#and you go GOOD LUCK WITH WH- and then somehow you end up sleeping with god. sorta. hes sorta god. its a Thing | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

yulin-pop · 1 year

Text

⤷ ✧ The Trapped Princess of Twisted Wonderland

Fem reader

- order 70 | Series

Previous chapter

Just like in the last world you were in, a carriage would come to take you there. Before possessing this body, the letter arrive with all the information. Many of the servants and even your parents got emotional.

“Promise me you will make the most out of this!”

“Lady [Name]… Must you go?!”

“Come visit anytime you can, we will miss you.”

“Good luck!!”

Lots of tears were shed that night. All you had to do was go to bed and you’d wake up in Night Raven all over again. You weren’t sure how to occupy yourself in the mean time.

The room was rather barren now that all your personal belongings were packed away. Well, “your” belongings. You had a small bag of stuff to keep close to you. You opened it up and took out the diary. You used a small lamp to illuminate the book.

There were many pages. Makes sense since she seemed to write almost everyday. The entries were short but slowly got longer. You read up until the most recent entry.

The issue you knew you were gonna have is picking up on customs and etiquette of a princess. “Your” parents scolded you endlessly on not acting like a fool in front of the princes at Night Raven.

How different will they act? This is still Twisted Wonderland but different. Ace, for example, will he still be snarky and rude? Not only that, will you be able to befriend him? Will Grim be there?

If you were gonna end up like this, you should’ve just stayed in that world.

All the regretful thoughts you had made you drowsy. You put the book back into the bag and went back under the covers of the bed.

You wondered if things would repeat itself, if so then it’s almost like you have an insight on the future down to every last second.

Somehow, you were able to find yourself a moment to forget it all and just sleep like it was any other day.

—

You opened your eyes to a dark box. You immediately felt that sense of deja vu. There was some brief fumbling and everything around you started to heat up. Then, you heard that voice.

The lid of the coffin popped off and you saw a familiar room with many, many coffins.

The cat screamed some familiar words. “Why are you up?! Wh-why are you staring at me like that?”

“Too many questions. I know what you want and I can give it to you if you just behave!” You grabbed him and covered his mouth.

He resisted and tried to break away from you, that was predictable enough. Flames flared up and wisped against the robes.

He managed to shake off your grip just an enough to bite down in your hand with all strength.

“Y-you’re weird!” He tried to scurry away from you but you yanked on his tail.

“Look at yourself first.”

The tables turned as he tried to run away from you this time around.

You looked around and waited on “it” to appear. While wrestling him, you glanced around the room. You saw a shadow cast over you and you quickly jumped away as Crowley swung his whip at Grim.

There he is. You didn’t end up in the library like last time but you’re in the courtyard.

“Ow! What’s with this rope?!” Grim struggled to break free and while Crowley was still focused on him, you covered your face with your hood and stood up.

“This is no mere rope. It is a lash of love! Ah there you are. You’re one of the new students.”

The familiar set of words left you a little bit surprised. Isn’t this word for word what he said in the other world.

“How could you do that? It is very dangerous leaving the gate in your own. Who knows what could’ve happened, young man.” He pat your shoulder.

You couldn’t understand why he was being nicer but soon you realized that he’s deals with princes and princesses from powerful families. If he happened to be impolite, he would have to pay the costs. He didn’t seem to notice you were actually a girl.

“I’m sorry.” You quietly muttered. “It won’t happen again, sir.”

“No matter now. Please control your familiar from now on. This is a school, after all.”

“I’m not their familiar!” Grim screeched and you quickly crouched down and whispered something to him.

“Just play along and you’ll get what you want…” He gave you a strange look before continuing to scream again.

“No way!”

You sighed, then faced the Headmage again, “The entrance ceremony is already well underway. Let’s head to the Hall of Mirrors.”

You glanced around the place and didn’t notice anything different besides interesting flowers planted along the walkway.

“Uh sir, do you think there’s other universes just like this one?” You couldn’t help but ask. To him, you’d probably just sound like a curious little kid.

He laughed, “A theorist I see? You’ll only learn the truth about this world and perhaps others as you learn here at Night Raven—“

“I’m free!”

The little feline jumped for joy and speeded ahead of both of you towards the Hall of Mirrors.

Crowley picked up the whip Grim managed to slip out of and chased after him. You couldn’t say you were all that surprised and followed after him behind Crowley.

The chaos ensued just as expected just a little bit different as you mainly stayed out of it. The chase with Riddle and Azul then Grim was eventually captured and brought to you again.

“Oh, he is not my familiar. I am very fond of animals but clearly he is not the brightest one.” You usually wouldn’t say that but Grim really did deserve it.

“Oh my… Some help please? Take this creature off of school premises.” With the clap of his hand, a shadowy figure appeared and lifted him up.

After struggling for a bit, he shouted. “I’m going to… I will become the greatest magician ever!” After that last dramatic statement, the door shut.

It took a while for the housewardens to settle down the new students but eventually they reached a point where they were quiet enough to hear the directions given out.

The housewardens began the walk back to their dorms and all the students followed behind with excitement in each step. Once the room was emptied out, you turned to the mirror.

“Ah, that’s right. You haven’t been assigned a dorm? Please, step up.” He righteously said.

You didn’t exactly register his words but did as he said. You stared directly into the mirror as it stared back at you.

“M-mirror! Can you tell?” You asked, leaving Crowley confused by your shouting.

“Yes, you… You are unusual. I see a soul with misplaced magic.” It spoke back with an expression that showed discomfort. “Magic that does not belong to you.”

My soul must’ve carried through but the magic stayed? You stepped forward, “Can fix it? Will you be able to put me back…?”

Crowley stood behind, “What is the meaning of this, Mirror?”

“This being’s soul does not match the energy of magic they have. Almost as if it was stolen.”

Crowley turned to you for an explanation. You were reluctant but you realized there was no getting out of this.

—

“I-is that so? I have never heard of this happening before. The soul being transferred into another body in a different world? It almost sounds like fiction.”

You decided to leave out the part that you came from another Twisted Wonderland and just stuck with being from Earth. It would over complicate things and it would be even harder to believe.

“I must say, I am at a loss for words here. So you’re saying your soul was placed into [Name] Emprithea’s body? Then where is Lady Emprithea’s soul?!” He wondered to himself as it drove him into crazy just thinking about this situation. “Do your parents— Errrr King and Queen Emprithea even know about this?”

You shook your head. Thinking about it, they would’ve made the situation worse anyway.

“I suppose it is my responsibility as Headmage to figure this out.” He only said that because of the desperate look on your face. He really can’t say no because of his consciousness and maybe even his morals. “I’m rather kind— maybe even too kind for this world!” But he is still Crowley… “This is not to get out to the public. I’m sure you understand that even if you are not the princess. You must continue to act in her place until I figure out how you get you home.”

Acting as a princess is not easy task just by the sound of it. Then again, this is school and away from public eye technically.

—

Crowley placed you in a separate room for the time being. You were away from any of the dorms. You didn’t even get to see if Ace or Deuce were there. But now you were curious about Grim. There’s no Ramshackle Dorm to run to… He most likely found his way back into the campus at the very least.

You looked out the window, you had a good view over the campus because you were in one of the towers. Presumably an unused room because of how dusty everything is. The window was opened to let some fresh air in.

You wondered a lot. How were things with everyone else? You didn’t realize when but you eventually started to miss the people in Twisted Wonderland rather than your original world.

You just sat on the floor and pondered everything.

You heard some groaning and some fumbling around, then you realized there was a feral animal climbing into your window. You were mostly surprised by his dedication.

Things went differently but always ended up the same in the end. Maybe this world wasn’t all that different from the last.

Instead of being surprised, you helped Grim up and held him in your arms.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?”

“Doing you a favor.” You continued to hold him rather than putting him down. “Use your magic and I’ll call the Headmage.”

“You have some nerve threatening me!” Grim exclaimed while struggling to escape your grasp. After a few minutes of flailing helplessly he gave up.

“I have a deal to make with you. You can stay here and attend classes if you act as my familiar. It’s not against the school rules to bring familiars.” You knew Grim didn’t trust you at all so you have to be very exact with your words.

“No way! A great magician such as me will never be your familiar.”

“Just act then. Trust me I don’t want you as a familiar either.” You humbled him quickly. “You get to attend Night Raven, isn’t that what you want?”

“Well obviously you want something in return, what is it?”

“Nothing.”

He didn’t believe you at first but eventually he was able to tell you were dead serious. He didn’t understand why you would do something like that for no reason. You were either really sympathetic or really naïve.

You set him down and held you hand out. “Shake my hand, Grim, and we have a deal.” You probably would’ve made him write it down on a piece of paper but there’s no pen or paper anywhere. He raised his paw and set it into your palm.

“I can’t believe it was that easy…” Grim was a bit perplexed. “Wait… how did you know my name?!”

“You said it earlier.”

“I did?”

“Yep?”

“I don’t remember that.”

“Well you did.”

You had to check in with Crowley and convince him to allow Grim to attend classes. It was one hell of an argument but eventually you were able to include Grim like a plus one.

Befriending Grim, check. The next challenge is… Ace Trappola. A challenge you face sooner than expected.

Next chapter ➯

#twisted wonderland x reader #twisted wonderland #twst x reader #twst #deuce spade x reader #ace trappola x reader

124 notes · View notes

almost-correct-quotes · 8 months

Text

awkward love and seeing stars

reverie audios, cyril x listener

tags: no warnings, fluff/humor, altair friendly, current time, 800~ wordcount

AN: title from yes (or no) by bug hunter. fully inspired by a one-off line from a roman audio

Cyril’s hunched over, messing with the password-protected lock. It’s embarrassing enough, forgetting the code, he doesn’t want to have to ask Roman to let him into his lab. Besides, it’s late, he might end up waking up the inventor. Cyril might be a bit of an ass, but he’s not going to deprive someone of sleep just because he left something in their space.

He’s focused on trying to bypass the code when he gets nearly startled out of his skin.

“Hey there.”

Whipping around, he splutters, “You- wh- why-”

“Take your time.”

His menace of a partner is grinning like the cat that caught the canary, clearly very pleased with themself to have caught him this off guard.

“Why did you sneak up on me like that like a- a creep?” He’s reminded thoroughly of the time they broke into his office to watch him sleep. Yeah, he has good taste.

“I saw you struggling with the lock. Watched that for a while, decided to take pity on you,” they say with a smile.

“Well, as far as I know, you’ve no reason to know the code. Wait, you’ve been watching me all this time?”

“Not long,” they grin, echoing their past self. “And I don’t need to know the code. Move?”

He complies. It’s not as if he was having much luck by himself, might as well let them try. His pride was already wounded enough when they snuck up on him.

He’s… honestly not sure what they did, beside for fiddle with it for a few seconds and press their ear to the lock, but it works. They push the door open with a self-satisfied smile, doing a dramatic half-bow as they gesture for Cyril to enter. What a loser, Cyril thinks affectionately.

“How did you- why do you-” he says, floored. Knowing they can pick locks is different than seeing them do it in person.

“‘Cause it’s useful. Clearly,” they say with a little laugh.

They follow Cyril into the lab.

“Why’d you need to get into here, anyway? ‘S past working hours.”

Ignoring their question, Cyril responds, “It’s Roman — that time-traveler I told you about? — his lab.”

“I gathered from the, uh. What is all this?”

“I told you he was eccentric. He’s an inventor. I don’t know what most of this is, to be honest. I just need to find my- thing. That I left in here.”

Cyril does a light search of the lab while pointedly ignoring their interest in what it is he forgot.

“...You probably shouldn’t touch any of the machines. I don’t think Roman would make anything dangerous — on purpose — but knowing you, it’d blow up somehow.”

They huff a laugh. “You need help? Again?”

“No, I can find it.”

“What’re you even looking for?” They’re sitting on the corner of the table, resting back on their palms as they watch him search.

“It’s personal.”

They back off the topic in an instant with a familiar puppy-dog pout. At the look on their face, he relents, “Hmph. Fine. It’s some notes, a few pages, says ‘to burn’ on the top. Fell out of my folder earlier.”

“I take it you didn't burn them?” they laugh, “Wait, I think I saw that when we came in!”

They vault off the table. By the time he’s done taking in the completely normal way they move, they’re stalking back to him with the papers in hand.

And- oh, shit, they’re reading it.

“Bit less formal than your usual work, isn’t it?”

‘Annoyingly eye-catching’ had never fit them better than now, grinning at him as if they just found out he’d hung the stars. Cyril could swear that their eyes are glowing slightly, the way they do when they’re harnessing magic or feeling particularly strong emotions.

“I didn´t think you´d- anyone would ever read it,” he mutters, more than a bit flustered.

“Well, I dunno about other senior researchers,” they grin, “but I´d rate this pretty highly.”

“You´re gonna lord that promotion over my head forever, aren´t you?”

“Only ´til you catch up to me,” they smirk, before looking back down at the notes.

Eventually, their eyes become fixed on one line.

“‘Not yet’?” they glance back up at him.

“They’re from before- well, just before, really.”

Setting the papers down, they rest their arms around his shoulders, pressing a kiss to his forehead. The easy intimacy in it leaves him reeling.

They pull their head back, gazing into his eyes. “You were an extraordinary showcase of repression, you know?”

“Of course I know- also, you hypocrite!”

“I was very aware of my feelings from- well, from nearly the start. Just didn’t act on ‘em- maybe you’ve got a point there, love.”

‘Love’. Oh, he’s gone for them.

#reverie audios #reverieaudios #reverie audios fanfic #cyril lauriet #reverie audios cyril

26 notes · View notes

dazedbypark · 3 years

Text

you're warm | kth

Pairing : Kim Taehyung × Reader

Genre : Established Relationship! au, Comfort! au, Fluff, A hint of angst

Summary : You haven't watched a movie with your boyfriend in a long time. Or maybe more accurate would be the sentence - you haven't cuddled with him in a long time.

Warnings : None, except for the fact that it's written by me.

Word Count : 1.5k (does this count as a drabble? but whatever asjkshshej)

Author's Note : This drabble is uhh...quite random, I'd say. But then again, which work of mine isn't? The idea struck me while I was attending my classes and I was like why not? After I finished writing it, I really was in a Taehyung mood🤧

Anyways, please enjoy this drabble! It will mean a lot to me if you do so. And please leave feedback if possible (doesn't matter if it's good or bad). It motivates me a lot🌻

⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•

You peep in at Taehyung's room through the half-open door.

There is no sunlight in there. The weather is cloudy today. Yet, he has somehow managed to keep the room warm. On walls painted white and brown, hang vintage paintings high and proud. The room is messy as always, Taehyung never bothering to clean it. Clothes are piled high on a chair, just a centimetre away from making a mess on the floor. The bed is still not cleared; blankets and pillows scattered on it.

He is sitting in his chair, squinting at the screen of the desktop through his glasses. His elbow rests on the table, his fingers grazing his soft lips and the tip of his nose. His brows are furrowed in concentration, giving him that intimidating look only he possesses (and it's scary, mind you).

You slowly push the the door, making space for you to squeeze into the room, silently praying that the door doesn't squeak. And it doesn't, luckily. You raise your head to look at him once again. He's still busy, head buried deep into his work.

You quietly tip-toe towards the back of his chair. And then, suppressing a laugh, you block his view by covering his eyes with your hands. You feel his eyelashes flutter under your touch and him jump in his chair, before he relaxes completely.

"Wh---Y/n, you gave me the fright of my life," he says, his deep voice filling in your ears.

You step away from Taehyung and turn to lean on the wall, facing him. He, too, tears his gaze away from the screen and directs it towards you.

"I intended that." You poke your tongue out at him.

He only laughs at that, the sound of it music to your ears. You have always loved his laugh; the sound of it, the way his face brightens up with a glow whenever he does so. Your heart melts, not for the first time since you first heard it.

"So, what are you here for?" he questions, raising his eyebrows at you. Does he know you love how his brows raise? He definitely knows. You roll your eyes at him.

"Does your girlfriend need a reason everytime she visits you?" you reply, crossing your hands on your chest.

"She usually doesn't visit without any reason, stating it right away when she enters, never wasting a moment. And when she does enter my house without saying a word, all she needs is cuddles. There always is a reason," he answers.

"She---" you try to come up with a clever and witty response, but fail to do so.

He smiles at you then, resting his chin on his hands and tilting his head. "As I said, my girlfriend never visits me without any reason."

You only puff your cheeks at that, annoyed because you can't find even a decent defence for yourself. He's good at this kind of stuff, for some reason.

"Let's just end that conversation right there. I'll just answer your question." You hesitate for a moment before continuing, "I want to watch a movie, alright? I just realized we haven't done so in a long time. And we'll watch romance, of course."

"Okay then, Y/n. Let me just finish writing this e-mail first," he says, motioning towards his desktop.

"What do I do till then?"

"Do whatever you want. Not like I have chained you up, honey." He turns his face away from you, shielding it from your view.

You only throw a dirty look at the back of his head and proceed to walk towards his balcony situated beyond the wide and tall windows of his room. Pushing the curtains aside and sliding the windows, you walk into it.

You love your balcony, you really do. But his holds a view undeniably better (maybe because it's his balcony). He sure does have good luck.

The city isn't as buzzing with crowds at this hour of the day. It's relatively calmer, making noise with only the silence for people to hear.

The cold, humid wind blows in, grazing your skin. It calms you down. You feel all your clenched muscles relax, giving in to the simple comfort of the wind blowing. You close your eyes and lean on the railings, placing both your hands on it.

In reality, you care nothing about the movie. It just hasn't been that great a day. Not bad, but it hasn't been the best one either. And your thoughts that constantly trailed towards negativity didn't help much either. Tired of them, you had found yourself walking aimlessly within the city, just simply looking at all that it held in it; at the buildings and the trees, at the changing seasons, at the sky and at the people. Feeling yourself unwind a little after that, you unsurprisingly found out that your feet had led you to the complex Taehyung lived in. You had smiled a little then.

Suddenly, you feel two arms wrap around your waist and a body slowly pressing against your back.

You only sigh, smiling. A warm feeling swirls in your chest. It is love and so much more that you feel for him. You spin around in his hands, turning to face him.

You find him smiling at you, eyes searching yours.

"You really love my balcony, now, don't you?" He tightens his grip on you a little.

"And so what? What if I do?" You cock your eyebrows at him, swiping your tongue against the inside of your cheek.

He pulls you close, and your face finds itself pressed into his chest. Your cheeks flame a little, but it feels nice. Comforting. Like home. You feel warm inside out whenever he holds you like this.

You breathe him in. Even his smell is so warm.

"Your breath is making me ticklish, Y/n. Don't do that," he laughs, and you feel his chest vibrating with laughter against your face.

"I..." you trail off, not knowing what to say. You only press your face into his chest further and wrap your arms around his back, holding him close.

"You're really in a cuddly mood today, huh? What about the movie?" he asks, and you hear the smile in his voice as he does so. He must be looking at you with those eyes. Eyes that your friend had once claimed that he only has reserved for his loved ones. As much as you want to look at his eyes and him, you don't want to distance yourself from him even a bit. Why in the world couldn't you do both of them together?

"I still want to. Just give me a second, please." And he does.

You try to savour his warmth, his body so close to yours, his hands on your back, his comforting presence. You don't know how much time you hold on to him like that. He doesn't move either.

When you finally look up, you find him looking at you with eyes so fond, that you immediately melt under his gaze.

"Shall we go now, Tae?"

"Okay. Let's go, Y/n." His eyes flit all over your face before he finally lets go of you, and you miss the contact quite quickly.

As you walk, his hand finds yours and his fingers intertwine with yours absent-mindedly. You smile quietly at the gesture.

As soon as you reach his living room, you curl up on the couch with the blankets and the pillows you brought on your way here.

Taehyung proceeds to turn on the television and scrolls through the seemingly endless collection of movies.

"Which one this time?" he asks, turning to look at you, only to find that you are already curled up on his couch. You really are in a cuddly mood today. He smiles, knowing that you are going to sleep halfway through the movie. He isn't complaining, though.

"Any movie is fine," you mumble in reply to his question, your voice a little muffled due to the layer of blankets you have wrapped yourself in.

He only shakes his head at you, smiling, and continues his search. At last, he decides on one and then walks towards your form on the couch.

After contemplating for a moment, he sits on the opposite end of the couch, as far away from you as possible.

Realising this, you scoot over to his side of the couch. He smiles like an idiot. You hardly seem to care about his win at this point. You curl into him, putting your arms around him and resting your head against his chest, his heart beating steadily under you. He too, secures his arms around your body, holding you close to him and rests his chin on your head. You smile at that.

"You're warm," you're mumbling, half-asleep, when barely 10 mins of the movie have been completed.

Your words warm him up as well.

To his surprise, it doesn't even take half of the movie for you to fall asleep. You must have really been tired today, he thinks as you snore lightly in your peaceful slumber.

He kisses your forehead and holds you tighter.

He loves you, he realizes not for the first time.

⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•

435 notes · View notes

elena-reina · 3 years

Text

A Soul - Draco Malfoy x Reader

Request: Can you make one where Draco and a female reader were hooking up in secret? Draco falls in love just to find out she has a muggle parents but is magical herself? Basically a mudblood but more emphasis on muggle - chaoticdeanzonkland

Warnings: some fluff, angst

Y/H: Your house- ie. Slytherin, Hufflepuff, etc.

Y/H/C: Your house color

Part 2

A fire crackled in the Slytherin commonroom projecting long shadows on the surrounding area. The light casted by the flames danced across the dark shadows of the room in obscure shapes and provided a small radius of light. The warmth of the fire fillled the room with its warm embrace. The flames were mesmerizing to watch, colors of orange and red gave way to yellow and white near the centre, where the emanating heat was the greatest.

You exhaled a quiet sigh snuggling closer to Draco. The sun had already tured itself over to the moon permitting it to be evening. Everyone else had been long gone in their rooms sleeping, or so you thought. You didn’t know what hour it was, but it must’ve been late because you could feel Draco becoming more sluggish as the minutes passed by, not that you minded. This was one of the very few times were the two of you could enjoy some peace and company together.

The truth of the matter is that the two of you had been meeting in secret for the longest. It started off as a light friendship of the two of you teasing each other and then grew into a blossoming affection for one another. With Draco’s hard exterior and a few secrets of your own, you both thought it was best to keep your relationship a secret.

Your thoughts were interupted by soft snores coming from the boy you loved above you. Gazing up at him, you smiled warmly. You raised your arm and cupped his cheek, gently rubbing it with your thumb.

“Draco,” you whispered softly. He stirred a bit and tiredly opened his grey eyes. They were slightly red from how exhausted he was from throughout the day.

“I’m sorry love, I didn’t mean to doze off there,” he mumbled still trying to wake himself up.

You shook your head and sat up, now longer leaning on him. He was tired and it would not be fair of you to keep him up. “Go to bed, it’s alright-”

“No,” he cut you off, “This is one of the handful of times we get to be with each other unbothered.”

You smiled as he leaned over and pressed a quick kiss to your lips. Pulling away, you gazed back into his eyes.

“We will still see each other more, but it’ll be better when we are both well rested, don’t you agree?” you grinned.

A yawn escaped his mouth in response, scratching the back of his head.

“Good answer,” you laughed and stood up, holding out a hand for him to grab onto. He begrudgingly grabbed it and hoisted himself up. Towering over you, he cupped your cheeks placing, first, a kiss on your forehead, then your nose, and lastly your lips.

“I think..,” he began, “No, I know I’m falling head over heels in love with you.”

A blushed rose to your cheeks. You couldn’t contain your excitement as you smiled from ear to ear. He’s never said this before.

Draco Malfoy, the Slytherin Prince, just said he was in love with you.

“You really mean it?”

Grabbing your hand and placing it on his chest, right above his heart, he spoke. “With all my heart.”

Throwing your arms around his neck, you crashed your lips to his once more, savoring each kiss. You couldn’t believe this was actually happening. Never in a million years did you think you’d ever get to talk to Draco Malfoy, let alone get a confession.

Pulling away, you couldn’t stop smiling. “I will see you tomorrow.”

“Till tomorrow,” he mumbled quietly, but lovingly. Letting go, you walked to your Y/H bedroom.

The next morning, the first ray of sun beamed through the Y/H/C curtains, turning the stillness of the night into a peaceful morning. A fleck of sunlight glittered on the window pane, reflecting the light into the room. You sat up letting a yawn escape your lips. Remembering the events of last night, you held your rosy cheeks, you still couldn’t help but blush. Stepping out onto the hardwood floor, you shuddered at the cold as a light breeze greeted you for a good day ahead.

You got dressed in your usual robes and exited to the Grand Hall for breakfast. Everybody’s eyes were on you, but you were oblivous to it. Sitting at the Y/H table, you were greeted by your friends.

“G’mornin’ Y/N,” Sylvia chirped.

“Morning!” Adrian said.

“Good morning you guys,” you smiled warmly.

The moment you slid into your seat, Sylvia and Adrian began filling your plate with food: Eggs, ham, piles of fried potatoes, fruit, and an elegant glass of orange juice.

“What’s with all this?” you laughed. They never served you before, naturally making you suspicious of their actions.

“When were you going to tell us the news?” Adrian grinned.

Your heart dropped and your voice grew quiet. “..What news?” You began to stuff your mouth with some of the food, to inevitably buy yourself more time for what’s to come.

“Not going to lie, I am a little hurt that you hadn’t told us before,” Sylvia piped in.

“About..?”

“Aboooouuut you and Malfoy! Duh!” she exclaimed.

Oh no. No, no, no, no, no!

No one was supposed to know about your relationship, at least not yet. Draco hasn’t even learned that you are not a pure-blood, or so you think. His reputation meant everything to him and you just wanted to be able to have one thing to yourself that you wouldn’t have to feel ashamed of. A look a worry washed over your face, your friends took note of this.

“Hey, Y/N,” Slyvia began, “Are you alright?”

Snapping out of your thoughts, you regained consiousness in your conversation. “How did you guys find out? Who did you hear it from?”

They looked at each other and shrugged.

“I don’t really know, we over heard some third-years talking about the two of you oddly, but we don’t know who they heard it from,” Adrian mumbled, “Although, I must say I am surprised that he does not mind dating a person of your background.”

Your furrowed your eyebrows, somewhat offended.

“Excuse you.”

“He didn’t mean it like that. I believe what he’s trying to say is that Malfoy doesn’t really date, and if he does we would assume it would be with someone that’s pureblooded, again no offense to your background because we love you,” Sylvia cleared up.

You rolled your eyes and looked over to where Draco would usually sit for breakfast, however he wasn’t there. Instead a random Slytherin was there, making kissy faces to mock you. Scrunching your nose in disgust, you turned back to your plate and continued to eat.

Throughout the whole day, you’ve been waiting to bump into Draco. But to no avail, somehow he managed to be missing all day.

As a matter of fact, you hadn’t seen him for the past coming weeks going on since people had found out the two of you were “official,” if you could even call it that. And on top of it all, you still had no idea how anyone found out in the first place. You spent sleepless nights just waiting for the day you could talk to him, let alone just be able to see him wandering around somewhere.

All the spots you would usually meet up with Draco, he was never there. It was like he had disappeard from existence and left the school. You would go early to the Dining Hall somedays to try and see him, but he never showed up.

After weeks of having no luck to find him, luckily, there was a Quidditch game between Slytherin and Ravenclaw that was going to end soon. You never really went to any of the games, but this time you did in hopes of finding Draco because you knew he would be there for his team.

Fortunately, you arrived in just enough time before the game was about to end and Slytherin had ultimately won. Soaring around on his broom stick, you saw that familiar head of platinum hair. A feint smile rose to your cheeks as you walked down the stairs and waited at the end of the field that the players have to walk through to go to their locker rooms. You stood off to the side, out of the way of everyone as both the Slytherin and Ravenclaw players were walking back. Slytherin was cheering as they won this one and Draco had a genuine smile on his face.

He walked past you, not noticing you were there, until you spoke up.

“Draco!” you called. He then heard you and clenched his jaw, but kept walking picking up his speed.

“Draco, wait up!” you yelled after him while clumsily bumping into some of the Quidditch players while doing so.

“Hi, passing through-.. sorry... excuse me..- I’ve just- Hey!” you repeated over and over trying to get through them and reach him. Getting just close enough, you grabbed onto his robe, the only thing within reach, and held him back.

“Draco,” you breathed softly as you finally reached him.

He snapped turning around, glaring down at you. “It’s Malfoy to you.”

You furrowed your eyebrows, taken back by his sudden reaction and demeanor. You stiffened up not knowing what to say. You hadn’t seen him in weeks, you didn’t know what you were expecting but it certainly wasn’t this.

“I.. what’s going on with you,” you frowned, attempting to put your arm on his shoulder but he dodged it immediately.

