#[ been a while since they hurt this much so i'm ?? ] | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

vbecker10 · 2 days

Text

Trust Me

Pairing: Loki x female reader (Y/N) - established relationship

Summary: You and Loki have been dating for a year and a half and you moved into his apartment in the Tower last month when your apartment's lease was up. Since you've moved in, Loki has been coming home late more and more often. You fear he is cheating on you like your exes did, you finally break down and confront him. He admits has been keeping a secret from you but it's not what you expected.

Warning: Angst of course, being cheated on in previous relationships (briefly mentioned), fear of being cheated on again, lack of trust, arguing, negative thoughts, Loki being a little stupid

A/N: Ok... tiny spoiler but there is a super fluffy ending 💚 I know it's kinda long but I just didn't feel like making this a two-parter

You have just finished cooking dinner and begin to set the table when you catch a glimpse of the clock on the stove. You feel a growing sense of disappointment, Loki should be home already. Sitting alone at the table, you look at the food for a few minutes until your phone vibrates causing your heart to sink. Without even checking, you know what the text will say.

<Darling, I'm so sorry I need to finish something for Stark. I'll be home late, don't wait up.>

You frown and scroll back up to the previous messages in the chat. Loki had sent you similar texts twice and you've only lived with him for six days.

<Okay. I made you dinner, it'll be in the fridge. Love you>

He replies quickly.

You instantly lose your appetite and decide to put all of the food away. It is hard not to feel as if Loki is avoiding you. In the year and a half you've been dating, he only worked late a handful of times and it was never several days in a row.

What are the odds that his work load has suddenly increased now that I am living with him? you think as you fill with anxiety. No, Loki loves me, you try to reassure yourself. He would never lie to me, if he says he is working, he is working.

You get another text from Loki as you close the fridge.

You smile, your worries fading quickly as you text him back.

You change the channel again but you are barely watching the TV. You've had an unusually long and stressful day and you really need to cuddle with Loki but something tells you he is not coming home just yet. Almost as soon as you think it, your phone vibrates and you sigh.

<I'm sorry love, I'll be home late again. Don't wait up>

<K>

You text back the single letter, unsure if Loki can tell the subtle difference between 'okay' and 'k' but you just don't have the energy to fake being fine at the moment.

Two minutes later Loki responds.

You swipe the message away without replying, putting your phone in your pocket. You turn off the TV and decide you're done for the night, you can't bare the thought of eating alone for the third time this week. Without eating, you take a shower to try and wash off the day then crawl into the large, empty bed.

Once you are under the covers in the dark, your thoughts begin to race. Why does Loki never seem to want to come home to me? Does he really have that much work to do or is it an excuse? What if he is tired of being around me? We only just started living together but it feels like he is just trying to avoid spending time with me. What could he possibly be doing until midnight three or four nights a week?

No, not what... who is he doing, the little voice in the back of your mind pushes through. He's cheating on me, I've just been too blind to see it.

But Loki said he would never betray my trust like that, he promised, you counter but your negative thoughts quickly return. My previous boyfriends all seemed honest too, until they hurt me.

There are other signs I've been ignoring, you allow yourself to think. The calls, the texts, you wipe away your tears and cling to his pillow. You had gone into your bedroom two weeks ago and Loki was sitting on the bed, scrolling through your phone. He told you he was checking the weather app before you left for the park but the answer didn't feel right. You had nothing to hide and would often let him use your phone without question but you couldn't shake the feeling that he was looking for something. One thing you learned from your first boyfriend was that if someone started snooping around, it was because they were hiding something of their own.

Soon after that, Loki began getting texts that he didn't respond to or he would leave the room to answer a phone call. He always insisted it was Steve, Tony or Thor and that it had to do with work but you found it harder and harder to believe him.

He probably didn't even really want me to move in with him, your mind switches tracks suddenly. Sometimes I feel like the only reason he asked me to move in was because I had complained that my lease was running out and he was tired of hearing about it.

That's not true, you try to correct your thoughts. Of course Loki wants me here. You remember what he told you when he was helping you pack.

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

Your memory of Loki is quickly pushed aside by your memory of crappy ex number two. You had moved in with him just after college when you both realized you couldn't afford to live in NYC on your own. You had only been together a few months before you signed the lease on a one bedroom and it was just two weeks later when he began working later and later. It turns out, what he really wanted was a roommate with benefits and to still see other woman.

"That's everything," you said, looking around your empty bedroom. You had a gnawing feeling, even then, that Loki would grow tired of you and cheat. You wondered if you were setting yourself up for another heartbreak and Loki seemed to sense your anxiousness.

He took your hand in his and kissed it lightly, making you smile. Then he said, "Darling, I know the timing seems convenient but I have been wanting to ask you to live with me for some time. I know you prefer to take things slowly but I would have asked you to move in with me a year ago if I thought you would have agreed."

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

I can't keep denying this, you roll onto your back and look up at the ceiling, tears streaming down your cheeks. Loki is cheating on me. The only question is did this start after I moved in or has he been doing it the whole time?

A few hours later Loki walks into the apartment completely exhausted, all he can think about is crawling into bed with you. He hates how late his project is keeping him, he misses you tremendously and needs to feel you in his arms. Loki is overwhelmingly concerned by your response, or lack there of, to his texts tonight. You had never not told him you loved him and it made him nervous.

He pauses in the dark when he is just outside your bedroom and realized he can hear you crying. His heart aches at the sound and he turns on the light when he enters the room. You roll over away from him, clutching his pillow tightly.

"Y/N, are you okay?" he asks. You are silent, unable to answer his question. He crawls onto the bed next to you over the covers. You squeeze your eyes shut, hating how safe his actions make you feel, his chest flush to your back and his strong arms around you. "Darling, please tell me what's wrong," he urges gently.

"You're cheating on me," you state through your tears.

"No," he pulls back in surprise, "No, Y/N, you know I would never do that to you."

You shake your head, "You never come home."

"I'm sorry, I'm working on something-" he tries to explain but you cut him off.

"Who is she?" you ask sitting up. He moves to sit up and face you.

"Love please, I'm not-," he again tries to deny he is cheating but you don't let him speak.

"I know you aren't working this late, you never worked long hours before I moved in," you tell him as you wipe away your tears angrily. "Just tell me who she is unless... unless there's not just one other woman." Memories of your third ex-boyfriend flash through your mind, he had cheated on you with five women that you knew of but you were sure there had been others.

"There is no one else. I swear on everything in the nine realms I have been nothing but faithful to you," he promises quickly.

Your heart desperately wants to believe him. You love him so fiercely, more than you ever thought possible especially after you had been hurt so horribly in the past. Your mind, however, is convinced that you can't trust him and you shouldn't have let yourself fall for him. You know it will destroy you to leave him but you can't remain with him if the trust is gone.

"Look at me," he says, touching your cheek lightly. "I have never and would never cheat on you. I know you don't believe me right now and I understand you have been hurt in the past but I love you and I respect you too much to ever treat you the way those pathetic excuses for men ever did."

You sniffle and he says, "It's late, come with me tomorrow morning. I will show you what I have been working on. I will show you that you can trust me."

You nod in agreement although you are unsure how he can prove to you he has been faithful. He wipes your tears gently. "Don't," you whisper, pulling away from him when he moves to kiss your cheek.

"Would you prefer if I sleep in the living room tonight?" he asks. His chest hurts even as the words leave his mouth but he knows if he pushes too hard, you will retreat further away from him.

You nod again, unable to trust yourself to speak. You want to tell him to stay, to comfort you but how can he if he's the one who caused you this pain.

"Okay," he says quietly. He hates knowing he hurt through his actions. He tucks you back under the covers and runs his fingers through your hair slowly in the hopes that you will relax even the slightest bit.

"I'm so sorry I've made you feel this way, this was not what I wanted," he says softly. "I was planning something for you and I didn't have time to work on it during the day. I should have thought about how you would feel when I didn't come home but I need you to know that coming home to you has always been the best part of my day."

"I love you," he kisses the top of your head and you feel him get out of the bed. He turns off the light but waits a few seconds before leaving, hoping you will change your mind and allow him to stay with you. As soon as he closes the bedroom door you begin sobbing again.

Loki paces angrily back and forth in the living room. How could I have been so stupid, how could I have missed how upset you were? he thinks as he runs his fingers through his hair. He never intended to hurt you, he had become so distracted trying to make sure everything went perfectly to plan that he let the most important person in his life slip through his fingers. He sits heavily on the couch, wishing morning would come quickly.

He lays down after a few minutes, his hand over his eyes and remembers the day he first asked you on a date.

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

"No, Loki, I'm sorry," you told him while you were sitting together in the park. You slowly removed your hand from his and shifted away on the bench.

A few days later, the two of you were cooking dinner in his apartment and you asked him if you could explain why you had told him no.

Loki was almost too shocked and hurt by your rejection to respond. You had been doing date-like activities for almost a month and he had finally decided to ask you out officially. After a long moment he said, "I understand. I'm sorry, I must have misread things between us. I thought..." he shook his head, his words dying off. "Friends then," he looked up at you and smiled.

"Of course," he answered, a part of him hoping there was still a chance, however small, that you would change your mind.

You sat with him at the dining table and said, "There are two types of people when it comes to trust. You're the first type, you trust with your whole heart unconditionally. Once someone breaks your trust, however, it is gone forever."

He nodded in agreement knowing he had trusted his father without question but once he found out the truth, it was gone and could never be restored.

You continue, "I'm the second type, I don't trust anyone when I first meet them. I can't help but assume everyone is lying or unfaithful or willing to hurt me until they prove otherwise. I wasn't always like this but all three of my previous boyfriends cheated on me so now I almost feel like I've lost the ability to trust anyone. It was why I have so few friends."

After another hour of telling Loki what they had done, he promised to find your exes and make them suffer for how they treated you. You laughed in response, telling him that they weren't worth him getting in trouble but you secretly loved how protective he was of you.

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

You roll over again, unable to get comfortable without Loki next to you. You close your eyes tight and try to force yourself to sleep but it seems impossible. I don't understand why he would do this, you think. He had tried for so long to earn my trust and convince me to be with him. Why would he throw it all away?

Three months later you were sitting on Loki's couch together, the same one he is trying to sleep on now. His arm was around your shoulder and you were leaning comfortably against him. Your mind wandered since you had seen the movie before and after replaying the last few weeks in your mind you realized something.

From the day you told Loki no, he had been nothing but patient with you, being the friend you needed. You continued to go to museums, parks, movies, from the outside it appeared as if it were dating but Loki never pushed you. He would hold your hand as often as he could and you discovered he gave fantastic hugs but he never went in for a kiss or asked you out again although you could sometimes tell he wanted to.

"Loki, ask me again," you said out of seemingly nowhere.

"Ask you what darling?" he laughed as he paused the movie.

"Ask me on a date," you smiled nervously. "That is, if you still want to date me."

His eyes lit up and a smile spread across his lips. "Y/N, would you go on a date with me tomorrow?" he asked, holding your hand.

"Yes," you answered and he kissed your cheek causing you to blush. He promised you that he would never make you regret giving him this chance.

There is a light knock on the door and Loki opens it slowly. "Good morning darling," he forces a smile and you can tell by the redness in his eyes he slept probably as well as you did. "I know it is early, but I need you to come with me. I can't bear the thought of you thinking I've cheated on you for a moment longer."

He stops in front of the last door in the hall and he clears his throat. "It isn't finished yet," he says before he opens the door. "I was hoping to have it ready for your birthday next month."

You both get ready in silence and leave the apartment. He walks next to you and you can tell he wants to reach for your hand but you keep your arms crossed against your chest. You step into the elevator first and Loki pushes the button for one of the highest floors in the Tower. You have never been to that floor and are honestly not sure what is up there. When you arrive, he leads you down the empty hallway without a word.

"My birthday?" you ask confused.

He nods, "You were right, I have been lying to you and hiding something but I never meant to make you feel as if I was trying to hurt you. I was a fool for not realizing this was a horrible idea."

Loki opens the door and the lights turn on as you follow him inside. You freeze, your hand covering your mouth.

"It's almost an exact replica of the Great Hall in the palace," he says looking at the high ceiling. He looks back at you, "You told me you wanted to see Asgard and this is as close as I could get to making that happen for you."

"Loki-" you can barely speak as your eyes try to take in the room.

Your heart fills with love but also pain and guilt that you hadn't been able to trust Loki the way he deserved. You slowly move through the space and you are blown away by the tall marble columns, stained glass windows and gold accents all around you.

"The calls and texts were to your friends and family," he explains. "I needed to go through your phone for their numbers. When we were at Scott's party last year, you said you had never had a surprise party so..." he shrugs. "I tried."

"I'm so sorry," you tell him, putting your arms around him but he shakes his head.

"I'm sorry, I thought you would like it," he says utterly defeated.

"I do," you tell him earnestly. "Loki this is amazing, you are amazing. I can't believe you did all of this for me. I don't deserve this."

"You deserve the world Y/N," he tells you, his fingers wiping away the tears you didn't realize had fallen.

"I gave you plenty of reasons," he corrects you gently. "I can see how... sketchy my behavior was. I just wish you told me your fears sooner, before they consumed you so completely. I would never be able to forgive myself if you left me because I did something stupid. "

You hug Loki tighter, resting your cheek on his chest while he runs his fingers through your hair. "No I don't," you tell him. "I didn't even try to believe you. I compared you to all of my exes and I assumed you were just like them even though you have never given me a reason to mistrust you."

"A lot of magic, that's why it is taking so long. It is draining to build the type of illusion that can withstand being touched and will remain even when I am not here," he explains.

"This isn't stupid, this really is amazing. I love it," you look up at the painted ceiling again. "I love you."

He smiles, "I love you too."

"How did you even do all of this?" you ask, looking around again in awe.

"It's why your always tired when you do finally come home?" you ask.

"Yes," he tilts your chin up. "But you are worth it." He leans down and kisses you.

The night of your 'surprise' party Loki walks into your bedroom with a beautiful deep emerald green dress. He smiles at your reaction and says, "This is my first gift of the night for my queen."

You finish getting ready and meet him in the living room. He stands from the couch, his eyes fixed on you. "You truly are a goddess," he says as he walks over to you. He puts his hands on your waist and you put your arms over his shoulders.

You blush at the compliment and joke, "You look half decent I guess." He laughs, both of you knowing full well how much you love when he wears a suit. Tonight he chose his black suit with a green dress shirt to match you and black tie. He leans down to kiss you and you find it impossible to let him go but he eventually breaks the kiss.

"Loki, you've done too much already," you can barely contain how happy and loved he makes you feel.

"You can only be so late to your own party," he smirks and you agree. Taking his hand, you walk towards the door but he stops you. "Wait, I think you are missing something," he says as he conjures a long, thin velvet box. "A second gift for my love."

"You deserve every bit of it," he says as he opens the box to reveal a gold necklace with a small resin pendant. You notice a tiny flower in the center when he places it around your neck from behind. "It's a freesia, the flower. They are often thought of as a symbol of trust and I want you to have this, to know you can trust me completely as I trust you."

He puts his arms around you and pulls you close. "You didn't ruin anything, please stop apologizing. And for the record, according to every single person on the team, I am the annoying one in this relationship, not you."

You fight to hold back tears and say, "I'm sorry I almost ruined everything. I can't imagine how annoying I must have been, constantly reminding you that I didn't trust you and comparing you to my exes."

You laugh and look up at him, "That's just cause they don't like you as much as they like me."

He smiles, "At least you like me."

You shake your head no and giggle. "I love you," you tell him then you reach up and kiss him.

He strokes your cheek softly, "That is all that matters to me."

Loki smiles at you before opening the door and the lights turn on. Everyone yells surprise as you step into the space and there is no need for you to fake being completely amazed. Loki has added so much detail work, flowers, candles and even some balloons since you had last seen the room. The Avengers, your friends, your family and some of your closest coworkers are here, ready to celebrate you. You turn to thank Loki and he lets go of your hand.

You look down in shock, covering your mouth with one hand as he reaches for your other hand. He kneels on one knee in front of you, a small ring box in his hand.

"Y/N," he starts but he is unable to get another word out

He smirks, "At least I was able to keep this a surprise."

"Loki..." you can barely believe what is happening.

"Yes," you answer quickly.

He laughs, "Darling, I didn't ask yet."

"I don't care, yes," you tell him and he stands up, putting the ring on your finger. You don't even look at it but you know it is perfect. You throw your arms around Loki and he picks you up, kissing you fiercely.

"I love you," you tell him over the sound of everyone clapping in the background.

"I love you too," he says before kissing you again.

I hope you liked this!! Please like, share and comment if you did 💚💚 Please let me know if you want to be added to my taglist!

@soubi001 @mochie85 @lokiswife-dark-fox-queen @animnerd @cabingrlandrandomcrap @icytrickster17 @lokisgoodgirl @mischief2sarawr @stupidthoughtsinwriting @mjsthrillernp @holdmytesseract @lulubelle814 @goblingirlsarah @alexakeyloveloki @siconetribal @lokidokieokie @kneelingformyloki @jiyascepter @eleniblue @loreniscrying @muddyorbsblr @alyeskathewave @loz-3 @firedrakegirl @javagirl328 @princess-ofthe-pages @morally-grey-variant @soulpiercing @km-ffluv @glitterylokislut @biodegradable-glitter-fest @wolfsmom1

240 notes · View notes

am-i-the-asshole-official · 2 days

Note

AITA for playing video games?

(Tw for possible ableism?? Idk)

I (31M) have loved video games ever since I was little. They're comforting to me and have gotten me through a lot of hard times. I'm also autistic, and half of my hyperfixations have been on video games.

My girlfriend (27F) and I have been dating for 4 years, and overall have had a very good relationship. I've never liked a girl this much. But a recent disagreement has made me reconsider things.

She recently confessed to me that she doesn't like that I play video games, and that she especially doesn't like how obsessed I get over them. She says that it's childish and embarrassing, and that I should be focused more on my adult life.

I was pretty upset. I am admittedly quite immature for my age and do have some hangups on my age, and I've always worried that people would judge me for having these kinds of interests as I get older. I understand there's a stereotype of adult men spending all their time on video games and being irresponsible, but that's not me. I spend plenty of time with my girlfriend and although my job isn't great, that's down to my mental health issues (which I'm working on) more than anything else.

I pointed these things out to her, and also argued that she used to love video games, to which she had responded that she had naturally grown out of that as she'd gotten older and had expected me to do the same. I also explained that I was autistic and that a lot of my hyperfixations were on video games, and she said that while she understood that, surely there was a way I could find something more 'mature' to be hyperfixated on. She also scoffed a bit when I said I was autistic - I've always worried that she doesn't believe me because I'm self diagnosed, but I'm certain that I am (it's outright dangerous to be diagnosed as autistic in this country unfortunately).

We agreed to disagree, but her final word was that it would make her really happy if I could move on from video games and be an adult. I'm pretty upset.

I'd also like to add that this isn't a case of me neglecting the progression of our relationship. We don't want to get married, we've already moved in together, we've met eachothers' families, and while we do want kids, we want to wait until we're a bit more financially stable. This is solely her feeling that as a 31 year old man, I'm too old to play video games.

I don't think there's anything wrong with my hobbies - they make me happy and I'm not a 'toxic' gamer (most of the games I play are story based and I'm very respectful to other players in the ones that aren't). I don't think hobbies should have age limits, honestly. But it really bothers me that she's hurt by this - I love my girlfriend so much, and the fact that I don't think I can give up video games for her makes me feel really guilty. Honestly, I was really happy when we started dating that she also liked video games, I thought we could play together!

But I'm just scared that I've unintentionally been a shitty boyfriend, which is why I'm asking,

AITA?

#aita #am i the asshole

233 notes · View notes

bonefall · 1 day

Note

how much of Stormpaw’s demon are Maple’s curse vs just things that happen (cause in canon it’s really vague about whether Maple causes all those tragedies or has the ability to see his future for some reason)

EVERYTHING that happens in Stormpaw's Demon involves her. It's not being so dramatically renamed for nothing, she's a major driver and cause of the plot! Crookedstar's young name is in the title; but really, his demon is driving the misfortune.

That said... It's been a while and I'm heavily considering retooling the narrative.

Since I last REALLY worked on it, BB has changed in the sense that I'm a lot more willing to alter canon than I used to be. While my driving mindset used to be "telling a better version of the original story," and that IS a value I still hold... I've lost patience with the misogyny within the original work.

I've spoken at length about the way Crookedstar's Promise grinds my gears (PLEASE follow this link for a full breakdown of why), but in summary; it desperately tries to keep every male character likeable when they shouldn't be, saying nothing about the fact they are complicit in or even enabling abuse, while giving Crookedstar TWO flatly evil maternal figures. Even Brambleberry, who's heavily praised for being "like a mom instead," has a weird moment where she starts giving Crookedjaw the cold shoulder because she finds out he's chatting with a demon.

So like... I'm not sure if I want to make the "better version" of that story. That was the one that I already had, which had Mapleshade be acting entirely out of just the malice of wanting to hurt a child, while Hailstar and Shellheart are the excellent people canon wanted to see them as.

(not that it's even a BAD super edition, it's actually a really good one, but if it's my kitchen that's not what we cook here. Man I really do always massively overhaul my favorite SEs LMAO)

I think, specifically, I want to make Mapleshade slightly more morally gray and Hailstar more of an enabler. Shellheart is getting significantly retooled to make him more of the heartwarming parental figure I think he should be; someone loving to help balance out a very heavy rework.

And of course Brambleberry, I'm going to tweak her some. Try to make her flaws more consistent, get rid of that odd cold shoulder moment.

Old regulars will remember an old AU which is also still a massive favorite of mine; it was called Better Call Mapleshade, and it was kind of a commentary on how an environment can shape a person. Mapleshade, as a demon in heaven, was essentially their best prosecutor and defense attorney.

You can actually see how a lot of ideas from that AU ended up in Better Bones with the expanded trial system! I'm thinking of taking another page out of it, by making Mapleshade more aware of "the game" of Clan culture's structural unfairness, while also using it like a weapon against people she wants to hurt. A powerful demon of revenge.

Under the cut, what won't be changing, the way it was, and Draft 2 of Stormpaw's Demon.

(MASSIVE CONTENT WARNING FOR MENTAL AND PHYSICAL CHILD ABUSE including ableism. BB!Rainflower is WORSE than canon.)

WHAT WON'T BE CHANGING;

These are major details of Stormpaw's Demon that are different from canon. I'm working with these as givens and won't be changing between drafts.

Mapleshade does have a bone to pick with Appledusk's lineage specifically. One option might make her more discerning when it comes to her targets, but no matter what, she is going to have her eyes on this bloodline. She Haunts Applekin.

Rainflower is Hailstar's deputy. And I will make her downfall spectacular. If you were worried I was going to make her more sympathetic then you have no idea who I am LMAO

Shellheart is not Crookedstar's biofather While I want Hailstar to maybe be worse; I do want to fix Shellheart by making him a good parent. I've decided a good way to do this is to make it that Shellheart adopts Storm AFTER he's been abused by Rainflower. He didn't have authority over him before then. In general, I do want him to have a bigger positive role in this narrative. DEPENDING ON WHICH VERSION: Oakheart might also not be his bio-brother.

Crookedjaw is not a cruel name; it's an Honor Title. I've ALWAYS been frustrated by how canon treats scars and injuries as bad things. It's a BATTLE culture. Surviving brushes with death is their WHOLE THING. There is no "crookedkit" or "crookedpaw," he was Stormpaw until he earned his warrior name, with "Crookedjaw" commending the massive lengths he's gone to in order to survive, adapt, and honor StarClan.

Mentor change: Goodbye Cedarpelt, hello Magpiesky! I decided to repurpose one of the Barn Cats! Magpie from the books is a daughter of Perchshine-- the cat who killed Mapleshade. She joined RiverClan long ago. She's actually the one who points him in the way of the barn, and has to train him "as a punishment for teaching him disobedience" when he comes back. I actually have a couple of minor reasons for making this change but I'll spare them for now. He might start with Cedarpelt, but then run to the barn when Cedarpelt is basically refusing to train him properly.

Some family tree shuffles I need to update this tree to show Crookedstar's new situation with Shellheart (and also reflect some other changes I made like confirming Hallowflight fully being Lizardtail's honor title and Robinpaw being the apprentice who gets eaten by Ripwater), BUT, overall this tree is solid.

The ableism Storm faces is going to have a different flavor I have built BB in a way where him surviving his injury would be very respected, but he'd get badly coddled and pushed into early retirement. Him running to the barn is because he suspects he wouldn't have gotten training otherwise.

He kills a fox there because it's Cool. I might give him the tail to wear as a trophy of the kill because that's also Cool. The fox was very old and feeble at that point, which was why it was attacking chickens, but shhh

The Way It Was (Very Evil Mapleshade)

Darkstar's Commandment creating the Queen's Rights, that no queen would ever have to reveal the other parent of their kittens, wasn't enough to appease Mapleshade.

Nor was the damning of everyone that Mapleshade killed. In a fit of irrational fury at all the death, StarClan sent all her victims into the Dark Forest.

But she can't chase them. In the Dark Forest, you don't see someone unless you WANT to see them, not unless you're hanging out in a "land mar" (a sort of personal hell that all demons get).

on the off-chance she does see them, Frecklewish usually rips her to shreds...

