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leviiattacks · 3 years

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Seven minutes in Heaven with Physics Major Levi

author note :: i lost the ask but anon i do not know what this is. reading it sounded better in my head but physics major levi with reader who likes him is that a good description???? HM ANYWAY enjoy it’s not too great i’ve been revising nonstop for exams but i might as well have finished this off for the anon who requested it :-)

word count :: 2.5k probably... hm who knows maybe 3k

when you and levi become friends it’s definitely unexpected to say the least. everyone is naturally very confused by the peculiar pairing. levi doesn’t really... go out of his way to befriend anyone really??? so for him to approach you in the middle of the library and start talking about how he noticed you shared a class together was out of the ordinary

the flow of the conversation is a little awkward at first, you’re revising for a final exam and don’t really appreciate the disruption but you’re not confident enough to tell him to leave.

at one point an awkward silence drifts between the two of you until he points out you’ve completely RUINED your notes and have been looking over the wrong lectures for the up and coming physics exam

later on into the night levi’s stood sighing next to you. he tells you to take your pick from the pot noodle section — “hey, i know we literally just met but i’m telling you a chicken pot noodle is gonna make you feel better.”

you’re so distraught that he has to pick it up for you and pay

and that is how you and levi become friends !!!

if it’s of any relevance yes you passed the final (all because of levi giving you his organised binder full of notes and telling you to make use of it)

you know it just sorta happens but through all of the all nighters you’ve pulled with levi by your side you become used to his presence nearby. in fact most of the the time it’s difficult to even find you anywhere without him. you’re both practically joined at the hip

levi’s pretty protective of you, hates the whole party scene but is willing to tag along if you’re going. at first you think it’s because he feels more comfortable stepping out of his comfort zone if you’re there with him but his intentions become more evident later on

any time someone makes you uncomfortable he’s by your side, if you happen to get into any sort of trouble he’s the person people call to help you because who else knows you the way levi does?

currently you and levi are at another party, you tend to keep to yourself and only ever talk to your close friends. it’s also not like you to partake in games, you’re far too nervous to play anything like seven minutes in heaven but for some reason you find yourself wanting to take part JUST this once

maybe it’s the fear of never making fun memories to tell your future children about

then again why on earth would you be telling your children about your experience kissing a random man in a closet??

either way, participating shouldn’t hurt!!! you’ve got to loosen up a little!!!

levi’s a little surprised you agree to play nevertheless he still sits next to you, the both of you have your legs crossed on the floor, your knees are touching and you aren’t sure if he feels the same warm sensation that you feel. it bubbles in the pit of your stomach – you feel oddly content

“levi!! anyone you want the bottle to land on ???” hange a mutual friend of yours leans in handing him the glass bottle

levi gives the bottle a disgusted look before his gaze flicks over to you.

“i’m only here because of y/n, i ‘m not playing.”

that doesn’t satisfy hange and they begin to groan complaining that he can’t stay unless he spins the bottle

“look you don’t have to do anything in the closet, okay??” hange’s begging him at this point, he’s still holding up pretty well and for some reason you’re disappointed. it’s almost like you hoped he’d spin the bottle just so it would land on you

levi takes notice of your frown and guesses you want him to be included, he isn’t one for games like these but if it’ll make you happy so be it. there’s still the chance it’ll land on you and his thought process falters for a second.

he thinks he really wouldn’t mind if the bottle landed on you and so he ends up nodding and agreeing to play.

anyway it’s not as if he isn’t guilty of imagining the two of you being a little more than friends

ok wait!!!! it’s completely innocent HE SWEARS!!!!

he’s never told you about it but sometimes he thinks if he was a little more straightforward that day at the library and asked for your number MAYBE just MAYBE his intentions would be clearer and he wouldn’t be stuck in the friend zone for this long

he should’ve used a stupid physics pick up line he knows you love those

something like – “i’m attracted to you more than an electron’s attracted to a proton.”

or maybe — “i’d fall for you even in the absence of gravity”

ok... maybe you wouldn’t have got that one considering you were revising the wrong content and probably forgot about that topic

he can’t imagine himself saying those things but if it would make you finally see him as a potential love interest and not a best friend he wouldn’t mind having to force it out

but still it’s not really a secret that levi has a soft spot for you, literally everyone can see it. when has he ever gone out of his way to save a seat for anyone? when has he ever willingly gone to a party? WHEN has levi actually let someone lay their head on his shoulder??

he only ever let’s you do that stuff

let’s actually discuss the head on his shoulder thing!!!

whenever finals approach you’re always sucked in by huge amounts of work and barely get to sleep, levi’s always hovering over your shoulder reminding you to catch a few hours but of course you don’t listen. you think you’ll be just fine if you rely on an energy drink and two hours of sleep to get by

but levi knows you better than you know yourself. it’s hour seven into the day and you’re already dozing off in your seat. slowly but gradually your head tilts forward. levi’s sitting across you contemplating whether or not he should prop your head back up like a nice friend would or if he should wait for you to smack your forehead right into the solid oak table.

he ends up making his decision last minute, your head flies towards the table and if it were anyone else he’d just let them jolt awake from the harsh impact but it’s you and his body won’t let him ignore you.

on reflex his hand flies out and in the matter of a split second he’s holding your head back. he’s surprised you haven’t woken up and he’s even more surprised he bothered to help you

before that happens levi knows he likes you, he knows he enjoys your company, he’s aware you make him happy but he thinks he’s willing to just be friends with you because clearly you don’t want to pursue anything.

you haven’t even flirted with him before aside from the witty “you remind me of an exothermic reaction” joke that you made one time

oh and there’s also the additional fact that you had a boyfriend up until quite recently so he’s sure you don’t see him romantically

honestly he’s fine with not dating you but something about seeing you overwork yourself like that has him simmering in anger. if he were your boyfriend he would have forced you into bed whether you liked it or not

if he were your boyfriend he’d never break up with you because he “found someone better.” he can’t even manage to imagine anyone better than you.

levi shuffles into the seat next to yours and places your head onto his shoulder. a few students shoot him questioning looks but the deadly glare he sends back is enough to deter them from coming any closer

it’s a little funny actually, by the time you wake up you’re rubbing at your eyes, you don’t even notice how close levi is to you until his hot breath fans across your neck. it seems like he’s dozed off whilst trying to make notes on fluid dynamics

wait

levi. right. next. to. your. neck.

should you move????

no, he might wake up he barely sleeps and you don’t want to mess up his schedule even more

that day you choose to drift off back to sleep as if you never woke up to his breath against your neck.

“OHHHH LEVI LANDED ON Y/N????”

your head shoots up NOW you’ve completely been dragged away from your thoughts.

“lucky for you both. guess you won’t have to do anything and stand there for seven minutes. told ya levi there was nothing to worry about B-)”

hange without warning pulls you both up by your arms, you’ve yet to see levi’s reaction, you’re too stunned to have noticed his slack jaw or wide eyes

“HAVE FUN!”

and with that said and done you and levi are shoved into the cleaning closet

“well, i’m glad it landed on you. i won’t have to do anything.” levi seems happy as can be, you don’t really know why but it stings a little

he doesn’t even seem to stop for a second to wonder if you’d maybe want to do anything

are you just not his type ????

hange once told you levi liked organised people and well,, you’re anything but organised. you’d probably pass out from the work load of your physics lectures if not for levi always helping you out

scowling to yourself you try to ignore just how awkward the situation is until levi plops down on the floor in front of you

“you okay?” he asks looking genuinely concerned

“i- yeah i’m good.”

your eyes dart away trying to look at anything but him. you can’t deny he looks good today, you actually helped him slick his hair back - the entire time he complained about the hair gel feeling weird but he looks great and now you can’t even stare at him for more than a second

“i’m guessing you’d have preferred if the bottle landed on someone else.”

leaning forward without even noticing it you aggressively deny what he says. “NO!!! i like being stuck here with you.”

levi looks stunned by your outburst but nods “oh, did you feel pressured to join the game? we can leave if you want—”

“no, no i– you aren’t– oh god i mean, look. i can explain– do i need to explain???”

completely choking up in front of him and sputtering before slamming your lips shut and saying absolutely nothing is probably one of the most awkward things you’ve done in your ENTIRE existence

levi reaches out for your knee, something that’s usually seen as him being friendly only feels intimate tonight. his thumb strokes comforting circles into your skin. the situation doesn’t make it any better, essentially you’re meant to be making out with him right now

“is something bothering you?”

there it is again. that look. he only seems more concerned than before and you hate yourself for not even thinking about your friendship before you open your mouth.

“do you not want to kiss me because we’re best friends or is it something else?”

there it is. you’ve said it.

you see levi’s face contort from a mix of confusion to what looks like disgust then shock. screwing your eyes shut you know you’ve ruined everything now. he’s never going to speak to you, never going to approach you again. you’re mentally preparing for him to ditch you at this party right here right now

but then you notice his hand still steadily placed on your knee, he’s now stopped with the circles, his grip is bruising

“do you want me to kiss you?”

his question isn’t really expected, it helps you find the courage to look your best friend in the eye.

it’s pretty dark but you can still make out the familiar shadows of his face. the butterflies rush up from your stomach all the way to your throat.

mild regret fills you, usually his curtains obscure his piercing gaze but the way you’ve styled his hair gives him a better view of you, there’s nowhere for you to hide

not even stopping to think about the possibility of him teasing you right now, all you care about is telling him the truth. you’ve come all the way here you may as well finish off what you’ve started

“would you be mad if i said i’d like it if you did?”

levi doesn’t need any more confirmation than that, he swoops in yanking you by your waist. his knees are still pressed against the floor and so you find yourself leaning down into his mouth and craning your neck downwards

his chest is completely pressed against yours. the drumming of your heart is so loud you feel self conscious but levi’s soft lips moving against yours distract you from that

not even ten seconds in and you feel out of breathe but not in an overwhelming way. levi’s pace isn’t at all what you imagined it to be like. he’s soft and slow yet calloused and rough around the edges, some how he still manages to make the kiss sweet

his left hand leisurely travels to the small of your back, the other hand now caresses your cheek. his fingertips are anything but soft but the way he handles you is tender and endearingly delicate.

you smile into the kiss and almost instantly levi’s lips tug upwards too. his take on seven minutes in heaven is quite easily the most romantic thing you’ve been subjected to. instead of a passionate make out you’ve been given a honeyed introduction to a new side of him

the kiss ends much quicker than you anticipate, you open your mouth to whine and convince levi that the two of you should still have a solid minute left before hange returns but he presses his index finger against your lips

“later. i promise.” his voice is heavy and if his blushed cheeks are anything to go by he’s thoroughly enjoyed your session together

at his reassurance you comply and take the time to have a better look at him

his lips are wet – some of your lip gloss has clearly stuck to him. his hair isn’t as well styled as it was before, seeing him like this makes you feel a surge of confidence. you know you did that to him.

so... what is someone to do with a sudden boost in confidence?

hit your new possible love interest with a pick up line :-) !!!

“heyyy so i know the spring constant of my mattress, would you be interested in taking some data with me?”

slapping your shoulder lightly he’s yet to gain his composure back, levi’s genuinely out of breathe now trying to steady himself and your comment doesn’t do him any favours that’s for sure

“my god you have no sham–”

without warning the door to your left swings open you and levi flinch trying to scramble away from eachother only to fail, hange marches in before stopping dead in their tracks.

all they see is levi knelt in front of you, hair disheveled huffing like his life depends on it

then their focus shifts to you, you’re sure some of your makeup has smudged and the entire scenario looks suspicious

levi seems as if he’s about to warn hange to not tell anyone and keep this a secret for now but they sprint away before any of you have the opportunity to ask for some privacy

not even ten seconds later a collision can be heard alongside a series of thuds and then hange’s yelling towards the end of the hallway “GUYS??? THEY ACTUALLY DID IT???”

for some reason the cheers coming from the living room warm your heart

you guess your friends figured out the direction of your relationship long before you and levi did :-)

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eggmarr · 3 years

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winter fluff with the cm team!

(a/n: it’s been a hot minute since i’ve written something for my og guys and gals 🥺 plus winter’s still my favorite season so just ignore how late this is) (also these all should be gender neutral!)

aaron hotchner

- hotch isn’t exactly the type of guy to go to just any party, i feel like he’d definitely go to a work thing (likely something penelope organized)

- you work in a different area, but still know penelope so you’ve heard about her team and everything (especially this “hotch” who’s apparently your exact type??? she hasn’t even seen you date yet how-)

- he’s kinda hesitant about going but the team makes sure he has nothing to do so he can come with them

- penny made you swear you’d attend or else she’d track you down and bring you there herself

- fast forward to party night at rossi’s (of course it’s at rossi’s penny just had to ask) and there’s not too many people there but it’s enough so it feels slightly crowded

- so you go out back onto his patio and sit to breathe

- “You alright?”

- hotch scares the hell out of you on accident, making you laugh a bit (he’s mesmerized already)

- it takes a little bit, but you two manage to find a middle ground and strike up a pretty good conversation (surprisingly good; you don’t even know his name yet !)

- penelope walks by the doors, seeing hotch and you laugh at something you’d said, paying extra close attention to the way his eyes (and yours !) lingered ever so slightly

- she walks off before either of you notice her, and begins to make a new plan

- “Derek! Where did you hang that mistletoe?”

spencer reid

- we all know spencer’s one shy boy, so he isn’t going to outright do anything

- but he’s also one hella oblivious one

- so when an agent from the floor below asks about you and him at the agency party, he’s kinda confused

- the other agent’s kinda like “aren’t you two dating or something?”

- “No.” “....Could’ve fooled me.”

- and it makes him think a LOT

- like “don’t all friends know each other’s coffee orders so well that it’s become a habit to order both at the same time just so he can see the tired smile on your face when you see him with them?” (no, sweetheart, not all friends do-)

- he’s kinda struck frozen and has no idea what to do until you wave a hand so you can leave together

- as you two reach the doors, he blurts out a random fact out of sudden nerves

- “Did you know that most mistletoe isn’t actually mistletoe? The plant itself actually has white berries, while the red berries are typical of holly plants.”

- you purse your lips together, nodding as if you’re thinking deeply, then point up

- “So, I shouldn’t kiss you under this one?”

- turns out y’all are standing right under a sprig of holly that no one else cared to notice or talk about

- he immediately goes red and just rubs the back of his neck to speak quietly

- “It can still count, if you want it to.”

emily prentiss

- emily would definitely just take a walk with you around the park (i mean, really she just likes spending time with you)

- so you spend what seems like hours just talking together, walking side by side in the biting cold

- at some point, you suggest holding hands “to keep warm, since you still have to walk home” knowing very well that you don’t sound nonchalant at all

- but she doesn’t mind

- and if the night ends with a cold cheek kiss? even better

jennifer jareau

- jj doesn’t really like the cold as much as you’d think (like she’s ok, but she’d probably prefer being inside than out if you let her choose) so i’d say something with the boys

- maybe she’s caught in traffic from the ice and has to ask you to watch the boys a bit longer that she’d expected

- and the entire way there she’s both angry from the time, and guilty for making you stay when she walks in and hears the tv on hallmark with a christmas movie

- she sees a plate of cookies on the counter, with a note from you about what they did today

- then she finally sees you on the couch, fast asleep with the boys both hugged protectively to you, making sure they’re safe as they sleep

- she wakes you up reluctantly, and helps you put the kids to bed in a domestic setting that was enough to make her heart hurt

- and then you give her a sleepy smile

- and she melts

penelope garcia

- penny figures out you don’t have anyone to spend the holidays with when she finds you at your desk instead of at the office party everyone else is at

- as much as she wants to ask or pull you up, or do something, she just sits down and strikes up a conversation with you

- by the time she’d gotten back to the party, they were already wrapping up and she had just seen you off

- derek asks her where she’d gone, and she just hides the number you wrote on her hand in faded pen and changes the subject

derek morgan

- this man is definitely the first to make a move

- he’ll try everything cliche and all just to get you out with him but you just figure out ways to avoid it

- i mean, how do you get out of gift shopping with him and penelope in less than ten minutes??? witchcraft-

- then one day he just tells this dorky joke he picked up off a thing he read for fun and you laugh at it

- and while his confidence is up he finally asks you out on a real date, not just a “date”

- you kiss him on the cheek to say yes

- “If you’d just started with that, I would’ve done something weeks ago.”

#criminal minds #criminal minds x reader #spencer reid x reader #jennifer jareau x reader #emily prentiss x reader #aaron hotchner x reader #penelope garcia x reader #derek morgan x reader #spencer reid #jennifer jareau #derek morgan #penelope garcia #aaron hotchner #emily prentiss #gn!reader #gender neutral reader

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dontasktheradiodemon · 3 years

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Cuddly Date Time

Alastor & Telly @usedhearts have a date night and completely ignore their movie and snacks because Alastor found a list of questions for partners to ask each other.

And so they ask each other a million questions.

It's very nice.

Telly

Date night! Telly had the Eggs set up the projector on the bridge, and pull in one of the chaise lounges. He had a bowl of popcorn, and mixings for drinks.

And he wore just a t-shirt. He was a comfy snake tonight.

Alastor

Date night! Never content with one snack where multiple would do, Alastor had spent the last couple of hours in the kitchen, putting together bacon-wrapped pineapple, stuffed mushroom caps, and a couple dozen crostini each topped with a random assortment of whatever looked fun in the fridge. He'd discovered he liked hand-feeding his partner, and by god was he *gonna.*

The longer he lived with Telly, the more obvious it was that he needed to get himself more casual clothes; but for now, he'd make do with a t-shirt (stolen from Telly's stock) and his bath robe to get comfortable. He swooped in with a tray of snacks, summoned up a side table to set it on, and slid his arms around Telly as he sat. "Why, hello there~"

Telly

Telly smiled, leaning into Alastor's side.

"Hello to you, too. Fancy seeing you here." He laughed and kissed Alastor.

"Are we ready to go?" He lifted the remote, to point backwards at the projector.

Alastor

He returned the kiss and settled into Telly's side. "Ready when you are!"

Telly

"Here we go!" He clicked the remote and the lights dimmed and the movie started. That done, he wrapped his arm around Alastor, turning to kiss his cheek.

"So, what culinary delights did you make for me to try this time?"

Alastor

Alastor hummed along to the opening notes of Music Man, then glanced over to his tray of food. "Mushrooms, bacon-wrapped pineapple—I thought you'd like a little tropical fruit—" smooch, "—and a veritable rainbow of crostini treats!" He'd sort of tried to stick them in rainbow order. He doesn't quite remember rainbow order. "We had some odds and ends of jams and cheeses and pickled things, so I got creative."

Telly

"Oh, sounds tasty! I will leave it up to the discretion of the chef which I try first." He smirked and winked.

His eyes flicked back to the screen for a moment, and he hummed.

Alastor

"Well, in that case..." He'd gotten the pineapple specifically for Telly, so he plucked that up to offer first.

Telly

Telly opened his mouth to accept the pineapple. He hummed as he chewed, and nodded. "Oh, that is delicious!"

Alastor

"Good!" Alastor was constantly amazed at how gratifying the little things were these days. Things like Telly's little hum.

He picked up a mushroom cap to offer next. "I'd forgotten how much I enjoy the first song! With all the train sounds." That said, he's already only paying about 40% attention to the movie. The movie is mainly an excuse to cuddle.

Telly

"Oh yes, it's quite ingenious!" Telly turned his head to glance at the screen before focusing back on Alastor. He took the next bite and his face scrunched a moment, before smoothing to contentment.

"Mm, interesting!"

Alastor

Huff! "Is that interesting good or interesting bad? I can take them if you don't like them."

Telly

"Interesting good! It just wasn't the flavor I was expecting them to be." He grinned and picked one up to offer Alastor. "But I _will_ share."

Alastor

"Why, *thank* you! Don't mind if I do." He took the bite then kissed Telly's thumb before he sat back to chew.

Telly

Telly followed as he sat back, pecking his cheek. "You looked so _indignant_ just then, it was adorable."

Alastor

"I did not," he said good-naturedly. "I happen to know for a fact I was smiling the whole time."

Telly

"Yes, you were! But I've started to identify your different smiles. That one was definitely indignant." He nodded for emphasis, even as he fought to keep his face in a mock serious mask.

Alastor

"Really!" He laughed, grinning wider. "Well, what's this one, then?"

Telly

"That's your 'I'm amused at my partner-in-crime's antics' smile." He giggled.

Alastor

"Close! But you missed the utter adoration."

Telly

"Oh yes, how could I miss that!" He laughed and leaned to kiss Alastor.

Alastor

He returned the kiss, then leaned in to nuzzle Telly's neck. "Say. It occurs to me that I'm not paying terribly close attention to the movie, and I can't help but notice you aren't either. If you don't mind paying a little less attention, I picked up a game that might be fun to play?"

Telly

"A game?" Telly tilted his head, smiling at the nuzzling. Sometimes it still sent a thrill down his spin that Alastor was here with him, like this, and he felt it now.

"What sort of game?"

Alastor

"Well, considering the topic we were just on..." He pulled out his phone with a flourish. (It was hard to flourish with a cell phone, but he was determined to make it work.) "Questions to get to know each other better! I don't think there are any about smiles, but it's a fine list nonetheless. Personally, I always love a good interview—and I know I still don't know half as much about you as I'd like to."

Telly

Telly blinked. "Oh! Well alright, that sounds fun."

He grinned and kissed Alastor again. "Alright, go for it. First question."

Alastor

"Okay! This list here has about two hundred questions and I narrowed them down to only the ones I want to know the most about you—so, naturally, I have over a hundred." He laughed and scrolled through the list. "Let's see, let's start with an easy one—Do you prefer living in the countryside, in a town, or in a big city, and why? I know you've moved around some, and it's hard to tell how an airship counts."

Telly

"Hmm," Telly said, stroking his chin as he pondered.

"I do enjoy city life, with all the people-- we as long as I can separate myself from the majority of them. But I adored my time in Dover when I was alive. The crashing of the sea as I worked was a great focus."

Alastor

"So away from all the city noise, down by the seashore?" He considered that. "We'd have to move a few rings to find a proper shore—how do you feel about prerecorded ocean sounds? I think I can swing that much!"

Telly

"I do like those, it's always fascinated me how they could replicate things like that."

Alastor

"So do I! Sound effects in general are an under-appreciated art! I've got a wide variety of things I listen to to fall asleep, and background sounds like that are high in the list!" His smile turned sheepish. "Or—used to be, anyway. Nowadays I usually listen to you instead."

Telly

Telly blinked. "Listen to me? My heartbeat?" He tilted his head.

Alastor

"And your breathing." He is, in fact, still capable of being a little self-conscious about his moments of sappiness.

Telly

Telly glanced away and for the million and first time he was glad he no longer blushed. "That is....very sweet and romantic, love."

Alastor

"Oh, is it!" He looked a *little* less sheepish. "Here I was worried it might be a bit too much."

Telly

"No, darling, the fact that you fall asleep to the sound of my heart and breathing is definitely not 'too much'." He smiled and leaned over to kiss him.

"Well, next question, yes?"

Alastor

"Well, when you put it *that* way, it sounds charming." He returned the kiss. "Next question!" He handed the phone over to Telly. "Your turn to pick one. Interview the hell outta me. I'm ready for my closeup."

Telly

Telly took the phone and inspected the list of questions, humming softly.

"Hmm, let's see..." He scrolled down. "How about this one. 'What is the most thrilling-slash- adrenaline seeking thing you would consider doing?'"

Alastor

"Oh! Well? Hm." A pause. "Is that counting things I've already done, or only things I haven't tried yet?"

Telly

"I think only things you haven't tried yet." Telly read over the question again. "Yes."

Alastor

"Oh, well then!" He tipped his head back while he thought. "You know, I've always thought skydiving sounded fun! But it's hard to find an instructor and pilot that I didn't think would get me splatted on the sidewalk because they were too terrified of me to do their jobs right." His eyes lit up. "Say, this thing doesn't get high enough for skydiving, does it?"

Telly

"I don't think so." He laughed, shaking his head. "But if you ever want me to toss you out to give you a briefer experience, let me know."

He paused, humming again. "Now I'm curious, though, what was the most thrilling thing you already did?"

Alastor

"I'll keep it in mind!"

He winced. "Oh, I talked myself into that one. And here I didn't even get to the question about relationship dealbreakers first. But, uh... hunting people for sport?" He laughed self-consciously. "I kept meaning to bring it up, but there's really no easy way to work that into a conversation."

Telly

"You did mention something about being out there to kill when you died. So, you hunted people?" Telly's tone stayed completely casual-- this was Hell and he'd been here a while, one got used to most things.

Alastor

He hadn't *thought* it was going to be a problem, considering what Telly was up to when he died, and considering everything Alastor got up to that Telly already knew about—but you never really knew how someone was going to react. And if Alastor knew anything about mass murderers, it was that depending on their motives or methods, they couldn't even get respect from other mass murderers. "People and deer, usually. But by the end, the deer were mainly a consolation prize and an excuse to get close to the real prey."

Telly

"I see." He stroked his chin. "How many do you think you killed? Did any get away that you know of?"

Alastor

"Oh, only two or three dozen tops," he said modestly. "I'd have to ask how many the infernal treasury credited me with, but even that number wouldn't be quite all of them. There's a few I shot and left that I never saw show up in the papers, so they might have got away, but none I know for sure. "

Telly

"Hm! Well, no wonder you wanted a hunter rifle for your present." He grinned and laughed. "Alright, next question for me."

Alastor

"That's it?" He raised his eyebrows, surprised. "You know, I always kind of thought that one would generate more discussion. Huh." He turned back to the list of questions to scroll through—and picked up another snack to feed Telly while he looked for a question. "Here's an intriguing one—what are you deliberately ignoring, even though you know you should deal with it?"

Telly

Telly took the offered snack with his mouth. He hummed, thinking as he chewed.

"I don't think that I'm deliberately ignoring anything right now?" He squinted, and his head tilted. "So, only unknowingly ignoring, then." He chuckled.

Alastor

"Well, tell me something you're unknowingly ignoring!" He said, like a little shit.

Telly

"Obviously, I don't know what those are, Alastor." He rolled his eyes.

Alastor

"No? You're positive?" He grinned impishly. "Well, all right! No skeletons in your closet, I suppose!" He passed the phone back. "But next time I'll get something interesting out of you."

Telly

"Yes, yes, next time." He took the phone back and scrolled through again. "Hmm, how about this: What calms you down the most?"

Alastor

"Oh." A long pause. And then a tiny wince and a mumble, "Do you know what ASMR is?" It's worth noting that he's more self-conscious over this than the serial killing.

Telly

"Vaguely. But tell me more about it." He leaned in, grinning malevolently.

Alastor

Ahem. "*Well.* When I was alive, and we were all still trying to figure out what to *put* on the radio, some of the earliest programs were, just... musical programs with sort of a vague plot narrated between them. And when I say 'vague,' I mean 'today John Doe is driving into town, let's play a bunch of songs about farms and meadows and bridges because that's what he's driving past.' And I appreciated those plotless little shows. But they weren't too popular—people wanted more stories in their stories, so they went away." He was going somewhere with this, really. "And then a little after I died, shows really started pushing the envelope with what they could do with the *sound* on radio, you know, with sound effects and the like, getting really experimental with it. And I tell you, I ate that up! I probably spent most of the forties with headphones practically glued to my head—and this was before they started offering the high-quality headphones for sinners that don't have their ears on the sides of their heads! And uh, that—that's more or less what ASMR is. Like those early shows with nearly-plotless plots, with the music taken out and copious sound effects to support the plot instead. That's... that covers most of the appeal." He did NOT make eye contact and he WAS embarrassed.

Telly

Telly blinked. Well. He hadn't realized that was such an in depth topic. He sat quiet as he processed a moment and then nodded.

"So you like it because it feels familiar?"

Alastor

"Not exactly, no—more because it... has those things I already liked." Mumble, "And it makes my ears tingle." Mumble mumble, "And sometimes it's nice to pretend I can get a haircut from somebody who isn't afraid to look me in the eyes."

Telly

Telly smirked, leaning against him. "Well, sometime you'll have to show me one."

Alastor

"Really?" His brow wrinkled. "Well—alright. But fair warning, I've probably oversold how interesting it is. I mean—the people who are interested in it find it interesting, but..."

Telly

"I at least would want to hear it once, just because you like it so much." He kissed Alastor's cheek.

Alastor

"Oh... sure, then. I'll see what I can find for you." He returned the smooch. "I'll try to avoid the more esoteric ones."

Telly

"Yes please, darling." He purred. "Next question?"

Alastor

"You know... I think I want to ask you one that you asked me." He grinned. "What's the most thrill-seeking thing *you'd* do?"

Telly

"Thrill-seeking...." He pondered that for a moment, finger tapping his chin again.

"Probably seems typical for me, but I think it would be a great thrill to finally attack Vox."

Alastor

"Hah! Put *that* one at the top of the list! Oh, I hope that by the time we go for him, he's so outmatched that he's *boring*."

Telly

"Yes, we can hope!" He laughed, grinning wider.

Alastor

He tugged Telly in to plant a firm kiss on his cheek. "I just love when we're on the same page."

Telly

Telly purred, turning to kiss Alastor's lips. "I love _you_," he muttered, wrapping his arms around him.

Alastor

"I love you, too." It's something he still has to practice saying without his breath shuddering; sometimes there's still a little static hitch. But it's coming more easily.

Telly

There was still a thrill that went through him, hearing Alastor say it back-- a thrill that made him beam and kiss him all the more. He sighed happily against his lips, cuddling close.

Alastor

He slid an arm around Telly's waist, holding him closer, humming along to the love song in the movie as he kissed Telly.

Telly

Telly let the kiss keep going for a while, before pulling back, a grin on his face. "I also love kissing you."

Alastor

"I think I've developed a taste for it myself." Understatement.

Telly

He laughed. "Yes, it seems you have." He leaned in for another kiss.

Alastor

He wasn't about to get any complaints from Alastor. Just a hungry return kiss.

Telly

Telly pushed closer, arms and tail coiling tightly around him. He pulled back after a time, and giggled.

"Oh, look at us, making out during a picture show like teenagers!"

Alastor

"Ha! I never made out at the picture shows as a teenager!" He paused thoughtfully, then added, "And as a teenager *you* never went to a picture show. But what's time to the dead?" He laughed. "I wouldn't have enjoyed it then, anyway."

Telly

"We simply must get the teenage experiences we never had! Even if they are ones that we wouldn't have had otherwise!" He laughed, kissing over Alastor's face.

Alastor

He laughed as he was smothered in kisses. "I didn't *want* that teenage experience! Do you know, *do you know* how *hard* it is to ask a gal you're friends with if she'd like to see a show with you, and then actually *see the show*? There I am, early twenties, with some dame desperate to introduce me to her lips, trying to watch Mister Buster Keaton, and—and..." His laughter momentarily overtook his ability to speak. "I should've taken a cobra to the movies. Do you think they'd have let me? Just escorted one on a day trip from the Bronx Zoo?"

Telly

"No, I don't think so. A python, maybe." He grinned and laughed, nuzzling close to Alastor. "But just think, you can take _this_ cobra to a picture show!"

Alastor

"I certainly can! And you're a better conversational partner!" He pulled Telly deeper into the nuzzle. "I can't think of anyone else I'd rather ignore a movie with."

Telly

Telly grinned wider, chuckling against Alastor's neck. "Mm, I think we lost track of the questions sometime around the second kiss, but I certainly don't mind, do you?"

Alastor

"No, not terribly." He kissed Telly near start of his hood. "Although I'd like to loop back around to that sooner or later. There's *so much* I want to ask you, and I feel like we never get to talk enough."

Telly

"Hmm," Telly hummed, sitting up, but taking Alastor with him. He situated him on his lap and grinned. "How about one asks a question and the other has to answer whilst being kissed?"

Alastor

"Ooh. You know, that *does* have its appeal." He straddled Telly's tail, looped his arms over Telly's shoulders, and pressed their foreheads together. "*However...* not to be the cliché libidoless talk show host we all know I am, but—I really do want to *talk* with you. Without the conversation playing second-string to a distraction." He offered a crooked, uncertain smile. "If that doesn't sound too boring for you? I don't want to hold you hostage in a conversation you've lost interest in, mind."

He was still hesitant, still self-conscious whenever what Telly was looking for physically was less than what Alastor was currently looking for. It was easy enough to say "no" when he was flat-out uncomfortable with an activity; he could even let himself think that he was giving Telly an opportunity to be gallant by graciously reigning in his own desires for Alastor's comfort. He felt less sure of saying "no" when he was simply not terribly excited by the idea at the moment. He felt like he was the one giving up the opportunity to be gallant. It was a new quandary for him, and he didn't enjoy his own uncertainty.

But thus far honesty had never steered him wrong with Telly, so he'd tell the truth first and figure out the rest later.

Telly

Telly purred as their foreheads pressed together, and then gave Alastor a squeeze. "Of course. We can just talk. As long as you don't mind if I simply _must_ occasionally interrupt you because the urge to give you a kiss is _unbearable_."

He leaned back to dramatically press the back of his hand to his forehead, before cracking open an eye and grinning. He readjusted himself to be snuggled back in close.

"I forget whose turn it is, so why don't you start us off again."

Alastor

Alastor's grin widened again, as much with relief as amusement. "Far be it from I to deny you if you're in such desperate need! Why, I might need one or two myself." And just to prove it, he planted a quick peck on Telly's forehead. "*I* kept track. We got off-topic because you said you wanted to take down ol' blockhead and I thought it was the most beautiful thing you said today. So it's your turn to ask one."

Telly

"Oh, alright." He looked around, finding the phone from where it had fallen in their kissing frenzy. He scrolled through it before making a face briefly.

"You know, there's something I've wanted to ask that's not on this list, and what better time than now?" Telly smiled, albeit sheepishly, turning to glance away as he worked up the nerve to ask his question.

"So, to preface this, I know when it comes to bedroom things, there are things you definitely do not want to do, one being me touching you in the--" He gestured vaguely to Alastor's crotch. "But I was wondering, what's your opinion on.....blow jobs?" He muttered the last word, looking away even harder.

Alastor

"Really? 'How do you feel about blow jobs,' they left that one off the list?" He squinted in exaggerated puzzlement at the phone. "How did they miss *that* one?" He tutted chidingly, then turned to Telly. "Giving or receiving? Or both? Or just as a general cultural phenomenon?"

Telly

"Well, I assumed that since you don't want me doing anything--" He gestured again to Alastor's crotch. "-- _down there_, that it would be giving."

~~He is still not making eye contact. He is not Looking.~~

Alastor

"Well... actually, I've been thinking about it." A dramatic pause. "And I'm still thinking about it."

Okay, now that he'd got the instinct to be a troll out of his system: "Here's the thing. Most available options, I've got clear opinions on and I don't have to wonder about them. Hand jobs? Sure, I've been giving them to myself for over a century, no problem with that. Anal? God hung a sign over that door that says 'exit only,' and while I'm perfectly happy to ignore that sign to sneak into a theater or a gourmet kitchen, I don't feel compelled to break into the back door of my sewage facility. And so on! But blow jobs, though?" He shrugged expansively, clueless.

"It's always looked disgusting, but that was when I was considering the prospect of all that hair and sweat and the crust of poor hygiene. None of that's a factor here. On the other hand, I generally don't stick things in my mouth I don't intend to chew and swallow—see, that sign on one end marked 'exit only' is accompanied by one on the other side that reads 'entrance only.' Kissing is fine, licking and nipping are fine, but the idea of sticking something in there and... *holding* it? Sliding it back and forth? It's..." He trailed off. "Well—neither good nor bad. Just... alien. I can't really imagine how it'd go."

He took a deep breath. "And of course, the fastest way to find out would be to go 'Well, whip 'em out, let me slobber on them and see how I like it!' But: I don't want to offer that if I don't already *know.* I don't want to get your hopes up just to find out in under ten seconds that I hate it and I'm never doing it again."

Telly

Telly listened, giving a small chuckle at Alastor's analogies. He pondered for a moment, his hand moving up to stroke at his chin. "Well, the thing is, how _will_ we know unless we try? That's a thing in science: you form a hypothesis and then conduct experiments to see if you're correct. You know that if something doesn't work out, or you _don't_ end up liking it or wanting to do it again, that's fine, yes? I'd rather us try and fail, than never try at all for only fearing the failure.

"Now, I'm not saying we jump right in and try it out right this very minute, but sometime in the future, why not give it a shot? The worst case is you don't like it, and then we know and we don't have to wonder anymore. Best case? We have another position we're both comfortable with.

"And stemming from that, if you don't like the idea of sticking the whole thing in, then there's always just licking-- or even eating me out, my slit where they're usually stored _is_, ah, capable of experiencing that as well. There's variations we could test. And if you don't like them either, no harm, no foul." He shrugged, one hand going to cup Alastor's cheek.