“What, Y/N. What do you want.” he said frustrated, looking back at the hall behind him at the doors to the locker room.

“I want to know what’s going on with you! I haven’t seen you for weeks, with no letter, no call, no explanation-”

He scoffed cutting you out of your thoughts, looking off to the side.

“What?”

You managed to keep your composure, but you wanted to break down from frustation.

“You’re in no position to be asking me for an explanation of any kind. You’re the one who owes me one,” he snapped, keeping his cold and hard stare on you.

You remained calm, not wanting to match his energy. You shifted on your feet and crossed your arms over your chest. If it’s stern he wants, then it’s stern he gets.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you stated truthfully.

“When were you planning on telling me?”

You groaned. “Telling you what, Draco-”

“MALFOY.” he snapped immediately.

“Malfoy.”

“That you lied to me. You’re no pureblood,” he spat, his face looking in disgust.

Is that what this is about? There has to be something else underlying it, because not even he treats the golden trio this way. Where was the caring Draco a few weeks ago who was just professing his love.

You held up your hand to stop him from going any further.

“Dra- Malfoy, I never lied to you. I never told you I was a pureblood, you just assumed!”

“You never told me you weren’t! Just to think I told someone like you that I loved you,” he sneered, “And to make matters worst, you go around parading it to everyone the very next morning.”

Your heart sank in your chest. Draco was hurting very much on the inside, but he was blinded by his own insecurities and cold exterior. Something he was very much famous for, not giving a care in the world to anyone but himself. You made sure not to show it but his words hurt you deeply. Before you could let any more of his words hurt you, you stood up straight gazing into his grey eyes.

“I never told a soul,” you whispered, spun on your heel, and walked away.

251 notes · View notes

amphxtrite · 3 years

Text

cedric diggory x fem!reader

part one: Never Let You Go. (smut)

warnings: mentions of smut (but not actually smut), swearing, spelling/ grammar mistakes.

summary: Life with Cedric leading up to your graduation is pretty normal, except for the fact you hide the fact that you’re dating. With amortentia, avoiding practice for cuddles and a graduation dance coming up, how long can this relationship stay a secret.

a/n: thank you to the wonderful @mullthingsoverinthehotwater for this idea and all the help! She’s amazing go check her out!!

word count: 3.4k

tag list:@cupidpoison @wonderful-writer @coldlilheart @inglourious-imagines @evisbored @mayaleon0614 @dogsandrocketsocks

enjoy <3

__________________________________________

Waking up in the arms of a lover is the most ethereal feeling you could imagine, a safe feeling, so comfortable and warm, even with the slight pain that poked at you when you tried to move your legs.

As you lay next to Cedric the sun rose through the clouds and casted an angelic glow on the hufflepuff’s sculpted face, it almost felt like you were in the presence of something divine, and just as mortals were in tales of of the gods, you were curious and wished to touch the miraculous boy before you. Tracing his jawline and pink lips a smile grows before he begins to stir and a light sigh rings as he awakes.

“Good morning love.” He yawns, his raspy morning voice bringing butterflies to your stomach. “What are you doing?” He smirks looking at your thumb tracing his cheek.

“Just admiring you darling.” You giggle leaning over to press a chaste kiss to the brunette’s lips. Cedric chuckles and pulls you closer against his chest, burying his face in your neck and sighing at your sweet scent.

“We should probably get you back to your room darling, we still have class today and I’d hate to make you late.” The gray-eyed boy smirks a bit, pressing a kiss to your nose before sitting upright on the bed. “Alright.” You yawn, rubbing your eyes to get the sleep out before standing and walking towards the door, pausing when a thought crosses your mind.

“H-Hey do you mind if we keep this between us for now?” You start, a little nervous. ”I don’t think I can take any gossip right now, and I can’t have the school knowing I’m shagging the dreamiest boy at Hogwarts, they’ll hate me!” You finish with a light laugh.

Cedric can’t help but chuckle at your cheeky comment, walking over to peck your cheek before whispering. “Of course love, whenever you’re ready.”

__________

Learning magic at Hogwarts was a dream come true for you; Charms and Transfiguration were marvellous and fascinating. Defence Against the Dark Arts and History of Magic were interesting and fun, but your favourite class, by far, was potions. Despite the potion master’s snide comments and constant eye rolls, brewing concoctions that had the properties to create and destroy was an amazing feeling. A potion has the ability to heal things even the most powerful charms cannot, they can change your form without the need to transfigure, and even break the fates to bring luck to anyone, and in that class you had the ability to do it all.

“Today, we will be brewing a very famous potion, and a very difficult one at that.” Professor Snape’s usual drone begins at the beginning of the lesson.

“Now since you are the NEWT class, I expect absolute perfection, I will write the instructions on the board and you can brew and figure out the identity of the potion with your partner. Begin.”

Excitement bubbles in you as you begin to jot down the information. You and your partner gather your supplies and begin to cut, mix and sprinkle your ingredients into the cauldron.

The distinct smell of wood combined with freshly cleaned laundry and fresh air soon floods your nose and it was as though you were on cloud nine, the scent brought a calmness to you, a safe feeling; the person connected to it was just on the tip of your tongue. A wood like aftershave, clean clothes that had swallowed you whole and the type of air only a seeker gets flying after a snitch.

Cedric peers over to you across the classroom to see you smiling at your cauldron, a dopey smile on your face. He cocks his eye brow in confusion, but as he adds the finishing touches to the bubbling liquid he immediately understands. He’s instantly transported to your arms, the scent of your intoxicating shampoo surrounding every inch of him along with chocolate and a hint of that strawberry chapstick he tasted on your lips while ravaging you in the shower. A blush immediately floods the hufflepuff’s cheeks, and suddenly his pants get a little tight.

“Mr. Diggory, since it’s quite… Obvious, you smell the amortentia. Tell us what your aroma is.”

Hoping Snape isn’t implying the tent in his pants, Cedric slaps on a small grin.

“Sweet shampoo, chocolate and strawberry chapstick sir.” He manages to nod, as Snape raises an eyebrow. “Intriguing. Miss l/n and Miss Macavoy, you were first to finish, what do you smell?”

Your partner, Heidi Macavoy’s face lights up. “Fresh parchment, Honeydukes, and broom polish.” Snape nods, looking over to you.

“I smell aftershave, clean laundry and fresh air sir.” Your eyebrows furrow for a moment when it finally hits you. There was only one person that fit that scent, in fact the only aftershave you’ve ever smelt. Cedric. Your smile widens.

The professor nods with a sigh, folding his arms and walking back to the blackboard to write. “Amortentia is the most powerful love potion in the world. Now, I would like you to write a paper on the properties of amortentia and how each ingredient factors into giving the potion it’s unique qualities. The rest of class will be for finishing your potions and starting your writing...” Snape concludes the lesson.

__________

Months pass and everyday grows closer to your graduation. Your relationship with Cedric is kept quiet, but you manage to steal kisses in dark corridors and meet in the night. Oftentimes you spend evenings in the prefect’s shower, using the sound of running water to hide desperate moans and dirty actions, but it still gets hard to remember in public you’re only friends.

Cedric adores teasing you in public, running his hand up and down your thigh underneath the table and flirting insufferably with you everyday.

“Well hello there gorgeous, where are you off to today?” He’d tease every morning.

“Oh shut it Diggory.” You’d sigh as Cedric leaned closer to your ear.

“That’s quite hypocritical to the person screaming my name last night.”

Leaving you a flushed mess for the rest of the morning. Cedric respected your want to keep the relationship a secret, he knew he was popular as it is, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t have fun with you. He loved it when you gave him the warning glare if he ever tried his luck in public, and the blush he left after teasing you brought a huge smirk to his face every time. And any chance he got, whether alone or in public, he loved to bring up your amortentia.

“Aftershave, laundry and fresh air huh?” He’d grin down to you, a playful look in his eyes. “Oh Merlin here we go again.” You’d sigh, readying yourself for the cheeky comments.

“Sounds like you smelled the dreamiest boy at Hogwarts!”

__________

The Winter snow took over the Autumn leaves and Hogwarts became a winter wonderland, sweaters were swapped with cloaks, runners became boots and scarfs covered the necks of each student in the school. Unless you were a quidditch player. The captains of each team were still determined to win the quidditch cup, and Cedric was no exception. Everyday was filled with drills, plays and scrimmages that left your muscles sore and your nose frozen from the winter cold. Cedric left no time to stare at the falling snow and each practice somehow left the team shivering and sweating all together.

You couldn’t blame each of the captains for wanting to earn the cup and lead their house to victory, but when Cedric went captain mode it seriously made it seem like you were going to be stuck by your goal post for the rest of the winter.

“Ced, it’s blizzarding outside.” You sigh as the brunette began pulling on his uniform.

“Can we please just take today off? We’ve trained everyday for the past 3 weeks!” Cedric seems to hesitate. “I-I know love, but-“

“Cedric, you know you’re overworking yourself, c’mon let’s just take today off alright?” You stick your bottom lips out in a pout and make grabby hands towards the tall hufflepuff.

“Alright love, because you asked so nicely.” He smirks and collapses back into your arms. He wouldn’t admit it, but you were right, his hands still ached from holding the broom too tight and Merlin were his feet cold. You smile before relaxing into your darling’s arms.

__________

As Winter shifted to spring, the subject of graduation became of the utmost importance.

“Graduating class! As you know at each graduation ceremony there is a ball and banquet. I expect proper behaviour, and represent hufflepuff well. It was a pleasure having you here with us.”

Professor Sprout’s speech comes to an end as the graduating students of hufflepuff cheered and applauded their head of house.

“Are we allowed to bring dates to the ball? A person not the fruit I mean.” Another student calls to Sprout as a couple kids laugh. “Of course! You can bring any of the graduating class, of any house, with you.” The short professor smiles and turns to chat with a girl.

Cedric immediately turns to find you in the crowd, smiling excitedly at you, only to see a worried expression on your face.

“Are you alright?” He asks, walking closer to check on you.

“Can we talk a sec?” You pull the Head boy by the arm to a deserted area, away from prying eyes and take a deep breath.

“Cedric, I really want to go to this ball with you, but I'm nervous about what people would think of me.” You begin cracking your knuckles in an anxious manner, biting on your lips as everything that could go wrong plagues your mind.

“Darling.” Cedric smiles and takes your hands into his. “Who cares what people say? I’d be honoured to have you by my side. If you’ll have me that is.” Cedric looks around for anyone before falling to his knee and kissing your hand. “Y/n, I absolutely adore you, and I could not care less what little minded people have to say. Accompany me to the ball?” The hufflepuff’s eyes fill with hope and love and you knew then, he was right. Cedric was your sunshine and no one could take him away from you.

“Yes Cedric! Yes I’ll go to the ball with you.”

__________

It was decided the two of you would show up together at the ball to ‘announce’ your relationship, but until then you’d stay on the down low.

It was hard seeing girl after girl walk up to Cedric with hope in their eyes only to be rejected in the nicest way possible. You were happy Cedric was yours, but some of these girls were gorgeous and sweet and it made you want to hide your face when they’d walk away dejected; although a small part of your brain jumped for joy when Cedric would discreetly look at you and wink after each confession. As each day grew warmer, so did your heart. Excitement flourished and each day held pure joy that you were one step closer to a future with Cedric.

__________

The Hogsmeade weekend before the graduation ceremony finally arrived and just like most of the graduates you rushed to find the perfect outfit before everything was gone. There were quite a few clothing shops at the village, but your favourite was the small shop towards the end of the street. A small business run by a mum and her family. You enter the shop and the smell of cinnamon and sugar greets you.

“Y/n!” Two little voices call out and two young girls make a beeline for you.

“How are my two little princesses?” You giggle, kneeling down to their level to wrap the small children in your arms.

Coming to the shop often helped you grow close to the family in charge, they were so kind and always had exactly what you were looking for.

“Where’s your mum kiddos?” You ask just as Melina, the owner and mum of the two girls, comes rushing towards you.

“Good to see you y/n dear, now you two run along while I help our little graduate.” She smiles at the girls who hug you one last time before running off to find something to play with.

“Looking for a dress i’m guessing?” Melina laughs and begins walking towards a shelf in the back. “You know me too well Mellie.” You smirk, trailing behind the brunette. Mellie brings her finger to her chin as she begins searching, her eyes full of concentration, shifting to success as she pulls a f/c gown from the rack.

“I knew this day was coming, so I made this dress especially for you.” She grins, holding the dress out to you.

Immediately you wrap your arms around her, and thank her like your life depended on it. This was by far one of the most thoughtful things someone had done for you, and it made you emotional. With small tears running down your face you pull back. “Thank you so much Mellie, it’s gorgeous.”

You giddily run for the change room and pull yourself into the gown. The f/c contrasts your skin beautifully and the shape accentuates your curves, bringing out a newfound confidence and you find yourself admiring yourself. Twirling, laughing and picturing yourself dancing with Cedric.

Despite her insisting it was a gift, you press the galleons for the full price into her hand, hugging her and the kids one last time before walking out of the store, dress in your arms. You stop at Honeydukes for a treat before making the trip back to the castle.

__________

Cedric wanted to make sure he was dressed appropriately for the ceremony, and his suit from last year just wasn’t going to cut it. He scourges every clothing shop in the Hogsmeade vicinity only to be met with empty shelves or nothing in his size. He’s about to give up and wear his old suit when a small shop catches his eye.

“Worth a shot.” He murmurs before pushing open the door. “Hello, I’m looking for a suit.” He greets the woman at the front.

“Oh you must be graduating as well. I’m Melina, please follow me.” She gives the brunette a warm, motherly smile before leading him to a rack.

“I just had a girl come in for her graduation outfit as well. Do you know y/n?”

Cedric let’s his smile shine through when your name is mentioned and turns to Melina.

“I do actually, I’m the lucky guy who gets to go to the ball with her.”

Melina’s eyes light up and she immediately rushes towards a suit towards the end of the aisle.

“Perfect, I had a lot of extra fabric when I made her dress, so I tailored a suit to go with it.” She rushes towards Cedric, pulling a tape measure from her apron pocket. Cedric raises his arms and allows the woman to take his measurements, an excited smile gracing his face.

“It’ll be a little tight in the chest, but other than that it’s a perfect fit!”

Melina quickly pushes Cedric into a change room and the brunette shrugs on the dress shirt and jacket before pulling on the pants and the cape-like overcoat. He nodded to himself in the mirror. This was perfect and he knew you’d love to see him in your favourite colour.

__________

The night of your graduation ceremony arrived and every seventh year was preparing themselves for the night ahead. Some were fretting over hair and makeup while others were content with just showing up and having fun. You were in your room with a couple of your friends, helping each other with outfits and makeup.

“Hold still Sebastian, I'm almost done with the eyeliner!” You scold the blonde as he fiddles with his fingers. “Sorry, sorry, I’m just ticklish.”

You smile and feel a tug on your scalp.

“Gently Heids, you’re gonna rip out my hair.”

Everyone began to laugh and slowly but surely you all got dressed and prepared for the long night ahead. You slowly make your way to the great hall, arms linked with your friends and laughs ringing from everyone. Once at the doors you split up in search of your dates. You spot Cedric’s mop of brown curls and quickly make you way closer to him.

“Nice suit.” You smile and turn back to your date, smiling at the colour choice and design.

“Thanks I got it from Melina.” He grins proudly, pulling a corsage from behind his back and clasping it around your wrist.

“No wonder we’re matching!” You laugh and move your wrist around admiring the flowers. Cedric smiles as he takes in your dress, thanking his lucky stars for whatever he did to deserve such an angel like you.

“Well, you ready milady?” Cedric grins offering his arm to you. “As I’ll ever be milord.”

You take in a deep breath and push open the doors to the hall.

Bright lights flood your vision and happy cheers sound in your ears, people laughing, dancing and drinking, and overall having a great time. Your face lights up and you begin to pull Cedric faster through the room. There were quite a few eyes staring in your direction. Emotions ranging from envy, sadness, disbelief and awe were all noticed when you stepped inside with the Hogwarts Champion, golden student and Head boy on your arm. You could hear whispers claiming you to be fake, an attention seeker or whore, and a frown begins to tug at your lips. Cedric takes notice and quickly wraps you into his arms gazing at you with love filled eyes as everyone else fades away. The anxiety and disappointment evaporates and soon it was just you and Cedric swaying in the middle of the dance floor. Many of your friends shoot you thumbs ups and congratulated the two of you, but all you could focus on was the gray eyes that pulled you into a trance. When the two of you glided across the hall you could’ve exploded with happiness, Cedric ignored even his best mates just to keep on dancing with you. His eyes were glued to you and only you as your face lit up and your eyes shone like stars. He was reminded of the Yule Ball from last year and how he awkwardly danced with you, trying not to look directly into your eyes in fear of getting lost and tripping up.

If his past self could see him now Cedric was sure his mouth would be agape with an unshakable grin. the brunette kept on pinching himself just to make sure you were really in his arms looking into his eyes as if he was your world. It got to the point he couldn’t help but pull you into him and dip you into a low kiss.

So much had happened in just a couple days. He’d won a quidditch game and your affection, he made love to you in a shower, cuddled you in his bed, and smelled you in his amortentia. And while all those things were amazing, he didn’t need one more hint you were the one for him. He had fallen in love with you, and when he looked to the future, the only one he could see by his side was you; In front of him when he knelt to propose, Beside him in a white dress and a veil, holding your children in your arms and growing gray and old with him. His silver eyes found themselves tearing up as he deepened the kiss and held you there in place. The sound of whooping and groaning drowned out, and you smiled into the sentimental kiss, cupping the hufflepuff’s cheek in your hand as you wiped away his tears.

“I love you y/n, so much.” Cedric murmurs against your lips, trying to hold back his tears as you stood so beautifully before him, drying his tears and smiling that perfect smile.

“I love you too Cedric, more than you’ll ever know.” you respond adoringly.

The ceremony began and every student cried in joy at the fact they were now graduates of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

You held onto Cedric’s hand all night and as the party came to an end, you toasted to the night and all the bright days ahead.

With the newfound freedom to just be a couple, Cedric pulls you away from the dance early and with a laugh, leads you to his dorm and places you onto his bed. The rest of the evening was dedicated to your sinful thoughts and desires as lust broke free.

No one saw you for the rest of the night.

#cedric diggory #harry potter imagine #cedric diggory imagine #cedric diggory x reader #cedric diggory fluff #cedric x y/n #cedric x you #cedricsbrowncurls #cedric diggory fanfiction #fanfic #hogwarts #part 2

315 notes · View notes

heyiwrotesomethings · 3 years

Text

Of Debts and Stress

Mary Saotome x She/Her Reader

A/N: Mary is such a great character like wth. I hope I did her some justice. There is a mention of characters from Kakegurui Twin, but the story takes place when Yumeko shows up in the main series. Thanks for reading! Word Count: ~8,929 (Me seeing this number for the first time: HOLY SHIT what have I done?! No wonder this took so long lol)

“Did you see the look on that loser’s face when I laid down that royal flush?” Mary laughed, her lips curled in a triumphant smirk as she descended the stairs with (Y/n) following close behind. “To see the light just drain out of his eyes after he realized that his full house was trash was just priceless,” she paused a moment at the bottom of the stairs, causing (Y/n) to bump into her before the blonde turned to face her. “Well, maybe not priceless, I guess you could say it was worth 5,000,000 yen!”

“Mary,” (Y/n) began, rubbing the back of her neck and shifting her eyes to watch other students climb the stairs, “It’s not like I’m not impressed or anything, but don’t you think you went a little too hard on the guy? I mean, he’s a house pet now.”

Mary’s smirk sunk into a frown as she crossed her arms and leaned her hip against the banister with a huff, looking up at the girl who still stood on the last step of the stairs, with a roll of her eyes, she replied, “He wanted to gamble, it’s not my fault if he didn’t weigh the rewards with the risk. Don’t be such a downer (Y/n), you’re really killing my mood here.”

“Sorry, I guess I just feel bad for him.”

“(Y/n), it’s all a part of how this fucked up school works. If you don’t like it, then why the hell did you even apply?” Mary threw her arms up in aggravation.

“Hey, do you think you two could move? You’re blocking half the staircase.” a student called impatiently from behind (Y/n).

“Can’t you see we’re talking here?” Mary glared at a spot above (Y/n)’s head, “Just go around us, idiot!”

The student grumbled, but clumsily made his way through the students that were walking up the stairwell.

“Maybe we should keep walking,” (Y/n) smiled sheepishly, crooking one of her arms with Mary’s and pulling her away from the stairs and towards the school entrance.

“Hey, let go!” Mary pushed out of the hold, blushing furiously, before clearing her throat and giving (Y/n) a side glance as the other girl laughed good-naturedly. “You haven’t gambled yet today, shouldn’t you have at least one match to make sure you don’t fall behind in the rankings?”

“I don’t feel like gambling today,” (Y/n) shrugged, “Maybe tomorrow.”

“You better get your act together or you’ll end up a mittens,” Mary warned.

“Sorry I’m not into high stakes gambles. I’d rather win a little at a time than blow it all away on one game,” (Y/n) explained.

“Ha, that new poochie should have taken a page out of your book,” Mary grinned, but sobered quickly, “But seriously, don’t fall too far behind or I’ll have to leave you to the dogs, got it?” She punctuated her words with a sharp poke to (Y/n)’s chest.

“Ow! Okay, okay, I get it!” (Y/n) sighed, and rubbed the sore spot.

“And if you need any, you know, help, with your gambles tomorrow I wouldn’t be adverse to it,” Mary added, pretending to look disinterested and aloof.

“Aww Mary, are you saying you’d cheat for me? I’m touched,” (Y/n) smiled.

“I’ve changed my mind. You are on your own,” Mary glared and snarled beneath the blush that dusted her cheeks.

“Damn it.”

“Serves you right.”

“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow then?” (Y/n) asked as they neared the dorms.

“I suppose,” Mary replied while inspecting her nails. “Meet me in front of my dorm at 7:45 or I’m leaving without you.”

“I’ll be there, have a goodnight Mary!” (Y/n) waved before disappearing into the Tsubaki class dorms.

“‘Night,” Mary called over her shoulder as she made her way to the Hana dorm building.

The girls got ready for the night in there respective dorms and went to sleep, unaware of the major upset that would greet the student body of Hyakkaou Private Academy tomorrow.

***

“Heard you have a new transfer student in your class. Do they seem nice?” (Y/n) asked Mary as they ate their lunches.

“She’s whatever,” Mary shrugged. “Looks like easy money though, I’m gonna ask her to gamble after classes let out. Just wait until you see me wipe the floor with that airhead.”

“Aw, I actually have a few gambles of my own lined up unfortunately.”

“Tsk, whatever, I didn’t want you there anyway,” Mary sulked, picking at her leftovers.

“Hey, you’re the one who told me I needed to watch my ranking. Don’t blame me for simply following through on your advice. If I finish in the gambling den before you finish your game, I’ll be there to cheer you on!”

“You better not, it’s a gamble. You don’t need to act like a mom at a goddamn soccer game,” Mary huffed. “That being said, you better show up if you finish before me.”

“Yes ma’am,” (Y/n) mock saluted then winced and leaned into the table when Mary’s foot knocked painfully into her shin.

“I’ll see you after class, dummy,” Mary smiled smugly, raising from her chair. “Depending on how much money this girl bleeds, we can go do something this weekend, my treat,”

“Sounds like a date!” (Y/n) cheered, narrowly missing Mary’s attempt at a full body tackle. “See you later!” (Y/n) giggled and ran down the hall towards her class while Mary yelled obscenities behind her.

***

(Y/n) was pretty happy with herself, having won six out of seven games of blackjack and earning a modest 50,000 yen. Of course counting the cards had helped her odds, not that her opponents needed to know that. Honestly though, they were probably doing the same thing. It always came back to luck in the end.

(Y/n) hummed to herself as she made her way up the stairs to Mary’s classroom. She looked up when she heard echoing footsteps descending the stairs and was met with the boy Mary had turned into a house pet and a beautiful girl with flowing black hair she had never seen before.

“Oh, hello there!” The girl greeted. Ryota seemed to recognize (Y/n) as a friend of Mary’s though, and grew more nervous, (Y/n) gave him a sheepish wave she hoped conveyed her sympathy or could at least put the poor boy more at ease.

“Hi, you must be the new transfer student,” (Y/n) addressed Yumeko, “I hope no one has been giving you too hard a time,” (Y/n) could think of one prominent figure in her mind that would do such a thing and was ready to do damage control if need be.

“Oh, not at all! I’ve never felt more welcomed!” Yumeko smiled and grasped (Y/n)’s hand in hers. “Jabami, Yumeko,” she introduced herself, the ring on her thumb lightly digging into the skin of (Y/n)’s hand.

“(L/n), (Y/n),” she answered in return, giving Yumeko’s hand a friendly squeeze before withdrawing. “You don’t seem any worse for wear. I guess you survived Mary’s gambling challenge then?”

“Ah, you know Saotome? Yes, I’m looking forward to her paying me back, I hope we can gamble again sometime, she was so feisty!” Yumeko grinned, “You should join us next time as well!”

“Perhaps...” (Y/n) answered distractedly. Why would she need to wait for Mary to pay her back? “So is Mary still up there?”

“I believe so, it was nice meeting you, (Y/n)-san!”

“Yes, nice meeting you too. Uh, see you around Jabami, Suzui,” (Y/n) bowed her head and made her way up the rest of the stairs to the Hana classroom.

The room looked like a mess. Lingering students whispered their gossip but (Y/n) paid them no mind as she scanned the classroom for a familiar head of blonde hair.

“If you’re looking for Saotome you won’t find her here. She ran off, probably went to hide her shame,” one of the lingering students voiced once (Y/n) looked over the whole room.

(Y/n) leveled a soft glare at the student before turning to leave. Okay so she lost, so what? No one’s perfect, get off your high horse. (Y/n) thought as she continued down the hall and peeked into every empty classroom she passed. She was about to text Mary when she heard a huge crash come from the last classroom at the end of the hall.

She yanked the door open and saw a few toppled desks and Mary slouched against the wall with her face hiding in her arms, propped up by her knees that were pulled tightly against her chest.

“Mary, I’ve been looking everywhere for you. What happened?” (Y/n) rushed to Mary’s side and knelt before her, careful to give the girl her space. Mary didn’t care for being coddled.

“Fuck off.” Mary’s voice croaked, muffled by her arms.

“Come on Mary, talk to me. I assume you lost, how bad was it really? 300,000? 400,000?”

“8.8 million,” came the subdued reply.

“Wh... what?” (Y/n) swears she must have heard wrong.

“Don’t make me fucking say it again.”

“Mary! What the hell were you thinking?!” (Y/n) gasped, worry gripping her heart. “8.8 million yen?!”

“Shut up!” Mary cried, “You think I don’t know how fucked I am?!”

“What are we going to do, Mary?”

“We aren’t doing anything. This is my problem,” Mary roared, shoving the closest toppled desk away with her foot.

“You can’t possibly come up with all that yen on your own before the rankings are updated. I can get you like, 1,000,000. It’s not much but it’s a start, and of course I’ll stay after school and-“

“Don’t you get it? I don’t want your pity!” Mary yelled, shooting up from the floor.

“Mary, you’re my friend, you are important to me, let me help you!” (Y/n) flung her hand out to catch Mary’s.

“I’ll get the money somehow. Just stay out of my way,” came Mary’s cold reply and she tugged her arm out of (Y/n)’s grasp.

“Mary, don’t do anything rash! Take a moment to just think about this. Your debt is bad, but if you don’t keep a level head, you’re bound to end up with something even more unmanageable!” (Y/n) warned.

“Just shut up already! You weren’t there so you don’t get to tell me what I should and shouldn’t do now,” Mary moved stiffly towards the door.

“Mary, stop!” (Y/n) called after the hot headed girl. Unfortunately Mary continued her fast pace down the hall and quickly disappeared around the corner. (Y/n) sighed to herself and rubbed at her irritated eyes. Her heart ached for Mary and the position she found herself in, but she was frustrated as well. Why couldn’t Mary just swallow her pride and accept her help?

(Y/n) rearranged the toppled desks and left the classroom with a heavy feeling in her chest. Hopefully she could sort things out with Mary tomorrow.

***

The next day (Y/n) waited outside of the Hana dorms for Mary like she did everyday, but the girl was not in her usual spot. (Y/n) waited, thinking she was simply running late, but as more time passed it was becoming more evident that Mary was either not coming out, or she was already gone.

(Y/n) couldn’t find her in the school, and Mary wasn’t answering any of her texts either. Meanwhile Jabami was busy making a first year cry. Sure that student council girl was practically begging for it with how obvious her cheating was, but even (Y/n) knew a line had been crossed.

The next morning (Y/n)’s wait for Mary was no better and yielded the same result. (Y/n) fired off another text. She’s at least looking at them.