Which is the next problem.

You can't DIE in the Dark Forest if you're a demon. You poof back into existence the next day, no injuries, no scars, nothing.

she's bored.

And vengeful. In spite of the wrong being righted, she still thinks she deserves MORE revenge, because what she wanted was really Appledusk.

She finds it unfair that HER legacy is snuffed out, that it's Darkstar's Commandment and not hers, that her babies were destined for greatness and by extension SHE should have been great.

So she takes up a hobby in tormenting Appledusk's descendants. She wants to eradicate them completely, but is spiteful enough that she'll just settle with hurting them.

The first one she managed to kill was Applefrost, Reedshine's son. Just by accident. She didn't know she had such power over the mortal plane.

After that, she managed to drown Duskwater. The daughter.

But she couldn't wipe out HER daughter in that storm... and she brought two more Applekin children into the world.

Stormkit and Oakkit.

So, naturally, Mapleshade turned her sight on the little fuzzball.

He would be an easy kill, in theory. She smashed Stormkit's jaw on the rock, but Oakkit pulled him out.

From there, it's similar to canon for a bit. His recovery is long and painful.

Rainflower is disgusted, and wants absolutely no part of helping him through this process.

That wasn't an injury gained in battle-- it's because he's careless and didn't listen to her. He's going through all this suffering, and for what?

To never become a warrior?

She's cruel to him, begins to neglect and distance herself from him. Discourages him from suckling.

Mapleshade LOVES this. It's worse than she could have imagined. Rainflower is horrible.

Gleefully, she realizes that Stormkit dying now is what Rainflower wants.

So, she kills two other kits in the nursery.

Fallowtail's only survivor is Willowkit, so she has plenty of milk. She starts suckling Stormkit.

(Graypool is now an older sibling! She's actually an apprentice at this time! Later, she encourages Willowkit to visit their father, who decides to just kidnap them completely)

Eventually, being the deputy, Rainflower had some kind of conversation with Hailstar.

During that conversation, she asked him to do something very cruel to Crookedkit.

And Hailstar LOST IT

He's the successor of Volestar, who was appointed by Darkstar herself to uphold the Queen's Rights and protect children.

How DARE you try to turn RiverClan into a place of disrespect?? To use my power this way?!

So, her power was stripped, and Oakkit and Stormkit were taken from her.

From there, Storm eventually goes to the barn as discussed, and Mapleshade continues to do things to hurt him.

This was my first draft, and now having thought about it a lot, I feel like it's not super cohesive. A demonic Mapleshade who's entirely malicious is neat, but I feel like this makes her flat. Shellheart's not tied in super well either, and Hailstar's stand feels kind of hollow because Rainflower hasn't actually used or leveraged the new authority I've given her.

But most egregiously? Rainflower's abuse being so close to canon tastes kind of bland. I feel like I can make it sooo much more intense, complicated, and painful.

Draft 2 of Stormpaw's Demon (Demon of Revenge Update) Essentially an outline for the first few chapters establishing Mapleshade by dealing with Rainflower and then fragments for the rest.

Mapleshade's still malicious, but this time, there's more to it.

Darkstar's Commandment, and the damning of her victims, DID appease this Mapleshade.

But is she satisfied? No.

She doesn't feel like she was wrong at all, actually. Without her killing those three in revenge for her kittens, StarClan's anger probably would have subsided.

She can't hunt her victims down again though, because, they don't want to see her. She fights Frecklewish every now and then but what's the point?

She WON already. She already GOT the euphoria of dragging them all down with her.

Punishing everyone who had ever wronged her was the highlight of her existence... but now it's done.

She's in Hell and she's bored. Her punishment is never seeing her kits again, but more importantly, her punishment is eternal shuffling through the leaf litter when she's SO GOOD at getting revenge.

Problem with revenge is, when you get it, it's gone.

She probably messed with Duskwater and Applefrost a bit, but if she killed one of them, it was accidental. It made her realize that revenge without a motive is just boring.

The prologue would probably open up with establishing her as a character. Who she is, what she wants.

Because the first chapter would dive RIGHT IN to Stormkit. The only child of Rainflower, the deputy.

Right along with Stormkit, you only learn in hindsight that he was born in a storm that killed his grandmother. It's clear that Rainflower reminds him of this often.

And that she's nasty to him. Giving him unclear instruction and finding things to critique, telling him to jump and then barking at him that he didn't ask how high.

She has great expectations for him, and reminds him of their family lineage often. Of who killed his great-grandfather, of what a fantastic pair of warriors Applefrost and Duskwater were

"I lost everything the night you were born. You'd better be able to make up for it."

Unfortunately, Stormkit is not the sort of child who's good at listening to those sorts of orders. He's stubborn and defiant; angry and oppositional.

When he doesn't understand why you do something, he doesn't want to do it

He "embarrasses" her a lot, and gets hurt for it.

In public, these are swats and whacks. The things you're "allowed" to do to discipline your child. In private these are a lot more severe.

So when Stormkit is given an order or a command, he obeys completely out of fear rather than respect. And sometimes he forgets his fear.

The other cats in RiverClan? Well... Stormkit is a problem child, and Rainflower is a fantastic, organized, respected deputy.

Hailstar especially, unfortunately. He feels bad... for Rainflower.

"It must be so hard for her to have such a little brat as a son. He never seems to learn his lesson. When will he stop wandering off? What's wrong with him? He certainly didn't get that from her."

His best friend, Oakkit, gets in the SAME trouble he does.

He's mischievous, fearless, and outgoing, and... never gets punished for it.

There's times where Oakkit does something and Stormkit physically recoils, just imagining what Rainflower would do if HE did something like that. Especially in how Oakkit talks to his dad, Shellheart.

For example, Shellheart will come to get his son for suckling time and Oakkit will tell him to his face things like, "I don't want to! I'm HAVING FUN!"

and shellheart doesn't flip out. He just. explains why it's important to eat on time.

"I know. But Fallowtail wants to go have fun too! She's waiting for you to come and suckle so she can go play."

"Well why can't she just play now and I suckle later?"

"When a suckler is full of milk, it makes their belly very itchy. She's uncomfortable when you don't come and eat on time."

"nnnh"

"Tough sell? How about I sweeten the pile with a badger ride back?"

"Hm. You drive a hard bargain, Mr. Dad."

Stormkit doesn't know why he hates it. He's all angry inside when he sees them acting friendly. He's polite because Oakkit's his best friend and Mr. Shellheart is really nice, but he just...

He's too young at the time to know he's envious. He wants what Oakkit has so badly it hurts.

Sometime after an exchange like that, Stormkit is visited by Mapleshade for the first time.

And they talk about Stormkit's anger and resentment. Stormkit lets it slip that he HATES his Mi.

Waits for Mapleshade to stop him and tell him, like everyone else does, that "she's still your mother."

...but she doesn't.

Besides Oakkit and Shellheart, she's the first person who doesn't tell him that.

She just lets him talk. Lets him go on. Starts making nasty jabs, which make him laugh.

"She says she lost everything the day I was born!!"

"What?! That's crazy! She got you that day!"

"Right?! It's like she's saying I'm nothing! Maybe she SHOULD lose everything, then she'd know what she's got!"

And then she asks, "Do you want her to die?"

Suddenly, there's a chill in the air. He's really shocked by the suggestion of that. He didn't... he didn't mean it to go THAT far. That's not what he meant... is it?

But she's fading back into the shadows, just her eyes visible in the dark. Tells him that she can see he's unsure. That's ok.

Holds up a budding sprig of sycamore, the maple she's named for. Its buds grow in a "deer hoof," with one large bud in the middle and two "toes" sprouting on its sides.

Teaches him that if he needs someone in his corner, all he has to do is call.

(to summon her, a bud is plucked off the sprig and thrown in the river.)

He wakes up with the sprig in his paw, panics, and shoves it under the nest he shares with his mother.

The experience shakes him. He probably ran to Brambleberry for the first time, who explains very seriously that he was contacted by a demon.

From the description... Mapleshade. The cat who killed his great-grandfather.

He BEGS her not to tell Rainflower. PLEADS with her. He can barely hear her already saying yes under the throbbing sound of his heart in his ears.

When he calms down, he hears her saying yes. On the condition she will need to smoke the nursery with sage and cedar, and that he will be needing a bath as well.

When he's still concerned that Rainflower will question him, she makes a plan to distract her for a day, long enough for him to do his cleanse and the smell to fade.

And, of course, that he will not follow any instructions that Mapleshade left him. He agrees. But does not tell Brambleberry about the sprig.

For a while he's very "well behaved." But it's not about him, never has been.

It really doesn't take long at all for Rainflower to get worse. Kids who are defiant like that are usually exercising a defense mechanism-- if they're not aggressive about their boundaries, their limits are pushed to a breaking point.

And after a big blowout like this, which was probably a public spectacle, Stormkit runs back to his nest and digs out the sprig, runs to the river, and throws a bud in the river.

Having calmed down from his shuddering fury, the dread begins to set in as a dead-smelling wind ruffles his fur. He can't help but feel like he just did something very stupid out of anger.

Looking at his reflection, he sees no cuts or swelling. The blows weren't "bad enough." He doesn't have the kind of injuries that anyone would do anything about. Equal parts guilt and frustration swell in him like a tide at full moon. How could he be sitting here wishing she hurt him worse?

So he tries to soften it, "I don't want her to die, I just, I... I just want her to lose everything like she says. Please..."

The wind whispers in his ear, "it will get worse before it gets better."

"I can handle that," he sobs, "I can do anything. Please. Make it stop."

After that, Oakkit probably runs to come find him. Stormkit doesn't want to be found. He makes up a childish plan, on the spot, to run away and join ThunderClan.

Oak says that's mousebrained, but Storm has DEVOTED himself to this plan he made just now.

And is crossing the stones.

Oak sighs, but if Storm's going to ThunderClan, he should really go with him because then they could totally fight off a small fox (Childish hubris)

Unfortunately, Rainflower found them. asks Exactly What He's Doing.

The kids freeze. Stormkit in particular has that horrible, twisting anxiety that you get when you hear The Tone that means you're in for an absolute wallop when you get home.

He's about to start running, but then the voice tickles his ear-fur again. Mapleshade tells him to go back. It'll be ok. She's on his side. She'll make her pay.

Oakkit is still frozen in place when, as if possessed, Storm's body stiffly returns to his mother.

There's a silence. The river trickling through the stepping stones. Storm looking with fear and anger up at her.

She's waiting for an apology, groveling. He doesn't give her one.

So she raises her paw and gives him an awful, hard blow.

His little body twists, flung off balance, trying to correct himself, and he can swear he felt paws pushing him a second time, whipping him downwards.

The feeling of falling fills his stomach, the water sloshes into his ears before there's a ring of a sound like CLUNK-CRUNCH, and then the river floods his nose and mouth.

It all goes dark.

When he wakes up, it's with a throbbing pain in the side of his jaw so intense that he can feel it all the way down in the tip of his tail. He learns from Brambleberry that Oakkit rescued him-- jumped right into the water to pull him out. And then Rainflower pulled him out. That was when Shellheart came and found them.

There's a LOT of arguing outside, but Storm can't ask what it is because it hurts to move his mouth at all. Brambleberry hushes and soothes him, telling him it's nothing he needs to know about.

(MEDICAL INFODUMPING: i do actually have a medical reason I want his injury to come from someone hitting him which causes him to fall. The injury he'd get in canon would actually be a really simple and common split in the front of the mandible, which wouldn't cause his mouth to have a dramatic twist and would heal very easily. He needs to come down on the rock at an angle to shatter the joint like that.)

From here, the tune about Stormkit starts to change.

Oakkit was distraught when they got back, telling everyone that Rainflower smashed him against a rock.

Rainflower's story is that he was running, and she chased after him. EVERYONE knows that he has a habit of doing this.

Then HE slipped and fell and hit his face on the rocks. His fault.

Oakkit was running away with him, he's lying.

Shellheart is FEROCIOUSLY taking the side of his son, furious that she would imply he raised a liar.

Hailstar is taking the side of Rainflower. It's two troublemaking kits against his deputy.

Yes, Rainflower's disciplined him before, but that's no indication she'd do something like this on purpose.

Brambleberry weighs in that the injury that Stormkit has isn't the sort of injury a kitten gets from hitting his jaw. The bone is shattered.

probably does some kind of visual to go along with it, using a stick and a stone

"The bones of a kitten are like the young shoots of a tree. When they fracture," she takes a young twig and snaps it in her paws. The fibers in the center are bent but unbroken, with the bark splintered around them, "they flay but don't snap."

She places the stick on the ground, "So for the injury that Stormkit has," and violently smashes the rock down onto it. It's shattered and pulped, the fibers flattened, "there would need to be a great force."

Shellheart hisses, saying that THIS is the evidence. Oakkit's story is consistent but Rainflower HAS to have lied.

Several cats are now on his side.

...But more are on Rainflower's.

"She's his mother. She loves him. Oakkit has to be mistaken."

"Why would she chase down her own son just to smash his face on a stone?"

"She wouldn't pull them out of the river if she really wanted to hurt him!"

Hailstar prompts if there's ANYTHING else that could explain this?

It comes up that Brambleberry cleansed the dens the other day.

She says that it's possible there is a demon's influence at work. She can't know for sure which one it is-- but it may have a grudge against Rainflower.

She allows them to reach the conclusion that it's probably Mapleshade on their own. She will be talking to Crookedkit when he's able, but she's not about to tell anyone about his dream yet.

She doesn't want him to have the extra scrutiny when he needs to rest and heal, but if she'd shared that an unnamed cat had a demonic dream, it would set off panic as cats accused each other of dark magic.

Rainflower manages to escape consequences by pointing out that it was likely Mapleshade that injured her son.

Oakkit is still trying to tell everyone SHE did it, he SAW it, Stormkit walked back and she hit him and smashed his jaw on the rock

But he's hushed. It's decided there's not enough evidence. And not enough reason to doubt the noble deputy.

She's never done something like this before, after all. It's more likely it was an accident.

There is a group of cats that are dissatisfied about this, though, and it only grows when Brambleberry explains that Stormkit's prognosis is not good.

There is a very high chance he will die. Even adult warriors can wither slowly from this sort of injury.

Recovery will be slow and it will be painful.

...but after that incident? Rainflower gets bolder. She got away with it in public. She got a taste of the leverage she has, how much they trust her.

Stormkit spends a lot of time floating in between his dreams and his living-world pain. There's at least one interaction where he speaks to Mapleshade, screaming at her that he TRUSTED her, he KNOWS she's the one who hurt him! How could she?!

She can't say much, kept at bay by a hazy smokescreen of sage. "You must live! You must survive!"

Her old words echo in his head; It Will Get Worse Before It Gets Better.

Throughout the recovery, Rainflower grows more cruel and more distant.

In public she likes to talk about how difficult this is for her, but he's strong, he will survive.

In private, she'll do things that hurt him, like repositioning his head in a way that "his jaw will heal better in." When he cries, she's unsympathetic.

"You brought this on yourself. This is for your own good."

Her definition of "private" is also changing. She's getting more comfortable with snapping at him in front of limited groups of people.

Since she's deputy, the other two parents in the nursery, Shellheart and Fallowtail, do their best to care for Stormkit while she's away. He's pulled away from them when she gets back, any ideas or suggestions they have vetoed.

When they try to go to Brambleberry about this, she shakes her head with frustration and tries to make them understand she knows... and she's just as unhappy with it as they are.

She tells them she keeps going to Hailstar, but he's still hesitant. Even though she's trying to tell him that Stormkit's recovery is being undermined.

"Rainflower's son has always needed tough love. She's his Mi and knows him best... she's still taking care of him. Give her a warning before suggesting anything drastic."

In the other draft, I had Mapleshade kill two of Fallowtail's kits to free up milk for Stormkit. I'm not sure I need that anymore honestly, plus, this rework's heavy enough! She can just have Willowkit without any deaths, while Graypaw remains an older sibling.

When Brambleberry informs Rainflower and Stormkit that the jaw isn't healing straight and it will probably be at an angle forever, Rainflower reacts with disdain.

"His first scar and it's nothing he earned?!"

She's reminded he might not even survive. He's lost weight. He's eating less. Stormkit curls up quietly. He hates how they talk about him like he can't hear them.

"Surviving is the bare minimum," she scoffs reflexively. There's a silence so thick you can cut it with a claw. After an uncomfortable heartbeat, she continues, "What kind of a life will he live if he-"

"a life," Brambleberry cuts in, "he'd live a life. And it can be a good one"

Rainflower growls, spitting that the twisted jaw is a disfigurement. He'll never be able to open his mouth all the way. He can't chew and he can't suckle forever. Stormkit will never become a warrior if he can't even dispatch a fish with a killing bite.

"Scars are the sign that StarClan has mended our bodies after fighting a good fight, making any Clanborn cat worthy of being an elder" Brambleberry preaches, "Names are what mark us, calling upon our ancestors to look down at us and witness our actions, Rainflower. Don't say anything you wouldn't want them to see."

Rainflower flicks her ear, seething, a rumble in her throat, "was that some kind of threat? As if I've said something wrong?"

"If you feel threatened, look within."

Stormkit resents all of this talk. He can feel his mother tensing up next to him, hears the low rumble progressing into a growl. When adults play stupid games with his mom, he's always the one who ends up dealing it. Why don't they get that?

It's only Shellheart who seems to have it click, "Hey, this is the nursery. Can you take it outside, please?"

As Brambleberry and Rainflower leave, Stormkit lays curled up in his nest, cold and alone. Oakkit leaves Shellheart's paws to curl up around his best friend.

Shellheart stares at them, shifting, but ultimately stays where he is.

There's a lot of words I could write there, between Storm and Oak. Ones where Storm speaks about how he just wants the pain to be done with. Others where Oak comforts him, tells him how much he means to him. More where they end up running into the wall that they're just two little kids and they've both learned the truth that they have no control over what happens when Rainflower comes back into that den.

But I think it would be good to end there, at the lowest point. Because it gets better.

Pissed off by being gently confronted, after her warning from Brambleberry, this is the moment where Rainflower goes too far.

Hailstar is gradually losing his patience. Every time this issue comes up, he's making some kind of new excuse for her.

She's still a competent deputy who holds the Clan together, but this has taken a toll on her reputation.

Her biggest mistake was becoming more open with her abuse after being emboldened. And I think Hailstar is beginning to feel like he's got "egg on his face."

After standing up for Rainflower several times, getting heat from Brambleberry, and now the Clan also starting to murmur...

It's getting very difficult to justify why he's sticking his neck out.

and maybe, part of him is starting to feel a little self-conscious about the way that his deputy is acting about her injured child.

When she comes storming up on this fateful day, interrupting whatever he was doing to make a proposition, it's the breaking point.

Her suggestion: "I've realized that there's only one way to ensure my son survives his injury. He's being haunted by our demon, which only started threatening him when he disobeyed me for the last time. WE need to teach him a lesson, and make sure StarClan gazes down upon him to acknowledge his mistakes."

"...how do you intend to do that?"

"Stormkit must be given a Dishonor Title."

A Dishonor Title, one of the greatest shames that a leader can put onto one of their warriors. A punishment that ranks just below exile in terms of severity.

"you want to put a dishonor title... on your child? one with a life-threatening injury?"

"One that acknowledges his carelessness. To protect him from the demon."

Protect him from the demon. "I see now what must be done."

Previously, I'd thought of Hailstar as someone who would be loud and merciless when he does this. Now I'm thinking it was something he put a lot of thought into. He stands up, brushes past her, and goes to talk to some of his most trusted cats. Brambleberry, his mate Echomist, an experienced warrior such as Piketooth or Ottersplash, and lastly, Shellheart.

So it's not a surprise to anyone but Rainflower herself. He doesn't want this to be dramatic. He doesn't want it to be another big scene. Stormkit has gone through enough.

When he eventually has this Clan meeting, he calls it quietly. In his address to the gathered cats, a crowd that Shellheart and his family are missing from at his request, he says that his greatest regret is that he didn't do this sooner. He even doubts that Mapleshade is haunting her at all-- now having seen her behavior, he says it's more likely that Rainflower bashed her own child against a rock and simply lied.

First, he announces that Stormkit will be removed from her care. He will no longer be of the Applekin bloodline.

She is banned from the nursery at the request of Fallowtail, and will only see Stormkit when supervised by his new Mi, Shellheart.

Brambleberry has already agreed to this necessity, and is performing a ritual so that StarClan may approve of this choice.

He also strips her of her deputyship, and appoints Ottersplash instead. (I might change this to a different deputy eventually)

Not everyone agrees with Hailstar. There's an uproar from Rainflower's supporters.

She was a VERY popular deputy.

More that are just uneasy, feeling that this was a BRUTAL punishment that she didn't deserve.

Lots are happy and optimistic, though. But the mixed reception is exactly why Hailstar asked Shellheart not to be here.

This isn't something Stormkit has to deal with right now.

When Darkstar herself, who created the Queen's Rights, was on her last life, she appointed Volestar to uphold the law as her legacy knowing that Oakstar might try to break it again.

Volestar appointed Hailstar, in the hopes that he would uphold her legacy in turn, to protect kittens and those who can't protect themselves.

He was late, and can only hope he was not too late. He hopes that Volestar can forgive him for that.

Meanwhile in the nursery, Shellheart, Oakkit, and Stormkit are alone, far in the back, where the padded moss keeps out arguing voices.

Oakkit, bless his little heart, is babbling with excitement because his best friend is his BROTHER now. And it's gonna be THE BEST.

He's talking about how it's fine he can't chew because now they can have soup, and they're going to make the nest bigger, and they can stay up later because they can whisper quieter if they're this close together

But Storm doesn't really hear him. His head's swimming, thinking about the dull ache in his jaw, how MAD his mom's going to be because he can't imagine her not finding a way to hurt him, how this is all his fault because he called Mapleshade.

He can't stop it anymore and starts sniffling, which turns into weeping. Still, he's TRYING not to bawl, knowing, knowing he looks stupid when he does that

Shellheart just pulls him in close, so he can bury his face in his fluffy chest. Tells him it's going to be ok. He's safe now. No one can hurt him there.

Not on his watch.

Unfortunately, it's not the last he sees of Mapleshade. After this...

Mapleshade shows him everything she did for him. Yes, she did smash his jaw-- but it was to get him away from his mother.

And she planted an idea here and there, just little whispers into Rainflower's ear. Nothing she wouldn't do all on her own.

And now... Mapleshade believes she's earned some respect.

Stormkit can't disagree... she did exactly what she told him she'd do.

And now that he's not Applekin anymore, they can be Real Friends. They could even strike up a partnership, of sorts. After all, what did StarClan do to help him?

It wasn't StarClan that answered his prayers.

I'm still figuring out what, exactly, she's going to want from him. I have a scintilla that she wants to give him a life, maybe as some kind of bridge to StarClan to see her kits?

Some strange "attempt" at redemption, perhaps? Which she ultimately doesn't get.

Not that she didn't enjoy doing all that for love of the game, mind you. She's very good at getting revenge and it's fun and exciting to pull it off.

But hey, if you're good at something, never do it for free.

What causes Mapleshade to ultimately turn, and begin haunting the bloodline again + Oakheart, is Crookedstar rejecting her in some way.

She comes to collect on her end of the bargain and he refuses, breaking their partnership. He chooses StarClan.

And then from there, it's ON again. Now she has another EXCUSE to do what she wanted to do, and take out her boredom and malice on his family.

This time, it includes Oakheart as well-- because he was Crookedstar's brother.

It was also her curse that harmed Willowbreeze and eventually Silverstream. She's on the warpath.

Maybe she actually helped make him leader on purpose. Like he explicitly asked so she helped him by making the squirrel omen, instead of just doing it for him unprompted. Still figuring it out.

Shortly after the scene where Stormkit cries, he needs to have a confrontation with Brambleberry about Mapleshade I think. She needs to explain why Dark Forest demons are seen as bad.

She's biased, of course, but it's not like she's TOTALLY wrong either. Cats like Mapleshade ARE vengeful, in ways many other spirits are not.

If you're curious, Crookedstar's dishonor title from Rainflower would have been something comparing him to a parasite and referencing his ""accident"" like Fleaskip or Midgefall.

The point she's trying to make with the Dishonor Title is that her son is an annoying bug who didn't listen, as well as subtly erase she fact she knocked him off that rock.

She wanted his name to say "everything that happened was my fault and my mom did nothing wrong"

Not that Hailstar got as far as even asking lmao

#better bones au #Stormpaw's Demon #BB!Crookedstar #BB!Shellheart #BB!Oakheart #BB!Mapleshade #BB!Rainflower #Cw child abuse #tw child abuse #cw physical abuse #tw physical abuse #cw emotional abuse #tw emotional abuse #Stormpaw's Demon Draft 2

155 notes · View notes

awakenedevildays · 2 days

Note

hi love! may I request some angst with art where family friend!reader gets invited to the Donaldson’s yearly fundraiser gala and they spend the night yearning and pining over art. if you can, make it as heart wrenching as possible ♡ thank you and keep up the great work!

