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gardenofcamellias · 9 months

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another short scene(s) that will probably (but never say never) get put into a full fic

this one: bokuaka (hq) & coffee shops & university au

i looked back at this draft after two years of not touching it and omg i kinda forgot how much i liked the idea for this fic... i hope one day i can go back to it

fun fact—i lowkey based the whole fic off the title i wanted for it: A Beauty in his Mind

{scene(s) under cut}

Akaashi had been getting more headaches than usual lately.

Not that it was a surprise. When he told his parents that he would be majoring in Creative Writing in University, they chastised and scolded for weeks on end.

"It's a waste of time!" his mother declared.

"How are you going to get a job with that kind of major? Might as well be living in a box," his father said, disgusted.

"I can't go into something like chemistry or math!" Akaashi insisted. "Wrapping my brain around all those formulas, not being able to express myself creatively—I can't live like that!"

"You won't be able to live at all with a major like Creative Writing," his mother hissed, as if his choice of major was some sort of curse. "You wouldn't be able to earn enough money to get yourself food at the grocery store."

"After all the sacrifices we made for you..." his father sighed. "You throw it all away with this."

After a month of this, Akaashi resolved to move out.

Akaashi was able to get an apartment about fifteen minutes from his university. The apartment complex was across the street from a town center with a supermarket, an ice cream shop, and a café. Overall, the town seemed pleasant and peaceful—a nice change in pace from his previous living conditions.

Akaashi was never the type to disobey the rules. He was a good student—in high school he took top level university preparation classes, he got one of the highest scores on exams, he even played in his school's volleyball club as an added extracurricular to put on his applications (it shows great teamwork and leadership skills people always said). But this time, he couldn't just follow blindly with what his parents were telling him to do. He couldn't become a doctor or an engineer like his parents always wanted. Every time Akaashi pictured himself performing surgery on someone or manipulating some foreign formula to build some sort of robot arm, he felt like he was about to suffocate. Writing was his passion—a way to truly be able to show his true colors and say what he was really feeling inside. Akaashi couldn't, no more like wouldn't, throw that away for sake of gaining more security or a bigger paycheck.

But that still didn't make him any less terrified.

There was no doubt that the choice he was making was a risky one. But if he didn't go down this path, Akaashi would regret it for the rest of his life. He would spend eternity swimming in a sea of what ifs or what would haves. Akaashi was grateful for all that his parents had done for him so far in his life, but now he had to pave his own road—make choices for himself and not for the sake of others.

Crap, crap, crap, Akaashi thought to himself as he frantically pressed the button that would allow him to cross the street from his apartment complex to the town center. It was already eleven o'clock in the morning, which means the café is bound to be packed already with people. Akaashi needed to score a seat and a table in order to work on his narrative for one of his writing classes. He had writer's block, and looking at the same old walls in his apartment with zero inspiration was making him go crazy—he needed a change of scenery. Originally, Akaashi planned to get to the café early at six o'clock so he could grind out his paper, but he had unfortunately slept through his alarm.

After what felt like an eternity, Akaashi was finally able to cross the street and enter the café. Surprise, surprise, sighed Akaashi. It's crowded. Nevertheless, he clutched the bag he was carrying and headed to the counter to order his usual.

"One large Caffè Latte please," Akaashi said to the barista.

"Sounds good, one large Caffè Latte," the barista repeated. "That'll be four dollars please."

As Akaashi handed the barista his money, he heard an unfamiliar voice.

"Interesting choice, although I'm more of an Iced Green Tea guy myself."

Akaashi turned around and suddenly a man around his age was standing next to him. He had black and grey spiky hair with white tips. His golden eyes glistened as the light from above them hit his face.

"Well it's a good thing it's my order and my drink," Akaashi replied nonchalantly.

When the barista handed him his receipt and he proceeded to walk away, Akaashi could've sworn that the man he spoke to earlier ordered a Caffè Latte from the barista as well.

He's certainly a character, Akaashi thought to himself, then shook his head. It's his money, he can waste it on whatever he wants with it, even if that includes getting some random drink because some stranger was getting it too.

Akaashi leaned on a nearby wall while he waited for the barista to make his drink. He got out his phone and started scrolling through the News app to catch up on whatever he missed to pass the time.

You won't believe what the secret ingredient is in this Power Curry!

Weather Update: The Best Time to go to the Beach

This new starting lineup filled to the brim with rising stars!

Water Warriors season three is here! Is it a Hit or a Miss?

"Akaashi!" the barista called from the counter.

"Thank you," Akaashi said, grabbing his drink.

Now, Akaashi attempted to scan the room for an empty chair so he could work. Nope. Nothing.

Wait!

Akaashi quickly spotted an empty seat at a table in the corner of the room, right next to the front window of the café. The table had room for only two chairs, and from what he could see, someone was already occupying one of them. It would be a little cramped, but Akaashi was desperate. He needed to finish his narrative. It certainly wasn't unusual to share a table with a complete stranger, Akaashi had done it all the time in the library during finals week.

"Excuse me," Akaashi began. "Do you mind if I sit here-"

"Mr. Caffè Latte!"

It wasn't until then that Akaashi saw the other customer occupying the other seat at the table. Life can be so cruel, Akaashi thought to himself. It was the stranger who ordered the same drink as him.

"You know I have to say," the stranger said, taking another sip of his coffee. "I don't know why you get this. It tastes so bitter."

"Then why did you order it?" Akaashi asked, annoyed.

"Because I was curious," the stranger said. "You see, I’ve always wanted to try coffee! You look like a smart person, with your glasses and everything. I figured smart people get good coffee orders."

"But unfortunately, that didn't seem to be the case this time." the stranger continued, shaking his head. "It tastes so bitter."

"Yeah whatever, I didn't come here to be judged for my taste in coffee," Akaashi said. "I came here to ask you if I could sit here in that empty chair at this table."

"Of course!" the stranger exclaimed. The stranger was practically beaming with joy, as if he had been waiting for someone to take the empty seat across from him.

"Thank you," Akaashi mumbled, and sat down, placing his coffee on the table. He zipped open the bag he had brought in and grabbed his laptop from inside. Akaashi put the laptop on the table, turned it on, and pulled up the Word Doc he was working on earlier with his narrative on it. He scanned through and edited what he had so far:

Akihiko lived a quiet life. He was the owner of a small bakery at the edge of town, away from the demons. He had no desire to fight them like the other guys in his class did. Running this bakery gave him the means to get everything he wanted: food on his plate, clothes to wear on his back, a roof to sleep under. He was safe. He was happy. Or so he thought.

Once in a while, Akihiko would find himself daydreaming about the life he could’ve lived if he joined the Warriors. Cutting the demons down one by one, telling stories around the fire with his fellow soldiers about the battles they had fought that day. It seemed fun to him. Better than the boring, monotonous life he was living now. Alas, Akihiko shook his head. There’s no fun in being a demon slaying hero if you are dead, he sighed.

“Whatcha working on?” the stranger asked, a quizzical expression forming on his face.

Akaashi looked up from his screen. “Why do you care? It’s none of your business,” he said.

“Because you looked confused while staring at your laptop,” the stranger said. He smiled. “I thought maybe, if what you are working on is in my area of expertise, I could help.”

Akaashi narrowed his eyes. “I did not look ‘confused’ while staring at my laptop.”

“Even so,” the stranger retorted. “I want to help! You know what they say, two heads are better than one.”

Akaashi sighed, figuring there was going to be no end to the stranger’s banter if he didn’t give in to what he wanted. “I’m working on a narrative for one of my creative writing classes. I’m struggling with writer’s block right now.”

“Ahh I see,” the stranger said, tapping his chin. “That can be difficult. So, what’s happening right now in the story?”

Akaashi eyed the stranger. Why is he so interested in this? Nevertheless, Akaashi continued. “The protagonist is this guy who lives in a village. He lives a quiet, normal life, but at the same time he craves adventure. But he still appreciates the safety and security of his current living conditions. I’m trying to figure out how to get the protagonist to go on this quest I have planned out for him, without making his decision to go on the quest seem out of character.”

The stranger ran his hand through his spiky hair. “Hmmm… Why don’t you just force him?”

Akaashi eyes widened, dumbfounded. “Uh yeah, that’s sort of the point of me writing this narrative. To force the main character to do things that are out of his element. But the problem is that right now, he wouldn’t choose-”

“So don’t make him choose,” the stranger fired back. “Make up a situation where he can’t say no! Something like that.”

Akaashi adjusted his glasses, considering what the stranger had to say. “Make up a situation where he can’t say no?” Akaashi repeated. “It would take some time for me to think of a good scene for the encounter but… that could work-”

“Hey, hey, hey! That’s what I mean!” the stranger exclaimed. “When your book becomes famous, you better list me as one of your significant contributors: Bokuto Koutarou!”

“I’m not writing a book, it’s just a narrative for my creative writing class.”

“Well when you do decide to write a book, make sure you come to me! I like listening to your stories Mr. Caffè Latte! We could bounce ideas off each other!”

“My name isn’t Mr. Caffè Latte, it’s Akaashi Keiji,” Akaashi sighed, rolling his eyes. “Besides, are you even a Writing student? It would be a waste of your time trying to help me write since you don’t gain anything from it.”

“Well, no, I’m not,” Bokuto mumbled, suddenly looking very somber. “But who said anything about ‘gaining’ something? Listening to your ideas—it sounds fun to me! And if that’s the only thing I ‘gain’ from it, that’s alright with me. But if you ask me, I think that hearing your stories will have more benefits than what meets the eye.”

“You… have a strange taste in hobbies Bokuto-san,” Akaashi replied, now beginning to pack up his belongings. It looked like he wasn’t going to get any work done if he stayed in this café any longer.

“Where are you going Akashi?” Bokuto asked.

“Akaashi,” he corrected. “I’m sorry I must cut this conversation short, but I have to return home. I have some things I must take care of. Thank you for this conversation, Bokuto-san. I’ll be sure to keep your suggestions in mind next time I work on my narrative.”

“Anytime Akaashi!” Bokuto exclaimed. “I’ll see you later!”

Akaashi politely bowed towards Bokuto, and headed towards the exit door of the café. See you later? Why is he acting as though we will see each other again? Akaashi thought to himself. To each other, we are merely strangers. We met in this café by pure coincidence. Just two passerbys in the sea of chance. We will probably never see each other again.

But, if there was one thing Akaashi knew for certain, it’s that Fate deals her cards in the strangest ways.

As Akaashi left the café, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bokuto take another sip of the Caffè Latte he ordered. Bokuto cringed. “So bitter.” ***

As Akihiko prepared to close up his shop for the night, a man came bursting through the doors of the bakery. His long cloak draped over his body and clothes, his white hair brushed in all sorts of directions, his golden eyes were wide, and his face appeared frightened.

“Please! You have to help me! You have to help me save my sister! She was captured by the demons!”

“I’m so sorry,” Akihiko apologized. “But I do not know how to fight demons. Maybe if we were to report this-”

“No!” the stranger said, forcefully. He pulled out a note from his cloak. “It has to be you!”

Akihiko opened the note. It read:

Brother, you must help me. I’ve been kidnapped by demons. Seek Akihiko, the owner of the bakery at the edge of town. He will be able to help you.

“I… I don’t understand,” Akihiko replied, his words shaking. “I… I don’t know you or you sister!”

“I don’t know why it says that either—but that’s what she wrote. Those were her last words to me!” the stranger exclaimed. “Please, I’m begging you, help me save my sister!”

Akihiko looked at the stranger. “I guess I can’t say no, huh?” ***

Akaashi had to lean on the crosswalk pole for support. With the deadline for his narrative looming in the distance, his sleepless nights increased. His limbs felt like boulders, sometimes if he zoned out too much, it would be difficult to walk. I just need a cup of coffee to wake me up, Akaashi told himself. Then, I’ll be okay.

When the crosswalk signal indicated that it was safe to cross the street, Akaashi trudged along, itching to get to the café. Luckily, Akaashi was able to wake up on time today, so there would be plenty of seats available.

He hadn’t been to the café in a couple days (he hated how reliant he was on caffeine in order to become just a functional human being), but Akaashi was getting desperate. He needed to get this paper done. He needed this paper to be good.

As he approached the café, something caught his eye in the corner table next to the front window. Black and grey. Spiky. White tips. Golden eyes. No… It couldn’t be…

Akaashi rubbed his head. He paid no mind to it. He entered the café.

“Akaashi!” he heard a voice say.

Akaashi turned his head towards the source of the sound. It came from the corner table near the front window. It was…

“Oh, hello Bokuto-san,” Akaashi said, bowing politely, hoping to hide his annoyance.

Bokuto motioned for him to come over to the table where he was sitting. Akaashi begrudgingly followed in order not to be rude.

“How have you been!” Bokuto exclaimed, as if he and Akaashi were close friends. “How’s the story coming along? I hope you took my advice into consideration!”

“It’s going along fine,” Akaashi said, itching to get away from the conversation as fast as he could. “And your advice was very helpful, thank you.”

Bokuto smiled wide. “That makes me happy to hear!” he said, pleased with himself. “Oh! You must be here to work! Here, put your stuff down on the chair on the other side of this table. You can keep it here while you go get your drink.”

Akaashi shook his head. “I’m sorry, but I have to do a lot of work today. Besides, there are plenty of empty seats available. I don’t want to intrude-”

“Intrude?! Don’t worry about it, you aren’t intruding!” Bokuto said. “I told you, I like listening to your stories, they’re very interesting! And I know you have to work, so I promise I won’t bother you when you need silence. Just give me the word, and I put in some headphones and listen to music or something so it’s quiet when you work. So please, come sit next to me?”

Akaashi sighed. While Akaashi still had a ways to go before his paper was finished, he would feel terrible rejecting Bokuto’s offer to share the table with him. He figured as long as Bokuto respected when he needed silence to work, it wouldn’t be such a big deal. “Okay, fine. Can you do me a favor and watch my stuff for me while I go get my drink?”

“Sounds good to me!” Bokuto exclaimed, smiling again.

Akaashi noticed that Bokuto smiled a lot. He was practically beaming with plain and pure happiness. It seemed like even the smallest things would fill Bokuto with joy. Akaashi suspected that if Bokuto found a lucky penny on the sidewalk on his way home, he would get so excited, the people around him would think he had just won the lottery.

Akaashi once again walked up to the counter to order his usual. “Can I get one large Caffè Latte?”

“Of course,” the barista said. “For Akaashi, right?”

He was taken aback. “You… remember my name?”

“Usually, only locals come to this café,” the barista replied. “You get used to remembering names and faces when it’s the same customers that come in every single day.”

“I see,” Akaashi said. “I’m sorry I can’t seem to remember yours.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it. You’re not the one on the clock anyways,” she reassured. “Here’s your receipt.”

“Thank you,” Akaashi replied, walking away from the counter.

Once Akaashi got his drink, he joined Bokuto again at the table.

“So, so?” Bokuto asked. “How’s the main guy doing in the story? What do you have written so far since the last time you came here? What’s happening right now?”

Akaashi saw no benefit protesting in answering Bokuto’s endless stream of questions. He figured he would just end up answering them in the long run anyways. Akaashi guessed that was the type of guy Bokuto was—the type that just pulls you in. Even if you didn’t care about him. Even if you weren’t interested in him. Even if you didn’t even know him. None of that mattered, once you get pulled into a conversation with him, you just can’t take your eyes away. His overbearing attitude was infectious, and soon enough all you want to do is hear more. You want to understand him. Why did he talk to you? Why is he so interested? Why does he care? Bokuto was an enigma. Once you meet him, all you will do is try and solve the puzzle.

“Here, I think it would be easier if you just read it for yourself,” Akaashi said, turning his laptop towards Bokuto so he could see the screen. “Don’t worry, I haven’t written much, so it’s not a long read.”

Bokuto’s golden eyes widened, glistening under the light from above. Glistening. They were always glistening. “I get to read it? I’m honored, thank you!” Bokuto smiled.

“It’s not a big deal,” Akaashi mumbled.

“What do you mean?” Bokuto asked, curious. “Usually, writers are really protective about who gets to read what they write, especially things that are a work in progress.”

“Yes, I guess so. I think it’s because in my experience writers are usually proud of what they’ve written. They’re afraid that whoever they show it to won’t like what they read,” Akaashi stated. “But that’s not really a problem here. I’m not really proud of this narrative.”

“What?! Why not?!”

“I mean, I don’t think it’s bad per se. It’s not as good as it could be,” Akaashi clarified. “It’s been really hard to write this narrative that’s all. I force myself to work on and write on this piece everyday because of my deadline coming up. But everything I’ve written in this narrative is just word vomit.”

“Word vomit?”

Akaashi sighed. “I’ve been having really bad writer’s block these past couple months. Everything I try to write in my free time eventually just falls flat. The only reason why I’m even making progress on this narrative is because it’s required for my class. But even the things I do type out for my narrative, it’s just garbage. If I’m being honest, I have no idea where this story is even going.”

Bokuto frowned in response.

“Ah, I’m sorry,” Akaashi apologized. “I guess I’ve just been really frustrated these past couple months and needed to vent. I’m sorry you had to hear all of that.”

“No, it’s fine, don’t worry about it!” Bokuto assured him. “If you need to vent or complain or anything, you can always come to me.”

Akaashi politely smiled. Honestly, the idea of sharing all of his personal problems with a complete stranger terrified him. Yet, with Bokuto, for some reason, it didn’t feel like that. Nevertheless, Akaashi was still hesitant. “Thank you Bokuto-san, I will keep that in mind.”

“Mmhmm! Of course,” Bokuto said. “I’m going to keep reading this now.”

“By all means,” Akaashi replied, taking a sip of his coffee.

Akaashi stayed quiet to let Bokuto finish reading the draft. He glanced around the café, looking at all the customers talking, laughing, drinking their cup of Joe to receive their energy for the day. But somehow, someway, no matter where he looked, his eyes would always fall back onto Bokuto. He had a strong form. He definitely must work out or something. Akaashi could see Bokuto’s chest rise up and down as he breathed. As Bokuto’s eyes scanned the laptop screen (they were glistening, of course), there was this childlike curiosity about them. As they say, the eyes are the windows to the soul and from one glance at Bokuto’s, Akaashi could tell that he was really interested. There was no lying or manipulation involved—he genuinely wanted to get to know Akaashi.

But why? Akaashi asked himself. Why are you so interested in me? I’m nothing special. His eyes landed on Bokuto once more. Akaashi couldn’t place it, but there was something different about him. He stood out, that’s for sure. How could he not? His grey and black hair spread in all directions, it resembled how an owl’s feathers would be spread. He was loud, boisterous. All eyes would turn to him whenever he would walk into a room—that’s just the type of guy he was. No matter how hard you try, it’s impossible to look away. If anything it should be the other way around: it should be Akaashi that’s interested in Bokuto. Because if there was one that Akaashi knew, for better or for worse, Bokuto was something special.

“Akaashi?”

“Oh? What?”

“I finished reading your draft,” Bokuto explained.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I must’ve zoned out,” Akaashi apologized.

“It’s no problem,” Bokuto said. “I really like it! You're such a good writer Akaashi! You must be really hard on yourself if you think this is bad.”

“Thank you, I appreciate it,” Akaashi said. “But when you’re a Creative Writing major, the professors expect you to be good at writing, so there’s a lot of pressure added whenever a large paper is due.”

“Oh, I see, that must be really difficult,” Bokuto said.

“Yeah, and to top it all off, I have no idea where this story is even going,” Akaashi huffed. “I’ve been in this writer’s block slump for so long, I forgot what it’s like to get a really good idea, you know?”

“Hmm I think I sort of understand,” Bokuto responded, rubbing his chin. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers. “Are you free tomorrow?”

“I have class in the morning, but I should be free in the afternoon,” Akaashi replied, raising an eyebrow. “Why do you ask?”

Bokuto smiled. “I’m going to get you out of your writer’s block!”

Akaashi eyed him suspiciously. “I’ve tried many things to help me get out of my slump—exercise, meditation, more sleep, you name it. No offense, but how do you think you are going to get me out of my writer’s block?”

“Hey, hey, hey! At least let me try!” Bokuto protested. “After all, the last time I gave you advice, it ended up working out for the better, right?”

Akaashi couldn’t help but admit he was right. “Okay fine, what did you have in mind?”

“Tomorrow, meet me at Koi Park at four o’clock p.m. There should be some benches near the information building of the park, let’s meet there.”

“How is this supposed to help me get out of my slump?”

Bokuto gave a more mischievous smile this time. “You’ll see.”

Akaashi tried to ask more questions, but Bokuto wouldn’t give. What am I doing? Akaashi scolded himself. He should be studying, working on his projects, attending office hours for his professors—not getting stringed along by some stranger’s convoluted plot to help him even though he barely knew who he was. But that was the power of Bokuto: he pulls you in, he makes you listen. He attracts you with his bright eyes and beaming smile. He’ll reel you into his light and before you know it…

“Okay, I’ll see you then.”

…you’re blind. ***

“You were having a long conversation with that customer, Kaori.”

“Are you insinuating something, Yukie?”

“No, no, not at all,” Yukie replied, acting innocent. “But, I mean, do you think he’s cute? I mean I don’t blame you. You got the glasses, the hair, the eyes, the glasses…”

“What?! Akaashi? No!” Kaori retorted. “You know I’m dating someone already.”

“I know, I know. But for the record, it is not a crime to look,” Yukie stated, filling an endless line of coffees with whipped cream.

“It’s just,” Kaori began, as she poured more coffee beans in the coffee maker. “I recognize Akaashi. We go to the same university. He’s in one of my classes. But…”

“But what?”

“Whenever I see Akaashi in class, he always looks so sad,” Kaori said. “I felt sorry for him. It looked like he’s been going through something.”

“Oh?”

“But the past couple times Akaashi has come into the café, he’s sat at that same corner table near the front window,” Kaori observed. “And I noticed, he doesn’t look as sad anymore.”

“Well good for him then,” Yukie said. “He probably found something, like a new hobby or show, to lift his spirits or distract him from whatever’s going on.”

Kaori glanced over at the corner table again and saw Akaashi. He looked exhausted for one. However, he wasn’t wearing that same crinkled, frustrated expression he always wore before when he was in class. He looked like he was almost… beaming.

“Yeah.” ***

Akihiko let the stranger stay the night in his cottage. They would leave the next morning in search for his sister. Meanwhile, Akihiko got to learn more about the stranger.

His name was Bunta. His younger sister, Wakuri, was still a young child, so she just followed him wherever he went. Bunta was a traveling salesman—he and his sister trekked all across Japan to sell their goods to willing buyers. When Akihiko asked why he didn’t just open up a permanent shop, he just shrugged.

“I can’t stay cooped up in one place for too long,” Bunta replied. “Makes me feel like I’m suffocating.”

“But your business would be much more profitable if you had a real shop,” Akihiko suggested. “You would have a lot more loyal customers if-”

“Ehh, don’t really care about making bank,” Bunta said, shrugging again. “As long as I make enough money to keep Wakuri and I well and healthy, I don’t need all of that other fancy stuff. I’m more interested in traveling all over Japan—seeing the world you know?”

“Seeing the world… Huh…”

“What about it?”

“Oh nothing,” Akihiko replied. “I’ve just never been outside this city before.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously,” Akihiko confirmed. “I’m kind of scared. This little quest of ours will basically be my first trip.”

Bunta gave Akihiko a large grin. “Then allow me to be your guide.”