Alastor

"Don't scientists also do research first? To base their hypothesis on what they already know? I'm confident I could do more research." He leaned into Telly's touch, eyes sliding shut. "I'm... not ready yet." Which was embarrassing as all hell for him to admit—him, *Alastor* the *Radio Demon*, not ready for something. "I want to know that at least I haven't overlooked something obvious just because I rushed it. I—" he winced, "I don't consider myself a nervous person—but the thing is I don't want to be the least bit nervous while I've got a very delicate piece of equipment between my teeth."

Telly

"And that's fine, too. Like I said, we don't need to jump into it _right now_, or anything. We can wait until you're ready to try." He smiled and leaned in to give him a kiss.

"Alright, I think it's your turn now."

Alastor

Kiss! "All right, what have we got here..." They were down in the relationship and sex questions. He scrolled a bit, barked out a "HA," gave Telly a shit-eating grin, and read, "How well do you think our sex drives match up?"

Telly

Telly blinked at the question-- before breaking into a fit of cackling. His head tossed back, his laugh was loud and echoed in the cavernous bridge.

Alastor

Alastor cackled along with him, so loud his voice took on a note of distortion as if blasting from an overburdened speaker, and he flopped off of Telly's tail and onto his side. "Pff—perfectly synchronized," he wheezed, "right?"

Telly

Telly wheezed as well, trying to get out his reply. "Oh yes, perfectly!" He flopped back, giggling manically.

Alastor

He tugged Telly down to pull him into a hug, even as he laughed. The fact that they could laugh about it was good. Even if they weren't in sync, at least they weren't in conflict. That was what mattered.

"Ahh... I'll find a real one, give me a second."

Telly

Telly's chuckles tapered off as he settled against Alastor, purring. "You're hilarious, you know that, right?"

Alastor

"*Thank* you!" Now here was a smile that could light up a room. "I know it, but I like to know you know it too." He scrolled through the list, looking for one of the more serious questions he'd wanted to ask. "What are some of your relationship goals?" He paused. "Besides blow jobs."

Telly

"Relationship goals?" He tilted his head, a confused frown on his face. "I'm...not sure? Does a relationship need _goals_? I'm happy to be with you, no matter what."

He considered for another moment. "I suppose...us being happy is a goal? Can that be a goal?"

Alastor

"Sure! It can be a goal! The most important one, I think!" He propped himself up so he could look at Telly more directly. "You're not planning all this too far ahead, are you? Besides our next raid or two and the next thing to build and a list of enemies for us to topple?"

Telly

His face scrunched briefly. "No, not too far in advance. That's where I got into....complications before, when it was all planning, no _doing_. I thought a different approach would work better this time around-- but that's about conquering, and not about _us_. Sure, my goals for Hell are important, but as long as you're by my side, I feel like....that part will go much more smoothly."

Alastor

His smile warmed at Telly's faith in him. "I think relationship goals and conquering goals overlap. Like, say, what if your goal was to conquer and rule Hell with me, but my secret little goal for us was to find a way we could permanently sneak out of Hell and live in the mortal realm? I *don't*, but just for example. Both those would affect which direction our relationship goes—so I think they'd count as relationship goals. And we'd be in trouble if we both assumed we'd get ours without talking to the other."

Telly

"That is true, I just thought that the question was more specifically about goals for our relationship by itself. But you're right! Life-- or rather, Death Goals also affect relationships!" He chuckled.

Alastor

"It could be." He looked at the question and shrugged. "Whatever gives us a more interesting answer, I think! So! I'll amend it: have any relationship goals or goal that'll affect our relationship?"

Telly

"Well, in that case, I have the goal of conquering Hell with you by my side!" He laughed, winking at Alastor.

Alastor

"You know, that's on my list, too!" He laughed as well. "Just the two for now, then? Keep it nice and simple?"

Telly

"Yes, for now!" He shrugged, taking the phone back to scroll through questions.

He hummed as he looked and then grinned wickedly. "Alright, here's one I like: 'What are some things you really like about me?'"

Alastor

"Oh! How much time do you have!" He laughed. "Where to start? I like that evil smile of yours!" He pecked Telly's lips. "I like how you embrace what got you damned, instead of either denying it or moping about it. I like your organ playing—and your dancing—and the way you move. I like how you can think up some insane contraption, go, 'let there be a freeze ray!' and behold, within a day there is. I like how when I look at all you can make, I really do believe that you're the one human who could beat gods and demons not by borrowing their tricks but just by being human. I like how much you enjoy my cooking. I like how you hum when you work. I like how passionate you are about your inventions. I like your taste in interior design. I like your laugh. I like watching you swim. Should I keep going?"

Telly

As Alastor spoke, Telly curled around him, his purr starting up. He coiled tighter and grinned wider, until he was beaming and his face looked near to breaking. He squirmed briefly and laughed.

"Heh! Is that all? Is there more? Please DO feed my ego!!"

Alastor

"Oh, fine, fine! I also like how megalomania looks on you when your ego's been fed! And that menacing rumble you get, low in your chest. And the way your body feels." He ran a hand down along Telly's tail. "And the color of your eyes. *And* your scales. And the fact that you're theatrical enough to keep up with me. And the way you'll dress up to go somewhere fun with me. And when I'm going a hundred miles an hour, you don't ask me to slow down, but go a hundred and five. And you enjoy torturing a prisoner or seeing a musical or burgling a mall all just the same. And you have terrific taste in weapons. And your idea of a good date is having a picnic over the grave of the man who mistreated you. And you've never been horrified by me, even when you damn well should be. And you have a sadistic streak that borders on a form of art. And you make my dead heart start again when you sing. And you can play string duets like it's nothing. And you mix your own fragrances."

Telly

Telly couldn't help the overly pleased look that grew on his face. He purred and pressed his face into Alastor's shoulder. "If I could blush, I'd be bright as a traffic light." He kept grinning against Alastor.

"Love you, dear..."

Alastor

"Love you, *mon roi.*" A smooch to the side of his head.

Telly

Telly nuzzled and then looked up to kiss Alastor's lips.

Alastor

He returned the kiss, broke it long enough to say, "—and your teeth—" and went back in.

Telly

That little addition earned him a nip, and a grin against his lips.

Alastor

He nipped Telly back, chest trembling with silent laughter. Maybe he should start keeping a list. Make sure he remembered to tell Telly about every item on it at least once.

Telly

He laughed, too, giving another nip. He squeezed Alastor with tail and arms.

"One of these days, I'm going to make you blush like you make me."

Alastor

"I thought you said you couldn't blush." Alastor winked. "I'll look forward to that day! I'd better be red as a tomato!"

Telly

"You may not see it on my face, but you _know_ when you do, Alastor!" He chided playfully.

Alastor

"I might," he said innocently. "Tell me—was all that the answer you wanted to hear? I didn't leave out anything important, did I? There's just so much to try to remember!"

Telly

"Mm, no, I think you covered your bases pretty well," He said with a grin.

Alastor

"Good!" He beamed brilliantly. "I want to make sure you're feeling properly appreciated, after all!"

Telly

"You do, you do." He laughed, handing back the phone as he cuddled closer. "I think it was your turn now."

Alastor

"I think you're right!" He scrolled slowly through the list. "We just did a couple of relationship questions... So! What are some of your earliest memories?"

Telly

"Hmmm..." He sat back, taking Alastor's free hand with him as he pondered.

"I suppose it would be my mother overseeing the governess dressing me for some function when I was very young."

Alastor

"The governess! I don't think you've ever mentioned her." Although it made sense that a noble family had a house full of help, didn't it? "What was she like? Was she the one who taught you?"

Telly

"We had a number of them over the years-- never kept one too long, Father always said they got 'overly familiar' after a while." He shrugged.

Alastor

He had to take a moment to process that. "Is that code for 'he fired anyone who started to express concern for his children's well-being,' or 'he was sleeping with the help and fired them whenever he got caught'?"

Telly

"The former. There was one governess who was especially concerned about me, when I was, oh, six or seven, I believe? She went to my mother to speak with her about something regarding me, and the next day she was gone."

Telly snorted. "It's like they expected these women whom they hired to raise and teach their children to do so without becoming emotionally invested in said children."

Alastor

"Well, *they've* got no trouble regarding their children like vessels for their legacy instead of people, why is it so hard for someone they hired to do the same?" He shook his head. "You were already worrying people at six? What kind of trouble were you in?" He hoped it was the "already making dangerous inventions" variety rather than the "unusually miserable for a six-year-old" variety, but he wasn't getting his hopes up.

Telly

"I was either very quiet or very loud, I couldn't pay attention or I focused too hard on things, etcetera." He shrugged again. "The normal 'this child is not a neurotypical child' thing."

Alastor

"*There's* a five dollar word! You too?" Alastor laughed ruefully. "Funny thing, all my teachers said the same thing. Except *they* didn't get emotionally invested." He grimaced. "But then I wasn't a noble boy—I was just somebody's bastard."

Telly

"What, did you think the compulsion to create great machines of awe and destruction and take over the world came from the mind of someone who _wasn't_ afflicted with many neurodivergencies?" He chuckled.

"But yes, a few of them were worried, and a couple more tried the 'beat it out of him' method of fixing it."

Alastor

"There's a *six* dollar word. Does it include shocking inspiration and genius beyond any other human's capacity? Because I suspected that part."

Alastor sneered, his lip curling up to expose his teeth, as if contemplating sinking them into the throats of whichever governesses had dared pull such a stunt. "I'm familiar with *that* method." He shifted to kiss Telly's forehead. "I doubt it worked any better on you than it did on me."

Telly

"Yes, I believe so! It didn't work at all for me." He chuckled. "There were some better than others-- I really hated the one that used a switch." He shuddered.

Alastor

"Yard stick," Alastor said mournfully. "I think my mother would have murdered anyone who took a switch to me, but I wasn't friends with that yard stick."

Telly

"They would smack me when I focused too hard, and then when I couldn't focus at all-- it would send quite the mixed signals." He shook his head, and leaned in to kiss his forehead in return.

Alastor

A bitter laugh. "And for some reason they think the constant looming threat of punishment *helps* you focus!" Alastor shut his eyes to bask in the kiss.

"I don't suppose you've ever talked to a doctor about that, have you? I talked to one a couple of decades ago that said these days they think poor focus is a medical thing. They make drugs for that now."

Telly

"I haven't talked to any doctors, no, but I've done plenty of research on my own! After all, I like to think I'm smarter than most doctors who would end up in Hell!" He laughed.

"I've figured out that I likely had ADHD and a random assortment of co-morbid disorders, such as anxiety, depression, possibly mild OCD, and anger issues!" He seemed proud of that-- the fact he'd been able to suss all that out.

Alastor

His eyes lit up. "Oh! You too!" A pause. "The ADHD part, I mean." Says the man with depression oozing out of every pore. "Why, I should have guessed! Look at us, two peas in a pod!" He'd never thought discovering he has the same extremely specific mental condition as someone else would ever be something so *delightful*, but here he was. "Do you *want* drugs for that? I know a reliable adderall dealer."

Telly

"I've tried a few, they don't work right for me-- or at least, I don't like how they work for me." He shrugged again, and then smiled.

"I had an inkling that we might share that, though!"

Alastor

"I can't say I'm *surprised.* I should have suspected it when I learned how often you skipped meals to keep working." He tilted his head. "I've got a recipe for a focus potion I could teach you? All natural except for the ritalin, but we can leave that ingredient out if you don't like how it affects you." The ritalin may, in fact, have been the part that made the focus potion work. (When he said "all natural" that description was including the cocaine.)

Telly

"We could try it-- but mostly, I've found ways to manage without, mostly. I'd be game for trying, though." He smiled. "Is the focus potion what you use to keep yours in check?"

Alastor

"It helps! Potions, drugs—and I've been told *coffee* helps too, although I never would have made the connection myself." He shrugged. "I was about a hundred when I got a diagnosis, I'm sure by now all my tricks to 'keep it in check' are so intrinsic to my life I'll never realize that's what I'm using them for! What about you, what are your 'ways to manage' it?"

Telly

"Mostly using the Eggs to help me remember to do essential things, but otherwise letting my focus run its course. Of course, that doesn't always work, as you know."

Alastor

"Oh! Yes, of course—I delegate all my 'essential things' to my little shadow helpers. I don't have to remember to do it if someone else is doing it."

Telly

"Exactly! It's one reason I made the Eggs in the first place!" He laughed.

Alastor

"Someday, I hope you'll teach me *how* you made them, because I'm just dying to know." He had a hard time believing magic hadn't been involved.

Telly

"It was a little of this and that, and some other things." He shrugged.

Alastor

"Uh-*huh.*" A smirk. "All right. Keep your secrets. I'll dig them out some other night."

Telly

"Yes, some other night." He grinned back.

"My turn now, though." Telly took the phone back and scrolled through. "Hmmm, 'What habits do you still have from childhood?'"

Alastor

"Huh..." He thought a moment. "This is a cheat, since we were talking about it earlier, but I can't fall asleep without listening to something. First my mother singing to me, then a record player, then radio. And now you." He gave Telly a crooked grin. "But that's not fair, you could have guessed that one! Uh... crunching leaves, splashing puddles... singing and dancing at people who didn't ask for it... counting on my fingers... humming... reading on the toilet..."

Telly

"All of those are very cute, save for the toilet one." He chuckled, giving Alastor a squeeze. "Did the seasons change enough in Louisiana for crunching leaves, though?"

Alastor

"Sure! Not as spectacularly as you get up north, maybe, and we've got some stubborn trees that don't have the sense to drop their leaves in the winter—but they change! Usually, oh..." He closed his eyes, trying to remember. "Sometimes by Halloween—every year I'd hope they would—but not always. Usually by December, though. Brown leaves all over the sidewalks." He opened his eyes again. "I'd see prettier foliage on hunting trips from time to time, especially in parishes farther north. The trees were bare where I died, I remember that."

Telly

Telly listened, his mind running ahead a mile a minute. "Is red your favorite color?"

Alastor

"I don't make it *too* obvious, do I?" He laughed.

Telly

"Was it always your favorite? Or did that change over time?"

Alastor

He thought. "It's almost always been red! Crimson, particularly. But ruby too. Green was my favorite for a bit in my twenties, and I have phases where I just can't get enough of yellow and gold, but I always come back to red." He beamed at Telly, "Guess why I like yellow."

Telly

Telly laughed and flared one side of his hood, grinning. "I think I know why. But that's interesting! Red and yellow are both fall sorts of colors, but green! That's different. Green is more spring!"

He paused and shrugged. "I don't know what it means, but it's interesting!"

Alastor

"It makes me think of summer, actually! Not pale fresh greens but those rich, warm greens." Shapes in lights appeared above him, aimless spirals as he tried to wrestle their hue away from his magic's typical red and into the greens he was thinking of; after a few attempts, he managed several spirals in shades of emerald and basil and moss and olive and hunter green.

Telly

"Ah, yes, I do like those greens! You know what those shades of green go well with?" He flared his hood again, grinning. "Gold! I've always been fond of that combination, green and gold, and along similar lines, blue and silver-- they're pairs that are rarely made because one sees more red and gold than green and gold. Blue and silver is a more common occurrence, though, but still rarer than using red, I think."

Alastor

He summoned up the swirls of color again, letting them hover around Telly's face in front of his hood. "You're right! Have I ever seen you in green? I think your Mardi Gras dress had some green, didn't it, but that was more of a blue-green. I'd like to see a real vivid green on you." He reached up to lightly, almost absentmindedly run a finger along the edge of Telly's hood. "What are your favorite colors overall? I'm guessing gold's right up there."

Telly

"Yes, that was more of a pale teal than a true green-- a sea green, as the theme would have it." He chuckled, head tilting, one half of his hood folding back to allow the motion.

"Gold, black, blue, green-- I became fond of the particular shade of pink that my eyes are after death, but before then, I stuck to deep saturated and rather dark colors."

Alastor

"You know, *I'm* fond of that particular shade of pink, too!" And then he had to look at the color to remind himself of why he liked it, and then he was just staring into Telly's eyes. Wow. He had pretty eyes. What were they talking about?

Telly

With Alastor staring into his eyes, he couldn't help but stare back at Alastor's, and he found himself saying, "You know, I think I've become rather fond of brilliant true red, as well...."

Alastor

"Yeah?" Eloquent. It took him a second to remember the topic. "I should hope so, considering I'm filling half your rooms with red these days." He slid his arms around Telly's shoulders. "We should have a green room..." Aaand pulled him down into a kiss. He distracted himself with all that deep eye contact.

Telly

He was more than happy to be distracted by kisses, the eye contact got to him, too. He squeezed Alastor, nipping his lips.

Alastor

He nipped back, eyes sliding shut, melting into the constrictive embrace. Who needs Heaven when he can get this in Hell.

Telly

Telly lingered in the kiss, lazy and slow, before he pulled back. "Mm, it's fascinating how many different ways one can find to kiss someone."

Alastor

"Isn't it?" His eyes opened a slit, and for a moment he eyed Telly's lips contemplatively. It would be very easy to just keep going... But they'd have time enough for that later, and his desire to keep talking to Telly was stronger. (When wasn't it?) "That time, I think I really did lose track of whose turn it is."

Telly

"I believe it's yours. I was the one who started us off on a tangent after you answered one." He smiled, nuzzling against Alastor's cheek, pressing little kisses along his jaw.

Alastor

"Right! Uh—" Oh he's distracted again. He tried to focus on his phone over Telly's shoulder. "What—what's something we could do to bring us closer together as a couple?" A pause. "Besides blow jobs."

Telly

Telly paused as well, face nuzzled against Alastor's, lips still there against his skin as he spoke. "Mm, I think what we're doing right now? Just...talking about things, enjoying being with one another. Maybe a few more couple bonding murders..." He laughed.

Alastor

"Ooh, more murders. I like the sound of that." He nuzzled Telly back. "What else? Something we're not already doing. I—feel like we've only just begun and there's room for us to do so much more."

Telly

"Honestly? I'm not sure! I may have more experience than you, but only by a fraction," He said, humming against Alastor's skin.

Alastor

That hum traveled down Alastor's neck and up the side of us head. His brain is jelly. "Well—think on it and let me know, would you? I want to do more for you. And with you."

Telly

"I will," He said, chuckling. "My turn?" He hummed again. "Alright, how about the same question: is there something you can think of that would bring us closer as a couple?"

Alastor

"Hell. You already took murder, what does that leave me with?" He laughed, then trailed off thoughtfully.

After a moment, he said, "I'd like if you asked me more questions about me. I know that's what we're doing now, but—in general. When I ask you about your beliefs, ask about mine. When I tell you I hunted humans for sport—ask why I did something crazy like that. If—if you want to know, I mean." Implicit: *you do, don't you?*

"I know we both know I never shut up, so I could just *tell* you, but... I prefer to be asked. I like to know you want... more of me than just my surface level. I'm still an entertainer, you know—I react to what my audience shows interest in."

Telly

Telly listened, lifting his head as he tilted it in thought. "Okay. I think I can do that. Generally, I don't....ask more because I don't want to pry."

He winced, looking away. "Another bad habit George instilled in me, I think."

Alastor

Alastor laughed in disbelief, "You mean he wasn't taking every opportunity to talk about himself? Color me surprised!" But then he'd probably just wanted Telly to be quiet. *Shut up and look at the stars.*

"Well, unlike *George*"—he said the name like an insult—"I *want* to know you, and I want *you* to know *me.* So if you wonder, you can ask. And I'll let you know if you ask something I can't talk about."

Telly

Telly smiled, softly and shyly at first and then with more confidence. "Okay. I will."

He let out a breath. "Did you ever tell me how you got started in radio?"

Alastor

Alastor beamed. "I don't think I did! It was in '24! I'd realized that New York didn't have what I was looking for, and I was looking for an excuse to go back to New Orleans, when my mother mentioned in a letter that a new station was going up and they were looking for somebody with a cultured accent to announce the evening orchestras. Well, I knew my way around a hobby radio kit, so I paid to make a long-distance call to the station manager, read off the first paragraph of a musical review in my best Broadway stage voice, and asked him, 'How about that, is that the voice you're looking for?' He hired me sight unseen!" He laughed. "I told myself it would be a fine part-time job until I could get in with a jazz band or a vaudeville troupe, something like that, but... I think part of me knew even then."

Telly

Telly smiled brightly. "Sounds like destiny to me. Now, when did you start killing? It was after going back to New Orleans, correct?"

Alastor

"When I started killing seriously, yes. I'd committed one murder before then, and..." A thoughtful squint. "Well, I *might* have got some Germans, but I don't know for sure. They don't exactly call you from across no man's land to congratulate you on your shot."

Telly

Telly's head tilted again, curiosity piqued.

"Who was your first? Kill, that is."

Alastor

"My racist grandfather who taught me the word 'bastard' when my father wasn't listening." He smiled grimly. "'Hunting accident.' *Very* tragic."

He nodded at Telly, "Who was *yours*? Was your attack on London the first time, or did you get a taste for it before then?"

Telly

"First that was fully intentional? My...business partner. He wanted to pull the funding for my work. I killed him and wrote letters to keep the money flowing."

Alastor

"Your *business partner*? You had a business partner? Who was *he*?" Alastor paused. "No, wait—'fully intentional'?" He paused again. "No no wait, tell me about the business partner first!"

Telly

Telly's face scrunched, and then flattened, and then scrunched again, as if he was trying to decide if what he was about to say was terrible, hilarious, embarrassing, or all three.

"He was Olivia's father. He saw potential in me, which is why he agreed to the engagement in the first place."

Alastor

His eyebrows went up. "Her *father.* Your—your friend's father! George's father-in-law. Him. Were you writing letters as him to *them*?"

Telly

Telly nodded, and let out a manic sort of laugh. "Yes! I made assurances everything was fine, that he was staying in Dover for a time as the sea air did him good, that sort of thing. Never suspected a thing."

Alastor

He blinked, an amazed smile on his face. "To your *own friend.* Oh, that's *cold.*" He laughed, pulling Telly into a quick kiss. "Did they ever find out anything had happened before you died?"

Telly

"To be honest, I wasn't thinking about her when I did....any of it. But no, she never knew until after my death."

Alastor

"She must have had a miserable time after you died, poor thing." He shook his head sympathetically—not *too* sympathetically, but he wasn't going to make fun of her when he knew Telly had actually cared about her. "Was it your airship you were working on when he tried to pull his money?"

Telly

"Yes. I'd hired a good few people to work on it day and night, and we were so close to finishing....though, 'close' was more like 'another two years', but back then that was _very_ close!" He laughed.

Alastor

"For something that size, first of its kind? I should say so! What made him want to pull out?"

Telly

"Well, that leads back to them, uh..._unintentional_ deaths. You see, I did not care for workplace safety." He chuckled.

Alastor

"*Ha!* I see! No surprise, having them work on it day and night!" He cupped Telly's cheek in a hand. "Did your callousness frighten him, my darling?"

Telly

"That and the, ah, _amount_ of men who died." He beamed.

Alastor

Alastor hooted. "You even sound *proud*! Were you proud at the time, or did you have to learn to be?"

Telly

"At the time, I was unconcerned. Mostly still am. They died so that my vision became a reality! It wasn't shameful-- their deaths had purpose!"

Alastor

"And a hell of a vision it was!" Although it might explain why apparently one of them had done slipshod work on the pipes; but pointing that out might sound like a criticism instead of an observation.

Telly

"Yes, well, Lord Everton was considerably disappointed in what he called a 'lack of safety' and 'lack of progress'. But I dealt with that."

Alastor

Alastor scoffed. "Oh, and what kind of progress was *he* expecting on the world's first flying ship? Did he think he'd be sailing it over the English Channel in three months?"

Telly

"_He_ thought it was to be just a submersible!" He laughed. "And he thought five years was more than a generous amount of time for it."

Alastor

"You didn't tell him it was going to *fly*? Why, I thought that would be a selling point!" He had no idea how long it was supposed to have taken to make a submarine in the late 1800s, so he couldn't comment on *that * part.

Telly

"Well, at first, it _wasn't_ but then I changed the blueprints a number of times and it just became an airship, too." Telly shook his head. "I was frantic and possessed by my genius."

Alastor

A strange look crossed Alastor's face. "Sounds like it must have been one hell of a time. In both good and bad ways." He almost said more, but paused, waiting to see if Telly had more to add to the story.

Telly

"It was, certainly, it was." He nodded and sighed, leaning against Alastor.

Alastor

He rubbed Telly's back for a moment, thoughtfully; then said, "That's probably how I would have described myself as a murderer toward the end. *Frantic and possessed.* Not by genius—and certainly not by something *forcing* me to kill—but I was... trying to make something." He said the words slowly, choosing them carefully. "I needed to take something inside of me and create it in the real world, and I couldn't stop until I succeeded." He looked at Telly searchingly, seeing whether he understood.

Telly

Telly locked eyes with Alastor, and nodded slowly. "Yes. I wanted to leave something behind, something grand, and it didn't matter what got in my way. Nothing was too high a cost for trying to complete _this thing_. I suspect it was a little different for you, with your killing, but....I thing the feeling was probably the same."

Alastor

"I wasn't trying to leave something behind, but I was trying to... *be* something, or—or *do* something, and I wouldn't be *complete* until I'd done it. By the time I died, it was almost the only thing that mattered." He took a deep breath. "It's like a forest fire, isn't it? There's nothing as beautiful as that blazing light, but it consumes everything in you."

Telly

Telly found himself nodding on instinct, and then when he realized what he was doing, he nodded more vigorously. "It starts like a spark and then just grows and grows until the blaze is all there is, and it's terrible and beautiful and you can't help but just....let it consume you."

Alastor

"And then you burn out. And then you're dead. And what have you got for it but the ashes of the life you could have lived if you hadn't kindled that obsession?" He gave Telly a sad smile. "Still. I wish I'd seen you when you blazed. I'll bet you were glorious."

Telly

"Sometimes you burn out even after death. I was still riding that blaze long after I think. At least, until..." He trailed off.

"I'm sure you could find old newspapers or broadcasts of my glory days in Hell, if you wanted."

Alastor

"Oh, I *plan* to! The only reason I haven't been devouring every article ever written about you is because I've had to read how to repair pipe organs first!" He smirked cheekily for a moment; but the mood wasn't right for that, and the smirk faded.

"I only *blazed* for... oh, I don't know, it might have been as short as my first day in Hell. Just long enough to ruin everything." He huffed. "Sure, I *really* crashed and burned a few decades later, but that was different. That had nothing to do with the murders. I think the old obsession's still smoldering, but—it doesn't consume me like it used to."

Telly

"Yes, there's something about dying and then falling from grace that does that, isn't there? I was flying high until-- that....incident. And then that failure tempered my drive...or squashed it, more like..."

Alastor

Alastor nodded thoughtfully. "Would you go back to that frantic and possessed feeling if you could?"

Telly

Telly thought for a long moment. "...No. No, I don't think I would. That fire and drive were intoxicating, but it didn't leave room for anything else. It was all just....the creation of it."

He turned to smile at Alastor, pressing his hand to his cheek. "I have things now that I want to have plenty of room for."

Alastor

He smiled crookedly back. "I don't think I would, either. I think I'm too old for serial killing now. I get tired just thinking of the kind of schedule I used to keep." He laughed wearily.

"... What if that's what it takes to conquer Hell, though?" He placed his hand over Telly's. "If I see you pushing yourself into obsession, do you want me to pull you back? Or do you want me to come with you?"

Telly

He considered that for another long moment. "I'm not sure. I don't have an answer right now-- I think that's a 'we'll cross that bridge when we come to it' sort of thing. But whatever the answer, I'm glad you'll be with me." Telly leaned in for a kiss.

Alastor

He accepted the kiss and held it for a moment, then drew back and pressed his forehead to Telly's. "We don't need the answer tonight—but I'd like to have it before we reach that bridge. Once we get there, I imagine pulling you back from the brink would take a fight. Better to know *before* then whether you want me to try."

Telly

"Yes....yes, you're right. It's just such a vast sort of question, because how are we to know the circumstances that would surround such a second descent?" He took a breath. "It would be complicated. But I don't think I'll go there again-- when I went there in life, it was from a very dark place, and the obsession became everything. I don't think I'd be able to get to that place again without something....drastic."

Alastor

"For now we'll call that a soft 'no', how's that? But we'll play it by ear. We can talk it over more in the future."

Telly

"Yes, I think that would be best." He laughed, leaning against him.

Alastor

Alastor adjusted his arms around Telly—and then, during the brief lull in the conversation, glanced at the movie. "... How long has that been off?" He laughed.

Telly

Telly blinked and looked over as well. "Goodness, I don't know. We talked through the whole thing!" He laughed.

Alastor

"And you know, I bet we had twice as much fun as we would have watching the movie!" All the same, he started quietly playing the soundtrack—to make up for not hearing it the first time. "Well, what now? The night's still young."

Telly

"Well, we still have food. And we could put on another movie if you'd like, and this time watch it." Telly chuckled. "I'm ready for whatever you wish, darling, I just want to keep holding you."

Alastor

"We *do* still have food." He grabbed a couple crostini, popped one in his mouth, and offered the other to Telly. "Oh, I don't know if I could pay attention to another movie—but I like this 'keep holding you' idea, I think we ought to do something with that."

Telly

Telly accepted the snack and smiled. "Yes, that would be good. Maybe some more kisses, too."

Alastor

"Do you know what I think about *that*?" Without waiting for an answer, he pulled Telly into a deep kiss.

Telly

Telly's eyes flashed wide for a moment before he melted into the kiss. What a night this had been.

Alastor

What a night indeed. Alastor nipped at Telly's lip and pressed closer against him; yes, he could happily stay right here the rest of the night.

#usedhearts #chat log

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heyitsani · 3 years

Text

Weight Of My Soul

Word Count: 11,084

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Mind manipulation, and Dick being a dick

Pairing: Jason Todd/Dick Grayson

Summary: After a fight with Dick, Jason comes across a Jinn and makes a wish that will change everything.

Notes: This is dedicated to @epistemologys @nerd-by-definition @mlim8 @shannara810 @hedgebelle and @the-man-moth

I don’t want to give any notes because it’ll spoil the story. So if you need some, head to AO3 and read the end notes to understand the lore I used. Or DM me and I’ll answer any question.

You can also read it on AO3 here

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Are you fucking insane?!” Jason growled as he pulled off his helmet the moment he and Dick landed on a rooftop far enough away from the crime scene to not catch the attention of the cops, but close enough to be sure they got there in a timely manner. “Why the hell would you just give yourself over to them like that? We had it covered, we were good. Do you always have to be such a fucking masochist?!” He knew he wasn’t technically being fair, that things had been starting to go sideways, but he was still so pissed that Dick hadn’t even warned him. He had just jumped into the middle of the nest of criminals and “let them” get the drop on him.

“Why are you so upset? Everything worked out fine,” Dick pointed out, just making Jason’s temper flare hotter. “I’m more than capable of taking care of myself. And I don’t need you thinking you have any right to fight my battles for me!” He didn’t understand how the older man just didn’t get that people cared enough to not want him to sacrifice himself whenever he possibly could.

It made Jason want to put his fist through the brick wall to his left.

With another growl and a choking motion with his hands, Jason turned and walked toward the furthest point of the rooftop, pulling his phone out at the same time. “Stay over there. I need a fucking minute!” He snapped at Dick, who tried to follow him. Dick stopped and Jason let out a huff of air as he dialed an all too familiar number.

“Jaybird,” Roy picked up on the second ring. “Aren’t you and lover boy doing some big bust tonight?” At the playful mention of Dick, Jason growled again and kicked the raised edge of the rooftop. “Jay? What happened?”

“Code Green,” he said as controlled as he could, trying to focus on holding off the green haze as best he could.

Roy swore on the other end of the line and Jason could hear the telltale signs of the man moving around. “Are you safe?” Jason gave a grunt and glanced over his shoulder to see Dick watching him from the other side of the rooftop, further than where he had initially been. Part of him was thankful for him trying to give Jason the privacy he thought he needed. “Dick still there?” Another grunt. He didn’t need to speak for Roy to know that this episode was probably made worse by Dick without the older man even realizing it. “You know the drill man. Breathe in for five, hold for five, breathe out for five.”

Jason followed the instructions and tried to regulate his breathing, listening as Roy began telling a story about what Lian had done the other day. It was a stupid story about a doll and a boy at school who had tried to take it from her.

“Like her mom,” Jason rasped when Roy said she was a little badass.

Roy scoffed, faux offended at the fact that Cheshire was more badass than him. But Jason wasn’t fooled. Roy knew it too. “You doing okay?”

Taking a deep breath, Jason let it out slowly and took stock. The green edges on his vision had faded but he still felt like the smallest thing could set him off. “I’m good. I’ll go home and sleep the worst of it off.” Roy hummed and Jason knew he was still concerned. “I’ll call you when I get to the safehouse. I just need to be sure the cops do their part for this job with Nightwing.”

“Just be careful. And you better call.”

Jason let out a soft chuckle and confirmed he would before he ended the call and turned to head back to where Dick was now standing, watching the distance.

“You know,” Dick started when Jason got close enough to hear his hushed voice. And while most people knew Dick’s temper and how hot it burned when he was yelling, few knew this tone. Few knew that when Dick got quiet and hushed after a fight, things were about to get ugly. “I wish it didn’t have to be this way. I think about it all the time, how one different choice could have changed the entire path our lives went down.” Jason frowned, not entirely sure where Dick was going with this. But he remained quiet as he came to a stop next to him and looked out at the flashing red and blue lights as the GCPD arrived on scene.

He was still on edge from the Pit Haze, but he had it under control now at least. Otherwise, he would have snapped at Dick to just say what he meant.

“If you had never been brought back by whoever it was that brought you back, then you wouldn’t be dealing with all of this now.”

Jason’s blood froze and he jerked back almost as if he had been slapped. And Dick saw it, he saw the reaction but just kept looking at Jason as if he should have something to say in response. But what did you say to someone who basically said you never should have returned? That you should have stayed dead.

“Jay…”

“No,” he snapped, backing away from Dick and picking up his helmet. “You stay the hell away from me. Then maybe you can pretend that I never came back at all,” he said as he shot his grapple and took a running leap off the rooftop.

He knew he was probably taking it differently than Dick meant, but he also knew that Dick went for the gut when he was upset. He went for what he knew would hurt the most. He had watched him do it with countless other people, but he had never expected to be on the receiving end of it. Not when they had been so close to something. Not when Jason had been trying to show Dick just how important he was to him. How Jason’s whole world revolved around the older man.

That just made it all hurt even more. To the point that his anger decided it was a safer option and took over his emotions.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They kept their golden eyes trained on the man as he stormed around the ramshackle building he had run off to after the argument with the one in black and blue. The power flowing over his skin was tempting and mouth watering and it was torture to have to wait for the words that could possibly not come. But with the way the man had been muttering under his breath, they were certain the phrase was right around the corner.

It was just a matter of waiting until he finally gave in. And from what they had witnessed between the two men, it was going to be worth the wait. Not only was this man dripping in power, rolling green waves of it surging over his skin, but he was lonely.

So desperately lonely.

The fight made that clear with the words exchanged. The man in black and blue had used emotional manipulation that even they themself could be proud of. And they were almost tempted to see just how far that manipulation could go, but observation was only so fun. And they were in the mood for a meal.

So they stood a short distance, watching the man pace back and forth, just waiting to hear the words. And almost as if the man had heard their thoughts, he stopped in front of the random, broken mirror in the corner and uttered:

“I wish Dick Grayson had never come to Gotham.”

“Finally,” they whispered, snapping their fingers and revealing themselves to the man. And they weren’t in any way surprised that there was a gun immediately pointed into their face. “That will do you no good. I’m friend, not foe.” The man narrowed his eyes on them but made no move to lower the gun. So they simply ignored it. Moving lazily around the room, they ran their fingers over a plant on a table and along the back of a chair. “I am here to help with your little birdie problem.”

“What are you?”

“I am Jinn.” The man paused and frowned, his gun finally lowering to his side.

“You’re a genie?” The man scoffed, but Jinn could tell he was digesting the information. “As in three wishes?”

They lifted a rich brown shoulder, left bare by the black leather top they wore. “A fulfiller of dreams, I prefer to say. Of hearts desires. Of wildest dreams.” The man’s eyes remained narrowed, but interest had sparked within them. And they knew they had won. “So like I said, I can help with your birdie problem. If you want me to, that is.”

He paused and they waited, their victims were always so predictable. “What’s the catch?”

“You cannot wish me out of existence but otherwise, nothing will be required of you.” That you know of at least, they thought. “All you have to do is say it again.”

The man hesitated still, watching them closely as he weighed the pros and cons, and they were surprised he lasted this long. The days they had been following him had exposed a lack of impulse control when emotions ran high. But currently they would say he was almost…calculating. And they were surprised, but they also respected it. The harder the sell, the better the prize.