“Oh! (Y/n)-san, good morning!” An airy voice giggled happily.

(Y/n) shifted her gaze and suppressed a scowl as Yumeko exited the dorm waving excitedly in her direction.

“Waiting for someone?” Yumeko asked, once she was standing within a foot of (Y/n), closer than (Y/n) cared for.

“I was, but I think she already left,” (Y/n) replied, trying very hard to be polite and not snap at the other girl.

“Oh, then we should walk together!” Yumeko clapped her hands together. “If you don’t mind waiting a little longer Ryota will be coming shortly... In fact I see him exiting the boy’s side now! Good morning, Ryota!”

Ryota jolted and swiveled his head up before waving shyly at Yumeko.

“Ryota is going to show me around more this morning, I’d love it if you could join us. It would be nice to have the perspective of someone from a different class as well,” Yumeko spoke excitedly to (Y/n).

“I can’t unfortunately, my first class starts in ten minutes,” (Y/n) informed, surprised at the sudden added weight as Yumeko clamped onto her side and whined loudly in her ear.

“But I really want you to come, (Y/n)-san! Since you aren’t in Hana class we won’t get to see each other often. Can’t you skip your class just this once?”

(Y/n) could easily skip class, but she was not willing to do it for the girl who ruined her best-friend-kinda-maybe-girlfriend’s life. She was about to insist she had to attend class when Ryota swooped in.

“It’s not uncommon for students to skip out on classes here. The teachers don’t really care as long as they’re getting paid. So I’m sure (L/n)-san could join us, right?” He smiled, nervously shifting his eyes from side to side.

Damn you, Suzui, Ryota.

“Well, I suppose just this once I could humor you,” (Y/n) gave a half hearted smile before her eyes went wide and her hands grasped at the arms wound tightly around her neck, shaking her excitedly.

“Yes! Thank you, (Y/n)-san, I’m sure we’ll have a marvelous time!” Yumeko cheered, rocking (Y/n) and throwing her off balance once she finally let go. “Where are we going today, Ryota?”

“I was thinking the path to the Traditional Culture Club would be a good place to visit today. It’s got beautiful scenery, don’t you think, (L/n)-san?” Ryota asked, offering (Y/n) a meek smile.

“I agree, the surrounding vegetation is lovely this time of year. It’s one of my favorite spots on campus actually,” (Y/n) supplied, noticing how Ryota seemed to straighten a bit, looking a tad more confident.

“Sounds wonderful, we’d best be on our way. Maybe I’ll find a gamble to partake in as well!” Yumeko thought dreamily, cupping her blushing cheek with her hand.

Ryota allowed himself an awkward chuckle while (Y/n) subtly pursed her lips, bringing her thoughts back to Mary’s absence as the trio made their way through campus.

“Wow, it certainly is lovely here. I can see why one would like such exquisite scenery,” Yumeko commented once they made it near the end of the path. “Oh, and this must be the club you were referring to?” She asked, pointing to the pleasant building resting below the trees.

“Yes, the Traditional Culture Club,” (Y/n) perked up a bit as a half baked plan formed in her mind. “You know Yumeko, you might actually get the chance to gamble in there.”

“Don’t tell her that!” Ryota blanched before directing his attention back to Yumeko, “I mean, the president of this club is also a part of the student council! You don’t want to make any more enemies than you already have, right Yumeko?”

“Gambling! You promise, (Y/n)?” Yumeko asked, a predatory gleam formed in her eyes that forced a shiver to run up and down (Y/n)’s spine.

“It’s a very real possibility as long as Nishinotouin-senpai is around. You could always drop by later if she’s not here,” (Y/n) answered candidly. Perhaps she shouldn’t be pushing Yumeko into the arms of danger, but she thought of it as payback for beating Mary so badly without even batting an eye or losing sleep over it.

“Ooo! I just have to go in, can we go in?” Yumeko clutched her hands together and bounced on the soles of her feet, a sight Ryota couldn’t seem to say no to. Not that (Y/n) could blame him as she also found the behavior rather adorable herself.

“Welcome to the Traditional Culture Club!” A member greeted the trio as they approached the door, “We have a match in progress already, but it should end shorty, if you don’t mind you can wait inside.”

“Certainly, we don’t mind at all!” Yumeko spoke.

The club member ushered them inside and (Y/n)’s mouth fell open in shock once she perceived the poor soul sitting across from Nishinotouin, Yuriko was none other than her dear friend Saotome, Mary.

“No, Mary,” (Y/n) couldn’t help but whisper to herself, “What are you doing?”

“She appears to be gambling, (Y/n)! She looks quite tense, wouldn’t you say?” Yumeko stage whispered back.

(Y/n)’s hands curled into fists as she stood by helplessly, watching Mary bet the remaining thirty-two chips she owned. Why would Mary do this after she told her not to do anything rash? (Y/n) waited, her breath stuck in her lungs as the dealer counted down until the reveal of the swords under the cup. When the obtrusion was lifted, (Y/n)’s eyes quickly scanned the board. There! A sword was stuck in slot twenty-two and Mary had bet six chips on it!

“But wait, that’s—!” (Y/n)’s hands flew to her mouth, unable to speak further.

“Twenty-two was a hit. Congratulations, Saotome,” Yuriko praised before her lips quirked further upward, “However, unfortunately for you, the judgement is death.”

Mary hunched over, looking desperately at the board while the dealer explained the penalty.

“Saotome bet six chips on twenty-two with a judgement of death. This requires the punishment of a loss thirty times greater then the chips placed, turning six chips to one hundred eighty chips. When factoring the wins on Yuriko-sama’s slots, the grand total for Saotome is a loss of 49.6 million yen!” The dealer calculated.

(Y/n)’s knees nearly gave out when she heard the final calculation and her heart hammered painfully against her chest.

“See her out, I’m done with her,” Yuriko smiled sinisterly, earning a pained roar from Mary as she was pulled back by standby club members.

“Perhaps you should go after her,” (Y/n) jumped when Yumeko came in close and whispered in her ear. “Ryota and I can catch up with you later, go take care of your friend,” Yumeko smiled and gave (Y/n)’s shoulder a squeeze.

(Y/n) barely spared Yumeko a second glance before running out after the club members escorting Mary off of the premises.

“Let her go, I’ve got her,” (Y/n) commanded sternly, pulling Mary away from the Culture Club members. She shot them one last glare before she turned on her heel and began dragging Mary away from the building. She only stopped once they were off the trail in one of the more secluded areas near the edge of the school forest.

(Y/n) tentatively let go of Mary and leaned back against the nearest tree, her chest heaving with shuddering breaths. What the hell now?

“Why?” She finally choked out, Mary’s fists curled at the single word and she had the audacity to scoff before trying to leave the forest. (Y/n) wasn’t having it however, and took hold of Mary’s bicep.

“Let go!”

“Why? So you can disappear on me again and rack up a 100 million yen debt?” (Y/n) spat, her grip tightening. “I told you not to act recklessly and you thought it was a good idea to go up against Nishinotouin?!”

“There was nothing else to do!” Mary yelled back, turning back to fully face (Y/n) and fisting her hand in the front of (Y/n)’s uniform blazer and pulling her closer to her angry golden eyes. “This was my only chance to get out of being a house pet, it was a risk I had to take!”

“I wish you would have talked to me! You know I only want to help you!” (Y/n) fought the stinging sensation building in her eyes and stood her ground.

“Oh really, how do you expect me to believe that? Don’t think I didn’t see you being all chummy with Jabami and the dog in there. You know it’s because of her that I even had to instigate this match!”

“They roped me into coming along, it’s not like I had anything better to do since my best friend seemingly went missing yesterday, but it’s a good thing I came with them because it lead me straight to you.”

“Now what are you going to do, huh?” Mary’s grip tightened on the blazer, “Mock me like everyone else? Make me your own personal mittens and laugh with everyone while you tell me to do degrading things?”

“I’d never do that! You know I’ve never condoned that behavior, how could you think so lowly of me?” (Y/n) cursed herself as she felt a rebel tear escape and streak down her cheek. She moved her free hand to wipe it away, but Mary released her death grip on (Y/n)’s now thoroughly wrinkled blazer and beat her to it, wiping away the tear with the edge of her sleeve with a tenderness that (Y/n) almost never witnessed from the girl.

Mary’s touch lingered for a few moments, her golden eyes searched (Y/n)’s own, still glossy with unshed tears that threatened to join their fallen comrade.

“Fuck, stop that,” Mary admonished quietly, turning her gaze away.

“Stop what?” (Y/n) asked breathlessly, feeling exasperated and unbelievably exhausted.

“Stop looking like you’re going to cry, damnit!” Mary exhaled sharply and pushed her bangs back, “I’m the one with the 50 million yen debt for fuck’s sake!”

“Yes, but you’re my closest friend Mary! You mean more to me then you’ll probably ever know and I’m so scared for you!” (Y/n) couldn’t hold the floodgates any longer, finally she allowed the the tears of stress fall in earnest. She released her hold on Mary’s bicep and rubbed her face roughly with her sleeve while trying to force the tears to stop.

“Quit that,” Mary ordered awkwardly, pulling (Y/n)’s arm away from her face, “You’ll just further irritate your skin.”

“So what, I’m just supposed to look like a hot mess?” (Y/n) sniffed.

“Just come here you idiot,” Mary groaned, her tone lacking any of its usual bite as she pulled (Y/n) to the ground and held her with her back against the trunk of the nearest tree and (Y/n) somewhat nestled between Mary’s legs and sitting at a side angle.

Mary released an annoyed sigh and (Y/n) squeaked as Mary roughly pushed the other girl’s head into her chest and persisted with her hold, an awkward hug which (Y/n) eagerly reciprocated seeing as Mary rarely was the first to engage any physical contact. “If you get any snot on my uniform, I’ll kill you,” she mumbled, nevertheless tightening her hold.

They stayed like that even after (Y/n) had managed to calm down. They sat quietly together under the glowing leaves of the tree. The only other sounds being the rustle of the wind and the occasional bird song mixed with the mingled breaths of the two Hyakkaou students.

“What time is it?”

(Y/n) had almost dozed off when Mary finally spoke. She reached into her blazer’s pocket and fumbled with her phone, wincing at the late afternoon hour.

“School let out twenty minutes ago. Hope you didn’t have anything important due today,” (Y/n) sighed, showing Mary the time displayed on her lock screen.

“Please, that’s the least of my worries right now,” Mary rolled her eyes.

“Right...”

“Hey, don’t you start that again. It was bad enough the first time,” Mary scolded.

“Sorry,” (Y/n) sniffed and collected herself again, shifting away from Mary a bit so they were face to face. “How about I make it up to you with late lunch/ early dinner, my treat?”

“No way,” Mary tisked, “I can pay for myself.”

“I know for a fact you can’t, you broke ass bitch,” (Y/n) attempted humor, her lips forming the faintest of smiles.

“Way to kick a girl while she’s down,” Mary turned her head away in an attempt to hide the self deprecating smirk that had manifested over her lips.

“I’ll let you pick what we eat and we’ll call it even,” (Y/n) replied as she got up on wobbly legs. She immediately missed the warmth that had accumulated between her and Mary over the last several hours. She offered Mary her hand and her heart leapt when Mary accepted the help without a second thought.

“Fine, whatever I pick, it’s going to be delivery.” Mary said, patting the dirt off of her skirt. “We look like we’ve been lost in the wilderness for five days.” She added, approaching (Y/n) to remove a leaf that had settled in her hair.

Like before, Mary’s hand lingered, slowly dropping lower until it cupped (Y/n)’s cheek. Mary didn’t even seem to register that she had done that, given the far away look in her eye.

(Y/n) could feel her skin catch fire under the brush of Mary’s thumb and cleared her throat, causing Mary to jolt her hand away embarrassed and internally fuming at herself.

“S-so let’s head back to my room, yeah? We can get cleaned up and watch some movies, just forget everything and everyone else for tonight. We can continue worrying tomorrow.” (Y/n) proposed.

“Yeah, sounds good. I know I don’t want to go back to the Hana dorms right now if I can help it,” Mary shrugged, her attempt at appearing disinterested thwarted by her reddened cheeks.

On their way back to the Tsubaki class dorms, Mary grumbled something about not getting there fast enough and grabbed (Y/n)’s hand, lacing their fingers together as they walked. Mary picked up the speed a bit, but really made no difference that would cut down the time it would take to get back. (Y/n) didn’t comment on it though, instead opting to hum and gently swing their connected hands as they went.

When they got within view of the dorms, and all of the students milling about, Mary tugged her hand away and crossed her arms tightly over her chest, but continued to move alongside (Y/n) with a cute pout over her lips.

(Y/n) held her student ID against the panel near the door of the lobby and opened the door, ushering Mary inside. They took the elevator to the second floor, which housed the second year students of the Tsubaki class, and from there they headed to the girl’s wing.

When (Y/n) unlocked the door to her room, Mary pushed past her and flopped onto (Y/n) bed with a groan.

“Hey, You’re going to get dirt all over my comforter!” (Y/n) scolded half heartedly.

“Don’t care, I’m tired.” Mary smirked and took out her phone to scroll over dinner options. When she settled on one she tossed the phone at (Y/n) who fumbled with it before gaining a secure grasp over it. “You know what I like. You order while I take a shower.” Mary demanded as she walked away. “This stupidly rich school did one thing right when it fitted each room with its own bathroom.”

“Yeah, feel free to use whatever you need in there,” (Y/n) said distractedly as she scanned the menu. “Oh, and you can borrow some clothes to change into. The comfy stuff is in the two middle drawers.”

“Thanks.” Mary redirected her path to stop at the dresser and took a crewneck sweatshirt and a pair of shorts before disappearing behind the bathroom door.

(Y/n) placed an order for the food. When she was sure everything was in order, she closed the app and her breath caught in her throat.

Mary’s home screen was a picture that they took last year that included Mary, herself, Tsuzura, and Yukimi-senpai in their maid outfits. She smiled fondly at the memory, a bittersweet feeling forming in her heart as she made a mental note to talk to Tsuzura again soon. Though she missed her friend dearly, she knew she was much happier at her new school. It certainly was a less stressful environment to say the least.

(Y/n) locked the phone and placed it on her desk before plopping down into the desk chair and reaching for the tv remote to open her streaming service of choice.

“Showers’ free.” Mary sighed when she emerged from the bathroom, a wave of steam in her wake.

“Wow, just how hot was the water you were using?” (Y/n) asked with a chuckle.

“I’m sure there is still plenty of hot water left if that’s what you’re implying,” Mary said with a roll of her eyes. “Anyway, go get cleaned up, you’re a mess.”

“Ouch, okay,” (Y/n)’s hand flew to her chest in mock hurt briefly, “Expect a text in the next ten minutes or so for when the food gets here.”

“Got it,” Mary waved her hand dismissively and (Y/n) walked into the bathroom with an armful of fresh clothes.

By the time she was finished, Mary had the food set up in front of the tv and was lying along the full length of the couch scrolling through movie titles.

“Find anything you want to watch?”

“Meh, this one seems alright,” Mary scrolled back up and highlighted one.

“The Gamble Hole?” (Y/n) quirked a brow.

“What, you got a problem with it?” Mary grumped.

“No!” (Y/n) objected, holding her hands up defensively, “A fine choice, I just thought with- never mind. Just move your legs so I don’t break them when I sit on the couch.”

Mary scoffed and raised her legs, allowing (Y/n) just enough time to sit on the cushion before flopping her feet into (Y/n)’s lap. Mary then handed (Y/n) her food and started the movie.

They sat in comfortable silence, only broken occasionally by Mary dunking on the movie. Somewhere in the middle of the film, Mary got up to toss away their garbage and when she came back she had traded her feet’s previous positioning on (Y/n)’s lap with her head’s previous position on the arm of the couch.

Mary’s eyes dared (Y/n) to comment on the change in position, but (Y/n) let Mary have her peace and simply carded her fingers through Mary’s loose hair while turning her attention back to the movie.

One movie became two, two became three, and somewhere in the middle of that they had curled up on the couch and fell asleep tangled in each other’s arms.

Mary was the first to wake early the next morning. She had heard the faint tone of her phone’s alarm from (Y/n)’s bedroom where she had left it to charge and she groaned quietly to herself before untangling from (Y/n) to go turn it off.

“Hey, (Y/n), it’s time to get up.” Mary spoke gruffly, coming back into the main room to shake the other girl awake.

“Noooo,” (Y/n) groaned, curling into herself.

“C’mon, get ready or I’m leaving without you.” Mary warned. (Y/n) appeared to have dozed off again and Mary crossed her arms tightly over her chest and scoffed. “Fine, don’t get up. I’ll just go to school by myself and try another official match. I wonder if Yumemite is back from her tour yet.”

(Y/n) shot up from the couch and grabbed the hem of the crewneck Mary had borrowed. “Please don’t do that for the love of god!”

“Then get up and get ready to go, dumb ass. I still have to go back to my dorm for a clean uniform so I’ll meet you outside of the Hana building, got it?”

“You promise?” (Y/n) asked shyly, thinking back to the last two days when Mary hadn’t waited for her, avoided her.

Mary rolled her eyes and ruffled (Y/n)’s hair, “I promise, dummy.” Mary gathered her belongings and made her way to the door, “If you take too long I can’t say I’ll be able to keep that promise though.”

“I’ll be there!” (Y/n) called out just before Mary closed the door behind her. (Y/n) stood up from the couch and quickly began her morning routine and got dressed in a clean uniform. She grabbed her school bag and made sure she had her phone and ID before heading out.

(Y/n) hummed happily, swaying on her heels as she waited for Mary to come outside.

“You look very happy this morning, (Y/n)! It’s very sweet!”

(Y/n) was knocked out of her own little world when Yumeko seemingly appeared out of nowhere and linked arms with her.

“Ah Yumeko! You scared me.” (Y/n) exhaled, a hand over her heart.

“I apologize, (Y/n). Did you have a good night with Saotome?” Yumeko asked.

“How do you know about that?”

“I saw her walking back earlier. When I asked her if she was with you, she told me to keep my mouth shut and mind my own damn business. She’s so expressive!” Yumeko giggled.

“Uh huh,” (Y/n) smiled sheepishly. “So, um, how did your gamble with Nishinotouin-senpai go?”

“Oh, I lost unfortunately!”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.” (Y/n) felt a bit of guilt grip her heart. “I hope it wasn’t too bad, was it?”

“I’m 310 million yen in the hole!” Yumeko replied seemingly unbothered. In fact, she looked... happy?

“Three... three...” (Y/n) couldn’t even get the number out of her mouth, instead she kept opening and closing her mouth like a fish, occasionally mumbling a three while Yumeko smiled at her.

“Why the hell are you still standing out here?” Mary asked, irritation evident as she tugged (Y/n) out of Yumeko’s grasp.

“I was waiting for (Y/n) and Ryota! You as well Saotome, I’d love for us to be friends!” Yumeko answered.

“I’d rather die.” Mary sneered and made to tug (Y/n) towards the school but the girl was still dumbstruck and mumbling to herself. Mary snapped her fingers and waved in her face before turning back to Yumeko. “What the hell did you do to her?” She glared.

“Hmm? I don’t think I did anything.” Yumeko held a finger to her chin as she thought back.

“Whatever, just stay away from us! Got it?” Mary pushed passed Yumeko, pulling (Y/n) along and causing her to stumble behind her.

“See you later!” Yumeko waved.

***

Mary dragged (Y/n) into her classroom so she could get her stuff ready for class before going to get breakfast in the cafeteria. Her desk was still covered in marker but it hadn’t gotten worse since yesterday at least.

“I can help you clean it if you want.” (Y/n) asked, apparently she had finally sobered after the shock Yumeko had given her.

“Don’t bother, it would just encourage them to do it again and would make the effort a waste.” Mary shook her head and opened her desk, surprised to see an unfamiliar, thin journal sat neatly in the middle of her books and papers. “What the hell is this?” She muttered, turning it in her hands. The words ‘life plan’ shimmered in the light along with Mary’s name stenciled neatly below.

“Isn’t that the student council seal?” (Y/n) wondered, pointing to the golden insignia on the back.

Mary opened the thin journal and scanned the pages, becoming more agitated as she read. What’s this about an arranged marriage? Children? What kind of sick joke-

Mary slammed her fist on her desk, making (Y/n) jump. “This is bullshit! They can’t do this!”

“Mary-“ (Y/n) reached a hand out as the blonde strode away from her desk, the life plan held tightly in her hand. (Y/n)’s hand just missed Mary’s sleeve and Mary turned once she stood at the classroom door.

“I need to pay the student council a visit. I’ll see you after class.” Mary spoke before turning back and began walking briskly down the hallway.

“Be careful!” (Y/n) called back to her, rushing to the door to watch Mary stalk away.

With Mary gone, (Y/n) had no other choice but to move on to the cafeteria herself. She grabbed something she could eat quickly before heading to her classroom.

(Y/n) groaned inwardly once she reached the door, Kiwatari was already there raising hell as always.

“Kiwatari, isn’t it a little early to be an asshole?” (Y/n) asked, placing her bag on her desk hook.

“What’s it to you, (L/n)? ‘m just playing with my pets.”

“Class is about to start and as class rep, I must ask that you refrain from harassing people getting ready for class. House pets included.” (Y/n) spoke resolutely, using what she called her, ‘Igarashi, Sayaka voice’ and gave a sympathetic once over to Tsubomi who stood with her head held low.

“Tsk, uptight bitch” Kiwatari muttered, giving Tsubomi one last shove as he made his way to his seat.

(Y/n) frowned deeply but did not intervene again. She would rather not be stuck on that pig’s radar by getting overly involved in his business. So, she held her tongue and waited for the teacher to enter in the next few minutes. However, just before roll call, the intercom system crackled to life and the voice of the student council secretary greeted the student body.

Igarashi had made an announcement explaining that an opportunity had arose for those who had debts to pay and those interested were to come to the assembly room for more information.

(Y/n) had no debts to participate in such an event, but she left with the small group in her class because she was almost certain Mary would attend the meeting, and right she was.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Mary muttered quietly when (Y/n) came up to her.

“Well, I figured you’d be here when I heard the announcement. How did your talk with the student council go?”

“Shitty. Now be quiet so I can focus on what she’s saying.” Mary gestured towards the front of the room where Igarashi had just stepped up to the podium.

“Welcome students,” Igarashi smiled politely, “Our president has brought to fruition an opportunity that could very well change your lives as you know them. A gamble that could free you from your chains of servitude, or send you plummeting further into despair. Should you choose to compete, the game of choice will be ten rounds of Indian Poker. You will be divided into groups of four. Each person’s chip’s worth will depend on their accumulated debt. You may place whatever amount of debt you wish to wager with on your provided card. We look forward to your participation in the Great Debt Swapping Game.”

“Ooo, this should be a lot of fun!”

Mary and (Y/n) jumped as a head popped between them and an arm wrapped around each of their shoulders.

“Get the hell off me!” Mary growled, pushing Yumeko off. “What are you even doing here anyway?”

“Oh, did (Y/n) not tell you? I’m over 300 million yen in debt!” Yumeko cheered.

“As if I care, you know-“ Mary paused and did a double take at Yumeko, “Did you just say— Fuck you!” Mary turned back towards to front absolutely seething.

“Awww why is Saotome mad at me, (Y/n)?” Yumeko pouted and hung off the other girl while (Y/n) struggled to escape her grasp.

“My best guess would be she’s pissed that you beat her and put her in debt and then not even three days later you lost, and lost badly at that. Mary is probably taking that as a severe insult to not only her gambling skill, but also her pride.” (Y/n) said thoughtfully.

“I could do without the analysis, (Y/n)!”

“I found that quite helpful and I feel closer to Saotome for it, thank you (Y/n)!” Yumeko smiled sweetly at (Y/n) before directing her attention back to Mary. “Don’t feel bad Saotome, had an outside party not gotten involved in my gamble, Nishinotouin-senpai would have found herself in my position I’m sure!”

“Do you not know what personal space is?” Mary griped, stepping away from Yumeko once again.

“The groups have been randomly set,” Igarashi’s voice rolled over the assembly hall once more and she began listing off the groups, “...Next we have Saotome Mary, Jabami Yumeko, Kiwatari Jun, and Tsubomi Nanami. The following group consists of...”

“Did you hear that Saotome? We’re in the same group! How lucky!” Yumeko invaded Mary’s space once more, smiling even more brilliantly.

“Of course we are. Why am I not surprised.” Mary moved to the other side of (Y/n) to put some distance between herself and Yumeko. By doing so she noticed the thoughtful, far away look (Y/n) currently held. “Hey, what’s up?” her voice was a little gruff but held an undertone of affection.

“The other people in your group are in my class. I can understand why Tsubomi would be here, as she’s a house pet, but Kiwatari has no outstanding reason to compete that I’m aware of.” (Y/n) shifted her weight and looked at the two Hana class students, her expression serious. “I may not know his plan, but I can almost guarantee you that he will be using Tsubomi as an accomplice of sorts to achieve his goal.”

“Oh my, are you sure about this (Y/n)?” Yumeko tilted her head.

“Kiwatari has been making Tsubomi’s life hell for a long time now. Her will has been severely damaged if not completely destroyed by him. She’ll probably do what he says because she finds it easier then fighting back. Which is why I think...” (Y/n) drifted off, her eyes moving to look exclusively at Mary who immediately let out a strangled, agitated noise.

“Alright, I see where this is going and I don’t like it but...” Mary sighed “You aren’t going to let me continue on unless I do this, aren’t you?”

“That would be correct.” (Y/n) nodded.

Yumeko kept looking between the two, her expression one of mild confusion.

“Jabami,” Mary finally spat.

“Yes?”

“Will you work with me for this gamble.” Mary gritted out.

“Oh Saotome! I’d be honored to be your partner!” Yumeko clapped, “Was this your plan (Y/n)? Thank you for making this gamble so much more interesting!”

“Uh, you’re welcome?” Students began filling out the assembly hall to fill out their debt cards and (Y/n) looked over the two girls nervously. “They aren’t going to let outside parties watch these matches and I should really get back to class. You two should hurry so you can get your cards and come up with a strategy.”

“What do you look so worried for?” Mary scoffed, messing up (Y/n)’s hair, “You already gave me an edge over the competition, if you think I’m still going to lose after that you’re really pissing me off.”

“Don’t worry (Y/n), I’ll take good care of Mary-san!” Yumeko butted in.

“Shut up, Jabami.”

“I hate that you’re taking this risk, but I believe you can win. So I’ll try not to stress over it too much. You’ll come find me when it’s over, right?” (Y/n) asked.

“Where else would I go, dummy?” Mary rolled her eyes and turned away, Yumeko hot on her heels. “I’ll see you later.” She added, her words sounding much less harsh. Yumeko waved excitedly then turned to catch up with Mary’s strides.

***

(Y/n) was surprised when at her break, Ryota had come to her class looking for her with another student.

“You (L/n), (Y/n)?” The other student asked.

“Yes, and what may I ask is this about?”

“I’ve got a check for Suzui here. However it was also requested that you be present as a witness to the transaction. Since you’re here,” he pulled an envelope from his blazer and handed it to Ryota, “I can give Suzui the check. Have a good day.” The student nodded before exiting the classroom.

“What’s this about, Suzui?” (Y/n) asked.

“I wish I knew.” Ryota scratched his head. “I’m just as confused as you are.”

“Well, I guess you should open it.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Ryota tore open the seal and pulled the check out. It took a moment but once the amount registered in their minds, Ryota and (Y/n) both screamed.

“How the hell did you get all that money, Suzui!? Did you kill someone? Several someones!?” (Y/n) asked nonplussed.

“I- I didn’t do anything! ...I think!? This must be a joke, right? Is this a prank, (Y/n)? Did Saotome-san put you up to this?”

“No, of course not!”

“This can’t be real. I should really just throw it out.” Ryota sighed tiredly.

“Wait,” (Y/n) stopped him from crinkling up the paper, “Don’t do anything just yet. Keep it until the end of the day at least. Meet me back here and then we can decide what to do with it if no new info comes up. Just keep it safe until then.”

“Alright, I can do that.” Ryota appeared to be sweating. “Nothing stressful about carrying an obscene amount of mysterious money that may or may not be real.”

“If it really bothers you that much I can hold onto it until then.” (Y/n) offered.

“Please!” Ryota quickly shoved the paper into (Y/n)’s hand without a second thought.

“Alright, I’ll see you here after school, okay?” (Y/n) asked as she tucked the paper into the front of her blazer.

“Right!” Ryota answered, his shoulders slumped as the tension holding the check had brought left.

***

The rest of (Y/n)’s classes slugged by, the weight of the check against her chest becoming heavier with each hour dragging by and thoughts of Mary plagued her mind. Was she doing okay?

