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saphirered · 3 years

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The Wizard and the Warrior

Boy it’s been busy. Double shifts whenever I’ve been free and uni starting again have really been a hassle but I managed to get in some writing so I hope you enjoy this final instalment of the Eldritch Knight series! Was going to split this one in two parts but didn’t work out so sorry for that. Hope you like it! 😘

You didn’t know what to expect when you were pulled through the world away from the homey Xhorhaus but you definitely didn’t expect the sound of waves in the distance and seagulls, the subtile smell of salt water and sand and an ocean breeze to hit you when you reappeared. Upon your vision taking in the new surroundings you find yourself standing under one of the opal archways looking out over a covered market selling all sorts of goods from street foods and drinks to knickknacks and jewellery, merchants calling for the attention of the people strolling about, negotiating prices or shouting their latest discount to pull in new customers. You’re in Nicodranas.

Essek knew he made the right decision when he sees the joy and excitement on your face. His feet tap the ground and he walks instead of floating, not wanting to draw any more attention that necessary and instead just enjoy these moments with you without the possibility of people finding out who you really are. Today you’d just be normal people without the weight of the world balanced on your shoulders. Today you got to be ordinary tourists exploring a city you otherwise never could. Nobody knows you’d be here.

You stroll about the market arm in arm moving from shop to shop and stand to stand inspecting wares, admiring them and listening to the stories the merchants tried to sell you. Both of you knew better and were able to easily distinguish truth from lies but that didn’t mean you didn’t like playing along every so often.

When you reached near the end of the market square the canopies started leaving gaps and eventually disappeared. Essek did his best to hide his winces whenever the sunlight was particularly bright. The sun was setting but it would still be another hour or so until it was fully set and he might have underestimated the brightness of the light. He didn’t let it bother him and pulled through. The slight discomfort is one-hundred percent worth looking upon your face as you bartered with another merchant.

Essek was partially blinded from where he stood while you browsed the wares of a man selling all sorts of curiosities but he couldn’t really move elsewhere without leaving your side or stepping into the path of walking people so he stuck and stayed relying on his hearing instead. You were bartering with the man as he put prices to the things you showed interest in and you tried to get a better price because you were fully aware you could get something similar if not the same for much cheaper. Essek couldn’t do anything but admire your skill and careful navigation of this encounter showing you had not left your wits with your armour back in Rosohna.

Once you got a good deal you bought your findings; a wide sheer shawl more like a thin blanket to wrap around your shoulders as you knew upon nightfall the breeze could bring a chill, a decorated silver bracelet with an inset purple gem that showed silver specks like stars whenever it caught the light just right and something else… Once done you pulled Essek aside into the full cover of one of the canopies and Essek was thankful for the break.

You’d expected Essek to have broken or admitted to his discomfort before when you noticed him wince every time the canopy lifted upon the wind and allowed the sun to bleed through right where he stood. You knew drow senses are attuned to darker spaces and in turn therefor experience a sensitivity to daylight.

“Will you stop being stubborn and just admit when something bothers you?” You say sternly as Essek rubs his eyes to get rid of the dark spots clouding his vision. When he sees the look you give him he bites his lip in shame. Apparently he hadn’t done such a good job of hiding it after all.

“I may not be able to do anything about the sunlight but I can do this.” You take out a parasol of a dark grey almost black colour with ornate lace designs added to it. It does enough to shield those under from the light and should prevent Essek from experiencing downsides of his drow heritage. Before he can protest you link your arm with his again holding the parasol above the two of you and shield yourselves from the light.

“Don’t worry. You can thank me by providing your company over a meal with me until the sun sets and we can go outside again without you burning off your retinas. I know just the place.” You smile as you begin leading Essek away to a different part of the city. You may not be the most familiar with Nicodranas but you know how to get to most places you’ve been before. You know your way from this market square to the Lavish Chateau so you begin leading Essek in that direction.

“There’s a great fish and chips shop on the way near Tidepeak I don’t think that kind of street food is really your style.” You say as the Tidepeak comes into view.

—————

Meanwhile the Nein and Verin stumble out into the teleportation circle room at the Tidepeak. They cracked the code and figured it out based on the list of places Verin had found among Essek’s notes. They knew exactly where Essek was going so it wouldn’t be much effort to find you two right? What harm has a little spying ever done to anyone? Maybe don’t answer that question. They had come for their own reasons be that to watch an epic romance unravel, dig up some dirt to tease or blackmail either of you with, or simply to keep the others in check.

“Shit. Should we have send a message?” Jester panics looking around for the goblin that usually helps them on their way and informs Yussa of their arrival.

“Not again.” Beau exclaims in exasperation. Yes again. And again they explain to Wensforth this is a matter of the utmost importance and expediency and they couldn’t have sent a message beforehand or lost too much time. Wensforth luckily for them didn’t have it within him to question their strange reasonings as he escorted them out of the tower and left the to their business.

—————

Within the Lavish Chateau you found out Essek had made a reservation and the guards and servers seemed to be extremely welcoming and attentive to the both of you for some reason you raised an eyebrow when a top shelf bottle of wine was brought out and left at your table once your glasses were poured and you awaited your food.

“Do I want to ask how you did all this?” You swirl your finger around gesturing to your surroundings. “Because last I was here, not even the daughter of the Ruby of the Sea and her friends get this kind of attendance.”

“Then perhaps it’s best you don’t ask.” Essek smiles proudly.

“How many of the Nicodranian nobility have cleared their debt with the Dynasty or reminded of their indiscretions then?” You ask giving him a look over your glass as you take a sip of delicious wine. Top shelf really is worth it.

“I thought you weren’t going to ask.” You hook your ankle around his from under the table and pull your leg back, Essek briefly loses balance but not enough to throw him off and fall from his seat. He gives you a disapproving and teasing look as you laugh. Food is served and just like everything, it’s perfect. Essek really put in the work to make this all happen and if the sunlight hadn’t thrown you off his schedule you can’t even fantom what else he had planed for your date. Though, he didn’t seem to mind the change of plans a single bit.

Pleasant conversation about everything and nothing all the same, asking questions so trivial you didn’t think Essek would ever even have been capable of being so relaxed and free of responsibility. When it falls silent for a second and Essek catches you staring at him in thought he studies you closer.

“What?” Essek asks as you hum.

“Just thinking?”

“A copper for your thoughts then?” Essek puts his glass down. He doesn’t want to pry or ask out of turn but he is curious as of what got that dreamy expression on your face when you retreated within your own mind for that moment.

“All of them?” You grin.

“If you are willing to reveal them.” Essek returns to your surprise, fully aware of the meaning behind your words and yet he still plays along. These kind of moments are rare with Essek unless you are completely alone so you’ll revel in the fact that he lets go like he does right now and hope you’d be able to see this side more often.

“Are you sure? I wouldn’t want you to get all flustered upon my voicing certain thoughts.” You tease, mischievous look in his eyes as he leans in on his elbows on the table and tilts his head amused.

“Then perhaps keep it limited to your most recent ones? For now at least.” You snort and almost choke on the sip of wine you took bur recover quickly. You definitely didn’t see that one coming.

“Oh so he does play the game in public without shame. You are full of surprises today, aren’t you?” You drop the teasing and turn to your observation. “I was just thinking I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so carefree. I’d love to see this side of you more often if you’ll let me.” The teasing drops from Essek’s face and his expression turns into one of genuine affection.

“I’d love nothing more.” Your glasses are refilled as the crowd begins gathering for the performance of the Ruby of the Sea.

—————

The Mighty Nein and Verin follow Jester leading them from place to place on the list but no matter how much they search they can’t find you. Last they heard you were seen buying some stuff from a merchant and then nothing so they had resorted to going down the list until they’d found you but still nothing. Over an hour had passed and the sun long since set, lanterns lit to lead the ways.

They search high and low following the list Verin had found but don’t find you and Essek anywhere. Nicordanas is a big city and turns out finding a buff pretty person and a hot boi drow are a lot harder to find than they initially thought. So, having given up the search they instead turn to a place to drink and wallow in self pity for not spying on the date. Jester knows just the place… No better place than the Lavish Chateau. Maybe her mom will even perform tonight!

When they reach the Lavish Chateau the crowd’s already gathering but with sheer determination and the threatening of some they make it through and find a table, their drinks served as Jester goes off to say hi to her mom before the performance. Then of course Verin and Beau ask about a couple, describing you and Essek having come through here. Instead they’re pointed to a private table out of the direct sight of the entrance but in full view of what is to be the Ruby’s performance space, and if Beau knows anything, a really really expensive bottle of wine shared between the two of you as you sit around laughing and engaging in happy conversation.

As they watch, Essek and you suddenly being the most interesting thing in the entire room they notice a blush creeping up your face as you twirl one of the flowers in your hair returning an equally daring comment of your own, your fingers dancing over the back of Essek’s hand outstretched towards you until he closes his hand and grasps them. You gasp and giggle as he intwines your fingers with his and you making a comment that sends a deep purple crawling up the wizard’s cheeks. The Nein watch, some swooning at the cuteness, the others in surprise and a hint of disgust akin to that of watching your sibling be sugary sweet romantic with their partner you do not want to witness, and the rest like encouraging friends glad their friends have found happiness within each other.

The performance is about to begin and you spot a blue tiefling running down the stairs as quick as she can darting to one of the tables. You already had the feeling you were being watched for the past fifteen minutes but thought nothing of it as since no action was taken yet and the crowd grew, if it were assassins or the likes again, they’d have come for you before as to not make a scene. Getting confirmation your friends had tracked you to Nicodranas and found you here. You’re not surprised but rather impressed and the addition of what clearly looks like a drow soldier of some repute with features similar to Essek lead you to believe this must be his infamous brother he’d been complaining about plenty of times. You move your chair as if to get a better view of the performance to come and sit right next to Essek. You weren’t the only one who noticed them.

“Do you think they know we know they’re here.” Essek leans into your shoulder as he speaks.

“No. Not this time but if you weren’t so caught up in admiring me you’d have noticed them first.” You lean in closer, whispering into his ear as you speak.

“You are quite distracting.” Essek defends with a laugh.

“I’ve seen Beau and your brother gag and complain twice now. Is this the point where we return the favour and give them a show to remember?” You suggest with a glint of mischief within your eyes.

“How could I refuse?” Essek’s word are enough for you to further provoke the Nein and take it up a notch, or several.

“Tell me if something makes you uncomfortable and I’ll stop.” You halt your teasing and allow your tone to turn more serious. Essek does the same when you do.

“Only if you promise to do the same.” Essek doesn’t know if it’s the wine or your shared desire to make them suffer for interrupting your date like they did. Probably the latter. Most definitely the latter. Let them squirm.

The Ruby comes down the stairs singing and everyone hangs onto her every word, her entire being like she’s a siren from the depths ready to lure in hopeless sailors. As her performance continues you move yourself closer to Essek until your sides are pressed together. Essek’s arm wraps around you pulling you close into his side and to your surprise, onto his lap. You lean your head against his shoulder and whisper sweet nothings, as you play with the fingers of his free hand lovingly. You pay attention to the performance, little attention needed for this display of affection as it comes surprisingly natural and unrestrained to the both of you.

You lift your head and lean towards Essek, but an inch away from his lips, making eye contact as you whisper something to him but the Nein can’t hear over the singing and you’re too far away to lip read for anyone. It’s so frustrating but holy hells, they never knew Essek had a romantic bone in his body, let alone the guts to drop his composed and emotionally constipated side completely around you. They definitely didn’t see this coming and even Beau could relate to Jester’s possible ideas of turning this into some kind of smutty romance novel because that’s what it looked like.

When you leaned back, always teasing and never close enough to actually kiss, you watched the performance more. Both you and Essek admired the show the Ruby was putting on. Her song as beautiful as she is but you might have connected with her a little more than anyone else in the room because when she passed your table and saw you and Essek she gave you a knowing smile. A knowing smile that showed she knew exactly when a performance was being put on, the courtesan’s ability to read people shining through once more when she winked at you before she turned around and found her way to the table of the Nein, distracting them from you and pulling the attention to herself.

Essek was surprised and didn’t really know what to make of what just happened but next he knows he’s being pulled away from his seat by you and dragged to a side exit, abandoning the table mid performance. Out in the street you take off running and then it hits him; a moment of privacy. You played everyone, even him in the end when you appeared to have your attention fully on the Ruby of the Sea but instead you had a nonverbal agreement with the woman. Regardless of his thoughts you kept running towards the eastern edge of the city, through the gates and to the beach. Freedom.

The moon and stars and city lights within the walls as your light source you pulled Essek along to the shoreline, laughing your asses off. You’ll have to remember to give Marion a big thanks next time you see her. Once safely away from the city sure you’re far enough away from the city you slow your pace and walk side by side along the beach.

“As clever as ever.” Essek compliments as you bump your shoulder into his with a grin. You offer Essek a hand as you climb over some rocks blocking your path. Essek takes it but instead of climbing he just hoovers over without any difficulty.

“While, I’d gladly take credit I think you deserve at least half. Did you see the looks on their faces?” Your laughter rings like chimes in reminisce of your friends. It’s music to Essek’s ears.

“I could never forget.” You stop and lower yourself onto the sand, gently pulling Essek’s arm inviting him to join. He does and sits down next to you as stare at him.

“Today was a good day. We should do this more often.” You sigh in content. There’s just something about the drow and the starry night sky behind him that makes him look so ethereal, you could look at him for ages and never get bored.

“Being run out of a city by our friends for a moment of privacy?” Essek deadpans and you playfully shove him.

“While it was certainly eventful I think I could do without uninvited company next time.” In comfortable silence you both watch the view. Moon reflecting on the ocean, sound of gentle push and pull of the water against the shore and the thousands of stars scattered throughout the sky giving the both of you a sense of warmth and comfort.

“You certainly found your courage tonight. I never thought you capable of such intimate displays of affection.” You comment and Essek turns his gaze to you. Despite the low light you notice the slight darkening of his cheeks a he takes in a breath.

“I partially blame the determination to push my brother’s buttons.” You snort.

“And the other part?” Essek decides to humour you with and answer even though you hadn’t expected one.

“You, as my partner in crime as some might say, made it easy to put on such a display. Though, I will admit to not being so open and frivolous in my affection with an audience, I did enjoy them nonetheless.”

“Well then, I’m glad my frivolous affection brings you joy.” You say and Essek is about to correct himself for his words but stops when he notices you holding back your smile. You know exactly what he meant and when Essek notices it’s his turn to gently shove you. You gasp even though you’re physically unmoved.

“Aren’y you all courage tonight? Careful now or I’ll toss you into the ocean.” You jest.

“It seems both of us have not been lacking any courage this night.” Essek comments and he’s right. With the antics of the day, and your grand escape, you might never have had it been any other situation. You really did enjoy it and wouldn’t change a single thing. Well, maybe add something but there’s no time like the present so maybe you’ll just ask.

“Then, in a bout of courage, I will ask you this. May I kiss you?” Essek does a double take in case he heard your words wrong but the expression written all over you confirms he has in fact heard you loud and clear. Still he doesn’t miss a beat in his answer. He’s already made up his min.

“You certainly may.” With that you close your eyes and lean in placing your lips onto Essek’s in a gentle kiss. No pretend, no faked lust or intimacy but honest, clear and unrestrained emotion. When you pull away you’re both smiling like fools.

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.” You whisper as Essek leans in carefully to kiss you this time, lips moving together in a slightly deeper kiss. His hand finds your cheek holding your face lightly caressing a thumb over your cheekbone.

“I could say the same.” Essek speaks when you pull apart for a moment, foreheads leaning against each other. Many more kisses follow, varying from gentle and sweet to passionate and deep, whatever suits your needs. You have no intention of getting off this beach near Nicodranas any time soon nor do you have anywhere to be so here you’ll stay enjoying each other’s company until the sun rises.

From behind the rocks not too far away, eight people watch the wizard and the warrior finally do what some of them had hoped they would in the months they’ve gotten closer. Others are turning away while maybe peaking through at times, solely to see their friends happy with each other despite the chaos of the world but not without going right back to quieting their gagging noises of ‘not wanting to see the people who they consider their family making out’.

“Oh my god! This is going to be so good, you guys. They’re so cute!” Jester whispers already taking notes and working out the story in her head. It’s going to be an epic love tale of two star-crossed lovers for sure. Maybe she can question you on the more spicier details later, get this book to sell at the Chastity's Nook some day?

“Ugh. Let’s go. I can’t watch this any longer. Drinks?” Verin doesn’t resist and follows Beau, Yasha and Fjord back to Nicodranas. Caduceus has a bit more difficult of a time to drag the cleric and rogue away as the latter enabling her actions instead of giving you some much deserved privacy. He succeeds eventually leaving you and Essek behind to enjoy the rest of your night with a smile. Nothing better than people finding their own happiness.

#critical role x reader #critrole x reader #mighty nein x reader #essek x reader #essek thelyss x reader

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hollandgarden · 3 years

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Drinking Game (TH)

Description: After Tom and his girlfriend are snowed in the for evening, unable to attend Harrison’s birthday party, he comes up with a brillant game. Each rounds leaves one of them with more or less clothing. Who will be the winner of the head on surprise?

Warnings: smutty af (if you’re under 18, maybe don’t read), alcohol use, swearing, stupid sexy Tom

Word Count: 1,848

***

“Hey, babe?” I called.

Tom came swiftly down the stairs, ready to go to Harrison’s birthday party. “What?”

I shot him a nervous smile as I pulled back from the window. “The snow is coming down pretty good. News says the roads are already slick.”

“Damn, I’ll message H. We should not risk it,” he mumbled, pushing up his glasses, and crossed his arms. “No excuse to drink then.”

“You need an excuse?” I snorted. “We both know that’s not true.”

Tom tapped his chin, a subtle smirk crossing his face. “Let’s have our own drinking game.”

“What kind?”

I followed him into the squared off kitchen and watched him take out a whole twelve pack of Coors Light. This oughta be interesting.

“We’ll have six rounds. First five the loser has to remove an item of clothing. The sixth round, the loser goes down on the winner,” Tom explained.

I eyed him curiously. “Basically, we’re getting shit-faced and someone’s getting head?”

He bit his lip, then chuckled “Yeah, pretty much. Sounds good, yeah?”

The look on his face alone should’ve warned me what it actually involved. But I couldn’t argue that this wasn’t going to be better than going out with friends.

“Sounds fucking perfect. Let’s get started.”

Both of us took off our winter coats and shoes before we settled into the living room. I pulled back my hair with the tie on my wrist. Who knew how this was going to go; it was a toss up honestly. But winning the last round would be oh so fucking sweet.

“Ready?” Tom started as he popped his tab.

“Steady,” I countered, popping my own.

“Go!” we both yelled and started chugging.

Oh, boy, this first round was not going to be good for me. The bubbles running down my throat made me cringe a little and slowed me down. I went as fast as I could though, yet Tom slammed his empty on the coffee table first.

I did get better the more drunk I was. We both knew that.

“I say jumper,” he stated, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

“You didn’t say the winner chose the item,” I retorted, already holding back a small burp from the carbonation.

Tom fully smirked. “I’m adding it now. Come on, make it more fun, my love.”

He was right on that. I barely huffed as I pulled off the navy crew neck to reveal my black lace bra.

“Look at those,” he whistled lowly.

I rolled my eyes. “Tom, you’ve seen them before.”

“But they’re yours and I love them every time.”

I couldn’t stop the heat that filled my cheeks, and that was partly due to the one drink and heater we had going.

“Second round.”

I struggled against the same bubbly current. I chugged the liquid through the tiny hole as quickly as possible. I eyed Tom from the corner of my eye and he was doing the same; a clint of amusement sparkled. I coughed at the little bit of alcohol went down the wrong tube and I had to stop.

He threw his arms in the air. “I win!” He gestured widely at my bottoms area. “Skirt next. I want the skirt.”

“If you say so. You won’t win every round. I’ll get one and then it’s my turn to make the call.” I stood up before I reached back for the zipper of the black and white houndstooth mini. I inched it down, Tom enjoying every second until it naturally fell to the ground. I flicked it to the side with my foot. I did sway a little and after this third I would definitely be tipsy.

Tom leaned over to plant a sweet kiss on my lips. “I look forward to it.”

We cheered to start the third. The time slipped by as it had in the others. Some of the beer splashed onto my cheek, but I managed to win this one. I had found my rhythm finally. No more stuffing my cheeks as much as I could before swallowing and doing it again; I went straight for a fluid stream.

I ripped one to announce the victory. There was no way to stop the giggles that followed and I covered my mouth with the hand that held the empty to hide them. “Go ahead with... your button up.”

“Cheers, I was gett-” he lightly burped and busted out laughing. “I was getting stuffy.”

I licked my lips as he barely fumbled with the buttons. He raised his eyebrows up and down, like an idiot, as he whipped it off to reveal his beautiful chest. There was no way to not linger on the collarbone area and biceps, and I had to swallow away the sensation.

Get a hold of yourself.

I shot up and slid into the kitchen. “Eat. We need a s-snack!”

“Get the crisps!” he yelled.

I dramatically opened the cabinet doors and crawled up onto the counter, which was immensely unnecessary but so fun. Then I scrambled the three different bags into my arms and hurried back to him, tossing the bag of crisps to him. I ate out of the already opened bag of popcorn. The saltiness and slight crunch was exactly what I needed; though chicken nuggets wouldn’t be a bad idea either. This would do.

Tom leaned back against the armchair with his eyes closed and munched slowly.

“Not done already, are you?” I giggled under my breath. “I-I think… that qualifies as an automatic win for the final prize.”

“Nope!” He shot his head up. “Just resting up, darling.”

I popped another piece into my mouth. “Let me know when.”

“When.”

“Ha ha.”

He rolled up the bag and tossed it aside. “Seriously, let’s go.”

I scooted back up to the table, letting my legs sprawl underneath it and rest up against his. “Okay.”

Let me save you from the gory details of my horrid slurping. Tom won his third round. I knew the crisps would soak up some of his alcohol and sober him up enough to focus. Fuck.

Slowly, he set the can on the table and tapped his chin, “How about.... Your underwear, but leave the tights on.

I furrowed my brows. “W-why?”

He squinted an eye momentarily and shrugged. “It’s hot.”

There was no way I’d admit to him that I agreed. Though, this meant I had to go through the hassle of taking off the sheer black material and pulling them back on. I’m sure that was unattractive to watch; embarrassing for sure. He was the only one I’d ever do this for.

My vision was getting blurry, and if I attempted to use my phone it would definitely end in a disaster. But a hilarious moment in the morning. Alas, I tossed it somewhere on the couch to stop myself.

We went straight into the fifth round and I practically spilled half of the beer on my chest. Well, that was one way to win.

“Bott-ttems.” I pointed him up and down. “Take them off, Holland.”

I gazed in pure amusement as he tried to dance them off.

“You’re such a dork.”

He pointed at me abruptly with a serious look. “But you love me.”

I rolled my eyes. “I do. More snacks or should we go straight into the next?”

“Straight!” He circled his hand and plopped down to grab his last can.

I reached over for my last and it took me two tries to pick it up. I was basically drunk. If we were at a club and anyone asked, I’d try to convince them I wasn’t. I’m sure if he asked right now, I’d do the same. It wouldn’t be believable.

This final round was the one that truly counted, though I wouldn’t care who won. It was pleasurable to give and receive in my opinion.

“One,” I started.

Tom cocked a brow, bringing the can closer to his mouth. “Two.”

I also brought the cool metal to touch my lips. “Three!”

I tiled my head back as far as I could to give leverage for a smoother chug. It was by far the best I had done all the rounds, though that didn’t matter. It didn’t take a scientist to see how slow Tom was drinking.

When I finished, I slammed my empty on the table and whipped my arms out. “You cheated!”

“I cheated?” he gasped and rested a hand on his chest. “You won!”

I giggled. “You let me win.”

“I…” He held a finger up. “I did not… Y-you won fair and square, my love.”

Tom crawled his way over to my side and left small kisses on my neck. “Get up-p on the couch.”

I couldn’t stop the short giggles. But I backed my way up onto the couch. I rested my legs on his shoulders and eyed him. His lips left sweet kisses on the inner of my thighs and trailed all the way up. We were going straight for it; that was fine by me.

His mouth came close to the already throbbing at the thoughts. His breath left me cringing. The laughs couldn’t be controlled as he did a few more puffs of air on purpose. It tickled and he knew that.

“Stop that.”

Tom looked up at me for a moment with a laugh before he slid his tongue up and down. It was hot against my clit and I swallowed. He wouldn’t get the satisfaction of pleasing me so soon.

“Not yet,” I mumbled, tangling my fingers in the soft, chocolate curls.

Tom licked his lips, pure determination in his eyes. His mouth disappeared and the slick warmth returned. He continued his slower teases, not missing a single area. Every inch was loved. His lightly calloused hands trailed up on my outer thighs and landed on my lips for a squeeze. It caused me to shiver.

