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soleilnomoon · 11 months

Note

Hi again! Still absolutely adore your Kid fic from your last event 💜 Never got around to asking for a Sanji one, so here I am again😅 But seriously, congrats on over 550 followers!! Love seeing your blog grow, cause you’re really talented and deserve them all and legit can’t wait til you hit 1k+ 🥰

For the event order, may I please ask for a #1 with my boi Sanji, with anmitsu, konpeito, and keylime pie and with honey, please? 🥹 i hate this but need some sanji angst 😭

I also dunno if these three would work particularly well together for a prompt, so you can choose whatever! just really feeling angst and sanji rn and maybe comfort if you’d like 🥰

Thank you for all your works you’ve done so far 💜💜

hiiii omg haha i loved that fic fr (i'm obsessed w that man!!!) also ily for requesting sanji i don't write him nearly enough 🥰️ but thank you sm!! 😭 making me all soft and i am so so sorry this took forever, as u know i am so slow but!!! i had fun tormenting sanji w the angst ngl 💓💓💓💓 also those were great choices for the prompt, i wanted to write more but it would've been 8k words before i finished and who has time for that (i do, but listen... that's besides the point) ✨

2k words, fem reader (honestly gn too now that i think abt it), sfw (SHOCKING i know), 18+ mdni, a lil bit suggestive but nothing wild, angst angst angst city babey, fluff if you squint, also i gave u comfort bc u deserve it bb 💗(and sanji does too); feat. sanji being in denial forever and ever, mutual pining, fake unrequited love, reader is determined and sanji is a coward; also i made myself sad writing this but a good sad bc sanji deserves happiness and i'll fight oda if he doesn't get it i s2g... (if u see grammar mistakes/spelling errors... no u didn't 💗)

“loving each other began this way: threading / loneliness into loneliness / patiently, our hands trembling and precise.” — yehuda amichai

STEP 01:

what does it take to kill a soul? —

a question that’s posed unironically, without a hint of remorse or tact, the words precise and venomous, slicing through the thick veneer that he’s carefully crafted. he’s never been able to answer that question — not at six years old, not twelve or fifteen, and not at twenty-one. his siblings took pleasure in taunting him with seemingly philosophical questions, ones that clamped down onto his thoughts with heavy shackles.

even after he’s extracted himself from that life, he can’t scrub those memories from his mind — no matter how hard he tries. they sit, still raw and bloody, giving rise to unpleasant emotions that make his stomach churn from so many things left unsaid. he never set out to be a pirate, but piracy has given him the sort of freedom that he could only wish for as a child.

it’s with tender hands, with nimble yet graceful fingers, and with a fastidiousness that puts him in a category of his own, that he creates and creates and creates —

he’s told he’s an artist, which only pushes him to work harder, to be better. and when he asks himself why, he doesn’t have an answer. or, rather, the answer he does have only serves as a punishing reminder that he’ll never be good enough. no matter how many times his crew mates thank him — their emphatic, genuine praise a soft, warm breeze against his heart, gentle caresses that he commits to memory — despair still manages to infiltrate, a darkness choking out what little light he has left inside of him.

STEP 02:

how far are you willing to go to reach the truth? —

when you join the crew, he’s unnerved by your presence, which is wholly unlike him. usually, he’s able to put on his façade of the flirtatious cook, one that’s jovial and sociable, that lives to serve and please those around him. his first conversation with you ends in disaster; he spills the drink he tried to pour for you, despite your insistence that you are perfectly capable of pouring your own drink — and he knows it’s not out of malice, but it cuts into him all the same.

he tries again and again, bringing you little treats that you only agree to eating if he sits and eats with you; confusion eats away at his mind, and when he opens his mouth to decline, you pat the seat next to you and he acquiesces. he sits stiffly, at first, unsure of why he always feels on edge around you — an irritating need to impress you in a way he’s never wanted to for others grows stronger by the day.

you think it’s cute that he always seems flustered around you — that he stumbles over his words, refuses to hold eye contact with you for longer than thirty seconds — you also think it’s cute that the false bravado that he puts on for the world, diminishes immediately the second you come close to him. if he’s skittish, it’s because you always catch him staring at you; despite his quick reflexes, his reactions around you are slow but pure — childish, almost.

lately he’s clumsier and scatterbrained, nearly burning dinner when you decide to keep him company. you lean against the countertop, a teasing smile on your face — the same one that that caused him to bump his forehead against the cabinet door earlier — as you prattle on about a dream you had. he can barely keep up, his eyes drifting from the skillet to your face, gliding around the curve of your cheek, dipping lower in a slow descent along your neck.

he blinks repeatedly when he reaches your clavicle, stunned at his restraint; and it’s only when you call his name loudly that he realizes he’s left the heat on for too long.

“are you okay?” you ask when you see that he’s fussing over how best to save the dish, mouth moving as he quietly mutters to himself. he barely registers your voice, as an insidious one whispers harshly into his ears about his perpetual incompetence and lack of talent.

you can see that he’s retreated even further into his mind, a feat that also leaves you frustrated. you want to shake him but refrain and grab his hand instead. he snaps out of whatever stupor that held him captive just moments ago, lips parting as he sighs softly before glancing down at you.

“thank you.”

the words are quiet, but impactful, as he didn’t think he’d be able to get them out. you let go of his hand too soon, but he doesn’t say anything else, choosing to focus on cooking than embarrassing himself again in front of you.

you take his silence as a silent dismissal, but you don’t fight him on it — it’s bitter, that sort of rejection, and you swallow back your argument with great difficulty.

STEP 03:

what’s the difference between cowardice and self-preservation? —

frustration bubbles underneath his skin when he can’t find where he placed his lighter; he runs a hand through his hair and tugs on impulse, accidentally ripping a few strands from his scalp. they swirl and tumble onto the ground, pathetic in a way — just like me, but he never really says that out loud. he doesn’t hear your footsteps, although you did your best to remain as quiet as possible.

a cigarette sits in between his lips, and he has half a mind to toss it over the railing of the ship, but a warmth suddenly appears in front of him in the form of a flame. you found his lighter on the floor earlier and meant to give it to him, but every time you got closer, he found every excuse to leave. you don’t realize the impact you have on him — not really, anyway — because he’s genuinely surprised that you can’t hear the heavy beats of his heart that grow more intolerable the longer he hangs around you.

always afraid of being found out, he opts to keep his distance. it’s easier this way, he tells himself, better. but he doesn’t quite believe that; the evidence is plain as day when his tongue feels like its grown three sizes in the span of seconds, where his words get lost and forgotten. it’s all your fault, he reasons; you who insists on talking candidly with him, who insists on listening to him ramble about his dreams, who absolutely insists on stubbornly tearing down his walls, steadily chipping away without a care in the world. he looks at you as if you are the source of all his problems, but he also looks at you as if you’re the solution.

the intensity behind his stare makes your hands tremble slightly, it’s a miracle you’ve managed to keep yourself composed for this long. you light the end of his cigarette with ease, as if you’ve done this for him hundreds of times —and place the lighter into his pants pocket afterwards. if he wasn’t so used to you getting in his personal space all the time, he’d retreat immediately. the proximity is almost too much for him, but he doesn’t step back; you take that as a good sign and keep him company for a few minutes.

you don’t care for the smell of smoke, but on him it smells good. you almost tell him that, but instead bite down on your lip and keep your comment at bay, nerves getting the best of you as you nearly choke on the possibility that your feelings won’t be reciprocated.

another time, maybe. cheeks flushed, you turn your face to look elsewhere. although, you wonder if there ever will be another time. with him, you never know.

he’s still trying to figure you out and why he feels a different sort of calm around you; it’s alarming and new, drumming up an irrational fear within him. he doesn’t think he’s deserving of your attention or affection, and he’s convinced himself that you don’t harbor any romantic feelings for him. and why would you?

one by one, his thoughts pummel into him, acerbic and overwhelming. he exhales a sliver of smoke and puts the cigarette out. he gives you a quick, apologetic look before telling you goodnight, the smile on his face is melancholic and barely existent. you don’t dare say a word, keep your lips pressed together stubbornly; exasperated and dejected, you don’t know what’s worse — his inability to lower his guard around you for longer than ten minutes, or your inability to stop yourself from trying to carve pieces of yourself to give to him.

maybe if you helped him fill the gaping holes in his heart, he’d truly understand how you feel.

STEP 04:

if you had to do it all over again, would you do anything differently? —

sleep evades you after that night, and the night after that, and so forth; it gets so bad that you’re yawning in the middle of the day, falling asleep before you can have a cup of coffee or tea. this does not go unnoticed by the others, and after talking with nami, you feel less out of your element and finally can see the parts of sanji that he wants to keep hidden. her advice is simple: approach slowly and with intent; corner him and don’t let him escape.

you bide your time, full confident that you can find a moment to sit down with him and talk this all out. it doesn’t come easy, but franky mysteriously swaps sanji for the night’s watch — something that should strike you as odd, but it’s a small opening that you take without thinking as you hurriedly climb up to the crow’s nest with a renewed sort of energy.

even with his eyes closed, as he sits lazily on the bench with head tilted back against the wall, he knows it’s you.

“go back to bed,” he says firmly, refusing to look at you.

your stubbornness, unfortunately, wins out. “i’m staying.” at that he sits up, his attention completely on you as his eyes widen at your words. he wants to ask you why, but cowardice wins out — again. as his features soften, a flush crawls along his face, lightly painting his cheeks pink. he closes his eyes again, tries to steady his breathing as he counts backwards, only for his efforts to be obliterated with ease the moment you sit next to him.

as your thigh presses against his, you take his hand and on impulse you trace your fingertip along the lines on his palm. he watches you with a morbid fascination that scares him; but then you start to say things like, “you will live a very long life,” and “you are courageous, and you have a big heart.”

a small part of him wants to pull his hand away, so you won’t say anything else — but he remains put, so still that you almost think he’s stopped breathing. your voice is sweet and disarming, even when you carry on this charade of reading his palm. a belated realization hits him forcefully, making him blink several times; it dawns on him that you’ve always been so kind and gentle with him, even when you teased him. he’s spent all this time overthinking and hiding behind his past, that it never occurred to him that he could have simply let you in. you’ve never given him reason to believe that you’d betray or harm him intentionally.

he takes a deep breath, voice a little uneven, “i—”

you lean in close, adoration dripping onto your words as you interrupt him. “hey, have i told you?” the question glides along his skin, the words seeping into him as you continue, the lilt in your voice a honeyed, melodic spell. “you remind me of starlight and the mysteries of space.” your lips brush against his when you tell him that, and a warmth settles into the middle of his chest, makes it hard to focus. he doesn’t think when he curls his fingers around yours and doesn’t think when heleans down to kiss you — tender yet electrifying all the same.

the move disarms you in a way that doesn’t quite make sense to you, so you simply hum in approval and lean your head against his shoulder. a comfortable silence settles around you both, but you don’t mind that at all; it’s nice, not having to tip-toe around him anymore, and the demons that plagued him for so long don’t seem so intimidating with you by his side.

#fic request #milestone event #500+ followers event #🍭✨🍨sticky & sweet event🧁✨🍭#one piece angst #one piece fluff #one piece x reader #one piece x y/n #vinsmoke sanji x reader #vinsmoke sanji x y/n #sanji x reader #sanji x y/n #sanji angst #sanji fluff #i love sanji a normal amt as u can tell

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rev-wrath · 2 years

Text

Liar 2

Dick Grayson x Reader

First Next

Series Masterlist

Summary: Former anti-hero Tig is now in prison, courtesy of one Dick Grayson (former best friend) and his family. Safe to say the two are not on great terms, and he has to deal with the fact the siblings he saw die are supposedly alive and now being taken care of by Dick’s family.

Notes: Reader is male, he/him pronouns are used! 2.2k words. Send an ask to be part of the Liar tag list.

He’s not at all surprised to see Dick Grayson on the other side of the plexiglass. There are very few people who would visit him. Well, that might be a bigger list now that his identity has been exposed. Hopefully they also covered that in their big plan to take him down.

He sits down on the chair with his arms crossed, eyes fixed on a point on the wall. “Hey, how are you?” He gives Dick a pointed look and a raised eyebrow. “Yeah. Can’t say I didn’t expect that.” He looks away again as Dick scans over him. There aren’t bruises or worrying marks. He’s not holding himself like he’s injured. “Look-”

“Are my siblings okay?”

Dick’s eyes soften. “Yeah. They’re in a foster house right now. They’re adjusting. Natalia is doing great in school, she’s a smart kid. So is West but he knows more about people. It’s kind of unnerving but that’s kids for you.” West was 5 last he saw him. It’s been six years now. Oh god, his little brother is 11 now. “And Kiva is a whirlwind.” He nods, holding back the tears. Yeah, that sounds like them.

It’s been six years. Six years. His siblings are 15, 11 and 9 now. So much has changed but it sounds like some things haven’t. He wants to see them so much but he’s not letting them anywhere near here. The important thing is that they’re safe, and somehow alive. He’s still having trouble believing that one honestly.

“Look, I’m sorry. I…” (Y/N) tunes him out. It can’t be too different than what he’s already said. It’s only when Dick is silent again does he glance at him. His eyes still shine, mouth slightly pulled down, eyebrows slightly curved upwards. His shoulders are still pulled up though. He’s upset and trying to hide it. “If I can somehow make it up to you…”

“Just look after my siblings, Grayson.” He uncrosses his arms and stands up, ready to leave.

Days later he sits in front of plexiglass again. Surprisingly Jason sits across from him now. He wonders if Tim is going to show up at some point.

“Sorry about them. They’re a hassle, I would know.” He snorts. “Honestly I had no issues with what you did. Not my people so not my problem. But you know how B is. I still think you’re really fucking cool. Loved that job you did back in March 2 years ago with the paint.” He snorts and turns his head trying to hide his smile. Of course Jason is complimenting him on his work now. “Your siblings are doing great by the way. They run circles around Dick sometimes, it’s great.” Jason pauses. “Sorry about him by the way. Guy feels like shit but that’s on him.”

It is absolutely on Dick. Ignoring that part he softly asks, “My siblings are alive?”

Jason softens too. “Yeah. They ran DNA tests, asked about you, they’re your siblings.” He nods. Jason wouldn’t lie to him, not about this.

“You’ve talked to them.”

“Yeah. Figured I would once I found out about them. Also for the record I only found out about them after you ended up here.” He probably would have told him beforehand otherwise. Or at least asked about it.

Now that he thinks about it… “Did you know? That everything was a lie?”

“Not really. I heard them talk about you but I didn’t know they were talking about you. And I was told not to get too close to you, which was weird but I was too busy to dig into it. Then I saw you more so it was harder to not want to dig into it. Was too late by the time I started.”

“Well, thanks for not throwing me in prison then.”

“Like I said, I don’t have any issues with what you did. I’m not a hardass.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Is it just gonna be you and Dick or do I have to prepare myself for Tim too?” He doubts Batman has time to come visit him. Or cares enough to.

Jason snorts at that. “I couldn’t tell you. I think you’re good for now.”

“Good to know.”

“Well, I gotta go. One of us has to go take down some asshole. See ya, (Y/N).”

“Bye, Jay.”

It’s been over 2 months since he’s got here when Dick says, “I brought you something.” He pulls out a small white rectangle, flipping it out around so (Y/N) can see. His breath gets caught in his throat. Either they found some really good lookalikes or they’re really alive. Looking at it there’s no way that’s not them. Dick had described them pretty well and here they are 6 years older.

He reaches out brushing his hands against the glass. They’re alive. They’re alive and he doesn’t know how. He swears they all died on the ground while he was being restrained, kicking and screaming. He had gotten his supposed revenge though. Those bastards were all dead before he turned 20.

He makes a choked sound before withdrawing. Dick doesn’t get to see him like this, not anymore.

“(Y/N).”

“Don’t.” His voice is still sharp.

“I can mail this in if you want.”

He’s quick to respond. “No. I don’t want it in here.”

“Okay.” He says softly. Somehow he gets the feeling Dick knows exactly what he means by that.

(Y/N) stands without another word, and heads to the door, the guard standing there escorts him out.

“You’re literally the reason their brother is in jail!” Jason harshly whispers. The hallway’s only source of light is the living room. A few rooms over are the kids, whom Dick was talking to not even 10 minutes ago.

“They don’t need to know that.” Dick’s guilt-twinged voice is much softer than Jason’s.

“You didn’t grow up the way I did, or the way they did. They know things, you don’t need to skirt around it. He thought they were dead for fucks sake!”

Dick doesn’t let Jason know that he had watched his siblings “die”. It wouldn’t help his case.

“If they actually knew what he did, which probably isn’t too different from what he did before, they probably wouldn’t mind.” Gotham is hard, it’s rough. They all knew this but none of them had lived in it like Jason had. Jason lived in the cold, unforgiving streets of Crime Alley, pickpocketing and stealing to survive. He had learned who was who and who was where on the smaller scale out of necessity. Sure the ones in costumes are bad, but the everyday people are exactly that. Everyday.

“And now you’re here, telling them about all the things you did with him until Batman got him and how sad it made you when you found out.” Dick bows his head.

He can recall it. West asked where (Y/N) was now. Dick had to tell him and the girls that their brother was very busy but they would be together as soon as they could but until then Dick and his family would help as much as they could. Then when he ended up in jail Kiva proclaimed that their big brother was a good guy, that he helped people, that he helped them and never liked the mean people so there was no way he was a bad guy. She demanded that Dick and Tim help get their big brother out of jail so that they can be together again.

“That’s not how it works, sweetie.” He told her. West then said he hated Gotham, while Natalia quietly murmured something to Kiva.

“I can’t tell you what to do but these are Gotham kids. These are (Y/N)’s siblings. Play nice if you want.” They probably need it honestly. “But you don’t need to skirt around what (Y/N) did or pretend like you two are still best friends.”

There’s a thick pause before Dick quietly confesses, “I think I’m in love with him.”

Jason makes a sound between a laugh and an exhale, either way the disbelief in it is clear. “Way to fucking go, Dick. God, I knew you were bad at relationships but this is a new low.”

“I know, I know.”

Jason sighs and rubs his face with a hand. “I’m going to help because there are kids involved and (Y/N) deserves better than this shit.” And because you’re my brother. You’re my big brother and I care about you.

Dick looks at him with what Jason calls his big-brother-look. This one is mixed with some sadness and gratefulness.

“I want to call them.” It’s not spoken like a question, but it still feels like he’s asking for some reason. “I don’t want them to come here but I want to be able to talk to them.”

Dick is mentally making arrangements for a landline phone at the house. “I can get you a number to call.” He looks at Dick, eyes just a tad wider with joy and hope. He’s been far less expressive since he’s gotten here, Dick’s noticed. He’s been like that since that day.

The look is quickly gone and so is his gaze on Dick. Overtaken by slightly scrunched features.

“I wouldn’t be able to adopt them.” Mostly he’s thinking out loud. “They’ll all be adults by the time I get out of here,” Realistically, he’ll be in here for a couple years and then maybe get out early for good behavior. With all the work that went into putting him in here he doubts Dick will or can help. Though they both know adult adoption is a thing, after all Dick went through that process with Bruce. “then I doubt they’ll let a newly released prisoner adopt 3 people.” He just wants to look after them. To know that if anything happens to them again, then he’ll be able to step in and take care of things without too much of a hassle. He’s already accepted that he most likely won’t get to witness any of the big moments, like school dances, graduates, scaring potential partners. The normal things they didn’t even really have before. “Do they have all their documents? I don’t even have all my documents.” Growing up in their part of Gotham made sure of that.

“They have all their documents, don’t worry about that. I’ll see what I can do about yours.” Dick assures him. There’s a “thank you” on the back of his tongue. It’s a heavy weight and he doesn’t quite like the taste of it.

It never leaves his mouth.

They’re doing it again. Dick stares at him while he stares at anywhere other than Dick. That’s usually how it goes. Sometimes when he’s in the mood to challenge Dick he stares right back at him with fire in his eyes. They do that and sit in silence. It happens all the time. It’s happening now.

“I miss the guy that would call my puns stupid but still laugh at them, the guy who would make fun of me while-”

“Yeah well, apparently the guy I knew was a lie anyways so guess we both lost someone.” Neither are aware of the slight heartbreak the other had from that night. (Y/N) didn’t know the heartache every time Dick went to Bruce or was sitting with (Y/N) and suddenly remembering he wasn’t actually supposed to be feeling these things. “If you miss me you have no one to blame but you and your family. You’re practically holding mine against me.” And to think that when they had died no one would be able to do that again.

“It wasn’t a complete lie. I liked you, I liked being with you, the Dick Grayson you knew is Dick Grayson.” Originally a more likable, airhead but somewhere along the way he just became comfortable and he was just him.

“Did I know Dick Grayson?”

“You still know.”

“I don’t know if I do.”

Dick’s heart breaks a bit more like it does with each visit.

“Ya know, I broke my best friend out of prison once.”

“I’ve heard.” Jason gives him a look. He just gives one right back. “No. If I wanted to leave by now I probably could have.” He’s not entirely sure. This isn’t his typical stint. “But I’m staying put for my siblings’ sake. If I broke out I would just be where I was before, maybe even worse. I can’t do that to them. I would need to find an actual job and a new place, a decent one that’s big enough for all of us.” A two bedroom, one bath place would be enough. “They need stability, they deserve to have someone who’s always going to be there for them.” He knows what it’s like to sometimes be somewhere and wonder if his friend was dead or severely injured. Now that multiplied by at least 5? That being your older brother? That being the person you depended on? Yeah, no way was he doing that to them.

Jason’s eyes hold something he can’t describe. “You’re a good person.” Yet here he is.

(Y/N) leans against the rough, gray wall. Cold plastic is pressed against his ear.

The phone rings, and it rings. It picks up.

“Hi.” He says with a careful joy.

There’s a gasp and a squeal. “(Y/N)!”

#dick grayson x reader #dick grayson x male reader #dick grayson imagine #dick grayson imagines #nightwing x reader #nightwing imagine #dc #read reed

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lovemesomeeddiemunson · 2 years

Text

Pocket Dice

Summary: You teach Steve to play D&D. In return he takes it upon himself to set you up with a certain Dungeon Master.

F! Reader Insert, 4995 Words

Warning: Minor ST spoilers ahead. Food mentions. (Underage) drinking. Drug use. (It’s only marijuana dad!) Hinted at sexual situations. Reader is written as wearing red lipstick and dresses very 80s punk. Reader also listens to heavy metal in this and plays D&D because you’re cool peoples’. Takes place some time after Volume 5. (I took the liberty of deciding that Eddie lives and the world gets saved, and I offer no apologies for that.)

Authors Note: This is the third Eddie fic I started writing in recent days - thought I’d share since it hasn’t taken on a life of its own like the other two. No sequel planned/in the works, but never say never. Also, I am always looking for inspo, so I will absolutely take requests for one-shots, blurbs, and head canons. If you don’t have an idea and just wanna chat, that’s cool too! I promise I won't bite.

After defeating evil a final time, after closing the portals, after reversing the poisoning of the town, Steve should have been happy to retire from saving the world.

He should have been grateful for the monotony life had become filled with - that there wasn’t a new threat on the horizon. But grateful was not what Steve was feeling.

The truth was, Steve was unnerved.

Not only was there nothing for him to do during peacetime, but in addition to that, his brothers and sisters in arms started to slip away, keeping in touch less and less.

Nancy had put the final nail in the coffin when it came to them after she graduated, and moved away with Johnathan.

He still worked at the video store with Robin - but she had gotten a girlfriend who adored her, and while Steve was happy for her, she was less and less available for their old shenanigans.

There were the kids of course, but while Steve had a hard time pinning them down, they religiously met up with Eddie every Sunday. Now that he too had finally graduated, they played D&D outside of their high school Hellfire club.

Which, frankly, Steve had never understood…but now that his days were mostly empty, his friends were scattered, and he hadn’t had any heroic moments in ages, it was no wonder he ended up where he did.

In a bookstore one town over, Steve spends way too much time meticulously combing through covers.