Finally the last class had wrapped up for the day and (Y/n) rubbed her palms roughly over her eyes. She felt exhausted.

A few minutes later, Ryota arrived and sat in the desk next to hers looking just as tired.

“So, what now?” He asked.

(Y/n) released a joyless hum as she removed the check from her blazer and looked over it again. “I don’t know. I did some research about counterfeit checks and it appears to be legitimate. I’m just worried about what this money could mean. You don’t just have this kind of cash fall into your lap for free.”

“Aha! They’re in here Mary-san!” Yumeko suddenly appeared in the doorway, a little out of breath.

“Yumeko!” Ryota greeted her happily.

“Yumeko! How did the gamble go? Where’s Mary?” (Y/n) asked.

“I’m right here, dummy.” Mary appeared in the doorway looking a little out of breath herself, “If you two didn’t make us need to run around the school, we could have met up sooner.”

Mary stalked over to Ryota and (Y/n) and she practically dropped to the floor in relief. “Thank god you have it!” Mary took the check from (Y/n)’s hand and kissed (Y/n)’s cheek without even having it register in her mind as she looked over the check before pressing it to her chest like a precious artefact. “I told Yumeko to just have it sent to you, but she insisted Suzui hold onto it for god only knows why.”

(Y/n) just stared at Mary absolutely dumbfounded, her hand that once held the check now pressed to her warm and tingling cheek.

“What? What’s with the face?” Mary asked with a quirk of her brow.

“I I I- You, um,” (Y/n) stuttered, unable to find her words.

“Oh, you saw the money did you?” Mary smirked, “Impressive, isn’t it?”

“You mean the money is yours?” Ryota asked, “That makes more sense now I guess, but how’d you get all that?”

“The Debt Swapping Game, of course!” Mary scoffed, “Honestly Jabami, did you tell him anything about what we were doing?”

“I saw no need to. It all worked out in the end, didn’t it?” Yumeko smiled brightly.

“Wait wait, you won?” (Y/n) stared up at Mary with cautious awe. “That check is what you won in the gamble?”

Mary stared back, smug and looking oh so happy with herself. “Yeah, it’s the last time you’ll see me wearing one of these eye sores.” Mary tugged the house pet tag off of her neck and tossed it into the garbage.

“You won! You won!” (Y/n) cheered and shot up out of her desk. She wrapped her arms around Mary and bounced her around while laughing joyously.

“Hey! Calm down!” Mary blushed, and pushed (Y/n) by the shoulders to try to stop her jostling movements.

“This is fun!” Yumeko joined in from behind Mary, wrapping her arms around her neck and bouncing in time with (Y/n) who was still vigorously celebrating.

“Alright that’s enough, get off!” Mary elbowed Yumeko in the stomach and pushed (Y/n) half an arm’s length away. “A little space would be-“

(Y/n) cupped half of Mary’s face with her hand and landed a quick kiss on Mary’s cheek before pulling away completely. She continued to dance around the classroom, feeling heat run through her face and a rush of giddiness. Her smiling lips still tingling from the brief contact. Yumeko skipped with (Y/n) around the classroom, still happy to revel in the celebration that was dangerously close to becoming excessive.

“Hu... Hey!” Mary finally regained her bearings, her shoulders stiff and face red, watching (Y/n) and Yumeko make their way across the front of the room.

Mary’s voice forced (Y/n) to a sudden halt, causing Yumeko to bump into her, but she too stopped to look curiously at Mary.

“What the hell was that?” Mary glared at (Y/n), her arms crossed tightly over her blazer.

(Y/n) didn’t even try to act dumb, it would have been unwise based on how intently Mary was staring at her. “I, um, I was just returning the favor.”

“What favor?” Mary stared incredulously.

“Mary-san, don’t say you forgot already! That would just be cruel.” Yumeko pouted and pulled (Y/n) into her arms and pat her head affectionately. “If I were to kiss (Y/n), I certainly wouldn’t forget.” Her words causing (Y/n) to duck out of her reach to try to cover her bashfulness.

“I think I’m gonna go home?” Ryota looked over the three girls, his face plainly showed how weird he found the whole scene to be. “Uh, yeah, see you guys tomorrow.” He waved awkwardly before darting out the door.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Mary continued, not even acknowledging Ryota’s exit.

“Mary, you kissed me when you took the check from me...” (Y/n) shyly pointed to her cheek, her eyes focusing in the opposite corner of the room from Mary. Yumeko hummed and nodded affirmingly.

“I did not I-“ Mary’s skin gained a few darker shades of red and she stood statue still and just as stiff, her eyes lit up as if recalling a distant memory. (Y/n) and Yumeko watched from the front of the classroom, waiting to see what would become of the blonde who seemed to be trapped in her own mind.

“I wonder if we broke her.” Yumeko mused, a finger tapping lightly over her lips.

After a few more moments, Mary’s head shot up, her eyes immediately connecting with (Y/n)’s startled ones. “Get over here.” Mary commanded, her voice tight and low.

(Y/n) gulped and quickly made her way to stand in front of her friend, not wanting to risk an impatient reprimand for stalling. “Y...Yes, Mary?” she asked, meekly.

“Closer.”

(Y/n) took another tentative step forward. Mary sighed and pulled (Y/n) in by the blazer until their noses grazed, eliciting a surprised squeak from the other girl. Mary tilted her head and kissed (Y/n)’s cheek again, lingering a bit longer than she had with the first one.

“Can I have one, Mary-san?” Yumeko called from her spot against the front wall.

“No! Why are you even still here, read the room and go home already!” Mary blushed, nevertheless keeping her hold on (Y/n)’s blazer.

“Oh my, are you planning to be more intimate right now? I suppose it is a little early in our relationship for me to bare witness to such displays. I’ll see you two tomorrow!” Yumeko hummed happily as she exited the classroom, pulling the door close behind her.

“Why did you have to word it like that, you fucking weirdo!” Mary yelled after Yumeko, but she was already gone.

Mary turned back to (Y/n) and released another sigh. “Do that thing again.”

(Y/n) stared at Mary inquisitively for a moment before realization dawned over her. She smiled and gently pressed another kiss over Mary’s cheek.

Mary took a moment to clear her throat after (Y/n) pulled away before speaking, “Thanks. Thanks for that and uh, not leaving me behind as a house pet.” She mumbled.

“Anytime.” (Y/n)’s features grew soft. “Thanks for letting me back in.”

“So listen,” Mary began, her tone made room for no nonsense, “First thing tomorrow I’m paying back the student council and then I’ve got to give Jabami some fair compensation for teaming up in the debt game, but after classes do you want to go somewhere, just us? Like we were supposed to do before Jabami ruined everything.”

“Isn’t it usually just us when we go do stuff?” (Y/n) chuckled and smiled innocently at Mary’s warning look.

“Hey, with Jabami and the dog- ugh, Suzui, always popping up these days, they’d probably invite themselves along. I’m just trying to cover all my bases.”

“So, it’s a date then?” (Y/n) asked, trying to keep her emotions under the surface as to not get her hopes too high, to not show her disappointment should Mary deny it.

“Are you really going to make me say it?”

(Y/n) nodded.

“Yeah, it’s a date. Officially I guess.” Mary shrugged.

(Y/n) hugged Mary so hard, she nearly suffocated her, but Mary didn’t complain. Instead, she hugged back just as hard and hid her smile in (Y/n)’s hair.

#Kakegurui oneshots #Kakegurui x reader #Mary Saotome x reader #Maeri Saotome x reader

261 notes · View notes

thiswasinevitableid · 3 years

Note

For the meet Ugly- 13 with Danbrey?

Here you go! I went SFW on this one

13: we make contact before trying to steal the last seat on the subway/bus/train and I end up in your lap and fuck you, I’m going to stay here because I’ve had a really long day and this seat was mine

The bus is not as fun as she remembers.

When Aubrey was a little kid, her mom would use the bus to take her to the museum or the movies or, on the best days, the magic store. Yes, the Little’s had a nice car, but her mom believed that not only was the bus better for the environment, it was a way to remember that there was nothing scary about being around people who come from all sorts of circumstances (Aubrey later learned this was due to her mom once being at a PTA meeting where hands were rung over children using public transportation being exposed to “unsavory” people).

“The world is full of all kinds of people, firebug. That’s not something to be scared of.”

She wipes her eye surreptitiously under the West Virginia sun. You’d think she’d have learned not to think about mom in public by now.

The bus line she’s using for her tour is inexplicably crowded; half these towns are on their way to being ghosts but somehow she’s always fighting for a seat. She doesn’t like her chances for this leg of the ride, since she got distracted reading about the history of Doc Martens and ended up towards the back of the line.

By some luck, there’s one seat left as she squeezes onto the bus, using her body to keep people from elbowing the fabric carrier containing Dr. Harris Bonkers, PhD. But in the time she takes to turn to sit, someone else slips into the spot, so fast it’s almost inhuman.

“Um, excuse me, but this was my seat.” She turns to confront the thief and finds herself looking at a young woman about her age, with honey-blonde hair and hazel eyes which, were she not tired and grumpy, Aubrey would have lots of compliments for.

“No, it wasn’t. I got here first. You’ll just have to stand.”

“That’d be fine if it were just me.” The bus pulls away from the curb, “but it’s bad for Dr. Harris Bonkers to be suspended for too long.” She adjusts the bunny bag, hoping his big brown eyes and wiggly nose will make her case for her.

“Awww” the blonde coos, booping him through the mesh, “don’t worry little guy, you aren’t going too far. You’ll be fine if your person stands for a little bit.”

“It’s not a little bit, it’s twelve hour trip to my next stop!”

A smile full of understated charm and triumph, “It’s thirteen to mine.”

“Aw beans.”

“......are you going to get out of my lap at any point?”

“No” Aubrey turns her head to look out the window, “this is a good seat, even if there’s someone in it. I’m staying.”

It’s not her finest moment, to be sure. But she’s tired and heartsick so she is staying in this seat, damn it. The other woman grumbles something and slumps back against the black seat.

They hit the next stop, but not enough people get off, so she stays in her mystery lady’s lap. Her seat(mate) pulls a baggie of granola from the pocket of her definitely-not-cute-at-all overalls and crunches it louder than necessary by her ear.

“Uh, your rabbit is trying to get out.”

Aubrey glances down to see the mesh front straining as Dr. Harris Bonkers attempts to reach the granola.

“Don’t beg, young man, it’s rude.”

“Can he have a piece?” She holds up a dried strawberry.

“Um, sure.” Aubrey watches as she unzips the top of the carrier and let’s the rabbit nibble the treat from her hand. Aubrey’s a little jealous.

They don’t say anything to each other, but the rabbit gets two more treats before they reach the next stop. The person who’s spent the whole trip asleep in the window seat next to them jerks awake and hurries off the bus. Aubrey scoots into it before anyone can dare challenge her.

They’ve just turned onto the highway when she says, “Thanks. For, um, for sharing your granola.”

“You’re welcome.”

“And I’m, um, I’m sorry for sitting on you.”

“Yeah that wasn’t great, but if someone was going to sit on me I’m glad it’s the cutest passenger on the bus.” She points at Dr. Harris Bonkers, but keeps her eyes on Aubrey.

“We’re both kinda tired. We had a show late last night and we’re nervous for the one tomorrow.”

“Show?”

“I’m a magician and he’s my assistant. I’m known as the Lady Flame” she snaps and finger-guns, setting off a flashpaper, “but you can call me Aubrey.”

“Ma’am, no smoking on the bus!”

“Sorry!” She calls to the driver.

“I’m Dani” the blond boops Dr. Harris Bonkers again, “whose this guy?”

“Dr. Harris Bonkers, PhD.”

“Nice to meet you, doctor.”

“Are, um, are you just traveling for fun?” She unzips the carrier enough for them both to pet him.

“Not really. I was running an, uh, an errand. I’ll be glad to get back to Kepler.” She fiddles with something in her pocket, “could I see more of your act?”

“I think that might get me thrown off the bus.”

“Don’t you have pictures?” Dani smiles.

“Oh duh, right, here, I even got someone to take some videos.” She scooches closer, Dani closing the remaining distance to rest their shoulders together. As they move through the videos, Dani is noticeably excited, even claps a few times. When Aubrey’s battery dies, they say “fuck” in sync.

“...want to play ‘I Spy?”

“Hell yeah.”

The next three hours pass in a flash, the two of them laughing and trading stories, all the while both cuddling closer to the window (to better play the game, of course).

They reach a travel hub, the driver informing everyone that they’ll leave in an hour on the dot. The two of them select a Dennys, since in Aubrey’s experience they tend to ignore her bringing in an eighteen pound rabbit.

She charges her phone while they eat, Dani getting corned beef hash, (“not as good as the one my friend makes back home”) while Aubrey has pancakes. She gets a little syrup on her cheek and nearly asks Dani to clean it off for her. With her tongue.

It’s dark when they get back to their seats, but the driver keeps the A.C cranked to the point that Aubrey is shivering. Dani pulls a shawl from her backpack, draping it around them both like a blanket as the trees become nothing more than vague shapes in the dark.

They talk about Aubrey’s tattoos, about the garden Dani has back home (“lots of veggies, you’d like that, wouldn’t you buddy?”). Last night starts catching up with Aubrey, yawns threatening to steal her attention from the way the light catches in Dani’s hair.

“Wanna see more videos?” That’s low energy flirtation, right?

“Of course.”

As she opens the videos, she hits an older album and an image of her and her mom fills the screen. She freezes, like the highbeams of the past are barrelling towards her and all she can do is watch.

“Aubrey?” Dani touches her cheek.

“Um, sorry.” She shoves the phone in the pocket of her jacket, “I, my, my mom died a little while ago. That was her. Um. I guess that was obvious. Sorry.”

Dani’s fingers find hers, interlacing them gently, “I’m so sorry, Aubrey. I...I get it. My family is, well I made some choices that mean I’ll never get to see them again. I, the reason I went on this trip was because I heard one of my brothers might have, uh, done the same thing. He hadn’t.” She sighs, “I don’t even know if they’re all still alive.”

“That sucks. This all. Fucking. Sucks.”

Dani nods, rests their heads together, “You know what doesn’t suck? Meeting you.”

“Pfffft” Aubrey smiles through her tears, hoping the joking noise will hide her blush.

Dani cups her cheeks, “I’m serious. Getting to know you feels like, like rounding a corner and seeing your house after years away. I, this is going to sound silly but please tell me you’re stopping in Kepler for a show?”

“I’m not but I, um, I guess I could still stop off there? If you really wanted me to.” Something about Dani’s smile, the warmth in her eyes, soothes her grief to sleep for now.

“I do, fireblossom, so much.”

Aubrey blushes, “Think you might be my first fan; no one else ever requests a show.”

Dani kisses her cheek, “I might even request one in private.”

“I could get into that” she yawns, “damn it, I don’t wanna sleep. I wanna keep flirting with you, cutie pie.”

Dani shifts their luggage, scoots sideways and guides Aubrey’s head down into her lap, “Get some rest, Aubrey. Just being able to look at you is enough for me.”

“Awww” Aubrey nestles against her stomach, “you’re so cute...just a...cutie...pie...zzz”

The last thing she feels is a kiss on the forehead and Dani tucking the shawl around her.

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

Aubrey does not want to get off this bus; Dani is cuddled up next to her, telling her about what kind of flowers she’d grow her, when he stops come up.

“Whelp….this is me.”

Dani helps her off the bus, passing her the carrier containing a sleeping Dr. Harris Bonkers. Then she smirks, “is your balance pretty good.”

“Yeah? Wh-mmphhoh” She holds tight as Dani nearly knocks her off her feet in a kiss. She tastes like the strawberry poptart they split for breakfast and is not making it any easier to say goodbye.

“Promise you’ll come see me in Kepler?’ Dani murmurs against her lips.

“Promise.”

A kiss on the nose, then a longer one on the mouth that makes Aubrey feel like she’s going to go up flashpaper. Then Dani is gone, off towards Kepler. A town Aubrey has no knowledge of and no idea how to navigate. And she didn’t get Dani’s last name.

“Fuck.” She says to the rabbit.

The rabbit simply snuffles in reply.

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

A few hours after her most catastrophic show to date and getting a gun pointed at her, Aubrey walks into Amnesty Lodge and finds a certain face, haloed with golden hair, waiting for her by the fireplace.

#Aubrey little/dani #danbrey #TAZ Amnesty #meet ugly

27 notes · View notes

cryingcow · 4 years

Text

Character Story - Mine [RGGO]

I feel like i just wrote an entire MineDai pre-relationship fanfic with the word count on this >_< There’s a section in Mine’s wiki page about the “The Man Called Yoshitaka Mine” event. I’m pretty sure this takes place after that one, because Mine makes references to things Daigo said when they first met.

When it comes to idioms, I decided to leave in the ones that don’t sound too different from their English counterparts as is. The others I just tried to reword (it took a lot of googling to figure them out lol). Also, please note that anything I write before the chapter starts is shit I made up, don’t take them as facts XD

Story: Mine, Chairman of the Hakuho Clan, meets up with Sixth Chairman Dojima. He then goes out for drinks with his boss, loses him in a public toilet, and ends up saving the day with his inherent skepticism that Daigo could be sleeping with a woman (either because our boy Mine’s gaydar is on point, or he believes that the words “Daigo” and “get laid” could never occur in the same sentence).

Mine: (I wish I could be his friend so he could smile at me like that . . . but it seems I am fated to only know him as the Sixth Chairman . . .)

Daigo: “Hey Mine wanna get some drinks together?”

Mine: :O

CHAPTER 1

[Tojo Headquarters]

Driver: “Well, Chairman Mine. This is where you get off.”

Mine: “Ah.”

Mine: (Today’s my meeting with Chairman Dojima. Heh. I’ve really gotten far.)

Mine: “Hm? That’s . . .”

{Daigo walks by, talking to someone on the phone.}

Mine: “Is that Chairman Dojima? He seems to be on the phone with someone.”

Daigo: “Hahaha. It’s hard work. But I’m fine.”

Telephone voice: “But Daigo-san. Ever since becoming chairman, you’ve become a distant person!”

Daigo: “What, would you like to come visit the Tojo Headquarters next time? It’s full of yakuza . . .”

Telephone voice: “No way! Just treat me to some cabarets and soaplands!”

Daigo: “Idiot, use your own money! Ha ha ha!”

Mine: (. . . Is the other party on the phone a friend of Chairman Dojima? . . . From what I heard, Chairman Dojima was playing around with his friends in the city before he assumed the position of Sixth Chairman. Must be a friend from that time period. I thought he was strict, but it seems he can make that kind of expression . . . to a friend . . .)

Daigo: “Oh, Mine. You’re here.”

Mine: “It’s nice to meet you, Chairman.”

----

[Tojo HQ – Chairman’s Office]

Daigo: “. . . That’s all for today. Good luck from now on.”

Mine: “Yes. I will live up to your expectations.”

Mine: (By exchanging a cup with him, you entrust your life . . . It seems that I may only know this person as the Sixth Chairman . . .)

Daigo: “Hm? What is it, Mine? What’s wrong?”

Mine: “. . . no. It’s nothing. Excuse me.”

Daigo: “Really?”

Mine: (Now I have to fulfill my duties faithfully. To be Chairman Dojima’s . . . the Tojo Clan’s backbone.)

Daigo: “. . . Wait. Mine. Are you free tonight?”

Mine: “Tonight? I don’t have any plans . . .”

Daigo: “Then, do you want to go out for drinks?”

Mine: “Eh?”

Daigo: “It’s late, but consider it a celebration of the direct promotion of the Hakuho Clan. In addition, I’ve never had a drink with you yet.”

Mine: “. . .”

Daigo: “How about it? I know a good place.”

Mine: “. . . Yeah. I’ll be happy to.”

----

[Champion District]

Mine: (. . . no way. To receive an invitation from Chairman Dojima . . . I’m in trouble. What do I even talk about . . .)

{Off to the side, a thug and a yakuza are yelling and fighting.}

Mine: (Jeez. It’s a noisy town. The Chairman will arrive anytime now.)

{The thug and the yakuza keep fighting. The yakuza shoves the thug, and he bumps into Mine.}

Mine: “. . . ku!”

Thug: “What are you standing around there for!”

Mine: “. . . If you two are having a dispute, can you do it elsewhere?”

Thug: “We can have disputes wherever we want!”

Mine: “. . . You’re an eyesore. Scraps.”

Yakuza: “Scraps?”

Mine: “Yeah. Garbage. Messy trash dirtying the Chairman’s path. The Chairman will feel uncomfortable with guys like you around. Get lost now.”

Yakuza: “What part of it don’t you understand! We’re not going anywhere!”

Mine: “I guess it can’t be helped then. I’ll have to announce the Chairman’s arrival before he comes. Bring it on, scraps!”

{Mine takes care of the garbage.}

Mine: “Hn. Not so mouthy now.”

Daigo’s voice: “I think they’ve had enough, Mine.”

Mine: “Chairman Dojima . . .”

Daigo: “Did I keep you waiting?”

Mine: “No . . . I just arrived myself. Even so, a place like this? There’s a lot to be said about the location, the security . . .”

Daigo: “This is my favorite bar. When it comes to drinking, this is the best place.”

Mine: “Is that so . . . hm?”

Bodyguards: “. . .”

Daigo: “They’re coming along while we drink. Those guys are at work, don’t mind them.”

Mine: “I don’t have a problem. This is for the safety of Chairman Dojima.”

Mine: (Now, since I was invited, I have to be enthusiastic . . . It’s time to forget my daily duties and just enjoy myself tonight.)

----

[Bar that might be Shellac unless it’s just reused assets]

Daigo: “Fuu. I finally got a drink. I can’t do without this.”

Mine: “. . . Chairman Dojima, you seem tired. Are the Chairman’s duties difficult?”

Daigo: “Ah, it’s very hard. For days it seems I’ve done nothing but work.”

{A couple overhears and starts whispering near them. The woman wonders what Daigo is a chairman of, but the man says he’s probably no one important.}

Daigo: “. . .”

Mine: “. . .”

Daigo: “. . . Hey, Mine. Why are you calling me Chairman Dojima today? It’s too stiff.”

Mine: “Sorry. I didn’t realize. Then . . . Daigo-san. That’s what I’ll call you.”

Daigo: “Ah, that’s fine.”

Daigo: “You know . . . the Fourth Chairman Kiryu-san’s existence is far greater than I thought. It seems even among those who don’t openly oppose, many are still dissatisfied with my appointment as Sixth Chairman.”

Mine: (Kiryu Kazuma . . . his name will always come up when you talk with Daigo-san . . .)

Mine: “That person, Kiryu, to Daigo-san . . . is he like your aniki?”

Daigo: “Aniki? . . .That’s right, something like that. I can’t express it in one word. But family, no . . . he may be more than that.”

Mine: (More than family? Something that far?)

Daigo: “That person is now running an orphanage in Okinawa. There, he seems to be living in peace with his new family.”

Mine: “An orphanage . . .”

Daigo: “Life in Okinawa is the peace he finally got. I want to protect it, whatever happens . . .”

Mine: (For Daigo-san to declare as much . . . Kiryu Kazuma . . . must be quite the man.)

----

|2 hours later . . .|

Daigo: “Hahaha! Kanda’s face at the time must have been a masterpiece.”

Mine: “Yeah! Once my anger passed, I was amazed. He had a face like a sumo wrestler’s after I hit it.”

Daigo: “Ha-Hahaha! Su-Sumo wrestler-!”

Mine: (It seems he’s having fun. This is nice . . .)

Daigo: “By the way, Mine. Are you a private person? When it comes to friends . . .”

Mine: “Eh? Private? Me? . . . Hm? A phone?”

{A phone goes off with a notification.}

Daigo: “O-oh. It looks like I got . . . an email . . .”

Mine: “. . . !”

Mine: (What? Daigo-san’s face . . . is turning pale . . .)

Daigo: “. . .”

Mine: “What’s wrong?”

Daigo: “. . . N-no. It’s not a big deal. It’s my work email. Good grief, they must be bored. I don’t usually get emails at times like this.”

Bodyguards: “. . .”

Mine: (Daigo-san looks upset. Who did the email come from?)

-END-

CHAPTER 2

[Bar]

Daigo: “. . .”

Mine: (Daigo-san. Since that email arrived, he’s been acting strange. He keeps looking at the time, and acting like he doesn’t want to be here anymore. Who did that email come from?)

Mine: “. . . Um. Daigo-san, are you okay? Your complexion looks bad.”

Daigo: “No, it’s fine. I just feel a little sick.”

Mine: (Are you hiding something?)

{There’s a commotion outside. Two yakuza brothers are trying to enter the bar, but Bodyguard A says monkeys like them aren’t allowed inside. They get into a fight.}

Bodyguard B: “Sounds like trouble outside. I’ll go help.”

Mine: (Not again. It really is a noisy town.)

Daigo: “. . . Now’s my chance.”

Mine: “Eh?”

Daigo: “Mine, actually there’s something I need to tell you . . . I need to get out of here alone.”

Mine: “Get . . . out?”

Daigo: “Lately, my bodyguards have been hanging around all the time, and I’m getting sick of it. They even follow me to the toilet . . . I can’t even stretch out my wings. That’s why I want to be alone for once and take a break.”

Mine: (. . . he wants to be alone? What do I say to that?)

Mine: “By any chance . . . does the content of the email you received have something to do with this?”

Daigo: “! . . . No Mine, it’s not like that. As I said . . .”

Mine: (He keeps glancing around the place. What is it?)

Mine: “. . . understood.”

Daigo: “So you’ll let me go?!”

Mine: “Yeah. It’s likely you’ll still try to leave even if I say no. However . . . please let me accompany you. As your bodyguard.”

Daigo: “Wh-what? You too?”

Mine: “It is expected that as the Sixth Chairman, you cannot be walking around alone. ‘I will accompany you as a bodyguard’ . . . that’s the last oath your subordinates swear by.”

Daigo: “. . . Alright. Then come along with me. We should be able to get out through the back door.”

Mine: (Daigo-san’s expression when he received the email is no small matter . . . When it’s just the two of us outside, maybe then he’ll tell me what’s going on.)

Middle-aged Man: “. . .”

----

[Children’s Park]

Daigo: “Fuu. Somehow I found it.”

Mine: “. . . Daigo-san, what are you doing? You said you wanted to stretch out your wings.”

Daigo: “. . . Ah, that’s right . . . I felt like wanting to move my body somewhere.”

Mine: “If so, there’s a batting center nearby. How about that?”

Daigo: “A-Ah, that’s great! It’s been a while, I feel like hitting some balls!”

Mine: “. . . By the way, Daigo-san. About the email earlier . . .”

Daigo: “!”

Mine: “Are you hiding something from me? If you’re in trouble, I might be able to help.”

Daigo: “. . . . . . No, it’s a personal problem. It’s not something I should be telling you.”

Mine: “But . . .”

Daigo: “. . . . . . Mine, I understand your concern. From my position, it seems I am always threatened by danger to my person. I don’t know what or when it will happen. There’s no guarantee of tomorrow’s safety.”

Mine: “Daigo-san?”

Daigo: “. . . No, it’s a long story. Don’t worry about it. Well, you said the batting center, right? It’s been a while. Mine, will you join me?”

Mine: “Yeah. I’ll take you up on that.”

Mine: (Daigo-san is still hiding something. But, why won’t he tell me?)

Daigo: “. . . Don’t get cold, Mine. I’m going to the toilet.”

Mine: “Understood. I’ll be standing guard right here in front, so take your time.”

Daigo: “I’ll be right back.”

{Daigo enters the public toilets. Mine takes his position by the exit. A few minutes pass.}

Mine: “. . . . . . . . . he’s taking his time . . . unless . . .”

{Mine rushes to the toilets.}

Mine: “Not here . . .! He’s gone! Did he go out through the window?! He took his chance the moment he was alone! Fuck, what do I do . . .”

----

[Children’s Park]

Bodyguard A: “Ah! You!”

Mine: “Tch! At a time like this . . . !”

Bodyguard A: “Where is Chairman Dojima?!”

Mine: “. . . I don’t know. I’m also looking for him.”

Bodyguard A: “You’re lying! Did you bring him outside?!”

Bodyguard B: “You, no way . . . did you plan to kidnap Chairman Dojima all along?”

Mine: “Kidnap? You idiot, why would I?”

Bodyguard B: “Until recently, you were a regular man. You might be a spy sent by an enemy organization.”

Mine: “That’s a stupid idea. Right now we need to-“

Bodyguard A: “Whatever. If you don’t plan on spitting out the Chairman’s whereabouts, would you like us to make you talk?!”

Mine: “Tch. I guess it can’t be helped.”

{Mine beats the shit out of Daigo’s bodyguards.}

Bodyguard A: “Fu . . . ck . . . so strong . . .”