I found myself making small pulses and moaned as I closed my eyes. His lips left sweet kisses as well. That was torturing.

His hands pulled down the tights, only halfway, and he used them to keep my legs at his sides; this was why he wanted me to leave them on, I knew that now. I whimpered as he leaned back in. His licks turned into numbing flicks on my clit. We should’ve put a towel down; this was not something I should be thinking about right now.

“More, Tom. Make me cum.”

I had to sit up a little as leverage when the burning sensation began and gasped. I gripped the throw pillow beside me with my final moans and clenched. I revelled in the following shudders. It was almost better than the actual high.

“Fuck,” I breathed. The only coherent thought I had after that drunken orgasm. “I… definitely won.”

Tom crawled his way up to give me a peck. “We both won, darling.”

I laughed. “I say we play this again next weekend.”

“I agree…. Shall we eat and binge more Teen Wolf.”

I clapped my hands. “Hell yeah!”

[Masterlist]

#probably not my best writing but aye #I was inspired by the photos hahaha #tom mf holland #tom holland #tom holland smut #tom holland sex #tom holland short #smut #drinking game

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mintymiknow · 3 years

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Trust Fall ch. 7 | Lee Minho

summary | character profiles | masterlist

Pairing: Lee Minho/Lee Know x Reader

Summary: One heart begins to succumb to certain feelings, but the second one is on the verge of doing the same. However, certain walls and defenses are still sturdy, and breaking it down is not as easy.

Genre: Secret agent/spy au, romance, angst, action

Word count: Approx. 5.2k

Warnings for this chapter: Characters drinking (but literally nothing happens, and it isn’t too detailed!)

A/N: Whew, sorry for the wait. I had to deal with my finals week. I think this chapter will allow us to see lighter moments between our lovely characters and somehow develop their friendships/relationships more. Also...maybe I’m just letting you all breathe and take it slow before things begin to pick up soon~ For any questions or comments, just send an ask! Enjoy~

If last night wasn’t an adrenaline and action-packed night, one would have thought it was another peaceful morning, waking up in a comfortable bed in a luxurious hotel. With the sun filtering in through the curtains and the fresh temperature of the air conditioner, it would be just another vacation.

But when you wake up and see Minho’s blood-stained dress shirt on the floor, it dawns on you that this definitely was not a vacation.

You sigh, looking around for any signs of the said agent. As if on cue, he walks out of the bathroom with only his pants on. His upper half is exposed, water dripping down his skin. Under normal circumstances, you would have blushed and squealed as you looked away. However, the doctor in you kicked in, and you looked at the male with a grimace.

“You didn’t tell me you had a torso injury.” you gesture towards the minor gash on his side.

Minho tosses a towel to the side, grabbing a fresh, new shirt from the dresser table next to the bathroom door. With a casual shrug, he says, “It wasn’t anything too serious. I’ve had worse.”

“But still.”

“Y/n, it’s fine. It’s not something that needs to be treated. I cleaned it, and it’ll heal.” the agent says firmly.

You just sigh in response, retreating as you lean back on the bed’s headboard. Rubbing the sleep from your eyes, you ask the male, “Are we leaving already or anything?”

Minho sits next to you on the edge of the bed, “Not exactly. Jung just arrived an hour ago, so the boys and I will scout the entire hotel to make sure we don’t miss out on anything or anyone.”

You nod your head, pulling the sheets closer and wrapping yourself in its warmth. You don’t miss the soft smile and barely-audible chuckle that comes from Minho, but you choose to ignore it. Too early for your heart to be tangled up in unnecessary fluttery feelings. “So...I’m guessing I’ll just stay here?” you finally say.

Minho nods, “I mean...you can leave the room…” he trails off, a small but concerned smile gracing his lips before he continues, “but I’d honestly prefer it if you stayed in the room just until I get back. I need - we need - to be sure there aren’t any more targets or enemies within the hotel area. You’re at risk because of your connection to SKZ.”

“I understand.” you nod.

“Promise you’ll stay put?”

“I promise.”

You wait for the male to stand up and leave the room, but confusion hits you as you still see him sitting next to you. You only realize he’s still there when you look down to see his hand, pinky outstretched for a pinky promise.

“Pinky promise? Really? At this age?” you look at him in disbelief.

“Just trying to lighten your mood.” he says with an easy smile.

He’s about to pull his hand away when you sigh and link his pinky with yours, finishing the pinky promise gesture. “Happy?” you mumble.

“Mhmm. Feeling better?” he throws the question, a teasing grin on his face.

You feel your cheeks heat up, unlinking your fingers before pushing him away and trying to shove him off the bed. “Just go.” you groan with exasperation.

Minho laughs lightly before standing up. He gathers some of his things and walks out the door. You’re left on the bed, staring at the said door, the silence of the room ironically ringing in your ears loudly. Too quiet.

Too lonely.

With a sigh, you curl yourself up with the sheets even more - like a burrito - and lie back down. Your heart beats faster, and not out of excitement or glee; it’s out of anxiousness and confusion.

You’re restless. Feel like suffocating. Crying.

Why do you feel so cold and lonely now?

You were doing just fine by yourself for the past years, and you liked it.

Why would it be something you wanted to get rid of now?

You spend the rest of the morning watching some movie marathon of action movies on the television; thankfully, it lasted until lunch time. By then, room service brought a lunch meal for you. The hotel staff merely said it was from your husband, Lee Minhyuk, Minho’s alias from last night; you deny the fact your heart fluttered at the gesture.

Either way, you ate the meal happily, somehow and actually feeling less glum compared to this morning. Jisung even called you on the phone to ask how everything was, and in the end, you ended up spending most of your time talking to him, Seungmin and Felix.

By late afternoon, Minho finally returned.

He gave you a small smile before sitting on the loveseat in the room. “Jung’s meeting with Chan to discuss and gauge the situation. He’s giving us a few hours of break...or free-time.”

“So…” you start, closing the book you were reading, “Go around Gangnam and all?”

Minho lightly chuckles, shaking his head. “No. We can just maximize our stay in the hotel. Use the facilities, eat at the fancy restaurant, whatever. I’m meeting Jung later again, but at the meantime, Hyunjin, Jeongin and I are going to kill some time by the bar lounge. You’re free to join us.”

“Are you guys allowed to be drinking?” you raise an eyebrow, “Aren’t you still on duty?”

The agent smiles, “Not actively. We’re on break, per se. We’ll be fine as long as we stay sober.”

You think for a moment, chewing on your lip as you think of other things you could do in the hotel. After a moment, you look towards Minho and gently nod your head, “Someone has to make sure none of you get drunk, right?”

Minho laughs at this, his eyes filling with a newfound kind of warmth. “I suppose so.” he says, gesturing at the bathroom, “Get dressed then.”

After you showered and changed into more decent clothes, you and Minho walked towards the elevators and went down to the floor where the lounge bar was. Upon entering, you were greeted by a relaxing ambience, soft and calming music filling the room. The lights weren’t too dark or bright, balancing it out with a warm haze. Thankfully, there weren’t many people, just a group or two perhaps, and maybe three to four individuals.

You catch a few girls giggling upon seeing Minho walking in; you can’t exactly blame them, especially when Minho’s fit physique is emphasized by his black shirt and ripped jeans. And oh. The perfectly messy hair look. Right.

You aren’t sure why, but you look away from the group of girls, walking a few steps behind Minho. The male, however, is oblivious - or maybe just doesn’t care - as he stops in his tracks for you to catch up. “I forgot. I was only able to send a sandwich to you for lunch. I was...really busy, sorry.” he says.

You nod, “Yeah, but that’s enough for me. Maybe they have a light snack here or something.”

“You sure it’s enough?” Minho asks.

“Yes.” you offer a small smile, something Minho doesn’t see when it comes to your interactions with him, “The ‘from your husband’ was a bit too much though. I said no lover concept, remember? Even as a cover...”

“But you played along for that role in the gala last night.” Minho whispers in your ear, and you feel his lips ghost over your skin when he smiles.

From your peripheral vision, you see the group of giggling girls look in disappointment, giddy faces now clouded with a sadder look. They couldn’t hear what you and Minho were talking about, but they definitely saw the way he leaned close and charmingly smiled by your ear.

You aren’t sure why, but you couldn’t help but feel satisfied with their reaction. It was very perplexing…you really couldn’t begin to figure out why you felt satisfied.

Maybe you were in a bad mood, that’s it. Maybe they got on your nerves for no reason at all - because you’re in a bad mood - and them stopping their overly flirtatious giggles was more than satisfying.

Yeah, that was probably it.

You glare - or cutely pout, in Minho’s opinion - at him before grumbling, “I had no choice.”

Minho offers a small smile and gestures forward, “If you say so. Come on.”

Further to the back of the lounge, Hyunjin and Jeongin are already seated by a circular table. Once they see you and Minho, they wave and greet you both with smiles. “Hey.” Jeongin chuckles, “Drinks are on Hyunjin.”

“It’s way too early for drinking like that.” Hyunjin laughs, “One drink each only!”

“Then just wine for me.” Minho says, taking a seat.

Hyunjin grins at you as if asking for your order. You sit next to Minho and offer a small smile towards the long-haired agent. “Just nachos.” you state, “I’m not drinking.”

“Alright.” Hyunjin says as he gets up, happily walking over to the bartender.

Jeongin then turns to you and Minho, tilting his head, “If we weren’t technically on a mission, I’d really want to use the hotel’s swimming pool. But imagine if Jung suddenly calls us and we’re dripping wet in our trunks.”

“Such a hassle.” Minho laughs, “No thanks.”

“Do you like swimming, y/n?” Jeongin asks.

You shrug, “Just a little. Casually, maybe. I’m not the best.”

“Minho can’t swim.” Hyunjin sing-songs as he returns with three glasses of drinks, handing one to each agent.

You look at Minho, “Aren’t you trained for all that?”

“Yes…” Minho hesitates, a faint hint of blush on his cheeks as he looks away, “It’s a childhood trauma. I can swim, but I’d rather not. It’s a worst-case-scenario kind of thing if I really have no choice.”

“I see.” you say, trying to stifle a giggle.

How cute. The perfect and skilled Lee Minho didn’t like swimming? It was a weakness? He reminded you of a cat.

“Y/n thinks it’s cute.” Jeongin teases, leaning forward to grin at you, “Look! She’s trying not to smile.”

Minho glares with still reddened-cheeks, “Hey!”

You nearly choke on the nachos, shaking your head violently, “I didn’t say anything!”

Jeongin pouts before smirking, “Your face says it all!”

“I - ” you clear your throat, “...just find it peculiar since you know...you’re agents and all, so I thought you’d be good at everything…”

Minho hums, taking a sip of his wine before leaning back on his chair, “No, we all have weaknesses too. No matter how strong or skilled we are, we’re bound to be bad at something.”

You tilt your head, trying to think of things the agents could be bad at. Minho then speaks, filling in the blanks for you. “I’m bad at swimming so I’m exceptionally slow in water. Jeongin and Hyunjin have lower stamina. Chan’s a big softie. Changbin’s impulsive.” he explains.

You chew on your lip, raising an eyebrow as you ask, “How is Chan being a softie a weakness?”

Hyunjin laughs, sipping his own drink before answering, “It’s not a bad thing! It’s nice that Chan’s soft and caring, but in jobs like ours, being too nice can be...dangerous.”

Jeongin nods, his expression almost apologetic, “If we aren’t careful, people can take advantage of that and use kindness against us.”

“Exactly why a lot of us try to be nice but cautious.” Minho stares at his wine a bit too intensely, his gaze enough to shatter the glass, “There’s a balance. If that balance tips one way or another, it costs too much.”

The atmosphere suddenly feels more serious and dark, and you think you shouldn’t be there. It was like you were intruding a heart-to-heart session between the three males; you involuntarily shrink and keep your hands on your lap, staring at the nearly-finished nacho basket.

You knew Minho could be cold...and serious...and intense. Icy and intimidating, as everyone put it.

But this? This current Minho radiated some sort of anger...and bitterness; his starry eyes filled with a scary black like the sticky and fuming darkness of oil spilling into crystal-clear seas.

You’d know because you have been feeling those the past year or so.

But what exactly caused him to be like that? Was that why he was a bit more rude when you first met?

What was he hiding?

A bit hypocritical on your part, but you were too stubborn to see it that way. For now.

Jeongin senses the shift in mood, so he raises his drink up and chuckles, “Anyway! Why don’t we toast to...none of us getting severely hurt last night?”

Hyunjin laughs, nodding in agreement. He raises his drink as well, “Cheers to that.”

“Alright.” Minho’s iciness melts, and a small smile graces his lips as he raises his glass.

You look at the three hesitantly, but when Jeongin’s earnest and expectant eyes glimmer, you can’t bring yourself to refuse. You raise your glass of water, and soon, the four of you clink your glasses together.

“And cheers to y/n for patching all of you up.” Hyunjin grins, “I went back to my room and saw Jeongin and Chan with injuries.”

You sit straighter and gesture towards the youngest agent, “How’s the arm by the way?”

“It stings from time to time, but it’s better than last night.” Jeongin answers.

“I see. When we get back to HQ, ask Seungmin for medicine and painkillers, ok?” you instruct the male with practiced ease.

Jeongin nods, sipping his drink. Minho crosses his arms, leaning back on the chair once again to look at you, a slow and amused smirk on his lips, “Oh, Dr. Song in action right before our eyes.”

Hyunjin claps his hands, “Marvelous.”

You throw a quick glare at Minho before tearing your gaze away, focusing your eyes on your water. “It’s my job.” you mumble.

Minho hums, smirk turning into a warmer smile, “And you’re doing great. So far.”

You look at the agent who has an unexplainable expression on his face, yet with eyes so warm and inviting. You raise an eyebrow as if demanding a reason for his words - you might just be denying the fact that he flattered you a little - but Minho merely responds with another vague smile.

You want to wipe that grin off his face.

Hyunjin then clears his throat with a teasing smile, “Before the sexual tension gets to be too smothering, I just got a text from Chan. Jung wants to meet. Check your phones.”

Minho sees your flushed cheeks and ignores the first part of Hyunjin’s statement. He checks his phone and sees a text from Chan as well, confirming it with Jeongin who receives it too.

“Alright, let’s go then.” Minho sighs.

The three agents stand up, but before they can leave Minho gestures to you. “Take the opportunity to explore the hotel or whatever. It should be safe now.” he says.

You nod, your small smile fading once the three males walk away. As soon as they’re out of sight, you stand up and stand still, trying to think of what you were going to do in the meantime. In the end, you head towards the bar counter and sit on the stool. The bartender smiles at you, so you say,

“One glass of wine please, thank you.”

The sun had already set when you finished spending your free time, so when you step out of the lounge, you decide to take a stroll in the hotel’s outdoor garden area.

The night was a beautiful shade of lilac melting into a darker blue, stars beginning to scatter the expanse. As you leisurely walked and took in the various flowers in the garden, the breeze kissed your skin softly.

Before you got dragged into SKZ’s affairs, you’d be in the hospital at this time, eating canteen food and drinking lukewarm coffee with Hyunbin and a few other colleagues in a rush for your next shift.

Now, you were constantly being thrown back and forth in a comfortable but life-threatening situation, confronting demons from the past you so desperately want to run away from. The only perk, perhaps, is that the agents you’ve met are fairly...decent.

But a part of you still doesn’t rest well with everything.

You pull your phone out and contemplate on calling Hyunbin, but before you can even make it to the phone log, you hear a voice.

“Fancy seeing you here, Dr. Song.”

You tense at the voice, dread and fear chilling your bones. Your eyes betray you and slowly look up from your phone to see Hong Seungyoon standing in front of you. On instinct, you take a step back, but for some reason, you can’t bring yourself to turn away.

Seungyoon chuckles, “Don’t worry, Dr. Song. I’m not here to hurt you. Dr. Baek will be upset if that happens.”

“What do you want?” you snap.

“You know…” he ignores your question, “I wasn’t expecting to see you near SKZ any time soon. And, to be quite close, in fact. Lee Minhyuk’s wife? Interesting tale. Wouldn’t have expected Lee Minho to grow this close to someone so as to play a bunch of lovers.”

“We aren’t close.” you hiss, “This is none of your business.”

Seungyoon feigns innocence, “But it’s your business? I heard you left SKZ after everything.”

How did he know?

You open your mouth to speak, but the words don’t come out.

“Oh, I see.” Seungyoon smirks, “Of course it’s your business now! You feel guilty after involving yourself back in those days so now you’re trying to make things right.”

“Lies. I wasn’t involved because I wanted to.” you glare, “I was forced.”

The male laughs conceitedly. “Trying to be the saint that helps SKZ? Adorable. They have so much faith in you? Hmm. But when they discover the extent of your involvement in those experiments?”

“Shut up.” you grit your teeth, fists clenching tightly.

“Lee Minho seems to have a soft spot for you.” Seungyoon smirks evilly, “I’d love to see the look on his face when someone he cares for betrays him. Again.”

“Again?” you ask yourself in your head.

“If you truly want to make things right, come to us in Cle. We need you.” Seungyoon chuckles smoothly, “Those damn agents? Fucking Lee Minho? They’ll turn their backs on you when they find out the truth you're hiding.”

“No.” you feel the panic rising, “I didn’t do anything wrong. You all were the ones doing everything. I stopped you.”

“Is that what you remember? Is that what you tell yourself?” Seungyoon snickers.

“Stop it!” you nearly scream, shaking your head, “It wasn’t my fault.”

Seungyoon opens his mouth to say something, but before he can, you abruptly turn on your heel and dash away. You vaguely hear the male saying something like, “You can’t run from it, Dr. Song. You’re meant for this.”

The stars are covered with clouds as you sprint, a bit disoriented as you rush forward; your nerves are jittery and jumpy. As you do so, you bump into Minho who is merely walking in a casual manner. The impact causes you to stumble back, but thankfully, the male agent steadies you. You look back, but Seungyoon is long gone.

“Y/n?”

You look up at him, afraid that he’ll see the tears welling in your eyes. You hope he thinks it’s just the stars reflecting in them. Playing it off with a small smile, you chuckle, “Hi.”

Minho clears his throat, “I was actually looking for you. Our meeting’s done, but I didn’t see you in the room.”

“Just wanted to walk with fresh air and all…” you awkwardly laugh.

Minho offers a small smile, “Well, you deserve it. Should we go back in?”

You nod, moving your feet to follow Minho as he makes his way back to the hotel. As you both walk across the garden, you softly ask, “How was...how was the meeting?”

Minho hums nonchalantly, eyes looking forward, “We told Jung that the targets escaped but we got enough intel to continue investigations, so we’ll see how it goes.”

“I see.” you respond flatly.

You both eventually arrive at the elevators. Once inside and the doors close, Minho presses the button for your room’s floor level. You realize that he’s standing a bit closer than usual, shoulders close enough to bump if you moved; suddenly, it was hot in there.

As silence fills the air, you encounter with Seungyoon plagues your thoughts, his words lingering like leeches. Your eyes begin to tear up, face flushing a shade of pink. Minho seems to notice either way, tilting his head to lean closer.

“Did something happen?” he asks softly.

You blink in surprise, laughing it off, “Oh, I drank a little wine...maybe I’m just feeling the effects and all…”

Minho doesn’t seem too convinced - even you can tell - but he still chooses to flash a cheeky smile. “I thought you didn’t want to drink.” he says.

“Well...I was alone and had nothing to do.” you defend.

Minho hums, standing straighter as the doors open and you both walk out the elevator. As you walk towards your room door, the male smiles, “Last hurrah. We’re going back to HQ tomorrow morning.”

After he opens the door and you both get inside, you nod your head. “Alright.” you breathe out.

“You wanna shower first, little miss tipsy?” Minho teases, “So you can rest already?”

“I’m not tipsy!” you protest, pouting as you make your way to the bathroom, “You’re really a handful, you know that?”

“I know.”

“Geez.”

Minho laughs, lying down on the bed and closing his eyes, “Hurry up, Dr. Song. I want to wash up as well. Don’t make me join you.”

You scream and slam the bathroom door while yelling, “Pervert! I’m telling Chan!”

Minho laughs once more, releasing a huff when he hears you turning the shower on.

There goes his heart again.

And maybe this time, yours too.

The next day, everyone returns to HQ. As soon as they arrive, however, the agents are off on another task to continue investigations. Minho and Chan don’t even have to leave the car as they drive off as soon as you, Hyunjin and Jeongin get out. The two agents, meanwhile, say bye to you before transferring to another team’s car. Some other agent accompanies you back inside, but you part ways when you tell him you’re heading for the living quarters. After retrieving a bag, you go to the labs.

You look for an empty lab room, but unfortunately, they’re all occupied. You’re about to walk away and return to your room when one of the rooms open and a female scientist walks out. She looks at you with bright eyes and smiles, “Did you need a room?”

You offer a smaller smile and shake your head, “Kind of, but they’re all being used. It’s fine though. Some other time.”

The female chuckles and gestures towards the lab room behind her, “I just finished logging my test results onto the lab book. You’re free to use the room now!”

You blink before clearing your throat, bowing in appreciation, “Oh, that’s great. Thank you.”

“Sure. You must be Dr. Song.” she grins again, stretching her hand out, “Where are my manners? I’m Dr. Choi, but people call me Jisu around here.”

“Ah, nice to meet you.” you shake her hand, “But...uh...how did you…?”

“Know you?” she chuckles warmly, “Seungmin and Jisung. They talked about you the other day and how you were a colleague from a year or two ago. They seem happy that you’re back.”

“Ah, I see. That’s...nice.” you smile a bit wider, a warm feeling brewing inside you.

Jisu nods, shoving her hands in her lab coat, ��Yeah. Well, I still need to run my results by some agents, so I should get going. See you around, Dr. Song!”

“See you.” you bow politely, waving a little as she waves in a much more enthusiastic way.

As Jisu walks away, you enter the lab room she left, relieved that it was tidy and that she didn’t leave any things for you to clean up.

You could start working on something now.

Working on the vial that you secretly took from the lab from back then.

Now that you’re alone, you take it out of your bag and set up the necessary testing equipment. If SKZ wanted you to help find a way to neutralize and “disarm” Cle’s serum, you’d do it yourself and with your own terms.

As much as you wanted to prevent any danger, as Jung put it, and as much as you want to finish things so you could leave this place, you aren’t too sold on letting the organization know of any information you discover, especially if you know they could use it for other reasons or purposes other than originally intended.

You know first-hand that some people of SKZ are capable of that - turning information meant for good into something meant for bad.

You run a few tests and take down notes, eyes never leaving the copper-like liquid inside the vial. You probably spend an hour or so seated on the lab stool, very much focused on what you were doing. You even make it a point to highlight the information and notes that you think are more crucial. They weren’t included in the test results that came out the other time.

A few minutes later, the door opens, and Jisung and Seungmin walk inside. You quickly tuck your small notebook in the small bag you brought, whipping your head up to look at the two males. Jisung smiles, tilting his head, “Running tests?”

“Yeah.” you smile in response.

Seungmin chuckles softly, “But the tests for that formula were already made. The results were given to Jung a few days ago.”

“I just wanted to run more tests to make sure nothing new shows itself.” you explain calmly, “I...wanted to run the tests myself.”

“You don’t trust us? Oh, y/n! How could you?” Jisung pretends to cry.

You awkwardly laugh, shaking your head, “It’s not that, Jisung. I’m just...used to doing things myself. It’s how I worked back in Gongjak.”

The scientist grins, leaning against one of the desks, “Yeah, don’t sweat it. What did you find?”

“Nothing yet.” you clear your throat before sighing, “Maybe the results from before are all we can gather right now.”

Seungmin nods, gesturing towards the door, “Anyway, Jisung and I were going to the living quarters’ bar. That’s...if you didn’t know there was one.”

“I swear, aren’t you still agents?” you ask in disbelief, “Is having a bar with drinks within HQ a good idea?”

Jisung laughs, a knowing look in his eyes, “Mhmm! There are rules and guidelines. Agents who have the status of ‘active operation or mission’ on their IDs - care of Felix and his tech team, of course...a bit complex to talk about right now - are prohibited from entering. If you’re on break or off for the day, it’s fine! Besides, we’re limited to two servings per week only.”

“Ah, I see…” you smile gently.

The older of the two then smiles, wiggling his eyebrows, “So, wanna come along? Minho and the rest are on duty so…”

“Hmm...alright.” you shrug, “I don’t...really know what to do now anyway.”

“Let’s go.” Seungmin smiles.

You nod and clean up the equipment you used before following the two males outside, notebook with your new findings securely kept in your bag.

Now seated at the small and simple lounge-like bar of the living quarters’ building, you’re sipping a cocktail with the two males. Jisung smiles as he turns to you, “You know...y/n. You still haven’t told us why you left so suddenly before.”