“Fine,” the man finally said. And they couldn’t stop the smile from slowly spreading across their face as the words were muttered again: “I wish Dick Grayson had never come to Gotham.”

“Your wish is my command,” they said as they snapped their fingers yet again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was as quick as a blink of his eyes.

One moment Jason was standing facing a stranger, a Jinn who apparently wanted to grant him a wish, and the next he was in the middle of the street of what looked like Gotham. But there was something off, not just in the look but in the feel.

“What are you doing man? Get out of the streets!” A teenager ran past Jason, scurrying up a set of stairs and rushing into the building. The door slammed shut behind him and Jason frowned. What had the kid so scared that he would warn a guy who looked like Jason did off the streets.

He took a moment to look down at himself and noticed he still had all his gear on, guns in place, but no helmet. But at least he had some protection on his person. With that small comfort, he started making his way down what the dilapidated sign claimed to be Ward St. Which meant he was in Crime Alley and maybe the kid was worried about the all too familiar criminals roaming the streets. But he could handle the usuals easily and he doubted that just because Dick Grayson was never a presence in Gotham that his own life changed that much.

But the look of the city certainly had. Even in the distance where he should have been able to see the shinning lights of the Diamond District, darkness seemed to bleed over the entire scape. It was surprising and concerning. Enough that he grabbed a flyer that was stuck under the body of a car that had been picked apart by thieves, leaving a shell of a machine to just rust in the streets.

Looking over the flyer, Jason froze.

Beware the Bat!

Beneath the large, bold print was a crudely drawn image of Batman and a paragraph that offered shelter in various locations to citizens so they could avoid being on the streets after sunset. But that didn’t make sense. Batman scared criminals, he didn’t scare regular citizens. He was an urban legend to most of them. But he was also a sense of hope. That had been his whole deal.

“Psst,” a voice called to Jason’s left and he looked over to see a head peeking out of a window of a dark house. A familiar head.

“Roy, the fuck!” Jason hurried over and slipped in the unlocked door, shutting it behind him. But the instant it was shut, he was being pushed face first into it and his arm restrained behind his back. “The fuck-?”

That only got him shoved into the door more. “How the hell do you know my name?” Roy growled from behind him and Jason had no idea how to respond to that. Roy, his best friend and saving grace, was asking how he knew him? But then something sparked a thought. No Dick Grayson meant no Robin and no Teen Titans. It also meant Jason was never introduced to Roy through the Titans. But surely the young heroes would have come together without the influence of Dick? “Answer me!”

“I’m Jason Todd,” Jason ground out, consciously forcing himself not to struggle against Roy’s hold. “I’m from a different…universe?” The Jinn hadn’t exactly explained how their magic worked and Jason wasn’t sure he was that kind of smart to be able to figure it out. “In my universe, you’re my best friend and former teammate.”

That seemed to give Roy pause for a moment before the man was backing away and Jason was able to turn around, keeping his back pressed to the door. It also gave Jason a moment to look over Roy from where he stood a few feet away. But Jason didn’t like what he saw. The man looked sick, drawn out.

Strung out.

“Roy…are you okay?” Jason asked carefully, glancing around the small space and taking in the various signs of the addiction that he hadn’t managed to kick yet. “Roy what is wrong with Gotham? Why are you here? Where is Oliver?”

“Don’t say that name,” Roy spat out, turning and heading to the fridge. Jason watched with wide eyes as the man pulled out a beer and opened it, taking a long pull. He couldn’t remember the last time Roy had allowed himself to drink. Too many comments about recovery not being easy and how he had to fight it every day. This Roy apparently didn’t have that issue. “What?”

But Jason was at a loss for words for a moment. So he shook his head and looked around again, trying to find signs of another person living there. Was Kori here too? Or Lian? But it didn’t look like anyone else had ever set foot in this hell hole.

Looking down at the flyer still in his hand, Jason frowned. “Why is everyone afraid of the Bat?” Jason asked carefully, looking back to Roy.

“Because he’s dangerous. Because he lays out more justice than the GCPD. Because he doesn’t allow second chances or hope.” But that made no sense to Jason. Bruce was all about justice being through the system. That had been their biggest issue, Jason didn’t think that certain criminals should be allowed that mercy. But Bruce didn’t think they should make that call.

“Do you have a computer?” Roy grunted and gestured to an open laptop on the kitchen table that Jason had somehow missed. Hurrying over to it, he immediately woke it up and typed in the password his Roy always used. He wasn’t surprised when it worked this time too. Roy made a noise behind him at the action, but Jason couldn’t concern himself with that right then. Instead he pulled up a web browser and typed in Dick Grayson in the search bar.

The results were surprising and Jason clenched a fist at the sight of them. Of course Gotham has fallen to shit and Dick Grayson has his perfect life.

Gold Medalist Dick Grayson Returns to his Family Act: The Flying Graysons.

The life that Dick had deserved. The life he should have had in their reality but never got because of a debt his parents were forced to pay with their lives.

“Who’s the looker?” Roy’s voice sounded behind him, causing Jason to jerk and turn to face him. The man raised an eyebrow and took another drink of his beer. “Someone you know in your world?” Turning back to look at the picture of Dick on the trapeze, Jason pursed his lips before shutting the screen with more force than necessary.

“Roy, why are you in Gotham?”

The redhead tilted his head and shrugged. “Safer than Star City. Safer than most places. At least Batman scares the citizens and the criminals. No one can control it the way he does. ‘Sides,” Roy said, finishing off his beer and tossing the bottle away, “I’m not welcome in Star anymore.”

“What about Speedy?”

“The fuck do you know about Speedy? I never told anyone about that.”

“More than you will ever apparently. This world is shit,” Jason grumbled, moving away from the table. “Jinn!” He called out, looking upward. He didn’t know how this worked, but he didn’t want this to be the reality he was stuck in. Fuck Dick Grayson and his goddamn influence on everything in Jason’s world. Fuck him and his manipulations to get people to do whatever he wanted them to do. It was just his luck that he eliminates the person who would make Gotham good and Batman better.

Just his fucking luck.

“JINN!”

“Oh stop your shouting,” the familiar husky voice sounded from behind him, the room fading to just the two of them. The image of Roy had turned hazy and Jason frowned at that. Was this part of their powers? Pause reality before changing it. Shaking his head, he turned back to Jinn and narrowed his eyes. “Something wrong?”

“This reality sucks,” he said, waving an arm in Roy’s direction before holding up the flyer. “You cannot tell me that Dick fucking Grayson had this much power as Robin and then Nightwing.” The Jinn shrugged a slender shoulder, much like they had in Jason’s safehouse earlier and Jason wanted to punch them.

“I do not create the reality; I only change the elements asked of me. You wanted Dick Grayson to have never come to Gotham,” they said, looking right at Jason with eyes that spoke of too many lifetimes and witnessing of too much pain. “This is that reality. He is a man with faults, but he inspires others to be their best apparently.”

But what was Jason supposed to do with that? How was he supposed to just be okay with all this bad that happened because he had wished Dick out of Gotham? He wasn’t the monster people thought him to be, that Dick thought him to be. He wasn’t. He wanted to help. He wanted to make a difference. That’s why he had joined Batman to begin with. That had been lost for a while after he had come back from the dead, but it was back now. He was trying. He was.

“It is within your power to change.”

Three wishes. That’s what all the legends said, right? He used one and now he had two more to perfect this. But he had to be careful because his words could easily be used against him and interpreted incorrectly. He had to be precise. But he had to bring Dick back to Gotham. He couldn’t be responsible for this. But how was he going to fix this without landing himself right back into Dick’s orbit? The man didn’t want him there, had voice his opinion quite plainly. Not even Jason could miss that fact.

“Maybe it would have been better for you if you had never come back at all.”

Clenching his jaw, Jason took a deep breath and held back the hurt and rage that filled him when Dick’s voice filled his mind, those words reminding him that what he thought was heading toward something good between them actually wasn’t heading anywhere.

Then the idea hit him. “I want to go back to my old world, but to never have come across the Batmobile that night in the Alley.” Jinn tilted their head and considered him in a way Jason wasn’t sure he was entirely comfortable with. But then they raised their hand just like last time and quirked an eyebrow before snapping their fingers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The shift between worlds was just as sudden as it was before, but this time Jason had been prepared and immediately took in where he had landed. But he wasn’t sure why it didn’t seem too different from where he was last time. The only difference was it was daytime. But the street looked just as abandoned as before and the city seemed eerily silent for what looked like around noon, going off the height of the sun in the smog gray sky.

And from the look of the buildings on the street, he was in the Diamond District. But it was quiet, too quiet for even a weekend day. There should have been people all over the sidewalks and cars on the streets.

It should have been bustling.

But it was abandoned.

“The fuck happened this time?” Jason muttered to himself as he walked further into the neighborhood before quickly ducking behind a dumpster when he heard screeching tires and gun shots. He peeked through the gap between the dumpster and the wall of the building he was hiding between. He wasn’t sure who he was seeing, but something about the gleeful way they were acting told him this was normal. They were comfortable in their actions. Almost like they knew no one was coming to get them.

“Kid,” a harsh voice whispered behind him. Glancing back, Jason saw someone waving over to him from a barely cracked door. Glancing back at the vanishing criminals, Jason quickly made his way to the door and slipped inside.

After his encounter with Roy, he was expecting someone else he knew. He wasn’t disappointed. Lucius Fox stood in front of him, looking older and more exhausted than Jason remembered. But he learned from his experience with Roy not to reveal he knew the other man.

“You hurt?” Lucius asked, looking Jason over briefly. Jason shook his head and looked around the main room of what looked like an office turned into an apartment. “Then what the hell are you doing out there? Only someone desperate would do something so stupid with Bane’s men joyriding and the PD in their back pockets.”

“Where is Batman?” Lucius let out a snort before shaking his head slowly. “I know you know who Batman is. It’s hard to explain but I’m from another universe. Batman is thriving in mine, where is he in this one?” So much for not revealing who he was.

“Thriving you say? And I know you?” Jason nodded but remained silent while Lucius studied him closely. With a frown, the man walked over to the counter and pulled a pen and paper from one of the drawers. Quickly he scribbled on the paper before handing it to Jason. “Batman is there.”

Jason looked at the paper and found an address. One that looked familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it. “You shouldn’t have too much trouble out there looking like you do. Make the guns more obvious and they’ll think you’re one of them. But keep them loaded just in case.”

“Thank you,” Jason said, pocketing the address and moving back over to the door. “Lucius, where is your family?” The look that clouded the older man’s face told Jason all he needed to know. He had seen grief too many time. “I’m sorry.”

“Aren’t we all?”

With one last glance, Jason ducked out the door and headed back down to the main street. He knew the general area where Lucius said Bruce was so he headed that way. Thankfully he didn’t run into anymore of Bane’s men taking potshots. He wasn’t really in the mood to get in a fight. He was too focused on figuring out what the hell was going on in this city. It was eerie and far too abandoned to be anywhere close to what he knew Gotham to be. This was a ghost town.

Pulling the paper out again, he looked at the street number and gauged where he was in relation, heading in the direction he needed to. When he reached the right address, he realized why it looked so familiar. The police station. Looking down at the number again just to confirm this was right, Jason sighed and headed inside.

“You lost?” The man at the front desk questioned.

Shaking his head, Jason slipped his hands into his pockets and made sure his guns were exposed. “I’m here to talk to the Bats.” The cop looked him up and down, taking in the quality of his weapons before shrugged and jerking his head to have Jason follow him.

“You aren’t going to get much out of him. Don’t think the bastard has said a single thing since he turned himself in,” the guard said as he led Jason down the hall of empty cells that he was so used to seeing full of the random rogues and villains. It was disconcerting to see it empty save for the one cell at the end of the hallway.

Jason took in the figure in familiar orange, sitting on a bench and hunched forward. It wasn’t the first time he had seen Bruce in that position, but he had never seen the man look so broken before. It made no sense to him. What could have happened that led Bruce to this? And the fact that Batman turned himself in? Jason didn’t think the man thought anything he did was wrong.

But this was not the image of a man who was full of pride and self-importance.

“You got a visitor, Bats,” the guard called out as they reached the glass wall that Bruce was behind. The guard tapped his baton on the glass when Bruce didn’t move, but the man remained unresponsive. “Good luck, kid. Buzz when you want out.” The guard gave him a long look before turning to head back down the hall.

Jason watched him go before turning to look at the man behind the glass. From this angle, he could see that the usual body mass of Bruce was all but gone. Before him was a thin, graying, and weathered man. This was all wrong.

“Bruce,” Jason called, knowing that since he had wished his own influence out of Bruce’s life that the man wouldn’t know him. But he hoped that calling him by his name might get a reaction. It didn’t.

And then a thought hit him, one that probably should have hit him as soon as Lucius made it clear Batman wasn’t on the streets anymore. And oh god he hoped he was wrong. He hoped he was not about to get an answer to a question that haunted him since the day he returned and realized Bruce had left the Joker alive.

“Bruce, where is Dick?”

Bruce’s head whipped up and Jason took a step back at what he saw. Pale skin, circles so dark under his eyes that they were practically black, but that had nothing on his actual eyes. Dead. There was no other way to explain it. They were the eyes of a man who had lost everything, including the will to live.

“Who are you?” Bruce asked, voice raspy and rough with obvious disuse. But there was emotion in it too. Accusations unspoken. If Jason was a nobody, he shouldn’t know about Dick’s connection to Batman. But Bruce didn’t know of Jason’s true connection. Not in this world.

“I know about Robin and I know who Dick is to you. I also know he would never let you do this to yourself. So where is he? Where is Alfred?” Jason moved so he was standing practically nose to glass, eyes watching ever twitch and flinch of Bruce as he spoke. “Bruce, where is Dick?” He was starting to fill with dread. This was wrong on a basic level, but there was something deeper and Jason wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

But still he had to know.

“Dead.”

Jason’s heart stopped. “No.” He shook his head, looking away from Bruce to try and process that revelation. Dick wasn’t supposed to be dead. Bruce needed him, the previous world had proven that. The world needed Dick Grayson. “How?” He whispered, hoping it was loud enough for Bruce to have heard him.

“Joker.” And just like that Jason felt the pit rage surge. He hadn’t been there for the Joker to get his hands on so he got them on Dick instead. This was his fault. Again, he had made a choice and people had suffered in ways they never should have. It never should have been Dick. “It was a trap.”

Jason didn’t need to hear the rest of the story to know that it was pretty much exactly what had happened to him. But it had happened to someone it never should have happened to.

“Where is the Joker now?”

“Dead.” But it was said with so much regret and so much pain that Jason forgot to breathe for a moment. Bruce had killed the Joker because he had killed Dick. And it was obvious that it had destroyed Bruce. Not just losing his son, but breaking his one rule of justice. Jason had never understood why Bruce was so adamant about no killing, especially the Joker. Now he was seeing exactly why. Would this have happened to him if Bruce had killed the Joker after Jason’s death at his hands? Or was this just because Dick was forever the golden child?

“Jinn!” Jason called out as he backed away from a now confused looking Bruce. When Bruce’s eyes went wide, Jason knew Jinn had appeared behind him but Jason couldn’t look away from Bruce’s face. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the shame and guilt that remained even as he looked shocked at the appearance of Jinn. “I wish Bruce Wayne had never become Batman,” he said without looking away from the man. He didn’t bother to look and see if Jinn was listening, Jason knew they were.

And the sound of snapping fingers proved that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jason felt cold the instant he touched down in the new world. This was not a friendly world and it cried out in pain so loudly he could feel it in his bones. And that wasn’t even taking into account the fact that Gotham looked like a warzone. Buildings were missing half their levels and rubble littered the streets. It was almost like looking at pictures from World War II in school so many years ago.

“What happened here?” He asked the empty space. He could tell there was no one nearby, not even the most reckless would trust any of these buildings. But honestly, from what he could see in the distance, he would be surprised if there was anyone left in this city.

But without any other choice, he began walking down the street to once again figure out what had gone wrong. He didn’t understand how things had gone so horribly with each of his wishes. But he knew this was wish number three which meant he was stuck. Whatever this world was, it was his now.

“Come with us.” Jason startled and turned to find two orange glowing figures floating behind him. They looked like ghosts, but set his teeth on edge. There was something distinctly not right about them. “Come with us. Agent Orange will want to address you.”

“Who the fuck is Agent Orange?” And why did it sound so familiar? But the apparitions didn’t answer, simply grabbed an arm on each side, pulling him in the opposite direction of where he had been walking.

He shouldn’t have been as surprised as he was when he found himself being led up the steps of the city building a short while later.

Jason frowned at the piles of random items lining the aisle that had been laid out in the former city building. The main structure was the same, but it had been completely gutted to make room for what looked like a massive throne with a figure in orange lounging lazily in it. Whoever it was looked like they had taken a page out of the pimps of old and had someone make them a suit of orange velvet. It was so horrendous it made his eyes burn, but at the same time he couldn’t look away. The hat that sat perched upon their head completed the entire disastrous look with the cane resting against the arm of the throne.

Sparing a glance at the glowing orange apparitions guiding him down the aisle, Jason felt like maybe things were starting to piece together. He remembered Kyle had told him the story of Agent Orange in the Vega system. But he had claimed the creature holding the Orange Lantern was just that, a creature. This was most definitely a person.

Did that mean Larfleeze had finally been defeated?

“What have you for me, my pets?”

Wait.

No.

Jason knew that voice. He would always know that voice. It burned through his memories and scorched his dreams. It was the voice of his greatest desires and biggest fears. The voice that had caused this very situation he was in.

“Dick?” Jason gasped when the person raised their head and Jason was finally able to see their face. He looked different, a bit older and glowing with an orange light, but it was definitely Dick Grayson lounging on that throne in that disgusting suit like he didn’t have a care in the world.

He watched, mouth open and mind racing as he tried to grasp what was happening, as Dick shifted so his feet were resting on the ground, facing Jason fully. There was curiosity in his eyes, but there was something else there. Something Jason had seen before but never this strongly.

Desire.

With a wave of Dick’s hand, the orange apparitions vanished and Dick and Jason were left alone. “You know my Earth name,” Dick said, eyes narrowing as he stood from his throne. And suddenly Jason felt like prey. The slow steps down the massive throne made it look Dick was stalking him. “But I do not know you. Do I?”

Glancing around, Jason tried not to show how nervous this version of Dick was making him feel. But he wanted to be able to protect himself if he needed to. His guns had been left behind in the last world and now he only had his fists.

“Do I know you, Pet?”

Jason shook his head, steeling himself. “Not in this world.” That caused Dick to pause at the last step, eyebrow raising in silent question. Jason swallowed. This was so wrong. Dick shouldn’t look like this. Not just the awful clothes and throne, but the predatory look he had about him. It wasn’t sitting right. What the hell had happened to this Dick. “I’m from a different universe. One where you are not quite so…”

“Fabulous?”

Jason gave a snort. “Not the word I was thinking of, no,” he shook his head. But Dick just shrugged a shoulder and remained in his spot. “You are the Orange Lantern.”

A slow, pleased, and proud smile spread across Dick’s face and Jason held back a shudder. “I am. I was once the pet of Larfleeze until he got too comfortable, and I took what was mine from him.” That explained the pet fixation Dick seemed to have. Jason watched Dick descend the final step and wander over to one of the tables laden with sweets. “I came back to Earth because it is mine. I took it from its useless rulers and claimed it as my own. The other worlds know that if they come here and try to steal what’s mine then they face certain death.” Dick popped a truffle into his mouth, the air about him so casual about the mention of killing. The Dick he knows would be appalled at the thought of killing anyone. But a Dick influenced by greed and possessiveness fed by the Orange Lantern? Maybe.

“Is there anyone alive on Earth?” Jason asked, curious since he had yet to see another living body. Dick’s hand paused halfway to his mouth, another truffle in hand. That was answer enough for Jason.

“There are a few resistance pods,” Dick offered, unconcerned. “They are…annoying.” Dick’s lip curled in disgust and Jason was actually surprised. And curious. He wondered who would be strong enough, smart enough to evade someone who basically had ghosts doing his bidding for him. “But they are insignificant.”

And Jason felt sadness for Dick with that comment. His Dick loved people, sacrificed himself daily for absolute strangers. But this Dick? This Dick seemed to have no love in him. It made Jason’s chest ache. It made him miss his Dick, the real one.

“I am going to keep you,” Dick said after a few moments, turning a predatory gaze onto Jason that made him uncomfortable yet again. There was just something so wrong with seeing that look on Dick’s face. “What is your name, Pet-o-mine?”

Scrunching his nose at the nickname, Jason held back a shudder. “Jason Todd.”

Dick hummed as he moved closer, looking almost as if he were gliding. “I do not know a Jason Todd of this world, but you shall be mine now. Let us feast.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Pet, did you say it was a Jinn who sent you here?” Dick leaned forward in his chair and Jason felt as though his stare would burn right through his core. It had been a handful of days since he had come to this world and while he was still struggling to get used to this version of Dick, he was feeling slightly more comfortable.

“I did,” he confirmed the comment he made only moments ago.

But apparently that wasn’t something Dick wanted to hear because he had abruptly stood from his chair and gripped the edge of the long table. “Does your world not tell of Jinn lore?” Jason frowned, unsure of why that would seem strange, but shrugged a shoulder all the same. “This is not an alternative universe for you then. This is a dream.”

Jason furrowed his brow, not sure he understood what Dick was telling him. Hadn’t Jinn told him this was an alternate universe? But thinking back to that initial encounter, he wasn’t sure that was actually ever said. “A dream?”

“Yes, My Pet. A Jinn is known for feeding off the soul or “life-force” of their victims while providing them illusions of their most perfect reality,” Dick explained, eyes taking a slightly panicked edge to them. “How many realities have you visited?” His words sounded desperate as he pushed away from the table and hurried over to where Jason still sat. “How many, Pet?!”

“This was my third wish.” Dick stopped with a gasp. But Jason had no idea why that was so concerning. Why did it matter that he had made his three wishes? Did something happen once the third wish took hold? “Dick?”

“You need to find a way out of here. You need…” Dick looked away and gazed off into the distance, seeing something Jason wasn’t sure about. But despite that, he wasn’t sure how he was supposed to find his way out of an illusion that was being forced upon him. How could he fight something in his head? “You have already spent too much time here with me, I do not know how much time you spent in the others. You might not have much time left.” Dick sounded concerned, lost, and determined all at once. Jason had no idea how it was possible, but it was there.

“How am I supposed to get out of here?”

“Will your Dick be coming for you? You’ll have already been missing for a few days. Will he come for you?” It was a good question, but it wasn’t one Jason had an answer for. Would Dick? After the fight where Dick told him he wished he had never come back from the dead? But was that actually what Dick had meant? Jason knew the man’s temper and looking at this version of Dick, he knew how possessive he could be. Was Dick speaking from jealousy over Roy? “Pet, will he come for you?”

“I don’t know,” Jason admitted.

But Dick got a familiar stubborn look on his face and shook his head. “If he feels an ounce of the possessiveness I immediately felt, then he will come. Is he strong? Is he a fighter? You are not normal, you know about the Lantern Corps. Is he like you?” Jason nodded, Dick was one of the strongest people he knew. Not just physically.

Jason opened his mouth to question Dick, to see if he had any idea how he could break the illusion from within, when the world went blurry around him and a familiar figure appeared in front of him. “You have been naughty,” Jinn said, voice tense and eyes burning. Jason didn’t say anything in return, just raised his chin in defiance. “I knew you were strong, I could feel your power on the other side of the planet. I wish I had known someone had informed you of my lore before I put you under. I would have kept a closer eye on your illusions.”

“So you lost. Let me go.”

Jinn let their mouth fall open and the corners of their mouth tilt upward as they clicked their tongue. “Did I?” And deep in his core Jason knew what was coming. But despite lunging immediately, he couldn’t stop Jinn from snapping their fingers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

But when the world refocused around him, Jason noticed something was different. The world wasn’t a mess and it also wasn’t moving. He had landed in the middle of a living room he didn’t recognize. The areas he could see were warm, welcoming and just to his taste. If he had ever settled down, this would have been his décor of choice. But more than that, Dick stood frozen in mid pour of a cup of coffee in the kitchen wearing just a pair of low slung sweatpants. Jason walked over to the man, looking him over.

The orange glow he had gotten used to was gone and he looked healthier and less scarred than his memories allowed. This was a Dick who hadn’t been a vigilante for more than half his lifetime. This was a Dick who probably worked a regular job, maybe at Wayne Industries, and came home to his family each day with a smile on his face.

“This can be yours.” Jason spun and found Jinn leaning against the doorway leading to what looked like a nursery. He wanted to shove past them and get a closer look, but he resisted. “I can give you this life if you just stop fighting me.”

“But it isn’t real and you’re killing me.”

Jinn scoffed and stepped further into the room. “You put your life up for bargain every single night you go out as Red Hood. This is no different.”

But it was different. “I have no choice in this. I have no chance of survival. But out there,” Jason pointed toward the wall of windows allowing sunlight to reach every corner of the living area, “I have a chance. I have a choice.”

“Don’t you want to know what it would be like to have him love you the way you so desperately love him?” Jinn waved a hand and everything seemed to unfreeze. Jason glanced over and saw Dick slipping the coffee pot back into the holder before turning to smile brightly at him.

“Is Thomas still sleeping?” Dick asked as he came closer and pressed the warm coffee into Jason’s hand, pressing a kiss to his lips in the same moment. Jason felt his heart stutter at the action, his eyes falling shut against his will. He had been dreaming of kissing Dick Grayson since he was thirteen years old and here he was, doing just that. When Dick finally pulled back, that beautiful smile on his face yet again, Jason looked past him to see Jinn watching with an amused smile on their face.

When Dick moved away to go check the nursery, Jason looked down at the cup of coffee and then back to Jinn. The world went frozen again and Jason shook his head. “This isn’t real. It’s not him and this isn’t our life.”

“But it could be. It would be as easy as falling asleep.” But it wasn’t real, and Jason knew that now. “Bastard,” Jinn muttered, seemingly distracted by something but Jason couldn’t figure out what. Jinn’s attention slipped from Jason and the man took the moment to fully assess what was happening. Jinn was desperate. They were practically begging him to accept this reality which meant something had changed. Something more than his being aware of what was happening. Because if it had just been him, Jinn could have focused solely on him. And if their attention was split, that meant help had arrived.

Dick.

Jason didn’t know how he knew, but he did. He knew deep in his core that Dick had come and now Jinn was having to face him. And though Jason was still hurt by the words that Dick had said during their fight, the fact that he was there fighting to save him meant more than he could say. That he had come for him.

“Give into me,” Jinn finally growled at him, eyes blazing gold and furious. “Give in and end this. You won’t last much longer and will likely die before you even regain consciousness. Just give in!”

But Jason just let the cup of coffee fall from his hands and a smirk to spread across his lips. “No.” Jinn gave a growl before snapping their fingers and plunging them both in darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I don’t know, Timmy. Maybe he skipped town,” Dick muttered as he hopped off his motorcycle and looked up at the final safehouse the family knew about. He hadn’t seen or heard from Jason in three days and none of the family or Roy had either. And as much as Dick loved Roy, he did not want to have to sit through yet another lecture from Jason’s best friend. The one he got earlier in the day was enough. Dick knew he had fucked up, he knew it. He knew he let his emotions beat out his logic and pettiness took hold. He knew he was the one at fault.

But how could he be expected to be better, to make amends, if Jason was hiding from him?

“He wouldn’t have just checked out without telling anyone he was leaving. He didn’t even tell Roy.” And yeah, Dick knew Tim had a point. Roy had said he wouldn’t have told Dick where Jason was, but he would tell him that he was aware of the location. But Jason hadn’t called Roy since the fight he had with Dick three nights ago. “Just check the safehouse and then come back to the Cave. We’ll regroup if he’s not there.”

Looking up to the fire escape stairs, Dick jumped and pulled himself up them quickly and efficiently. “Yeah okay,” Dick responded into the comm as he pulled himself up to the roof. He knew this particular safehouse had a few skylights he could enter through, one in particular was right above Jason’s bedroom space. “Lights are on in one room,” he informed Tim as he stuck to the shadows and made his way to the skylight where he could see the light coming from. He knew it was the one above Jason’s room and knew it likely meant the man was there. Roy would have mentioned borrowing the safehouse when Dick mentioned searching them.

“Is he there?” Tim asked distractedly, the clicking of a keyboard in the background. But Dick found himself frozen on the sight in front of him.

Jason was laid out on his bed, eyes closed and body relaxed as if in sleep. But his face was pale and drawn, almost sickly. “Something’s wrong.” Dick relayed, quickly feeling the edge of the skylight for the outside latch to open it. He had only used this particular one a few times, but he easily found the latch and unlocked it so he could drop gracefully beside Jason’s bed.

“What do you mean something is wrong?”

Glancing around, Dick kept quiet and listened for anyone else possibly in the safehouse. But it was almost deathly silent, so Dick moved over to Jason’s side and leaned over him, feeling for a pulse. “He’s still alive but he looks sick and is unresponsive,” Dick whispered, still not trusting that they were alone. Jason had been the picture of health when they had separated the other night. And the fact that Jason was still in his gear was another red flag. Jason never came into this room in his gear because of the skylight.

“Never know who’s watchin’, Dickie.” He had said when Dick had asked him about it.

“Jay?” Dick called softly, patting the man’s cheek. But there was no response and Dick almost jerked back at the cold, clammy texture of his skin.

“I should have known,” a husky voice interrupted his examination of Jason and caused Dick to grab the gun that Dick knew Jason kept tucked between his mattress and headboard, whipping around to point it at whoever was there. And though he didn’t recognize the individual before him, he definitely wasn’t going to let down his guard. “Humans, so predictable.”

“Who are you?”

“Someone you do not wish to tango with, Birdie,” they said, half smirk and eyebrow raised.

Dick narrowed his eyes, not sure how to approach this since he wasn’t in his gear. He had come to Jason as a civilian. So he had his fists and Jason’s gun. But he had no protective gear. He would be vulnerable in ways that could be dangerous.

“Dick who is there?” Tim sounded in his ear but Dick ignored him. It wasn’t like he had an answer.

“Who are you?” Dick demanded again, shifting to cover more of Jason’s body with his own. If he was going to go down in this fight, he would protect Jason as best he could. “What did you do to him?”

The person glanced at Jason behind him before shrugging a shoulder. “I granted a wish.”

A wish? Why the hell would Jason wish for this? “A wish?”

“Wait, did they say wish?” Dick gave a grunt but didn’t say anything so not to alert whoever this was that he had help. He could hear Tim’s typing speed up to an almost frantic pace. “Damian! Get me that Hindu lore book!”

The individual sauntered further into the room and leaned against the dresser Jason had shoved against the opposite wall from the bed. “Yes, just a wish. You threw our boy into quite the tizzy, Birdie. Did you know what you were doing when you said those words? Did you feel regret immediately or did you have to calm down first?”

“What do you know about it?” Dick growled, hand tightening on the gun still pointed at the person.

“I was there when the fight happened. I was there when he called his friend and vented about the cruelty of your words.” Dick clenched his jaw. For some reason this matter-of-fact analysis of the fight with Jason was worse than the lecture Roy had given him. “I was there when he realized that you didn’t want him around. When his hope…vanished.”

“Hope for what?”

They chuckled and shook their head, gaze amused. “You. Both of you. Together as you humans tend to do.”

“It’s a Jinn, Dick!” Glancing over his shoulder to look down at Jason, reconciling the image with what little he knew about Jinn lore, Dick tried to process quickly. “You need iron, they’re susceptible to iron. Damian and Bruce are on their way to you now.” Iron. Help was on the way.

“He was so desperate to eliminate the pain you caused that he wished you out of his life.” Dick suddenly felt cold, looking back to the Jinn. “You’re surprised? I bet you are the kind of person who thinks everyone loves them and will always forgive them, even when they make the most grievous of mistakes. So self-important that you think you’re above consequences.” But Dick didn’t think that, did he? Did he think himself better than everyone else? No, not usually. Usually, he put his own well-being behind everyone else. But he wasn’t so unaware that he didn’t know he could be cruel when he let his anger take hold. And when that anger was backed by jealousy and the feeling of not being enough? Yeah, he could be nasty.

But to the point where Jason would actually wish him away?

“I suppose the joke was on him though, he learned just how true the self-important spiel is when it comes to you.” Dick didn’t even want to consider what they meant by that. No. He didn’t care if Jason woke and told him he never wanted to see Dick again. All that mattered was making sure Jason was able to wake again.

So quickly he scanned the room for what could possibly be iron. But there was nothing. Then he remembered that Jason had a fireplace in this space and that meant iron tools to stroke the fire. But how was he going to get to it when he was protecting Jason?

“Two minutes out.”

He had two minutes to figure something out. But every idea meant leaving Jason vulnerable and he didn’t know if he could risk that. Maybe if he pissed the Jinn off enough to focus on him he could make sure they left Jason alone.

“Have you figured it out yet?” The Jinn asked, looking as cocky as they did when they appeared.

And Dick made a call he hoped he wouldn’t regret in the end. Clicking off the safety, he pulled the trigger of Jason’s gun and shot a bullet to the Jinn’s shoulder before running out of the room in search of the iron.

“You are more trouble than you’re worth, Birdie,” they growled, appearing in front of Dick in a puff of blue smoke just as he closed his fingers around the fire poker that he was really hoping was actually iron. “You think you can save him? You think he wants you to save him? You think you’re anything?!”

Good, get angry. Focus on me, Dick thought as he swung the poker in a circle to test the weight and balance. Tucking Jason’s gun in the back of his pants, Dick grabbed the shovel with the other had and crouched into a fighting stance.

“I think you’re worried I can do just that.” It was more confident than Dick actually felt as the two of them circled each other, but he knew how to put on a show. He knew how to play the part. And that’s what he planned to do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jason knew it was over before he even opened his eyes. The fact that he had to open his eyes proved that fact. He had been with Agent Orange Dick the longest and never once had he slept. Looking back, he could see the signs of it being a dream and not reality. But he had been in too deep with the illusion to notice on his own. His mind had to help him along.

But the fact that he knew he had been asleep also meant that his rescue had been a success. And that meant either Jinn was dead or contained. And he was back to face his actual reality with the truth of what he had learned about the influence of Dick Grayson on not just his life, but the world.

“Jay?” Speak of the devil. Jason blinked his eyes slowly and stared up at the ceiling of what he immediately recognized as the medical bay in the cave. He hated this place. “Jay?” Dick called again, voice sounding concerned enough that Jason found the energy to turn his head toward the other man. “There you are,” Dick sighed, relief filtering over his features.

“Jinn?”

“Were you aware of what they did?” Jason blinked, trying to clear the fog that was taking forever to dissipate from his mind. “Bruce took them to the Watchtower for the League to handle, if they survive.” Furrowing his brows, he silently asked Dick what he meant. “I got a little stab happy with your fire poker.��

Jason took a moment to process that. Iron, right. “You came.” And though Jason was still hurt by the words Dick had said, he felt bad at the look of guilt his own caused.

“I had been searching for you everywhere. You just dropped off the map for three days and no one, not even Roy knew where you had gone,” Dick explained. Three days was a long time for any of them to go without contact, so Jason could understand the need to look into it. He couldn’t believe it was three days though, it had felt longer and shorter at the same time. “I was just trying to apologize for what I said, but then I found you practically comatose and…” Dick shrugged a shoulder, looking away.

Jason took the moment to look the other man over. He looked tired. His hair was a mess, probably from running his hand through it constantly. And his clothes were wrinkled as if he had been living in them for the past couple of days.

“Jay, I shouldn’t have said what I said. I didn’t mean to make it seem like I wished you never came back. That’s not true,” Dick said, looking back to Jason who was frozen at the look of regret. “I am thankful every day that you came back. And when I said that, I meant I wish you didn’t have to deal with all the side effects the Pit left behind. Not that I didn’t want you back.”

Jason remained silent, furrowing his brows as he listened. Trying to make sense of the words when his brain had been so sure Dick had meant he wished Jason had never come back at all.

“I’m bad at handling my anger. And I’m worse at holding back when I’m jealous.”

“Jealous? What do you have to be jealous of?”

Dick looked away again, a splash of pink dusting his cheeks. And Jason was sure his brains had to have been really scrambled for all of this to be happening.

“I was,” he paused, shaking his head but still refusing to look back to Jason. “I am,” he corrected, “jealous of your friendship with Roy.”

Of Roy. Dick was jealous of Roy. What? “What?” Jason stupidly asked and Dick shrugged a shoulder, ducking his head and glancing at Jason. If he wasn’t so confused, he’d find it endearing.

