom passed down is a wedding veil with the brides' names stitched on!"
"M-maybe you just didn't know about it!" Lila lied, much to Irene and Alya's shock. They saw what happened when she lied, and she's still trying to save herself. "Nonna passed the necklace down to me because she-"
"LIES!" Another dagger came very close to hitting Irene's foot. She managed to move it out of the way at the last second. "So shameful. Letting your mother face the consequences for your lies? Is there no level you won't stoop to, Lila?" When she didn't answer and instead glared at him, he asked Irene the next question, "Why wasn't Lila in school for what was it?... Three months?”
“I was told that school was closed due to an Akuma outbreak and that Ladybug and Chat Noir were too incompetent to stop them.”
”By Lila?”
”...” She nodded, ashamed, “Yes.”
Evillustrator smirked, “Well, while your daughter was relaxing at home, she’s been telling everyone that she was really in Achu with Prince Ali.” He adds, “And it takes Ladybug and Chat Noir about three hours to defeat an Akuma, so they’re not incompetent like your daughter says they are.”
Irene hung her head. How could her own flesh and blood be so deceitful? And how could she risk the life of her own mother like this?
”Aw, that’s so sweet!” Chat exclaimed as he and Ladybug landed on the balcony and made their way inside.
”Nathaniel, you’ve already exposed Lila,” Ladybug tried to reason. “Just hand over your Akuma so no one else gets hurt!”
”My name is Evillustrator!” he growled. “And that wasn’t even half the lies she’s told!” He turns to Irene, who’s gone pale learning that Lila's told more lies. “You thought those were bad? Just wait until you see what else she’s hiding.” He draws a gas mask that appears over his face and a smoke bomb that releases purple smoke all around the living room. There are some scattered coughs that decrease as the smoke clears up due to Ladybug and Chat Noir spinning their weapons. They act like fans and blow the smoke out of the window. When the room clears up, Evillustrator, Lila, and Alya are gone, but Irene still remains tied up on the couch with the daggers still above her.
“Where’d they go?” Ladybug wondered aloud before Chat went to go untie Mme. Rossi.
”Th-thank you, b-both of you,” she stammered while eyeing the still-floating daggers. “I-I am so sorry for what I th-thought of you, I’m sure you’re both-“
”Ma’am, it’s alright,” Chat told her. “Lila was the one making us look bad; you didn’t know.”
"Maledetto," Irene sighed and buried her face in her hands. “Looking back, some things Lila has been telling me did seem far-fetched. The school being closed for months, every student and teacher being akumatized, the people working for the media have been held hostage." The heroes give her unbelieving looks. "Yes. I realize how dumb it sounds now, but I'm new to these... Akumas, and Miraculous. I... I thought I could trust her."
Ladybug rested a hand on the woman's shoulder and gives her a sympathetic look, "We'll set your daughter straight, Mme. Rossi. You can be sure of it." As the woman smiled, Ladybug called her for her, "Lucky Charm!" The object that dropped down into her hands was, "A ram's horn?"
Chat Noir scratched his head in confusion, "You gonna play a little tune?"
"That's also what convinced me you two weren't capable," Irene said. "You rely on random objects to defeat an Akuma?"
Ladybug looked around the room, trying to find a way to use the Lucky Charm, "Well, they do help in battles. I just need to figure out how to use it."
"Hey!" Chat piped up, "Isn't there a Goat Miraculous?"
Ladybug recalled seeing a Goat Kwami when she was battling Kwamibuster, and she wore horn-shaped barrettes. "You're right, Chat! Go and follow Evillustrator, I'll be with you soon." With a salute, Chat was gone. Before she left, Irene told her in a low, threatening voice, "Bring her back, so I may give her the punishment she deserves."
Ladybug tensed, "Well, with what Lila's been doing, she'll probably be out of your hands and in the polices'." She left before Irene could ask what she meant, leaving the Italian woman to sulk in her living room.
'What did she do to him?!' Marc wondered over and over as he sat in the art room with Juleka, furiously writing his feelings down in his journal. Both of them needed a break from the guilty look of Juleka's classmates and decided to spend the rest of the day in the art classroom. It was so quiet without the others.'That sausage-haired jerk deserves what's coming to her!... Maybe not death.'
Juleka takes a peek over Marc's shoulder to read what he's written. Her eyes go wide when she sees the many words Marc has used to describe Lila... Well, he was right. "You feeling better?" she asked.
Marc looked up from his journal and turned to face the goth girl. "... I need worse words for her." Juleka chuckled and took the seat next to him. "I have used every curse word and insult I could think of to describe Lila, and none of them are strong enough."
Juleka pulls out a pencil, "Try this." She writes something down on the corner page of his journal and has him look at it, leaving Marc's face a crimson red. "Eh?"
"Juleka," Marc gasped. "Wh-where did you-"
"You won't believe what mom said around me," she smirked. "One of them was actually Luka's first word." Her amused expression turns sour, "I still think those words are too good for Lila, though."
"Every curse word is too good for her," Marc joked, making Juleka laugh. Cutting off their amused laughter was the sound of something hitting a window. They turned around and saw Ladybug standing on a ledge right outside the classroom. They ran over and opened the window, allowing the heroine to come inside.
"L-Ladybug, what are you doing here?" Juleka asked in awe.
"The Lucky Charm told me to come here." She turns to Marc, "I'm gonna need to borrow you for a while, Marc." The emerald-eyed boy stood, frozen in shock. Ladybug. The Ladybug wanted to borrow him! Realizing that he's just been staring at her for a while, he snapped out of his daze and nodded.
"Y-yes! Of course!"
"Smooth," Juleka whispered.
Ladybug wrapped her arm around Marc's waist and threw her yoyo out of the window. Once it wrapped around something, it pulled the two out of the classroom, leaving Juleka alone.
"... Might as well go home," she said to herself before gathering up her stuff.
Once she and Marc were on top of a roof, Ladybug moved them to hide behind an air vent, away from the public view. "Marc, what I'm about to ask you is very important, okay?" Off his nod, she pulled out a hexagonal box in front of her. "Marc Anciel, here is the Miraculous of the Goat, which grants the power of Compassion. You will use it for the greater good. Once the job is done, you will return the Miraculous to me."
Marc was speechless. He wanted to faint, scream, and jump up and down like a child on Christmas morning. Ladybug. Was asking him to assist her in saving Nathaniel... But what if he failed? Nathaniel would stay an Akuma forever, he'd fail Ladybug and Chat Noir, and-"
"Do you accept?" Ladybug asked, concerned when Marc didn't give her an immediate response like the previous heroes. "Marc, I trust you. And Nathaniel needs you."
"... I'll do it."
With a smile, Ladybug handed him the box. Marc opened it, revealing two hair clips in the shape of horns. There was a bright flash of light that had Marc shielding his eyes for a moment before looking up at the goat-like creature floating in front of him. All he could think was, 'I WANNA PET THEM SO MUCH!'
"Hi!" She greeted, "My name's Ziggy, and I'm a Kwami! It's a pleasure to meet you!" She flies around Marc, making him chuckle. "I love him already!" Ziggy squealed as she nuzzled against Marc's cheek. "Okay, to transform, you just gotta say, Ziggy, Fleece On!"
With a nod, Marc put the clips in his hair, where they turned into crescent moon-shaped clips.
"Ziggy! Fleece On!"
Ziggy flew into one of the hairclips, transforming them both back into their original design. Marc swept his hand over his face, making a black mask appear around his eyes. A golden sheep's bell appeared on his choker necklace. The magic spread from the bell and formed a white hoodie with black trumpet sleeves, white gloves with black fingertips, black pants held up by a white studded belt, and black and white combat boots. He ran his fingers through his hair, making fake goat ears appear atop his head, and his hair became an inch longer with the tips dyed white. Finally, he reached up into the air and caught a shepherd's crook that materialized in the air. He spun it around before tapping it on the ground.
Capricorn was ready!
All of Paris' citizens stood before the Eiffel Tower, eyes glued to their phones as they watched the LadyBlog live stream with anticipation. Firefighters stood all around the structure with large trampolines ready to catch someone. And at the very top of the Eiffel Tower were Alya, filming the fight between Chat Noir, Stormy Weather, and Mime, both drawn by Evillustrator, said villain plucking at a rope tied to the railing, and tied at the end of the rope was Lila, dangling thousands of feet above the ground and screaming to the top of her lungs.
"Come on, Lila," Evillustrator told her as he continued messing with the only thing keeping Lila from becoming a stain on the ground. "Make things easier for yourself, and tell everyone the truth."
"I'M NOT A LIAR!" she screeched.
Evillustrator snarled before ducking out of the way of one of Stormy Weather's lightning bolts. "You'll do anything to keep up your act, won't you?!" He drew a throwing dark on his tablet and aimed it for Lila's head. She managed to swing out of the way just in time, much to Evillustrator's frustration. He let out a sigh before saying, "Fine. Have it your way." He draws a blade on his tablet, and that same one appears in his hand.
"NO!" Chat Noir yelled before he was pinned to the floor by one of Mime's invisible objects. His staff was out of reach, and he could barely move. Stormy Weather approached him with her parasol, and zapped him with an ice blast, freezing him in place.
Hawkmoth's symbol appeared over Evillustrator's face, "Evillustrator! Forget the girl! Take Chat Noir's Miraculous! Unthaw his hand!"
"She's made my and my friends' life a living hell, and you expect me to let her GET AWAY WITH IT?!"
In his lair, Hawkmoth swayed slightly due to being overwhelmed by Evillustrator's emotions. How can one boy feel so much rage? He looked through the Akuma's eyes and saw him putting the blade close to the rope holding up his follower. Hawkmoth didn't care for Lila, but he wasn't that cruel. Plus, if she died, where else is he gonna find some selfish civilian willing to work for him and get rid of a couple of Adrien's bad influences in exchange for the hero's downfall and a modeling contract? "That's enough!"
Hawkmoth was physically restraining Evillustrator from cutting the rope. The Akuma struggled to regain control, "Why are you defending her of all people?! You got a soft side for Rossi, Hawkmoth?!" He sneered, "What is she, your follower or something?..." He gets the use of his body back and smirks when Hawkmoth says nothing. "Your silence says a lot."
Alya and the citizens watching from down below gasped. Some inexperienced model was secretly working for Hawkmoth? She was working against their beloved hero! Hawkmoth felt like he was about to pass out from the massive wave of emotions. For once, he was praying for Ladybug to show up and de-akumatize the victim. Once this was over, he needed a long break. Screw the jewelry, this headache was awful.
Evillustrator hummed, "Well, less of Hawkmoth's followers, fewer problems." He slashed the rope, and Lila plummeted to the earth with a blood-curdling scream.
"OH MY GOD!" Alya screamed as she dropped her phone.
The firefighters tried to pinpoint where she would drop, and the police stood by, ready the question the girl (If she lives). Lila was halfway to her doom. She clenched her eyes shut and waited while thinking to herself, 'I'm lucky enough to have gotten out of there without him exposing me! That pest better get here in time!' Right as she was at the second level of the tower, she suddenly stopped falling. It felt like something was hoisting her up. She opened one eye and turned her head to see who caught her. (Maybe gain some sympathy while she's at it) "Oh my goodness! Thank you so much for-"
"Cram it, Liar Rossi," Capricorn sneered as he pulled Lila away from the balcony using his crook, and set her down. He unhooked his weapon from her jacket and ran off to help Ladybug.
"HEY!" Lila screeched, throwing away her kicked puppy act. "Aren't you gonna untie me?!"
Capricorn just smirked, having no intention of helping her, and vaulted his way up to the summit of the Eiffel Tower.
Ladybug spun her YoYo, deflecting each of Evillustrator’s projectiles while occasionally using her weapon to hit the ice Chat was trapped in and free him.
”So Ladybug, tell me.” He drew a few throwing stars, “Is Lila really your best friend?”
Ladybug flung one of the projectiles into the throwing stars, making it explode on impact. “She hates me! I try to be friends with her, but she swore a vendetta on me!” She backflips away from the sketchbook before it could pull her in. “Hell, I’m pretty sure she wants me dead! When I was fighting Oni-Chan, she tricked Chat into leaving me!” At the mention of her partner, she threw her YoYo at the ice block once again, creating a few cracks along the surface. “So to answer your question, we never will be friends! Ever!”
Alya felt her hands shaking as she struggled to keep her phone up. She owed Marinette, Nathaniel, Alix, Rose, Juleka, and Marc a huge apology when or if this is all over. So far, it’s not looking good.
Ladybug threw her YoYo once more, intending to grab the sketchbook, but it instead wrapped around a sheet of flypaper. When she retracted it, Ladybug had some trouble separating the two, and just got both of her hands and weapon stuck to the paper. Evillustrator drew a ball and chain around the heroine’s ankle and calmly approached her.
”I won,” he sang as he reached his hand over to grab the earrings. Alya cut her phone off and shielded her eyes. She wanted to know the heroes' identities, but not like this.
But a second before the earrings were in his grasp, Evillustrator was whacked to the side and fell to the ground. While getting up, he watched as a figure dressed in black and white used a shepherd’s crook to break the chain connected to the 100lb ball, and the ice trapping Chat Noir. “Who are you supposed to be?!” He snarled.
He smiled, “The name’s Capricorn.”
Without saying a word, Evillustrator furiously drew a missile on his tablet that appeared and went after the heroes. While running, Ladybug finally got the flypaper off and threw her YoYo around Alya. She flung her over to the elevator and yelled, “Go!” Alya complied and quickly went inside the elevator to avoid the fight.
As he and Capricorn ran, Chat came up with an idea on how to get rid of the missile. To the new hero, he shouted, “Launch me!” With a nod, Capricorn ran ahead of Chat, got down on one knee, and locked his fingers together. Once he was close enough, Chat leaped into Capricorn’s hands, and the latter launched him into the air. Chat called out “Cataclysm!” as he went over the missile, and slid his hand across it, turning it into black ash.
”Nice one, you guys!” Ladybug commended as she rejoined the fight.
“Well, I couldn’t have done it without ewe,” he shot Capricorn double finger guns, making Ladybug roll her eyes and Capricorn stifle a laugh. Seeing Evillustrator drawing something else, Ladybug said to the new hero, “Capricorn, use your power. You can connect with Nathaniel and figure out what’s wrong!”
He nodded, “Cover me!”
Ladybug and Chat Noir ran towards Evillustrator, just as he was finished drawing three buzz saws. Chat Noir got in front of Ladybug and deflected them while she called for another Lucky Charm. It was a box of tissues. She set those to the side and went after Evillustrator, wrapping her YoYo tight around him. He kept his sketchbook clutched close to his chest and had no intention of letting go.
With him restrained, Capricorn yelled, “Connection!” And his crook was illuminated by a bright white light. He calmly approached Evillustrator, ignored his threats, and tapped his forehead with the crook. In an instant, Capricorn was no longer at the Eiffel Tower; he was at someone’s home. He looked around and recognized the place thanks to the furniture and photos framed on the wall. He was at Nathaniel’s house.
”Where’s my lil’ Leonardo?!” A playful voice called out followed by some giggling. Capricorn looked towards the door and saw a tall man with dark red hair and turquoise eyes walking in with a bright smile and a bag in his hands. Capricorn recognized the man. He’s seen his photos every time he goes over to Nathaniel’s house. It was his father, Maison Kurtzberg.
The man smiled as a child with long red hair wearing paint-splattered clothes ran into his arms. It was clear to Capricorn that the boy was Nathaniel.
”We really gotta cut your bangs, kids,” Maison laughed as he ruffled young Nathaniel’s hair, making the child laugh.
”Oh, leave him alone,” a voice Capricorn recognized as Aya’s said. “he likes how they look.” The seven-year-old nodded in agreement with his mother, making Maison chuckle.
”Well then, how are you gonna be able to see when you’re drawing in your books?” he asked.
”Oh, our little artist used up all of his sketchbooks,” Aya simpered while Maison just looked astonished.
”All ten of them?” Aya nodded. “Well then...” He hands Nathaniel over to Aya and reaches into the bag his holding, “It’s a good thing I bought this!” He pulls out a black sketchbook with a white outline of a paintbrush, pencil, and pen on the front. The young boy’s eyes gleamed under his bangs, and he made grabby motions with his hands, either to get to his dad or grab the new sketchbook.
Aya giggled and kissed her son’s forehead. “We really need to get him to talk more.”
Capricorn smiled at the scene before it faded away and transitioned to the school locker room. He looked around and saw Nathaniel, standing at his locker and frantically flipping through the torn pages of a black book. Upon closer inspection, Capricorn realized that it was Nathaniel’s sketchbook, the one his dad bought for him.
‘So that’s what Lila did,’ he thought bitterly.
When Nathaniel broke out into tears and sat down on the floor, Capricorn approached and kneeled beside him. “... Nathaniel?” He looked up at him with a tear-stained face and murmured, “I’m sorry.”
Capricorn placed his hands on Nathaniel’s shoulders, “You had every right to be mad. You-“
Nathaniel cut him off, “Took my anger out on everyone! I-I trapped my classmates, I hurt Ladybug and Chat Noir, I tried to kill Lila!” He covers his face with his hands and cries harder, “I almost hurt Marc...”
Capricorn wanted to tell him, ‘No you didn’t.’ But that would reveal himself as Marc.
”My classmates are gonna hate me even more for what I did to Lila. Don’t make me go back out there...”
“I won’t.” He moves Nathaniel’s hands out of the way and cups his face in his hands. “But you can’t stay Akumatized forever. I get why you’re upset. That sketchbook came from someone very important to you and she took it away...”
Nathaniel sighs and holds his hand against his cheek. “...”
”... If it makes you feel any better, Evillustrator exposed Lila as Hawkmoth’s partner.”
Nathaniel looks up, hopeful, “He did?”
Capricorn nodded, “You won’t have to worry about her anymore. She can’t hurt you or your friends again.”
“... The Akuma's in my sketchbook,” he said, right before the locker room faded away.