#haikyuu #hq #fanfic #akaashi keiji #bokuto koutarou #bokuaka #coffeeshops #i wanna go to a coffeeshop #frankly i made akaashi go to a coffeeshop because i wanna go to a coffeeshop #frankly frankly i made akaashi and bokuto meet at a coffeeshop because how cool would it be to meet your soulmate at a coffeeshop #we love the secret pleasures of the mundane

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mandyjane-lifedesign · 6 months

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Some Expert Facts About Gluten-Free Grains for a Healthy Diet

Gluten is a protein in grains like wheat, barley, and rye. It is essential to help knead the dough, provide elasticity, and allow it to rise when baking bread. Most commonly consumed grains contain gluten, and most people eat this protein all their lives without any problems. However, some people may develop gluten sensitivity due to certain diseases. For them, it is best to consume gluten-free grains to avoid reactions like bloating, diarrhea, and stomach cramps. Also, regular gluten consumption may be harmful to health for everyone in the long run. In this article, we have listed some gluten-free grain options if you want grains with low gluten content or gluten-free grains. What are the Harmful Effects of Consuming Gluten Regularly? - Foods Containing Gluten – All commonly consumed grains like wheat, barley, and rye contain high quantities of gluten. Although whole wheat is considered healthy, it has been genetically modified to increase gluten, increase bread or roti calories, and reduce nutrition. It has helped mass-produce wheat and bread products, but in turn, it has made whole wheat a harmful, high-gluten food. Other foods that contain gluten are – - Bulgar - Wheat Grass - Couscous - Sausages - Graham flour - Ice Cream - Spelt - Roasted Nuts - Wheat - French Fries - Wheat germ - Barley - Rye - Health Complications and Diseases Due to Gluten – Gluten has various harmful effects on the human body. Our bodies produce an enzyme known as protease to digest proteins like gluten. However, consuming gluten in high quantities may remain undigested in your intestine for a long time. This build-up of undigested gluten may trigger an autoimmune response, making your body sensitive to gluten. Such a reaction is known as the celiac disease. Celiac disease may permanently damage the small intestine if untreated. Those who do not have gluten sensitivity may also experience discomfort due to regular gluten consumption. Problems like bloating, diarrhea, headaches, or skin rashes are common among those who eat packaged foods daily. - Who Should Avoid Gluten – Experts advise that everyone should limit their consumption of gluten-rich foods. However, those with health problems like celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, wheat allergy, or gluten ataxia should be particularly careful about the grains they eat. Choose From the Following Gluten-Free Grains - Oats – Oats are a popular alternative to gluten-rich grains. The ease of cooking oats is making them a household staple worldwide. - Nutritional Content: Oats are rich in easy-to-digest proteins and healthy fats and contain less starch than other grains. It is also high in fiber, magnesium, zinc, selenium, and Vitamin B1. The beta-glucan in oats helps reduce blood sugar and improve insulin levels. - Health Benefits: Consuming oats or oat bran for some time helps reduce LDL cholesterol and total plasma cholesterol in the human body. Oats are a good choice of grain for those with celiac disease or gluten intolerance. - Usage: Enjoy a comforting bowl of oatmeal, or add oats to pancakes, granola bars, or parfaits for a healthy diet. - Buckwheat – Buckwheat or kuttu ka atta is a nutritious option for gluten-free grains. - Nutritional Content: Eating one cup of buckwheat grains can give you 5 grams of fiber, 6 grams of protein, plenty of antioxidants, and other nutrients like magnesium, copper, and manganese. - Health Benefits: Usually, those who have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar are advised to include buckwheat flour in their daily diet. Buckwheat helps reduce LDL cholesterol in the bloodstream and has anticancer and anti-inflammatory properties. - Usage: Use buckwheat flour to make delicious pancakes, soba noodles, or fried treats. - Millets – A humble but healthy option for people of all ages. Some of the most popular millets include jowar, bajra, and ragi. - Nutritional Content: Millets are full of anti-toxins and valuable nutrients. They are rich in niacin, essential for skin health, vitamin A, and good carbohydrates. - Health Benefits: Millets are ideal for age-onset degenerative diseases. It helps reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, protects from diabetes, and lowers cancer risk. Millets are non-acid forming and, therefore, much easier to digest for everyone. - Usage: Bajra roti is a staple in many parts of India. You can also use millet to make fermented foods such as idli, dosa, dhokla, and uthappam. It can also be eaten as porridge with a healthy sweetener. - Amaranth – Amaranth has a long history of being a staple grain for many large civilizations worldwide. - Nutritional Content: Eating amaranth in one meal per day can supply your body with several essential nutrients like iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and manganese. It is also rich in protein and good cholesterol. - Health Benefits: Research has shown amaranth contains compounds that prevent inflammation by blocking the neural pathways that trigger allergic reactions. As a fiber-rich food, amaranth is recommended to improve gut health and treat gluten intolerance. - Usage: Use popped amaranth as a component in ladoos, chikkis, and sweetmeats. You can also use it to bake breads, cakes, and cookies. - Gluten-Free Pulses – Pulses or legumes like chickpeas, black beans, pinto beans, and kidney beans are great substitutes for gluten-rich grains in your daily diet. - Nutritional Content: Pulses are rich in proteins, essential vitamins including A and B, and several minerals. - Health Benefits: Pulses are easy to digest and supply your body with essential proteins without harming your digestive system. - Usage: Legumes and pulses should always be eaten soaked, sprouted, or pressure-cooked. Be mindful to break down the phytic acid in the pulses before consuming. - Quinoa – Quinoa is increasingly gaining popularity as a gluten-free grain option among the modern population. - Nutritional Content – Quinoa has many antioxidants, proteins, and amino acids. It also contains minerals like manganese, magnesium, and phosphorus. - Health Benefits – Quinoa gained most of its popularity due to its help in weight maintenance. However, it is also effective for those with metabolic, cardiovascular, and gastrointestinal diseases. - Usage – Quinoa is an excellent substitute for rice in dishes like pilaf, risotto, and paella. Add some quinoa to give your salads more substance and protein. Following a gluten-free diet can be challenging, primarily if you have grown up eating wheat, barley, or other common grains. However, gluten-free grains are an essential switchover for those with celiac disease. They can help reduce their digestive discomfort, improve nutrition in their daily diet and help them eat a wholesome meal. If you wish to try a gluten-free diet, consult your dietician about a diet plan. Include grains like bajra, jowar, quinoa, and oats in your daily meals to reduce gluten consumption. Following a gluten-free diet plan can help regulate your blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol. You can not only avoid lifestyle diseases like diabetes and hypertension but also prevent the development of cancer and age-onset degenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's in the long run. Photo by Wesual Click on Unsplash Read the full article

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thefallenbibliophilequote · 3 years

Text

Shake It Off

Loki x Reader

1989, chapter 6

"She danced to forget him"

Summary: It's hard to find the one, but even if you do find him it's always going to be a daily struggle to make it work. Can you even make it work after he broke your heart? The answer to that is complicated, but it all started when you found each other again in the Stark Tower- and that's where our story begins.

Word count: 2,404

Warnings: as always language, Hydra, angst, mentions of and alludes to sex.

A/N: I really hope this series won't flop because I wrote all of the chapters before I started posting, and like I put so much of myself in this series- I just really hope it'll go well. This chapter is shorter because but it is much needed. I didn't post last week bc of the writers content freeze week, so here it is.

A/N2: the dividers were made by the awesome @chrissquares and @nacho-bucky beta read all of it!

No one is allowed to repost my writing or steal or copy my work! Reblog on tumblr is fine.

Series masterlist

Song on Spotify and YouTube

Steve's arms were around you as your tears stained his shirt, it must have been midnight by now. You came to his doorstep a little after Loki left you again. You knew what you were in for the second you agreed to the temporary bliss that he gave you, but you didn't expect all these old emotions to come back when he would leave you.

"I thought I'll be able to handle it. I thought it'll be worth the rush."

"It's alright darling, I know." You didn't see the angry frown between his eyebrows or his clenched jaw. He couldn't let the anger on the god get the best of him right now, you needed him more now- you needed comfort in a friend. After everything that happened, you knew you would always find safety in his embrace.

"Steve, did you know what he is?" you murmured into his neck a little while later.

"What do you mean?" pulling back he took a good look at your face, and you knew he could see every tear stain on your face and you wished you could hide yourself from him.

"That he is…" you didn't quite know how to describe it, your mind a bit fuzzy. "Blue."

"Oh, yeah we knew that."

"Wait, everyone knew that?" he started to rub your arm, the soft touch made your skin prickling from the cold with goose bumps spreading all over.

"There are a lot of things about him that you don't know Y/N, I really was just trying to protect you from him and from this pain." You nodded at him.

"I wish I'd listened to you sooner. I can't believe I didn't know anything, what else is there?"

You saw his mouth gape but no words came out.

"It's a lot, I'll tell you some other time." By the look on his face you knew you won't be getting any answers now. Nodding, you put your head back down.

"Can I stay here tonight?" you sniffled and thanked him for the tissues he gave you with a smile. You couldn't hear the answer he gave you between blowing your nose. "Can you repeat that please?"

He laughed at you but answered regardless, you were too adorable to deny.

"Of course, kid."

•

The loud beat made it hard for you to hear Natasha who was standing right next to you. It's been a couple of weeks now, and the noisy distraction of the club worked perfectly to take your mind off of anything else.

"What did you say?" you covered the top of the glass in your hand with your other hand, leaning forward to Nat.

"I said maybe we should get out of here, it's already pretty late and Wanda is drunk and you know what happens when she is drunk-"

"Things start to float and gravity is non-existent, yeah I know." You looked around the club, your eyes catching that of a dark eyed handsome man. "The two of you can go; I can take care of myself."

When you saw the two of them walk outside you went towards the beautiful gentleman.

Waking up to the sunshine you looked back at the sleeping man next to you, happy to find him still asleep you groaned at the headache when you got up. You collected your clothes from the floor, panicking for a second when he started to wake up but you quickly put him under, and you were out of the door soon after.

They never stayed, but neither did you. You heard the things people started saying about you in the Tower when they saw you coming back in the morning mostly alongside a sweaty Bucky who was back from a run and a worried Steve who tried to stay silent about how you were dealing with everything that happened.

They didn't like the amount of guys you hooked up with and left a day or so later. To you it was a nice pace but you knew the high of the alcohol and sex wouldn't last long, you needed something different. Plus, it wasn't your fault that they weren't interesting enough.

"Agent Y/N?" you heard the voice behind you coming into the room you sat in with Sam, planning the next stakeout.

"Yes? Oh hi Mike, what have you got for us?" the guy smiled at you and nodded towards the falcon.

"I have the schematics of the whole area that Agent Romanoff asked me to bring you." He handed you the folded papers and when your fingers lightly brushed his it was as if a light bulb lit up in your head.

Sitting back down you leaned forward with a smile.

"So, you said Natasha sent you to bring me these papers?" he nodded at you and you handed the papers to Sam. "Well that's very nice of you and I actually wanted to speak to you so it's a nice coincidence. Would you like to go out to dinner sometimes?"

Sam choked on his drink and made a lazy excuse to get out of the room.

"Really, you want to go out with me?" You couldn't help but actually find him cute when he wasn't as shy now as usual.

"Yeah, I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to." He flashed you a smile at that, and that's how it all started.

•

It was a month later when you walked with Mike down a park with ice cream cones in your hands. He intertwined your free hands together.

Looking at him now, it was simple to see that he is sensible and incredibly nice too, you knew he is everything a girl could dream of getting.

The two of you were close now to the Tower and the charming guy that he is he opened up the door for you to walk in first. When you were inside you kissed him goodbye as he headed back to his department from his break that he spent with you.

You turned around, only to notice Steve leaning back against the wall of the elevator, waiting for it. You cleared your throat when you got closer, not looking forward to have a talk with Steve that surely will come.

It started the moment the elevator doors closed behind the two of you.

"So, you've been dating this guy for about a month now, right?" he started casually and you only nodded.

"Mike seems like a really good guy actually, I know you didn't want to talk with me about him especially after-"

"After what?" you scoffed. "After Loki left? I have Mike now, and he is much better than him."

"Well it's good to hear you're happy now. He reminds me of the guys back in my time."

"Old?"

"Gentlemen."

"Well he is, it's only been a month but I couldn't have asked for anything better."

"According to Tony, he is an excellent employee too." The smirk on his face didn't go unnoticed.

"You did a background check on him? You can't just do that!"

"Stark and I just wanted to see some stuff. Plus, he is Tony's employee so he can do background checks anytime he likes."

"You guys are horrible." You grumbled and attempted to punch Steve's shoulder but it ended up hurting your fist. You huffed in frustration when he laughed at you.

•

Another month went by and you found yourself keeping busy whether it was with training, or missions or going out with Mike and your friends. This week though was blank of anything to do. Steve banned you from the gym, saying that you're working out too much, which caused the stubborn father and daughter to spar with the loser doing whatever the winner wanted them to do. Bucky looked exasperated at the two of you from the sides, and you heard a Thank God being murmured when Steve finally pinned you to the ground and won.

In your room you decided to clean it up a bit. By cleaning you really mean redesigning your whole room while making a total mess and reminiscing on old stuff. Going through your dresser you found some old jewelry boxes, opening one you saw old stuff you used to wear and sorting through them would probably be for the best.

That's when there was a knock at your door, turning around you saw Mike standing there.

"Oh hi, what are you doing here?"

"Captain Rogers let me up, I just wanted to see you and ask if you wanted to maybe come to my apartment after work?"

"Sorry about the mess, I'm in the middle of cleaning." You left the box jumped over piles of things to reach him and give him a soft kiss. "Yeah sure that sounds great."

"I know we said that we would take this slow, but I was kind of hoping we could take this to the next level." A boyish grin spread on his face and you felt gentle kisses as he nestled his face in your throat. "What do you say?"

"Yes. I'd love that." You kissed him back then until he had to go back to work.

Quickly, you closed all the boxes and put them back in their place, forgetting all about reorganizing. Now you have a more exciting thing to do.

•

You woke up the next day to a soft snoring behind you, and an arm wrapped around your waist. The sun was barely out yet, leaving the room with a small glow of orange and red.

You saw your dress on the floor of his room and felt the soft sheets covering you, shivering you pulled them closer and tried to close your eyes to get a little bit more rest.

"Are you sure, darling?" Loki had asked you then when the two of you were barely dressed and breathing heavily between kisses.

"I'm more than sure, Loki I want you." He stopped kissing your neck and pulled back which made you whine and pull at his shoulders.

"Do you think you can handle a god, my love?" you wished you could wipe out the smirk on his face, which is what you did when you pulled yourself up to claim his lips with yours.

"I've handled you this far, so for the love of the gods just fuck me, please." You whimpered at the end of the sentence when you felt his hands start to roam your skin.

"As you wish, my dear." Loki will forever give you anything you ask for.

You woke up with the sunshine painting the room golden as you backed up against the warm chest behind you. You've never felt this warm before, with the man who took over your heart and soul and the love marks he left on you- claiming you. You could still feel the bliss from last night engulfing you with him in this room.

"Did you sleep well?" you turned to the dark haired prince who held a smile that matched yours. Sleep still hang between his eyes.

"Perfect." He pulled you in and suddenly you weren't tired anymore.

The man next to you was still asleep when he changed his position, turning to his other side. You sank deeper into the bed, letting the memories drown you until sleep took over.

•

Yet another month flew by and you could barely remember any of it. Yes there were some successful missions against Hydra, and there were some less successful ones too. In between you went on more dates with Mike and he definitely helped you.

"So I planted a virus in his computer that changed all of his autocorrect!" you burst out laughing at the end of his story.

"And you did all of that because he stole your girl?" he nodded and you laughed harder. "No one can steal a girl, a girl leaves if she wants to. If she left you for someone else then she didn't deserve you."

Your hand was on his thigh and he put his over it with a small chuckle.

"Maybe, but I am certainly not going to let you go." He kissed your knuckles. "I've liked you for a long time you know, and not just as a colleague."

"So I've been told."

"Oh?"

"Natasha told me a little while ago, sometime before we got together. I must say I didn't notice until she said that."

"Well I am offended, oh you hurt me deeply Y/N." you pushed him away from you but brought him back for a quick peck on his cheek."

"Do you forgive me now?" he pondered about it.

"I think I might need a little more."

"I'm sure we can arrange that." Leaning in again, the phone began to ring and he leaned his forehead against yours.

"That's work."

"Always comes in the way."

"Speaks the girl who goes to week long missions!" he stood and went back a few steps.

"You chose to date that girl from your free will!"

•

You've been together for almost half a year now… shy two or three months. You couldn't help thinking how this is probably the guy that you needed, someone steady who took good care of you and made you feel cared for. He never was late, and always so attentive listening to every word you said. How can you need anything more? That was a question that pestered your brain, trying to find reason in your numb heart.

You always smiled around him, and Steve obviously approved judging from the amount of time he let him go into the Avengers quarters. You knew you were attracted to him. It was hard not to be. And yet, it wasn't just there yet- it wasn't like it was with him. It must be a good thing though.

•

"Is this all you got?"

"Sir, you have to understand- we didn't have much time to get all that we needed, we still don't know a lot." Doctor Zazu sighed at the small bunch of paper in front of him.

"Very well, for now we will work on the safe room- you better take care of it. I have enough work working on the formula for the asset." The agents nodded and the doctor turned around to look at the chair, the similarities were uncanny but he improved it, now he is sure this will work- there is no other option.

•

Tags: @ayybtch @buckys-other-punk @chaoticpete @madcrazy50 @mishkatelwarriorgoddess @the-departed-potato @rogerrhqpsody @onceupona-happilyeverafter-love @percabethismyotp14

#loki x reader #my writing #1989 #shake it off #1989 taylor's version #1989 loki's version #loki #loki odinson x reader #loki odinson #loki imagines #fanfiction #loki fanfic #loki series #loki laufeyson #loki show

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shwazzberryswriting · 3 years

Text

Twisted, Act 3

*Day 25*

Haechan😘🙄☺️: gd morning babe hdyf need me 2 go 2 target

Lawan: Babe I got big news

Haechan😘🙄☺️: ?

Lawan: I have to buy new bedsheets CUZ MY PERIOD CAME LAST NIGHT my sheets are ruined I spent the last 20 min scrubbing my mattress

Haechan😘🙄☺️: alot of tmi babe but does this mean i can take u out for shots wanna smoke a celebratory blunt

Lawan: 🙄 its not even 9AM yet babe

Haechan😘🙄☺️: where r u getting bedsheets

Lawan: you were saying something about Target?

Haechan😘🙄☺️: want me to come get u we can go to 119

ill help u finish cleaning

ill make u lunch

Lawan: see u in 20?

Haechan😘🙄☺️: 15

Lawan: 😘

Lawan watched Haechan in the driver’s seat of her car, his blue hoodie covering his messy brown hair. He looked at home singing along to the music as he adjusted the volume to the sound system. His confidence in parallel parking made her grateful that he offered to drive them as they were out running errands.

She needed a bit of a break. She’d woken up early to find herself looking like she was in a horror movie, her pajama shorts and blue bedsheets were ruined with large red period stains. Currently, her room stunk of all purpose cleaner and antibacterial spray. She had been nearly done with cleaning her mattress when Haechan had texted her.

“So you’re not pregnant but your bedsheets are ruined,” Haechan said, turning the car off.

“I’d rather have a crappy morning cleaning my mattress than have a baby in like, 8 months or something.”

They shuddered together before exiting the car. 119 was a tea shop that opened early on the weekends. Haechan enjoyed going to 119 for the free upgrades. A couple of his NCT frat brothers worked there, and that morning Mark was working. It was easy to talk him into giving them discounts.

“Are you going to get a milk tea or fruit slush?” he asked her as they stood in line. She rested her hands over his arms wrapped around her waist from behind. “Coffee milk tea or strawberry milk slush?”

“So you’ve been keeping track of my orders?” she said, trying to keep her eyes open as Haechan kissed her cheek.

“We spend so much time together babe, I just know what you like,” he said, resting his head against hers. “What will I order?”

“Coffee milk tea or white grape slush,” she replied. His hold on her tightened for a second.

“I think you like me more.” His voice had made her nipples hard, which caused her cheeks to grow hot.

“Haechan?” a familiar voice said from behind. Loosening his hold, Haechan turned his head over. Lawan followed, and felt her whole face turn hot. Renjun, another NCT frat brother, was arm in arm with his girlfriend, Alexandria. “Hey, Lawan.”

“I knew it,” Alexandria said with a wide grin, shaking Renjun’s arm. “Renjun, didn’t I tell you last night that I thought they were, like, hooking up?”

“You were gossiping about us?” Haechan asked. Lawan wanted him to release her. It was hitting her that she and Haechan were legitimately dating. As in, their friends would know that they’d been doing more than just watching movies in each other’s rooms. He held her firmly against him as her nerves made her feel like her knees would give way. “But yeah, I guess you can say it’s official.”

“How did you two go from bickering about homework to...this?” Alexandria asked. Her eyes were shining bright as the corners of her eyes crinkled up and her mouth widened into a big smile.

“We’ve been getting along better,” Haechan replied, giving a shrug.

“Why? Because you were hookups first?” Renjun asked. He broke out into an innocent smile as Haechan let go of Lawan, his eyes narrowing.

“Hey! What’s up, guys?” their cashier, Mark, greeted them, relieving the tension in the air. “Yo, dude, my manager stepped out for the day. Johnny came in here and piled on the free shit. You want a cookie with your order?”

“We’ll just get our drinks,” Renjun said stoically, but began stuffing a few individually wrapped cookies into his leather bag.

“Don’t mind Renjun,” Alexandria said to Lawan, resting her body against the counter. “I’m happy to see you two together, but I do want to know how this all happened.”

“Haechan bought me a pineapple daiquiri,” Lawan replied before trying to rub her tongue up against the roof of her mouth. It felt like rubbing a sponge up against a brick wall, her mouth parched. “He’s helped me a lot lately.”

Haechan handed her a sugar cookie decorated to look like a pineapple with royal icing, distracting her and Alexandria. Despite Alexandria smiling at the gesture, Lawan didn’t know how to feel. She wanted to find the gesture sweet, but she worried that Haechan was only doing so to look good in front of their friends. The idea sounded absurd, but she couldn’t stop herself from worrying that Haechan was only putting on a show.

“Um, dude, I think that’s overdoing it,” Mark said, reaching over to stop Renjun from grabbing all the treats placed on display.

“So you like Johnny more than you like us?” Haechan asked.

“What if I told you I could double the boba in your drinks?” Mark replied.

“Not Dria’s, please,” Renjun said. Haechan seized the opportunity to tease Renjun for being so caring about his girlfriend’s drinks preferences.

As Haechan and Renjun heckled Mark, Lawan thought about what she and Haechan would say to their friends about how they became a couple. They hadn’t exactly lied, but Renjun’s joke had Lawan sweating for a second, thinking that he knew their whole history.

She was able to feign a smile and banter with their friends about why they were up so early. Renjun and Alexandria were trying to beat the large crowds at a new art museum that was featuring a collection of works done by Frank Stella in the 1970s through to the 1980s. By the way Haechan nodded passively to Renjun’s excited ramble, Lawan felt relieved to know that she wasn’t the only one who didn’t know who Frank Stella was.

Alexandria invited them to join, and take advantage of their student discounts. The first weekend of the month meant the tickets were discounted by another 5% on top of the 10% student discount. After thanking Mark for the free upgrades and cookies, Haechan and Lawan declined to join. She spent the rest of her day with Haechan, but she still struggled to let go of her worries.

*Day 30*

The lunch rush had been busy and frantic, but she’d gotten a lot of large tips. There was a tech fair near the university campus, so the out-of-town visitors gave generous tips. Since she’d worked 3 days in a row, Lawan had her entire weekend off. It didn’t mean much since she was stacked with homework.