Bodyguard B: “Stupid. We are the elite . . .”

Mine: “Fuck! Get out of the way! Daigo-san . . .”

----

[West Shichifuku Street]

Mine: “Not here . . . Where?!”

Barker: “Nii-san, Onee-chan, why not come have fun at our place?”

Mine: “A barker? No, not right . . . now . . . wait, are you always working in this area?”

Barker: “Eh? That’s correct, why?”

Mine: “Did a man in his mid-thirties with black hair, a black suit, and a good physique pass by here?”

Barker: “Yeah, he did.”

Mine: “What?! Do you know where he went?”

Barker: “Where he went . . . I think he took a taxi somewhere.”

Mine: “Taxi?”

Barker: “Yeah. He was joined by a young and beautiful Onee-chan.”

Mine: “Eh? O-Onee-chan?”

Bodyguard A: “So . . . a woman.”

Mine: “!”

Bodyguard B: “I thought he was acting funny when he received the email at the bar. That ‘I’ve done it’ face. It seems that he missed a promised meetup with the woman.”

Mine: “Then, Daigo-san wanted to be alone . . .”

Bodyguard A: “Because he has a secret rendezvous. With who, I don’t know.”

Mine: “Somehow found . . .”

Bodyguard A: “A bad boy is attractive to a woman. Besides his money and his status, he’s also handsome.”

Mine: “. . . he said he wanted to move his body . . .”

Bodyguard B: “Heh. It’s nice to have a great time.”

Bodyguard A: “It can’t be helped. You should call it a night. You had a hard time too.”

Mine: “Stupid . . .”

-END-

CHAPTER 3

[West Shichifuku Street]

Mine: “Did Daigo-san go somewhere in a taxi? And with a young woman?”

Bodyguard A: “Chairman Dojima is unmarried, has money, and he’s handsome. It’s no wonder he’s popular. Right now, he’s probably with a model or an actress.”

Bodyguard B: “He should be careful not to get involved in a scandal.”

Bodyguard A: “Now, let’s head back. You should go home too.”

Mine: “. . .”

----

Daigo: “. . .”

Thug Leader: “As promised, did you come alone?”

Daigo: “Yeah. My faithful subordinate tried to follow me, but I left without telling him where I went. I made him think I was secretly meeting with a woman.”

Thug Leader: “. . . Is that right. Did you bring the money?”

Daigo: “Yeah.”

{Daigo hands over a bag. The leader unzips it to reveal cash.}

Thug Leader: “. . . Everything seems to be here.”

Daigo: “Will you keep your end of the bargain?”

Thug Leader: “Yeah. Don’t lay a hand on Kiryu Kazuma. He’ll be living in peace in Okinawa from now on.”

Daigo: “. . .”

Thug Leader: “Even so, that Kiryu person must be really important to you. . . . Is he your weak point?”

Daigo: “. . . What are you trying to say?”

Thug Leader: “It’s amazing that the Tojo Clan’s Sixth Chairman can be lured out over one person.”

Daigo: “What?”

Thug Leader: “You still don’t get it? I’m saying this time it’s your turn to be the hostage!! Stupid! The aim was to get you all alone from the very beginning! If we kidnap you, we’ll get far more ransom money!”

Daigo: “Fuck . . .”

Man’s voice: “So . . . it was all for Kiryu-san. I figured that would be the case.”

Daigo: “Mi-Mine?”

Mine: “Daigo-san, I had a hard time looking for you.”

Daigo: “Why are you here?”

Mine: “You think you can get away with such an obvious lie? . . . That barker, you paid him off.”

Daigo: “But he didn’t know about this place . . .”

Mine: “. . . Yeah. There are countless taxi companies in Kamurocho. Too many candidates to question where you went. And those guys won’t give out customer information, saying it’s ‘personal information’. So it couldn’t be helped. I had to resort to buying the taxis off. When that didn’t work, I bought off the taxi companies. When you become a stakeholder, you gain access to customers’ information.”

Daigo: “You did that for each company?”

Mine: “It took hundreds of millions. Heh. It was a huge expense.”

Daigo: “Mine . . . Why did you go so far . . . just for me?”

Mine: “. . . Daigo-san. I’ve shared a cup with you. That’s not something I take halfheartedly. I’m ready to sacrifice everything just for you. Forever and always. There are absolute bonds in the yakuza world . . . you taught me that.”

Daigo: “. . . Mine . . .”

Thug Leader: “O-Oi! Who are you to come barging in and interrupting us! I’ll kill you if you interfere!”

Daigo: “Kill him? You don’t seem to understand the situation. With this guy here, you’re the one who’s going to have a bad time.”

Thug Leader: “Ha?”

Daigo: “Mine here looks like a regular man . . . but don’t you know he’s actually really strong? I can trust him to have my back.”

Mine: “!”

Daigo: “. . . Mine. With you here, we can take on a hundred people.”

Mine: “Yeah. Let’s show them how we do things.”

Daigo: “Let’s go, Mine!”

Mine: “Yeah!”

{Mine and Daigo take down the whole gang.}

Thug Leader: “How . . . there are so many of us . . .”

Mine: “You . . . which organization are you with?!”

Thug Leader: “Guh! Th-That’s . . .”

Mine: “Answer me!!”

Thug Leader: “Ta-Takashima Family . . .”

Mine: “Takashima Family? As in ‘The Four Kings of Omi’ Takashima Family remnants? Chairman, what are you going to do? The Omi will want to hear this . . .”

Daigo: “. . . No, I won’t tell the Omi. Even with the conflict finally over, I don’t want to make needless waves over these excommunicated members. The police can handle them.”

Mine: “Is that so . . . . . . Daigo-san, will you finally tell me what’s going on this time?”

Daigo: “. . . Yeah. The thing is . . . I was being threatened before today.”

Mine: “Before?”

Daigo: “‘If you want to protect the peace of Kiryu Kazuma, pay the money. If you tell anyone, his peace will be lost.’ I got an email telling me where to go. Along with a stolen shot of Kiryu-san.”

Mine: “His peace . . . then that means they didn’t directly take Kiryu as a hostage, right?”

Daigo: “Yeah. If they did that, they would be in trouble. Their opponent is a legendary yakuza. However, there are many ways to ‘disturb the peace’.”

Mine: “So that’s why. And you’re Daigo-san. You wanted to protect him at all costs.”

Daigo: “. . . Yeah. I’ve secretly stationed a bodyguard around Kiryu-san. Just earlier, I received a photo of the bodyguard killed.”

Mine: “That’s the email you received at the bar . . .”

Daigo: “As soon as I saw that picture, I had to move.”

Mine: “Daigo-san, why didn’t you tell me this sooner? If you had, I would have been able to help.”

Daigo: “‘Someone is watching you’, the email said, so I couldn’t speak about it. In fact, there was a guy there at the bar watching us. And this is my personal problem. I didn’t want to get you involved.”

Mine: “That’s why . . . it’s unreasonable for you to act on your own. You are the Sixth Chairman of the Tojo Clan, an organization with hundreds of thousands of members in the East. I don’t know the Fourth Chairman or the Legendary Dragon, but acting alone to protect one individual . . .”

Daigo: “. . . It was unavoidable. Kiryu-san is a special person to me.”

Mine: “Which is more important, the clan or one person?”

Daigo: “! Th-That’s . . .”

Mine: “Before, you told me that the clan members are like your family. Isn’t that right? You’re giving priority to someone who’s not even a member of the clan. Are you not aware of that as the Chairman?”

Daigo: “Mine . . . you’re right. I’m sorry. I still have a long way to go.”

----

|A few days later . . .|

[Tojo HQ – Chairman’s Office]

Mine: “Eh? Me be the Headquarters’ Junior Head Assistant?”

Daigo: “Yeah. I’ve been looking for someone to be Junior Assistant.”

Mine: “. . .”

Daigo: “What? You don’t want to?”

Mine: “No, it’s just . . . the other day we had just been promoted to be a direct subsidiary of the clan. I haven’t raised any tribute since then.”

Daigo: “Didn’t you entrust your life to me? Did you not say you were prepared to sacrifice everything for me?”

Mine: “!”

Daigo: “. . . Mine. I realized something the other day. You . . . you’re the one I can trust with my back.”

Mine: “Daigo-san . . .”

Daigo: “In addition, there’s no one in the Tojo Clan now who can preach to me face-to-face besides Kashiwagi-san, Mine.”

Mine: “I might have gone a bit overboard . . .”

Daigo: “So what do you say? Will you accept it?”

Mine: “. . . Of course. I will be happy to accept it . . . Daigo-san.”

Daigo: “That’s great! I’m counting on you, Mine!”

----

[Tojo Headquarters]

Mine: (Junior Head Assistant. That was an unexpected harvest . . .)

Mine: (A man named Kiryu Kazuma. He’s a danger . . . I won’t let Daigo-san take such a reckless action again. I can’t leave that matter alone, as Daigo-san’s new Junior Assistant . . .)

-END-

Masterlist

#ill do the next story maybe next week #i feel like ive been too obsessed with rggo lately XD #time to go back to Y4!#rgg online #rggo lore #rgg #rggo #Ryu ga Gotoku #yakuza #Mine Yoshitaka #daigo dojima

255 notes · View notes

lu-undy · 3 years

Text

Un-alone, Chapter 17

Here it is!

“So, how’s your uncle?”

“Not too bad. I was tellin’ the others that he probably could come but the physio’s insisting for him to not rush things. At his age, stuff takes a real amount of time to heal up.” Mundy took a sip of his drink while Larry returned to one of the couches. Richie went to the other end of the counter, tending to other customers. That left Mundy and Mark alone.

“How long before you think he’ll be alright?”

“Physio reckons it’s gonna be an extra month, maybe a month and a half.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Why? Does he owe you money or somethin’?” Mundy chuckled.

“No, I just miss talkin’ to him. He’s a cool guy.”

“Could still visit him at home. I'm sure he’ll be happy to see some people.” Mundy said, without thinking too much.

“You think so?”

“Yeah. I mean…”

“If you don’t wanna, it’s fine.” Mark answered, and now for Mundy, it was clear. Mark was not asking to visit his uncle as much as he was scouting Mundy’s heart. As one would dip his toe in the water of a calm lake to measure its temperature, Mark was testing Mundy’s mood, where he stood with respect to him.

“Wanna play some darts?” The blonde asked.

“Sure.”

Better leave it blurry, Mundy thought. There was no point anyway… Or was there?

Both men stood a few metres away from the target and Mark threw his first dart.

“Ha, not bad, eh?” He proudly said.

“Yeah, true.” Mundy closed one eye and took aim. He looked at the target and saw the blurry dart in front of his face. “Hm!” He threw it.

“You gotta be kiddin’ me…!” Mark laughed and shook his head. “A bullseye? on the first try?”

“Well, if there’s somethin’ I can do, it’s aim.” Mundy said and took a step away for Mark to replace him in front of the target.

“Oh, that I know, Aussie.” Mark threw the second dart. “Ha! I’m gettin’ closer, man!”

Mundy smiled under his hat. He took Mark’s place and shot again.

“What?! How d’you do it?!”

“Told ya.” Mundy’s raspy voice chuckled through his words. “I can aim.” He raised intense eyes to Mark. The American looked left and right.

“Wanna get harder targets?”

“Pff, Mark-”

“It’s ok if you don’t like the challenge, eh.” The blonde quipped. “I’ll just let you win and assume it’s your luck.”

“Told you, Mark, I’m a hunter, gimme darts, arrows, a rifle, anything, and I can aim with it.”

“I'm a hunter too.”

“Are ya now? Where’s your game then?”

“Maybe…” Mark looked left and right. He took a step towards Mundy, leaving hardly a few inches between them. “... I need a few lessons from someone who's clearly better than me, and a little bit older, huh?”

“You could ask yer Dad.”

Mark's head swooshed to Larry on the couch.

“He’s too busy right now, I wouldn’t want to bother him while he plays God knows what with his friends.”

“So you prefer to bother me?” Mundy answered and the blonde raised lustful eyes to him. Ha, Mundy had never been too good at telling the hints, seeing the signals, but the way that Mark stared at him with his hazel eyes was louder than sirens.

“Yeah.” Mark blinked delicately, or maybe he fluttered his eyes slightly. “So? Is your van free for another lil’ trip?”

Mundy pondered for a split second. His head was showing him wild pictures. Was it worth it? Would he end up living in New Mexico with Mark? Would he introduce him to his parents? Nah, he wouldn’t. Mark was way too hot-headed, Mundy did not really like that. But…

But his guts screamed at him. It had been a while since anyone had hit on him, and his ego was more than pleased with it all. The colder Mundy looked at Mark, the colder he behaved with him, the harder the young American clung to him. Gosh, Mundy loved the feeling, looking down in his eyes and seeing how much the other wanted him… When was the last time that it happened? Far too long.

“Alright.”

THe night was as dark as the last time that it had happened and the privacy of the van wasn’t enough for Mundy. He raced through the dry and golden desert of New Mexico, which now was as deep as the night could be. The Moon wasn’t there.

“Oh, yeah, M-Mundy… Take me - arh!”

The Aussie shut his head and listened to his body, to his blood pumping everywhere, to this feeling of sharing something with someone, doing something exceptionally not alone. Well, yeah, he could just lay there in his bed and do it with his hand. But nah, he was there with someone. And as Mundy looked under him at the man laying on his stomach, he felt everything mix within him. As the thrusts of his hips resounded in the slapping of his sweating skin against Mark’s, as the groans of the blonde filled him, as the golden streaks of sweat raked Marks skin under the old, yellow light in the van, Mundy realised he heard nothing and saw nothing either.

Only his thoughts were there. The same thoughts he had when he was alone. Was that person the right one? Did he like them? Was there something in his heart that would push him to do the unthinkable for that person? Would he drop hunting for them? Would he drop hunting beasts for them? Would he drop hunting… men? Would Mark fill the part of himself that unbearably itched for decades now? Could Mundy let that itch irritate him and burn him instead of deafening it as best as he could with one-night stands?

What did his heart think? Heart? Heart? Is there anything there for Mark and me or…?

Ah, yeah, well…

“Mundy, I’m gonna-I’m gonna… Arh!”

Mundy almost stopped thrusting as he rose back from his daydream. The blonde had somehow risen to his knees and elbows, and as Mundy recovered his ability to see, he realised that Mark had been frantically using his hand on himself until, well, the end. And it pulled the Aussie to finish too.

“Oh, man… It was even better than last time…” Mark concluded as he rolled on his back.

Mundy’s lips pursed into a smile, but the voice inside him still banged at his heart’s door.

Heart? Heart! Tell me! You can’t just not answer! C’mon! Tell me if I can hope for something with this bloke? Yes or no?! How hard can it be?!

He banged again and again, as both him and Mark cleaned up and lay down to sleep, this time together, in the narrow bunk inside the van.

Heart?

-- A few weeks later --

It had become a habit. Mundy would meet with Mark and spend his nights with him, without either of them questioning it. And it took less and less for Mark to ask him. As of late, a simple nod of the head towards the pub’s main door sufficed to signal to Mundy that the American was in the mood.

Mundy indulged every time. Why? Because it never felt bad to have someone to do it with rather than his own hand, to be blunt. But of course, the more they met, the more Mundy wondered. And the more he wondered, the more he harassed his own heart and his head for an answer, because quite frankly, if he asked what he had below the belt, his relationship with Mark could last forever…

During his days, Mundy became more familiar with the geography of the city and the overall State of New Mexico. He appreciated dearly the patch of desert not too far from his Uncle’s and spent time there when he wanted a corner of solace, an outer haven. And he spent his time there alone, as always. Not that he would fight anyone who would like to join him, but no one ever did want to come along.

Not even Mark.

Mundy had asked him one day.

“D’you wanna stay here tomorrow mornin’?”

Mark was half asleep, naked next to the Aussie in his warm van.

“Nah…”

“You sure?”

“What would we do here in the middle of nowhere?” The American spoke half into the pillow.

“We could spend the day huntin’, under the sun, just you and me. We’d be far from people and uh, y’know, just enjoyin’ ourselves.”

Mark chuckled in the pillow.

“You’re a funny guy, Mundy… See ya tomorrow.”

The Aussie thought about that slice of conversation again and again, it was playing on loop in his mind as if it had been recorded on a broken disc. Was Mark just too tired to have a chat after their usual meeting? Or did he genuinely laugh at Mundy’s suggestion?

The Aussie sighed. In the silence of his lonely van, he thought about it. Hold on. Mundy may not know Mark’s intentions but he knew how he behaved. The American would always ask to be cleaned, then roll to his side and sleep. The only thing Mundy would hear from him was sometimes praise of his performance of the day, and a “Night, night.”. Well, then maybe he did not really laugh at him…?

The Aussie finally decided to exit his van. He had been parked in front of the pub for a long enough while, just lost in thought. He needed a distraction, and a beer would surely-

“Hey, Aussie.”

Mundy gasped.

“Oh, hey, Mark. Sorry, I didn’t see ya.”

“No worries.” The blonde chuckled. “You came here early today.”

“So did you.” Mundy answered.

“I’m just playin’ the taxi driver for my Dad. He wanted to have a chat with Richie to organise the next big party here. Samantha’s gettin’ married with Jerry.”

“Oh, alright, congrats to them then, eh…?”

“Yup.” Mark nodded. “But what're you doin’ here this early?”

“I just wanted a beer or somethin’.”

“Mind if I tag along?”

“Sure.”

Both entered the bar and got served quickly. It was too early to be really busy, although a few patrons were enjoying their lunch there.

“So, uhm, Mark…?”

“Yeah?”

“D’you uh… Would you like to maybe spend some time in the desert?” Mundy asked with his eyes down on his beer. Mark laughed.

“Again with the desert stuff? You like it more than lizards do!”

Mundy smiled.

“Yeah but, I mean, it’s nice out there. Nice and calm. We could go for a bit of hunting, eat what we catch.”

“Pfff, and then what? Grill under the sun for some wild thing to make us their dinner? Nah, Mundy… You go and get roasted if you want, I like it better in the shade.”

Mundy frowned slightly.

“Right, then uh… What about somethin' else?”

“Like what? You’re not tryin’ to take me out on a date, are ya?”

“N-No, nah, I'm not the date kind of guy…” Mundy shook his head. “I just… Gets quite lonely out there, just lookin' for some company, and uh… You’re a hunter too so I thought that uh…”

“Well, it’s my father who’s big on the whole hunting thing. I follow him sometimes when I’m bored but I’m not huge on it.” Mark took a gulp of his fresh beer and Mundy’s eyes dropped to the floor.

“So you don’t wanna hang out with me sometime?”

“I think we’re good the way we are.” Mark answered. “Why change it?”

Mundy sighed. He looked at his beer and he didn’t want any of it anymore.

“Right.” The Aussie took off and left the bar, his pint still almost completely full.

“Mundy?”

He turned back to Mark with a hand on the pub’s front door still.

“What?”

“You angry at me?”

“No.”

“What? What’s this mean then? You just leave and you haven’t finished your beer?”

Mundy sighed and looked left and right. The last thing he wanted was his private life and his interest in men exposed to people who knew Phil very well. He entered back and went to Mark.

“Listen, if you're just with me for the nights, I’m not in anymore.”

The bluntness with which he spoke shocked Mundy himself.

“I thought you liked it better that way?”

“No-Yeah, I don’t know and it doesn’t matter.” He spoke between gritted teeth.

“So much for tryin’ to make me believe you're not mad…” Mark said with a scoff. “If you don’t know what you want, I can’t answer you, Mundy.”

“Alright, then. Here’s what I’d like to know, Mark.” Mundy removed his hat and slammed it on the counter. “Are you just with me for the nights?”

“I mean, that’s what we’ve been doin’ and I-”

“Answer me.” Mundy’s fierce glare made Mark gulp down audibly before he frowned.

“Yeah, guess I am.” The American finally admitted.

“D’you wanna go on like this or d'you wanna…?”

“Do I wanna what?” Mark frowned, now he was as mad as Mundy.

“I don't know!” The Aussie answered. “Maybe we could do stuff together instead of just using each other like that?”

“And what’s wrong with that?” Mark asked.

“Nothin’!” Mundy got his face closer to the American’s. “I just don’t like bein’ used, is all.”

“For someone who doesn’t like it and who’s a grown up man, you never said no, you never even raised the concern and you were the one fuckin’ me.” Mark spoke between gritted teeth for his shouts to be muffled into hard whispers. “You were the one to open your van, you were the one to get me out of my clothes, and you were the one to put it in me! Now if you didn’t want any of that, you never even gave me a clue about it! How could I have known?!”

Mundy sighed.

“Look, I don’t know, I just… I can't go on like this.” Mundy answered and spun on his heels to leave again.

“Alright then, go back to spendin’ your days alone in the desert, see if that does you any good!”

Mundy stopped sharp.

“What did you just say about me?” He said, slowly, and growling menacingly.

“I said: go back to the desert you like so much, I bet you’ll feel better there.” Mark repeated.

“Pray that I never find you again, Mark.” Mundy pulled the hat down on his eyes and left.

“Or what, huh? What're you gonna do, huh? Hunt me down like I’m a deer?!” This time, Mark had raised his voice, but as he did, Mundy left and was already outside.

The Aussie slipped in his van and drove back home. No. He needed the desert. He shifted gears to reverse.

“Mundy! Mundy, wait!”

The Aussie almost didn’t hear the voice calling for him. Larry came running to the van and banged the door on Mundy’s side.

“Mundy, hold on!”

The Aussie lowered the window, his face as dark as his boiling rage made it. The shy Mundy within him wanted to blush. After all, Larry was Mark’s father.

“Your mum’s called here, they’re asking you to go back home.”

Mundy’s eyebrows jumped and his face brightened, as if the storm raging within him a second ago had been pushed by the sun.

“Oh, uh, ok, thanks, Larry.”

“Pleasure, son, see ya!”

Mundy nodded and drove off. It took him the usual fifteen-ish minutes to reach back home.

“Mum? You wanted to see me?” Mundy said as he entered. “Oh? What’s all that?” As he had pushed the door and entered, Mundy’s feet bumped on wicker bags. That one had towels at the top, oh, there was a cool box there.

“Yeah, Micky, come in and go help your Uncle, will ya?”

“Sure… What’s with all the bags?” The Aussie entered the kitchen to find his mother making sandwiches.

“We had a chat with your Uncle today. They say the weather’s gonna be real hot and sunny for the next week at least so we decided to go to the beach for a few days.”

“Oh…” Mundy’s eyebrows jumped out of surprise. “Alright, sure. You said Uncle Phil needed my help?”

“Yeah, he’s packing his stuff. I already dealt with your things and I assume you have some swimming shorts in your van, haven’t you?”

“Yeah, I have.”

“Then it’s all good. I’ll drive his car and you get your van with Marty next to you, yeah?”

“Works for me.” MUndy nodded with a smile.

“Perfect, now go before he goes mad. I’ve been hearing him grumble to himself…!”

“Sure, thanks, Mum.” Mundy came to leave a kiss on his Mum’s cheek.

“No worries, baby.”

About an hour later, everything had been loaded into the van and the car, and Marty happily joined Mundy in his van, on the passenger’s seat.

“How long is it till we get there?” Mundy asked.

“We’ll have to drive through the state and then through more or less the entirety of Texas to get to the sea.” Philip answered. “But if you ask me, better Texas than California!”

“Alright, you know your business, UNcle Phil.”

“It’s a twelve hour drive but of course, we’ll make a lot of stops and we’ll sleep on the way there. I know a few good places along the way. Used to make the trip with some colleagues at work once a year at least in summer.”

“Wow, twelve hours… I don’t think I’ve ever driven for that long.” Mundy answered.

“It’s fine, son, we won’t do them all in one bite, eh?”

“I know, I know.. Still…! Right, let’s get started then.”

“You’ll just have to follow your mum, I’ll be with her to guide her.”

“Ok, thanks Uncle Phil.”

“Thank you, son.”

Mundy climbed in the van, on the driver’s seat. As he did so, Marty who was sitting on the passenger’s seat started wagging his tail.

“Hey, Marty, ready for the journey?”

The dog leaned into Mundy’s hand to enjoy some good head scratching.

“Right, gimme a paw then, eh?”

The dog obeyed.

“That’s a good boy right there, good puppy. Right, Mum’s starin’, you sit and be a good boy while I drive, yeah?”

#tf2 spy #tf2 sniper #sniperspy

8 notes · View notes

yourdaddychan · 4 years

Text

the man with stars in his eyes

warnings : I think this has fluff, harassment, blood, terrible writing, blowjob, fingering, all that pizzaz, my girl here is such a lovesick dramatic person SMH THIS KID also she's so trusting

a/n : this is lowkey a soulmate au but like only lowkey- for my favorite- and the only ones I know- minho stans uwu accept this gift @nightshade-minho, @mini-meanhoe, @mikoto-ica-fics

word count : 3.5K [ dayum ]

___________

You hugged the dirty pole with all your might, trying to control your breathing. The train was lurching forward, as usual, courtesy of the drunk driver. Why was that even allowed? You rolled your eyes and let out a yelp as one hand flew from the pole. Hugging the pole again, you shut your eyes, hoping that the man behind you would leave at the next stop. The man had been harassing you for some time. It started with catcalling and whistling, then turned into him talking to you. It shouldn’t even be called talking. He was word-raping you. His mother should wipe his mouth out with soap. You dreaded using the train, but no matter how much you begged, your parents wouldn’t give you money for a car.

And so there you were, hugging the pole for dear life as the man holding on to the pole behind you stared at your ass openly.The train finally came to a stop, and you almost fell on the seat next to the old lady with gratefulness. Maybe you could finally sleep now. The old lady could protect you, right? Yeah, she had that umbrella next to her she was holding threateningly. In fear of the man, you were going with a wonderful hour of sleep. You knew it was stupid, but what could you do? He followed you everywhere, only to stop outside your apartment. Maybe if you close your eyes for just a second…

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

You woke up with a jolt as you heard shouting. Looking around wildly, you try to decipher what was happening. Your bracelet was gone, now on the wrist of one of the men fighting. You suddenly became dizzy. Is that… blood? Drops of red liquid were on the floor of the vehicle, almost aesthetically placed. You stare where most of the shouting was taking place and make your way there. You clutch the pole again, trying not to throw up, making the stench worse. Finally lifting your head, you saw the fight going on. There he was.

A man with tattoos up his arms, throwing punches at the creepy old man. No way. The crowd’s reaction was the opposite of yours. Some didn’t even care, they probably saw this every day. Some were recording it, probably to show their friends later. You, on the other hand, were in awe. Where everyone else saw a tattooed criminal, you saw an angel who held the stars in his eyes. The tattooed man wipes his brow and smirks at you. Oh god. You blush and look away.

The creepy man runs off the bus at the next stop, along with your favorite bracelet, which he stole while you were sleeping. You sigh. What have I done to deserve this? You were a good kid, with good grades, and you always helped whenever you could. Somehow, you ended up with the worst luck. The tattooed man was a stroke of luck that you knew would leave.

The said man walks up to you, combing through his hair with one hand. He extends a hand to you, coyly looking at you up and down. “Hey, princess. I’m Minho.” He smirks down at you, as his extended hand shows off his muscles from his sleeveless tee. How did he look so effortlessly hot?

You blush harder than you did before. “Minho… such a pretty name! I’m Y/N!”

He hums. “How about I treat you to some lunch, princess?” He asks, examining your face for every detail of discomfort.

Your smile widens, and you nod enthusiastically. When the other man had called you darling, you had been filled with shivers of disgust. But this, this was different. When that name had left his lips, you had immediately been filled with warm pulses. Not only did it envelop your body, making you want more, but it also left heat that pooled in your lower half.

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

You awkwardly held your menu in front of your tomato-red face as Minho continued to shamelessly smirk at you. So far, you had learned absolutely nothing about him, except he really liked cats, and that he ran a flower shop. All he would talk about were his cats, Sooni, Doongi, and Dori. Knowing absolutely nothing about cats, you just nodded along to whatever he said, admiring the shine in his eyes that brightened whenever he talked about his cats. You loved the way his muscles rippled, showing off the tattoos when he held the door open for you. You adored the way his veiny hands looked when they handed you a menu. Face it, you were whipped. The date hadn’t even finished, and the man had you in the palm of his hand.

“Y/N?” Minho’s soft voice immediately snaps you back to reality. Your eyes widen. All the man was doing was drinking water, and you were drooling over it. There was no way he was even real. Minho tilts his head, staring at you carefully. “You okay there, princess?”

Another nickname. Your subconscious noted as your brain flooded with thoughts, both pg13 and not.

“You don’t look so hot…” Minho commented, getting out of his chair and next to you, laying a soft hand on your heated face.