「wrong choices」 Art Donaldson x F!reader

I'm so exited, this is the real first fic I write under request, thank you so much for requesting love, hope this is good enough for you! 🩷(didn't know if you wanted a sad or happy ending and I got carried away with an happy one, if you want an angst ending let me know)

info: angst, fluff, kissing, mentions of cheating (on reader), happy ending.

you can read the other parts here!

━━━•❃°•°❀°•°❃•━━━

You love galas, you always did: ever since you were little you and your family had to attend many galas and you would always be head over the heels at the idea of dressing with cute dresses and beautiful shoes. Yes, you love galas, especially the Donaldson's.

You've been to the Donaldson family's galas for ages and they never disappoint. No, truly, they know how to put on an event. With beautiful dresses to wear (always wearing the latest from fashion designers), incredible music- every year different- and even the best food in the state; these galas always excite you.

Another thing that made you exited about their galas was the only child of the family: the blonde, blue and brown eyed, sweet guy you met at the first gala you attended at the sweet age of six years old, Art Donaldson.

You've always liked him, when you were little he would take you around his huge villa to play whatever game you two would invent at that moment and at the end of the night your dress and his little tuxedo would be all wrinkled, sometimes dirty, hair all out of place that caused your moms to lightly scold you... at the end neither your mother nor his cared much if at the end of the evening you both looked like you had just returned from a day of planting flowers with your bare hands.

Things obviously changed as time went on: after Art's 17th and your 16th birthday, at least at the beginning of the evening, you seemed determined to pay attention and talk to the other guests... but it never lasted too long before Art dragged you away with him to share a bottle of wine with your feet immersed in his outdoor pool.

The last year the same thing happened.

"Art, you can't always kidnap me when I'm talking to someone" you wanted to sound serious, you really did, but his boyish smile was too cute and the expensive wine bottle he had in his hand was too tempting.

"Come on! don't act like you really wanted to listen to those boring conversations with those boring business men" he said, his hand dragging you by your wrist towards the pool.

Once you were close enough he released your wrist and took off his shoes and socks, his feet in the water immediately after while you stood there, he looked at you.

"please" he said and you scolded him with your eyes before shaking your head and taking off your heels and lifted your dress up to your thighs to avoid getting it wet, you sat down next to him, your feet touched the cool water and a sigh left your mouth, you didn't realize how bad they were hurting in the shoes.

Art grinned at you and you looked ay him skeptical "what" you ask, a fake annoyed look on your face .

"see? even your feet are thanking me" he said and you met his left shoulder with your right one.

"shut up, you're getting ruder and ruder with each passing year" you joked and Art passed to bottle to you to take the first sip, always the gentleman.

Art chuckled and watched as you took the first sip, the cool, smooth liquid sliding down your throat. He knew you better than almost anyone and could tell when you were being serious and when you were just acting tough to save face.

"Don't worry, I know you secretly love me" he teased, nudging your shoulder with his own. Art took the bottle back from you, taking a small sip before speaking again "and besides, I'm not getting ruder, I'm just becoming more charming and witty."

You raised your eyebrows at him and decided not to indulge him any further "so, how is the tennis school going?" you asked and Art shrugged.

"good" he answered with a shrug.

"and Patrick?".

"still the same asshole" he laughed "he won't be coming to Standford with me in fall".

"he's going in another college?" he shook his head.

"he plans on going on a tour".

"mhhh" you said and Art looked at you suspiciously.

"you seem really interested in Patrick" his tone not as light as it was before and you raised your head to look at him, but he was already looking at the water of the pool, jaw clenched.

There was something in Art's demeanor change that caught your attention. It was subtle, but palpable. The relaxed and playful atmosphere between you two had shifted, and Art's jaw was now tense. You knew him well enough to realize that something was bothering him, and judging by his comment about Patrick, you had an idea of what it might be. You decided to tread lightly with your next words, wanting to understand what had triggered this sudden change in his mood "what makes you say that?" you asked, trying to keep your tone casual.

"every time we see each other you always ask about him, you saw him only once like what, 3 years ago?" he asked ironically and your eyes widened "okay, slow down Donaldson, where is this all coming from? I'm just trying to have a conversation with you" you said as gently as possible.

Art leaned back a little, taking another swig from the bottle before responding. His tone was still a little on edge, but he knew you enough to understand you were just trying to calm things down "I know you're just trying to have a conversation, but seriously, why are you so interested in Patrick all of a sudden?" he questioned, his gaze still fixed on the water.

"I'm not interested in Patrick" your tone was serious and suddenly maintaining eyes contact with him was harder.

Art turned to look at you, his gaze intense, searching yours. He could see the conviction in your eyes and hear it in your tone, but something was still bothering him. He paused a moment before speaking again "then why are you always asking about him?" he asked, his voice a bit softer now.

"Because I care about your life, I care about you and Patrick is a part of your life, that's all, I swear" you didn't know why, but the thought of Art thinking that you had feelings for another man felt wrong but somewhat satisfying.

Art sighed, the tension in his shoulders seemed to ease a little. He could see the truth in your words, and his own jealousy subsided a little. "Sorry" he said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "I guess I just got a little..." he admitted, his gaze darting from you back to the pool.

"...Jealous? aw aren't you the sweetest friend ever?" you pinched his cheek with your fingers and Art laughed, his hand grasped yours to take it off his cheek, but once away from his face his hand stayed wrapped around your, his thumb caressing the back of it.

Art's laughter filled the air, breaking the tension between you. The warmth of his hand enclosing yours sent a shiver up your spine, his thumb gently stroking your skin. There was something intimate about the touch, something that defied the boundaries of mere friendship. For a moment, you were both silent, the only sound being the gentle lapping of the water against the sides of the pool.

Art looked down at your joined hands, his thumb continuing its slow, soothing motion against your skin.

"I'm sorry" he said again and you shook your head.

"It's okay" you muttered and your eyes met, his blue light of the pool shined on his face, hands still intertwined on his thigh and his eyes looked briefly at your lips.

"what if, what if I don't want to be your friend" your heart skipped a bit.

"u-uh?" you asked.

Art swallowed hard, his gaze locked with yours. The air around you suddenly felt charged, the casual setting of the poolside now seemed intimate and intense "what are you... what are you saying?" you asked, your voice barely above a whisper. Art's grip on your hand tightened, his thumb still tracing small circles on your skin.

Art leaned a little closer, his eyes still fixed on yours. "What I'm saying is..." he began, his voice low and serious "I don't want to be just your friend anymore" he paused, taking a deep breath before continuing "I don't want to watch you talk and laugh with other men, I can't stand it, it makes me sick".

His words hung in the air between you, the atmosphere thick with tension. You could feel your heart pounding in your chest, your mind racing with the implications of what he was saying. Art's hand still held yours tightly, almost as if he was afraid to let go, afraid that you might pull away.

"oh" you felt stupid, utterly and absolutely stupid, the guy whom you had a crush for since forever, just confessed to you and the only thing you can say is...'oh'? Art laughed.

"Don't laugh you asshole!" you exclaimed pushing him away from you, him almost falling in the pool.

"Can you not like... push me in the pool just cause I confessed to you?" he said between laughters and your cheeks flushed red.

"I'm sorry you caught me off guard!" you said bringing the bottle to your mouth and taking a big sip, you couldn't have this conversation sober.

Art finally managed to regain his balance, still laughing as he held onto the side of the pool for support. "It's okay, it's okay" he said, his laughter slowly dying down as he regained his composure.

"But seriously, you can't just say 'oh'" he teased once again, his tone turning playful again as he splashed a bit of water at you jokingly.

You stayed silent and Art waited for you to answer, it took you all the strength you had to maintain eye contact with him "I like you too" you said, face serious and red cheeks and Art nodded.

"oh" his tone light was clearly teasing you.

"ok, now I'm pushing you in the pool on purpose" you said.

Art burst into laughter at your words, his eyes sparkling with amusement. He held up his hands in surrender "No, no, no, please don't" he said between chuckles but his tone was full of teasing.

As he spoke, he shifted closer to you, his thigh now touching yours. He reached out and lightly pushed your shoulder, the playful gesture causing a ripple in the water between you.

Art's teasing expression quickly vanished at your words, his hand that was still on your shoulder froze "what?" he asked, his tone slightly sharper than it was before.

"I should ask Patrik if he's single I don't think h-" your joking sentence is interrupted by his lips on yours, a hand behind your head and the other on your thigh and you immediately rested yours on his cheeks.

Art's lips were soft and firm against yours, the taste of the expensive wine still lingered on his tongue as he kissed you passionately. His hand on your thigh moved to your waist to pulls you closer to him, his fingers digging slightly into your skin through the fabric of your dress. He wanted you as close as possible, as if he couldn't get enough of you.

Your hands moved from his cheeks up to thread through his hair, slightly tugging it and eliciting a low groan from him. He deepened the kiss, his tongue teasing yours. The world around you seemed to disappear as the two of you surrendered to the moment, the cool water of the pool forgotten as the heat between you grew increasingly intense.

Art pulled away from the kiss, his forehead resting against yours, both of you panting slightly. His eyes searched yours, his expression a mix of desire and disbelief. "You're really gonna mention another man while I'm trying to kiss you" he whispered, his voice hoarse and filled with a hint of jealousy.

“I thought you needed a little push to do that" you teased and Art kissed you again briefly "never do that again" he whispered

The moment in the pool didn't last long after that, your parent messaging you a while after to tell you to get back to the car to go home.

You and Art kept in contact through his first whole year at Standford but too busy to see each other, you with your last year of high school and him with exams and his tennis matches.

So now you have one more reason to be exited about the gala of this year, you would see Art again and you couldn't wait to see what would happen this time.

"You look beautiful" your mom says and you smile at her.

You are standing in your bedroom in front of a full-length mirror admiring yourself in your dress for the gala tonight. The dress is beautiful, hugging your curves perfectly and highlighting your features. You turn and twirl in front of the mirror, feeling a mix of excitement and nerves about tonight.

"Thank you, Mom," you say as she enters the room, a smile on your lips. "I just hope Art likes it too" you add, casually tossing the comment, before mentally kicking yourself for it.

"Please, he's already head over heels for you" she jokes and for the whole drive towards the Donaldson house your legs can't stay still, your hands fussing and stirring your dress over and over again making your parents smile teasingly at you, but you pay them no mind.

Finally, the car pulls up to the Donaldson's house and your heart beats faster at the sight of the grand, familiar building. You take a deep breath, gathering your courage and excitement, before stepping out of the car, your dress flowing behind you like a gentle whisper on the ground.

You walk with your parents toward the entrance of the house, the sound of your stilettos echoing on the paved path.

You step in the garden of the house and Art's parents are already there to greet your family lovingly, Art still nowhere in sight as you walk around with your parents to greet their colleagues and friends and you're only waiting for Art to sweep you off your feet like every year.

As you continue to mingle with your parents and their friends, you keep an eye out for Art, hoping to catch a glimpse of him among the crowd. The anticipation is driving you insane, and just when you're starting to wonder where he could be, you finally catch sight of him across the garden, talking to a group of people, a girl right beside him.

She is beautiful, dark skin and long black hair that reaches her lower back, long legs and thin body wrapped in a blue short but elegant dress... but what really shocks you is his hand, clearly resting on the small of her back. Your heart stops. Your breath short and you have to grip the champagne glass tighter in your hands to avoid letting it fall on the floor.

You couldn't believe what you were seeing. Art, your Art, was standing there with another girl, his hand comfortably resting on the small of her back. You couldn't tear your eyes away from them, your thoughts racing as you tried to make sense of the situation.

Arts eyes meets yours from the other side of the garden and his grin disappears when he sees your sad face "oh there is Art" his mom says and gestures for him to come where you are. As he approaches, you can feel his gaze fixed on you, but you don't meet his eyes, looking anywhere but his face until he stops in front of you, his smile faltering when he sees the expression on your face. But before he can say anything, his mother speaks up.

"Art brought one of the promises of the future female tennis tonight" she says and she smiles, you don't.

Art's mom gestures towards the girl beside him, a proud look on her face. The girl smiles sheepishly, looking shyly at you. Art shifts uncomfortably, his hand dropping from her back as though he's suddenly aware of what it looks like.

You force a smile on your face, despite the churning feeling in your stomach.

"this is Tashi, we met at Standford" he says, his eyes don't meet yours and the lump in your throat is too big to swallow.

The introduction feels like a dagger twisting in your chest. Tashi smiles at you gently, her eyes soft as her gaze flicks between you and Art.

"Nice to meet you," she says, her voice soft and clear. You nod awkwardly, the sound of your own heartbeat ringing in your ears.

"The pleasure is all mine" the exchange of pleasantries feel like nails scraping on a chalkboard. Your parents politely greet Tashi like they do with every important guest at these events, but even you can see the fake smiles plastered on their faces. They know.

She is gorgeous and you feel small next to her... you don't get it, your dress is more elegant than hers, more beautiful but she looks so effortlessly gorgeous in hers and you feel like crying.

The silence that follows feels like a never-ending void. Tashi doesn't speak and Art doesn't as well, his eyes finally meeting yours and you look away immediately, the betrayal in your eyes makes Art's heart clench. Your parents try to make small talk with Tashi, Art's mom jumping in as well but you just stay quiet, your chest tightening and your breath short.

As the conversation turns to the weather, the upcoming year's tennis matches and other mundane topics, your thoughts spiral out of control. Your mind is a mess of thoughts and insecurities. Why did he bring her here? Why is his hand on her back like he owns her? And why, why is he looking at you like neither he knows why he did this?

"I think everyone is gathering in the lounge for the auction," your mom says, breaking the uncomfortable silence. She glances at you, noticing the tension in your shoulders "come, let's go find our seats" she adds, gently placing a hand on your back to lead you away but as the other, Art included, starts to move you stay still and your mom does too.

"actually mom, I think I'll go home" your voice trembles and your mom doesn't know what to answer.

"you want me to come with you?" she asks but you shake your head.

"no you stay with dad, but I need to go" and she nods.

"we'll be home as soon as possible baby" you nod and in a moment you're outside waiting for your driver to come pick you up, you feel so lost. You thought everything was going well with Art, he's been nothing but sweet for the past year and he never, ever mentioned Tashi while talking about his life at Standford.

As the air hits your face outside, you take a deep, shaky breath... You feel lost, confused, betrayed even. Art, the guy you've been in love with for so long, the guy who kissed you the last summer, is now bringing another girl to this event, acting like they're together.

The minutes seem to stretch on forever as you wait for your car. You don't make any attempt to wipe the tears from your face, letting them flow freely down your cheeks. You feel like a fool, standing outside the Donaldson's house, dressed up for a night that quickly turned into a nightmare.

The sound of footsteps behind you is like a punch in the gut. You know it's him without even turning around. Art's presence is unmistakable and you feel him standing behind you even before he speaks.

"Can we talk?" he asks, his voice soft and full of hesitation. You can feel his eyes on your back, studying you, but you don't turn around. The tears keep rolling down your cheeks and you don't have the strength to look at him right now.

Still, you shake your head in a no.

Art's sigh echoes behind you, the disappointment he must be feeling evident in the single breath. He waits for a moment, maybe hoping you'll change your mind, but when you make no attempt to turn around or speak, he finally does. "Please, just a minute" he tries again, his voice pleading.

The desperation in his voice tugs at your heart, but you remain resolute, refusing to turn around. The memory of his hand on Tashi’s back and the sight of the two of them together flashes in your mind and you shake your head in silent answer once again.

"okay, fine" you hear other footsteps and a moment later he is in front of you, you huff in annoyance "you don't understand the signs, do you?" the tone of your voice is aggressive.

Art's eyes widen in surprise at the tone of your voice, clearly caught off guard by your sudden aggression. He opens his mouth to speak, but he seems unable to find the right words, unsure of how to respond to the hostile attitude. He takes a step forward, trying to reach for your hand, but you take a step back, preventing him from touching you.

"I understand you're upset-" he tries to speak, his voice measured but you cut him off.

"Upset? Is that what you think I am?" you say, your voice a mix of anger and disappointment."upset that you brought another girl to this event, acting like she's the one you should be with? I'm not upset, Art. I'm hurt, hurt cause I thought what happened last summer meant something to you, hurt that in a whole year you made me believe that my feeling were reciprocated, hurt that in all those months you never, ever, mentioned a girl named Tashi and I'm hurt because I wasted a whole year of my life waiting for you!" you shout, and you think that for someone who didn't want to talk, you said a lot.

Art flinches at your words, your voice filled with pain and disappointment. He tries to speak but you don't let him, the words pouring out of your mouth like a dam breaking. "And you know what's funny? I actually thought that something would happen between us tonight. I was looking forward to seeing you again and then you come here with her like she's the one you've been waiting for all this time, fuck I feel so stupid right now" your laugh turns into a sob as you realize how foolish you feel.

Art takes a step closer, his expression pained as he sees you unravel in front of him "you're not stupid" he says gently, his hand reaching out to cup your face instinctively, like he used to do a year ago.

"don't touch me" you say and swat his hand away.

Art's hand freezes and he retracts it quickly, the pain on his face is clear but he doesn't argue "I'm sorry" he says softly, his eyes watching you, unsure if he'll try to touch you again, "I never wanted this to happen, I mean it" he says, his eyes locked on yours, imploring you to believe him.

He takes another step towards you, now standing closer than before but not actually touching you "after we kissed that summer, I swear I couldn't stop thinking about you. I was looking forward to this night so bad" he says, his voice genuine and full of yearning "but then you told me you chose Harvard instead of Standford and... I don't know, we would be so far away and- me and Tashi, it's nothing serious" if when he started talking he felt stupid, now by looking at your face, he is sure of it.

"so you thought that keeping me on the hook for the whole year would solve everything, that you could have both of us?"

He shakes his head "no that's not what I wanted" he answers immediately "I want you, only you... I'm sorry" Art's confession is honest and raw, his words a mix of desperation and regret "I never intended to keep you on the hook, I swear, I just didn't know how to handle things... I wanted you, I still want you" he hesitates, looking down for a moment before meeting your eyes again "but now I've messed up, I know. I really screwed up" he admits, his expression pleading for forgiveness.

Your car pulls up and you thank the god for the only good thing happening tonight "well, the good news is that I'm still going to Harvard so you can keep having... whatever thing is going on with Tashi" you say dismissively, the tears are still falling and right now you would love to be one of those strong women that can keep emotions under control, that can keep the eye contact with an emotionless expression and resist until they're alone to finally cry... but you're not, and you're sure you look like a mess right now.

Art watches as your car pulls up, the sight of it bringing a new wave of desperation to his face. He takes a step forward, his hand reaching out for you again, but he stops himself, realizing that his touch is not welcome right now "please, we can talk about this?" he pleads but you brush him off.

"Like I said, keep having whatever thing you have with Tashi" you say, your voice trembling, the tears keep falling down your face as you grab the handle but Art moves quickly, closing the door of the car before you can open it again. He stands in front of it, blocking your path, his expression determined "you're not going anywhere" he says firmly, his eyes locked on yours "we need to talk" he repeats, his voice steady despite the mess of emotions inside him.

You can see in his expression how much he doesn't want you to leave but your heart feels like it's shattered into a million pieces and right now you're just tired "there's nothing to talk about" you say, trying to sound strong but the tears streaming down your face betray you "you were right Art, you have every right to live your college life with someone you can be close to, and I do too" you don't mean that, you know you don't. You want to be with him. But now you just want to go home and cry until you fall asleep.

Art's expression falters at your words, hurt and disappointment etched on his face. He takes a step closer, the proximity making your body react despite the anger and pain "I don't give a damn about my college life" he says frustrated, his emotions raw and unfiltered "I wanted to be with you, I still do. Don't do this, please don't leave like this" his voice breaks slightly as he pleads you.

He reaches for your hand, grasping it in his, the feeling of his touch sending a shiver down your spine "don't run away from this, please" he says, his grip tightening slightly "we can work this out, just don't go" he repeats, his eyes pleading you to stay and talk.

"Art- please, I really want to go home" you sob and Art stills at that, his heart aches at the sound of your sob, the desperation in your voice breaking something in him. You sound so desperate and he doest know what to do anymore, if only he had talked about his insecurities sooner...

He releases your hand, taking a step back to give you space, the conflict and pain visible on his face "I'm sorry" he says softly, his voice low and full of guilt. "If I could go back in time, I would do things so differently" he admits, rubbing a hand on his face in frustration.

You're not listening to him anymore, that much he can tell, he steps back, allowing you to climb into the passenger seat without another word. The defeat in his expression is clear, but he doesn't try to stop you anymore. The sight of you on the passenger seat, tears streaming down your face, is enough to convince him to not hurt you any further.

"I-I'll call you, ok? o-or you could call me when you're ready" he stammers but you don't say anything, you don't even shake or nod your head.

Art stands there helplessly, watching as you refuse to respond to his words. The silence between you feels like a physical barrier, the pain and hurt creating a void that neither of you knows how to fill. He takes a deep breath, looking down for a moment before meeting your eyes again. "I really am sorry" he says again, his voice cracking slightly with emotion. Still nothing, your eyes are fixed in front of him, "okay.. goodnight" he shuts the door and watches your car drive away, the taillights growing smaller and smaller until they disappear from sight. His hands curl into fists at his side as a mixture of frustration and sadness washes over him. He had messed everything up and now he was standing there alone, his heart shattered along with yours.

Art spends the rest of the summer trying to contact you: he sends text after text, voicemail after voicemail, begging for you to talk to him and try to fix things, but every time you see his name flash on your screen you feel a pang of pain in your chest and you end up deleting his messages without opening them.

At the same time, you're busy preparing for your move to Harvard and throwing yourself into the tasks at hand, anything to distract yourself from the thoughts of Art that keep creeping into your mind.

Despite your best efforts, the thought of Art is always there, lingering in the back of your mind. Every time you pack a box or organize your new room, memories of the times you spent together flash before your eyes. And even when you're with your new college friends, sharing excitement about the upcoming year, a part of you can't help but wonder what Art is doing and if he's just as wrecked as you are.

Every time your fingers hover over Art's name on your phone, a mix of longing and fear washes over you. You want to hear his voice, to pour out your heart and ask if he's feeling the same ache you are, but the fear of finding out that he has moved on, that he's happy without you stops you every time. You feel stuck between the need to reach out and the fear of what you might find.

The first two months at Harvard are a whirlwind of new experiences, but they're also marked by the new, completely absence of Art that stopped calling since the start of the college year. The silence from him is deafening, and the realization that he's moved on stings more with each passing day. Every time you think about him, your heart clenches as if the wound is still fresh. You try to push the thoughts aside, but the memories and the ache for him persist, refusing to let you fully move on.

It's a sunny October day, the sun is shining brightly, a warm contrast to the slightly chilly autumn breeze that brushes against your face as you're walking with your new friends, everyone chattering away excitedly about the upcoming autumn break. Your eyes are fixed on the path in front of you, as you're listening to your friends speaking, laughs loud and your smile genuine

"ok girls don't look now, but a really cute guy is looking at our Y/N right now, on the left, the one leaned against the wall" your friend's words catch your attention and you try hard not to look but curiosity gets the best of you and almost instinctively, you and your friends simultaneously turn to the left, your heads swiveling to catch a glimpse of the guy leaning against the wall.

The moment you turn, your heart stops. Your steps falter and your eyes widen as you recognize the figure standing there. It's Art. His eyes immediately connect with yours and time seems to freeze.

He smiles, clearly insecure, but smiles and you can see a mixture of nervousness and anticipation in his eyes, yours rakes over his body to take him in: he is wearing a dark blue quarter zip, a white shirt underneath, light blue jeans and white sneakers, his hands in his front pocket and his hair are messy from the wind going through them.

"Do you know him?" your friend's question breaks the intense moment of eye contact between you and Art and you're snapped back to reality. You try to speak, but your mouth seems to have forgotten how to form words, the words are stuck in your throat, along with all the emotions that are now swirling inside you.

Your friends are looking at you, a mix of curiosity and confusion on their faces. One of them repeats the question, nudging your shoulder slightly to bring you back to the present. You swallow hard, still unable to find your voice, your eyes darting back to Art who's still standing there, watching you with a mixture of hope and nervousness in his eyes "uhm yeah, he is an old friend" you mutter.

Your voice comes out soft and a bit shaky as you finally manage to speak. You say that he's an old friend, trying to keep it casual despite the storm of emotions rushing through you. They exchange a knowing glance as they realize that there's more to your relationship with Art.

"we should leave them alone, we'll save a place for you" one of them say and the others nod, you feel a mixture of nervousness and anticipation as you watch your friends walk away, their forms shrinking in the distance in the orange Harvard park.

As you take a tentative step towards Art, time seems to slow down, each movement feeling weighted under his intense gaze. Your heart is beating faster, and you can feel the adrenaline coursing through your veins. You try to keep your expression neutral, but it’s difficult to hide the mixture of anticipation and anxiety that you feel.

His gaze never leaves your face, watching your every move as he moves away from the wall "what are you doing here?" you ask breathless and it's a miracle Art heard you.

"I called you" he says.

You nod "I know".

Art takes a few steps towards you "You never answered" there is no accusation in his voice and you nod.

"I know".

The silence hangs heavy between you "college life suits you, you look beautiful".

"what are you doing here?" you ask and Art looks at his shoes before forcing himself to maintain eye-contact.

"I missed you" he answers immediately and suddenly the wall behind Art is really interesting.