“You need Roy.” Jason nodded dumbly, still confused. “When we were arguing, you stopped to call him so he could talk you down when all I could do was push you to that point.” And the pieces were finally starting to click into place. A little at least. “You don’t need me. Even though we’re…I don’t know, what are we? Friends? Partners? More?” The question was there in his eyes and Jason knew that the doubts he had about what Dick’s true feelings were unfounded. “I was jealous that you need him but not me. I’ve been jealous about that for a while. And it makes me question whether or not I’m good enough to be anything to you when you need someone else more than you need me.”

“Dick,” Jason reached out and grabbed the other man’s hand that was resting on the edge of his bed. “Just because I need Roy more right now doesn’t mean I won’t need you more in the future.” Watching Dick lift his head to look at him more directly, he recognized the confusion in his eyes. “But I can’t do a fight like that again, Dick. I can’t. I-” Dick’s hand quickly covered his mouth and stopped him from saying anything more.

“Roy gave me quite the lecture and eye-opening speech. I know. I fucked up royally and it played you in every way I knew it would. It was…manipulative and cruel.” And yeah, Jason couldn’t argue with that. Dick looked contrite and thoroughly chastised. He’d have to ask Roy exactly what he said to the man. “I’m sorry. I am. And I’m not asking you to forgive me, but I’d like to be able to prove that I won’t do it again.”

Jason considered what Dick was saying, unsure of whether or not he should offer the forgiveness Dick said he wasn’t asking for or not. He didn’t want to let Dick off the hook, but he also knew when the man was telling the truth. And after seeing exactly how his life could have been without Dick’s influence, Jason didn’t want to know what would happen if he let Dick slip away now.

“Okay,” was what came out instead of the elaborate thoughts.

“Really?”

Jason nodded and squeezed the hand still holding onto Dick’s. “Those dreams showed me some pretty hard truths about life without you and I don’t want to see what this life would be like without you.” Dick looked stunned, like he wasn’t expecting Jason to admit to what it was he had seen inside the dreams. “I’m still upset and it’s going to take a while for me to get over it, but life is much better with you in it. For everyone.”

Dick looked slightly awed at the comment, but then hesitant. And Jason knew exactly what Dick was going to say next. “What exactly did you wish for, Jay?”

Jason hesitated for a moment because he wasn’t sure Dick needed to know the depths of how hurt he was. That he had been at the point he would actually wish Dick out of the world. Out of his world. Because Jason knew that once his anger had calmed a bit, if Jinn had offered a little later, he never would have made that wish. He would have probably wished for that last ditch effort illusion. He would have wished to be happy. To know what it was like to be happy with Dick.

“Jay?”

Snapping out of his thoughts, Jason looked at Dick’s curious face and sighed. “The wrong thing, but if I hadn’t then I probably wouldn’t have figured out what was happening. You were the Orange Lantern in the final wish, obsessed with taking everything for yourself,” Jason offered instead of telling of the first two. “You were so obsessed with me that when I mentioned a Jinn had sent me there, you told me what a Jinn does. You were consumed with the thought of me dying on you that you told me I needed to get out of there.”

“I wonder why your illusion told you to fight back if it was there because of the Jinn.”

“Because the Jinn only created the illusion, it was still Jason’s mind controlling it,” a voice interrupted. Jason looked past Dick to see Bruce standing in the doorway. He didn’t want to admit how good it was to see him in this state. He would probably never forget the look of the man in the jail cell. “And when Dick showed up as a distraction, the hold the Jinn had loosened and your mind could actively fight back. But I am curious, how did you know about the lore? If you hadn’t, you never would have been able to succeed.”

Jason shrugged but then remembered a few months ago when he had been with Damian in the library. “Damian,” he said, trying to remember exactly what had happened. “He showed me a Hindu lore book he had found and mentioned the Jinn.” Jason looked at Dick who was smiling, most likely proud that his favorite brother had a direct influence on Jason’s survival. “Let’s not tell him. He’s got enough of an ego as it is.”

Dick laughed and they both looked over at Bruce who looked…almost pleased. “I am glad we got to you in time, Jason. Alfred will be down shortly to check you over and give you all clear.” Jason nodded, mind still reconciling this image with the one from the illusion. Bruce gave Dick a nod before silently leaving the two of them alone.

“I understand why he never kills now,” Jason spoke, still looking at the spot Bruce had been standing. Dick remained silent and Jason knew he was waiting for Jason to elaborate or change the subject since it had still been an issue up until then. “In the world where I wished I had never met Batman, you had died.” He looked over at Dick with a heavy sadness, remembering how much it had hurt to learn that Dick had died at the hands of the Joker. “And he killed the Joker because of it, out of anger or depression maybe. I’m not sure. But he turned himself into the police and the man he became…” Jason shook his head and took a deep breath. “He wasn’t Bruce anymore. His life had bled out of him and he was a shell.”

“He has his walls he’s built around himself, but he’s still just a man,” Dick said, and Jason nodded. He saw that now. Bruce wasn’t this infallible person they all seemed to think he was because that was what they wanted him to think.

“Hey Dick?” Jason prompted, needing to lighten the mood in the room.

“Yeah Jay?”

“Don’t ever invest in an orange velvet pimp suit okay? You were like fucking Smaug and I will never be able to scrub those images from my mind.” Dick’s jaw dropped and Jason let out a laugh.

#jaydick #jason todd #dick grayson #jinn au #anikah writes #bruce wayne #alternate universe #kind of

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candychronicles · 3 years

Text

letters // haikyuu/bnha

A/N: this is my secret santa for the BNHABookclub Secret Santa for the lovely @reogou ! this letters format was not my idea, i’ve seen it floating all around tumblr and decided to take a whack at it. hope you all enjoy!

CHARACTER PAIRING: Todoroki Shouto, Bakugou Katsuki, Kaminari Denki, Kozume Kenma, Nishinoya Yuu, Taichi Kawanishi x Reader

WORD COUNT: 2,029

WARNINGS: just a sappy collection of letters!

SYNOPSIS: when your loved one is busy during the holidays, it hurts, but just when you had given up hope, a little note arrived, and everything changed.

hey there sugar,

is that what people call each other nowadays? sugar, sweetheart, princess, love bug, the list goes on and on, but in the end, i don’t think it matters, as long as you know that i love you. i know things can be hard sometimes, i know that i’m not around nearly as much as you want, i know we don’t spend all that much time together and the few moments we do get are filled with pure exhaustion on my end, but i promise, this year is going to be better. i’m focusing on not only you but me as well. you know my life has not been the best and i lashed out a lot, hurt a lot of people in high school but people like you, friends who truly cared about me and who i could become, pulled me out of my stupor and into the light. now i’m filled with nothing but desire to continue to be good, to help those in need, fight for justice in a world full of confusion. you help me with that desire, push me to be a better person, a person who kids who were once like me can truly look up to. maybe we’ll even have kids of our own, little red and white haired troublemakers running around without a care in the world. i don’t know how good of a dad i would be, i’m not even really sure if being a dad is what i’d want out of life, but if you asked, i would do anything, be anything, because you inspire me each and every day. i’m so lucky to have you in my life and i can’t wait for this new year to be bigger and better than the last.

yours always,

Shouto

- - - - -

my love

my everything

my darling

hey,

i didn’t really know how to start this, still not sure where i’m going. i’m not the type of person to do this, never have been, but i guess there’s a first for everything. i know me not being with you during the holidays is so hard. i know you want to sit by a cozy fireplace sipping tea or hot chocolate surrounded by presents and my presence alone but sometimes our lives are unfair. you know i love my job, you know i love striving to be the best i can be, but sometimes it gets hard, gets lonely without you by my side. i know you want me to be laying next to you in bed, tracing shapes against your skin as you rant about your day. i just want you to know that i feel the same way, that i also want to be there, curled up under the blankets, relaxed and content and not worrying about anything except the sound of your breathing. i wish i could love you the way that you need me to right now but i just want, i just need you to know that i’m so incredibly grateful that you’ve stuck by my side despite it all. you push me, inspire me, motivate me to keep being the greatest of all time despite knowing it takes time away from you and for that i’ll forever be in your debt. next year, i’m going to focus on us, whatever it takes- late night takeout, cuddles under the stars, movies, shopping even though i hate it, trips to anywhere and everywhere you want to go. the biggest and hardest thing i’ve learned this year is that i am not alone, that there are other heroes out there who can help out. i may be number one but i do not have to be the only one, a fact that you taught me. i don’t think i could’ve ever been this reliant on other people without you, without you teaching me what it means to truly, deeply love someone and surrender yourself to them without questions. it allowed me to be a bigger and better person than i ever have been. so yeah, thank you for everything. i love you more than anything in this world. and if you ever show this to anyone, especially deku, i will, well, i don’t know what i’d do, but it won’t be good, probably.

Katsuki

- - - - -

hey there beautiful!

i’m so excited to be writing to you today! i’ve never gotten the chance to give someone a letter before. well, i have, but i’ve never thought of it. i was actually looking up cheesy presents to give someone and this popped up and then something like this popped up on tiktok and then i definitely thought i had to do it and now here we are-me writing you a letter! i hope i’m doing okay, i know i ramble a lot, but you also mean a lot to me so i just am getting excited and overwhelmed and okay let me pause.

hey again, i came back after a few minutes. i really want to make this special for you. i know i’m not the biggest or baddest hero out there yet you always make me feel so incredibly important. i know work keeps me so busy, i know how hard it is for you to see me on tv, doing yet another talk show, another radio interview, another video of me beaten and bruised as i work to keep the city safe. i know how hard it is to see me come home tired and defeated after losing the fight, losing a civilian or just after working day after day and yet you never complain, always doing your best to warm up the shower, cook me some food, rub my shoulders and tell me how proud you are. you don’t know how much that means to me, and this year i’m going to work on showing you how proud i am of you, working, taking care of the house and me and never complaining, not even once. this year is your year to complain, your year to relax and let me take the reins. you may have to teach me a thing or two since i truly don’t know what i’m doing half the time but hey, that means we can just spend more time with each other! it’ll be a bonding experience for the both of us and i promise i will try to not break anything, pinky swear. oh shoot, okay, i hear you coming inside, so i’m going to stop writing right now, hope i didn’t embarrass myself too much when you read this. even if i did, i’m just hoping it’ll bring a smile to your face. that’s all that matters to me anymore.

love you beautiful,

Denki

- - - - -

y/n,

i’m not sure where to start this or even what to say. you know i journal a lot but i can’t seem to write down my thoughts when it comes to you. you’re such an enigma, so beautifully confusing. to be honest, i don’t know when i first fell for you, why i first fell for you. was it something to do with the way you glowed when you smiled, your eyes crinkling in the sweetest way? or was it the first time i heard you defend a friend, the normally cheery smile turned into a snarl, anger evident on your face, fierceness woven deep into your heart as you quipped back and forth with the attacker, a satisfied smirk on your face as you protected the ones you loved? or was it when you were simply sitting, hand tucked underneath your chin as you contemplated god knows what? i don’t know and i don’t think i care anymore, i just simply know that i love you and want to be around you for the rest of my life. i know things are hard, i know i’m busy with university, with gaming and all the other random jobs i’ve picked up, i know i’m tired a lot and get too hyper focused on things that don’t matter but i promise this year i’m going to work on that. i’m going to get you more involved in my whole life, in things that matter to me, because you matter to me and i want to share all of my passions with you. i hope you’ll share your passions with me. i want to learn and grow together with you and i hope above all else that this is what we’ll accomplish this year. thank you for being patient, for loving me endlessly, for caring for me when it felt like i didn’t deserve to be cared for.

yours,

Kenma

- - - - -

my sunshine!

i’m so excited to be writing you today. to be honest, it was all Tanaka’s idea, he told me that it was romantic to write to someone you love so i took his word to heart and sat down to write this letter. i’m not too good at sitting down and doing something all in one go so i hope you’ll like this because i honestly don’t know what i’m doing. all i know is that i love you and want to impress you this year! i know i’ve been away traveling for awhile and this time you didn’t decide that you wanted to come with me (trust me, i’m getting annoyed with the boats and the smell of fish, so i completely understand), but i miss you. honestly, i’m just hoping this makes it to you in time, so when i come home right after you’ll be surprised. oh shoot, wasn’t supposed to spoil that, but that’s okay, don’t want to get hit in the head with a frying pan after last time i surprised you by coming home randomly in the middle of the night. so just know i’m coming home soon, and i’m coming home for awhile. i found a nice job that will take me for a few months at least so we can make the most of it while i’m home and then maybe i’ll find something to do on a beach so you can get some sun and fun in your life! not that you don’t have fun now, of course you do, but then you can have fun with me and at a different location, it’ll be the best! okay, i’m going to run because i don’t want to waste your time reading a dumb letter but just know i’ll be home soon and i can’t wait to spoil you.

i love you!

Yuu

- - - - -

princess,

i’m not really sure where i’m going with this or what i’m going to say, but i felt like i had to get these words down somehow. i know this year has been weird, has been harsh as i slave away at work and school but i’m so close, we’re so close to finally being done. just one more year and then we’ll be on our way to something bigger and better in our life-a house, maybe kids, maybe pets, maybe traveling, maybe we’ll just live on a boat, who cares, as long as i spend my time with you, that’s all that matters. i know how hard it is to sleep alone sometimes, how i come home at three, four am and my head instantly hits the pillow, how i’m up sometimes before you can even comprehend to go to class, how our schedules never seem to match up, how i get home as you’re finally leaving for the day, but in those little moments of love, little kisses and hugs, how you always have food for me and keep my schoolwork organized when my brain gets frazzled, it’s the little things that truly warm my heart more than you could ever possibly imagine. i just want you to know it’s me and you against the world, no matter what happens i’ll always have your back and i know you’ll have mine, forever and always. even as i write this now, you sleep soundly in the room next to me, and my heart is full just knowing that you’re by my side. i can’t wait for this next year and all the adventures that will come with it.

to many more years,

Taichi

- - - - -

#bnha bookclub #haikyuu x reader #bnha x reader #mha x reader #kenma x reader #nishinoya x reader #taichi x reader #todoroki x reader #bakugou x reader #kaminari x reader

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poptod · 4 years

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Selcouth (Sirius) (Kenny x Reader)

Description: selcouth - unfamiliar, rare, strange, and yet wonderful. The greatest teacher is also a friend. In your case, you’re usually the teacher, but Kenny is alway so eager to listen to you. (wonder why.)

Notes: i really like this one. it's just... nice. it isn't stressful to read or write. also sorry for any errors in this or in my description/notes i’m really high i just got bored an wanted to write a story. implied male reader. Word Count: 4.8k (apologies i tried to make this shorter but i just love ken)

There was something very unearthly about you, and he knew it wasn't just him thinking that. Most people found you interesting – so did he, but he knew you had very few friends (if any at all), and someone as popular and selective as you probably wouldn't want to become friends with him. The most unfortunate part about it all was the fact that you weren't quite aware that you were popular. Instead, you kept quiet and roamed the halls with a vacant, soft smile that had everyone vying to be your friend. To unveil your secrecy, to get your backstory, to understand what exactly made you so extravagantly different.

It was considered an honor to your fellow students if you sparked conversation with them, as it was something you rarely did. That's why, when you sat down beside Kenny during class, Kenny became very anxious. His hands shook and his knees were weak – but you just smiled and greeted him, using his name like you were old friends. He couldn't remember telling you his name, but maybe you'd picked it up. Maybe it was another one of your hidden, strange talents.

"Do you want to learn archery?" You asked, a question that stunned him so much he sat still, staring at you. He only answered when you raised your eyebrows expectantly.

"Oh, um – I... yes, actually," he finally answered, watching as that smile he'd watched so many times sprouted across your lips.

"I thought you might like to," you said, your eyes flickering to the front where the teacher had yet to appear. "I can teach you, if you like."

In a graceful, soft movement you were once more looking at him, your eyes bright and pitch black simultaneously. He swallowed thick, pinching his arm.

"Really? That'd.. be fun," he said with a nervous giggle, fidgeting with his fingers. He hadn't really lied when he said he wanted to learn archery, but he also didn't expect to genuinely get an opportunity to learn it, leading to an anxiousness that wondered if he was scared of failing or scared of you.

"Here's my address," you said, pulling a piece of paper out of nowhere and handing it to him.

Looking over the scribbles he read an address and a phone number, but before he could look up and ask you for a time, you were gone. Startled, he looked over the crowd in the classroom, finding you nowhere. Were you even taking the same class as him? He hadn't seen you in Algebra before. Slightly shaken, he returned to waiting for the teacher, trying not to think on your interaction.

That same afternoon he walked to your house, feeling a little guilty for blowing off his friend to spend time with you, a stranger. Larry understood well enough – he wanted to be well-liked, like you, and for him Kenny was a gateway to that. However even with all that assurance that he wasn't making a mistake, something said that he was doing the wrong thing. Perhaps it was just the fact that he had to climb up a very steep and very long hill to get to your house on the outskirts of town, but by the end of the venture, standing in front of your door, he hesitated to knock.

Taking a deep breath he rapped his knuckles against the dark wood, waiting with fidgeting hands as footsteps sounded behind the door. Through the windows he could see lights, and in the frosty pane, he caught sight of a black grand piano sat upon a Victorian-esque carpet. This was more of a mansion than a house – a beautiful mansion stuck in the middle of nowhere.

The lock clicking and the whine of a door opening caught his attention, his eye turning back to the door, where he found a middle-aged woman peeking through a tiny crack.

"Uh... I'm – I'm here for, uh, (Y/N)," he said nervously, reluctant to make eye contact with her.

She looked him up and down, pausing only a moment on his ratted boots before she closed the door on him. A sigh fell from him – maybe he had the wrong address? Before he could wonder if there were any errors in your address, the door opened once more, revealing your smiling face.

"Kenny, hello," you said, opening the door wide to let him in. He spoke a soft thank you, shimmying past you and into your home, where a fireplace warmed up the living room in great contrast to the chill wind of winter's beginnings.

You lead him to the couch, letting him sit down on the plush fabric in front of the stone fireplace. For a moment you left him there, wandering into another section of the house before returning, two cups of hot chocolate in your hands complete with whipped cream. Handing one to him, you sat beside him with a relaxed posture.

"It's a colder day, certainly. I like the cold though," you said conversationally, looking down into your cup before staring at the flickering flames.

"It's not my favorite," he admitted, his voice soft compared to your own.

"That's fair," you said, smiling. "You get used to it when everything's inevitable."

He nodded distantly, his brow furrowed in confusion. Did you ever even try to make sense?

"So, um... how long have you done archery for?" He asked, reluctant to meet your gaze, but when he did all regret left his head. Your cheeks, pink from the cold, matched so well with your darkened eyes and the graceful, soft way you always smiled.

"Not all that long, I don't think. I can't remember when I started," you said, using a few random hand gestures as you spoke. "I'm assuming you don't have your own bow though, right?"

"Yeah, a bit – it's kind of expensive," he said to which you avidly agreed.

"That's why I made my own," you said as though that was normal. Kenny's eyes widened – knowing how to use a bow was one thing, but making one was something else entirely. "I've actually made a few," you continued, "so you can have one of them."

"Oh, I couldn't –"

"No, no, I'm not doing anything with them. Better in the loving hands of a different owner than in the resentful hands of a creator," you said, offering that trademark smile as you stood, setting your half empty mug of hot chocolate on the side table. He blanked out for a moment in an attempt to process what you'd just said, but the moment he came into his body to find you gone, he scrambled to his feet and followed you up the stairs.

Following you through the hallways filled with photos of long-dead relatives, he stumbled over himself only once, though once was plenty to make him feel embarrassed. Still, he joined you in your room where massive windows lit the whole of the room. A large bed sat in the corner, the wall beside it covered entirely in sheets of paper pinned there, notes and strings connecting everything together. To the left of that lay your desk, covered in the same fashion of notes and sketches. Most of them, he noticed, were astronomy related, speaking of the movement of stars and what ancient cultures thought of the constellations. Besides that and the bookcase full of ancient African artifacts, your room was rather normal.

He followed your footsteps to the corner of the room, where you opened a large, wooden chest stamped with '1847' in golden letters. Looking over your shoulder, he found an organized layer of a bow and several arrows, all of them made by your hands. To his surprise when you hooked your fingers in the velvet loops and pulled, the layer gave way for another velvet case. This time it held a sword and its' sheath beside it. He tried his best not to say anything, watching in silence as you raised two more layers before getting to another bow and arrow, which you took out of its' casing to hand to him.

You'd payed extra attention to this bow – flowers were carved into the wood, flowers and cuneiform script speaking prayers he couldn't understand. The arrows were much the same as the first ones he'd seen, but he remained adamant that he needed to be careful.

"We should work on form first, it'll save your life from cramps and such," you said, pulling him to his feet and turning him around, making sure the large, floor-length mirror was right in front of him.

In his reflection he saw himself holding the bow and looking rather gangly as he usually did, and you, standing beside him with your hands poised delicately upon his shoulders. You had a look in your eye – determined and confident as your hands moved, fingers dragging down the bare skin of his arms before you reached his hands. There you guided him, bringing his arms up so he held the bow in the right position.

"Are you left or right eyed?" You asked softly, still staring at him in the mirror.

"R – right," he said, stumbling over his own words as the corners of your lips perked upwards, a tell-tale sign that you were enjoying yourself greatly.

That made his heart flutter – the thought that you enjoyed time spent with him. He never considered you someone he would date, though one of the reasons for that was because he didn't think you'd be interested in him. But now, watching the way you moved his hips and the feel of your chest against his back, he could think of nothing else. The way your lips quirked upwards, the mess in your hair and the blush beneath your skin. He could stay like this for so long – watching you at his side.

"Here, loosen your grip. Stand to the side," you murmured, moving him so he stood at his side, his left arm extended straight holding the bow. Stepping out from behind him, you fixed his grip, making sure the wood rested right below the ball of his thumb.

"There you go," you said when all was correct, and didn't it always make him so pathetically happy to know you were pleased.

"So I close my left eye?" He asked, switching between closing the left and right.

"That's right," you said, reaching for his right hand and holding it on your own. "Now take the string, draw it back so your elbow is level with your shoulder," you murmured as you set his arm into place yourself. "Don't put pressure on your wrist. Use your thumb."

Trying his best to remember your instructions, he hooked his fingers around the string, pulling back and attempting to keep his wrist, shoulder, and elbow even with each other. When he accomplished that, he looked to his reflection standing tall and firm in a way he rarely ever stood. Almost... confident. He smiled.

"Alright," you whispered, gently moving your hands from his and placing them on his shoulders. "Let go."

He followed your command, the string of the bow twanging forward with empty ammunition. Another bright smile crossed him – he did it, and you looked proud of him.

"Perfect," you said with a grin, patting his shoulders before abandoning him to sit on your bed. "Do it without my help."

Nodding he gulped, turning back to his reflection and holding the bow up once more. With a deep, calming sigh he drew the string, letting it snap back into place. Immediately as he finished he looked to you, gauging your reaction.

"Wonderful. Ready to try it with an arrow?"

"I think so," he said with an excited grin, giddy as you reached for the quiver, slinging it over your shoulder and leading him out of your room.

Down the steps you led him, slipping into your shoes and pulling a coat on as you stopped at the front door. Out of politeness he copied, putting on his own coat before rushing through the open door, trailing after you as you led him out back of the house, where a great expanse of empty land stood unclaimed and dead in the chill. A few feet into your backyard and the ground gave way for a steep cliff, leading down into a mess of bushes and brambles. He looked at it curiously for a moment before returning to you, scanning your useable backyard, where he found a dull, red target nailed to a tree. You led him to the opposite side of the yard, to a marker that sat exactly ten feet away from the target.

"Here," you said, pulling an arrow out of the quiver and handing it to him. He examined it nervously, doing his best to keep position while figuring out how the bow launched the arrow. Fortunately he didn't have to embarrass himself for long, as you stepped in, taking his hand and showing him the groove at the end, where the string would sit. "The arrowhead should sit above your grip on the left side," you continued. "Breathe slow, aim a little higher than your target."

As usual he kept your advice at the forefront of his mind, letting all other thought disappear with his even breath. He aimed, and once assured of his aim, he released the string, launching the arrow through the air. To his immense surprise it landed on the target, and even further than that it had landed on the ring right next to the exact center of the target.

His mouth hung half open, the ends curling into a bright grin that had you smiling and patting his back.

"Fantastic shot," you said with a soft chuckle, your gaze switching between him and his arrow.

"Can I do it again?" He asked eagerly.

"Of course," you said, leaving his side to fetch the arrow and return it to him.

He tried several more times, but no other shots that day were quite as good as the first one. By the fourth-or-so shot he began losing hope, wondering if the first shot had been a fluke, and the truth was that he was horrible at archery. Would you still like him if he failed?

"Don't worry about it," you said in that soft, humming voice that always managed to calm him. "A lot of people get a good first shot and a few lousy ones after that. It's more of a practice thing once you know how to do it."

"So I can come up again?" He asked, strolling beside you as the two of you reentered the house, a quiver in your hands and a bow in his.

"Of course. Any time you want," you answered.

"What if you aren't home?"

"Oh I'll know when you're here. No need to concern yourself," you said with a sweet but curt smile, taking the bow from him and setting it on the steps leading upstairs.

"Um... okay. Next week then?"

"Sure."

Every now and then you'd talk to him during school, and each time it was a different subject. His grades, your teachers, the weather, ancient Rome, the beliefs of the Sandawe people and the mystical knowledge of the Dogon tribe – it was enough to make his head spin. You knew so much, memorized so much information and you talked to almost no one but him. If he had that much information crammed into his head he wouldn't be able to stop talking.

There was a side-affect to your budding friendship – Kenny wasn't sure if he liked or disliked it, but people were nicer to him. While he'd usually be sure that it was a good thing, he knew it stemmed purely from the fact that you were friendly with him, and those in turn being nice to him probably only wanted a way to get to you. After all, it wasn't that long ago that he was the one they were making fun of.

You were a good distraction from it all. Pulling him away from other's opinions, leading him in a direction of self-love he hadn't previously thought attainable. But no, you managed to convince him to (in the least) like himself, and to find the good aspects of himself. Not only that, but the things you'd shown him had also spurred him to find the good aspects of others, a talent few high schoolers had.

As good of an impact as you were in his life, he still didn't understand you all that well. Your stories of your past were vague and coded deep in a language he couldn't understand. One can know another without knowing the whole of their past, but he had a feeling he'd understand you a bit better if you explained things in a normal way. You said the strangest things, too – things about the world, observation of beliefs, careful notes of the human condition – things like, "I don't know if I could ever go back to heaven," and "everyone has a specific length of time on earth. To spend it watching others you don't even know is a waste of time," which was in reference to the beginnings of 'social media'. Apparently you didn't like it, but at the time of the conversation you weren't even discussing technology with him. He asked you what you wanted to eat for lunch and out of nowhere you said that, and it took him a pretty long while to get what the hell you were talking about out of you.

Besides that, you were great fun to spend time with, and always a fantastic help with history homework. Not anything else, though – almost all other subjects completely stumped you. There was only one other class you were rather good at, but it was a college level class, and neither you nor him were taking college classes. But it was still fascinating to hear your science, so he let you talk all you wanted to about astronomy and astrophysics with a side of conspiracies.

"I've mentioned this before," you said, fidgeting in front of your corkboard as you flitted around the room, piecing together a story Kenny could hardly understand, "but – but the Sirius star, it's one of my favorite mysteries. You know the Dogon tribe, I mentioned them before. It's just fascinating that they could've known it was two stars. Like how did they know that? How'd they see that without telescopes?"

"Maybe they've got good eyesight?"

"But that's just the thing! If you connect this to the Roswell incident of 1947 or – um, yeah, 1947, the skies on that date over Nevada, it had Sirius there. See, I think it's a possibility that –"

Right around there you lost him completely, but he continued to diligently pretend he was listening. A distant smile crossed his face – hearing someone whose usually rather quiet go into a massive spiel, that was the core of humanity to him. Letting go of ones fears just to share something they love so dearly.

"Oh, looks like the sun's hidden itself again," you said, interrupting your own speech to look outside the towering windows in your bedroom. "Hungry yet?"

"A little," he admitted quietly, a blush spreading wild across his cheeks when you took his hand, intertwining his fingers in yours as you led him out of your room and down the stairs.

At the kitchen you stopped, leaving him on the edge of the stone floor as you went to the fridge, opening and scanning its contents. While you rummaged through that, he stepped quietly closer to you. You didn't notice his approach, too concentrated on your search, allowing him a time to watch you illuminated by the white light of a fridge. Tacky, yes, but you were warm. Maybe even familiar – all he knew was that he could stare in wonder for hours, watching your unearthly glow.

Outside, fall had turned to winter, allowing a shallow layer of snow to carpet all the dead grass that originally filled your yard. The balcony, while also covered in snow, had a picnic area beneath a large umbrella, which was also where a long, black telescope sat. He sighed – it felt as though it was just yesterday that school started and you approached him. Now you were finding dinner for him in your house, letting him stay as long as he wanted to.

The two of you ended up settling on a package of ravioli, as it wouldn't take too long to make and was easy enough. You ate together on the couch, watching a children's show on the television till you both finished, setting your plates aside.

When the show ended you stood, returning to the kitchen with your dishes and setting them in the sink. He followed quickly after, curious to see your aim, and watching quietly as you drew two brightly colored mugs down from one of the shelves. It didn't take long till he recognized the steps you took – you were making hot chocolate. Two cups with good cream, better whipped cream, and a perfectly red cherry on top. You smiled bright as you handed him the purple cup, keeping your own pink one close to your chest.

You liked this, he realized – you liked giving things to him. Bows, food, drinks, and more importantly your thoughts. He wondered if you'd ever given your thoughts to anyone before.

"Can I show you something?" You asked after taking a sip, enjoying the warmth slip down your throat.

He nodded, following you when you left, taking him to the backdoor where the two of you slipped on your shoes, opened the glass door, and stood beneath the umbrella. Setting your cup down on the table, you uncovered the telescope, moving the three tall legs into the snow to see past the umbrella's cover. He set his own mug down, coming to stand beside you in the pitch dark of night. All that lit the two of you up was the distant light of the stars and the lights from inside, casting yellow glow against the bare wood and glittering in the snow. A chill ran through him – neither of you were wearing coats, and it was the dead of winter, at the bright-and-early time of 12 AM.

"Come here," you beckoned him closer, watching with that soft smile as he moved, shuffling closer to you. You scooted a little closer to him as well, mooching off his body warmth as you looked through the telescope in a search of the heavens.

"I like the moon," you mumbled, a strange statement to make considering there was no moon that night, "but I like it when she's gone, too. You can see the stars a little better. Here."

You offered him the eye, and hesitantly he took your place, carefully looking through and hoping he didn't accidentally change the angle. Mostly inky darkness, but there was a star glowing blue in the night.

"Is that.. is that Sirius?" He asked, hoping to God he didn't sound like an idiot. It looked like there was a smaller light beside the larger one, but he couldn't tell for sure – he just wanted to impress you.

"Yeah," you said with a bright grin and a chuckle, "that's Sirius. Locked in an eternal dance with another sun 1.8 billion miles apart... they love each other but they cannot ever touch. That'd kill them. Sad story, really."

He wasn't sure that was an actual story, but it hurt him nonetheless. Just a twinge of pain in his heart.

"Did you know it's one of the brightest stars in the sky?" You asked softly, staring up at the star. He looked up to you.

"It looks like it," he mumbled, looking up at the sky before returning to you, watching how the light danced in your eyes and kissed your cheeks in a dim, blue light that left you glowing.

"Their dance reminds me of a story," you said, your voice still airy in your daydream. "Nwt and Geb. Geb was the dry land and Nwt was the sky, and like most opposites they were in love. But their love angered Ra... at least, that's what most of them say. He made their father keep them apart for eternity. His name was Shu, and he was the air between the earth and the sky."

"I know you like these stories a lot, but I don't think I can listen to them without thinking about the whole incest thing," he said unprompted, sparking a laugh from you.

"I know, it's horrid," you agreed, still grinning. "But it's nice to know forbidden love made its' way into every culture. Means there's a chance for people like us, that the others might have empathy."

"People... like us?" He asked quietly, unsure of your meaning.

"Boys who like boys," you said, instantly making him shut up. "Girls who like girls," you continued, "those who like both, those who like neither."

"Oh," he finally got out, staring at the snow-laden floor with his hands stuck deep in his pockets. He hadn't ever told you about that part of himself. How did you know?

"Here, I'm sorry," you said softly, handing him his still-warm mug of hot chocolate. He gratefully took it from you. "I shouldn't have said anything. It was insensitive of me and I apologize. You can come out whenever you're ready."

"What makes you think I'm gay?"

You looked him up and down, offering no more than a sad look. He could almost laugh, but before he could get any reaction out of himself, you moved from your place beneath the umbrella to join him beside the telescope, your side pressed against his.

"Happy Christmas, by the way," you murmured, staring up at Sirius just as he did.

"I don't celebrate Christmas," he said in the same distant tone, making you giggle thoughtlessly, looking to the ground before you looked up to him.

He was wonderful, wasn't he? The way he smiled and the way his fingers curled in on each other, the freckles dotted across his skin and the rough feel of his hands. He was rather toned as well, a surprising fact that had little affect on your view of him, as the physical body had never appealed to you very much. All that was important, all that you remembered was the signs when he was nervous, the anxious blush that sometimes crossed him, the beautiful, uncontrollable laugh he had every now and then. You knew about how he stuttered when embarrassed and how he laughed when he lied, and you knew his favorite shirt on you just as well as you knew his favorite Star Trek character. That was love, wasn't it? Being known – it had to be love. To know someone was to love them, and in more than one or two ways you truly did know him.

"Happy Eid then," you said as you leant into him, staring into your hot chocolate.

"Oh, um, my mom wanted to invite you to a party. For Eid," he said, taking a small step away to look at you more easily.

"I'd love to come. Anything I should know about your parents?"

"No... just don't mention gay stuff," he said with a small laugh, making a smile of your own come to you.

"Hey, Kenny," you said as he stopped laughing, calling his attention back to you. "Watch this."

"Watch wh –"

You leaned forward, getting on your tip-toes to reach his lips where you pressed the sweetest and the first of his kisses, catching him so by surprise that he accidentally dropped his mug. Somehow you didn't seem to mind – you just kept kissing him, and he adored it. For a single moment nothing else mattered, and he could touch you without guilt, kiss you without thought, leaving only intrinsic care like he was built to love you. When you pulled back he stayed in that position, his eyes still closed in a dream-like state. Your giggle brought him back, erupting a bright blush on his face as you rested your freezing hand on his cheek, pulling him in for a shorter, softer peck.

"W - wait, I broke your mug," he said, stuttering as he stared at you, waiting for you to get angry.

"No, I made sure it didn't break," you said with that soft smile, and the two of you looked down to the mug.

Lo and behold, it hadn't broken. Another one of those 'mysterious' miracles that happened around you. You picked up the mug, handing him your half-filled cup and letting him drink from that instead.

"I think hot chocolate is sweeter when it's shared," you said, sitting beside him on your bed with the cup placed between you.

"You sound like a hot chocolate advertisement," he said with a laugh, making you grin.

"Just enjoy it," you murmured, kissing the top of his head.

#kenny al bahir x reader #kenny al bahir #war at home #rami malek #rami malek character #male reader #gender neutral reader

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chimswae · 3 years

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Untold Bonus Part 3

Foreword:

Some stories are better left unsaid.I couldn’t change anything for the world, although the fame part of this industry is tough to handle.Do i have a life? Yes I have my fans.Do i have friends? Yes the members that I cherish. Do i have love? No I have to let go.Life always offers you a second chance. It’s called tomorrow. But do i have any tomorrow?

Pairing: Jimin x OC (Other characters: BTS, OCs, Lee Taehwan)

Genre: Idolau, Fluff, Romance, Father!Au

Word Count: 2,324

Author Note: I totally forget to finish update Untold! forgive me ;; This is an old story of mine i think i wrote it in 2017, so please ignore my clicheness and the excessive usage of clicheness~ that makes u cringe haha

You can check full masterlist below :)

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20

Part 3

Although their camel tour ended a little comically, everyone had fun. Hoseok on the other hand was salty the whole day because of the poop incident. As soon as they reached their hotel, Hoseok spent at least two hours in the bathroom alone taking super long bath just to get rid of the smell or whatever he thought it was. He claimed it was to stabilize his mental state after the horrifying event.

Hoseok could be a little too dramatic sometimes, no one could stop that guy.

Leaving Hoseok with his delusional thought, others went to get dinner at nearby restaurant and bought takeaways food for him to savor later on. Enjoying the night city view, the stars sparkle in the night sky.

“I love the city when it shuts down” Jimin whispers.

Yeoul smiled upon hearing that low and raspy voice of his, so enticing. They both strolled the parks pedestrian pathways following others from behind silently. The streets was empty, there were minimal number of people around and most of them were couples. The emptiness was strange and magnificent.