Capricorn looked around and saw that he was back at the Eiffel Tower. In front of him was a heavily crying Evillustrator, no longer bound by Ladybug’s YoYo. He slowly loosened his grip around his sketchbook and handed it over to Capricorn. The goat hero took it, turned around, and tore the book in half. The pages scattered onto the floor and morphed into the people Evillustrator trapped in the sketchbook. Finally, the Akuma fluttered out of the book.
”No more evil-doing for you, little Akuma!” Ladybug caught it with her YoYo. “Time to de-evilize! Gotcha!” Emerging from the YoYo was a pure white butterfly that fluttered up into the sky. “Bye-bye little butterfly.” She looked around for the tissue box Lucky Charm until she saw Capricorn using a handful to wipe Evillustrator’s tears away. With a smile, she took the box and tossed it into the air.
”MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!”
The tissue box burst into thousands of magic Ladybugs that flew across the city. The people released from the sketchbook were placed back on the ground, all of the damage caused by Evillustrator was fixed, Chat and Ladybug’s cuts from earlier were healed, everything erased was restored, and Lila was no longer tied up. Finally, the Akuma’s magic washed over Evillustrator, leaving Nathaniel curled in on himself.
Ladybug and Chat Noir fist bump, “Pound it.”
Chat Noir looks off to the side and notices something lying on the floor. He walks over to it and picks up Nathaniel’s repaired sketchbook. “Hey,” Nathaniel looks up and gasps when he sees his sketchbook, “this yours?” He hands it over to the redhead, who immediately takes it.
”Th-thank you,” he whispered in disbelief as he flipped through the pages. Everything was there. He furrowed his brow in confusion, “I-I thought the Miracle Cure could only repair things caused by the Akuma.”
Ladybug wasn’t sure how to answer that. Maybe the Miracle Cure could fix Akumatized objects that were previously damaged, she thought. Before Ladybug could reply, he YoYo beeped. She switched it to the phone setting and saw a LadyBlog Livestream, only Alya’s phone was pointed to the floor. Did she know she was live right now?
”Please! All it takes is a few tears, and everyone will think Hawkmoth manipulated or blackmailed me!” It was Lila.
”Did Alya plan this?” Ladybug wondered.
”Clever girl,” Chat said.
“And just wait until tomorrow. Those idiots will fall at my command and attack that asshole, Kurtzberg! Maybe I can get them to tear up his sketchbook again! No doubt Ladybug's fixed it."
Capricorn‘s grip around his weapon tightened when she said that.
She let out a fake whine, “‘Oh, Nathaniel tried to kill me! Lock him away!’ See? It’s that easy!”
“I’ll tell everyone!” Alya retorted.
”And who’s gonna believe some lousy tabloid writer?” She taunted. “One word from me, and you’ll be a social pariah like those f*g art kids!”
Ladybug wanted to punch that girl so badly... Eh, let Paris take care of her.
”What the hell did you do to her?!”
”Well, let’s see... Threatened her, told her she’d lose her friends, and succeeded. Framed her for theft, cheating, and assault. Then I got her expelled so I could have Adrien all to myself."
Chat Noir held back the bile rising in his throat.
”So, I’m gonna go on a limb here and say you’ve been lying about every single thing.”
”Took you long enough, idiot! I hope you like sitting alone tomorrow. Meanwhile, I’ll be rich from taking that dumpy bitch’s charity money, and modeling for Gabriel.”
”And meanwhile, Paris will be hunting you down.” Alya pans the phone over to her smug face. “You heard it here, Paris. Lila is working for Hawkmoth, has been tormenting students and Francoise-DuPont, stealing charity money, and she’s homophobic.”
She pans the phone towards Lila’s horrified face. “So Lila, how does it feel to be the most hated girl in France? Oh, look at that. The comments are rolling in- Wow, everyone really hates you.”
Officer Raincomprix steps in between the two girls, “Miss Césaire, we’re going to need that phone for evidence, please.”
”One minute sir,” the video pans to her face, “Babe, if you’re watching this, I’m sorry. Your phone’s with the cops now. Okay, here you go.” The screen cuts to black.
Chat Noir couldn’t help but laugh, “I love that girl!”
Ladybug ran her fingers through her hair and grinned, “It’s over! She’s gone! She’s finally gone!” She turns to Capricorn with a bright smile, “Capricorn, why don’t you take Nathaniel back home? I’ll meet up with you later.”
With a nod, the goat hero scooped up Nathaniel into his arms and leaped away. Ladybug and Chat Noir swung and vaulted off, feeling very relieved knowing that they would have to deal with Lila anymore as civilians or heroes.
Capricorn landed right outside Nathaniel’s home and gently set him down.
”Thanks,” Nathaniel said as he shyly looked down at the ground. “A-again, I am so sorry about-“
”Nathaniel, it’s fine,” Capricorn reassured him. “You weren’t in control. I’m sure everyone will understand.”
Nathaniel smiled at that, “Thanks.”
Then, without thinking, Capricorn pulled him in for a hug, which Nathaniel returned once he got over his surprise. This lasted for a few more seconds until Nathaniel said, “I- uh... I have a boyfriend.”
Capricorn mentally facepalmed. ‘You’re not Marc right now! Nathaniel is not Capricorn’s boyfriend!’ "Sorry." Awkwardly, he pulled away and the two boys looked away in embarrassment. Finally, after an uncomfortable silence, someone called out, "NATH!" It was Alix, running towards him with Rose and Juleka. The latter narrowed her eyes at the goat hero, making him tense up and worry she'll figure out he's Marc.
"Oh, shit!" Alix cursed and she engulfed Nathaniel in a bone-crushing hug. "I thought we lost you, bud!"
"We could hear everything while we were in the sketchbook," Rose piped up. "They know Lila's lying!"
"Everyone in Paris does," Juleka smiled. "A police car drove by me earlier and I saw her in the back seat."
Alix cackled, "You should have seen their faces, Nath! It was priceless! Bustier was rocking back and forth like a mental patient, Max was face-palming over and over, and Mylene? Whoa! Don't get me started-"
Rose pointed to Capricorn, "Who's this?" Alix and Juleka turned their attention to the new hero.
"Sweet!" Alix pumped her fist in the air. "A new hero! And he helped take down Rossi!"
Capricorn's elation from the compliments turned to concern when Nathaniel asked, "Wait, where's Marc? Is he okay?!" Before Capricorn could come up with an excuse, Juleka answered, "Oh, his moms called him home," she fibbed while occasionally stealing glances at Capricorn. "I was gonna go with him, but my mom needed me home for something, too. He's probably still there."
Capricorn furrowed his brow. Did Juleka know?
"Thanks, Jules!" The four of them watched him run to Marc's house. With them distracted, Capricorn took this opportunity to quickly vault away once he heard his clips beeping and go look for Ladybug.
Capricorn met with Ladybug in an alley near his house and said the de-transformation words. "Ziggy, fleece off." The goat kwami flew out from the hair clip and hovered next to Marc, nuzzling his cheek as he removed the clips.
"That was so much fun!" Ziggy squealed. "Can you call on him again one day? Pleeease?" She put her flipper-hands together and gave Ladybug dough eyes, making her and Marc laugh.
"We'll see," Ladybug giggled. She gives Ziggy a little pat on her head before pulling out the box. Marc set the clips back in and said goodbye to Ziggy before she flew back into the horn-shaped clips.
"Thank you, Marc." She tucked the box away then pulled out her yoyo, preparing to swing away. "I knew I picked the right person for the job. Now, I suggest you go make sure Nathaniel is alright."
Marc nodded, "I will."
"See you soon, Capricorn." Marc wanted to ask what she meant by that, but she was already gone. He let out an excited squeal before running to his house. He waited outside for about three minutes until he saw Nathaniel running towards him.
"Nath!" The two ran towards each other and met each other with a tight, loving embrace.
"Rainbow, I'm so sorry," Nathaniel whispered, taking an exhale before asking, "Are you okay?"
"I should be asking you that. Nath, what Lila was... It-it was fucked up." Nathaniel nodded once he got over the shock of hearing his boyfriend curse. "But she's gone, now. She can't hurt you, me, Mari, anyone anymore."
With a smile, Nathaniel kissed Marc, and he melted into it as he wrapped his arms around Nathaniel.
The next day, the art club kids walked to school together. (Marc made sure to set an alarm for Marinette) They wanted to be prepared for any random apologies from the Akuma class or any reporters swarming the schoolyard looking for Hawkmoth's latest victim. When they realized DuPont was an Akuma hotspot, news crews would always go to get an interview from the Akumatized student or teacher. So far no reporters yet, much to Nathaniel's relief, but there were a few police cars parked outside.
Around them were a few officers questioning the students and teachers as they made their way to the doors. Before they could go in, the doors swung open, and four police officers walked out, escorting Mme. Bustier and M. Damocles to the police cars. Marinette asked Nino, who walked out a second later, "Are Mme. Bustier and M. Damocles getting arrested?"
Nino shrugged, "I heard the school board decided to do an investigation when Lila mentioned missing months of school and getting you expelled without any proof. Some people from the board came, talked to them, and, uh..." He slipped off his cap and ran his hand through his hair. "I don't think we're gonna see them for a while, Mari."
Marinette couldn't help but grin at the news, "I don't have to be the class example anymore!" Nino's eyes bulged at that. "I-it's a long story. I'll tell you later."
Nino chuckled before giving the group a remorseful look, "I... I'm sorry I didn't believe you guys."
"Don't sweat it, Lahiffe," Alix said. "You guys are just too nice and naive to notice when you're being conned."
Nino furrowed his brow as he processed what she just said. After a moment of silence, he said, "Thank... You? Well, school is canceled for today and the class is going to get some ice cream. You guys in?"
"Yeah!" Alix cheered. "Let's get some ice cream and apologies!" She sat on top of the stair railing and slid down.
"There they are," Kim said, pointing to Nino arriving with the art students. The Akuma class tensed up as they approached. Some were going over their apologies in their heads while others were figuring out what to say, especially to Marinette and Nathaniel. "Alright," he took a breath, "let's do this, guys."
Before any of them could apologize, Alix spoke, "Yes, yes. You all were idiots, we're smart, you're sorry, and promise to listen to us when we say someone is lying."
"... Y-yeah. Ba-basically," Kim stammered. "But seriously, you guys, we're sorry we took Lila's side."
"We've known you guys since we were kids," Mylene remarked. "We should've known you guys couldn't have done the stuff Lila said you did."
"Yeah, you should've," Juleka muttered, making Rose nudge her girlfriend with her elbow.
Alya walked over to Marinette with a sad smile, "Any chance you guys might forgive us someday?"
Marinette smiled and pulled the girl in for a hug, "Alya, shut up. I forgive you."
The creole girl smile and wrapped her arms around Marinette, "Thanks, Mari."
"... But if this happens again, I will physically knock some sense into you all until you admit that I'm right and beg for mercy," she whispered. The students just stood there, disturbed by what the sweetest girl in class just said.
Alya slowly back away from Marinette and nervously chuckled, "Got it, girl."
"Now, Alya," Alix piped up, "guys, isn't there someone else you want to apologize to?" She gestures over to Nathaniel.
Alya wasn't sure what to say to Nathaniel. The only time they really interacted was yesterday when she accused him of stealing Lila's art. So, taking a deep breath, she said to him, "Nathaniel, I... I jumped the gun, there, I'll admit it." A few nodded along. "When I think about it, the more I realize that you'd never steal another person's art."
"I mean you went into a fifteen-minute rant during history when we were talking about some art thief," Ivan brought up. He chuckled at the memory before stopping abruptly. "Yeah... Sorry."
"I forgive you guys," Nathaniel smiled. "Just don't do that ever again or I might also knock some sense into you guys."
To change the subject, Max brought up Capricorn, and now that was all anyone could talk about. Marc blushed when some of the girls called his hero persona cute. Was he? He didn't really get a good look at his outfit. As they rambled on about the new hero, he and Nathaniel went to get some ice cream.
"So, what'd you think of Capricorn?" Marc asked.
Nathaniel hummed in thought before answering, "I like him. He really helped me out there... Plus, he's kinda cute." Marc tried to fight back a blush. "Not as cute as you, though." Marc wasn't sure how to respond to that. "He was really understanding about why I got Akumatized and he even convinced me to hand over my Akuma."
Marc feigned surprise. "Really?"
He nodded. "Do you think he'd mind if we put him in the comic?"
Marc pretended to think about it for a moment, "I don't think so."
AO3
~Taglist~
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svtskneecaps · 4 years
Text
Number 17
Vernon Chwe x (gender netural) reader
Words: 5048
Genre: fluff, some pining (does pining count as angst?)
neighbor! childhood friend! aus
you’re feeling the summer listlessness. vernon helps you find something to do
day 35 of a tct summer collab
(holy shit guys i’ve been excited to post this since like, MAY holy shit i hope y’all enjoy reading it as much as i enjoyed writing it)
(my masterlist)
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You shot him a text. Very simple.
vernon i’m going crazy
He shot a text back. Very simple.
why
why do you think? you ask. i don’t know what to do
it’s summer, he says, you can do anything. for example, i’m lying in bed enjoying myself
it’s 1 pm
it’s summer
Who are you to argue with that?
i’m still going crazy. you might be able to stay in bed all day but i’m gonna go insane
so find something to do
i can’t, you say, because it’s true.
all year you were listing hundreds of things you would do when you got the time
i know, you say, i know. but it’s like, now i have the time, but i just feel paralyzed. i don’t know what to do
And you wait for a response and none comes for long enough that you worry you said something that was too weird even for him, but then your screen goes dark and your phone buzzes and his contact is on screen. You answer and his messy bedhead fills your screen.
“You want me to decide?” he asks, and his voice is rough like he just woke up.
“Sure,” you say.
“Try baking something,” he says. “Like chocolate chip cookies or a pie or something.”
“You’re just saying that because you want to eat it.”
“Absolutely,” he mumbles, face still half buried in his pillow. “I can grab a quick shower and come over just in time for the taste test.”
You snicker. “No way, you don’t have the palette for a taste test.”
“Alright, then I’ll put them in the oven and we’ll hit up a couple friends and force them to try it.”
And. . . honestly that doesn’t sound half bad. It’s been five days since you saw anyone outside your immediate family--which is suffocating in its loneliness, after the routine closeness of the year--and maybe that’ll make you feel less paralyzed.
“Okay,” you say.
True to his word, Vernon’s over within thirty minutes, leaning his bike up against yours in the garage. He handles the oven for you, although not without teasing you about the time you burned yourself on the top of the oven while taking out your grandma’s angel food cake at Christmas.
“Well at least I helped you remember how coordinates work,” you say, because you both knew that was the reason you two learned whether to move on the x or y axis so much faster than your classmates.
“At least I know how to keep my skin intact,” he shoots back.
While taking the tray out of the oven he very nearly blisters his thumb and drops the tray; after securing the tray’s safety and running cold water over the blister, once your heartbeat returns to something acceptable, you inform him that instead of cookies he’ll be eating his words, to which he responds with, “At least my words taste good,” and you snap him with the towel. He flicks water at you, and only the fear of having even more to clean up keeps you from starting all out war. You tell him to bring his swimsuit over tomorrow, though. There’s mischief in his eyes as he agrees.
You each balance a tupperware of cooled cookies on your handlebars as you coast through the neighborhood, knocking on doors and handing them out to friends and friends’ parents. Minghao takes three. Seungkwan’s mother trades you two bottles of water, fresh from the fridge, for a cookie and first dibs on the next batch. She takes another one and says it’s to give to Seungkwan when he gets home from acting camp, but winks when she says it. You snap Seungkwan the picture of his mom with the cookie, and he snaps back a picture of himself and Jun making dorky faces demanding you save a few for them because make no mistake we will be swinging by your house when we’re done for the day and we expect cookies you two!
Jeonghan and Joshua aren’t home, but you find them all hanging out in Seungcheol’s pool. Jeonghan asks why you aren’t selling your cookies. “Because this is the taste test,” Vernon says. “We’ll be getting you hooked on this batch and then start charging ten bucks on the next round.” Jeonghan praises your business sense and takes a bite out of Seungcheol’s cookie while he isn’t looking. Seungcheol tackles him into the pool and you leave before the ensuing splash fight can get the cookies wet.
True to their word, Jun pulls into the driveway with Seungkwan in the passenger’s seat and Mingyu in the backseat (they must’ve agreed to carpool with Mingyu after his cooking workshop), and you get nervous because Mingyu’s going to college for baking and everyone knows that out of the group Mingyu is the best cook, but Vernon presents him with a cookie no hesitation and Mingyu tells you they’re amazing, and Vernon gives you this smile as if to say, see, nothing to worry about.
Wednesday, Vernon comes over with his swimsuit and you make a pair of rudimentary signs for a car wash out of an old cardboard box. His is very simple, bubble letters with the address and CAR WASH in all caps. You tried to get a little creative with yours.
“I love it,” Vernon says, crouched next to you as you hover over your sign. “You can almost hear the cloud cow saying ‘graphic design is my passion’.”
You push his shoulder hard enough that he topples over, laughing. “It’s supposed to be a soapy car!”
He’s so proud of himself for that joke that he suggests you start a car wash company instead of going to college. “You can call it Clean Mooters,” he says, as you’re filling your buckets.
You blast him with the hose and he laughs so hard he snorts.
You spend the day covered in soap and water, spraying Vernon with the hose if there isn’t a car to wash and shrieking and trying to dance around behind him every time he gets the hose from you. When the cars stop coming you pack up shop, uprooting the signs and taking them inside, tossing them in the recycling bin.
Thursday it’s raining outside. Vernon comes over anyway. You call him an idiot. “Don’t you know the rain’ll rust your bike?”
He shrugs with a half smile, shrugging off a raincoat that now has a strip of mud up the back where his tires kicked up the dirty street water. “There’s only a hundred and four days of summer vacation,” he says. “I didn’t want to miss one.”
You seize his coat and toss it in the sink, bowing your head to scrub off the mud so he doesn’t see how red your cheeks have become.