"you could have sent me a message, it would have been less expensive".

"would you have answered me this time?" you open your mouth to answer him but nothing that would be the truth comes out.

"probably not" he laughs at that, but there's a hint of melancholy in that laugh, mixed with a tinge of understanding.

"I guess that's fair" he says, rubbing the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. He takes a moment to collect himself before continuing "I thought coming here was the only way to see you" he confesses, his voice softer now.

Your arms are crossed, a subtle barrier between you and him as you listen to his words. He looks sincere and a pang of guilt twists in your stomach when he mentions that he thought this was the only way to see you. You know you could have answered his messages or calls, but something in you wouldn't allow it.

"You could've answered one of my calls even if to just scream at me or to tell me to fuck off".

You chuckle weakly "maybe I should have. But I was... I was really hurt and confused" you admit, your voice slightly shaky. He takes a step closer to you, the distance between you shrinking even more.

"I'm sorry" he mutters, he takes your face in his hands and you let him, he missed your skin in his hands, you nod, again.

"I know you are" you murmur.

"I love you" your eyes widens.

Art's hands feel warm and familiar on your face, and you let him hold you. Your hands grip his sweater, holding on to him as if you're scared he might disappear. Tears start to form in your eyes.

"oh" you mentally facepalm yourself and close your eyes as tight as you can, you can hear Art suppress a laugh.

"yeah... 'oh'... you should really work on a better way to react to good news".

"Art... what you said that night is true, we are so far away now and I don't want us to suffer the long distance" he shakes his head as you speak.

"No, no I was wrong, never been more wrong. If there are two people who can do it is us" he assures you.

"but what about Tashi?" you ask and Art takes a deep breath, his hands still holding your face. The mention of Tashi's name hangs in the air for a moment, and your insecurity is almost palpable to him. He looks into your eyes as he tries to find the right words to say.

"I don't care about Tashi, I never did" he says firmly, his voice filled with conviction "all I care about is you and only you. You're the one I love, you're the one I want to be with. Tashi is nothing to me" Art's grip on your face tightens slightly as he speaks. His eyes search yours, attempting to convey the sincerity behind his words.

"I'm sorry about everything, I swear I'll do anything you want me to do! I can come here every week-end and we'll spend the vacations together or I can transfer here, I can play tennis here too-" your lips interrupt his ramble but he doesn't waste time to return it. Art's lips move against yours with a mixture of passion and desperation, as if he's finally found what he's been searching for.

As the kiss deepens, Art's hands on your waist pull you impossibly close, closing the already small gap between your bodies. You can feel the hunger and need in his touch, the months you've spent apart making the kiss even more intense.

"god- fuck, I missed you so much" his words against your lips are even sweeter than the kiss itself and you feel like melting in his arms, you missed him too "you have no idea how much I missed you" he mutters before capturing your lips again in a bruising kiss.

Your cheeks are not cold anymore, your entire body feels hot with affection and you mutter an 'I love you' that makes Art pull back slightly, his forehead resting against yours as he listens to the words you whisper. A soft smile tugs at the corners of his lips as he repeats them "I love you too". You can feel the heat radiating from his body, his hands on your waist keeping you closer than ever.

"you don't have to move here for me, we can make this work" you reassure him and finally a genuine and wide smile takes space on your face for him again.

Art visibly relaxes at your words, the tension leaves his shoulders and he lets out a small sigh of relief "really?" he asks, his eyes searching yours for any hint of doubt. Your reassurance washes away some of his worries, and he allows himself to believe that it could actually work, that you could make it work despite the distance.

"really".

"so we're okay now- ow!" Art winces as your hand connects with the side of his head, a mix of surprise and amusement on his face.

"Now we're okay" you smile in victory.

"I guess I deserved that" he says rubbing the spot where you slapped him. Despite the gentle reprimand, his eyes are filled with relief and happiness as he nods "yeah, we're okay now" he affirms, a warm smile spreading across his face.

━━━•❃°•°❀°•°❃•━━━

Do not copy or repost.

#art donaldson x reader #art donaldson x you #art donaldson imagine #art donaldson fluff #art donaldson #challengers #challengers fic

125 notes · View notes

pluckyredhead · 3 days

Text

Please ship Orion and Lightray with me, thank you

If you've been reading my Fourth World posting, you might have noticed me mentioning Orion and Lightray's relationship. This is because they're in love and I'm obsessed with them. Please join me in grumpy/sunshine-but-they're-alien-demigods hell, with visual references below.

So Orion, as we know, is the son of Darkseid who was raised on New Genesis but has always felt different and monstrous compared to his peers. Lightray is his best friend, who thinks Orion is just the best thing since sliced bread and says so constantly.

This is literally how we're introduced to them, in New Gods #1:

Lightray: Don't be sad. Hug time! Orion: Hugs are not for one such as me. But you're still my best friend. Lightray: Please let me enter your chambers. Orion: NO THEY ARE TOO DARK. Lightray: D:

This panel, from #6, sums up their whole dynamic really well:

Lightray doesn't crave battle the way Orion does but he is determined to stay by his side, while Orion doesn't want Lightray to fight beside him because he thinks Lightray is too good and pure to be tainted by violence.

Zero personal space.

So one of the things about Orion is that his real face is sort of brutish and not traditionally handsome (the eyebrows are WILD), but he uses his Mother Box (like a living pocket computer that loves you) to make himself look more like the people of New Genesis. In #8, he gets into a knock-down, drag-out fight with his half-brother Kalibak that nearly kills them both, and Mother Box can't maintain the illusion (and also his face is, like, pulverized). And then this happens:

I WEEP. LIGHTRAY LOVES YOU JUST THE WAY YOU ARE, ORION.

New Gods was canceled soon after this, but when Kirby returned a decade later, he went all in on the homoerotic devotion. So Orion goes to Apokolips to kill his dad and rescue his mom, and who do you think follows him?

That second panel makes me laugh so hard. "Here, honey, you forgot your Scooty Puff Jr!"

My favorite thing about this is that Lightray is playing dumb. He shot at Orion earlier and then said something vague about missing on purpose...but he didn't:

HE REALLY TRIED TO WOUND ORION ENOUGH TO STOP HIS SUICIDE MISSION. And the way he just shuts his eyes and takes Orion's anger because he doesn't care what happens as long as he saves his friend's life...! (Orion doesn't hurt him, they just touch each other a lot.)

Anyway they argue for multiple pages, with Orion insisting that Lightray go home and Lightray insisting that he stay, until finally:

This is so intensely romantic and also so unintentionally hilarious that I can't stand it. The homoerotic gazing into one another's eyes and then the stupid mutual thumbs up! Whatever is going on with that closeup of Orion in the second panel! I die!

...And you know who else dies? Orion! Or at least he comes very close (it's unclear), but is rescued by a freedom fighter named Himon and nursed back to health by Himon and his daughter Bekka. We get a little romance between Orion and Bekka, but we also get Lightray coming to visit:

That is some FULL CONTACT wrestling, boys. Orion pinning Lightray to the ground while telling him it's good to see him is so much, but the fourth panel is even mucher. My goodness.

And then things get serious, because they both believe they are going to die in the upcoming battle (they don't), so they bid each other farewell and Lightray leaves, and then:

Orion yells after Lightray how smart and funny he is and then collapses in despair because his friend is gone. "HOW LIKE A WANDERING STAR HE SEEMS." Oh my god, Orion.

That's it for Kirby, so I'll move on to other writers and artists, but I want to clear that I'm only sharing the most intense scenes between them. There are so many panels, from Kirby and others, of Lightray faithfully following Orion around, joyously welcoming him back to New Genesis, gently teasing him, and talking about how brave and noble he is. And of Orion only smiling for Lightray, going feral when he gets hurt, and telling him he's too good and pretty for battle. And of the two of them touching each other. A lot.

Literally just two random examples. THEY DO THIS SHIT ALL THE TIME.

The next really big moment comes in New Gods (1995), where the Source (basically God/Heaven) becomes corrupted and Lightray goes evil and Orion has to beat him up to stop him and I will never ever ever recover from these pages:

"You want the beast? Do you like it?" on its own is...hoo boy, SOMETHING. But it is eclipsed by the tremulous "Maybe...maybe if I can just hold him" and Orion gathering Lightray up in his arms while telling him he loves him. LIKE. THIS IS SO MUCH. (P.S. Lightray's fine don't worry. And yes, he does want the beast.)

Then we get to Orion (PLEASE read this comic) and the biggest smile Orion has ever smolt:

Look at how happy he is!!! You need to understand that his mother died in his arms ten minutes ago and he's still like "Lightray! Omg hi!!!" (To be fair, his mother was terrible.) Plus bonus unnecessary touching, Lightray's love language being gifts, and Orion giggling and twirling his hair while going "Omg you're so smart."

(Also, when Lightray mentions his "brief but troubling visit" to Apokolips in the second panel, what's not saying is that he put on a silly disguise and went to see a fortuneteller to try to figure out if Orion's mom was lying about Darkseid not being his real dad (she was; again, she was terrible), and when the fortuneteller is like "You DARE come to Apokolips?!" he goes "I would dare anything for my friend!" I know you would, honey. I know you would.)

The next bit requires some explanation. So, as briefly as possible: Orion kills Darkseid (or so he thinks), takes over Apokolips, and tries very hard to change it for the better. He also accidentally gains possession of the Anti-Life Equation, the formula Darkseid is always searching for that eradicates free will, and gradually is driven to use it to FORCE everyone on Apokolips to be good. And Earth. And New Genesis.

Eventually, Orion is seemingly killed, but actually he's been teleported somewhere unfathomably far away, where he realizes what he's done and sinks into suicidal despair. In the midst of this, he manages to both destroy the Anti-Life Equation AND save all of reality (and nearly die in the process), but he still thinks that because he used the Equation, he's irredeemable and doesn't deserve to exist.

So when he's teleported back to Earth and captured by a human who blinds him and rigs him up to a torture device so that he can drain Orion's life force and use it to be eternally youthful, Orion just...lets it happen. Because he thinks he deserves it. For SEVEN MONTHS.

But eventually he's like "Wait...I deserve this, but probably whatever is being done with my energy is not good and I should stop it." He tries to escape but only manages to let out a single scream.

Luckily, Lightray has been searching for him nonstop for those seven months, despite the face that Orion is supposed to be dead. And then we get this:

To be clear: this is sweet, gentle Lightray absolutely obliterating the men who kept Orion in the torture device.

Nakey.

Lightray gives Orion the crushed remnants of his wrist cuffs, and Orion does a magical girl transformation about it:

For everyone playing along at home, that's the second time Orion has canonically told Lightray that he loves him.

Anyway, Orion goes off to get revenge on the guy who did this to him (it's very satisfying, please read Orion), and then he's depressed some more until he has some brotherly bonding time with Scott and finally feels well enough to go back to New Genesis. His last line of dialogue in the series is "For it is late, and the sunrise and friend Lightray await us in the gleaming city of the gods." OKAY!

Tragically, almost every New Gods appearance after this is complete dogshit, although there is a great moment in Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps (a Rebirth series) where they need information from Orion but he's comatose so they bring in a telepath and the only word he can get out of Orion's mind is "Lightray." I'LL BET.

IN CONCLUSION: Orion and Lightray love each other so so much and I believe it is honoring Jack Kirby's legacy to think about them smooching. It's what the King would have wanted!

#orion #lightray #lightrion #fourth world #meta

86 notes · View notes

phoward89 · 2 days

Text

Obsessed!Coriolanus Snow x Innocent!Reader, Obsessed!Crassus Snow x Innocent!Reader, DILF!Crassus Snow

WARNING ⚠️ Coriolanus Snow is a warning in and of itself. Cussing, obsession, smut, oral (f rec) , p in v, older man/younger woman, father & son both want the same girl, reader is just too sweet for this world and has no idea that the men in the Snow family are toxic...

This is the Crassus x Reader ending AKA ending 2.

It's kinda long.

Masterlist

Ending #2-Crassus

Coriolanus disappeared without a trace. Or at least that's what it felt like. Truth was, a couple of weeks after graduation he boarded a train to 8 as a peacekeeper grunt. Coriolanus received a conscription letter and was shoved off by his father General Crassus Snow.

Against his will.

Without Coriolanus by your side you fell into a depression. Yes, you received letters from him and the occasional phone call, but it wasn't the same. He wasn't physically around, like he's always been, and it hurt.

It hurt so much.

So goddamn much.

You felt so alone…

You thought that you were doing good job of hiding your hurt, your depression and loneliness. But you weren't.

No.

Crassus noticed it right away.

And he tried to swoop in and put a smile on your face by asking about your day or by suggesting you read a certain book in the library, but it never worked. Nothing worked to put a smile on your face.

The only time a faint smile appeared on your face was whenever Crassus handed you a letter from his son while shifting thru the mail after coming home from work. You'd always snatch it from him with a smile on your face. One that never quite reached your eyes.

You cherished Coryo's letters. He always complained about District 8 in them, but he’d also write a few lines about his feelings towards you. Always told you to wait for him; that he'd figure out a way to return to you.

Crassus, as cold and unfeeling of a man as he was, never kept his son's letters from you despite the fact that the middle-aged man wanted you as his next wife. His future First Lady. And why didn't he keep them from you?

Because he wanted to woo you away from his son’s affections. Crassus wanted the knowledge that he pursued you, courted you, and gave you somebody to confide in all the while Coriolanus was sending you letters that were borderline love letters.

Crassus wants you to pick him over his son, not because he made you, but because you want to.

Because you want him.

And having Coriolanus thousands of miles away serving in 8 would definitely help out with you picking the older Snow…

Out of sight, out of mind as they say.

“Petal, a letter for you from my son.” Crassus announces, holding the letter up for you to see as he stands in front of the fireplace shifting thru mail while you sit on the sofa watching CapitolTV.

Grandma'am was out visiting the neighbor, Pluribus, so it was just you and Crassus inside of the penthouse.

“Oh, thank you.” You thinly smile, rising from the sofa to go get your letter from the tall, stoic man that you've come to appreciate since you began living in the Snow's ancestral home.

Crassus knew that now was his chance to snatch you away from his bratty son. That now's the time to woo you. And how does he know?

By the thin, forced line of a smile on your face and the tight tone of your voice when you thank him for his son's letter.

“Y/N, I see how much you're suffering. Perhaps you'd like to talk about it with someone who's been deployed throughout Panem?” Crassus remarked, his voice low and thoughtful as he hands you over the letter.

“I'm fine, Crassus.” You lie, fingers brushing while taking the letter from him. “I don't need to talk about Coryo's deployment in 8, but thank you for the offer.” You assure the man towering over you while looking at the letter you're holding.

“You're not fine, petal.” Crassus tells you in a low, deep, all knowing tone.

It's unsettling since Coriolanus had told you the exact same thing one night before he was shipped off. He told you that you weren't fine; in a similar tone and manner that his father had just used on you right now.

You never noticed it before, but were Coriolanus and Crassus truly mirror images of each other?

“You haven't filled out your University admissions packet, so I surmise that you won't be attending. I also noticed how you sulk around, wasting your life waiting for a ghost.”

The packet was still untouched on his mahogany desk in his study. It was due weeks ago. Now that it's early September and the fall semester's starting soon, well, Crassus knows that it's too late for you to select a major of interest to study. That you won't be attending the University.

That doesn't bother him. In fact, Crassus prefers for you to be home with Grandma'am all day. You're a very beautiful Capitolite girl and in his mind you're better suited as a socialite. He's sure in time you'll get used to staying home and doing lady things all day such as luncheons, shopping, tea parties, etc.

“I-” You began, but your protest died on the tip of your tongue when Crassus cut you off with a blunt, “You can deny it all you want, but you fill your days moping over my son's absence.”

Of course, he saw right thru your facade. Crassus was a very perceptive man, a cunning one as well. He picked up on things that most people would overlook.

“You need to find a hobby to occupy your time; keep your thoughts off of things.” Crassus tells you knowingly. As if he has first hand experience in the matter.

Well, maybe he did.

“A hobby?”

“Yes.” He nods. “My mother has her rose garden; my late wife had her silly little songs and the piano.” The tall platinum blonde explains. He shifts his weight slightly on his feet while suggesting, “So perhaps you can find something as well.”

“Perhaps.” You parrot.

Maybe Crassus is right? Maybe a hobby will help you during Coryo's absence.

Crassus pecks you on the cheek before patting it and telling you, “Go on and read your letter. I'll be in my study reading my own mail.”

Without another word he walked away from you and into the direction of his office, a pile of mail in his hands.

You decided to take Crassus' advice and find a hobby to take your mind off of Coryo's deployment. After thinking about it, you realize that Crassus is right. You need to focus your energy on something else and since you're not in the best mindset to go to University (going to University was Coriolanus' dream; he wanted you to attend with him) a hobby is necessary.

At first you try your hand at gardening. You spent some time with Grandma’am in her rooftop rose garden, but you weren't a natural green thumb like she was. In fact, gardening seems to frustrate you.

Coriolanus was the botanist that thrived under Grandma'am Snow’s gardening lessons. Well, he did when he was still living in the Corso penthouse before he was conscripted into the Peacekeepers.

Anyways….

And since you weren't classically trained on the piano like Crassus' late wife, Demeter, you had only two other options for a hobby. Sewing or baking.

You weren't too handy with needlework and didn't want to bother Tigris with sewing lessons, because you knew that she'd start talking about Coryo. You couldn't handle that. The kind hearted young lady always meant well when she brought up Coryo, but it was a sore topic for you.

So, that left baking as your only hobby option.

But you had an old recipe book of your mother's from her native 12, so at least you had something to work with. You didn't have to bake blind without recipes.

Most of the recipes were for cookies. A couple for cakes, but mostly various cookies. Oh and bread. Lots and lots of bread.

Apparently, District 12 really loves their bread.

And on top of reading your cookbook you've been watching a baking show:

The Great Panem Bake Off

It's a baking competition where the best amateur bakers in all of Panem compete for a title and prize money. You began watching it for baking ideas and ended up writing down the recipes of the goodies that the judges liked.

After a few weeks of reading your mother's old recipe book and watching the baking show on CapitolTV, you decided to bake a batch of classic and simple sugar cookies.

So, one late afternoon while Grandma'am was tending to her magnificent rooftop rose garden you're in the kitchen hard at work baking a large batch of lemon zest and vanilla bean sugar cookies. Thankfully, living in Capitol City, Panem, you're able to procure the ingredients easily for your cookies.

You're so engrossed in making your cookie dough and baking off the tasty treats that your mind doesn't even focus on the missing member of the Snow family. Not once does Coriolanus cross your mind. No, the only thing crossing your mind is measuring out the ingredients and adding them to the bowl; mixing until firm and smooth. You're too busy letting the cookie dough chill and timing it to think about sulking over your best friend.

And when it's time to roll out the sugar cookie dough and cut the cookies out with a cutter, well, you can't even imagine thinking about anything but getting the cookies stamped out and onto the cookie sheet pan. A sheet pan lined with parchment to keep the cookies from burning and sticking (a tip you saw on the baking show).

You're so scared that if you leave the kitchen your batch of cookies will burn, despite having a timer set. So, you sit at the kitchen table reading a book that Crassus had recommended a few weeks back; waiting for the cookies to bake. Between the mouth watering aroma of fresh cookies filling the air and the intriguing plot line of the book you're reading, you're mind's too preoccupied to drift off to a melancholy about Coriolanus being gone.

Infact, it seems that Crassus was right about a hobby keeping your mind busy and off of things you can't change.

His son serving as Private Snow over in 8.

When the timer goes off you put on your floral printed oven mitts, which match your frilly apron, and pull the cookie sheet out of the oven. After setting the pan on the counter, you transfer the sweet treats to a cooling rack before rolling and cutting out another batch of cookies to place onto the sheet pan and back into the oven.

You’re sitting at the kitchen table, reading your book while waiting for the cookies to bake whenever you heard the front door open accompanied by the sound of Crassus' shoes echoing against the marble floor.

Crassus was home and all you could think of was getting his opinion on your cookies. Being a first time baker, you're afraid that they wouldn't be good. Even tho you followed the recipe religiously and everything seemed to turn out, you're still scared that your first foray into baking won't be successful.

So, you set your book down on the table, quickly rise to your feet, and grab a cookie from the cooling rack that's on the counter.

When you rush out of the kitchen, freshly baked cookie in hand, you see Crassus is starting to cross the foyer. He stops when he sees you, nose sniffing at the air, as his icy blue eyes take in the excited smile on your face.

From the smell wafting from the kitchen paired with the frilly floral apron you're wearing, the general concludes that you've taken up baking. He thinks it's good that you found something to occupy your days with.

Crassus is a tall man, even taller than his son, so he towers over you as you stand before him. Before he could make a comment on your new hobby, you grab him by the shirt and yank him down to your eye level- only to shove a freshly baked sugar cookie into his mouth.

“How is it? Do I need to tweek anything?” You ask, watching Crassus try not to choke on a large mouthful of cookie.

The middle-aged man’s large hand comes up to his mouth to pull the cookie out while he chews on the piece that's nearly choking him. You look at him with such innocence and patience while awaiting his verdict on your first attempt at baking cookies. Oh, and how your doe eyes has Crassus' knees buckling.

The cold, hard former soldier can't help, but to feel like a schoolboy again as you watch him chew his large mouthful. Oh, how embarrassing to feel like that over a young pretty girl shoving a sugar cookie into his mouth and looking at him like an angel sent from the heavens while awaiting his judgment on the sweet treat.

For some reason, swallowing down the cookie takes more effort than it should. Perhaps Crassus' throat feels tighter, as if it's closing up on him, because of the near intimate position you're in. Your face is mere inches away from his as he's hunched down into your space with your hand still tightly fisted into his shirt; keeping him in place.

Oh gods, how the man's mind is drifting off to dirty places…

“It's good.” Crassus finally answers after what feels like an eternity, but in reality was only a minute.

“You really think so?” You ask, genuinely surprised, as the icy eyed man in front of you just stares at you as if you hung the moon and stars.

A look he hasn't given anyone in a very, very long time.

“Yes,” He nods. “It's very good, petal.”

You're so happy that Crassus likes your cookie; that your first attempt at baking as your new hobby was successful. Honestly, you were scared that they wouldn't turn out. But it seems that you had nothing to worry about.

Without saying a word, you let go of Crassus' shirt and rush back into the kitchen to check on your latest batch of cookies. Crassus just shakes his head, clutching his briefcase his one hand and his half eaten cookie in the other, as a ghost of a smile slowly appears on his lips.

It seems like your innocence and warmth might be melting the cold Snow.

After the day you shoved a cookie into Crassus' mouth; nearly choking him, he's become your official taste tester for anything that you bake. He doesn't mind, in fact Crassus enjoys your baking. He has quite the sweet tooth even if he denies it.

Grandma'am enjoys when you bake chocolate treats and even Tigris enjoys your baking. She prefers your puddings. The warm hearted girl stops by from time to time to visit Grandma’am and you always give her some baked goods to take home.

All in all, your depression has dissipated and your mind's occupied with baking. You don't feel a heavy dark rain cloud over your head anymore, but instead you feel as if the sun’s shining down on you. You feel so much lighter, as if a weight has been taken off your shoulders.

And over the last few months you've grown closer to Crassus due to your baking. You looked forward to greeting him every evening when he came home with something you baked, asking him to taste it and tell you what he thought. And Crassus would always tell you that your sweet treats were good, great even.

That man loves everything you give him. From cookies to brownies to puddings to cakes to breads, he enjoys them all. Hell, he even has you pack some up for his coworkers at the Ministry of War.

Yes, cold and stern General Crassus Snow brought in baked goods to work to share with his coworkers. Honestly, he did it to brag about your baking skills. To show you off. To claim you as his in a way because women just don't bake for any man, they bake for their man.

And Crassus Snow views himself as your man.

He's been obsessed with making you his for a while; now he's succeeding in doing so.

But you don't mind his obsessive tendencies towards you. In fact, you welcome them because at least you're not lonely with him around.

And talk about being lonely, you found out from Crassus that his son, Coryo, was anything but lonely while off serving in District 8. His contacts told him that Coriolanus had taken up with a local district girl; had been with her for a while too.

Hearing that made you feel incredibly stupid for promising Coriolanus that you'd wait for him. Here you are being true blue to him while Private Snow's out fucking some district whore from 8. You wonder what she has that you don't have. Is she prettier than you? Maybe she's smarter or something? You dunno, but it hurts that he's cheating while you're waiting faithfully for him.

Aside from being hurt, you're pissed as hell. How dare he do this to you! Who the hell does he think he is? You're a proper Capitolite girl, you deserve better than what he's giving you.

Safe to say, you're a bit salty about Coryo's extra curricular activities in District 8 while serving as Private Snow in the Peacekeepers. Fucking bastard…

But at least you have your baking to help you thru it. Baking and Crassus' friendship that is.

But one day while you're baking cookies for the Yule holiday, the phone rings and you answer it only to be met with the one man you really don't want to talk to right now.

Coryo.

He tells you about some Elite Officer's Exam he took and you confronted him about his district whore. He denied it; even told you he loved you and wanted you to join him in 2 as soon as he got settled there- after passing his exams and officially being transferred that is.