“Yeah.” Seungmin nods, leaning back on his chair, “The three of us were starting to become closer honestly.”

“I…” you clear your throat, “It’s a bit complicated.”

Jisung pouts after taking a sip of his drink, “Not fair. Seungmin’s right; we were becoming really good friends when you suddenly...whoosh. Left SKZ.”

Seungmin offers a gentler smile, leaning forward as a calming haze fills his eyes, “I mean, you don’t have to tell us everything if you’re not comfortable. We just want you to know that we missed you.”

Jisung enthusiastically nods his head with a smile. You chuckle a little, smile fading into something more melancholic. After taking a deep breath, you say, “I was just going through a really tough time back then. I know you’re aware of the incident that happened in the lab department during that time, yes?”

The two males nod, so you continue. “I felt disillusioned when that all happened, especially as someone who wanted to use her knowledge in science and medicine to do good. I felt like being in SKZ, an organization who failed to realize that their own agents went against that principle, wasn’t the best idea anymore. That’s it.” you finish, eyes solemnly staring at your drink.

That wasn’t it. Sure, you didn’t tell them the exact truth, but it wasn’t a complete lie either.

Jisung hums inquisitively, nodding his head, “Makes sense. I just kinda wish you spoke to us before leaving, no offense.”

“None taken.” you smile, “Sorry, really. I couldn’t bear being in here.”

Seungmin smiles softly, giving your back a gentle pat, “I know it isn’t easy being here right now. Minho is always telling us to spend more time with you in case it relieves or comforts you somehow since he knows we were acquainted before. He says you’re always restless and uncomfortable.”

You hope your cheeks aren’t flaring up right now; you aren’t sure why, but the idea of Minho being concerned over you to this extent - asking Jisung and Seungmin to be by your side because he knows how uneasy you get - somehow warms your heart. Perhaps you weren’t expecting it from someone who seemed to be doing things just “because it’s his job”.

You slowly nod, looking down at your lap, “He said that? Well...he isn’t exactly wrong. You two are the only sense of familiarity here.”

Jisung flashes a bright and warm grin, raising his glass, “Well, now that you’re here again, Seungmin and I promise to make your stay as nice as possible.”

Seungmin raises his glass as well, nodding in agreement with Jisung. You end up chuckling softly, raising your glass to toast with the two males. Afterwards, Jisung clicks his tongue and smiles more playfully, but his eyes are genuine as he says, “We’re glad to have you back y/n, even if it’s just for a while.”

You can only nod, giving the best smile you could give.

Yes, just for a while.

152 notes · View notes

shanitani · 3 years

Text

CHAPTER 3: BAD B*TCHES

table of contents

👩🏽‍💻: lol did y’all miss me? im still on hiatus for maybe a good two weeks until summer srry<\3. but to make up for it I made this chapter hella long.

“Damn their water pressure is good.” You mumbled softly, turning off the faucet. The boy had a cleaner bathroom than you had expected, in comparison to the ones in America - he was almost cleaner than yourself. You wiped the fog from the glass admiring your damp face for a moment, fully indulging in the fact that you were really in Japan.

You slipped on your pajamas, the bottoms hugged at the figure well and unfortunately so did the tank top Mitsuki put out for you. You had no problem wearing it around by yourself, but you had to take into account there was a boy you had never met before living there as well. It didn’t help that Midnight never gave you any descriptions about the boy as well, so it was obvious how high alert you were.

You grabbed your belongings, turning the music down to a soft hum in volume before turning off the bathroom light. The cold air hit your damp warm one before clearing your vision to see the teenage boy you had been wondering about the day you got your acceptance email. You both stared in awe, you took in his muscular arms due to training, the light ruffle of his blonde hair, his mouth fixated in a frown, and his piercing red eyes.

It wasn’t as if he wasn’t looking at you either, your skin glistening under harsh light, your hair lightly tied back with a hair tie, the familiar smell he smelt minutes before now more concentrated and easier to name. He dared not to look at your figure-hugging the waistband of the pajamas, trying to rip his glare away fast enough. He grunts, beginning the doorknob, “You better have had left my bathroom the way you saw it.”

You frowned furring your brows, “Duh I did. And hello to you too.” you scoffed looking down at your phone in an attempt to make the situation less awkward. The blonde boy let out a groaned out “hey” before opening his door, and closing it in the same breath. “Rude ass,” you mumbled under your breath before heading downstairs back to your room.

“You met him?? TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED” Imani squealed putting her elbows on her crisscrossed legs looking in awe behind the screen. You smiled at her eagerness to know the boy, though you didn’t think he was all that. “Well he’s pretty muscular, um tall, he’s blonde and rude as fuck.” You rolled your eyes at your last sentence as you simultaneously put your belongings in your new backpack for tomorrow.

“Okayyy he could work! You gotta fierce Lil attitude too so it’ll work out fine.” Imani flashed you a smirk - knowing you couldn’t hit her from Japan. “Oh shut up Mani! you know if I was there I’d slap your ass right now.” you pointed your middle finger towards the camera, giving her a nice view of your white acrylic nails. “Exactly why ima act out now rather than next year.” She huffed, turning off her led lights looking back at her best friend. “I’m gonna miss you tomorrow, school’s gonna be so boring.” You whined thinking about the worst scenario known to come. If they were anything like Bakugo, well you were going to be entirely fucked. “I will too. But stop making me sad about it! We gone see each other soon.” Mani kissed the phone foreshadowing a kiss to your cheek, you smiled doing the same motions as her before ending the call and rolling over to fall asleep.

“I better like these people, Nah they better like me....” you shut your eyes, anxious for your first day to start.

The next day came, as Mitsuki dropped you and Bakugou off. You expected him to at the least show you to where you needed to be - but instead he slung his backpack to the side , not giving you a glimpse of attention your way. “One day im gone beat his ass up.” you took a breathe trying to find the dorm rooms, only to be met with a man right in front of you.

“Hi, [L/N] nice to finally meet you.” The tired-looking man shook your hand motioning you into the dorms. “As you know we enroll all students into the dorms for their safety because of accidents that have happened in previous years.” you nodded looking at the huge building with high ceilings and pillars inside. The man showed you around to the necessities like the gym, commons room, the classrooms, and finally to your dorm room. “I forgot to mention, but you probably know me. I’m Aizawa, and I’ll be teaching you along with class 1A. Today we just want you to prepare your dorm room so you can sleep easy tomorrow - I won’t lie to you, it won’t be easy.” he shrugged giving you the keys to your dorm.

You thanked the man before opening the room, as said in the description - the rest of your belongings were stacked to the side of your room along with your mattress to the right of it and a desk to the left. “Might as well put on music.” you thought to yourself, scrolling through the millions of playlists before finally reaching the one you wanted.

“Yeah, this will take a while.”

Putting on the comforter of the bed, and adding the last of your pictures on the wall; you flopped onto your bed feeling a slight headache arrive. You groaned wiping your forehead, looking out the window to see the sun almost come to a set. “How long do these children work? Seems like their school hours are a whole part-time job.” before you could laugh at your inner joke, you heard the loud door creak open before the kids voiced roamed the hallways.

You shifted uncomfortably on your bed, knowing that they knew you arrived. It wasn’t like you didn’t want to meet them. You just didn’t want to do the same cycle of meeting new friends again - it was a hassle and you were fine with the ones you had in America. You took a deep breath trying to regain your thoughts, “They won’t even know I’m here. It’s alright.” you repeated to yourself trying to make the anxiety slowly creep up disappear.

“Yeah she’s here now stop asking me about her, you wanna talk to her go right there.” you heard the familiar huffed voice described as Bakugous. You could tell he pointed towards your dorm the way a teenage girl laughed, hearing the footsteps come closer and closer towards your room. “Shit.” you jumped off the bed, fixing your hair making sure to make a good impression no matter who it may be. That’s when the footsteps stopped, and a light knock was met at your door.

you opened the door to a girl squealing, “Hi!” a curly haired girl engulfed you into a hug making you step back giggling at her eagerness, “Hey! your hair smells nice.” you hugged her back, finally stepping back to get a look of her. Her hair was the same color as her skin - pink, that you could only assume was the cause of her quirk. However, she did have black features that made you believe she was Blasian.

“Mina stop harassing the new girl! it’s only her first day. Hello I’m Momo!” A black haired girl came waving her hand at you, she looked beautiful - you were almost intimidated by her stunning features feeling a tad insecure once side by side.

“Oh no worries!” you giggled sitting on the edge of your bed motioning for them to come in more. “How’s your first day been?” Mina sat at the other edge of your bed looking at you with huge eyes, “Honestly, kind of boring. also confusing since this place is huge. Way bigger than the schools in America” you motioned towards out your door foreshadowing the commons room.

“America? that’s where you’re from?” Momo chimed in walking towards your desk chair to sit down. You nodded, “Mhm, California.” Mina gasped - “California! You’re so lucky!” you laughed at her bubbly attitude that was a bit similar to your bestfriends at home. “Trust me you wouldn’t want to be there, I’m here for a reason aren’t I” you smirked nudging her shoulder slightly.

“ Wow, How long will you be staying?” “One year.” you shrugged looking off in your dorm window. “Well I hope you love it here, hopefully become a pro.” Momo smiled at you genuinely, and you couldn’t help but fall in love with her persona. Before you could speak again you heard a knock on your door and small murmurs behind your door, Momo opened the door slightly, only hearing a faint “Yall better not embarrass me. I’m serious” before she opened the door all the way to the boys.

“Shut the hell up Momo.” one yellow haired boy lightheartedly says before leaning on your wall and catching your eyes. “Hey! I’m sero and this is Denki. Nice to meet you.” Sero extended his hand to yours to shake, “Wassup Sero, Hi Denki.” you smiled at the other boy.

“Damn, so this is why Bakugo didn’t want to show you off huh.” Denki came closer to you, taking in your features. “Or he just don’t like me” you scoffed thinking about his arrogant characteristics from Sunday. “Well that’s good, less people to compete against.” Denki sat next to you on the edge of your bed fully focused onto you. You smiled taking observations to his flirtatious personality.

No matter Denki giving you his full and undivided attention, Sero caught your eye the moment he walked in the door. You looked Sero up and down, his outfit caught your full attention. He wore the UA uniform required yet paired with grey Jordans and a silver chain dangling from his neck, it was no understatement that he was a very attractive boy. “Why you standing there all quiet, Sero? you obviously came up here for something.” you jokingly stated - trying to start some conversation with the boy.

“Tried to see if you were really what all the hype was about.” He shrugged coming up near you to overpower your figure, your heart raced as he looked down upon you smirking, he knows he fine chile. “They were definitely right.” He smirked looking at you with low eyes.

“Y’all are the most flirtatious boys I know. Swear I can’t take yall no where.” Momo grabbed the two boys by their collard shirts making them groan in displeasure earning a laugh from you - only to make them groan in embarrassement.

“Bye boys.” you wave them off as Momo literally kicked them out your dorm, before closing it in front of them. “I like you” you pointed to her, making her eyes widen, while her cheeks grew into a blush before smiling. “Now how did you make a better impression than me and I came here first.” Mina flopped onto your bed frowning. “Don’t worry girl I like you too.” you slapped her thigh in a friendly manner.

“Alright you two enough talking, get back to your dorms. You all have a long day tomorrow.” Aizawa yelled through the door with his usual tired voice before shuffling off to his room closing the door. “Guess I’ll see you tommorow [Y/N]!” Mina skipped off towards your door “Yes! see you tomorrow” Momo opened the door looking back once more “Bye boo’s!” you called out before the closed your door.

You turned on your led lights in substitute for the harsh lighting in your dorm, shuffling off into your bed. you looked off onto your wall looking at the pictures you stuck to them, “Damn, I miss you Imani” your hand grazed upon the picture of you and Imani sticking up the middle finger to a flashing camera with your phones in one hand and a red cup in the other - a party you both went to knowing damn well you weren’t supposed to be there.

You turned towards the other way of your bed shutting your eyes - anticipating for the long day ahead of you, and meeting the rest of your class tomorrow morning.

👩🏽‍💻: y’all fw y/n being bisexual orrr? or do y’all want scandals? tell me now😁

Tag list(send me an ask to be apart of it)

@quincywrites, @fandomsgotmefucked , @lokis-teseract , @racistareversa,@ladybakugouu, @melanin-baddie , @oookore , @bnhathotty, @bleach-your-panties , @shikamaruhairline, @dilfhwa ,@winxme

#bakugou katsuki #bakugou x poc!reader #kirishima x poc!reader #sero x poc!reader #bnha x poc!reader #mha x poc!reader #mha fanfiction #bakugo x black reader #katsuki x black reader #bakugou fanfiction #bnha fanfiction #midoriya #izuku midoriya #black reader stories #kirishima #fanfiction #poc #my hero academia #katsuki fanficton

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pinkchanelbag · 3 years

Note

hi nia! congratulations for the 1k! i got the emperor :o may i request uncooperative school project partner with armin? but!! my card is reverse <//3 could you make it a little bit angst but with fluff ending? thank you so much!

THE REVERSED EMPEROR — ARMIN + UNCOOPERATIVE PROJECT PARTNER.

the universe really is unfair.

it must be, you think as you push open the library doors. otherwise, you wouldn’t be here.

it doesn’t take much looking around to spot the head of blond hair at one of the tables most visible in the seating area. you have to hold back a scoff—typical. typical armin arlert to sit in a public space the same way he would in a classroom: like he was being graded.

your psychology class term project turned out to be nothing like you expected. you were relying on some paper or essay that you were confident would boost your grade. you know you’re good at that sort of thing. you didn’t expect your professor to throw you completely by turning it into a research-based debate where your grade was determined by how well you went up against your project partner. and of course, of course you had to be paired with the pain in your ass, armin.

the thing is that the class is competitive by nature. the top student earns a spot in a much sought out internship, and for the past three months, you and armin have been dancing around the top score in the class. he always manages to be just a nose ahead of you, and it’s because of that fake, peppy, nice guy attitude that you can’t bring yourself to put on just for a mark. typical.

when you reluctantly round the table and into his vision, his glasses-clad eyes leave his laptop and smile at you.

“y/n! hey, glad you made it.”

you only offer a smile before unceremoniously dropping your bookbag in the seat next to the one you’ve pushed yourself into.

from the peak you took of his screen, you can see he’s already begun research debate topics. of course he’s already deep in it this early in the morning.

that’s why you can’t help but narrow your eyes when rather than getting straight to the work, the blue eyed boy takes a look at his homescreen for the time before looking back at you.

“have you eaten?” he asks. you offer a questioning huh?

“have you had breakfast? there’s a little coffee shop down this hall—we can grab something before we get started?”

it takes more effort than you care to use to keep the suspicious look off your face. you want to say no, get it over with, but you really are fiending for some coffee. you stayed up finishing a response paper for another class while also editing your friend sasha’s essay. your eyes barely have the energy to maintain their own grumpy expression.

“sure,” are your first words to him that morning. they’re injected with the softness of your own attempt to drop your hackles. bane of your existence or not, the guy is just asking for coffee.

you correct yourself soon after—offering you coffee. you stand with lips parted and your debit card in hand as armin pays for both your drinks, plus the little snacks he’s added on.

“you didn’t have to...” you begin. he looks back at you with a blinking face as if he doesn’t understand.

“oh, it’s fine.” and that’s the only explanation he gives before he turns back to take the receipt. and then he’s carrying the two coffees plus the paper bag of food back to your seats himself, and it’s strange that you should be the direct target of his too-niceness. it unnerves you, irks you. every time you inhale to say something and you catch his attention, and he turns to you with that expectant face and small smile like he’s clueless. like he’s clueless of his own facade. how annoying.

it’s a few a hours in, some time in the afternoon when you pause to rub at your eyes, that you entertain the thought. you watch his eyes scan his laptop screen with furrowed brows, his glasses slipping a little down his face. is it a facade?

no one could be that nice. especially with his course load, and you know it’s heavy. he should be decomposing with stress. but he’s sitting here like it’s the easiest thing in the world. no, that’s not quite right. he is struggling. he yawns and rubs his temples and slumps back in his seat and messes up his sentences from burnout. it’s not that it’s easy—it’s that he doesn’t care that it’s hard.

how annoying.

+ + + + +

you can’t see anything but red.

when your professor dismisses you and armin from the class following the long awaited debate, you’re fuming so hard you nearly slam the door before armin can sneak out of it behind you.

“wha—” armin begins.

“you went easy on me.” the accusation slices through the empty air of the hallway. you whip around to look at him. his glasses are tucked into his hair. his dress shirt is tucked into his blue jeans, book bag thrown on in a hassle to leave the room with you, and his crewneck in a pile in his two hands. you wish he didn’t look so put together all the time. you wish he wasn’t always so nice and proper and handsome looking.

“you literally skipped an entire key rebuttal. what the hell are you playing at, arlert? do you think i can’t hold my own? do you think that i need you to make my life easier like you do for everyone else? i’m not a charity, and if i lose this thing then i’ll have my peace with that more than i would if you gave it t—”

“i didn’t go easy!” armin cuts through your words. his voice is raised and firm, which is the main reason you’re actually brought to silence despite your anger. he grips his crewneck in one hand and stands tall, and he’s earnest in a way you’re not used to. “i know you would never be okay with that. and i want you to get this internship, i think you deserve it, but...i want it too. and i want us to be able to work well and do our best so that regardless of who gets it, we know we did well. that’s why i asked to w—”

and then his face stills.

“you asked to what?” you push. red creeps up into armin’s cheeks, and he huffs before continuing slowly.

“...i asked to work with you. i told the prof i didn’t want it to be anyone else since i’d beat anyone, and because...i wanted you. i wanted to work with you, and against you. i told him i knew it would challenge me.”

he trails off into quiet and stares at the linoleum floors while you mull over his words. challenge him? from your end, it constantly feels like the blonde is dangling your prize just out of your grasp with the way he manages to be so kind, so comforting even when pushing himself to his one hundred. but it’s true for you too that any other person you’d be paired with you’d beat. if anything, the professor would’ve likely made the decision to pair the two of you himself if armin didn’t say anything. but he did say something.

“speak for yourself,” you huff. you cross arms against your chest defensively and kick at the floor, now also staring at it. “i would’ve loved to kill some little wimp in the debate and get my A easy.”

he’s looking at you now. you chance a glance, and that small smile, that small clueless smile that has no idea how kind he really is, is beaming at you again.

“couldn’t let you off that easy,” he says. “but trust that i’ll never give you anything less than a fair fight. deal?” he holds up a hand for you to shake, and you look at him for a few more moments, then at his hand, before unravelling your crossed arms to seal his proposal.

“deal.”

neither of you lets your hand drop as you stare into each other’s eyes.

“wanna get lunch?” he asks.

“we don’t have any more work to do.”

“i know.”

and you accept. and armin tells himself that at some point in the lunch (date?) he’ll admit to you that he missed that rebuttal point because he had zoned out on the way your lips move when you speak.

note: wait i really like this omg....anyway iane I LOVE YOU <3 ENJOY <3

NIA’S 999 EVENT.

#nias999 #nia.armin #nia.txt #armin #armin x reader #armin arlet x reader #armin arlert #armin arlert imagine #armin arlert headcanons #armin headcanons #armin imagine

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toricrypticice · 3 years

Text

The Golden Scarred

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Chapter Four (Messy Memories)

Hunter woke up feeling heavy and out of it. He blinks trying to adjust to his surroundings.

This couldn’t be right.

He sits up from his bed. He was back in the covens palace? His room.

“What?-

..Was it all just- a dream?”

He seemed confused and a small bit hopeful. He stands looking around the room, feeling happy until he notices Rascal isn’t on his desk. In fact the Palisman was nowhere in sight. His heart stops

“Rascal? “ he calls, but is met by the silence of the room. He starts to look around where the Palisman usually hides.

“Rascal!?” He sounded a bit more desperate as he tried to keep his voice down not wanting to be caught . Hunter tore through the papers on his desk, even pulling everything off his bookcase and kneeling to look under the bed. He stands panting, feeling panicked as he opens his door. He runs out into the hall frantic to find the small bird.

“RASCAL?!!”

He calls out helplessly, losing all composure. Only to notice he wasn’t in the hallway. He takes a breath. He was in the main throne room now.

The Titans heart beating loudly.

“What- but I was-“ he mumbles confused and still a little frantic.

“Hunter”

The voice stopped him dead and his eyes widened with fear. He felt smaller as Belos towered over him.

“You need to be taught that there are dire consequences for your actions”

The words were familiar.

Bitter.

Cold.

He knew this.

He knew this all too well.

He wanted to run away

To stop what he knew would happen. .

But his feet stayed planted in place.

Belos lashed towards him. The glimpse of a haunted smirk gracing his features as he advances on the boy.

Hunter doesn't move as he feels a sharp pain pool through his jaw. The feeling of something sharp slicing through the area deeply making his vision swim and his breath hitch.

-…

The sound of Belos sighing as he sits down.

“See what you made me do….”

Hunter pulls himself off the floor, sniffing as blood pools from his face. He tried to will away the hot tears that fell down his cheeks to no avail. He covers the gash feeling shakey as he kneels in front of the throne. “I-I’m sorry E-Emperor Belos“

“Tsk, and to cry after punishment…

Such an embarrassment “

Belos tuts before he stands. Hunter looks down, staring at his feet, the males words piercing his very being. Belos steps forward, his footsteps making Hunter’s shoulders quiver in anticipation. He shuts his eyes expecting another blow. There was the sound of something metal clattering in front of the younger male.

“Stand up and Hide your shame. “

Hunter looks down to see the shiny gold mask he knew so well.

He frowns.

This is where everything changed.

He wanted to scream,

to throw it,

to stop what was happening and leave it in the past.

But instead he stares at the mask before his fingers wrap around the cold metal as he slips it over his blood soaked face nodding up at Belos.

“You’ll now be known as The Golden Guard now so no more slipping up.. you are a face to our coven.

You understand?”

Belos lays a hand on the males shoulder.

“You need to be better, the titan knows you are better. “

Hunter has to stop himself from crying as his cheek throbs, blood dripping down underneath the mask.

Not this again.

Please

His heart pounds heavily as he looks up at his uncle.

“I only do this because I care” Belos’ squeezes his shoulder forcefully making it ache slightly. Almost as a sick way of showing affection.

Hunter puts his head down smiling brightly as he blushes at the older males words feeling bashful.

He remembered being so happy when Belos said that.

Now the smile on his face seemed to hurt.

“Yes of course, “ Hunter states distantly.

“You’re not even listening, of course I’d get stuck with you on this?!”

Hunter looked back quickly to see he was now standing with Lilith in the forest. His uncle's hand gone from his shoulder, the pressure and pain in his face fading. Hunters voice came without him willing.

“Yeah well you better not screw this up Belos is counting on us to deliver” he snaps as his feet move forward with purpose. He felt agitated.

Why was this happening again!?

Lilith laughs cockily. “Of course I’ve trained my life for The Emperor's Coven- “she goes to boast but Hunter cuts her off smirking cockily.

“Unlike you I was chosen by the Titan, they already know what I’m capable of. Unlike you I don’t have to prove anything” he laughs walking ahead of the female, the words leaving a sour taste in his mouth.

It was a lie.

Such a lie.

He was constantly trying to prove himself.

Always striving to be better.

He had to.

He was The Golden Guard after all.

“Spoiled brat!” Lilith snaps

Hunter turns angrily about to quip only to see he was now standing above Kikimora. He blinks in confusion, his head felt like it was spinning.

“What the powerful Golden Guard thinks he’s worth something? “ Kiki mocking tone was evident.

He remembered this..

This was after..

Hunter grit his teeth feeling all the anger fill him “i matter to Belos, unlike you” he snaps.

Kikimora only laughs “you keep telling yourself that. But you're just a spoiled brat that he takes pity on. What part could you possibly play in the Titans will? ” She smirks.

Hunter held his ground but the words cut deep. He did wonder, ‘what part did he play in all this?’

“You're just a child” Kikimora chuckles darkly.

Hunter felt his blood boil as his ears ring.

A child!

That’s all anyone ever saw him as!

He clenches his jaw as his eye throbs in irritation.

“Watch your mouth, I am your superior and you shall treat me as such” He glares, deciding to remain formal knowing Belos’ might be listening. Kikimora only seemed to laugh, it started as a low chuckle but then got a bit more deranged making Hunter feel a bit uncomfortable as he grips his staff holding his own.

“You think You’re all that but I'll rid you easily.” She chuckles starting to walk off as Hunter Growls loudly.

“Is that a threat!” He snaps only to be met with the Humans look of disappointment as he stands over her, staff ablaze.

He takes a step back, eyes wide.

‘What- Again’

Back to another memory,

the Palisman mission.

But this was different.

There was no Kiki.

He was yielding Rascal as his staff instead.