You play Mario Kart on the Wii for most of the day (Vernon hits you with a red shell right before you cross the finish line; you hip check him off Rainbow Road), and even as out of practice as the both of you have become over the school year, you’re still pretty well matched. By the time you get bored with that, your mom has texted to say she’s going to need to stay at work a little longer and you might be on your own for dinner. That’s fine, you and Vernon try out a recipe for lasagna that you found on a food blog (buried under the woman’s lengthy story of the time her husband nearly got stomped by a cow. “It’s a sign,” Vernon says, “Clean Mooters is your true calling.” You’d hit him if you weren’t very carefully adding a layer of sauce).
It’s still raining when Vernon has to leave. You stand there, just outside the cover of the garage, watching Vernon shrug on his raincoat.
“You’re gonna get soaked,” he says.
“You say that like I care,” you say, rain beginning to drip down your hair.
He steps out of the garage then, too, standing next to you. You turn your face to the sky, closing your eyes against the heavy drops that splatter against your cheeks.
“You’re gonna catch your death.”
“Says the guy who’s wearing a raincoat with the hood down.” You shove his chest without looking. He catches your hands. You look down.
Your eyes meet.
Vernon drops your hands and coughs. You reach up to brush the water from your forehead, gaze on the ground as your face burns, despite the cool rainwater still sliding down your cheeks.
“I, um, I should go,” he says.
“Yeah,” you say. “See you.”
He hops on his bike and rides away. The rain falls so hard you lose sight of him before he rounds the corner.
Saturday the whole team gets together at Jeonghan’s house, because he has a firepit. Seungkwan is standing on the picnic table when you ride up, in the middle of a dramatic retelling of some odd thing that happened at acting camp. He appears to be fencing Vernon with an imaginary sword, and you can only imagine the context of that story. You don’t announce yourself, for fear of making one of them fall off, and help Wonwoo get the food from the kitchen. Mingyu is already getting set up at the grill (despite being one of the youngest, he’s the only one any parent trusts near the grill; previous block barbeques have ended in disaster that no one’s eager to repeat). Minghao is by the firepit, holding the lighter very tightly, either to keep it away from Soonyoung or to ensure he’s the one to start the fire.
Seungkwan jumps down from the table when Jihoon tells him to, although he continues telling his story in an enthusiastic yell. Vernon meets your eyes and grins, flicking his eyes at Seungkwan like you’re sharing an inside joke like normal, and you can almost forget that moment in the rain ever happened.
Nearby, Jeonghan is filling a plastic baby pool with water. You ask him what it’s for but he just grins and tells you it’s a secret. When it comes to Jeonghan that’s usually cause for concern, but also you’re itchy inside your skin and all you did Friday was pick out a couple songs on the old piano your great grandmother left your family and no matter what the adventure you’re down for it, so you leave him to it. It’s the first bonfire of the summer. You can handle anything.
They get the fire started before Mingyu finishes grilling, the smell of the meat wafting over the yard and making your stomach rumble. Unfortunately, they misjudged the wind direction and half of the chairs are directly in the path of the smoke. There’s a lot of complaining as people rush to shift their chairs out of the way. Vernon ends up next to you in the scramble. You aren’t complaining; now you get to tease him about the way he seasons his food and he’ll tease you back about your tendency to drown your burgers in ketchup.
(except you don’t; you eat quietly and neither of you bring up the other’s habits and somewhere deep down that scares you)
When the sun goes down, Jeonghan and Joshua bring out the alcohol, and everyone who’s old enough drinks.
The baby pool, Jeonghan says, is for the losers of the tournament. The tournament, he says, is simple. And for pairs.
The first challenge is a wheelbarrow race down the street. You thought you and Vernon had a pretty good chance of winning, but then, by some divine magic, Jihoon and Mingyu shoot off and cross the finish line miles before everyone else. Half the group calls bologna because come on they’ve got just about the biggest height difference between them, out of everyone, but Joshua was reffing the starting line and didn’t see any false starts; they won fair and square.
The second challenge is hula hooping. You don’t have much hope for your score, not because you’re bad at hula hooping, but because you’re bad at hula hooping when Vernon is right next to you and also hula hooping. You end up laughing so hard that you lose your hoop within three spins, but in the end it doesn’t matter, because Vernon can carry the team score to victory.
“Who needs eight years of gymnastics?” he asks, and you beam.
The third challenge is a ‘who knows their partner the best’ challenge. Jeonghan put together a list of questions, which he and Joshua list off and give time for each partner to write down both their answer and what they think their partner put. You’re a little scared; you’ve known Vernon for as long as you can remember but sometimes you wonder if you really know him like you think you do. The questions aren’t so bad, simply asking what your partner’s favorite clothing brand is, or what time they get up in the morning, or what they think of pineapple on pizza. You breeze through the questions, until the last one. Joshua lists the final question, which member of the group is their favorite?
Your answer is simple enough, but you aren’t sure of his. Sure, you partnered up, but Seungkwan had all but thrown himself directly at Wonwoo when Jeonghan sent you off to partner and you knew Vernon and Seungkwan had known each other long before you had talked to anyone in the neighborhood or gone to a barbeque or slotted yourself into the dynamic of the block, and you knew he and Joshua had a special sort of friendship because of their similar heritage and you just didn’t know for sure what he would put (especially after the strange moment in the rain; you weren’t sure what it meant and you weren’t sure you wanted to know).
Eventually you write Seungkwan’s name on the sheet and hand the paper to Jeonghan when he comes around to collect. You fidget with your fingers as they tally up the scores. Next to you, Seokmin hops up to either get into a passionate debate with Soonyoung over what his true favorite movie is or to maybe just tackle Soonyoung into the grass. Either way, Vernon slides into his empty chair.
“So what’d you put for number seven?” he asks, waggling his eyebrows.
You roll your eyes, knowing exactly what he means. “Clean Mooters,” you say.
He pumps his fist. “I knew you’d see the light eventually!”
“Well I did get the most tips,” you tease.
“Well of course,” he says, “you’re the best looking, it’s only natural.”
Jeonghan calls out that they’ve tallied up the scores before you can process the full implications of that sentence.
You win that round too. Joshua hands the sheets back, and you carefully fold yours and shove it in your pocket.
You play a few more rounds: the chubby bunny challenge (Mingyu crammed an ungodly amount of marshmallows in his mouth, you almost wanted to go to church after seeing that; he kept going even after he won, until he almost choked and Joshua shut him down), the perfect s’more challenge (which you suspect was just an excuse for Jeonghan to get s’mores without having to make them; Mingyu’s first marshmallow slid off his stick, and the second caught fire; Seungcheol and Chan ended up winning and Seokmin called nepotism), the long jump (Soonyoung got overexcited and misjudged his landing; he landed hard on the cement and although he was totally fine, he would ask Jeonghan at random intervals for bonus points because of his injury with a shit eating grin all the while), and finally, a game of hide and seek.
The hide and seek rules are simple; they’ve been the same since you were old enough to be outside after sunset: don’t go off the block, don’t go inside, don’t leave your partner, and don’t use a light. The tournament judges give you thirty seconds head start. You and Vernon take off down the street and the thrill of the game sings through your bloodstream.
“Think they’ll think to look for us up Mrs. Boo’s tree?” Vernon asks as you run.
“Yeah, you remember Seungcheol did that once and Jeonghan’s never forgotten it, it’s the first place he’ll look.” You pass Chan and Seungcheol as they try to conceal themselves behind the Christmas decorations that Mr. Wilkinson still hasn’t taken down. “Mrs. Kim’s porch?”
“No, she’s got her light on.”
You skid to a halt at the end of the street, chests heaving, both casting around for a hiding space. Down the street, Joshua is beginning to yell, counting down from 10. Vernon tugs your sleeve, and points.
You grin.
Moments later, you resettle the plastic lid onto the box, burying yourselves carefully under the tarp inside and setting a few bricks on your backs for good measure. Mr. Lee is upgrading his yard this summer, and one addition is planned to be a brick footpath, and thankfully he left the tote of bricks out where you could get to it. Holding the tarp firmly in place, with the bricks above you for insurance, if they open the tote and decide to slap the tarp, you would just feel like a full box of footpath bricks.
Perfect.
Of course, it’s a pretty small space and you and Vernon have to lie pretty close to one another in order to fit, and your foot presses against his shin and his elbow is in your stomach, but if you lay there and don’t breathe, you’ll have the game in the bag.
“So,” Vernon says, voice so soft it’s sometimes hardly more than a breath, “what’d you put for number seventeen?”
You think back. “Vernon there was no number seventeen.”
“No?” he asks, with a tone like he’d always known. “Guess I’ll have to make one up.”
You snort, very softly. In the distance, yelling breaks out; Soonyoung and Seokmin just got found.
“How do you feel about long distance relationships?” he asks, so softly you nearly miss it.
Your heart skips a beat. You’re pretty sure he’s implying something but you aren’t sure if it should scare you or not. “I think they’re hard,” you say carefully. “Not impossible. But it takes work from both sides. So it’s hard.”
You hear him inhale like he’s going to say something, but he doesn’t, and you feel the breeze from his exhale on your face. Neither of you speak, and you aren’t sure if it’s because you’re listening hard for the seekers or because you have nothing left to say.
The lid of the tote scrapes. You stop breathing. Jeonghan says something above you, drowned out by the beating of your heart. He pulls the lid off, and the moonlight filtering through the pinholes in the tarp might as well be a searchlight after the darkness.
Vernon’s face is inches from yours.
You blink, feeling like your eyelashes will brush his face with the motion. They don’t. Jeonghan pokes the tarp, hitting one of the bricks lying on your side. Apparently satisfied, he closes the lid. His footsteps recede.
Vernon’s face is still burned into your eyes like a sunspot.
He was staring at your lips.
You end up losing hide and seek, despite your perfect spot, because Minghao and Jun somehow managed to get onto Jeonghan’s roof (nobody’s managed to guess how and the pair smugly refuse to tell). The tournament ends with only Seungkwan and Wonwoo having not won any challenges. They change into swimsuits and dunk themselves in the baby pool, and then sprint back across the lawn to their towels yelling about the cold (you put a finger in; it wasn’t nearly as bad as when Jeonghan had filled it).
Vernon stops you before you get on your bike to get home.
“I’m. . . gonna be out of town for a couple weeks,” he says, one hand rubbing the back of his neck. “I can still facetime, but probably only in the mornings and evenings.”
“Okay,” you say, even as your heart sinks (he’s never been away this long).
“Yeah,” he says, and you stand there beside your bikes, looking at each other, like you’re both a little lost in what to do. His eyes keep flicking to your lips.
“So what’d you put for number seventeen?” you ask softly.
He doesn’t hesitate. “I think it could work,” he says, voice as soft as it was in the tote, and you find yourself leaning in to listen. “Easily, even, if it was someone as special as--”
He goes quiet. “As?” you prompt.
He shakes his head. “Someone special,” he says.
You haven’t drank at all but something still buzzes in your veins. It’s the first Saturday bonfire of the summer, and moon floats above the horizon like a glowing balloon, and a warm breeze caresses your skin, and you don’t feel afraid of anything.
“I guess it could work easy,” you say, “if it was someone like you.”
He stares at you long enough that you think maybe you overstepped and your cheeks start to heat and you duck your head and step back with something like an apology and--
--his lips crash into yours.
You don’t know if the kiss lasts for three seconds or three hours. All you know is when you break for breath, you find yourself caught in his eyes, the same familiar deep brown as you’ve seen for years growing up through schools and summers and camps and sleepovers, lying on the floor of the living room and whispering about movies and grades like they were the most important thing in the world.
And then you blink and the world unfreezes and he mumbles something about a curfew and you mumble something about your mom and as if pulled by the same strings you mount your bikes and pedal off in opposite directions.
You lie awake for hours, thinking about his eyes.
You facetime at any and all available hours. You find yourself staying up later to be able to catch him on a lunch break. And it’s hard, but you do it. Because, look, everyone on the block has known that his parents want him to go to Korea for college, and that he wants to go to Korea for college. For years you’ve known this moment was coming. And he’s only going to be there a couple weeks for some kind of tour he landed because his grandmother knows a guy who knows a gal who’s related to a guy who used to babysit for the guy on the school board, or something, and then he’ll come back and you can spend the remainder of the summer doing whatever.
Until then, you’re content to wake up earlier just to get an hour chatting with him before he goes to sleep. You show him all the pages you’ve marked in your mom’s old recipe book and tell him when he gets back you’ll make a couple and sell them for profit. You draw an official logo for Clean Mooters, and he suggests you add a restaurant as a side business that you two could run for extra profit. “Clean Mooters and Good Burgers,” he says, and then says, “No that’s terrible. I’ll keep thinking.”
“Are you the whole Clean Mooters marketing team?” you ask.
“Of course,” he says. “We both know all the business sense went to me.” And he smiles and you forget how to breathe.
You don’t talk about the kiss.
One time, he calls you, and your eyes swoop to check the time, because you know it’s crazy late where he is. You answer.
“Couldn’t sleep,” he says before you get a word out, and his voice is hoarse and it twists your stomach. “Can you-- just tell me about your new project?”
And you do; you’ve taken up crochet this week and your grandma gave you a couple pointers and you do your best calming ASMR voice as you repeat her pointers and what you plan to do to build your skill, and then end up going off on a tangent on whether Clean Mooters should have a gift shop selling cow merchandise (“It would make sense, there are a lot of cows around here.”) and when you pause to recollect your thoughts, all you hear is his quiet breathing.
The day Vernon’s set to return is a Thursday, which is perfect, because it gives him time to recollect himself before the Saturday bonfire, which will be the real welcome back party. On Thursday, you and the other kids on the block draw all over the street and then, when his flight is late and the sun goes down before he gets to the street, assemble to hold flashlights over the really good stuff. You only see his smile for a few brief seconds as the car goes past, but it’s enough to make your heart swell.
Friday you wake up to a knock on your bedroom door. “Hey, up and at ‘em, it’s noon!” Vernon calls through the door.
You groan and throw an arm over your face. “Says the guy who was still in bed at one pm that whole first week!”
“Yeah, and it was heaven. Come on, you get up fast enough and I’ll buy you a donut.”
You get dressed and meet him downstairs. “Try that again and I’ll convince my mom to rehide the spare key,” you threaten.
He just grins. “I’d be able to find it.” He picks up your bike helmet. “You want to get out of the neighborhood with me?”
You’d rob a bank if it was with him. “Absolutely.”
It’s a rush to be back on your bike, both of you pedaling faster and faster to try to be in front, weaving around the cars parked on the streetside and hopping the curb just to prove you can. Last week’s project was learning to ride a bike no handed and you show off the new skill as often as you can.
You go everywhere and nowhere. You hit up the mall and he buys you a donut and you wander the halls window shopping, and he buys a whole rainbow set of tinted glasses just because they looked cool; you break open the package the minute you own them and check out your reflection in the store window.
“We look ridiculous,” you say, adjusting the red pair so they sit better on your face.
“Speak for yourself,” Vernon says, turning to see himself from different angles. “I think purple’s exactly my color.”
You shove the blue pair on over the red, even though they barely fit on your nose, and stick your tongue out at him. “There, now we match.”
He puts on another pair of glasses and it turns into a competition of who can wear the most, and then into who can wear the most without getting a headache. That second winner was Vernon, but you won the first half.
You hit up the McDonalds in the food court and get the large cup for a dollar, and then go down the drink machine and hit it with just a quick blast of each, repeated over and over until the cup was full. It tastes like a mess of conflicting sugars and syrups. You drink the whole thing through separate straws. You can’t stop glancing at his lips. Your faces are so close.
You get ice cream and sit under the bridge over the creek to eat it, watching the sun go down somewhere downstream, listening to the cars whizzing past overhead.
“I missed you,” Vernon says.
“I missed you too,” you say, even though that doesn’t convey the half of it.
“During the school year--” He stops, and you glance over to see him staring into the sunset, his ice cream melting toward his fingers.
You take his free hand. “It’ll be hard, not being close for so long,” you say. “But-- we could do it. I’m not just going to stop talking to you because I have classes and-- you know how my sleep schedule gets during the year.”
He laughs, softly, lacing your fingers together. “I’ll be able to call and tell you to go to bed without you turning it on me.”
“Damn.” You scowl at your feet. “Didn’t think about that. You sure you can’t just go to Europe instead?”
“Nope,” he says. “You’re going to have to find a new defense.”
You sigh. “But Vernon that one’s worked since we were fourteen.”
“It never worked!”
“Yes it did because then it got you on the defensive instead!”
“But you still went to sleep when I hung up, didn’t you?”
Double damn. He’s right and you know he knows it, from the raised eyebrow look he’s giving you as he catches the ice cream that’s melting around the edges of his cone.
“. . . That’s entirely beside the point.”
He just grins. You bury your face in your ice cream cone, trying to devour the rest in a single bite to avoid the urge to pout. Of course, all that really does is get ice cream all over your face, but whatever. When you look back at him, he’s still looking at you, his eyes soft and fond and damn but you’re going to miss him like a lung when he’s gone.
“You’ve got a little something there,” he says, and you make a face at him to maybe hide how very obviously whipped you are and do your best to wipe it off with the pile of napkins you snatched.
“Better?”
“No, it’s still--” and he scoots in, and you both go really quiet as he wipes the ice cream from your cheek. His thumb traces your lip.
“You know,” you say, very softly, “if you wanted to kiss me you could’ve just asked.”
His eyes blink up to meet yours, and red tints his cheeks, but he still smiles. “Okay,” he says. “Can I kiss you?”
“Yeah.”
Your ice cream melts. (“It’s okay,” Vernon says, “I’ll buy you another.”)
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Stark Spangled Forever
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A Very Rogers Christmas.
Part 1- The Best Things In Life Are Tree.
Summary: It’s that time of year again and the Rogers family prepare to go and pick their Christmas tree. But when Emmy calls with a bit of bad news, it puts a little downer on the whole thing for Katie and Steve decides to call in reinforcements to pull off the best Christmas Heist he can…
Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark
A/N: So here we go, Part 1 of my Stark Spangled 2020 Christmas special- A Very Rogers Christmas.  This one was written for for @sweater-daddiesdumbdork​ and @sagechanoafterdark​ ‘s Winter/Holiday Challenge. My prompt- Finding the PERFECT Tree.