So much so that the cute girl working behind the counter - you - takes pity on him.

“Do you need help with anything?” You ask sweetly, in a tone Steve knows well to be a fake customer service voice.

“Sorry I - I don’t know where to start. Were you guys trying to close?” He admitted, sounding pitiful.

“Ten minutes ago.” You chuckle lightly, causing Steve to flush.

Running a finger along the many spines before them, you tease. “I’ve locked us both in, so you might want to make a decision soon, before we starve to death.”

“Sorry!” He says again, hands heavy with the weight of so many books. “I just, really don’t know what I’m looking for.”

“So you mentioned.” You offer him a warm smile. “Let’s see if I can help…uh, what’s your name?”

“Steve.” He answers.

“Steve. I’m Y/N, at your service. Are you looking to get a gift for someone?” You ask helpfully.

“No I…It’s for me. I was hoping to learn how to play.” He flushed when he admitted it.

“And you’ve never played before?” You ask, non-judgmentally.

He shakes his head. “I have…a passable vocabulary.” Never mind that it stemmed from Dustin naming every evil thing they’d encountered over the last five years as some sort of game-inspired creature.

“Oh.” You understand, taking the several books from his hands. Clicking your tongue, tossing several to the side. “No…no…no…yes…no.”

You present him with a much more reasonable pile. “Start with these. Everything else will just overwhelm you.”

“Are you sure?” He asks tentatively. You blink at him - then reach in your pocket to produce a handful of colorful, multi-sided dice.

“Pretty sure.” You tell him, rattling the dice in your hands for emphasis.

Steve’s jaw is slack at that, and he blurts out. “Thank you.”

“Of course.” You readily agree as he follows you to the register where you ring him up.

“Anything else?” You ask, and Steve chuckles a little. “No, but thank you. I was really close to calling it.”

“No need to thank me. It’s a cool game, I wish more people would give it a chance.” You smile when you hand him the receipt, letting him out of the store and locking up again after him.

And that might have been the end of it - but you were so nice to him the first time that once a week passes Steve is back at the bookstore, around the same time, specifically hoping you’ll be there.

When you were - glancing up at the bell announcing his entrance - he smiled sheepishly at you. “So, I have some questions.”

You laugh, not minding the intrusion. “Hit me with em.’”

And then you spend the better part of a half hour going over intricacies of Dungeons and Dragons with him, endlessly patient, even excited for him when he grasps a concept.

“You know,” you say finally, thoughtfully. “I think that your best teacher at this point is probably going to be…playing an actual game.”

“I don’t know if my friends will be as merciful as you’ve been.” He laughs, knowing he’s not ready. There’s too much to learn.

You shrug, “No, but mine just might be.” Then you grab a discarded receipt from the counter, flipping it over and scribbling some information on it.

“Meet me at this address tomorrow, around 4…if you’re up for it. I’ll set you up.” You tell him, and then lead him out the way you had previously, locking up after him without another word.

Steve can’t believe his luck. The next day he arrives at the quaint little maroon house right on time, climbing the steps and knocking on the front door.

It opens moments later, you offering him a warm greeting before letting him inside.

“Hey Steve,” You smile with bright red lips, and Steve is surprised to see how you dress when you’re not in the hideous bookstore khakis and polo shirt.

Yellow plaid pants, and a crop top that looks homemade. Casual, cool. Not what he’d expected from a bookstore clerk who played D&D, but here they were.

You offer Steve a drink before leading him to a fold up table that you’d set up in your large living room.

It’s scattered with supplies already, and over the next hour or two, you and Steve put a lot of work into what he worries isn’t enough to show for it.

Still you’re sweet as always though, explaining to him that the creation of his character is an essential part of the game.

He’s studying the character sheet that the two of you have concocted when you eventually go to greet your friends, all of them arriving within a few minutes of 6pm.

Steve gets the distinct impression that he’s not the first wayward soul you’ve collected. By the time they’ve all joined you two it’s clear that they are, each of them, around you guys’ age, arguably nerdy in a variety of ways, and curious about Steve.

“We’re going to show Steve the ropes.” You tell them, and give the instructions for them to make nice while you order everyone pizza.

Then you take Steve by surprise once again, by sitting at the table’s head and assuming the role of Dungeon Master.

You make the group introduce themselves and their characters for Steve’s benefit, and then captivate everyone with your storytelling.

It’s incredible - Steve is wrapped up in it, having a blast though the actual outcome of the game turns out pretty rough.

Steve doesn’t survive it - but you were right about your friends. They carry his weight, offering tips and using their hard earned resources to keep reviving him as much as possible.

By the end though, his level 1 human paladin is slain. The quest continues on as he listens in fascination.

And when the night is over - the pizza consumed, arguments had, he wasn’t the only casualty.

Several of your friends grumble in good nature when you wrap things up with a small flourishing bow.

“That…was awesome.” Steve breathes, when you finally ask him what he thinks.

Tilting your head back, you laugh. “Glad you think so. Next time I won’t take it so easy on you.”

“Easy?” Steve blurts, your friends all laughing. “Yes, Steve,” they explain - “That was her taking it easy.”

They share tales of the ways you’ve murdered them - sadistically, frequently, and Steve can’t help but to look forward to next time.

He tells you as much when he helps you clean up, and you promise that he’s welcome as much as he wants.

So he keeps coming, keeps playing, keeps learning from you and your friends.

Eventually, Steve is what you generously call decent - and you give him your blessing to recuse himself from what you have affectionately dubbed your “merry band of misfits.”

“You’re ready.” You promise him.

The guys nod in agreement, and Steve swallows. “Do you think uh, I can come back sometimes? Not necessarily every week but uh, you guys are cool. I like hanging out with you all. You’ve taught me a lot.”

“Brave paladin, we would quest with you anytime.” One of the guys salutes him. Steve chuckles.

That night when everyone has cleared out, Steve lingers in order to help put things away, the way he’s done since the first game. While he does so, he’s overwhelmed with gratitude.

You had really been kind to him since you’d met - had taken him under your wing without question, introduced him to something he never realized could be so fun and on top of that, gave him a way back into his friend’s lives.

He wasn’t sure how to repay you.

At least, not until you put a tape in your cassette player, and Steve is suddenly struck with the cords of a familiar song.

It’s a song he’d first heard in The Upside Down, signaling to him that it was time to kill Vecna.

“Master of Puppets?” He asks you.

Without hesitation, your eyes light up. “Hell yeah. I love Metallica.” You give a shake of your head. “Surprised you know it though.” You tease him.

“Yeah I uh…I have this friend. Plays a really…really sick rendition of it. Totally metal.” He says, lost in thought.

“That’s so cool.” You admit, clearing empty pizza boxes away.

You’ve not given it much more consideration, but for Steve though, the wheels are turning. He has an idea. One that, if executed properly, he thinks will be the perfect way to repay you.

The perfect opportunity presents itself with the coming week - his parents are on some kind of retreat that they go on every year that their marriage doesn’t crash and burn.

It’s the perfect time to host - so he puts the word out to all his friends. Party at his place.

Everyone quickly agrees to make it, and when Steve extends the invitation to you, you also decide sure - why not.

It’s not a night playing D&D but Steve promises he’s the king of parties.

When the kids are splashing around in his pool - trying to be sneaky about drinking his beer - Steve feels really confident in his plan and his abilities.

“Who are you waiting for?” Robin asks as she drops down into a lawn chair, drink in hand.

“What?” Steve feigned innocence.

“You keep checking the door.” She says, with a soft hum. “And at last headcount we’re all here. Unless…Nance…Is it - is it Nance? Did you invite Nance?” She whispers.

Steve rolls his eyes, voice dripping with sarcasm. “I doubt Nancy, and Johnathan would make an appearance from their honeymoon to come to one of my parties.”

Robin snorts. “Well, what is it then? Because you’re not subtle.”

“I did invite my new friend.” Steve explains, as nonchalantly as he’s able.

“What’s this now?” Dustin asks, sloshing around in the water with his ears perked up under his curly hair. “You made a new friend?”

“I did.” Steve shrugs.

Robin eyes his face. “Oh my gosh, it’s a girl. Steve has a girlfriend.”

Dustin ooh’s as some of the other kids float over to the commotion, making cute noises.

Steve rolls his eyes. “Alright everybody calm down, it is a girl, and she is a friend. She is not my girlfriend.”

“Do you want her to be?” Eleven teases.

“No.” He grits out.

“I totally don’t believe you.” Lucas laughs.

“It’s a classic Steve move - invite the girl to a pool party and ply her with cheap beer.” Robin jokes.

“That’s not what this is.” He sighs.

“Really Steve, look at the facts and tell us you’re not trying to date her.” Mike says, like some kind of expert.

Steve sighs in deep exasperation, rubbing a hand over his face. He glanced around abruptly, making sure that a particular party guest isn’t around to hear what he’s about to say.

As it is, it seems like he’s gone inside - likely rolling up for the older kids for later. “I’m not trying to date her! I am trying to set her up with Eddie.”

“Eddie?” Dustin questions, astounded.

“Yes, Eddie. Dungeon master, heavy metal playing, mechanically inclined, pain-in-my-ass, Eddie.” Steve rolls his eyes.

“Oh…” everyone seems blown away. None of them more than Steve himself had been.

“…Hello?” A familiar voice calls out and Steve panics, scrambling to his feet and wondering if you’d caught any of that.

Based on your expression he doesn’t think so. Still, he’s extra cautious when he takes the large bottle of tequila from you. “Hey,” Steve addresses, adding lamely. “You made it!”

“Well someone told me that you’re the king of parties.” You tease.

Steve grins, then gestures weakly to the group in front of you two. “These are uh, these are my friends.” Steve points each one out, naming them.

You turn to the pool, younger kids clustered in and around it, and you wave. A flurry of greetings follows you.

They all take you in - blood red lipstick, black fishnets peaking out beneath high waisted shorts, a low cut Iron Maiden shirt tied into a knot at the bottom to show just the smallest bit of your midriff - and they could see where Steve might have thought of Eddie.

Speaking of, in that moment the side door to Steve’s house opens and Eddie steps out of it, already lighting the cigarette perched between his lips before he freezes mid-step.

“Ah, I uh, did not realize we had company.” He grins cheekily.

Steve steps forward, gesturing, “Y/N, this is Eddie. Eddie - Y/N.” He introduces, unable to contain the wide grin at the way Eddie’s eyes hone in on the skeleton on your shirt that he knows all too well.

“Oh, yeah.” You laugh lightly, a tad embarrassed under his gaze. “King Steve here neglected to mention he had a pool.” Nudging Steve harshly at the accusation. “Lucky for you I do accept apologies in the form of a stiff drink.”

“Yes ma’am.” Steve salutes, “Eddie, keep her company will ya? I’m going to uh, go get some ice.”

“I’ll go with you.” Robin adds helpfully, following Steve into the house. Some of the kids, wet and slippery, follow them in, all asking what the plan is.

“I’m making this up as I go.” Steve admits. “I mean, I’ve never asked a girl out for another person!”

“Well we need to do something, did you see her shirt!” Erica points out.

Steve nods, “Trust me kid that’s the tip of the iceberg. She and him are made for each other, you have no idea.”

“Where did you find her anyways?” Dustin asks.

“She works at this book store...it’s not important.” Steve changes the subject. “If no one has any bright ideas, we ought to get back out there before we’re missed.”

Uttered agreements hit Steve’s ears as the group staggered their return. “Here ya go.” Steve hands you the mixed drink, watching you sip it gratefully. “Thanks.” You tell him brightly.

You’re sitting in a lawn chair, Eddie occupying another on your other side, still smoking that cigarette despite the dopey grin on his face.

Drink in hand, you turn back to him and gesture for him to continue. “You were saying?” Eyes all for him, so Eddie launches animatedly into whatever conversation you’d been having before Steve interrupted.

Steve takes it to mean that maybe the pair of you won’t need his help after all, and he lets the party commence, the kids pouring over the edge into the pool as you two talk.

He is briefly distracted by his mission by an overwhelming sense of contentment, flooding him with every call and squeal of joy his younger friends let out.

When the hour grows late, he rounds them up - making sure that they get home safe.

With all the four oldest of the group remaining, Eddie produces a small baggie of pre-rolled blunts.

“S’okay if it’s not your thing.” He tells you, handing off to Robin with the lighter.

You roll your eyes lightly in response, scoffing, “Please.”

Then as if to prove it, after Robin takes the first hit you reach out and grasp her wrist gently, guiding her hand that’s got the blunt clasped between two fingers to bring it to your lips.

You inhale deeply before releasing your hold on the other woman, the smoke billowing from your lips as she lowers her hand.

“Hot.” Robin’s the one who says it, to which you blow her a kiss. Robin then passes to Eddie, who inhales shakily, eyes on you the whole time.

Steve decides to give him until the end of the night, at most.

As the four of you pass the blunt around more, your lipstick stains it, and no one seems to mind. You’re growing on the whole group, and Steve especially sees you slotting in easily past tonight.

As it is while you all smoke, you ask about the kids who’d gone - how they all knew each other, if they were related.

Eddie just laughs and tells you that the girl with the shaved head was a science experiment, and that she has superpowers that helped them all save the world more than once.

You laugh at that, thinking he’s absolutely gone, but Robin and Steve smile knowingly. Their shared smiles grow when Robin alerts Steve subtly to the new development of the night, Steve having caught it as well.

Eddie and you had gotten closer at some point, now sharing a chair, his knee touching yours, the smoke pouring from his mouth crowding your airspace.

Eddie also keeps whispering in your ear, things that make you giggle, leaning back into him.

Then you yawn suddenly, sadly admitting, “Guess I’d better head home before I’m too messed up to drive.”

“One could argue that you reached that limit two drinks ago.” Robin points out, gesturing to the scene of you practically splayed across Eddie’s lap.

At that you flushed, glancing back at Eddie nervously, apologetic, and Steve nudged Robin roughly for undermining his mission.

“Oops,” you breathed. “Sorry Eddie. I get kinda touchy when I drink.”

“I’m not complaining.” It's flirtatious, but there’s an edge of seriousness to it as well. A touch of nerves. You hide your smile behind the red solo cup.

“So, I just meant like…stay.” Robin admits. “I’m sure Steve can spare a couch.”

“I absolutely can. Couches all around, for all my friends.” He holds a drink up to toast to that, inquiring “What do you say?”

“Alright, why not?” You laugh. “Can’t promise that I’ll be that much fun anymore though, I get sleepy after smoking.” Your head lolls to the side to emphasize that point, not minding when it makes contact with Eddie’s shoulder that’s in the path of the movement.

Touchy, check.

Sleepy, check.

“I’m feeling better and better about our decision not to let you drive home.” Steve snickers.

Eddie juts his chin out toward the pool. “You should take a dip. Wake you right up.”

“Um, no.” You chuckle, gesturing to the character on your chest. “Eddie doesn’t swim.”

“It’s called, Eddie?” Robin’s eyes bug out as she nods and laughs. At the same time their Eddie leans in and whispers something suggestive, earning a breathless laugh and elbow to his ribs.

Then you disentangle from the man, scrambling to your feet, “Bathroom?” You ask Steve.

“Downstairs just past the kitchen.” He lets you know, and you thank him, headed inside.

Steve and Robin immediately turn their attention to Eddie once you’re out of sight.

“What? Do I have something in my hair?” He asks in a manner that’s much too innocent.

“Dude,” Steve sighs, while Robin grumbles how men are clueless.

“What?” Eddie asks again, a much more sharp sounding whine.

“You know what - she likes you, and you clearly like her. Ask her out.” Robin insists.

“Since when do you two care about my love life?” Eddie deflects, a tad embarrassed at how obvious he had been.

“Since your soulmate was literally hand delivered by Steve earlier this evening.” Robin snarks.

“Soulmate?” Eddie laughs. “Aw man, having a girlfriend has totally made you soft, Buckley.”

“Tell you what.” Steve suggests, not letting him weasel his way out of it with that subtle change of subject. “I’ll make you a little wager. If I win, you accept that that’s your soulmate in there, and you do something about it. Ask her out…If I lose, it's the dealer's choice.”

Eddie purses his lips as he thinks about it, thinks about giving Steve a buzz cut but also about what he has to lose…the answer to which, is nothing.

Sure he might have been cynical about soulmates, but he would be lying if he said that he hadn’t been toying around with the idea of asking you out already. Might have even done it already were it not for his present company.

“So, what is the wager exactly?” Eddie asks slowly.

“Simple. I’m going to see if I can accurately guess the contents of Y/N’s pockets.” Steve grins.

Eddie laughs. “That’s random as hell.”

“So?” Steve presses.

“You’ve got a deal.” He shrugs.

When you return a few minutes later, sitting in a new chair and making Eddie pout, Steve puts his plan into action.

“Hey, Y/N?” He asks.

“Hm?” You question around a sip of your drink.

“Can I see your dice?” He presses, hiding his smile.

“Dice?” You sound a tad confused, but mostly amused. Eddie watches with rapt fascination.

“Yeah I’m uh…at a crossroads.” Steve hints, holding his hand out to you expectantly.

You look at him for an extended period, before reaching into your pocket and producing the small colorful handful that Steve knew you had on you at all times.

Robin and Steve both wished that they had Johnathan’s camera in order to capture the expression on Eddie’s face - slack jaw and rounded eyes - as he takes in the unmistakable shapes in your palms.

Steve plucks the D20 from your hands, rolling it, knowing it won’t matter what it lands on. Still, it comes out high.

“I think that that’s a hit, wouldn’t you say Eddie?” He teases the older man.

Eddie still hasn’t taken his eyes off of you. “You just - you just carry those around with you?”

“Sure.” You let out a small nervous laugh. “It’s incredibly lame, I know.”

Eddie shakes his head. “Not lame. Cool. Very cool.” Then Eddie’s head snaps up to Steve and Robin with a glare. “Didn’t you guys just say you were going to…get the couches ready or something?”

They scramble up in understanding, nodding, leaving the two alone.

You are utterly confused, more so when Eddie moves off of his chair, kneeling in front of you now that you’re alone.

“Do you, uh, do you think I might be able to take you out sometime?” He rubs the back of his neck nervously, a sweet grin splitting his face.

You blink in surprise “Ye-uh-yes.” Nodding enthusiastically. “…Totally.” You want to cringe at how awkward you are.

Eddie beams at you despite that. “Awesome.”

Steve and Robin, who are peering through the shades that cover Steve’s windows, cheer and celebrate when they see Eddie lean down and plant a kiss right on your red lips.

When you two eventually join them inside, you both take up residence on the pull out couch together, Steve and Robin sleeping upstairs.

And if in the middle of the night, Steve hears the springs of that shitty mattress squeaking, accompanied by a plethora of other muted sounds, he chooses to ignore it for his friend’s sake.

It had, after all, turned out better than he could have imagined.

In the coming days and weeks, he hears little snippets from everyone in the gang, which has in fact grown now to include you.

The updates make Steve smile, especially the little glimpses into your developing relationship with the metal head who is absolutely smitten with you.

You two are inseparable - except for when you work and the nights where you held your respective D&D campaigns.

It’s just before one of those when the kids file into the video store, Steve taking notice of them immediately.

Despite how busy it is, being Saturday, he can’t help but notice that something seems off. And that seems more important than stocking chick flicks on shelves.

“Hey kids, why the long faces?” Steve asks.

“Mike’s parents are redoing the basement.” Will pouts, to which Steve immediately nods in understanding.

They’d been using Wheeler’s basement to host their D&D games with Eddie, since Sundays between church and football there wasn’t much chance of his parents bothering them.

Now, it seems like they needed a place to play. And parents were the recurring issue at their every option.

Steve didn’t have that problem.

“Why not use my house?” Steve suggests, interrupting their batting around of ideas.

The kids' faces light up. “Really?”

This is it, Steve thinks. He nods, telling them “Sure!” Before clearing his throat nervously. “Could I…could I play?”

Several surprised expressions greet him. “You want to play D&D?”

“Yeah.” Steve grins a little. “Why not?”

They, of course, allow it. So that’s how they all end up on a Sunday night at Steve’s house.

Eddie had sauntered in early to set the whole thing up, trying to pry into Steve’s sudden interest, to no avail, only relenting once the kids showed up and they actually got started.

They’re all surprised when Steve brandishes a fully flushed out character. More so by his bold strokes and luck with the dice.

The game is in full swing when the sound of your car pulling up alerts everyone to your presence.

You didn’t usually come see their game - but you knew it was Steve’s first with them, and you’d promised you wouldn’t miss it.

Eddie is ecstatic to have you there, his whole face lighting up as he rushes over to open your door for you.

“Hi princess.” He purrs, giving you a soft kiss on the lips.

“Eddie,” you protest the nickname with a flush. He loves to watch you squirm, leading you over to his throne. It wasn’t the same one from years ago in hellfire - this one didn’t belong to the school, but had been gifted to him as a graduation present.

The kids had hoped it would inspire him to host the game even without the club - and it had definitely helped. Now it went wherever the game did. Most recently, Eddie had saved it from whatever decorating atrocity was taking place at the Wheeler’s.

Eddie settles into it now, pulling you happily into his lap.

“Confronting deadly peril, Steve?” You ask curiously, a mischievous glint in your eye.

“…with surprising success.” Eddie admits at Steve’s modest shrug.

You give Steve a wide grin. “Is that right?” In answer, he winks at you. Eddie’s hands instinctively tighten on your waist, though he knows there’s no malice behind the action.

You wave a hand indicating for them to proceed. They don’t need much more prodding to launch back into it, Eddie leading them on a perilous journey that has him gripping your hips firmly to stop your wriggling in his lap.

“Sweetheart if you don’t cut that out…” he warns in a low voice - a voice much more familiar than the one he uses to narrate - as the party discusses their next move.

You grin sheepishly at him, and he peppers little kisses to your neck, with fevered promises of…later.

Your giggling is interrupted as Steve leads a charge against Eddie, giving the dungeon master a run for his money.

It’s quick - efficient - ruthless. He makes you proud. Eddie gives him everything he has in return, but Steve’s meticulous rolling leaves him with the upper hand. Eddie turns over the miniature of the villain this week, admitting defeat.

The party cheers - Dustin shaking Steve vigorously and Mike and Lucas slapping his back while Erica paraded around in victory.

Eddie doesn’t mind their beating his campaign, and he never has. But still, here now with the promise of you, all riled up before they’d concluded, he’s more than happy to be finished, eager to clear out of there.

He starts packing things up, and you help him, fondness in your eyes when you see the adoration the younger kids show for Steve.

Your actions make him think. “I don’t suppose…” Eddie draws the words out slowly. “That you would have anything to do with…that.” He nods at Steve’s character sheet he’d left on the table.

“I’m afraid so.” You give a faux sigh before explaining with a slight edge of pride. “Taught him everything he knows.”

You beam at Eddie, and he’s suddenly, if possible, more eager, to get you to himself.

An impressed whistle left his lips. “You have no idea the kind of monster you created, my love.”

You laugh at that as the kids overheard, understanding washing over them, Erica being the one to shriek. “I knew he couldn’t be that good!”

“Oh I have…some semblance of an idea.” You bat your lashes at him.

Eddie is fucking enamored with you. He pulls you in and kisses you deeply, he can’t help himself.

“Not in front of the children you two!” Steve protests, throwing a pillow from his couch at you, thinking that it was him who created the monster.

And he couldn’t have been happier about it.

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wooandthesun · 2 years

Text

[09:55] hongjoong

“can i kiss you?” scenario 2/8

“what happens if i press this button?”

hongjoong scrunched his nose, giving your hand a light tap as to dissuade you from inflicting further damage on his studio equipment, though you haven’t actually done any. you rolled your eyes, backing away with a slide backwards on the wheeled office chair.

“i’ll be done in just a minute, sweetheart,” hongjoong slid over to you in another one of the chairs, bringing his face as close as barely an inch away from your own. your breath hitched, betraying the childish facade you were putting up just milliseconds earlier. hongjoong’s composure was unnerving; leaving you silent as he returned to his workspace, ultimately tapping away at his equipment, busy with things you couldn’t understand.