“Lawan, can you check the front locks before leaving?” Ruby asked from the back office in the kitchen. They were the last people in the restaurant, the pair to clean up and set up for the dinner shift.

“All right,” she called out as she put the strap to her purse over her shoulder. Ruby and Lawan had done the lunch rush so often, they’d come to clean up in less than 30 minutes with their routine. “See you later, Ruby!”

“Bye.”

Her eyes were shut as she sighed when she exited the kitchen to check the front door’s lock. She was going down her list of errands before heading home. HMart for rice and produce, bank to withdraw money she owed her roommates, and then home for dinner and homework. She needed to take some aspirin for her headache and sore feet.

When she opened her eyes, the last thing she wanted to see was staring her in the face. She stopped in her steps as she stood beside the back end of the restaurant’s bar. Seated at the second to last chair nearest to her was Haechan, two pineapple daiquiris in front of him. Her face turned hot as his gaze was steady, his expression did not change as he turned his body toward her direction.

“Are you trying to ghost me?” Haechan asked.

She pressed her lips together and looked down at the daiquiris. Of course, Ruby wouldn’t warn her about Haechan paying her a visit. They hadn’t talked about Haechan when Lawan said she didn’t want to, but the fact that Ruby brought up Haechan at all was telling enough that Ruby liked Haechan and Lawan dating.

Seeing him in the flesh made the guilt she’d tried ignoring come rushing forth, making her whole face hot. Pulling out the metal chair before her, she sat down beside him, and set her purse down onto the bar counter. After the day she got her period, Lawan had gotten cold feet and ignored Haechan’s texts, telling herself her schoolwork was more important.

“I need time to think,” she replied, her eyes fixed on the daiquiri sitting closest to her. The maraschino cherry was slowly sinking into the deflating whipped cream.

“You could have texted me that,” he replied, his tone remaining level. “I would have understood.”

“Right, because you’re the perfect boyfriend,” she said with a scoff. Guilt clouded her vision immediately and she shut her eyes before looking up into Haechan’s face.

“I don’t have to chase you, Lawan,” he replied, his expression unmoved. “If you don’t want to date me, that’s fine. Just don’t be an asshole about rejecting me.”

“Haechan,” she said, feeling her throat tighten. She blinked away the tears that threatened to come. “I’m sorry. I like you, I’m just...feeling insecure. You deserve better.”

“What’s up?” he asked, turning his body toward her, touching his knee to hers. His eyebrows furrowed slightly.

“That morning we ran into Alexandria and Renjun, I just,” she paused as she looked away. She felt ashamed to think about the judgment her mom received for being a young mother. The world felt more modern than old patriarchal standards of her grandparents’ age (hell, even her mom’s), but the threat of potentially being knocked up while in college scared the shit out of Lawan. “I don’t want people to think you and I were stupid that day we hooked up. It all came from such a cynical place.”

“You think our relationship is cynical?” he asked, his eyebrows raised. He grabbed one of the daiquiris and took a drink from the red straw.

“You really wanted to date me after we hooked up?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. “Like, you really think we would have begun dating had the condom not broken?”

“I don’t know,” he said with a shrug. “Life didn’t work out that way. Maybe I was feeling horny and you were too, and that was supposed to be it between us, but like, come on. I know my concerns for you weren’t cynical, especially last week. Is that how you see our relationship? You only dated me because you don’t want people to judge you for being a horny idiot? Condoms break all the time.”

“Haechan,” she said with a laugh, furrowing her eyebrows as she sat up straight. She looked around despite knowing that they were alone. Reaching out to touch his wrist, she apologized as she saw him frown, his jaws tightening. “I like you. I like you so much. Every night I’ve been going to bed, crying, thinking about you, knowing I can’t just stop talking to you. I haven’t been fair to you, I’m sorry. It’s not you that is the problem, it’s me remembering how tough it was to grow up seeing my mom struggle a lot. All that hard work she put into raising me, and I could have been in a similar situation.”

“I would never walk out on you,” Haechan said, leaning closer to her.

“It’s not about you,” she replied. “It’s about me. It’s about how scared I was. I just...I needed time to sort through my feelings. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I didn’t want to worry you.”

“So you shut me out?”

“I’m sorry,” she said, standing up. He had a point. It was a shitty move not to consider his feelings. “I really am. I’ll need to communicate with you more. I want you to be my boyfriend, Haechan. I want to be your girlfriend. Will you forgive me?”

He sighed and shut his eyes. A few tears rolled down his cheeks and it was her turn to sigh. Whenever he scrunched his eyes shut and opened his mouth into a wide grimace she knew they were crocodile tears. Instead of calling him out, she kissed his tears away and combed her fingers through his hair. She planted two kisses onto each of his beauty marks, one near his eye and the other on his cheek.

“I’m so sorry, babe,” she said softly, pulling him into a hug. She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

His arms wrapped around her waist and he lifted his head to plant a kiss onto her neck.

“Let’s go home,” he said, standing up with her. He draped his arm over her shoulder.

As they began on their walk to the NCT frat house, Lawan pressed herself closer to Haechan. His body was warm, and his hold was comforting.

“Are you always this forgiving?” she asked. She’d expected him to do a little more guilt tripping. Perhaps go on a scripted monologue about how she iced him out with her cold heart.

“No,” he replied, looking down at her for a second, “but I did make a promise to you at Costco, do you remember?”

“You did?”

“If I was your boyfriend,” he said plainly, “I’d never let you go.” They were just a few steps away from the driveway to the frat house.

“Don’t finish that,” she said. They’d stopped walking. Despite herself, a smile was growing on her lips, hurting her cheeks. “You’re my boyfriend. You don’t need to-”

“Keep you on my arm, girl-”

“Stop. I don’t like this Bieber song.”

“You'd never be alone.”

“Donghyuck, I mean it.”

“And I can be a gentleman, anything you want.”

“Haechan.”

“If I was your boyfr-”

She shut him up by grabbing his face and kissing him.

---

Thank you for reading! 💚

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anotherninjagoblog · 3 years

Text

LoveSick

Ehhhhh the title is iffy. :P

BUT

This fic has been in my drafts for a while, and I’m actually really proud of how it turned out! I really took my time, and I hope y’all like it just as much as I do <3. Special thanks to ellieloves2read, fizzysugarwater, and miraculous-ninjabird who commented their headcanons on my last post! It really helped me out with the last couple passages :)

Summary: Being sick and having new relationship anxiety towards your best-friend turned boyfriend sucks. (Bruiseshipping/Geodeshipping)

//////////

“You sure you don’t want us to give you a ride home?”

“Yeah,” he paused, pulling the scarf over his mouth and nose, suddenly getting the urge to sneeze again.

A second later and the feeling went away.

“Cole is going to drive me.” Jay said, finishing his sentence.

He pulled his scarf down again, his breath coming out in a small fog. It was a cold Friday night, and he and Nya had gone with Lloyd to watch the football game. Not only to support Nya’s brother Kai, but Jay’s boyfriend Cole.

Jay’s heart thumped in his chest. Boyfriend was such a nice word.

The game had ended ten minutes ago with Ninjago High securing a victory that night. With the football team yet to come out of the stadium’s locker room, and Lloyd having already being picked up by his father, it left Jay and Nya shivering as they stood over by the gate directly across from where Cole and Kai would exit. Everyone else was already leaving, undoubtedly to rush to their cars and blast their heaters on the way to their nice warm houses.

Nya gave him a skeptical look, narrowing her eyes. “Dude, come on, you look way worse than when you showed up.”

Well, she’s not wrong, Jay thought to himself.

He should have known he was going to end up sick. That foreboding feeling had been following him for a couple days now, the runny nose, the beginnings of a sore, scratchy throat.

Before he had left for school that day, he ended up taking cold syrup as a precaution. But now that he was standing there, sniffling and sneezing, he realized he should have taken more, or at least taken it with him. And to tell the truth, he was absolutely suffering. He hated everything having to do with being sick since forever.

Nya, who had steadily watched his condition worsen and the night become colder, had continually offered him the choice to leave together. But, the thought of not being there to support Cole when he could just suck it up (a little while longer, he repeated as an internal mantra) ate at him just a tiny bit more.

“It’s uh, not as bad as it looks?” He croaked, giving a weak smile. The pain in his throat seemed to resonate with every word he spoke. Jay fought the need to pull at his scarf again.

Nya rolled her eyes. She was not convinced.

“Nya! Jay!”

The duo turned around to the sound of Cole’s voice to see him and Kai jogging over to where they were standing.

Jay felt warm at the call. Smiling, he gave a wave as they got closer.

Kai jogged a bit faster, hooking his arms around Jay and Nya. Despite how cold it had gotten, Kai only seemed to radiate heat through his sweatshirt. “Did you see me out there? Other team didn’t know what hit em’.” He paused, looking around. “Greenie leave already?”

“Yeah,” Jay answered. “You guys-” Something in his chest tightened, and Jay immediately pulled away from Kai as he suddenly broke out into a coughing fit.

“-did great.” He finished, his voice coming out raspy. When he turned back around, Kai and Nya had taken their distance from his mini germ explosion, while Cole only kept moving towards him.

Before he could utter a hello, Cole placed a hand on his forehead, before repeatedly replacing it on his cheek and forehead once again.

He held Jay’s face in between his hands, a concerned look gracing his features.

“You’re running a fever.”

...So it wasn’t just the blushing from their reunion.

Ignoring the discomfort bubbling inside from the symptoms of his cold, Jay stepped back.

“I um, might be coming down with something.” He answered, pulling the edge of the scarf over his mouth.

“You literally sounded as if you were about to hack up a lung!” Interjected Kai, who was still, rightfully so, keeping his difference.

Nya left her spot next to her brother and walked up beside Cole. “I tried telling him. Even Lloyd offered. But you know, he was really compelled by the power of looooove,” she drawled.

Jay was about to make some sort of retort when Cole offered him his hand.

“Let’s get you home, okay?” He said gently.

Jay nodded. Now he was really about to melt.

They bid their goodbyes until Monday to Kai and Nya before they walked off in separate directions to their cars. The walk to Cole’s truck felt much longer than it was, and Jay kind of felt like he was beginning to space out, Cole’s hand and the sound of their footsteps on the pavement serving as his only tether.

They were about to approach his truck when another car had pulled up next to them. It was a couple of other guys from the football team Jay could just barely make out in the dark.

“Yo Cole! We’re going out to eat to celebrate - you coming?”

“Nah man, go without me!” Cole said, waving them off. The truck just steps away, Cole shifted his heavy bag onto one shoulder, before pulling the keys out of his pocket. The doors unlocked with a small click and a flash of the headlights. “Come on Bluebell.” he said, letting go of Jay’s hand.

Jay climbed into the passenger side without another word, closing the door and automatically putting on his seatbelt.

Cole climbed in right after, shoving his bag into the backseat before he shut the door behind him. He rubbed his hands together and turned on the truck, cranking up the heater full blast.

“Check in there will you?” Cole asked, pointing at the glovebox. “Or, I might have some cough drops around...somewhere....” he said, his voice trailing off as he opened the middle compartment between the seats.

Jay opened up the glovebox but could not find the cough drops. Cole had noticed.

“No? Okay, we’ll just get you some.” Cole said, before buckling his seatbelt.

“It’s worse than I thought. You’re completely quiet.” He looked over his shoulder, backing out of the parking space.

As they drove out of the lot, Jay finally spoke up.

“You should have gone with them. Don’t want to keep you from all the fun.”

Cole frowned, his eyes still focused on the road. “Jay. It’s not a problem. I promise you.”

“Okay.” Jay leaned back into the seat, watching the lights pass by outside his window. He felt so warm, so safe, and so tired, that maybe he could fall asleep...just for...a li...a little while.

He awoke to a gentle shake of the shoulder.

“Jay. Babe.”

Jay blinked slowly. Upon realizing he was not home in bed, and instead, still in Cole’s truck, he sat up, startled.

“W-what? ...What happened?” He mumbled quickly. “Why did we stop?”

“Hey, hey, it’s okay.” Cole replied, leaning over, placing a hand on his cheek. Jay looked out the front window, the red neon lights of the pharmacy practically burning into his post-sleep vision. He turned back to look at Cole.

“I’m going to run inside, get you a couple things.” He turned around quickly, pulling the keys out of the ignition. “Hold onto these.”

Jay sat up as Cole shoved the keys into his hand. “Lock the door. I’ll be back.”

And in a split moment, he was already out the truck, Jay watching as he quickly made his way over to the entrance. As Cole disappeared inside, Jay pressed the door lock, before leaning into the seat again. He could feel a headache coming on.

Ugh, as if the sore throat wasn’t bad enough.

Maybe he should have gone home earlier.

Especially since his germs were bound to have spread all over the interior of Cole’s truck.

And now he was in there, spending money on him.

Jay shifted in his seat, the cold slowly beginning to seep in from outside.

Maybe this was a mistake.

But it didn’t feel like a mistake. His feelings were real, unapologetic in the way only one look at Cole made his heart flutter. And, maybe he imagined it, but he swore - he swore that he could see the love he felt in his heart in Cole’s eyes.

Jay absolutely loved that they were together. But, what if he was too whiny? Too self-conscious? What if everything he did secretly annoyed Cole? To the point where he would break up with him and stop being friends with him?

Jay tugged at his sleeve. They knew how to be friends, but this whole boyfriend thing is another level.

What if...

A sharp knock on the door abruptly cut him out of his thoughts, and effectively startled Jay in his seat.

He turned his head to look out the drivers’ side window to see Cole waiting, his hand on the door handle.

Taking a breath to settle the soul that had nearly leapt from his body, Jay then picked up the keys from their place on his lap, and pressed the button.

Cole opened the door and climbed in, the loud rustling of a plastic bag filling in the silence. He shut the door behind him, and smiled at Jay, raising the bag up beside his face.

“Let me turn on the heater again, it’s getting cold in here.” Jay handed Cole the keys, and he waited for the heat to blast in through the vents before turning in his seat to face Jay.

“For you.”

Jay gingerly received the bag from him, and peered in to view the contents. Cole reached up over his head, turning on the cabin light.

It was a bag full of goodies to any sick person if he ever saw one. Pulling it closer and setting it on his lap for proper inspection, he began to rummage through it.

At the top of the bag were tissues, and to his delight, there was a box of the special ones - the ones that didn’t make your nose red every time you had to blow - as well as many pocket-sized packs. As if that wasn’t great already, there were two medium sized bags of cough drops - mint and cherry. A bottle of cold medicine, and just peeking underneath-

“No way.” Jay said aloud in amused disbelief.

“For your throat.” Cole replied, smiling.

Jay pulled out the small pint of ice cream.

Birthday cake was his favorite.

He looked at it a moment longer before tears suddenly began to well up in his eyes.

“Jay?”

There it was again. The concern, the care in his voice-

Jay began to cry. He gently set the pint in the bag before using his sweater sleeve to wipe his eyes.

Cole leaned over, placing a hand on his knee. “Jay, what’s the matter? Are you feeling worse? What hurts?”

Jay sniffled, before hastily wiping at his eyes again.

He looked at Cole, giving him the best smile he could. “You’re so...amazing.”

Cole returned a small smile, brushing aside a stray tear on Jay’s face.

But the concern was still there. Jay could tell.

“Ready?”

Jay nodded, pulled out the box of tissues, and tore it open.

At the sound of the front door opening, Edna quickly set aside the book she had been reading. “Jay! I was just about to call when - oh honey you look awful!” She walked over from her spot at the couch, going up to the both of them.

“Gee, thanks Ma.” He replied sarcastically, then winced at the sting in his throat. He needed another cough drop. Or maybe he could open up the ice cream now.

“Oh hello Cole! Thank you for bringing Jay home.”

Cole smiled. “It’s really no problem, Mrs. Walker.”

“You’re such a nice young man, you know, I was really happy when Jay told us you were dating!”

“Ma!” Jay grimaced at the pain from the sudden strain in his voice. “Um, can you put this is the freezer for me?” He dug into the bag quickly, pulling out the pint of ice cream, and held it out to his mother. “Before it melts.”

“Oh, alright.” She said, chuckling.

As soon as she turned away, Jay headed to his room, Cole trailing behind him.

He pushed open the door and turned on the lights.

Jay walked over to the dresser, setting the bag on top, before shedding his sweater and scarf and placing it in the hamper.

Cole busied himself with looking at some of the old posters on Jay’s wall while he changed into a pair of sweatpants.

“Hey.”

Cole turned around, meeting his gaze.

“So, uh, see you Monday?”

Cole paused, thinking for a moment before replying.

“Did you want to talk about it?”

“Talk about what?”

Cole set the backpack down beside the door. “What happened, back in the truck.”

Jay reached for a tissue, and crumbled it in his hand. “I don’t know - I just feel sick and it’s screwing with me, I guess.” He sniffled, and stepped closer to his bed before plopping himself down on the edge. “I think I just need to sleep it off.” He said to himself, before falling backwards onto the mattress.

The light was too bright, so Jay placed his arm over his eyes. In seconds, he heard Cole moving around. He felt the bed indent as Cole sat next to him.

“Here.”

Jay moved his arm aside, and saw Cole offering him a dose of the medicine in the small plastic cup. Cole offered his free hand, and pulled him up.

He took the medicine from him, downing it in one bitter gulp. Yuck.

They sat in silence before Cole spoke up.

“You could tell me anything before, and you can still tell me anything now. That doesn’t have to change.”

“I know.” Jay pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’s just- I don’t think I’m all that great, you know? You? You’re amazing. Everybody wants to be your friend. You always know what to say, and you seem so good at this.” Jay said, making a gesture between the both of them. “But what about me? I’m not cool, and I know I can get on people’s nerves- sometimes I talk too much, and I just end up thinking about why you’re with me. I really care about you Cole, I really do, but what if doesn’t work? I just...I don’t want to lose you, ever.”

“Jay.” Cole said. “Deep breath in.”

Jay took a breath the best he could without coughing, before releasing it slowly out his mouth. “Deep breath out.” He murmured in response.

“See? Perfect.” Jay slumped against Cole’s side, and the latter wrapped an arm around him.

“Hear me out.” Cole began, his voice a beat softer. “I know we’re still new to this. But, that doesn’t mean it won’t work.” He paused a moment. “...Love takes work. And I’m willing to put all of that into us. If you let me. But I promise. We will never lose each other. So for now...let’s just take things one step at a time.”

“Together?” Jay asked.

Cole smiled. “Together.”

Oh no, Jay thought. He was giving him that smile - the handsome one. Without thinking, he moved closer, pressing a quick kiss upon his boyfriend’s lips.

It didn’t take longer than a second for Jay to realize what he did. “Oh my gosh! I forgot! Now I-”

Cole kissed him, cutting him off.

“Hey, it’s okay. Just come take care of me too when I’m sick, alright?”

“Deal.” Jay agreed, with a dopey smile on his face and his heart still beating.

Cole pulled his phone out of his pocket, and unlocked the screen. “It’s getting late. I should probably go, let you get some rest.”

“Wait.” He said, grabbing Cole’s hand. “Stay with me until I fall asleep?”

“I probably stink.”

“Don’t care. Can’t really smell now anyways.” He retorted, with a sniffle at the end.

“Okay.” Cole said, giving in. “Let me get you a couple tissues first.”

“Feel better?” Cole whispered.

“....Yeah..” Jay responded sleepily.

The room was dark - only a small crack at the door allowed some of the light from the hallway to spill in

Cole was propped up against the headboard, both of Jay’s arms wrapped around his waist. He moved, making sure the blankets were snugly tucked around him. A touch to Jay’s forehead confirmed the fever was going down.

“You still listening?” He asked.

“..mm...yeah..”

Cole could tell he wasn’t really awake, so he went on to speak anyways.

“Sometimes I wish you saw yourself the way I do. You...everything you do makes me happy.” He said, brushing a curl behind Jay’s ear. “When you talk everyone’s ear off,” Cole chuckled, “I am more than willing to listen to every word that comes out of your mouth so long that I can see that sparkle in your eye. You’re passionate about everything you like, everything you do. I love seeing the excitement you have even for the simplest of things.”

He looked down at Jay again, who was already asleep.

“I would do anything to see you smile. I am so glad to be with you, to be your, best friend, to be your boyfriend. I want to remind you every single day.”

Cole waited a moment longer, before planting a kiss to Jay’s forehead. He grabbed a pillow, and helped position Jay in a way that would help him breathe easier throughout the night. He moved away, and his boyfriend barely stirred.

Cole got out of bed, and was about to walk into the hallway before he stopped at the doorway. Fishing his phone out of his pocket, he quickly typed out a text before gently closing the door behind him.

Jay’s phone illuminated on the bedstand.

Love you. I’ll be back later.

#lego ninjago #ninjago #nikdrabbles #bruiseshipping #cole ninjago #jay walker #ninjago fic #ninjago fanfic #ninjago fanfiction #geodeshipping #ninjago jay

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hidden-otaku-stuff · 4 years

Text

(polyship) Alpha Daichi & Suga with Pregnant Omega Reader

AN: I really like how Daichi and Suga pair together, thank you for requesting this!

Word count: 900+

⭐ Honestly I can see Alpha Daichi and Alpha Suga not leaving you alone if you got put on bed-rest

⭐ Like Daichi is a gentleman, so he’s definitely very protective but respectful!

⭐ Suga is chaotic and trusting

⭐ So overall, they’re very understanding and caring alphas

⭐ But when you became pregnant?? All things were off the table

⭐ Talk about a clingy puppy because they deadass would follow you around, do literally everything for you.

⭐ Like you were always treated like a princess before but wow this is a whole ‘nother level

⭐ once the doctor recommends bed-rest?? One of them is taking time off work to stay home with you

⭐ (And when I say time off of work, you best believe that these Alphas literally planned when they were going to knock you up so that your third trimester coincides with Suga’s summer break)

⭐ No questions, no arguments

⭐ But you don’t mind! Being pregnant with pups - you’re moody, you’re tired, everything hutrs and you have weird cravings. Overall, it’s just not a fun time!

⭐ They’re already super caring and doting Alphas, but as soon as you became pregnant, that INTENSIFIED

⭐ Daichi would drop an entire bag of self-defense weapons on your lap as soon as he finds out

⭐ Like he brought you pepper-spray, a taser, keychain alarms, a pen knife, and even those kitty keychain things

⭐ (Talk about overkill, Daichi)

⭐ Not that you would actually need any of it though - Daichi literally becomes your shadow

⭐ And if not Daichi, he has so many options

⭐As the two main Alphas of the Karasuno pack, your house is already the pack-house

⭐ Meaning? They have their pack-mates stopping by 24/7

⭐ (Though certain members are banned from visiting you without Daichi or Suga present simply because of the headache and spikes in blood pressure you would get)

⭐ (and when I say certain, I mean specifically Nishinoya and Tanaka. Hinata and Kageyama were banned from visiting together, but Hinata was allowed to visit you solo)

⭐ Japanese paternity leave is absolutely incredible ngl. So Suga milks the f*ck out of it when he gets the chance

⭐ Since he’s already on summer vacation, Suga will simply “start” his paternity leave when the school semester is about to start and spend the rest of the year doting on you

⭐ You and Suga had to convince Daichi to continue with his own job, though the man opted to take more administrative work in order to have a consistent schedule

Suga had stepped out for a second, just buying some more of your food cravings. He shook his head, staring fondly down at the bag. God forbid your cravings called for more sardines with tomato sauce, but what could he do other than take care of you? Just as he reached the doorstep, Daichi had pulled up into the driveway. “Where did you go?” Daichi called, stepping onto the ledge of his Jeep.

Suga lifted the bag. “More snacks for the wifey.”