It feels like AGES since I wrote for my babies so I hope you enjoy this little three parter. Part 2 posting next Friday, and part 3 on Christmas Eve.
SSF Masterlist //  WIYPT Masterlist 
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"Daddy, I found something else I want to ask Santa for, for Christmas." Rori bounced into the study and Steve closed his eyes on the papers he was trying to grade and sighed.
"I bet you have." He mumbled before he glanced up at his daughter and couldn't help but smile at her as she skipped over to him, her long pony tail swinging behind her "What is it, Princess?" "A capybara." she said, scrambling up onto his lap. "A what?" Steve frowned. "A capybara. Look!" she turned the tablet she was holding towards him to show him a picture of the brown animal "They're like huge guinea pigs. I saw one at the zoo with Uncle Buck yesterday and when I said I wanted one he told me to tell you that I was gonna ask Santa." "Course he did." Steve sighed, mentally cursing his asshole best friend. "You know, Rori, don't think Santa can get you one of those." "Why not?" "It’s too big." He attempted “There’s nowhere for us to keep it.” "Our garden is huge!" Rori blinked at him. "And when Emmy and Petey move into the Tower he can live in the cabin." Trust her to be as damned smart as her mother. "They're wild animals honey." Steve shook his head as he tried attempt number two. "But they live in a zoo." Rori looked up at him, her face full of eager excitement “That’s not the wild.” "Yeah but that’s different." Steve reasoned patiently. "They're not like dogs or cats or regular guinea pigs. They need very special care.” "Oh." Rori looked down a little, her shoulders slumping and Steve sighed.
Fuck you, Bucky.
"Okay. Never mind." She clicked off the screen of her tablet and turned towards Steve, looking up at him with those damned green eyes. "Do you think he could get me a kitty instead?"
No, just say no… "Maybe."
Way to go, Rogers. Rori's eyes lit up and Steve inwardly groaned. It was a well-known fact in their house that whenever Dad said maybe, it meant yes. Fuck.
“I love you Daddy!” she beamed, reaching up to press a kiss to his bearded cheek before she hopped off his lap and skipped towards the door “Oh, me and momma are going to make gingerbread men for tomorrow so we can have them when we decorate the tree.”
“Can’t wait baby.” He smiled
“Are you gonna be working tomorrow afternoon?” she asked a little shyly and he shook his head.
“No, I promise.”  He assured her. “All day tomorrow is family day.”
She gave him another huge smile, one that truly warmed his entire being as it made her look even more like his wife, and then headed out of the room, her feet pattering on the tiles of the hallway as she skipped back into the other part of the house. Steve exhaled and looked back down at the paper, groaning as he realised he’d lost his place. He’d been home early that afternoon hoping for more peace and quiet than he got in his office at the University to concentrate on getting through all these and for the most it had worked, until Jamie and Rori had arrived home from school full of it as usual. Katie had kept them out of his way for the most but the realisation that Christmas was well on the way had hit the eldest two and whipped them up into a fever.
Not that Steve particularly cared. He adored this time of year. It was Katie’s holiday and from the day after Thanksgiving the Christmas period started in full throttle in the Rogers household, and they’d picked tomorrow, 2 weeks before the schools broke up, to go and pick the trees for their lounge and hallway. He was a little disappointed that it hadn’t snowed yet, there had been a good covering the previous year but, still it was set to be a cold and dry day so they could still get bundled up and have their hot chocolate and snacks as usual.
He rubbed at his eyes and focussed, reading through the paper in front of him on the ‘Strategy, Diplomacy and politics of Axis and Allied forces in WW2’, wishing to God he was marking something on the course he was actually employed to teach now- Fine Arts- but all those had been done and graded last week. This was the module of History that he taught, because as the Uni said- he was a living, breathing expert.
Aparently.
An hour or so later he finished red-penning the final six paged essay, with a proud smile as that one had been particularly good and he quickly checked it over once more, making sure he’d captured all the notes on the electronic copy and queued it up to send on Monday, just like Katie had shown him how to, so that each student had the hard copy and soft copy back. He stood up, stretched, turned off his laptop and headed through to the main area of the house, the smell of baking and cooking hitting his nostrils as he went.
He walked into the kitchen to find Rori kneeling on one of the tall stools over the island-slash-breakfast bar, her hands and face smeared in pink icing as she decorated a gingerbread man, her little tongue poking out of the side of her mouth in concentration. Katie was stood supervising Harry who was also covered in frosting, this one bright green. Flossie sat in the highchair opposite, banging a spoon on the tray occasionally letting out a yell or babble of something incoherent. As soon as she saw Steve she gave a huge grin and her shouts became louder and he smiled.
“Hi Floss-Floss!” he beamed, crossing to drop a kiss to her head before he looked across at Katie “Where’s Jamie?”
“Upstairs in his room.” Katie gave a little sigh “He said, and I quote, ‘I’m ten now, far too old to decorate gingerbread, mom.’ I could have cried there and then Steve.” She finished with a pout.
Steve gave her a sympathetic smile, the fact her eldest baby boy was growing up was something he knew she hated “Yeah, I bet he won’t be too old to eat them, though.” He appeased and she smiled.
“That’s what I said.” Rori gave a dramatic roll of her eyes and Steve chuckled.
“You finished Grading?” Katie asked as she gently guided Harry’s hand over the cookie shaped like a Christmas tree.
“Yeah, all done. Sorry it took so long.”
“It’s okay.” She looked up at him, smiling “Your dinner is in the oven. I already ate with the kids. Sorry, I was starving.”
“I didn’t expect you to wait.”  Steve walked over the room and dropped a kiss to her cheek. “Thanks, Sweetheart.”
He made his way over to the Aga stove and opened the door, giving a little groan when he saw she’d done his favourite, a Mac and Cheese bake laced with chicken, chorizo and broccoli. He turned to look at her and didn’t miss the flicker of a smile on her face as she knew what he was thinking, before he pulled out the plate giving a yell as it burnt his fingers, dropping it onto the side with a clatter.
“Careful daddy, hot!” Harry turned to face him, and Katie burst out laughing.
“Yeah, thanks Son.” Steve tried not to roll his eyes as he sucked his thumb. Grabbing a tea-towel he gripped the plate, found some cutlery and sat down at the table to the side of the kitchen, tucking in.
“I finished all mine, Momma.” Rori grinned, placing the tube of squeezy frosting down on the side. Steve watched as Katie moved to look over Rori’s shoulder.
“Good job sweetie.” She smiled, “Creative, I’ve never seen a pink cat before.”
Steve paused and looked at Rori as she grinned “I know they’re not really pink, and my kitty won’t be, but it can have a pink collar.”
At that he winced and hastily shoved another forkful of food into his mouth, praying that the conversation stopped there.
Katie sighed “Rori we’ve been over this, you can’t have a cat.”
“Daddy said I could.”
Shit.
Katie’s eyes shot to Steve and he gave her his best innocent look, but from the way her features grew stern he knew he was utterly busted and he swallowed the food in his mouth which turned to cement in his throat.
“No, that’s not what I said.” Steve shook his head.
“You said maybe.” Rori shrugged “Same thing.”
“We getting a kitty?” Harry asked, looking at Katie.
“No.” she shook her head.
“But I asked Daddy if Santa would bring me one and he said maybe.” Rori looked at Katie.
“Well Daddy is wrong.” She glared at Steve and he visibly shrank in his seat. Katie’s green eyes narrowed before they turned back to Rori. “Santa can’t bring live animals. It’s in the rules.”
“What rules?”
“The Christmas Rules” Katie said quickly “No live animals. It’s not fair on them. They don’t like the sleigh.”
“But…”
“No buts Rori.” Katie sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose “I’m sorry honey, but it’s not gonna happen.”
Rori pouted a little but she knew when she was beat and glanced down at the cookies on the tray before she looked up, grinning smugly. “I’ll just ask Uncle Bucky to get me one. He got me Dory.”
“Oh for the love of…” Katie spluttered “Uncle Bucky won’t get you one either.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’ll tell him not to.” Katie looked at her “We have Stark. No more animals.”
Rori folded her arms and at that point Steve stepped in, sensing an impending tantrum.
“Aurora.” He said sternly and she turned her head to face him as he pointed his fork at her. “Enough.”
She glared at him before she sighed and looked at Katie “Can I get down now please?”
Katie obliged and pulled her stool out a little allowing Rori to hop down. “Stay right there little miss.”
“Why?” Rori frowned as Katie headed to the sink, coming back with a cloth. With a groan, Rori held out her hands so Katie could wipe them clean, along with the little smear of icing on her face “20 minutes and then its bath time. We’re up early in the morning.”
“Ooh, yeah!” Rori bounced excitedly “To pick our trees. Hey, can I get one for my room?”
Katie hesitated before she shrugged “You know, I saw some in the shop that already have the lights on and they change colour. We’ll get a big one for the lounge and hallway like normal and I’ll get you a special one. And you get to keep it for next year and the year after.”
Rori pondered this for a moment before she shook her head “I want a real one from the farm.”
Katie groaned, and threw her hands out to the side “Fine, just, go and watch TV or something in the Play Room.”
“I watch TV too please, Momma?” Harry asked and Katie nodded, cleaning him up too before she lifted him down off the stool. He toddled after Rori, yelling for her to wait and as soon as they were gone Katie rounded on Steve.
“Honey, I…” he began and winced as she exploded on him.
“Seriously? A damned cat?”
“She caught me unawares.”
“She always catches you unawares!” Katie scoffed “After six, almost seven years I’d have thought you’d be used it by now.”
“I only said-“
“And as usual I’m left to be the bad guy.” Katie ranted, shaking her head as she moved to turn Flossie’s chair so she was facing the table. “You’re an asshole.”
“This is technically Bucky’s fault.”
“Oh, no, Steven Grant Rogers! Don’t you are try and blame this one on Buck.” She hissed.
“But he took her to the zoo and told her to ask for a capybara!” Steve practically whined “When I said no she asked for a cat, the maybe just slipped out.” Katie paused, her arms folded, face furious and Steve peered up at her giving her a little smile “Don’t be mad, come on baby. I didn’t mean it.”
“You’re still an asshole.” She grumbled, before she crossed to the fridge and pulled out the wine. “And for that you can deal with bedtime. I’m going for a bath.”
“Sure, not a problem.” Steve nodded, swallowing more of his food. Katie poured herself a large glass before she moved to put the bottle back and then changed her mind. With the bottle in one hand, full glass in the other she made for the door. “I love you.” Steve shot as she passed him, and despite her annoyed demeanour, the slight smile that played on her face told him he wasn’t in too much trouble.  
****
All kids were bathed and in bed little over an hour later. The youngest three settled down to sleep, Jamie instructed he had an hour of TV or reading time before lights off.
“Ok Dad.” He nodded, running his hand through his hair as he tidied up his games console a little, Stark curled up on the bed.
“I’ll be in to check.” Steve looked at him, and Jamie rolled his eyes.
“Yeah, I got it. You can trust me.”
“I know.” Steve gave a chuckle “Night son.” He crossed the room to drop a kiss to his head and Jamie pushed him away.
“Gerroff, I’m ten.”
“Yeah, well, you’re still my kid so…” Steve grumbled, and Jamie burst into laughter as the pair of them began to play fight, Jamie digging Steve in the ribs with a well-aimed jab. “Ouch! “ Steve stood up, rubbing at his side, that had hurt a little too much for his liking. “Nice shot.”
“Bucky said I had a good right hook.”
Steve rolled his eyes “I don’t wanna know how he even found that out.”
“He has a punch bag in the garage.” Jamie shrugged as he flopped down onto his bed. “Like yours. He was teaching me to swing.”
“I could teach you that.” Steve replied, a little petulantly.
“Will you?”
“No. You’re ten.” He shot back and Jamie let out a groan of frustration, before Steve chuckled “Ok, I’ll teach you a little IF you promise not to use it anywhere but on the punch bag.”
“But what if I need to use it?”
“Well, that’s different.” Steve pondered, before he shook his head. “But you’re far too young to be getting into situations like that.”
“Uncle Buck said you were fighting people form the age of six. And getting your ass kicked.”
“Well, you do as I say…”
“Not as I do, yeah I got it.” Jamie grinned and Steve arched an eyebrow before he made his way to the door. He paused and turned back to look at his son, not for the first time taking in how damned tall and broad he was for his age. He pointed to Stark “Don’t let your mother catch him on the bed.”
“You know she says the same thing about you.” Jamie looked at him and Steve chuckled.
“I do, but let’s just pretend I don’t okay?”
“Okay, night dad. Love you.”
“Love you too.” Steve smiled, closing the door behind him.
He made his way back downstairs and into the lounge, and paused as he saw Katie talking into the laptop, her eyes brimming with tears.
“Don’t worry about it.” She said softly, and he could tell she was fighting to keep her face straight as Emmy’s voice came from the other side.
“I’m just gutted we can’t get home to come with you guys for the tree.”
“What’s going on?” Steve frowned as he sat next to Katie on the sofa, looking at Emmy and Peter as they both waved to him on the screen “Hey Kids.”
“The UK has been caught up in a huge snow storm.” Katie turned to him. “Their flight has been cancelled.”
“Bummer.” Steve’s frown deepened “Is there nothing from another airport?”
“Not in London.” Emmy shook her head “And the roads are that bad, even if we managed somewhere else…”
“Don’t wanna risk driving Mr R.” Pete shrugged and Steve had to give it to him, that was a sensible move.
“Wise decision.” Steve bit his lip, before he turned to Katie “Can we not get The Stark jet over? You guys should have used that anyway, not gone commercial.”
The irony of his statement didn’t pass him by, as there’d been a time when he had hated using a private jet as he felt it was ostentatious, but he’d fast learned to live with it as it was less hassle and a damned sight comfier and quicker too.
“I told you we didn’t want to.” Emmy shot back and Peter hastily cut in to prevent an argument.
“Already tried Happy before we called. He can’t get in any airfield be it private or other. I’m really sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.” Katie shook her head “If you need anything just call. Have you got a place to stay?”
“Yeah, The Savoy found us another room.” Emmy shrugged before she grimaced “I’m gonna have to put it on my credit card though.”
“Don’t worry about that.” Katie shook her head “Just do what you gotta do, we’ll sort the bill out. Do you need us to wire you some cash or-“
“No, we’ve got enough between us for that.” Pete smiled “Just the hotel. We could get somewhere cheaper if that’s-“
“If it’s that bad out there you can stay where you are.” Steve shook his head. “Don’t worry about the money kids, it’s not important.”
“Just call us if you need anything.” Katie added.
“Thanks Mom. Look, we’re gonna go try and get something to eat and then sleep” Emmy sighed “It’s past 1 am now.”
“Sure, call us tomorrow okay, keep us updated.” Steve instructed and Emmy nodded.
“Will do. Love you both.”
“And you.” Katie smiled “Stay safe, and look after each other.”
“Got it.” Emmy grinned and with that she blew them both a kiss as Peter waved and the screen went blank.
Katie bit her lip before she tapped at the keyboard of her laptop “I’m going to send her some money, just in case. I know she has plenty in her savings, but…”
Steve nodded “Good idea. Those are for a rainy day, not a snowy one.”
Katie gave a small smile as she logged into the banking, and hesitated before she transferred a few thousand over to Emmy and closed the laptop, running her hands over her face. Steve saw her shouldes shake and he gave a sigh, pulling her to him.
“Hey, come on. They’re safe. In the poshest hotel known to man.” He pressed a kiss to her head “No doubt thinking this is some kind of huge romantic adventure. Snowed in, in London, with a mini-bar, room service.”
At that thought he grimaced, as his mind took him to a very dark place about just exactly what the spider kid would be doing to his daughter in said hotel room but he shook himself out of it as Katie spoke, sniffling a little.
“I know it’s just, well we started this tradition with Emmy that first Christmas she lived with us.” Her voice cracked “We went with Tony, Pep and Nat remember?”
“I could I forget.” Steve chuckled, his hands rubbing Katie’s back “You were almost five months pregnant and had that jumper on with a huge Christmas pudding on the front.”
“I’ve still got that.” Her voice was muffled as her face pressed into his Henley.
“And Pepper was going mad when Tony bought that nine foot tree for their lounge.”
“Ours wasn’t much smaller.” Katie laughed, leaning back to wipe her eyes. “You had to trim the top off.”
Steve chuckled, his hands cupping her face “A few days after that we found out bump was blue. Hello Jamie.”
“God it seems so long ago.”
“It was.” Steve smiled pressing a kiss to her lips. “11 years.”
“Yeah.” Katie looked at him “We’ve been through a lot since then.”
Steve nodded, as he wiped her face with his thumbs “And a lot worse than this. I know it’s disappointing, kitten, and I’m gutted as well, but it can’t be helped. We’ll still have a good time and we can go out with Emmy and Peter when they get back, nice meal and a few drinks somewhere instead, just the four of us. Start a new tradition now she’s all grown up.”
“Yeah suppose.” Katie sighed “I mean when they moved out in the New Year, they might not wanna come with us to get a tree anymore.”
“Like that’s gonna happen.” Steve snorted “She’ll simply be getting one for her own place. You know she loves Christmas as much as you. All the kids do. Because you make it so special.”
“It isn’t all down to me.” She smiled “You help.”
“It’s definitely your speciality.” Steve shook his head “You do the baking, the carols, the cooking…suss the decorations out.”
“Yeah, but you hang them. And you’re the one that started leaving Santa footprints by the hearth.”
“Okay so it’s a team effort.” Steve shrugged, dropping another kiss to her lips. “It always is when the kids are concerned.” He pulled back a little and nodded to her glass “You want another?”
“I wasn’t going to but yeah, now I do.”
Steve chuckled “I’ll go get us a drink, you find us something suitably Christmassy to watch.”
He stood, pressing his lips to the crown of Katie’s head before he wandered into the kitchen. As he closed the door behind him he pulled out his phone. He’d had an idea, but hadn’t wanted to mention it to Katie just in case it didn’t work…but if it did, well, he was going to reunite his family for their tradition and earn himself major husband points.