And if that wasn't enough to turn your world upside down, a breaking news alert appeared on CapitolTV that would shatter Panem's heart.

It's late at night and Grandma'am’s asleep in her room while you're in the living room watching an old detective noir movie with Crassus. You're on the sofa, body softly nestled into Crassus’ side while his arm’s loosely slung around you, whenever the movie was interrupted by a news break announcing the death of President Ravenstill due to his ill health.

You're shocked to say the least. The very least. A president dying in office without a successor had never happened before in Panem's history. Normally, a president would step down if deathly ill or eldery; an election would be held to name a successor and the incumbent would pass over the baton.

President Ravenstill’s death turned the system upside down and on its head. So much so, that you ask the middle-aged man your sitting on the couch with what's going to happen to Panem now that the president’s dead. The platinum blonde man explained that the Senate would rule Panem with the help of the ministries and the late President Ravenstill’s cabinet.

Crassus also surprised you by announcing that he’s going to enter his name has a presidential candidate under the Old Guard political party. He also made a remark about how when he wins you'll be baking in the grand kitchen of the Presidential Palace. That you'll even be giving the palace bakers some of your recipes.

Everything feels so surreal; your entire day feels like a dream. A winter’s dream that can't be real, but in fact it's real. It's very real.

And to top off your day; mark the night as unbelievable, Crassus placed a hand on your chin only to tip your head to the side and capture your lips with a kiss.

A firm, but passionate kiss that caught you completely off guard.

You weren't expecting him to kiss you, but it only took a few seconds before your brain and body got on the same page and you're responding to his kiss. Your hands wrap around his neck as your lips press together. One of his hands goes to your hip while the other tangles in your hair.

You let out a breathy moan at the feel of his tongue sweeping along your bottom lip; asking silent permission to deepen the kiss. Permission that you granted by slightly parting your mouth just enough for Crassus to slide his tongue inside.

Your kiss with Crassus felt different then all the kisses you shared with Coryo- his son. Coryo's kisses always felt so needy and rushed, but with Crassus they're passionate albeit languid. It's as if the middle-aged man has all the time in the world to explore your mouth with his deeply impassioned kisses; to savor your reaction to his tongue tangling with yours, flicking against your bottom lip teasingly.

The way Crassus' lips firmly sweep over yours over and over again sparks a flaming heat inside of you. A need appears unlike anything you've ever felt before and, unable to stop yourself, you're slightly rolling your hips against him in an attempt to ease the growing ache in your core. And when Crassus breaks the kiss so the two of you can get some much need air into your lungs, you're looking at him wit lust in your doe-eyes.

Crassus can't help, but to flip you onto your back and smirk while slotting himself between your legs that have spread open on their own accord. He runs his knuckles along your cheek, only to hold your hip in his other hand. Crassus’ grip on your hip his strong, but sensual, as his other hand trails down your neck. Your chest heaves up and down as you look up at him, pupils blown wide.

“You feel what you do to me, petal?” Crassus asks, his voice low and thick, as he grinds his large cock, that's straining painfully in his pants, against your aching core.

The action has you soaking your panties. Just the feel of his bulge makes you ache, makes your pussy wetter then it already is. His cock, although trapped in the confines of his slacks, feel so large and heavy against your heated core.

“Crassus, please…” You moan needily.

"Shhh,” Crassus brings a finger up to your lips to shush you. “don’t make a noise, baby.” He dips his head down so his breath is fanning your face and his hand that's on your hip slides under your skirt, his fingertips teasingly sliding up and down your thigh. “We dont want mother to wake up now, would you?" Crassus rhetorically asks, nipping at a sweet spot right below your ear.

“We're really doing this here?” You ask, voice no more than a whisper, against his finger that was still resting against your lips.

Crassus trails his finger down your lower lip, that's bruised from his kisses, over your chin, and down the collum of your neck while telling huskily answering you with a low, “Yes.”

His lips captures yours in another searing kiss, one that shows off his years of experience, as his finger turns into his palm grasping at your breast. You moan into the kiss, your hands burying into his hair and your hips canting up slightly as Crassus toys with the wet patch right in the middle of your panties.

He pulls back from the kiss, only to slyly smirk. “I’m gonna prep you real good for my cock, baby.” Crassus scooted down the length of the couch until his head’s between your spread legs.

Legs that are shaking.

Crassus swiftly bunches your skirt up past your hips before curling his forefingers into the elestatic of your panties. “Lift your hips up for me, petal.” He orders in a low tone that's fire and ice to your ears.

Nodding, you do as you're told- resulting in Crassus pulling your panties off and licking a stripe up your wet cunt. He eases a long finger into your tight pussy while giving your clit a few kitten licks, causing you to wither from his touch.

Crassus' icy eyes hold your gaze as he slowly pumps his finger in and out of your pussy, his tongue flicking your clit expertly. You feel your cheeks grow hot, but you can't make yourself pull your gaze away from his. It's as if his light cerulean eyes have you under a spell. A spell you just can't find it in yourself to break.

Crassus pulls his lips away from your clit with a wet pop. With his eyes still on you, he says, “You're so tight, baby. I'm gonna add another finger, just let me know if it hurts.”, before slipping his middle finger inside of you alongside his pointer finger.

“I'm okay, Crassus. Please, keep going.” You told him, placing a hand in his platinum hair to encourage him to continue eating you out.

“As you wish, petal.” He tells you before going back to teasing your cunt with his skilled tongue while pumping his fingers in and out of your wet, tight hole.

Your breath hitches and you bite back a moan whenever you feel his fingertips curl up against the spongy spot hidden deep inside of you. He grins against your cunt at your reaction to his ministrations.

“Think you can handle a third finger?” Crassus asked, even tho he was planning on squeezing his ring finger into your dripping cunt no matter what your answer is.

He's a very blessed man when it comes to the size of his cock. He's large, both in length and girth, so he wants to stretch you out with his fingers as much as possible. Plus, the feeling of your tight cunt clenching around his fingers is sending all of his blood straight to his hard rock; making it even harder than he thought possible.

“I can handle it, Crassus.” You answer, chest heaving and voice wispy, as you feel a knot tightening in your lower belly.

Crassus wraps his lips around your clit, sucking hard, while stuffing you full with three of his long fingers. His ego was soaring as he heard your tiny, strangled moans mixed with the gushing sound your wet cunt made as he fingered you fast and hard while sucking and nipping at your clit. He groaned into your cunt as he felt your hands tightly holding his hair while shoving his face deeper into your cunt.

“Crassus, I'm close.” You tell him, bucking your hips in an attempt to find relief to the feelings quaking inside of you from the feelings of the middle-aged man's skilled fingers stretching you and his tongue swirling around your puffy clit.

Your thighs are shaking around Crassus' head, but he doesn't care. No, not when you're so close to cumming. Hell, he could die with his head crushed by your thighs and he'd die a happy man with your sweet tangy taste on his tongue.

His fingers curl against your g-spot just right at the same time his teeth graze against your clit, sending you over the edge. You cum with a silent scream, bucking your hips wildly.

It was unlike anything you ever felt in your life. You swear, you're seeing stars as you cum.

Crassus groans and laps up everything that you give him. You're messily dripping and all he can do is eagerly lick you clean. Oh, how your taste drives him wild.

He backs away from your cunt, only to look you in the eye while sucking your taste off of his fingers. “Sweetest thing I've ever tasted, baby.” Crassus smirks, his low tone oozing lust. And it has your cheeks flushing and your pussy growing wet- again.

Crassus quickly unbuckles his belt and pulls his pants down to his thighs. Your eyes widen as you see the large bulge pressing against his boxers, thanks to the glowing light the TV was casting in the room. You quickly realize, before he even pulls down his boxers, that Crassus’ dick is bigger than Coriolanus’. And that fact makes you both nervous and excited.

Crassus knows that once he enters your cunt he's a goner, that he'll most likely lose control. He's so pent up since his career at the Ministry of War along with his side job as an arms dealer; overlooking his assets in 13 doesn't leave him much time in his schedule to go out and fuck somebody. The gods know that he's always busy doing something.

But between his obsession with you and having your pussy in his grasp, well, he's sure that he's not sleeping a wink tonight. And neither are you.

“Sling your leg over the back of the couch, petal.” Crassus orders while pulling down his boxers; setting his very long and thick cock free to slap up against his stomach. A stomach that's still covered by his shirt. “I need your legs spread wide, as wide as possible, for me.”

“Okay.” You nod, adjusting your legs to spread wide in the way that he wanted them.

“Relax, baby, I'll take good care of you.” Uttered Crassus before pushing his cock into your wet cunt.

You bite your lip and claw at his muscular back as you feel his cock splitting you in two. Yes, you're not a virgin and had a big cock fucking you for a week back in late July/early August, but being stretched by Crassus' cock had you feeling like you're losing your virginity all over again. Clearly, your hole had tightened up after months of not being fucked- resulting in the uncomfortable feeling you're experiencing as the handsome man hovering above you pushes his fat dick into you at a steady pace.

Crassus knows your not a virgin since he didn't meet the resistance of your barrier, so he quickly realizes that you're so painfully tight because you haven't been properly fuck in a long time. Hell, he doubts you've been properly fucked at all considering the last man you most likely fucked wasn't a real man at all, but a green schoolboy.

“You can take it, baby. You took my fingers so well, I know you can take all of my cock?” Crassus praises and encourages you while sinking deeper and deeper into your tight cunt.

And when he's finally balls deep inside of your tight cunt, which is literally stretched to the max, his icy eyes roll to the back of his head and he lets out a tiny grunt.

Crassus gives you a couple of minutes to accommodate his size before he's pumping his cock in and out of your pussy at a steady, but deep pace. One of his hands is on your hip while the other’s resting on the thigh of your leg that's strewn over the back of the sofa. Your arms are wrapped around him, hands on his back, as you feel the veins of his cock gliding against your inner walls as he fucks into you- making you mewl.

“Remember, we can't be too loud.” Crassus reminds you, his deep voice a whisper that sending butterflies fluttering deep inside your belly.

“I’m n-not being t-too loud.” You protest, falling over your words and trying not to moan as you feel Crassus' cock hit your g-spot.

Your nails dig into his back and he triumphantly smirks. Oh, yes, you're enjoying this as much, if not more, then he is.

“Keep it that way and I'll reward you by letting you scream on top of your lungs when I fuck you in my room within the next half hour.” Crassus tells you, his husky voice dripping with dominance, as he fucks into you even harder.

You can't believe your ears. Crassus wants to fuck you again- tonight! And in his bed!

Something about that revelation does something to you; has you cumming around his cock while choking back a moan that wants to bubble out.

The feel of your tight cunt clenching around his cock along with the feeling of you creaming it triggers off Crassus' orgasm. He cums, painting your walls white with his seed, while kissing your lips feverishly to keep himself from moaning and grunting too loudly.

Fucking Crassus Snow wasn't just a one time thing. In fact, it was something that occured regularly between the two of you. So much so that you took to sleeping in his bed instead of in your own room.

You doubt that Grandma'am knew what was going on between you and her son. She never brought it up; never gave you odd looks either. In fact, she seems to smile every time she sees Crassus peck you on the cheek before taking off to do something, greeting you, or sending you on your way.

Plus, as time went on, Grandma'am seemed too occupied with Crassus' campaign for the presidency to pick up on anything happening in the penthouse. Whether that be lingering interactions between you and her son or your own building anxiety.

And of course Crassus was too busy with both his campaign and his work at the Ministry of War to notice you growing more anxious. Or at least that's what you thought.

But Crassus is a very observant man and he truly does notice your anxiety. He just thinks it's due to his campaign; that you're nervous about how he'll do in the primary election that's being held in a handful of months to determine the two presidential candidates that’ll go head to head in the main election for the presidency come November.

He has no idea why you're truly anxious.

Coriolanus isn't Private Snow anymore, but he's now Elite Officer Snow since he passed his exams, or at least Crassus told you that's what he heard from his contact. Crassus also told you that his son's most likely going to bring his district whore with him whenever he transfers to 2.

So, of course you're anxious about what to do when it comes to Coryo. Especially since all calls and letters from the younger Snow have ceased. You can't help, but wonder if he truly does want you to join him or if he really did bring a district whore with him.

A district whore he denied having in the first place.

And then there's the subject of Crassus, your lover and Coriolanus' father. You can't help, but wonder if fucking you’s just something he does to relieve stress since you're around. He's so busy with his career and politics that he rarely spends time with you, unless it's in his bedroom.

Yes, yes, he still taste tests your baking, but know he's having you bake for his campaign workers and volunteers that it feels like he's just testing what you bake to make sure that it's edible for his entourage. It doesn't feel like he's genuinely eating your baked goods anymore.

Unlike Coryo, Crassus has never once told you that he loves you. Hasn't even told you that he cares. At least Coryo claims to love you. If Crassus truly felt something for you, wouldn't he vocalize it?

You go on worrying yourself with so many thoughts of Coryo and Crassus until one day you finally receive a letter in the mail from the younger Snow. Crassus gives it to you, like he always does, before pecking you on the cheek and going to his office to do some paperwork for his campaign.

You read Coryo’s letter, only to discover that he's living at the Nut in 2 and wants you to join him. Enclosed in the letter’s a train ticket to District 2- dated for the following morning.

That letter has you reeling as you shove it along with the ticket back into the envelope. You place the letter on the desk in your room, a room you never use anymore.

You're weighing the words you read in the letter as you lay in bed, waiting for Crassus to join you. But when he finally does come to bed, he makes you forget all about the letter. At least he does for a little while as his body's on top of yours, fucking into your tight cunt with fervent vigor.

But as you're basking in the afterglow of your fucking with Crassus, you can't help, but to wonder what the two of you are. And the nagging question has you asking, “What are we? Do you even love me? Or am I just a stress reliever for you?", as you lay pressed into Crassus' side with your hand on his chest.

Your question starles Crassus. He blinks his pale blue eyes and the hand that's resting on your shoulder starts to rub soothing circles into it. He thought that you already knew what the two of you are, but now he knows he thought wrong. Looking down at you, he gives you the honest answer of, “You're not a stress reliever for me, petal. You're so much more than that. You're my second chance of a woman's love; you're my obsession, baby.”

Right there and then his answer soothes the worry in your soul and you decide to stay with him.

Crassus, not one for being overly affectionate since he is, after all a stern man by nature, decides to move past his love confession by changing the subject with, “Well, petal, I did promise to let you be in control of round 2 if I made a noise first.” With a smirk, he takes a hold of your hips and starts to guide you to straddle his waist while remarking, "We better get you on top, huh?”

And as you ride Crassus all thoughts of that letter and the train ticket disappear forever. It's just a piece of junkmail that you'll throw in the trash come morning.

Crassus, not one for giving up control, gives you the illusion that you're in control as he lets you ride in, but in fact stays in complete control of you by guiding your hips at the speed he wants you to go. He even pulls off his dog tags (he's never once taken them off because once a soldier, always a soldier) and puts them over your head; letting you wear them as you ride him. It's a way of marking you as his, having you wear his dog tags while fucking.

And when he grabs them, only to pull you down for a kiss, he nearly loses his mind whenever you tell him, “You're a good boy, Crassus.”, with your lips ghosting against his as you bounce up and down on his cock with ease.

Your words make him realize that you have a dom side; that you're a switch since you always let him be the dom in bed. It does something to him, makes his cock get impossibly harder, knowing that you can be dominant when you want. That you can say words of praise that sound filthy flowing from your lips in a tone that's a bit more sultry and masterful.

All of those sudden revelations had Crassus losing control. And suddenly, he's telling you, “Oh, I'll show you how good of a boy I can be.”, while bucking up into you at an unyielding and brutal pace causing you both to moan and grunt until you cum together.

You threw the letter containing the ticket to District 2 in the trash. You never told Crassus about it either. You didn't feel the need to since you picked him.

Coriolanus waited for you at the train station all day, only for you to stand him up. That made him angry. He was insulted that you didn't listen to him; that you most likely told his father about the plans for you to move to 2- that his father must've stopped you. Hell, Coriolanus felt like an idiot waiting for you only for you to stand him up.

As he walked home alone, Elite Officer Snow realized that his father had won. That General Crassus Snow had taken you from him.

He also thinks that you're a dumb bitch for not listening to him whenever he warned you about his father having a thing for you.

And a few months later, in October before the presidential elections are held, First Lieutenant Coriolanus Snow is invited to his father General Crassus Snow's wedding.

To your wedding.

Coriolanus didn't want to go, but went only because it'd look bad for his Air Force career if he snubbed his father's wedding. All of his superiors thought that General Crassus Snow, the war hero of the rebellion, was one of the best military minds on the planet. So, he was stuck going.

Coriolanus brought his wife, a pretty little thing from the districts, with him. He has her on his arm, all dolled up in a cerulean blue dress. Her hair's up in some simple updo so you notice the faint scars on her back, from where they pop out from her dress, right away.

And that's when you knew you made the right choice in picking Crassus. You remember that Coriolanus once told you a story about how he turned a girl in for thievery and helped her leave the town square once her punishment, a whipping, was done. You remember he told you that story when you confronted him about seeing somebody in District 8. But now you know that First Lieutenant Snow was using his charm to lie to you; that he really did cheat on you.

You suppose that he pulled some strings and sent for his district girl once you failed to show up at the train station in 2. You're glad that he's not alone, that he has his district whore- as Crassus refers to the girl as.

You got stuck sharing one dance with Coriolanus, being his new stepmother and all, and he let you know how he felt about you being Mrs. Crassus Snow during your waltz.

“It should've been me marrying you, not my father, Y/N.” Coriolanus told you, his face a mask of indifference as his baby blue eyes blazed with anger. “I can't believe you let him seduce you; steal you away from me.”

Narrowing your eyes at the man that used to be your best friend, you explain your situation with, “Crassus never seduced me or stole me from you, Coriolanus. We became friends while I was dealing with your absence and one thing led to another.”

“He'll never love you the way that I do, my darling rose.”

“Don't talk to me about loving me, Coriolanus. Not when you're married to some district girl.”

“My wife might be district but at least she's loyal to me, is grateful for everything that I've done for her- unlike you who jumped into bed with my own goddamn father.” Coriolanus darkly hissed before storming off, ending your dance and leaving you on the dance floor.

Crassus just raised a brow and asked you what happened once you left the dance floor and returned to his side at the table on the dias- high up on display in the ballroom since you're the newlyweds.

You just told him that you had Coriolanus didn't approve of each other's spouses and that he stormed off after trying to make his wife seem like a better woman than you. Crassus laughed and told you not to pay too much attention to his bratty son. That he's always been full of piss and vinegar when he couldn't get his way.

Crassus won the presidential election by a landslide. One of the first things he did was intergrade District 13 back into Panem. And since the former sovereign nation was a great source of income for Crassus due to his nuke factories there, District 13 was put on a pedestal. They had rights similar to those in the Capitol while the other 12 districts still had to participate in the games.

Yes, your husband kept the Hunger Games. You think it's because they're so popular, but the truth his your husband finds the way his drunken class project blossomed into a spectacle that the Capitolites adore fascinating. Plus, Crassus was a cold, stern man that was a military genius. The president saw the merits of keeping the districts under control by using the games as a lifelong punishment.

At least your husband did improve some of the living and working conditions in the Districts. He told you that that people needed a little bit of hope to keep from rebelings, but also a firm hand to guide them and keep them in line. Crassus said it was all checks and balances.

And when Dr. Gaul approached President Crassus Snow with an amendment that would have all children born in the districts, including ones born on PK Bases, be legal district citizens and registered for the games, well, your husband approved it.

You wondered how your brother felt about that. If he ever married his girl in 12, where he was serving as an officer in the peacekeepers, or if he had a family. You'd never know those answers since he disowned you after receiving your wedding invite. He was pissed about the situation, said some nasty things, and literally disowned you.

You never thought about Coriolanus and his wife, whether or not they had children. Why would you? Coriolanus never wrote, never had anything to do with you or Crassus being his ego was bruised by your wedding.

Talk about children, Crassus had given you three beautiful children. Two sons and a daughter. Javani, Xanthos, and Mara.

Javani was the oldest and he, to your surprise, favored your late father in looks and temperment. Or at least Crassus told you he did. In fact, your husband always chuckles that the only thing Javani got from him is his platinum hair while everything else is from your family's genes.

Xanthos and Mara are Snows inside and out, from dawn to dusk, tho.

And when Javani is 18 he's selected to be a mentor for the Hunger Games since he's a very intelligent young man and is in the top 24 of his class. But what made his mentorship memorial and unusual was that, by a twist of fate, his assigned tribute was his nephew.

Yes, Javani Snow’s tribute was Cassian Snow, from District 2. Cassian's the first born child of Major Coriolanus Snow and his wife, a district woman you never bothered to learn the name of.

And, it's sad to say, after seeing Coriolanus' son get reaped and assigned to Javani as his tribute to mentor, you know in your heart of hearts that you made the right decision in staying with Crassus; marrying him and becoming First Lady Snow. Because your children are safe from the games.

Tags: @kuroosbby001 @purriteen @poppyflower-22 @meetmeatyourworst @whipwhoops @bxtchopolis @readingthingsonhere @savagenctzen @ryswritingrecord @erikasurfer @tulips2715 @universal-s1ut @thesmutconnoisseur @squidscottjeans @sudek4l @wearemadeofstardust0 @mashiromochi @gracieroxzy @belcalis9503 @shari-berri @aoi-targaryen @whiteoakoak @spear-bearing-bi-witch @gisellesprettylies @loverandqueenofdragons @qoopeeya @mfnqueen1 @permanentlyexhaustedpigeon88 @v-love @swiftieblyth @joyfulyouthlover @lady-harvey @chxrrybomb22 @marvel-hiddles-stark @xjinnix @devils-blackrose @zombicupcake3 @jacesvelaryons @tempt-ress

127 notes · View notes

pnutbutter-n-j-elyy · 18 hours

Text

They unknowingly bring up an insecurity Seungmin|

Your heart was strung in your throat. Seungmin was always one to tease; and for the most part he was good about shying away from topics you were sensitive about so no problems had ever arisen. But as you read over his texts over and over again you felt your heart pinch in a way that was all to similar to what you had felt in your previous relationship.

"You talk too much, you know that?" Your ex had told you that numerous times, and eventually it led to a break up. And your constant yapping became something that made you insecure.

But when you first met Seungmin you felt like you were perfect the way you were. Chan had said you would balance Seungmin out quite well. And up until now you felt as if that were the case.

Now you wondered if maybe you did become to much.

Maybe the constant chatter had become annoying to the quiet boy you loved dearly.

And while you had been in love numerous times before, it hurt more to even think of losing Seungmin than all your previous heart breaks combined. And that was a lot considering you had always been the one to have your heart broken.

You couldn't tear yourself away from your phone screen - rereading those texts and overanalyizing the tone.

Maybe it was in a light hearted way? Or maybe it was the complete opposite and it was fully aggression?

You sat there trying to pick apart every single meaning, connotation, and tone the words he sent could have when your phone dimed again.

"I'm guessing your busy shopping since my phone has been quite for more than fifteen minutes. Haha, I think that's a first!"

You did everything in your power to try and bite back the knot in your throat from coming up and causing tears. So much so your eyes started to burn and you ended up shedding a few quietly.

The rest of the day you busied yourself with miniscule little tasks like dusting the fans and sweeping the welcome mat that you intended to take along with you when you moved in with Seungmin.

You tried to take your mind off of the texts. You figured Seungmin didn’t mean it in anyway malicious sort of way. In fact you knew he meant it as a lighthearted joke. In the time you had spent with him you had easily learned just how kind and loving of a person he was, and how much he cared for you.

You just couldn’t shake the hurt from those words - and more importantly the fear you had deep down that there was some truth to the words he had sent.

By the time Seungmin arrived at your apartment it was early evening. Every Wednesday you guys would cook together ever since you witnessed him and Felix blowing food up by accident on a live. Seungmin followed the normal routine of slipping off his shoes and into his house slippers and immediately changing into a cheap shirt he had bought when you first had started your endeavors since he was smart enough to realize he was a messy cook.

“Hey baby.” He said as he greeted you with a quick hug from behind and a chaste kiss to the cheek before he went to wash his hands.

You have a small noise of acknowledgement as Seungmin dried his hands off on a plaid towel and turned to you with happy anticipation.

“What are we cooking today?”

“Spaghetti and meatballs.” You replied as you started to grab the necessary ingredients. Seungmin followed you around like a happy puppy and helped you a carry everything to the counter you reserved for preparation of ingredients.

“So how do we start?” Seungmin asked. By now he had noticed your face was a little droopy and your responses were short and if there was any conversation it was only in answer to his initiation.

“With the ground beef.” You said as you pulled out a big bowl to put the meat and seasonings in. Seungmin watched you from his peripheral as you poured in some panco bread crumbs and a bunch of other various aromatic seasonings while he opened up the meat packaging.

As he kneeled everything with his hands he tried asking you about your day.

“So did you end up ordering the mugs baby?”

“No, I didn’t.” Silence.

“Oh…maybe after dinner we can look on Etsy together? Or maybe find a website to customize them? It might seem like a lot but I think the guys would really appreciate your sentiment.”

“Yeah, we can do that.” Silence.

Seungmin started to roll out oddly and unevenly shaped meatballs and continued to try and ask you questions as you guys worked, but your answers we short. Not rude. But literally short.