“no but what does the button actually do?” you were hesitant about asking, but better to be embarrassed by curiosity than let it devour you whole, right? this was perhaps the fifth time you’ve been in the studio, yet it was also the first time you’ve been sitting, waiting for him to finish up; the other four times consisted of you finishing up work of your own in the presence of hongjoong, the two of you too much of a workaholic to give into the curiosity that concerned intricate details of each others’ work.

“it just allows me to communicate to the person in the recording booth,” hongjoong replied, once again making his way over to you. “you curious?” he asked, his face coming dangerously close to yours again, only this time it seemed less like a tease and more like he wanted conformation from you.

“mhm,” you nodded. hongjoong’s lips curved into a smile, letting his teeth bare as he stood up to open the door to the recording booth.

“c’mon.” he guided you inside. in an instant, you felt like a kid in a candy store, your eyes glimmering in interest. you stood in front of the microphone, almost bursting into laughter at how tall it was set at. hongjoong chuckled as he adjusted its height to match yours, looking at you lovingly.

you jumped when hongjoong tidied wisps of your hair, tucking them behind your ear before he put headphones on you. you realised then that if the studio was already quiet before, it was even quieter right then and there. you hadn’t noticed hongjoong wasn’t beside you until you realised he was speaking to you from outside the booth, his fingers pressing the button you were so eager to toy with earlier.

“this is so freaking cool!” you replied, barely acknowledging whatever hongjoong just said to you. you resisted the urge to perform literal bunny hops from excitement; a habit that has yet to die.

“you would be a pain to work with, even more painful than wooyoung i swear,” he joked, prompting a pout from you.

“what’s that supposed to mean?” you replied, though too preoccupied on something else to realise hongjoong had entered the booth again, standing in front of you with his hands on his hips. “hongjoooooong,” you called out, unaware that he was as close as he could be to you, with the equipment standing in between the two of you.

“you’re getting a little too excited,” you could finally hear him speak directly. he removed the headphones off of you and walked to stand beside you, giving your cheek a gentle, kid-like pinch as he closed the gap once again.

“my boyfriend is so cool,” you replied in an attempt to sneak your way out, your shaky voice a telltale sign of your nervousness. you looked away, unwilling to show him the redness of your cheeks.

“yeah?” he responded. he shook his head, deciding he’d had enough fun teasing you as he took you into his arms, engulfing you in a hug. you removed your gaze from the ground, looking at hongjoong with a smile. as if unconsciously, hongjoong’s hand rested at the back of your head, giving it a light pat.

once again, there he was, bringing his face closer to you.

“can i kiss you?”

flabbergasted, you nodded, watching him crack a wide smile after receiving the confirmation he sought. his eyes trailed from yours, to your lips and back to your eyes before he dove into the kiss, helplessly letting out a sigh of relief, as if this very action had removed all the tension from work in his body.

“joong, i th- oh! sorry!” the door to the studio opened and closed just as quickly.

the funniest part is, the both of you never noticed, even as the two of you broke apart from the kiss, giggling as you finished up and exited the studio.

#sun: hongjoong #ateez imagine #ateez au #ateez x reader #kpop imagine #ateez fluff #ateez fanfic #hongjoong imagine #hongjoong fluff #hongjoong x reader #ateez timestamps #ateez timestamp #kpop timestamp #timestamp

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fangirlandtheories · 1 year

Note

Awww the mutual jealousy, so precious! They love each other so much. 🧀 Some cheeses, to start your weekend off,hope its a good one:

Steve takes up crocheting as something to do with his hands when he feels anxious. In addition to adding to his own sweater collection, when he deems his work good enough, he starts making various things for others. He incorporates their interests, and personal details,into his work sometimes. Examples: he made Eddie a scarf with skulls on it,for Robin he made a beanie hat with little robins, and a sweater for Lucas with his jersey number. If he's not there with them at least he's still protecting them from the cold.

During a gathering Steve gets hurt doing something extremely mundane (maybe he trips or he bangs his head in the corner of a cabinet door?) and has a full breakdown that he hasn't ever allowed himself to. He just can't stop the hiccuping sobs and, embarrassed, he tries to hide away only to be stopped and held by Robin and Eddie.

My cheesy little darling, you've inspired me. This isn't my best work by any means, it was written in a haze tbh as I've been running on less than fumes all week, BUT this is just for you my love. Thank you for sending me so many sweet ideas and messages, taking time out of your day to shower me with love.

-.-.-

His mother had always loved those cabinets. Their dark stain with the little golden handles that matched the faucet. He remembered seeing her cleaning them obsessively as a child, crying while rubbing polish onto the handles just to see them shine. She never put that much effort into him, no one did.

It started over something so stupid, so small. He had barely knocked his forehead, especially in comparison to the previous assaults his brain had survived, there was a little cut from the corner that was hiding in the creases of his brows. It was nothing that a bandaid wouldn’t fix. Under the surface was a much different problem.

He could barely hear the hushed voices around him, the placating hands of Eddie placed on his knees while he drew in practiced breaths. Nancy was on the phone with someone, face drawn in a sort of faux calm despite her eyes giving her away. Even Argyle seemed unnerved, eyes glued to the floor as he twisted and untwisted the cap of a bottle of water. Robin though, she was the kicker.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay…” She recited the mantra over and over while rocking him back and forth, he was held close to her chest, the way a mother cradles an upset child. Lying on the floor beside where his bruised and bloody knuckles were resting, was the door to his mother’s beloved cabinets.

-.-.-

“As I told you before ma’am, you can’t rent anything new if you have late fees remaining on your account. If you pay the $3.65 I can check you out, otherwise there’s nothing I can do.” Steve winced from behind the counter. His head was killing him and he still had about 4 hours until his shift was over.

“Thanks for nothing, asshole.” The woman huffed before tossing the movie on the counter. “You’ve lost my business.”

“Sorry to hear that, have a good day.” He waved as she marched out of the store. Sighing, he put his head in his hands, exhausted. Every customer seemed to have a bee in their bonnet and his trusty sidekick had the day off. He’d spent the majority of the day squinting at the small computer screen, organizing shelves, and stacking boxes of candy. Essentially: busy work.

He could feel a slight tremor in his hands, a clear sign of too much caffeine to not enough food. He’d been sleeping a little less lately, constantly on edge and overthinking every emotion the kids seem to feel. He didn’t like to speak poorly of the dead, but he was a little bitter about the death of Hopper. He wasn’t jealous, per say, he was just very tired. Hopper seemed to have constant control, an answer to everything, and Steve felt like a poor substitute. He was spread too thin, between the missing support of Joyce and Jim, having to play both roles when necessary. The kids called him Mom for a reason.

It wasn’t until he pulled into his driveway that he realized he was driving home. It took another minute to process the cars parked on the street. He’d forgotten that he’d planned a ‘teenager’ night. He wasn’t a teenager, not anymore, technically Eddie wasn’t either. Nancy and Robin were, however, as were Jonathan and Argyle. Majority seemed to rule. He had given a key to Robin, trusting her with more than his life, so he knew they were all inside, likely laughing and telling stories, passing blunts and sipping beers. He let his head fall against the steering wheel, letting out a low whine as he cursed the past Steve who had invited everyone.

Showtime.

His mask was composed of nothing more than 28 teeth. A lazy smile that seemed to put everyone off his trail. He remembered learning about how different animals indicate that they’re venomous through color. Bright vibrant oranges and reds that drew in the eye but flashed as a warning to not get too close.

-.-.-

It had happened so quickly, the cabinet opened by Eddie in search of a snack. Steve happened to be passing at the wrong time, Eddie facing the wrong way, laughing at something Argyle had said. The cabinet, his mother’s favorite, had smacked Steve directly in the face, the corner catching on his forehead.

It was one of those rare occasions when life felt so overwhelming, like it was throwing everything it had, that something as small as a loose thread on a sweater could throw someone into a panic. Like there were five too many straws on the camel’s back.

Eddie’s eyes could only widen in shock as Steve swung at the cabinet, fists shaking, breaths gasping, until he managed to rip it off it’s hinges. He had made a low, animal-like growl as his eyes turned glassy. Everything moved around him as Nancy called Joyce and Robin pulled him into an embrace. Steve had been scratching at his knees as tears slipped down his cheeks, so Eddie put his hands on them to stop him from hurting himself. Robin met his eyes from behind Steve’s back, panic and uncertainty clear, and he knew he would be sitting there all night.

“That’s it Sunshine, deep breaths.” Eddie took deep breaths with him, ignoring the tense argument going on behind him. Nancy and Jonathan were whispering about whether or not to drive over to the Byers family home. The idea was to get Jim, he’d know what to do, but he hadn’t answered the phone.

“Get out.” Robin’s voice was sharp as her head snapped to them. “You guys arguing isn’t fucking helping.” Nancy’s scowl softened as she took a hold of Jonathan’s arm, leading him out of the room, Argyle trailing behind them. “Steve, it would be really helpful to me if you could show me that you can hear us.”

“I can hear you.” His voice was a gentle whisper, a wheeze at most. His cheeks were red with embarrassment, his gaze not meeting either set of eyes. His shoulders were hitching as little sobs escaped his throat. “I-I don’t-”

“It’s okay.” Eddie grabbed his hands, rubbing the back of his hands with his thumbs. “You just got a little upset, Pretty Boy, nothing to be ashamed of, happens to all of us.”

“No no no I’m sorry, Jesus fuck-” His hands pulled away from Eddie’s as he pressed them to his warm cheeks. “This is so stupid.”

“Hey, none of that.” Robin swatted at him gently. “Do you want to maybe walk us through it?”

“I don’t even know why…” He gasped, shivering gently. “It’s just been a long… few years I guess, but this week has been really bad. I just got overwhelmed, I guess.”

“That’s okay Sugar.” Eddie crooned, wiping a stray hair out of Steve's face. “You can ask the kids, sometimes I get real quiet during our campaigns and then 10 minutes later I come back to find Wayne shaking my shoulder and the kids looking at me like I just fucking keeled over in front of them. I can’t control it, neither can you.”

“Oh God the kids.” Steve sat forward suddenly.

“Hey they’re okay.” Robin rubbed a hand on his back. “They’re at home, probably getting ready for bed, eating dessert, and cramming for a history test most likely.”

“Yeah but…” Steve choked on a sob. “What if this happens again when I’m with them? What if one of them gets hurt?��

“Then they’ll be there for you like they are for Eddie.” She pressed a chaste kiss to his shoulder. “You worry more about them than you do yourself.”

“I have to!” Steve shot up suddenly, grasping at the counter. Eddie shot a look at Robin before slowly standing next to him. “I don’t have a fucking choice, okay?”

“Steve-’

“No, don't tell me it’s okay.” Steve whipped around to face them, eyes filled with tears. “It’s not fucking fair because I had to be the one in charge, alright? Nancy was doing shit with Jonathan and Hopper was off with Joyce, so who was left to make sure everyone else was okay? Me. Then Hopper dies and Joyce moves away, no other adults know about this, so sue me if I had to take on a parental role, no one else was there to. I had to be the grown up, but no one ever gave a shit about the fact that I was only 17. Those kids are 15, they’re too young to be dealing with this on their own. I’m so goddamn tired and I don’t… I don’t know what to do.” He cut himself off with a wet sigh, Robin wrapping her arms around him tightly.

“That’s a lot to carry around, Stevie.” Eddie cradled Steve’s chin in his hand. “If you start feeling like that again, anytime and anywhere, you call me, okay?”

“I don’t want to just unload all of this onto you guys, that’s not your job, okay?” Steve turned his head away.

“No, it’s not okay.” Robin pouted. “ Not at all. You’re not ‘unloading’ you’re working through trauma. That’s nearly impossible to do alone. Like it or not, we’re with you. We’re a team right? You’re not the only adult, not anymore.”

“I don’t want you guys to think I can’t handle this, like I’m weak or something.” Eddie wiped the tears off his cheek.

“Steve, I need you to hear this, okay?” Eddie peered deeply into his hazel eyes. “We love you. The way you are. Even if you think you’re weak, we’d love you. We will never look down on you like that, okay?”

“Okay…” Steve gave into the shaky breaths, his rough cries muffled by the shoulders of Eddie while Robin stroked a hand through his hair.

To hell with his mother’s favorite cabinets.

#st4 #stranger things #steve harrington #eddie munson #eddie x steve #steddie #steveeddie #robin buckley #steve and robin #stobin friendship #cheese anon #fanfiction #stranger things fanfiction #steddie fanfic #steddie hcs #angst #very slight h/c

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mad-madam-m · 2 years

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T&B2 Thoughts: Episode 11 – Every cloud has a silver lining.

This episode is one of the absolute sexiest episodes they've ever done, bar none.

- Me @ the baby twins: goddammit show, you’re going to give me feelings for these two chaos monsters, aren’t you (answer: yes, and in spades)

- I feel like this is a slight overreaction to finding out that a small child is a NEXT, holy cow.

- Like no, you can’t tell by looking at a NEXT what kind of powers they have, and kids that young aren’t likely to have much control over their powers (see: Kaede while she’s got the Hundred Power in s1), so I can see why the guy would be unnerved when one of the kids starts glowing. But a shotgun? Really? And the hell of it is, Fugan and Mugan aren’t really surprised at this reaction, which tells you a lot about how people treat NEXT.

- Uuuugh flashing to everybody as Agnes very solemnly tells them about Kid and Origami, ending with the new rules: that they shouldn't go out alone and that they should be at the training center whenever they're not working. Which means, of course, that Kotetsu will have to leave the hospital and he won’t be able to keep an eye on Barnaby anymore.

- And Kotetsu and Mattia meet for the first time! I love how you can tell that Barnaby has clearly talked a lot about both of them to each other. I mean, we do know that Barnaby has talked to Mattia about Kotetsu, since he spent their entire dinner in episode 7 doing so, but it’s nice to see that Barnaby talked to Kotetsu about Mattia, too.

- Honestly how happy do you think Kotetsu is to know that Barnaby has someone from his childhood in his life who isn’t 1) dead or 2) an absolutely terrible human being? He wants Bunny to be happy and thriving, and I think one of the reasons he’s so quick to trust Mattia is because he knows that Barnaby does, too.

- Kotetsu looks so uncharacteristically serious when he leaves the hospital, but can you blame him? His partner's in the hospital, he has no idea if Barnaby will ever wake up, and these new villains have taken out four of the heroes without breaking a sweat. Kotetsu, Antonio, Ryan, and Karina are the last of the "old guard" left, as it were. And now they’re just...waiting to see what will happen next, doing their best to protect themselves in the meantime. And Kotetsu’s never been a “wait and see” type of person.

- Good lord I cannot with Lara’s mother. To have your mom looking at this horrifying situation as an opportunity when you don't know if you're going to live to see Christmas, when the partner you admire is petrified in the hospital, when you don’t know if you or any of the other people you’ve come to see as friends will be next. I just. GAH. Poor Lara, honestly.

- And then almost immediately after that, we get a different mother scene, this time with Ryan and Karina’s mom. Karina’s mom isn’t suspicious or jealous of her daughter’s partner; in fact, she brings him a hot beverage and keeps him company while they’re waiting on Karina. She's perfectly kind and polite, but Ryan notices how her hands shake even as she tries to claim she’s used to Karina being in danger. It is such a stark contrast to Lara’s mother’s reaction to this whole situation.

- Dun dun dun it's Gregory Sunshine that Ouroboros is experimenting on! There’s no way this can backfire on them in any way, shape, or form.

- Hey so speaking of parents, apparently Fugan and Mugan are Brahe’s kids.

- Please tell me someone has written the dissertation on Tiger & Bunny’s portrayal of parental relationships because my gosh, we see so many different kinds to varying degrees, often stacked one right after the other, like in this episode. It’s giving me emotions.

- I love, love, love Antonio taking care of all the younger heroes. Bringing food for Subaru, Thomas, and Lara, and clearly having paid attention to what they eat since he brings Thomas chicken and broccoli from an organic store. He's so good with them and so encouraging, but he doesn't dismiss how they feel, particularly Lara, who’s struggling with guilt over Origami being petrified, since he took her place visiting at the hospital. We've joked that Antonio is taking up the dad mantle since Kotetsu isn't there to do it, but it is accurate and I'm emotional about it.

- FUCK.

- Also damn this is such a good way to show that the heroes really aren't safe anywhere. With Mugan's warping ability, he can get wherever they are. Training center? Ryan's car? The hospital? The justice department? It doesn't matter. It's why Kotetsu's right when he tells Yuri they need to go on the offensive: they are sitting ducks otherwise, and at least by calling the twins out, the heroes can set some parameters of their own.

- Mattia is clearly surprised by the news about the drug and unsettled by his boss's excitement. And he asks a question that, honestly, he should've asked a long time ago: Who is sponsoring his research into this drug?

- This kind of thing is part of why I don't think Mattia himself is evil, although it's set up that he could get pushed into doing worse things very easily. He doesn't seem happy to know that the drug boosts NEXT powers, since his entire goal was to make it possible to eliminate differences between NEXT and non-NEXT, and this drug...will not do that. It will do the opposite of that, in fact. And Mattia looks very troubled by that knowledge.

- Honestly Ryan and Karina are so, so good in this episode. I love how much he obviously admires her, and he was going overboard trying to protect her when he doesn't need to. I love how he takes her to her friend’s concert, because he knows how important that is to her. I love how she grudgingly admits that she doesn’t actually hate it when he calls her “princess.” This is not a duo I expected to like at all so I’m still stunned that their scenes were some of my favorites in the entire season.

- Okay but can we just take a moment to appreciate the way they handle Mugan showing up? We see the car bounce with the added weight, and then Ryan spots him in the rearview mirror, and the tone immediately shifts from the lighthearted teasing between him and Karina to 100% tension. I just really love some of the camera angles and perspectives that they chose for this season in general, but also this shot in particular.

- God. GOD. The whole fight scene at the training center is absolutely fantastic. The initial fight, where the heroes quickly realize that they’re in over their heads. Karina and Ryan using themselves as a distraction in order to give Antonio time to get the kids away, partly because they're kids and partly because someone needs to tell Agnes what's going on. Antonio just fucking yeets them out the window and basically hopes they'll stop themselves before they hit the ground. Subaru saving Lara. Karina and Ryan vs. Fugan and Mugan.There is not a single moment in this entire section that I do not love. Just solid competence porn.

- And the hell of it is, the heroes did win. Fugan and Mugan had to turn tail and run, or else Mugan would've been knocked out, too. It’s only when they took the powered-up drug that they were able to come back and defeat the heroes.

- Kotetsu and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day.

- Well mark me down as scared and horny.

- God, the rage in Kotetsu’s voice when he says this line. He’s so angry: angry that he wasn’t there, angry that his friends have been hurt, and angry that Yuri will not let him do anything. This man does not handle “stand back and do nothing” instructions at the best of times, and this is far from the best of times and it’s only getting worse.

- Lowkey convinced that there is only one (1) reason Kotetsu did not tell Yuri to go fuck himself and go looking for the twins on his own, and that’s because...

- BARNABY WAKES UP!! And looks amazing for having been in a coma for nearly two weeks.

#Tiger & Bunny #Tiger and Bunny #Tiger & Bunny 2 #M watches TNB #M writes meta #M rambles #guns cw #(for one of the pictures herein)#God this is a good episode

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stuffkin · 1 year

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AWOO

akira goes home to his pack after a day at work

i’ve been so excited to properly start working on the wolfie au, i hope you like it :3

ao3!

Akira Kurusu hadn’t meant to become a werewolf. He hadn’t meant to summon a demon cat, either, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles.

Idly, he shuffles a deck of deep blue cards, making a show of it, allowing them to dance from one hand to the next with increasing speed. There’s no one to see. There usually isn’t this time of day.

“What a show-off,” Morgana grumbles. His tail swishes over the edge of the counter.

“Have to keep myself from getting rusty.” Akira slaps the cards onto the counter before sliding them across the counter in an impressive display. Before he can choose one, or two, or three, there’s a slow clap from the front door. Standing in the doorway is a stout, balding man with a comically long nose, flanked by twin girls.

“Well done. You’ve honed your skills well,” Igor says. Tap tap tap goes his cane as he crosses the room. Akira tap tap taps his finger on the glass surface.

“You’re back early,” he comments, skimming a fingertip over the surface of the cards. Without looking, he slides one out and flips it. The Chariot.

“Lunch meetings don’t often run long these days.” Igor sighs. “Time marches ever onward.” Over his nose, he watches as Akira dances his fingers along this card and that one. Once, his vulture eyes had unnerved Akira. Working with the man in his occult shop for months took care of that.

Another card. The Lovers. Akira fights back a grin. “Want to make a wager on the third card?” he asks the twins.

Caroline prances up to the counter, nose just barely reaching the top edge. She pulls herself up on her tiptoes to see what’s already laid out. Scoffing, she tosses her head. “Inmate, you have got to be kidding me.”

“The Chariot and Lovers, correct?” Justine asks her sister. Caroline nods only to yelp when Igor drops a withered hand onto her head.

“Now, now, what did I tell you about calling my employees inmates?” Eye twinkling, he winks at Akira. “Do you consider this humble shop a prison, Trickster?”

This time, Akira can’t stop the grin from stretching across his face. “And you’re the warden.”

Chuckling, Igor shakes his head and taps his cane against the stone floor. “Perhaps. Well, then, I shall leave you to my wardens-in-training then.” He slinks off to the back room.

As soon as he’s gone, Caroline darts around the counter and pulls out the stool resting underneath. Clambering onto it, she mirrors the way Akira leans against the counter. Justine stays at the front, merely pulling herself up enough to rest her chin on the glass. “There’s only one possible answer,” she says.

“Noble kings and their priestesses provide for their hermits until the queen comes away, comes away, comes away home,” the other sings.

Akira flips a card. Then another, and another, and another. Emperor, priestess, hermit, empress. “Right on the money.”

“Of course it is.” Justine looks up at him with wide, doleful eyes. “They’re your life line. One that you forged.”

“‘We bear the chains we forged in life,’” Caroline quotes. She pulls herself up to sit on the counter.

“I didn’t know you’re so well read, Caroline,” Justine says, a teasing smile on her face. It gets the desired effect; Caroline blusters and twists around to glare at her.

“Shut up! I read lots of things!” Pouting, she walks her fingers over the cards leftover until she finds one she likes. She shoves it in Akira’s face without looking at it. “Found you.”

Sure enough, it’s “his” card: the goose egg, the zero, the Fool. Taking it, he squints at the image. "I don't know, it doesn't look anything like me."

"Messy hair," Justine recites dutifully. This is a game they've played countless times.

"Shit-eating grin," the other twin counters.

"Language," Akira and Justine chide. Caroline blows a raspberry before sweeping up all the cards into a messy stack. She doesn't take the Fool.

"Booooring." Awkwardly, she shuffles the deck. Her technique still has a long way to go, but Akira knows better than anyone that she has an uncanny knack of knowing which card she's about to pull. Justine, while less than accurate, knows how to apply the card.

Akira, a mix of both skills, still has a lot to learn.

Caroline slides a card from somewhere near the middle. "Justine?"

The girl tilts her head, thinking. "Four of cups. No…wands."

Disappointment flits across Caroline's face. "Nope. Well, sort of. You got the number right." She closes her eyes and slaps the card onto the counter. "Swords."

Four swords, sure enough, are aimed at the three people now leaning over the cards. Akira traces a finger over each blade."Justine?"

"Someone's exhausted." She stretches up on her toes to point at the man pictured. "His eyes are closed. Someone needs rest." She squints at him. "Maybe you."

"Pshaw." Akira waves a hand. "I rest plenty." Next to him, unamused, Morgana irritably flicks his tail. Akira ignores him.

He does think, though, of the people waiting for him at home. Chariot, Lovers, Emperor, Priestess, Hermit, Empress. Ryuji's sure to be tired, given he's recently been contracted for a heavy construction job. Yusuke's probably been painting all day. There isn't a moment Makoto doesn't seem like she needs to hibernate. Then there's Futaba, who actually spends half of her time hibernating, and Haru, busy with business, and Ann, who hasn't slowed down since he found her.