No other Palisman in sight

“You’re not my friend you’re just The Golden Guard”

The words stung for some reason Hunter couldn’t understand then or now.

But before he can reply like he did in the past Luz starts to melt into the floor becoming nothing but goo. Everything around him becoming a dark black sludge melting down into the earth. He gasps as Rascals wood cracks, the bird tweeting in pain before his staff turns to dust in his hands. He stares wide-eyed in fear, his hands shaking as he feels tears fall.

No No No

That didn’t just happen?!

He didn’t-

There’s a rumble in the ground below his feet causing him to fall back. The sticky black substance soaking his clothes and hair.

‘This never happened?!’ He panics

Hunter pants trying to get up as muddled hands rise from the sludge grabbing onto his shoulders, his cape, his hair, anywhere they could get their hands on, soaking him in the dark liquid. He coughs gagging as he sinks deeper, the substance making its way into his mouth.

He couldn’t breathe.

He choked back the bitter heavy muck as he wrestled to stay above.

He tries to call out.

To fight his way out of the thick liquid.

“You’d be such a hassle to replace…”

Hunter's eyes widened and all the fight in him seemed to leave immediately. He lets his body sink into the dark muck, only his mask staying above as he slips further down. The blackened sludge finally filling his lungs, the words echoing as his vision goes dark.

Black.

Only Black.

And then...

“BOOM”

The sound vibrates off his skull painfully as his ears ring.

He gasps loudly as his eyes shoot open, sitting up quickly when he realizes there’s nothing holding him down.

“Gah-“ he grips his side in pain as it flares up by the sudden action. His head pounding as his vision swims.

“Titan” he pants still catching his breath as sweat pools down. What a nightmare.. Now where was he?

He could recall what happened.

He betrayed Belos

His side hurt.

He knew that much.

And he had slept. Which was- weird?

He shakes his head to rid the dream trying to get a grip on reality as he looks around. He was resting on something soft. Nicer than the coven beds. He looks around to see he was in somewhere slightly familiar-

Someone’s home

“ah?” He grits his teeth as his fingers graze a fresh gauze bandage wrapped nice and secure around the male torso, way better than something he could ever do on his own.

That’s when he remembered and his blood ran cold. His eyes widen and his heart skipped a beat as terror sunk in.

He was in the owl lady’s home!

She had helped him!

He let the enemy help him?!

How degrading..

He was more of a traitor than he first thought,

He stands up only to immediately fall to his knees when he loses his footing. “Ugh” he huffs at himself holding his side as it throbs, his vision swimming.

“Hey i hear you're awake I brought some-“ there was a gasp and the sound of a tray being put down before he was helped to his feet and back onto the couch.

When his vision focuses he sees the worried human standing infront of him. “You gotta be careful. Eda says you have a lot of internal damage and a slight concussion. “

“What-?” Hunter was bewildered at a loss of words. What was this- He takes a breath to sort himself. “What do you want with me? If you're looking for leverage against Belos you can-”

“Whoa whoa whoa” Luz cuts him off as she puts her hands up in defense. She laughs softly. “You just woke up. Plus We are only trying to help you-” this time Hunter cuts her off.

“Why?!” Hunter snaps loudly, holding his head as it spins badly, his ears seemed to ring. “Why are you helping me?! What does this- “ Hunter takes a deep breath as the room starts to spin.

“Easy easy, look Lilith was in the Emperor’s coven and she told us- look we know you need help just let us help." Luz hums smiling at the male. “I brought some food and some water for you, Eda went out for medicine so its just me and King-”

The rest of Luz’ words seemed to fade off as those words hit him. Eda was going into town just for him. To help… Hunter shook his head feeling guilty and angry.

“Town! Its crawling with coven scouts. How will she defend without magic? ” Hunter states, raising an eyebrow.

“Awe you care” Luz teases with a big smile to which Hunter's face turns a dark red as he scoffs.

“What- no i just-” Hunter growls in annoyance looking away. “I just think its stupid... She’s a stupid witch” he adds as he crosses his arms pouting.

Luz laughs, smiling.

“Yeah yeah anyway make sure you eat.” She gestures to the tray heading to the door. Hunter frowns seeing flashes of his dream.

“Human, how long have I been asleep?” Hunter absentminded taps on the arm of the couch as he questioned the girl.

Luz seems to tense a little at the question as she freezes looking a bit worried.

“Um only 27 hours haha but Eda said-”

“What-! I wasted so much time” He sits straighter. “Belos is-”Hunter's words stop as his eyes widen and he stands quickly, his legs wobbling. “Where’s Rascal!?” He demands, trying to hide the desperation that leaked out.

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#the Golden scarred #the golden guard #hunter toh #hunter #luz nuceda #eda the owl lady #eda #toh #the owl house

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whentheynameyoujoy · 3 years

Text

So the ATLA Movie Is... Good, Actually?

Just kidding, of course it’s not, it’s so bad it sucked the paint off my walls. But after ten years of people pointing out its glaring flaws, why would anyone bother talking about this garbage heap if not to go the other direction? So here’s a very brief and very superficial list of things the movie does get kinda... not atrociously wrong.

And they won’t be fake hipster pokes, like “It’s fun to laugh at”, “The Rifftrax for this is OK”, or “Kudos to the actress for managing to say we believe in our beliefs as much as they believe in theirs with a straight face”.

(though now that I mentioned it, it is fun to laugh at, the Rifftrax for this is OK, and massive props indeed.)

Rasta Iroh

Yes, I know it’s not exactly the aesthetic of the real Iroh or that it makes no cultural sense for him to sport this do when no one else in the racebended Indian “OMFG what were you thinking Shyamalan” Nation does but goddamn, long-haired dudes are my one mortal weakness and I will ogle the hell out of him.

Jesus is that a man bun I see that’s it mum I’ve been deaded

Yue’s hair

No.

Now we’re talking. Yue’s hair turned white when the Moon spirit gave her life, so it makes sense for it to go black again when she sacrifices herself to revive the koi fish. It’s a neat detail I find myself expecting whenever I rewatch the scene in the show. Yes, I realize it’d be a pointless hassle to animate since she, unlike in the movie, immediately goes on to become the Moon herself but still. I like.

The Blue Spirit’s mop

Zuko, hun, what’s with the dance-off?

First of all, I want to imagine that Zuko the Theatre Nerd was about to leave his ship with just the mask like in the show but then stuck his head into the cleaning cupboard and went, “Yeah, more coverage might be good, even though it do seem mighty fried to shit”.

Which makes me giggle. I like to giggle.

And secondly, the hair’s movement is what makes the static mess of the Blue Spirit’s solo fight scene appear at least bit more dynamic because God knows the cinematography isn’t doing it.

Any particular reason why it’s at the edge of the action, shot all boring-like?

Now, I get why circular shots would be reserved for Aang while he’s in the practice area and then used once the two join forces. What I don’t get is why Aang’s part of the action scene has a defined visual style while Zuko’s delegated to a few stationary wide shots from afar as though he’s a tertiary goon, meaning that when the time comes to combine the respective pieces of cinema language and visually convey collaboration, there’s not really much to combine.

But as long as Zuko is stuck in this static mess, it’s that awesome disaster on his head flopping about that draws the eye, helping me understand that something even is going on over there.

It also prevents me from paying much attention to how the extras are mostly just staying put and a lot of the hits don’t land, so that’s good.

The music slaps

James Newton Howard is too good for this.

youtube

Pls ignore that the word “gods” is used in the ATLA universe

I can’t be the only one who constantly uses this piece to daydream about writing specific fanfic scenes instead of, you know, actually sitting down and writing them. It’s just so good at communicating a sense of sorrow while speaking of rebirth that I find myself getting misty-eyed whenever I listen to it. Unfailingly, the soundtrack as a whole manages to break through the mile-thick crust of horrible acting, confusing writing, and uninspired cinematography and make me feel things. And considering how everything on screen is working against it, that’s no small feat.

Imagine what a powerful experience it would be if the score was used in service of an actual movie.

Dev Patel

No wonder since he’s the only one in the film occupying that crucial intersection between “is a good actor” and “was given something to work with”. It also doesn’t hurt that he breaks with the trend of actors starring in martial arts flicks despite never having done any martial art.

And all EIP-jokes about “stiff and humorless” aside, he’s a pretty decent Zuko considering how abridged this version of the character is. A while ago, I remember hearing a reviewer say that with his comedic chops, Patel should have been cast as Sokka. And on one hand, yes, god, absolutely, I need to see that asap. But on the other? He captures all layers of Book 1!Zuko, the desperate obsession, rage, and self-loathing, and at the same time gives you a peek at the soft momma’s boy dork that’s buried underneath. For Christ sakes, he exudes intensity and ambivalence even when acting against an emotionless hunk of wood that’s giving him nothing in return.

Oh, and I guess there’s a tree in the frame.

Ba dum tss

What can I say, the guy’s good.

Showing vs telling

OK, so this movie is all tell and no show, except for one single moment. And it’s the exact moment where the original goes in the other direction in terms of how information is conveyed.

See, I never liked this. The revelation is preceded by Iroh giving advice to Zuko who scolds him for nagging. Iroh then apologizes, moves in to say the line above, and is interrupted by Zuko who seems rather uncomfortable with Iroh laying his feelings out like this. And once they’re out, Zuko verbally confirms that he knew already and Iroh didn’t need to bother.

All this extraneous information and pussyfooting ends up weakening what should be a profound scene that reveals to us, the viewers, how deep the relationship between these two in fact runs.

Compare to the movie where Dadroh acts like a parent by fussing and worrying, with Sonion needing a single look to tell him and us that he understands what it’s all really about.

It’s genuinely efficient and just good.

No Cataang

Fine, a bit mean-girl bitchy from me since I only start minding the ship in Book 3. And probably unintentional on the part of the creators since there are moments where I think they’re trying to set the romance up? There’s a, well, an attempt to recreate the famous introductory shot of fateful meaningful destiny of meaningness, there’s some slight note of saving each other’s bacon going on, I’m pretty sure they’re the only ones in the film who smile, and oh, right, Katara’s shoved into her post-canon useless role where she doesn’t ever do anything, and is all about Aang right from the get go.

Yes, I will blame the “executive producers” because a) I’m incredibly petty, and b) it’s perfectly in line with their vision of the character so why the hell not.

Hilariously, none of it reads on screen because the actors are just... yeah. These poor kids are struggling so much with delivering their own lines and portraying their own characters they don’t seem to have any strength left to create something between them. To be fair, the bare-bones shot-reverse shot style of their scenes doesn’t exactly lend itself to the idea they occupy the same universe, let alone are friends or each other’s crushes.

And I enjoy this immensely because it allows me to forget the depressing horror show Katara’s life turns into post ATLA.

Yes Zutara

I need to delve into this because it’s fucking hilarious. So in a movie which fails to establish the original’s central romance so spectacularly that if Aang got lost in a crowd I don’t believe Katara would notice, SomEOnE thought it’d be a good idea to add an utterly unnecessary non-canon moment where Zuko for some reason feels the need to pause his character-defining hunt for the Avatar which otherwise has him ignore everything and snap at everyone, and explain his central conflict to an unconscious peasant he doesn’t know, complete with gently pushing the hair from the pretty girl’s the soulmate’s the Water Tribe Ambassador’s the Fire Lady’s the love of his life’s her face away, AFTER his uncle nagged him twice to find a girl and settle down.

I just wanted to make sure we’re all on the same page and this is what we really saw.

Celibate Avatars

I have no idea why the decision was made, if TPTB thought expecting viewers to understand the story through the lens of Buddhism would be too much, or if the “executive producers” already worked their retconny magic. What I do know, however, is that there’s a big shift in worldbuilding and Aang’s struggle with his role as the Avatar stops being a personal conflict defined by a) his grief for Air Nomads, b) his notion of being robbed of the loved ones in his life, and c) the selfish attachment to Katara he confuses with true love. Instead, what he has a difficulty to accept is apparently a general notion of who Avatars are supposed to be, i.e. a fantasy version of Catholic monks, no family and worldly relations, period.

I guess either someone understood the original’s portrayal of de/attachment as “hermit no freaky”, or thought the audience would so why not go there outright.

Now, do I like this on its own? No, God no, it makes the world infinitely poorer and changes the story from an exploration of ideas which aren’t all that ingrained in the West, to a cliché tropester about a Catholic priest going Protestant so that he could be with a girl.

At least I assume that’s where they were going to take this eventually.

I mean, I think the direction was “look conflicted, this isn’t the final stage of your journey”?

But consider this—the show went there, it built on the concepts of Eastern philosophy and touched upon the ideas of spiritual awakening, only to swerve in the end and strongly imply they’re bullshit and Aang should have never wasted his time with them.

So honestly, I much prefer scanty worldbuilding to an insulting retcon by a damn rock.

Multiracial Air Nomads

Probably the most substantial “no hint of irony” point on this list and a genuinely good addition to the universe’s worldbuilding.

See, the notion of the elemental nations being perfectly separate and never mingling before Sozin has always been sketchy but it’s especially ridiculous in the case of airbenders. It never made sense to me for all airbenders to be Air Nomads and for all Air Nomads to be monks and for all monks to be chilling at the temples all the time to facilitate a quick everyone-dies genocide should an imperialistic warlord ever decide to commit one.

Because committing everyone to a single way of life at a handful of places kinda goes against the central philosophy behind airbending. Like the freedom and nomadism part.

Instead, there should be more variety to the airbending culture, with some staying at the temples as monks, hermits, and teachers while others live as nomads, travelling the world and creating more airbenders, with the resulting children in turn being influenced by the non-airbending cultures they grew up in.

And thus, not only should airbenders not be modeled after a single culture to create a one-size-fits-all lifestyle, but they should have the most diverse and dynamic culture out of the four nations.

And it’d be precisely this diversity which would pave way for an eventual reveal that some of them survived, that their complete extermination is impossible.

Because they’re everywhere.

You know.

Like air.

#atla #atla movie #zutara #anti bryke #dev patel #the last airbender #anti-kataang

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inyourwildestdreamslove · 4 years

Text

Tell Me No Secrets: Chapter 8

Pairing: Steve Harrington X Reader X Billy Hargrove

Begins in Season 2.

Summary: You thought you escaped the world of science experiments and torture when you walk out of that lab. However, high school has other plans, somehow you end up as unlikely friends and love interests to the two most desired boys in school. Not to mention monsters from another dimension and a little girl named El from your past that just won’t seem to leave you alone. Maybe that lab wasn’t as bad as you thought, at least there people left you alone.

Masterlist

The Complication

You could feel the agitation rolling off of you in waves. After explaining to everyone that you’ve been followed for the past few days by an agent everyone had thoroughly freaked out like you knew they would. The anger was unexplainable and seemed to come out of nowhere and the pacing is the only way to keep yourself under control.

‘This is why I like to handle things myself,’ you think as you continue to pace. The room was still full of your friends as they argued about what the best course of action would be. It started with a guard detail and now Dustin is suggesting some kind of elaborate security device.

You whip around to walk the other way when a sharp pain goes up your side. You cry out, startling everyone in the room as you sink to the floor half in surprise and half in actual pain. Another sharp pain follows quickly after and again and again, before you know it you are curled up on the floor attempting to protect yourself from the phantom assault. A sob wracks your body as you actually feel one of your ribs crack a sharp pain pierces your hand and your nose. A few minutes later the assault is done and you just lay in a heap, your body throbbing and everyone in the room in various stages of panic and chaos.

You lay still and suddenly your vision is blurry and you are gazing at a living room you’ve never seen before. A man is casually leaning against the counter as you drag yourself up and shuffle to the bathroom. You lay your head against the door, the cool wood feels good against your forehead. You don’t pay attention to anyone, it’s not until Steve puts a hesitant hand on your arm that you are brought back to the room around you. You blink taking in the familiar couch and the familiar faces of your friends. You flinch away from him and he backs up hands in the air.

“It’s okay…”

You shake your head and get unsteadily to your knees your hands go to your throbbing nose when you pull away you expect to see blood but there is nothing there. You blink in surprise before you press on your rib expecting pain, but there isn’t anything there other than a phantom throbbing.

“What happened?” you ask shakily.

“We were kinda hoping you could tell us that…” Steve says hesitantly.

“I don’t know…”

“What do you mean you don’t know?” questions Hopper’s tight voice.

You gaze down at the floor before you glance up at Max, “What does your living room look like?”

“Huh? Why?”

“Just… what does it look like?” you ask again as you put your hand to your head attempting to soothe your throbbing head.

She begins to describe the beige walls and the TV in the corner. The window that opens up to the kitchen. You gaze unseeingly at the carpet as you recall every detail about what just happened to you.

“I see…” you say before you stumble to your feet with Steve and Melanie on either side to steady you before you walk wordlessly to your bedroom.

“Okay… what just happened here?” questions Hopper as he gazes at where you just were.

“We don’t know…” sigh Melanie, “She did that the other night.”

“When?” questions Elle.

“A few nights ago… I-I don’t remember exactly when…”

You can still feel the residual pain aching in your muscles as the water from the shower beats down on you. You don’t feel like dealing with anyone as you ponder what you think is happening. You inhale a shaky breath as you picture the living room and man leaning casually against the wall watching you get up. There is no emotion, dead eyes watch you as you make your way towards the bathroom. A moment later water is scalding your skin as you gaze around at the green tiles surrounding you, with a blink you are back in your own shower. Groaning you force yourself from the shower and into bed hoping against hope that you are able to get a good night’s sleep. You have a feeling you are going to need it for tomorrow.

The next morning dawns and before you can even think of riding your bike to school Steve is in your driveway and much to your surprise so is Dustin.

“Why are you here?” You ask in confusion as you lock the door behind you.

“I’m taking you to school, it’s too dangerous for you to ride your bike there,” says Steve as he crosses his arms.

“He’s right! You need protection,” interjects Dustin.

You furrow your brow at the duo in confusion, “Okay…” Mostly because you know that attempting to argue with them at seven o’clock in the morning is far more hassle than it’s worth. Also, you decide not to mention that you are more than capable of dealing with anyone that comes your way, but they enjoy being heroes and who are you to take that from them? Plus you simply don’t feel like riding your bike today.

When you pull into the parking lot at school you don’t think much of the fact that Steve gave you a ride until you get out of his car. You feel eyes on you instantly as whispers flare up all around you. A particular pair of blue eyes catch yours though.

“What do you think she’s doing with Steve?”

“Wasn’t she with Billy last week?”

“What are they doing with the freak?”

“What do they see in her?”

“It has to be a bet! You know they’ve been competing for King status…”

“Has to be a bet.”

“Hey! Don’t listen to them okay?” You hear Steve’s voice in your ear suddenly.

You whip your head around to face him and notice the way his hand is on the small of your back and the way he guides you into the school.

You blink attempting to refocus yourself as you try to block everyone out. You don’t have time for their rumors, you have more important things to do. You wave Steve off when you get to your locker insisting that you would be okay.

“Are you sure?” he asks in concern as he leans against your locker door, his eyes searching yours. You are beginning to understand why so many females like Steve. He has the uncanny ability to make himself look like a puppy and is quite endearing if not a little slow.

“I’m fine, Steve, I’ve somehow managed to survive without you my entire life up until now. I think I can handle first period.”

“I just…”

“Go!” you shoo him away much to the scandal of the female population that was trying not to be obvious they were eavesdropping and even more so for the ones who didn’t care if you knew they were.

You don’t see Steve again until lunch when he plops himself down in the chair next to you.

“So… How are you doing?” asks Steve as he pours little packets of hot sauce on his burrito.

You roll your eyes, “I’m fine Steve…”

He doesn’t look convinced as he regards you with concern, “Yesterday was pretty intense…”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” you say coldly.

Steve has become rather bold rather quickly because he doesn’t seem to care whether or not you want to talk about it, “Maybe you should though! You should talk about it!”

“What good would that do?” you ask seriously as you attempt to concentrate on your math homework.

“You were scared… Hell, I was scared! You just started to scream and writhing in pain for NO REASON.”

“Would you keep your voice down!” You ask in an angry whisper, “Everyone at this school already thinks I’m some kind of freak, I would rather possession not be added to the rumor mill, especially when it involves both you and Billy.”

“Sorry! Geeze! I’m just trying to help!” he hisses back at you.

You fix him with an angry stare, “Perhaps in private would be better, you never know who is listening.”

“Ah… right…” he looks thoroughly chastised as the two of you make your way out of the cafeteria and to your science class.

“We still need to work on our project…” Steve grumbles as you both pile yourselves into the classroom.

“We can finish it up tomorrow after school,” you say decisively.

“Tomorrow? Why not tonight?”

“I have things to take care of tonight.”

“What things?” He asks almost defensively.

“Things that don’t concern you,” you mutter emotionlessly.

“Hey! You aren’t going after any more-” he asks, clearly offended.

“Steve!” You growl.

He lowers his voice to a whisper as he leans in, “-any more of those guys are you?”

“No… this has nothing to do with that…”

“You know friends trust one another right?” he asks in annoyance.

“Then you should trust me,” you say calmly as you look towards the front of the classroom as your teacher enters the room.

You hear him scoff from beside you, but you decide to ignore him, mostly because you know it annoys him when you do.

***

You can feel Billy’s gaze on you as you read the assigned material for your English class. Agaitiation rolls off of him in waves as you attempt to ignore him, but how can you when you know what you know?

It’s when the bell rings that a message floats between the two of you, landing softly in his mind, “Meet me behind the school.”

His eyes widen as he gazes at you like you are out of some horror movie, but you ignore the way the shock travels up his body and ricochets through his mind. A few minutes later you are standing before him as he leans against the wall.

“What’s this about?” he asks confidently, his voice doesn’t reflect the fear in his mind.

“Lift up your shirt,” you say while crossing your arms.

“Sweetheart if this is what you wanted all along…”

“No. Now lift up your shirt,” you say emotionlessly.

He rolls his shoulder and his jaw before he straightens, “What if I don’t want to.”

You tilt your head to the side, “What happened last night?”

He leans his head back and regards you with narrowed eyes, “That’s none of your business.”

“It’s my business when I’m a crumpled heap on the floor of my own house,” his eyes widen at your statement, “Now, lift up your shirt,” you say forcefully.

He holds your gaze as he angrily untucks his shirt from his too-tight jeans and pulls it up to reveal black and blue ribs. His side is all manner of colors some bruises are almost healed while others are fresh.

Shame sets you on fire as you regard him and it takes you a moment to realize that shame doesn’t belong to you.

You merely nod at him, “Thank you.”

He drops his shirt back down and refuses to look at you. His shame is replaced with anger, mostly because he doesn’t know what else to do with himself.

“Oh yeah! And what’s that gonna do huh?! You think you can fix this shit?! Fix my fuckin life?!”

“You would be surprised at what I can do…”

He snaps his head up to look at you his breath catching in his throat.

“Let’s go,” you say as you breeze past him into the school.

“Where?” he asks bewildered.

“To take care of this.”

His whips around as the door goes to slam in his face, he catches it at the last second as he attempts to tuck his shirt back in before following you down the hallway.

The ride to Billy’s house is silent as he chain-smokes cigarettes, the smoke flying out the open window. The ride is loose and fast and despite the fact that he wants you scared, you know better than to actually be. He pulls into the driveway and the two of you make your way up to the front door. You look around at the perfectly manicured yard before you enter the living room you were in last night.

“He uh… won’t be home for a couple of hours…”

“It’s fine, I can wait,” you say calmly while you pull out the book your class is reading for English.

“So you can really do it huh?” he asks as he sits down next to you on the couch. His elbows are on his knees and his hands have formed a fist under his chin. He’s wound as tightly as a wire about to snap.

You regard him quietly for a moment before you answer, “Yes, I can.”

“How?” his voice is rough as if he is holding back tears.

“You shouldn’t ask questions you don’t actually want answers to.”

He glances at you out of the corner of his eyes before he gets up and lights another cigarette taking a long drag.

“You should do the reading,” you murmur softly.

“What? Why?” He asks, almost outraged you would suggest such a thing.

“It would be best if he thought us to be working on an assignment.”

He nods absentmindedly before he puts the cigarette out and reaches for his bag. He pulls the book out and settles down to read it, but even though his eyes are moving he isn’t comprehending anything. After staring at the same page for several minutes he closes the book harshly and slams it down next to him on the couch. He runs his hands through his hair messing it up before he inhales a large breath then exhales. You watch him while he does all this in mild confusion.

“Do you doubt me?” You ask calmly.

He lets out a forced laugh as he shakes his head, “I don’t know what to think sweetheart.”

He looks up at you and his eyes lock with yours. They are a deep blue and remind you of the turbulent sea in a hurricane, this time though you think you can see a little bit of sun hidden in the depths. As if for once he has hope.

The door opens almost violently and if you hadn’t felt the waves of anger rolling off of the male before he made his way into the house you would have been startled.

“What’s going on here?” Billy’s father asks, you see right through his forced cheery facade and see for what it is a very dangerous question.