Not thouroghly explained like usual.

Even at dinner you were quiet and barely even touched your food.

“Do you not feel good baby?” Seungmin asked you as you played with a piece of garlic bread.

“I feel okay…maybe a little tired.” You said popping the piece into your mouth as if to show you were feeling fine.

Seungmin sighed and put his fork down.

“Did my text hurt your feelings?” He had been worrying about it all day when he had seen you had left him on read. It was an odd thing but nevertheless endearing when you would finish a conversation over text and send a meme to him just to acknowledge the end of the conversation, and to make sure he “didn’t find it hurtful” that you had left him on read. Even if he constantly assured you it was in no way shape or form a problem.

You hadn’t sent him a meme. And the more he thought about it he realized that his humor might not have translated through text.

“Im sorry if I hurt your feelings. It was a joke, Y/N. I would never purposefully want to hurt you. I love when you share about your day. I was a bit tied up so while you texting me might have been inconvienent at the moment doesnt mean I don’t appreciate you wanting me to know everything about what you are doing. I love that you want me to be a part of your life , even the tiny thing.”

“It’s okay babe.” You replied putting a smile on your face. “I know you didn’t mean it to hurt me. I’m just tired that’s all.” You let out a breath as you stood up and collected Seungmin’s plate. “Maybe we can just watch a movie instead of shopping? I just don’t feel like thinking very much right now in any capacity…” You let out quietly.

“Of course.” Seungmin responded, trailing you into the kitchen as you set the plates in the sink. “I love you.” He said quietly, his voice lilting up slightly. Were you actually okay?

“I love you too Minmin.” You place a a small kiss next to his eye and head towards the living room.

During the movie Seungmin kept stealing glances at you as you leaned on him but not into him. As you laughed but the curve of your mouth didn’t exactly reach your eyes. And how those same eyes were focused on the screen but your mind was obviously some place else.

Although you had said you were fine your silence gave him the answer you actually wanted to give. That Seungmin had struck a nerve more sensitive than he had known.

#skz texts #skz seungmin #angst #skz angst #skz imagines

57 notes · View notes

quinnylouhughesx43 · 15 hours

Text

𝘽𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙊𝙪𝙩 · 𝙟𝙝86

summary: Trevor isn’t a fan of how Jack’s changed for his girlfriend.

warnings: use of y/n, kind of angsty, more fluffy, trevor being kind of a bitter friend,

word count: 1.1k

authors note: i really liked the request prompt but i struggled to write it. to the anon who requested it i hope it doesn’t let you down 🥺

Y/n’s laughter echoed through the restaurant, a melody that seemed to seep deep into Jack's soul. He couldn't help but smile as he watched her throw her head back, revealing the small, delicate spot on her neck where he knew her pulse would be racing. He knew if he placed his lips to it just how the noise she would make would sound. Her hair, usually pulled back into a tidy bun, had come loose and now framed her face in a halo of curls. It may have been two years since they started dating, but Jack still found himself completely and utterly captivated by her.

As they finished their dinner, Trevor nudged Jack and motioned for him to follow him to the bathroom. "Look," Trevor whispered, "I know you love her and all, but she's holding you back, man. You need to live a little, go out with all of us, have some fun." Jack sighed, feeling torn. He knew that Trevor was his best friend, but he also knew how important y/n was to him. He didn't want to lose her, no he couldn’t lose her, but he didn't want to miss out on all the adventures he could still be having with his friends.

"Why don't you come out with us anymore?" Trevor asked bluntly. "You used to be the life of the party. Now you're just...different." Jack hung his head, unsure how to respond. "I just want you to be happy, man. I really think you're making a mistake by staying with her." Trevor opened the bathroom door and walked back towards the tables. It was purely happen chance he was even here and Jack was too. Trevor on a date while Jack was on one too.

The two boys returned to their respective tables, Jack couldn't shake the uneasy feeling in tightly churning in his gut. Trevor was on to something; he did miss going out with all their friends and having their crazy adventures. But y/n was everything to him. She made him feel loved in ways he had never experienced and supported him in everything he did. It may have only been two years, but Jack couldn't imagine his life without her now. He knew he couldn't continue like this, though. Something had to give.

That night after dinner, as the two walked hand in hand through the park, Jack managed to gather up the courage to confront his new worries with y/n. "Hey, there's something I want to talk to you about," he said, his voice barely registering over the children still playing on the playground. Y/n stopped and turned to face him, her eyes instantly filled with concern. "What's wrong, Jack?"

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I love you, y/n. I love you so much. You know that. But I feel like I'm missing out on a lot with my friends. I want to be able to spend time with them like I used to." He looked down at his girlfriend who drew in and chewed on her lower lip, clearly being hurt by his words.

"Jackie, I thought we had talked about this.. I thought you trusted me enough to know that I would never stand in the way of your friendships?. If anything, I want you to have them in your life more. You are my life, today, tomorrow, hopefully next week and further, but I want you to have a life outside of me too. I love you more than you probably think I do, but that doesn’t mean we always have to be together.” Y/n told the sweet boy standing before her. He was awestruck while she was speaking.

He looked at her, his eyes searching hers for any hint of deception. An action he instantly felt guilty for. He should’ve never let his friends inside his head. Seeing nothing but sincerity, he exhaled slowly.

"I guess I just... I just need to find a balance, huh?" She nodded, wrapping her arms around him. "I'll always be here for you, jackie. And I want you to know that I understand. We'll figure this out together."

The next weekend, Jack and y/n arranged a "double date night" with Trevor and his newest girl. The four of them went to one of the local art galleries, something y/n loved to do, afterwards they went to a cozy Italian restaurant for dinner.

As they walked side by side, Jack was overcome with a sense of excitement and anticipation. Both had been building within him since the plans were made. For the first time since meeting y/n, he felt like he was truly experiencing something elating again.

The entirety of the night was filled with wholesome laughter and conversations about everything and anything, as both couples shared stories and experiences, and found common ground in their shared love for art and food. Y/n and Trevor even managed to strike up a conversation about their favorite artists and sport teams, which surprised Jack and made him smile. He had never really thought of his best friend and y/n having much in common, but it seemed like tonight was proving him wrong.

“Seems you picked a good one Rowdy.” Trevor snickered referring to y/n. “I’m glad you changed your mind about her Zegras. But I didn’t just pick a good one, I picked the best one. At least for me.” Jack was smitten with her and Trevor fake gagged. Earning himself a laugh from all of them.

While they finished their meals and sipped on their respective drinks, the atmosphere in the restaurant shifted ever so slightly. The lights were dimmed, and a soft, romantic medley filled the room. Jack caught y/n glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, an expanse flush of warmth spread through his chest.

In that moment, Jack realized that this was exactly what he needed: a balance between his relationship with her and his friendship. He didn't have to choose between them anymore.

As the music continued, Trevor and his date excused themselves to the dance floor, leaving Jack and y/n with a moment to themselves. She smiled up at him, her eyes sparkling practically screaming out her love for him and Jack himself was flooded with a rush of his affection for her.

He leaned down, gently brushing his lips against hers, whispering a quick intimate “i love you”. He placed another kiss on her lips, meant to be soft and innocent but as their kiss deepened, the warm, content feeling of love and happiness spread throughout both of them.

The rest of the night flew by in a blur of conversation, laughter, and dancing. They all truly seemed to enjoy each other's company, and Jack couldn't help but feel grateful for this unexpected gift. As the night drew to a close, they agreed to get together again in the coming weeks. Trevor and Jack said their goodbyes before everyone went their separate ways.

“Y/n?” Jack called out softly from beside her. She glanced up at him, as if to ask him ‘what?’ “Thank you for tonight. I really appreciate what you’ve done for me. For us.” She squeezed his hand and smiled up at him. “I love you, I don’t know how I got so lucky to have you but I hope I keep staying lucky.” Jack brought her hand up to his lips placing a quick kiss to the top of it.

#trevor zegras #jack hughes #jack hughes fic #jack hughes x reader #jack hughes fluff #jack hughes x y/n #jack hughes x you #nj devils fics #nj devils fluff #cay writes #requests📝#nhl writing #writblr #hockey fics #platonic!trevor zegras #nhl #hockey fic

87 notes · View notes

metranart · 19 hours

Text

My one and only wants you, so he’ll have you (Part 3)

ft. Sensei! Gojo Satoru, sensei! Suguru Geto, reader insert.

Gojo Satoru and Suguru Geto happily married, you, their lovely student and the cause of their ragging temptation. The problem: their son, Megumi, your best friend.

𖦹 Warning tags: Gojo x Reader x Geto, threesome, married couple, Suguru and Gojo happy married couple, polyamory, Teacher-Student Relationship, Under-Desk Blow Jobs, Anal Sex, oral sex, vaginal sex, breeding, obsessive behavior, horny sorcerers, idiots in love, being the willing pet of your senseis, best friend! Megumi, Jealous! Megumi, anal plug, Secret Relationship, Domestic Fluff, falling in love, Pregnancy Kink, Hurt/Comfort, smut, rough sex, shameless smut, creampie, explicit sexual consent, sexual tension, shameless flirting, scratching.

"Hello, I'm home." They heard their adopted son shout from the floor below, both clean up as best they could, pulling a t-shirt over their heads and adjusting their pants so they could go down. "I brought (Y/N) for dinner, I hope you don't mind."

Megumi continued saying to his parents, or as he tagged them, guardians. A little taken aback by their unusually, stunned faces.

"...Is there a problem?" Megumi asked them, airily. The young sorcerer almost looked radiant, besides his usual stoic expression. Yes! There was a fuckin’ problem, even so, they numbly shook their heads until Suguru found his voice again.

"N-No problem, Megumi. You're always welcome, (Y/N)."

You looked just as bewildered as them if not more. The only one unaware of the tense discomfort, Megumi, who actually looked quite satisfied. Both professors just couldn't stop following you with their astonished gazes while their set the table and prepare dinner, growing something beyond confused and why not, jealous… since what was driving them internally crazy was the infuriating fact that from the moment you set foot inside the house and until that moment: Megumi and you were holding hands.

Numbly, Suguru went straight into the kitchen to start doing dinner while you and Megumi followed Gojo to the living room, each hit of the knife against the wood could almost go through the cutting board at how hard Geto was hitting. The black-haired man loved Megumi more than his own life, but right now he felt his blood boiling and it bothered him a lot, it had been years since he had felt the nasty sting of jealousy, like a hormonal teenager, raw and nasty.

“My adorable students,” Gojo huffed, wearing a thin grin full of hidden contempt, “I hope that during your stay in the library this afternoon you also did your homework and not just used the prohibited book aisle to suck face.”

Suguru snickered low at hearing Gojo’s comment in his usual playful tone, but he could easily see beneath the act. The cynicism and annoyance that his cheerful smile actually hid. Gojo was as confused and mad as him, if not more.

“Behave.” Megumi scolded with a deep frown, cheeks dusting red at his tutor's inappropriate comment, “…it's none of your business what we do or don't do in the library—”

Gojo laughed loudly, cheerful and carefree, his playful but annoying personality doing its best to make Megumi uncomfortable enough that he had to leave the room, so he could have a moment alone with you, the white-haired sensei playing nasty since he felt his loins, burning and inflamed to know what was going on between you two.

“Megumi-kun, I'm just joking, there's no need to get defensive, my boy.” Gojo shared between chuckles. “I know what it's like to be young and in love—”

Megumi huffed, irritated, passing a rough hand through his hair to then squeeze your hand in his, the mere act brought him so much comfort he felt his back muscles immediately relax, with a sideway glance noticed the crimson dusting your cheeks as well, and his stomach danced with butterflies at knowing you might be feeling as flustered as he did.

“Suguru-san.” Megumi called to his other tutor for support.

“Satoru, knock it off.” His scolding was heard from the kitchen. “—Leave the lovebirds be.” He teased back to Megumi’s dismay, and you giggled adorably, forcing yourself to do it as natural as you could to lower the growing tension.

You succeeded, since Megumi turn to look at you with a soft, light grin on his face. “So glad that at least you find it funny.” He said in all honesty and to Gojo’s growing despair and frustration, had to witness first-hand how his adoptive son lifted your hooked hands to place a soft, tender smooch in the back of your palm. That lovesick expression in his boy’s face beyond painful to him.

Your cheeks lit up like live fire, and Megumi's follow, and Gojo's as well… but for a totally different reason.

Out of the sudden, Megumi's gaze, full of adoration, felt unbearably heavy on you. You gulped once, and you could almost swear heard Gojo snort, but you couldn’t know for sure since you refused to meet his face, instead you broke eye contact almost as if Megumi’s gaze were burning holes in you.

“H-How rude of me, I'm going to see if Suguru-san needs assistance with dinner-…”

“Suguru-sensei.” Gojo corrected in a tedious tone, out of habit and ended up clearing his throat awkwardly to quickly change the subject and disguise the slip.

"A-And why didn't Yuji and Nobara came along, it would have been great, like when you were on first year..."

Gojo start and you hurried to stand up and leave the room. Leaving Megumi and Gojo behind, your shoulders felt less rigid, and oxygen began to flood your system normally again, you entered the kitchen with the hint of a strained smile and were immediately greeted by Suguru Geto in an apron.

“(Y/N),” he greeted you, “how thoughtful, you didn't have to bother.”

“It's n-no bother Suguru-san,” you said almost timidly, wearing slow, measured steps to approach him, you were reluctant when suddenly Suguru made room for you to join him in chopping vegetables.

“Let's see how skilled you are with the knife—” he said loudly so that it could be heard outside and once he noticed that Megumi's attention was totally captured by Satoru’s incessant ramblings, he asked in a conspiratorial whisper.

"Are you two a couple?" your current lover questioned in a firm, icy whisper.

You shook your head, weakly.

“Don’t lie to me, pup—” This time he sounded close to angry.

“I’m not lying to you,” you assured in an equally firm whisper, “—We….” You made a meaningful pause to collect your thoughts and slowly Suguru’s hands stop chopping, waiting for you to continue.

“You?” he pushed, and at your lack of speech, grunted. “You...” he stressed to crash with the same frustrating silence, and fed up, gave some choices for you to choose. “Maybe you…. you find it exciting to fuck our adopted son under our own roof while we sleep in the next room?”

Your head turn so fast to him that even your neck creaked. Eyes opening wide at his strong statement, never have you ever seen Suguru Geto mad, not in all these years as his student and fellow sorcerer… and somehow, he was way scarier than Gojo could ever be. Those deep, sharp eyes piercing you like obsidian daggers.

“N-No… I don’t…. this isn’t exciting at all…” you tried to put your ideas in order but were failing miserably, his hard gaze pulverizing your anxious mind, “Suguru-san-”

“What is it, (Y/N)?”

Out of the blue, Geto flipped your body around rather violent, so your ass ending up pressed against the counter as his thick arms caged you under his massive frame against the same, his face slowly closing the gap. “Tell me, pup. Did you suck his cock after we left you? Does Megumi’s cum tastes better than his daddy’s?”

You froze. Suguru was awfully intimidating, he was certainly seeing red. Even so, had never treated you like this, so contemptuously, so rude and haughty... and that lit a fuse in you, the same fuse that had given you the strength to seduce your sensei in the first place was now prompting you to defend yourself from his wrong accusations, with the same arrogance.

“—I don't know what Megumi's cum tastes like, Suguru-san, I haven't sucked him off..." you stated, finding your courage, "...but if he’s something like his parents, who fuck me every second of the day without even asking me anymore" you smashed his misdoings to his face, and the professor’s lip twitched a little, "he's surely going to give me a taste today, whether I wants it or not."

He chuckled dismissively, and stopped himself from turn you around, press you hard against the vegetable chopping table and fuck you stupid like he wanted to—that attitude of yours made you awfully enticing. But in fact, if you wanted to play the self-righteous victim with him, he can play the same card outstandingly well.

“I never heard you complaining when I screwed you on top of the desk of my office after classes,” he recalled rather cynic, his patience thinning second by second. His thick, muscular chest gluing to your front as he sluggishly dug his leg between your thighs, “… I never heard you complaining while you came on my tongue praying my name or my husband's," he reminded you of your own sins and how gladly you committed the crimes that now you threw at his face. You squirmed and trashed under him, and he grinned pleased, slowly beginning to sway his leg, back and forward, to spark alive that sensitive bundle of nerves that drive you feral. It was amusing how Suguru couldn't tell if the blush on your cheeks was from shame or anger, “—or when Satoru buried his long, fat cock deep inside this slutty ass…” his big, powerful hand squeezed your buttcheek until the fat slip between his fingers and you had to bite your lip to contain the needy moan. Suguru Geto chuckled, low and darkly. "...Right now, I don't hear you complaining, on the contrary, you look insurmountably pleased riding my thigh."

You whimpered and nodded, unable to form words when your lips were stuck harshly bitten between your teeth.

“Yeah, thought so.”

Smirking devilishly at having you so easily at his mercy, his thumb worked its cruel intentions replacing his thigh and circled your clit, outrageously delicious. The pathetic gasp he received in turn made him chuckle.

“Does my pretty pup want to come on my thumb?" His thumb pressed harder, and your head fell back, eyes tightly shut. “Somehow you don't strike me as the victim in all of this-”

“I’m—” You practically hiccupped through a whine, eyes squeezed shut, readying yourself to burst, you needed it, you wanted it. This was way more enticing that any other occasion, perhaps, was the fact that it was forbidden... not that it wasn't before but now you could see what was a stake, not only your reputation was on the line this time and that simple fact, was immensely trilling. “Ple—Please Suguru-san....”

Geto's assault continued, he wouldn't deny it, he was pumped, having Megumi and Gojo on the other room while he undid you on his fingers against the kitchen counter had him painfully hard.

"I asked you a question, pup." Pressing his face against your cheek, you felt him grind you harder against the counter, grinning his wicked grin as he brushed up on your clit roughly, it felt unfairly good and you whimpered, like a wounded animal. Your hands crushing the carrots scattered under to resist Geto’s merciless fingering.

You shook your head, you were stubborn and a headstrong, you didn't want to give him the satisfaction. “No—”

“Yes.”

You shook it more vigorously now, and your hands rushed to perch on his strong shoulders for leverage. “No.”

“Yes, pup,” he breathed, laughing. "Such a stubborn pup, we have." He purred, devilishly and you felt like soft, melting butter spread on freshly made bread. “I love Megumi more than I care for my own life—” he stated.

"And I don't care how thrilling it feels," He knew because was experiencing it firsthand, "you're not going to hurt him!" he spat severely and you shook your head, without knowing that he was saying those words to himself, urging himself to behave for his son’s good. "I'll be damn if I let anyone hurt him-"

“I’m not, I love M-Megumi too,” you insisted, eyes wrenching themselves open to look at him. His lips were trembling, out of fury or pleasure you didn’t know. Nevertheless, there was a pinch of wicked amusement in his eye, he couldn´t hide it. Suguru Geto was depravedly amused by the situation he got himself in, guiltily pleased and thrilled, but still remarkably composed for how ruthlessly he was teasing you. “I just–”

He waited; all his attention poured in your next words.

"I just want you and Satoru sensei, so bad-"

He snorted a laugh, and you feared the sound would bring someone upon the spectacle.

“Seriously?” Geto wondered, fingers coiled around your panties and shoved against your heated flesh. Your sultry pussy, wet and welcomingly, warm to his touch.

You nodded, and he shook his head.

"Then why Megumi?" He muttered.

For the first time, though everything up until this point he had felt cruelly driven, your mere presence spring him to action, turning him into this shameless, imitation of a worthy man, who truly only wanted you for himself. He felt his cock twitch, and his mouth water at eye-opening revelation. HIS, you, being his and only his. His pups growing inside your belly, so full of him, branded from the inside out.

After a couple of contemplative seconds, he hummed in denial of his own desires and force himself to forget what he had just learn about himself to instead ask again. "I asked you a question, (Y/N). Why Megumi?"

“I-I” you stuttered, face going hot with embarrassment and guilt, "I couldn't-… I couldn't say no." you finally revealed, hiding behind your eyelids as if it would help mitigate the fluster, you were so fucking close, inching that sweet orgasm with each wicked rub of his masterful fingers… and then he stopped.

Suguru Geto sighed, long and deep, craning his neck so his forehead bumped your shoulder, where ended up depositing a chaste kiss before letting go of you, uncaging you from his massive frame, spined on his heels and pass a hand through his disheveled, long hair, burdensomely.

You were left heaving and panting, sweaty and heated cheeks slowly cooling down at the lack of friction. Your breathing slowly growing normal and even, equally placid as frustrating at not having reach the promised glory.

Your body immediately missed him. The cold he left behind felt wrong, not having him nested between your thighs felt wrong, not having him working your clit while wearing your name out felt nefariously wrong, you wanted him back in your arms… so bad.

"So, you choose him over us." The tall sorcerer snorted a cruel chuckle, his broad back to you, making it impossible for him to see you deny your head. "I get it, Megumi's dangerously handsome for such a timid boy—"

"You are not wrong," you replied, acknowledging his previous statement, and he grinned, defeatedly. "Megumi is dangerously handsome…. but I don't want him," your small hands snaked indiscriminately fearless and possessive around his waist, "I want, and I chose you and Gojo."

His relieved sigh rumbled through his strong back even when the sound never left his mouth. You grinded harder against him and repeated firmer. "You, Gojo and me."

Geto smiled, letting his head fall back and cuddle on the crown of your head.

"You are not just saying what I want to hear, are you, pup?"

You shook your head, hugging him harder and burying your face deeper against his warm back. "I don't want Megumi...-" you made a meaningful pause and Geto waited with the little patience he had left. "—Nevertheless, he wants me."

Geto's eyebrows furrowed and carefully turning around pushed you in all gentleness by the shoulders to look straight at your blushing face.

"Did he finally declare his feelings to you?"

You were surprised when the words left his mouth. Your mind unable to processing what you had just heard.

"D-Did you know?"

COMING SOON PART 4....

⭕️ Find in my PATREON NSFW art from this chapter and more NSFW art of the story and lots of content from JJK, exclusive smut fanfiction and more interesting stuff. ;)

56 notes · View notes

drama-glob · 3 days

Text

Something I'd really like to see (but what probably won't actually happen) is that while Fizz and Blitz talking would be great and is the more probable thing to occur, I'd love to see a talk between Blitz and Ozzie in the fallout of "The Full Moon." One of the main reasons for the breakup up was Blitz not being able to accept that anyone, especially someone like Stolas, could actually care about him or want him for something other than sex/his body, so he reacted accordingly to reflect that ingrained belief and therein lies something that Ozzie for a long period of time has likely thought about himself too before meeting Fizz. Yes, the circumstance aren't the same what with Ozzie being the King of Lust, so he's got power and will want to push his agenda as well as is proud to be desirable/likes how he looks/wants to have sex, but in the thousands of years of existence, there must have been some moments when he's alone (possibly even in bed) and thinking about wanting something more once the heat of a passionate tryst wears off or wanting to talk about his other interests only to have it circles back sex, so it might make wanting to share anything that wasn't related to his sin hard; hell, Ozzie even has a disguise form so as to not draw attention/get ogled as since he can change his size, he could choose to go around as a mini version of himself if it was about fitting into a place, but he doesn't since the point of the form is mainly to not look like himself. :/

Meeting Fizz changed that though, and even if it took time for Ozzie to actually believe Fizz cared about him for more than just sex (since I still feel Fizz is Ozzie's first love), they became so much closer because all the other things they shared/did for each other like Ozzie taking care of Fizz when he was hurt or all the times Fizz made Ozzie laugh. So, it just might be nice for Ozzie to let Blitz know/remind him that while it's scary to be vulnerable, he can still be loved and wanted for more than his body, but only if he let's those walls down and put the work into connecting with the person he's with.

*I'm also all for Stolas and Fizz talking too since Fizz would have several stories of what they did when they were younger like all the times Blitz protected him, what it was like in the circus or some fun times they had to help fill in some of that 25yr gap since Stolas and Blitz saw each other. :)

55 notes · View notes

minniethemoocherda · 21 hours

Text

Saying Something Stupid

I am loving all the Morph's First Pride art that I've been seeing! I am so glad that I am not the only one that has discovered a love for them and this pairing! I can't wait to see more of all you guys' amazing artworks! Xxxxxxx

Ao3

FF.net

"I know it was you."

Morph froze. Between trying to stay alive in that hellscape of a future, taming a feral Wolverine and having to defeat Sinister, again, they'd pushed that moment on Asteroid M to the back of their mind. A part of them had hoped they would never need to think about that moment again. But, as usual, life hadn't worked out in their favour.

"Listen, I'm sorry for eating all your breakfast muffins, but in my defence you were only eating raw meat for a while and they would have gone bad if I hadn't so-"

"Cut the shit Morph." Logan snapped. "We both know that ain't what I'm talking about."

Fuck. Morph was going to be sick. They could feel their stomach literally churning and Morph had never thrown up their own gloop before but they guessed they were about to find out and oh god why were they still making jokes even in their head and-

"Hey! Look at me!" Morph hadn't realised that they had begun glooping until Logan grabbed their arms and neatly squeezed through them. This close, Morph had no choice but to stare at Logan's face to see that the creases of his brow and the sharp squint of his eyes.