Win win situation.
“Hey punk.” Bucky drawled as he picked up.“What’s crackalackin?”
“God you talk some shit.” Steve rolled his eyes and Bucky laughed
“Sorry, we were watching Madagascar.”
“Yeah, I know where it’s from. I got five kids, remember. Six if I count you.”
“Well you could argue Diva Doll counts for two so you really have seven.”
“Yeah, speaking of which, I got a bone to pick with you about her and a damned capybara.” Steve narrowed his eyes as he spoke and there was a pause before Bucky burst out laughing. “Yeah, laugh it up, jerk. That got me in some major shit before.”
“You didn’t say yes?”
“No of course I didn’t.” Steve sighed “But she sideswiped me asking for a damned cat and I said maybe, so…”
“You fucking moron.”
“Whatever, listen, that’s not why I’m calling anyway.” Steve sighed, his voice growing serious. “I need a favour, Buck.”
“I’m listening.” Bucky replied, before Steve explained the predicament and possible solution. When he finished there was a pause and Bucky let out a long whistle. “Man, that’s…”
“I know, I know.” Steve sighed “But I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t desperate. Katie’s heartbroken Emmy can’t get home.”
“Well, we can’t have the second most important woman in my life upset now can we?” Bucky replied “Leave it with me.”
“Cheers buddy.”
“You’ll owe me a life time of favours if I can pull this off.”
“We’ll call it quits for you almost getting me couched.”
“Not my fault you can’t say no to your likkle Princessa.” Bucky responded and Steve snorted.
“You’ve met her, right?”
There as another pause and Bucky laughed “Point taken.”
“Not a word to Katie.” Steve instructed “Just in case you can’t do it.”
“You seriously doubt me after all this time?” Bucky sighed “That hurts Stevie.”
“You know what else will hurt?” Steve shot back “My foot up your ass.”
“You want me to do this or not?” Bucky scoffed “Because threatening me aint gonna make me wanna do you any favours.”
“No but not wanting to see my wife upset is.”
“You fight dirty, Steven.” Bucky’s voice was low and Steve could imagine the narrowed eyes he was pulling as he spoke. “Okay, I’ll call Sam now. Leave it with me.”
“Thanks Buck.”
Steve cut the call and stuffed his phone back in his pocket, running a hand over his beard. Buck was right, it was a big ask and ridiculously over the top but, well, nothing was too much for him where his family was concerned. And after everything they’d been through this year what with Flossie’s horrific birth and Katie’s post-partum depression, his amazingly brave and gorgeous wife deserved the damned world. With a sigh he yanked open the fridge as he pulled out Katie’s wine and a beer for him, simply hoping that it worked.
**** “You good?” Steve asked as Jamie hopped into the back of the Q7, taking his place on the rear row of seats.
“Yup.” Jamie grinned “I prefer it back here, Rori can’t bug me.”
“Wanna bet?” Rori turned her head and peered at him from her place in the middle of the second row and Steve shot her a look.
“Enough. I hear one sound outta you that’s annoying him, we’re coming straight home.” He said sternly. Rori eyed him shrewdly, as if weighing up whether he was serious or not and he raised his eyebrows, challenging her.
“Ok Daddy.” She shrugged, turning back round. Steve shot Jamie a wink as turned and collapsed Flossie’s little stroller. He slotted it down the side of Jamie’s seat before he shut the trunk and then quickly inspected the roof rack. Satisfied he looked up just as Katie came out of the house, Flossie on her hip, Harry jumping down the steps in front of her. He headed over to his dad and peeked up, Steve giving a laugh as his little woollen hat slipped down over his eyes.
“Come here, buddy.” He said, swinging him into his arms. The little boy gave a giggle as Steve pulled his hat straight so he could see.
“Thanks Daddy!” he smiled and Steve pressed a kiss to his rosy cheek.
“No problem. You ready to get a tree?”
He nodded “Big one!” he threw his arms out wide and Steve nodded seriously.
“The biggest.”
Ten minutes or so later they were sailing out of Brooklyn in the winter morning sun, heading for the tree farm some forty or so minutes away. True to her word, Rori was behaving and chatting to Harry, Jamie was quiet in the back doing something on his tablet and Katie was gently humming to something on the radio. Steve’s hand reached over for hers and he entwined their fingers, gently bringing her arm across his body, pressing a kiss to her wrist.
The journey pass uneventfully and as Steve announced they had arrived the kids all gave a cheer. He parked the car up and then the disembarking began along with issued orders for Jamie and Rori to stay where they were as they sorted the youngest two.
“I think I’ll just carry Floss.” Katie glanced around. “Pushing her stroller is gonna be a pain. I’ll put her in the carrier.”
“You sure?” Steve asked “I would say I’d do it but…”
“You’re gonna be carrying trees, yeah I know.” Katie waved him away. “Its fine, she’s not heavy. Besides, she’ll be too big to do this with next year.”
Steve smiled at her wistful tone, and between them they had Flossie strapped to Katie’s back in no time, having become experts at it over the years. Katie glanced over her shoulder as Flossie gave her a hug grin, before she peeked around and started to gabble animatedly.
“Ready?” Steve looked around and held the hand that wasn’t containing the saw out, Rori taking it as Katie took Harry’s, Jamie falling into step at her other side next to Steve who strategically placed himself between his eldest son and Rori to avoid any potential arguments between the two siblings.
“Want me to take that Dad?” Jamie asked, nodding to the saw. Steve hesitated then shrugged, it had the safety cover on so he handed it over, Jamie slinging it over his shoulder proudly, stepping in front of them a little and Harry wriggled his hand free of Katie’s and ran forward to take Jamie’s. Jamie smiled down at him and Steve shared a glance with Katie as she smiled at him, slipping her hand into his. The family made their way to the entrance and as they approached the various little trade stands, one of which was selling various hot drinks and baked snacks. Katie took a deep breath and smiled, the warming scents of spices, cinnamon and pine hitting her nostrils.
“Smells exactly the same.” She beamed and then frowned as Steve was looking around, blatantly not listening to her as he was busy studying something to their right.
“Hey!” she tugged on his hand and he glanced down at her.
“Sorry, honey.” He diverted his attention “Just saw someone I know.”
“Oh, from work?” she asked.
“Not exactly.” He nodded in the direction he had been looking and Katie spun at the same time Rori let out a shriek.
“Emmy!” she yelled, wrenching her hand free of Steve’s and bolting towards her sister as she strode towards them alongside Peter, Bucky and Sam.
“I don’t-how?” Katie was struggling for words at the sheer emotion of seeing her eldest daughter, who should still be stranded in England, sweeping Rori into hug. “Steve? What?”
“You got Bucky and Sam to thank.” He said gently, as she spun between them all, before she strode forward meeting Emmy halfway and throwing her arms around her.
“Hey mom!” Emmy smiled, before she pulled back and gently waggled Flossie’s hand. “Hi Floss!”
“How did you get here?” Katie sniffed, wiping her eyes, chuckling before she gave Pete a hug.
“Quinjet.” Emmy grinned “It was awesome. Hey Dad!”
“Hey, sweetheart.” Steve swept her up into a huge hug, picking her up slightly off the ground kissing her head. “Nice to have you home.”
“Hold up, a Quinjet?” Katie looked at Emmy, then to Bucky who shrugged.
“Yeah well Steve rang me last night begging for my help…” he began, putting on a whiney voice “Please Buck, I can’t do this without you Buck, you know the usual.” Steve rolled his eyes as Bucky sniggered. “So, me and Birdbrain set off on a daring rescue mission.”
“Yeah, we totally used and abused Fury’s equipment.” Sam chuckled, as he pressed a kiss to Katie’s cheek as he gave her a hug. “He’s gonna be pissed when he finds out.”
“Oh, screw him!” Katie gave a laugh as she turned to Bucky, wrapping her arms round him. “Thank you so much!”
“Anything for you darlin’” he beamed before she stepped back and spun to face Steve, reaching up and grabbing his face. With a smile she pulled him down to meet her in a long, deep kiss.
“Thank you.” She whispered against his lips, and he beamed at her, his nose brushing hers. “I love you, so much.”
“Love you too.” He smiled, before he drew himself up, a little embarrassed at their PDA in front of his two friends and the kids. “Right, who’s ready to go tree picking?”
“We’ll leave you to it.” Bucky smirked as various excited shouts rang out around them. “I’ve got stuff to do with Jen and Sam’s…ahhhh, crap.” The smile on his face turned into a grimace and Steve spun round to see a familiar figure in a trench coat and eyepatch stood by a black SUV watching from a distance.
“Son of a-” Steve snorted, shaking his head as Fury started walking towards of them. “He still knows everything.”
“You have no idea. “Sam muttered.
“Oh, trust me, we do.” Katie grinned as Fury stopped in front of them.
“Someone wanna tell me why one of my jets was in London this morning?” Fury looked at Bucky, then to Sam, then to Peter, all three of them giving him an innocent look.
“Well, there was a thing.” Bucky shrugged “Emergency.”
“Emergency.” Fury dead panned “So nothing to do with a certain Miss Rogers and Mr Parker being stuck in London in snow storm?”
“How do you know this stuff?” Bucky looked at him.
“I told you Barnes, you wanna get one up on me you gotta keep both eyes open.” He levelled him with a look. “Happy called me in a flap to see if I could action a pick up and I told him I wasn’t running a damned Uber service. And then one of them went missing so I put two and two together and looks like I came up with four” He paused and shrugged, smirking a little “Plus, you forgot to wipe the mission log.”
“Damned it Tin Man!” Sam shoved Bucky “You dick, I told you!”
As the two men began to squabble Fury raised his eyebrows and turned to Steve and then Katie, a small smile flickered across his face “Nova, Cap. Long-time no see.”
“Hi Nick.” Steve smiled, reaching out and shaking his hand.
Fury jerked his head as Katie shook his hand, his eyes roving over each of their kids in turn. “I’ll say. You’ve been busy I see.”
Katie gave a huff “One way of putting it.”
Nick arched an eyebrow before he sighed and turned to Bucky and Sam who were still bickering. “Imma let this one slide.” He spoke loudly, the two men instantly turning to face him. “But only because it’s the holidays and I’m in a good mood.”
“You know technically Stark Industries owns half those jets. Tony paid for and designed a lot of the tech on them after all.” Katie quipped and Nick looked at her, before he let out a laugh.
“You’re more like your brother than you’ll ever care to admit” he shook his head as she snorted, pointing at her.
“Worse people to be like.” She smiled fondly, and Fury gave one last scoff before he turned to Sam and Bucky.
“I’ll see you two later. Now, imma go get me some churros then split.” He looked back at them all “Merry Christmas.”
As they all waved him off, watching the curious glances he attracted as he strode towards the hot food stand and then Harry tugged on Steve’s sleeve, causing him to turn his attention from Fury to the little boy.
“Daddy, who’s the pirate?” Harry asked.
There was a pause before Katie burst out laughing, Steve following suite as they both shared a knowing glance, remembering Tony’s fond little nickname for their one time director.
The Goth Pirate.
“He’s an old friend of mine and your momma’s “Steve explained before he glanced up, not surprised to find that once more Fury had disappeared from sight. “We haven’t seen him in a while. And I doubt we will again for a long time.”
There were more hugs shared and after another final thank you to Sam and Bucky, Katie demanding they come over later for drinks, the four remaining adults and four kids all headed into the farm and the chaos began as they began to scout for their perfect trees.
“So we need two large ones.” Katie spoke, “And one for Emmy and Pete in the Cabin and a smaller one for Rori’s room.” she paused “Jamie, did you want one for your room too?”
“Nah, it’s okay.” He shook his head “Thanks though.”
“So four over all.” Steve nodded. “Okay gang, let’s find us some trees.”
They decided to get Rori’s first as it would be smaller and easier to carry once they’d picked it. They set about walking down the various aisles, and before long the jokes started flowing and they were getting worse and worse with time.
“What would you get if you ate the Christmas decorations?” Pete asked and Jamie looked at him, arching a brow. “Tinselitis.”
“Oh God.” Emmy snorted “That’s as bad as one of dad’s”
“Which reminds me.” Steve said, a smirk on his face, “Did you guys hear the forecast for Christmas eve? They’re predicting rain, deer…”
Katie and Emmy both let out a groan as Jamie and Peter howled with laughter.
“What do you call an elf that runs away from Santa’s workshop?” Jamie asked and Steve paused before he shrugged.
“No idea.”
“A rebel without a Clause…”
Katie, Steve, Emmy and Pete burst out laughing as Pete held out his hand to hi-five him. Jamie grinned.
“That’s a good one buddy.” Steve chuckled. “Where did you hear that?”
“Moo text me before.” He smiled “She said her and Auntie Pep had been googling them to put in their cards this year.”
“Like Father like daughter.” Katie smiled to herself, a little nostalgically as a memory of her brother crashed over her and Steve pulled her a little closer, his hand tightening on hers as he dropped a kiss to her head.
After half an hour or so of scouting and plenty of excited shouts and laughter, Rori paused in front of a tree that was the same height as her and she gave a gasp.
“Daddy, that one.” She pointed.
“You sure?” he cocked his head to one side. The tree was leaning to one side, the branches completely uneven, sticking out at all angles and the top was bent. “It’s a bit-”
“It’s perfect.” Rori insisted.
“Okay Princess, whatever you say.”  He looked at Katie as she smiled, her hand dropping to the back of Rori’s head. “Jamie, you got the saw?”
“Yup.” Jamie nodded, passing it over and they all watched as Steve gripped the trunk of the small tree with one hand a little higher up and began to cut it towards the bottom. He could have easily snapped the trunk with his bare hands but he played the part and in four strong swipes it pulled free with a little crack and Rori gave a shriek and clapped her hands.
“I love it!”
Once the safety cover was back on the saw they continued their search, walking towards the slightly bigger trees they spotted and Katie paused in front of a large, Norwegian spruce and reached out, gently crushing one of the needles between her fingers. She took a sniff and stepped back, nodding.
“That one.”
“I still can’t believe you pick them with the smell.” Steve shook his head.
“It’s not all the smell.” She protested “There’s a lot to consider. The height, width and spacing of the branches…this one’s just right for the corner in the lounge. And that one two down will do for the hallway.”
Steve chuckled, knowing better than to argue. “Positive?”
Katie nodded and once more Jamie passed him the saw. This time they all stepped back as Steve crouched down on the ground, expertly cutting the trunk and just the right place. As he took the final swipe, the tree pitched over to a loud shout of “Timberrrrr” from Jamie and Peter and it landed with a thud.
Harry gave a loud cackle and clapped, Flossie shrieking too as Steve then moved two down and repeated the action with a slightly smaller one that would sit in the entrance lounge directly in front of the photo of the pair of them at their wedding, so it would be the first thing anyone saw as they walked into the house.
Emmy strode past the tree to one that was behind it and then nodded to Pete “I think this one will do. I kinda like the way it fans out at the bottom.”
“Sure, Em.” He smiled “Mr R?”
“Oh, here.” Steve handed him the saw and watched as Pete cut his and Emmy’s first Christmas tree down, his arm round Katie’s waist, lips softly kissing Flossie’s cheek as the baby grinned. He arched an eyebrow as Emmy pressed a kiss to Pete’s lips, giving a soft huff as Katie dug him in the ribs, shooting him a warning glance which he returned with an innocent one of his own.
“Well, that was easy.” Emmy commented “It took us 2 hours last year.”
“They need to be right.” Katie shrugged simply, Steve and Emmy exchanging a look before Steve watched as Pete hoisted his tree easily onto his shoulder. It still surprised Steve how strong Peter was, even though it shouldn’t, he knew he was enhanced after all.
“I’ll take Rori’s, Dad.” Jamie stepped forwards, puffing his chest out a little, picking the smaller tree up easily and placing it on his shoulder, in an identical manner to Pete. Steve actively fought the urge to laugh as Jamie began to walk besides Peter and Emmy, clearly proud as punch at being able to help before he turned to Katie.
“Don’t say it.”
Katie laughed “Oh I’m gonna.” she smirked “If he was any more like you I’d be convinced he was a clone.”
Steve snorted as he bent down and easily lifted their two trees onto his shoulders, before they followed a little slower due to Harry being with them. Steve maneuvered around the other tree pickers as they went, his boot clad feet traipsing on the damp of the ground as they made their way back towards the main entrance and joined Pete, Emmy and Jamie at the place ready to pay. As the various helpers, all dressed in little Elf outfits bustled around to wrap their trees and strap them to the roof of the Audi, Katie was suddenly struck with a little problem.
“Hang on.” she turned to Emmy as she thanked the man who’d been dealing with and handed over the cash. “How are you two gonna get home if Bucky and Sam left?”
At that Pete gave a little grin and pulled a set of keys out of his pocket, “Mr Wilson let me borrow his Chevvy.”
“Yeah they went home on Buck’s bike.” Emmy shrugged and at that Steve let out a huge laugh.
“What?” Katie asked.
“Sorry, I’m just picturing those two riding pillion.” He snorted “I give it five minutes before Sam ended up tells Buck to let him off on account of him driving his Ducatti like a maniac.”
“You’ve no room to talk.” Katie scoffed and Steve looked at her with mock outrage.
“Mom?” Jamie asked and Katie turned to him “Can we get a drink now please?”
“Sure, come on.” She smiled and they headed over to the stall. She purchased a hot cider each for her, Steve, Emmy and Pete before hot chocolate for each of the kids along with a selection of donuts, churros and Stollen as Steve took Flossie back to the car so they could pop her in the stroller. They made their way over to one of the benches by the side and sat down and Steve returned, parking Flossie besides them before he handed her a piece of a donut and slipped his arm round Katie, pressing a kiss to her cheek.
“You have a good time?” he asked.