“We were just uhh…” Billy stalls in shock, clearly not expecting him yet.

“Working on an English assignment, we were paired up in class,” you finish easily for Billy regarding the man before you carefully.

“Right…” Billy trails off looking anywhere but at his father.

“I see… Will she be staying for dinner?” He asks, completely ignoring you.

“No, our assignment shouldn’t take that long,” you say calmly before you dutifully go back to your book.

‘Assignment my ass… Like I’m going to believe this isn’t his next whore…’ The thought flits across your mind, but you just keep your face blank giving nothing away.

Billy catches your eye looking nauseous. You merely nod your head towards the book before you go back to your own.

You hear the heavy boots of his father as he walks into the kitchen but you make no move to do anything.

Billy’s leg begins to bounce with his nerves.

Abruptly you stand and regard the man as he returns from changing from his work clothes. He stalls in the hall and just looks down at you in confusion.

“You’re going to stop hurting Billy. You will not hurt anyone in this family,” you say seriously, the order hanging in the air. “If I find out you’ve hurt any of them there will be consequences. Now you are going to forget this conversation ever happened.”

His eyes are blank and unseeing as you turn back to a bewildered Billy.

“That’s it?” He asks in bewilderment.

“Yes,” you say calmly, “I would like to go home now.”

He blinks up at in confusion.

“You have to take me there,” you supply in place of his obvious confusion.

“How do I know this worked?!” he asks in bewilderment.

“You don’t… yet. Also, don’t say anything to anyone,” he blinks at the order vaguely wondering if you used your power on him.

With that, you turn and walk out the door with a very confused Billy following dutifully after you.

***

The next morning, before you even step out of your front door, you can hear the arguing.

You roll your eyes as you gaze between Steve and Billy with Dustin and Max standing off to either side, both looking equally exasperated by their ride to school.

“Why are you both here?” you ask in annoyance regarding them both with crossed arms and narrowed eyes.

“I”m taking you to school!” They chorus before they return their glares back to one another.

“This is becoming excessive…” you murmur more so to yourself than the group surrounding you.

“Look, you don’t need to be riding your bike to school with…” Steve trails off looking imploringly at Billy.

“What? What’s going on?!” asks Billy in obvious annoyance around the cigarette between his lips.

“Nothing that concerns you…” you say regarding Billy calmly.

“You heard her! Nothing that concerns you!” Steve echos tauntingly.

“Enough, Steve,” you reprimand.

Billy scoffs from your other side, “You heard her Harrington, enough,” he says with a triumphant smirk.

Steve whips around in a fighting stance to regard Billy.

“ENOUGH! Both of you!” you exclaim in annoyance, “I don’t know what’s gotten into either of you, but I can take care of myself just fine. I’ve been doing it for a long time.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t answer the question of who’s taking you to school, sweetheart?” Billy interjects indicating the two cars before you.

“Who was here first?” you ask in annoyance.

“I was!” They both chorus and you just cross your arms with a sigh.

You look to Max and Dustin for the answer and Max raises her hand, “We were here first.”

You nod decisively, “Billy can take me to school, Steve, you can take me home, okay?”

Billy smirks triumphantly and Steve just regards you in surprised betrayal.

“But it’s Hargrove! What if his bad driving kills you?!” Steve yells in annoyance.

“Billy has been giving me many rides to and from school, I’ll be fine.”

“He has?!” Steve asks following you to the passenger door of Billy’s car.

“Yes Steve, he has, long before you did,” you say patiently.

Steve just squeaks in indignation as you shut the door effectively ending the conversation.

Flying down the road towards school Billy has a Cheshire grin on his face, “You know you could have just told Harrington you wanted me to take you…”

You glance at Billy out of the corner of your eye, “I honestly didn’t care either way.”

“Sure sweetheart… Sure…” he says with confidence dripping from his voice.

Max scoffs in the back seat, “You know she’s too smart for you right?”

“What did you say?” he growls back.

As the siblings begin to bicker back and forth you notice it, the buzzing.

“Quiet both of you!” you exclaim shutting them both up momentarily.

“Don’t tell-”

“Hush!” you exclaim the order hanging in the air as you turn your head this way and that trying to get a read on the buzzing in your head.

Your eyes widen as it starts getting stronger and there you see a vehicle sitting at the intersection not fifty feet away clearly waiting for someone. You narrow your eyes as you regard the car.

“Billy,” you murmur turning to look him in the eyes, “Floor it, if they catch us we might as well be dead.”

He just nods, the barest hint of fear in his eyes as he lays his foot down on the gas pedal, his car roaring to life.

Notes: I know it’s been forever and day actually since I updated this but I love it very much! Please drop some love and tell me what you think. Also, I intend to redo the taglist for this story since it’s been so long. So if you would like to be tagged please send me an ask!

#Billy Hargrove #billy hargrove imagine #billy hargrove x you #billy hargrove fanfiction #billy hargove x reader #steve harrington #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x you #steve harington imagine #steve harrington x reader x billy hargrove #steve harrington x y/n #stranger things #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things series #stranger things fandom

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much-obliged-timothy · 4 years

Text

Whumptober #26

Devil May Cry - #26 - Blindness

I didn’t have enough time to proofread tonight, so I apologize for any errors!

“Do these things ever stop coming?” Nero said as he sliced through yet another smaller demon.

“Stop complaining,” Vergil said.

“It was a question, not a complaint,” Nero pointed out. “Besides, we should be trying to get to the source of where these things are coming from rather than wasting time cutting them up.”

“Kid’s got a point,” Dante said, shooting a demon dead and trying to catch his breath. “Whatever is sending these things at us is just trying to wear us down. Might as well charge in and finish this up.”

“You two are impatient,” Vergil said.

“You’re welcome to stay here and keep swinging away at the cannon fodder. Dante and I will go actually be useful,” Nero said.

Vergil’s expression darkened in irritation, and Dante had to hide a laugh. Nero sure knew how to get to his father.

Sure enough, Vergil moved towards the large hole in the ground that the demons kept pouring out of. “Let’s hurry this up. I can’t tolerate being around the two of you for much longer.”

Nero flashed Dante a thumbs-up, and Dante grinned in return. The two followed after Vergil, and they jumped down into the hole.

“The hell is that?” Nero as they finally spotted the source of this mess.

There stood a large demon, swarmed by what appeared to be hundreds, if not thousands, of the smaller demons. It let out a grating scream that had all three men wincing at the volume.

“Think we pissed her off,” Dante said, and dove to the side as it whipped a sharp tendril at him.

“Don’t let the tendrils hit you. They’re coated in some kind of substance,” Vergil said, readying his sword. “Could be deadly.”

“I dare you to touch the tendril,” Dante said, nudging Nero.

“I should’ve done this job alone,” Vergil said with a long sigh.

“But instead, you’re graced by us,” Nero said, and ran at the demon.

“Reckless,” Vergil hissed. “That boy is so damn reckless.”

“He knows what he’s doing. I think,” Dante said, and took off after Nero.

Vergil moved more carefully, taking precise strikes against the demon’s legs to stagger it. Dante and Nero climbed its back and began to slash away at it, dodging its thrashing tendrils as it screeched and tried to shake them off.

Nero narrowly avoided a tendril in an attempt to get the demon to stab itself. But it was immune to whatever coated its tendril, so Nero instead tried slashing at the tendril itself.

“Nero! Stop playing around! You have no idea what that’ll do to you if it hits you,” Vergil said.

“Careful, he might ground you,” Dante teased.

“It won’t do shit to me if I can cut it off,” Nero said, striking the tendril again and shifting his body so that it flailed past him harmlessly. “This thing is damn hard to cut through. And why does it have so many?”

“You can study them once the demon is dead,” Vergil said, slicing the Yamato across the demon’s leg.

It screeched again, sending a tendril flying at Vergil. Vergil easily moved out of the way, but Nero’s eyes widened as he saw a smaller tendril streaking towards Vergil’s back.

“Vergil!” he cried, leaping off the demon’s back.

He crashed into Vergil just in time to knock him out of the way. Vergil stumbled off balance and hit the ground, looking up just as the tendril stabbed into Nero’s chest and sent him flying back.

Nero hit the ground hard, fingers grasping at his chest, trying to yank the tendril free. Dante and Vergil both sprang into action, trying to cut the tendril off the demon.

Dante grasped it and yanked it free, Nero crying out at the sensation. He grabbed his sword, but dropped it a moment later, gripping his head as panic flashed across his face.

“Nero?” Vergil demanded, fending off another tendril before it could get the vulnerable boy.

“I can’t see!” Nero said in alarm.

Nero swung his head around side to side, but his vision remained pitch black. His chest tingled, but his limbs still worked just fine. He could hear and smell everything fine.

But his vision was gone.

He reached out blindly for his sword, grasping it. He got to his feet, trying to listen hard. He was used to fighting one armed, but not blind. He’d never had to fight blind before.

“Down!”

Someone grabbed him and yanked him to the ground. Something whipped over his head, and he abandoned his sword, grabbing his gun instead and firing at the sound.

“Stop, before you hit one of us,” Dante said, thumping him in the head. “Let me see you.”

“Bastard,” Nero said, trying to kick him.

“Ow! That wasn’t a joke! I really am trying to look you over. Vergil, cover us.” Dante gripped Nero’s shoulders. After a moment, Nero felt Dante’s hand on his chest.

“There’s some sort of film over your eyes,” Dante said at last. “Shit. My dumbass brother talks so big and can’t even watch his own back.”

Nero tightened his hold on his gun, refusing to give into his fear. The darkness reminded him of being sucked into the Savior back in Fortuna. But this time, he would not be weak. He would not be helpless and useless.

“Tell me where to shoot,” he said.

“You should-”

“Tell me where to shoot,” he repeated impatiently.

Dante sighed, and put a hand back on his shoulder. “Someone’s got to keep you covered. Alright, kid, let’s do this. We’ll shoot the thing, and Vergil can carve it up. On your right.”

Dante directed Nero where to shoot, and pulled him out of the way of harm. Nero focused hard on the sounds around him, trying to determine where Vergil was so he didn’t accidentally shoot him. What a waste to save him from the tendril just to accidentally shoot him.

Still, it might be a good excuse to get revenge for his arm…

No, no. Another time, maybe. Right now, he had a demon to kill, eyesight or no eyesight.

“Oh fu- on your left!” Dante cried, gripping Nero’s arm to yank him aside.

But Nero could hear the sound of the tendril whipping through the air towards them. He fired twice at it before Dante pulled him aside.

There was an awful shrieking sound, and then a heavy thump that shook the ground. Nero lowered his gun.

“Vergil?” he guessed.

“Killed it,” Vergil said.

“He’s taking all the credit, but that thing has quite a few bullet holes in it,” Dante said, clapping Nero on the back. “Nice shooting, kid.”

“His eyes,” Vergil said, his voice close to Nero now. “What the hell is this substance?”

“No clue,” Dante said, and Nero heard the slightest strain in his voice. He was worried.

“Is it permanent?” Nero asked, forcing his voice to remain steady. Still, he tightened his grip on his gun to keep his hand from shaking.

“Let’s get you back home so we can look into this,” Dante said, evading the question. “Vergil, cut off a few of those tendrils.”

Nero listened to Vergil do just that. After a few moments, a hand fell on his arm and began guiding him forward.

“We’ll need to carry him out of here,” Dante said, and Nero was surprised to find that his voice was too far back to be the one guiding him.

“I can walk just fine,” Nero said.

“It’ll be too much of a hassle to guide you out,” Vergil said, voice right next to Nero. “Here, just- stay still.”

Nero let out an indignant noise as he was lifted. Wind whipped against his face as Vergil made his way up and out of the hole they jumped into, and it was a few moments before he was set back down. Vergil put a hand on his arm to guide him again.

Nero wanted to shove Vergil’s hand away, but he was well aware he’d end up tripping if he tried to walk alone. There were too many corpses of those smaller demons scattered about.

So he reluctantly allowed himself to be led back to the van. He could hear the engine as they approached.

“What happened to his eyes?” Nico said.

“Unsure. Get us back to his house,” Vergil said.

“I’m sorry, what was that? It sounded like you were trying to give me orders,” Nico said.

“Alright, alright. Nero came in here with his eyesight and now he’s suddenly blind. Maybe fight when we fix that?” Dante said.

Nico grumbled out curse words, but the van jerked into motion. Nero, familiar with the layout, shrugged Vergil’s hand off and got up.

He kept a hand out in front of him as he cautiously made his way to where they kept the water bottles. He managed to grab one and twist the cap off, pouring some into his cupped hand and splashing it into his eyes.

“Stop,” Vergil said, taking the water bottle from him. “We have no idea what that substance is. You could be making things worse.”

“I’m blind!” Nero snapped. “How much worse could I possibly make it?”

“You could make it permanent,” Vergil snapped right back.

Nero swung his head in the direction he thought Dante was in. “You can’t take me home like this. Kyrie will worry.”

“Over here, kid,” Dante said from the opposite direction. “I’ll take you back to my office for now. I already messaged Trish a description of the demon to look into.”

“Are there any other symptoms?” Vergil said.

“A headache, but that might just be because I’m sick of dealing with you,” Nero said. He slumped back against the side of the van, resisting the urge to rub his eyes. “My chest is tingling and my eyes burn. Want to hear about how that makes me feel since you’re playing doctor?”

“Fine, then we’ll stop trying to help and you can suffer,” Vergil said. “If that’s how you want to be.”

“Oh, fuck you,” Nero said, slamming his fist against the wall. “Sorry if I’m not exactly in the best mood right now, but I kind of just went blind, and it might be fucking permanent.”

“And you’re mad because it should’ve been me,” Vergil said.

Nero let out a disbelieving laugh. “You think I’m that shallow? If I wanted it to be you, I wouldn’t have pushed you out of the way. Maybe you wouldn’t have done it for me, but I don’t regret doing it for you, even if this is permanent.”

Vergil fell silent. Nero turned away from him and made his way back to a seat. He didn’t want to let his fear grow too much, so he busied himself feeling his chest injury and trying to judge how badly it had torn his clothes.

When the van finally stopped, he got up and made his way off it without help. But then someone caught his arm and guided him along.

“Dante, I know my way around your office,” Nero said impatiently. “I don’t need a guide.”

“I know that,” Dante said from far ahead of him. “Tell it to your old man.”

“I- oh.” Nero turned his head towards the hand on his arm, though he could see nothing.

“It’s a mess in there. Knowing your way around won’t help,” Vergil said without taking his hand away.

Nero allowed it, if only because of Vergil’s tone. He sounded...almost reluctant. Like he’d finally realized that Nero had saved him for no other reason than that he hadn’t wanted to see Vergil get hurt. No ulterior motive, no “you owe me”; just an instinctive desire to save him.

“Good news,” Trish said as they got Nero seated. “The effects would be permanent on a human, but it’s only temporary on a demon.”

“How is that good news? Nero is more human than demon,” Vergil said, that cold anger back.

“He’s demon enough,” Trish said. “It should wear off in a few hours.”

“And if it doesn’t?” Vergil said.

“It will,” Dante said.

But Nero knew what he’d see if he hadn’t been blinded. He’d see Dante and Trish shooting Vergil that “shut up or you’ll scare him” look. They sounded confident, but Vergil was right. Nero was mixed, with more human in him than his father or uncle. They might be fine if it was them, but it was Nero.

“Reckless,” Vergil grumbled, because he’d evidently reached the same conclusion Nero just had. If Vergil had been stabbed by the tendril, this wouldn’t be an issue. But it had been his son, and now they’d just have to wait and hope. “You’re so reckless.”

“Runs in the family,” Nero said.

That fear was coming back, though. He couldn’t fight if he was blind. It would take him years to learn how to do it with any competency. Years in which the people he cared about wouldn’t have him there to protect them or watch their backs. Years of being weak and vulnerable.

“Stop,” Vergil said firmly, placing a hand on his shoulder. For once, Nero took a strange comfort in it. “They are right. You’re not human. You’ll be fine in a few hours, and then you’ll go right back to doing something stupid and reckless and put yourself in another bad situation.”

“We’re working on his pep talks,” Dante said.

“Both of you, shut up,” Nero said. But he didn’t want silence, not really.

Vergil and Dante seemed to pick up on it, for which Nero was grateful. He felt the slightest pressure on his shoulder, as if Vergil had tightened his hold.

“Hey, Nero, since we’ve got the time, why don’t I tell you about the time I kicked your old man’s ass in a sword fight when we were kids?” Dante said.

“They were toy swords, and you cheated,” Vergil said.

Nero was grateful for the distraction as the brothers began to bicker and argue about what had happened all those years ago in their fake sword fight. Nero listened to them, focusing on their words so that he wouldn’t have to worry about what would happen if this never wore off.

But he knew what would happen. Vergil and Dante would look after him and help him adjust. Because for as irritating as the twins could be, they would never abandon Nero to fight alone in the dark.

#devil may cry #Nero Sparda #Vergil Sparda #whumptober2020 #no.26 #blindness #fic #Dante Sparda #dmc #devil may cry nero #dmc vergil #dmc dante #jtdoeswhumptober #My writing #my post

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shra-vasti · 4 years

Text

Home

Pairing : Moon Junhui x reader

Type : Soulmate au, idol au

Genre : fluff

Warnings : none

Word count : 2-3k approx

Soulmate au type : In which the first words your soulmate says to you are written on your body.

Jun heard Seungkwan and Jeonghan snicker from behind him when he was wearing his shirt for the upcoming stage performance.

He turn around but glared at them through the mirror and proceeded to wear his outfit. The two just laughed at him more before waving themselves off towards the other members.

Jun sighed as he looked at himself through the mirror and then towards the one sentence which was tattooed near his navel, he huffed shaking his head, was it necessary for his soulmate's first words for being so sarcastic?

He wondered what he was going to say or do for his soulmate to get that sentence/accusion tattooed on his stomach.

But he didn't mind much since it was ultimately said by his soulmate but he often wondered what on earth he was going to do to get that sentence out of you.

He even dated multiple times thinking that his soulmate was someone close to him cause who in the hell gets this comfortable to roast someone on their first meeting?

"You guys are up in 10 minutes so gather up backstage."

The manager yelled from the door. They did the head count before finally making their way out of the waiting room towards the backstage.

They stood up before the monitor placed backstage for monitoring the stage performance going onstage live.

"Woah my best friend is doing great." exclaimed Seungkwan gaining Jun's attention along with other's too.

"Your best friend?"

Jun asked as he put his hand on the younger's shoulder eyeing up the idol group which was currently performing on stage.

"Kind of. It's like an inside joke between us but they are really nice and witty and we get along really well. I met them on the set of Mafia in prison and we have been in contact since then."

Seungkwan explained after which everyone started paying attention to their own thing with few of the members enjoying the stage.

Jun shook his head as he started fixing his microphone, getting ready since they were up next to your group which was performing currently on the stage.

He really envied how friendly and outgoing some of his members were like Seungkwan and Mingyu. They literally had friends everywhere and knew many people.

Jun wished he wasn't so shy so he could also make many more new friends.

He gets awkward and he know it will take some more time to get comfortable around to socialise with everyone else.

The performance ended as he heard audience clap and cheer loudly followed by lots of gasps.

He got pushed to one side of the backstage when 4 of the crew members ran past him carrying some one in their arms.

He hissed at the sensation but didn't feel the anger as it was an emergency but he really lost a bit of his temper when another person bumped into him twice the force earlier and to add to that he was shoved towards the wall making him collide with the wall too.

▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️

You were exhausted from your performance breathing uneven as you posed as the ending fairy for today's performance.

It felt really good to be performing again after your debut showcase, it was your first comeback and you were thankful for the amount of support your group got dispite coming from a rather small company.

Through your peripheral vision you could see the youngest of your group losing their balance as they started leaning toward the opposite direction.

You held their arms quickly and they managed to keep the balance but ended up losing consciousness and putting all of the weight on you.

You quickly caught them before losing your balance and placed th on the ground as other members started asking for help from the backstage crew.

The crew came not long after and carried them out of the stage and towards the emergency room where the treatment of minor injuries was done during the performance.

You ran behind them in hopes to stay with them as long as you could. You were worried from the morning as they looked comparatively pale.

You did give some medicine mixed inside their drink but you figured it wasn't enough or they simply didn't drink it.

You collided rather strongly with someone when you were on your last step on the stairs to go to the backstage, you didn't even dare to apologize or say a word as you pushed the person aside and ran as fast as you could towards your member.

Your were anxious as they had never lose consciousness like today as your other members were also running behind the crew.

You excused yourself mumbling sorry towards the other artist who were backstage as you kept colliding with them.

Backstage was always packed with little to no space as there were so many idols solo/group who were waiting for their turn, not everyone get to have a chance of having the waiting room all to themselves since there weren't much rooms so when you were done with your makeup and styling you get lead outside backstage to wait up for your performance.

You never really saw it as a hassle, it hadn't been much time since you debuted therefore you didn't realize how frustrating backstage was untill some inconvenience like this happened.

▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️

"Hyung, let's go to the emergency room to check if your arm is alright."

They were all currently huddled inside the waiting room after their stage performance ended and Jun realized that his arm which collided with the wall is a bit sore due to the impact.

"Seungkwan take him to the emergency room."

Seungkwan immediately pulled Jun up after Seungcheol told him to take him to the emergency room and both the boys made their way towards the room while the rest stayed behind doing their own things.

They reached the emergency room, the nurse helped Jun with his arms and put a bandage on it.

"Seungkwan?" both the boys turned towards you when they heard your voice, you were carrying two bottles of water in each hands. You bowed in their direction, when the nurse finished dressing his sore arm both of them made their way towards where you stood.

"How's your group member?"

"They're fine."

"What exactly happened to them though I met them yesterday they were fine."

Jun stood there quietly listening to both of you, his awkwardness kicking in as he didn't know what to say. Seungkwan wasn't even introducing him to you neither he was acknowledging his presence so he just stood there a bit far watching you two talk.

"They said that they were sad because yesterday after talking with you they bumped into someone and that person said sorry and you know their soulmark is really common one so they misunderstood that stranger as their soulmate, which happenes almost all the time and they were so disheartened they didn't take their medicine nor eat anything so they fainted."

Seungkwan and your group was really close and therefore you could tell anything to him so you didn't mind telling him that.

"Oh is that so? That's sad. My Hyung here as the same soulmark as your member, 'first word written on the part of their body' one and although Hyung has been in many relationships before he still couldn't find his soulmate."

Jun eyebrows furrowed when he heard Seungkwan say his name and glare at him making you laugh loudly. Jun's expression completely changed when he looked at you, his heart skipping a bit at how beautiful you looked while laughing heartily.

"Some people dated once and found their soulmate, then there's you doing audition."

You stopped laughing as you looked at their expression feeling like you crossed your limits and offended him.

"I'm sorry." you quickly bowed towards him and the only thing Jun could mutter in utter embarrassment after hearing you say those words was.

"I didn't even audition for my company."

You felt a tingling feeling in your right shoulder as you heard him say. Yours, Jun and Seungkwan's eyes widened as soon as those words were said. Both the boys stood there in front of you shocked.

Seungkwan knew what his Hyung's mark said, he never ever asked about yours but the expression you both had gave it away that both of you were indeed soulmate. Seungkwan chuckled gaining both of yours attention and broke your staring contest with Jun.

"Yah, get out." Jun kicked Seungkwan out of the room and locked the door behind so the younger wouldn't come and disturb again.

You heart beat increased as he slowly made his way towards you, he was suddenly full of confidence with zero awkwardness with a hint of mischief in his eyes.

The duality this man held was really something out of this world.

He stopped when he was close enough to you, you put your head down unable to keep up with his intense look. The atmosphere suddenly went from soft to hot in no time.

You gulped when he hooked his index finger below your chin and made you face him. He leaned down placing a sweet and soft kiss on your lips.

He broke the kiss and you still stood there, eyes still close as you breathed his scent. He smiled when you finally locked eyes with him again and put his hand on your shoulder to play with your hair.

"I really thought I would say something cool to you as my first word but my thoughts got jumbled up when I looked into your eyes but I had to make up for it."

You laughed ruffling his hair and he looked at you endearingly.

"I'm sorry, for breaking your arm."

"I would have slammed myself on the wall hundereds of times if I knew it would lead me to you."

A blush crept up your cheeks as you push him away laughing at his cheesy self but you won't mind hearing his cheesy lines for lifetime.

▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️

"Baby, I want to cherish our warmth, So no one can come between us, Tell me, you’re mine, I’m in you squirming inside, I’m suddenly afraid, What do I do? Without you my heart has no home, I’ve kept my insides empty for you."

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tbtssstuff · 4 years

Text

When they see you in glasses for the first time

Hi guys Cinnamon Admin here so excited to have finally finished my first request! So so sorry that this took so long to write I have just been so uninspired to do anything for a long time but I finally am back and ready to be consistent in writing again! Thank you so much to @boringusername22 for requesting this one, it was a lot of fun to write especially because I wear glasses myself 😁 I hope you enjoy it!