They were going to die. Logan was going to kill him. They wished he would.

"I-I'm sorry! I know I shouldn't have done it!" Morph cried. "But you were dying and I-I had to help!"

"That the only reason?" Logan asked and Morph usually prided themselves on the being able to read The Wolverine better than anyone, but for once they had no idea what the expression on his face meant.

Not that it mattered. Logan had been through so much shit since Asteroid M. The fact that he was still sane enough to ask was a miracle. After all that, the least he deserved was the truth.

Morph took a deep shuddering breath.

"No." They confessed, closing their eyes as soon as they did so that they wouldn't have to see the disgust on Logan's face. They had accepted a long time ago that Logan did not love them back. Which was fine. It would have to be. Because they were more than happy to be his friend, his best bud. Even though now, Logan probably never wanted to look at them again let alone be their friend or-

Someone was kissing them. Someone with a stubbled chin, bristled sideburns and slightly too sharp teeth.

Morph opened their eyes. It was Logan. Logan was kissing them. Which, it had to have been, it couldn't have been anyone else. Except at the same time it couldn't possibly be him. Because that didn't make any sense. Logan should hate them right now.

It had to have been a trick. Some cruel hallucination invented by Sinister to create the image of everything they'd ever wanted only to have it ripped away from them.

Then Logan pulled away and Morph was waiting for the big reveal except it never came and then seemingly unaware of their complete mental shutdown Logan started talking.

"I ain't good with words. And I'm still a bit fucked in the head and I've got my own shit to work through." Logan stated. "But, you're still the only one who can make me laugh. The only one who's always been there for me. Who's seen who I am and wants me anyway. So if you want, then I'm willin' to give this a try."

For once Morph was completely speechless. This was not happening. Even Sinister wouldn't be this cruel.

"If this is all some big joke I swear I-"

"Sydney." Logan breathed and Morph themselves forgot how to breath, as Logan moved his hands from their arms to cup their cheeks. "I would never hurt you."

"I can't believe this is happening." Morph admitted, their voice barely more than a whisper.

"What if I did this?" Logan then pulled them closer until once again his lips brushed against theirs. It was softer than the last kiss, which had been a frantic push of mouth and teeth, compared to the now gentle nudge of Logan's lips. This time, Morph allowed themselves to kiss back. Slowly they parted their lips and Logan didn't hesitate to open his in return. They tentatively traced their tongue along the lower length of Logan's teeth. The Wolverine gasped a growl that vibrated through Morph's body straight to their gut.

They needed to hear that sound again. They needed to make Logan make that sound again.

So they swirled their tongue along the tips of his canines which tasted of beer and breakfast and blood and it was beautiful. More than Morph could ever had imagined. Logan growled again, pulling them closer, hungrily deepening the kiss until he was practically devouring them.

Despite the pairs mutant powers, they both still needed to breath. So reluctantly they broke apart to gasp for air.

"Believe me now?" Logan panted through a smug smirk.

"I don't know." Morph teased, looping their arms around the back of his neck. "I think I might need some more convincing."

Logan didn't any other invitation before he pounced.

#morpherine #x men 97 #x men #wolverine #morph #kevin sydney #logan howlett #james logan howlett #morph x men #logan x men #morph x wolverine #morph x logan

40 notes · View notes

am-i-the-asshole-official · 3 days

Note

In an open relationship, AITA if I sleep with my ex who my girlfriend doesn't like?

We're all in our late 20s here. My girlfriend and I are sorta long distance, she works in another state but since we're both from where I'm living, she comes home every month or two. We're in an open relationship, but it's a sex-only thing, no feelings, and only when we're apart. We both have pretty high sex drives. It's been like this since we started dating and everything's fine so far.

The thing is, I had sex with my Ex recently. We broke up several years ago, but we're in the same friend network so we're still familiar with each other. GF doesn't like Ex much, but I never asked why. GF is not part of the friend network, she only meets Ex in gatherings/parties and she's only in there because of me. I never asked because I don't think it's important. It's not like she's actively singling Ex out, there's other people she dislikes that I'm fine with.

Sex with Ex was good. We talked a bit afterwards and she wants to do it again, but I told her I need to think about it. But now I feel really guilty and I'm kinda scared of telling GF? She doesn't like Ex, and while I'm not suddenly in love with Ex or want to date her again, it feels like I'm cheating on GF or betraying her trust somehow and I don't want her to be mad at me. We don't have any policy about telling each other about all of our sexual encounters, but the guilt is pretty heavy whenever I talk to GF.

TLDR: AITA for sleeping with my Ex, who my GF dislikes? Should I tell her about this, even if I'm not planning to sleep with Ex again? I just don't want her to be mad and I thought if I just don't tell her and don't do it again then no one gets hurt, but I feel guilty.

#aita #am i the asshole

99 notes · View notes

deerlino · 23 hours

Text

lost and found.

bang chan x fem!reader / you and chan are about to get married, but the day before the wedding, he just disappears. there’s a note on your bed, and from that point on, everything goes downhill.

additional tags / angst, hurt-comfort, emotional turmoil, wedding jitters, cold feet, open ending, love confessions, pre-wedding drama, visuals (text messages, letter), apologies — 963 words in total.

content warnings / abandonment, lack of communication, commitment issues, panic and anxiety (subtle), facing fears (fear of the future ?), some strong language (cussing), chan’s kind of an asshole (😅)

further notes / writing angst is so much fun, seriously my fave genre ever. 😝 been all about the fluffy stuff lately, but i had to dive back into my roots and whip up some tasty pre-wedding angst. what do you think? i'm totally loving it, heheh. hope you enjoy the ride! <3

The day before your wedding, you can’t help but feel a buzz of excitement and nervousness. You've waited for this moment for so long, and now it's almost here. You and Chan have been inseparable since you met, and tomorrow was supposed to be the start of your forever. But when you wake up that morning, something feels off.

You stretch out your hand, expecting to find Chan beside you, but the bed is cold. Frowning, you sit up, scanning the room for any sign of him. That’s when you see it—a note on his pillow. Your heart sinks as you reach for it, hands trembling.

You stare at the words, not comprehending. Had to leave? What does that even mean? Panic starts to rise in your chest as you read the note over and over again, hoping it will magically change or offer some explanation. But it doesn’t.

You grab your phone and dial his number, but it goes straight to voicemail. “Chan, what the hell is going on? Where are you? Call me back, please,” you plead, trying to keep your voice steady.

Hours pass, and still no word from Chan. You call his friends, his family, anyone who might know where he is, but no one has seen him. Every minute feels like an eternity, and the worry is gnawing at your insides.

By afternoon, your concern turns to anger. How could he do this to you? The day before your wedding, no less. You pace the living room, clutching your phone, willing it to ring. When it finally does, you almost drop it in your haste to answer.

“Hello?”

“Y/N.” It’s Chan’s voice, but it sounds strained.

“Chan! Where are you? What’s going on?” The questions spill out before you can stop them.

“I... I’m sorry, Y/N. I just... I need some time to think.”

“Think? About what? We’re getting married tomorrow!”

There’s a long pause, and you can hear him take a deep breath. “I know. I just... I’m not sure if I’m ready.”

The words hit you like a punch to the gut. “Not ready? Are you fucking kidding me, Chan? We’ve been planning this for months! Why are you doing this now?”

“I didn’t want to hurt you,” he says quietly.

“Well, guess what? You did hurt me. A lot. And you could’ve talked to me instead of just disappearing.”

“I’m so sorry,” he repeats, but it feels hollow. “I just... I need to figure some things out.”

You hang up, tears streaming down your face. Why would he do this to you? You feel a mix of hurt and rage, your emotions swinging wildly. Part of you wants to find him and demand answers, while another part of you just wants to curl up and cry.

The rest of the day is a blur. You cancel the rehearsal dinner, making up excuses for why Chan isn’t there. Your friends and family try to comfort you, but nothing they say can ease the pain.

That night, you lie in bed, staring at the ceiling, replaying every moment you’ve shared with Chan. You wonder where it all went wrong. Was it something you did? Something you said? The uncertainty is maddening.

The next morning, you wake up to a flurry of text messages. One stands out—it’s from Chan.

You hesitate, fingers hovering over the screen. Part of you wants to ignore him, to make him feel the pain you’re feeling. But the other part of you needs answers.

You arrive at the little park where you and Chan have shared so many memories. He’s sitting on the bench, looking more miserable than you’ve ever seen him. When he sees you, he stands up, but you hold up a hand to stop him.

“Just... explain,” you say, keeping your distance.

He takes a deep breath. “I’ve been freaking out, Y/N. The thought of forever, it just... it scared me. I started doubting everything, and I didn’t know how to tell you.”

“So you ran away instead? That’s real mature, Chan.”

“I know, I know. It was stupid. But I love you, and the idea of losing you terrified me even more.”

You can see the sincerity in his eyes, but the hurt is still too fresh. “You could’ve talked to me. We could’ve worked through it together.”

He nods, looking down. “I’m sorry. I should’ve. I was just so scared of disappointing you, of not being enough.”

You step closer, your anger softening a little. “Chan, we’re supposed to be a team. If you’re scared or unsure, you need to tell me. We face things together, remember?”

He looks up, tears in his eyes. “I remember. And I’m so sorry I forgot that. I promise, I’ll never run away again.”

You take a deep breath, the weight of the past day starting to lift. “This isn’t going to be easy, you know. We’ve got a lot to talk about, and it’s going to take time to rebuild that trust.”

“I know. And I’m willing to do whatever it takes,” he says, stepping closer.

You nod, feeling a small glimmer of hope. “Okay. Let’s start with talking.”

You spend the next few hours sitting on that bench, talking about everything. The doubts, the fears, the future. It’s raw and emotional, but it’s also healing. By the end of it, you both feel a bit lighter.

When you finally stand up, Chan reaches for your hand. “So, about that wedding...”

You give him a small smile. “Let’s take it one day at a time. We’ll get there when we’re both ready.”

And for the first time since you found that note, you believe it.

© deerlino (est. 110624) ༯ heyo, did you enjoy this piece? if you did, maybe you could reblog, drop a comment, or shoot me an ask to let me know your thoughts. also, feel free to check out my other stuff! thanks a bunch for the support! <3

40 notes · View notes

zombiigrll · 3 days

Note

Okay, okay, okay. This came to me in a dream, and I think you'd perfectly write this: Prison era. Carl just lost Lori. Y/n comforts Carl with a doll they've carried the whole time and have been known to never let it go but they give it to Carl. <3 please, I am begging on my hands and knees.

──────────────────────────────────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

YOUR DOLL? ⋆｡°✩ carl grimes x reader .ᐟ WORD COUNT .ᐟ ⭑ 1.3K ꩜ .ᐟ WARNINGS ⭑ hurt to comfort, spoilers for the walking dead 3x4, blood/gore-y mentions, death mentions, cursing, arguing, then some fluff :3 .ᐟ SUMMARY .ᐟ ⭑ carl became distant after his mother had died, leaving you, his childhood best-friend, in the dust. but he knew he couldn't get rid of you that easily. ꩜ .ᐟ A/N .ᐟ ⭑ thank you SO MUCH for the request!! this is such a cute idea<3 hope i portrayed it like how you imagined :3 (also i hope you guys like the tiny twdg reference hehe)

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────────────────────────────────────────

walkers had broke into the prison. you were separated from everyone, carl, lori, rick, everyone. you were terrified. sure, you knew how to fight, but you never liked to fight. you always thought too much about it. how the knives felt jabbing through the skulls of walkers who were once humans, how every time you killed another you felt more and more deranged...

but you knew you needed to do it. you didn't want to die, so you had to. the only thing there to comfort you was your doll, clementine. you had her ever since you were born, and you carried her everywhere with you. you were lucky enough to still have her given the current circumstances of the world. you made sure that alongside your knife, you held her tightly in your hand. you backed yourself up into a cell and slammed it shut so the walkers chasing steadily behind you couldn't get in.

you began hyperventilating, looking at the walkers hands grabbing at you from the other side. your eyes began filling up with tears as you squeezed clementine closer to you, leaning your back up against the back wall. you didn't want to die like this, but you stupidly trapped yourself here. you didn't know if those bars could hold that amount of walkers, but you went in there anyways.

tears began flowing out of your eyes as you loudly sobbed, practically screaming to get someone, anyone's, attention. ...and it worked.

"y/n?! oh, shit-" a familiar voice yelled through the prison block, followed by gunshots.

"...glenn?" you sniffled, your eyes widening as you looked around at the sudden openings through the cell bars from the walkers averting their bodies towards the shots.

you quickly bolted up with your knife again to stab the walkers that were still in arms reach in an attempt to help glenn. eventually, he got the rest.

he ran up to the cell and opened it, noticing your bloodied appearance. "are you okay? are you bit?"

"i'm fine, wh..where's carl?" you stuttered, out of breath.

"..i'm not sure. come on." he placed his hand on your shoulder and began walking you out and into the courtyard.

...

as the two of you stepped into the yard, you both noticed carl and maggie walking out, blood on both of their hands. and a baby in maggies.

tears were rolling down both of their faces, except carl had little to no emotion on his.

"carl..?" you called out, stepping closer to him. and all you got in return was a saddened look. "where.. where's lori?"

this caught ricks attention more as he began putting the pieces together. the blood, the baby.. the tears.

your face quickly softened at the realization. you brought a hand up to your face, unsure what to do besides sob.

lori was like a mother figure for you, always helping you while your parents were out working. she's the reason you were still living in the first place.

everyone was crying. glenn was holding maggie, rick was a wreck, no one knew what to do. then rick left. running back to where maggie and carl walked away to find lori.

carl wiped the tears off of his face, which resulted in blood from his hand spreading onto his cheeks. he started walking back to the cell blocks, which caused you to snap back to reality. you put a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to stop him, but he shrugged it off. you stayed standing there, looking at your hand he pushed away then back up at him. you frowned, but you understood. you were like this when you processed you'd never see your mom or dad again.

...

weeks passed. things were fixed.. sort of. carl was still a wreck. he hated talking to anyone. he barely took care of himself. he'd sit in his room, reading, sleeping, or just.. breathing.

he wouldn't talk to you, and as much as you knew it wasn't personal, it still hurt. he should know that out of everyone here, you understood.

but today, you had enough. you weren't going to let him suffer in silence any further.

you walked up to his cell and knocked on the side of the wall to get his attention, which caused him to flinch and look up at you.

"..go away." he murmured.

"carl, i don't want you to go through this by yourself. i want to help." you crossed your arms and leaned against the doorframe, your doll hanging over your pocket.

"i don't need you to help me. i'm not going through anything, i'm fine." he snapped back angrily.

"you're not fine. people who are fine don't sit in their room all day staring blankly at the ceiling." you retort before softening your tone. "..i'm here for you."

this broke him slightly. he sighs and covers his face with his hands before falling back on his bed.

you walk up and sit next to him silently, giving him some time before you speak again. "i know how it feels. well, kind of.. i just want to help you."

"what happened to you that day?" he changes the subject, his hands still covering his face.

"..what?"

"what happened to you when the walkers broke into the prison?" he repeats.

"why are you asking me that?" you raise an eyebrow at him.

"just answer me." his tone turns slightly more demanding. "you were covered in blood."

"oh." you sighed. "a ton of the walkers were chasing me. i killed a couple and their blood splattered on me. i had to run into a cell and lock myself in."

"so you almost got bit?" his voice turned more upset and concerned.

"well, yeah. but i didn't."

he shakes his head and sits back up to look at you. "i should've been there to help you. and even when i saw you covered in blood, i didn't care to ask if you were bit."

"that's okay. i don't mind. you... lost your mom. you weren't thinking straight. i didn't take any offense to it." you reassure him with a smile, which he simply just looks away at.

"i don't understand. why would you want to help me after that?" he asks, his voice slightly cracking.

"because.. i love you?" you chuckle, and he quickly turns his head back to face you again.

"...what?"

"when i realized i was never going to see my parents again, i reacted the same way you did. and you were still there for me. i yelled at you, i pushed you away, you didn't care. you were there for me." you smile, looking down at your hands in your lap. "i love you, carl."

he stares at you, mouth agape, dumbfounded by your words. "like.. how?"

you laughed. "in every way possible." a flush of pink covered both of your faces. as carl processed your words, you took your doll out of your pocket and handed it to him. "here."

"huh?" he grabs clementine and looks at her confused. "...your doll?"

you nod with a bright smile. "mhm. she's gotten me through rough times. maybe.. she can help you, too."

his confused look turns more sweet as he chuckles, holding the doll close. ".. thank you."

"of course." you pull him in for a hug, squeezing him tightly, to which he returns.

"...i love you, too, by the way." he mumbles into your neck.

you chuckle in response, kissing the top of his head. he breaks from the hug and looks at you, his eyes wide.

"did you just kiss me?" his eyebrows raise.

"maybe." you reply in a sing-song tone, a smirk on your lips.

his face turns bright red, to the point where he could pass as a tomato. he averts his eyes before putting his hand up to your cheek, pulling you in for a quick kiss.

as he pulls away, he looks at you softly. his facial expression looked as if nothing else mattered. he was happy, although you couldn't fully tell at first glace. he looked at you like you were a goddess, and he was the luckiest boy in the world. and he finally felt at peace in your soft, comforting arms.

─────────────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────────────────────

#🌙 — maxines fics #carl grimes #carl grimes x reader #carl grimes x y/n #twd #the walking dead #the walking dead imagine #the walking dead oneshot #the walking dead x reader #carl grimes imagine #carl grimes oneshot #hurt to comfort

41 notes · View notes

siriuslysatorusimping · 3 days

Text

Before I Love You - 2: Broken Lens (Gojo Satoru)

It's finally happening. I'm finally posting it. It's part 2 of Before I Love You. In all honesty, I've been writing this since I posted the first part, but I finally nailed it down. But, same as part 1, this is angst with a hopeful ending.

Summary:

“You were a shitty boyfriend.” A frown began to form on his face, but he stayed silent as she continued, “But you were always a good friend. Not surprised you’re a good teacher, too.” He had always been a good friend. Admittedly, he’d been a decent boyfriend before he cheated on her because he was supposedly afraid she was going to break up with him. But that wasn’t really the point. Despite everything, she knew for a fact he was never a bad person. Him caring about his students and their success didn’t surprise her at all, especially after finding out that he’d taken Megumi’s friend under his wing. His being shit at a relationship didn’t make him an inherently bad person. Even at her angriest, she’d never thought that about him. It was one reason she’d missed him so much after everything fell apart. *Also posted on AO3

Part 1 | Kiko's Masterlist

Broken Lens

2017

Her cousin fidgeted in her seat while they watched the game unfold.

“I feel fine,” the teen grumbled petulantly. “I could’ve played–”

“One more game isn’t the end of the world,” Rinko reminded, patting Mai’s knee. “Quit sulking, or I’m not buying you kakigōri after.”

Megumi snorted, rolling his eyes when Mai punched his shoulder.

“Maki’s doing fine,” he pointed out. “If you were out there, it wouldn’t be fair.”

A light tap on her shoulder caused her to turn, her eyebrows rising at the sight of Gojo smiling at her hesitantly. She hadn’t seen him in weeks, not since the day she’d agreed to hear him out. Even though he’d asked if he could sit with her at the soccer game, she hadn’t been surprised when he didn’t show. Part of her assumed she wouldn’t see him again once he realized his apology hadn’t worked like he thought.

“Hey,” he greeted, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “I, uh, had a few things come up for the last couple games. I know– we didn’t make plans or anything, but I– still felt bad because I said I might– but yeah. I– I heard they were good games?”

Mai crossed her arms as she released a frustrated puff of air. They’d both been losses, but closer than they would have been without Maki as the goalie. Rinko flicked her ear.

“Last warning about that pout,” she informed her. Turning back to Gojo, she shrugged. “We didn’t make any plans to meet. You have a life.”

“I also didn’t wanna seem like I’m stalking you,” he joked, rubbing the back of his neck. He pointed to the seat next to her, the question clear in his eyes. “Is it okay if–?”

She shrugged again, scooting closer to Mai to give him room to sit without being too close.

“Hi, Gojo-sensei,” the teen greeted, leaning around Rinko.

“Hey,” he replied, giving her a giant grin. “How’s the ankle?”

His question brought the pout back to her face, her nose scrunching petulantly.

“It’s fine,” she claimed, rolling it a few times. “But–”

“Still tender.” Rinko tucked a stray hair behind her cousin’s ear. “She still has a limp when she tries to run, so she’s sitting one last game out to be safe.”

“I’m fine,” Mai denied, dropping her head back and sighing dramatically. “Doesn’t even hurt–”

“Because you totally weren’t hobbling like a penguin after you tried practicing last week,” Megumi interjected, snickering.

“Shut it!” Mai hissed, elbowing him. “You’re such a jerk. Why are you even here?”

“Because I’m not leaving him alone at my apartment just so you don’t have to deal with him,” Rinko stated drily, sighing at the teens’ bickering.

She’d agreed to let Megumi stay with her while his parents were out of town on an anniversary trip to celebrate their first year of marriage. His step-sister had opted to stay with a friend instead, which she understood since the girl still didn’t really know her yet.

At least Toji and his wife seemed happy. She never thought she’d see him find someone after how devastated he’d been after Megumi’s mom died. Even he had said he couldn’t see himself with anyone else and that his one-year-old son was more than enough to keep his schedule and heart full. But when he’d met his current wife, his tune had slowly begun to change, and Rinko had cackled at the heart-eyed looks he sent in the pretty woman’s direction whenever he saw her.

So, listening to the teenagers argue was a small price to see her broody cousin so happy for the first time in almost thirteen years.

But that didn’t stop her from leveling both of them with a warning glare. They shrank away, and she raised her eyebrows when they each mumbled that the other started it. Sometimes she could swear that Mai and Megumi were siblings with how much they fought.

“They act like siblings,” Gojo mused, practically echoing her own thoughts, and she turned her head to see him watching the exchange in amusement.

“Hardly,” Megumi snapped, rolling his eyes. “She wishes she had a brother as great as me–”

He yelped when Rinko reached around Mai and grabbed his ear, yanking on it.

“Last warning,” she warned firmly before looking back at Gojo. “Cousin’s kid. Toji’s.”

She doubted he remembered Toji since he’d only met him once, very briefly, before they even dated, but she was surprised when he nodded in understanding.

“Big guy, yeah?” he asked. “Paramedic?”

She blinked at him slowly as she wondered how the hell he remembered that.

“Yeah,” she confirmed, clearing her throat.

Their attention moved back to the field when they heard yelling, watching as the ball flew just past Maki’s fingertips.

“Shit!”

Her eyes snapped to Mai’s face as the girl swore, narrowing when she rolled her own.

“It’s normal, Rinko,” she argued. “You can’t tell me you never swore when you were my age.”

“Have you met my mom?” she asked incredulously. “Try that in front of your Aunt Yuzuki next time you see her and see what happens.”

The woman almost never failed to flick her nose or ear hard if she heard her swear. Especially if the words slipped in the bakery.

“Aunt Yuzu would never be upset with me,” Mai stated smugly, and Rinko had to admit that, in most cases, the girl was right. “Or Maki. She loves us too much.”

“She loves my dad, too,” Megumi said, frowning as he watched the ball change possession over and over. “But he says Aunt Yuzu can be pretty scary. He tries not to swear around her.”

True. The first time he had in front of her mother had resulted in the mountain of a man yelping like a small child as the small woman pinched his ear.

“You won’t use that language in my bakery,” she’d ordered, yanking him down to her height so she could glare into his eyes. “Do you hear me, Toji? Absolutely not.”

Her mother was truly a force to be reckoned with when she wanted to be.

“Always liked your mom,” Gojo murmured, giving her a sad smile. “Guessing she’s probably not my biggest fan anymore, though.”

Not exactly, especially since Rinko had burst into the bakery through the back entrance with tears streaming down her face just hours after she and Gojo broke up. The questions of why she wasn’t enough had spilled out before she could stop them, a broken record of grief finally consuming her at the loss of not only her relationship, but also one of her best friends. Her mother had closed the shop early and sat with her, holding her tight as she let herself fall apart.

No, admittedly, Gojo Satoru was one of Kurisaki Yuzuki’s least favorite people.

“You rank higher than Naoya,” she offered quietly, watching him grimace at the mention of her half-brother. There was no point in lying to spare his feelings. “But- that’s probably about it.”

“Fair,” he muttered, running his hand through his hair. “Much as I hate it. Fair.”

2011

“Mom!” she croaked as she slammed the door open, unable to force herself to care about making a scene. It couldn’t be too busy. The holiday rush was over.

“Mom, I need you!”

Yuzuki’s concerned face peeked around the corner from the front, her expression dropping at the sight of her.

“Darling?” she asked, her eyes filling with concern. “Sweetheart, I thought you were in Tokyo–”

She shook her head, the sobs breaking free as she collapsed forward.

“He– Mom, I–”

She felt her mother’s arms around her, pulling her up and ushering her into the small office. Gentle hands pushed her to sit down in the old chair behind the desk.

“I’ll be right back, darling,” Yuzuki murmured, squeezing her. “Just let me close the shop.”

The familiar sense of guilt clawed up her throat, but for once, she found it easy to shove away. She just wanted her mom to hold her and tell her she would be okay. She wanted someone to choose her for once. Even if her mother was the only person who ever would.