Daichi rolled his eyes. “Should have waited until I got home,” he chided, slamming the door as he joined Suga at the doorstep. “Who knows what type of dumb shit she’s gotten into.”

Suga chuckles, unlocking the door. “I’m sure it’s fine.”

As the door swings open, Daichi dead-pans and faces Suga. “Fine huh?”

“Hi Alpha!” You wave. You were sitting on the floor, a carton of ice cream open between your legs along with a bag of chips by your side.

Suga bites his lip in an attempt to stifle his laughter. “Hey baby. Whatcha doin’ there?”

You shrug, eating another spoonful. “Got hungry.”

“I can see that.” Daichi replied dryly before squatting down to your level. “How are my girls?” He gently puts a hand on your stomach, warmth filling him as a little kick greets him.

You purr, leaning into his shoulder. “We’re good, Alpha.”

Daichi hummed, moving the ice cream from its spot and handing it to Suga who brought it to the kitchen. “Let’s get you back to the nest, shall we?”

You nod, a yawn overtaking you. “Wanna cuddle,” you mumble as he lifts you. He chuckles as you nose into his neck, placing a soft kiss onto the mark he bore on his neck.

“We’ll cuddle soon, baby,” he promised, glancing over at Suga who had put away the snacks. “Coming, Suga?”

“Be there in a sec, Dai,” Suga responded, cleaning up the kitchen slightly.

Daichi carries you to the nest, gently placing you in the middle of it before he turns, stripping from his work clothes. “How was work today, Dai?”

“Good. Did you have a nice day today?” He slides into the nest beside you, wrapping his arms around you and pulling you so that you rested against his chest. You let out a sleepy chirp, burying your face into his neck once more. The door opens, a jasmine scent greeting you. As Suga slides in behind you, scooting closer so that he could throw his arms around you and Daichi, as soft purring fills the room only to be greeted by two more deeper purrs. Coffee met jasmine as it enveloped you like the scent of a warm cafe. Your eyes fluttered shut, at peace between your two Alphas. The last thing you felt was two pairs of soft, warm lips that pressed onto your forehead. “Goodnight, baby.”

*****

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#alpha daichi #daichi x reader #alpha suga #daichi sawamura x reader #sugawara koushi x reader #suga x reader #daichi x reader x suga #daichi x suga x reader #alpha daichi sawamura #alpha sugawara koushi #haikyuu omegaverse #hq omegaverse #skye's requests

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readyplayerhobi · 4 years

Text

Flower | 26

; Hoseok x Reader

; Genre: Fluff

; Word Count: 3.7k

; Synopsis: You finally decide to take a dip into the world of online dating and find the Flower dating app. One of the top matches for you proves to be a guy who looks to be your complete opposite; tattooed, pierced, a metalhead and oh…incredibly handsome. What happens when you throw caution to the wind and reach out to him?

; A/N: Thank you for reading this :) I hope you’re all enjoying it still. Please reblog so others can read and let me know your thoughts in some feedback! :D I’m always happy to hear them and I’m a little worried that you might all be getting bored or something :( <3

; Flower Masterpost

You’d be more surprised about the fact that it was just after eleven in the morning and Hoseok still wasn’t awake; if you didn’t have the memory of how drunk he’d been in the early hours. It had been amusing to wake up and see him still completely fast asleep next to you.

He hadn’t even shifted position throughout the night, still laid exactly as he had been when he’d passed out. Before leaving him alone, you’d had to push him onto his other side to try to reduce the chances of him waking up with an unfortunate strain somewhere. Because that’s what happened when you were an adult. Sleeping gave you injuries sometimes, and you’d rather he didn’t wake up with more pain than he was already going to have.

Being an adult is fun.

Your concern for his health hadn’t stopped you from cooing softly at how cute he looked sleeping though. His face looked almost innocent when completely relaxed, a sight you didn’t often get to see given he got up and went to bed before you. The stomach-clenching sweetness wasn’t helped by the fact your heavily tattooed and pierced boyfriend was juxtaposed against the white bedding with tiny, cartoon ice-creams in multiple colours all over it.

Honestly, it’s no surprise you’d had to snap a picture to show him when he woke up.

The sound of shifting and a slight creak from your bed through the open door of your bedroom distracts you away from your book. Looking up and at the doorway, your gaze narrows as you wonder if he’s just finally moving around or if he’s waking. But then you hear the quiet groan of someone who’s suffering and have to stifle a laugh. Placing a bookmark between the pages and putting it onto the coffee table, you go and fill a glass up of fresh, cold water for him and pop some painkillers.

Walking in, you’re greeted with the sight of Hoseok on his back. He doesn’t particularly look grateful to be awake, with one tattooed arm covering his eyes and the other rubbing at his head while he lets out the tiniest groan. Smiling to yourself, you place the glass onto the bedside table and nudge his arm softly.

“Hey, sleeping beauty. How’re you feeling?” There might be just the smallest hint of teasing in your voice and you’re thankful Hoseok has never really shown much of a temper before. Because given how rough he must be feeling, he could easily snap at you.

“Like I got run over by Satan’s truck and then he reversed back just for good measure. With an added dose of Jason Voorhees stabbing my brain through my eyeballs.” He grumbles, voice hoarse with sleep and you can’t stop the laugh that slips from your lips without meaning it.

Sitting next to him on the bed, you gently tug his arm down until you get to see his face properly. The usual puffiness of sleep is there, only this time it’s combined with red eyes that are slightly bloodshot and what looks to be an unhealthy pallor to his skin. No surprise, given how much alcohol he’d ingested last night. His liver would not be thanking him today. Nor was his head probably.

“Those are some very specific descriptions.” Hoseok sits up slowly and takes a huge gulp of the water that you hand him before taking the painkillers with a soft thanks. They go down equally quickly and he’s finished the whole glass before you can even blink.

“Yeah, well. It’s true. Also, I need to pee so fucking bad. Holy shit.” He mumbles, scrambling out of bed once you take the glass from him. Snorting at how quickly he exits the bedroom, you go out to refill the glass and grab a dark chocolate and orange breakfast bar. Sitting cross-legged on the bed, you wait for him to finish his business and come back.

Which he does after five minutes. The tired kiss he presses to your lips tells you he’s taken the time to brush his teeth too so he’s probably feeling slightly more human at the moment. Handing him your hangover goodies, he drinks half the glass before chewing half-heartedly on the bar, pulling a face as the flavour clashes with the mint of his toothpaste before his gaze goes vacant while he looks down at the bedspread.

“Did you clean me or something before bed? I smell really good to say I’m this hungover. I don’t even feel gross. I mean...physically at least. Mentally, I feel like every sewer level in a horror game. Gross, annoying and entirely unnecessary but inevitable,” He’s rambling a little now and you frown, tilting your head at him. “God, I can’t remember the last time I was this hungover. Or maybe I’m still drunk, I’m not quite sure.”

Rolling your eyes, you plump your pillows up and lean back as you watch him eat methodically. Hoseok isn’t exactly doing it fast but you get the impression that he’s got a severe headache going on and is trying to reduce aggravating it. You want to coo at him but feel it’s not the time to be doing that.

“No, that was you. You were adamant you wanted a shower and your teeth cleaned when we got back. I had to make sure you didn’t drown yourself because you got it into your head to drink the shower water and then had to brush your teeth for you because you have a bad gag reflex and kept stabbing yourself in the throat.” Hoseok winces at that, his hand coming to the said throat as he rubs it.

“That explains that then,” He mutters before looking at you a little bashful, his cheeks a tiny bit pink. “Sorry. I completely forgot that I became some weird clean freak when wrecked. There are worse things I could be though.”

Nodding with a wry smile, you acknowledge his statement while he finishes eating before handing you the glass and empty wrapper. Placing them both on the bedside table, you go to move away when he suddenly lays back down. On his side of the bed this time.

You’re prevented from moving when he cuddles up to you, his arm wrapping around your waist tightly to pull you down while he rests his head on your chest with a heavy sigh. Hoseok doesn’t weigh too much, but he’s not exactly light either. No complaint leaves you though, not when you enjoy the feel of him pressed against you so much.

“I like your boobs. They’re soft.” He mutters and you can’t help but laugh, accidentally jerking his head as your chest moves violently but he doesn’t complain except for a soft noise that leaves him. Carding your fingers through his hair, you twist your lips in amusement as you wonder if he is a tiny bit drunk still.

“Thanks, I grew them myself.” Now he’s the one chuckling, leaving a kiss on your collarbone before sighing deeply. His weight seems to double as he relaxes against you but again, you don’t complain at him. Not yet anyway. You probably would in five minutes when he gets hot enough to feel like you’ve stepped into Mt. Doom.

“There’s some pictures of last night if you wanna see.” You tell him quietly, enjoying just cuddling with him as you play with the soft strands of his hair. He doesn’t respond for a moment and you wonder if he’s fallen asleep before he hums, shifting until his head is on your shoulder so he can see your phone. You’d brought it in with you and it had been on the bedside table until now, so you grab it and unlock it.

Clicking through Facebook, you show him some of the statuses that both his and your friends had made throughout the night along with the photos that had accompanied them. There was a particularly delightful photo that must have been taken after you’d left, of Jimin vomiting outside the bar while Yoongi and Jungkook pointed and laughed.

The two of you chuckle as you go through the photos, getting to see the night live out once more in visual form and Hoseok makes a few comments here and there. Chungha’s pictures went from relatively sweet selfies of her to selfies with Soyeon, Dahyun and you to what can only be described as drunken blurs. You’re pretty sure one of them is her making out with her girlfriend but you can’t quite tell.

What you can tell is Soyeon kissing Jungkook in the booth in the background of one of Taehyung’s photos. You point at it excitedly to Hoseok as you tell him that they must have got drunk enough to let their inhibitions go after you’d both left. Neither of them had responded to your excited texts yet though, causing him to laugh when you pout at not being able to find out if your matchmaking was truly successful.

“It seems like it was a good night. Not that I can remember anything.” Hoseok mumbles, his lips pursing in a cute pout and you gently tap them. You’ve migrated from looking at Facebook to Instagram, where the pictures are a little bit classier and more put together. No one wants to look bad on Instagram after all.

“I took some photos of us too, and Soyeon sent over some she’d taken.” There had been plenty of Hoseok on Facebook, all in various stages of him getting drunk until you could practically smell the alcohol on him through the screen. Not so many of you though, given that you’d purposefully avoided the camera throughout the night.

Though Soyeon had managed to capture one or two pictures of the two of you together from earlier in the night. Flicking through to your gallery, you let him see the photos as you scroll through them.

“I haven’t put them anywhere yet. Wanted to see what you thought.” Hoseok takes your phone from you, shifting slightly in bed to be more comfortable and scrolls back to one Soyeon had taken. Neither of you has drinks in your hands, nor are you even looking at the camera.

Your arms are around his waist, front pressed to his side while his arm is wrapped around your shoulders. It’s almost sickening how much love and affection is painted onto your face as you smile up at him, your eyes softer than you’ve ever seen before. Anyone looking at this would easily be able to see how grossly in love you were with him.

But what made you love this photo was the fact that Hoseok was looking back at you with an equally disgusting amount of emotion. His smile was broad and genuine while his eyes were firmly focused on you. It was perhaps one of your favourite photos ever already and you weren’t surprised that Hoseok had focused on that.

“This one. We’re putting this one up.” He mutters quietly, already going to your Instagram before looking up at you with a questioning glance. Nodding your approval to him, he plays around with the custom filter settings until he has it looking exactly like he wants before posting it and sharing it to Facebook as well.

Before he gives your phone back, he scrolls through to another photo that you’d taken. It was a bit later in the night with Hoseok a little more drunk than he had been, but you kind of liked it too. A selfie this time, with your faces taking up the screen but your smile is so big as you laugh, eyes scrunched closed while Hoseok squishes a kiss against your cheek.

“I want this one,” With that, he sends it to himself before giving your phone back to you with a smile. “Looks like I had a very good night. Wish I could remember it but...whatever. Did you enjoy it?”

Pausing, you place your phone back onto the table before wriggling down the bed to get more comfortable. You think hard on his question, contemplating whether you’d truly enjoyed yourself last night. Going to bars and parties were your least favourite thing to do and he was well aware of that. Combined with drinking, it was perhaps your worst-case scenario.

“I didn’t exactly enjoy it but...it was kind of fun. Nice to see everyone and talk to them. Funny to watch them getting drunk. Most of all, I liked watching you enjoy yourself. I’m glad that you got to have fun and do what you love with your friends for your birthday. I know that I don’t like drinking or going out but I never want to be like...an anchor holding you back, you know? So yeah, I enjoyed it more than I’d expected to.” Perhaps that was a little more honest than other people would be, but you didn’t see any point in lying to him.

He knew what you liked and didn’t like by now, you’d been dating almost a year after all. On top of that, Hoseok had been concerned that you wouldn’t enjoy yourself and would make yourself unhappy just to satisfy his want to get drunk with his friends. So you hoped him hearing that you’d enjoyed yourself more than either of you had anticipated would relieve his worries.

“Good. I mean, not good that you didn’t fully enjoy it but I think we both knew you were never going to really. I’m glad you came with me though. Means a lot to me.” He smiles at you, his expression bright despite the tiredness etched into his face.

“That’s why I did it. It was your day and I wanted to make you happy.” Your words are soft and gentle, more than a hint of shyness threaded through them. Would you ever truly get used to telling him emotional things like this?

You hoped so because he was always so comfortable showing his love and affection for you. But at the same time, that was just his love language. Yours was different, and you knew he appreciated that too.

“Well, you did. So thank you. And thank you for my presents, I love them. Do you mind if I set up the vinyl player here? Given I spend the most time here?” His question is innocent and you can sense there’s no expectation on you. You’d have to give up something to let him have space for it, but you know that if you told him no that he’d accept it without complaint.

But that led you to something you’d been contemplating for a while now. Perhaps much quicker than anyone would have thought you’d have started to think about this topic given how long it took you to admit your love to him or even just have sex. This was a much bigger life change, something that would affect both of you drastically and have the potential to truly make or break your relationship.

And yet you’d been unable to not think about it. Perhaps most surprisingly, you actively wanted what you were going to suggest.

“I mean...well, yes. I’m okay with it but, well I was thinking… M-m-maybe, I mean...do you want to...what do you think a-a-about-” You’ve devolved into the kind of nervous and awkward mess you’d been when you first met him and you know he’s both confused and worried. His head tilts up to look at you, brows furrowed together in confusion as to why you’re suddenly getting like this over a vinyl player.

“Baby? What’s wrong? Just say it. Whatever you’re thinking, just say it. I’m not gonna laugh or tease you. I mean...unless it’s funny and then I can’t be responsible for my actions.” Hoseok laments, his face scrunching as he realises he can’t be completely honest. It makes you smile though as he’s being truthful and you push at him till he’s moving off you.

Sitting up, you play with your hands as you stare at them, licking your lips nervously.

“Do you want to move in? I mean...or at least, move in together? T-t-this place probably isn’t big enough f-f-for us both to live here with y-y-your stuff but yeah. I’d like it, I think. I mean, I would. And you basically live here anyway. T-then you don’t have to pay full rent and stuff and we can share bills so i-i-it’d be better for us both, yeah? Unless...unless you don’t want to live with me. Then it’s okay. W-we can-” He cuts you off with his hand against your mouth, his eyes dancing in amusement despite how tired they look.

“Sweetheart, please let me respond before you talk yourself out of it, okay? You want us to move in together, correct?” Nodding slowly, you take a moment to glance over at him and see what his expression looks like. Whether he looks agreeable or not.

Hoseok has a carefully blank face at the moment and you swallow thickly, wondering if he’s going to reject you. It’s fine if he does, honestly. Some people don’t like living together properly. Having his own place means that he can escape from you if he’s had enough or something. You knew that you were a lot to deal with sometimes.

“Are you sure? I don’t want you to feel pressured into it or anything. I’m fine as it is now if you want to keep it like this. I know you like your own space after a while and I don’t want to intrude into it. Plus, this apartment is your home and it’s your safe space. I don’t want you to uproot yourself just because you think you should be doing it or anything.” He makes perfectly logical points and your heart expands with love for him at his acknowledgement of something that had been a concern for you.

You didn’t handle change well and while you were excited at the prospect of moving in with Hoseok, the knowledge that it would completely upend your life for a short while was terrifying. This apartment had taken a long time to get feeling like a home, to somewhere that you love and feel like you can recharge in.

It would take time to make whatever new place you get with him to feel like home too. And you wouldn’t be able to escape him by just going home or anything. He would be there all the time. You knew it also came with the added complication of entangling you both even more, making your lives and your hearts even harder to separate.

But you couldn’t stay coddled forever.

“I might struggle with it a bit at first but...I want to. I love being with you and you make me happy. I hate when you go home and I’m alone again, it’s harder to sleep without you here. You might not want it though but...I just thought I’d bring it up. We can talk about it more in-depth to make sure we’re on the same wavelength but...yeah. I don’t know if this is too early or too late in a relationship or anything, I just want to be with you.” You’re mumbling the words now, firmly looking away from his gaze which has softened progressively as you’d talked. They probably didn’t even make sense.

“No, no, don’t worry about it. There’s no such thing as the right time, just when we feel it’s right. But...I’d like it. I’ve been thinking about it too, I won’t lie. I always feel bad that I don’t pay anything here even though I spend so much time here but then my rent is more than yours anyway. I agree about finding somewhere new, a little bigger to cope with both of us. And give us somewhere to escape to when we’re annoying each other or something.” Now he’s the one looking away from you, rubbing at his jaw thoughtfully as he thinks.

The smile that begins on your face soon expands rapidly into a giant grin, excitement flooding through your veins along with a mixture of nerves, making it hard for you to stay still. He wanted to move in together! Live together, you were going to live together. Like have your names on a rental agreement and have mail addressed to both of you.

“Oh, and we need to make sure it’s pet friendly for Kasumi.” Hoseok is still talking and you realise he’s been listing what you both should look for in a place. It seems that Hoseok wants to try and find an apartment if possible but he’d prefer a small house given the two of you both have a car. Understandable, given parking in the city was a pain.

There were many occasions when Hoseok had to park a few streets away as the apartment building parking lot was full.

The thought of having a small home with him was even more exciting and you let out a small squeal of happiness. It’s only when Hoseok looks at you with wide eyes, shocked but also amused, that you realise what you’ve done and you look away from him, trying to ignore how you’ve gone hot with embarrassment.

“Oh, that was cute. Definitely cute. Yes, let’s do it. Let’s move in together.” Now he’s the one grinning and you can’t stop yourself from wrapping your arms around him, swaying him as much as you can while sitting on the bed. He lets you with a laugh before groaning as the movement makes his hangover worse.

“Just as long as you don’t decide to show me your helicopter dick every time you get drunk.” You say cheerfully, climbing out of bed to go make some lunch for you both. Already you’re decorating the new place in your mind, planning the perfect combination between you both and deciding what you want to keep from your place and his.

“I’m sorry, my what?”

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bat-besties · 3 years

Text

Dead Dove: Do Not Eat

Remus is the most eccentric customer who visits Janus and Virgil's café. When he goes missing after talking to a mysterious stranger, Janus resolves to investigate further- and Virgil isn't letting him go alone.

AO3 10k

Huge thanks to @mariniacipher, I could not have written this without her. She let me talk about the idea for hours, it has somehow developed into a series, and the story itself took a real twist because of talking to her! Another massive thank you to @5-crofters-jams, who did a marathon edit of the entire piece for me, and has made the story so much smoother and more effective (and much less British because my original dialogue did upset her American sensibilities XD) Also thanks to @tulipscomeinallsortsofcolors, who knew everything I needed about pigeon corpses!

CW: dead bird, touching the bird corpse, bird funeral, Remus levels of comments about gore and innuendo, drug mention, mention of vomiting, kidnapping and captivity, feeling nauseous from anxiety, light dehumanization, brief allusion to racist violence

Remus was...

(There was usually a little gesture there: Virgil’s rolled eyes, or Janus’ helplessly fond smile, or a disapproving look from Remy-)

....Remus.

Their anarchist cafe saw its fair share of unusual customers but only one of them was, well, Remus.

Morning sunlight threw beams which striped the posters covering the walls- old propaganda posters mixed with ads for tutors, food banks, and drag shows. There was a quiet chatter of customers, occasionally broken up by bursts of laughter or a called greeting to another patron as they came in. Kids from the skatepark sat on a pile of beanbags charging their phones, having given up the comfortable chairs for a small group of elderly butches with stretched tattoos who were now speaking with slang from fifty years ago. A mother whose baby was trying to grab onto her braids was trying to feed him with one hand and hold her husband’s with the other. A college student frowning at their laptop screen and consuming coffee at an alarming rate was seemingly oblivious to the punk trying to discreetly read their laptop stickers. One of a Pan-African flag matched the full-sized one on the wall, swaying with wafts of coffee and baked goods along with spider plants and assorted pride flags. Old photos of a Black Panther group in the town, reprinted and signed by some of their patrons, were framed proudly on the walls.

Since everyone had been served, Virgil was taking a few breaths to check over the register and prepare for the next rush. The rhythm of checking, preparing, and letting the background chatter fade into the background blended into a pleasant, thoughtless routine. Cups out. Setting out more sandwiches. Look over the register. Maybe get something from the back-

“Morning, shitwad!”

Virgil ducked under the counter as something thumped into the coffee machine behind him, and a few of the regulars laughed in good nature.

“Oh, good morning, darling,” Janus replied smoothly, appearing from the kitchen. He was wearing a yellow shirt which contrasted with his deep brown skin perfectly, as well as a bowler hat and dapper bow-tie. He pulled plastic gloves over his hands with all the elegance of a debutante preparing for a ball.

There was a shrill wolf whistle. “Those are some sexy wrists!” was the next comment, followed by a squawking laugh, and Virgil rolled his eyes as his friend brought a flustered hand up to adjust his collar. Every day, he faced the deep attraction between the most sophisticated person he knew and the most outlandish, and he didn’t know which was more obnoxious. As Virgil popped back up, Janus reached over to the projectile on the back counter. It was the small, feathery body of a dead pigeon, carefully wrapped in cling wrap.

Virgil gave Janus a long-suffering look and got out a bottle of disinfectant. “Morning, Remus,” he grumbled, despite his irritation. “What can I get for you today?”

“My friend died at 3am last night,” he replied instead. “I need to store her in your fridge until you both get off work, and then we’ll hold her funeral!”

When they were alive, Remus treated the pigeons as gently as they did each other-

That is to say, he was ruthlessly protective of chicks, ready to grab and move anyone encroaching on territory, and, if pecked, was fully ready to bite back. Still, at his two-tone whistle a whole flock of assorted birds would fly down to meet him. His eyes would shine bright as they flew around him like a feathered whirlwind, and settled on the surfaces all around him like a hopeful congregation as he fed them with whatever he had. Despite their number, almost all had names and ascribed personalities.

Exactly how he could tell the difference between two seemingly identical pigeons Virgil had no idea, and he wasn’t entirely sure that Remus wasn’t fucking with him about it.

“Why did you throw her if you’re trying to preserve her?” Virgil said, but he tried to keep the frustration out of his voice. In fairness, it didn’t look too damaged by the blow. It would take a lot to change the kindness Remus showed the doves, as roughly as he showed it.

“I thought you’d catch her, emo! It would have been a beautiful moment!” he protested, throwing his grey eyes open wide.

Virgil took a deep breath and nodded. “You know what? Yeah, maybe it would have been. But you forget-”

“Fight or flight,” Remus filled in. He shrugged. “I guess that makes sense.”