It could be any or all of them. The pack. His pack. His lifeline.

He accepts the deck from Caroline and starts putting them back in the proper order. Everything in its proper place.

* * * * *

Several hours later, Akira and Morgana say their goodbyes to the Philemons and head home. To our proper place, Akira thinks as he steps up to the house he's bought (found) and fixed up (left to rot until Ryuji and Ann came along). He knocks first–three long, four short, one to rest–before sidling inside. "I'm home," he calls out to the rest of the house. Familiar scents hit his nose, blending together until an unseen tension slinks from his shoulders. Or maybe that's just Morgana leaping gracefully from his shoulder to the hall table to the floor.

He's just sliding his feet into slippers when the sound of nails clattering on wood greets him. Looking up–or down, rather–he's met with a light brownish-red pup. Around her eyes, the fur is darker. Like glasses.

"Hi, Futaba," he says, crouching down to scratch behind her ears. To his surprise, her fur is wet. "What have you been up to, hm?"

A second set of footsteps brings him his answer. Makoto appears around the corner with a towel in hand. The front of her gray shirt is dark with what Akira hopes is only water. Exasperated, Makoto hands the towel to Akira when he holds out his hand. "She got excited when she heard the door."

Grinning, Akira scoops Futaba up in the towel and stands with her in his arms. She yelps, wriggles, but he has a firm grip as he starts rubbing her fur dry. "I got her. Go change."

Makoto slumps. "I can't," she says despairingly.

Akira's about to ask her why when another voice bellows "coming through!" from the living room on the right. Following it comes Ryuji. "Oh, hey, man." Across his shoulders in a fireman's hold is an abnormally large, abnormally blonde wolf. Ann whines pleadingly when she spots Akira. No bath time!

“Yes, bath time,” Akira chides. It never ceases to amaze him how the pack bond leaves them capable of communication, even if they’re in different forms. The ability is only amplified by Futaba. Speaking of which… “Alright, alright, you’re dry enough,” he tells the squirming bundle in his arms. The second he lowers her to the ground she scampers off into the living room. Ann’s ears droop.

Giving her some pity, Akira rubs a hand along her snout. On a good day it’s hard to tell where her head’s at. Human or wolf? Adult or child? Where Futaba is a living antenna, Ann’s headspace is a compass gone off the rails. Spin around once, spin around twice. True north is a mystery to everyone but herself and Ryuji.

“Do you want some help?” Akira asks Makoto. As his second-in-command, they often swap off on the responsibilities needed to keep their pack functional. Bills. Appointments. Meals. Chores. Looking after the pups when they have them. That isn’t to say Ryuji and Yusuke don’t do their part. Same with the girls when they’re not regressed. Akira and Makoto…well, they just feel better handling the bigger things themselves.

Bathtime is one of the bigger things.

“No, I can handle it,” Makoto says in a way that leaves more doubt than reassurance. She waves Ryuji and Ann towards the bathroom and follows behind. Making a mental note to bully her into some down time later, Akira pads into the living room. The soft glow filters in through the curtains drawn across the large window, casting a warm orange over the nest in the center of the room.

The nest is really just a conservation pit with plush seating around its edges and even softer cushions and carpet in the center. At some point Futaba had pilfered all the extra blankets in the house to layer it further, and there they had stayed. At one end of the pit is a fireplace, but given it’s early summer, it remains unlit. More nights than not find members of the pack tangled here in spite of having their own rooms. It doesn’t matter what form they’re in.

Right now, only two inhabit the nest: Futaba, who had plunged her tiny body right into a pillow pile, and Yusuke, who, expectedly, has a sketchpad in hand. He barely glances up as Akira joins them in the nest. “Hello.”

“Hey.” Akira leans over to peer at the paper. A flock of butterflies flutter across the page. “Yusuke, those are amazing.”

“Mm.” Yusuke squints at them. Then his eyes crinkle faintly as he smiles. “Thank you, Akira.”

Booooring. While Akira’s attention had been on Yusuke’s art, Futaba had extricated herself from the pillows and wiggled her way over to pounce at their feet. She swats at Yusuke’s ankle. With a look mixed between insult and amusement, Yusuke sets his sketchpad aside and leans down to play with her.

Akira leans back and watches them, but he’s not quite content yet. He knows where six of his packmates are–where’s the seventh?

As though he could read Akira’s mind–and perhaps Akira’s guard is down to begin with–Yusuke says, “Haru’s still in a meeting, I believe.”

Trying not to wilt, Akira nods. “Alright.” This isn’t a new experience. While the pack isn’t wanting for money, Haru continues to work the longest hours. There’s not much of a choice–since her father’s untimely death, and her being the only heir, it’s on Haru to keep the company from sinking. “It’s my family’s legacy,” she’d told Akira once, and who would he be to dissuade her?

Doesn’t mean he can’t miss her, though.

The floor creaks behind them. Futaba barks. “Don’t yap at me, ya pipsqueak.” Ryuji rolls his shoulders. “Man, I’m outta practice. Ann’s heavy.” He slides into the nest next to Yusuke and kisses his cheek.

“Better not let her hear you say that,” Akira comments idly, watching Futaba bite down on Ryuji’s sock.

Ryuji picks up Futaba and lets her hind legs dangle. “It’s all that muscle! She’s ripped, dude!” He gently sways Futaba back and forth. “And then there’s this one. You weigh like, half a pound.” She nips his hand in retaliation, but gives herself away with how fast her tail wags.

It isn’t long until Futaba tricks them into a game of chase, although it stays within the confines of the nest. Yusuke even deigns to shift just to put it on a more “equal” playing field. The silvery-blue of the fox’s tail is tinted with the deepening reds of the setting sun. In spite of their best attempts, Morgana merely watches from where he’s loafed on the mantle.

They’re on their third round when several things happen in quick succession. Two doors click. Makoto yells, “How?” Ann, soaking wet, bolts into the living room and viciously shakes before anyone can even think to react. Haru steps inside. Home, home, home.

While Futaba howls and Ryuji tries to wrangle Ann and Makoto trudges in with another towel, Akira’s eyes meet Haru’s. She’s running on empty, it’s plain to see, but a smile lights up her face. Akira suspects that it won’t be long for her to join Ann and Futaba.

Leaving Futaba to Yusuke and Morgana, and Ann to Ryuji and Makoto, Akira drags himself out of the nest and crosses to Haru. “Hi,” he murmurs, leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead.

“Hi,” she echoes, just as quiet. Already soft, she softens further when Akira smooths a curl away from her face. “Tired,” she says in answer to the unspoken question.

She’s already further gone than he’d thought. “Go get changed and I’ll fix you something nice to drink, okay?” He cups her cheek, briefly, before nudging her towards their shared room. He, meanwhile, edges around the post-bath chaos and into the kitchen.

Later, once the pack has settled in the nest with a movie playing on low volume, Akira looks around at them all. Ryuji has Ann pressed against one side and Yusuke on the other, his hands scratching idly behind their ears; Makoto has transformed and now rests curled around Futaba and Morgana both. And in his own arms is Haru, drowsily nursing a bottle.

Akira hadn’t meant to become a werewolf. But if hadn’t, he wouldn’t have met his pack, his lifeline. And there’s nowhere else he would rather be.

#stuff writes #wolfie au #persona agere #agere fic #werewolf agere

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angelofrainfrogs · 2 years

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We Found Him, Superstar: Ch. 10

Fandom: Five Nights At Freddy’s: Security Breach

Description: Since starting his new afterlife at the Pizzaplex, Gregory has managed to befriend the Glamrock animatronics and made a surprising discovery—Bonnie’s been hidden in the basement warehouse this entire time, badly decommissioned but still powered on. Along with Bonnie are the endoskeletons that, no longer under the virus’s control, seem much more sentient than normal animatronics… Gregory and his friends are determined to get Bonnie back into commission and figure out the mysteries of what exactly these endoskeletons are—and how to help them, too.

Chapter Summary: Thomas and Leon are back and ready for some answers. Confronting Freddy in his room proves to be more informational than either of them expected, and they’re forced to come to terms with things they hadn’t fathomed were possible…

Rating: T

Read on Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/38728158/chapters/101627760

Bonnie tilted his head with a chuckle. “Heck yeah! We’re gonna have so many parties, you’re gonna be sick of cake by the end of it!”

“Maybe not all at once,” Freddy said with a gentle laugh. He knew Bonnie and Gregory would be glued at the hip eventually, but it still surprised Freddy with just how comfortable the boy was in his arms already. Although, upon further thought he realized that while Bonnie’s decommissioned state was an unnerving sight, he was the only one who never went after Gregory, so… Freddy supposed that made sense.

“The kids and I can do so much stuff now, too,” Bonnie added softly, looking around the room with a smile. “Gregory, you definitely have to come down for an actual play date soon!”

“Yeah, I wanna!” the boy said, automatically looking to Freddy for permission. “And I'll bring all my toys!”

“That is a great idea!” Freddy agreed. “Especially since you just picked up a new collection of things from the gift shop.”

“Ooh, I’ve gotta check out the merchandise, too!” Bonnie said. He gave a small laugh. “Hopefully they didn’t totally replace me…”

Gregory shook his head quickly. “Of course they didn't; I have your plushie, too—next to all my other ones!”

“Aw, that’s so sweet!” Bonnie exclaimed, squeezing Gregory tightly. “I figured it was a good sign they didn’t rebrand my bowling alley, but you never know with this place…”

“You have been sorely missed,” Freddy reassured, patting him on the shoulder. “Now we just need to find a way to reintroduce you to the mainstream area… but that requires more time to figure out all the logistics. Tomorrow, we will go bowling; how does that sound?”

“Bowling party!” Gregory insisted, leaning into Freddy’s palm as his hair was ruffled. When Freddy stepped back, he turned in Bonnie’s arms and held his arms out for the bear. “And everyone can come with us, right?”

“Of course!” Freddy replied as Bonnie handed the boy over. “The more the merrier.”

“Do you guys have to head back up soon?” Bonnie asked, one ear tilting downwards. “I’m still not able to connect to the network and access anything, so I can’t tell what time it is… I need a tech to fix all that stuff, since Roxy could only do the physical repairs.”

Gregory quickly wrapped his arms around Freddy's neck, comfortably resting his face against his shoulder. “Mm, I hope not—I wanna keep hanging out...”

Freddy laughed softly. “You look tired, superstar; perhaps we should head back soon.”

“Don’t worry, bud; I’ll see you again before you know it!” Bonnie said with a grin. “Besides, you’ve gotta make sure you’re all rested and recharged for tomorrow night so we can spend the whole time hanging out!”

“I guess you guys have a point…,” Gregory murmured softly as he rubbed at his eyes. “Okay, I'll sleep super good so I'll have a ton of energy tomorrow!”

“Lookin’ forward to it,” Bonnie said with a laugh, ruffling Gregory’s hair one more time before giving Freddy a pat on the shoulder. “See you guys tomorrow!”

“Goodnight, Bonnie,” Freddy replied, then gazed around the room. “And goodnight everyone else.”

“Goodnight Bonnie! Goodnight everyone!” Gregory chirped, waving his hand around. He quickly wrapped his arms around Freddy once again, although he couldn't help look down the long hallway—he could've sworn he saw something earlier… but it was probably just his tired imagination playing tricks on him again.

“How’s your battery doing?” Gregory asked curiously, kicking his legs back and forth as Freddy took them into the elevator.

Freddy blinked a few times, checking his power meter. “I currently have three bars of battery power, so it is just over halfway full. I will charge before the morning’s activities, but it is not an immediate need.”

“…Does that mean you can sit with me so I can fall asleep easier?” Gregory tilted his head questioningly, staring up at the bear with wide eyes.

Freddy nodded, smiling back as they stepped out of the elevator and walked back to their room. “Certainly; I will stay as long as you need.”

“You just help me fall asleep best!” Gregory explained, feeling the need to justify his actions. He knew Freddy should probably charge instead of staying with him, but he really needed the bear to ease his nerves before he went to bed so he’d hopefully have a restful sleep free of nightmares.

“It is because you feel safe with me,” Freddy responded calmly, setting Gregory down on the couch and tucking him in. He then sat as well, gently running a paw over Gregory’s hair. “And I will always keep you safe, so you may continue to rest easy, superstar.”

Gregory snuggled into the blanket as he was tucked in, his smile brightening. “And I'll keep you and everyone else safe, too!”

“I do not doubt that,” Freddy replied with a smile, and he meant it. Whatever lied in store for Gregory and his animatronic family in the future, Freddy knew that Gregory would defend them to the end. Once the exhausted boy dozed off and Freddy was sure he was well and truly out for the night, the bear went to charge and have a rest of his own.

***

The day passed uneventfully, although there was an undercurrent of excitement in the air when Freddy told the others they were all meeting at the bowling alley that night. After some quick communication between shows with Bonnie through his Fazwatch, they agreed that the others would meet them for bowling at 2am so Freddy and Gregory had a chance to give Bonnie a little tour of the building first.

Eventually, the day came to a close. It was nearing midnight, which is when Freddy and Gregory were going to set out for the basement. Suddenly, the pair were surprised to hear a knock at the door. They shared a look of mild confusion as Freddy cautiously moved to the door, keeping it closed as he asked: “Who is it?”

“Security,” Leon replied, fidgeting with his flashlight nervously.

The guards returned to work that night with a combination of reluctance and determination. They’d been so traumatized from their “game” with Moon two nights prior that they’d completely forgot to tell management about the kid supposedly running around the Pizzaplex until the next day, upon which Leon quickly called his manager to let him know the situation. However, when they met with dayshift staff for the changeover, no one reported seeing any kid that matched Gregory’s description, nor any unauthorized persons in restricted areas. There hadn’t been anything strange to report from the animatronics either—although Thomas and Leon were admittedly relieved by this fact.

Still, despite this small reassurance the guards were hesitant to confront Freddy directly, even though they knew this was the best course of action to get to the bottom of whatever was going on. They’d gone back and forth over who'd actually go talk to the bear, eventually settling on both of them going since they'd have each other's back. Ironically, their time with Moon served as a twisted sort of bonding experience as they’d frantically tried to escape the crawling animatronic alongside each other. Whatever was going on with Freddy and “his kid,” they’d figure it out together.

Gregory looked up at Freddy from where he sat on the floor, lowering his toys with a small frown as he heard Leon’s voice. “…What do we do?”

Freddy grimaced, murmuring softly: “As far as we know, they still cannot see you, so—oh! Your shirt!” Gregory was wearing one of the new shirts he’d picked out yesterday. If their theory was correct, then the guards would only be able to see a floating piece of clothing… which was potentially more concerning than seeing a whole kid. “Hurry, change into your usual one and hide!”

Gregory nodded as he quickly got up, struggling to take his shirt off in his haste. After swapping the garment for his regular one he ran to hide behind the couch, peeking out ever-so-slightly to observe what was about to happen.

“He’s definitely talking to someone,” Thomas muttered, patting his leg to make sure his keys were still there. After the incident at the daycare, he’d bought himself and Leon a super-strong pair of matching carabiners; this way, they could hook their keys directly into their belt loops at all times, and if someone—or something—tried to steal them again, they’d feel the keys being tugged on before they were actually taken. They’d certainly learned their lesson about leaving important objects on a desk out in the open…

“Maybe it's the kid,” Leon murmured, then took a deep breath before calling out to Freddy again. “Do you mind letting us in, Freddy? We just need to talk to you for a moment.”

Freddy paused with his paw on the door handle, looking around the room. Gregory’s toys were scattered all over the floor, as they hadn’t had time to clean before the guards showed up. However, it’s not like the animatronics’ rooms were always pristine, so as long as they didn’t find Gregory himself, Freddy reasoned he might be able to explain away the mess.

“Hello, Officers!” the bear greeted cheerily, finally opening the door and standing in the entryway to block as much of their sightline into the room as possible. “You wish to speak with me about something?”

Thomas stared up at him, wondering for the billionth time why all the robots had to be so tall. At least Freddy’s height didn’t compare to… his… Thomas shivered, glancing at Leon for him to take the lead.

“Yes, we…,” Leon started, clearing his throat as he turned his flashlight off and slipping it into its holster for the time being. “We were informed that you have a child here by the name of ‘Gregory’—brown hair and brown eyes.”

Gregory watched from the back of the couch. To his relief it seemed like his body was completely invisible to the humans, since he made “eye contact” with Thomas as the guard tried peering around Freddy’s legs.

“...Do you think we should tell them the truth?” Gregory asked Freddy from where he crouched, nervously twiddling his thumbs. Freddy hated keeping secrets, but he wasn’t quite sure if they would believe him yet…

“A child?” Freddy tilted his head curiously. “I would never keep a child from their parents—it goes against my programming.” Not a lie, exactly, but definitely not what the guards wanted to hear.

“You sure?” Thomas asked, trying to see into the room. It was a mess, like someone had literally dropped what they were doing and left toys all over the floor. He didn’t see any kid, though, and he pouted slightly. “As long as the kid’s okay, you’re not gonna be in trouble, but… we have to know.” He paused, shifting his gaze from Freddy to Leon and back again. “They’re still technically looking for all those missing ones, you know, so if you have any information… please tell us.”

Leon nodded in agreement, sighing softly and placing his hands on his hips. “He's right. Nothing bad will happen, we just need to make sure the kid finds his parents. Apparently he's running around at night with you, Freddy, so… we figured he'd be here.”

Gregory remained behind the couch, teeth clenched tightly as he continued to watch the interaction. Were they being truthful? He really couldn’t tell, and his hesitancy towards night guards was in full force as they continued to press Freddy for information. What would they do if they found him? What could they do? And worse—what if they hurt Freddy in the process?

The animatronic shook his head. “I am sorry, you must be mistaken; I have not seen a child named Gregory who is missing his parents.”

Again, technically not a lie—Gregory’s dad was with him almost all the time. He just happened to be an animatronic bear.

“Can we… come in?” Thomas asked hesitantly. He leaned towards Leon, whispering even though he was sure Freddy could hear: “Maybe he’s hiding in the back room?”

Leon glanced at his coworker with a nod, then rolled his eyes back to the bear. “We just need to take a look around to be sure, Freddy.”

“…Alright,” Freddy relented, his standard smile plastered on his face as he moved aside. It would make them even more suspicious if he kept them out for no good reason. Thomas entered the room first, looking around with narrowed eyes.

“God, it’s a mess in here… I thought they weren’t doing any meet & greets yet; what’s with all the toys?!”

“Ah, those are left over from before,” Freddy replied, already feeling his composure slip, especially as Leon stepped close to the couch Gregory currently crouched behind. “I admit that I have been a bit lax with cleaning things up…”

Leon soon peered around the furniture where Gregory was, only to see… nothing at all. Although, the box behind the couch was suspicious, as well as the blanket sprawled across the cushions. It seemed like someone had been sleeping there.

“What's with the box full of toys back here?” Leon spoke up. Gregory took this moment to quickly move away and run over to Freddy, standing behind him and gripping his leg nervously.

Freddy remained silent for a few seconds, before chuckling in a weak attempt to deflect from the situation. “I apologize, I am so used to it that I no longer register it—that box is where I keep toys for the children who visit. I am hoping that meet & greets start up again soon so I can share them!”

Thomas, who’d sworn he felt a cold breeze rush by just a moment ago, was staring at Freddy suspiciously. “Isn’t that box from Roxy’s Raceway? You’d think the company would make a special treasure chest or something, since they’re so obsessed with branding and stuff…”

Leon looked over at Freddy as well, narrowing his eyes—Thomas had a very valid point. As he shifted his gaze, he caught sight of the plethora of children’s drawings hung up on the walls. One image in particular stood out: what appeared to be an intricate line art drawing of a Freddy holding a grinning boy in his arms. It was way too detailed for a child to make unless they were a prodigy, and Leon had a feeling that if it was colored in the boy would match Sun’s description perfectly.

“...Is that Gregory?” Leon asked, turning to face the animatronic. Gregory kept himself close to Freddy's back, still hugging onto his leg.

This time, Freddy actually had no response. He mentally kicked himself for being so careless with Gregory’s presence, not thinking that anyone would look this hard into the notion of a child here after hours now that the whole Vanessa and virus issue had been eradicated (at least, to the company’s satisfaction). Freddy simply stared at the guards, a neutral expression on his face as he felt Gregory holding onto him tightly.

“Oh yeah, that’s definitely him; Freddy always has something to say, so this is weird,” Thomas said with a nod, stepping up to the drawing to look at it closely. “Damn, look at this detail—is there anything you animatronics aren’t good at?!”

Leon shook his head, also figuring Freddy’s silence was the best answer. “Like I said, Freddy, you aren't in any trouble. We just need to get him back to his parents, is all.”

Gregory looked up at the bear with a frown. “Are they telling the truth? You don’t think they want to—” His breath caught in his throat for a second as he pushed down the memories of his last encounter with Vanessa. “T-They don’t want to hurt me, do they?”

Freddy really did think that Thomas and Leon were genuine, but he completely understood Gregory's hesitancy after the whole situation with the previous night guard. And, solely based on the few personal experiences he’d had with them to this point, Freddy had to admit that he also didn't trust the guards completely. Still, they'd obviously caught onto Gregory's existence, so he needed to give them something before the situation got out of hand.

“...I understand,” Freddy relented with a sigh. “Yes, you are right—Gregory does exist, but not in the way you think. I am not lying when I say that he does not have parents that are missing him. The situation is... very complicated and hard to explain. I know you have no reason to believe me, but I ask that you please try and open your minds a bit.”

“...What the hell does that mean?!” Thomas asked quietly, his anxiety starting to rise. “'Open our minds?' What are you talking about?! Oh, god—”

“Stop panicking—let's just hear him out,” Leon snapped, giving Thomas a swift slap on the back of his head. He then looked up at Freddy, adjusting his glasses before folding his arms across his chest. “Tell us the truth, and tell us everything.”

The bear was quiet for a few seconds, processing how much to reveal and exactly how to say it. Gregory gently squeezed onto his leg, frowning softly but keeping quiet as he waited for Freddy to figure out what to do. Eventually, the animatronic let out a small sigh and looked at both guards as he started to explain:

“You are surely aware of an incident that occurred directly prior to your hiring that caused a system-wide glitch in the Pizzaplex. I do not think it is the time to go into detail about the glitch specifically, but what you need to know is that the missing children were central to this plot, and that is why they were taken. Gregory is one of those children.”

He paused, waiting for a reaction, but the guards only watched him with growing looks of unease on their faces. They had a feeling that whatever Freddy was going to say next wasn't what they wanted to hear.

“Unfortunately, those children... they will likely never be found—at least, not in their original state,” Freddy continued, choosing his words carefully. “Gregory was central to stopping the events of that night before anyone else got hurt, but in doing so he paid a price. He is constantly around me, as you have heard, but you are not able to see him because... Well, put simply: he is a ghost.”

Leon stared at Freddy with wide-eyed disbelief. His gaze soon shifted towards Thomas, taking a moment to process what was happening before shaking his head.

“So... Gregory is actually a ghost kid?” Leon concluded, letting out an incredulous snort. “I don't know how to believe that—ghosts don’t exist. Do you have any proof?”

“Well... Gregory can manipulate electricity,” Freddy said slowly, thinking of ways to verify Gregory's supernatural existence. He met Thomas' gaze, tilting his head slightly. “Officer Thomas, do you recall the first time I encountered you after hours, when your flashlight flickered before going out completely? That was not a coincidence. If you hold it up again, Gregory should be able to manipulate the light as before.”

Thomas was desperately trying not to tremble, barely registering what was happening as he tried to make sense of Freddy’s earlier proclamations. What the animatronic had told them was horrible—those kids were just... gone? Well, not really—they were ghosts?! Because of a computer virus?

None of it made any sense.