“This is perfect” she squished their hand tighter.

In front of them, there were Taehyung with his cameras and his loyal assistant Kim Namjoon, his eyes fixated on his gadgets. These two guys sometimes stopped in the middle of their walk to take good picture and admiring them afterwards. Or ended up bickering over Vante’s photos.

Maknae and Jin on the other side were busy scanning the city and finding good spots to shop, though there were fewer shops opened past 11. The couple did not give up on whatever they were planning to buy, more like souvenirs.

Taehwan and Yoongi went back earlier than them since they wanted to catch up their sleep, with that they offered to bring Minyeol together. Poor Minyeol being dragged around by the adults. Not to mention, they still had to feed loner Jung Hobi, that guy must be starving.

Yeoul and Jimin took their time to enjoy this night stroll exchanging funny stories or stealing glances. Being with Jimin taught Yeoul how to swoon him with a simple flirt and playful kisses. She was taught well.

“Baby..Let’s ditch them” he tugged on Yeoul arm preventing her to move.

“Are you crazy? They will flip out” raising her eyebrows with a questionable look, she watched Jimin took his phone typing something in his phone.

Jimin grinned “Done. I notify them in our Kakaotalk group,so lets go” he pecked her lips, intertwining their hand together. Yeoul could only smile at his randomness and followed him wherever he wished to go. Anywhere with Jimin is everywhere she wanted to be.

Like a flash the couple disappeared from their vicinity for their own oh-not-so-romantic midnight tour. Jin and Jungkook had so much sense in them that they did not even care when they left unlike someone who insisted of following those two. Another reason how they ended in Morocco anyways, Kim Taehyung really need to stop pursuing different career in his life. The preferred V and Vante for now.

Please don’t turn him into Varazzi or something.

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

There sitting side by side, two pure soul enjoying each other company under dark sky accompanied by the heat from the bonfire across them. Being drawn by the warmth of their body heat, Yeoul snuggled in Jimin’s embrace smiling as he rested his chin on top of her head.

The fire glimmered and gleamed, its warmth drawn people in creating an atmosphere for sharing and making memories. As the night grows, they wished to linger around just a little longer in the warmth and contentment around the fire.

Everything about tonight was perfect.

“Aren’t you tired?” he was the one who first broke the silence between them.

Jimin felt Yeoul shifted a little in his embrace and soon he heard she replied “Tired of what? You? That is impossible.. I prefer to cling onto you for the rest of my life” she teased while wrapping her arm around his waist tighter.

“You cannot be tired of me. My charms are overflowing” he gazed down into her dark orbs. A pair of eyes that never failed to draw him in into this crazy world. World with unspeakable love. World that fills with hope. World that fills with happiness.

If she were to list down her weakness when it came to Jimin, his gaze would definitely on the list. In fact, that’s her utmost weakness.

“Aren’t you being a little over confident right now Park Jimin-ssi?” she ran her thumb over his lips, stroking it softly.

“I don’t mind if it is you I am trying to win over” caressing the back of his hand along Yeoul’s soft cheeks, Jimin closed the gap between them and locking her into a long endearing kiss. A kiss that he wished to give everyday.

Their lips move just perfectly in sync following their rapid heartbeat. He stroke over her back in a light touch that sent tingles in her heart. Every time their lips touched the spark ignite anew. Yeoul placed her palm upon his chest over his heart and felt it strong steady beat. The kiss deepened as she could feel with every stroke of his tongue latching onto hers.

They broke the kiss to catch a deep breath “You are irresistible Park Jimin” Yeoul mumbled against his lips.

“I am sorry. You have to deal with it until death do us part” nuzzling her face, Jimin chuckled softly.

“I don’t mind” this time Yeoul was the one who initiate their second round. Locking her arm around his neck tight, she pulled him down for another kiss. Who knows a kiss with Jimin can be addicting? Well Yeoul had her whole life to deal with it.

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

It was time to get back to reality. Everyone was physically ready to be back in Korea but not mentally. They will be missing Morocco for sure. Nonetheless, thanks to Kim Taehyung unexpected plan Yeoul and Jimin stays in Morocco was extra fun than they expected. Creating new memories with their loved one especially Bangtan, Taehwan and Minyeol, it was beyond perfect.

Boarding the plane on time, everyone got into their seat. First class seat as they said, but Jungkook was stuck with Jin for the whole journey, how unfortunate. He liked his hyung but sometimes he’s a little too bubbly for someone at his age. Considering he is in the hyung line, Jungkook felt he had slowly shifted toward the maknae line.

Welcome aboard Kim Seokjin!

Even before the plane took off, Jin insisted to sit on the aisle and made Jungkook stay in the middle. They had no idea who would take the window seat but scratch that, he hoped that person wouldnt snore that much.

Jungkook eyes wandered at the direction of their seat and noticed the window seat was already occupied. He couldn’t get a full view of the person but he’s sure it was a girl. So, he sank in his seat carefully not to startle the girl whom seemed engross with her reading. She had earphone plugged in both of her ears got him less anxious to sit behind a stranger some more a girl.

The older boy came few minutes later with a triumph grin plastered across his face, more like mocking Jungkook for sitting beside a girl.

Maknae grunted under his breath feeling unfair as he sent death glare at Jin’s way “If it weren’t for you……” Jin dumbfounded look was even annoying.

As the plane was ready for take off, Jungkook stole a glance at the girl beside him. He admired her long eyelashes, and her soft fluffy cheeks which again reminded him Jimin’s puffy one. Her fingers were beautiful and those accessories that she wore fitted perfectly around it. He tore his gaze from examining her feature even more like a creep. Jungkook had no idea why was he so nervous when the girl beside him showed no interest to start a conversation even a simple hi.

You are so stupid Jungkook. He grimaced.

The first hour of the journey, Jungkook had decided to pay all his attention on the games in his phone. His mind sometimes was too wild and he tended to over thinking too. The girl snapped the book closed as she stifled her yawn, stretching her aching muscle.

She loved window seat since she had more space for herself and most importantly she didn’t have to deal with strangers on plane. Engaging into unimportant conversation was one thing, but she hated people who snore in the plane.

Thank god, the two guys beside him seemed normal. She totally forgot to take a glance at the guy beside him and only to realize he’s quite good looking. Not an average look for a man at his age, but his eyes and those visible veins were her weakness.

Reaching out to her hair, she’s about to tie it into a bun but only to lose grip on her red hairband. It landed just few inch from Jungkook’s feet. Jungkook realized that and put away his phone. He bent down to pick the hairband up but at the same time the girl was already reaching for it. Their head were hitting each other, earning a low gasp from both Jungkook and the girl.

Jungkook straightened up with a baffle look “I am so sorry” he apologized earnestly.

The girl took the hairband and rubbed her sore head with a small smile “It is alright. I am sorry for dropping this” their eyes met. The girl grew anxious at the sudden staring battle that they had right now. She touched her face in case she smeared her lipstick.

“I am sorry? Is there something wrong” she inquired.

He was brought back to his sense as he blurted without he realize “Nothing. You are just pretty” Jungkook himself couldn’t believe what’s coming out from his sinful mouth. Clasping his hand over his mouth, he patted it giving it a scold.

The girl blushed upon hearing his compliment as he watched him in horror “W-hat…” she faked a laugh and averted her gaze from Jungkook.

“I mean..I didn’t mean to say that. That is just weird. I am sorry again” He bowed a little hoping he would not scare the girl away. What’s wrong with him anyway? This stupid filthy little mouth gave away compliment so casually especially to a stranger like her.

She shook her head “It is alright. It must be the gravity” she reasoned.

Jungkook bit his lower lips to surpass his chuckle at her silly reply “Urm.. I am Jeon Jungkook by the way” he flashed her a charming smile not trying to win her over but that’s just how he smiled.

The girl was taken aback at first not expecting the guy beside her would introduce himself. This was the start of every conversation, how she hated that. Therefore just to be polite, she replied Jungkook casually “Nari…Son Nari” her eyes gleams.

“Nari.. Nice to meet you Nari-ssi”

“You too Jungkook-ssi”

Interestingly, this Son Nari girl seemed to not recognize him. Not to sound like a superstar, but to be frank everyone knew Bangtan Sonyeondan but for some reason this girl had zero idea of his existence as one of famous idol members.

After exchanging their names, they fell into silence again. Nari exasperated a sigh of relief knowing Jungkook was not a talkative person, so she could enjoy this plane ride with ease.

Little did Jungkook know, Jin was actually faking him being asleep. He heard it all up until those little innocent conversation made by Jungkook introducing himself to some random girl. It was a rare sight but he’s proud of his dongsaeng mustering his courage to talk to opposite sex.

Jungkook stiffened in his seat still contemplating whether to ask questions or kept his mouth shut. Part of him wanted to prolong this conversation as he was curious of this Son Nari person. A soft sigh escaped as his fingers fiddled nervously.

“You should be thanking me later Jeon” a soft voice whispered awfully low and close to his ears causing him to jerk backwards accidentally hitting Nari again.

“I AM SO SORRY AGAIN” he looked over at the confused girl and threw a nasty glare at Jin, grinding his teeth together.

“You seem to have the knack of bumping into others clumsily” she chortled.

The corner of his lips tugged into an embarrass smile “I thought there was a bug on my seat” he lied. Studying her facial more clearly know, he could tell she’s judging him considering how hard she tried to hold back her laughter.

“Actually you kinda remind me of one of my friends.. he is..” Nari couldn’t believe with her own eyes that she actually felt comfortable talking to a stranger exchanging their stories and life which was she rarely did every time in public.

But..Jungkook. Something about him made it feel different.

Was it his smiley face?

Was it his perfectly round eyes?

Was it his giggly side every time he got shy?

It had always been a start of something new. Nari could use new friends.

Previous | Next: Epilogue

#untoldseries #bts fic #bts fanfiction #bts fanfic #jimin x oc #jimin idolau #jimin father au #park jimin father au #bts series #jimin parenthood au

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arguedquill1226 · 5 years

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Hollowed Heroes

chapter one (18+, MINORS DO NOT READ)

Summary: BuckyBarnes x FemaleReader-you have a unpolished past but you want a true chance at doing good in the world, to redeem yourself. Oh! And you happen to live and work with the Avengers sense the fall of shield while doing it... everything changes one day when Steve brings home a stray. What can the future hold for you and the team? Will this change the dynamic of missions? Will this stray be the answer to some of your darkest secret? Only time will tell...

Word count: 2,790ish

Taglines: 18+, Marvel AU, angst, explicit language, cursing (more to come as it gets deeper into the story)

Notes: Hi everyone! This is my first ever post of AU Marvel fanfic so please be gentle LOL...in short I've flipped some of the canon facts around like Sam and Steve got really close while shield is still in operation but age of Ultron happened before the triskelion incident in DC. So the facts are still the same but flipped or altered to work for my AU timeline. I'll try to fill in the differences as we go along with the fanfic, but I'mma Bebe writer so bare with me and my terrible grammar and punctuation XD so I apologize ahead of time! Also I do my own photo edits but I get a lot of the pictures of of Pinterest so all the credit goes to the OG poster of those pics...Happy reading & Hope y'all enjoy!

PS. I post from a mobile device so sorry for filling your feed and no keep reading option 😢

Updated on January 22, 2021

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Chapter one-

First Impressions…

Tired and your eyes are burning. You casually lean against the wall with your knee bent and foot pushed on a piece of industrial paneling in an open debriefing room surrounded by soft sunlight and windows. It’s fairly early in the morning and you’re zoning out looking at the rich wooden floor while Tony drowns on for what felt like the 10th time on how you and Nat’s night op went and what the information you gathered meant for the “big picture.”

You had completely understood the gist of what he was trying to explain the first time he went over it. But when he gets on a roll with an audience, you know better than to interrupt him or let your sarcasm get the best of you. You and Nat were beat but the others had shown up late to the debrief so you just thought about getting out of your gear and hitting the rack for a few. The room was fairly quiet, with only Tony talking. So it wasn't hard to hear down the corridor a heavy set of metal doors close calmly with an mild echo…a side effect of having such wide open spaces on the operations level of the Avengers compound.

The noise had jarred you out of your dazed thought patterns. When you looked up, it had dawned on you that not everyone you'd had expected to see was in the meeting.

Steve.......where is Steve? Was your initial thought.

You and Steve had gotten close over the last 10 months sense Nat had brought you into the fold a little while before S.H.I.E.L.D fell. About as close as him a Nat. Sam had always joked with you 3 about being “the three musketeers” on ops. But you didn’t care because it was all in fun and was kind of true. You all had your particular skill sets, but also some skills that we’re similar. So it was easy to fall into step with each other.

It was then, you could hear hushed voices right outside the door frame to the room. Within seconds Steve and another man obscured slightly behind his right shoulder had entered, quietly sliding over to lean on the opposite wall from you hoping to not interrupt Tony you had guessed. He'd seemed to notice you following their movements with curious eyes and gave you a kind nod that you returned with a saw smile.

You glanced over quickly at the stranger. He was about as tall as Steve but thicker with broader shoulders. Dark, unkempt hair came down to his jawline obscuring his main features along with the black ball cap he was donning. He wore an Army green utility jacket over a light blue plaid shirt, denim jeans with boots. Dressed very mundane, perhaps too much. What struck you as especially odd was the fact that he was wearing black leather gloves out of season for upstate New York. It was early autumn, still fairly warm outside.

Steve had backed out of this last mission with you and Nat to deal with what he would only describe as a “personal matter,” so you started to wonder if this man had anything to do with that. Steve had explained how he had full confidence in you two to handle a simple stakeout/smash and grab on our own. So neither of you pressed him for more info and wished him luck.

A few seconds later, Tony had finished and everyone was content with all the information given and was about to stand when Tony, being snarky, acknowledged Steve finally showing up to the meeting.

“So nice of you to join us, we were helpless without you Cap!” Tony stated while waving his finger at our fearless leader dripping with sarcasm.

“Sorry Tony, I was hoping to be here earlier to talk to you.” He said a little unsure of Tony’s reaction to the stranger he glanced back at.

At that action, Tony seemed to register something in his memory. Possibly something him and Steve had discussed in private you wondered. Possibly something about this strange man who seem to be fairly familiar to you but you couldn't place him…By this time, everyone but Nat and Sam was staring back at Steve and the stranger waiting for an explanation. Those two seem to know something you and the others didn't. Nat looked at you out of the corner of your eye.

Who was he?...you wondered.

•••••••••••••••

He was nervous walking through the double doors in the corridor leading to a room that he could hear some guy rambling on, the voice sounded vaguely familiar. Looking back at the exit while the doors echoed shut behind them, Steve assured him that he wouldn’t let anything get out of hand and would explain everything to the group who may not understand or be upset that he had found the man Steve new long ago and was bringing him home like some lost pup...which Bucky hated to think of it like that but the man was damn determined and stubborn for him to come back with him. Bucky knew this team was established to do good in the world but he didn’t know if his presence would upset their carefully built dynamic.

Steve had left 3 weeks ago on a solo op that he was quiet about any details to most of the team but Sam and Tony knew. And Nat guessed it when she had seen the three in an incognito meeting disgusting details on a large timeline display of information Friday, Tony’s helpful A.I., had up about the ghost from more than just Steve’s past. Even with how close Steve, Nat and You are…you all have your individual secrets and knowledge that hasn’t come up in conversation. And Steve didn’t know that you had your own run in with the man he was about to walk through the door with right now. But Nat did know, but choose to not tell you this fact and may be regretting it that the moment. But it wasn’t her secret to tell Steve so how was she supposed to explain to him that not everyone may be okay with this.

Nat had warned Steve once at the cemetery when she gave him a copy of the file from Kiev. But she did it again a second time that evening. Before he and Sam left to find his oldest friend. He had promised to take what she said to heart and to not push Bucky or the others into anything they weren’t comfortable with. But they left anyways. Sam had returned alone 8 days after they left and only would say “it went as well as could be expected and Steve (more likely, Bucky) just needed some more time.”

In that time away, the boys found Bucky on a tip from the Smithsonian video feeds and CCTV which of course Bucky didn’t know was a thing. So it wasn’t hard to track him down and they found him in a seedy motel living on stolen credit cards, junk food from gas stations and a few random notebooks looking so lost. They had only left a note on the door to his room, letting Bucky know they wouldn’t bother him. But they added a phone number and that they could help him learn about his past, if he wanted. He thought about it for days before he called the man from the museum exhibition, the one everyone called ‘Captain America.’ He was starting to remember flashes of memories and feelings over the last few months away from Hydra's grasp, but couldn’t seem to make sense of them on his own. So he said, “fuck it!” And met the two men he recognized from that awful day in Washington DC.

•••••••••••••

They did help but his mind was far from perfect and he felt like an exposed nerve walking through the door to the room.

Fuck, so many people!

So he ducked his head and stayed near Steve. Even though he only knew the man for a few short weeks, he felt like he could trust Steve unconditionally which wasn’t a feeling he was used to. He recognized the guy talking as the famous Tony Stark or aka ‘Ironman.’ He was grateful when Tony didn’t really draw attention to him directly and chose instead to pick on Steve.

Bucky took the opportunity to scan the room. An old habit from all the Hydra training or maybe from howling commando days. That wasn’t clear to him yet. He seen some faces that were confused or apprehensive. Two he recognized to be Sam and a girl he thought was named Natalia, he’d hoped she didn’t completely want to shoot him for what he tried to do to her in DC and whatever else he may have done. She didn’t look upset though. She looked unsure, then glanced to a quiet girl he hadn’t noticed until he followed Nat’s eye line.

It was you, a beautiful girl nonchalantly leaning on the wall in a “back of the class” kind of way. With long, YC hair that was a bit wild from the long night and deep YC eyes with messy black smoky eyeshadow that resembled war paint. Dressed in all black, holsters and straps. She wasn’t like Natalia dressed in a sleek look though, more apocalyptic and organic. Weathered Moto pants, combat boots and a loose fitted, faded black tank top that had a worn group of holes reminiscent of bird shot where your utility belt buckle rubs against the material. Your jacket discarded on the floor haphazardly by your feet. Almost familiar to someone or something he’d seen before…wait………..yes……definitely someone………..shit… and the memory slips away…

Bucky was completely stunned by how beautiful you are. But he didn’t want to seem like a creep so he kept his glance short before looking back at Natalia and Sam. He had completely ignored what Steve was saying to his friends, being stuck in his thoughts when he heard Tony say,

“This is James Barnes everybody. Don’t be afraid to say ‘Hi' and remember to show him to his room later, will ya Cap?”

“He prefers Bucky actually,” Steve says nodding his head to the rest of the group “and I will. Thanks again for understanding Tony.”

By this time, Vis, Wanda, Tony, Maria, Rhodey and Clint began filling out of the door past Steve and Bucky with quick greetings and smiles in a hurry to get to their priorities for the day…whatever those were. You found yourself smiling and wanting to giggle at the thought of Clint’s main mission probably being to eat the last donuts in the kitchen of the compound, when you realized Nat had walked up to you and Sam had joined Barnes and Steve by the door. Nat was obviously trying to block his view of you for some reason. As good as she was executing a distraction, she should’ve known better as that was one of your many skill sets too.

That’s when you realized Barnes kept his head coy but was glancing at you periodically over Nat’s shoulder. It wasn’t hard to see because you were slightly taller than Nat so she couldn’t really block him from looking your way. It struck you differently than it usually does when someone stares at you. Normally, you cringe and feel awkward in a personal setting with someone staring at you. But this time it’s like his eyes are drawing you into a trap. His eyes…holy fuck, you hadn’t noticed his eyes. Before they were hidden under the bill of his hat but now they’re looking directly into yours and they’re the brightest slate blue color. You easily spot them from over 15 feet away.

Nat notices your eye contact and she scoops up your jacket and shoves it lightly to your chest. You grab it while she simultaneously hooks her elbow around yours and leads you out of the room. On your way by the three men, she smiles and says,

“see you boys at the gym later.”

Bucky follows you and Nat’s path with his eyes as you hang a left leading into the section that has the hanger bay on your right heading to the elevators on the left that will take you up to the living quarters. He turns back to Sam and Steve to find them looking at him.

“Don’t worry, YourNickName isn’t anyone you need to worry about. She’s actually really cool.” Sam says with a smug smile on his face like he noticed something.

Bucky repeated, “YNN?”

“Ya, it’s short for YFirstN. She’s been working with us for a while now but she’s still kind of the new here too. Now, how about a tour?” Steve added.

Bucky nodded in agreement and they walked out of the room heading in the same direction as you two did. Hoping he may run into you again while Sam and Steve kept pointing out what different sections of the compound were used for.

•••••••••••••

After you and Nat we're a little ways away from the debriefing room, she started some small talk about how nice a hot shower would feel right now and you agreed wholeheartedly. But stepping into the elevator, you couldn't shake the feeling that you wanted to go back and properly say hi to the new guy Bucky and welcome Steve back.

Nat told you with a smile sensing your thoughts, “don't worry, we will see Steve later at the gym. And later for movie night. You know how Tony gets if we don't show up for his events, we should catch up on our sleep now so we're not late.”

You giggle, “events?... It’s a movie Nat.”

“Ya, but Rogers is back and brought Barnes with him so now he’s going to go overboard and really make it a picture show.”

“Yep…agreed. It’ll be a whole thang now!” you say over exaggeratedly with you hands and jacket waving back and forth while rolling your eyes. “Hopefully he doesn’t plan on showing anything Charles Chaplin for our sakes!” you yell jokingly while turning away and jogging down the hall. You hear Nat belly laugh before you both duck into your rooms for some much needed R&R.

It doesn’t take you long to peel your gear off and start the shower. It starts to whistle due to the steaming hot water shooting out of the head while you bun your hair on the top of your head and flop your towel over the rod. Ready for the inevitable soap in your eye somehow because you’re secretly a total klutz. You turn the water down a tad and start your music on your phone and jump in while you start to sing along.

You’re clean and relaxed in no time at all so you shut off the shower and hop out, throw on a tank and shorts and turn the music down a bit. When you walk out of the bathroom you hear a familiar voice pass by your door. It’s Steve saying, “and your room is right here, mine’s just down the hall and Sam’s is around the corner if you need anything.”

A door in the hall latches softly, then…… silence. You open your door to hopefully catch Cap before he runs off and he’s already in front of your door. His hand up looking prepared to knock and eyebrows raised with a smile on his face when he sees you.

“Hey!” he boasts.

“Hey you!” you reach for a quick hug and he gladly accepts. “We all missed you.”

“Well I’m back now. So you don’t need to anymore. Listen, can I ask you a favor?” he asks with a grin.

“Of course!”

“I hope you don’t mind but…uh…I gave Bucky the room next to yours. And I know you don’t really know him…or anything…I guess what I’m asking is, if you see him out and about can you help make him feel welcome…I figured sense you’re still kind of new maybe…” He tries to explain while rubbing the back of his neck and looking shy.

But you hold up your hand to stop his awkwardness and say, ”yeah, of course Steve. Anything for ya.”

“That great, thanks YN, you rock!” he says beaming.

“Not a prob. Now unless you have any better uses for my bed you’d like to personally show me?” you tease with a sarcastically sultry expression to see if he blushes.

“Uhhh…I…” he totally does.

“That’s what I thought,” you giggle and shoo him off. “I’m hitting the rack, night Stevie!”

“But it’s day!” he jokes as he head down the hall as you shut your door.

You climb into bed thoroughly enjoying the thought of how your sense of humor and Steve’s reservoir of pent-up 1940s sass effortlessly fits together. Within seconds of getting comfy and turning off your tunes, you’re out.

Chapter Two coming soon... Masterlist here

***if you liked this please feel free to let me know with a *reblog or ask* thanks so much for reading!!!

#bucky barnes #bucky x reader #bucky imagine #bucky x you #marvelAU #avengers x reader #avengers x you #avengers x y/n #bucky x y/n #fanfic #fanfiction #writing #writers on tumblr #writeblr #writers

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theeeveetamer · 5 years

Note

Helloo! Hm, if you don't mind, I have a request for some more of the modern omegaverse? Particularly how Leo and Takumi met, or the scene with good ol protective Ryoma :)

Alright here we go. I know nothing about this is specific to high school, but in my modern Omegaverse I always envisioned Leo and Takumi being high school sweethearts.

I had a lot of fun writing this, so it ended up being really damn long. Like, almost 40 pages. Couple of notes: I know Mikoto isn’t their canon mother but since she has an established relationship with all of the Hoshidan sibs I think she’s easier to write and makes more sense in Omegaverse. I based this on my high school’s class scheduling, which was four classes a semester, 90 minutes per class. We called them blocks but most places have ‘periods’ so they’re referred to as such for simplicity sake. Finally, I’ve arbitrarily decided that America’s drinking age is 18 in this fic because it should be.

Tags: Omegaverse, High School AU, Omega!Takumi, Alpha!Leo, falling in love, Lower Middle Class Leokumis, Mentions of child abuse/alcoholism

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17282396

“Alright are we ready?”

“Yep! On three!”

Takumi slid his finger under the lip of the envelope, and his friends followed suit.

“One… Two… Three!”

They all tore the glue seal, some more elegantly than others. Hinata got impatient half way through and just ripped the envelope down the middle. Oboro’s wasn’t much better, but at least she’d managed to tear it lengthwise like she was supposed to.

They all pulled out their class schedules at the same time and compared.

“Alright I have geometry first thing… Ugh.” He groaned. He liked math as much as the next guy, but that early in the morning?

“Damn, I have it third.” Oboro pointed out. “But we have the same teacher, so we can at least do the homework together.”

“Wait, I thought we were taking that next semester!”

They tried to schedule their class preferences so that they matched up, but that still didn’t guarantee they would get classes together. Hinata always mixed up at least one class and took it in the wrong semester.

“No, Hinata. We were going to take art next semester, remember?”

“Well shit.” He laughed. “You guys’ll still help me, right?”

Takumi rolled his eyes. “Of course.”

“C’mon Takumi, what do you have next?”

It didn’t take them long to hash out the schedules. He was on his own first period, but he and Oboro had gym together fourth period. He and Hinata shared American History during third period, which also meant they had lunch together. They were all taking different language courses anyways, so he knew he’d have at least one class by himself.

With that settled he was scanning his schedule again just to ensure they shared the same teachers.

“Fuck…” He muttered under his breath.

“What is it?”

“I just realized that we have Izana for history.”

“So?”

Hinata was the oldest in his family and Oboro was an only child, so they didn’t have the ‘benefit’ of having older siblings go before them. Sometimes it was nice because he knew which teachers were good, and sometimes it was awful. If he had a quarter for every time a teacher said ‘Oh, Shirasagi? Are you Ryoma’s little brother? Well he was a joy to have in class!’ he’d be loaded.

“Ryoma and Hinoka both had him! They say he likes to play matchmaker with the Omegas in the class. Plus, he assigns a lot of group projects.”

“Ugh, great! You’ll be my partner right?”

“Obviously, dude.” Even though working with Hinata usually resulted in both of them getting distracted and goofing off until last minute, he wouldn’t have it any other way. As long as he got his A he didn’t really care how the project got done.

Though, he was concerned about a little more than just the group projects. There were definitely more Alphas in their school than Omegas, and ever since he’d presented he’d been dealing with dumb ‘matchmaking’ teachers. Heck, they were doing it before he’d even presented! And pretty much every time it happened the Alpha fell head over heels for him, and he absolutely did not reciprocate.

He couldn’t even count the number of calls Mama needed to make to the school about it on both hands. And whatever number that was, he’d probably have to double it to even get close to the number of overstepping Alphas Ryoma beat the shit out of on his behalf. In fact, most Alphas were beginning to treat being seated next to him as a death sentence, which wasn’t exactly doing wonders for his romantic life. The only Alphas in their grade willing to go within fifteen feet of him were Hinata and Oboro.

He tugged anxiously at his collar. Oboro seemed to notice because she finally changed the subject.

“Well, we only have a few weeks left of summer! Let’s not waste it thinking about school!”

“Damn straight!” Hinata agreed.

“Come on, Mama said dinner would be done around six. And hey, she bought a ton of popcorn for movie night!”

_________________

The first day back was always the worst. Farewell to staying up until four am and waking up at noon, hello dragging his ass out of bed at seven am. At least Ryoma was a senior this year, so Mama let him take the car to school. Hinoka took shotgun and he sat in the back with Sakura. She was fiddling with the strap of her messenger bag and biting her lip nervously.

“You look cute today, baby sister.” She really did. He could tell she’d woken up early to do her hair and makeup, and she’d picked out one of her favorite dresses. It was a far cry from his ratty old jeans and tshirt or Hinoka’s athletic shorts and tank top. He hadn’t even bothered to comb his hair out when he woke up, he’d just thrown it in it’s regular ponytail. He almost envied his sisters’ shorter hair.

“T-Thanks! I’m just so n-nervous, you know?”

“You’ll see! High school isn’t so scary!” Hinoka threw over her shoulder from the passenger seat. “Heck, you’ll be sick of it before long!”

“Come on Hinoka. Let her have one day before you make her jaded.” Ryoma chuckled.

“You’ll do great.” He patted her hand. “Let me know if you get lost okay? I can help you walk to class.”

“A-Alright.”

______________

The day went pretty quickly. It was the first day, so most of the teachers were just going over their syllabi and doing some dumb icebreakers so the class could get to know each other. It was mind numbing, but at least he could doodle in his notebooks and just pretend to be paying attention.

He’d been silently dreading third period all day, and all was well until then. He wasn’t sure what he wanted. It would be nice to sit next to Hinata, but if Izana really was a matchmaker then that could make things awkward. Then again, he’d rather things be a little awkward with his best friend than get harassed by some Alpha that needed to learn the definition of ‘boundaries’.

Hinata was already inside the classroom. He waved at Takumi from around the middle of the classroom and motioned to the empty seat beside him. The desks were laid out very strangely: Each row had six desks, and three columns consisting of two desks pushed together.

“No alphabetical order?”

Hinata shrugged. “He just told us to sit wherever.”

The man in question was currently behind his computer at the front of the room. The bell rang, but he still seemed intent on whatever he was working on. A few minutes of idle chatting later he stood up and stepped to the center of the room.

“Good afternoon everyone. I’ve created a randomized seating chart for you all. Please come sit in your new seat when I call your name.”

They were about ten desks in when the pattern became obvious. Of course every Omega just so happened to be paired with an alpha, despite the sizable portion of Betas in the class. Randomized. Sure.

“… Shirasagi, Takumi!” He squinted his eyes at the paper for a moment. “Weird, I think I had your brother. Or was it a sister?”

“It was both…” He mumbled dejectedly as he took his seat.

“Alright then let’s see… Windmire, Leo!”

Oh gods. Anyone but him.

Their brothers had been feuding since Ryoma’s freshman year, he couldn’t even remember what about. Something about a failed science project that both of them insisted wasn’t their fault. After that it was pretty much silently agreed upon that the Shirasagis would avoid the Windmires, and they would do the same. He’d never personally met Leo, but he’d heard stories. Mainly about how he was a stuck up pretty boy.

And yeah, just looking at him walk across the room he’d believe those rumors. He had a way about him that was hard to miss. He never slouched or shuffled; He strode along like he was above it all. And he was tall. At least six foot or so. Which, Takumi supposed wasn’t all that impressive for Alphas in general, but at fifteen or sixteen most of them were still growing and stood at around five foot eight to five foot ten. That meant he was constantly looking down his nose at everyone else. It was a little intimidating, at five foot six he’d pretty much stopped growing, and he was considered tall for an Omega. Sakura was only five foot two.

The blonde dropped his newly acquired textbook and notebooks down on the desk next to him. They didn’t say a word to each other as Izana finished assigning seats. It seemed like his siblings hadn’t exaggerated: Every Omega in the class was paired off with an Alpha. When that was done he handed out the syllabi and moved back to the front of the class to go over it.

“In this class I believe in learning the value of teamwork! So, you’ll have four group projects. Three due throughout the semester and one final project. Your project partners will be the person you’re sitting next to. No exceptions. These are big projects and will require outside work, so be sure to get your partner’s contact information.”

He heard the Alpha beside him audibly groan. He was, quite frankly, a little offended. Sure he and Hinata goofed off, but he was still a straight A student damn it! Where did this asshole get off?

They suffered silently through the remaining eighty minutes of class until lunch. When the bell rang he reluctantly turned to his seatmate.

“So…” He was loathe to do it, but unfortunately he had to. “We should probably exchange numbers.”

The Alpha rolled his eyes as he pulled out his phone.

“I’m sorry, do you have a problem with me?”

“Just don’t tank my grade. It’s bad enough that I have to associate with a Shirasagi, but an Omega?”

Ah, there it was. The old stereotype that an Omega couldn’t be smart, too. Boy, was this asshole in for a rude awakening.

“Look, I’m not happy about this either.” He growled as he typed his number in. “But I’m not about to get a B just because I’m stuck with you as a partner.”

With the exchange done he collected up his backpack and met up with Hinata, who was waiting by the door for him.

________

“Ugh, can you believe that guy!” He groused, shoving his sandwich into his mouth. Hinata was similarly scarfing down his food, but they were sitting on their own because Oboro had a different lunch.

Between complaining he was also scanning the room for Sakura. She’d texted him that they had the same lunch and he wanted to make sure she wasn’t sitting on her own. He finally caught sight of her – she was kind of hard to miss with the pink hair – sitting a few tables away with her friend Hana and some blonde girl he’d never met. Reasonably assured she was in good hands, he continued his complaining about Leo.

“I mean, the nerve of the guy! Implying that I can’t do work just because I’m an Omega!”

“Yeah, I can’t believe it either.” Hinata added through a mouthful of chips. “I mean, I’m pretty sure I would have failed algebra if it wasn’t for you.”

“Exactly! I mean–” He realized quickly that he probably shouldn’t be insulting his friend’s intelligence just to prove a point. “Sorry, Hinata.”

His friend just waved him off. “Don’t worry about it. Come on, let’s talk about something else.”

He tried to keep his attention off of the blonde Alpha, but he kept catching him out of the corner of his eye and getting infuriated all over again.

__________

The rest of the day was, thankfully, pretty uneventful. He’d almost forgotten all about Leo and his prissy attitude until he got home and he and Sakura were helping Mama with dinner. He and Sakura were chopping up vegetables while she prepared the meats. Hinoka was still at baseball practice and Ryoma was in his room working on his college essays.

“So how was school?”

“Great!” Sakura started excitedly chattering. “Hana and I have a lot of classes together s-so that was good! And I met a r-really nice girl named Elise in first period!”

“That’s great, sweetie! What about you Takumi, did you have fun? Make any new friends?”

He shrugged. “Not really. But there was this one guy in my history class…”

“Oh? You met a boy?” She raised an eyebrow.

“Mama! It’s not like that! He’s… He’s completely insufferable!” He let out a frustrated sigh. “Mister Izana paired us up for every class project, and this dumb Alpha thinks I’m stupid just because I’m an Omega!”

“Oh dear… Well I’m sure it won’t be so bad. Once he gets to know you I’m sure he’ll warm up.”

“I dunno, he’s a Windmire. They’re, like, predisposed to hate us or something!”

“I’m sure he can’t be that bad. You know what I always say, never judge a book by its cover!”

“Yes, Mama.” He rolled his eyes. Of course she didn’t get it. She hadn’t even met Leo, she had no idea how rude he’d been!

He finished up slicing the vegetables and Mama shooed them both out of the kitchen so she could finish cooking. He didn’t have much to do since there wasn’t any homework, so he decided to bum around on his laptop until dinner.

He hadn’t really intended to start cyberstalking Leo, it had just kind of happened. It started when he tried looking up the Alpha’s social media, but the guy was a ghost. None of the Windmires seemed to have any online presence, and the only pictures he found were from what he was guessing were Leo’s friends. He’d just wanted to get a general idea of the guy, but after an hour of coming up blank finding anything became an obsession. How could he not have anything online? It was just so weird!

He finally stopped when Mama called them all down to dinner, and he realized how ridiculous he was being. So what if he couldn’t find any information? Why should he care about this asshole anyways? He shut the laptop and hurried to the dining room.

____________

The first month or so went by without too many problems. He and Leo mostly just ignored each other during class, and once it was over he made a quick escape to lunch with Hinata. They didn’t get the details about their first project until late September. It wasn’t much, just a paper. It was about three pages and due in two weeks, so he wasn’t too worried about it just yet.

He stuck the project requirements into his folder and headed down to lunch. The second he left the room his phone buzzed in his pocket.

We should get started on this project today.

He glanced over his shoulder. Leo was literally standing ten feet away from him. Was he for real?

He pulled his phone back out to respond.

Dude, you’re literally standing right there. You couldn’t talk to me?

He watched as the blonde’s phone buzzed and he typed his response. This was ridiculous, was he really so conceited that he couldn’t even talk to him?

Look who’s talking.