As usual, he was dressed in as many layers as he could be, with only a hint of pale skin showing on his face and through a pair of fingerless gloves he had cut himself. Everything else was an amalgamation of black and brown leather, denim, flannel, a puffy coat, a long flowing skirt in leopard-print, and fishnet tops over cotton T-shirts, leaving barely any Remus-outline at all. It didn’t matter what the weather was; his outfit might change components, but it never revealed so much as his neck.

Everyone had their reasons, Janus would quietly say at almost anything their customers said or did. It wouldn’t have crossed their minds to ask why he covered himself so much, but it was something Virgil couldn’t help but wonder about sometimes.

Maybe Janus was right and Remus was handsome, but his face was so obscured by his moustache, stubble, and makeup in purple and green- or whichever colours he felt like- that he seemed to be aiming for ‘gives you a headache after you look at him too long’ more than anything else.

His hair was almost literally a bird’s nest. He had completely rejected offers of a hairbrush or a comb, insisting he preferred it the way it was. The third co-owner of the cafe, Remy, with whom he was staying at the moment, had made many attempts to detangle his hair, all of which had been met with screaming and gnashing of teeth. After each clash, Remy would send Virgil a barrage of complaints by text. But while Janus had offered for Remus to stay at his own apartment, Virgil and Remy had made a mutual decision to save them from 24/7 pining by volunteering instead. Janus had refused even considering dating him the very first day he had barged his way into the cafe- and into its founder’s affection. As long as Remus came to them for food and shelter, it would be an unfair balance of power.

Remus reached into an inner pocket of his coat and slid a purple pin with a spider silhouette on it over to Virgil. “You could stab this into those big brown eyes of yours,” he said, widening his own at the barista.

“Sweet, thanks,” Virgil said, pinning it onto his apron string. It did match with his spider-web hair design. “Then I won’t have to look at Janus getting flustered any more.”

Remus grinned at Janus, who was trying to act as if he’d been so invested in carefully holding the pigeon that he hadn’t heard. He leaned on the counter and dropped his voice into a stage-whisper. His eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled. “I think he’s sexy.”

“That’s disgusting,” Virgil whispered back. “I’m going to throw up in your coffee.”

He shrugged. “I’d still drink it. Then I’d just be able to judge you based on your stomach bile.”

“You’d be so fucking impressed by my stomach bile,” Virgil retorted. “It’s so acidic from anxiety it would kill you immediately.” He turned to start wiping down anywhere the pigeon had even possibly touched.

“Bartender!” Remus yelled in an exaggerated English accent, banging on the counter. “Bartender! I would like a coffee and a sandwich, please!”

“One moment, my dear,” Janus said in a more passable impression, opening up the freezer door and placing the tiny corpse into an empty ice-cream container well away from the rest of the food. “I’m just cryopreserving- what’s her name?”

"Her name is Loki,” Remus supplied, his voice dropping to a matter-of-fact tone which was surprisingly tender coming from him. “She's good at stealing chips from tourists. And flying and shitting at the same time.”

Janus threw away his gloves, thoroughly washed his hands, then made a small note: "Loki: not for consumption." He glanced up at Remus so he could see the note, who repaid him by throwing his head back so he could laugh. Janus' mouth quirked into a snicker too, and the rest of the coffee shop seemed to fall away from the two looking at each other.

"We're going to get a violation," Virgil interrupted, because that was the expression of a Janus who would complain and pretend not to pine for hours after Remus left. He turned on the coffee machine to hopefully distract from the moment. "It's a dead fucking animal."

"So is the rest of the meat," Janus dismissed without looking at him. "And it is wrapped up and away from the rest of the food."

Ever since Virgil had joined the team and the cafe had begun to establish itself as a firm success, the city council had done everything in its power to shut it down. Each time, the cafe had won, even if their most recent fight was one of the most nerve-racking experiences of his life, and their personal lives had been dragged through the dusty carpet of every courtroom in the city. Each step of the way, Janus insisted that the risk was worth it.

After all that, Virgil was not letting the cafe close on account of a dead bird, as skilled a thief as she might have been.

"It’s a pest animal you let in here," he insisted.

Janus dismissed him with a shrug. "Come now, so is Remus."

The customer grinned. "You flatter me, rattlesnake." His eyes traced Janus' face as they scrunched up with joy. "Can you tell me about Dodgy Knees again?"

He closed his eyes as if pained. "Diogenes! Diogenes! I'll break your knees if you mispronounce-"

"Kinky!"

He rolled his eyes fondly. “Oh, is that so?”

So Virgil tried to ignore the disaster scenario of the cafe being shut for good, fixed a cup of coffee and a sandwich for Remus, and somehow got caught into a conversation about the pros and cons of leaving society to go feral in the woods.

“No, I do agree, but wolves-”

The door rattled, and an older white man with salt-and-pepper hair and a pinstripe suit walked in. He wasn’t entirely out of place amongst the clientele, but he honestly looked more like the businessmen in some of the cartoons Janus had papered one wall with. Remus ignored the bell as he leant his elbows on the counter, gesturing with his sandwich as he talked to Virgil while the barista came up to the register.

“How can I help you today?” Virgil asked the man, who was glancing around the decor. That type of customer was almost certainly drawn by the coffee, all blends hand-picked by Remy.

“I’ll be in and out in just a moment,” he replied with a small smile, and Remus stopped talking. “An espresso to go, please.”

Virgil nodded. “Sure, a moment-”

A blush crept up Remus’ cheeks, and he ducked his head with uncharacteristic shyness. As the man caught his eyes his entire expression softened, the hard lines of his face seeming to melt as his lips parted slightly, like he would say something. But, for once, he was speechless.

Janus looked as though he had been slapped in the face. “Are you acquainted?” he asked, in such a casual tone that Virgil knew he was deeply hurt. He arched an eyebrow as he waited for an answer.

“I- yes, I believe we are,” the customer gave a genial smile in return, his eyes fixed on Remus’. “Some time ago.”

Janus’ eyes narrowed. “Where do you know him from, Remus?”

There was a crinkle of plastic and leather as Remus shrugged. “Long story,” he said distantly.

Virgil slid a cup of coffee over to the man, who tapped a black card to the card reader and gave him a quick smile. “Keep the change,” he quipped. It was a tip some ten times greater than their recommended 20%.

“Thanks,” Virgil mumbled, but his focus was on his friend, who was drifting out of the door, as he tended to do at the end of a conversation. “Hey, Remus, we’ll see you later?” he called after him.

“Sure, Virgey!” he replied, giving him a quick grin before he held the door for the businessman, and the two of them walked out together. The older man ducked his head to whisper something into his ear, and Remus laughed and linked their arms as they headed into the street.

As soon as the door swung shut, a cloud settled over Janus’ expression. “Well,” he said, adjusting a sandwich which was just slightly out of line with the rest. “They say a stranger is a friend you haven’t met yet. It takes all sorts. To each, indeed, their-”

Before he could utter another saying, Virgil interrupted with a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sure it’s not what it looks like.”

“And what does it look like?” Janus asked caustically. “Remus was acting unusually, yes?”

“Sometimes people get nervous,” he ventured. “If they like someone-” There wasn’t a single trait Remus said wasn’t his type; a silver fox with money was as good as any.

“Don’t say ‘like’, it’s so middle school,” he snapped, and Virgil flinched at the tone in his voice. He grabbed a cloth and headed over to a table which some regulars he knew were just vacating to wipe it down. Poor Loki’s funeral was going to be a tense event.

Except, as night fell and the cafe began to glow with the golden lights and the warmth of the ovens, and as Remy arrived to help them with the evening rush, Remus didn’t show up for the body in their freezer.

The brief liveliness Janus had shown bustling between the kitchen and the front faded as the final family trickled out. He waved away most of their offered money, seeing as it was a birthday party and he knew them, and Remy and Virgil made meaningful eye contact but didn’t protest.

As they closed, Remy filled the awkward silence with chatter about the men he was dating, the new hair product he had tried, the fact Remus never washed up when he was told to, and he was, like, so sick of it-

But no Remus appeared to defend himself, even after they left half-an-hour late and each one tried to call him.

He didn’t appear at Remy’s to sleep overnight, and he didn’t come into the cafe at all the next day.

That next night, Janus disappeared into the back, leaving Virgil to clean up by himself.

His stomach was upset, and he couldn’t help but think about that man over and over.

Long story- what exactly did “long story” mean?

Remy used the phrase when it really was a complicated story full of exes and rumours and friends of friends-

Virgil used it when he was asked why he didn’t speak to his family any more.

But he’d never seen Remus look like that before, and the guy had seemed nice- and there was an obvious suggestion for why his friend was busy overnight.

He realised he’d been wiping down the same table for the past five minutes.

“Virgil,” Janus said quietly behind him.

“Yeah?” he turned, and his brow immediately furrowed at his friend’s sombre expression.

He had his phone in one hand, and his hat in his other. “I’m going to ask you for a favour,” he said slowly. “You are quite free to decline it.” He paused. “I want to go to the house of the man who Remus went out with, and check that he’s alright.”

“I...don’t know that’s a good idea,” he said, twisting the spider badge on his apron so he could avoid the weight of his friend’s expression. “I mean...it could be an invasion of Remus’ privacy, if that was an old friend or-” Scared of causing further upset, he tilted his head to fill in ‘something else’.

“Yes, I know.” He sighed, looking out into the night through their plate-glass windows. “You know I’m not one for hunches-”

“Eh, you turned out a guy for being an undercover cop in like two seconds because he asked about ‘The Antifa’-”

Janus gave him a look with almost the level of exasperated fondness Remus engendered, and Virgil fell silent.

“I’m not one for hunches, but I’m usually right when I have them, then,” he finished lightly. “I have a very bad feeling, and a Google Search for anyone in the town who could possibly have a black card doesn’t make me feel any better.”

Anxiety coagulated in his stomach, but he tried for his final hope. “Are you sure it’s not...jealousy?”

He gave him a long, tired look. “The thought has never even been a worry of mine,” he said drily. “Still, I can go by myself, and make my own self a bother, worse, a fool.”

And it wasn’t really a question at all whether Virgil would let that happen. “Two of us is just a bother,” he replied with a confidence he didn’t feel, unclipping his badge from his apron and slipping it into his hoodie pocket.

Janus hung up his hat and put on a neat suit jacket over his outfit. “Thank you, really-”

He shook his head, opening the door so that a rush of petrichor and tarmac washed out the pervasive smell of coffee and food from the cafe. “Let’s go.”

They walked out into the night, still damp from the earlier rains. The lights of the shops around them reflected against the wet tarmac, and music pumped out of passing cars giddy with the promise of the coming weekend. They headed to the bus stop, Janus politely greeting every person they passed, and Virgil ducking his head so he didn’t have to. He didn’t know if the people who replied were familiar to his friend from the neighbourhood, or just trying to be polite in turn.

As soon as the bus stopped with a hiss of steam, Janus led him down to the back, and sat by the window, checking the map on his phone again. “It will be some time,” he said. “But, I ask you to be patient.”

“Course.” Virgil rested his head on Janus’ shoulder and closed his eyes. “Just tell me the stop before and I’ll be...right with you.” Moving vehicles lulled him to sleep anyway, and he would just worry the whole way otherwise.

“Of course.” Janus wrapped an arm around him, so he wasn’t jolted as the bus started again.

As Virgil dozed in fits and starts, the window changed from views of convenience stores and fast food shops to blocks of apartments, to anonymous offices and retail outlets, to high-walled parks, and then houses set back from the road by sweeping drive-ways or pavements almost as wide as the road was. Finally, his head was jostled off Janus’ shoulders, and he blinked as the stop dinged, too loud after the fog of sleep. Outside, it was pitch black but for the pools of light beneath the streetlights, and the golden glow which the mansions kept far behind barred gates.

They stumbled off the bus, and Janus checked his phone just once more before they headed off down one of the identical sides of the road.

Virgil pulled his hoodie close around him against the night chill. He considered putting his hood on to protect his ears from the nipping wind, but they were already two black men alone in a very white neighbourhood. It wasn’t worth it when his stomach was already rolling with anxiety. He rubbed his thumb over the badge in his pocket and tried to breathe the cold air in 4-7-8. They walked over empty roads, past rows and rows of similar houses, until they turned a corner and cars lined the road, piling into a single driveway which was illuminated like a Christmas lights display. A few fancily-dressed guests stood by the cars, but most of the noise came from inside. The house towered even its neighbours, and was built in the faux-Classical style which he hated.

Janus checked the address against his phone, then nodded. “That’s it. What did you call those, again? False temples?”

“Temples to dumb rich Americans and bad architecture,” Virgil supplied with a quirk of his lips.

“Quite right,” he replied, assessing the entrance. “And in all likelihood, Remus is stuck inside with his…”

“Yup.” He looked between his own patchwork hoodie and Janus’ dapper suit. “Maybe you could sneak in, but I definitely wouldn’t fit in.”

He straightened, and adjusted his bowtie. “Then we’ll go around the back,” he replied.

Virgil shook his head. “Nope, nope, nope, that’s- Jesus Christ, no, that’s a great way to get arrested or even shot. No.”

“Virgil,” Janus said quietly. “These past two months, Remus has visited us every day except that brief time after the fight over the milk cartons, or whatever it was-”

“I asked him to clean up a drop of milk and he poured the rest of the carton over my kitchen,” he said sourly, which he felt he was entitled to despite the situation.

“Yes, yes,” Janus dismissed. “Anyway- he always comes, doesn’t he? So now-”

“I have a really, really bad feeling- and bad thought, and bad everything-” he protested, backing away from the gate.

An orange sports car swerved past them, and parked horizontally across the driveway, and a young white man in a tracksuit the same colour as his car leapt out and gave them a wide grin. “Hey! Hey! Hello!” he yelled, and flashed them peace signs, to which Janus replied with a pained smile and Virgil a small wave. “Everything’s started- have they done the fireworks yet? Or the, shit, thing with the melted chocolate and it flows-”

“Chocolate fountain,” Janus supplied with the smile he reserved for his more aggravating customers. He slipped his arm into Virgil’s and pulled them forwards. “We were hoping to arrive for that too, ah-?” He waited for the man to supply his name, but instead-

“I like your hair!” he said to Virgil, admiring the spider web design. “Rad!”

“Yeah, thanks,” he replied, subtly trying to pull them backwards as Janus marched him to the door after the guest. “Your car is...yeah, that sure is a car.”

“Sure is!” he replied with a blindingly white smile. He flashed something at a bodyguard at the door- who had sunglasses, earpiece, everything- Virgil noted with a sickening thrill of fear.

“And your friends, sir?” the bodyguard asked.

“Yeah, yeah!” The guest tossed his car keys at his chest and headed through to a foyer filled with well-cut suits and low-cut dresses, champagne glasses and trays of canapes. Marble floors reflected the lighting, which glinted out from chandeliers above. A wide staircase glided up to the hidden upper floors.

“Oh, hey! Hey, you!” the young man yelled as soon as he got in, bounding over towards a woman who greeted him with a grin, raising her glass like a toast.

Janus and Virgil just blinked at each other. “Are you...sure?” Virgil asked quietly. “Remus is here?”

“I’m honestly not so sure any more,” Janus muttered to him. “But let’s not rely on whatever chemicals are keeping our dear friend happy, and start looking around.”

They moved through a throng of people and out into a wide ballroom, filled with yet more guests and a live string quartet playing in one corner. Along with the music was the trilling of occasional birdsong from tropical birds fluttering inside several oversized golden cages dotted around the room. A few others held white marble statues, but they couldn’t compare to the shifting flurries of reds, blues, and greens. Without agreeing on it aloud, the friends first went over to a small party congregated by one of them, in case the birds had attracted Remus.

“No, but then I said-” A balding man was proclaiming. “I said, Rudy, that’s not the Dow Jones Industrial Average at all.”

The group burst into laughter, Virgil gave Janus a bemused look, and they moved on.

Everyone was well-dressed, in sparkling necklaces or ties in jewel colours or even in more casual clothes, like the man from the sports car, which still seemed to drip wealth. Wearing sneakers with a suit wasn’t that fancy a look, but when even Virgil recognised that pair from an ad campaign for a luxury fashion line which would come out next month, he guessed it didn’t matter. Nobody looked at them twice. Still, there was nobody dressed in the contents of an entire rummage-sale bin with purple eyeshadow used as contour.

“There-” Janus whispered- “Is that?”

They both froze as they watched a man with a moustache waltz past in the arms of a lady dressed in black. It wasn’t Remus.

Virgil scanned the room again, eyes passing over the gilded cages, and the tropical birds and statues inside them- nobody in the crowd admiring them was any business of his-

As they parted, the figure inside the tallest gold cage became clear. It shifted position- an animatronic? He looked more closely as it moved after everyone had turned away, fiddling with golden chains around its-

“Oh God-” he whispered. “Look.”

Virgil was an avowed atheist, but if the person inside the cage wasn’t a statue, he must have been an angel. His shining hair was cut short to show of the clean marble lines of his face. His chest was sculpted too, covered in scars which looked like they must have come from a golden sword like the one he was gripping. He looked as if he would swing it into position if not for the gold chains wrapped around his arms, tethering him to the delicate bars of the cage. He was gazing out into the distance.

Most striking of all, dove-grey wings crested over his shoulders and trailed all the way down to his ankles. His white tunic contrasted the hints of pale purple, pink and blue shimmering in his wings.

It was one of the most beautiful sights Virgil had ever seen.

He glanced at Janus for his reaction.

He found only an expression of absolute horror. Janus was completely silent for a moment, struggling for words, before he gasped. "Oh, Remus- what did they do to you?”

A cold feeling washed over him.

No- those were their friend's grey eyes, and that was the shape of his face, stripped of his facial hair and usual tacky makeup. No wonder Virgil hadn't recognised him.

Compared to the usual chaotic spark in his expression, he looked blank. As if his mind was somewhere else entirely- or like he'd been drugged.

Still, Virgil couldn’t help but be drawn back to his wings; they were hyper-realistic, even twitching as he tried to tense his shoulders to alleviate the pressure of the chains on his arms. And the amount of feathers it would have taken to make that shifting, downy gradient...not even all of Remus’ flock had that many. It was compelling, but sickening.

It felt wrong to look over his arms and legs when he was usually so adamant about covering them, so he dropped his eyes and tried to erase the knowledge of how muscled Remus was beneath his usual shapeless outfit.

It wasn’t that Virgil found his friend attractive exactly, but with wings like that, dressed like that- he was a centerpiece, clearly, and even as his stomach churned with the wrongness of the display, it was a palpable effort to keep his gaze from snapping back to him. “I’m gonna be sick,” he muttered to Janus.

“He’d never, ever choose to dress himself like that in front of everyone," Janus whispered, anger crackling red at the edges of his quiet voice. "And even if he did, he’d never shave off his moustache.”

He shook his head. “So...what do we do?”

In response, Janus sauntered over to the left, took a champagne flute from a waiter, and then gestured for his friend to follow. They zigzagged through the crowd until they got closer to Remus, whose eyes remained glazed and distant.

They stopped just by him. Up close, it was clear the tunic was some kind of cotton material, and the sword had blunted edges. He was wearing makeup too, and a lump in his mascara made Virgil feel another sharp pang of pity. As ridiculous as painting them on would have been, how real the scars looked in comparison to the rest of the outfit was jarring. He was built and scarred like a fighter, and all the little touches to make him look delicate only emphasised how roughened he was. Both were at odds with everything he knew of his friend.

“Remus,” Janus whispered. The name fell like a plea. “Remus, it’s us.”

All of a sudden, the man’s eyes snapped to them, his expression melting into disbelief. “Remus?” he echoed. It was as quiet as a whisper from a crypt. “You know him?”

“You’re-” Janus’ face fell. “Remus, that’s you-”

The man almost imperceptibly shook his head. “Twins, we’re twins- you know him? Please, is he okay?” He looked almost identical, though up close the differences began to stand out. He was probably more muscular, but who could tell under all of Remus’ clothes? The main differences were a gap between this twin’s front teeth and, more than that, his eyes. Even as he looked at them desperately, there was something missing from them, some jolt of hope or excitement which just wasn’t there. Their heaviness was an uncomfortable weight on Virgil’s face.

He wrapped an arm around himself. “Sorry, he went missing-”

“But we tracked the man he left with back here,” Janus filled in. “Isn’t he here too?”

The man shook his head again. “No, I- I’ll earn more information, after this. I don’t know anything,” he whispered. “I just know he found him, and he wants him to come back without a fight.”

Virgil never should have just watched as that man walked Remus out of the coffee shop. Long story his ass- “What the fuck is happening?”

Remus’ twin tried to shrug and then winced as the movement tugged on the chains. His wings fluttered with the movement. “They just tranqued us the first time. I don’t know why he’s delaying recapture-” He took a deep breath. “Just tell him to run away as soon as he can.” His grey eyes hardened to steel. “He might as well keep doing it.”

“I will if I can find him, thank you.” Janus took a small sip of his champagne. “What exactly was the capture for, if I can ask?”

The captive glanced around the room, and at the movement Virgil cut his eyes to the side. Nobody watched that he could see. “The wings, of course,” he said with a bitter smile. “Yes, yes, they’re real, go ahead and look at them.”

Janus’ eyes widened, subtly taking in the wings.

“My name’s Roman,” he continued in a low, urgent voice. “Tell him that Roman said to run, okay? Don’t listen to any of their offers or threats. I’m not a gladiator anymore; I’m here instead. It’s...not too bad.”

As Janus opened his mouth, Roman shook his head. “Don’t talk to me too long.”

“We can get you out,” Virgil said before he knew what he was thinking. “Whatever this is-”

“Go,” Roman insisted. “It’s not worth trying to do anything for me. And don’t call the police-”

Janus rolled his eyes. “You really don’t need to worry about that.”

“Fine.” he lifted his eyes to the middle distance again. “You should go now. Please.”

Virgil gave a little nod, taking Janus’ arm. “Okay. We’re gonna go.”

“Thank you,” Janus added. He opened his mouth as if to say something else, but then let Virgil lead him away.

He steered them back through the ballroom with their backs to Roman, trying not to glare into the eyes of each of the guests they passed. It would almost have been easier if there was a big fuss and show about the captive man, rather than the chatting and dancing and gossiping with, oh, a living being as a conversational curiosity-

As they came back into the entrance, Janus began to turn towards the sweeping staircase.

“No,” Virgil said under his breath, trying to tug him back to the doorway. “No fucking way. I know you’re angry but-”

“I’m not angry,” he replied coolly. “I am, rather, curious. Because I don't think they tell everything to Roman, and we’re not going to get luck like this again. Any information will help.”

He glanced up at where the staircase twisted out of sight. If Remus was up there, he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself. And, despite his words, Janus was throw-ignorant-customers-out-of-the-cafe mad. Except, he wasn’t quoting memoirs of increasingly obscure activists or putting neat yellow gloves on in warning, so Virgil didn’t know what he would do.

On cue, Janus reached into his breast pocket and drew out the gloves. He slipped one on, tugging it into place. “Better for fingerprints, and more neat.” He glanced at Virgil. “You don’t have to come with me, in fact it may be better if you didn’t.”

It wasn’t fair for Janus to pull on his ridiculous gloves like a boxer about to face a much bigger opponent, and ask him not to fight by his side. Even if Virgil had decided to leave the party, it wouldn’t have been fair.

“I will,” he said, tucking his hands into hoodie paws. His heart was thumping against his ribcage as if it would break out- that was a thought to tell Remus when they saw him. “I’m gonna complain about it afterwards.”

Despite his apparent composure, it took Janus a moment too long to answer as his eyes traced Virgil’s face. “Of course.” He took his arm. “Shall we?”