“Yeah.” She beamed, before she glanced over at the other side of the bench. Jamie was settled to Emmy’s left, talking to her about school, as she nodded along whilst Rori was perched on Peter’s knee as she animatedly told him about how she was going to decorate her tree in unicorn colours. Harry meanwhile sat in between both Pete and Emmy, his little frame chewing on a donut as he grinned at his parents who smiled back. Katie turned to look a Steve again, leaning up to kiss him softly “It’s been perfect, thank you for making sure we were all together.”
“Well it wouldn’t be a Rogers Christmas otherwise would it?” he smiled, kissing her again.
“Get a room.” Emmy grumbled and Steve turned to her as she smirked, shoving a piece of donut in her mouth.
“Watch it young lady.” Steve pointed at her.                      
“Daddy.” Rori asked “Can I go with Pete in their car to Target? I need decorations for my Princess Tree.”
Steve hesitated for a while and Pete hastily cut in “It’s no bother Mr Rogers.”
“Yeah we need some for ours.” Emmy nodded.”So we’re going anyway.”
“I come too?” Harry asked hopefully and Emmy shrugged
“If Momma and Daddy say it’s ok, course you can, squirt.”
Steve looked at Katie who shrugged “Fine by me. Sure you can manage them?”
Emmy rolled her eyes “They’re no bother.” She then turned to Jamie “You wanna come too?”
“Hell no.” he said hastily, peering round at Rori before he shook his head “I’m going home for some peace and quiet.”
Both Steve and Katie let out a loud laugh, as Katie shook her head “Oh Jamie.”
“What?” he frowned.
“Nothing pal.” Steve smiled, reaching for his cider. “Nothing at all.”
#ssholidaychallenge #sageandsweater
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nite-shay · 3 years
Text
His Hero Part 4 (Kirishima Eijirou x Reader)
A/N: I don’t know if I’m completely happy about this chapter. I’m trying to get better with witting panic/anxiety/non-humor, so hopefully, next time, it’ll be a little better. Also, sorry for the long time off and just sporadic posting. Works been hell, but now that we’ll hopefully *grain of salt* were getting more people hired, I’ll have more motivation and time to write 
Warnings: Panic/anxiety , references to sex and/or sexual acts (nothing descriptive but suggestive) so I guess 18+? IDK how this works :/ If yer too young, offended by sex , sexual acts, sexual reference or don’t know where babies come from, please don’t read.
Word count: 3K 
Other then that, please enjoy! :D  
Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3 , Part 4
*****
Kirishima didn’t protest when Fat sent him home for the day. 
‘Go home. Clear your head. Call me if you need anything.’ 
Honestly, he barely heard his mentor’s words. He just sat there staring at the screen. Watching, pausing, rewinding, and watching again. Over and over again. It wasn’t until Fat picked him up and carried him to the door, did he finally get the memo.
Yeah... he didn’t need to be here right now...
The trip home was nothing but a blur, and honestly, he remembered nothing about it. His body was on autopilot as his mind tried to wrap the possibility that he might have a kid. 
A kid… A son… Your son… His son? But… How? Err… Wait! 
Ok, he knows the ‘how’ of how kids are made. 
Better phrasing, how could this have happened!? He was always careful with anyone he was with! Err, not that was a really long list or anything. Typically, he was only intimate with someone he’s known for a while, and when he was, he’d use a condom, or they were on the pill. 
Oh fuck. How could he have let this happen!?!?
Calm down. Calm down. 
Maybe he was just overthinking everything? It could just be a coincidence. Sure, he and the kid have some similarity, but hey, there’s like, billions of people on the planet! So some are bound to look alike! That doesn’t necessarily mean they’re related, right? Total chance! That’s it! It’s that stuff we learned in school. Static? No, that’s not right; that was in science. The other thing was in math...Statistics! Yeah, that’s it!
So what if the kid has red eyes? His best bud Katsuki does too! 
The sharp teeth? Look no further than his gym bro Tetsu! Hell, depending on the quirk, it can be a super common trait!
The quirk being exactly like his... well, ok, that was… odd. And yeah, he hasn’t run into any with his quirk specifically, but, big but, it doesn’t mean there isn’t someone out there with his quirk! 
Or maybe it’s not his quirk! Maybe its a similar one! Really, really, reeeealllly similar.
Total coincidence! Anyone can have those traits!
He just… happens to have all of them… just like the kid… whose mother he just happened to have slept with… around six years ago… 
Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck!
The room suddenly felt like it was closing in on him. The air got thinner, making it harder for him to breathe. He jumped off the couch and started pacing. He’s had issues with anxiety for years, and one thing he did learn, when he got like this, he needed to move.
Breath and walk. Breath and walk. Breath and….wait! The kid can’t be more than five! He slept with you six years ago! Ha! The time doesn’t match up! So he can’t be his kid!
His legs felt like jello as the waves of panic finally came to a halt, and took a deep, much-needed deep breath.
He wasn’t a father.
This was a good thing. A great thing!
He doesn’t have a kid. The time frame didn’t add up. He was in the clear.
He should feel happy. Relief. Ecstatic!
So why did he feel like he just got punched in the gut? 
He sighed as he made his way to his fridge in search of something to calm his nerves. Beer isn’t his typical drink of choice, but he was glad he kept a few on hand in moments like this. Since he was single and didn’t have a roommate, his place was the place of choice for ‘bro’s night.’ 
Though sometimes, there was nothing like a cold one to just chill after a long hard day.
He grabbed one of the glass bottles by the neck, activated his quirk, and flicked the lid off with his thumb. Cool little party trick he learned a few years back. 
As he tilted the drink back, he took a long hard swallow and let his mind wander. The beer of choice today was one Katsuki preferred. It was good, smooth going down, and less alcohol content. Which was fine. Ochaco, even after giving birth, still couldn’t stand the smell of alcohol. Pregnancy wasn’t a subject Kirishima knew a lot about, but he knew enough to respect it. 
He’d seen her hauling ass many adays to the toilet of the slightest whiff of something she didn’t like.
Then the cravings came along, which prompted a few late-night trips to the store by Katsuki or himself if his bro was at work. 
He chuckled as he thought about the few times Katsuki had said something to piss her off and sent him over to the redhead’s place for the night. Only to call him back a little while later in tears because of mood swings. 
Towards the end was rough, though. She’d been put on bed rest and was in a lot of pain. Katsuki took fewer shifts during that time to stay home and help ease her in any way he could. 
Damn, she went through all that for, what almost a year? Maybe not quite a year, but it had to be close. 
Was it nine or maybe ten months?
His brain came to a screeching halt, mid-swallow as he started calculating.
Beer spewed out of his mouth and nose as he tried to breathe and swallow at the same time. 
The nine months adds almost a year! *Cough* Meaning the kid’s age would make sense! *Cough Cough*
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck! It can’t be true, can it? He… He’d used protection… hadn’t he?
His mind raced as he thought back to that night six years ago.
It was Izuku’s birthday and his girlfriend, future wife Melissa, rented out a small private Terence at a hotel to celebrate. It was small, maybe fifteen people max: just some friends, family, and a few colleges of the green-haired hero.
He was having a few drinks while chatting with Denki and Hanta when he first saw you. That was when he first saw you… You were chatting with your Melissa and Izuku, and damn… he couldn’t stop staring at you. You were so beautiful, and the way you tried to hide your angelic smile every time you laughed made his heart skip a beat. 
Eventually, his two friends figured out just what or who had caught his attention. Which brought on a relentless amount of teasing. It took about twenty minutes, a few beers, and an angry blonde for him to finally make his way over to you.
Katsuki, at some point, approached his childhood friend, then proceeded to yell at him for some reason or another. Even on his birthday, the guy couldn’t catch a break. Now that he thought about it, it was over something All Might related. Something about a suit and which version was from what era? You were looking rather uncomfortable (Melissa was used to this) at the aggressive (mainly Katsuki) debate. That’s where he came in. With the help of Ochaco and Melissa, he finally got the two distracted enough to send them to opposite corners of the party. 
And then, he was left all alone with you.
He was so nervous that he even stumbled through his own name. Luckily, he played off his nervousness by making light of his two friends. To his surprise, you took his jokes in stride and even had a few comebacks of your own. 
The two of you must have talked for over an hour! Just one conversation after another. He’d never met anyone like you before. You were just so loving, kind, and just… wow!
Then things start to get a little fuzzy.
He remembered talking, drinking, joking, more talking, and more drinking. 
A weird memory of a drunk Denki yelling, “I swear to drunk I’m not God!” before face planting into the punch bowl. 
Then while everyone’s attention was on Denki, the two of you snuck away and back to his room. 
A makeout session on the elevator leads to the two of you missing his floor and shocking an elderly housekeeping lady. That was embarrassing but didn’t seem to stop the two of you.
Then things get really, really blurry, but somehow the two of you made it back to his room without any other incidents. 
While the rest of his memories were bits and pieces, but he… did remember the most of the ‘activates,’ and it’d been consensual, and yeah… he’d definitely used protection! That much he remembered!
The next thing he knew, it was the next morning, where he woke up alone, with a hangover, and felt better than he had in awhile. 
Too bad that feeling didn’t get to last. His phone rang not long after he woke up. It’d been work, a villain was causing trouble, and they needed him asap. 
He showered, dressed, grabbed his stuff, and left. 
Then… he’d gotten hurt… bad…
Ended up in the hospital for nearly a week. 
After he got out, he, well, had an interesting voicemail and charge on his credit card.
He blushed hard as he remembered the hotel’s message regarding the ‘damages’ done to the room. In particular, the ones done to the sheets and headboard. They even sent him pictures!
Damn, he couldn’t believe he lost control of his quirk like that. He hadn’t done that since… well, since his ‘first time.’ That was so embarrassing. Thankfully, he didn’t think he’d hurt you in the process. Of all the pictures and list of damages, blood-stained sheets weren’t listed. Maybe that’s why he never worked up the courage to reach out to you. Even if he didn’t hurt you, he might have scared you...
Wait….
He lost control of his quirk.
Oh… OH SHIT! Realization dawned on him.
Even if he had put a condom on, his quirk might have damaged it!
Then that means… there is a chance he's the father of your son!
FFFFFUCCCCKK!!!!
But wait.
If he really was your son… why haven’t you contacted him?
His footsteps slowed until he came to a standstill.
You would have told him if he was, wouldn’t you?
Granted, the two of you never exchanged numbers, and we’ll it’s not like he did much to reach out to you either, but… You would have known he’s friends with Izuku, so you knew a way to contact him. 
Two-way street, buddy. He internally lashed himself.
Between racking his brain and scolding himself, he didn’t hear the knock on his door until the visitor started pounding. 
“Oi! Shifty hair! Answer the damn door!” A loud, brash voice that could only belong to one person yelled through the abused door.
Katsuki? Why was he here?
Kirishima hurried over to the door before the blonde got too impatient and blew it down… again. He took a deep breath and put on his brightest and cheerful grin before opening the door to greet his grumpy best friend. 
“Oh hey, Bakubro, what’s up?” 
“Don’t bro me! Why the hell am I getting called from your boss to check up on you?” He growled.
“Fat called you?” That was a surprise. 
“Yeah, he did. Had to switch my patrol around and everything.” He brushed past the redhead, letting himself in. Kirishima sighed as he shut the door behind them. 
“I’m really sorry about that. Not sure wh-”
“Don’t start that bullshit with me.” Those fierce red eyes locked on to him. “And drop that fake ass smile. Always hated when you did that shit.” He mutters.
Damn, Fat just had to go and call him of all people. 
If it’d been anyone else, anyone at all, he could play this off. A bright grin, crack a joke or two, maybe a few reassuring words, and he could send them on their way. 
But not him.  No, not Katsuki. Most people wouldn’t in a million years think the aggressive blonde could show anything other than anger. And yeah, the guy was rough around the edges, and he wasn’t the best with words. But nonetheless, here he was. 
And sometimes, that’s all that mattered.
Fuck. 
“So why am I here?” Katsuki wasn’t backing down, so Kirishima took a deep breath.
“What did Fat tell you?” While his smile didn’t waver, he felt his stomach belly flop to the floor. 
“Bastard would spill it, just said you’d need me right and to get over here. Now what the fuck is going on?” While he still sounded angry, there was an underline concern in his tone that most people tend to miss. 
Who would have known that would be the thing to make him crack? Well, obviously, Fatgum knew, hence why he sent the blonde over. The great explosive hero was one of the few people that could blow a hole right through his hardened armor. 
Both figuratively and literally.
With tears in his eyes, he dropped his bright grin and let the damn of emotion bust. He explained everything that had happened. The robbery, the hospital, you, your son, the night he first met you, the security footage, everything! Hell, he was sure he went into a little too much detail when he described you and that night.
The blonde just stood there shell shocked as he tried to absorb the word vomit hurled at him. 
“S-so, yeah… I might… have a…” he couldn’t finish. He just let the silence hang between them. 
“You… dumbass.” He sighed quietly, running his hand through his hair before looking him right in the eyes. While his best friend was known far and wide to have a temper, when shit got real, it was eerie how calm and focused he was. “Are you sure he’s your?”
“I-I don’t know. I mean-”
“Have you talked to the mother?”
“N-No!” 
“Have you talked to anyone about this?” He pressed. “Does anyone else think you’re the father?”
“No! Well, Fat might, but that’s cause he was with me when I put the piece together. But I haven’t told or asked anyone else about this. Honestly, other than the mother, I don’t even know who else to go-” The redhead piped up. Something flashed in his friend’s eyes, and for a moment, he looked like he was ready to commit murder. Fuck was he made? He hadn’t come to him about this yet!? Of course, he was! He was finding this out because his boss called him, not because he had called him! Some friend he is... “I was totally going to call you about this! I swear! You’re my best friend. This just happened so suddenly!”
“I know you would, Ei. Chill.” The blonde’s features soften for a second, soothing the redhead some. But he could tell Katsuki was trying to keep his temper in check. “I’m not mad at you but, I’ll ask again. Does anyone else know about this?”
“Honestly, I have no idea. I only found out about this today, and I haven’t had any contact with (Y/N) since the other day and well at Izuku’s birthday party.”
“Ok. Stay here for a bit. You need to calm down. We need more information first. If he isn’t your kid, you’re losing your shit for nothing. And if he is... well,” He paused, “Cross that bridge when you come to it.” He pushed the hero towards the couch and made him sit down. “I need to make a phone call.” 
Kirishima blinked as his best friend made his way towards his front door. “NOW SIT THERE. SHUT UP AND CALM DOWN!”
*SLAM*
This was a new level of anger for the blonde. He couldn’t stand seeing the redhead like this. He felt even worse, leaving him alone like this. The damn guy lived off socialization with others, so for him to be facing this alone. 
Yeah... it really pissed him off.
The blonde stomped his way back to his apartment, which was just a few doors down. He did need to make a phone call; he hadn’t been lying. But it was a call, that big, dense red rock didn’t need to hear. 
Fuck. He couldn’t believe this. Did shitty hair really have a kid? 
Katsuki made his way inside his home. The home he shared with not only his wife but his newborn daughter. 
Fuck. He has a kid… and he never even knew. 
As he made his way through the foyer and into the living room, something caught his eye. Something black, orange, green, and tiny laid on top of a basket of unfolded laundry. It was the custom design onesie Momo had gotten for their daughter as a baby shower gift. The custom design was made to look like his hero costume. While he scoffed at the thing initially, he made sure that she wore home from the hospital. 
Well, tried. About halfway through the hospital parking lot, she decided now was the best time to need a diaper and outfit change. 
Little brat. He smirked.
If you’d ask him a few years ago what he thought of kids, he would have brushed it off, not really caring about it. His hero career was his focus. He needed no had to be number one. 
But now that he has a little one of his own, he realized there was more to life than being number one. Was he still going to do it? You bet your ass, but now that he has his wife and his child that climb to the top well, he couldn’t dream of making it there without them. 
He couldn’t imagine a world without her. Let alone a world where he didn’t realize she existed.
He whipped out his phone and thumbed through his contacts.
Especially if someone knew about them. 
He took a deep breath and hit send.  
Someone close to not only the kid but himself. 
And still not tell him.
He knows. There’s no way in hell that precipitative little shit doesn’t know!
One ring. Two rings. Three rings.
“K-Kacchan. This is a surprise. You never call. Is everything-” Katsuki cut him off. 
“We need to talk. Now.” 
****
Links: Part 1,  Part 2 ,  Part 3, Part 4
Thanks for the read! If you want see the other stuff I’ve done, click the link bellow!
MasterList
Tags: @hot-pocket01 ,  @simpforeveryone , @remember-happy-things 
39 notes · View notes
goodlucktkachuk · 4 years
Text
Frantic -- Matthew Tkachuk (Pt.3)
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a/n: here we are back at it again with part 3! this was honestly my faviourite one to write so far so I hope you guys enjoy it!
Part One  Part Two
It was a lively Saturday night in downtown Toronto. The streets were full of people shuffling into restaurants and bars. The boys were away on a roadie down the east coast which meant you had your best friends all to yourself. You loved Nick to death but it was good to get some quality time with Emily. Hand in hand, the two of you shook off the cold as you entered The Loose Moose.
This place was an absolute institution for you guys, it was packed full of memories. Endless arguments over that night's game, many wins celebrated and losses mourned. Stupid fights over who was covering the tab and countless nights of Auston or Mitch throwing you over their shoulder because you were getting a bit too feisty. The sweetest memory of all though was Nick meeting Emily for the first time. She had just moved to the city for school so you took her out with the boys to show her some fun. The second Nick saw her he was down for the count and in love ever since. You wondered if Matt felt the same way about you.
It wasn’t overly crowded tonight giving you guys the chance to sit in your regular seats at the end of the bar. It had become a tradition for you and Emily to go out to catch the game while the boys were away.
Nursing your first beer while you looked at the menu, Emliy huffed beside you.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t understand why I’m wearing a flames jersey” She played with the sleeves, a sour look across her face.
“Because I wore Muzz’s jersey the last time we went out.” Your voice extremely uninterested.
“So? You love Jake!”
“Yes but I also love Talbot, listen, Calgary's playing tonight too so you just gotta suffer.”
“God you suck” She said, taking a long sip of her Tequila Sunrise.