“Ugh!” He stuffed his phone back in his pocket. “Come on Hinata, let’s go.”

All of lunch was a back and forth.

The project isn’t even due until two weeks from now.

I’m not going to fail this class because you wanted to wait until last minute.

Fine! We can start working on it tonight then! Your house or mine?

Better do yours.

Alright, meet me by the exit after school. My brother will drive us.

Gods, what an arrogant asshole! As if waiting a week would kill them! If he were working alone he could get it done in two days! Not to mention the fact that he wanted to start working on it on a Friday night! Sure, Takumi had just planned to stay in and watch movies, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t have had plans!

Sakura was already waiting by the door, along with her blonde friend. She waved at him as he approached. “B-Big brother! This is my friend, Elise.”

“Oh, uh, nice to meet you.” Now that he was closer he could see that she was an Omega as well. The heat suppressants could make it hard to tell sometimes, but only Omegas wore collars like that. Hers was made of dyed black leather and it was studded with little purple rhinestones to match her black and purple dress.

“Ta-ku-mi,” She enunciated every syllable in his name carefully. “Did I say it right?”

“Y-Yeah, that’s right.”

“Well it’s nice to meet you too, Takumi!” She beamed up at him. Geez when Sakura said Elise was friendly she wasn’t kidding. They hadn’t known each other five minutes and she was already chattering away like they’d been friends for decades.

Leo turned up a few minutes later. Takumi caught sight of him down the hall, and he seemed confused as he approached.

“Elise? What are you doing here?”

Did they know each other?

“Aw, Leo! Did you make friends too?”

The Alpha side-eyed him and then shook his head. “Absolutely not. We’re just working on a project together. What are you doing?”

“Xander said I could stay over at Sakura’s tonight! We’re gonna get together with Hana and Effie to do girl stuff!”

“Did you ask father too?”

She pouted. “You know how he is.”

“… Alright, but you need to finish your homework beforehand.”

“Yeah, yeah. Camilla already gave me the lecture. Sakura and I are gonna get it all done before dinner.”

So, Elise was Leo’s little sister? He hadn’t really considered the possibility that Sakura’s new friend was a Windmire, but he supposed it made sense. He’d forgotten about the youngest sibling since she was the grade below him and they’d never had classes together or anything.

It was almost cute watching them; It reminded him a lot of his relationship with Sakura. That didn’t mean Leo wasn’t still a complete asshole, but he supposed even assholes had their moments.

Ryoma finally came down the hall, backpack slung over one shoulder and spinning his keys around his finger.

“Who are your friends?”

“We aren’t friends.” He and Leo said it in unison. Ryoma raised and eyebrow, and Sakura giggled.

“W-We’re just working on a project.” He finished lamely.

His brother shrugged his shoulders, but he was glaring daggers at Leo already. It wasn’t angry, more like don’t you dare fuck with my little brother, asshole. Leo shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.

“Alright, well let’s get home.”

He’d never really felt self-conscious about his house before. It wasn’t the biggest, and it certainly wasn’t the nicest. He’d known Hinata and Oboro for so long that none of it mattered because… Well it never had before. He didn’t know much about Leo, but this stuck up pretty boy was probably used to nicer stuff.

Mama couldn’t work because she didn’t have an Alpha to sign off on it. Papa made pretty good money, but after he died they had to cut back and make do on the insurance money. They only owned one car since Mama only left to do errands, and she could do those once they got home from school.

Their house was a standard split-level with three bedrooms and a basement. He and Sakura actually shared a room, and Ryoma and Hinoka did the same. Mama took the smallest room and his older siblings had the master bedroom. The basement was a general family room, with a nice but old flat screen TV, an old Nintendo that he’d found for twenty bucks at a neighbor’s garage sale, and a big sectional couch. The upstairs had a much smaller TV and couch that Mama mainly used to watch the news. Or to stop arguments when everyone wanted to watch something at the same time.

The nicest piece of furniture they owned was probably their dining table. Mama had been saving up for a new one for years because the old one was too small for a family of five, and she liked it when they all ate together. Plus, one or more of their friends usually came over for dinner more often than not and she liked entertaining company. It made the small space a little cramped but Mama always made sure it was clean and overall it was pretty cozy.

They all kicked their shoes off, and Takumi tried not to look at their guests faces when they stepped inside. He wasn’t sure if he could stop himself from punching Leo in the face if he got condescending about it.

“Come on. We can work on our project in my room. Sakura, are you and Elise okay in the living room?”

“Y-Yeah no problem!”

It would be a little too cramped in their small space with four people in there. Usually when they did homework they all set up on the dining room table and did it together. But he didn’t want to disturb Ryoma and Sakura since he and Leo would probably be pretty distracting with their talking.

Mama greeted them at the top of the stairs.

“Perfect timing. Ryoma dear can you give me the keys? I need to go grocery shopping.”

“They’re in the key bowl by the door.”

“Great!” She looked over their two guests. “Are you two going to be staying for dinner?”

“Oh, right! Mama this is Leo, and that’s Sakura’s friend Elise.”

“Nice to meet you Missus Shirasagi.” Leo extended a hand for her to shake.

“Please, you can just call me Mikoto.”

“I don’t know how long Leo and I will be working on our project, but Elise will definitely be here for dinner.”

“Alright I’ll buy a little extra then!” That went without saying, though. Mama always bought extra for guests. She grabbed the keys and headed out, and Takumi led Leo down the hall to his room.

“Takumi!” Ryoma called out to him from the living room.

“What?”

“Leave the door open!”

“Ryoma!” He could feel his face heating up. Gods, like he would ever do anything with this guy!

He left the door open anyways, mostly because it was better than having Ryoma randomly barge in and “need something” like he always did if Takumi shut the door.

There wasn’t a whole lot of room to spread out. Most of the space was taken up by two twin beds. Their room was about ten feet wide, and there was about four feet of open space between the beds. They each had their own nightstand, and there was a dresser shoved in the closet. It was a pretty wide closet, but they had to share. Three of the four dresser drawers belonged to him, but two thirds of the closet belonged to Sakura because she owned so many dresses.

All in all, it was pretty obvious what belonged to whom in the room. Sakura had a lot of decor of her namesake: Her lampshade and bedspread both featured cherry blossom patterns, and she had a variety of little bobbles including a little glass cherry blossom tree that Mama made for her by hand. She also had a few canvasses hanging from the walls with several different designs, one of which featured cherry blossoms once again. Most of it wasn’t her choice, it was just what people bought her for birthdays and Christmas. It was a good thing she liked pink.

His side was a little plainer decor-wise. In addition to his bed and nightstand he also had a bookshelf that was overflowing with books on history and philosophy. There were so many that he’d begun stacking them on top of the shelf as well. On top of those books an old Shogi board was perched, just in case any of his siblings ever wanted to play with him again. They had a few other board games on the top shelf of the closet. Sometimes they had game nights on the weekend, but for the most part they went untouched. His bow and a quiverfull of arrows were currently leaning in the space between the nightstands. He didn’t really have anywhere else for it, since his kendo equipment was underneath the bed and there was no more room in the closet.

“Sorry it’s not very big.” He dropped his backpack on his bed and pulled out his laptop. Mama bought them all the same cheap little chromebook one year for Christmas when they were on sale. It wasn’t the best, but it got the job done.

Leo just shrugged and followed suit. His laptop was bigger, but it also looked pretty old. He brought out the charger as well.

“Got an outlet somewhere? The battery on this damn thing is burnt out.”

Once they were finally set up on the floor he pulled the assignment sheet back out of his folder.

“Alright, looks like we have to discuss the fallout after the civil war. Three pages, double spaced, yadda yadda. And a presentation to the class.”

“You haven’t even read the assignment yet?”

“When was I supposed to read it? Izana gave it to us at the end of class, and I wasn’t going to read it over during gym class!”

“Gods I’m going to fail.” The Alpha muttered under his breath.

“Hey!” Takumi growled. “Would you stop treating me like I’m some ditz! I’m trying to get an A too, you know! So just start the damn powerpoint and I’ll start the paper.”

He flipped his textbook open to the relevant chapter and started scanning for information.

The Alpha sighed. “You’re right. I’m sorry, I’m just used to my partners slacking.”

Well of all the things he’d been expecting, he certainly hadn’t seen an apology coming.

“I-It’s fine. Let’s just get this done so I can actually enjoy this weekend.”

They worked for a solid hour, only talking to ensure that their points matched up. He was probably a third of the way done with the rough draft of their paper, and Leo was about half done with the powerpoint when they were interrupted by Elise entering the room.

“Leeeeooo!” She called from the door.

“What is it, Elise?”

“Can you help me with math?”

“Have you done all of the problems you can solve?”

“Yep! And Sakura helped me with some, but there are a couple we can’t get.”

“And you finished your other subjects?”

“Uh huh! We did those first.”

“Alright, I’ll come help you in a few minutes.”

“Okay!” She skipped back down the hall and sat down with Sakura at the dining room table.

Leo shut his laptop and shoved his books back into his backpack.

“I thought you wanted to get this project done?”

The blonde rolled his eyes. He was just now noticing, but had they always been that color? Or was the dim light in his room playing tricks on his eyes? He hadn’t really been paying attention, but he swore he would have remembered such vivid red eyes.

“This is exactly why I start projects when they’re assigned. We don’t have to do it all today.”

He left all of his things on the floor of Takumi’s room and headed back out into the main living area.

Takumi had managed to get all of his homework done in class today. He was pretty bored in geometry, so he usually did the homework as he was taking notes. Plus with ninety minute classes their teacher usually gave them half of that time for homework. His language class usually made it a point not to assign any homework, and their history class assigned the project in lieu of any real homework. So he decided to take his laptop into the living room and start picking out a movie for tonight. Ryoma had disappeared to somewhere, probably over to Saizo’s house to hang out.

He was actually currently stealing his good friend’s netflix, and with October on the horizon most of the queue was horror movies. It was just easier to stay logged in since they usually hung out at his house. Hinata didn’t usually mind, as long as he didn’t hog it or remove things from his list.

Elise and Sakura really only had two math problems they couldn’t get on their own, and once Leo walked them through the first one they didn’t even need help on the second. He got the sense that this was something Leo did a lot, and he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t impressed by it. Maybe he wasn’t as stuck up as everyone seemed to imply.

“So,” The Alpha finally spoke directly to him. He’d been so focused on his computer that it startled him. “You like horror movies?”

He shuddered at the thought. Horror movies always made his nightmares so much worse. “No, actually. This is my friend’s account. I take it you do?”

“Mhmm. That’s too bad, I know a few good ones you might enjoy.”

“… Nothing too scary?”

“I suppose that depends on your definition of scary.”

“Hmm… Well I don’t do paranormal. Hard no on anything paranormal. I also don’t really like monsters or ghouls or anything like that.”

“Home invasion?”

“Yeah I think I could do that.” If he were being honest he would have said not in a million years, but he also didn’t want to seem like a complete wuss.

He grinned. “I have the perfect movie. Do you want to watch it on my laptop?”

“W-What? You mean, right now?”

He shrugged. “I’m here, and obviously we’ve both already checked out of this project for today. Besides, I don’t want to leave in case Elise needs me for something else.”

Just then he was saved by the bell – or rather, his mother.

“Takumi! Come help me get the groceries in!”

He hopped up and ran to the car, thankful to get out of that conversation. Maybe he wouldn’t have to watch a horror movie after all.

“Would you like some help with those?” Leo asked, indicating the bags she was carrying. She handed them off to him gratefully and he finished getting them into the kitchen. Then Leo helped him bring in the few bags from the car, and they were done in one trip. He tried to help put things away, but Mama shooed him back out into the living room.

Leo was standing by, waiting for him to get done.

“So, how about it?”

“I don’t know if we have time for a movie. Mama when is dinner?”

“Oh don’t worry about it sweetie. There’s plenty of time for a movie.”

Fuck. Looks like he was doing this.

“Alright, sure. Sakura will probably want the basement so she can get ready for her sleepover, so we can watch it in my room.”

With Ryoma out he could finally shut his door. It wasn’t that he wanted to do anything, he just liked having the privacy. Leo set his laptop up on the bed.

“Turn off the lights.”

“W-What?”

“Come on, it’s a horror movie. You have to set the mood!”

He flicked the lights off and sat down. He tried to keep a respectable distance, but it was hard when they were watching on a laptop. They had three or four inches between their shoulders at best.

It was a little weird, if he was being honest. He’d never had an Alpha on his bed unless it was Hinata or Oboro. He hadn’t realized how weirdly intimate it was until he was sitting with the blonde. His heart was racing, though that was probably just from the movie. Though, by the end of it he was actually clinging to Leo’s arm and hiding his face in the sleeve of the blonde’s hoodie.

They were nearing the end of the movie. By now there had been a few tense moments of this woman trying to escape her would-be killer, and a few jump scares to set his nerves on edge. She was trying to crawl back in her window while the killer chased her, and he had to stop himself from shouting go, go, go, go!

The door to his room slammed open and he screamed. Not a yelp or a cry of surprise, he actually yelled out in terror and hid his face behind the Alpha’s shoulder.

“Takumi?” It was just Ryoma. Apparently he hadn’t been as gone as Takumi thought him.

“Gods, Ryoma! You scared the shit out of me!”

“My apologies. I just wanted to know if you needed anything.”

“Yeah! A new damn pair of underwear! Geez Ryoma, can’t I have the door closed for five minutes without you barging in!”

His brother put his hands up in surrender. “Alright, alright. Finish your movie, mother said that dinner will be ready soon.

As soon as he backed out Leo chuckled. “I didn’t think you would be that scared by this movie!”

“I-I wasn’t scared! He just surprised me is all!” He scooted away from Leo and drew his knees up to his chest.

“Of course, obviously.” Leo nodded. “Alright pay attention. We’re almost at the end.”

They very end of the movie was more action packed and didn’t have as many jump scares, so it was a little easier to get through. She managed to fight off her attacker and call the police in the end. And hey, the cat didn’t even die. When the credits started rolling Leo shut his laptop.

“So, what did you think?”

“The entire plot of this movie could have been avoided if this woman just owned a landline.”

“That’s… Exactly what I always say.”

There was an awkward lull in the conversation. After a moment he finally responded again.

“W-We should get to the dining room. Mama is probably waiting for us.”

He reached for the light, but in the dark he didn’t see the stack of books hanging a few inches over the edge of his bookshelf. He accidentally bumped them and brought the entire pile down.

“Shit!” He muttered. He managed to flick the light on. Only five or six books ended up on the ground, and he quickly picked them up and re-stacked them on the shelf.

“The Stranger?” Leo picked the top paperback off the stack and flipped it over.

“Well aren’t you nosy!” He shot back, defensively. Most people that saw his book collection automatically labelled him a huge nerd, including his older siblings.

“I’ve been trying my hardest not to snoop, but it’s kind of hard not to notice when you’re a complete klutz and knock over piles of books. Besides, it’s one of my favorites, I couldn’t help bringing it up.”

“I actually haven’t finished it yet.” He admitted. “Nihilism isn’t really my thing, and I can’t stand the main character!”

“Really? I think it leans more absurdist myself. How far did you get?”

“Uh, I think I was about half way through part one.”

“You should try again. I promise you won’t be disappointed.”

He took the book from the Alpha and tossed it on his nightstand.

“You know, for a pretty boy you’re kind of a dork.”

He was into philosophy and history? What was next? Would Leo tell him that he’s on the school’s chess team?

“I could say the same of you, Takumi.”

Wait, did Leo just call him pretty? Did he just call Leo pretty? To his face? Oh gods, like he needed another reason to go red as a tomato. He hurried past the Alpha and took his seat at the table with the rest of his family and Elise. There were seven places set at the table. Ryoma was sitting on one end, Mama on the other, and Elise, Sakura, and Hinoka on one side. That left two places on the other for he and Leo to sit. He took his usual seat nearest Mama, but Leo hung back a moment. He checked his watch.

“Actually I think it’s time I headed home.”

He wasn’t about to stop Leo, though he was a little disappointed. He’d just found out that they had so much in common, and he’d been kind of hoping that they could chat more.

“Please stay for dinner at least! Sakura was just telling me about how helpful you’ve been, it’s the least I can do.”

He looked conflicted, but he ultimately sat down.

“Thank you, ma’am.”

Mama smiled at him, then leaned over and whispered conspiratorially in his ear.

“Is this the boy you’ve been complaining about? He’s so polite!”

“Mama please!” His face was already red enough from that earlier pretty boy comment.

“So, Leo.” Oh gods. Ryoma was going to do this to him? Tonight? “You’re working on a project with Takumi?”

“That’s right.”

“Uh huh. How’s your GPA?”

“Ryoma…” He muttered under his breath.

“I have a perfect GPA, actually.”

“Good, good… Because, you know, my brother doesn’t waste his time with stupid men.”

“Ryoma!” He growled. Mama patted him on the arm.

“Now come on Ryoma, he’s our guest. There’s no need for this.” Yet. He could hear it in her voice. Gods, had his entire family gone crazy?

The rest of dinner went pretty normally, aside from Ryoma’s incessant what-are-your-intentions-with-my-brother grilling. When it was over he helped Mama clear the table, and Leo excused himself.

“I really must get going.”

“Do you live far? I can drive you home, if you’d like?” Mama called out from the kitchen. She was in the middle of doing the dishes, and Ryoma was helping her dry.

“It’s not far.” He answered quickly. “Really, I’d prefer to walk.”

“Alright. It was nice meeting you!”

Ryoma was just glaring daggers at him over her shoulder. Takumi pushed him toward the stairs and followed him into the entryway.

“Uh, sorry about him.”

Leo just shrugged. “Believe me, I’ve seen worse. Why don’t we get together on Sunday to finish the project?”

“Y-Yeah, sure. Sounds good.”

“I’ll text you.”

He headed out and Takumi shut the door behind him. It was still pretty warm out, but he hoped Leo didn’t have to walk too far. It was starting to get dark, and it looked like it might rain later that night.

All in all he was no longer absolutely dreading seeing Leo again. Hell, he was a completely different person than he usually was in school! He’d even called Mama ‘ma’am’!

He headed back upstairs to see if any more help was needed. Sakura and Elise had long since retreated into the basement to get things set up, and Hana and Effie would probably be there soon.

“Your friend seemed nice.” Mama was just finishing up the dishes and wiping her hands on a nearby towel.

“I don’t like him.” Ryoma slammed a plate down in the cupboard a little harder than usual.

He rolled his eyes. “You don’t have to like him, Ryoma. We’re just doing a class project together. Besides, he hates me anyways.”

It was true. Just because he was polite didn’t mean he liked Takumi. He was probably just minding his manners for once.

“Oh I don’t know about that, sweetie. The two of you seemed to get on just fine.” She had this glint in her eye.

“I told you, Mama, it’s not like that.”

“Good.” Ryoma muttered under his breath.

Gods, what a pain! He loved his brother, but he could be too overprotective sometimes. Heck, he still glared daggers at Hinata, and they’d been friends since they were five!

“I’ll be in my room if you need me.”

He spent the rest of the night watching dumb youtube videos to try and shake the horror movie from his mind.

_____________

Saturday went by pretty uneventfully. He and Hinata went to kendo practice in the morning and then they spent the rest of the day bumming around the park while the weather was still warm. Then later that night Oboro came over for their regular movie night.

Hinata hooked his laptop into the TV and started flicking through the movies. He and Oboro were already sitting on the couch with a big bowl of popcorn between them.

“So how did working on your project with Mister Prissy-pants go yesterday?”

“Actually, not terribly. It was, uh, actually kind of fun.”

Both of his friends stopped what they were doing and looked at him.

“Woah, hold the phone. You had fun. With Leo?”

“I mean… Look, he was still kind of a dick but I don’t know. We have a lot in common, and he was actually really sweet with Mama and his sister.”

Hinata whistled. “Well looks like it’s the end of the world everybody. Oboro, do you still have that zombie invasion action plan we wrote up?”

She shoved him. “Who said it was going to be a zombie invasion?”

“Who said it wasn’t?”

He was thankful that they didn’t push the subject, at least. Mama had been giving him that look ever since and Ryoma kept pulling him aside to have the talk. Just the memory of it made him shudder, and he was glad that Hinoka needed him for something before he could really get into it.

“I know you don’t like them, but can we please watch a horror movie? I know of a really good zombie flick now that you mention it!” Hinata urged.

Zombie movies, strangely enough, didn’t really bother him. Maybe because he knew how unlikely a zombie apocalypse was, and most of the movies were pretty bad anyways.

“Fine. But no more until Halloween!”

He started playing the movie and sat down on the couch next to Oboro. They were only about ten minutes in when he got distracted by a text from Leo.

Hey, sorry but I’m not going to be able to meet tomorrow.

What? Why?

Some family stuff came up. Sorry, we can talk about it more on Monday?

Alright, just don’t go tanking my grade with your slacking.

“Hey!” Oboro snapped her fingers. “Eyes on the screen!”

“Sorry, sorry!” He shut his phone off and set it aside.

He was a little disappointed. Maybe Leo got scared off by his family after all? But still, they could have met up at the library or something. He just hoped his overbearing brother wasn’t about to be the reason he failed a class.

______________

After awhile he started wondering what exactly came up to stop Leo from working on their project. Just three days ago he’d been so insistent that they get the project done immediately, but now he was delaying?

Though, it didn’t take him long to figure out what had happened. He walked into third period, and the first thing he noticed was the blonde in the second row. His left eye was swollen and bruised up. Takumi took his seat and set his backpack down.

“Geez, what happened?”

“Oh this? It’s nothing.” He brushed it off. He didn’t seem interested in talking about it, so he dropped it. Whatever it was, it wasn’t pleasant.

“… Did you want to get the rest of this project done today? I was thinking we could go to the library after school.”

“Yeah, sure. Sound’s good.”

He couldn’t pay attention for the rest of class. He knew it wasn’t any of his business, but he couldn’t help speculating. What the hell happened? Heck, he wouldn’t be at all surprised if Ryoma hunted him down after he left their house. Not that it’d happened, he could think of plenty of people that would want to punch Leo in the face.

______________

They decided to head to the library separately after school. Takumi arrived first. It was a pretty big library, and they’d agreed to meet near the back. There was a section specifically designed for teens to hang around in. There were a few tables, some computers, and a couple of board games, TVs, and even a game console. He didn’t usually come back to this section, but it was the most recognizable one so he’d picked it on a whim.

He was currently sitting at the chess table they had back there. He didn’t really have anything to do until Leo got there, and his phone was running low on battery so he was absentmindedly moving the pieces around.

There wasn’t really anyone else around, so he perked up immediately once Leo came in.

The Alpha nodded at the board. “You play?”

“Oh gods, you are a chess nerd. I knew it.”

Leo shrugged and dropped his backpack on the ground next to his chair. “My father used to play with me when I was a kid.”

“That’s nice.”

“Yeah, it was… Do you want to play a game?”

“Sure, but I’m not that good. I prefer shogi.”

“Show-gee? Is that like chess?”

“Yeah, a bit.”

As it turned out, Leo was quite good. He won pretty easily, and as much as he wanted to let his competitive spirit out he pushed his chair out and moved to one of the tables.

“You don’t want to play another game?”

“Oh believe me, I’m going to kick your ass in the future. But Mama wants me home for dinner so we should probably work on the project.”

They managed to finish up their project over the next two hours of working. He finished the paper, Leo finished the powerpoint, and then they swapped to proof read. He was pretty happy with the work overall, but he did veto some of Leo’s color choices for the slides.

When they were done he packed up his things, and Leo did the same.

“Would you like me to walk you home?”

He didn’t live too far from the library. It was about half way between their high school and his house. All together it would be about a fifteen minute walk from there to his house, but Mama and Ryoma wouldn’t usually let him walk anywhere by himself. They lived in an okay neighborhood, but they definitely bordered on a bad part of town. Another fifteen minutes of walking past his house and there was nothing but ramshackle ranch houses and trailers. He’d originally planned to call up Ryoma or Hinoka to get a ride, but it was a nice day, and if he had Leo with him…

“Are you sure? I can get a ride?”

“Don’t worry about it, it’s on my way.”

“Y-Yeah, sure.”

It would be nice to get some time to talk without his family or school projects getting in the way. He was vaguely aware of the fact that he was actually starting to like Leo. But hey, how couldn’t he? It was like someone reached into his head, pulled out all of his favorite things, and stuffed them into the body of a tall, pretty Alpha. And those eyes? Gods, those piercing, red eyes. It almost wasn’t fair.

He found out that they had even more in common on the walk home. His favorite food was beef stew, which was kind of like a soup. Though it was second only in his heart to tomatoes. Takumi had brought up the subject accidentally, and Leo had begun rambling on about them.

“… And when you bite into them! Gods it’s divine!”

“Woah, hold up. You eat raw tomatoes?”

“Yes, don’t you?”

“No. Actually, I don’t think anyone does.”

“You’re missing out.”

He scrunched up his nose. “Gross.”

Leo gently nudged him as they walked. “Hey, don’t make fun. Someday I’m going to have a garden full of just tomato plants. Then you’ll see.”

Takumi pushed him back, just a little harder. “Don’t be such a weirdo, then!”

Those fifteen minutes almost went by too fast, and before he knew it they were standing at his front door. He didn’t really want to say goodbye, but Ryoma would probably just embarrass the hell out of him, and if he didn’t come home for dinner Mama would be upset.

“So I’ll uh, see you in class tomorrow?”

“Couldn’t miss it if I wanted to.” He answered dryly. It was one of those jokes that wasn’t really a joke, the kind Takumi couldn’t help laughing at.

Leo waited for him to get inside the house before he left.

“Takumi? I thought you were going to call for a ride? You didn’t walk home alone, did you?”

“No Mama, Leo walked with me.”

“Really, he did?”

He rolled his eyes. “He was just being polite. He said it was on his way anyways.”

“Is it?”

He shrugged. He’d just taken Leo’s word for it but he didn’t check to see if the Alpha had turned back the way they came or not.

“I’m going to finish up the rest of my homework. Do you need anything?”

“No I’m fine dear. Dinner in an hour.”

Ryoma and Sakura had long since finished their homework, but Hinoka was still sitting at the dining room table when he put his backpack down. She’d probably just walked home from practice and taken a shower – Mama always made her take a shower before dinner so she didn’t stink up the place.

He loved Hinoka, but he didn’t really get to spend that much time with her. Once she got to high school most of her free time was spent either at practice or hanging out with her teammates. That, and she and Ryoma were quite close. Pretty much anything he shared with her got passed on to his brother, whether he wanted it to be or not. He supposed it made sense, he was far closer to Sakura and they were far closer to each other, but it made it much harder to relate to her.

“So…” She opened up the conversation. “Leo?”

“Oh gods, not you too!”

“Hey, I’m not judging! I think it’s great that you’re getting along! He’s a good kid.”

“He’s sixteen, he’s not a kid. And how would you know what he’s like?”

She shrugged. “Just the impression I got from him at dinner. And sometimes his sister helps out at bake sales and things for the team. She talks about him a lot.”

He did vaguely recall a busty, purple haired Alpha coming by a few times in the past to see Hinoka. She hadn’t been around long enough for him to register the connection, but now that he thought about it he did hear quite a bit about Camilla. Mostly jealous rumors from the girls in his grade, or the guys bemoaning how she only ever seemed to flirt with other girls.

“Well you don’t have to go running to Ryoma. Like I told him, we’re just doing our class projects together.”

“Alright little brother. I believe you.”

_______________

The due date for their first project came and went. They got an A, obviously, and strangely enough Takumi couldn’t wait for the next one. He and Leo worked well together, and it was nice having a project partner that didn’t distract the hell out of him for once.

In the meantime, they started spending more and more time together. In addition to his Saturday movie nights with Hinata and Oboro, he and Leo had a Friday movie night now too. Sometimes they watched them in his room, sometimes the basement. They’d begun switching off between B horror movies and terrible sci-fi flicks. Sometimes they didn’t watch a movie at all, they just played video games or a board game or just talked.

It was a few days before Thanksgiving, so they’d decided to have their movie night after school on that Tuesday instead. Though they’d never gotten around to picking a movie. His computer was lying a few feet away, HDMI cable plugged in and idling on the Netflix home screen.

He was lying down on one end of the couch, knees bent, and Leo was on the other. Their legs were just barely close enough to touch.

“What do you guys do for Thanksgiving?”

“Nothing really.”

“Really? Nothing?”

“Father hates holidays.”

“Your father sounds like a dick.”

The Alpha snorted. “You don’t know the half of it.”

He’d been wondering for awhile. Leo never talked about his family, or at least he didn’t talk about his dad. Over the past few months he’d been slowly piecing some things together, but the picture was still frustratingly incomplete.

“… Hey Leo?”

“Yeah?”

“You remember that black eye you had a few months ago?”

“What about it?”

“… How did you get it?”

He immediately regretted asking. Leo sat up, and Takumi mirrored him.

“I’m sorry. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

Leo just shrugged. “Why bother hiding it? My father isn’t exactly the most even tempered guy. He kind of flipped his lid when Elise came home that Saturday morning. Kept ranting about how she was whoring around with Alphas – I guess he smelled your siblings on her. I tried to stop him from throwing her out.”

“Oh… I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It is what it is.”

Takumi scooted closer to him. He didn’t really know what to say, so he did what he always did when one of his siblings was upset. He hugged him. The Alpha seemed surprised, but he didn’t pull away.

Leo smelled nice. Like a forest on a sunny, warm day. Like dirt and grass and… honeysuckle? It was a lot to take in at once. And he was so warm and his skin was so soft…

Footsteps pounded down the stairs, and he pushed the Alpha away quickly just before Ryoma could see them. Leo scooted back quickly and he turned to his computer screen so Ryoma wouldn’t suspect anything.

“Are you two doing okay down here?”

“Get out of here, Ryoma! Mama told you not to bug us!”

He was trying to hide his blushing face from his brother, but it was a losing battle. He might have been mistaken, but he thought he saw a small tint to Leo’s cheeks too.

“As long as the two of you are… getting along.” He gave Leo the I hope you aren’t fucking around down here look before he went back upstairs. Gods, he was only fifteen, why did Ryoma not trust him to keep his hormones in check?

“A-Anyways… Do you want to spend Thanksgiving here? I’m sure Mama won’t mind, she always makes too much food.”

“You don’t have to be nice to me just because of my father.”

“It’s not because of that! I would have invited you, anyways. Geez, who doesn’t have a holiday celebration?”

“… I’ll think about it. And thanks for the offer.”

______________

He’d been friends with Hinata and Oboro for a long time. They were both Alphas, but he’d never felt anything special for them. He’d never gotten butterflies in his stomach thinking about them, and he’d never spent hours going through his closet to find the right outfit before he saw them. But here he was, Thanksgiving morning, doing exactly that.

He tried to justify it. Well we’ve never had guests before. At least, no guests that weren’t Hinata, Oboro, or one of his siblings’ friends.

But then wasn’t Leo just one of his friends, too?

Mama was okay with him coming over, just like he knew she would be. Ryoma was less than thrilled, something about how he was “too young to be dating”. Whatever, he’d get over it. He and Leo weren’t even dating. He wasn’t even sure if the Alpha liked him.

He pulled at least five things out of the closet and laid them over the bed. He was staring at them hopelessly when Sakura came into the room. She was already dressed for the day in an oversized orange sweater-dress and some plain black leggings. She even had a pair of matching orange slippers and a matching headband and gods he’d never envied girls for having so many cute clothing options, but he was right now.

“A-Are you trying to look good for Leo?”

“Help.”

He’d never in a million years admit to crushing on someone to his older siblings, but Sakura was different.

“J-Just be yourself! I’m s-sure he likes you just the way you are!”

“Yeah, but I still want to look nice! But I also don’t want to look like I’m trying to look nice, you know?” He’d been wearing sweatpants and plain v-neck t-shirts the last couple of times they’d hung out. He couldn’t help himself, it’d been Friday! That was his comfy day!

“A-Alright, let me see what I can do.” She giggled.

It wasn’t too far off what he’d normally wear, in the end. She pulled out one of his usual black v-necks and a pair of jeans, but she also managed to dig out an old button down that he was pretty sure he’d gotten as a hand-me-down from Ryoma. The sleeves were a little long, so he just rolled them up to the elbows and left the front unbuttoned.

The only accessory he really owned an extensive collection of was hair ribbons. Mama usually bought him the same thing for every birthday or Christmas: A book and a hair ribbon. He loved both, so he wasn’t complaining. Sakura found a plain orange one to match the Thanksgiving theme and he quickly tied his hair up with it.

With that all sorted, they spent most of the rest of the day cooking with Mama while Ryoma and Hinoka cleaned up. They didn’t really do the traditional American thanksgiving, instead Mama tried to cook everyone’s favorite foods. There was almost always miso soup for him, salmon for Ryoma, and pickled vegetables for Hinoka along with rice, duck, a salad, and some stir-fried vegetables. She also made tea, and Sakura’s favorite mochi for dessert.

It was a pretty big task to cook it all, and they always had a ton of leftovers. Mama joked that she was glad they were finally old enough to help her out, since she used to do all of it by herself.

Hinoka popped her head in around four o’clock.

“How many places should we set?”

“Hmm… I think we’ll be having nine?”

“Nine? Who all is coming?”

“Well there’s the five of us, Leo and Elise makes seven… And since they’re coming I told them to just invite their whole family, so Xander and Camilla makes nine.��

He heard Ryoma groan from the living room. “You invited Xander?”

“Well I wasn’t going to invite everyone but Xander! That would be rude, Ryoma!” She yelled back.

He’d considered inviting Oboro and Hinata as well, but Oboro was travelling to visit family this year and Hinata’s parents were inviting over some relatives so he had to be at home. Plus, he’d avoided having Leo meet his friends thus far. Not that he was embarrassed of them or anything, he just wasn’t sure how well they’d all get along.

Everyone arrived around five, and he ran down to get the door before Ryoma could jump at it. Only Camilla, Leo, and Elise were at the door, and the eldest was holding a bottle of something. It was lightly snowing outside, so he ushered them in quickly.

“Thank you so much for inviting us, dear!” She handed over the bottle.

“Yeah, no problem. Make yourselves at home.” He hung their coats up on the nearby coat rack. Camilla and Elise ran upstairs, but Leo hung back with him.

He pulled the bottle out of the bag to get a better look at it.

“Sake? Where did you guys even get this?” As far as he knew, none of them were of age. Well, Xander might be eighteen, but he wasn’t there.

“Father won’t miss one bottle. He doesn’t even like sake, it’s just been sitting around the house.”

He shrugged. Mama sometimes drank sake, and usually she would let them have a taste around the holidays. He just put it on the kitchen counter and started getting down the serving dishes for the food. Camilla wandered in a few minutes later.

“Is there anything at all I can help with?”

He’d never seen an Alpha offer to help with kitchen stuff, but there was a first time for everything. Ryoma and Hinoka would usually help out, but only if directly asked.

“Oh don’t worry about it. You’re a guest! Besides, we’re almost done here. Just go take a seat, dinner will be in a few minutes.”

He caught a few snippets of conversation as he and Sakura carried dishes out to the table. Mainly Hinoka and Camilla discussing what the baseball season would look like come spring. Ryoma occasionally added to the conversation, but overall it was nothing he was too interested in. Elise must have been in the bathroom, and Leo was boredly sitting at the table. It didn’t take long to get everything on the table, so when it was all ready he took his usual seat next to Leo.

“Won’t Xander be joining us?”

“I’m afraid he had to work, actually.” Camilla answered. Mama took the empty plate away and he, Leo, and Hinoka all shifted over a little to make things even. He ended up sitting directly across from Sakura, Leo was in front of Elise, and Hinoka was facing Camilla.

“This all looks wonderful ma’am! I hope you had some help!” Camilla added as they began passing things around the table.

“Yes, Takumi and Sakura are quite the little chefs now!” She laughed. “I remember when they were little they tried to help cook and they nearly burnt the house down! Little Takumi came sprinting down the hall, hair singed to drag me out of bed… And what do I find in the kitchen? Ryoma and Hinoka standing over a smoking pan and Sakura crying in the corner!”

They all laughed about it now, but he remembered that year all too well. That was the year Papa died. He was maybe five? Mama didn’t get out of bed for weeks unless it was to take care of them, and little seven year old Ryoma thought it might help cheer her up if they cooked for her. Of course they were kids so none of them knew how to cook. It got her out of bed, though. It was easy to laugh at in retrospect, but at the time it had probably shocked her back into being alive and a mother.

But it wasn’t really the time for such discussions, so he laughed along.

“Mama kept the knives out of reach and I wanted to make soup. So I just dumped whole vegetables into a pot of water. Didn’t even turn the stove on. I thought her head was going to explode!”