He was half-expecting an alarm to blare as soon as they set foot on the first stair- but nobody noticed. They took another few steps, feet sinking into the thick red runner. The back of his neck prickled with stares, but he knew from long experience that those were imagined. Or were they? No, that was anxiety. Janus’ hand tightened on his forearm and he stopped. Above, someone paced past on a wooden floor in the measured rhythm of a guard. He gagged.

“Deep breaths,” Janus murmured.

“I hate this,” he replied. Then he forced a breath in his nose and out of his mouth.

After the footsteps faded, they kept walking until Virgil moved his heavy boot onto the polished wood floor as gently as possible. Identical two-panel white doors stretched along the hallway without any noticeable distinction, until the corridor took a right turn at the end of the row.

“You take the left, I’ll take the right,” Virgil whispered, and Janus nodded.

With their footsteps echoing almost too loud on the floor, they each crept to the far ends of the hallway. There was nothing beyond the corner except another staircase, and thankfully no more doors.

He tried the door handle on the far right with his sleeve over his hand, and it turned. He nudged it open and peeked in to see a huge bedroom strewn with suitcases and clothes, and a sparkling necklace of diamonds carelessly draped over a black dress. But no Remus. He shut it and moved onto the next.

Locked. The next was too. His hands were shaking like there was a motor in them.

He closed his eyes and leant his head against the wall, trying to ground himself in the sensation. Okay. Next one- unlocked.

It was a bathroom, all white marble and gold like downstairs. He closed the door and glanced over to Janus, who shook his head.

He glanced at the staircase before crossing the corridor and turning the handle of the middle door slightly.

A voice rose behind the door, deeper and smoother than Remus’. “Hello?”

Virgil reached in desperation for the next door handle as footsteps sounded from inside, and tugged it open in time for Janus to walk in quickly and efficiently in the rhythm of the security guard. He followed with a few strides, shutting the door behind him in with a fumbled click. The room was an empty guest bedroom. Janus was hiding himself under the bed before Virgil caught his arm and pulled him out. He headed to the big sliding window.

“Please, please-” he whispered to himself, trying to lift it. Locked, locked, oh God-

Janus searched the mantelpiece for a moment before pressing a cold key into Virgil’s hand. He tried to put it in but his hands were shaking too badly and he couldn’t-

Janus took it off him. It fit with a click.

Virgil pushed up the window in a rush of cool air. He climbed out onto the little ornamental balcony running between a few windows and stood flat to the wall, chest heaving, before Janus followed with a tumble. He reached over and shut the window while Janus crouched down below the sill. The room was still empty.

Virgil slid down the wall, trembling hands over his mouth. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears and he was sure he would be sick-

Janus had curled into a ball, forehead to the stone of the balcony.

He wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that.

After a while, they ended up both sitting side by side in the space between the two windows, hands twisted together. It was silent.

Virgil glanced back into the room. “It’s empty,” he whispered. “We should leave.”

Janus nodded. “One moment-” He crept towards the other window and peeked in the bottom before he dropped to the ground, hand over his mouth.

Virgil widened his eyes. On cue, his heart finished its brief rest.

Janus pointed to his suit jacket, then made a rectangle shape with his fingers. Virgil frowned. His friend repeated the gesture, and it clicked. Black card.

He so, so badly wanted to run now, but instead he crawled over to poke Janus in the side so he would move over to give him space by the window. Their eyes met, and Virgil pulled his hood over his cold ears to settle in for a wait. He kept his head down, pillowed on his forearms, while Janus risked peeking up every few minutes.

Suddenly, Janus grabbed his arm. Virgil lifted his head. He could just about see Roman standing in the doorway, rubbing at the deep red marks around his forearms, and the captor leaning back in a leather armchair holding a glass.

Janus put his hands up to the window-

“Janus,” Virgil hissed, but then the window slid a crack upwards and voices travelled through.

“Quite the party, wasn’t it?” the captor said, pouring himself a drink.

Roman nodded too quickly. “Yeah,” he said in a hoarse voice, attempting a smile which didn’t reach his eyes, which were fixed on a closed silver laptop on a side table. “Yes, it was...very grand!”

He rolled his eyes. “What did you think of the decor?”

“Quite magnificent! Like a- an aviary in a palace.” His wings were trembling as though there were a breeze running through them.

Tilting his head and looking Roman up and down, the captor spoke just as genially as he had in the cafe. “You really aren’t as interesting as your brother was. Too many blows to the head, no doubt.”

Roman’s mouth tightened. His fists had too.

Against the deep, comfortable, red-brown tones of leather and what must have been genuine mahogany, and the backs of books all bound neatly and sticking out of the shelf as though frequently read, Roman’s outfit stood out as even more fake. Gold accents in the sandals he was wearing matched the subtle gold trimmings of the room, but if the study were a convincing stage, Roman looked like a badly cast understudy.

The captor laughed. “Predictable. This isn’t the fighting pits.”

Virgil and Janus shared a look before watching again.

“Your brother’s been living like a tramp and he’s still more beautiful than you are, under all the mess,” he commented, as casually as if he was observing the weather. Roman’s eyebrows drew together, watching for the end of the statement. He brought up a hand to cover a scar along the edge of his neck. “He’s not as scraped up as you, of course. And he really-” He swirled his whiskey for a moment before taking a sip of it. “He really is genuine. You can imagine worse things than this, can’t you?”

He paused, then nodded.

He shrugged. “He can’t. That’s the difference.”

Janus grabbed Virgil’s hand. He curled over and pressed it to his own forehead. Virgil rested his hand on his back and bent to whisper in his ear. “Hey, only I need to listen, so-”

He shook his head and Virgil cut off, peeking back over the windowsill.

For just a moment Roman glanced at the window before he asked, “So, where is Remus anyways?” He seemed to freeze as he waited for the answer, a statue once again.

“That’s the question, isn’t it?” He held his hand out and Roman looked at him blankly. “The laptop,” he snapped.

“Oh!” He grabbed it from the side table and tried to hand it over from a distance.

He took it and flipped it open. Roman stepped back immediately, hopping from one foot to the other like a boxer. Virgil felt himself tapping on Janus’ back in sympathy.

The captor flipped the screen open and typed for a moment before he began to read something. Virgil felt Janus’ chest go still.

The captor laughed. “Oh, would you look at that- “Queer Eye’s Karamo Brown urged to cut ties with Salvation Army”.” He shook his head. “There’s nothing worse than a hypocrite- did you know about this?”

Remus’ brother’s jaw tensed and he shook his head.

He carried on reading for a little while, tutting, and then switching to another tab. “Okay, fine- come and look.”

He crossed the room to stand behind the man, hands gripping onto the back of the sofa as if he would fall over without its support.

“Don’t touch the furniture.” With a roll of his eyes, he reached his hand behind him, twisted his hand into his captive’s wing- then tugged. As he pulled a handful of feathers away Virgil winced, but Roman only reacted with a tightening of his hands. Then he took a measured step back from the couch.

“You know,” the captor said so softly that Virgil had to strain to hear him. “You know, Remus would have cried and cried at that.” He scattered the feathers, spotted with blood, over the floor. “That, or started swearing- and the crying would come after that.”

“You’ve told me before,” Roman snapped. As soon as he spoke, he froze again. “Oh, uh- I’m sorry-”

The laptop clicked shut. “I asked you to behave this evening,” the captor said, getting up and tucking it under his arm. Virgil and Janus crouched down further. For some reason, a tiny chip in the stone paving caught Virgil’s eyes. A tiny fissure ran from it into the rest of the solid slab. “That meant all of this evening.”

“Please-” His voice broke, and pitched high it sounded like Remus’. Janus’ hand tightened on Virgil’s until it hurt.

“Out.”

Virgil tugged on Janus’ hand and bent his head to his ear. “C’mon, we need to go.”

Janus looked up. His eyes were shining, and at the same time Virgil felt like a monster for not crying and a sharp annoyance that his friend had given into his emotions. He took a deep breath, and both feelings passed. He tugged on his hand again. “Okay, time to go,” he whispered.

He decided not to risk closing the window while the man was still in the room, just nudging Janus to the side. They crept across the balcony, slid up the far window, and climbed through one after the other, painfully slow.

They padded through the empty room, then opened the door and slipped out together. Downstairs, the last of the party guests were trailing out, either upright with exhaustion shining in their eyes to match the sparkle of their jewels, or with the help of a few discreet employees supporting champagne-soggy legs. Wordlessly, Janus slung his arm over Virgil’s shoulder, and he let his friend lean on him as they passed security and walked down the long drive to the dark street. He was heavy, but Virgil was careful not to stumble.

They carried on walking that way until the corner, when Janus straightened up and adjusted his jacket. Still, they crossed the road side-by-side and didn’t speak.

As they walked, the bottom of the sky was being washed out into greyness. The houses were unlit now, and they looked smaller in the dark. It just barely smelt of metallic dew. Virgil thought he might start screaming if he opened his mouth.

They reached the bus station sooner than expected. There was half-an-hour before the first early-morning bus. With a huff of air, he sat down on the pavement and leaned his back against the pole.

“Well that was just what we expected, wasn’t it?” Janus said lightly. He stayed standing, facing the mansion they had come from. Virgil looked up at him in silence. “I’m going to murder that man,” he continued in the same tone. “The security for that house is shocking. I’m sure it isn’t that hard. Perhaps I should let the twins do it, though.”

He nodded. “I’ll help bury the body.”

“You know, Virgil,” Janus met his eyes. “You really are the best friend anyone could ask for.”

"What?" he mumbled as he looked down. "He was a dick."

"Come now, you also broke into the house of someone connected to illegal fighting rings whose interior decoration tended to the alive and miserable.”

Heat flooded into his face. “Least I can do.”

“Quite a bit more than the least.” His lips quirked into a smile. “Especially for someone who was terrified of talking to customers a year ago.”

"Oh, shut up." He poked Janus' neat brogue with his boot. "Mr. Sherlock Holmes here figured out the whole thing anyway." His chest felt funny, and he hugged his arms around it.

"Well, Watson," He took a deep breath and decided to stop tormenting Virgil with his tenderness. "I have our final deduction- the man had no clue where Remus is."

"Really?"

Janus shook his head. “He was just looking for an excuse for Roman to slip up the whole time. Taunting him, the furniture, physically hurting him- it was all trying to push him to some tiny ‘infraction’ so he could bluff about the information.”

“Huh.” He replayed the events and nodded slowly. “Sure, I can see that. Still, we don’t know if he’s always like that. He didn’t deny the information when Roman touched the furniture- which is a fucked up rule, Jan- I don’t know if him not saying where Remus is was an excuse at all. He said Remus was better than his brother, and he gets pissed when you suggest cutting those clumps out of his hair. He must have been-” He regretted saying it to Janus, but it was deduction time. “He must have been really- cruel to him for Remus to act anything like Roman. He enjoys being cruel, clearly.”

“You’re right.” He twisted the finger of his glove. “Still, surely telling Roman about how scared Remus was would upset him. And he didn’t, so something doesn’t add up.”

Well, his intuition hadn’t lied before. “So what do we do?”

“We find Remus first.” He straightened his shoulders. “Remy would have texted if he went back to the apartment, we can assume he’s not at the cafe since he was found there, and he could have gone to his usual parks and streets but if he’s being watched he wouldn’t. So, where would he go?”

“It wouldn’t be anywhere with a lot of people,” Virgil added. “Or maybe even with a lot of birds, since they all come to him. Somewhere abandoned?”

Janus nodded. “I think we could check out some of the old warehouse districts.”

He nodded. “Sounds like a start. That one’s only ten minutes after the home one.”

They waited quietly, each caught up in their own thoughts. The bus to their district began trundling past until it slowed down for them and the door opened.

Janus shook his head at the driver. “Sorry, we’re not coming.”

She began to close the doors again without comment.

“Wait!” Virgil waved at her. “Wait a moment! Wait-”

She stopped with a huff almost as loud as the bus’ exhaust. Janus let Virgil pull him through the door by his hand, tapping his card dutifully.

He raised an eyebrow as they stumbled into some seats.

“Where’s the place we were talking about running to just before, uh, bird-friend left?” Virgil whispered, even though he doubted the tired commuters would be listening in for names and details. “And where can you bury the kind of bird friend in our freezer? And where wouldn’t be a place you’d search?”

“The forest?” he replied. There was only a scrubby patch of it outside the city.

“Yup. Look, we should go back to the cafe to get Loki, anyone asks and we’re just, you know, getting rid of the health violation in the fridge in a way which isn’t a health risk to a park or anything.”

Janus stifled a yawn. “That’s very smart.”

“Thanks, it was kinda impulsive, but-” Virgil shrugged as he looked out the window at the unrelenting row of houses. “I’m happy to be out of there.” He tucked his arm around his friend. “And you can nap until we get there.”

“I’m just fine, Virgil,” Janus replied, affronted. “Besides, I don’t want to rumple my outfit.”

Virgil gave an exaggerated yawn himself, and Janus immediately followed. He glared at him, which only made Virgil give him a small grin. “Bedtime.”

He was met with a head thunking onto his shoulder. “You had better wake me up in time,” he threatened.

“I will.” He readjusted so he was more comfortable. “We’ll be fine.”

By time they reached the cafe the sky was white and grey. Virgil waited by the bus stop, leaning his head against it as a half-asleep Janus unlocked the front. After enough time for Virgil to consider if he could sleep upright (five minutes), he reappeared with a canvas bag with a rainbow flag hand-printed on it, and a stack of three sandwiches, which he handed to Virgil.

The bus came soon after, and they collapsed into one of the back seats.

They had barely finished the sandwiches by the time they reached their next stop. They got out onto a cracked bit of sidewalk and looked at the trees rising above them. Silent, they walked forward until the concrete suddenly ended.

Virgil breathed in the stench of wild garlic and dug his toe into the slimy layer of dead leaves. Damp air curled in his mouth as though it would die peacefully there. Something chittered in the distance, and then cut off suddenly. He tried to tilt his head up to look at the trees and suddenly the vertigo of only sleeping for a few hours on the bus journeys hit him.

It was a world away from the gilded cage and the dizzying party.

He took a deep breath. “This feels right.”

Janus nodded. He tucked the bag under his arm carefully. “I hope…” he trailed off softly. “Well, Virgil, let us venture onwards.”

He touched his friend’s elbow for just a moment before he walked into the dark trees. After a moment, Janus followed, and they walked on together.

There was occasional litter, plastic bags and water bottles, but as they got deeper into the thick trees and tangled brambles along the forest floor it disappeared. Janus winced as he tried to lift his perfectly shone shoes over a muddy patch Virgil’s leather boots trudged through with ease. The trees were stout and gnarled, fungus protruding out of them like infections.

They wandered without any real direction, just trying to make their way further into the labyrinth of trees.

Virgil suddenly caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye and he grabbed his friend’s arm.

It could have been a pile of abandoned clothes and torn out feathers-

But there was a glimpse of leopard print, and the vague outline of wings, and a low crooning coming from the figure curled there.

Janus crouched down six feet away from him, laying Loki’s bag by his side. “Remus,” he said so softly that Virgil barely heard it. “Remus, it’s Janus.”

Remus froze. Then his wings curved up around him. They were a lot taller than Janus was crouching. A pair of grey eyes came up to meet Janus’. His lips parted as he looked over the two of them. His purple and green makeup was smeared together until it looked like a black eye, and even his moustache seemed to have its own case of bed-head.

“We-” Virgil cleared his throat against a sudden lump. “Well, Janus, mostly, he found the guy’s house? And we went there, and, uh, we were worried about you so we looked.”

His eyes widened.

“We found your brother,” Janus said in a quiet voice. “Roman. He told us to tell you that he wasn’t a gladiator any more; he was there instead. That it, uh, wasn’t too bad.”

For a moment, Remus stopped breathing. Then he brought his hands up to his head, slumping his shoulders and letting his wings wrap around himself. “Bullshit,” he said hoarsely. “What else did he say?”

Janus bit his lip. “He told you to run away as soon as you could, and not to listen to anything they offered or threatened.”

Remus made a strangled yelping laugh which set Virgil’s teeth on edge. His wings were trembling so much that there was a slight breeze on his face. “Roman’s saviour goddamn hero bullshit-” He twined his fingers into his hair and started tugging. “He’s not- fuck,” he winced as he caught a matted section. “Not pathetic enough for that job.”

Janus tried to reach a hand out to untangle his hands from his hair, but Remus only stilled and leaned his head into his glove. Janus gently tugged at his wrist, but Remus wrapped his fingers around his hand and held it to his hair.

“Dude, you’re not pathetic. You broke out of that place all by yourself?” Virgil found his voice off-putting in the silence, but he kept speaking. “That’s hard. And you hid in the same town, in plain sight, for ages. And-”

“I ran away,” Remus said into his knees. “And I knew he’d get punished or die. He had to fight people. All goring out eyeballs and pulling out guts by the handful. Or the clawful. Depended on what kind of people were captured.”

“There are more people like you?”

He shrugged and, just like his brother, the movement made his wings move. “With the weird animal thing? Oh, sure. I would rather have a tentacle dick but you get what you get.” He spoke without humour.

Janus pressed a tiny kiss to the back of his hand, not seeming to care about the smear of dirt on it. “Darling, I’m sure you’re well enough endow-”

“No!” Virgil yelled, holding his hands up. “I have risked myself too many times today for you two to have to listen to that from you.”

Remus shrunk back further into a ball. “Sorry.”

For a moment Virgil was struck genuinely speechless. Then his brow furrowed. “Hey, no, I was just teasing.”

Janus turned to glare at him. He widened his eyes in response. Maybe he should have guessed Remus would be more delicate, but, well, it was Remus.

“Anyway, it’s okay, alright?” he attempted.

“Yeah, sure.” He lifted his head and smudged his makeup even more with the heel of his hand. “Fine.”

Virgil pulled the third sandwich out of his pocket and handed it over. “Figured you’d want that.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

Remus took it and began to carefully undo the wrapping. He took a small bite of the corner. “Mom and Dad are normal but Roman and I just were just born this way- oh there ain’t no other way,” he sang as he shimmied his wings. “But we lived in the middle of nowhere, and we stayed at home our whole lives, even though we talked a lot about hiding ourselves so that we could move. We kept ourselves to ourselves and we had a farm.” He threw his crust to the forest floor, seemingly by habit of having his flock around him. “Hope they didn’t search there for me; that would suck. Our parents saw us get captured, so at least they know what happened.”

Janus nodded as he listened. “How long ago was that?”

“Two years.” He stuffed the rest of the sandwich into his mouth.

“Goodness,” he said softly. “I can’t imagine.”

The corners of Remus’ moustache twitched up into a smile. “Nah, you couldn’t. Thanks,” he said through the remains of his sandwich.

Virgil waited for him to finish eating.

“We brought Loki with us, in the bag,” he said. “We figured it would be a good cover, and we can hold the funeral here.” He reached into the bag to pull out a trowel. They definitely hadn’t had one in the cafe, so Janus must have stored it there after Remus disappeared.

Janus reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and drew out a bag of classic Lays. He handed them over to Remus. “I do hope the flavour’s alright. I think it’s a classic.”

“Perfect,” he muttered. He stumbled up to his feet with a wince, holding his wings out for balance. Even without them fully spread out, the wingspan blocked the entire section of tree behind him. He rolled his shoulders back and flapped his wings.

Both of them stared.

Remus grinned and widened his eyes. “I can fly, you know. I could shit on you midair like-” All at once, his face crumpled and he held a hand up to his mouth. “Sorry, it all hit me again,” he said with a voice like sandpaper.

Virgil put his hoodie sleeve over his mouth as he swallowed back a guilty laugh. He started digging into the soft forest soil to distract himself.

He heard a flutter of feathers- had he been missing that under the whisper of all Remus’ shifting clothes before? - and then sobbing into a suit jacket. It was kind of scratchy on your face, Virgil knew, but it hid tears pretty well. He moved his whole shoulder into his digging, watching a depression form as the other two murmured words of upset and comfort to each other.

“I thought it was you,” whispered Janus against the shell of Remus’ ear. “And- my heart just stopped.”

“I wish it was.” Remus leant his forehead against Janus’ chest.

“But then how would I hold you, hm?” he replied, and there was the brush of fabric on fabric. “We’ll get him out.”

“You promise?” Remus said, and Virgil’s hand clenched around the handle. It wasn’t a good idea to-

“Promise. Split my chest open with a pickaxe and hope to pickle my heart.”

There was a wet laugh. “Kinky.”

“Come now, that was romance as well as kink.” His best friend’s voice was unbearably soft.

A warm feeling settled in Virgil’s chest despite the chill of the weather. Dammit. He stabbed the trowel into the ground again, ignoring the wetness in his own eyes.

He kept digging, until a set of feathers nudged into his face. “Did you poke me from all the way over there?” Virgil asked incredulously. Remus’ wing was as wide as he was tall, and he used it to poke him in the cheek again. It was a little disconcerting to see how much it moved like, well, a limb of his.

A feather brushed over the tears on his cheek. The wing retracted, and Remus came over to kneel by him and take the trowel. He sunk it into the ground, gouging out a huge section of earth with a small battle-cry. He flung it over his shoulder rather than adding to Virgil’s careful pile and then grinned at him.

A smile tugged at his mouth as he reached for the bag. “I think you finished the grave.”

He carefully wrapped the pigeon in the canvas bag Janus had chosen for her and handed it to Remus.

He looked at the little bundle in his hands for a long moment. Then he took her out of the bag. He began to unwind the plastic wrap.

Janus winced.

“That’s not clean-” Virgil whispered.

“It’s going to pollute the forest otherwise,” he replied without looking away from the corpse in his hands. “This is more natural. Besides, they’re pretty clean birds.”

So they watched in silence as he carefully took it all off and placed her in the grave. She was still intact, though her body had stiffened. “Thanks for being here, even if you were technically using her to stalk me,” he said. “Um, this was Loki. She was mischievous, and bold, and really smart. I’m going to miss her.” He cleared his throat and nodded, eyes wet. “Okay. Ready.”

Virgil scooped a handful of dirt with his trowel and scattered it over her. It pattered softly against the earth. Remus was staring hard into the distance. A few rays of sun poked through the trees as he pushed the rest of the dirt back into place. “Should we leave some rocks or something?”

Janus nodded. “I can collect-”

“I thought Roman was dead until a few days ago,” Remus interrupted. It sounded like a statement from a scratchy vinyl recording. “Ghosties are easier to carry around than big living brothers who got jacked from murder. Whatever you need me to do to get him out, I’ll do it. Killing, going back- whatever.”

“I don’t need you to do those things,” Janus said firmly. “All I need you to do now is come to my apartment,” he turned to his friend. “I’m not putting you in any further danger, Virgil-”

“Bullshit.”

He paused, brow furrowing. “Beg pardon?”

“That’s bullshit,” he repeated. “This is the part where you’re you’re going to think you’re being really smart about everything,” he held his hands up, “but you stick to your principles too much and you risk yourself and maybe those two-”

“Thank you for your confidence, Virgil,” he said acidicly.

“Anyway.” This was a spectacularly bad idea. “I’m helping.”

Defensive, his voice grew more formal. “If this is about the court cases, or the job, I promise you that you owe me nothing-”

“I like you, and I like Remus, and I don’t like what’s happening.” He shrugged. “It’s not a big thing; it’s just as simple as that. Okay?”

After a moment, Janus gave a nod.

“Aw, you like me?” Remus cooed. He wiggled his shoulders and grinned, his eyes crinkling up at the corners.

Virgil rolled his eyes. “Course.”

Janus gave Remus a helplessly fond smile. “Then it’s decided. I think we could all use some sleep, then we start this evening.”

