#chap13

Chapters: 13/? Fandom: Shadowhunters (TV) Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood Characters: Magnus Bane, Alec Lightwood, Maia Roberts, Isabelle Lightwood, Clary Fray, Simon Lewis, Raj (Shadowhunter Chronicles), Dorothea "Dot" Rollins, Ragnor Fell, Jace Wayland, Lorenzo Rey, Catarina Loss, Raphael Santiago, Lydia Branwell, Camille Belcourt Additional Tags: one-night stand, in theory, Bottom Alec Lightwood, Top Magnus Bane, Anal Sex, Magnus is Alec's boss, Oral Sex, i mean for now it's just mentioned but if I know myself it will be included in more detail later, programer!alec, Work Romance, POV Alec Lightwood, POV Magnus Bane, Drunk Texting, Bartender!Maia, Personal trainer!Jace, Sexual Tension, and there was only one bed, these boys have no self control, bed sharing, alec is a horny drunk, also i will write alec being prone to anxiety/panic attacks till the day i die, Past Magnus Bane/Camille Belcourt, Anxiety Attacks, Panic Attacks

Chapters: 13/? Fandom: Captain America - All Media Types Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Former Sharon Carter/Steve Rogers, former James "Bucky" Barnes/Ororo Munroe Characters: James "Bucky" Barnes, Steve Rogers, Peggy Carter, original child character, Kitty Pryde, Clint Barton, May Parker, Ororo Munroe, Peter Parker (background), Gwen Stacy (background), James Howlett (background), Sharon Carter Additional Tags: Tumblr otpprompts, stucky au, Single parenthood, no powers, No Prosthetics, Angst, Fluff, Kid!Fic, Pining, Slow Burn, clueless Steve, original child character - Freeform, Original Canine Character - Freeform, Bucky Barnes Spoils His Dog, If you love Bucky you had better love dogs, Clueless Boys Who Kiss, eventually, Het Sex, eventual slash Summary:

Good fences make good neighbors. Good friends become great lovers when Steve's daughter plays Cupid.

Tumblr prompt: Person A is a single parent whose life is very busy with their full-time job and their child(ren). Person B is someone they've known for a long time and they are very close and Person B is good at helping out with Person A's child. One day, Person A's child announces to Person A that Person A is in love with Person B. (Bonus: Person B is currently in another relationship. Possibly with Person C.)

“Wow, this is sad. The last person who e-mailed you was your mom? I bet you don’t even have any friends. Is that why you’re so desperate to get on the case?”

“Hanazawa,” Serizawa thunders, one final warning. The younger detective looks up, startled, and his smile falters at the glowering looks being directed at him from the two corners of the room.

Mai gave her hair a last hasty brushing stroke and climbed hurriedly in her bed. The sheets were cold but the chill in the air was frosty enough to make them inviting. As she was drawing the quilt up to her nose in a childish attempt to gather more warmth, she heard a light knock on her door. Soon the hesitant face of Masako poked through the half-open doorway.

"Mai, may I come in?"

"Of course," she replied, hoisting her tired limbs to pat the place beside her invitingly. "Want to sleep together tonight?"

Masako nodded wordlessly and joined her foster sister, gracefully sliding in the sheets after setting her shawl on a chair cautiously. Mai watched with impressed envy her display of elegance. Even in private, Masako always managed to behave exquisitely poised. Her nightgown didn't exhibit any wrinkle, her skin was smooth and fair despite the fatigue, and even her long ebony hair was impeccable, silky and shiny, meticulously braided with absolutely no straying brand. She was the very image of perfection without even trying to be, in a word, everything the cinnamon-eyed girl wasn't.

"Mai, you forgot to braid your hair! It will be all tangled tomorrow!"

The young orphan almost laughed. What did it matter if her hair was a mess? She wasn't the one with a potential suitor, after all. She was just the clumsy, stupid, gullible and unattractive Mai, and it would fit her image perfectly.

Masako got off the bed shaking her head in disbelief and let an exasperated sigh out, whose effect was immediately attenuated by the fond smile which followed. She grabbed a ribbon and the hairbrush before sitting beside her sister.

"I will braid it for you," she said softly, "now sit down."

"But it is cold outside…" whined Mai, clutching the quilt tighter.

"Here, take my shawl. Now stop complaining, and do as you are told."

Mai reluctantly pushed the comforter aside, shivering slightly at the sudden loss of warmth, and sat straightly. Soon enough she felt the gentle tug of the brush on her scalp and the cool hand of her friend delicately parting the hair. The little lingering jealousy she had been feeling toward Masako melted away like snow in the sun before the gentleness of the gesture.

"It has been far too long since the last time we spent an evening together", remarked Mai with a twinge of regret. "I missed it."

The dark-haired girl hummed in agreement, making Mai smile knowingly. Her sister wasn't the type to word her sentiments out loud, but she wasn't unfeeling either. Speaking of feelings…

"Were the two sets you danced with Yasuhara enjoyable?" she asked mischievously, their former complicity restored.