It took a moment for Thomas to register that Freddy had asked him to do something, but when he did he quickly shook his head. “Nuh-uh, I-I'm not being bait this time... Leon, y-you can test the electricity thing!”

“Either flashlight will work,” Freddy explained gently, seeing how frightened the poor man was getting. “Gregory just needs something to focus on.”

Leon rolled his eyes at Thomas before slowly pulling out his flashlight and turning it on. He then set it down on the floor and stepped back, shoving his hands in his pockets. “...There.”

Gregory looked up at Freddy for a moment before slowly stepping forward. Taking a seat directly in front of the flashlight, the boy reached a hand to hover over the object and began concentrating. It took a few seconds until the light started to flicker, and seconds after that it completely went out. Leon swallowed hard.

“It could just be the batteries or something…,” he mumbled quietly.

Though still terrified, Thomas was also fascinated. Unlike Leon, he was a firm believer in the supernatural and despite the circumstances, he wasn’t going to miss an opportunity to interact with a real ghost—no matter how scared shitless he got in the process.

He turned on his own flashlight and gingerly stepped forward, placing it next to Leon's and hoping he didn't accidentally run into the ghost (if he was really there). “Um, can... c-can you turn mine off, too?”

Freddy looked down at Gregory, finally acknowledging his presence in front of the guards, and gave him a reassuring smile. “Go ahead, superstar.”

Once he was given the go ahead, the boy took a deep breath and concentrated once again. It took him a bit, but the flashlight suddenly went off without having to dim. Leon gasped quietly, looking over at Thomas. Even he had to admit that this sure didn’t seem like a coincidence at this point.

“O-Okay, so... Gregory is really just a ghost?” he asked hesitantly, and Freddy nodded in confirmation.

Thomas swiveled his wide-eyed gaze from Leon to Freddy, asking the bear in a whisper: “So, since... since he hangs around you a lot, does that mean that you're, y’know… haunted?”

Freddy blinked at him curiously. “What is your definition of ‘haunted?’ It may be different from the information stored in my databank.”

“W-We’ll, it’s, uh…” Thomas gestured vaguely, trying to explain. “Like, when there’s a g-ghost following you around all the time, a-and it’s attached itself to you and won’t l-leave you alone.”

“Ah, I see. Hmm…” Freddy hummed thoughtfully, then nodded with a huge smile. “Then yes, by your definition I am most definitely haunted!”

“This whole place is haunted!” Gregory commented as he slowly got up and returned to Freddy's side, giving his leg a light pat. “Tell them I won't hurt them or anything! I'm a good ghost!”

“This is not what I expected, but I guess in some ways its better than a missing child… kind of,” Leon mumbled to himself, resting a hand on his head. “I’ve got a lot more questions, but as long as he won't... scratch us or scare us or whatever, I think we'll be… okay.”

“Oh no, Gregory would never do such a thing!” Freddy responded, quickly shaking his head. He rested a hand on Gregory’s back, appreciating the fact that he didn’t have to hide such movements anymore. “He is a very good child! I wish you could speak to him directly, but we are still working on controlling his invisibility…”

“You say that like he’s learning how to ride a bike or something, not… becoming visible!” Thomas exclaimed, though he no longer seemed quite as afraid. At least they had some sort of answers, as strange as they were.

Freddy’s face lit up as an idea struck him. “You may not be able to see him directly, but there is a way for you to see where he is—Gregory can still touch physical objects, so if he were to do something such as wear normal clothes, you would at least be able to track him… would that make things any better?”

Leon was silent for a moment before lightly shrugging his shoulders. “Honestly… I can't tell whether or not I'd be freaked out or relieved.”

Gregory gasped at the idea, grinning up at Freddy before quickly running to the couch. Grabbing the Freddy shirt he’d tossed aside earlier, he slipped it on and turned to face the guards, throwing his hands in the air. “Ta-da!”

“Oh my god, there’s a fucking ghost kid right there what the fuck—” Thomas began to ramble, taking an instinctive step closer to Leon as he watched the shirt settle into the shape of a small child. He soon cut himself off, slapping a hand to his mouth before grimacing and muttering under his breath: “Ooh, probably shouldn’t curse in front of him, huh?”

“If you would not mind,” Freddy said with a gentle laugh. He walked past the stunned guards to stand behind Gregory, placing a hand on the boy’s shoulder. It was now abundantly clear that he was indeed holding onto something, not just gripping thin air. “We are still learning how all of Gregory’s powers work, but usually the animatronics are able to see and hear him, while humans are not—though, clearly, you are still able to sense his presence to some degree.”

“Damn, that’s insane...,” Leon said quietly, picking up his flashlight while keeping his eyes locked on the floating shirt. “Okay, Freddy, we… we believe you. Does that mean the other missing children are also…?”

Gregory raised his arms up. Now that the guards knew the truth, he felt comfortable enough to be held by Freddy in front of them. As he was lifted, to the guards it looked like Freddy was picking up a floating t-shirt. The bear inclined his head, not sure exactly how to explain the state of the other children.

“Unfortunately, yes, it does mean that they are no longer... with us as you and Officer Thomas are.” Freddy paused, shaking his head. “But they are not in the same state as Gregory—they are still... trapped, somewhat. Gregory was fortunate in the sense that he managed to escape before suffering the same fate.”

“...Poor things,” Thomas muttered, shaking his head as he picked up his own flashlight. “Is there a way to get them out, or...?”

“At the moment, we do not know how,” Freddy replied somberly. “But we are working on finding a solution to their predicament.”

Leon let out a heavy sigh. Despite the idea of a ghost haunting the Pizzaplex being disturbing on so many levels, at least the ghost was just a kid. When it came down to it, Gregory was just little boy who’d suffered an unfortunate fate—as were the other kids that had gone missing. Their families were grieving, sure, but Leon knew the children were probably also grieving the loss of their own lives.

“Is that why you all go down to the basement constantly?” he asked, glancing towards the door with a small frown.

“Yes,” Freddy admitted with a nod. Best to leave Bonnie out of the equation for now—he didn’t want to overwhelm the guards more than they already were. “The one fortunate thing about their predicament is that all of the children are trapped in the same place, which happens to be the basement.”

“Got it.” Leon nodded somberly, crossing his arms in front of him. “Just know, we'll be keeping this information to ourselves. I'm sure no one would believe us anyway—but that really isn't the point. I wouldn't want the techs to reset you or something if they think you’re malfunctioning with all these crazy claims of seeing ghosts.”

“Thank you both,” Freddy said with a smile. “I am sorry that I did not tell you all of this sooner, but you can understand my hesitancy…”

“Yeah, it’s… it’s definitely a wild story,” Thomas replied, massaging the back of his neck. “But honestly, it explains a lot…”

“We understand—like you said, we probably wouldn’t have believed you earlier, either,” Leon admitted, letting out a soft chuckle. “I know even with the proof right in front of me, I wouldn’t have been as receptive had I not already spent a few nights in this weird place…” He let out a sigh, then offered Freddy a small smile and slipped his hands in his pockets. “Plus, I’m not sure what we can do for a ghost right now… but Gregory seems like he's being well taken care of I guess, and that's all that matters. If there’s anything we can help you with, just let us know.”

“Thank you; we will,” Freddy replied with a relieved smile—this had gone even better than he thought it would. He glanced down at Gregory, whose worry was clearly fading as the pair realized the guards might be nicer than they originally thought. “Perhaps in time you can help Gregory improve his communication abilities with humans!” He paused, blinking as he thought aloud: “He still does not have any living friends yet...”

Thomas grimaced automatically, but he quickly tried to turn this into a smile. “S-Sure! We can, uh... hold a séance, or something...” He glanced at Leon. “...You think we’d get chewed out by management for doing that?”

Leon furrowed his brows, glancing at Thomas. “I don't think we need to hold a séance if the kid can already communicate through Freddy, dummy.”

Gregory stayed quiet for a moment before looking up at the bear. “What's a séance?”

Freddy blinked twice, accessing the dictionary in his databank. “It is a meeting where people attempt to contact the dead, usually with the help of a spiritually-inclined person known as a medium.”

“Wh... Where did that come from?!” Thomas asked, his gaze shifting from Freddy to Leon then back again. He gasped, eyes widening. “Oh! Did Gregory ask you what a séance was?! I couldn't hear him, obviously, so...”

“That sounds like a terrible idea—I'm right here!” Gregory mentioned with a huff, resting his chin on Freddy’s shoulder.

“We will not attempt that, do not worry,” Freddy reassured Gregory, smiling down at him and giving him a squeeze. He then glanced at the guards, realizing he may need to start acting as a go-between until they found a better way to communicate. “Ah, Gregory says that a séance is not a good idea since he is right here.”

“...Right,” Thomas conceded with a nod. “Sorry!”

“It is alright,” Freddy replied with a laugh. “He is very curious about everything, so he asks a lot of questions.”

And he’s kind of clingy, too, Thomas thought, noting how the shirt seemed to hug Freddy tighter and tighter with every passing minute. He didn't say this aloud, of course, but honestly he thought it was rather endearing. The kid obviously felt safe with the animatronic, and since Freddy could interact with him he was in better hands than if he and Leon were to take him—and as Leon said earlier, the child's comfort was all that mattered. They were well past the point of keeping him “safe”…

Gregory nodded his head, already a lot less stressed out than when the guards showed up earlier that night. He wasn't calm, per se, but knowing the guards weren’t trying to hurt him or get Freddy into trouble made him feel a lot better.

Leon stared at Thomas for a moment longer before looking over at the floating shirt in Freddy's arms. The situation was harder for him to take in than his supernaturally-inclined coworker, but the evidence was clearly there. It was just... a shocking sight.

“Well, we'll get out of your hair soon. Now that we know there isn't a kid hiding in the Pizzaplex—” Leon grimaced, the truth falling uncomfortably from his tongue. “Er, a living one, at least—we won't be on your case. Although… we’d still like to help the ones that are trapped in any way we can.” His eyes flashed with determination. Now that he and Thomas were privy to what was going on to an extent, they couldn't sit and do nothing. It’d feel... wrong.

“Definitely,” Thomas agreed with a nod, then made a hesitant sort of noise. “Erm, but... What actually happened to the kids? What… what happened to Gregory?”

Freddy went silent again, debating how much to reveal. This was something that he didn't know all the facts to, and in a way he was grateful for that. He had a vague idea of what had happened to the children based on Gregory's reaction once he'd learned the truth—the sight of the boy clutching his neck and choking, coupled with the large knife Vanny constantly wielded, could only mean one thing. At least it had been quick... hopefully.

Freddy shook his head sharply, cutting off the thought. He held Gregory closer, half-heartedly covering his ears although he knew the boy would be able to hear him—he just hated the thought of Gregory reliving such a traumatic event.

“The children were... murdered,” Freddy admitted somberly, watching the guards closely for their reactions. “I do not know all of the details, but I believe they were all killed by one person in the same fashion. And before you ask, we do not know of that person's whereabouts, although we do believe that they were being controlled to do such heinous things.”

Thomas visibly flinched at the news. He'd guessed as much based on what he knew of both the kids' fates and the sordid reputation Fazbear Entertainment had for child fatalities, but hearing it so blatantly was just... horrible.

“We're going to help them,” he reassured softly. “We have to.”

Leon sighed, also knowing the answer before Freddy said it aloud. Those poor children were left here... And for what reason? How and why would a person be controlled to do something as horrific as murdering children? He had many questions, which he'd research soon enough when they returned to their office.

“Well, we have access to the internet, which I know you animatronics don’t,” Leon said with a determined nod. “We'll search for any information we can so we can figure all of this out.”

“Thank you again,” Freddy said, relief evident in his tone. “I know this is a lot to process, but we appreciate your help and understanding.”

“They're just scared kids, right?” Thomas piped up, a sad smile crossing his face. “They don't deserve this; we'll do all the research we can and let you know what we find.” He met Freddy's gaze, for once not seeming afraid. “And like Leon said earlier, we won't bother you so much at night now that we know you're not malfunctioning or anything.”

“Huh—maybe they aren't mean after all...,” Gregory murmured, a smile lighting up his face as the guards’ words really sunk in. “They’re gonna help us free the kids!”

“We’ll do what we can. Just... don't scare us, is all,” Leon added, rubbing the back of his neck.

“We will try our best,” Freddy said with a laugh. “I certainly will not, but watch out for Monty.” He paused. “And Roxanne, too.”

“Noted,” Thomas replied with a grimace. Monty had already scared him plenty... “Okay, we'll leave you be to do... whatever it is that you guys do. We'll check in later and let you know if we find anything.”

Leon nodded in agreement, waving his hand at Freddy and the ghost in his arms before leading Thomas out of the room. As the door shut, Gregory looked up at the bear.

“This is great! Now we have even more help!” the boy chirped happily “We won't have to worry about anything ever!”

“It is a relief to finally tell them what is going on,” Freddy admitted. “I did feel bad for keeping them in the dark… but now they are most definitely on our side.” He smiled, then suddenly gasped as he off-handedly checked his internal clock. “Oh my goodness—Bonnie! It is already almost 1 am… we may have to skip part of the tour tonight if we want to make it to bowling on time!”

“Oh no—run, Freddy!” Gregory exclaimed, patting Freddy's shoulders rapidly to get the bear to move. As Freddy quickly made his way to the basement, Gregory lifted his watch and turned it on. “Cadet Bonnie, sorry for the wait—we’re on our way now! We were talking to... Well, we'll tell you when we get down there!”

“Message received, Commander Gregory!” Bonnie’s reply came through loud and clear, the smile in his voice obvious. “See you soon!”

***

Masterlist of chapters on Tumblr here!

Please check out The Superstar Series on ao3 for all fics in this series: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2726401

#fnaf #fnaf security breach #fnaf sb #five nights at freddy's #gregory #glamrock freddy #glamrock bonnie #nightguard oc #fanfic #fanfiction #ao3 #angelofrainfrogs #we found him superstar #the superstar series

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jadedvibes · 2 years

Text

Crossing the Line

Summary: After your friends set you up on a blind date with your sworn enemy, you both drunkenly decide to mess with them by making a bet to see who can pretend to be a happy couple the longest.

Pairing: Beefy!Bucky x reader

Warnings: 18+ only, smut, unprotected possessive sex, beefy!bucky manhandling the reader a lot, mirror sex, fingering, light angst with a happy ending, fluff, swearing, Fifty Shades of Grey reference, alcohol, jealous!bucky, brief run-in with an "ex" with a wife, pet names, Bucky is kinda cocky, enemies to lovers, fake dating.

Word Count: 10.1k

Like, comment, and/or reblog to put a giant smile on my face ♡

“We shouldn't, right? It’d be too cruel,” Natasha asked warily.

“Nat, they have so many things in common, and frankly I am tired of their bitter rivalry over every little thing. We can’t finish a game of Uno without things getting contentious. And god forbid that they end up on the opposite team for charades,” Sam said. “Would giving them a chance at meeting outside of our game nights be so bad?”

“No, but you know how they get when they’re left alone.”

“Bitter and argumentative, sure, but maybe there’s a hidden spark just waiting to ignite into a blazing passionate fire.”

Nat looked at Sam incredulously, “I think you’re doing this to get back at Barnes for flirting with your sister.”

Sam smiled sheepishly, “Well why did you offer to set her up on the blind date to begin with? You were fully on board at one point.”

“I just feel like there is something there that they’re not seeing, and I have a strong sense that if given the chance, it could work out really well. Plus Bucky’s not a bad guy, and after the dates she’s been on — well I trust him at least a little bit.”

“And at the end of the day it will be a really funny story if it backfires,” Sam said cheekily.

Nat sighed, a knowing smirk playing on her lips, “Yeah, can’t argue with that.”

┈┈┈┈┈・・

You walked up to the doors of the restaurant with purpose. Your best friends Nat and Sam had set you up on a blind date, and while the thought of that was unnerving, you trusted their judgment. Blind dates were a fun way of meeting people, or so you told yourself, and at the very least you knew that the mystery man was vetted by reliable people, so it shouldn’t be too bad.

With a deep breath you opened the door and walked towards the hostess.

“Hello, do you have a reservation?” the cheery wide-eyed brunette asked.

“I believe my date is already here. Is there a man in a blue shirt waiting for someone? I was told that’s what he would be wearing,” you said.

“Yes, of course. He got in a few minutes ago, told me to expect a woman in a burgundy dress,” she said as she took in your attire. “Right this way,” she said gleefully before quickly grabbing a couple menus and walking you towards a candlelit corner booth.

You couldn’t see the man given the angle of the booth, but the moment you arrived at the table you were filled with instant regret.

“And here we are, your waiter will be right out in a second,” the jovial hostess said before giving you a sly wink and leaving you to be.

You were met with familiar blue eyes that looked just as bewildered as yours.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. You?!” you exclaimed at your annoying foe.

“I’ve got to be kidding? What the hell are you doing here?”

You huffed out a breath before sliding into the seat across from Bucky. “Obviously this is some kind of punishment aimed at you for taking things too far last Saturday.”

He ran a hand through his hair, “When I play charades, I play to win, you know this.”

“I know, but did you have to nearly flip Sam’s coffee table?”

“This isn’t worth rehashing, what do we do, just go home?” he asked.

“I’m hungry, and while I could go find something to eat elsewhere, we’re already here. Can you keep it together without any drama for a little while?” you asked sarcastically.

“Only if you can,” he said with a raised brow.

“Great, I’ll just need a lot of wine, but then I’ll be good to go.”

“Perfect, let’s get a bottle or two,” he said before flagging down a waiter.

┈┈┈┈┈・・

“Some prank huh?” you muttered after placing both your food and drink order because you had no intention of prolonging the night.

“I know this is Sam’s way of getting back at me for something.”

“Yeah no doubt, but I’m not sure what I did to deserve this.”

“Right, because you’re perfect,” Bucky said drily.

“Exactly.”

Bucky leaned back and looked at you with a tight smile. “So what do we do to get back at them? I don’t think they should get away with setting us up on a date that they knew wouldn’t work out.”

“Whoa, I’m a damn delight, this could’ve worked out if you were anyone else.”

Bucky pinched the bridge of his nose. “Why are you like this? I only agreed to this because Sam said this girl was unlike any I’d dated before. I didn’t think he’d mean it so literally.”

You furrowed your brows. “The hell is that supposed to mean?”

He rolled his eyes, “Nothing bad, I just usually got along with my exes, at least for a while. You and I, on the other hand, have never gotten along.”

You nodded your head, “Yeah that’s true.” You paused for a minute as the waiter brought out your wine and poured it into your glasses, leaving behind the bottle.

After taking a few gulps, “Maybe you were right, I mean you pulled out an iron for that shirt, we can’t let them get away with this,” you said jokingly.

“Thank you for noticing,” he said as he subconsciously ran his hands over his nicely pressed shirt. “So what are we thinking? We could TP their house,” he said before taking a big swig of his wine.

You scoffed, “Bucky, how old are you?”

“Well give us an idea, smartypants.”

You sighed, taking a moment to contemplate. Unfortunately, you realized every option would be juvenile. “Ugh I don’t know. Sadly, the mature thing to do would be to pretend like this didn’t affect us so that they don’t get the reaction they hoped for.”

“That’s lame,” he said as your waiter brought out your food.

“So is their prank,” you muttered before taking a bite of your pasta.

The two of you ate in silence for a little bit because neither of you knew how to speak to each other companionably. It was always quips, retorts, and sarcastic remarks that fueled your conversations.

After a beat, you asked, “Did you pick out the restaurant?”

Bucky furrowed his brow, “Why, do you hate it?”

Your eyes widened, “No, I actually really like it.”

“Oh,” he chuckled in surprise. “I did, it’s my favorite spot for good Italian food.”

“Ah, well you’ve got decent taste — at least in food,” you said with a small smirk.

He tugged at his bottom lip, trying to suppress a smile. “Do you want more wine?”

“Yes please.”

Heat rose to your cheeks as the effects of the wine were finally making itself known. With one bottle down and another on the way, you felt a little more at ease in Bucky’s presence.

“I don’t know why Nat would set me up with you, no offense — like she knows that I just got out of something a little messy.”

Bucky’s eyes softened as he looked at you. “I know Sam is doing this to mess with me, but I can’t figure out what Nat’s thought process was in all of this. She’s usually so protective of you.”

“Yeah, I guess I’ll have to be more wary of her,” you said timidly. If you were completely sober you would shrug this off as a silly prank, but you weren’t and it was hard to process why your friend would mess with you in an area in which she knew you held many trust issues.

Before you could ponder any further, the waiter reemerged, pouring more wine for the two of you. The two of you happily drank some more, not completely hating the date any longer.

“You know what would be kind of funny?” Bucky mumbled more to himself.

“Hmm?”

“If we pretended that this date was amazing and that we liked each other after it.”

“Like liked each other?” you asked in surprise.

He let out a laugh, “Yes, like we felt a spark and decided to keep seeing each other.”

You giggled, “They’d never see that coming! But that would be hard to pull off.”

“I know,” Bucky blushed at the thought.

“Regardless, you can’t seem to keep your cool around me when you’re sober, so it would never work.”

Bucky huffed out a breath, “Yeah that’s true, plus you despise me and start arguments for no reason whenever given the chance,” he shrugged.

You scoffed, “Right, I’m argumentative for absolutely no reason and you never upset me on purpose,” you muttered.

“That’s exactly right,” he said matter-of-factly.

“I don’t know why you live to agitate me, I could totally keep it together and do it convincingly too.”

“Correction, you live to annoy me, and I know I could keep it together way better than you,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Wanna bet?” you blurted out.

Bucky’s eyebrows raised, his interest was piqued. “Bet?”

“We do the pretend thing to mess with Nat and Sam — the first to back out loses.”

Bucky narrowed his eyes as he considered the proposition; it would be a good way to get back at Sam. And he would take that bet on principle just to prove you wrong and show you that you were the irrational one, but he knew something else was needed to make it more interesting.

“What’s at stake? If we’re going to pretend to like each other in front of our friends it’s gotta be worthwhile.”

“Loser has to clean the winner’s place for a month.”

“Make it two months with laundry included and you’ve got yourself a deal. I could use the break.”

You snickered as you reached for your wine glass once more. “Yeah, and when I win you can enjoy the extra month of cleaning you’ll have to do at my place and yours.”

Bucky tilted his head, “Are we really doing this, or what?”

You extended your hand, “Two months of cleaning for whoever bails or starts drama first.”

He stretched out his hand, engulfing yours completely — and thus commenced the charade.

┈┈┈┈┈・・

You woke up feeling dehydrated and hungover; you needed a painkiller and a giant cup of water to quell the throbbing in your head. Begrudgingly getting up to retrieve that from your kitchen was a difficult endeavor, but it certainly helped you feel a bit better afterwards. Once your head felt a little less heavy you thought back to the bet you made with Bucky. Even though you were drunk then, it wasn’t difficult to remember every detail of the conversation now.

In the light of day you started to feel uncertain about following through with it, and you wondered if Bucky was going to bring it up himself. You wouldn’t be mad if he didn’t, but as you put some bread in the toaster you felt your phone buzz in your pocket.

Bucky: Hi sugarplum, honey pie…

Well shit, he remembered. There was no way you were going to back down now.

Y/N: Workshopping nicknames are we?

Bucky: Duh. I’m in it to win it, muffin.

Y/N: Okay good for you, but why are you texting me? There’s no one around to see.

Bucky: Nat didn’t text you?

You were about to type that she had not, but your phone began to buzz at that moment. Speaking of the devil, it was Nat calling to likely see how her crappy set-up went. Before answering you reminded yourself that you didn’t want to be Bucky’s housekeeper.

You soon found out that Sam had already spoken to Bucky and that Nat was checking to confirm if you really were good to grab coffee in an hour. She seemed genuinely excited to hear that things went well with Bucky, which confused you immensely. Nat even claimed that she knew something was there, but before you could ask her to elaborate on that she had to run. Before hanging up, you agreed to meet up with them.

So much for coasting for a few days before having to play pretend.

Before you could grumble about it too much you remembered that you had to text Bucky back before getting ready. You pulled up your messages and quickly typed out your response.