Did Minho just say I’m not hot? Then you realized. His side was now pressed to yours, meaning that his muscled arm was touching your arm. The back of his cool hand was held up to your forehead, making you warmer than ever. His plush lips were pouted in concern, and he was staring directly into your eyes. The eyes are supposed to be the window to the soul, and all you could do is hope that he wouldn’t immediately figure out what you were thinking about him.

"I should take you home or something." Minho continued to speak, but you weren't listening. All you could focus on was his hand on your forehead, and his torso pressed up against yours. Your forehead was burning up by the second. There was no way it was the flu since you had not got colds before. There was only one explanation, which sat in the form of the man in front of you. Lee Minho. "Y/N?" Oh god. Oh fuck. He had moved even closer, and you literally could not breathe. One more inch, just one tilt of his head, and... well, you would have kissed. Those pretty looking, luxurious lips would be on yours.

Finally, after what feels like a century, he moves away. You feel like a part of you was missing. He wasn't even touching you for that long, and yet you craved the warmth he providing. Ugh. Time to do something about it. You whined softly, slowly sliding back into Minho's warmth, unable to bear without it.

This time, Minho widened his eyes. You looked adorable in your warm hoodie, head leaning on his shoulder. He wasn't one for public affection, or affection at all (besides his cats), but he wanted to cuddle you and never let go. He lets a soft smile show, and then immediately stood up.

"Wh-what?" Startled, you raised both eyebrows questioningly.

"You have to go home. You're burning." Minho stubbornly crosses his arms, refusing to give in.

You sigh and take his offered hand. "Fine."

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

You sit next to Minho in the car as he casually drives with one hand. There was something so unusual about him. He made you feel safe, unlike all the other boys you had dated. You didn't even properly know this man, but you were willing to get in the car with him, not once, but twice. You were even contemplating to keep on pretending to be sick so he would stay with you. It was a perfect plan.

Out of nowhere, he grinned, and produced a perfect rose and held it in front of you. “For my flower~” He smirked, and tucked it in your hair.

“Wh-what?” You blushed, wanting to turn into a turtle and vanish inside your hoodie.

He gave you another smirk, and turned his eyes to the road. “You look beautiful, darling. I thought I told you I worked in a flower shop?” He purred. You slouch down in your chair.

Once the two of you arrived at your house, you slumped in the seat and opened the door slowly. "Minho... I do think I'm sick..."

He worriedly looks at you, looking at you up and down. "Do you have any roommates? Or friends who are not busy?" You shake your head. "Then maybe I should stay... if that's alright with you?" His gorgeous eyes meet yours, and you dip your head down shyly in a nod. Your plan had worked.

You both enter the house, and he immediately lays you down on a couch, grabbing the nearest blanket and pillows to prop you up. Minho gives you a half-smile and gets to work. Filling up a bottle with warm water, he hands it to you. He takes more of your blankets and drapes it over you, lips twisting in seriousness.

You snuggle comfortably in the blankets, knowing that Minho would take care of you properly. He finally finishes what he was doing, and sits down next to you.

"Minho?" You ask in a sleepy voice, moving your head so it was resting on his lap. "Can you stay here?" You weren't even pretending at this point. You were so tired from everything you had to deal with, and Minho's thigh was so reassuring.

He looks down at you, soft hair somehow shining in the false light. "Of course, princess." He soothed, giving you a light pat on your hair.

You snuggle your face into his lap, closing your eyes and giving a small yawn. As you gradually start to drift off into the world of slumber, Minho moves his hand to your hair and starts stroking it absentmindedly as he stares at his phone, probably looking at the latest cat video.

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

You wake up to Minho jolting in fear from a couple of pings from your phone. Giggling, you reach over to grab your phone. "Minho, chill."

He blushes, slightly embarrassed. "Oh... right... I knew that!" He scratches the back of his neck to play off what just happened.

"Ay, Y/N, I'm finally having that sleepover you guys have been pushing for, feel free to invite a plus one!" You read. It was from Chan, one of your best friends since the third grade. You had been friends ever since he hugged you when you broke his crayon. A plus one, he says? Well, you had the perfect plus one in mind. You look over to Minho, seeing him fluff up a pillow for no apparent reason besides distracting himself. Perfect.

"Hey, Minho? How would you like to go to a sleepover or something with me?" Minho looks over to you and grins.

"Sure! Details, please."

You spend the next few hours giving Minho a summary of all of your friends.

"And so that's why Jeongin screams like a dolphin!" You finish, excitedly looking at Minho for his reaction.

He bites back a grin and raises his eyebrow. "This explains a lot about you."

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ [ time skip to the sleepover ]

You step out of the car, armed with Minho in one hand and your stuffed animal, Bob, in the other. You ring the doorbell and bite your lip nervously. Will they even like Minho? What if he doesn't like them?

The door opens with Felix draped across the door frame. "Draw me like one of your French girls." He purrs seductively at you, making you giggle.

"Felix, what the actual fuck?" You push him away and enter the house, saluting Jisung before flopping on the couch next to him.

Jisung promptly puts an arm around you, taking your plushie. "This will make a nice addition to my stuffed animal HEADS." He screams the last part, holding his hands up maliciously. You snatch the animal back, sticking your tongue out at Jisung.

"I'm going to rip your squirrel's head off if you do that! And please, calm down, we have a newbie!" You gesture towards Minho, who's awkwardly standing there.

"Um..." He blinks, and steps in. "Hey, I'm Minho, Y/N's friend!" He smiles at everyone, but you don't return his smile. His friend? Yikes. Of course, you had to be the one to fall for the man who only thought of you as a friend.

Jisung hops off the couch and walks to Minho. Looking at him up and down, eyes narrowed, he finally breaks into one of his heart smiles. "Somehow, I feel like I'm going to like you."

Chan nods. "Yeah, welcome to the club."

Felix grins evilly, thinking of yet another Tik-Tok reference. "Welcome to the bread bank, we sell bread, we sell loaves. We got bread on the deck, bread on the floor." He ends with finger gunning a clueless Minho.

Seungmin cracks his knuckles and points to Minho. "But if you hurt her, you're doomed. We have a black belt in taekwondo, and a boxer."

Minho widens his eyes at the threat. "I wasn't planning to hurt her anytime." He rolls his eyes and walks over to you, hiding half of his body behind your frame.

Changbin rubs his hands together and stands up, planning to ease the tension. "Guys, you know how it is! A newcomer means we play truth or dare~" He smirks. "Alright, Minho. Let me get my truth or dare app out while we all sit in a circle, okay?" The boys obediently sit in a circle, motioning for you to sit next to Minho as Changbin gets his app out. "Okay..." He clicks the dare button and looks delighted at the dare. Turning it, he shows it to the circle. "Minho has to do 7 minutes of heaven with the person to the right of him!! And that means... Y/N?"

Changbin looks at you, silently asking if you were okay with it. Nodding, you stand up. "A dare is a dare, right?"

"Right." Minho stands up as well, clearing his throat, and takes your hand. "To the closet, I guess... ”

He brings you to the closet while the boys snicker behind you and continue their game.

You sigh. Of course, I had to be the one. They probably even planned this, the little shits. They had always been able to read your mind.

You enter the closet and shut the door behind you. You nervously look at Minho, who smirks at you. “These walls are pretty thick, so we can be as loud as needed.” He purrs, eyes hooded with lust.

You choke on air at his boldness. “Wh-what..” You don’t even finish before Minho makes his way towards you, moving his arm around your hip to provide support.

“Kitten, don’t make me tell you twice. Don’t you want to play with me?”

You whimper softly at his degrading word, already feeling your heat starting to pool. You move your lips to Minho’s plush ones. He runs his tongue over your lip and sucks your lower lip softly. Your teeth click together with Minho’s as you open your mouth for him.

“God, if you keep whimpering like that, I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop myself,�� Minho growls, biting his lip.

“Then don’t.” You whisper, not even comprehending how this is happening to you right now.

His face darkens with want, and he pushes you against the closet door, pinning your wrists above you. He removes your shirt and bra, pausing for a moment to admire your body. “What a good little doll, all for me. How about you suck on my fingers, hm? Get them nice and wet for me?”

You shut your eyes and nod, opening your mouth obediently. He pushes two fingers in, and you immediately suck on them, circling your tongue around his fingers. He groans softly.

“I want those pretty lips around my cock.” He removes his spit-coated fingers from your mouth and drags them along your now naked torso. “Kneel, now.”

You drop to your knees immediately, innocently looking up at Minho as he unbuckles his belt. You couldn’t believe this was happening. In the morning, you were terrified of going home, but here you were, about to suck someone’s dick. Well, he wasn’t exactly just a someone. He was an angel. A cat-loving angel. But right now, he looked like a demon, with his lust-filled eyes, and his pretty lips that were permanently in a smirk.

You blinked in shock as he removed his boxers. He was... big. You promptly wrapped your swollen lips around him, making eye contact with him. Minho swore as you flicked your tongue at his slit, and moved his hands to grab your hair. You moan softly as he continues to pull at your hair to make more vibrations envelop his length.

“You’re so tight, baby...” Giving up on self-control entirely, he thrusts into your throat, legs shaking as he finally cums in your mouth.

You lap all of it up, refusing to let a single drop spill, and look up at him again.

“Hey, guys? It’s been way more than 7 minutes!”

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ [ time skip ]

It’s been 1 month since Minho last contacted you. After the 7 minutes of heaven at Chan’s sleepover, he had awkwardly avoided you. On the way out, he had whispered something in Chan’s ear and left without a word to you. According to Chan, the two of them had been old high school classmates, and they didn’t even realize it until they talked. You assumed they had been keeping in touch with each other, as Chan kept on asking you random questions about Minho from time to time.

Yes, of course, you had liked Minho. Yes, of course, you thought he was boyfriend material. And no, the creepy old dude had never bothered you again once Minho had confronted him.

Without Minho, the days of the month seemed blurry. You felt as if you turned into a zombie, and your brain was all woozy. Even poor Jisung, who tried to cheer you up over and over again couldn’t do the job. Even though you had spent only three days together, you felt that the two of you had connected in some way. Your eyes light up by a noise coming from your phone. Could it be Minho? He had left his number in your sleeping bag, but never texted to you.

It was your lucky day. Minho’s DMS with you (that were currently nonexistent) were blowing up. ‘Okay, Chan.’ Wait, he thought you were Chan? Your eyebrows furrowed. Of course, he hadn’t meant to text you. As your thumbs hovered over the keyboard, another phrase caught your eye. ‘So, there’s this girl...’ Your face dropped. A girl, of course. The man was charismatic as fuck, there was no doubt that all the girls were falling for him. Including you.

Unable to hold yourself back, you quickly typed out the word, ‘Yeah?’ and sent it, biting your lip with anxiety. Curiosity killed the cat, Y/N.

‘She’s way out of my league, though.’ You rolled your eyes at that. Please. Way out his league? He was perfect. He was out of everyone’s league. ‘How do I ask her out?’ You sigh. You probably needed to give him proper advice, but the dark part of your heart wanted to see him fail, just so he would still be single.

‘Maybe just ask? I’m sure she’s dying to go with you.’ You toss yourself on the bed, shutting your eyes. You did the right thing, of course. But did I do the right thing for myself? You try to go to sleep, convinced that that’s the only way your brain will forget what just happened, but you’re interrupted by another pinging sound from your phone.

You sigh and sit up, grabbing your phone and opening it. What did Minho need now?

‘Wait...Y/N?’ You read out loud, heat spreading throughout your body as you read your name in his text.

‘That’s me.’ You admit.

‘Darling...” You exhaled slowly. Here it came. By now, Chan would have already told Minho that you liked him. No wonder he didn’t text you. Now that he realized that he was texting you, he would have to reject you. You inhaled again and prepared for the crushing defeat that was getting rejected.

‘You’re the person I was trying to ask out...’ You read slowly. Wait. What? You reread it three times, confused. There’s no way. You clear your throat, trying to sound normal while texting him.

‘Really?’ What a stupid thing to ask.

‘Really. Y/N, would you like to go out with me? I was planning for an entire month, and-’ You couldn’t read the rest. Your eyes started to blur with tears of happiness. The last time you were dizzy, it was because of blood on the floor. And now, the very man that put that blood on the floor had asked you out. The man that made you feel safe. Your angel. You were lost, but the man with stars in his eyes became your compass.

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

#inkidz #staysmutblr #skzwriternet #skzsmutnetwork #stayhavennet #stray kids #stray kids scenarios #stray kids smut #skz smut #kpop smut #stray kids fluff #skz fluff #lee know #lee minho #leeknow #smut

184 notes · View notes

midnight-inthe-kitchen · 3 years

Text

“Hotel Potter” (Part 3)

Paring: Remus x Reader (Marauders Era)

Warnings: Fluff, James is bad at fixing things, More awkwardness haha, and mentions of eating issues?

Word Count: 1775

A/n: I didn’t proof read this, so enjoy/I’m sorry... (Also, we’re getting close to the part I had in my DrEaM✨)

You watched as Sirius dropped his bag on the floor before immediately breaking into a sprint to fling himself onto the bed. The bed...

You didn’t know exactly why you were expecting there to be two... I mean that would be a bit excessive for a regular house... but not until this very moment did you realize the consequences of your poor decisions.

“Hey, Y/N,” Marlene called out from the hallway after hearing Sirius’ loud running start. “Good luck!” Her laugh echoed throughout the hall.

Lily came from around the corner to let you know you were always welcome in her room if Sirius turned out to be an actual dog. You simply accepted and just smiled while shedding a singular, figurative tear. “Nah, I’ll be fine... Probably ;)”

It didn’t take you very long to choose a side of the room and stick to it. You were just going to leave most of your stuff in your suitcase to avoid any huge messes. This obviously left you with some time to kill so you wandered back into the hallway.

When you got there, however, all you saw was Remus sitting on the floor in front of the first door James had tried so hard to open. When he saw you step into the hallway, he stood up.

“Where’s James?” you asked confused since they were supposed to be ‘bunking’ together.

Remus shifted his weight, “Oh um, he went to get a hammer, I think.” He shoved his hands in his pockets in hopes of looking less awkward.

“Oh,” you laugh. “Wh- why on Earth does James need a hammer?” You laugh at he thought of James actually fixing anything successfully.

He turned and jabbed his finger behind him to the door. “It, uh... locked us out.” He laughed under his breath as he rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

You laughed as well. “...Did you try Alohamora?” you offered to your ‘genius’ friend.

He straightened up a little, almost offended. “We did, actually,” he smiled, “...Except James kept saying ‘Hola-ha-mora’, so it shouldn’t have worked the first three times anyways.”

You, having the heart of a Hufflepuff but intuition of a Ravenclaw, made your way over to him to see the doorknob yourself. Remus shuffled out of the way after first being stunned by your unexpected approach.

“So what’s actually wrong with it, then?” you question, getting on one knee to peer though the keyhole.

Remus awkwardly leaned over your head to look down on the situation but quickly realized how weird it looked from everyone else’s perspective and simply took a step back. “Um... You know I was actually thinking there might be internal rusting somewhere?”

You tutted your tongue on the top of your mouth, still very concentrated. “I mean sure, but that seems very unlikely due to the appearance of the rest of the house. You would think if someone could take the time to polish the toilet-paper holders, the inside of the room locks should be in perfect condition...” Remus nodded in agreement. “... And James doesn’t have the key?” you asked, confused by the concept of poor safety measures.

Remus just shrugged, “He said the house is so old that with unlocking charms, you know, because they are so common in wizarding communities, his parents figured ‘what would be the point’ of keeping any of the keys I suppose? I don’t know... Anyways, I told him that was dumb and then he went to go get a hammer.”

You stood up, having to steady yourself first from the fast rush of blood to your head. “What does he exspect to do?” you wonder out loud, “It’s not like he can just smash the handle off— though that would solve the problem,” you mutter that last part. “...But come on... I mean Mr and Mrs Potter would kill him and let Sirius bury his bones...”

“What?”

“...Nothing,” you continued. “But by the looks of it, all the handles look like an original artist’s craftsmanship which means not only are they more valuable and rare as a completed set, but they’re also way more expensive.”

Remus marveled silently at your quirky fountain of knowledge. For such a quiet and peaceful-minded soul, he often forgot that in the moments you weren’t tarnished by the boisterous personality of everyone else, you were more than bright enough to light up his world for a moment.

Just then, you and Remus turned to where you could both hear quickened footsteps making they’re way up the staircase. “Not to fear, Moony!... You’ll be reunited with your precious books in no ti-” James stopped mid-sentence before he nearly ran into the two of you.

“Back from your quest, oh key-less one?” You watch as James furrowed his brow before glancing at Remus then back to you.

”Ah, yes, I almost—”

“Is that a screwdriver?” you bite your lip to prevent yourself from laughing right in his face. James lifted up the “hammer” he got from heaven knows where with pride.

“No. It’s a hammer, Y/n, jeeze, I would have though you’d know, coming from a nice muggle community.... Now will you please move out of the way so I can fix this thing?” He readjusted his glasses sassily.

By this point in the conversation, Remus and you were nearly having a seizure trying not to burst out in laughter at your friend who really was trying his hardest. You eventually caved and shrunk up against the wall in a ball. “You ca- You can’t fix a door know with-”

“James,” Remus chuckled as he tried to pry the screwdriver from his hands. “That’s not going to-”

You both burst into another fit of laughter as James broke free and started whacking the lock with the butt-end of the device.

When the knob finally came loose, the three of you let out a little cheer. It was you, of course, who realized that the door needed to be lifted up a little while opening or closing becuse the real probably was with the hinges, not the lock.

About fifteen minutes later, when everyone had finally “set up camp”... James gave everyone a grand tour of the house. Your favorite bits were probably the drawing room because of the gorgeous window view and the library/study for obvious reasons. The part that you couldn’t quite get over, though, was the fact that there was a fireplace in practically every room. YAAAS WARMTH✨

When dinner finally hit though, you were definitely hungry. (You weren’t exactly starving because, well, eating had always seemed like a chore to you... Just thanks to the many perks of living in a 26% functioning body... But of course, you would push it aside unless you were on mental overload and therefore stress-ate an entire box of Cheerios plus a whole bag of goldfish and chocolate all night during that one OWLS season). But right now, in the midst of friends and good food, you were excited to spend the first evening of the weekend with them :)

The table (the smaller one meant for family not business guests in the main dining hall, was seated with James and Mary on both ends. Lily had somehow slithered her way to James’ left putting her, Marlene, and Sirius between the two. Peter sat on the left of James, smushing you between Remus on your left and Mary on your right.

You watched as the conversation switched from quidditch fowls, to hot quidditch team players, to James, Sirius, Mary and Marlene competing on who had gone out with the hottest Gryffindor member.

You obviously stayed out of this one as the three of you, Remus, and Peter all watched... Lily would throw in some deviously timed mention about her short flings with Slytherin team boys just to throw James off his lead.

“Sorry about not answering earlier...” Remus stated out of nowhere.

“What?” you muffled, trying not to choke on the soup you were currently obsessing over.

Remus was hoping he would t have to repeat himself, but just when he was about to, your brain registered his words.

“Oh! Oh, no no, that’s totally fine. I actually had just told Sirius that I didn’t care where I was- Wha- I’m sorry,” you laugh nervously, stuttering on every new sentence. WhY wAs iT sO HaRd To TaLk RiGhT NoW? “I just didn’t want to put you in that position, you know having to choose who to sleep with- I MEAN not sleep-sleep with just you know...” You could practically feel your face cooking.

“...Sirius(?).” You both finish as you gesture to the boy across the table from you, trying to stick his spoon to his nose using only his breath.

You both sat there, distracted and watching him until he actually succeeded. “Mary, look!” Right as he turned to show her however, it slid off and splashed soup up in his face.

You propped your head off your hand after a long moment of thought.... “Bet I could do it longer...” you start, turning back to Remus.

A confused smile stretched across his face. “...What?” he questioned again as if he hadn’t hear you properly the first time.

Without answering, you picked up the second spoon placed at your table spot (for whatever reason) and you watched as your reflection became more and more cloudy.

“Are you—”

You turned calmly to meet his face with a spoon now hanging from atop your nose.

After a good couple seconds of Remus staring at you, it finally clicked in his head what you were doing. A rare grin stretched up his face as he grabbed his own spoon and tried it himself.

It took a couple of tries for the spoon to really stick, but as soon as it did, Sirius saw from across the room and automatically turned it into a table-wide competition.

By the time pudding came around, you were holding the record of four minutes and twelve seconds versus Peter somehow who was thirteen seconds shy.

When the competition had ended though, Lily finally asked what the heck the plan was for the rest of the weekend...

In the morning, James said, everyone could go up to an abandoned village area where a muggle summer camp once stood and they could spend the night there. He promised the plumbing still worked for whatever reason, so it could be totally doable.

Every fiber of your being was telling you that was a dumb idea, especially a bunch of teenagers in the woods alone, but whatever right? Majority votes are always won by the delinquents.

#remus lupin x reader #remus lupin #books and libraries #marauders era fanfiction #fanfiction #sirius black #james potter #lily evans #marlene mckinnon #mary macdonald #hogwarts #harry potter #wizarding society #winter break #godrics hollow #moony wormtail padfoot and prongs #marauders

18 notes · View notes

zacolyn · 3 years

Text

Footprints In Sand: Ch. 1

(Also on AO3)

It had been fine!

Ardbert had known something was wrong with the Warrior of Darkness of the Source, named Albert of all things, since he had made his final choice when Albert was succumbing to the primordial light, but he had thought that joining with him would fix it, or at least help. Certainly it had seemed to, and he had been glad to have found his purpose, to finally be able to rest.

Finding himself waking up in the bed Albert had gone to sleep in several days after returning to the Source put a lie to that notion, however. He patted his chest and sat up, disoriented. Stumbling to the mirror showed him a face much like his own but with longer hair and more of a beard. Albert's face.

“Wh-What’s going on?” He said, voice breathy from fear. “This...this isn’t right at all.” He stumbled back until he encountered the bed again, sat down hard and sat there for several long minutes just breathing while his mind spun in frantic, useless circles.

“It’s okay. It’s fine.” He said finally. “Albert’s just tired. He’s….he’s resting. I....I just need to caretake his body while he recovers. The Lightwardens took a lot out of him. He deserves time to recoup. I’ll handle things until he’s ready to wake up again. It’ll be fine. It’s just a little longer and then I can rest.”

The relief he had talked himself into was short-lived however as his own words uttered so so long ago, over a century by his own telling but so much more recent by compare in Albert's memory, came bubbling up to taunt him.

“Aye,” The Ardbert of memory had stated with so much damnable smugness. “like the Ascians, we too are beyond death! You cannot defeat that which is eternal!”

“Oh gods, don’t tell me I was right.” He whispered, horror washing away the last of the calm he had begun to gather. Had he absorbed Albert into himself instead of the other way around? Had he truly become like the monsters who stole bodies for their own uses?

He stared at Albert's hands--his hands--and witnessed their shaking. “Oh gods, please don’t let me be right....” But he had been, hadn't he? Why hadn't he gone to the Lifestream after Minfillia had rejected his sacrifice? Why had he wandered for a hundred years? Why was he here now in a body that had no business being his?

He uttered a manic laugh and put his hands to his face, then laughed again, not sure whether he really wanted to scream or sob.

“I’m never going to get to rest, am I?” He asked no one, anguish straining his voice. “I’m just going to....to inhabit this body, and then it will die and I’ll just be wandering again. Like a damnable Ascian!” A hand swung down to hit the mattress and he grit his teeth. “This wasn’t supposed to happen! I was supposed to join Albert and become a part of him! He was the hero, not me! He was supposed to survive! This is his story! Mine’s told already!”

He squeezed his eyes shut and exhaled a shuddery breath. “Albert’s just tired.” He said with forced evenness. “He’ll be back in no time at all. I just need to take care of his body until then.” Maybe if he said it enough, he could even make it true.

------

He had thought to steal away before anyone would have a chance to notice something was wrong, but he had underestimated Tataru, who ambushed him as soon as he exited the room Albert had been given at Revenant’s Toll.

“Good morning Albert!” She greeted him cheerfully. “You’re just in time for breakfast!” She motioned to the table the Scions sans Urianger were seated at.

Well there was no getting around it now. Ardbert made himself smile and nod before heading over to take an empty chair, hoping they wouldn’t try to engage him in much conversation, since Albert’s memories felt rather spotty.

Still, he started to smile at Albert’s comrades until his gaze met Y’shtola’s and the expression died. In spite of, or possibly because of her blindness, her gaze seemed to sear through him and he abruptly remembered that she navigated the world through the viewing of aether. Clearly she could see that something wasn’t right.

His gaze traveled to the others, and found that Thancred and Alisaie were also staring at him with hostile expressions. Indeed, Alisaie looked about ready to vault the table. G’raha and Alphinaud were the only ones who hadn’t fixated on him, both nose deep in books as they were.

“Is something the matter?” Tataru asked, looking up at them while holding the plate of food meant for Albert.

“That remains to be seen.” Thancred said before reaching over to take the plate. “Thank you, Tataru.” He set it down in front of Ardbert, not having even once broken eye contact. “Go on. Eat. You must be starving.”

What else could Ardbert do? It was true he did feel ravenous, or at least he thought that’s what the sensation in the pit of his belly was. Forcing himself to look away from Thancred’s unnerving stare, he focused on the meal set before him. He had thought the food would merely provide fuel in his current state of mind, but Tataru was simply too good a cook and he found himself enjoying it in spite of the hostility.

“Is aught amiss?” Alphinaud came out of his book fixation and looked around at the others, prompting G’raha to also pull himself out of his book. “Why are you all glaring at Albert?”

“C-Can I finish eating first?” Ardbert asked plaintively before anyone had a chance to answer. “It’s really good.”

Y’shtola sat back and crossed her arms. “Certainly. It would be a shame to waste Tataru’s cooking.”

Alphinaud and G’raha looked at one another with matched puzzled expressions, clearly not seeing what the others were.

Ardbert wanted to dwell over the meal and delay the coming conversation, but one side glance at Alisaie told him she definitely would be vaulting the table if he dallied, so he forced the rest of the meal down as quickly as he could, not really tasting it.

“So,” Thancred said as soon as he’d swallowed his last bite. “Just who the hell are you really?”

“Elidibus?” Y’shtola guessed.

Ardbert’s shoulders had been slumped in guilt, though that accusation had him straightening up. Before he could speak in his defense however, Alisaie finally gave in to her desire for action and hopped up onto her chair, a foot slamming onto the table and her crystal rapier pointing at his throat.

Ardbert’s hands flew up. “Now wait! Hold on! I’m not an Ascian!”

“Then who?!” Alisaie snarled, ignoring Alphinaud’s efforts to get her to get off the table.

“Ardbert!” Gods she was truly terrifying, a fact he’d never properly appreciated so long ago facing her and some of the others as Elidibus’s pawn. “I’m Ardbert!”

For a moment no one moved, then Y’shtola raised her hand and motioned for Alisaie to stand down. Still glaring she stepped back and dropped off the chair, though she didn’t put her weapon away.

“Explain yourself.” Y’shtola said, staring at Ardbert.

“.....Albert went to sleep, and I’m the one who woke up.” He offered lamely, slowly lowering his arms. “I don’t know what happened. I don’t know why. I’m not supposed to be here….I don’t…” His voice broke. “This was never supposed to happen. This is Albert’s story, not mine.”

Everyone looked at Y’shtola while she pondered this.

“We need to speak to Urianger.” She said at last.

“Before we do that, I may be able to offer an explanation.” G’raha spoke up. “Our dear friend was much stressed by the end of his time in the First, soul and body both.” He extended a hand toward Ardbert. “Ardbert joined with Albert as a conscious choice, and not having absorbed the essences of several Lightwardens, was not so weakened as Albert was by having held host to so much primordial light. So it may well be that Albert has fallen into a coma of sorts, and that left Ardbert to reawaken and take over.”

“So you think this is only temporary then?” Alphinaud asked.

“I think it’s possible, though Urianger may have his own ideas. Krile as well, for that matter.”

“Right then. Let’s not waste any time.” Thancred got to his feet. “The sooner we can set this to rights, the better.”

------

They’d left him in the Solar while discussing him elsewhere. He hardly blamed them for it. He wore their friend’s face but was a stranger. In their position he’d be doing the same. Not that it made the fact any easier to swallow.

Ardbert paced at first, but quickly realized the movement was only worsening his agitation, so he forced himself to sit on the floor and lean back against the desk instead.

After a few moments, he let his head fall back to thunk against the back and stared at the ceiling. The universe truly hated him. Every time he tried to do the right thing it seemed everyone else was punished for it. All of this was his fault. The Flood, his friends sacrificing themselves for his mistake only to later become Sin Eaters, and now Albert might be gone forever. He’d apparently used up all his good deed luck after rescuing Seto from his abusive owner.