Masterlist

Mel/Cinnamon Admin

Jin

He last minute showed up at your apartment and called you to come down stairs and take a walk with him

Excited to see your boyfriend, you slipped on your shoes and went down stairs to meet him.

Once you got down his jaw dropped

You looked so cute, your outfit consisted of your slip on vans, pajama shorts, one of the hoodies he gave you (which was way too big on you and you had sweater paws), a messy bun, and then something that surprised him were the glasses you were wearing

You asked him what was wrong, and he smiled shyly said “Nothing is wrong, it’s just I’ve never seen you wear glasses before.”

You reached up touching your glasses and blushed, totally forgetting you were wearing them and said “Oh yeah, I- I was just excited when you told me you were here so I just kind of rushed out and forgot to put my contacts in.”

He walked over to you and grabbed your hand and started walking and said, “Well I think you should wear them more often because you look adorable!”

Namjoon

You just picked up your new glasses and decided while you were out you were going to pick up some coffee to bring to the studio for Joon because he’s been there since 5 in the morning and you figured the caffeine would be appreciated

When you got up to the right floor, you rang the bell and waited patiently knowing he was working on a track as you could hear the music playing through the door

You knew he was coming when the music paused and you heard him sigh

“Jungkook-ah I asked you not to disturb me anymore right now because I’m trying to finish this so-… Oh hey (Y/N)” He said shocked because he was not expecting to see you

You giggled at his confusion and walked past him into his studio to set down the coffee “Hi Joon, I was out and about so I wanted to treat you to some coffee to take a break because you’ve been working so hard lately.”

He smiled and walked over to give you a kiss and paused because he just noticed your glasses

“Babe, you have glasses?” He asked because he swears he has never seen you wearing them before.

You smiled and said “Yeah I’ve never needed them before, but recently my vision has been kind of blurry, so when I went for my exam they told me that I am near sighted. I didn’t tell you because I wanted it to be a surprise, what do you think?”

He pretended to inspect your glasses, “I think they make you look even more beautiful than you already are.” He said giving you a sweet peck on the lips.

Yoongi

You invited Yoongi over to hang out with you at your apartment today

At one point you decided you were going to try to cook something and like the clumsy one you are, you spilled sauce on you and it got into your hair so you needed to take a shower, leaving Yoongi sitting on your bed waiting for you

Initially his plan was to take a nap because he is a sleepy boi

When he laid down though, he spotted a case on your nightstand and got curious so he grabbed it and looked inside and there were glasses

He was confused because he has never seen you wear glasses before

When you came out of the shower you were still towel drying your hair when you saw him holding your glasses and you suddenly gasped running over to grab them from him and hid them behind your back

Yoongi was startled by your sudden outburst and asked you what was wrong

Embarrassed at how badly you freaked out you sat on the bed with your head down and said, “I didn’t want you to know that I wear these, I usually wear contacts because I look like a nerd when I wear my glasses.”

He scoffed and you and asked “(Y/N) do you think I’d love you any less because you wear glasses?”

You nodded your head no

“Then there is no reason to hide it right?” His cheeks started to get a little warm as he added, “And besides I think glasses are kind of hot…”

You giggled “Do you want me to try them on?” you asked nervously.

“Yeah let me see.” He said

When you put them on he just smiled at you and leaned in to give you a kiss, “I knew you would still look cute even with glasses, but I didn’t think they would make you look this cute.”

Hobi

One day he would ask you to help him write lyrics because he needed the inspiration

When you sat down to get started he didn’t expect you to pull out a pair of glasses

“Hey (Y/N) since when have you worn glasses?”, he asked pointing at the case.

“Oh theses things, I’ve needed them all my life, but I’m farsighted, so I only need them when I’m reading and writing.” you explained to him

He said “Oh no wonder I’ve never seen you with them before” laughing a little bit

“Go ahead and put them on I wanna see how they look.” He said a little too excited to see you in glasses

“You chuckled at him and said “Okay, okay I just need to clean them.”

After they were clean enough to your standards you put them on and looked at him and his expression caught you off guard

He had the biggest grin on his face almost making you laugh “What are you smiling so much for huh?” you asked amused at your boyfriend’s inability to hide his emotions

“I just think I have the most attractive girlfriend ever with or without glasses is all.” He said still staring at you.

“Oh stop it babe, let’s get to work on these lyrics.” You said with a slight blush on your face.

Jimin

Jimin wanted to meet up at a cafe for lunch today

As you were getting ready this morning you decided to wear your glasses instead of your contacts because your eyes were feeling kind of dry so you figured you would give them a break for once

When you got to the cafe he was already there, donning his mask and hat so people wouldn’t recognize him, but your did because you’d recognize your boyfriend anywhere

When you sat at the booth he looked up to acknowledge you and did a double take when he saw your glasses

“Woah babe I love your glasses! I didn’t know you needed them.” He said taking in how cute you looked.

“Oh yeah I usually just wear contacts because glasses are such a hassle sometimes, but today my eyes were feeling dry.” you said picking up your menu

“Well I would love to see you wear them more because they look so good on you.” He said sweetly

Taehyung

You decided to stay the night at the dorm to hang out with Tae and the boys, and after you showered you put on your glasses and came out into the main room to cuddle by Tae on the couch

At first he wouldn’t notice because he was scrolling through Tik Tok giggling at whatever he was watching

After watching a few more videos he turned to you to show you one that he found while you were in the shower and he noticed your glasses

“Hey (Y/N) am I crazy or are you wearing glasses?” He asked jokingly

“Yeah I only wear them at night because I wear contacts most of the day.” You said giggling at the video he showed you

“Baby you should wear your glasses more often because you look so cute!” He said as an idea popped in his mind.

Tae decided he wanted to take a selfie with you because you looked too cute to not

He went and grabbed his glasses and started taking a barrage of selfies of you both excited to twin with you.

Jungkook

Kookie is a silly boy and that’s one of the reasons you loved him

So one day you decided to wear your glasses with the outfit you were wearing to your library date with him

At first when you walked up to sit with him he didn’t recognize you and said “Sorry miss this seat is for my girlfriend.”

Rolling your eyes you lifted up your glasses and his eyes went wide.

“Sorry babe I totally didn’t recognize you! I didn’t know you wear glasses.” He said shocked that he didn’t recognize his own girlfriend.

“Wow I didn’t think I had the Clark Kent effect” You said laughing at how genuinely confused he was because he didn’t recognize you because of the glasses.

“Yeah I guess you can say I’m not the smartest Kookie in the jar” He says raising his eyebrows for the pun

You giggle “Yeah that’s true, but you’re the sweetest Kookie so i think I’ll hold onto you” you say winking at him.

He chuckles and pulls your seat out for you so you can start studying, just admiring how cute you look with glasses.

#When they see you in glasses for the first time #bts scenarios #bts imagines #fluff #pure fluff #kim seokjin #kim namjoon #min yoongi #jung hoseok #park jimin #kim taehyung #jeon jungkook #crackheads #tbtsstuff #bantangboys #cinnamonadmin

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kiaraspeaks · 3 years

Text

Anansi x Female!Reader: In a flash we'll meet again.

You hope that he understands one day, his father is a complicated man. Man? That's a stretch of the imagination right there. You loved Anansi, loved him more than anything and anyone else in the world, besides Charlie, but, you couldn't stay with him. Children only are able to see what you put in front of them, and Anansi painted just enough of a vision of himself to hide his world from your child. Children. What a fucking mess that is. There are days that you wished that you hadn't met him but that's a pointless line of thought, Anansi desired you, to know you, to have Charlie, long before any war. He may have driven you up a wall at one point but he was family, and you knew that despite any differences when you called he would always come.

After all that's how you met, you weren't trying to summon a God. But praying for somebody, anybody, to stop this man chatting you up in the bar. You came for a quick drink at Randy's Divebar, Anansi materialized nearby (or perhaps he was waiting in the wings the whole time, just waiting, as he had done your entire life) what might be a hideous green and yellow floral pattern worked for him, long lean lines that might make someone else seem imposing made him even more inviting despite the man yammering on and on about himself.

"Bothering you?" He said, he inhaled on the cigarette and blew smoke into the face of the man hassling you. Whichever meathead that was hassling you didn't take kindly to it, but Anansi didn't care, had never cared, didn't care that he was thinner and obviously more breakable. He out maneuvered everyone before ever setting foot in any room, that included you too. "Move."

"Or what?" They said, he'd been hunched over you for the better part of the night but he was standing up rod straight and cutting an imposing figure. First, Anansi smiled, something you learned much later masks more pain and irritation than any human body could tolerate. Next, he picked up his glass and drained it and turned it over in his hands a few times. You heard it, the sound of the glass shattering, the crunching of the bones in his face, and finally saw the mess of the meathead's face. They ran out screaming, bleeding and crying. You should've been positively frightened but you weren't. Not even as Anansi plucked glass out of hands and tossed it into the drink of the man who had annoyed you.

"That wasn't necessary." You said and nursed your drink. The bartender didn't say anything, clearly they had some type of understanding. They moved further down to tend to other customers.

"Maybe so," He said, the cigarette perched perfectly in the corner of his mouth. He pulled out the splintered shards of glass like it didn't hurt, the blood didn't bother him. He raised his bloody hand and signaled for two drinks. "But it was fun."

"For you."

"Well maybe I'll have to work harder to impress you next time." He said.

"What makes you think there will be a next time, and why would you try?" You said, he smirked, didn't smile. His smirks were harmless, adorable, thoughtful. It's dangerous to know a God so closely. You would call it fate, but Anansi hated such words. After all he thought the only stories that were written in stone were penned by him.

"You're Mr. Nancy's girl, why not try?"

"And who is Mr. Nancy?" You asked, two drinks are placed between you both and then a small container of gauze. Anansi grabbed the gauze and one of the drinks, he poured the liquor over his wounded hand and allowed it to drip perfectly into the glass with the bloody shards. He doesn't wince, sigh or suck in deep breaths of air as the booze washes over his wounds.

"Someone important, snappy dresser, charming, and I hear that he might even be single."

"If I'm his girl how is he single?" You asked,he wrapped his hand with an ease that told he got into these types of scuffles often. Again, you learn Anansi doesn't take on any war that isn't already won, that includes your heart.

"Well that sounds like a proposal if I ever heard one." He said.

"You're Mr. Nancy?"

"My friends call me Mr. Nancy, but you, you can call me whatever you want."

"What's your name?" You asked. Another charming smirk, no madness in the eyes, he tapped the growing mountain of ash into the glass with the shards and the blood and tainted alcohol, he killed the light on the cigarette and topped .

"Have dinner with me and I will tell you." He said.

"You don't even know me, Mr. Nancy."

"Well, I want to get to know you, otherwise we wouldn't still be having this conversation." He said, "Do you want to get to know me?"

"I think so." You said, he held out his undamaged hand to you and you shook it.

"My name is Anansi, and it's wonderful to finally meet you." He said and bowed his head and kissed your hand, and when he asks your name you tell him. You don't know it then but you love him, someone so in love with who you are, starting with your name and every other story that you're apart of. You expected dinner much later, perhaps in a couple days but it didn't take much prodding to get you out. Randy's food at the divebar wasn't very good and you didn't feel like fiddling with the oven tonight.

----

You wished that you could properly explain to your son that his father was a God and that made him half and if he chose have kids that would make them a fraction and yet with all the potential of full Gods. There just never is enough time and never a correct way. Even you struggle at times, Anansi appears to just be a man, impeccably dressed, always on time, and two steps ahead at any given time. You had time to walk away, if anyone could imagine doing such a thing, but you knew something was diffferent, something was wrong. Anansi warned you that he got mixed up with some bad people, that bad times might be coming eventually, gave you time to leave, time to ask questions. Maybe you didn't want to know, perhaps you thought you already knew, you suspected he was a criminal but never a God.

Sometimes he's in two places at once, some times things fall to the floor, teleport across the room, but there are times when he is so far removed from you, nothing can bring him back from that place. You were tired of being ignored, once upon a time being Nancy's girl meant something but now it meant going to bed alone and waking up alone, sometimes with Anansi having not moved from his spot in a chair at all. You came in, surprised he wasn't in a haze, he seemed to be waiting on you.

"You're late." He said. An observation and an accusation. You weren't cheating on him, you could, there were so many who wanted you and yet here you were...alone in your own relationship. The perks of being Nancy's girl.

"So." You said, he went days at a time in the same household and yet not saying a word. How dare he get up for going one night without seeing you. You'd met up with co-worker, Higgler, went out for drinks. No harm in that.

"I waited."

"I didn't ask you to do that."

"I must be confused," He said and stood up and walked into the the kitchen and came to stand beside you. "Is something wrong?"

"No, you tell me, Anansi."

"Are you drunk?" He asked, yes, you were but that wasn't why this was happening. This conversation was begging to be had for a while now.

"Does it matter? Would you even care?"

"I care. Of course I care." He said, then said your name softly and pulled you into his arms. You stay still for a moment but it's hard to resist him, always has been since the moment you met him.

"Why won't you just talk to me?" You asked softly into his chest.

"Would you believe me if I told you?"

"You've never struggled with being convincing before." You said and looked up at him. Then he smiled at you, looked through you and then pulled away.

"Take a seat."

"What's wrong?"

"I'm about to tell you who I am and you should probably sit down." He said, so you do and he does tell you. Your head doesn't split open and you don't die but initially you think he's lying. He can't be a God! He just can't be! It's your human nature to emphatically deny what you don't understand.

It takes more than him politely explaining who and what he was. He sighed heavily and walked away from you. He stood in the center of the kitchen and raised one hand and touched the ceiling and flattened it, then his other hand and used his weight to pivot and climb the ceiling. If that wasn't enough, his forehead was lined with eyes and large fangs extended from his mouth. A birth defect? A disability, possibly. He can see this is a lot and came to sit at his feet.

“This can be a lot for most people.” He said.

“I’m not most people.” You said.

“I know, that’s why I chose you.” You looked down at him and took the cigarette from his hand and he lit it for you.

“What type of God are you?” You ask after a long while, you go through two more cigarettes before you feel steady enough.

“Jack of all trades.” He said. “The people need to be safe and laugh.”

“You make them all laugh?”

“I can change the story but not completely remove it, important parts have to stick. Humans are sticky and linked to one another, I can only ease the journey.” He said. “Wisdom in the form of entertainment has been easiest, you know it’s hard to tell a stupid motherfucker they’re doing something wrong.”

“Are you apart of my story?”

‘Do you want me to be?” He asked, you stand up and he doesn’t look away. Perhaps, reflecting during these final moments you see what it is. Blind faith. He believed in you. Despite him hating fate, kismet, whatever you wanted to call it, he always knew you’d choose him. Like a good book, you’d always return, even if there was an entire ocean separating you. If you couldn’t then he’d come to you. He couldn’t unmake himself a God, much like your boy won’t be able to burn away that part that calls out and sings so sweetly. You held out your hands to him and he took them.

“How long can you stick to the roof?”

“It’s not a party trick.” He said and wrapped his arms around you, holding you tight and spinning around with you. When he placed you back down you were standing in the bedroom.

“Says who, spiderman?” You asked and you both laugh. It’s a period of adjustment like nearly everything in your life.

----

You ultmately wish for your boy to understand that everything has a sunrise and sunset. You loved Anansi inspite of every red flag you ever saw crop up, and there came a time where loving and being in love wasn't enough. He was your husband, your best friend and beacuse of that you came to a proper agreement. A moment would come when this world and this war was too dangerous. Your boy, charlie, loathed his father because they were too much alike, both parading around in facades, both busybodies in the worst ways, both too damned pigheaded to say what was on their mind truly at times.

"So you're going to leave?" He asked, it was one of the dumbest thing you'd heard him say. You were finally debased to obvious observations, he was always so well spoken and right now he was holding up a wall watching you in your living room. You'd moved from Chicago to Florida, created a life for one another, brought a child into the world, spoke truth into the world only to watch it crumble away partly due to an invisible war you never saw and the fact Anansi spent more times chasing stories than keeping you happy. Those stories always came in many faces, younger, healthier, livelier people who seemed so different from you.

"Bags are packed. This is where we should leave things."

"You're being very cordial about this."

"And you're smiling, are you happy about this too?" You said and pointed out, he ran his tongue over his teeth and tried to remove the smile but failed. He was angry, but so were you for so many reasons you'd never share. If he loved stories so much he could keep up with them without embarassing his son every forty five minutes and neglecting his wife, he'd always be a God and you'd always be a human who might have bit off more than she could chew. Charlie was a God too, no matter how shy and withdrawn he'd became.

"I know what you're thinking." He said and slid his hands into his pcokets.

"I assure you don't." You said, "Maybe in another time but I can't--"

"Can't what?"

"Can't play second fiddle forever to whatever story you're chasing." You said, "Not for you or for any man."

"Maybe not a man, but a God?" He asked. He pushed off the wall and walked over to you. After years together charm wears off, the butterflies die but familiarity never changes. Falling into step has become second nature, you are so far from the young woman impressed by the cool headed man with brute strength who won every battle before he ever picked an arena. "I know you think you're making the right choice."

"And what do you think?" You asked, "And I want you to really tell me, no cheating, no looking into the future."

"I think that no matter where you go, all you have to do is call and I'll come."

"You'll have three more people moved in before the end of the week." You said, you need to say it so that you know this is really over.

"Doesn't make it any less true." He said and you hold out your hand to him.

"When I'm gone, promise you'll be here for him, he'll need you." You said, he took your hand and dropped down onto one knee and kissed the back of it.

"I'll do my best."

"That's all I can ask for." You said and placed your hand on the top of his head and then pulled away and lifted up your last bag and started towards the door. "If I ever call...it will be to say goodbye."

"So this isn't goodbye." He said and teleported beside the door.

"No, this is just farewell for now." You said and walked out. You don't look back, you don't need to, you don't know exactly what binds him here but hopes he finds something to free himself.

----

You hope one day he understands that his father is not a man and will never behave like one. He doesn't have to, he's not even bound to this planet let alone it's rules, but you hope one day that Fat Charlie realizes he is so much more than just a man and to live the life he really wants to. You can feel when the life starts to leave you and you want all your affairs in order. You move across the country and then out of the country and Charlie followed. He grew bitter and irritated with his father seeing his flambouyant and exuberant personality as a flaw instead of something to carve out in himself. You don't expect cancer to take you, but you've lived a full life and hope Charlie does the same.

You don't expect Anansi to actually show, you don't expect the band, or the kiss that would knock you off your feet if you weren't already in bed plugged up to machines. The nurses enjoy the change in pace and so does Christine, your roommate. Anansi is lively and brings a bottle to celebrate your new change in life, or so he calls it that.

"I'm sick." You said, "I'm dying."

"You're all dying, but it's not a bad thing, and I'm right here, like I promised."

"Still a man of your word down to the parade." You said, you thought the times you got drunk and waxed poetic he hadn't paid attention. You were glad some things hadn't slipped through the cracks. "Talk to Charlie?"

"No, no, you know how he is. Always on about something."

"He's your son and when I'm gone he's all the family you got left."

"You consider yourself family?"

"You wouldn't cross an ocean for no reason." You said. He slid his chair closer, placing his hand over yours.

"You look good." He said, he's older now, or that's what he wants you to think. A little sag here, a bit more hunched over. You've watched him shift his entire body to fit his agenda, this is no different.

"I'm old and bald, Mr. Nancy." You said,

"Call me Anansi."

"Or whatever I want, right?"

"Right." He said and laughed. "But you look good regardless of what you've got. If you could do anything, what would you do?"

"Besides live?"

"Yes, besides that." He said and held your hand in his. His hands have grown harder, rougher. Less story telling, more fighting, much more hard work than he ever should've been used to.

"I want to travel, really see the world, you know I always talk about it but things got in the way, and then Charlie came and I couldn't just take off."

"Yeah, I think I'd lead that boy to an early grave." He said and you both laugh together. A hearty laugh that you didn't know you needed. "Well let me get some things in order first and you'll have it."

"Look, Anansi--"

"You're Nancy's girl, right? You'll have what you need." He said, and you believe him. A spinner of tales he might be but never a liar, at least when it came to you. "Say it."

"I'm too old for this shit."

"No, I'm too old for this. You're exactly where you're supposed to be." He said and you smile, it's been so long since you've done that, you've done more smiling now than you have in the last couple of years. "Say it."

"Say what?"

"You're Nancy's girl."

"I'm your girl." You said and smile again, you mean it, after all these damn years away from him, only an hour together and you've fell back into patterns.

"Kiss on it?" He asked, ever the slick and sly trickster. It has been many years since you've kissed him, it's not just flesh to flesh, he can pour something into you that you didn't know you needed.

"If that's why you came then sure."

"No not the only reason but you know you got what'll make a man sell his soul to the devil and cross the sea." He said, he stood up and leaned over you, not making you work too hard. He leaned on the button helping you lean back and pressed his lips to yours, tilting your head up. You feel it, a tingle, something that starts to brighten and jump to life inside you. You are not a spring chicken anymore, but he makes parts of you spring to life as if you were in the first bloom of your life. "Damn, girl."

"What are you on about?" You asked.

"Nothing, you called, I came, like I told you I would. I've got to get back before anyone knows I'm missing."

"Don't forget to say goodbye to your son."

"Oh, I won't." He said and raised your hand up one final time and kissed the back of it. You watch him go and know you'll see him again but you won't be among the living, this is your last time. You are unsurprised when your tests come back negative and you're discharged. The cancer is gone, dead within seconds, and when you return home you find plane tickets waiting on your counter. Anansi is more than a man and that's okay, you hope Fat Charlie sees that.

-----

You are dead. You know that. You hope Charlie can learn to forgive his father for being so boisterous, larger than life and embarassing, but he is his father's child and it is hard for them to see eye to eye on any damn thing. You rise from the hotel bed and walk over to the balcony and you wait for him because you know he's going to come, or you're going to find him. The land of the dead is silent, there are others, you can see them walking about, playing in the park, running with their dogs, kissing and holding hands, going on strolls. For a moment you think you won't see him, you leave, no need to gather your things, you won't need them.

Anansi once told you about the after life, about what may or may not await you depending on which road you walked. You knew he said he'd never be far behind and you believe that, you believe in him. You step out of the hotel, turn right and walk, going purely on intuition, the hotels and beach towns wash away, through the forests you continue, climb the necessary hills. As you come upon a different world you note your knees don't hurt, your feet don't ache and neither does your back. At the top of a hill is a cave, you pass through the mouth of it and felt something shake and shimmer over you as you enter the room.

It is a large single room, a grate pit in the center of the room surrounded by cushions. There are portraits on the orange walls and shadows dance about the room, you're sure exactly from where. He is laying back on the cushions, his head is pillowed on his arm and staring up at you. He is different, more himself, his true self. His hair is longer, and he has many eyes that line his forehead, and many arms that line his torso. He has a book hand, is weaving with another and waving from a completely different hand.

"You found me." He said.

"For now, I don't think I can stay here, can I?" You asked.

"Not the end of your journey, I'm afraid. Soul like yours comes around once in every few flashes."

"Flashes?"

"It's complicated. You'll learn. All afterlifes are the same in one way or another."

"How much time do we?"

"Oh, as much as you want." He said and dug between the cushions and held a bag of sand. "Sand of times, snatched it off some kid on the way home. Felt like we'd need some time together."

"For what?"

"Whatever you want."

"And Charlie?"

"He'll be fine, smart kid with a good head on his shoulders." He said, he pushed himself up and kept tossing the bag up in the air.

"Tell me what you did when I left." She said.

"Now that is a story..." He said, you walked over to him and the things he semed to be doing to keep himself busy disappeared. He welcomed you with open arms, when you wrap your arms around him the room changes with a snap. You are back in the bar you met in, you pull away and look up. Yes. This is Randy's. Same dumpy dive bar where he inserted himself in your life and you let him. He walked away and over to the bar and picked up the glass of bloodied glass shards, tainted alcohol and ash from his cigarette.

"WHat's is this about?" You asked. He picked up the second glass and poured it into the concoction.

"Drink it."

"You think I'm crazy?"

"You trust me, right?" He said and held it out to you, "Besides, you're already dead."

"There's so much worse you can do."

"Says who?"

"Says whoever you snatched that sand from." You said.

"Touche." He said, but you drink it anyway. A drink. A potion. Whatever it is it makes your head spin, you feel whatever entity you are shift and turn inside out and the sound from Randys came back but it was different. Not a dusty dive bar but the scent of it is still the same and so is the chipped bar. You and Anansi stood at the back of the crowded bar, someone at the front was tearing it up on a saxophone.

"I made arrangements." Anansi said.

"For?"