"They were, absolutely," responded Masako animatedly, "he really is the most agreeable person I have ever met! He is so nice and understanding, and…"

"…and handsome?" supplied Mai, craning her neck to smirk at her friend.

"And handsome." admitted Masako, tugging at Mai's hair a little harder in retaliation. "Stay still!"

"And rich," continued the brunette, "and young enough, and single…"

The dark-haired girl let out a crystalline giggle.

"He is all of that, and much more. Discussing with him is always so amusing! And he excels at dancing. I feel like I cannot grow tired of his company."

"Well, there is an infallible way of ensuring his company for a lifetime…"

"Mai!" exclaimed her friend, falsely scandalized. "Mister Yasuhara never mentioned any inclination towards me, though I can tell he enjoys my company as well. But seemingly not as much as Shibuya appreciate yours" she added, an almost imperceptible hint of uneasiness in her tone. "Let me tell you, you two were the main focus of the conversations tonight."

Mai's mood immediately plummeted. The gentleman was certainly not a topic she wanted to broach, not on this night, not after the disaster in the gardens…

She groaned inwardly, silently cursing those who were gossiping about her and Shibuya. Didn't the people of Merryton have something better to do? Well, of course not, she thought bitterly, except from the occasional balls, small talk and rumors were the only acceptable distractions women were allowed to have, hence the good ladies didn't let a gossip matter down until they've worn it out. And Shibuya was a rather fresh addition to the neighborhood, so everything related to him was still considered novelty…

Suddenly Ayako's statement about things better left untold found all its meaning. After the unmistakable exception to his habits Shibuya had made with dancing with her, there was little doubt that if f someone were to caught wind of what happened in the gardens it would cause, if not an uproar, at least some unsavory rumours about them. Her friend had tried to give her a fair warning about what were to come if she wasn't cautious enough about her conduct…If anyone other than Ayako had found her with Naru, alone in a garden, her reputation would have been ruined for sure. Or Naru would have been obliged to propose to her, which would have been even worse.

Masako seemed to notice the brunette's darkened mood, and raised the thorny issue carefully.

"Mai, pray tell, what is going on between you and Shibuya?"

Mai's back straightened and her shoulders tensed significantly. That was the exact question she craved to be answered while dreading its disclosure.

Because no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't figure Naru out. His ambiguous behaviour had her assuming that he was interested in her, maybe romantically, and she had genuinely believed that he was going to declare himself. But it appeared that he had only played her into thinking that way. What had he wanted to achieve with that attitude? What did he want from her exactly? One moment he was an infuriating tower of cold politeness, and the next second he let her have glimpses of man hidden behind the handsome emotionless mask. But he never failed to slip through her fingers before she could even reach him…

"Could it be…that he is courting you?" asked her sister hesitantly, sensing her tenseness.

"No, he certainly is not", snarled Mai with more animosity than she intended to display. Since it sounded far too much like bitter disappointment, she added more calmly, "I can assure you he did not take any fancy in my person, nor did I in his."

"Is that so? You seemed to genuinely appreciate each other's company while dancing, and he had not asked anyone else but you…people are assuming otherwise."

"Because they do not know the man. Remember how he charmed almost every girl on the first ball, and acted like a perfect boor afterwards, ignoring them without a second thought? He simply reenacted his previous behaviour tonight."

"How rude!" exclaimed Masako, shocked. Then she enquired cautiously:

"So there is not any inclination, on your part, or his?"

"No" was Mai's terse reply. That was what she had decided anyway, and was determined to stick to her resolve.

Masako let out a relieved sigh and tied firmly the ribbon around her friend's braided tress.

"Things are probably for the best that way. After all, we know so little about him! I have to admit, I was afraid you were in love with him. If it were the case, I could foresee that he was to bring you more pain than happiness, Mai."

"What secret do you know that I don't?" thought the latter wryly. It was rather obvious that Masako was wary of the man, probably because she was privy of something about him. Something she wouldn't or couldn't share. On any other day she would have asked her sister, pressured her into revealing whatever was burdening her. But tonight, she was too tired and emotionally drained to follow that path. So she simply opted to ignore the matter.

Certain things are better left untold.

"You do not have to worry on my account", replied the brown-haired girl with an assurance she was far from possessing. "I despise the man, and I am certain his prideful narcissistic self does not deem me worthy of his interest."

"Then the fool has no idea what he is losing" gently whispered Masako, kissing goodnight to her sister who was now bundled up in the covers.

The young lady only sighed in reply, letting exhaustion take over her aching limbs, heart and mind. Just before her sister blowed the candle on the bed-table she spared a last glance to her drawer, where lied, neatly wrapped in one of her handkerchief, a purple raw crystal.

AN: What am I even doing? I was supposed to write some funny stuff with Monk, and that chapter just…happened. I like writing about Masako though, she's an underrated character, and I find her interactions with Mai rather cute. Well, now it's high time I worked on Monk's arrival!