I miss you, Seto.

He squeezed his eyes shut against the sting of tears and let out a shuddery breath. “Gods.”

“Which ones?”

Ardbert raised his head to see that Krile had somehow entered without him hearing the door.

“Which ones?” She repeated when he didn’t respond. “Yours or ours?”

Ardbert exhaled heavily and shook his head. “Does it matter? None of them are listening.”

She gave him a crooked smile as she approached. “This hasn’t been a good day for you so far, has it?” She chuckled softly at his incredulous look. “Yes, I suppose the answer is rather obvious but I thought I’d ask.”

Ardbert let his head fall back again and thought sardonically that at least she wasn’t treating him like the others had, though he jerked upright when she prodded him.

“So, Arbert is it?” She asked. “The Warrior of Darkness who was terrorizing the Beastmen and provoking them to summon ever stronger Primals?”

Ardbert put a hand to his face and exhaled heavily. “Ar d bert.” He corrected. “Arbert was just a daft alias. But yes, that was me.” He really didn’t want to talk about that, the least reason being it being a century removed from his memory. His next exhalation was a lot more shuddery. “What’s going to happen to me?”

“The others are discussing that.” Krile admitted. “Y’shtola still isn’t quite convinced you aren’t an Ascian, and the fact Albert was fine when he bid us goodnight yesterday isn’t working in your favor, but I thought I’d come and see for myself.”

Ardbert closed his eyes. “I didn’t ask for this, I didn’t want this, but I might as well be. That snake Elidibus made us like them, and my friends had to give up their souls because of my mistake anyway. What did we accomplish? Very bloody little! They stopped the Flood, but it didn’t fix anything! Albert was the one who fixed it! He deserves to have his life! He deserves to carry on! Why am I here?! Why do I keep--!” He broke off with a sob.

The next thing he knew, Krile was hugging his head. “Here now.” She soothed. “It will be alright.”

If only that was so, but the hug broke something in him and his hand dropped from his face as he began to cry in earnest. When was the last time he’d felt touch, let alone a gesture offered in kindness?

He resisted the urge to hug her, Lamitt at least would have found it insulting to be grabbed that way, and kept his hands on his lap while his body was wracked with sobs and Krile murmured soothing words he heard the tone of more than the words. He couldn’t have said how long it went on, but she held his head and petted his hair until he was spent and only then let go.

She offered him a watery smile when he looked at her before wiping her own eyes. “I know.” She said softly. “Or rather, I can imagine. I don’t know what you have of Albert’s memories, but he spoke of you as a dear friend while G’raha and I were working on sealing up the Crystal Tower.”

Ardbert wiped his face. “So saying those things was a test?” In spite of her comfort he felt a bit resentful of that.

Krile offered an apologetic smile. “Of a sort. I had to be sure you were who you said you were, but I can’t imagine any Ascian taking the act so far as to cry in my arms like that.”

Ardbert’s lips twisted bitterly, but he supposed in the end he couldn’t blame her for being suspicious.

She patted his arm. “I won’t tell the others about this private moment.” She assured him. “Only that I believe you. Wait just a bit longer.” She turned to go.

Ardbert watched her leave and waited for the door to shut before he hit the floor with the flat of his fist, just hard enough to smart. “Damn me.” He muttered miserably. Why was this his lot in life?

------

Y’shtola came striding in about half a bell later, followed by Krile, Urianger, and G’raha. Ardbert had actually begun to doze off from stress-induced exhaustion, but this time he heard the doors and jarred himself awake before scrambling to his feet, unwilling to face his fate on the floor.

“While we’ve determined you’re not an Ascian--the fact you’re still here being pretty clear evidence on its own, mind you--that still doesn’t answer the question of how this happened.” Y’shtola said, crossing her arms. “So do you remember anything amiss?”

Ardbert sighed softly and closed his eyes, obligingly trying to recall anything out of the ordinary from the night before. Finally he shook his head. “No. Nothing.”

“Nothing?” Y’shtola repeated. “Come now, this couldn’t have happened without any signs at all!”

He opened his eyes to look at her. “No. I mean there’s nothing. I couldn’t tell you what he had for dinner, or anything. There’s just a blank.”

Y’shtola’s arms came uncrossed as her expression shifted to alarmed. “What do you mean, ‘a blank’?”

“Just what I said. There’s nothing.” Ardbert spread his arms. “In fact, the last clear memory of Albert’s I have is just after G’raha--I mean the Exarch turned to crystal.”

G’raha’s ears twitched. “....Forgot my former title for a second there, did you?” He asked with dry humor.

“Maybe? It’s not as if you were fooling him when you didn’t do anything to disguise your voice.” Ardbert shrugged. “He knew who you were the whole time and was just humoring you, so he thought of you by your name.”

“Ahh….” G’raha’s ears sagged before he cleared his throat hastily. “Beyond the point! Are you sure that’s the last memory of his you have?”

“Everything after that feels….fragmented.” Ardbert brought a hand up to rub his temple gently. “I don’t know if he noticed, or if it happened suddenly or anything of that sort. I wasn’t….there to take note of anything recent until this morning.”

“What about your last memory then?” Krile asked. “Not counting today.”

“Saying my final goodbye to Seto.” Ardbert answered without any hesitation. “After that I….slept, I guess. Albert let me say goodbye, and that was the end of it. I didn’t have anything else to wish for.” He drew a breath in sharply and clenched his fist. “ I’m not supposed to be here, after all.”

“If memories alone whilst not suffice to solve this most perplexing of mysteries, I propose we adjourn to a more comfortable locale and conduct some tests.” Urianger spoke up.

“Heh. Succinct as always.” Ardbert murmured, and received an arched brow in reply. He just shook his head. “Right then. Lead on.”

------

The ‘comfortable locale’ in question turned out to be Albert’s room, which made sense from a familiarity standpoint. They even let Ardbert sit while they consulted with one another over who should be the one to try first.

“I’m at least somewhat familiar with souls from working with Beq Lugg.” G’raha finally pointed out.

“Hmm…” Y’shtola crossed her arms and frowned in thought before she tilted her head and gave him a smile. “Alright. I can’t deny it’s thanks to you and Beq Lugg that we got home safely, so you might just be the best one to call Albert back too.”

“Ahh, well I don’t know if we should go quite that far….” G’raha rubbed the back of his head. “But either way we might get some answers. With your permission, Ardbert?”

“Of course. I want to know how this happened just as much as you do.” His gaze however turned to Urianger before he closed his eyes and bowed his head. Was it Albert’s older memories that made his own so sharp? Or was it a body of flesh after a century of being unable to touch, to feel, to experience anything other than crushing loneliness?

“Urianger, you were there.” He murmured as he felt G’raha’s magics flowing over him. “I and the others. Our crystals, our cause….did we damn ourselves? Did I...am I really like an Ascian? Could I have….done this to Albert?”

Urianger didn’t speak at first, and Ardbert almost didn’t think he would. “Thine’s own concern speakth volumes.” He said at last. “As for thy soul’s similarity to that of an Ascian’s….for all its resilience, as we have ascertained, our souls are naught but a sliver of a greater whole. However this cameth to pass, I do not believe your small sliver of self could subsume the larger portion of Albert’s even so.”

“Heh...well I did ask.” It was comforting though, in a way.

No more words were exchanged then as G’raha continued to work, and Ardbert’s head only came up when he felt the magics cease.

“Damn….” G’raha shook his head, ears and tail drooped.

“What did you find?” Y’shtola asked.

“I’m not sure….but I don’t think I like it.” G’raha shook his head again. “It was like….wind whipped tatters, or frayed edges. Like a carpet or tapestry coming undone.”

“Gods be good.” Krile murmured. “What are we supposed to make of that ?!”

“Nothing good, I imagine.” Y’shtola scowled and glanced toward Ardbert. “But I bet his part of the tapestry is doing just fine.”

“......I’d venture to guess his presence is the only reason it all hasn’t come apart entirely.” G’raha murmured. “If I had known absorbing the Lightwarden’s power would do this, I would have found another way!”

“Would you have when you planned to sacrifice yourself to take it from him anyway?” Ardbert moved to stand, before he shook his head. “No, it wouldn’t have mattered. It needed to be done, and he did it. Like he always had, like he always did.” He huffed a sardonic laugh. “Because that’s what we do. Warriors of Light, Warriors of Darkness. Just titles people like you slap onto us, along with all your hopes and dreams. Look at where it gets us. Giving up our lives, giving up our souls ! Albert deserved better. But he didn’t care about himself. He didn’t do any of this for himself! He did it for everyone else. Everyone who was counting on him, be they here or on the First. He did what I couldn’t. He did what needed to be done.” His mouth twisted bitterly. ”One life for one world. Fair bargain, isn’t it?”

“If you’re quite done preaching to us, mayhaps you’d like to offer a solution instead.” Y’shtola snapped.

Ardbert shook his head. “If I had one, Id’ve said so. But I’m not the hero here. I’m just holding him together, apparently.”

“Beq Lugg.” G’raha said. “They may have some ideas.”

“True as that may be, we can’t exactly go to consult with them.” Y’shtola pointed out.

“Ardbert can.” G’raha replied. “Not only is the First his soul’s native home, but Albert’s soul still holds the key to the lock between our worlds.”

“And what’s to stop him from just running off?”

“I’m right here!” Ardbert growled.

Y’shtola turned to glare at him. “Well?”

His lip twitched in an aborted sneer, abruptly deciding he’d had quite enough of the distrust even if a very loud part of himself insisted he deserved it.

“Starting to think you’d deserve it if I did.” He said. “But no, because this isn’t about me. This is about Albert.” He shifted half a step forward, glaring fully at Y’shtola. “You can think ill of me all you want, but you don’t know me. I gave up everything to try and save my home, and it accomplished nothing. Albert’s the one who saved it, who….did everything right. I’ll do this for him, so he can continue his story.”

“Well! That settles that!” G’raha said with forced cheer. “I’ll just go pen the letter to Beq Lugg.” He swung on his heel to leave. Apparently deciding this was a wise course of action, Urianger and Krile also retreated, leaving Y’shtola and Ardbert to their glaring.

It was Y’shtola who looked away first, wrapping her arms around herself. “......I apologize.” She said softly. “I know I’m being unfair to you. Albert spoke of you as a friend, and to treat you as the enemy now does his faith in you a disservice.”

“....But you don’t know me.” Ardbert lowered his own voice in response to hers. “I know all of you so much better than any of you could ever know me. He’s not the only one who thought the other a friend.” He flexed his fingers. “He lent me his ear when he was the only one who could hear my voice. He gave me his faith and trust, his friendship. Even when he was scared, and dying to the light tearing him apart from the inside, he wouldn’t give up and rest. So when he finally fell. When he finally couldn’t do it anymore, I said we’d do it together….and we did. All I did was put him back together so he could finish the fight, and now he’s coming apart anyway. Don’t you see? I have to save him. If I don’t, what good am I? I’ve failed at everything else. I have to succeed at this!”

Y’shtola looked sidelong at him. “Of course I want Albert to be saved.” She said. “But if all you see yourself as is the sacrifice, then what was the point of your friendship? Albert clearly treasured you more than that, so to regard yourself as less you spit in the face of all that faith and trust he put in you. You insult him by saying you have no worth.”

Ardbert pursed his lips, but before he could think of a reply, Y’shtola swept from the room and left him alone.

------

Ardbert had made himself comfortable on the bed and was dozing when G’raha let himself in. He waited for Ardbert to rouse and sit up before holding not one, but two folded letters out to him. One was signed for Beq Lugg, but the other seemed to be for Lyna. Ardbert took them, then flapped the letter for Lyna back at him. “Am I the mail service now, kupo?”

G’raha chuckled softly, but then became serious. “I can only imagine how my--which is to say the Exarch’s entombment in crystal affected her. I’d like for her to have some closure, and some answers to questions she never asked but I’m sure she always wanted answers to. Would you deliver it to her?”

“It’s the least I can do, I suppose.” Ardbert agreed. “It’s nice to know someone around here doesn’t think I want to make off with Albert’s body.”

G’raha’s ears twitched. “Well he spoke of you with great fondness while Krile and I were sealing up the Tower. I almost felt like you were one of our own dear friends by the end of it, myself. He trusted you absolutely, so I couldn’t possibly do any less.”

Ardbert nodded slightly. “Hopefully Beq Lugg can help.”

“Well if anyone will know what to do, it’ll be them.” G’raha replied confidently.

“Yes, I know.” Ardbert stood and tucked the letters away. His expression was regretful as he moved to walk past. “I convinced them to help me and my companions remove ourselves from our bodies and fuel our souls from our Crystals of Light, after all.”

“Wh--Beq Lugg did talk as if they’d known you, but they’re the one who--”

“Yes.” Ardbert hastened himself out the door before being forced to elaborate, but was stopped short by a glowering Alisaie.

“So I’m told you’re making for the First are you?” She asked, arms crossed.

“Yes, but unless you have a letter you want me to deliver to someone I don’t think I’m interested.” Ardbert said wearily. It didn’t surprise him that Alisaie would be the other most hostile Scion, given both his own brief encounters with her and Albert’s memories to show him just how hot-headed she was, but he was getting so tired of all of it.

Alisaie responded by closing the distance, snapping her hand up to grab him by the ear and yank his head down, a motion which so startled him he just let her do it.

“Now listen here.” She snarled, but before she could continue he kicked her legs out from under her, which nearly took him down with her before she let go.

He put a hand over the injured ear and stepped back before she could catch her breath and launch any counterattacks. “I said not interested.” He pulled out Albert’s Warrior job crystal and slotted it in as if he’d done it a million times before even though job crystals hadn’t been a thing when he had been alive and he wasn’t even sure existed on the First. The armor changed automatically to a green version of Ardbert’s old armor and even a copy of Ardbert's old axe, because clearly Albert had good taste. With that, he turned to walk away.

“Get back here!” Alisaie pushed herself to her feet. “I’m talking to you!”

“Work on your definition of ‘talk’, then.” He heard the scuff of a boot, but then an exclamation of anger and a scuffle. He just kept walking. Once outside he took a few moments to figure out how to summon Albert’s chocobo, and soon set off for the way to the First. To hell with the naysayers. He wasn’t doing any of this for them.

Ch. 2

#ffxiv fanfiction #ardbert #ao3 fanfic #shadowbringers #ffxiv

4 notes · View notes

nyctolovian · 3 years

Link

Summary: Martin is an incubus and Jon is the drunken human who just accidentally summoned him.

Written for @aspecarchivesweek Day 4 prompt: AU

Warning: nudity, terrible humor and shenanigans

Martin felt a prickle at the back of his neck and hummed. A call. How unusual.

He lifted his head and looked skyward, or as skyward one was allowed to look up from the depths of the underworld. It was unusual, being called in this day and age. Humans, as a society, had long moved on from their initial obsession with witchcraft and demonic rituals so summoning for underworld beings had been and far between.

Usually, the minor demons would be clamouring over one another, in a flurry for a chance to feed upon human soul. However, as the ceiling of the underworld was burned open with a summoning circle and light from the human realm streamed in, the imps and lesser fiends around him cowered. In fact, they actively avoided eye contact with Martin. Intrigued, Martin licked the air and let the scent of blood settle on his senses. When he recognised the taste it left on his tongue, he blinked in surprise.

The call… was for Martin. Specifically.

From the corner of his eye, some of the other demons shifted out of his way politely. Slowly, Martin rose from his spot, stretching his arms and grunting softly as his joints popped at the movement.

“Long time, eh?”

“Sure is. I just hope it’s not another horny teenager,” Martin muttered and glanced at Tim who grinned slyly at him. He was violating several social rules, which usually signalled an invitation to confrontation, but Martin knew Tim well enough to recognise the lack of hostility. Besides, it was absurd to compete for this particular summoning. Every demon was curiously watching with bated breath. Interrupting this would ruin the fun. After all, the art of summoning specific demons was thought to have long been lost.

Especially something as specific as summoning a demon by name.

Martin couldn’t help the shiver of anticipation as he spread his wings. What could be waiting for him beyond the circle? With a deep breath, he launched himself upwards. As he approached the summoning circle, he felt the familiar light tingle of cool air against his skin. As his hands curled around the edges of the circle, it burned into his fingers.

Martin heaved himself up into the human realm and found the summoner, staring up at him with wide dark eyes. This was not an unusual reaction. Martin could be a terrifying sight indeed to a human, with his large ram horns and razor-sharp teeth. But humans were terribly confused creatures who often mistook their rapidly racing hearts for carnal thrill so it had always worked in Martin's favour.

Smoke poured out of the summoning circle and he stepped out into the dark bedroom. “Why, good evening,” he greeted with a smile.

The human was quite the frazzled mess with his unshaved face, and black but greying locks tied up in a high fuzzy bun. He was wearing a purple cotton skirt that fell to his ankles, and the baggiest possible shirt with the words "Trust me, I Majored in Not Giving a Fuck" printed on the front. Clutched in his hands was a thick tattered volume of which he made full use by shielding his eyes with it.

He smelled of alcohol and a dark red coloured his brown cheeks deliciously. Martin's suspicions were confirmed when he stepped another stepped forward and kicked an empty can of beer, sending it rolling across the room and hitting a stack of newspapers on the floor with a dull klunk.

Questionable choices aside, he looked rather adorable and Martin might say this looked to be one of his finer catches. If only said summoner didn’t immediately scrunch his handsome face in disgust and mortification.

“Oh, fuck!” the summoner said. “Wha— I thought…?” He narrowed his eyes at the pages of the book in his hands and let out the most exasperated groan Martin had ever heard. Then, he hurled the book at the wall. "Agh god! This is what I bloody get for sleep deprivation, I suppose. A fucking incubus!"

If Tim were in Martin's situation, he might have slid in a quip like, "Oh, if it pleases you, and I know it will, I can be a fucking incubus." Or a line that sounds much smoother than anything Martin could come up with. But Martin was not Tim so he just flinched awkwardly as the summoner's glare shot upwards and practically bore holes into him.

“Alright, back into the circle,” the human said. “Back! Back!” He walked towards Martin and waved his arms dismissively, wobbling every step in his intoxicated state.

“Are y– Are you seriously shooing me?” he huffed at the audacity. “Like some cat?”

“Do I need to invite you out? Or perhaps I should rescind my invitation as if you’re a vampire. Begone, demon!” he said, flailing his arms ridiculously.

Martin looked incredulously at the small man. “But you summoned me! You can’t just shoo me away!”

“Look, I’m sorry. There’s been a mistake.”

“A mistake?!” Martin shouted. How could he be summoned by name (by name!!) in a mistake! It was unheard of and he was frankly quite offended. He gesticulated wildly, searching for the words to express how utter bullshit this was. But rage rendered him speechless and he could only sputter broken noises.

“I read the wrong page and did the wrong ritual. I never meant to get… this.” He motioned to all of Martin, as though somehow greatly offended by the demon’s emergence he brought about himself. “What do I have to do to send you back?”

“I have to finish my contract, human! I can’t be sent back any old how.”

He frowned, hilariously befuddled. “Which is?”

“Take a guess,” the incubus deadpanned.

“Ah. That’d be… hm… difficult,” he said. “Ah! I think Sasha next door has been rather pent up lately. If you went out and knocked on the first door to your right, a nice young lady—that’s Sasha—will open the door and you could render your lovely services to her.”

“What? No, you can’t–”

The summoner clearly did not hear him because he nodded to himself sagely, humming in self-approval. He made his way over to the living room, swaying from side to side. "Oh. Wait." He halted just outside the main door. “No, that doesn’t sound like a good idea after all.”

Martin pinched the bridge of his nose. “Of course it isn't–”

“It’s better if I came with you to explain things. I don’t think she’d be keen on receiving a random stranger, and especially not someone who’s in this state of…” The summoner pulled a face of disgust. “Of undress.”

“Wh– I’m an incubus for hell’s sake! What other state of dress could I possibly be in? I'm not usually summoned to be taken on a stroll outside!”

"It's just a short walk. I wouldn't constitute that as a stroll," he mumbled. “I’m sure Sasha can appreciate this look better than I ever could. That’s a thing most other people appreciate, right? Must be,” he decided, opening the door.

Immediately, Martin slammed it shut. “Wait! No! That’s not the point! You can’t just cart me off to another human!”

Folding his arms like a petulant child in a supermarket, the human demanded, “Why the hell not?!”

“Because you made the contract! It’s your blood on the sacrificial circle, not this… this Sasha person.”

“Well,” he said, pout upon his lips, “that’s inconvenient.” He sat on the floor and tucked the skirt of his dress inwards.

Then, came the first breathing moment Martin had had since he first emerged from the summoning circle.

Head lolling against the wooden door, the summoner slumped into himself and exhaled loudly. “What now?”

“Well, um,” Martin said, “I usually begin things by finding out what my summoner’s name is.”

The human blinked sleepily, as though not registering for a moment (and perhaps he really didn’t), before saying, “You’re not going to… steal my name or something, right?”

“What? No!” Martin exclaimed.

“Sorry. I was just–”

“You summoned me yourself! You should know damn well I’m not a fae!”

“God, I’m sorry! It’s not every day I summon something."

Martin sighed heavily. "Yeah, it's fine. I'm sorry too. For yelling."

They settled back down into quietness. “It’s Jon. My, uh, my name. And you’re… A long name I can’t remember.” He grunted as he pushed himself up to get the book.

“Actually, just call me Martin. Don’t… Don’t use my full demonic name.”

Jon slid back down lazily. “Alright then, Martin. Is there any way we can, um, complete the contract without doing any of the–” He gestured vaguely– “stuff.”

"There's nothing else, really," Martin said with a wince of sympathy. "I am a sex demon after all so I trade in sex favours."

Deflating like a balloon, Jon let out a puff of frustration. "Oh, bollocks," he muttered. "Just my luck to summon a sex demon. Of all the wrong demons."

"Oh, so it's the sex demon part and not specifically the incubus part?"

"Yes. Don't, um, don't get me wrong I'm not a prude or anything. I'm just, well, terribly asexual," Jon said, fidgeting with the hem of his collar. "Do you… Is that something you're familiar with?"

"Oh, yeah. Humans like that have existed for ages," Martin replied and Jon visibly relaxed. "I've never been summoned by one before though."

Pulling the collar over his mouth, Jon chuckled drunkenly, his nose crinkling delightfully as he did so. "That's fair."

Martin couldn’t help the little upward curl of his own lips. Jon had a nice laugh, one that soothed and gently brushed away the tension in your chest. Martin found his chest warming at it and he sort of wished he could hear the pleasant sound again.

The laugh faded with a soft exhale. "Is there really no other way I can… end the contract?"

Martin gave Jon a pitying look. "Look, I'm… How about kissing? Kissing can be sexual and—"

"Kissing's worse."

Martin blinked. "Really?"

"I'm kiss-averse. Lips on lips is just… All that wet breathy movement. It just…" Jon pulled a face of revolt and exaggerated shudder to demonstrate his point. "You know? I mean, of course you don't. It's just stupid."

"No no no. It's not stupid at all," Martin assured him as he sat down on the floor so Jon didn't have to crane his neck to look at him. "Reasonable, in fact."

"Thank you!" Jon said. "Kissing has zero appeal. What is there to like about it other than the fact that it's supposed to be a show of affection? At least with sex it's not so bad. To me, at least."

"Not so bad how? Um, if, well, if I may ask…"

"I… It's…" Jon was sliding further and further onto the floor until his entire back was against the floor and his head was propped up by the door behind him. He exhaled through the corners of his mouth. "I'm… sort of neutral, I suppose? It's complicated. And quite a lot. I-I… I wouldn't want to go on for too long. I mean, I'd just bore you and—"

"I'd say I'm a pretty good listener. You'd be surprised how much pillow talk I do with the humans who summon me." Martin laughed sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head.

It was clear the moment Jon's restraint snapped because something in his eyes changed. Immediately, Jon was launched into an alcohol-driven spiel. "It's a fluctuating thing, you see? Most of the time, I forget sex is even a thing so when I'm suddenly reminded of its existence, I'm incredibly caught of guard. It's dumb but I feel offended even. That's why this—" he gestured to all of Martin— "is frankly rather off-putting. No offense."

Martin shifted awkwardly.

"But sometimes, you know, it feels… okay? As in I-I want it sometimes. Not often. Maybe once every three months, it sounds like a fascinating idea. But then there's no one in mind to do it with and I don't feel comfortable just… picking someone. And—" He frowned, his brow wrinkling cutely. "God, this is embarrassing to talk about. I didn't even talk about this in as much detail with Georgie. She's my, uh, my ex. It just never seemed like the right time to talk about it and then suddenly we've drifted apart and…” Jon sighed loudly. “I just never could talk to her about things. Even if they bothered me." A look of devastation crossed his features as his arms slackened. "God, this is probably why we broke up," he breathed.

"I'm sorry," Martin said consolingly.

Sliding further onto the floor till he was completely lying on it, Jon held a hand up. "No. No, it's been a long time since then. I'm no longer hung up about it. I just… well, this thing… my relationship with sex as a… thing. It just creeps up on me once in a while. It complicates things. So you can see why this is an odd situation I've accidentally gotten us into?" He turned his body so he lay on his side.

"Yeah."

His eyes were pleading as he pulled his legs up to lie in a foetal position. "I'm really sorry I got us into this mess.”

“Don’t worry,” Martin said. “We’ll figure a way out of this together.”

Hesitantly, Jon nodded.

Martin wracked his brain for any possible solution. He sat there for a good minute before his brain gave out. “No good, I can’t think of any right now.”

Silence.

"Jon?"

The slowness and depth of his breathing made Martin frown in suspicion. He approached Jon tentatively and peered at his face. Sure enough, lying there with his eyes lightly lidded and arms crossed over his chest, the human was sleeping.

“What?!” Martin exclaimed, nudging him with his foot. “Did you seriously pass out in 5 seconds?!”

Thankfully, Jon was not entirely in dreamland yet because he furrowed his brow, refusing to open his eyes, and grumbled, “Wha…?”

In utter dismay, Martin yelled, “Jon, you can’t sleep on the floor like this!”

“You’re not the boss of me,” he slurred out in drunken drowsiness, turning his face towards the floor.

A groan of exasperation left Martin. “You’ll catch a bloody cold!” he scolded. “Your head will be aching and you’ll have a crick in your neck at the very least.” He squatted down and began shaking the human violently.

This time, Jon’s eyes flew open in shock and he immediately squeezed it shut. “Ack! For fuck’s sake! Why is the first thing I see when I open my eyes your big smelly dick?!”

"Wh- It's not smelly!"

Jon rolled out of Martin’s grasp. “I’m up. I’m up.” Sitting up, he began to rub his eyes.

Martin rolled his eyes. “We wouldn’t have to come to this if you didn’t decide to fall asleep on the floor like a caveman. I thought you humans will have a better appreciation of the comforts of a bed.”

“I’m tired, alright? God, you'll be stuck here for a while, won't you?” Jon said.

Martin hummed.

“Let's get you something to wear. I can’t have you going around butt naked in my house.” He stood up and gestured for Martin to come with him. And because he was wobbling dangerously as he walked, Martin followed him to make sure he didn’t trip and die on the way to his bedroom.

After flinging his wardrobe doors open dramatically, Jon scanned its contents with folded contemplative arms. He grabbed a pair of boxers and tossed them into Martin’s arms. “Try it on. These are the biggest I’ve got so if you can’t fit into these, I’ll murder you.”

Brushing the strange threat off as a drunkard’s words, Martin stepped into the boxers. They were a tad bit of a squeeze but he supposed they could be considered a fit. When he looked up, Jon threw a dress over him with the hanger still on, checking the fit with narrowed eyes, before sighing and shoving it back into his wardrobe.

They went through several iterations of this before Jon ran out of clothes. Not that this was unexpected, if you asked Martin. Jon was quite scrawny, standing at about 160cm and completely dwarfed by Martin’s broad-shouldered figure of 192cm. It was already a miracle that Jon had any underwear at all that fit him and Martin expressed as much to Jon.

“Aren’t I dressed enough?” he added.

However, that only earned himself a scathing glare from Jon. “If you think being in a pair of boxers is called ‘dressed enough’ then you’re terribly wrong,” he replied.

Martin decided not to comment that this was the most dressed he has ever been, even more than that time he wore lacy lingerie during a summon.

“Aha!” Jon cried, slapping Martin’s shoulder. “I have just the thing!” He squeezed between Martin and his bed and fetched a plastic chair from the corner of his room.

Clumsily, he clambered onto the chair and if Martin had a heart, it would leap to his throat at the way Jon rocked. Then, he stood on the chair to reach the top shelf of the wardrobe and Martin's hands shot out to steady the incredibly drunk and wobbly human.