"Our boy." He said, and yes, why it is Charlie but he's different. Alive in a way you could never put your finger on as his mother. But you see it, at his core, what makes him a God and a man and they're not at war with one another.

"True to your word, why does that make me feel like we're coming to the end of our journey?"

"We'll meet again, a soul like yours, shines too bright." He said. You nod your head in agreement, you sip the drink again and feel yourself start to break and shift. Charlie climbs down from the makeshift stage and tries to part the crowd, but you are dust in the wind.

Blood.

Glass.

Liquor.

Ash.

----

You are flesh, bone and free will, but you do not have direction. Perhaps that's why you hover here at Mausoleum of the fallen. The entities that are sculpted here are beautiful some made of marble, others onyx, you walk by and sense that you are not alone. You know you are a flash, a shift in the cosmic energy and a rarity, you will continue to hide amongst of the morals, walk between the worlds of Gods and mortals....and then there they are far in the back of the Mausoleum.

"What are you?" You asked.

"Choice." They said, the God walked out, impeccably dressed, "Always on time, I see."

"I don't understand."

"You will."

"Gods have never come to meet me before."

"This is different and I'm not just any God," He said.

"How many flashes have we suffered one another?" You asked, you're not sure but instinct in not something you need to find. This multi-eyed creatures stares at you with fondness.

"Seventeen."

"That is not chance, that is planned." You said.

"Yes."

"Why is this different?" You asked, They held up a tumbler of alcohol with ash and glass shards floating in it. You look away back to the statues, there are handfuls of Gods that are necessary, some haven't been seen in eons, they play it fast and loose and are wild cards. You wonder which one he'll be.

"Just is." He said, you have no reason not to trust him despite being gifted with these instincts. You reach for the tumbler but he pulled it back away from you. "The past couple times I meddled but now you have a chance, a real chance."

"You don't think I'll choose you." You said and tilted your head to the side to study them. "Even though you chose me all these cycles."

"The last cycle was different, you walked away, for good, only called when you were about to die."

"And so you wanted to know that now I'd choose you."

"Yes."

"Fascinating."

"How so?" He sked.

"Even Gods, in all your wisdom and knowledge, have your insecurities."

"We invented them, mortals just inherit them."

"Now what will we do afterward?" You asked, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a bag full of sand.

"We have time to figure that out." He said and this time when you reach for the glass he allows you to take it. You drink it down down, swallowing the glass and ash and tainted alcohol, with each swallow you remember a different life, a different flash, eons of you doing this dance with him, each time you're different, the circumstances are different but the last time is by far the most daunting. Charlie. Oh, how many years has it been? Did your baby boy live well? "How do you feel?"

"Cold." You said and looked down and noticed you were naked. "I bet you think this is funny."

"Only in a cosmic way."

"Is Charlie--"

"He's fine, he's fine. Two wives, three kids, a bar. Living the dream." He said and shrugged out of his jacket and draped it over your shoulder. "We have time to catch up on him later, I've missed you."

"What do you want to do?"

"Lets go to a club, I need to stretch my legs."

"Which ones?" You said and then scoffed as you followed him out of the afterlife. You weren't sure where you were going but you trusted him enough, had trusted him after thousands of rebirths, what was so different this time? For so long you two had been together, maybe now you could stay together without the cruel hand of fate intervening. As you reached the portal you thought of one last thing. "Whatever happened to that war?"

"Oh. I ate the people that were pissing me off.. " He said.

"You're kidding."

"Only a little." He said. "No worries, no war this time, just you and me."

"The way it's supposed to be."

"The way it's always been."

#Mr. Nancy #Anansi #Anansi x Reader #Mr. Nancy x Reader #ag fic #ag

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justkending · 4 years

Text

Just Roommates. Chapter 24.

Series Summary: These two college friends have had years to grow together. Each being the others support system, adventure buddy, movie night partner, and dorky roommates. That is until things start coming to a new light in their relationship. At least for him… Is there something else there? Is it possible? Were these feelings always there?

Pairing: (Modern) Bucky Barnes x Reader

Warning: Fluff, Adulting, sexy-times mentions, language.

Word Count: 2000+

A/N: A little short and fluffy chapter for you all as I bring together the future of this series:) Hope you enjoy my dream world!

Chapter 24:

Sure enough... It wasn't much of a quicky. Bucky and Y/N ended up at their friends house a good 30 minutes later than everyone else, and it did NOT go unnoticed.

After coming out to the crowd at the gala about their relationship, they figured it was time to confess to their friend group as well.

But after Nat said, "Good God, it took you long enough. I've been waiting close to a month for you guys to finally say something." They realized that their little secret wasn't much of a secret at all.

Bucky had moaned and groaned as the boys hassled him for waiting so damn long, and Y/N and the girls immediately started talking details as they sat around the fire in Wanda and Visions back yard. The night was simple, intimate, and a great memory compared to the annoyance that happened at the ball.

All of that was quickly left in the back of their minds after they had their sweet friend group gathering. Time together like that always gave them a little reboot when the world seemed to be going too fast. Who better to slow down with than your best friends?

3 Months later.

"Babe?" Y/N shouted from the front door as she came home from work.

"In my room!" he shouted back.

Bucky had been working at home more often because things had calmed down in the business. He never REALLY had to go in as much as he had to before, but being the good boss he was, he made sure to be present. Now, he was trying to find things to help with the No Soldier Left Behind center more, so it was easier to just set up shop in his room where he had a mini office to the side, and not have to worry about people distracting him.

"Hey," Y/N smiled as she leaned her head into the room.

Bucky looked up from his computer and sent her the same grin she was giving him.

"Hey gorgeous," he chuckled when she didn't come in fully. "You just going to hang out by the door, or are you going to come in and give me a 'Honey, I'm home' kiss?" he teased.

"I actually have a surprise for you," she said with a wider grin, but one that showed she was up to something. Bucky knew that smile a little too well.

"What did you do?" he questioned slowly pushing his chair back going to stand.

"Wait! Stay right there!" she shook her head, but her hands were behind her showing whatever the surprise was was behind her back. "First, I got flowers for the week," she said, bringing a bouquet of her weekly flowers out. "One of your favorites. Baby breath, lavender, and daisies."

"Thanks sweetheart. That's sweet, but why do I feel like another boot is about to drop?" he probed, tilting his head as he put his hands on the arms rest and leaned back. He wanted to stand and go to her, but she told him to not move, so here he was.

"Well, that's the second part of the surprise..." she said tilting her head more and scrunching her nose.

Damn that nose scrunch! She knew what that did to him.

"Y/N..." he drug out.

"Just close your eyes real quick-"

"Y/N."

"Please! Please! I promise it's a good thing!"

"You said that last time and I ended up with a face mask on and my hair in two french braids."

"Don't act like you didn't like it," she scoffed with a small rolling of her eyes. "You love spa night."

"Sam found out and said I lost a piece of my man card," he crossed his arms.

"No, you gained a piece because you're secure in your masculinity unlike 99% of men out there," she countered. "Forget that for now though! Close your eyes."

"I don't know what I'm getting myself into-"

"That's the best part!" she shouted with a loud sigh, "Close your eyes or else Buck." The last part was said with a hint of a threatening tone was all it took Bucky to surrender. He put his hands up before crossing them again and doing as she asked.

He wanted to peak and he was so close to doing it, but right when he was about to break she giggled.

"Ok, open 'em!"

Bucky wouldn't have even come close to guessing what was sitting in front of him. Outstretched in her arms was a white cat with even bluer eyes than him. His hair wasn't long, but it wasn't short, and he had a big bushy tail. He looked as if he was kinda small for a cat given he wasn't a kitten.

"You got a c-"

"A cat!" she jumped pulling the white furball back into her arms and cradling it as he purred to her.

Bucky didn't know how to react. He never had a pet growing up, and even if he were to, he imagined it would've been a dog. Not a cat. Cats always seemed so temperamental and angsty. But the way this one was looking at him made him second guess his quick judgement.

"Don't be mad. There was a girl trying to get rid of him by the shop where I usually get my flowers. She said it was either someone buy him from her, or she would have to take him to the shelter," Y/N was quick to explain. "I knew we would treat him right compared to another stranger on the street, and if someone didn't get him at the shelter they would probably put him down." The small pout on her lips and the longing look of the cat was all it took Bucky to let out his breath he was holding in and lean back in his chair.

"Ok."

"Wait... You're not mad?" she asked, turning her head to the side.

"No. You were just being you," he chuckled standing up and placing a kiss on her forehead.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she said furrowing her eyebrows.

"All good things Sassy. I mean you being you because you constantly are trying to help people, and apparently," he looked down at the cat who gave a loud purr where she was rubbing his tummy. "Animals too."

"Awe, Buck!" she smiled putting the cat down and jumping to hug him around the neck. "You're the best!"

"I know, I know," he laughed as he pulled her into him. "Hey, how about pasta for dinner tonight? I already have the meatballs ready to go."

"Oh, yeah. I've been craving Italian all day. It's like you know me really well or something."

"I know it's crazy, right?" he said looking down at her with a joking grin. "Come on you loon," he said, giving her a quick squeeze to the hip before walking toward the kitchen.

"I'm not a loon," she mumbled following him. "Wait!" she said jumping and bouncing on his back. He was quick to catch her and let out a laugh as he piggy backed her to the kitchen.

"A loon," he chuckled squeezing her calves.

______

Halfway through their meal, Bucky caught Y/N looking around as if inspecting the apartment.

The cat had curled up in the chair next to him having already taken a liking to the man of the house. Bucky every once in a while giving him a scratch on his ear, but still not really sure about the pet just yet.

"Ok, what in the world are you doing?" he finally asked as she furrowed her eyebrows in concentration for the 100th time in the past 15 minutes.

"Nothing, nothing," she shook her head with a light chuckle before snagging a piece of garlic bread.

"That's not nothing. You've been in one of your dream worlds for the past 5 minutes. I can see it in your eyes," he jestered, filling their wine glasses again. "Are you redecorating the house in your head again?"

"Well..."

"Y/N you literally changed the entire layout of the living room just 2 days ago." He couldn't hold back that laugh.

"Ok, but hear me out!" she shouted forgetting her meal and leaning forward with her leg propped up next to her. "How long do you plan on living here?"

"You mean the flat?"

"Yeah," she nodded.

"Uh, I mean I don't know. I haven't really thought about it," he shrugged, grabbing his wine and relaxing in his chair. "I own it now, so I could sell it anytime."

"Have you ever wanted to live somewhere else?" she questioned propping her chin in her hand as she watched him intently.

"Uh," he paused really thinking about it. I guess if he had a choice he did have a place he always imagined. "Upstate New York actually. I always imagined still being close to friends, but far enough out of the city it would be quite at night. No city lights making the night sky disappear, but instead being able to point out constellations and star gaze. I would have some land, a nice big house, and hell, maybe even a place I can build on and landscape some. I've always wanted to look into that stuff."

He hadn't even realized he was rambling about his dream world, until he finally looked up at Y/N who had a soft smile painted on her lips and admiration in her eyes.

"That sounds beautiful B," was all she said.

Bucky smiled before taking a big sip of his wine. "It's all a dream though. That would be a lot of work to get there, and I'm not sure something like what I want even exist."

"Who says you can't make it exist?"

He looked up at the comment and Y/N was gingerly taking a sip of her own wine as she kept eye contact with him.

"What else do you have up your sleeve today, doll?" he said with a challenging look.

"Oh Buck. It's funny you think it's just today," she stood grabbing her finished plate and his. "I always have something up my sleeve. Every. Day." With that, she sashayed her hips to the sink with a smirk on her lips.

But Bucky was two steps behind, and as soon as the dishes were no longer in her hands, he was already picking her up.

"Tell me what's going on in that beautiful mind of yours Y/N!" he said fake biting at her shoulder, neck, and ear getting a laughing fit out of her.

"B, put me down!" she shouted as she tried to stop laughing, but his hands were already working their way under her shirt and tickling her stomach too. "Bucky!"

"Tell me!"

"Ok, ok! Put me down!'

He relented, sorta. He placed her to sit on the island, and then put his hands on either side of her thighs as he trapped her in. She wasn't leaving anytime soon if he had a say. Gently and ever so lovingly she leaned forward placing her forehead on his and smiled. Bucky loved when she did this cause it was intimate in a whole other way. It was like she was opening that mind of hers and letting him peak inside it.

"How do you feel about moving in together?" she whispered.

Bucky chuckled a little, but didn't move. "I'd say we seem to have already've done that."

"What about into your dream home? Our dream home?"

"What are you getting at Y/N/N?" he said, finally pulling back enough to see her face. He sweetly pulled some stray hair behind her ears as he kept eye contact with her.

"I mean... What if we moved in with each other for REAL, and got our dream house together? How would you feel about that?" Her big doe eyes were captivating and practically asking Bucky to give them the world.

All he could do was let that lopsided grin he only gave to her, grow on his face.

"I would say that sounds like an even better dream than I could imagine."

Just Roommates:

@starfirerules @buckys-blunders @alexxcorona113 @tcc-gizmachine @vrgelivvvv @nighttwingg @firefly-in-darkness @mizzzpink @poppunkdork @nerdygirlwithacrush @irespostthingsiwanttoseelater @ellaenchanted91 @sebbbystaaan

Marvel Tags:

@thejourneyneverendsx @death-unbecomes-you @heyiamthatbitch @zeilenkrieg @lizzymacy555 @iheartsebastianstan @srrymydood @xa-dia @redhairedfeistynerd

My Lovelies forever:

@natura1phenomenon @lauravic @traceyaudette @kakakatey @notyourtypicalrose @laneygthememequeen @awesome-badass-cafeteria-sauce @sandlee44 @thorne93 @snffbeebee @thefaithfulwriter @marvelfansworld @essie1876 @greyeyedsmile14 @capsiclehan @naomi02hook @xostephanie @averyrogers83 @awesomenursingstudent @gh0stgurl @cs-please @carls1022 @jjlevin @rainbowkisses31 @carls1022 @anise-d-castle6 @deannotmoose @their-bibliophile @kitkatd7

#bucky barnes roommate #bucky barnes x reader roommate au #marvel #marvel au #marvel roommate au #justkending #bucky barnes #bucky barnes au #bucky barnes roommate au #marvel fanfiction #marvel series #Marvel Family

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seiin-translations · 3 years

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2.43 S1 Chapter 2.3 - Dracula and Princess Briar Rose

3. GIRL’S MIND

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Seiin High School was located on a slope at the foot of a mountain, and it took twenty minutes to walk there from the shopping district in front of Nanafu Station. That was why the height difference between the school building and other facilities was so severe. The mountain behind the school building was flattened, and the first sports ground and the slightly narrower second sports ground were arranged like terraced fields, and the outdoors court was on the slope that ran beside those two grounds. That slope was about a hundred meters long, and it was the perfect course for hill running.

The dirt road, which had absorbed the sweat and curses and vomit from thousands of athletes since founding and was trampled down firmly by them, was bone dry from being exposed to the scorching September sun. The regulars were holding game-centered finishing practice for the Spring Inter-High volleyball qualifiers coming up later this month, so during that time, we first-years were assigned to do basic strength training. Our second-year senpais who weren’t on the bench were in charge of it, but these second-years were far stricter than the third-year captains.

“Ayano! Who said you can rest!? Get up and run!”

Our senpais’ angry voice flew at Ayano, who was sitting down halfway up the slope. Somehow, she managed to get up and unsteadily meandering up to where we were, before covering her mouth with an “Urp” and sinking down again. Without giving Ayano time to rest, they scolded, “If everyone’s here, then go down now!” We didn’t even have the energy to complain and came down the slope with our faces hanging down like exhausted slaves. Ayano, standing up while wheezing, was on the verge of tears. Ah, she might throw up… When I saw that, I felt like I was about to puke too, so I decided to not to look back at her.

I didn’t have it in me to reach out my hand today. In terms of physical strength, I was just as exhausted as Ayano, but it was just that I refused to sit down out of pride. I felt gross. My hips felt heavy. Sometimes my vision would suddenly go red and black. I think…that is coming. It was supposed to be still around four days away, so I got careless. Once I became possessed by that thought, I couldn’t stop worrying about the inside of my underwear. How many more times did I have to go up? Do I wait until club activities were finished? What would I do if I run to the washrooms right after and it really comes?

…It was no good. I had to tell them.

“Senpai…”

I called out to my senpais in a fidgety whisper, which was startling for me. Though it shouldn’t be something embarrassing because I saw other girls coming forward about it from time to time, I had to muster up all my mental strength to broach that topic.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

When I told them, I was unexpectedly readily allowed to leave for a short period. Apparently I looked sicker than I felt. Because I, who never whined like Ayano did, told them about it with a ghastly pale face, and it actually made my senpais panic instead.

I was strangely embarrassed about that certain time of the month that every girl had, and even in places where there were only girls, I was afraid to talk about it. Being afflicted with heavy menstrual pains didn’t suit a masculine girl like me if I do say so myself, and I felt like if people knew, they would judge me or be put off.

“Long hair doesn’t suit Ibara-chan.” —I felt like I was letting that kid down, the one who determined my character with an innocent smile. They would probably be picturesque when they fell asleep with menstrual cramps because they were so small, dainty, and fragile.

My motto was to stand up straight and walk with big steps, but I was currently slouching slightly and my stride naturally narrowed. While praying that I didn’t run into anyone, I hurried to the club room building. I was able to get out of club activities, but my crisis hadn’t actually gone away. I recalled not bringing my pouch with me because I didn’t think it was coming yet.

It would be bad if I just rummaged through Ayano’s backpack without asking her…I don’t want to go back now and ask her either…What should I do, what should I do…

There were several boys taking a break in front of the drinking fountain of the club room building. Crap, this was bad timing… I straightened my spine that was bending forward and casually walked past their backs. As I began to walk up the stairs, feeling gravity pulling at my hips ten times more than usual, I ended up slouching again, and right then,

“Suemori Ibara-saaaan. Please show us your panties again today!”

Hearing jeering voices from below, my hands immediately went to my butt. Four or five boys with stupid grins on their faces were looking up at me on the stairs, forming a weird cluster like giving each other neck locks. Were these the same idiots who told Ayano to show her panties last week?

Should I try to run upstairs and escape to the club room? But turning one’s back to the enemy is out of the question! Or should I run down and try to bring down divine punishment to these middle school-looking stupid boys—my head didn’t know what to do, so my body was at a loss, and my left and right feet twisted in a weird way and I ended up missing a step. My legs opened wide and one leg plunged through the gap between the steps, hitting the inside of my thigh hard. This impossible dullness from Suemori Ibara of all people!

“Woah ho, Suemori’s so lame!”

The boys laughed, but they too were indeed a bit flustered. The shame was more unbearable than the pain, and tears welled up in my eyes. The pain of a bruise was nothing compared to the shameful sight of spreading your legs above boys’ heads on the day your period arrived.

And then, someone from behind grabbed me by my arms and pulled me up.

“…Are you alright, Ibara-chan?”

A somewhat gloomy voice came down. The first thing I saw as I craned my neck, half suspended in midair, was red lips and a thin chin, so close that I panicked and pulled my face away.

Kanno, with a sports towel covering his head, was looking down at me worriedly.

“Don’t, don’t touch me!”

I pushed Kanno away without thinking and clung to the railing of the stairs. Kanno awkwardly withdrew his hands, which had lost their place, and apologized as usual. “I’m sorry…” It seemed like I had refused to let him help me up, but I simply didn’t want my body to be touched by Kanno right now… The stupid boys were still looking up at me from below the railing, so I squeezed my throbbing thighs together.

“Oh, okay…Ibara-chan.”

Right after Kanno looked like realized something, he pushed me to the back and stepped forward. My body, which had been hidden in the shade of the eaves, was now exposed to the sun, and I almost shouted, “Ah!” Right at that moment…

Bang!!

A metallic roar pierced my eardrums. My heart shrank, and the sounds that were about to come out of my mouth and the tears that had welled up in my eyes receded.

Kanno had kicked the railing. The towel had fallen, exposing his pale face.

As the shaking of the metal lasted faintly…

“Sorry, but please don’t tease people too much.”

That was said by a voice so meek and subdued that it made you wonder what was that outburst right before. It was directed at the boys who had stiffened in a mass below the stairs and were openmouthed, probably having braced themselves for an angry voice.

“Ibara-chan, come here.”

As though nothing happened, he dejectedly went into the shadows of the eaves again, called out to me and climbed up the stairs. I was rooted on the spot from amazement, but Kanno beckoned to me with his hands behind his back with a “Hey” and I crab-walked up the stairs, mindful of my bottom. Kanno went straight past the girls’ volleyball room that was second from the front and nimbly passed through the outside passageway that was already narrow but crowded by the junk overflowing from each room.

Relegated to the very end of the second floor, in a spot where it was a hassle to get in and out of, was the boys’ volleyball club room. This was just my own impression, but aura of losers was leaking out from the door gap.

“No one’s here right now, so feel free to come in. I just came here to get my stopwatch because I forgot it.”

Kanno said, opening the door and going in. There was no way I could just walk into the boys’ club room and say “Pardon the intrusion” if I was told “Feel free to come in.” As soon as I cautiously peeked in from the door, an indescribable smell of sweat hit me. It was completely different from the scent of the girls’ room I was used to smelling. It wasn’t mixed in with artificial smells like antiperspirant spray, just the smell of bare sweat. It couldn’t be called neat and tidy by any standard, with equipment, personal belongings and trash lying around, but I wondered if it was because we had three times the number of members that it looked emptier than the girls’ volleyball club room. Or, maybe it was simply because girls had more stuff.

Kanno opened the door of one of the lockers, rummaged around, found something and handed it over to me. It was a rectangular object with a short edge of about ten centimeters and long edge of about twenty centimeters, with a colored plastic bag wrapped around it. Its shape, size, and tight packaging, as well as the drugstore logo printed on the bag. A girl would recognize what it was right away, but—why was it coming out of Kanno’s locker!?

“C’mon, take it.”

Kanno said in a muffled voice, sticking his head halfway into his locker. Vividly reminded of a vampire who felt safe being in his own coffin, the picture was strangely familiar.

“And please close that door when you’re done. People will think I’m a pervert if they see this, so…”

“No, you’re enough of a pervert already…?”

Kanno awkwardly tossed it at me, like he was unable to bear its weight, and I had no choice but to yelp and catch the thing that flew. Hmm, there was no mistake about it, this feeling and lightness. There were probably about twenty-four inside to use for many days.

“I didn’t have it because I wanted to have it. I was sent to buy it before…They were probably betting on something, but when I came back, the guys who ordered me to do it were getting yelled at by a third-year and it ended there, then I wondered what I should do with these… I couldn’t have anyone see me have them, I couldn’t throw them away, and if I brought them home, my mom would probably faint.”

“They even made you do that…? When was that? Why didn’t you tell me? I did warn them to stop it.”

“I guess June…? I know you aren’t very good at talking about things like this, Ibara-chan, so I thought it would embarrass you if I talked about it…” June meant that Kanno had this in his locker for three months.

“So, please, use this.”

Kanno said, poking a third of his face out from the other side of his locker. Oh, I’m saved. For a moment, I was simply grateful, but——

I belatedly realized what this offer meant, and my face instantly turned hot.

“Wait, h-how did you kn…you, you really are a pervert…”

“I am not a pervert. It’s unfortunate. It’s rather obvious when you see it, you know? I’ve been practicing with girls since middle school… Don’t girls feel tired and look sick?”

“Yeah, but even other girls don’t know.”

“Huh? Really? But even when I’m there, they say things like, ‘Do you have that today?’… You always look like you’re in pain from the twentieth to the twenty-third…Wait, today’s still the sixteenth.”

“Just wait a minute and be quiet. How did you grasp my…you know…”

The important words wouldn’t pass through my throat, and I turned bright red, my chin wobbling. For me, it was a disgusting, taboo word to even say, something that would force me to transform into an unclean creature I didn’t want to be.

“That’s because I’m always watching you, Ibara-chan…”

“So you’re a stalker, creep!”

“No, you have it all wrong! Don’t call me a creep.”

When I cursed at him unthinkingly, Kanno hurriedly added to what he said with a hurt look on his face.

“I’ve always been your fan, that’s what I meant by always watching you…ah, it does sound kinda stalkerish, but I’m not…um…Ibara-chan, you always saved me, and that’s why I’m here in the girls’ club. If you weren’t here, I would have quit a long time ago, and I might have even quit school…My parents are just overjoyed that I’m going to high school, but they’re shocked that I’m joining the volleyball team again, and that’s all thanks to you. Volleyball is fun. You were also the one who taught me the fun of volleyball…You were the best at volleyball, you were always cool, confident, someone who I could never be on par with. But, lately, I’ve been wanting something more, and, um…”

He retreated into the shadows of the locker once again while restlessly shaking his gaze left and right, and he was coughing so much that I was wondering if he had trouble breathing. No, how should I put it…if someone who didn’t know him saw his behavior, he really would seem like a pervert, but…Kanno, who didn’t talk a lot normally, was earnestly talking like he was scraping up the fragments of words scattered all about his body. Unconsciously overawed, I was unable to interrupt. When he calmed his breathing and faced forward like he had resolved himself, his wandering eyeballs had settled, and his gaze was fixed on my face. He straightened his body that seemed like it was going to snuggly fit into the locker at any moment, and ah, that was when I was reminded that he had overtaken me in height a long time ago.