“Do you want to split a poutine or just share some apps” She scoffed at you and you just flash her a toothy smile as she begins to pout.
The rest of the night went smoother. After many plates of food and maybe one too many beers you felt good. The Leafs won their game and you guys got several dirty looks for cheering a bit too loud. You couldn’t help how excited Emily tends to get when Nick does anything and several drinks made you more than proud of Mitch.
The second period of the Flames vs Kings game had you on edge of your seat. Given his history, you knew Matty was going to cause some trouble but you hoped to god today he wouldn’t. You made sure to message him before the game but you weren’t sure if he actually saw it. Looking away for just a second  as you signaled the bartender for another drink was enough time for gloves to be dropped and for Matt to start throwing punches.
Keeping your eyes glued to the screen you couldn’t move. You had seen him get in a million  fights before but this felt different. You couldn’t help but feel something twist in your stomach and your cheeks started to get hot. You weren't a fan of the violence but watching him really turned you on. Watching a smirk cover his face as he headed to the box, you’d give anything to know what was going on his head. Distracted from the fight you had missed Emily taking pictures of your concentrated face and getting someone to take a picture of you two from behind in your jerseys.
As the game went into intermission, you took to instagram posting the photos. The first being the Talbot and Lindholm jerseys the two of you had on followed by the photo of your intense concentration. Captioning it, ‘when the boys are away the girls get too into the game’ you hit post.
After a few minutes comments started flooding:
marner_93: gross
morganrielly: @marner_93 second that
nickrobertson01: I really hate you Y/N, we all know Em looks better in blue
Emm01: @nickrobertson01 I was forced, I’m wearing your sweater under this
matthew_tkachuk: getting closer, the right team but still the wrong last name!!
austonmatthews: @matthew_tkachuk nah it’s the wrong everything
fredrikandersen31: I feel so betrayed
-----------------------------------------
After a bitter fight, the Flames came out with a loss and you had come out of the bar way more drunk then you had intended. Being pushed into the uber and having Emily lay your head on her lap you closed your eyes and sighed heavily wondering how Matty was doing. The more you thought about Matt, the more you thought about how Auston was acting about the two of you talking. Tensing your shoulders, a frown covered your face. Your friend could feel you tense up and she started rubbing small circles into your back. Talking to you drunk was like talking to a full grown toddler.
“Whatcha thinking about there, mini.” she hums softly.
Mumbling slightly you said, “Auston”
“Why's that?”
“Mm-making me feel weird about Matty” A smile crossed your lips as you said his name.
“What do you mean hunny?”
“Calling me a pest, looking at my phone, getting way too protective, very uncool of him.”
“I thought him and Matthew were friends though? Why would he care what Matt does?”
“Aus heard us talking after the game.”
“Y/N sweetie, he can’t be mad about that.”
“Heard me say Matty needs to see what is under my jersey.”
“Excuse me!!!”
“Shhhh Emmy. Too loud.”
“Sorry love. Why would you say that?”
“He told me to go to the game in red.”
“When did he tell you that? Did he DM you?”
“The morning before the game when I did pregame coffee. Ruined his hoodie” Pausing you turn slightly to look up at Emily. “I really like him.”
Emily decided you had answered enough questions for the night and just smiled back “Oh Y/N, I’m sure he likes you too.”
The rest of the ride was silent as Emily played with your hair, letting you drift to sleep until you guys got home. She brought you upstairs and helped you get changed. As she did you spoke soft whispers about all the reasons you liked Matthew which made your best friend laugh. In the five years she’s known you, she never had seen you be this head over heels for anyone. It was refreshing. She tucked you into bed and told you she was going to call Nick and to just yell if you needed her. Once your door was closed, you got the brilliant idea to call Matthew. After what felt like struggling forever to find your phone you finally got it and listened to the rhythmic sound of the phone ringing. His voice was rough when he spoke almost as if you had woken him up. Which of course you did.
“Hello?”
Chirping almost like a baby bird you dragged out his name. “Matthewwwww!”
“Y/N? What are you doing up so late?”
“Emmy and I went to the bar to watch you play baby!” Suddenly everything clicked into place in his mind and he realized how trashed you were.
“Awh thank you princess. Did I make you proud?”
“The PROUDEST babe but your fight made me feel…” Trailing off in the middle of the sentence.
“Feel what sweetheart?”
“Ya know, feel…” You added a little spicy to your voice.
“Oh,” he said as everything fell into place in his mind “did I turn you on princess?” His voice became raspy as he waited egerly for you to say something.
Your side of the phone remained silent for a few seconds before you sprang into another topic.
“Ou! Ou! Ou! Wanna hear what I told Emmy tonight!?”
He laughed slightly as you avoid his question. “Sure sweetheart, lay it on me.”
A smile crept onto his face as he placed his phone on his chest and relaxed into his bed. For the next ten minutes you proceeded to tell Matthew everything you liked about him. You liked the way he wore bandanas to push his hair out of his face. How good he was with kids. You spent at least half of the time reminding him how hot he was when he got into fights or when he went to the gym or for just existing. You talked about how good he was at hockey and how much he cared about his family. As you came to the end of your rant you took a quick pause.
“Would you like to know what I like most about you Matty?”
“What’s that Y/N?” He said sweetly, a stupid grin plastered to his face.
“You make me smile.” Matthew couldn’t help but blush thinking about how happy you were.
“Good. I hope that’s all I ever make you do princess.” Giggling madly, you snap a picture of your smile and send it to him.
“You’re beautiful Y/N”
“Thank you.” You take a slight pause just listening to his breath. “Goodnight Matty.”
“Goodnight princess.”
Meanwhile, down in Boston the boys were out celebrating another victory. The bar they were in was packed with people and everyone was having a good time. They were all packed into two booths in the back of the bar each taking turns getting pints of beer for the tables. Auston made his way to the bar with Muz trailing close behind. As they waited to be served Aus put his head in his hands.
“What's wrong buddy?” Jake asks with a confused look on his face. Auston was never one to be stressed around the group
“I’m just worried about Y/N.”
Putting a firm hand on Austons shoulder, Jake just shrugged “Listen man I get what Chucky said was a little much but the kids always doing stupid shit like that.”
“I don’t know Jake.” He sighed as he reached for the pitcher of beer. “I did team USA with him and he broke the heart of every girl who looked his way. I don’t want that happening to Y/N ”
Jake just nodded and they headed back. Auston had good intentions but his execution wasn’t going the way he had hoped.
162 notes · View notes
hoodharlow · 4 years
Text
Las Cuñadas
AN: everyone thank Cal's trainer for not posting him bc now I'm back on  schedule. One of the characters introduced is dedicated to my bby @cherryxwildflower as thank you for always being down to hear me ramble about Cal and Claudia whether its a 3am or 2pm, ily. Another shout out to @karajaynetoday for sharing her Australian knowledge with me. And thank you to @d-oaks for always finding time to beta read and edit <3
Requested?: Yes by my girl @myloverboyash [AND BECAUSE IM GREEDY AF... “This movie is really scary, but you’re into it so I’m trying not to cover my face the whole time, but- WHAT IS THAT?” with Calum 👀🥺]
Warnings: smut, deadass wasn't gonna write it, pos ni modos
Word Count: 4.2k words
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Calum checked his phone again. Claudia and Ashton were supposed to be back at her house an hour ago. The night before the tour bus dropped them off in LA, Ashton hitched a ride with Calum to San Diego because Claudia invited him to an outdoor yoga class in Chicano Park. The two had insisted Calum join them, but he stayed behind with Claudia’s brother, Danny. 
“They were supposed to be back an hour ago,” Calum told Danny.
“They’re probably at Por Vida. Claudia never misses the chance to get an horchata latte,” Danny said; his eyes never left his phone. Then he lifted his head and looked at Calum for a few seconds. “Or she’s pestering Ashton for some details about your sister, so she doesn’t fuck up.”
“I told her thousands of times not to worry. My sister is going to love her,” Calum said. 
Danny shrugged and got up from where he was sitting. 
Calum watched Danny continue to text with one hand while he made a grilled cheese. He quietly placed one in front of Calum and leaned against the sink texting. He cursed to himself and placed his phone face down next to him.
“Okay, so I’m seeing someone and Claudia hates them?” Danny told Calum.
“Paco?” Calum asked, unsure who else Claudia hated. 
“What?— No!” Danny said flustered. “This girl from high school. They were rivals in almost every aspect from what clubs they ran to soccer."
"Is she the one that tripped Claudia when the scouts were there?"
"It was an accident," Danny defended. Calum raised his hands in the air, not wanting to get into it. Danny dropped his shoulders. "Sorry, Claudia is just really you know Claudia. When someone crosses her, they're her enemy for life… except for Ashton. Anyways, I'm bringing her over for Thanksgiving dinner and since your sister is going to be here, she'll have to be nice to her. Right?"
Calum shrugged and bit into his sandwich. They ate in silence. At some point Danny placed a bowl of fruit and a glass of agua de jamaica in front of him. Calum saw how similar Danny and Claudia were. Sure she may look like their mom while he looks like their dad, but their actions spoke louder. 
They both are very nurturing and protective of people they cared about. They see the best in people even when others don’t. It was amusing to watch them both act like they weren't similar when they were. 
Danny excused himself to make a phone call, leaving Calum to catch up on the first few seasons of Holiday Baking Championship. Claudia got him hooked on all the Food Network Baking Censorship shows. At the start of tour they had binged the Halloween Baking Championship.
The front door opened. Claudia quickly came in followed by Ashton. She walked past Calum and called after Danny. He looked at her walk around long enough to notice she wasn't wearing panties under her leggings. 
"I'm so glad Claudia doesn't hate me," Ashton said, taking a seat next to Calum. He sipped his iced coffee. Then he started playing with the sticker on the coffee cup. "We were at the coffee shop, and she bumped into this girl. They chatted a bit, but as we were driving back she went in. Something about how that girl ruined her chances of getting a full ride to UCLA only to get pregnant."
"She's pregnant!" Calum whisper-yelled. He turned to Claudia where she was talking to Danny in a hushed voice. She was gesturing to her stomach, motioning a pregnant belly. Danny's face paled as he listened to her. If Calum connected the dots properly, then thanksgiving was going to be messy.
***
Calum pulled up to Claudia's house after the show. Diego had originally driven Claudia to the show, but he ended up leaving early because he was going back to LA to film another episode of Guy's Grocery Games. Calum had been ecstatic to find out  Diego was one of the judges. He even posted how much he was a fan of Diego to his Instagram stories. While he waited for their turn to go on stage with the Chainsmokers, Calum posted a series of pictures of him and Diego. He even managed to sneak one in with Claudia in the ten slides.
There were mixed comments. Some sent Claudia virtual glares because her and Calum looked like a couple in the picture. Some recognized her as one of the radio hosts from their LA show at the Meet You There Tour. Some were just happy for him to be meeting Diego. His favorite comment was from Guy Fieri, which earned him a follow back. He was one step closer to meeting him.
"He cropped me out," Claudia gasped. She showed him her phone. It was a picture of him, Diego and Claudia's arm. 
"You think he'll follow me back now?" Calum asked before chuckling. 
"Maybe, but I wouldn't get my hopes up. Took him three years to follow me back, and I'm his daughter. You're just some guy who raws his daughter." Claudia leaned over and kissed his cheek. She tugged him closer to her kiss his lips. "We should go inside. I'm getting cold."
"Is that why your nipples are poking through your shirt?" Calum joked as he playfully tugged one of them.
"No, it was because you parallel parked." She smirked.
They made their way inside the house. Claudia checked in with her parents to let them know they're home and are gonna watch a movie down stairs. She went to her room and slipped into one of Calum's sweats and some fuzzy socks before going back down. Calum was coming out of the guest bathroom clad in Claudia's greatest weakness, grey sweats and his Sensations shirt. 
Not even fifteen minutes into the movie and Claudia and Calum were devouring each other. Her hand lazily stroked his length through his sweats as Calum's hands ran over her thighs and ass.
They hadn't had the chance to enjoy each other. It had been almost a month since Claudia's birthday, the last time they saw each other. Even then Diego was with them, so they couldn't sneak off into a secluded hallway or Calum's car. 
"Here let me save this shirt of yours." Calum told her when he pulled away. "We wouldn't want you to poke holes through it. Plus I wanna love on them.” He smirked as he pulled down her shirt, releasing her breasts. He ran his thumb on her sensitive nipples.
Claudia leaned back, giving him better access, and quietly moaned out as he gently nipped under her breasts. Both of his hands were on her nipples, twisting and rubbing them. His tongue traced the pert peaks. 
She pulled his lips back to hers as she slowly grinded on his hardened cock. His hands went to her ass, letting her control their kiss as he guided her against him. 
"Want you, Cal," she said against his lips. 
"But I'm going to need you to be quiet… like not even a peep." Calum warned her. “Don’t wanna get caught like last time.”
"Pinky." She held out her pinky to him. He lazily wrapped his with hers before lifting her up just enough for him to pull down his sweats. 
Claudia greedily got on her knees and got a quick taste. "You're coming in my mouth," she whispered to him as she slipped off their sweats. 
She climbed onto his lap. She bit into his shoulder as Calum coated himself with her arousal before lowering her down his length. He pulled her arms around his shoulders. Then  his hands controlled her hips at the pace he wanted her. 
After a few minutes, Calum's hands wandered away from her hips. He lazily made figure eights on her with his middle finger while his other hand was toying with her breasts. 
Claudia pushed herself against his chest and quickened the pace she rode him. She dug her nails into his biceps as her climax neared. 
Then the front door slammed shut. Calum pushed her off him and pulled him sweats on while Claudia scrambled to get dressed. They both sat on opposite ends of the couch when Danny came by.
"What movie are you two watching?" He asked them. He turned on the lights and watched them carefully. 
"Watching a movie." Claudia shrugged as she looked onto the movie. She had no idea what they were watching until she saw Harry Styles in the water.
"Guess I'll leave you to it." He said shutting off the light.  "Oh and Calum, pick up your shirt. Don't think I don't know what you were doing. Mom and dad don't need more grandkids, Claudia."
***
Claudia checked the oven after letting the pavlova cool. She snapped off a little piece from the middle and went to the living room where her dad was watching Charlie Brown with his grandkids.
"Can you try it?" Claudia asked him. 
"Claudia, ya te dije que esta bueno." He told her.
"Please." She said, extending the 'e' sound.
He took the piece and ate it. He nodded, instantly loving how it tasted. 
Claudia clapped her hands and went back to the kitchen. She quickly whipped up some pomegranate curd from the leftover yolks. 
Her family left her alone in the kitchen, so she could make all of the desserts ranging from sugar cookies to pavlova; she even made chocoflan for Calum. They knew she was nervous that Calum's sister was coming over. She knew how much Mali meant to Calum, so she needed to make a good impression. 
On top of that Danny was bringing his girlfriend, which gave her a weird tug in her stomach because he always gave her vague responses when she asked about her. He didn't even tell her what her name was, so she couldn’t make her a name card. 
"¿No te has cambiado?" Soni, Claudia's mom, asked her when she walked in. The older woman was dressed like she was going to mass with her sky high heels, soft cashmere sweater and silk pants. Claudia couldn't compare in her Long Beach State t-shirt and Calum's sweats.
"I'm almost done. I just need to make some more whipped cream. Hay nomás para los pies y ocupo para esto." Claudia said, shrugging her off. 
"Vete a cambiar. I'll make it." Her mom shooed her out of the kitchen
Claudi rushed upstairs and struggled to choose what to wear. She sighed and went with a grey plaid overall dress and a long sleeve turtleneck under it. She undid her bun, letting loose her curls and clipped it with a ribbon hair tie. Lastly she did a simple makeup look. She slipped her phone in her pocket and made her way back downstairs. 
"Tía, is the poopyhead coming?" Damian asked her when she came down. 
"Yes, but can you not call him that? Just for today?" 
"Cookie and we'll see," he said in a negotiation tone.
"I'm gonna tell your mom," she said, crossing her arms. 
"Fine, but I want a cookie."
"Nomás una." 
Claudia made sure no one saw her snatch a cookie from the dessert cart. She handed it to him and waited for him to eat it, so Paloma and Guito didn't see her and asked for one too. They went back to the living room and watched the Cantinflas marathon Telemundo did every Thanksgiving. She took a seat by the window, checking every so often for Calum. A few minutes passed and Claudia watched Calum's Range Rover pull up. 
Claudia squeezed her eyes shut when she heard the doorbell. She felt like she was back at school on AP test day. The hollow ache in her stomach as it churned. She wasn't sure if she was going to throw up or pass out. 
Junior gave her knee a gentle squeeze and went to open the door. She heard Calum's laugh followed by hushed voices. 
Then she saw him. Dressed in all black as usual. He guided Mali to the living room and everyone greeted her. Damian immediately glued himself to her side and started making conversation with her. Lastly it was Claudia's turn to be introduced. 
"And this is Claudia." Calum told Mali, gesturing to her. 
"Hi." They both said at the same time. 
Mali gave her the warmest smile and reached over to hug her. The ice had melted with that gesture, and they clicked. They dove right into conversation while Calum was talking to Diego and Junior. They were waiting for Danny and his girlfriend to show up. 
Fifteen minutes passed, and the front door opened. There were hushed voices. Danny popped his head through the doorway and waved. "Hey, sorry we're late, traffic," he said. He pulled his girlfriend forward by the hand, revealing her to his family. "This is Medelyn."
Calum's eyes were on Claudia as hers were on Medelyn's belly. He couldn't read her face at all. He watched her hands ball up into fists before she stood up and left the room.
"I'm going to talk to Claudia," Danny announced after everyone greeted him and Medelyn. 
"It was nice knowing you, carnal," Junior called to him as he left for the kitchen.
***
Claudia was on the floor eating carne asada fries and sipping on sparkling cider when Danny came in. He grabbed a fork and sat next to her. They ate for a bit, passing the bottle until Claudia worked up the courage. "I guess you finally made a move on your high school crush."
"You knew about that?" Danny asked. 