“Kids just do the strangest things, don’t they?” Camilla added. Though, wasn’t she still a kid herself? “When we were little Elise wanted to play princesses, and unfortunately poor Leo was the only one around at the time. Elise dressed them both up in mother’s clothes and used up every last bit of her makeup! By the end they both looked like something straight out of a clown horror movie!”

“Oh? Is that where the love of headbands stems from?” He teased, nudging Leo’s foot under the table. The Alpha scoffed.

“Coming from the guy with a collection of hair ribbons.”

“Hey, don’t knock ‘em. Do you even know how hard it is to use scrunchies when you have all of this hair?”

“Why not just cut it?”

He mock-gasped. “Blasphemy.”

Leo kicked him playfully under the table, and he laughed.

Thankfully, it ended up being a very bearable holiday. Ryoma didn’t spend half of dinner re-grilling Leo like he usually did when the Alpha came over, and his brother even seemed to get along with Camilla. Plus, after dinner they all went down to the basement to watch dumb holiday movies. It was a pretty big couch, but with eight people was still a squeeze. So, naturally in the interest of making space he had to get as close to Leo as possible.

He wasn’t on top of him or anything, but he was practically glued to his side. They also didn’t have too many blankets in the basement, so he and Leo had to share. About half way through the movie the overwhelming scent of honeysuckle and grass and Leo was starting to get to his head, and he was getting antsy. They didn’t normally sit this close when they were alone, and his Alpha scent was doing very weird things to his hormones.

He started fidgeting with his hands, scratching his nails down the leg of his jeans or tapping his fingers. Leo tapped the back of his hand with his knuckles. He froze, and once he was still the Alpha grabbed his hand and laced their fingers together under the blanket.

He was at a complete loss for words. At no point did Leo’s eyes leave the screen, but he did squeeze his hand when Takumi looked over at him from the corner of his eye. He felt like he was about to explode. Leo was holding his hand. He could have died happy then and there.

When they left he was on top of the moon. Maybe Leo did like him back. He was so giddy he could barely get to sleep.

________________

He was hopeful when he returned to school the following week, but the Alpha didn’t seem keen on acknowledging that anything had happened. He didn’t bring it up, and it certainly didn’t happen again. Even when they were completely alone in his basement.

He wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting to happen after Thanksgiving, but it certainly wasn’t nothing. They finished their last two projects together, and they kept their regular Friday night hangouts, but nothing happened.

Tomorrow was their last day before the end of the semester. He and Sakura were already in their pajamas and ready for bed, but they weren’t sleeping just yet. He was lying face down with his head buried in the pillow, and she was sitting on the end of his bed with him.

“I don’t know Sakura, maybe I’m an idiot. I thought he liked me.”

“Maybe he does? I m-mean, he did hold your hand.”

“But that was a month ago! Why hasn’t he done anything else? I thought he’d ask me out or try to kiss me or something, but he’s acting like nothing happened!”

“W-Why don’t you ask him out then?”

“Are you crazy? What if he said no? Gods it’d be so embarrassing!”

“Maybe he’s j-just waiting until the end of the semester?”

He looked up from his pillow. She had a look to her that immediately set something off in his head.

“Sakura… Do you know something?”

She giggled. It wouldn’t be unusual… She was friends with Leo’s little sister, and Elise was becoming notorious for being a bit of a blabber mouth. Sakura got up and scurried back to her bed.

“C-Come on, it’s late. Worry about it t-tomorrow.”

It didn’t make him feel better, but it did give him a little hope.

___________

He waited anxiously for third period. It was the last day of classes before winter break, so most teachers didn’t have anything for them to do. He had his Geometry final in the morning, but that was about it. He hadn’t even bothered studying because even if he completely failed he’d still be getting an A in the class. Third period they were just doing presentations for their final projects, and he and Leo had already presented theirs.

Leo leaned over to him when he sat down in class.

“Hey… Can you wait for me after school? I want to ask you something.”

His heart was already pounding, but now it was doing double time.

“O-Okay.”

The rest of the day couldn’t go by fast enough. He barely even touched his lunch, and Hinata spent the entire time teasing him about his “future boyfriend”. He didn’t want to get his hopes up too high. For all he knew Leo wanted to talk about something completely unrelated.

When the end of the day came he anxiously waited by the exit for Leo. Ryoma still had to drive them home, but he hoped that his brother wouldn’t show up and kill the moment until after Leo had asked him whatever he was going to ask him.

The Alpha was with one of his friends, the white-haired one with the eyepatch. They looked like they were debating something, and eventually Leo gave an exasperated sigh. His friend apparently got his way, at least if his giddy look was any indication. The other Alpha sniggered and pushed the blonde his way.

“Hey, Leo!” He tried to be casual, but his excitement was bleeding through in his voice.

“Hey, uh… Look this is going to sound stupid, but Niles wanted me to ask…”

“Uh huh?”

“I was just wondering…”

“Yeah?” He tried not to get his hopes up, but damn were his hopes up.

Leo sighed.

“How much would it be?”

“For what?”

“For you to blow me in the bathroom.”

He had no words. He just gaped at the Alpha for a minute, and finally stuttered out an “Excuse me?”

Ryoma was less calm about it. He’d apparently been coming down the hall behind Leo, and unfortunately for the blonde Alpha he’d heard the whole thing. His backpack thunked to the ground behind him. Leo’s eyes widened as Ryoma grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him around.

“What makes you think that you can talk to my brother like that?”

“W-Woah, hey hold on-”

But he didn’t get to finish his sentence. Ryoma punched him straight in the mouth. Leo recoiled, then bolted in the opposite direction. His brother tried to run after him, but Takumi grabbed him by the arm.

“Ryoma no!”

“You’re just going to let him disrespect you like that? I know you like him, but come on Takumi!”

“He’s not worth it. You only have one semester left until graduation, do you really want to get suspended or worse?”

That seemed to level his head. He took a deep breath, then picked his backpack up off of the floor.

“Come on. We’d better get home before I change my mind.”

The drive home was a quiet one. As soon as they were home he dropped his backpack in the entryway.

“Hey how was school?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” He called over his shoulder and ran up to his room. Mama tried to follow him, but he slammed the door and curled up in bed.

What an asshole! Just when he’d started actually liking Leo, he goes and acts like every other Alpha! Was that all he was to these people? A set of fucking holes? They had so much in common, they’d had so much fun together over the past few months, but all he cared about was getting his knot swallowed? Fuck it, he was never talking to another Alpha ever again. They could all shove it, for what he cared. He’d just die alone.

He’d just resigned himself to wallowing in self-pity when there was a soft knock on the door.

“Not now, Mama.”

She came in anyways and sat down on the end of his bed.

“Ryoma told me what happened. Do you want to talk about it?”

He sat up and let her wrap an arm around his shoulders. He buried his face in her shirt and just let the tears loose.

“I thought he r-really liked me! I’m s-such an idiot!”

“Shh, it’s okay baby. There’ll be other Alphas.”

“They’re all the same! They’re just looking for somewhere to stick their dicks!”

“You’re still young. There’ll be other Alphas. I didn’t meet your father until I was in my twenties.”

“Yeah, but Papa wasn’t awful!”

She let him cry it out, until his chest hurt and his eyes were dry and he was sniffling and hiccuping. It probably took a good three hours, but she didn’t leave his side. She just held him and waited. Only once he’d cried himself dry did she speak up again.

“Why don’t I take you all out for dinner?”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Consider it a reward for your good grades?”

“We haven’t even gotten our report cards back.”

“But I know you all did wonderfully. Come on, it’ll be fun. You can have all the miso soup you want!”

“… Alright. Thanks, Mama.”

He blew his nose and washed his face off. His eyes were still a little red and puffy still, but he grabbed his coat anyways.

Everyone else was already ready to go. Ryoma must have filled them in too because Sakura ran over and gave him a hug as soon as he got to the living room.

They almost always went to the same restaurant when they went out for dinner. It was a little Japanese place on the other side of town. Mama liked to go there sometimes because that was where she and Papa met when she used to waitress there. The food was pretty good, and they ran special all-you-can-eat sushi deals so they could get a lot for pretty cheap. Plus, Mama got a discount.

Everyone tried their best to keep it light. He ate about five bowls of miso soup, and by the end of it he was feeling a lot better. He even managed to smile at a few of Hinoka’s dumb jokes.

By the time they were done it was snowing pretty hard outside, and it took them awhile to get home in the blizzard. It was already pitch black outside, but when they pulled up to the house there was someone sitting clearly on their front stoop. He caught a flash of blonde hair as their lights went past, and he heard Ryoma swear from the front seat.

“That bastard!”

Mama pushed him inside the house as soon as they were in the garage. Takumi tried to follow her, but she stopped him.

“Just go talk to him, sweetheart.”

“But Mama–”

“I understand, just ask if he wants a ride home. I’d send your brother to do it but…”

He rolled his eyes and pulled his scarf over his nose. Leo stood up when he saw him come out of the garage. His lip was busted and bloody, and he was shivering but otherwise he seemed fine. He brushed off a fine dusting of snow from his shoulders.

“Takumi I–”

“Don’t.”

“Look, I understand if you don’t want to talk to me, and after I say this I’ll leave if you want me to.”

“Fine. What are you doing here?”

“I just wanted to say that I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry?”

“Yes.”

“Why? Why would you say that to me in the first place?”

“It was just a stupid dare. I was going to apologize afterwards, but your brother kind of decked me and I wanted to avoid being beaten to a bloody pulp.”

He shook his head. “You don’t get it! It isn’t funny! Do you know how many times I’ve had Alphas seriously say that kind of stuff to me?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize that you would be so hurt by it, I thought it would just be a dumb, harmless joke. There’s no excuse, and all I can do is apologize.”

He was shivering like crazy now, and his cheeks and nose were bright red. He must have been standing out there for awhile if he was in such a shape. He knew Alphas ran a little warmer, but Leo’s coat wasn’t very thick to begin with and he didn’t have a hat, gloves, or scarf.

He let out an exasperated sigh and grabbed the Alpha by the wrist.

“You’re going to freeze to death out here, come on.”

He dragged him into the house. Ryoma was already waiting for them in the foyer.

“What is he doing here?”

“Don’t start, Ryoma.”

Takumi pulled him into his room and swapped Leo’s coat out for one of his thick wool blankets. He tossed his own coat and scarf aside and sat down next to the Alpha on the bed.

“… Thank you.”

“You looked so pathetic out there.”

Leo chuckled. “I must have just missed you, I’ve been waiting for an hour.”

An hour? It must have been ten below out there!

He bumped him with his shoulder. “You’re an idiot. Why didn’t you just text me?”

“Because I felt like an ass, and my father took my phone away when he saw the split lip.”

“Still, it could have waited until tomorrow. You could have frozen to death.”

“But I didn’t.”

“No, I guess you didn’t.”

Leo shivered under the blanket. He pulled one half of the oversized blanket over his shoulder and scooted closer. Leo’s skin was cold to the touch, and now that they were in the light he could see his lips had been turning a bit blue. His blonde hair was dripping as the snow melted off of it, but he rested his head on Leo’s wet shoulder anyways.

“Takumi?”

“Yeah?”

“I wanted to ask you something, too. I mean, I meant to ask you something after I completed Niles’s stupid dare.”

His heart was beating out of his chest. “What was it?”

“I wanted to know if you would go out with me? I mean, the theater is doing some showings of old documentaries and I thought you might want to go with me… But I understand if you don’t want to, after all of this.”

“Y-You mean like… On a date?”

“Well… Yes, that was the intention?”

He’d been waiting for this for months now. And, in spite of the events of the day he was still ecstatic.

“… Swear you’ll never talk to me like that again?”

“For as long as I live.”

Leo didn’t hesitate in his response. So, neither did he.

“Alright, but you’re on probation. And you’re buying the popcorn to make it up to me.”

“Of course, I am a gentleman after all.”

“A gentleman that asks Omegas to choke on his dick?”

“Not all Omegas, just the ones I like.”

He laughed in spite of himself.

“Well, good luck getting Ryoma to like you after that one.”

“Baby steps, Takumi. Baby steps.”

#Leokumi #fanfiction #Omegaverse #High School AU #Alpha!Leo #Omega!Takumi

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keiths-stupid-mullet · 7 years

Note

Okay I know the popular scenario is "embarrassed mutual pining" (and trust me I love that) but what about this: soon after lance realizes his feelings for Keith he just fully embraces them and starts flirting with Keith almost 24/7 the way he does with random alien chick only more specific/flattering? And Keith's like "what did my gay ass do to deserve this" not knowing Lance is actually fully serious. Then Lance finally stops playing games and just asks him out and Keith's like U WERE SERIOUS?

NSDJFKHJGDNKSFHBKSMFJNGH HOW ABOUT THIS:

The time Lance realized that he was undeniably attracted to boys was directly correlated to Keith. It was weird because he could have sworn that he didn’t like Keith - that dense, unwillingly condescending and hotheaded idiot - until. Well. Until they were out after a mission mingling with the locals and Keith was just standing there, a drink in his hand, smiling softly while he talked to a young alien girl.

It was a huge thing. Lance’s breath caught, his heart skipped a beat and all the blood in his body rushed to his cheeks. Keith hadn’t even done anything special, he really just stood there, a soft and attentive look on his stupidly perfect face while the sun drew patterns on his mullet. It should have been an everyday thing except it wasn’t because Lance really could count on one hand all the incidences where he wouldn’t have changed a thing about Keith (including his awful hairstyle).

So back then Lance did the most sensible thing he could have done: down his drink, cough like mad because wrong pipe and hightail the quiznak out of this situation before it could go completely wrong.

Also, a private freakout that lasted for like five minutes. And maybe some stress eating and extra face care but honestly, that wasn’t a bad thing. He was a paladin of Voltron, they were fighting pretty much 24/7, he was allowed to eat more of Hunk’s cookies if he wanted to. And his face certainly wouldn’t complain about testing out new products to help it stay smooth and soft.

Honestly, Lance thought he had handled it pretty well. No excessive drama and no insults hurled Keith’s way. He’d like to think that he matured through his time as a defender of the universe and could now totally deal with being attracted to boys and Keith. No problemo for Loverboy Lance.

Except, of course, it was Keith. How did one woo Keith? He was pretty sure that Keith was gay, that wasn’t the problem, the problem was that Keith was dense as quiznak.

Luckily, the response had been right in front of his eyes: Keith might have been dense but Keith has also spent nearly 2 years with him in space and knew what Lance’s flirting looked like. It was ideal, he just had to act like he always did, not even Keith could be stupid enough to misunderstand that.

So when the opportunity arose, Lance didn’t hesitate to take it.

Keith wasn’t sure what to think anymore. Lance had resorted to a new kind of teasing that he absolutely could not deal with. When they were training and Keith beat the gladiator, Lance gasped and pretended to swoon as he said something about Keith slaying his heart too. And when the castle had to change course because there was a dying star near, Lance had turned around and proclaimed that “yes, that star is bright, but it can never compare to the ones in your eyes”.

Needless to say, Keith was helpless. He couldn’t do much besides blushing and changing the topic because that one time he had demanded a clarification it had all just gotten worse.

[The statement: “You are definitely Red’s original paladin because you’re making me burn up.”

The question: “What is that even supposed to mean?!”

And the answer, with a wink: “Obviously, you set my heart on fire.”]

Keith wasn’t sure what to make of it. Was Lance making fun of him? Had he found out about his crush? Did he want to annoy him? Maybe it was an attempt to become friends with him. It was definitely nicer than all the aggression he used to show him.

Just. Yeah. Just a tiny little bit too nice for his gay ass. Keith wasn’t sure how many more playful pick up lines he could take before he would have to start avoiding Lance to prevent his heart from getting broken.

If he was perfectly honest, he had probably crossed that number already. Seeing Lance flirt with local aliens annoyed him more than it used to. And yet he couldn’t bring himself to hide from Lance; he wanted to be closer, wanted to be at his side, always. Pushing him away was impossible. He loved Lance’s dorky grin and his bright eyes and his mindless compliments, he loved his high fives and half hugs and teasing winks. For the first time he understood why he attracted so many alien girls - it felt good to be in the center of his attention. He felt loved, appreciated.

It was a dangerous and stupid game he was playing. Keith really should start avoiding Lance before it got too bad. But he couldn’t, dear god, he just couldn’t.

Keith was beginning to think Lance from a year ago had had a point when he had called him a brainless idiot.

“We already share a lion, wanna share a seat too?”

“Sometimes I think Allura isn’t the only one who can do magic because you definitely put a spell on me.”

“You might be Shiro’s right hand but you’re the right man for me.”

“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we’re both the paladins of Red, the paladins of love.”

“You’re a real space ninja, you snuck your way into my heart undetected and made it yours.”

“You being Galra makes sense, I always knew you were out of this world.”

“I should ask for a memory storage unit because I don’t want to forget a single second of your smile.”

“Pidge can find formulas for everything but there are no numbers to express my love for you.”

Lance was pretty confident that his attempt at wooing Keith was successful. No matter what line he used, Keith always started blushing like crazy. Over time he had gotten better at just ignoring the lines and move on with whatever he had been doing before but the blushing never ceased.

Also. While Keith had not reciprocated, Lance had caught him with a helpless smile for two times in a row now. It was working and Lance had never been so thrilled about anything before. He was so sure that it was working that he had even cut back on the flirting with other aliens just to see more of Keith’s small smiles. And to stand next to him. And to talk to him. And to flirt with him and to make him laugh and to watch him blush and to admire his skills and to brush against his shoulder and-

Yeah, everything was going as planned. Better than that, even. It was time for the last step in Operation: Wooing Keith.

Once they had finished the debriefing dinner with the Marmorites, Lance lightly nudged against Keith’s shoulder and leaned into his personal space to whisper against his ear. He was pleased to note that Keith unconsciously leaned his way to make it easier. All the hard work for the past two months had totally paid off.

“Have a moment? Now?”

Keith’s head turned and wide, concerned eyes found Lance’s. “Sure. Here or…?”

“Your room? More privacy,” Lance said softly, a nervous grin on his face. As sure as he was that his pick up lines had done the trick, he’d rather not do it in front of the team. In case he was wrong he’d like to save himself the embarrassment and in case he was right he wanted Keith’s reaction to be for him and him alone.

Apparently his grin hadn’t been reassuring, the concern in Keith’s eyes hadn’t faded one bit. His right hand found Lance’s biceps and he gave it a light squeeze before agreeing and dismissing them from the dinner table. The team gave them a few curious looks but one happy wave from Lance had them all shrugging and turning back to their own conversations.

A few hallways later, they had reached Keith’s room.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Keith asked quietly once the door had closed behind them. Warmth bubbled up in Lance’s chest and he gave him a fond look.

“I’m fine. Absolutely a-okay. In fact, I’ve rarely been better than these last few days!”

Keith blinked a little, then his eyebrows drew together in confusion. “So why did you want to talk to me?”

“Aw, come on, don’t be like that. We’re friends, right? Good friends, it’s normal to hang out sometimes.”

Honestly, Keith’s shellshocked expression would have been hilarious if it wasn’t for his next words. “Wait, you think we’re good friends?”

Had Lance been completely wrong about everything until now?

“I mean, yeah? We hang out after training, we’re great at working together, we both know it’s okay to come talk to the other when we’re unsure about something. What else would you call that?”

Slowly, Keith’s expression morphed into his thinking face before a small smile stretched over his lips. His very distracting lips. Very kissable, if you asked Lance. Full and well formed, if a little chapped-looking.

He was so distracted by them that he almost missed Keith’s answer. “Yeah, I guess we are.” The words were spoken softly and Lance had to fight against the blush threatening to overtake his face.

“Right. Right, yeah, that. We’re really good friends.”

“We are,” Keith affirmed, his smile growing. Lance could feel himself falling deeper and deeper.

“Yep. We’ve grown a lot closer over the past few weeks… I guess you could say we connected. That’s a step above bonding, y’know? We clicked and it’s awesome.”

“I-” There was a light blush dusting Keith’s cheeks but his eyes had never been brighter. Lance had never seen anyone as beautiful as him. “Yeah, it was… it was really good.” Keith self-consciously shifted from one leg to the other and Lance couldn’t take it anymore. Quiznak, he was so gone for this boy. A wide grin stretched his face and he didn’t bother to try hiding it.

“Uh-huh, agreed. It was more than good. More than awesome, even. We seem to get along great and you seem to have liked my flirting, so I’m actually quite excited to ask this. You wanna go on a date with me?”

Silence.

More silence.

Just when Lance’s smile began to get strained (had he really been wrong? But all signs had pointed towards success!) Keith’s eyes grew huge. From one moment to the next, Keith was bright red and had taken half a step backwards.

“What?!” he asked, voice cracking halfway through.

…was that a good or a bad reaction? Keith was so weird sometimes, Lance had troubles keeping up with his thoughts.

“You wanna go on a date with me?” he repeated, slower this time.

“You’re serious?!”

“Yeah?”

“You - what?!”

This was getting slightly uncomfortable. Lance was rather confident in his flirting skills but this was testing even his limits.

“Look,” he began nervously, twisting his fingers together. “It’s fine if you don’t want to. You just seemed to react positively to the lines, so I thought - yeah. But it really doesn’t matter if you don’t want to, I can take rejection-”

“No!” Keith interrupted passionately. He had his arms thrown out as if he wanted to physically keep Lance from speaking without actually touching him. “No, no, I don’t - I mean, I think I’d like to go on a date with you.”

Lance frowned. “You think?”

“I don’t know! Are you serious about this?”

“How often do I have to tell you that I’m serious? What kind of joke would this be?!”

“I don’t know! I thought - I thought you were mocking me or something!” Keith exclaimed before self-consciously looking down. “You never gave an explanation, you just suddenly started with all these jokes and I didn’t know what to think. I just… I never thought you were serious.”

For a while, there was silence between them. Lance just looked at Keith, confident, self-assured Keith who was almost curling in on himself and wondered how he could have come to that conclusion. But no matter how he twisted it, he couldn’t figure it out - Lance had been flirting nonstop for two months, he had hung out with him more and touched him more and smiled at him more, nothing about it should have given the impression of a joke. As usual, he had troubles understanding how Keith’s brain worked.

A vague smile snuck onto his face. Lance had always liked a challenge.

“Well,” he drawled while taking a step closer. Keith’s head snapped up, eyes immediately locking on Lance’s when he leaned close enough that their foreheads were almost touching. “I can assure you that it’s not a joke. So, what do you say? Yay or nay?”

The tiny flicker from Keith’s eyes to his mouth was all the warning Lance got before Keith’s lips were suddenly pressing against his. It was unexpected but certainly not unwelcome, he missed them the instant they were gone. Why did Keith always have to do everything so quickly?! He didn’t even have time to enjoy the kiss, his mouth had barely lingered long enough for Lance to process that it was there before it was gone again.

“Um. Yes,” Keith said quietly. That snapped Lance out of his daze. One look at Keith showed him that he was blushing like crazy, but his eyes were as open and earnest as ever.

Slowly, a grin stretched over Lance’s face. Keith wanted to date him. Keith. Keith.

“Awesome,” he breathed. He was so happy that he felt like laughing. “That’s hella awesome. Kiss me again?”

Keith’s expression brightened and he was quick to comply.

#a² (answered ask)#regularghostly #klance #my work #hmmm do i read over this again and put it onto ao3??#but this is barely long enough for that is it #ANYWAY LMAO yes this is unedited #but the prompt was just so cute i couldn't resist writing it #thank you for sending me this i love it

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crimsxnflxwerz · 6 years

Text

I would like that [shyan oneshot]

I would like that summary: the third person who knew Ryan was trans was the ghost that haunted his apartment. rating: teen+ fandom: buzzfeed unsolved pairing: ryan bergara/shane madej warnings: mentioned [murder/death/drug use/stalker/abuser] tags: ghost!shane, trans!ryan, ghost boyfriend, lol, weird universe notes: this is just a random little thing that wouldn’t leave my head no matter how hard i tried so I wrote it down to give myself some peace. have fun guys! this makes no sense, so fair warning!

Ryan could count the number of people who knew he was trans on one hand.

The first person that he counted would be himself, of course. He’d known ever since he’d heard the word. Whether it was from some botched argument about gender roles or a fresh criticism of Rocky Horror Picture Show, he couldn’t remember, but ever since that he’d been sure that was what he was.

The second person to find out was his brother, Jake. He’d always had a good relationship with his brother, and that didn’t change when Jake had grabbed Ryan’s laundry for him when he still lived at home and accidentally witnessed Ryan’s binder. Jake actually didn’t even realize what it was at first, thinking it some kind of cheap sports bra, and Ryan figured this accident was as good as any to use to come out to him.

It seems horrible to say, but his parents don’t make this list. Ryan moved out of his parents house after graduating college and getting a job with a company he interned with. When he was safely away with his parents, he legally changed his name, started T shots, and got top surgery. He still spoke to his parents, but it was usually over the phone, and if they noticed a change in his voice, they refused to mention it.

The third person who knew about it wasn’t even really a person at all, but rather it was the ghost that haunted his apartment.

Sounds crazy, and for a while, Ryan thought he was. He went to therapy briefly,not for any depression, just to help him through his transition. He figured maybe the stress was getting to him, or the T affected his brain somehow, but couldn’t find any definitive evidence that linked these things to what he was experiencing.

It wasn’t that he didn’t believe in ghosts, but rather, now that he was actually the subject of a haunting- he couldn’t quite wrap his head around it.

There were many things to tip him off that it was a ghost in his house and not just random happenstance that seemed paranormal. The first thing that happened was one night he had been drifting off while watching television on his couch. Behind him, on his kitchen counter, his microwave had randomly turned on. He jumped up and turned it off, before any damage was done, but afterwards just blankly stared at it. He had just gotten the thing, brand new. It shouldn’t have been acting up yet. He figured he’d check it out later.

The second thing happened after he adopted his first dog, a dachshund named Dori. The first few weeks with her were eventful, but more so in the new puppy way than haunting. After he potty trained her, he let her sleep with him at night, making sure to leave the door open in case she got hungry or needed to pee.

One night, he woke to find Dori softly growling, while still curled up next to him. He rubbed his eyes and tried to look over to the door she was facing to see if something was there, but he couldn’t see anything. All of a sudden, however, the door slammed shut, and he was snapped right out of his groggy state. He stared in horror and fear at his bedroom door. He didn’t go to sleep again that night.

The third thing to happen was something that continued to happen regularly after that. Ryan would wake up, go into the bathroom, and take a shower. After coming out, he noticed that there was some form of scribbling on his mirror, as if someone had run their fingers through the steam. It never really spelled anything, at most creating a dumb shape or something. At first, Ryan was scared of it, but then he figured it was harmless, so he took it as just a normal part of his life.

All these things eventually prompted him to do some research on his apartment. At first, he didn’t find anything, but that was just from surface level research. He began to get to know his neighbors, and they were fairly quick to open up. Apparently, a man had lived there before him. He had worked as a freelance website designer, but was also known to frequent the local bar and sing or do stand up comedy. His neighbors were deeply saddened when they found out that he had passed away.

His name had been Shane, and he overdosed on sleeping pills at 35. He had no family or friends close enough to him to confirm anything, but police ruled it a suicide.

After this, Ryan tried communicating with him. He purchased a Ouija board to ask him some questions, but he either must’ve done something wrong or Shane wasn’t too keen to cooperate, because nothing happened.

Ryan forgot about it for a while, forgot about him. After a few weeks of no more activity, something else happened. Ryan came home one day to find Dori cowering near the front door. Everything in his apartment was okay, but in his bathroom, the medicine cabinet looked like it just exploded. The door was handing off it’s hinges, bottles, pills, liquids, band-aids, everything scattered across the floor. Ryan was glad that Dori was too scared to eat anything, but he wondered what had caused the outburst.

He tried reaching out to Shane again, and this time, the Ouija board spelled out “pills” and then stopped working with him.

The interaction basically confirmed that the ghost in his apartment was, in fact, Shane. For whatever reason, he was unwilling to talk to him. Except to tell him his non-explanation as to why he destroyed his medicine cabinet.

He figured that before he left for work that day, he’d taken a pain killer to help his headache- something he did very rarely, since he didn’t normally get headaches.

Maybe it bothered Shane, considering how he died.

Anyways, Ryan knew that Shane knew that he was trans. That was his third person. How did he know this? Well, the scribbles on his mirror after each shower slowly became a dialogue between them. Shane would normally leave something for him to see (like “dog?”), and Ryan would reply with an answer (like “Dori”) and then leave the bathroom.

One day he stepped out of the shower to something quite comical. It was a drawing of him, albeit crude, and there was an arrow pointing to his crotch with a question mark at the end. Ryan rolled his eyes playfully, and wrote “I’m trans” on the mirror. The next thing that happened really spooked him.

Slowly, new words started forming in the condensation, “trans?” Ryan stared in disbelief for a moment, before he recovered and wrote, “female transitioned to male”.

There were no more responses after that, but Shane didn’t go away.

Through his time living there, he began to warm up to Shane. The fact that he was regularly interacting with a spirit was wild enough, but that spirit knew and understood that he was trans as well was even more outlandish. He couldn’t imagine telling anyone about it. This would be his secret- but he was fine with that- he was used to keeping secrets.

Sometimes he would wake up to his coffee already made, or the news on. One time he woke up to find that Shane had literally picked out his clothes for the day.

Ryan began to get more and more curious about the specter living with him. He asked around and found out Shane’s last name, and scoured the web for any information about the man. He even frequented the bar that Shane had gone to in his life to perform stand up. Some people knew Ryan as the guy who moved into Shane’s old apartment, and they were pretty willing to share stories about the dude. Apparently he had lots of friends.

So why did he kill himself? Why did he overdose on those sleeping pills? Was it an accident? Ryan realized that he was being nosy, but he had to know. It was killing him to not know.

Maybe he was being too invasive, since not long after he started researching and compiling information, things started happening in his apartment. He’d get out of the shower to the word “no” written all over the mirror. He’d come back to his apartment, only to find his lights flickering or his fridge door opening and closing. Sometimes, he found Dori growling and barking at empty corners, and random spots in his apartment freezing cold.

Was Shane angry that he was looking?

Ryan set up some candles to try out the Ouija board again, but each time he lit one, he would go on to the next to find the first one had already gone out. He tried several times, the candles getting put out each time, before he gave up. He cursed at the room.

“You don’t want to talk to me? Fine! Fuck you!” he shouted, making Dori whimper next to him.

That night he dreamed of a tall, lanky figure with soft features, and messy hair. He had warm, brown eyes- calloused hands- rough five o-clock shadow. The figure in his dream slipped into bed next to him and wrapped him up in a hug. He felt warm as he slept. When he woke, the space next to him was still warm like someone had slept there. It couldn’t have been Dori, since she always slept at his feet.

So maybe Ryan had developed a little bit of a crush.

Even though it was impossible. How could he have a crush on a ghost? Though, the ghost knew more about him than anyone else in his life. Shane knew how Ryan liked his coffee, he knew that while Ryan found it hard to wake up early, he enjoyed the soft silence before dawn. Shane knew that he sang pop songs in the shower, and that he preferred shampoo that smelled like lilacs, and sometimes when he was cooking he did a little dance while he waited for something from the oven.

And Shane knew that he was trans, and he respected that.

Not that he’s sure what Shane would or could do if he didn’t respect that. He was a ghost after all.

When he came home from work a few days later, he found something tied onto Dori’s collar. It was a little note. He opened it. It read: “talk ?” in a messy scrawl he recognized from the many conversations on his bathroom mirror he had.

He smiled and brought out the candles and Ouija board and got everything ready. He opened a channel and put his hands lightly on the planchette. He moved the object over Hello to welcome Shane, and then let it move freely.

“Sorry,” Shane spelled out. “End like me.”

“Were you afraid I’d end up like you?” Ryan asked. He was sort of confused, because he wasn’t really depressed or anything. Ever since he moved out of his parents house, he felt the stress of hiding his identity wear off. After top surgery, he felt even better. The only thing stressing him out right now was Shane.

The planchette moved to the yes on the board. Ryan shook his head.

“I’m fine, Shane,” he reassured him. “You don’t need to worry about me.”

“Not depressed.” Shane spelled out. Ryan paused for a moment. He wasn’t really sure what he meant by that. Did he mean to say that he knew Ryan wasn’t depressed- or had he not been depressed? Did that mean that what happened to him wasn’t a suicide?

“Did...Did you...” Ryan started, hesitating. “Did you kill yourself?”

There was along, silent moment where the planchette didn’t move at all. Then it slowly moved to the no in the corner. Ryan felt like his heart had stopped. It had been the usual story, the funny guy with no family killed himself in his apartment alone one night. He hadn’t really found out anything about the cops doing any blood tests or anything- only an empty pill bottle on the bedside table. He figured that kind of thing wouldn’t have been released anyways, but maybe it was never done. Maybe they saw this lonely, dead man and figured it was a suicide.

Was Shane still here because he had been given no justice in death?

“What happened to you?” Ryan asked, even though he knew the ghost wouldn’t be able to give him any long answers. He stayed quiet, however. The planchette remained still for a moment longer, before Ryan’s laptop that had been sitting on the coffee table near the couch flew open and turned on. Things were being typed into the search bar, and eventually a social media account was brought up. It was a dating website profile. Ryan let go of the planchette and moved over to look at it closer.

Shane Madej. Age, 35. Male. Hey, my name is Shane. I’m really just looking for a chill relationship with someone I have some stuff in common with. I love cartoons and video games, so I’m kinda nerdy, but I’m not opposed to a night on the town, or a romantic dinner and movie. I’m obsessed with popcorn, and just a foodie in general. If interested, please hit me up, maybe we could meet.

There were lots of comments and likes on his profile, but they were all from a long time ago- a few years in fact. It looked like the account had been inactive for at least a year before Shane had passed away. The most recent comments, however- just weeks before Shane had died, were the most disturbing. They were from a man named Zach Smith, a white man with dark hair who looked to be in his forties.

Zach Smith Hey babe, want to catch a drink with ol Zach-y sometime? I’ll make it worth your while.

Zach Smith Hey, answer me sweetheart, or you’ll regret it, I promise.

Zach Smith Oh darling, I’m obsessed with you. I know where you live, I saw you park outside your apartment today and I almost just went up and grabbed you.

The comments went on, but Ryan couldn’t stomach them any longer. Ryan looked back at the planchette that started moving on it’s own. It spelled out found me and hurt and drugs. Ryan felt his stomach flip as he glanced between the Ouija board and the dating website. He clicked over to Zach Smith’s profile, and immediately saw that it was a fake account with a false name. He turned back to the board again and saw that Shane was spelling something else out.

“Hate that they think I wanted to die,” he spelled out. “afraid of drugs afraid for you.”

“Why are you afraid for me?” Ryan asked.

“Trans boy,” he spelled out. Ryan felt a little cold at the explanation. He sighed.

“Just because I’m a trans boy?” he asked, sounding a little annoyed.

“I was gay.” the planchette spelled. Ryan let out a soft ‘oh’ upon realizing the connection. His killer had been preying on gay men looking for relationships online, and that was how he’d found Shane in the first place.

Ryan wondered if he should turn over this information to the police. But, It wasn’t as if Shane’s case was any kind of mystery to them. He knew the dark truth, but no one else did.

“Is there anyone you want me to tell?” he asked Shane. The planchette didn’t move. Nothing moved. Dori started barking, but after Ryan reached out and pulled the puppy into his lap, the candles were blown out. He figured this session was over. Maybe Shane could only speak for so long before he got tired.

Either way, a lot of information had been exchanged today.

That night, when Ryan slipped into bed, he waited for the dip in his mattress and the warm arms around his waist to fall asleep. Peaking over his shoulder, he could just make out the angle of a broad shoulder, and he felt safe.

A week later, he came home to a note on his fridge. it read: nobody. He could tell it was written by Shane. At first, he wasn’t sure what it meant, then he remembered his question from the other night about telling people. Shane was killed, and he didn’t want anyone to know. Ryan wondered if Shane was estranged from his family because he was queer, too. He wondered if Shane just didn’t want to reopen old scars with new information about his death. Whatever the reason, it was Shane’s decision, so he respected it. It wasn’t like the police would believe him if he told him he could talk to Shane from beyond the grave or anything.

“I wish you weren’t dead, though,” Ryan said out loud to himself. “Although, if you never died, we never would have met.”

After the revelations, weeks went by without any communications from Shane. He attempted to talk to him several times, but after still only getting radio silence on his fifth attempt, he decided to stop trying. He knew Shane was still hanging around, he hadn’t moved on or anything yet, he just wasn’t talking to him. Ryan still felt the familiar presence join him for bed at night, and the blanket of security he always associated with Shane meandering about the house moving things around. He wondered why Shane wasn’t talking anymore, but he was okay with it.