#ts fic #sanders sides #remus sanders #janus sanders #virgil sanders #dukeceit #platonic dukexiety #hurt/comfort

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fallingallin701 · 3 years

Text

Breathing

Pairing: Koutarou Bokuto x gn! Reader

Warnings: depressing thoughts, suicidal thoughts, please don’t read if this could trigger you, and know you can always talk to someone and reach out to me if you feel this way

Word count: 2.8k

Author’s note: This is my first Haikyuu! drabble, I hope I did a good job!

__________________________________________________________________________________

Breathe in. Breathe out.

You had to remind yourself to take each breath in and to let it out. Otherwise, how could you relay on your body to do it, when each inhale made your aching muscles hurt just a bit more? You were scared that, if you were to stop consciously thinking about it, you would just stop.

Most of the days were good. It wasn’t like anything really triggered this. You had a stable, sometimes crazy family, you had friends, you had good grades, you had an amazing boyfriend. A groan ripped from your throat as you remembered Bokuto. Just yesterday, you had waited for him to finish practice, and the two of you went for some ice cream and walked around the city endlessly, the talk and laughter never stopping. Bokuto always had a way to make you smile and laugh. He was like a sun, that’s how you would describe him. Ball of energy and happiness, sometimes just his appearance was enough to brighten the room and lift everybody’s mood.

You were not shy, but certainly not as boisterous and extroverted as he was. People called you friendly, someone they could talk to so easily about their problems, and appreciated your calmness. But you only had a handful of friends, and your ideal Friday night was never going out for a party or doing something crazy, it was cuddling up in a blanket with a good book or a good movie, or perhaps, if inspiration hit you, your laptop, fingers typing furiously as words flew at the speed of million miles per hour in your head, making it hard to catch each one of them, making you shudder and squeal in excitement as an interesting moment arrives.

So why you? Why did someone like Koutarou pick you? You heard people wondering in the hallways, and those questions always swirled in your mind. One night, as you two sat on the roof of his house watching the clear sky, you decided to ask him that.

“You bring me peace,” he said, without an ounce of hesitation, like it is something that was obvious. “With you, I don’t have to pretend, I don’t have to hold back. You accept me, the way I am, and support me with so much passion- you don’t have to jump and yell for me to know that, I see it. You know me, inside and out, and accept me and love me. And that is something I would never give up.” He took your hand, bringing it up to his lips and pressed a kiss to it, before pulling you even closer. “Now, tell me, who gives the constellations their names, I just don’t see it. Can you show me again?”

With him, things felt right, they felt real. He never hesitated to show you or tell you just how much you mean to him. Never. That amount of unwavering stability and certainty was refreshing and something you needed so much. He made it hard not to trust him. He was always there to listen, always there to hear you out and try to help you.

But this, this was something you have yet to show him.

Truth to be told, it was worse before him, when this painful loneliness would swallow you whole and it hurt to move, and to breathe. When the hopelessness would wrap its cold boney hand around your throat and make your heart beat like a scared bird trapped inside a cage. When it all seemed hopeless and worthless, when you felt so exhausted and cold and alone, so worthless and good for nothing.

Everybody had insecurities, but yours have been taking control over you for a big part of your life, so much they would incapacitate you and cage you to the bed to wallow in your tears and fear. On days like these, you were afraid to go to the kitchen, scared of what might happen if you got a hold of a knife, scared of not being able to stop that same fear and hopelessness from doing something you knew you did not want to do.

Depression is a silent killer. It sneaks under your skin, and starts off as a few bad thoughts, which then turn into bad days and then into a whole week. It never helped your parents worked long hours and you were constantly alone at home. You tried to hide it, and even managed to control it for some time, forcing yourself to engage into club activities, going out, anything just to keep your mind busy and occupied. You even got a gym membership and went with Koutarou often, hoping that dealing with your body and making sure you were as healthy as one can be physically would improve your mood.

But then, slowly, everything just stopped bringing joy. You dropped club activities, one by one, stopped going out, started skipping workouts. Your concentration was barely there most of the days, and your grades took a spill down. The fear of failure was there- if there was something you were always good at, it was academics, but now, it seemed you were bad at it too.

A sob tore from your throat as you curled deeper into yourself, shaking despite not being cold. What did he see in you? You were good for nothing. You were hopeless, with no future ahead of you.

In the darkness of the room, your phone lit up. Without even looking, you knew it was Koutarou. It had to be the morning now, and you didn’t show up at school. He would usually wait for you at the gate to kiss you good morning and then walk you to your class, but you didn’t show up. You were thankful for the thick curtains you had, because you couldn’t face a sunny day, not in this mood.

In school, Bokuto’s mind was racing. The first period already started, and you weren’t there. Akaashi had dragged him into his classroom, but Bokuto asked your friends to text him if you showed up. Has he done something? Said something? Last night was so fun, with the two of you eating ice cream and then buying bread to feed the ducks at the pond, and when he left you at home and kissed you good night, you seemed fine. Should he have seen something? Was he missing some signals? The two of you had a very open communication, and never hesitated to speak about problems or let the other one know just how much they loved them. Were you sick? Were you hurt? Did you not love him anymore?

He wanted to run to your house so bad as the day went by, but he couldn’t miss another class, as another tardy or skipped class would end in him not being able to take exams and, consequently, not be able to play volleyball. His worry grew throughout the day, especially since you never even opened all the messages he sent. Your friends said you were probably having a headache so you skipped school, that he shouldn’t worry about it, but he knew you. You were the type of person to come to school with a fever, a headache would not stop you.

By the time it was his practice, he barely could jump, and if he did, he would miss the ball, or spike bad, and yet he could not even go further into a low mood, too worried about you to pout about missed spikes and tosses. It was so hard for anything to get done that Akaashi just suggested that they should end the practice, and the brunette could say with certainty that he had never seen Bokuto bolt out of the gym so fast.

Bokuto knew he had to see you. It was the only thing he knew. He changed quickly and made a quick dash to your house, only stopping by a convenience store to buy some candy, things he knew always cheered you up. Upon arriving at your house, he noticed all the blinds were closed, so he dialed your number again, wondering if you even were in the house. When you didn’t pick up again, he knocked a few times, barely able to stand in one place while he waited for you, but you never came. When ten minutes passed and you still hadn’t opened the door, he looked around, reaching under a plant to grab the spare key, letting himself into your house. He hated doing this, but his gut was telling him something was wrong and his gut was never wrong.

The house was dark, as you hadn’t opened any blinds, which was something he knew you did first thing in the morning. He took off his shoes and dropped his bag, calling your name softly. As he climbed up the stairs, he froze when he heard soft whimpers and sobs. Without thinking, he dashed to your room, expecting to see you hurt. And upon pushing your door open, he saw that you were hurt, but not in the way he immediately assumed.

Your eyes snapped open when the door pushed open, widening once you saw Bokuto there. “B-bo, what are you doing here?” you stuttered, and the heartbroken expression on his face not helping how you felt.

“You didn’t come to school and you weren’t answering anybody’s texts and I got worried something happened,” he said, approaching the bed slowly, kneeling before you and taking your hands. Your flushed, tear-stained face made his heart clench deeply. He had never seen you look like this. He had seen you upset, but this, this was another level.

You took a deep, shaky breath and sniffled. “I-I am sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you,” you said, wiping some tears away with your fist.

“Did something happen, baby?” his voice was soft, barely above a whisper, his brows furrowed slightly as worry flashed through his golden eyes. More tears gathered in your eyes and you whimpered, but you shook your head. You knew you couldn’t explain it, not now.

His heart broke when he saw how sad you were. He wished he could do something to take it all away, make it so he was the one in pain. He could take it, and even if he couldn’t, he would suffer if it meant you were okay.

He squeezed your hands slowly, hoping to bring your attention to him. “What do you need me to do? Do..” he stopped, biting his lip, “do you want me to leave?” He couldn’t leave after seeing you like this, but he would if you needed it.

You shook your head frantically, the thought of him leaving now making another cold wave of loneliness wash over. “No, please don’t leave me,” you sobbed, unable to hold back the tears anymore, “Don’t leave me alone, please.”

Bokuto didn’t need you to tell him another word. He used one hand to loosen his tie and unbutton the first few buttons of his uniform before he crawled into the bed with you, leaning against the headboard and pulling you between his legs, letting you rest against his chest. His strong arms held you tight, rubbing soothing circles in your back as you sobbed. Each one broke his heart a little more, but he stayed strong. You needed him to be strong, so he would be.

He didn’t know how long you two stayed like that. He kept rubbing your back, kissing your hair, forehead, temple, cheek, hand, shoulder, anything he could reach, telling you that he was right here, that he loved you, that he wasn’t leaving you, ever. You cried, and would sometimes calm down, and he even managed to lull you into sleeping, the deep circles beneath your usually sparkling eyes making him feel bad for not running over sooner, volleyball and missed exams be damned.

After some time, he gently tilted your head up, fingers curling under your chin. He smiled softly, kissing your eyes and cheeks and forehead. “Would you feel up to some food, maybe? I promise I will stay here the whole time, but we need to get some food in your tummy,” he said, and though you did not feel like eating, you knew you had worried him enough, so you nodded.

Effortlessly, he picked you up, wrapping your legs around his waist and laying a few kisses along your shoulder as he brought you downstairs, grabbing the food he bought before sitting you down on the kitchen counter and pouring you a glass of water, which you drank thankfully. He didn’t know much in the kitchen, but he knew how to make a mean sandwich, so he did just thank, swearing to himself to make the best one yet.

The two of you ate in silence, you on the kitchen counter and Bokuto between your legs, close enough to soothe you and far away enough so you could eat in peace. Once you ate as much as you could, he pecked your cheek, telling you how proud he was of you, before putting the dishes away and washing them up quickly.

“I love you.”

The words fell from your lips before you could stop them, but seeing him like this, after all of this, your heart warmed.

He stopped in his tracks and turned around, smiling widely.

“I love you more, baby. I am sorry for breaking in,” he said, wiping away his hands and coming up to you.

You shook your head. “No, Bo, it is my fault, I shouldn’t have worried you like this, I just… couldn’t help it,” you said softly and looked down at your knees. Your cheeks warmed when he kissed your forehead.

“You don’t get to apologise, okay?” he asked, bending down a bit to meet your eyes.

You nodded, and bit your lip. A deep sigh. Here we go.

“I am depressed. I didn’t get an official diagnosis, but that is it. It’s a family thing, a lot of women on my dad’s side of the family have it, and on days like these, I find it hard to breathe,” you said, your voice shaky, but your eyes were not tearful. “Everything just becomes too hard, and I feel so hopeless and worthless and alone. It is not that I am ungrateful for what I have, I love you and my friends and family, but everythinig has been getting so hard, and too much. I have been almost failing my classes and I have been missing our workouts and I have no energy for anything.”

Bokuto listened carefully, nodding along.

“Have you talked to your family about this? Do you think that maybe seeing a doctor could help?” he asked carefully, not wanting to cross a line or offend you.

“I haven’t, they are just so busy and I don’t want to bother them,” you admitted and Bokuto nodded.

“I am not the smartest person in the world,” he shushed you when you opened your mouth to speak,” and I don’t know much about depression, but what I do know is that you mean the absolute world to me. You are the brightest star in my life. You are so charming, so sweet, so grounded and the most supportive person I have ever met. If there is anyone in our school who makes it big, it’s you. Do you know how smart you are? How funny you are? How stunningly beautiful you are? Do you know how much of a better person you make me, every day? You are supportive and caring and so damn beautiful, every single thing about you is beautiful, and I hate to see you in pain. Thank you for trusting me with this. Thank you for letting me see you like this. I promise I will stay by your side, okay? We don’t have to talk, I will be here, just holding you. Or we can talk, whatever you want, we can do. A lot of things are uncertain and life is tricky, but I promise to stay by your side, and I will remind you how much I love you every single day, just like you do to me. And when it gets hard to breathe, I will be here, breathing with you,” he smiled softly, his thumb caressing your cheek before he brought you in for a hug, and this time, the tears streaming down your face were those of happiness.

This didn’t make things magically better, and you knew one hell of a dark, taunting road was ahead of you. But with your little sun by your side, holding your hand, it certainly seemed possible.

#bokuto koutarou x reader #bokuto koutarou #haikyuu!! x reader #haikyuu

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nooneelsecomesclose17 · 3 years

Text

You are the absolute best idea I ever had - Part 2

I promise Aaron is going to show up soon. He’s just being uncooperative right now.

*******

It’s a damn cliche and he hates them, but it’s like something out of a fairytale and he’s only in the entrance hall. Are they called entrance halls in palaces? He really thinks the least his Dad could’ve done if he insisted on him being here was give him a cheat sheet about these things. He’s not even here to ask. He’s already working the room, shaking hands and making contacts. Robert doesn’t even know what this whole shebang is for, for goodness sakes. It’s not like he hasn’t been to an event like this before, but that’s always been a fundraising thing, or a couple of small gatherings once his Dad was elected and they were playing the happy family card. This though, this is a whole other level. One foot wrong and it could be treasonous.

“And this is my son Robert.” He swallows as his Dad approaches with an unfamiliar face but it’s absolutely the type of person he knows will be useful. His father doesn’t bother with anyone who isn’t. So he smiles, shakes hands, and hopes someone will offer him a drink and soon.

*******

It’s all over in a flash. One minute he’s chatting away about the impending black hole in the country’s finances having finally found someone having an interesting conversation, and the next he’s flying towards the ground.

Ok, so maybe he made a comment about the amount of money being spent in the very room and maybe Prince Aaron had overheard and confronted him before roughly pushing past him. It wasn’t his fault that he’d grabbed the nearest thing to hand to stop himself falling. How was he to know that a simple grab of the arm would mean a punch in the face from an heir to the throne.

All he can see as he gets to his feet, bits of ridiculously expensive canapé all over his best suit is his Dad’s face, redder than he’s ever seen it. He doesn’t even look over at Prince Aaron but he can sense a flurry of activity around him, whereas he’s just stranded.

“I…I’m so sorry.” He daren’t look round, just edges his way out of the room hoping it’s in the direction of the way out, of safety. He knows his Dad is following and hell why does he feel like a kid again.

“I’ve never been so embarrassed Robert. Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

“It’s not like I assassinated the Queen with a blini, Dad. It was a tray of salmon things. I was the one being punched you know! I’m fine by the way.” He touched his jaw gingerly, hissing as pain blossomed.

“And what did you say to him to make him punch you?” He opens his mouth to answer. “Oh just be quiet Robert. When we get home I don’t want to see you until tomorrow morning. In my office, with Nicola and we’ll see just how much of a mess you’ve made.”

He escapes before the car has even pulled up at the entrance at the back of Downing Street, pushing past the protection officer and storming upstairs to his room only to let out a groan when he sees his sister has made herself nicely at home in his armchair. He does smile when he spies the bar of his favourite chocolate on the table and a beer waiting to be opened.

“So you had a fun night.” She hugs him and just for a second he could imagine it was his Mum, ready to make his day all better. “Is Dad angry?”

“You mean you didn’t hear the explosion all the way over here?” He shakes his head as she sheds his jacket and throws his tie on the bed. “Wasn’t even my fault.”

“Really? That’s not what it says on Twitter."

“I…I just…look it is obscene that they’re spending that much money on food and diamonds and who knows what else. I only said what a good chunk of the country thinks.”

“Yeah but they don’t say it to the second in line to the throne.”

“I didn’t know he was there! Can I at least get a little sympathy for the fact that he might’ve broken my jaw?”

“Rob, I don’t think we’d be having this conversation if he’d broken your jaw. You’re so dramatic sometimes. I’ll get you some frozen peas.”

“Bring the ice cream too.” He calls after her. “The good stuff.”

“You’re going to give yourself diabetes or something.”

“Right now I could care less.” He wanted to wallow, he thinks he deserves that much. He wasn’t the one who threw a punch and ruined the evening. All he’d done was grab his arm, and that was what he got for his trouble. The beloved Prince clearly had anger management issues and he wasn’t taking the blame for that.

*******

All in all he’d enjoyed the rest of the evening. He and Vic had settled into the oversized armchair, somehow managing to fit even if he was half perched on the arm, with the ice cream and more than a couple of beers, watching trashy movies until he literally couldn’t keep his eyes open, all thoughts of what lay ahead forgotten.

He’s suffering now, his jaw aches, his head is banging and his eyes are full of grit thanks to the early morning call to wake him up. He likes Nicola, his father’s head of communications. She’s fun and she takes as well as she gives, but he’s never been on the wrong side of her until now. Any inkling of friendship they may have formed on those few times he’d campaigned for his father was likely gone. It was even odds that she’d have him hung drawn and quartered in the rose garden if she thought she could get away with it.

“You just can’t go more than 24 hours without giving me a headache can you? Do you think I’m in need of work or something? As if I don’t have enough to do with the Cabinet!” She sweeps into the sitting room, arms full of the day’s papers, slamming them onto the table making him groan. “Serves you right. What on earth did you think you were doing?”

“Would you even believe anything I said? Have you got any paracetamol in that bag of yours?”

“No. You can sit there and suffer just like I am at having to sort out your mess. You’re an idiot.”

“It’s been said.”

“I’ve spoken with your father, and the palace who are just as keen as us to do some kind of damage control.” He winces as she paces around the room. He should’ve just stayed in bed, that would’ve been a very good idea.

“I would’ve thought it’d be easy for them. Blame it all on me, it’s not like I’m already in the country’s bad books.”

“Oh do stop feeling sorry for yourself Robert. It’s not an attractive look on you.”

“Aw I didn’t know you cared.” He sits forward, trying to catch sight of the notes she’s making. “So go on, or are we waiting for the old man.”

“He left you in my capable hands. More important things to do apparently.” She actually looks sympathetic so he can only imagine what his Dad had actually said.

“Right. What do I have to do?”

“You’re going to be Prince Aaron’s new best friend. Well, when I say new, I mean we’re going to tell the press that you’ve been friends for a while and that what they saw last night was an accident after a friendly squabble over the football.”

“You’re joking, right? Why have I got to play nice with him. He punched me!”

“After you have insulted his family. I always thought you were bright but I’m reevaluating my opinion.”

“I only said what half the country thinks.”

“That’s as maybe, but they don’t do it in the sovereign’s house. I don’t care what you think of them, no one does, they only care what it looks like. Your father can’t be seen to think like that because the majority of the country don’t.”

“I’m not my father!”

“It’s all the same thing in politics.” Finally she sits down and pushes the stack of newspapers to him. He swallows heavily as he looks at the top one, pictures of the punch, of him sprawled on the floor clutching his jaw. “So we’re going to do this, and you’re going to play nice with him or so help me God Robert I’ll stick you on a plane to the most inhospitable part of this planet with a one way ticket.”

He nods, anything for some peace and an easy life, and she relaxes. It looks like he has a new best friend then.

#robron fic #no idea when the next part will be done #my family are conspiring against me getting time or peace to write #but i'll do my best for next weekend at the latest

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romaxnogersav · 4 years

Text

Sunset picnic

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader, hinted Bucky Barnes x Natasha Romanoff

Warnings: literally just fluff, a curse word or two but mainly fluff

Word count: 4009

Summary: You and Steve spend an afternoon together, cooking, hugging, watching the sunset with a picnic laid out.

Tags: @et-lesailes if you get sick of me literally just let me know😂💕

A/N: I kind of just wanted to write something fluffy and cute but it turned enormously fluffy. This took me two weeks to finish and I have no idea why. The food, I picked from some of the things I love, plus Cevans has Italian roots, hence the pasta. I’m also a big car lover, so Steve’s car had to be a classic. Soo emjoy <3

Also I’m starting a Steve Rogers tag list, so if you want to be added, sent me an ask <3

***My work is to not be posted or translated on any other site (AO3, Wattpad, Fanfic, ect.) without my permission!!!***

the header for the story is made by me!💫

You were unwrapping your hands free from the boxing tape, taking deep breaths to bring your breathing to normal after the intense sparing match you just had with Natasha.

She wasn't any better, sitting in front of you, drinking from her water bottle, one hand on her hip.

She drank half of it in one go while you were unwrapping your left hand, then closed the bottle and looked at you.

"Steve and the boys back yet?" She asked getting to unwrap her own hands free.

"Should be back later today, late afternoon I think, something like that" you said finishing up, moving your neck a bit.

"Why, you missing Barnes already?" You asked chuckling at her, reaching for the hoodie you had discharged earlier.

"There's nothing going on between me and Bucky, Y/N" the two of you got into step, walking out of the gym, passing by recruits on your way to the elevator.

"Yeah, see I don't believe that."

"Well I never asked you to" she answered, pressing the bottom for the elevator.

"Oh come on Nat. You are basically flirting every chance you get." You laughed getting in. You pressed the bottom for the living quarters.

"Voice activation required" F.R.I.D.A.Y.'s voice echoed around the closed space.

"I swear to God, I'm going to kill Tony one of these days" you quipped, explaining, being overly done with the billionaire.

"Mrs. Capsicle" you said, another exhale leaving you.

"Well, yeah get in line" Nat joked. "Double Agent Natalie" she looked at you, lifting a brow up. Both of you bursted out laughing after that.

"Access granted. I genuinely am sorry for Mr. Stark's child behavior" if only Tony was as polite as the AI's he made, the Avengers would have a field day.

"Don't worry about it FRIDAY, so are we" Nat said, wiping a light tear from the corner of her eye.

"Okay, back to the conversation at hand." You said clapping your hands together.

"Drop it"

"Seriously thought, Bucky is honestly one of the nicest people ever plus he is on your level and you have been getting more than a little acquainted lately, give this a shot" you chatted, the singing sound of the elevator notifying you that you've reached the floor you, Steve, Natasha and Bucky were occupying.

"Hey, drop it, nothing's gonna happen" she said

"Oh come on, you like him, he likes you, go the fuck out" you whined.

It wasn't actually your business, but they were two of your best friends, was it that bad that you wanted them happy?

You reached a hallway, one separating the directions you were headed in.

"I can't hear you" she said, walking in the opposite direction, doing her hardest to get you out of her hair.

"Give it a shot Double Agent Natalie" you said, chuckling

"You are next on my list after Stark" she yelled back at you, making you chuckle again.

"You love me" you headed down the hallway towards the living quarters you shared with Steve.

You and Steve had been dating for around seven months, and had decided to share a living space around two months back.

It had taken so long for the two of you to get together, you thought your feelings were giving headaches left and right to the other occupants of the compound, or so Bucky had told you.

You had danced around your feelings for the good part of a year, that everyone had had enough, and a plan had been formed to set you two up.

While you thought you were having dinner out with Wanda and Natasha, Steve had been set up on a blind date by Sam and Bucky themselves. Going into the restaurant, and finding yourselves in each other’s company had been strange and awkward at first, but things had blossomed up really fast and the night had ended with a walk in downtown Manhattan hand in hand, a kiss goodnight on the cheek and a promise for a real date where you weren't set up by your friends.

Things had escalated from there, and now almost a year later, you were in a happy relationship with Steve Rogers.

Being in a relationship with Steve was a heartwarming experience. He was an affectionate partner, gentle and caring. He wanted to spend as much time with you as possible when you weren't on missions, but not that much for it to feel suffocating. He was supportive of your choices, understanding in different situations. He loved doing things for you, and you did too.

Between missions out and training, the lives you were leading weren't the easiest ones, so you were both always sticking to small things that much more showed your affection, rather than how big you could go, and you didn't need to compete with Tony Stark on that front.

Your personal favorites were the times where Steve would get you a small bouquet of your favorite flowers, stock the freezer with your favorite ice cream or get your favorite dessert. You could also honestly say that you loved the little notes you found around your leaving space left from him. You had a whole bunch of them stacked in a box in the bedside table drawer.