"Everyone and their grandma knew, dude." Claudia snorted. She remembered how Paco would tease him about it. "And I saw y'all being all couply and shit at Eileen's 21st. Just didn't think much of it."
"Really? I thought you were too busy throwing drinks at Paulina to notice." He joked. 
"It was one drink!" she said defensively. "Do you remember that one Halloween when she forced you to be Danny Phantom so she could be Paulina?"
"I try not to. Mede was there, and I had asked her out before hand only for Paulina to fuck it up." 
They both laughed and continued eating. They caught up. Claudia learned that him and Medelyn have been dating for almost a year. They started talking when he ran into her the tattoo shop he worked at when she was with her sorority sisters. Things got serious between then as the months progressed. A few months ago they found out Medelyn was pregnant. 
Part of Claudia felt bad. Her and Danny used to talk about everything, but ever since her and Paco broke up, they just stopped. They’d only occasionally check in on each other. It  was around May when she worked up the courage to tell him about Calum. They spent hours talking about him. He even joked that it wouldn't have happened if he didn't hack her Facebook. The two of them looked up when they heard someone approaching the kitchen. 
"He's not dead," Junior yelled into the hallway. He sat next to them and grabbed Claudia's fork. "Why do I always find you both eating carne asada fries and sharing sparkling cider?"
"Tradition." Claudia shrugged. She took a sip and passed it to him. 
"Are you guys done with your heart to heart? Because Damian can only be cute-hungry for so long before he starts fighting." 
"Yeah, we're good," Danny said. He got up and pulled Claudia up. He picked up the locket around her neck. "I thought you lost it."
"Cal gave it to me for my birthday," Claudia said. She tucked it in her dress. 
"He's so whipped," Junior joked.
"Says the one that bends over backwards at whatever Marlene wants," Danny responded. 
Claudia left them and went to the dining room. She grabbed the empty place card next to Danny and wrote Medelyn's name. She wandered back into the living room and called everyone to eat. Calum gave her hand a squeeze and went to his seat next to Mali only to get pushed by Damian because he wanted to sit next to her. 
"Oi mate, that says Calum," Calum said, pointing to his place card.
Damian grabbed it and went to where his place card was and swapped them. "No it doesn't."
***
“Are they always like that?” Mali asked Claudia’s family, gesturing to the couple. 
Calum and Claudia were against the kitchen island in their own little world. Calum was toying with the hem of her dress, smiling at Claudia while she deseeded some pomegranates. She made him open his mouth so she could explode some seeds in his mouth, giggling as he playfully tried to bite her.
“Yeah and they’re so predictable,” Danny said. He pointed at them. “Watch him whisper something into her ear, followed by Claudia getting all shy and tucking her hair behind her ears.”
“I doubt that’s—”
As Danny predicted, Calum got up and towered over Claudia. His hand was on her shoulder as he whispered sweet nothings into her ear. Claudia stepped back, clearly smitten at what he said and tucked her hair back, giving him a sheepish smile. She turned away and poured the pomegranate seeds in a large plate with mixed berries.
“I think that’s enough of that.” Diego grumbled, getting up to break up the lovers' gaze between Claudia and Calum.
“Déjalos, they haven’t seen each other in a month.” Soni said, placing her hand on his chest. She turned to everyone else. “Let’s go to the living room.” 
“I’m just going to get a quick picture to show my mum how whipped her son is” Mali pulled out her phone. She snapped the picture and sent it to her mom. She laughed at her mom’s response and made her way back to the rest of the family.
***
Calum grabbed a bunch of pomegranate seeds and popped them in his mouth. He reached for some more only to get his hand smacked away.
"Stop, I need them." Claudia said sternly. She went over to the fridge, looking for the whipped cream her mom made. "Did I take out the whipped cream? I can't find it."
"Maybe lower?" Calum suggested to her. He dipped a finger in the whipped cream as he watched Claudia. He had a great view of her ass. Her dress bunched up enough that he got a peek of her black lace panties. 
"I swear she made it. I heard the mixer when I was chang— I fucking swear if you're making me bend down to see my ass, I'm gonna eat your chocoflan."
"Oh, look I found it."
Claudia pulled her head out from the fridge and grabbed the bowl from him. Calum rested his elbows on the counter, placing his chin on his hands as he watched her decorate the pavlova. Her hands delicately sprinkled pomegranate seeds. Then she grabbed the pomegranate coulis and drizzled it over the pavlova in circular motion. 
Calum pulled out and discreetly took a picture of her and made it his new lockscreen. He loved watching Claudia in her element. Her personality always showed in her baking. Fearless and precise. 
"Why are you staring at me like that?" Claudia asked, breaking him from the trance he was in. She walked over to him and sat on his lap. His arm instinctively went around her waist. 
"I love watching bake and decorate." He shrugged. "Gives me a glimpse of how your mind works."
"Really?" She sounded surprised. She wasn't expecting to hear that from him.
"Yeah, you're very calculating and aren't afraid of trying new things. It's one of the things I love about you."
Claudia was taken back at his confession. Comments like those always seem to find a way to surprise her. Mostly because no one's ever told her things of that sort. People usually just give her surface level comments. Calum always found a way to be sincere and deep.
"You're sweet, Cal," Claudia said. 
She leaned over and kissed him. Calum's hand held the back of her head and kissed her back. Her hand was on his cheek letting him deepen the kiss. There were no intentions to go any further. They just wanted to kiss each other. 
Soft piano filled the house, making them pull away.
"Oh god, they made Mali play." Claudia sighed. She pulled away and placed the pavlova on the cart with the pies and cookies. 
"You have a piano?" He asked. He got up and followed her out to the living room.
By the time they got there, Mali was finishing up her song. Damian was the first to clap. He leaned over and hugged her, sticking his tongue out to Felix. 
Claudia furrowed her eyebrows at Felix. She could've sworn he said wasn't coming down for Thanksgiving. He greeted Calum with a hug, joking about Mali being the talented sibling before he reached her. 
"I thought you weren't coming." Claudia exclaimed, wrapping her arms around him.
"I wasn't, but since I'm moving to London over Christmas, I decided to come visit. Then my mom sent me over to bring your parents tamales," Felix said. He leaned and whispered. "Ya vi que llegaron todas las cuñadas."
"I know, there's so much to unpack with that," She whispered back. "Also London?"
***
The night wore on. Junior and his family left. Damian gave Mali extra hugs and made her promise to visit soon. Claudia's parents retired to their room while everyone stayed downstairs to watch Pan's Labyrinth. Mali and Felix were off to the side discussing London and all the good things there.
“This movie is really scary, but you’re into it. So I’m trying not to cover my face the whole time, but- WHAT IS THAT?” Calum blurted out to Claudia as he hid his face into her chest. 
“There’s more to it than some monster with eyes on his hands," Danny piped up. "Memo explores good versus evil versus innocence. We have a kid being forced to do 'courageous' grown up shit, but it's even scary for most adults, stripping her from her innocence. Ofelia only wants to be the princess of the underworld, but she can't because of the shit she has to do. Saving her brother from Pan and the general, then impedes her from going back to the underworld and then she dies. Don't get me started on Aragorn because that's a whole different conversation. Basically Memo is saying that in a world torn by war, there is no room for innocence." 
"My baby is gonna be so smart what the fuck," Medelyn cooed. She shifted and kissed him.
"Since when are you smart?" Claudia asked.
"Mensa, we were in the same Spanish class when we saw it." Danny scoffed at her.
"Yeah and?" 
"What does that say about you, mensa?" 
Claudia stayed quiet, unsure how to respond. 
Danny smirked and rubbed Medelyn's belly. "Your tía  is being stupid as always. Sorry you had to hear that, baby."
"Well, I'm gonna get going before the twins fight, and Danny makes Claudia cry." Felix announced. He went around hugging everyone. Calum eyed him as he and Mali talked in hushed voices. He gently squeezed her arm and left. 
"What do you think they talked about?" Calum whispered to Claudia. She shrugged and sniffled. She turned away and Calum caught a glimpse of tears streaming down her cheeks. "You okay?"
She shrugged once more, and got up, wiping her tears. 
"Ah, fuck." Danny mumbled. Whispering to Medelyn, he got up and went after Clauida. Seconds later Claudia's blubbering cries were heard followed by steps retreating up the stairs. Danny came back and sat with Medelyn. Calum was quick to get up, but Danny grabbed his arm, stopping him. 
"She's gonna be okay." He told Calum, "Let her process. Today was a lot for her." 
The movie finished and everyone settled into bed. It took a lot of convincing from Claudia for her parents to allow Calum to sleep with her, so that Mali could have the guest room to herself. 
Calum emerged from her bathroom and climbed into bed. Claudia rolled over and hugged him. He rubbed her arm. 
"You okay?" He asked her.
"Yeah, I'm just tired." She sighed. 
"I would be if I baked as much as you did." He said. He felt her smile against him. 
"Did you like the pavlova?" 
"Yeah, it was fucking good. It was nice to see something from my culture and stuff. To be honest, I was surprised to see American food."
"Thanksgiving is the only time we eat like white people. My mom goes all out with the turkey and green bean casserole."
The loud knock on her door followed by a struggle with the door knob startled them.
"You locked the door?" Claudia whisper-yelled to him, climbing off the bed to open it.
"¿Qué dije? Que la puerta sin seguro y a dormir. No que le pusieras seguro a la puerta y que estén platicando," Diego scolded her.
"I know, I'm sorry. We're going to sleep right now," Claudia mumbled. 
Diego peeked into her room and held up two fingers at Calum. "Strike two."
"What was the first one?" Calum asked, confused. 
"That little bathroom break you both had when we were in the living room. I already have one grandkid on the way. I don't need more."
"And you won't; we use many forms of protection." Calum smiled innocently. 
"That's three."
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cibeewastaken · 4 years
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Hey can you write some fluff, it can be anything as long it features harry kissing dracos hands 😄💙💙💙💙
hello! this turned out more hurt/comfort, i hope you don’t mind. Huge thanks to @pineau-noir for the beta!
1581 words, eighth year to post Hogwarts, tentative friendship, getting together, warning for brief self-harm
Read on Ao3
-----
The robes felt too small for him, even though Harry had just gotten fitted for them at Madam Malkin’s a few months ago. Grown into such a handsome man, the tailor had said to him. Harry only felt old. 
The bell rang behind them, and Draco Malfoy had walked in, stopped at the sight of Harry, hesitantly looked at him, as though he didn’t know if he should turn back or not. Harry had stared back, wondering if it was a dream.
Madam Malkin had given Draco an encouraging smile and ushered him onto the other platform to wait. Harry had turned back to face the mirror, swallowing; it almost came as a shock when he didn’t see two 11-year-old boys reflecting back.
"Hello,” Harry had said, pins in his clothes, arms stretched out. 
Draco had cast him a quick glance, and let out a thin, shaky breath; no reply. He was still staring straight ahead when Harry left the shop.
They had to share a common room, and there really wasn’t a way for Draco to avoid Harry, not even hiding in his room. The expression on Draco’s face was almost devastating when he saw Harry, who had already claimed one of the two beds. Harry didn’t try to talk to him again even if he desperately wanted to know why Draco was wearing a T-shirt with holes in the armpit instead of silk pajamas like Harry always thought he did. And Harry didn’t talk to Draco even when he came back to his room to find Draco howling on his bed, squished between an also crying Parkinson and a wide-eyed Zabini. Draco’s left sleeve was soaked in blood. 
Harry only crouched in front of Draco and cleaned his wound up with what he remembered from the forest. Wrapped it up as Hermione would. Held onto Draco’s hands like a friend would.
Draco was the first to talk, and this time it was Harry who was crying. Harry wasn’t crying because he had a nightmare, or because he thought about Teddy, or because someone had thanked him for the war. Harry was crying because he couldn’t understand NEWT level Potions and the new professor was too starstruck to listen to Harry when he said he didn’t understand. Harry was crying because he didn’t want to ask Hermione when she was with Ron (which was always). Harry was crying because Potions was very confusing and he didn’t see himself ever figuring out since it didn’t involve killing Voldemort or sacrificing himself. 
Draco took Harry’s textbook from and made notes beside each paragraph, summarizing the welter of information into concise sentences, and drew arrows in green ink to link them all together. By this point Harry had wiped his face clean of tears and snot (on his sleeve) and was watching Draco through swollen eyes. When Draco finished, he turned the book back to Harry and explained the day’s lesson to Harry, reading everything from upside down and setting everything right.
And Harry passed his Potion NEWTs with higher scores than anyone but Draco could anticipate. And Harry celebrated it by looting the kitchen of food and drinks and surprised Draco with a feast by the lake. Though it didn’t take long for words to get out that there was food, and soon they were joined by everyone and more. Someone brought a Polaroid and Harry jumped at the chance. He grabbed Draco’s hand when posing for the photo, grinning at him with heat that felt wonderful in his cheeks. 
“Finally,” Harry said.
“What?” Draco said.
“We’re finally friends.”
Draco stared, unblinking. His hands tightened in Harry’s grip. And the flash went off.
They went into different fields after school. Harry went into Auror training as he’d planned. Draco didn’t know what he wanted now he was on his own. Hermione suggested tutoring in the meantime. I have no qualification, Draco said. Managing to help Harry Potter pass NEWTs Potions should be enough for anyone, Hermione replied.
It wasn’t, but Draco started out small. Teaching a few Muggleborn children that just got their Hogwarts letters some basic courses. Charms and Potions, navigating the wizarding world (which their muggle parents listened in on). Magical Theory. History—recent history.
He lost a few students after that, but Draco was adamant that it was taught.
Harry often went over to Draco’s flat late at night, because he knew Draco would be up scribbling away. Harry would sit by Draco and read his own textbooks, and when Draco inevitably put down the quill to shake his wrist out (the bones making cracking noises), Harry would take it in his hands and knead it. Would feel the bone under it shift. Would circle that wrist between his thumb and index finger, squeezing it, then down to Draco’s forearm, digging his knuckles into the sore muscles, then up once more, massage each finger meticulously. 
Draco would usually fall asleep on Harry’s shoulder around the ring finger, and Harry would press a kiss to his hand. 
It was a Thursday morning when the Auror Department got called to handle a Gringotts robbery. Harry seized up at the mention, mind blanking with fear because Draco always went to Gringotts on Thursday morning to deposit his weekly earnings. No one said anything when Harry tagged along, and no one stopped him when he burst in first (they probably all thought it was what he did), frantically looking through all the frightened faces. Harry didn’t see Draco.
“There were no casualties, thank Merlin,” Ester, one of the seniors Auror on site said. “One missing.”
Harry whirled around. Draco wasn’t in the crowd. “What do you mean, one missing?”
Ester looked at her notes, “One of them went after the robbers.”
According to the witnesses, the robber didn’t go for the vaults, instead they targeted the deposit line and Accio’d people’s valuables off of them. One witness said everything happened very fast, the robbers were in and out in less than a minute, and one of the customers went after them.
“Who?” Harry’s voice broke.
“Someone recognized it as the Malfoy kid.”
It was a sloppy crime. It didn’t take long for the Aurors to track them down at Knockturn. Draco was there, a purpling bruise on his face, locked in a struggle with one man. The Aurors Incarceroused the robbers and Draco fell on his bottom, hands tucked to his chest. 
Harry pushed past the crowd. When Draco saw him, his face broke into a relieved smile. A smile that shuttered when Harry starting yelling.
“What the hell were you doing!” Harry snapped at him. Draco reeled back on the ground, mouth agape. “Why would you chase them?! They were gone!”
“They took my stuff!” Draco said.
“Your stuff!” Harry screamed. “What could possibly be worth more than your safety! ” Windows around them rattled. Harry’s head was fuzzy with anger he wasn’t used to anymore. Everyone stopped talking at Harry’s outburst. Draco’s face turned bright red, and he made a startled noise when Harry snatched away whatever Draco was holding. Harry looked down and everything seemed to fall away. 
It was the photo of them, the words Harry wrote on it were faded (Finally friends!), but it was clear that someone had retraced it carefully, many times since. 
A hand snatched the picture back. Mouth hanging open, Harry looked up at Draco.
“You went after them for that?” he asked, voice cracking at the end.
Draco stared at him, face still red with humiliation, eyes wet. “Yes,” he said. “Fine, yes!” He pushed Harry. Harry stumbled, knees weak. “I don’t need you to tell me how pathetic I am, Potter, so just fuck off and go yell at someone else.” Then he turned around, beelining toward the entrance. 
“He can’t leave yet—” an Auror said, but Harry didn’t care about procedures. He ran up and caught Draco’s arm. Draco turned and shoved him, with little effect this time. Harry stood his ground. 
“God, Potter,” Draco said, every syllable shook violently. Tears streamed down Draco’s face. His whole face scrunched up miserably. “What do you want now? I don’t need you to tell me how worthless this is to you.”
“I didn’t—” Harry tried. “That’s not what I meant. You could’ve been killed.” 
Draco’s fingers clawed at Harry’s grip, trying to pry it off. “Shut up, shut up!”
Harry grabbed Draco’s scrambling hand and tugged, wrapped an arm around Draco’s waist and pressed his lips to Draco’s hand. Harry’s breath shuddered, “I could’ve lost you.”
Draco was trembling. The bruise on his face broke Harry’s heart.
Harry pressed a kiss to Draco’s palm. “I could’ve lost you,” Harry said, voice tight with tears held back. Harry tugged Draco in further, wrapping him in a suffocating hug, burying his face in the warm crook of Draco’s neck, breathing in the comforting citrus soap for a second before turning his face into Draco and kissed him.
“I,” Draco started when Harry pulled back. “I’m sorry.” He sounded confused.
“Don’t scare me like that again.”
“Okay.”
“We can always take more photos,” Harry said into Draco’s shoulder. “Let’s go buy a camera right now. And ten thousand rolls of film.”
“Do you expect me to be robbed ten thousand times?”
Harry snorted an ugly laugh and peeked up at Draco. Draco cocked his head, brought a hand up to cup Harry’s face. Harry turned into Draco’s palm.
Draco’s other hand found Harry’s. “Ten thousand rolls it is.”
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