“Um, I like you, Ibara-chan.”

Right after he said that while looking me in the eye, fire erupted from his face with a thud and he covered his face his hands, exclaiming stuff like “Uwah.”

While Kanno found himself in a fix all by himself, I…

I was so calm that it was uncanny. It was not the time for going into raptures over being confessed to by a boy for the first time in my life.

So it’s like that…

While I was listening, something got stuck in my mind. It was in past tense, all of it. In other words, in Kanno’s head, I was no longer an existence that was cool, confident and the best at volleyball. It meant that the current me was “something I could be on par with.” Even I was very well aware of that, but the fact that I was told that from Kanno’s mouth when I was supposed to take a little more time to come to terms with it within myself was a shock that was like having my head chopped off by a guillotine, and with that shock…

The feeling of something somewhat warm sliding down my inner thigh finally overwhelmed me.

“Ibara-chan…?”

Kanno cautiously raised his face.

The me who was a supreme existence for Kanno had nowadays fallen to the point where I could be obtained if someone wanted me. No matter how much I aimed for the top, I would never be able to jump higher than I did now, but Kanno was undoubtedly continuing to nimbly soar higher and higher at this very moment. Instead of attaching extra fat to his chest and buttocks, he would be covered in more and more supple and strong muscles.

I guess you don’t remember anymore…

“Long hair doesn’t suit Ibara-chan. You’ll look more handsome if it’s shorter.”

That was something said to me. From the smallest and most delicate kid in class. Putting a spell on me to shun being a girl and be cool and handsome, he became independent from my protection before I knew, and on top of that, confessed to me, like I was a clown.

It was now clear that the scratchiness that I felt within me every time I saw Kanno was jealousy and hatred.

“…Sorry, but no.”

Kanno’s eyes widened for a second, and then his shoulders slumped in disappointment.

“The only thing I feel for you is jealousy. You were lucky enough to be born a boy, and without using much effort, you were able to snatch what I want so bad but could never get. You grew a lot, I see… Did you know? I haven’t grown a centimeter since a year ago. My jump power is dropping. I’m gonna be less and less able to jump, just like Ayano. I don’t want that… I don’t want to be Ayano. Being so heavy and shameful-looking, just lumbering around close to the ground…”

“Ibara-cha…don’t…”

When I said Ayano’s name, Kanno suddenly interrupted me with an accusatory voice. I was irritated, wondering if he was finally going to talk to me like he was condescendingly admonishing me. I was very on edge.

I noticed that Kanno’s gaze was directed over my shoulder towards the outside hallway. When I looked back, sure enough, Ayano was standing there. She was holding a sports drink and towel, and her eyes were wide.

What did I say just now—? I was horrified at the words my own tongue wove together.

“Oh, um, Ibara-chan didn’t come back, so I came to check on her, but well, I half did it because I wanted to skip,” Ayano was speaking quickly with a shocked look on her face, and then forced an “…Aha!” like she just remembered to do it. “Ah, haha…that’s right, that’s why I’m useless. I get fat too quickly and it’s no wonder that Ibara-chan hates me, so, so don’t worry about it…”

She suddenly cast down her face with the whitish smile and spoke in a small voice.

“They, they’ll get angry if we don’t back now…I’ll go on ahead...”

She said and turned on her heel. Without looking anywhere but forward, she ran past the girls’ volleyball room, swinging the big butt I had shamed just now and disappearing down the stairs. The sound of squeaky footsteps stamping down the steps became distant.

“Ibara-chan, you have to go after her.”

Kanno grabbed my arm. I, who was frozen, jumped, but my legs didn’t move. If I took even a step forward from here, my blood will…

“It-it’s fine, it’s fine, we’ll meet in practice soon anyways, and she’ll understand once I talk to her… It wasn’t like I was talking about Ayano, just girls in general…”

Of course I was lying. It wasn’t about girls in general or anything like that. While I was blathering to Kanno about stuff that was just me taking out my anger from the ends of my prejudiced mind, it was definitely Ayano who I had been picturing in my mind with contempt.

***

When I returned to practice, Ayano, who was supposed to have gotten back before me, was nowhere to be seen. When my senpais asked me with concern, “Ibara, are you alright?”, I subconsciously put on a tough front and said, “Everything was completely fine. Sorry for all the trouble,” and despite worrying about Ayano, I did the rest of the regimen with the same enthusiasm as everyone else.

When practice time ended and the outside court, which had been roasted by the late summer sun, was finally in the shade with a somewhat comfortable wind blowing, Ayano returned.

She was with Kanno. No way, did he go searching for her…? She whispered something to Kanno, and then came to inside of the fence while awkwardly shrugging her shoulders. Kanno was seeing Ayano out and he himself didn’t go inside, just watching from outside the fence. The sports towel was once again snugly tied around his head.

Ayano first ran over to the captain, received a scolding, and then joined us as we were putting away the net.

“Wh-where did you go? Ayano…”

I made my face up like nothing had happened and called out to her, but she didn’t meet my eyes. I wondered where had she been until now—the tip of her nose was red from being sunburnt. “Ayano, Ayano, what happened?” “Why did you come with Dracky?” Immensely curious whispers immediately surrounded Ayano, and I was shut out of the circle.

Apologize, apologize, apologize, apologize… Just chanting that in my mind like a prayer to Buddha didn’t lead to action. Was I such a dawdling coward? In the end, I wasn’t cool or confident when it really mattered.

Clang, the fence shook violently.

On the inside of the fence, all of the girls’ team ducked their heads as they turned around, and then there was a sudden stir. Kanno gripped the fence with one hand and crouched down like he was hanging from it.

“Kanno!?”

I immediately ran over to the fence. I changed my mind on the way there and turned ninety degrees, rushing out the gate and went outside the fence. I rushed up to him and got on my knees, and when I touched his shoulder, it was hot—!? Kanno’s five fingers, which were still caught on the fence, slipped off and hit the ground. “Kan…” When I pressed his shoulders and tried to look into his face, the towel he covered his head with came loose and exposed his face.

The other members who belatedly gathered at the inside of the fence cried out.

From the bridge of his nose to his cheeks, a dense, closely-packed rash had emerged, and his skin was flaming bright red like he had blisters. Ayano’s slight sunburn couldn’t compare to it. The members in the front row were being pressed against the fence by the pressure from behind and blatantly trying to move back. “Hey, stop pushing!”

“Don’t…Please don’t look…”

A feeble voice leaked from Kanno’s mouth. He fumbled for the towel and pressed it against his face, curling his back and cowering. The rash also appeared on the back of his hand, peeking out from his long sleeves. Ibara-chan, his small voice entered my ears, and I unconsciously brought my drawn back face close to his.

“…I’m sorry for getting carried away…I know, I’m a total disgrace, and I’m nowhere near equal with you, Ibara-chan…So please, don’t…don’t go saying silly stuff like that…don’t say things that will make you lose your friends because of me…”

There was no one to make fun of, but without knowing what to do, and me and the rest of the team could do nothing but stay frozen in place from confusion. While we had been told that he had a health condition, it didn’t mean we could truly imagine the reality of it, so we thought it probably wasn’t as serious as everyone said, so that was probably why we could mess with Kanno so lightheartedly.

The only one who moved was Ayano. She went around the fence and ran over to our side, thrusting me away and switched places with me, putting the unfolded bath towel on top of Kanno’s head.

“I’m sorry, Dracky, you were with me the whole time, I’m sorry, and thank you… What should I do? Should we go inside the school? Can you walk? Senpai, please call the teacher!”

Ayano at that moment was not slow and sluggish in the slightest. She was quicker and braver than anyone. As though her voice released them from their paralysis, everyone regained their movements. The third-years ran to get their phones to call the advisor. Some came over to help Ayano while others carried over a cooler box.

Amidst all of that, I was the only one who was unable to take any effective action, just sitting on my butt in a daze.

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#2.43: Seiin Koukou Danshi Volley-bu #2.43: seiin high school boys volleyball club #2.43 book 1 #2.43 translation

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okaybutlikeimagine · 4 years

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(tumblr won’t let me respond to asks directly so we’re screenshotting them till further notice 🤷)(i had the WHOLE THING typed out w/ the italics fixed into the ask and i copied it so i wouldn’t have to go through and put the italics again and then my DUMBASS SELF went to copy a fucking SHRUG EMOJI and now i have to put the italics in again. good thing i do all this stuff on a separate google doc bc i’m a moron and would have lost the whole thing just now. anyway)

Hi!!! I’m crying bc you fucking KNOW that Billy would get so fucking embarrassed!!

Bc Billy is prideful!! I’m telling you, that boy has some Leo in his chart or something bc if anyone so much as smiles at a joke at his expense, he gets defensive. And that’s not to say that he doesn’t banter back and forth with Robin, and that’s not to say that he and Steve don’t give insults that sound like endearments, and that’s not to say that he and Jonathan don’t rib each other amicably… but it’s different. Pride is a very different thing.

Bc Billy is legit like a little lion cub. (AKA every Leo i know, therefore Billy has Leo in his chart, don’t @ me) it’s an almost juvenile kind of attachment to pride. Like a baby lion cub who’s just getting their mane in but holds their head like they’ve got the biggest one in the pride, it’s a little childish (as much as he may not want to admit it).

And it’s really not Billy’s fault. That’s what he’ll tell you. That’s what he’ll tell anyone. It’s not his fault he’s a brat and he’ll shrug his shoulders and he’ll continue to be rude/bratty and for some people (Steve) it’s charming and for others (almost everyone else) it’s tolerable but for Jim…. It’s…. It’s upsetting. Jim doesn’t like to be seen as “controlling” or a “hardass” or whatever but he’s not sure how he can just ignore when Billy is being disrespectful. Even if it’s only slightly. bc like…. He feels like he needs to be a good dad and good dads make sure their kids grow up to be good people, right??? Which isn’t to say he thinks Billy is a bad person but he worries because, like every parent, his biggest fear is fucking up. He didn’t get a whole lot of practice with Sara. and after her death he couldn’t help but think of every time he slipped up. Every time his wife soothed his hair and said: “We have time to get it right.” every day that passed with Sara in the hospital where he realized she was wrong.

And i’m SO sorry for getting into that but I think that really influences how Hop parents now! The man was broken and then just…. Acquired a 12 year old. And then a 17 YEAR OLD?? Like… the man would be Confused as to how to proceed. And then THIS happens…

Bc Billy has mood swings. Billy is a teenager and also the human version of a bratty little cat that puffs his chest out and ruffles his own fur and may leave a few scratches but is ultimately harmless (esp now that he has a nice, loving family!!) and so they’re at the dinner table and the boys are talking about their grades and whatnot and Billy may be a little pouty. Because maybe Billy didn’t study as hard as he should have for his last history test. He just thinks history is so stupid. He’d rather read a book or do 100 math problems. What’s history gonna teach him?? He doesn’t need to know any more about plagues.

So he says that.

Jonathan’s talking about how well he did on his essay and Will is talking about how he did on his math test and Billy’s pushing carrots around when Joyce asks: “How’s school for you, Billy?”

“Just peachy keen.” he sneers down at his plate. Hop tuts harshly.

“Hey.” Hop chastises, only serving to make Billy’s blood boil more.

“What?”

“Calm down.”

“I’m plenty calm.” Billy snaps back, but it’s quiet. He shoves a sliced carrot in his mouth.

“Have you had any tests or anything lately?” Joyce asks calmly, in that motherly voice she always gives that makes Billy’s mind swirl a bit.

“Yup.”

“Billy-” Hop warns and it makes Billy sit straight up, but give a challenging look in Hop’s direction as he says, loudly:

“Yes, ma’am.”

Joyce stops asking, but she sends a look to Hop, who’s still caught in a staredown with Billy. Billy can’t see her look, but he wouldn’t understand it if he could, because it says: Hop, cut it out.

And the conversation shifts to significant others and then Joyce is smiling kindly at El and asking about her and Mike and maybe Hop is pouting but he’s not gonna draw attention to himself bc Joyce will just hit him like she always does when he’s pouting over their kids dating (specifically El). And Jonathan is smirking a bit into his dinner but Will is visibly uncomfortable as El gushes about Mike before complaining that he doesn’t come over enough and that she doesn’t go out enough and Billy gets irritated. Why should he and Will have to listen to this when they don’t want to??

And he mutters something, darkly. Something about Mike and El and “ungrateful little brats”.

And everyone hears. He only half means it, but they don’t really think that far.

And Hop shoots a look his way before chewing on a carrot rather aggressively.

“Somethin’ to say?”

Billy gives Hop a challenging stare, but he backs down as soon as he starts it.

“No sir.” He mutters harshly.

“Then behave.”

“How about you and Steve, sweetie?” It’s Joyce. Being sweet.

“Happy as can be.” It sounds bitter the way he says it because it is. They got in a fight today. A little one, but enough to make Billy taste something sour in his mouth when he thinks about it. He figures they’re gonna make up just fine tomorrow, no flowers or empty promises needed, just another heated conversation followed by a heated make out in the front seat of Billy’s Camaro. Maybe followed by a serious talk that’ll make Billy’s face heat up because he still can’t believe this boy has Billy wrapped around his finger so fucking tight.

“Yeah, well Officer Callahan says you and Harrington have-”

“You know his name.” Billy growls, resting his fork on the plate.

“Steve. You and Steve have been running around empty fields a lot lately.”

“And?” Billy’s vision is turning red. It’s tunneling a bit.

“And what’s that all about?”

“Don’t really wanna give you all the dirty details.” Billy shoves some meatloaf in his mouth. Hop’s looking at him like he’s a hassle and Billy’s proud of it.

“You guys shouldn’t be doing that. Someone’s gonna say something.”

“And?” Billy’s getting madder. He puts his fork down with a loud clang.

“And you’re gonna cause problems-”

“For you?” Billy seethes, leaning forward a bit, just willing Hop to say it.

“For yourselves.”

“Oh yeah?” Billy asks, leaning back in his chair, blood boiling hot. “Well what about the little twerps?”

Billy nods over to El, who makes a whining noise.

“Hey!” She calls, face pouting.

“What about them?”

"I just don't think it's very fair that it's safe for them and not us." Billy growls, gritting his teeth, eyebrows low.

"That's not true."

"It's safe for everyone else but us!" He’s mad. He’s mad bc him and Steve have argued about this before. Argued about how there’s no real point in being together if they have to hide all the time. That one time when they saw Cindy and Jason being grossly affectionate in public and Billy grabbed Steve’s ass and Steve got mad. They fought for a few days and it ended with them laying in Hansen’s big empty field, on the outskirts of town, talking in dreamy, far away voices about how one day they’d move to California bc “It’s not like this there… trust me, babe. It’ll be so much better.”

Billy’s vision tunnels more. All he sees is Hop in different shades of red. He forgets where he is. He’s livid, thinking about El and Mike and Cindy and Jason and Tommy and Carol and Nancy and Jonathan and he’s going to scream. His heart is racing with disdain.

"You know it's still dangerous for El to go out." Hop warns.

"You know that's not what I meant."

"Look... kid-"

"I'm not a fucking kid." Billy growls, leaning forward even more.

"Language!" Hop’s voice is booming and Billy’s had about enough of this. He resents being told off like a kid.

"Sorry! Excuse the fuck out of me!" He’s snarling and Hop seems about as livid as Billy feels.

"Go to your room!"

"Fine!" Billy yells, shoving his chair back and standing up, turning to Joyce for the first time all dinner and seeing her eyes full of… concern. He doesn’t know how to feel about it. Something in his chest heaves at the sight. His eyes flick over to Jonathan and then to El and then to Will…. And then his chest tightens. He looks away just as quickly.

He thanks Joyce quietly for dinner, mumbling it a bit but he thinks the sentiment is clear enough. He drops his plate off next to the sink and storms off to his room, slamming the door with probably too much force but everything’s on his mind and he has the right to be a brat if he wants.

It’s just that he hates just sitting here with nothing to do but think about everything. He doesn’t even have his stereo to listen to music with bc he gave his to El until she can get a new one bc hers broke and her nightmares have been bad recently. Listening to music before bed calms her down. Billy didn’t say anything about his own nightmares or his own need for music before bed. He wishes he had now that he’s laying in bed, about ready to rip his sheets to shreds bc he’s boiling. He feels like a storm but, to any outsider, he looks like a toddler- red-faced from a tantrum and fidgeting and bubbling like a shaken up soda bottle.

He’s so mad he can’t even do anything. The minutes pass in sticky but frantic moments of anger and thoughts and memories and the only thing his body will let him do is just sit there. Lay in his bed and pull at his covers and fall into thoughts and think about Hop reprimanding him like that and how awful it was and how red and angry he looked and how he sent him to his room like a kid and… and how Joyce looked so worried…. And how that same look was in Jonathan’s eyes…. And Will’s…. That same worried, concerned look. They all three have the same eyes- Lonnie be damned. Those boys share their mother’s eyes and all of the emotion that goes within them and it makes… it makes Billy mad he’s mad about it he knows he’s mad and-

And…

And he calms down a bit. Calms down enough to do what Steve told him to do when he gets angry and stressed and doesn’t know what to do with himself. Because Steve’s family is “well-traveled” and Steve knows all these weird little things from all these cool different countries.

So Billy takes out his notebook and rips a couple pieces of paper out (bc he saves the fancy paper Steve gave him for when he’s actually trying) and does some origami. Bc Steve said it’d help him to do something with his hands and this is something he can do quietly, in his room, without being destructive. ”It’ll help, I promise!”

The hardest part is making a perfect square, bc it takes too much patience and usually Billy doesn’t have that. But he’s just doing this to calm down so he eyeballs it as he cuts the paper and starts to fold what he knows, which is either a heart or a crane. Those are the only 2 things Steve has taught him that he knows off hand w/o the instructions or Steve guiding him through it.

There’s more crumpled paper on the ground than folded paper on his desk but Steve had assured him that was more than okay. It’s kind of the point, he figures. Crumpling and ripping up the paper is almost as nice as folding it to make something, and it makes actually making something feel even better when it happens.

He’s sitting there, on his 3rd heart, when there’s a small knock on the door.

“Go away.” He calls, realizing that the paper he cut isn’t a perfect square bc the corners won’t match.

“It’s Will.”

Billy pauses a bit. He goes back to folding his paper, not caring about the corners bc it’s not bad enough to start over. He doesn’t say anything.

He hears the door open.

“Do you think ‘go away’ doesn’t mean you?”

“Does it?” Will asks, voice earnest. Billy looks up to see his face matches.

Billy sighs, the harsh feeling in his chest softens a bit at the boy in his doorway. He turns back to his folding.

“What do you want? And close the door.”

“I wanted to ask if you wanna come listen to records with me.” Will says, closing the door behind him.

“I don’t think they want me out there.” Billy folds his paper with his fingernail to make it sharp. It burns his thumb a bit.

“That’s not true.” Will says, taking a few steps closer. “Mom told Hop… Dad he shouldn’t have done that.”

And that makes Billy mad. He’s not even sure why. It’s a heat in his chest and his face that feels like anger and he messes up his fold and he’s just… he’s confused and he’s red and all he can think about is Will saying “mom”. Not “my mom” just “mom” and also “dad” like he’s theirs and Billy can’t understand it still and he smashes the paper into a ball in his hand-

“I don’t need your mom defending me.” Billy says harshly, spitting the words out like he hates them, chucking the paper on the ground. He’s too aware of the way Will flinches a bit at his harshness. He takes a deep breath.

“Uh... “ Will’s fidgeting. Billy feels bad. He sighs.

“I don’t have my stereo.” Billy leans back, running a tired hand down his face. “Ask Jonathan.”

“But I wanna listen to your music.” Will says quietly and Billy believes him. Will’s been getting interested in Alice Cooper and Led Zeppelin and all of the fun bands that actually perform. Steve gifted Billy a VHS performance of Led Zeppelin and Will seemed to like the lead singer quite a bit.

“Well I don’t wanna go out there, pipsqueak.” Billy rips out another piece of paper. It’s quiet for a second, Billy eyeballing another square to cut. It’s so quiet, Billy thinks Will has left.

He thinks wrong.

“Can I still hang out with you?”

Billy puts the scissors down, exhausted, and looks up at Will.

“Alright, what’s wrong?”

Will shrugs. “Nothing. I just…. Like it in here.”

Billy’s confused, but he almost believes him for a minute.

“I don’t have music for you.”

“I can grab a book to read.” The boy’s so earnest, Billy knows he’s not gonna shake him.

So he waves him away with a nod and Will’s out and back quicker than Billy can think about how weird it is that this boy would rather sit in his room in silence than do something fun. Will’s closing the door carefully, latching it quietly and moving over to sit on the bed.

Billy has crumpled up 2 more pieces of paper before Will begins to pry.

“Are you folding things again?”

“Uh huh.”

“What’s it called, again?”

“Origami.”

“Cool.” Will scoots on his knees to the edge of the bed so he can see what Billy’s doing. “Do you need any help?”

“I’m good.” Billy mutters, unconvincingly.

“I can cut the paper for you. I’m good at making squares.”

And so Will is sitting criss cross on the bed, cutting perfect square after perfect square, while Billy sits backwards on his desk chair with his arms folding on the back rest and mind racing a mile a minute. Will’s so quiet and calm, willingly coming in here just to spend time with Billy, helping him now and… and something sick fills Billy’s chest. The only thing he can hear are his words at the dinner table.

‘Hey-uh…” His voice sounds weird to his ears and his tongue feels thick but he’s got Will’s attention now so he needs to get it out. “Sorry.”

Will’s eyebrows scrunch up. “Sorry for what?”

For being a dick? For ruining your dinner? For ruining your family?

Billy shrugs.

“I dunno. Just… not being a good example.”

“Whaddya mean?” Will asks, handing over a handful of squares before working on some more.

Billy shrugs again. “I dunno kid I just… I’m not like Jonathan. I’m not… I’m not a good example for you. It’s embarrassing.”

“What’s embarrassing?”

“Getting told off like that in front of you guys.” Billy turns back around so he can start folding again. He needs to do something w/ his hands.

“I told you, mom told him he shouldn’t have done that.”

“But he was right-”

“No, you can be upset if you’re upset. It’s fine.”

Billy falters a bit. He wonders if Will is quoting Joyce. The small boy keeps speaking.

“You’re a good example,” Will’s voice says, and he sounds so sure that Billy believes him. “You’re just a different one. You show me to stand up for what I believe and… and that it’s okay to be… to like boys…”

Billy stops folding altogether. Will’s voice gets quieter.

“You’re a good example. It’s good to let things out when you feel them.”

Billy’s mind is racing. He’s folding without thinking about it. Because the only thing he can think about is how he got accepted into this family so quickly. How Hop took him in and Joyce accepted that like she was accepting a package at the door. She took him in like he was her own son and not some bratty problem child being dumped on her. And now Hop reprimands him without his fists and Joyce chastises Hop for being too harsh even though he’s… doing his job, whatever that entails and it’s… it’s too much sometimes. It’s too much to think about but Billy knows he wouldn’t give it away for the world bc every moment like this reminds him that every passing day is a day further away from the pain he grew up surrounded by. The pain now doesn’t even compare to the pain then. This is so different bc this pain is laced with care and love.

He’s made a crane before he realizes.

“I’m glad you’re my brother.” Will’s voice sounds so far away but it crashes over Billy like a wave.

Billy nearly crushes the crane in his hand from the words. He’s so shocked at them.

He turns and gives Will the crane, not looking the boy in the eye as he gathers up the paper and the scissors from the bed.

“I don’t need any more paper. Thanks.” Billy mumbles, dumping everything on his desk.

“You’re welcome. Is this for me?”

“Yup.” Billy shoves the paper in a drawer and tosses the scissors into his pencil cup.

“Thanks!” Will’s so excited about it. Billy’s heart is fluttering.

“Wanna listen to those records now?” Billy asks, hands on his hips, fingers fidgeting bc this is a lot and he just…. He needs music now. Whatever. He realizes he shouldn’t be so scared. There’s nothing to be scared about. Will beams up at him.

“Sure!” Will gets up and rushes to the door as Billy grabs a folded heart and follows the boy out, aiming to give it to Joyce by means of apology. He thinks briefly about giving one to Hop as well, but he figures a spoken apology and a light punch on the shoulder and a promise to listen should do just fine to get the man smiling again. Bc somehow- somewhat miraculously -it always does.

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