The most recent one was a little note you found three days ago, the morning Steve, Sam and Bucky had left for a little mission down in Ecuador.

It was a sweet red sticky note, left on the coffee maker.

"You were snoring a bit last night, but I still love you. See you Wednesday afternoon twinkles"

The note had read with a couple of stars around it, a little kiss lips doodle in the corner.

God, and the pet name, it had you melting. You weren't much for the common ones, so you had your own spiced up pet names that Sam claimed were making him gag.

But dating a Super Soldier, and an Avengers leader was also kind of a hard, good thing was you were both equally trying to make it work, and it was, which was all the more proof that you and Steve were good for each other.

As you neared the door to your apartment space, you were able to hear the faint sounds of jazz. The oh so familiar words of Walkin' my baby back home by Annette Hanshaw, or in other words one of Steve's favorite songs from his time, were softly sounding from inside.

You smiled at that, he had gotten home a bit earlier than you expected, so that meant you were going to have a bit of time for yourselves.

When you neared the door, you pressed your thumb to the scanner, and waited for the door to unlock.

You honestly didn't know why Tony had put scanners on the living quarters doors, but you appreciated them at times.

When the door clicked, you opened it and stepped into the space. The music was a bit louder now, and you could also hear Steve's faint voice singing along. From your place at the door you saw Steve in the kitchen, chopping what looked like veggies.

When you closed the door, his attention snapped to you, a big smile making its' way on his face.

"Hey you" he said putting the knife down, toweling his hands on a towel nearly.

"Hey yourself. You are back early." you said, leaving the hoodie on a chair in the living room, making your way to the kitchen. Steve rounded the island and met you halfway, his hands finding their way to your hips.

"We finished early." He said, bending down, pressing his lips to yours. It felt good to be near him again, even after just a few days.

The kiss was gentle, passionate, full of how much he had missed you these past few days. It was slow at first, but soon after your lips started moving just a tad more urgently. When Steve nipped your lower lip, you couldn't hold back the little moan that came out of the back of your throat. Steve used the opportunity to deepen the kiss, passing his tongue into your month, swallowing down your moan.

One of his hands rested on your hip, giving it a squeeze, and his other was spread out on the back of your head, strands of your hair between his fingers. Yours in turn were positioned around his middle, holding him close to you.

The long kiss was a welcomed moment even though you were sweaty from the training session, and Steve as it seemed was trying to cook something.

Soon you parted, foreheads pressing against one another for a few seconds while your breathing got back to normal.

Steve pulled back to look at you, a smile on his face.

"I missed you" he smiled, squeezing your hip again, kissing your nose.

"Me too. What do you have there?" You asked, gusting to the veggies on the kitchen counter and the water boiling on the stove.

"You'll see." He said giving you one last peck on the lips before pulling away from you and going back around.

"Now, go shower because you stink, and put something nice and comfortable on afterwards. We are going out." he told you, smiling your way before he started chopping the veggies again.

"What a gentleman you are Rogers, what a gentleman." you chuckled, but still started making your way over to the bedroom. You could hear Steve's little laugh on the way, and soon after it was followed by the tender words of yet another classic, Summertime by Ella Fitzgerald.

Small surprises were always something you and Steve did for one another, and right now you were really curious as to where you might be going later.

You sure needed some time for yourselves, away from the Compound, so a little going out and spending some time with Steve was something you were sure you would enjoy.

Around an hour later, you emerged from the bedroom dressed in black jeans, with a navy blue camisole, white sneakers and nude pink cardigan in hand.

When you went back to the kitchen in search for Steve, you found him on the stove with an apron on.

He had changed while you were taking a shower. The sweats and t-shirt from earlier were traded for dark blue jeans and a dark red henley.

There were a couple of ingredients spread out on one side of the island, along with a bowl, whisk and two cute little mason jars. On the other side sat a basket, two bottles, one of a favorite wine of yours and the other with what could only be homemade lemonade.

You left the cardigan on one of the bar stools, moving around the counter and sneaking your arms around Steve's middle, resting your cheek between his shoulder blades.

"I thought you said we were going out. What's with all the food?" You ask, running your hands up and down his chest and abdomen.

"We are. We are having homemade dinner outside" he told you while stirring a pasta sauce in the pan.

"Like a picnic?"

"Yeah a picnic outside at sunset" he took one of your hands, bringing it to his lips and laying a kiss on your knuckles.

"Steve, you just got back from a mission," you started, wanting to protest. You wanted to tell him that you could just stay in, snuggle up on the couch, watch a movie, he could have even skipped up on cooking, you would have been perfectly happy with ordering something.

Your protest though, died as soon as they began when he put the spoon down and turned around, putting his hands around you, placing a kiss on your forehead.

"I know, but I want to. I want us to spend a couple of hours away from here, just you and me, nice wine, homemade dinner, the spring sunset. How does that sound?" He asked, getting close to you, prepping your face with kisses. One on the nose, each cheek, on the eyes, forehead and finally a couple of quick pecks on the lips.

You were giggling, trying to get away from him, pushing on his chest a bit. When your giggles died out, you looked into his eyes and smiled.

"It sounds incredible" you answered, kissing him on the cheek.

"I'm going to finish the pasta, and then how about we make the dessert together?" He squeezed your waist, letting you go afterwards. You just nodded, going on the other side of the counter.

After Steve finished the pasta, he took hold of your hand, took a second apron from somewhere and tied it around your waist.

You were trapped between him and the counter, with his chest against your back.

"You look so cute" he whispered, kissing the back of your head.

"You know this is only slowing us down, right?" You asked while Steve was mixing the crushed cookies and the butter.

"Yeah, but I get to do it with you, so I'm not about to complain." he chuckled, pinching you in the ribs, making you laugh and swap at his thigh.

"You are a dork." you laughed, pulling another bowl from across the counter.

Steve sat the mix of cookies and butter aside, then opened the heavy cream and poured it in the bowl you just pulled.

"Yeah, but you still love me" he kissed you again, then took the whisk and passed it onto you. You chuckled and accepted it.

Just as you were about to start whisking the heavy cream, Steve placed his hand on top of yours, and started doing all the work. You wanted to melt into him, and just sit there and make the dessert the whole day.

There was something so domestic about the whole thing. You were Avengers and having moments such as this one was really rare. You were doing your best to separate your avenging lives from the lives you led with each other, so those moments where you could just be with each other, vulnerable, open and loving were your absolute favorite.

Steve longed for that, the domesticity outside of being a national symbol, and being able to share it with you in whatever capacity that was. It made him feel like Steve Rogers, and Steve Rogers only, and he loved it.

When the heavy cream was thick enough, he added a packet of cream cheese, some vanilla and some powder sugar and with shared effort you started whisking them together.

When the cream was fully ready you sat that aside too, while Steve sat a pot on the stove and put a full assortment of berries in. A couple of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries with a bit of sugar, lemon juice and a bit of cornstarch were set to heat on the stove, while you started filling the little mason jars with the cookie and butter mix.

Just as you were about to put the cream part in the jars, Steve came with the pot of warm and thickened berries.

He sat it aside to cool, and out of the blue, took a bit of the cream mixture and smeared it on your cheek.

"Stevee" you whined but laughed nonetheless. He was being such a child today, but you couldn't even complain. He pressed you against the counter again, circling his arms around you. You wanted to push him off, take the cream off and finish the dessert, but he had other plans.

"Hold still, let me get a taste." he whispered in your ear, then ran the tip of his tongue where the cream was on your cheek, then lightly sucked on it with his lips.

A spark went through your spine at his words and actions and for a moment you wanted to forget all about the dinner, the dessert, the picnic and being outside by yourselves in favor of retreating to your bedroom and spending the rest of the day under the sheets, covered in sweat and prepping kisses all over each other.

"Delicious" he whispered again, making you move around in his arms, trying to wiggle back, but just as fast as he had covered your cheek in cream, he let go of you and stepped back. You almost whined at the loss of contact.

"I swear to God Rogers..." you started but he cut you off by turning you and kissing the words out of your mouth.

It was a hungry kiss, like he too wanted to spend the rest of the day in bed, hearing you whine and protest, sigh and moan, let him touch you, love you.

You kissed until you could hardly breath, then he ended it.

"Later" he said lowly, pecking your lips once more before pulling you to him again, and just like minutes ago, having his front against your back.

"If I didn't know you well enough, I'd say you have some kind of fetish about having my back pressed against your front" you joked, taking a spoon, and starting to fill the jars with the heavy cream and cream cheese mixture.

He laughed, the sound from his chest vibrating against you.

"Maybe I do, and you'd never know" he said, squeezing your hips.

When the jars were filled with the white mixture, Steve took the pot and placed a couple of spoons from the berries mixture on top, even feeding you some in the process.

It was so nice, you rarely got to cook together. Tony had cooks most of the time, or you ordered in, so even making dessert together was incredibly good.

When the dessert was ready, you closed the jars and rinsed all the dishes before stacking them in the dishwasher.

Steve packed the basket, setting the food and wine in, adding silverware, plates and glasses.

You pulled the apron off, setting in on the counter, then pulling your cardigan on. Steve pulled on a jacket, took the basket in one hand and your hand in his other and exited your living quarters. You took the elevator down to the garage.

When you got there, you walked by the all the cars there, until you reached Steve’s at the end. The 1967 Chevrolet Camaro SS 350 painted in navy blue had been a gift for his birthday last year from you and the team. You knew Steve loved his bikes, but you couldn't count on the Harley every time you wanted to go on a date, so at the end you all settled for getting him a car.

Tony had found the perfect car, and you all had liked it. You and Natasha had picked the color and after that the car had been fully restored and ready exactly for Steve's birthday.

He had been ecstatic. He loved the car, he loved the gesture, he genuinely appreciated the thought and the time you put into his gift.

Steve put the basket in the truck and came to even open your door. When you settled in, he circled around and got in himself.

Soon after you drove away from the compound.

-----------

You were driving, the faint sounds of Steve's favorite songs playing in the car. It was a long but pleasant drive, most of which spent with Steve's hand resting atop your thigh.

Around an hour into the drive, you were able to point where you were. You were driving around in Brooklyn, Steve's old borough.

After fifteen more minutes, Steve pulled up to the parking lot of what you couldn't even mistake, a park.

There was a sigh up front that read "Prospect Park". Steve got the basket from the truck, followed by a blanket and two pillows.

"You have to be kidding me. Steve!" You said, already giggling and laughing at what a cute boyfriend he was.

"What? I want us to be comfortable." He said and you just shook your head at him, taking the pillows from his arms. He locked the car, and took your hand leading you through the park.

You walked for a while, trying to find a bit more secluded space to settle. Soon enough though, you found the perfect place.

A few trees closing the area just a bit, with an overly beautiful view of the lake that faced west, right where the sun was going to set.

You were at a loss of words. It looked so beautiful and peaceful, you get to spend an afternoon right here, overlooking the lake, while enjoying the company of your incredible boyfriend, with homemade dinner and wine and to top it all off, you get to watch the sun set behind the horizon.

You rarely got to have that much freedom to spend the time like this, so seeing Steve doing this for you almost made you tear up.

"Steve...this is, all of this....I-" you stared, your voice almost cracking. You looked up at him, tilting your head just a bit to look at him better.

"You don't have to say anything, I wanted to." He said, putting the basket down.

Soon the blanket was laid out, the two pillows set on one side with the basket on the other, you and Steve sitting in the middle.

He unpacked, opening the bottle of wine and pouring you both a glass, before getting the food out. An assortment of cheese and vegetables with dips was put in front of you, with a few salty muffins, curtsey of none other but Sarah Rogers, the recipe for which Steve had found through an old cookbook of hers.

The pasta was pulled out too, soon after and you enjoyed dinner, while talking back and forth, laughing and smiling at one another. It was nice and sweet, it felt, like all that mattered right now were you and Steve, and that made it all the better. Sharing his beautiful moment with the person you loved.

You were feeding each other dessert when the sun started slowly going down. You were so engaged in each-other, you were almost going to miss it.

The cheesecake was left unfinished in favor of laying back, your head on Steve's chest with an arm draped over his stomach. One of his was wrapped around your waist, with the other settled on your thigh.

You were relishing in the quiet while gazing at the sun setting when Steve's quiet voice broke the silence.

"I love you, thank you for being with me, supporting me and loving me. You've been there to fill that loneliness I've been feeling for as long as I can remember. Thank you for seeing me as everything else but Captain America, as everything else but a man born out of war." He told you, leaning just a bit back to look at you.

"You sound like you are about to propose" you giggled, reaching to lay your hand on his cheek. Your eyes stunk a bit at his admission, but you were trying your best to keep everything at bay.

"I'm not, not now, but maybe in the near future"

"You are something else Steve, you are something else, but I love you nonetheless. Thank you, for giving me a place to call home, for being a part of my life in such capacity, for being my home" you told him. He closed what little space was left between you, placing his lips on yours and gently but surely kissing you breathless. You felt a single little tear slip down your cheek and smiled into the kiss, because this? You could never get used to how attentive and gentle Steve was, you couldn't. He was everything you could wish for in your significant other.

You spend a couple more hours relishing in being with each other, watching the sun fully set and the starts lighting the sky.

You felt like the world could end at any moment, and you'd still be happy, because you got to spend your last moments with the person you love and cherish the most.

#steve rogers x reader #steve rogers one shot #steve rogers fluff #steve rogers fanfiction #Steve Rogers #steve rogers x you #marvel fluff #marvel one shot #marvel fanfiction #romaxnogersav #tina writes

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zairapvrker · 4 years

Text

what happens in vegas // calum hood

Author’s Note: Y’ALL!!! I’ve wanted to write this for a g e s and yesterday I was watching that episode of Friends -if you know, you know- and this whole thing came to mind. Hope you enjoy!

Summary: You decide to join your best friend Calum in his band’s end of tour celebrations in Vegas and things get rather... interesting.

masterlist

He hadn’t expected you to show up for the end of tour celebrations but he probably should’ve seen it coming since he did notice his bandmates being sneaky from time to time. He was so happy to see you for he hadn’t in so long, last time was halfway through tour.

As soon as you had spotted the table he and his friends were seated at, enjoying their first late breakfast in a while, you went up to them. Everyone else pretended not to see you as you covered Calum’s eyes with your hands. “Guess who?” you gingerly asked, he spinned around immediately and engulfed you in the tightest hug. “Y/N!” he hadn’t seen you in too long. “Cal, you’re crushing me” you laughed lightly as he stepped back murmuring a soft “Sorry” along with a shy smile. You decided to ignore the flips your stomach was doing at the sight, completely unaware of the alarmingly loud thrumming of your best friend’s heart.

Of course, the first thing in order for the night were drinks, so that’s how you found yourself in some random club in Las Vegas surrounded by all your friends, who were already all very tipsy. You laughed as you saw Michael‘s attempt at twerking up against a very amused Ashton, while Luke was recording it all - Crystal and Sierra doubling over in laughter. You sipped your drink, trying to suppress the ugly laughing, as Luke pocketed his phone declaring he was gonna teach his friend how to properly twerk - making everyone almost fall out of their seats.

The night was quick to escalate after that and you somehow ended up stranded at the bar, chatting with Calum. You weren’t quite sure what you were talking about, what nonsensical matter had you so happy and giggly and warm inside, although that was the usual when with your best friend - of course aided by the alcohol in this case. “I’ve missed you, doll” he said once the giggles had quieted down, the sincerity in his eyes making your heart clench. “Missed you too” you answered. “Hey, you wanna get out of here?” he asked. “What about the others?” you questioned, looking at the crowd of people and barely spotting them. “They’re old enough to find their way back to the hotel” he waved off, then grasping your hand in his and marching out of the bar into the chilly night.

Somehow the two of you had ended up in front of the Bellagio Hotel, admiring the fountain show with wide eyes. Calum brought you closer to him, sneakily sliding his arm around your waist until your back was resting against his chest, his chin on top of your head. He hoped you couldn’t hear his quickened heartbeat, luckily for him you were also preoccupied with similar thoughts. “Let’s take a look around here” Calum said after the show ended, you simply nodded following his lead. By now it was clear that you were just wandering around, pointing at things you found amusing and laughing about them for minutes - letting the intoxication clouding your minds just enough.

As you strolled down a strangely quiet road he suddenly asked “Should we get married?” making you stop dead in your traks, also bringing him to a halt. Your head cleared for a second and your jaw dropped, if you had a drink no doubt you would’ve spat it. “What?” you exhaled, shoked. “There’s a chapel every twenty steps! Maybe it’s a sign” he gestured with the hand that wasn’t holding yours. You scoffed a laugh “We’re in Las Vegas, Cal. That’s one of the main things this city is known for!” you tried to reason, but you couldn’t deny that your heart felt like it was a second away from bursting out of your chest and your stomach was clutched in a seriously tight knot. He nodded, seemingly taking a minute to think, looking at your intertwined fingers. You followed his gaze but when you looked up again, he was down on one knee. “Cal...” you whispered, suddenly his light touch on your hand burning like fire.

“When we were nine some guys were making fun of me because I still couldn’t ride a bike properly and fell from time to time. You made them shut up and go away reminding them that they still couldn’t ride a skateboard for the life of them, and offered me one of your Spiderman bandaids. Then we went for ice cream with your babysitter and we promised we would be best friends forever” you smiled fondly at the memory, feeling tears burn at the back of your eyes. “I’d very much like to honour that promise” he ended with a low voice. You kneeled down as well, grasping both his hands in yours. “Promise me this then” you said with a shaky voice, watching him nod while inhaling.

“Promise that these drunken words are also sober thoughts” you watched him intently as a smile appeared on his face. “I promise” he stated seriously, at that you started nodding. “So you’ll marry me?” he asked again, the hint of a laugh in his voice. “Yes, I will” you answered, starting to laugh. You watched as Calum took the ring off his pinky and slid it onto your left ring finger, the both of you giggling at the fact that it was still too big. “Let’s go get married!” you yelled, hugging him, as he sneaked a kiss onto your lips before the two of you took off, hand in hand, running to the nearest chapel.

The first thing that hit you when you woke up was a headache, but you knew where that came from, still remembering the drinks downed the night prior. The next thing, however, you had trouble placing. You knew you had drunk enough to remember at least something the next day, but all memories came to a halt after the one of you can Calum exiting a chapel.

Hold the fuck up. A chapel?! You sat up abruptly, not caring for the arm wrapped around your waist, as you stared at your left hand in disbelief. Wrapped around your ring finger stood a gorgeous diamond ring along with a wedding band. You looked to your right, less surprised than you would’ve normally been to find Calum laying there, but the panic quickly set in again as you noticed a wedding band on his finger. The memories from the night before were hazy but definitely there, so you took a second to calm down. You walked in circles around the room, trying to relax and breathe in deeply. Too bad it didn’t really work. “Calum!” you shook him a little, but that didn’t work, so you picked up your pillow and smacked him with it. “Calum wake up!” that worked.

“What?” he asked with a voice full of sleep, low and husky. Deciding to ignore what that did to you, you dove straight into the news. “We uhm, w-we got married last night” the lump in your throat making it hard to speak. At least you knew tears weren’t on their way. He looked slightly surprised for a second, his gaze shifting towards both your hands, then he breathed in deeply. The air was thick with tension, the situation very new and you couldn’t help but let your eyes wander around the room - anything but meeting his dark, warm eyes. You felt him shift, sitting up to mirror your stance.

You were afraid to ask anything, because you remembered his words and yours as well. Yet, neither had clearly spoken about their intentions. The air was getting almost too to heavy to breathe. “Do you want to get an annulment?” he asked, almost cautiously, scared. You, however, were left speechless. “What do you mean?” you let out in a whisper. He stood up, sighing, and lightly stretching before rubbing his face. “I mean, do you want to get an annulment? We’re still in time, I think, before we have to go get a divorce-“ before he could finish the sentence you stopped him. “I’m sorry, weren’t you the one who wanted to get married?” you couldn’t help raising your voice just a little in shock. “We were drunk, Y/N” he stated seriously, one shoulder leaning on the door frame of the bathroom. At that you couldn’t help but flinch, hurt from his words - cutting you deep. You stood up as well, trying not to let the breaking of your heart in a million pieces stop you from talking back. “Yes, but you remember, don’t you?” you asked, taking one step closer. “You promised, Cal. So why did you change your mind?”

His arms uncrossed, falling to his sides. “I just don’t think it’d be the best choice for you” his voice was calm, he was trying to hide his real emotions and you could tell. “What do you know what’s best for me?! I said yes, didn’t I?” you couldn’t keep your calm as he was. He huffed, hands balling up into fists. “You were drunk enough to!” he finally matched your level of aggravation. You were shaking your head, arms crossed. This couldn’t be happening. “You seemed pretty convinced last night. Apparently, I was wrong” you turned around, partly to hide the tears you knew were coming but also to try and take the ring off your finger.

“Well, I’m sorry if I don’t want to stay married to someone who doesn’t love me!” he cut himself off, making you stop dead in your tracks as you inhaled sharply. “I just..” he sighed, defeated. “I don’t want you to stay married to me because it’s not fair to you” you heard him exhale and turned around. He was playing with his ring. “It’s not fair because I know you don’t love me the way I love you” As soon as the words left his mouth if felt as if time had stopped, all the air in your lungs had been knocked out of them and your brain had completely stopped working. You blinked once, letting the tears that had pooled in your eyes stream down your cheeks, your heart beating furiously. “Y-you...” you stuttered shakily. “I’m in love with you - I think I’ve always been. And I know you don’t feel the same but I guess the alcohol gave me the courage I needed to do the thing I wished I could, maybe in another lifetime” he was trying really hard not to break down in front of you. “I would’ve never expected you to say yes, but you did, and I blamed it on the drinks. I suppose I just wanted to live out my dreams, even if for a short while” he looked at you, his eyes burning from the tears he was trying hard to hold back, but seeing you cry in front of him he couldn’t help letting a few slip. “So I’m sorry for putting you in this situation, it was selfish of me”

You couldn’t let the man in front of you suffer any more than he already was, it was breaking your heart that your silence was doing this to him. So you went up to him, ignoring the slight confusion in his eyes, and wrapped your arms around his figure. Slowly, he hugged you back, holding you close. “It was selfish of me to never let you know that I’ve been in love with you for forever” you said against his chest. He let go of you, putting some distance between your bodies. “You’re just saying that” he said, hurt. You shook your head.

“I’m not. I would never just say that” you assured him. “And I would’ve never agreed to marry someone I don’t love with every ounce of my being” you let your hand trail lightly up his arm, until it reached his face, your thumb tracing the shape of his lips softly. He was watching you so intently that his gaze almost burned. “I love you” you whispered, finally meeting his eyes.

He was looking deep into them for any sort of insecurity or insincerity, but he found there to be none. Slowly, a beaming smile formed on his lips, making one appear on yours as well. “And I love you”

As the two of you reached the hotel lobby, finally meeting the rest of the group you hadn’t seen since the night before, a few knowing looks were exchanged. “So, where did the two of you run off yesterday?” asked Michael wiggling his eyebrows, earning a playful slap on the arm from Crystal. “Couldn’t even wait to get back to the hotel to hook up?” cut in Ashton, with a wide smirk.

You and Calum looked at each other holding back the laugh that was trying to escape the both of you, so lifting up your left hand - which was intertwined with his right one - you said “Actually, we got married.” A choir of “What the actual fuck?!” and “Oh my God!” accompained by happy squeals followed, before you were drowned by your friends questions and demands to see the ring. The both of you laughed, the amount only increasing when Luke exlaimed “Man, I knew you two would’ve ended up together, I just thought I’d be there to give my wonderful speech!”

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