Y/N: Nat called, I guess I’ll be seeing you soon.

Bucky: Right, I was going to ask if you wanted me to pick you up on my way.

You couldn’t tell if he was being nice or whether he was trying to further prolong your suffering, but you had a feeling it was the latter.

Y/N: Fine.

Bucky: Cool, I’ll text you before I leave, babygirl :P

You rolled your eyes at your screen.

┈┈┈┈┈・・

Bucky pulled up to your place wearing a bright smile ten minutes before you were set to meet up with the other couple.

“What are you so happy about?” you asked as you buckled your seatbelt.

“I’m just really looking forward to the upcoming two months of chore-free living, that’s all. Seeing you reminded me of what a great break I’m about to get.”

You scoffed, “Wow, well I wouldn’t be too sure about that yet, Barnes.”

“Barnes? No pet name for me, doll?” he asked cheekily.

“I’ll think about it. Can we just save the talking for when we get to the coffee shop? I don’t even know why we’re doing this today.”

“Steve and Sharon are out of town, so game night is pushed to tomorrow. Guess Sam and Nat still wanted to see us, and I think they’re also trying to confirm that we’re a thing.”

“Well I am looking forward to messing with them about that,” you mumbled.

Bucky hummed in agreement, “Same, but let’s see how long you can hold out.”

“All I know is it’ll be longer than you.”

Bucky scoffed as he turned a corner, “Right, just try not to fall in love with me while you’re at it.”

You snorted, “Shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Why’s that?” he asked with a self-assured smirk on his face. Bucky loved to mess with you, mainly because you were the only one that could keep up with him.

You huffed a breath, “Because, I like my men a little less dick-ish.”

“Ah, yes, that would be an issue then,” he said as he parked his car. After a second, he turned towards you with a smug smile, “But is too much dick, really that bad?”

Groaning internally, you tried to rush out of the vehicle, ready for a moment away from him already. But Bucky was too quick, and he was there to help you out of the car once your door was open. You mumbled a thank you and moved to get across the street, but in your haste to get away, you tripped and stumbled onto the road.

“Y/N!” Bucky shouted. He quickly grabbed your hand and tugged you back just as a cyclist zoomed past, barely missing you.

All too fast, you heard a whiz of air and a shouting of expletives from the cyclist before you were roughly pulled against Bucky’s broad chest. “Shit!” you exclaimed, as you tried to recover your balance.

“Are you alright?” Bucky asked as he placed his hands on your shoulders to steady you. He looked at you with concern, only now noticing the stunning hue of your eyes. He unconsciously brushed his thumb over your cheekbone, hoping to calm you, or perhaps himself as he took in your beauty.

Your heart raced as you stared into his sparkling blue eyes. And when you took a deep breath to calm yourself, you accidentally inhaled his warm cologne — like sandalwood and vanilla. Wow, did he always smell that good?

Shaking your head and coming back to your senses, you finally found your voice. “This isn’t Fifty Shades of Grey. Thank you for saving me but I’m not going to gaze longingly into your eyes.” You only hoped that he wouldn’t bring up the fact that you had essentially done that already.

Bucky slowly released the grip he had on you, finally remembering where he was. “You sure? Could be good practice?” he said with a soft smirk on his lips. He was too mesmerized to call you out on that little moment, he was too caught up in you.

You released a breath, before nodding your head. “I’m sure.”

“Okay, well then it’s time to go put on a show. Is it alright if I hold your hand, for appearances of course?” Bucky didn’t tell you that he only wanted to make sure that you crossed the street safely. He was feeling unexpectedly protective over you after that adrenaline-inducing moment, and he was grateful when you wordlessly slipped your hand into his.

As you crossed the street together, Bucky felt a weird sensation in his chest — and that worried him more than he cared to admit.

Once you arrived in front of the coffee shop’s door, you both shared a knowing look. Plastering a fake smile on your face, you stepped inside as he held the door open for you. “Thank you, boo bear,” you said, looking back with a wink.

Bucky looked at you in surprise. Oh, so she’s not going to make this easy on me.

┈┈┈┈┈・・

“So you guys really hit it off, huh?” Sam asked curiously as you curled up next to Bucky in the wooden booth.

Sam’s narrowed eyes showed his disbelief, but Nat appeared smitten and excited for whatever response you were going to give.

“We did, what can I say?” you said gleefully as you looked into Bucky’s eyes. He tried to contain a smile, but failed miserably. You were too good at this, and he knew he had to put in some work to keep up.

“It was strange,” Bucky chimed in. “It was like I saw her for the first time last night. Suddenly, all of our petty arguments seemed ridiculous.” You looked over at him suspiciously as he spoke all too convincingly. He continued, “She was wearing this burgundy dress that looked so gorgeous on her, and I knew then that I wanted her. And of course, let’s not forget, she’s always challenged me like no other. She makes me want to be a better man. So thanks so much for the set up, Samuel,” he said with a charming smile.

Nat listened attentively to every word, as Sam sat still, finding it all hard to believe. Bucky and you were practically sworn enemies from almost the moment you crossed paths. Sam knew Bucky’s aversion was because he thought you were an “exasperating wisecrack.” And Nat knew your disdain stemmed from the first rude encounter you had with Bucky, where he told you he thought you were an “annoying know-it-all.”

From those early moments he couldn’t stand you, and you had trouble speaking with him without getting upset. Undoubtedly, it was petty and based off of the most trivial encounter, but it magnified over time. Game nights with the gang only amplified your animosity, which continued to grow through seemingly every interaction you both shared.

“Yes, thank you Nat. Seeing Bucky all cleaned up last night, looking so handsome, just did something to me. I knew then that I had to have him,” you said, groaning internally as you spoke.

Sam nodded his head, seemingly convinced. “Well, I’m happy for you both. You guys deserve something good.” The two of you together wasn’t entirely implausible, because despite the surface hostility, he knew you both respected each other.

“I guess this means game nights are going to look a little different too then, huh?” Nat asked teasingly.

Bucky looked at you, “Of course, we’re on the same team now. Isn’t that right, baby?”

“So true, bunny,” you said as you looked into his cerulean eyes.

Nat spoke up, “I am loving this, so so much! I cannot wait until tomorrow night.”

“Me too,” Bucky mumbled.

“Me three,” you said, lying through your teeth.

┈┈┈┈┈・・

The ride home was uncharacteristically quiet. Neither you nor Bucky had anything to say to each other. You were starting to feel a little weird about the bet, mainly because it wasn’t exceedingly hard to uphold. Playing nice wasn’t nearly as difficult as you imagined it’d be, and that felt strange. It’s not that you loved Bucky’s company, but you didn’t hate it as much as you usually did either.

Bucky was feeling his own version of unusual, because he too realized that sustaining the bet was too easy. He had been fairly honest, and he realized when he spoke of how beautiful you looked the night before, that he meant every word. Hopefully, things will change at game night.

He still felt compelled to check on you despite his desire to win. After parking in front of your place, he turned to you. “Are you sure you want to keep doing this? We can come clean before game night because I’m pretty sure we’ve convinced them and made up for their prank.”

“Is that your way of attempting to quit?” you asked curiously. Sure, you felt odd, but you were still in it to win it.

Bucky huffed out of breath, “No, I was giving you an out in case this isn’t something you wanted to do anymore. We could call off the bet and have no winner or loser if you want.”

“That kind of defeats the purpose of this whole thing, Bucky,” you said frankly.

“I… I know.” He shrugged his shoulders, unsure of what he was even trying to say in the first place. “So then, I’ll pick you up at 5 tomorrow?”

“Sure, and thanks for driving me today, boo bear,” you said as you opened the car door.

He let out a laugh, “Can I put in a request for another pet name?”

“You can, but it might not get approved,” you beamed before shutting the door and leaving him alone with his thoughts.

And that consisted of the thought of you in his arms, the feel of your hand in his, and the memory of you in that dress.

Shit.

┈┈┈┈┈・・

The following day, you tried not to dwell on the unusual feelings you had about the night before. They didn’t matter, and you figured Bucky would finally start some drama later on at game night. He was too competitive not to, and that made you excited about what was to come.

By the time Bucky had come to get you, you were giddy to get the show on the road. You both made casual small talk, and seemed to be in good spirits. The two of you even set boundaries on public displays of affection quite easily, agreeing on everything but kissing. However, your plans were briefly thwarted when Nat texted you, asking if you could pick up some ingredients that she forgot to get from the store. After letting Bucky know, the two of you stopped at the supermarket along the way.

“What did she say she needed?” Bucky asked as he grabbed a cart.

“Just a couple of things for her dip. We don’t even need a cart.”

“That’s okay, I like to drive it.”

“Suit yourself. I just need a few things from the produce section,” you said before heading in that direction.

“Alright, I’ll meet you there in a minute. I’m going to grab a couple drinks.”

You nodded, as you made your way to grab the vegetables you needed. As you picked out some celery, you were disappointed to see your recent ex, if you could even call him that, Quentin headed your way. Things abruptly ended early on after you found out that he had a wife. After a crappy first date, and a dramatic second date where his wife stormed in, you realized he was an absolute tool. He still called and texted you afterwards, trying to see if you were willing to look past it but you blocked his number after declining multiple times.

“Well if it isn’t Y/N. How have you been, sugar?” he asked obnoxiously.

“Quentin, —.”

Bucky interjected before you could respond. “Hey, doll. Do you remember the whiskey Sam had last weekend? I forgot the brand name,” he said as he stood behind the cart facing you and Quentin. He furrowed his brow as he took in your demeanor — he couldn’t tell what was going on, but he could see that you were bothered.

“Hey, um I don’t remember.”

“Oh alright, well did you find —.”

Quentin narrowed his eyes as he looked at you, “Who the hell is this, Y/N?” he interrogated.

Bucky was taken aback, but he finally understood from context that this had to be one of your crappy exes. He chimed in before you had to. “I’m her boyfriend, and I don’t really care who you are,” he said as he crossed his arms over his chest, making himself appear broader. “Ready to go, doll?” he asked, not giving Quentin a second glance.

Quentin was so shocked by the turn of events that he couldn’t think of a response.

You nodded your head as you placed the greens in the cart. Bucky reached out for your hand, after you put everything down, which you gladly took.

“Do you actually need anything else?” he asked as you turned the corner.

“No, I’ve got it all. And thanks for the assist back there.”

“Any time,” he said as he squeezed your hand. For a moment you forgot that he was still holding it, and by the looks of it, he did too. “Oh um, sorry,” he said, slowly letting go of your hand.

Bucky knew he shouldn’t, but he wondered if you felt it too, the captivating force that was pulling him to you — a small part of him wished you did.

“Nothing to be sorry about,” you mumbled as your heart skipped a beat. And you’d be lying if you said you didn’t miss the feel of your fingers intertwined with his.

“I forgot to ask, do you want me to circle back and kick his ass?”

You let out a laugh, looking up at him in disbelief. “You’d do that for me?”

Bucky cracked a smile, “Anything for my sugarplum,” he teased, nudging you gently. You only shook your head and tried to suppress a smile in response.

And even if his tone was playful, he couldn't help but feel like he meant it.

┈┈┈┈┈・・

After arriving at Sam and Nat’s you took the opportunity to step away from Bucky. You had a feeling things would get contentious soon enough, and a brief break before that wouldn’t be the worst thing. Heading to the kitchen you dropped off the groceries and caught up with the girls.

“How have things been with Bucky?” Nat asked suggestively, wiggling her eyebrows.

“Oh my goodness, is that why you two arrived together?!” Wanda asked excitedly.

“Nat, it's only been a couple of days, but it’s been great. He’s a good guy.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. I know you guys clashed when you met, but he’s a good person. I’m so glad you’re seeing that now.”

Wanda chimed in, “Bucky really is the best — so chivalrous and handsome. I’m happy you guys settled your differences, because you make a lovely pair.”

“Thanks ladies,” you mumbled, taking a good swig of your beer. You were well aware that this was supposed to be a prank — mess with Sam and Nat for setting you up on a bad date, and get a couple months of cleaning out of Bucky. But it didn’t seem like the others were taking it the way you had intended. You weren’t feeling the satisfaction that you thought would come from pranking them, and Bucky was being entirely kind to you. How the hell is this going to work out?

Before you could worry about that too much, your old friend Thor walked in.

Excusing yourself from the girls, you walked up to your blonde friend. “Hey, I didn't know you were coming!” you said excitedly. Thor rarely made an appearance at your game nights, but you loved it whenever he did.

Thor beamed at you, “Hello, Y/N. It’s so good to see you! Are you well?” he asked before pulling you into a bear hug.

You giggled as he let you go. “I’m good! What’s new with you?”

As Thor caught you up on his daily life, someone else was feeling unsettled at the sight of you standing so close and chatting so happily with him.

From across the way, Bucky asked Sam and Steve, “Who invited Thor?”

“Oh right, I ran into him a few days ago. I invited him but I didn’t think he’d take up the invite. He’s always a good time though.” Sam paused when he saw Bucky's irritated expression. “Why do you look upset?” he asked.

Steve let out a laugh, “Because Y/N’s looking awfully chummy with him,” he pointed his beer bottle in your direction.

Bucky glowered at you laughing at something Thor was saying; your head thrown back as you gripped his large bicep for balance. Thor looked at you with the brightest smile, laughing along to whatever joke you two were sharing. It made Bucky’s chest tighten, and he did not want to think about the reason for that.

“Oh,” Sam said. He thought your behavior coupled with Bucky’s concern was suspicious, considering you both were apparently together now. “Well, what are you worried about? That’s your girl now,” Sam said to goad Bucky. For the first time that night, Sam started to doubt the legitimacy of your short relationship, and he figured he could push Bucky into revealing something.

Bucky took a deep breath before realizing something himself — this was the perfect opportunity to maintain the ruse and get you to quit first. “That’s right, she is my girl,” he said impishly. “If you’ll excuse me gentleman,” he said before heading towards you.

You saw Bucky strutting towards you jovially, a bright smile on his face. Those kinds of smiles weren’t usually directed at you, so you knew something was up. Unsure of the reason, but hoping to divert his behavior, you spoke up. “Hey, Buck! What’s up?” you asked behind an obviously saccharine smile.

“Nothing, just came over to see my girl,” he said as he reached out and wrapped his arms around your waist.

Your eyes widened as Bucky settled behind you, resting his chin on your shoulder as you both faced Thor.

“I didn’t know you and James were together,” Thor said with a sweet smile and a hint of confusion.

Bucky lifted his head. “We sure are Thor, this little jellybean is the best thing to ever happen to me,” he said with feigned enthusiasm.

“Well that’s wonderful, how long have you been together?”

“Three days, three amazing days,” Bucky said as he let out a chuckle.

Thor furrowed his brow, “Well congratulations, to the both of you,” he said before kindly excusing himself to get another drink.

Once he was gone you turned around to look at the annoyingly affectionate man behind you.

“What the hell was that?” you challenged.

“What was what, doll?” Bucky asked with a cheshire grin.

Your jaw dropped, narrowing your eyes, you grabbed his hand and tugged him outside to the backyard. “So we’re adding sabotage to the mix now, huh?”

“Sabotage, what do you mean? Like your chances with Thor? Well I just thought he ought to know your relationship status. Plus, Sam and Steve were starting to get concerned, what with you flirting so openly with another man when you’re supposed to be with me.”

“So what if he was flirting with me? We’ve told them that I’m with you.”

Bucky eyes widened, taken aback. “You knew?”

“Thor’s a flirt, who cares?”

“I do, you’re my girlfriend.”

You shook your head, “You know you’re starting to sound like a jealous boyfriend.”

“Then I’m playing the part right,” he shrugged.

You scoffed at his indifference, “Is that what it’d be like? Dating you?”

“Why, are you asking because you’re considering it?” he asked with a smirk.

“No, Bucky. I just want to properly warn the next girl that stupidly falls for those pretty blue eyes.”

“Did you just say that you like my eyes?” he asked gleefully.

“Ugh,” you scoffed before kindly shoving him out of the way and heading back inside.

He smiled to himself, satisfied that he got the better of that exchange.

Watching through the glass door, he saw you walk into the kitchen and pour yourself a drink. You looked frustrated with him, and normally that would make him quite happy, but today Bucky felt a touch of guilt in his smug satisfaction. He didn’t want you to actually be upset with him. Lately, when it came to you though, the more time he spent in your presence, the more confused he became.

The only thing he knew was certain from that interaction was that you were right. He didn’t like seeing you with Thor, and come to think of it, he didn’t like seeing you with that guy at the store either. It made him feel that tightness in his chest that was now becoming common when it came to you.

After you threw back your drink and headed to the restroom to freshen up, you finally had a moment to yourself. As you thought about the events of your typical game night, you started to think about Bucky’s present ridiculousness. By now you’d be at each other’s throats for some type of game disagreement, not because of something like this.

It was true, you enjoyed Thor’s company, and his flirty nature was fun for you too. However, you didn’t think you’d like the way it felt to be wrapped up in Bucky’s arms more — but you really did. The way it felt to be held against that wall of hard muscle, the heat permeating off his body, it just felt so good.

This was supposed to be fake, and perhaps there was more beneath the surface, but you knew you shouldn’t think about that. It was too great a risk to take, especially with the bet still in place. You couldn’t give that smug bastard the satisfaction of a win.

After returning to the living room, you observed the girls finishing up a game of Uno.

“Hey, charades is starting up in five. You and Bucky are on different teams. Since you both are friendly with one another, I’m sure it shouldn’t be a problem!” Nat said excitedly.

Oh thank goodness. Finally, competitive Bucky can come out and ruin the day.

┈┈┈┈┈・・

Bucky was excited to play against you, because he knew you were just as competitive as him. He too was ready to finish this bet. Every time you both stepped up to grab the slip of paper with the phrases on it, you could feel the tension. And he brought his A-game, beating you out on the hardest phrases. Somehow he was able to act out building a sandcastle with ease, and he made sure to give you a cocky wink after getting that done. When you were both up again, you were able to convey shoveling snow faster than him, and you loved seeing how frustrated that made him.

Bucky had Steve on his team, which was an unfair advantage because it oftentimes felt like they shared the same brain. But you were grateful to have Wanda on your team because it almost felt like she could read your mind, which definitely helped rack up some points.

As the game neared its end, both teams found themselves in a tie. It was down to you and Bucky to break it. After you both read “waterfall” you got to pantomiming the best that you possibly could.

Ultimately, you were able to break up the word and make it recognizable for Sam, thus sealing your victory. You made sure to stick out your tongue at Bucky as you basked in your win. He only shook his head before heading out the back door. There’s the hot head that I know.

You decided you’d follow him after a minute to see if you could push his buttons, and maybe win your bet too. But you didn’t expect to see him in such good spirits when you stepped onto the patio.

“Hey, doll,” he said with a soft smile. “Congratulations on the win, I really thought I had you there.”

“Here I was coming to gloat, and you’re being… nice. What gives?”

Bucky shrugged, exhaling a heavy breath. “You know I don’t hate you, right?”

“You told me off the day we met, Bucky. You don’t like me.”

“I was drunk, which isn’t an excuse, but I only told you that you were a know-it-all. Did you ever ask yourself why I might've said that?

You furrowed your brows. “No?” you asked quietly.

He took a deep breath. “I was being stupid and childish. I was the best at trivia, and then you came into my friend group, knowing more than me about American history — that was my thing. And it wasn’t just that, your team won the entire trivia match because of you alone. So I said something dumb when I shouldn’t have, because I was intimidated,” he said sheepishly.

“Trivia, Bucky? Are you insane?” you asked in disbelief. That had to be the dumbest reason to start a bitter rivalry with a person.

“We just clashed, we didn’t get along. And I guess I never did anything to fix that.”

“You know, I studied up on those categories because I wanted to make a good impression on the new group of people Nat was introducing me to. I didn’t want to ruffle feathers, I only wanted to be accepted. But before the night ended you made sure I knew that I definitely was not.”

“I misjudged you, and I annoyed you when I should’ve seen you for the exceptional person you are. I should’ve been kinder, and I’m sorry.”

You eyed him suspiciously. “I don’t get it. Why are you saying this now?”

“Because something’s changed, and I needed you to know that I —.”

“Hey lovebirds! Sharon convinced Nat to fire up the karaoke machine. You in or you in?” Sam asked excitedly, oblivious to the moment you were sharing.

“Um,” you looked at Bucky.

“We’re in,” he said. This was far too heavy a conversation for tonight, and he had already said what he wanted to.

He gave you a shy smile before following Sam inside.

You wished you could finish the conversation you were having. With the way Bucky was acting you felt like the bet would truly never end, and it scared you that you didn’t mind as much as you thought you would.

Now that you understood where he was coming from, as irrational as it was, it was hard to hate him. In his tipsy state he spouted out a statement borne of jealousy, which felt a little less harmful than what you had been thinking all this time. Still, you figured you could think about it all later.

It was karaoke time now.

┈┈┈┈┈・・

After watching Steve belt out “Brown Eyed Girl'' by Van Morrison, then seeing Sam follow it up with “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey, you started to feel a bit overwhelmed. Nat asked if you were feeling alright, and you weren’t sure how to answer that. You couldn’t fully pinpoint what was going on with you.

Opting to avoid revealing anything that would lead you to lose the bet, you told her that you weren’t feeling well and that you were going to call it a night. Fortunately, Thor was heading out early too, so you left with him while Bucky dueted with Sam.

Immediate relief washed over you once you were back home. Finally, you were alone and able to process your thoughts on your own.

Things were getting weird with Bucky. Your friends were all too accepting of you two getting together, and even you were starting to get too comfortable with it. As silly as it was, you thought back to how you felt in his arms, when he pulled you out of harm's way. The way he looked at you, like he was seeing you for the first time — it was all too hard to forget.

The man that you couldn’t stand a few days prior, now made you feel safe and somehow cared for? You pondered how that could be and gave yourself a headache thinking about it. Bucky went out of his way to apologize, when you were happy to dislike him for the rest of his days.

Even though his rationale for being mean in the beginning was ridiculous, you realized neither of you did anything to stop it from spiraling out. And not only that, but he went on to tell you something had changed, making you even more confused. Did he feel something for you, like how you might feel for him too?

Deciding to forget about the whole thing, you lit a couple cozy vanilla candles and set up a warm bath for yourself. After soaking and relaxing your mind, you came to a decision.

You were going to call off the bet.

It had become pointless. Bucky treated you differently, and you couldn’t see how this would end in him surrendering. He was seemingly unbothered by the situation, so you had to be the one to put an end to it. You could always hire a housekeeping service or something to clean his place for him, the terms were never that detailed anyways.

As you slipped into your favorite pajamas, you felt content with your decision. Your life was going to go back to normal and an added bonus was that Bucky would no longer be your enemy — things were looking up.

Just as you sat down with a cup of tea, your phone buzzed in your lap.

Bucky: Can I come over? Unless you’re with him.

Huh? Maybe he was drunk texting you from Sam’s place. You decided not to text him back until the morning since it was already late.

Bucky: I’m outside, if you’re awake.

What the hell? You got up and opened the door, surprised to see him waiting on the other side.

“He’s not here is he?” he grumbled.

“Who?”

“The one that would be more than happy to give you a ride.”

“Of course, Thor’s not here,” you stepped aside to let him in from the cold.

Bucky breathed a sigh of relief. “Good, that’s good,” he muttered as you shut the door.

“You really came all the way over here to make sure I wasn’t with Thor? Are you serious?” you asked in disbelief.

“No, well, you left without a word and I had to make sure you were okay, and tell you —."

You cut him off before he could continue. “Look, I don't want to do this —.”

“I’m calling it. I don’t want to do this bet anymore,” he blurted out at the same time.

“You’re… we’re both quitting?”

His eyes widened as he processed your question. “Looks that way.”

“Okay. So neither of us wins and gets a housekeeper… I guess that’s fair,” you said.

“I think so,” he nodded. “Okay well, I’ll let you go then,” he said before moving to leave.

Placing a hand on his chest, “Bucky, why couldn’t this wait until tomorrow?”