He was starting to really settle into the neighborhood- gaining more and more friends- and he’d even invited his brother over to his apartment a few times. His job was the best thing ever, he had fun everyday, and worked with amazing people. Though, no matter how many people he met and became friends with, a little nagging voice in the back of his head would always remind him of Shane. He wondered how different the man would’ve been while he was alive. Ryan had heard plenty of funny or wild stories from everyone who had known Shane, but hearing a story and living one where two different things.

A year went by, and Ryan was finally looking like the kind of male he wanted to look like. He started working out to give his body a more defined shape- lifting, jogging, stuff like that. He wasn’t super obsessed with working out or anything, but he did enjoy it as just a little past time thing to stay in good health. He also loved checking out his own flexing in the mirror sometimes, although he would never admit it.

It was the one year anniversary of the first day Ryan had moved into his new apartment. Dori was bigger, and Ryan was thinking of getting another dachshund to keep her company (and just because he wanted another one). That day, he came home from work and popped himself some fresh popcorn, making more than he usually made just for an extra little treat. He plopped down to watch Netflix on his tv, when he heard something. It sounded like a shifting noise, like someone was shuffling around, and it was coming from his bedroom.

He put his popcorn down on the coffee table and grabbed a skateboard that he had resting up against his hall closet. He carefully approached his bedroom, seeing that the door was ajar. He crept up and paused at the door momentarily, taking a shaky breath in, before slamming the door open. Inside his bedroom, there was a tall, lanky man, back facing him. He was wearing a worn, jean jacket and black pants, but no shoes. His brown hair was shaved on the sides, long on top, and unkempt- some pieces sticking straight up dramatically.

As soon as he saw him, Ryan screamed. The man spun around, the motion almost comical, and he started screaming as well. Ryan, spooked, swung the skateboard at the stranger, hitting him so hard that it cracked. Although, he’d only managed to hit the length of the man’s arm, even though he was aiming for his head. He was too short.

The man started speaking, or rather, shouting.

“Wait! Wait!” he begged. “Wait a second! Ryan, wait a second!”

“How do you know my name?” Ryan demanded, dropping the skateboard, but not relaxing in the slightest. He looked as if he were about to bolt.

“It’s me-” he said. “It’s Shane. I’m Shane. You can see me now.”

“It’s-- It’s uh--” Ryan stuttered, still feeling shell shocked. He looked the man up and down. Now that his brain wasn’t in danger mode, he could tell that the man looked very familiar, similar to the man he’d seen in all the pictures. From the warm, brown eyes, to the worn jean jacket, to the unkempt hair and soft stubble framing his face. He was tall, and awkward, like he heard about.

But-- he was right there- he was standing right there and Ryan had hit him with a skateboard, not passed through him, actually hit him! This person was a solid, real human.

“You’re supposed to be dead.” Ryan said bluntly. He didn’t mean to sound so rude, or cold, but he was confused. Wasn’t Shane dead? Hadn’t he been killed? Was his happy life just a dream? Was this a dream?

“Well,” Shane said, patting himself down. “I was dead. I might still be?”

Ryan felt some of the tension in him melt away. Just a tiny trickle, at the smile that pulled Shane’s face, and he sensed himself smiling back- if only just slightly. He shakily reached out a hand for Shane to touch, to see if he was really real- if he was really solid. Shane saw this, and reached out as well.

When their hands touched, Ryan felt it, and he was warm. The calloused pads of Shane’s fingers traced over the lines in Ryan’s hand, sending shivers all through him. He stared for a heartbeat or two at Shane, completely speechless.

“You’re warm...” he said. “You’re alive?”

Shane didn’t move or response to the question- as if this all was some kind of illusion- as if the wrong movement would shatter it all. Ryan payed that no mind, he had one thing in mind that he wanted to do.

He moved forward and wrapped his arms around Shane’s torso before the other man could protest. Ryan pressed his ear hard against the man’s chest and listened. Against his ear, he heard, without a doubt, a heartbeat. After a moment, he felt Shane’s awkward arms come down around him, and it was like all of those night they shared Ryan’s bed, but this time- Shane wasn’t cloaked in darkness. This time, it was real, and Ryan could hug him back.

“H-How?” Ryan asked softly, feeling a weird, overwhelming emotion bubble up in him. Confusion, sadness, happiness, and love.

“I don’t know,” he said. “One moment, I was about to toss around your pillows for something to do, the next moment, I could see my reflection in your mirror.”

“You were gonna mess up my bed?” Ryan laughed, but it sounded a little choked, as a few tears ran down his face.

Shane moved his hand to wipe away the tears.

“Yeah, I’m haunting you after all,” he said, although his voice was softer now, his arms pulling Ryan closer- tighter- “isn’t that what ghosts do?”

“I guess it is.” Ryan said, and closed his eyes. He felt safe. “But you’re not a ghost anymore. What are you gonna do now?”

“Idk,” he muttered. “become a human again?”

Ryan laughed, Shane joining in, too. “You can stay here if you’d like.”

Shane paused for a moment, before running his hand through Ryan’s hair. “I would like that. No- I would love it.”

-the end(?)-

#wow this garbage #amazing #shyan #skeptic believer #buzzfeed unsolved #idk #lol #random shit #my fic #my writing

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suga-angel · 7 years

Text

A Crossroad Deal (1)

Summary: After getting out of a long term relationship, you try to move on with your life. However, having spent the last three years unavailable, you are not sure you know how to get back out there again, let alone if you even want to. That is, until you meet Jeon Jungkook, the barista at your college coffee shop. He is more than happy to help you wet your toes in the dating scene again, but at what cost?

Next Chapter

Pairing: Jungkook x Reader

Genre: A little of everything

Word Count: 7k

College!Jungkook, somewhat FuckBoy!Jungkook

Warning: language

A/N: The genre is for the whole story over all and not just this chapter. There will be fluff scenes scattered within chapters though. The story starts off slow but picks up with the more chapters added! I hope you enjoy =)

It is the small things that matter; at least, that is what your mother always told you. A warm smile, a hot cup of coffee, the sun breaking through the clouds after a storm. They are the minuscule parts of a person’s day that often go by without much notice. Yet, you’re told that they are the key to brightening up even the most mundane days. “People just had to keep an eye out for them”, she’d say. As you sat in your small cubicle though, you thought of your mother’s words of wisdom; and how completely full of shit they were.

In your defense, you gave it your best shot. You strained your eyes in search of the hidden jewels that life had to offer. But no amount of scenery or human pleasantries could make up for the horrendous day that you were having. Coincidentally, the beginning of your unfortunate events started off with the small things; your alarm never went off that morning. You could have normally lived with this minor inconvenience, to be honest. Your first class of the day was boring as hell, and all of the points gathered in the class were from two in class tests and random assignments that needed to be turned in online. On a regular day, attendance was totally optional and only used to enrich one’s knowledge on the subject. Today, however, was not an optional day. Today was test day, which means if you were more than ten minutes late to class, you got a zero. You could not afford a zero. It was already 7:36 a.m., you had four minutes to get ready if you even hoped to make it to campus on time.

Miraculously, you made it with only two minute to spare. While your mother’s voice whispered in your ear that you should just be appreciative of the fact that you made it to class at all, the lack of caffeine running through your bloodstream shut the idea down immediately. You had barely gotten four hours of sleep due to last minute cramming the night before and you were banking on the opportunity to eat a healthy breakfast with a strong cup of Joe this morning to get you through your day. Now, your only hope is that you could weasel out a granola bar from Jihyun in your next class.

Unfortunately, your day did not get much better from there. Skip ahead two uneaten meals, an annoying campus rally, a painful run in with a moving bicycle, and a shattered phone later, and you found yourself staring at your computer screen at work wondering if being able to pay your bills was worth elongating this day any further. With a sigh, you resigned yourself to getting back to work. There will be time to mope in front of the TV later.

The universe did not seem to be done with you yet, though. Soon after you started brainstorming your next article for the paper, the elevator dinged the newest arrival to your floor. It only took a glance up from your note pad to tell you that you should just give up any hopes of today getting any better. Instantly, you felt your heart sink as your eyes took in the scene before you. A man walked out of the elevator and navigated himself through the maze of cubicles with confident steps leading the way. He had been to this office so many times in the past that he had developed muscle memory to his location, making it so that he didn’t even have to think of his destination to arrive there. Behind his back were the obvious signs of a bouquet of roses that would have any woman’s heart melt. To top of the scene was a radiant smile painted on his face as the person he was looking for came into his line of sight. Mere weeks ago, you would have been overjoyed to see such a familiar scene play out in front of you. Then again, mere weeks ago it would have been you he was smiling at. Now that smile belong to another: Seona.

Its not that I don’t want a relationship anymore, its just that I no longer want it with you.

Even though you’ve had weeks to come to terms with it, the words still rung in your ears painfully. Truthfully, you should’ve seen it coming. The lipstick on his neck in a shade that you did not own, the mysterious marks that littered his skin every now and again, the long nights you laid in an empty bed waiting for your boyfriend of three years to return to you. Jaesung had always shrugged off your inquiry and came up with an excuse of some sort. “You just don’t remember leaving them, honey”, “I had to work overtime tonight baby” or his favorite, “Do you honestly think I could do such a thing to you?” always slipped past his lips, succeeding in silencing your doubts. It was not until you took it upon yourself to search his phone did you find the last piece of evidence you needed to confirm your insecurities.

“You’re staring. Again,” Jihyun’s voice dragged you out of your thoughts. Tearing your eyes away from the happy couple, you turned to your coworker and pestering friend. Her lips were pursed, a clear sign of her disapproval. “Honestly, I don’t see why you are still hung up on him. My dog has a better ass than that piece of walking card board over there.”

A smile cracked onto your face. “You know, I’m still waiting for the I told you so’s”, you replied, half jokingly. You had not known Jihyun for very long now. You two first met a couple of years ago in a general educations course. You both bonded over your shared sarcastic early morning attitude and your shared failing grade in that course. Your friendship only grew when you found out you both were journalists for the school newspaper. Everything was down hill from there. Early morning complaining turned into mid-afternoon trips to the campus coffee house, which then turned into late night outs on the town with the sole mission of getting the most amount of food for the cheapest amount of money. It was a beautiful friendship. However, no matter how close the two of you grew, there was always one thing she could not stand about you; Jaesung. You could never understand her strong dislike towards the person you had presumed to be the love of your life. Countless of times you had tried to get all of you to hang out together, hoping that the more exposure she had to him the more he would grow on her. However, the more she got to know about him, the more she had to dislike. So when you turned up on her doorstep looking like a sobbing mess on the night you confronted Jaesung, you were fully expecting a full-blown speech on how much of a dirt bag he was and how she knew it all along. To your surprise, it has yet to come.

She waved your comment off. “I see no need in stating the obvious. What I do see a need for though is you getting your life back. And no, re-watching your favorite dramas does not mean you have a life.”

Your cheeks puffed out indignantly at her last remark. Sure, since the break up you had been spending a little more time indoors than you usually would. However, that doesn’t mean you no longer had a life. You were still very much a functioning human being living a perfectly acceptable life. Your life now just consisted of cheese covered fingers and watching Song Joong Ki’s beautiful face play out on your TV. And that was perfectly normal.

“Come out with me tonight. It’ll be fun! We could go down town, shop for a ton of shit that we don’t need, get flirted on by a few cute guys, maybe even collect a couple of phone number…?” her voice lowered suggestively as a smirk formed on her face. As you open your mouth to protest she quickly adds on, in a whinier tone this time, “You know it would be fun, don’t lie.”

In all honesty, you knew she was right. Jaesung was not worth your time of day. That is not what any of this was about though. You were not mourning the loss of him per say, but instead the loss of the relationship you thought you had. Deep down you have known that you and Jaesung were not working the way you once did, but you still clung on because you wanted to believe that your relationship was more than it was. The realization that your doubts had been true was a hard blow to take.

“Not tonight, Jihyun. Maybe next week,” you offered with a small smile. Even though you knew you were being irrational, you just wanted to lick your wounds a little longer.

The sound of your apartment door’s lock coming undone was the most beautiful sound you had heard all day. It meant that all of the horrible luck that had happened earlier in the day could soon be drowned out by the beautiful sound of cheesy dramas and delicious potato chip crunches. Maybe you’d even allow yourself the luxury of eating ice cream right out of the container tonight. It would mean you’d have to add an extra half hour to your work out tomorrow, but it all would be worth it tonight. In retrospect, you should have foreseen the events that followed. After all, you did live with two other roommates, and you could not hog the living room forever.

Upon walking in to your quaint living quarters, your senses were instantly sent into a state of alarm. There was an awful mixture of smells lingering in the air that if you had to guess were a combination of sweaty socks, greasy pizza, and… was that fish? The thought of all of these ingredients combined left your stomach feeling nauseated at once. It also clued you in on the fact that you had company over tonight. There were only one people who could possibly sweat so much to cause your apartment to smell this horrendously.

Your suspicions were confirmed as you rounded the corner. Your eyes first took in the old gym bag tossed carelessly near the shoe rack with used gym wear peaking out of the sides. As you eyes traveled further into the room you were pleasantly surprised to notice that despite the odor, the room was not a complete mess. For the most part, everything looked in place other than the odd piece of laundry hanging over the back of the arm chair. On the coffee table laid a delicious variety of different take out containers, far more than would reasonably be needed to fill the two boys sitting on the couch at the moment, who were too engaged in the newest episode of Show Me the Money to even notice your presence.

“I’m telling you Hobi, there is no way that he will win. He might be the better rapper, but he’s not as flashy as the rest of them. The audience won’t go for him,” your roommate of the last three years remarked, eyeing the screen with a mix of what looked to between pity and acceptance on his face.

The other boy did not seem too thrilled by Namjoon’s comment. “Aish, you’re not giving the audience enough credit. They won’t be swayed by such superficial things.” Even though his voice was confident the look he shot the TV was anything but.

“Why does my living room smell like boy?” you whined with a pout forming on your lips. Instantly both of the boys on the couch turned to look in your direction, startled.

“Y/N, I missed you!” Hoseok shouted happily once his surprise wore off. A million watt smile was aimed in your direction instantly, causing your tense shoulders to start relaxing involuntarily. It was hard to even pretend to be upset when in the presence of such positive energy. He patted the spot on the couch between him and Namjoon, beckoning you towards him. “Come on, come on, we ordered your favorite pizza.”

“What does that even mean, it smells like boy? Are you saying boys naturally smell? Sexist.” Your roommate grumbled as you all but collapsed on the spot between him and Hoseok.

“What I am saying is that Hobi should start a load of laundry if he’s going to be crashing here after dance practices” you corrected. From your other side you heard the dance major let out a scoff, clearly not pleased by your comment. “Hobi, I love you, but your practice clothes smell after you’re done.”

“Yah, what disrespect. After I bought you a whole feast for dinner this is how you repay me?” The volume of his voice slowly rose as he talked. It caused a grin to break out on your face, especially when you spotted the playful look he shot you. Even Namjoon chuckled from your other side.

“So how was work? Did you come up with your next article yet?” he questioned, reaching over you to grab his bottle of beer from the coffee table. His eyes looked at you with honest curiosity. It was reasons like this that you took so easily to Namjoon when you first met him. He was genuine. He did not merely talk to you for the sake of making small talk, but because he honestly cared about what was going on in your life. To be honest, if it weren’t for the discussions you had with him over possible article subjects you don’t think your work would be as well rounded at it was.

Unfortunately, not even your cultured roommate could get you out of your dry spell. With a defeated sigh, you slouched back onto the couch, accepting the plate of pizza Hobi handed to you with a grateful nod. “Not even close. I know that there has to be a story out there on campus, I just can’t find it.”

“Maybe that has something to do with the fact you haven’t left the apartment in weeks” Hobi observed, his voice taking on an innocent tone. At the sight of your eyes narrowing he instantly added, “I’m just saying, how will you know what is going on on campus if you are never actually on campus?”

To your horror, Namjoon nodded his head in agreement. “Face it Y/N, you’ve been sitting on this couch for far too long. You need to get out there again. Maybe head over to that one café you like and eavesdrop on what people are saying.”

The other boy made a noise of doubt at that. “I don’t know. She used to like that place because the guy that worked there was cute, but he quit so…”

Your body instantly reacted to those words by sitting up straighter. “What?? Jackson quit? Why? He was literally the sweetest man on the face of this earth! He always remembered my name - he even spelt it correctly!” This day just seemed to be getting worse and worse by the minute.

“From what I heard, he got a job down at the campus gym as a personal trainer. He’s actually pretty good. He has a line of people waiting to be trained by him. He’s very popular with female clients.” Silently, you thought that that had more to do with his physique rather than his actual skill. The boy had the body of a Greek god. You kept your opinion to yourself though.

“Oh, that is an idea” the purple haired boy said, staring at you encouragingly. “You could start hitting the gym again. People love to gossip at the gym. Plus, you’ve been getting a little flabby.” To emphasize his point he poked your thigh with a playful expression, letting you know that he was just messing with you.

Nonetheless you still swatted his hand away indignantly. “I appreciate both your concern, but I am perfectly fine, thanks” you stated, a bit sarcastically, to your roommate, before turning to his friend to add, “And I’ll have you know, Jackson was just one of the reasons I like that café. They also have delicious pastries. Maybe Minjin would like to come with me tomorrow…” you wondered the last bit out loud. Truthfully, it had been a while since you hung out with your female roommate, even though you lived together. It would be nice to spend some time with her again.

“She’d like that. She’s been complaining lately that you don’t have time for her anymore since you’ve fallen in love with your dramas” Namjoon commented, looking at you with an amused smirk. Instantly, Hobi let out a giggle, turning in his seat to face his friends with a new burst of excitement.

“Oh oh, remember when we came here a couple of days ago and she was talking to his character on the screen? ‘Yoo Shi Jin, forget about the brat, I’m here for you!’” A blush creped onto your face as you remembered your slip up in front of the guys. Maybe you had been watching dramas a little too long after all.

“Yah, I can’t hear the show over you two. Tsk…” you grumbled, stuffing your face with a big bite of pizza as you sulked. They only responded with their chuckles.

“No” you instantly said, stepping closer in line. It was a Saturday morning, so the café was not as crowded as it usually was during the weekday morning rush, but the loyal weekend customers still filled up the place for a small line to have formed. Glancing around you noticed with a pang of disappointment that Jackson was in fact gone. You let out a disappointed sigh. Hopefully the muffins were still good.

Minjin didn’t seem to like your response. “You don’t know, it could be fun! I hear he’s an artist! That’s hot right? Sexy, brooding artist?” You rolled your eyes at that, continuing to glance around the café. Not much had changed other than Jackson’s departure since you had last been there a few weeks ago. The place was still as cozy and comfortable as you remembered it. The only noticeable change is that there was a new barista behind the counter. Despite the fact that he was new, he didn’t seem to be under the pressure that came with starting a new job. He even felt confident enough to socialize with the customers as he created each individualized creation with a speedy accuracy. Interesting.

“Let me be clearer. Hell no.” you replied to your roommate as you stepped closer in line, starting to regret asking her to come out with you. Everything had been going normally until she had you trapped in the coffee shop. That is when she revealed her true interest in wanting to hang out with you.

Minjin let out a small, cute whine beside you. “Oh come on Y/N! Do it for me! Do you know how long it is been since I’ve had sex with my boyfriend? Weeks. Weeks!” True to Minjin’s fashion, her voice was much louder than socially accepted to be saying such things in public. Unsurprisingly, her statement did not settle well with some of the other customers: specifically, the elderly couple standing in front of you who turned around to face you both just long enough to convey their disapproval. From the corner of your eye you saw the barista give a little smirk, but did not avert his attention away from his current task.

“Then have sex, I honestly do not see why I have to be involved with this” you replied, unphased. You had been living with your roommate for far too long for her openness about such things in public to bother you anymore. Your mood was slightly elevated when you noticed you were next to be served after the couple in front of you, though.

“Because his roommate won’t leave the damn apartment! I’m just asking for an hour, maybe two tops. Just take him out somewhere, hell, come here! Please, just do it for me” she pleaded, giving you her best puppy dog eyes. “Plus, who knows, you might hit it off! It could put an end to your dry spell!”

Warmth started to creep up your neck at her last comment. Sadly, her words were not wrong. Even though you and Jaesung only broke up a few weeks ago, your lack of sexual activities extended far before that. At the time he always claimed it was because he was too worn out from work, but in light of recent events you suspected he was just getting action from someone else.

“Leave my dry spell out of your horniness. I’ll have you know I am perfectly fine with my sex life.”

It was at that very moment that it became your turn to order. From the amused look the barista gave you both, he had not been spared from hearing the conversation between the two of you. The knowledge only made your face head up further.

“How may I help you today?” His voice was deeper than you were expecting. It had a certain warmth to it that momentarily left you forgetting your persistent roommate all together.

Quickly snapping out of your small daze, you politely ordered: A medium caramel ice blended coffee with two shots of espresso, hold the whipped cream. Was the drink enough to give you a burst of energy? Not really, but you wanted to splurge a bit today. Your usual Americano could wait for Monday morning. Once your companion gave her order as well, the barista got to work on your drinks.

“You’re new here, right?” Minjin inquired, looking at the boy behind the counter. Her mission at the time to set you up on a blind date seemed to be momentarily set aside. “Are you Jackson’s replacement?”

A deep chuckled rumbled out of the boys chest, causing his shoulders to shake slightly. The sound alone sent a shiver down your spine. “So it seems. He was pretty popular among here with the ladies, wasn’t he?” A smirk tugged on his lips as he spoke, continuing to mix up your drinks.

“Jackson is popular wherever he goes, he makes sure of it.” Minjin stated playfully. While they spoke, you took the time to let your eyes wander over the new barista. It would be an injustice to merely call him good looking. It was almost annoying how you couldn’t find a single flaw about him. Even the way that his bangs fell in front of his eyes drew you in. You suddenly had an urge to reach over and move his hair away, if only just to feel if his locks were truly as soft as they seemed. Not to mention the way that his black uniform top clung to his biceps, causing the material to stretch each time he flexed his muscles as he continued to mix the drinks. While the company apron covered his chest and torso, you still got a glimpse of his firm pecks straining against the fabric. But above all else, what really caught your attention were his wide brown eyes that beckoned you in. The very eyes that were staring into your own at that very moment.

You did not think it was possible for your face to get any warmer as a small, knowing smirk spread onto the boy’s lips. He gave a small, cocky tilt of the head, but there was no other sign that gave away the fact that he had indeed caught you giving him a thorough look over as he continued his discussion with an oblivious Minjin, the smirk never leaving his face.

“That’ll be eight fifty nine” he said, finally looking back at you. You did not miss the way that his eyes scanned over your body for a moment before returning to meet your own with cock of his head, almost challengingly. It took a moment of just standing there to realize that he was waiting for your response. With a quick, stuttered apology you reach into your purse and hand him ten-dollar bill. You did not wait for a reaction, merely nodding your head with a mumbled thank you before tugging your roommate out of the store with your drinks in hand. Behind you, the distinct sound of his deep chuckle could be heard but you paid it no mind as you made your way towards the exit, desperately wanting to put your embarrassment in the past.

Usually, you could handle situations like these with far more grace and overall smoothness. However, for the past three years you never noticed another man the way that you just noticed this new barista. Your commitment to your relationship left you blinded to other people’s advances. It also left you with an annoying lack of experience in how to deal with them, especially from impossibly attractive men. Maybe you did need to get out more, at least for the sake of not making such a fool of yourself again.

With a grudging sigh, you hunched your shoulders. “Fine, give me this artist’s number.”

“This is a horrible idea,” you stated as you looked at your reflection in the mirror with great skepticism. It has been a week since you had agreed to go on the blind date and the closer the date approached the more trepidation you felt. Nonetheless, you tried remaining positive about it. It was a chance to get out of this rut you put yourself in. You were not letting yourself back out of it. Yet, as you looked over your chosen outfit, you felt the anxiety bubbling up again. “This is a horrible idea, isn’t it? Why did I agree to this? Why did you let me agree to this? Damn it, Namjoon, I need to change again.”

Your roommate watched you stomp back into your closet with a look of amusement. You had pulled him away from reading to help you pick out an outfit to wear. That was nearly thirty minutes ago, and so far he has watched you try on nearly half of your closet. Some part of him knew that there was a billion of better ways to spend his day, but watching your meltdown was too good to pass up. “Why are you even freaking out anyways? You didn’t want to go on the date to begin with.”

You merely rolled your eyes. “I haven’t gone out on a date with anyone but Jaesung in years. I don’t even know proper first date etiquette anymore. What if he tries to like, make a move or something? No, my outfit must portray a friendly and approachable yet clearly emphasize the strictness of my personal bubble.”

Namjoon just stared in your direction. “Clothes can’t talk for you, Y/N. Plus, as I remember, you can dish out a rather affective slap. If he gets too handsy just lay one on him.”

Even with you in the closet, he could still hear you sigh. “You are useless. Hobi would have been more help than you, and he’s married to his own dance moves.”

The purple hair man let out a long breath, counting to ten in his head before getting up from his place on your bed. While this had been fun, it was starting to get old. It was time he took things into his own hands.

“Move” he demanded, walking into the close and towards your wall of clothes. He didn’t even glance in your direction, even though the only forms of clothing you had on were an undershirt and a pair of panties. In his first year of living with you girls, he had to quickly grow accustom to both yours and Minjin’s habit of walking around in various levels of undressed in the apartment. It started off with minor things, such as going braless around the apartment or leaving your underwear in the shared bathroom without worrying that he would see it. However, when you both deemed him to not be a threat to either of you, you both got a little more daring by walking around the apartment in nothing but a large shirt to eventually feeling comfortable enough to change right in front of him without much of a care. At first he had to admit that his manhood had taken a hit, but he soon got used to it. None of you guys saw each other as anything other than friends, possibly even a sort of family. Plus, it came with its perks; he no longer had to worry about walking in nothing but his boxers to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

After studying the wardrobe for a few minutes he reached into it and pulled out a loose fitted blouse that hung off your shoulders along with a pair of ripped skinny jeans before tossing them into your arms. “There, wear that. It still makes you look cute and feminine but makes it seem casual without trying too much.”

You eyed the clothing for a brief moment before shrugging and putting them on. Despite your roommates questionable fashion at time, he never led you astray when it came to what you should wear. He knew what trends you liked or disliked and based his opinions off that, not what he liked personally. It was another aspects that you loved about him; he never pushed his own opinions onto other people.

“Thanks Joonie. I owe you” you grinned, going to go slip on a pair of converse.

“Mhm. Just have fun, okay? You’re stressing yourself out for nothing. You could actually maybe hit it off with him.” With a shrug, he made his way out of the room, not even looking over his shoulder when he shouted back at you, “Oh! And bring me back a muffin as compensation for this!”

Despite the fact that your eyes rolled back into your head, you couldn’t stop the soft chuckle that passed your lips. Namjoon was right. You were overthinking this. It was one blind date, barely better than two people hanging out. There definitely would be no hand holding or kissing or anything of the sort. This is just one friend helping another friend get laid by taking their boyfriend’s roommate out of the house for a bit. It was nothing really. Plus, what did you have to lose?

A lot. It turns out you had a lot to lose, most important of which being your sanity. However, you had started to worry that your freedom was at risk as well because if he said one more thing out of place you feared that you would be thrown in jail for assault. You prided yourself in not being a physically aggressive person, but this asshole seemed to know each of your buttons to press.

The date hadn’t started off all that badly. In fact, when you first saw him walk up to you outside of the café, you actually thought he was kind of cute. He somehow made long, shaggy hair work with his features, and while he wore rather casual clothes they were all in pristine condition and fit his shape very well, which had let you know he cared about how he looked. You could admire that about a person. Mostly because half of the time you couldn’t find a single ounce of effort to care about how you looked.

Still, you were starting to have high hopes for this blind date. When he introduced himself as Jinho he seemed soft spoken as he offered to shake your hand. Your first impression of him was that he was polite and rather shy. He kept a healthy distance between you two and kind of shied into himself a bit. In all honesty, you thought it was somewhat cute. However, all of your optimism was wiped away when you both walked inside.

The first thing that had clued you in that things would probably not go as well as you had hoped was the familiar looking barista cleaning up the space behind the counter. He wore the same black shirt that you saw him in last, with the green strings of his apron wrapping around his waist rather snuggly. Luckily his back was turned towards you so he could not spot you. However, this left you with a perfect view of his back muscles stretching out the fabric of the shirt to the point you weren’t sure the shirt would hold. You also weren’t sure if the sight was a blessing or a curse.

Oblivious to your sudden nervousness, your date ushered you to stand at the counter. You were half tempted to turn around and find another café to have this date at but you figured you were being irrational. This was your favorite place to hang out at, after all. You were not going to give up your precious muffins just because of one embarrassing encounter with McDreamy from behind the counter. Besides, he most likely didn’t even recognize you. He sees hundreds of people daily; it was unlikely that you were the only one who obviously checked him out. Especially considering how good-looking he was, it must happen all the time for him.

Your hopes were instantly torn apart the moment he turned around. His eyes found yours within seconds, and from the small smirk that appeared at the corner of his mouth, you could tell that he recognized you. You silently had to remind yourself that the muffins at this place were worth it.

For his part though, he didn’t vocalize his recognition. “How may I help you both today?” he said with a pleasant smile, drying off his hands on a towel from his vest.

“Um… I’ll have a kale smoothie. Along with a fruit bowl.” To be honest, that should have been your second clue that something was not right with this guy. But nonetheless, you weren’t about to judge him off of his palate taste. You still held onto your hope for this to turn out well.

The barista merely nodded, writing up the order before turning to you next curiously.

“I’ll have a caramel ice blended coffee with two shots. Hold the whip please. Oh, and a blue berry muffin.” In your haste to get ready this morning, you forgot to grab a bite to eat. Part of you might have done it on purpose just to get the chance to eat a muffin. You’d never admit it though.

“Are you sure you want to order that?” Jinho remarked beside you, his voice changing from the soft-spoken boy you’d met outside to one of pure judgment. “Do you know how many calories are in just your drink alone? Don’t even get me started on that muffin. No one needs that much sugar in one sitting.”

There it is. The point of no return. The climax of this date, as you would later put it. It is the very moment that your day dream of slapping the sneer off of his face was born. Any hope you had left for this day was instantly thrown out the window.

Even the barista looked taken back by his remark. He stared between the two of you somewhat startled. You, on the other hand, did not even glance towards your date. You merely continued to stare at the café employee in your state of shock. You’d never had someone so rudely comment on your choice of food, let alone someone you had not even known for five minutes. You could feel your eyes narrowing as your jaw set itself into place. In that moment you knew the next hour of your life would be a slow and painful one.

Somehow, you managed to put a smile back on your face, no matter how tight it might of felt. Turning to your date, you said, “You are completely right. The blueberry muffin won’t do.” You then turned you the man behind the counter. “Could I have your double chocolate muffin instead?”

On your part, you could not tell whose reaction you enjoyed more: the disgusted scoff that made its way out of Jinho or the momentary laugh that escaped the barista’s mouth, for which he quickly tried passing off as a cough as he hastily wrote down your orders in his notepad.

Unfortunately, everything just went down hill from there. No matter how hard you tried to make the next hour somewhat pleasant, you found yourself disliking the man the more he talked. From the corner of your eye you swore you say the barista glance towards your table with an amused smirk on his face. At least someone is getting some type of enjoyment out of this, you thought.

“So yeah. Like I love art and all, but I just hate most art, you know? Like, the art is so corrupt now a day. That’s why I can’t stand it” he continued, as he had done for the past fifty minutes. You glanced up at the clock as you hummed a response, not even really listening at this point. It is not like he even let you get a sentence in if you wanted to. Ten more minutes. You could last ten more minutes with this guy, right? Minjin better be getting the best fucking of her life right now.

“Like, portraits are so last century. Do people really not know how to create anything else? Where is the creativity in just copying something you can see every day? They’re almost as bad as photographers. Am I right?”

That is it. You could not take it any longer. “I’m sorry, what kind of artist did you say you were?” you asked, keeping your voice so sweet it bordered on sickly.

Your question seemed to excite him though. He sat up straight in his chair, pulling out his phone. “I’ll show you. I think you’ll be very impressed actually.” He then thrusted his phone in your face.

At first, you could do nothing but blink. Try as you might, you could not understand what exactly you were seeing. “I’m sorry, but this canvas is blank.”

His face instantly scrunched up into a sneer, snapping his phone away to cradle it to his chest protectively as if you had just injured it somehow. “It is not blank. Its painted with different shades of white and glossed over so there are no brush strokes. It is my proudest piece.” He then proceeded to look at his phone fondly before adding, “I guess a commoner like you wouldn’t be able to understand its beauty. It’s okay, you can’t be helped.”

Once again you were left speechless. You didn’t know if you should laugh at his audacity or smack him, so instead you settled on just staring at him, baffled. Some part of your brain registered a somewhat familiar laughter coming from behind the counter that is not far from the table you are sitting at but you were in too much of a state shock to acknowledge it.

When your amazement started to fade away all that was left was anger. You had made a silent promise to yourself that you would make it to the hour mark so that Minjin could have as much time with her boyfriend as your sanity could take, but you knew that if you spent another minute with this prick you would be dumping the remainder of your drink on his head. “You know, I think it is time that I head home” you stated, collecting your stuff.

“Oh,” Jinho replied, somewhat shocked. “Well… maybe I could take you home, and we could pick things up from there,” his voice suddenly turned what you were guessing was meant to be seductive as he leaned closer to you.

The laugh that erupted from your throat shocked both of you. “I’m sorry, but what part of this date could have possibly made you think any of this had gone well?” you asked, your disbelief clear in your voice as you stared at him as if he had grown another head.

“Honestly? This was awful. You’re kind of rude. And stuck up. But that doesn’t mean we can’t still have some fun. One that doesn’t involve you to talk.”

You chose to ignore the laugh from a certain barista that followed that comment. Instead, you just gave Jinho a look of only dimly hidden disgust. Unfortunately, it didn’t phase him as much as you had hoped. Instead he just shrugged as he stood up, adding, “Fine, your loss. You can cover all this right? I’m living off of an artist salary and all. It’s a hard life, but its better than being one of those mindless people that just go to college, right?”

You leaned your head against your hands and rubbed your temples, hoping that if you closed your eyes and prayed hard enough you would wake up from this nightmare. “Please… just leave,” you half whined, not even opening your eyes when you heard the sound of his feet walking away. It was not until you heard the door shut after him that you opened your eyes again, if only to make sure that he truly was gone.

With a somewhat obnoxious groan, you threw your head back and rubbed your face. You somehow felt at least ten years older. Minjin owed you so much after doing this for her.

“He’s right you know,” a deep voice said. Sitting up straight again, your eyes fell upon the barista, who was standing by your table, cleaning up after the trash Jinho left behind. The bastard even left trash for you to clean up after, you thought bitterly.

“Huh?” you said, once again cursing yourself for your lack of elegance in front of this man.

“About the muffin. It goes straight to your ass” he replied, his tone being completely serious. You would’ve taken offense to it if it weren’t for the playful smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

“Haha, very funny, pour salt on the open wound. To think I was gonna leave you a good tip…” you grumbled lightly, before shaking your head. “God, I will kill Minjin.”

“Why? I thought the date went very well. I haven’t laughed that hard in a while,” he teased, his smirk growing to a full-blown smile. You took note to the fact that he was taking a particularly long time to pick up two pieces of trash.

“You’re begging not to get tipped aren’t you?” Your voice rose in volume a bit, but a smile started to form on your lips.

“Please, from the way you eyed me up when you walked in I deserve a good tip. The show isn’t for nothing you know.” His grin grew wider as he took in the faint blush forming on your cheeks. “You’re not sly in the least bit. You should probably work on that before you go on any other date.”

You busied yourself with getting out your wallet in hope that if you don’t look directly at him he would not notice the way your face heated up further. “I cannot say I know what you are talking about,” you played ignorant, placing the money down on the table. He only grinned at that.

“I’m sure you don’t.” With that he reached into his apron pocket and pulled out his receipt forms, writing something on it before placing it on the table in front of you. “I’ll see you around then, Y/N.” With a smirk he collected your money and headed back towards the counter.

You blinked in shock for a few moments, before quickly gathered your things to make your exit. You would not allow him the satisfaction of witnessing further evidence of the affect he had on you. It was not until you were sitting within the protection of your car that you allowed yourself the opportunity to process todays events. Was he flirting with you? No, he couldn’t be. But was he? When had you become so awful at figuring these things out? And how did he know your name?

With a small sigh, you glanced down at your receipt, making sure you had left enough money to cover everything. That is when you noticed it. For some unknown reason, a slow grin formed on your face before you could fight it off. That cocky bastard, you thought. With a shake of your head, you tossed the receipt back into your purse before starting up the car. Maybe Jackson leaving the café wasn’t the worst thing that could’ve happened after all.

It’s Jungkook, by the way. Incase you needed a name for when you bragged about me to your friend ;)

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