And good thing that Martin did because Jon suddenly lurched leftwards. Martin let out a frightful squeak as he caught Jon. "Careful!"

In his arms, Jon was stiff with shock. He pursed his lips nervously.

He really did have a nice face, round and sharp in all the right places. Short but thick lashes that flickered as he blinked. Uneven lips with the left corner curling upwards slightly, as though just to keep things interesting. Thick, strong eyebrows that accentuated his eyes—dark eyes that were so soulfully deep, one could drown in it, and Martin was struggling to breathe a bit actually.

"I… Uh, thanks?" Jon mumbled as his gaze fell. Upon seeing what he had pulled out on the way down however, his face lit up. "There!" he exclaimed, lifting the thing in his hand triumphantly. "A bathrobe!"

Martin sighed in frustration, slowly let the scrawny man down and accepted the proffered bathrobe. Jon was about to step onto the chair again but Martin pulled him off and set him onto the bed behind them, where he could not endanger his own life. “Alright, alright. No more climbing up things tonight. What do you need?” Martin said.

Huffing, Jon flopped backwards onto the bed. “I need to close it.”

“I’ll do it,” he said. He raised his hands and easily shut the upper shelf of the wardrobe. With that settled, he put the bathrobe on, tying it neatly, and turned to Jon. “Alright, what–” He stopped when he saw Jon fast asleep in the most bizarre position, upper body on the bed while his entire lower body dangled off, his skirt fanned out as the human slept with his legs stretched onto the floor.

Martin grimaced openly. This was going to be one long summoning. This Jon person was really quite the hassle. Sure, Martin has met his fair share of human disasters—adulterers, gamblers, sex deviants. But he has never met this particular brand of mess before.

Still, he couldn’t bear to leave Jon in this state. Let it be said that Martin the Incubus was an excellent bed partner. He leaned down and picked Jon up to lay him properly on his bed. While Martin tried to tuck Jon into bed, sleepy arms wound around his neck. It was quite cute actually, so Martin let him.

When he was done, Martin tried to push Jon off, but the stubborn human only clung tighter. He tried to pry Jon’s arms apart. To his horror, that made Jon let out a whine before he threw his leg over Martin’s back and tugged with more force than Martin thought he was capable of in his sleep.

“Oomph!” Martin steadied himself before he fell and crushed the poor human under his weight. “You really are a bloody handful!”

They wrestled for a while longer before Martin let out a groan of sufferance, jostled himself a space on the bed and lay down, all while making sure he didn’t accidentally hurt Jon with his ram horns. As though satisfied, Jon’s stick-thin limbs wound round Martin’s body and he pressed his face against his chest. Jon was all elbows and knees, and all that shifting in his slumber did not help. But, left with not much of a choice, Martin resigned himself to Teddy Bear Duty.

#the magnus archives #tma #magpod #jonathan sims #martin blackwood #asexuality #ace jon #incubus #fanfic #my writing #god im delirious at this point i keep staring at words and not registering what im supposed to be doing #i rly should sleep #but yeh enjoy this weird fic #also for some weird reason i rly like throwing sex demons at ace ppl #*looks at that one kacc/hako fic i wrote a couple years back*

28 notes · View notes

professional-bts-simp · 4 years

Text

Broken

Jeon Jungkook x Reader

Summary: The aftermath of your boyfriend’s betrayal.

Genre: Angst

Warning: Possibly sad

Part 2 of 3

Other parts: part 1

A/N: The angst ending of ‘Saying Goodbye’.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You didn't know what felt worse, the way Jungkook ripped your heart out or how your best friend wasn't answering his phone. You suppose Jungkook ripping your heart out broke you, but Taehyung not answering finished you off. You thought he'd at least care enough for you after witnessing for himself what your now ex boyfriend said and did.

You couldn't stop the tears rolling or the pathetic, loud wails escaping you every time you took a breath. You leaned against your sofa, moving from kneeling to sitting on the floor. Pulling your knees to your chest you buried your head in them, body shaking with cries. You have no idea how long you sat there, maybe a few minutes, maybe a free hours. You grabbed your phone calling Taehyung one more time, hoping you'd have better luck yet to no avail.

You got up from your sitting spot stumbling a little at the dizziness you felt in your head. Forcing yourself to walk to your bedroom you close the door behind you, walking up to your bed you remove the blanket before getting in, covering your body and crying yourself to sleep.

The next day wasn't any better for you. You tried getting up from bed which proved to be an impossible task, but somehow you formed energy to force your body to get up, walking to the bathroom to do your routine. Walking back to your bed like a zombie you flop down on it, burying your head in the pillows. A ding caught your attention and you took your phone, seeing a text from Tae that filled you with a little bit of hope.

[Tae👌🤤]: Eat

A one word text. You almost scoffed at it, knowing that you both used to send essay long texts to each other, but you were kind of glad he at least sent you something, it felt like he wasn't ignoring you as much as you convinced yourself he was.

Eating turned out to be a complete bust. You weren't even able to finish your sandwich, it making you feel nausea and your stomach to hurt. Leaving the half eaten sandwich on the table you sluggishly walk back to the bedroom, wanting nothing more but to be suffocated among your pillows and blankets falling back into slumber.

Sleeping was another thing that seemed to avoid you, waking up every hour or so, unable to sleep from overthinking and the dreams, or more nightmares, you had. You finally decided to stay up after waking up for the third time, your phone saying it was four in the morning. You tried watching some of your favourite YouTube videos but they did nothing to lift your spirit or your mood, you only watched the screen with a stoic expression.

You put your phone down, getting your earphones and putting on the saddest songs you could find on YouTube, laying on your back staring at the ceiling for a few hours crying and feeling the tears roll down your cheeks to your neck. The sound of your phone going off distracted you from your self deprecating, wincing the moment you heard Jungkook's voice sing, having Euphoria as your ringtone. You pick up your phone seeing Taehyung's name across the screen. You reluctantly answer, heart rate speeding up immediately, hearing Tae's voice at the other end and how it sounded so small and frightened.

"Hey (y/n), how are you?"

You scoff loudly into the phone wiping the tears with the sleeve of the hoodie you've been wearing for the past two days, Jungkook's hoodie might you add. You don't know why there is an awkwardness when he speaks, you usually fell easy into a conversation, feeling comfortable with each other. You suppose dating then getting dumped by one of his members would cause awkwardness between you.

"Not good Taehyung. My whole world is crashing down," you play with the sleeve of the hoodie, nerves high, "could you maybe come over?" You hate how nervous you feel asking Taehyung to come over, but you just couldn't be alone anymore.

He was quiet for several seconds before he spoke again, "I don't think that's a good idea (y/n)." You couldn't describe the wrenching gut feeling you had, but you were sure it wasn't a good one.

"Wh-why not?"

Taehyung took a shaky breath, almost as if he were scared to tell you what's next, "The company doesn't think we should see each other for a while." And suddenly you understood why he was scared to tell you.

A new batch of tears welled up in your eyes, falling faster and faster down your already wet face. You couldn't believe what you were hearing, you lost your boyfriend and now you're going to lose your best friend. This had to be the worst week of your life. Taking a deep breath you steady your phone in your hands, determined not to let Taehyung slip past your fingers like Jungkook did.

"No."

There was a short silence on his end before he spoke again, "What do you mean 'no'? (y/n) this isn't something to debate over."

"I'm not letting you leave me. I can't handle that too." Your voice was a ghost of a whisper but Tae heard it, he heard it loud and clear and hated himself he had to put you through this, alone.

He was quiet once more on the other end and for a second there you thought he might reconsider, might convince the company to at least see you once a week or something, anything. You heard a door open and close and muffled voices on the other end, but then you heard a voice you could distinctly recognise anywhere, "Hyung get off the phone we have practice soon and you know Hobi hyung will kill us if we're late."

Jungkook.

"Who are you talking to anyway?"

"I'm really sorry, cupcake, I hope you can forgive me." Was the last thing Taehyung said to you before he hurriedly ended the call. You threw your phone against the wall, shattering it, how dare he use the nickname you loved more than anything? The old childhood nickname he affectionately gave you was now being run through mud in your mind. You felt angry, you felt sad, but most of all you felt betrayed. You had no one by your side anymore. How were you ever going to get through this?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Looking down at your phone you laughed at the new message that you got. Damn was he always this funny or did you never noticed it? Picking your coffee from the table you press it against your lips, swallowing the sweet taste of your beverage.

"(y/n)? Is that you?"

You almost choke on your drink at his voice. You look up from your phone, the tall figure standing in front of your table, a cup of what you can presume is a very sweet vanilla latte knowing he almost always got that at cafes. You hadn't seen him in about a year, maybe a few months past a year and he still looked the same. Still devilishly handsome.

"Oh my God, Jungkook hi!" You smile up at him greeting him enthusiastically. Oddly you feel okay seeing him, there's a slight pang in your chest but nothing like it was before. He seemed a little thrown off at your greeting yet you decided to brush it off.

"Um how have you been?" He clears his throat, trying to sound normal and relaxed.

"Oh I've been good, great actually, been working hard and got a promotion at work." You hear your phone ding again and look down quickly, letting out a chuckle at another text. Looking back up at Jungkook you quickly saw a dash of confusion on his face before it was replaced by curiosity.

He looked down at your phone before looking back up to your face, "That's awesome, so um, what are you doing here? I mean at the cafe." He pointed a finger at the ground to indicate what he meant. You laughed slightly at that, Jungkook was always a dork. "I actually have a date today so I went here to wait for him." You nodded a few times, licking your lips then smacking them together.

Jungkook followed your action of head nods, his tongue sticking out against his cheek.

"Also I'm sorry to hear what happened with you and Jisoo." You offered him a comforting smile.

He stiffed a little, but kept his composure. "It's alright, these things happen." He looked down at his cup, far more interested in looking at it than looking at you.

"You have your date here?"

You raised an eyebrow at him, wondering why he would even ask you that, "Ah no, actually we're going to the movies," there was a doorbell chime, "and here he is now." You grabbed your purse from the other chair, waving your date over and standing up with your own cup in hand.

"R-RapMon hyung?"

"Jungkook hello. Didn't expect to see you here." Namjoon glanced from him to you, offering you that dimpled smile that gave you all sorts of butterflies. You linked your arm under his, moving closer into his touch while Jungkook still looked puzzled.

"When did this happen?" He swallowed hard, almost as the words physically hurt him to say.

Namjoon and you chuckled at the shared memory, "Well we met in a cafe much like this, half a year after you two…." Namjoon stopped, knowing it was a sore subject, for both of you probably. You started filling in after him, "And after that we just got to talking and hanging out and we clicked." You look up at the taller man, standing on your toes to kiss his cheek lightly, not noticing how Jungkook's face twisted into one of sorrow and pain.

You both excused yourselves, wanting to get to the theater as fast as possible to get good seats. When you and Namjoon left the cafe, Jungkook still stood there, looking at the glass door with a broken expression on his face and a broken heart. Now he understood how you felt a year ago.

Broken.

125 notes · View notes

mihidecet · 3 years

Text

I see You

I’m back on my bs yall. This is meant to be a companion piece to this so if you’re in the mood for some pure and extremely shameless comfort maybe check it out?

I somehow ended up writing 3.8K of Manburg family dynamics, set in an alternate universe where none of the extremely messed us stuff of the canon happened. ((we could have had it all))

Once again do not take this as ship content!! Let’s normalize platonic cuddling and being close with your friends without it being sexual!! Pretty pretty please!!

Contrary to popular belief, Schlatt is not that dense when it comes to feelings.

His ignorance of other people's emotions is a willing act of defiance. Defiance towards whom, you may find yourself asking?

… Anyway.

Schlatt does notice things. Stuff happening around him. And he does remember them.

He knows Tubbo takes his morning tea with two spoonfuls of honey, and a slice of bread with any marmalade on it except raspberry, which as it turns out he doesn't like. Schlatt stops providing raspberry marmalade, but it never really gets questioned.

He knows Fundy will get scraped up while exploring during the day, and will always forget to bandage himself up properly, so he makes sure to mention it in passing to whoever is near him at the end of the day - just to know that people will check up on the kid. He doesn't need to go himself, Fundy would never allow him to take care of him directly, and he's not going to subject either of them to that situation.

Most of all, he notices Quackity - with him being the Vice President, they're around each other a lot.

Quackity is a bright light in the cabinet.

While Tubbo is a warm late afternoon glow and Fundy is burning fire, Quackity is sunshine by the seaside on a midday spring day.

Quackity likes coffee, but only if it's been drowned with sugar. He likes singing, humming tunes to himself as he works or while he cooks - he does it for everyone, whenever he has the time to, and he is one of the best cooks there are. He likes to debate, bringing up topics to talk about during slow times, engaging Tubbo into verbal spars. He makes sure that Fundy has eaten at least three times per day, and that he's gone to sleep at a decent time.

He smiles to himself whenever he finishes a document. Ruffles Tubbo's hair. Touches Fundy's shoulder to stop him to ask him how he's doing. Taps Schlatt's shoulder to catch his attention.

Quackity is a very tactile person.

Schlatt remembers him hugging people, throwing arms around shoulders, laughing out loud with tears at the corners of his eyes.

So it's no wonder that a couple of months into their presidency, with work and paperwork occupying most of their days, Quackity is both overly stressed and constantly fidgeting.

It comes to a point when Schlatt catches him visibly reaching out to people and then backing away, awkward and embarrassed, mumbling excuses before making a joke of being lost in his mind due to work.

That cannot continue. It simply cannot.

Schlatt finishes his paperwork an hour early that night, then he takes a swig from one of his already opened bottles for good luck and gets to work.

The trip from his study to Quackity's is almost too long - it gives him almost enough time to change his mind, almost enough time to chicken out and just plan something else, maybe unleash Tubbo on him. But before he can formulate the idea in his mind, he's standing in front of the oak door and his hand is already raised to knock.

Too late to back down. A part of him reasons, despite the fact that it isn't.

"Come in." Quackity's voice answers after he raps his knuckles against the wood.

The room inside is dimly lit: the only source of light is a small table lamp that shines a beacon on Quackity’s documents as his pen flies on the paper sheet, the man’s slightly hunched back straightening when he notices him entering, a small tired smile appearing on his face.

"What are you doing here?" He asks, his head tilting lightly to the side - then bending further, one hand coming up to rub at his neck with a slightly pained expression. Schlatt advances, crossing his arms over his chest and shrugging while Quackity seemingly discovers more and more sore spots along his back.

"I finished my paperwork, I figured I'd stop by."

"Oh, cool. -” he replies with one final satisfied grunt “- I'm almost done with this."

Schlatt nods absentmindedly, gesturing vaguely with a hand towards a nearby armchair: "You mind?" There’s a moment of confused silence as Quackity looks at him as if he’s grown a second set of horns, a mixture of surprise, amusement and incredulity overcoming his features, then he shakes his head and chuckles to himself. To be fair, any other night he’d have flung himself on his bed the instant his paperwork had been done. Still, Quackity recovers quickly, nodding towards him and swiftly resuming his work.

It’s hard not to fall asleep with the sound of his friend’s pen running over paper calming his nerves, the dimness surrounding them and the comfiness of the armchair under him. He remembers when Quackity had brought it in, slightly old looking and covered in a transparent sheet of plastic: he’d called it a lifetime occasion, found in a yard sale, and Schlatt had doubted its usefulness - after all, they had a couch in the livingroom and multiple chairs for each of their desks.

And yet, there hasn’t yet been a day when the armchair wasn’t occupied by someone. When the days are cold, Tubbo can often be found curled up in it with a mug of hot chocolate and a blanket safely tucked around his shoulders - by whom should be quite obvious. And sometimes, when the nights are too long and sleep avoids Fundy, he retreats there, silently, and turns the armchair so that he can keep a watchful eye over Quackity as he works - that is, until sleep finds him, comforted by the knowledge that they’re all safe and alive.

There’s a small bookshelf next to the armchair, filled with tomes both bought, found and written - some in English, most in Spanish. Quackity is nothing but fond and proud of his collection, and while Schlatt’s not going to tell anyone, he has read plenty of poems from the books that looked the most used. He’s aware that his Spanish isn’t the best, but it helps with keeping his knowledge fresh.

His eyes catch on a thin book that he doesn’t remember seeing before - its title along the spine is a mesh of letters, with way too many consonants, and definitely in a language he doesn’t know. Picking it up, he figures it will help with his task of not falling asleep as he waits, but alas, as on the spine, the whole book is filled with too many long words - is that a whole line of just one? Who made this up?

He starts flipping back to the incipit, in hope of at least finding the author’s name. When he reaches it, though, what catches his attention first isn’t the name itself - Goethe, ah, that’s it, German - but a hand-penned inscription just below.

“Hey Da Dumbass, I heard you like poetry in foreign languages. Try and read this. Fundy.”

Thankfully, the sound of a satisfied grunt reaches his ears and unknots the tightness in his throat and distracts him from the warmth spreading in his chest.

Behind him, Quackity - he calls him dad - stretches his arms behind his back and sighs.

"Alright, this one's done! -” he starts, smiling proudly to himself before shooting a somewhat guilty look towards the rest of the documents piled up on his desk “- You know, you don't have to wait for me, I figured since it's not so late I could get a bit of stuff done ahead of time-" Schlatt levels him with an unimpressed stare, then claps the book closed and places it back in its original place before standing up and making his way towards his still sitting friend.

"Alright, that's it." Quackity looks visibly confused, even a bit worried, as he leans back into his chair, but Schlatt is a man on a mission: he won’t be swayed by it, this is supposed to be an intervention. He stops once he’s close, standing up right next to Quackity, and his friend looks nervously up at him, a high pitched self conscious chuckle escaping him.

"Wh-what- what's up?" Schlatt gives him a quick look just to confirm his theory, but he knows him. And most importantly, he knows himself, he knows he can manage it.

"You, in a moment-" He quips, bending down and quickly scooping the shorter man up, one arm under his legs while the other supports his back and then-

"Wait, hold on- hold on I-” Quackity starts to protest, but by then Schlatt already has a secure hold on him, so up they go, followed by a yelp by Quackity himself as he is quite suddenly hoisted up into Schlatt’s arms, one hand reaching out and wrapping around the taller man’s shirt with a vice-like grip as he splutters, eyes wide as saucers.

“HOLY SHIT-! HOW IN THE FUCK DID YOU DO THAT?!"

And to be completely fair, Schlatt is not one to back down from the chance to boast at this type of thing, so he simply shrugs and squeezes him closer with a self satisfied smirk: "I told you I lift, you dumbass."

"I- I- put me down." Quackity gapes, seemingly still wrapping his head around the sudden switch in situation; the way he leans into the hold is probably unconscious, but it does confirm his theory that his vice president, his closest friend, is in desperate need of being on the receiving end of some care and comfort. And he knows, deep inside himself, that he’s not the best candidate for the job, but if nobody’s going to do it then he is for sure going to.

"I will in a moment. You need sleep." He replies, tone firm but not loud, reaching out with a hand to turn off the desk lamp - inwardly thanking the low light coming from the torches in the corridor for allowing him not to make a fool of himself by immediately tripping on his feet.

"I- alright, but I can get to my room on my own!" Quackity protests, sounding flustered, and Schlatt has a moment of hesitation as the sudden fear of having overstepped a boundary hits him. Maybe he shouldn't have done this. Shit, fuck, he's screwed this, hasn't he?

But as he pauses for a moment to look down at Quackity, to asses the situation, he realises that the man is actually clutching at him, and his head is resting under his chin - the soft fabric of the beanie pushing against his cheek the moment he bends his head to look down. Schlatt lets out a steadying breath: he can do this.

"I know you can. I don't mind doing this, though." He states, firmly but not unlindly, voice softening, and he holds him close again - one armed as he reaches out to close the corridor's door. A huff of breath warms a spot over his chest.

"I- you're such a fucking showoff, dude." He murmurs, accepting the situation with what sounds like a small smile on his face.

It takes him a minute, but soon he's opening the door of Quackity's bedroom. The shorter man, who had been slowly relaxing overtime, leaning more and more into his chest, startles as if waking up from sleeping and tenses up.

"Alright, now you can drop me off." He comments, but Schlatt is a bit more preoccupied with losing himself inside his own mind as he thinks about what to do next, so Quackity stays up - it's not like he's gonna wriggle around and risk falling on his ass on the ground. After a moment, he looks down at where Q's hand is clutching at his shirt, and at where his head is still pressed against his chest. A part of him is enjoying this too, and isn't really ready to let go, but still, this isn't about him. It's about what Quackity wants.

So he forces his anxieties down, swallows around the knot in his throat and tries.

"What- what if I didn't yet, though." Quackity is silent for a moment after that, but his hand doesn't unclench, so he counts it as a good thing.

"You're not making any sense, man."

Schlatt is stood in the middle of the room, holding Quackity up, keeping him close, and he feels like he's balancing multiple instincts wanting to drag him in any direction - anywhere else other than here, right now, when stuff is so confusing and worrisome and he's constantly scared of scaring Quackity off with something weird.

But yet again, he keeps it down, keeps it quiet. For his friend.

"I've been seeing how stressed you are. Is this helping? Please be honest." If he had a free hand, he would be running it through his hair, a nervous habit he's been picking back up. Yet, his arms are starting to feel the strain of holding a body up, so he's not going to risk letting him fall to the ground. After what seems like an eternity, another sigh in the form of a warm puff of breath hits his chest as Quackity concedes.

"... A bit …"

Good, he can't help but think. Communication is key in these situations. In all situations really, but he appreciates the fact that Q is opening up and letting him know he is alright with being held like this. Spurred on by this, he ponders his next words perhaps a bit too little.

"Is it the caring or the touching?"

Quackity visibly flinches at the wordings, leaning back a little - pushing more strain on Schlatt's right arm - to stare at him with a sarcastic frown.

"Shit, man, you are such a wordsmith-"

Too quick, too many variables lost to the moment, and Schlatt is swept up in the frenzy of the situation - he has never, ever been good at smoothing out situations.

"Will you just answer-"

"It's both! Geeze, are you happy now?!" Quackity's embarrassed outburst manages to at the same time shut him up and quieten the anxious voices in his head - so he was right, Quackity did like this, and he didn't mind it. Now if that wasn't a win in his book … he sighs, squeezing him close.

"Yeah, kinda. See, it wasn't hard. You little bitch." He comments, tone way too fond for him to be taken seriously ever again, but he figures he's allowed to be a bit soft - it's late, they're tired, and they're the only ones in the room.

Schlatt decides he's not going to subject himself to the mortifying ordeal of starting to lose strength in his arms - he has a reputation to uphold - so he quickly makes his way to the large bed, turns and sits down, inwardly relieved that he's managed to get this far. His nerves still haven't betrayed him. Yet. At least Quackity isn't launching himself on the other side of the room the moment he has a chance not to fall on the ground if he moves the wrong way.

"What are you doing?" Quackity asks, sounding genuinely confused as he looks up at him with furrowed brows, so now it's Schlatt's turn to splutter indignantly, the arm under Q's legs sneaking up to wave confusedly in the air.

"I'm about to murder you is what I'm doing- what does it look like?! I'm trying to comfort you!"

A moment of silence follows, during which Schlatt stares awkwardly at Quackity's shocked face. Then Q's eyes soften and he starts chuckling, shaking his head for a moment before he lets it fall back down against his collarbone, sneaking an arm around his waist.

"Feeling real fucking comforted, for sure." He comments, humour loud in his voice as he squirms around for a moment trying to find a comfortable position, quieting a moment later and letting out a small sigh.

"I am going to throw you into the river." Schlatt answers, bringing the hand that was holding his back up to the nape of his neck, fingers dipping under his beanie to lightly scratch at his scalp, pressing his friend's forehead against his neck.

When Quackity answers a moment later, his voice is but a murmur.

"I thought you were here to comfort me?"

"Shut up and be comforted, then, you dumbass." He huffs out, but there's a smile on his face despite the way he tries to seem angry. He is still way too soft to be taken seriously, and he'll be mad about it later, when Quackity will keep making coffee for the both of them, but then he'll lean into him while Schlatt's making eggs for Fundy, and he'll call him soft when he remembers to add the herbs the young fox hybrid picked himself; not to mention how he'll suddenly realise who had been bringing Tubbo back to his room after the kid had fallen asleep on the couch.

But still, it's worth it, as he slowly grabs the hand that is still gripping his shirt, gently pressing against his fingers until he lets go; he places it back on Quackity's lap, rubbing what he hopes are comforting circles into his wrist - he knows how bad it can get when you spend all day writing, and knows his intuition payed off when his friend's shoulders relax even further.

To be quite honest, Quackity hadn't even realised his writing hand had been hurting.

A joke threatens to rise in Q's throat, a way to diffuse the situation, a mechanism born from ages of repressing wholesomeness because that's the type of things that get you in trouble, because feelings get treated as a weakness, but he squashes it down, closing his eyes with a sigh as he lets himself enjoy the moment.

The warmth of a hug that is truly meant, the comforting weight of Schlatt's head against the top of his, the blissful peace that he associates with having his hair played with - It's been a while since he had the chance to do this, to feel this.

He could fall asleep like this, he thinks, eyes closing on their own and body melting into the sensation, and he finds himself floating, suspended - but also grounded, tethered by the points of contact between their bodies.

He feels- he feels like he did when Fundy tried to teach him German, him stumbling over the words while the other laughed with him; or like all the times Tubbo brought him outside in the garden, guiding him through the steps needed to take care of his beloved pets.

He feels at home.

And after a moment, he feels Schlatt relax too, his movements less precise, less rithmic, his shoulders sagging a bit as they lean more into each other instead of just Quackity against him - and doesn't that feel poignant, he thinks, but not pointing it out loud feels like a better choice.

He feels before he hears the low timbre of Schlatt's voice, unusually quiet due to a mix of tiredness and the silent atmosphere surrounding them.

"I'm gonna lie back. That alright with you?"

It takes a moment for Quackity to realise that he is asking for permission. He wants to nod, but that would jostle their heads. So he hums in what hopes is a notably affirmative way, and just to be sure his message is correctly interpreted, he turns his palm upward, fingers wrapping around the taller man's wrist, and squeezes.

He feels a chuckle vibrate through the chest under his cheek; again, quiet, toned down, but this time it also feels like he's trying not to move too much - and that right there makes him want to never stop smiling, especially whenever Schlatt pretends he doesn't care. Because if there is one thing Quackity knows is that he cares so much, despite the fact that he still pretends he doesn't know how a doctor found their way to Fundy's room after he scraped his knee, the poor medic armed as if somebody had just lost an arm.

Schlatt thinks he's so good at hiding his feelings, and then he stops buying a specific type of marmalade because Tubbo joked about it tasting funny. He is nothing but a dork, and this has just done nothing more than confirm his suspicions.

The hand in his hair gently cups his head as Schlatt leans back until he's laying on the bed, and Quackity has to swallow back a knot in his throat at the pure, unaltered sweetness with which he is being treated - like he's fragile, but not in a bad, diminishing way: like you would treat a fancy ancient vase, or a masterpiece.

Quackity squeezes his eyes, feeling himself get watery, and focuses on the fact that like this, he's not that comfortable anymore. There's no need for his legs to be both over his friend's body, so he shuffles back until he's more curled up against his side, half laying on his chest, head still tucked under his chin - by god how perfectly safe he feels with that soft pressure against his temple.

Schlatt lets him wriggle around, the hand in his hair never moving, and once he stills his other one moves back to his own chest, where Quackity's hand rests against his heart, and his fingers gently wrap around his.

"This alright?" Comes a murmur from above him and Quackity's fingers squeeze automatically in response, finding himself unable to verbalise an answer at first.

"Thank you." He breathes out a moment later, after he's able to reign in his emotions just enough for him to find his voice again.

"Don't- don't thank me." Comes Schlatt's instant response, the fingers in his hair halting for a moment as he pauses, seemingly deep in thought. When he speaks again, his tone is once again slow and hushed, and his fingers are once more rubbing slow circles against his scalp.

"You can come to me for this. Anytime you want. I want you to know that you can count on me."

And oh, alright, Quackity thinks, eyes widening for a moment - he has to hurry and squeeze them shut before he starts tearing up, fighting against the way emotions squeeze at his chest; pure unadulterated joy at the knowledge that this is true, this is good and this is his. His small, dumb, weird family, made of mostly jagged pieces that somehow fit so well together. Quackity clutches at the fingers wrapped around his, squeezing maybe just a bit too tight, throat thick and feelings running, and then he simply nods into his friend's collarbone.

Schlatt just squeezes back - and that's just how they are, two dumbass friends holding onto each other, doing their best.

Minutes later, he falls asleep, lulled by the rhythmic rise and fall of his friend's chest and the gentle feeling of being held.

#my writing #quackity #jschlatt #dream smp au #we're back with some good ol comfort #I do hope you'll enjoy

27 notes · View notes