He exhaled a deep breath, looking down at your hand. He wanted to confess that he came because he saw red when Nat told him you left with Thor, and that his heart wouldn't know peace until he saw you. He needed you to know that you had consumed his thoughts the last few days and he needed to release the pressure of the bet because he was overwhelmed by his emotions.

Instead he asked, “Did you feel it too?”

“What do you mean?” you asked timidly.

Clasping his large hand over yours, he looked up into your eyes. “I think you know.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” you breathed out. Thinking back to all the instances in the last couple of days that made your heart race, of course you knew what he was referring to. But it wasn’t made to work, not with all the rough history between you two.

His azure eyes bore into yours, as words were not necessary to express what laid under the surface. “Alright then,” he nodded before giving you a tight smile and dropping your hand to leave again.

“That’s it? You’re not going to elaborate or anything?” you breathed out, before you could bite your tongue.

Before you knew it, he was invading your space, slowly pushing you up against the door behind you with his hands on your waist. “I asked you a question, and you don’t want to answer honestly.” His lips were a mere inches from yours as he gazed into your eyes.

“It was a vague question,” you whispered, your eyes falling to his soft pink lips.

Bucky grabbed the back of your neck and pulled your lips to his — intentional and packed with everything he was too afraid to say. You reciprocated immediately; your confusion and doubt finally made sense. What you wanted, no, needed, was him.

You gave into him completely, letting him take control of the filthy kiss. It was all tongue, teeth, and wanton desire. His rough hand dug into your hips as he pulled you towards him, melding you to his firm body. Your hands found their way into his hair, and you tugged his brown locks, earning a deep groan from his throat.

Bucky didn’t want to let go of the feel of your lips on his, so he dragged out the moment until you were both too breathless to carry on. As he pulled away and released the hold he had on you, you reluctantly untangled your fingers from his hair and peered up at him; his eyes dark with kiss-swollen lips.

“You knew what I meant,” he whispered, his thumb brushing against your bottom lip.

You nodded your head.

Bucky smiled softly, one of his hands coming up to cradle your face. He couldn’t help it — his feelings were reciprocated and you were too gorgeous so he pulled you back for a wild, warm kiss.

“You’re mine now, understand?” he muttered against your lips.

You narrowed your eyes at him. “We’ll discuss that later,” you said defiantly, a smirk playing on your lips.

A lazy grin tugged at his lips, “You are the most frustrating woman in the world.”

You rolled your eyes, “And you are the most infuriating man I have ever known.”

“Yet for some reason, you like me, doll,” he goaded.

“Shut up,” you muttered.

His eyes widened, a twinkle of mischief glistening in his gaze, “Make me.”

He was about to tease you some more, but then you sucked his bottom lip between yours and he decided it wasn’t worth it; he’d gladly lose every little disagreement if you kept kissing him like that.

Bucky’s hand snaked its way to the back of your head as he savored the kiss, his tongue gliding along yours.

Reaching up, you tugged at his hair to tilt his head for an even deeper kiss, pouring everything you felt into the searing kiss.

Bucky’s hips grinded with yours, hands moving down to squeeze your ass as he kissed you fervently. You couldn’t help but moan at the delicious friction. His brain short-circuited, the sound sobering and disillusioning him at the same time.

“I’m… fuck, I’ll stop.” He pulled away to look into your eyes, his hands doing nothing to release you from his hold. “I’m sorry, I don’t want to take advantage —.”

“You’re not, we can slow down if you want though,” you said before kissing him softly.

He pulled away to smile at you. “I don’t want that. I want you.”

Oh.

You pushed his chest, successfully getting him to back up and away from you. He raised his eyebrows in surprise. You knew he was letting you shove him around, and that in reality he only moved because you directed him to.

“Come and get me then,” you said before making a break for your bedroom.

Bucky let out a laugh before chasing after you, and right as you were about to hop onto your bed, his arms wrapped around your stomach, jerking you back towards him. You squealed in surprise as he pressed your back up against his hard beefy body.

He moved you so that you were facing your tall mirror and the sight of him wrapped around you made your heart pound like a drum in your chest. Engulfed in his warm scent, captured in his strong arms, your head felt dizzy with desire.

“Now that I’ve caught you, what am I going to do with you?” he rasped, as his hand slid down your torso, toying with the hem of your shorts. You bucked against him, as his hand ghosted over your clothed core.

“Please, Bucky. Whatever you want.”

“Anything?” Bucky asked as he deftly untied your shorts, allowing them to fall in a pool at your feet.

“Mhm,” you mumbled as you watched his fingers dip beneath your panties, trailing his fingers through your soaked folds. “Bucky,” you whimpered, as his thumb pressed into your clit, his fingers prodding at your entrance.

“Yes, doll?” he asked, slipping two fingers into your tight hole, pumping slowly.

You were rendered speechless, trying to stifle your moans as you writhed against him.

“So gorgeous,” Bucky groaned, taking in your pleasured expression in the mirror. He curled his fingers and you keened as he gently caressed that spot that made you shudder.

Reaching down to his hand around your midsection, you guided it up to your body as you rucked up your shirt. Understanding your intention, Bucky pulled your top off before cupping your breast with his large warm palm, squeezing and kneading you roughly. You gasped, arching into him and he picked up the pace, strumming your clit with his thumb. You leaned your head back against his chest as he touched you, moaning as he eased in and out of you in a perfect rhythm. Incapable of controlling your hips, you grinded down on his hand erratically.

“Fuck,” Bucky breathed out, “Look at you.” You were falling apart before his eyes, and he couldn't look away.

You whined desperately, clutching his forearm as that familiar coil tightened in your belly, “Fuck, I’m —.”

“Go ahead, doll,” he groaned in your ear.

You whimpered as your walls fluttered around his fingers. Your vision going white as pleasure coursed through your body.

If it weren’t for Bucky’s arm wrapped around you, you were certain you’d collapse. As your breathing slowed and sight cleared, you got a good look at him in the mirror — you watched as he brought his soaked fingers from your pussy to his mouth, licking them clean.

Fuck.

Reaching behind you, you palmed his hard erection, earning a deep groan from his lips. Keeping his hold on you, he buried his face in your neck, sucking at your pulse point as he rutted against your hand.

“I need you so bad,” he muttered as he kissed along your jawline. “Are you ready for what comes next?”

You weren’t sure if he meant what you’d do in the bedroom or what would happen once you crossed the next line, but you nodded your head eagerly because it didn’t matter — you were ready for it all with him.

He kissed your temple before finally releasing the hold he had on your body. “Undress me.”

“Yes sir,” you whispered, turning around and eagerly unbuckling his belt, tugging off his pants and dragging down his boxers. Your mouth watered as you finally got a look at his impressive length. You should’ve known, the man was a giant, it only made sense that he’d be well-endowed too.

Bucky’s jaw went slack as he looked at you, wide-eyed and gazing at him with fire in your eyes. He pulled his shirt off himself because he could see your attention was elsewhere.

You marveled at the gorgeous unclad man, and you started to slowly pump his hard cock, unable to keep your hands off of him. You were about to fall to your knees when he lifted your chin to look into your eyes.

“I need something else more, doll.”

You looked at him quizzically, until he scooped you up and headed towards the bed. You giggled as his knees hit the edge of the bed and the two of you fell sideways onto your duvet. He let out a laugh as you sidled up next to him, hooking your leg over his own, as you peppered his neck with kisses. Bucky’s hand skimmed over your back, gliding his fingers along your spine until they settled around your waist. Your hand found his hard length, and you stroked him slowly, earning a deep groan from his chest.

“Fuck, baby,” he moaned.

He kissed you softly before pulling back to look in your eyes. His hand halted your movements, making you release him. You were about to protest but then he gripped the back of your knee, and rolled you onto your back, so that he was hovering over your wet heat. Bucky met your gaze, looking for any unease, only to find you nodding and biting your lip in anticipation.

He let out a chuckle at your expression before coating himself with your slick and lining himself up. Your fingers tangled in his hair as he slowly sunk into you, gasping at the feel of him stretching you out completely. Bucky leaned in and kissed you, his tongue swirling around yours as he gave you a moment to adjust.

You had never felt so full before, but you knew that you could get used to the feeling. Wrapping your legs around the small of his back tightly, you urged him to move. Bucky sucked your bottom lip before easing back and thrusting into you hard. He watched as your eyes squeezed shut and mouth fell agape, as he sank in and out of you.

He relished the way you clenched around him, your breathing coming out shallow as he took what he wanted. His lips found your neck when he felt your walls squeezing even tighter, “Such a good girl, and she’s all mine now, huh?” he mumbled against your skin.

“Mmm.”

“Use your words, doll,” he groaned as he suddenly slowed his movements. “Wanna hear you say it.”

Your eyes snapped open as the peak you were so close to hitting started to slowly fizzle away. Bucky had a self righteous smirk on his face, like he knew he had you. He wasn’t going to give you what you wanted until you answered his question.

“Bucky,” you whined in protest, trying to urge him to move faster with your hips.

He halted his movements as he gazed deeply into your eyes, “You’re not getting out of this one, doll,” he smiled before nipping at your bottom lip.

“Later,” you pleaded.

He swiftly pulled out of you, and manhandled you so that you were facing away from him while sitting in his lap.

Your eyes flickered to his gaze in the mirror. “Do what you want then,” he muttered as he placed a pillow behind his back.

You couldn’t help but think that Bucky was practically telling you to fuck yourself, but you didn’t care. You placed your hands on his thick thighs and tucked your legs up so that you were straddling him in reverse. The position had you spread open on your knees as you hovered over his lap.

Bucky grasped the sides of your hips so that balance would not be an issue, allowing you to comfortably rock against him. The sight in the mirror made you even wetter, if that was possible — his brawny body taking up your bed, with his hands holding you tightly as you moved against his thick, perfect cock.

You lined his length up with your entrance, and slowly sank down, releasing a shuddering breath as you went. The stretch ached in the most satisfying way, and you liked the control the position gave you.

Your lips parted with a breathy moan as you started to move, bouncing up and down. Finding the right rhythm was easy as Bucky supported you and let you grind against him until you found what felt good.

Bucky hissed beneath you, “Fuck, feel s’perfect.” He filled you up perfectly, like he was made for you.

“Look at yourself, doll.” He grabbed the back of your neck, coaxing you to look at yourself in the mirror. “Watch how well you take my cock.”

You cupped your breasts as you saw your reflection, and then you understood why he insisted on making you see. The way you moved against him, the way your bodies melded together, it was all so beautiful. As you continued to appreciate the sight, Bucky sat up, so you could lean back against him.

He kissed along your shoulders, up to your neck as you took what you needed from him. “Don’t you see it?”

And you finally realized, you did; you were perfect for one another, physically and literally. The thing that everyone saw, and you both were too afraid to admit, was that you were so damn similar. Both fiery, passionate, and a little crazy — you didn’t clash because you were different, you clashed because you were the same.

You wrapped your hands around his, as he sucked a hickey into your neck. “Yes,” you breathed.

“You belong with me.”

“I do,” you moaned as the coil tightened in your belly.

Before your brain could comprehend what was happening, he twisted you both onto your side and started thrusting into you from behind. “Good, now come with me,” he groaned. You arched your back, giving him better access as he pounded into you. His thumb found your swollen clit, rubbing rough deliberate circles, making you clench around him even more.

Your breath hitched in your throat as the sudden increase in pace and added pressure finally pushed you over the edge of bliss; your body tensing and mind blanking as your walls spasmed around him. “Fuck, fill me up please,” you cried out.

His thrusts grew erratic as he buried himself as deep as he could go, hips driving into you with more force until he was spilling himself inside your core with your name on his lips.

With one last squeeze on your hips, he carefully withdrew himself from you and rolled over on the bed next to you. You both laid there, panting as your breathing slowly regulated.

After taking a solid moment you lazily turned towards him and reached up to play with his hair.

Bucky turned towards you slowly, a lopsided grin on his face. His eyes were closed as he reveled in the way you touched him.

“That was…” you said, barely above a whisper. Hot as fuck, ridiculously good, indescribable.

“Yeah,” he nodded, knowing exactly what you meant. “I wasn’t too rough was I?” he asked gently, finally coaxing his eyes open to look at you adoringly.

You shook your head, “I liked it,” you murmured.

Bucky grinned, grabbing your hand in his hair and bringing it to his lips, “And to think all the times we were bickering, we could’ve been doing this.”

“Maybe we should take the weekend to make up for lost time,” you said teasingly.

Bucky rolled you over, and pinned your hands above your head before you could blink. His lips hovered over yours as he caged you in. “I’ll need more than a weekend for that, doll.”

You stretched up and pecked his lips before laying back and looking into his gorgeous blue eyes. “I think that can be arranged. After all, I am yours now, boo bear.”

He let out a laugh, “And don’t you forget it,” he beamed, leaning down to press his lips to yours.

Bucky would learn to deal with your silly nicknames, and your sass, and anything else you threw at him. Because now that you’d crossed the line, there was no going back — and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

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phoenixyfriend · 3 years

Text

OKAY so on the topic of Star Wars takes wrt “character ends up in an A/B/O universe where they’re an omega, but they were previously a cis male in their canon”

@atagotiak and I had some Thoughts on discord

So, obviously, Anakin would make a good omega and he’s also incredibly murdery. Foregone conclusion that we're using him for this.

There is no preexisting Anakin in the Omegaverse. He shows up JUST as the war is starting. Canon timeline is in the third year of the war (he’s 22), but whatever dumped him into omegaverse also tossed him back a few years. No de-aging, just a bit of mismatched timeline stuff.

He's... really good at war, and clearly a Jedi, so the Temple just kind of goes "WELL OKAY THEN, SURE, YOU'RE IN, EVERYONE PRETEND HE'S BEEN HERE THE WHOLE TIME." The Jedi, by and large, don't care about omegaverse dynamics beyond 'what do you need, medically, to be happy and healthy' and 'what do you need to be aware of so you can be prepared for biases you encounter in the field?’

None of the civilian natborns (mainly politicians) want to put him on the field because of those biases. Anakin, being Anakin, is VERY blatantly an omega in scent, has never been on suppressants (because it wasn't a thing he fucking NEEDED), is incredibly emotional as a person, loves kids, etc.

Like, nobody wants an omega fighting a war anyway, but THIS one is like PINNACLE omega, and those awful Jedi are making him FIGHT just because he's good at stab!

The Jedi: Actually, it's because he's got several years of war experience that we don't, and he's a good tactician that works well with the clones-- Coruscant: You MONSTERS The Jedi: Look, we gave him the option to not stab and he looked absolutely devastated. Anakin, several days earlier: You don’t want me? I’m not good enough??? Jedi: Also he can beat up at least half the temple.

He doesn't know a damn thing about dynamics, but he DOES know that sometimes he's so horny he wants to stab HARDER. The clones are largely disinterested in their generals' dynamics because between mostly-Mando* trainers and no-dynamic Kaminoans, they only really care if a person can shoot.

* Mandalore approves of Fighty Omegas. As far as (traditional) Mandalore is concerned, you want an omega that will kill the threats to your children as well as you do.

Anakin: You know more about being an omega than I do. Rex: ...I'm an alpha. Anakin: Yeah. Let that one sink in a bit.

We have two options for Obi-Wan!

Omegaverse local Obi-Wan (beta) has never met this man before, and is very unnerved that the immediate default reaction Anakin has to his presence is releasing Family pheromones as if Obi-Wan is his DAD and like. This strange, too-tall man from another dimension has got absolutely NO control over what he projects in the Force OR in his dynamic.

Obi-Wan was ALSO transplanted from canon to omegaverse, and is also an omega, for contrast reasons. He is nice and friendly and and likes poetry and that sort of thing... but also he has the highest dismemberment count in the movies. Also he doesn’t prioritize romance.

We went with the second one because it's hilarious.

Someone watching them spar: Wow, omegas from that universe are terrifying.

As previously mentioned, now with some tweaking to account for both: Obi-Wan and Anakin just straight up don't exist until they drop headfirst into the council room, already covered in blood. (It's mostly not theirs.)

Nobody realizes either one is an omega until they "naturalize" to this dimension and Anakin goes into heat... and doesn't realize it, actually, because his primary symptom is heightened protectiveness and aggression. Everyone else with the right nose realizes, because the man has no control over his pheromone production, but Anakin? No. He just stabs. He’s angry and horny and he will cut someone.

Ahsoka has no reaction to human pheromones but basically everyone smells Anakin's "my child!" reaction to her, so... Cool. Have a padawan, we guess.

Anakin ends up sparring a lot with Aayla and Ahsoka, because only humans and near humans have dynamics, so these two don't REACT to the pheromones situation.

(Palpatine is a Kindly Old Beta who tries to treat Anakin the way he EXPECTS Anakin wants to be treated, which is. Not. Accurate.)

(Anakin hates it.)

I'm just so in love with "An omega can't fight." "You wanna fuckin' bet?"

There are plenty of omega Jedi, by the way, it's just... most of them can keep it relatively low-key instead of Anakin's jet-engine broadcast. Some, if they're known to be omega, probably take advantage of being underestimated, like Obi-Wan probably (and especially a version of Obi-Wan that was always an omega, unlike this version). They have a very different way of presenting themselves than Anakin, who's not subtle about being an omega and also not subtle about being all aggressive and stabby.

At one point, Anakin has to protect some Very Traditional Individuals who get all "Stay back, Omega, it's not safe!" and he's just... so tired of this shit. “You are squishy civilians and I'm a trained Jedi Knight and accomplished GAR General who's killed more people in one sitting than there are in this entire palace. Sit the fuck down and let me do my job.”

It starts making the rounds that Anakin insisted on fighting in person, and the rumors shift from "how dare the Jedi force an omega to fight" and over into things that are deeply hurtful in-universe in the vein of "broken omega" and some people try to say it to his face but like...

He didn't grow up here.

He doesn't care.

Say that to one of his friends and he's going to rip out your spleen, probably, but say it to him and he's just staring at you flatly and asking if that's a negative on getting away from the encroaching battle droids, sir?

"You're rather unpleasant for an omega, aren't you?" [deeply offensive] "I literally could not give less of a fuck about your opinion. Move."

It's not that there aren't omegas that act like Anakin, either, it's just that most of them aren't, you know, Jedi who regularly interact with the upper crust, or capable of his level of destruction. Unbeknownst to Anakin, everyone clocks him as Outer Rim based on his behavior, well before his accent gives him away, and certainly before he mentions he's from Tatooine, because Core Omegas Don't Act Like That.

Someone they meet in a more diplomatic setting says something decently passive-aggressive about how at least Obi-Wan acts more like how an Omega should. Then a battle breaks out for some reason, and... well. Anakin and Obi-Wan cause such a scandal by keeping score of kills in a battle, don’t you know?

Turns out sending Anakin to fight Ventress is great because she keeps expecting him to react a certain way but NO he's here to STAB.

I like the idea that Obi-Wan's favorite opponent these days is Grievous because the cyborg doesn't have a nose, and thus gives zero fucks about dynamics or heats. Dooku is a rich old man who has opinions heavily influenced by Sith Juice Making Him More of a Dick, and the Dathomiri can smell dynamics even if they don't have them, and so they have biases about those things. Meanwhile, Grievous is just there to Kill, and Obi-Wan genuinely appreciates the lack of commentary on his dynamic.

Dooku’s probably an alpha, or a beta who's used the whole "we are more level-headed" thing as one of several angles to keep himself the public face and supreme commander of the CIS.

On to more fluffy things that have less to do with political biases.

There's a lot of "I'm upset that my loved ones don't know me," but also please understand the appeal of Obi-Wan marching up to Quinlan like "Yes, hello, I understand you've been read in on the full situation behind myself and my former padawan. I was close friends with your alternate universe self, which I feel is necessary disclosure before I propose the following: Would you like to join me for my upcoming heat, as I have minimal experience with the dynamics situation and even fewer people I actually trust, and I believe I can put my faith in you to treat it as casually as necessary while still having control and respect for my person."

(The Team is in a fairly safe place to process stuff, but having sudden unexpected changes to your biology has gotta be a little traumatizing, on top of ending up in a universe where none of your friends know you and people have a whole host of unfamiliar forms of sexism to point at you.)

Obi-Wan, who wasn't quite touch-averse but was much more easily overwhelmed by physical contact than Anakin (who craved it), suddenly finds his body switching gears and insisting on cuddles with Trusted Loved Ones, which is.... mostly Anakin, on account of nobody else really knowing him yet. Also Ahsoka, who is aware that she's something of a replacement for her alt-universe self, but Anakin explained it as "I love you so much no matter which dimension I'm in or what you're like, and I'd like to get to know you the way I got know her."

(It's rather eloquent for Anakin. He got Obi-Wan to help him draft up the script for when he pitched taking on omegaverse Ahsoka as a padawan.)

Anakin gets a more intensely sexual heat than 'usual' at one point for Reasons (IDK it could be as innocuous as 'we got better food than the usual rations and my body is reacting to the higher fat content with the belief that it's safer to have a baby now'), which nobody takes a whole lot of notice of because they're in a WAR, and also this is only his fourth one so it's not like he's got a lot to compare it to... except then the predominantly alpha clones can't stop themselves from reacting to the pheromones, mostly by wandering past his door and asking if he needs anything, offering up alpha-scented blankets and stuff for the nest to soothe the hormones, bringing snacks and electrolyte drinks, and like, Anakin is flattered, really, but fuck off please.

(He got a warning from medical a few hours before it hit that it would be different, so he actually does have alpha-scented fabrics to help him out. Apparently that's a thing you can just ask friends for, so he asked Rex if he had anything on hand that he could spare. He now has one of Rex’s recently-used sheets and a bodyglove in the nest.)

(Anakin has no idea how to feel about the nesting instinct, but at least it’s warm.)

Tia asked "Oh hey, who has the scared and horny reaction to his carnage?" and like.

Listen. I'm not saying I've been low-key imagining this as Rex being a very subby alpha who's really into Anakin's whole Thing but...

At one point Anakin gets injured in a way that requires painkillers and he ends up whining to the point of almost crying about the fact that nobody is cuddling him right now in medbay and Kix just gives up and comms Ahsoka to come hug her weird older brother.

And Then There Is Purring.

That’s a Thing Now.

Rex ends up in the pile somehow. He came over to check on Things and ended up yanked in by half-asleep, half-high Anakin, who has a grip like an octopus and no impulse control and is purring like a pod motor while NUZZLING HIM.

There’s a lot of blackmail photos featuring Rex’s very intense blush as he’s cuddled by his commander (giggling at him) and general (clinging like a tooka and rubbing himself all over).

Anakin is deeply offended that ANYONE thinks he'd want to get pregnant by just any old person, NO he needs to fall in LOVE there needs to be EMOTIONAL DRAMA and if Padme won't have him (apparently she's in a relationship and no he's not BITTER) then he'll find someone else to have a whirlwind romance with!

People think Anakin's a slut because he can't control his pheromone production (he has NO practice and for health reasons he can't go on suppressants) so he always smells open and ready for flirtations, which Obi-Wan also has to a somewhat lesser degree (he's older so his body just naturally produces less), and then someone tries to cross a boundary and grabs his ass and ANYWAY Anakin has to now fill out an incident report for breaking a civilian's arm.

Again.

#Anakin Skywalker #Obi Wan Kenobi #Ahsoka Tano #Captain Rex #Rexwalker #Quinlan Vos #star wars #the clone wars #time travel #omegaverse #alpha beta omega #phoenix posts

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trensu · 3 years

Text

Jon's Creeping Terror Fun Fact Corner!

You know how Cecil has his Fun Fact Science Corner segment on his radio show? Well, Jon has his own show produced by The Magnus Studio. It's an educational kids show all about the Entities of Fear!! It's a very specific kind of kids show. You know the ones. Those kids shows that children are absolutely mad for but any adult in their vicinity is left deeply unsettled by them? Yep. On the surface, the show seems fine but if any adult dwells on the content for more than five minutes, they are left feeling very very unnerved, especially since the host, one Jonathan Sims, seems more than a little unhinged half the time.