Lost in her own mind, she barely noticed her mother slip back into the room. She stood when prompted before crawling onto the woman’s lap, curling in on herself. Burrowing into the comforting embrace, she made no effort to stifle the guttural sobs. A sharp ache had spread through her body, starting in her chest, and she gasped for breath. She swore her lungs would give out.

“Tell me what happened,” her mother whispered, her hand rubbing her back. “What happened, my gem?”

Her jaw trembled as she lifted her head, the words spilling from her as she explained in broken whispers. Forcing herself to vocalize the harsh reality that had all but slapped her in the face the previous evening—to admit that she’d been a fool. The fact that she’d allowed herself to be lied to. That she’d been stupid enough to believe he wanted her.

“Mom,” she choked, her chest aching. “I wanted to believe– I thought that I– why am I not enough?”

The question that sat in the back of her mind her entire life. The question of why she’d never been enough. Why her father chose to discard her before she was even born. Why he had spent the entirety of her adolescence calling her a mistake.

She’d been able to shove the questions down. Ignore them. Pretend that it didn’t matter because things were going well. Because her father had decided she was worth his time. Because she had a boyfriend who cared about her. Had chosen her.

She’d let herself believe she was enough.

Life was quick to remind her that despite what she might think, she would always just be an unwanted mistake. To remind her that in the end, she would be discarded and forgotten.

“You are enough, my gem,” Yuzuki murmured, running her fingers through her hair. “More than enough. You are my most wonderful blessing. And just because someone else doesn’t see your worth does not mean that you are any less.” She wiped her tears, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Do not let someone else’s broken lens distort your view of yourself.”

“It hurts, Mom,” she cried. She clutched her chest, desperately wishing she could reach inside and rip out whatever was causing the excruciating pain. “Why does it hurt so much? Why won’t it go away?”

“Because you’re heartbroken, darling,” her mother replied sadly. “I know it hurts. I know it does. And I wish I could take it away from you so you didn’t have to feel this way. But it will go away. Just give yourself time.”

2017

They watched as Maki dove to stop the ball, her fingertips catching it just in time to stop it from going in. As she threw it back into play, Mai’s breath hitched, stress clear on her face as she watched her twin play.

“Deep breaths,” Rinko urged, rubbing her back. “I know you want to be out there.”

Maki wanted her there, too. They both played better when the other was on the field with them. The pouts she received that morning as they complained were more evidence of how much they relied on each other.

“If we lose, Maki’s gonna blame herself,” Mai mumbled, a deep frown causing her forehead to crease. “And it’s not her fault–”

“Not yours, either,” Megumi cut her off. “The team’s gotta be able to win without you sometimes.”

There was the almost scarily mature kid Rinko knew and absolutely adored.

“Plus,” he continued, shrugging, “you wouldn’t play well with a limp, anyway. Then you’d both be blaming yourselves, and you’d probably get hurt again, too.”

“Smart kid,” Gojo noted quietly as Mai let out a reluctant sigh and leaned her head on Megumi’s shoulder. The latter flinched but said nothing else. “How much time has he spent with you?”

A lot, especially since the twins had basically moved in. She hadn’t realized when she moved to Tokyo that she’d end up being the twins’ safe haven, too. It started when the twins begged her to come to their soccer games. Then, they begged her to let them stay the night with her after. From there, they just started showing up any time their parents fought, or they didn’t want to go home.

At this point, they spent more time at her apartment than with their own parents. She kept them safe, fed, and made sure they did their homework, so Ogi stayed off her back. It helped that her father had had a talk with his younger brother.

She’d already spent a lot of time with Megumi and Toji. He’d needed someone to keep an eye on the kid occasionally while he worked, which had been a small motivator for her moving in the first place. He couldn’t take the kid in the ambulance with him, but Rinko’s manager didn’t care if he sat in the breakroom and read a book.

And ate her damn cookies.

Either way, the twins showing up on her doorstep often meant that they spent more time with Megumi and Toji than their father ever intended. It also meant they got to have a cousin closer to their age.

They’d grown close, even if they wouldn’t admit it aloud. The kind of cousins Rinko had wished for when she was their age. While she and Toji had gotten along, their age gap had prevented them from being too close since he’d been married and had Megumi by the time she reached her teens. But he and his first wife had been safe people for her when she had to spend time with her father’s family growing up, and now, she could do the same for the twins. At the very least, she was someone who supported them when it came to chasing their passion.

Mai screamed, startling Rinko from her thoughts in time to see Miwa Kasumi score.

“Let’s fu– GO!” Mai screeched wildly, startling a few people around them. “MIWAA!”

Her heart swelled, watching the teen’s eyes light up excitedly while she cheered for her friend. She needed to see that the entire team didn’t rest on her and Maki’s shoulders.

“Looks like we might have a game on our hands,” Gojo noted. “Miwa is one of the students who asked me to come to that game a few weeks ago. Good kid. Seems a bit ditzy sometimes, but she’s actually really smart.”

Rinko turned to see him grinning at the field, pride clear in his expression. He waved back when the teen acknowledged him after she’d waved at Mai, a clear blush creeping up her neck as she quickly sprinted to rejoin the game.

“Miwa has a crush on Gojo-sensei,” Mai whispered loudly, smirking.

Not surprising. She imagined that most of his students probably had a crush on him. He’d always been one to attract that kind of attention. All he had to do was flash a smile and bat his pretty eyes, and people would turn into mush before him.

She hadn’t been immune to it, either.

“That’s not–” Gojo’s ears turned pink, and he pushed his shades up. “I mean, I don’t encourage– I just wanna support–”

“We know, sensei,” Mai snickered. “Miwa only asked you to come because we’d heard you went to the baseball game to support Muta-senpai and Kamo-senpai. You’re one of the only teachers who will show up. Sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”

His ears went a shade darker as he cleared his throat uncomfortably. He gave Rinko a sheepish smile when Mai’s attention moved back to the game.

“I– I didn’t ask her to– say any of that.” He rubbed the back of his neck as he muttered. “I promise I’m not–”

“You were a shitty boyfriend,” she cut him off, speaking quietly so the kids wouldn’t hear. A frown began to form on his face, but he stayed silent as she continued, “But you were always a good friend. Not surprised you’re a good teacher, too.”

He had always been a good friend. Admittedly, he’d been a decent boyfriend before he cheated on her because he was supposedly afraid she was going to break up with him. But that wasn’t really the point. Despite everything, she knew for a fact he was never a bad person. Him caring about his students and their success didn’t surprise her at all, especially after finding out that he’d taken Megumi’s friend under his wing.

His being shit at a relationship didn’t make him an inherently bad person. Even at her angriest, she’d never thought that about him. It was one reason she’d missed him so much after everything fell apart.

A small, hesitant smile overtook the frown, and he nodded slightly.

“I– I try to be,” he murmured, moving his gaze back to the field. “Just– wanna be a good influence for ‘em. And I– yeah. I try to be a good teacher. Worked on– a few things over the years. For– me. Like to think I’m better than I was in college.”

2011

“You need to sleep.”

She nodded absently as she stared down at her notes, her bottom lip firmly between her teeth while she tried to commit the definitions for endomysium and perimysium and epimysium to heart.

“Rinko-chan.” Gojo’s upside-down face crowded her vision when he leaned over her from behind, his eyes boring into hers. “I saw you sitting here twelve hours ago and you look like you haven’t moved once. Have you eaten today?”

She blinked slowly, letting his words sink in. Twelve hours? Impossible. She’d sat down in the little study nook maybe an hour ago. Glancing at the clock on the wall, she scowled when she saw he was right, she’d been there all day.

Finals were going to kill her.

“Take that look as a ‘no,’” Gojo concluded, closing her books and pulling her to her feet. “You’re not gonna learn that shit by staring at it until you go blind.”

“Not how that works,” she countered, rolling her tired eyes. “Gojo, I need to–”

“When was the last time you ate?” he asked sternly, his eyes narrowing at her when she shrugged. “Thought so.”

“I need to–”

“Eat,” he snapped, shoving her things in her backpack and heaving it over his shoulder. “And sleep.” He grabbed her wrist and began dragging her out of the library. “You’re as hopeless as Shoko sometimes. You won’t pass except out during your exams if you keep this up.”

While he had a point, it seemed rich coming from someone who had a near-photographic memory.

“You don’t even have to study,” she whined petulantly, leaning onto him as his arm wrapped around her waist. “S’not fair, ya know. The rest of us have to cram–”

“You’re smarter than you think,” he argued, rolling his eyes. “You’re gonna be fine. But only if you don’t starve yourself first. Crazy to me that someone who loves food so fuckin much would go so long without it like this.”

As they exited the library into the cool night air, her stomach growled.

“Can we–”

“Ramen, yeah,” he cut her off, grinning when she perked up. “That place you love so much that’s open late? The others said they’d meet us there once I dragged you outta your little study cave.”

2017

Warmth and excitement swirled in Rinko’s chest as she stood on the platform, the twins bouncing excitedly beside her.

Right on time, the train came to a stop, passengers slowly exiting to the sound of the monotone automated voice thanking them for trusting them with their travels.

“I see her!” Maki exclaimed.

Her mother emerged swiftly, a grin on her face, her bag over her shoulder, and her eyes searching for them through the crowd of people.

“Aunt Yuzu!”

The twins darted forward, almost tackling her to the ground.

“My sweet girls!” Yuzuki cried happily. “It’s so good to see you, dears.”

Rinko couldn’t keep the smile from her own face as they approached.

“How was the trip?” she asked, taking her mother’s bag and slinging it over her own shoulder. “No issues?”

“None at all,” the woman replied, releasing the twins and enveloping her in a tight hug. “Hi, my gem.”

“Hi, Mom,” she murmured, relaxing into her embrace. No matter how much time passed, her mother would always be home for her. “It’s good to see you.”

Yuzuki tucked a strand of hair behind Rinko’s ear as she leaned away, her hand resting on her cheek while her sharp eyes assessed her.

“It’s good to see you, too, my gem. You look well.”

“Thanks for coming all this way.”

“Anything for my most wonderful blessing,” her mother hummed, turning back to the twins. “And my favorite girls!” She squeezed them tightly. “Are my little bakers ready for this weekend?”

“Of course,” Maki replied as they led the way out of the station.

“Thanks to you, the soccer team’s booth will be everyone’s favorite!” Mai gushed. “No one else stands a chance.”

“It’s not actually a competition,” Rinko called. “And this isn’t an excuse for the two of you to just eat your weight in cookies, either.”

“Don’t worry,” Maki replied, turning to walk backward. “We’ll only eat half our weight!”

Yuzuki snickered, meeting Rinko’s eyes briefly.

“Oh, my gem, you’ve taught them so well.”

The twins flit around her kitchen, following her mother’s instructions while they prepared enough cookies to feed armies.

“You’re doing wonderful,” Yuzuki praised, watching Mai mix the dough for the matcha cookies.

Maki retrieved a pan from the oven, an excited grin on her face as she picked up a miso peanut butter cookie from the tray and took a large bite.

“At least wait until after dinner,” Rinko scolded lightly, sighing when Mai grabbed a cookie as well. “Or not.”

“They’re too good not to eat at least one while they’re fresh,” Maki argued, huffing slightly when she burned her tongue. “You’re coming by tomorrow, right? Both of you?”

“Of course,” Yuzuki replied. “I wouldn’t miss getting to see you celebrating all this hard work.”

“Before I go to work,” Rinko confirmed. She couldn’t take another day off after she’d taken the entire weekend so she could be home to help with the baking. “I’ll be there.”

“You should give Gojo-sensei some cookies!” Mai exclaimed with her mouth full. “Miwa says he’s got a pretty big sweet tooth.”

Rinko tensed, avoiding her mother’s questioning eyes as she narrowed her own at Mai. She hadn’t mentioned Gojo to her mother, and she’d hoped that he would never come up in the conversation, but she knew better. The chances of her mother not running into him at the festival tomorrow were slim, especially since he would check the twins’ booth at Miwa’s request.

“I don’t see why I would–”

“Because he always sits with you at our soccer games,” Maki interjected, grinning widely as she addressed Yuzuki. “One of the teachers at our school has a huge crush on Rinko.”

“Huge,” Mai agreed dramatically. “You should see the way he looks at her–”

“That’s enough,” Rinko ordered. She pinched the bridge of her nose. “We’re not talking about this.”

The twins didn’t know the extent of her history with Gojo, and she had no intention of telling them, either. They didn’t need their image of him shattered. But they noticed that Gojo had started attending their games more often and always chose to sit with her, and they refused to let it go.

“But–”

“I’m not giving your teacher cookies,” Rinko snapped, clenching her jaw. The twins deflated slightly at her tone, and she released a heavy sigh. “I can’t be there long, anyway. I’ll only have time to drop by your booth before I have to get to work.”

Her mother hummed quietly while they cleaned her kitchen after their baking marathon.

The twins were fast asleep on their futons in the living room, their quiet snores telling Rinko how exhausted they truly were.

“So,” Yuzuki began, side-eyeing her carefully, “Gojo Satoru is a teacher now, hm?”

Rinko sighed, she knew this was coming.

“Apparently,” she replied hesitantly. “Ran into him at one of their games a few months ago.” She waited for her mother to speak, fidgeting uncomfortably with the sponge in her hands. “Look, I know what you’re gonna say–”

“I don’t tell you how to live your life,” Yuzuki stated calmly. “Or who to spend your time with. You’re an adult–”

“I’m not getting back together with him.” Finally meeting her mother’s eyes, Rinko silently pleaded with her to understand. “I’m not. This isn’t– he wanted to apologize when he saw me, but he knows that it doesn’t erase what happened. He sits beside me sometimes at their soccer games, but it’s nothing more than that. I just–”

“You’ve missed your friend,” her mother whispered, giving her a sad smile. “I know, sweetheart. He was your friend first before everything happened. Just– I’m so proud of the woman you’ve grown into over the years, and I just– I worry about you spending time with someone who hurt you so deeply. I don’t ever want anyone to make you question your worth like that ever again.”

Rinko couldn’t blame her mother for her concern. Not after the countless quiet mornings they’d spent in the bakery together, where her mother helped her learn how to mend her broken heart. The too-early hours when they giggled and joked as they prepared to open the bakery, the late nights where she sobbed uncontrollably in her mother’s arms when it became too much. When she slowly began finding herself and who she wanted to be. Those moments that had cemented themselves as some of her most favorite memories. Some of the best and worst times of her life. She learned about herself, learned about her mother, and they’d grown so much closer because of it.

Yuzuki released a deep sigh, wrapping her arms around her and tucking her hair behind her ear.

“It would make me a hypocrite to tell you that you’re wrong for allowing him a chance to apologize,” she mused. “Since I convinced you to give your father a chance to make things right, and that ended up being for the better. Just– just make sure that your lens stays intact, my gem.”

“I will, Mom,” she promised, leaning her head on her shoulder. “I know who I am now. I won’t let someone else change that again.”

It had taken her a long time, but she’d finally realized that the way others treated her wasn’t her fault. The way her father discarded her when she was a child wasn’t on her. The fact that Gojo had been too much of a coward to talk to her instead of seeking out someone else to boost his own ego hadn’t been on her.

Not only that, but if she really thought about it, she hadn’t been ready for that relationship, either—not really. They’d both still had so much growing up left to do.

She could almost say she was grateful because she’d been forced to dig deep and, in her mother’s words, repair her lens.

The trouble now was making sure she didn’t let someone else crack it again.

2012

“Pass me the bench scraper, darling.”

She pursed her lips and handed her mother the tool, watching as she expertly sliced the cookies from the cold log of dough.

Working in the bakery more often had served as a great distraction. Helping out during a rush was never the same as the relaxed early mornings they had before they opened. She’d come to look forward to the quiet moments again. The pot of hot tea soothed her mind as she sipped idly, listening to the consistent thud of her mother cutting the cookie dough.

“How was dinner with your father?” Yuzuki asked, her gentle voice melding with the methodical tapping as she cut the butter cookies.

Dinner with her father had become a monthly occurrence. He’d agreed to take turns between Tokyo and Kyoto, and the previous weekend had once again been her turn to travel. She’d finally reached the point where the train ride didn’t feel like she was ripping her chest open with the memory of that first dinner months ago.

“Not so bad,” she admitted reluctantly. “Naoya’s still a little shit — I won’t change my opinion on that — but Naobito can be… tolerable, I guess.”

“Well,” Yuzuki grinned mischievously as she spoke, wiping a bit of flour on her nose. “Noaya has always been a little shit, darling.”

“Mom,” she gasped dramatically, grabbing a towel and cleaning her face. “I can’t believe you’d use that language in your bakery!”

They dissolved into giggles, completely ignoring that she had sworn first.

When they finally calmed down, their chests heaving as they caught their breath, she leaned her head on her mother’s shoulder. An overwhelming warmth filled her chest when her mother’s arms wrapped around her, squeezing lightly.

It was almost five in the morning. They would be opening in a little over an hour, and the scent of fresh bread had already begun to fill the air. Her stomach growled at the thought of the croissants her mother would half-heartedly scold her for swiping. She couldn’t think of anywhere she’d rather be than right here.

“Hey, Mom?”

“Hm?” Yuzuki ran her fingers through Rinko’s hair, giggling again when her face scrunched at the streaks of flour left behind. “Yes, my gem?”

“I love you,” Rinko replied quietly, hugging her tight. “I dunno what I’d do without you.”

“I love you too, sweetheart,” her mother hummed in response, her grin softening. “And I hope you never have to find out.”

2017

Satoru took a deep breath, forcing his legs to keep walking as he approached the booth set up by the girl’s soccer team.

His students mentioned that the Zenin twins brought enough cookies to feed the entire school, and he knew that likely meant that they’d gotten some help. With how close the two were to Rinko, there was only one person who made sense to help them make upwards of ten dozen cookies. A familiar scent filled his nose, and his chest tightened at the sight of a woman he hadn’t seen in almost six years.

“Gojo-sensei!” Miwa Kasumi exclaimed. “You made it! What do you think of our booth?”

“Looks great,” he replied honestly, nodding toward the decorations. His eyes didn’t stray from the woman who turned slowly to give him a skeptical look. “Did a great job. And everyone’s talkin’ about the sweets you’ve got, too.”

“Gojo Satoru.” Kurisaki Yuzuki stared at him, a strained smile on her face as her eyes seemed to stare straight through him.

He saw no sign of Rinko, which likely meant she was at work. She wouldn’t miss something like this for the twins.

“Kurisaki-sama,” he greeted, shoving his hands in his pockets. “When my students said that the Zenin twins brought cookies, I figured you had to have something to do with it.”

“Oh, they did all the hard work,” Yuzuki replied. She crossed her arms. “My daughter, too. I assume you’ll want some of the caramel miso butter cookies? Those were your favorite if I remember correctly.”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “It’s, uh, it’s good to see you–”

“Gojo-sensei,” Mai interjected, holding a bag of cookies out for him. “My cousin asked me to–”

“Mai,” Yuzuki cut her off, her gaze turning sharp. “Don’t lie to your teacher.”

The girl flinched, pouting at the woman dramatically.

“Fine,” she mumbled, shoving the cookies toward him anyway. “Here are your cookies, Gojo-sensei.”

He picked them up awkwardly, clearing his throat as he summoned the courage to speak again.

“Thanks,” he managed, meeting Yuzuki’s eyes again. “I– how’s the bakery doing?”

“You know about the bakery, Gojo-sensei?” Miwa asked, her eyes widening.

“I went to school in Kyoto,” he informed the teen, knowing he was digging a hole for himself. He doubted the twins knew he and Rinko had dated, and he hoped they didn’t know that he’d fucked up so catastrophically with her. “Kurisaki-sama’s bakery is close to campus, and–”

“And his friend group overlapped with my daughter’s,” Yuzuki finished lightly. “My bakery is doing great, Satoru. Thank you for asking. I heard that you’ve been attending my girls’ soccer games lately.”

It was entirely possible that he imagined the threat in her tone, but he knew better.

“Yeah,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his head. “It’s been nice getting to catch up with Rinko, too. Great getting to see an old friend.”

Yuzuki’s eyes narrowed, and he took a deep breath.

“I, uh, you really like tea, right?” he asked. “The volleyball team set up a tea shop as their booth. I could show you?”

Part of him hoped she’d refuse, but he knew that would be the coward’s way out. He had to face her and let her know that he understood the weight of his mistakes. Even though he knew that she would likely never forgive him, he needed to do the right thing. On top of that, he needed to quit deluding himself with the hope that apologizing to Rinko —and her mother— would somehow earn him a second chance he knew he didn’t deserve. But that didn’t change that he needed to apologize because it was the right thing to do. Face his fears and own up to his actions.

“That’d be lovely,” Yuzuki agreed. “I’ll be back in a bit, girls.”

She didn’t speak again as they sat down, her mouth set in a frown while she watched him carefully. The silence unnerved him, and he ran his hand through his hair as their tea was placed in front of them.

“I can’t imagine what you think I might want to hear from you, Satoru,” she remarked after she’d taken a sip.

“For one, I thought you might want to– I could tell you were holding back in front of the twins, so I wanted to give you the chance to– I know you probably have some choice words for me–”

“‘Choice words’ would be an understatement,” Yuzuki cut him off. Her glare felt like it would burn him alive. “You deserve much worse than choice words after what you did. The fact that you have the audacity to sit across from me so casually is truly astounding.”

He felt anything but casual while he fought the instinct to get out as fast as possible.

“You were one of her best friends,” Yuzuki continued. “Do you understand what that meant? Do you understand how badly you hurt her? You didn’t just break her heart, you betrayed her trust as her friend, too. She trusted you, Satoru. She let herself believe in you, and you proved yourself completely unworthy of that trust.”

Of course he knew. He’d lost one of his best friends. His selfishness had cost him one of his favorite people in the world, something he’d felt in his soul the moment he’d seen her with her father that night in the restaurant. When he’d felt his chest ache at the sight of her the next morning, clearly trying not to let him see her cry and his world really crashed down around him.

“-or was that the mistake? Me?”

No, she wasn’t the mistake. The mistake had been doubting her for even a second, and he’d regretted it from the moment he’d realized what he’d done. He’d thought that her visiting Tokyo without telling him had confirmed his fears. Thought that it proved she was going to break up with him until he got home to find her bag in his room. He still remembered the guilt choking him when his mother told him she’d been planning on surprising him until something came up.

He’d been too much of a coward to admit to his mother that the something was him being a fucking idiot and ruining everything.

“I– I know that words will never make up for what I did,” he finally whispered, staring at the table. “But I am sorry that I hurt her, for how I hurt her. It’s still one of my biggest regrets.”

Yuzuki said nothing, and he took a slow sip of his tea while he waited for her to speak. He didn’t expect her to believe him, but at least he’d said his peace.

She set her tea back down, her quiet sigh reaching his ears.

“You’ve obviously grown quite a bit since the last time I saw you,” she began carefully. “I can tell that you’re sincere in your apology, too.” She took a deep breath. “But I don’t forgive you, Satoru.”

He nodded, lifting his eyes to hers again.

“I know,” he admitted, still feeling his heart sink in his chest at her words. He did know she wouldn’t forgive him, but it didn’t make it any easier to hear. “I just– I wanted to do the right thing, even if it’s too late. She– both of you– deserve that much after what I did.”

“I don’t need anything from you,” she replied evenly, crossing her arms. “But I can appreciate the effort, I suppose.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “What is it that you want from me?”

“You’ve already given it,” he told her, letting his shoulders sag. “You listened. I don’t– you’ve already given more than I expected, honestly. I’m– I can be content just knowing that I at least apologized and took responsibility for what I did.”

He wanted another chance with Rinko, but he knew that wasn’t something Yuzuki could even offer. He also knew that he didn’t deserve it anyway. He had to be okay with knowing there were some mistakes that couldn’t be fixed.

“I can’t control my daughter, nor do I try to.” Yuzuki released a heavy sigh. “She’s capable of making her own decisions and knowing how to take care of herself. I can respect that she’s allowed you to have a small space in her life again. But know this, Satoru-” she leaned forward, her eyes boring into his- “if you ever break her heart again in any way, I will send Toji after you.”

From the look in her eye, he knew that Toji would be the least of his worries.

AN: I hope this sheds just a bit of light on Gojo's mindset, how Rinko dealt with things, and how much she's grown as a person. While Gojo fucked up BIG TIME, his mistake years ago doesn't mean he's a bad person, and it also doesn't mean he was a bad person then, either. People make mistakes. They do things they shouldn't, and sometimes those things are worse than others. But it's how they react afterward that matters. It's important that he's facing his mistakes and owning up to them, even though he knows that doesn't mean he'll have another chance with Rinko.

I might post an author discussion about this story because I have so many thoughts about how I want it to develop if I continue it. I'd also kinda like to discuss the overall theme of the story, which is really self-discovery and healing. We'd be following Rinko's journey to learning to love herself no matter what happens.

#gojo satoru x original female character #gojo x reader #gojo and rinko #gojo angst #gojo and rinko angst #goinko angst #goinko au #before i love you #gojo satoru fanfic #gojo fanfic #gojo satoru #jujutsu gojo #jjk fanfic #gojo satoru angst #jjk angst

40 notes · View notes