The show is so popular it gets almost 15 whole episodes! (It gets cancelled at 14 bc at that point it had received far too many retrospective complaints from parents to continue any further). Sometimes, the episodes even have special guests!! Although it got cancelled, you can obviously still find it on the internet if you know where to look. There's even compilations of all the show's best Unhinged moments.

The Vast Episode

Jon: Today's episode is about the Vast! And to tell us more about it we have Simon Fairchild visiting us. Kids, if you ever see this man in person, please run very far in the opposite direction.

Simon: Thank you for that warm introduction, Jon. Now children, who here likes ROLLER COASTERS?

Jon: And that's it for our special guest [proceeds to literally kick an old man until he's off screen] Do not trust this man and please be careful when going on roller coasters in the future.

The Lonely Episode

Jon, reading from the teleprompter: We have an expert of the Lonely with us, Mr. Peter Lu--what? No!! Why's he here? Get him off my set! What do you mean no? I don't care how much funding he gives the studio!! He tried to take Martin away!

[scene cuts off and starts back up with Martin sitting next to Jon, looking particularly sweet and cuddly in a knitted jumper]

Jon: Here we have m-my Martin, I-I mean my ASSISTANT Martin Blackwood. Say hi to Mr. Blackwood, children.

[Jon is a twitchy mess and cannot even look at Martin's direction. Martin looks flushed]

Martin: Er, yes, h-hello.

Jon: Martin has experience [this is hissed with all the venom he can muster] with the Lonely. He's going to teach us the best way to avoid that evil, conniving bast--

Martin, hastily cuts in: Yes, well! Kids, who do you have in your life that you love? It can be anyone! Your siblings, your pets, your friends! Anyone at all!

[at the edge of the set, just barely visible, Peter can be seen crammed into a cage gleefully guarded by Daisy]

(it's during this episode Jon finds out that he's not allowed to use naughty words on the show. All the stuff with the murder and the skinning and the worms and such is fine! Just no cussing. Jon is befuddled and aghast. This is why Hopworth was not allowed as a guest; he's a very swear-y man)

The Corruption Episode

[Jon is seen clutching a jar of ashes throughout the entire episode with absolutely no explanation as to what it is or why it's there]

Jon, gesturing manically: and that's why it's important to see a doctor when you're sick and have an exterminator on speed dial.

[Martin comes onto the scene with a worried look on his face. The screen goes to black for a moment, then reappears with Jon still clutching his jar but looking significantly calmer. He smiles at the camera and it almost looks normal]

Jon: To finish the episode, can you demonstrate the proper handwashing technique we taught you at the start? Be sure to tell your parents what you've learned about infection control and have them show you where the CO2 is kept in your home!

The Hunt Episode

Jon, earnestly happy: This is my best friend Daisy! She's going to help us learn about the Hunt. She's one of the bravest people I know.

[Daisy turns away to hide a shy smile before clearing her throat and starting in on a rehearsed lecture. The episode ends with her and Jon making the children repeat the "don't listen to the blood, listen to the quiet" mantra and also "all cops are bastards."]

(Basira, in post production: ...yeah, that's fair.)

The Flesh Episode

Parents are horrified when they hear their children singing "you are what you eat, meat is meat!" whenever they play after that episode airs.

(Martin: Just to be clear, we're encouraging cannibalism??

Jon: no! ...maybe? i don't know, Martin, they told me it tested well with the focus group children

Martin: yes, okay, but WHY did you come up with that jingle?

Jon: Don't look at me like that, I'm not crazy, Martin! I wouldn't just eat a person. But, well, if someone asked me to eat them like, after they died, I wouldn't necessarily say no...?

This conversation was recorded and leaked somehow. And that's how Actual Cannibal Jon Sims became a trending meme. He has to do a PR statement confirming that he "has never knowingly eaten a person" and that that was "a completely hypothetical discussion." This convinces as many people as you think it would.)

The Stranger Episode

Nikola: I don't much like children. Not enough skin on them to do anything really fun.

Jon: Why are you--how did you even get in?? S-Security! Someone come get her out of--

Nikola: oh, but I have information for the little ones! [she pulls out a basket of high-end skincare products and looks directly into the camera with her featureless face] These are the lotions that are best for Archivist flesh but I'm sure they work for the kiddies as well! You all want to grow up to have lots of beautiful skin don't you? Here, let me show you how to use them! [attempt to lotion Jon]

Jon: [flinches away] Security! O-or Daisy. DAISY!

[growling is heard and we get a flash of a wolfish Daisy body-slamming Nikola to the ground. The rest of the episode has Tim shoving Jon off screen and going on a rant about circuses and how to best explode them. This becomes one of their most popular episode amongst the children]

Breekon and Hope show up occasionally in the background of various episodes and become something like an Easter egg for fans of the show.

Anyway, I love the idea of kids adoring socially awkward, neurotic mess of a man Jonathan Sims. Jon is completely confounded by his popularity but also, he's glad of it bc that means the children will be more prepared if they ever encounter any of the Entities (most parents think it's all fiction, except for the ones who've had Encounters with one of the entities; Jon ends up with a sort of underground cult following comprised of survivors of fear encounters)

I blame @lemonisinplay (and Jonny Sims) for the entirety of this post, tbh. She came up with the name and half the stuff here XD

#tma #the magnus archives #jonathan sims #martin blackwood #daisy tonner #basira hussain #tim stoker #peter lukas #simon fairchild #nikola orsinov #jonmartin #trensu tells stories #jon's creeping terror fun fact corner

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uncpanda · 3 years

Text

Back to the Navy Yard: Part 7

Sypnopsis: Being the daughter of Leroy Jethro Gibbs wasn’t easy, but you made it work …right up until you decide to break away from the “safe” life plan and join the FBI. When your father and the family you’ve made stops talking to you, you find a new one with the BAU. But years later, when murders connected to you and your father start popping up, you’re forced to examine the past along side your fiance and unit-chief Aaron Hotchner, and soon to be step son Jack. Really, your whole world is up in the air.

Notes: Eli David and Jackie Vance are both alive, also the timeline between Ziva and Tony was sped up, because slow burn is only good for so long.

Master List

Gibbs' stare is unnerving, but Aaron’s been at the end of a lot of unnerving stares in his life, and in his honest opinion, his own father’s stare was worse. But that was probably due to the fact that a belt had been in his hand and was about to be used. That combined with his years of dealing with the worst humanity has to offer, leaves him feeling fairly calm.

“Ya know, most people would ask a father for their blessing before asking a man’s daughter to marry them.”

“That only applies when the father is involved in his daughter’s life.” That strikes a chord, he can see it in the tic of Gibbs’ jaw.

“You don’t understand . . .”

“I understand better than anyone. I’ve lost a wife before, not just to divorce, but to a

madman. I almost lost my son. I know how easy it is to want to lock a child up and throw away a key in the name of protecting them. I also know it’s not possible. They have free will. They’re their own people. Y/N made her choice, and you couldn’t respect it, so you shut her out. As a result you’ve missed out on a lot of things. Things she wanted you around for.”

They both continue to make eye contact when Aaron quietly says, “She cried for you the first time she had to kill a man. She sat on a bathroom floor, after having to take a shot at someone who was firing at us. It made her sick to her stomach, the knowledge that she killed someone, and she wanted you, and you weren’t there.”

“But you were?”

Aaron straightens a bit, “For a member of my team? Yes.”

Gibbs’ hands go to his hips, “A member of your team?”

“At that point, that’s all she was. Now . . . she’s my everything.”

Gibbs lets out a long sigh before a chuckle follows, “I have a set of rules. A moral code I live by. Got the idea from Shannon. She absolutely hated that I skipped around on my numbers instead of just going in order.

“Shannon was a bit more normal. Kept her rules in a notebook instead of on scraps of paper in a shoe box. Y/N was around eight when she found it. She told me, my rules no longer counted because we have mom’s rules. And mom was brilliant. I couldn’t argue with her about that. Shannon was brilliant. Her first rule was, when you really love someone, you fight for them. She’s been fighting for you since the moment I found out, and she has the same look in her eye Shannon had when she would defend me to her mother or some stranger. I never deserved her.”

Aaron’s lips twitch, “I don’t deserve Y/N.”

“Well, at least you acknowledge it.”

“Every day. And just because you weren’t there for things in the past, doesn’t mean you can’t be there for the things happening now and in the future. She’s put off planning the wedding because she wants you there, wants you to walk her down the aisle, wants you to know Jack and any other grandchildren you might have.”

His eyes go wide at grandchildren, “Is she?”

He shakes his head, “Not yet. She wants to start trying after we’re married.”

He closes his eyes and lets out a deep breath, as though the thought pains him; the trying not the grandchildren. Aaron wonders if he’ll be the same way if he ever gets a little girl. He’s not even sure if he wants Jack to start dating. Hopefully that’s a problem for years from now.

“How about this. Let’s catch the son of a bitch hunting my kid and me, and then we can

deal with the rest of this.”

Aaron crosses his arms against his chest, “You going to try and kill me in my sleep?”

Gibbs looks incredulous, “Try.”

He nodds, “Try.”

He smiles as Gibbs walks away muttering about sarcastic, cocky, not good enough for my daughter, federal agents. Aaron just follows behind.

----

Jack is curled up in your lap, listening to one of Dwayne’s ridiculous fishing stories, that is in no way real, when your dad and Aaron come in. Your dad is lugging Jack’s toy bag, while Aaron has the others.

In a second Jack is out of your lap and in front of your dad. You watch in amusement as your dad lowers himself to the floor with a soft grunt, and your uncle Dwayne follows. The moment the legos come crashing out of the bag, you slip into the bedroom, Aaron has just entered. You close the door silently behind you, and find Aaron waiting.

You keep your voice at a whisper, “You survived!”

“He threatened to kill me only twice.”

You shrug, “That means he doesn’t despise you. That’s a good thing.”

Aaron lets out a huff through his nose and opens his arms. You dive into the hug pressing your body against his, reassurance flooding through you when he squeezes you tights, and presses a kiss to the crown of your head. “It’s going to be okay.”

You lift your head to look him in the eye,“You know, I actually believe it when you say it.”

He smiles, a real smile, and swoops down to give you a proper kiss, before resting his forehead against yours, he repeats the words, “It’s going to be okay. Our team is going to catch this guy. We’re going to go home. You’re going to rebuild your relationship with your dad and his team. We’re going to get married, and maybe make your dad pay for it if he threatens to kill me again. We’re going to get Jack his baby brother, and maybe if we’re lucky a baby sister, and we’re going to live our lives.”

You press a kiss to his jaw, and then one to the corner of his mouth, “Life rarely works out for us Aaron.”

“It just means we’re due.”

The door bursts open a second later, but Aaron’s arms stay firmly wrapped around you as a giggling Jack runs in launches his body at your legs, “Daddy, Marmee, we’re building a ship out of legos. Come help!”

Your dad’s head pops in, “Yeah. All hands on deck. Boats don’t build themselves,” your dad levels a look at you, “You know that bubba.”

Jack bounces a bit, “Marmee calls me that too!”

Your dad scoops Jack up and over his shoulder, “Yeah. But your mom is the original bubba.”

You look back at Aaron as your dad whisks Jack away, “That’s going to be a dangerous combination.”

“You think he’ll spoil him?”

“I think we’re going to end up with a lot of their completed projects at our house. Mom was trying to talk him into a roll-top desk before she died, maybe we can get them started on that?” He gives you a look and you shrug, “What? It’s better than having to keep a boat in our basement.”

“We don’t have a basement.”

“Exactly, and we don’t want to set up the possibility of us having a boat in the basement, if we ever get one.”

“I’m confused.”

You wave that away, “When you see my dad’s house it’ll make sense.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

By the time you get to the den, Jack has dragged Leon and Dwayne down to help too, and Aaron takes the last available spot on the floor as you settle in the chair. The exhaustion of the past few days, and a lack of sleep is finally catching up with you. But you know, with your boys with you now, the bad dreams and loneliness don’t stand a chance.

#aaron hotch x reader #aaron hotchner #aaron hotchner x reader #aaron hotchner x you #hotch x reader #jack hotchner #leroy jethro gibbs #gibbs #ncis #criminal minds #criminal minds reader insert #criminal minds fanfic #criminal minds fanfiction #ncis reader insert #ncis fanfiction #criminal minds ncis crossover

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jiminrings · 3 years

Note

petition for stem koo to do all the things for oc he originally said no one does (make her lunchboxes, makes her cheerful...) bc i think that’s a beautiful redemption arc

cold senior!y/n x stem major!koo masterlist :D

jungkook's day one of his redemption agenda doesn't go that well in the end

"namjoon!!! my man. got any updates for me?"

seokjin strolls coolly on the way to his office, hair slicked back and his dress shirt definitely missing more than a few buttons

what's head admin gonna do??? dress-code him???

fire him???? PLS HE'D BE BETTER OFF!!!!

jin makes student affairs his bitch,,, not the other way around

"for the last time, i am nOt your secretary!!" namjoon stresses as he ceases his typing just to glare at him

he's the university registrar and everyone needs to go through him and at this point he's like a historical landmark from how he's made impact in less than two years

and he and seokjin graduated from the same batch!!!! they're the uncanny always pair for the subjects they shared together

it was definitely weird but functional lol cause one is uptight yet hardworking and the other's relaxed yet smart

sue them for working in the same place they swore they'd never go back to after graduation </3

"if you say-"

"some kid's been waiting for you even before i opened the office. made him sit inside but i just told him that he'd be expelled if he even tries to touch your coffee machine."

namjoon says even before jin could finish the sentence, clearly holding that in until the last minute

jin's obviously a lil annoyed because he's starting work as early as now but the way that joon laid all that out on him is a highlight for him

"thanks. knew you're a secretary for me first and a registrar second."

"no. i'm a national citizen before-"

alright alright he's not listening anymore

this bETTER be important because jin has to hold out his morning routine for whoever this kid is

"what can i possibly do for you today?" he rubs his eyes in preparation, intentionally dragging his steps because just looking at how near he is to his work computer gives him vertigo

"mr. kim!!!"

there is no way

there is no fATHOMABLE way that this has got to be happening to seokjin right now

"..... jungkook. what a pleasure."

he sits on his chair, voice gritted and monotone and he could just feel his eye twitching, his clenched fist under his deck now flipping off the kid in secret

it's a last-minute realization that he grasps that jungkook doesn't know you're his friend and it presents some really unique vantage points

like the time that seokjin recounted about a ridiculous student's filing for theft of his lunchboxes and he turned out to be your crush

or when he used his student affairs capabilities and pulled up resources left and right when jungkook broke your heart then seriously contemplated about messing up his academic record

or that time when he delivered a high and sleepy you to bed and then heard the entire conversation (if you could even call it that) between yoongi and this fucking nerd

"i need your help, mr. kim. you're the closest one to me i could ask!!" jungkook pleads desperately, the big doe eyes not really inducing an effect on him whatsoever lmao

"mhmm. i may not be the person for the job. counseling is right next door."

jin hums without even attempting to get jungkook to elaborate because for all he knows, his services aren't exactly open for people who hurt his friends >:(

(a guy once bumped shoulders with yoongi twice on the same day with aTTITUDE!!! and seokjin just dismissed the dude's concerns when a prof of his, who's a buddy of jin's, suddenly gave him an F)

seokjin IS student affairs

“no, no. you’re the only one who can help me!! you see, i-i just feel this brotherly connection with you and-“

“we talked once.”

god what did you used to see in this kid??

a crybaby aND an easily-attached personality to him? god it’s like jungkook’s just asking jin to pick on him

jungkook doesn’t seem to pick up how jin’s making it obvious he really doesn’t want to be of help if it has something to do with him

he likes interrupting and jin’s just the perfect match to interrupt him even earlier so now they just sound like one of those dubsmash snippets

“MR. KIM!!! how do you make lunchboxes? i don't know how.”

jeez where are his manners :O aren’t nerds like him supposed to worship the ground that admins walk on,,,

but what did pique his attention is the content of what jungkook just said

.... lunchboxes?

jin doesn’t want to give the kid benefit of the doubt because the last time he did that, you got hurt!!!!

if he has to hear hyeji’s name one more time, he’d really waste no time in stripping jungkook’s name from the honor roll

“remember that time i thought someone was stealing my lunchboxes?” he quizzes jin like it’s his job, clueless how he’s poking the bear even more with where he decides to go with this, “yeah. turns out no one was.”

was that not made clear the first time around!!!!!! he knows for a fact that a uni student would trade a classmate for a pack of gum but nO ONE would go for stealing a lunchbox

no one wakes up one day and decides that they’d steal a lunchbox. literally none

“but then this random girl claimed that it was hers a-and well i-...”

kook pauses to gauge jin’s reaction, clearly seeing now the one brow that’s raised at him

oh so if jungkook just asked him how to make a lunchbox, and he called h-word random,,,, then that would mean-

“i may have hurt the original giver of my lunchboxes at the process.”

.... that means he’s asking how to make a lunchbox for you

well that was a pleasant surprise

seokjin snorts briefly at that, dryly chuckling with his eyes widening to stress out his “non-threat” that’s pretty mUCH a threat

“wow. i might just give you a sanction for that.”

does he think jungkook’s a good person? lol he has to think about that for a month

was he wrong for hurting you that way? ultimately yes

but did he think at some point that jungkook’s completely heartless and wouldn’t try to redeem himself to his senior? no, not completely

but is he still on your team, regardless if the kid begs for mercy and you forgive him? yea a hundred percent :D yoongi and seokjin could never be brought out from your circle

"and you're doing this why?"

this is a no-brainer question for jungkook but the question still spooks him, feeling the chills at his neck that responding to seokjin is like a sTEPPING STONE when it comes to you

lmao if only he knew

"i uh, i just really wanna make this right. i messed up completely and it's pretty much unforgivable, but i atleast wanna try and give my best even if she doesn't forgive me, y'know?"

interesting

"mhmm. right, right."

???

he's still mad but he appreciates that jeon's doing the bare minimum of redeeming himself

speaking of, the poor kid looks like he's pissing himself because he may have just embarrassed himself with how long the silence stretches out

maybe,,, just maybe jin's gonna try and be a bridge this time

but like as soon as jungkook lacks for a fourth of a second, seokjin would BURN that bridge faster than a blink

"well first of all, you buy a lunchbox."

RIGHT RIGHT

jungkook grabs a literal pocket notebook and jin pretends he didn't see that because WHO the hell does that!!!!

"of course... okay, proceed!! i'm taking notes," jungkook nods in understanding, jotting down the very important advice of not ordering from online because you can't smell the material through a screen

p.s. smelling containers before you buy them is a VITAL thing to do!! it already tells you about the quality at the first sniff

"are you buying one?"

"buying one for every day of the week. i'm thinking if i should get extras too-

"good idea. i recommend buying eight."

alright seokjin's mentioning some very specific colors and schemes and jungkook's not complaining!!!

MAYBE HE'S ONTO SOMETHING!!!

"what meals should i make? i don't even know what she likes!! and even if i knew what, how would i make it?"

why is his heart racing

yoongi may have taught you how to do your taxes but jin taught you how to cook food that's more than four steps!!!

he taught you how to not flinch at all when you're frying and that's the equivalent of raising you to be the woman that you are now <3

look at him and yoongi being your best friends!! teaching you about taxes and being unnerved at cooking oil and busting out a smoke ring or two <3

in fact, the lunches you've cooked for jungkook are all inspired and derived by seokjin!!!

the fact that jungkook's plan isn't bad and the way everything pieces together with his insight,,,, goosebumps luv

"....hypothetically? what i think she'd like?"

jungkook eagerly nods with stars in his eyes, fingers gripping onto his pen for dear life as he tries to channel all his listening techniques into this lecture

"get a bigger notepad."

wow

"look at you!!" yoongi gushes the moment he sees you, waiting at you from the front door

you're going back to your classes again :D

you don't look as worse as you did four days ago!! you're not as sluggish and as animated too

"please don't," you snort as yoongi doesn't seem to stop looking at you like you've saved the world, giving no fight when he insists on carrying your backpack to your first class of the day

the past four days,, yeah they were undoubtedly rough

you slept as much as you could and for the moments you weren't dejected enough to be awake, you spent it surrounding yourself with seokjin and yoongi as much as possible

that's the beauty of hanging out them!!! you're not required to have a single thought lmao

except for the time when yoongi wondered aloud how eels even live and die (or if they even do???) in the first place and that sent everyone in a spiral and you didn't think of jungkook for a single seconds

you're not intimidated to go back to regular programming or with the fact that it's nOT unlikely you'd see a glimpse of jungkook in the hall and such

but that does mean that even if you're the bigger person, you're still gonna avoid him for as long as you could

speaking of!!!! you're looking for the person now that you're eager to find

"taehyung!!"

there he is :D you'd recognize that fluffy mop of permed hair anywhere

"y/n!!"

tae jumps over chairs in excitement to finally see you again after being so worried for you, engulfing you in a hug immediately

alright you see why yoongi thinks he's a golden retriever

you're clearly not a touchy-feely person but you'd let this one pass,, tae helped you (even indirectly) throughout your downtime anyways

"thank you so much for the cookies. i tried taking smaller bites just because i didn't wanna have them disappear that easy," you confess sheepishly, knowing how you had to pull the i just got my heart broken like two days ago multiple times so the two menaces would stop stealing from your stash

jungkook's excited!!!! seokjin may have given him a tip that "he felt it in his gut" that you were gonna go to class today

he came a little late because he wanted to perfect the very loaded lunchbox that's in his backpack right now

oh weird

you're not in your usual chair

bUT jungkook sees a glimpse of your hair and he's certain that you're there and his heart may be beating out of his ribcage

a baby peach lunchbox with a sticker (of what seokjin said he thought you'd like) on the middle of the lid :D

pork katsudon with furikake rice aND coffee jelly pudding on the side!!! it was definitely pressure-racking to strictly adhere to jin's recipe but god does it look worth it

jungkook's only did miniature taste tests on it and he had to stop himself from devouring the lunch that he's made specifically for you

the lunchbox itself is tied neatly with a silk wrap, adding his touch of sewing your name visibly on it aND there's a scribble taped to the lid too

god jungkook really can't wait to make it up to you

sheesh that was one of THEE longest lectures you've ever felt you had

it was actually the same amount of time it's always been but maybe you've been out of practice from just staying at your dorm for days

tae's great company but he could be a little bit chatty!!! you just nod when you feel his voice go up and he apparently gets excited by that easily

.... he apparently also has a small bladder and he told you that within the whole hour of class

"hold on. i gotta pee before next period. go without me!!!' taehyung hurriedly slings his backpack to his arm, looking ridiculous in a rush

tae's sometimes unintentionally funny because you don't even share next period anyways

you're on your way to the exit when a shiny scarf catches the corner of your eye, having to squint at it because wow does it look pretty

is that-

is that your nAME???

you pick it up before you could even rationalize it, realizing then what it was wrapping when you feel the warmth on your hands

:")

"sorry i forgot my headband!!!"

taehyung stumbles back into the room, catching his breath to run back to his seat and fetch the headband he took from his hair to play with awhile ago

he looks shocked to see what's on your hands, flicking his gaze between you and the item but he doesn't think much of it

wOW that's a really shiny scarf!!!

"tae?"

"hmm yeah? what's up?"

he's about to jog back to the comfort room because he hasn't really relieved himself yet, not bearing to leave his headband in the room when anyone could snatch it up

you raise your lunchbox, a thankful gaze on your eyes that looks so close to crying which is why tae's mORE than lost now

"thanks for the lunch."

.....

jungkook could only helplessly watch.

#EEEEEEEEK :D I HAVE A REQUEST QUEUED UP NEXT BUT WHAT DO YOU WANNA SEE IN THE NEXT PARTS #stem koo #jungkook imagine #jungkook imagines #jungkook oneshot #jungkook oneshots #jungkook au #jungkook drabble #jungkook x reader #jungkook x y/n #jungkook angst #college jungkook au

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