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thebubblesareevil · 2 years

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Life on the farm pt 10 gifts from the beyond pt 1

After a lovely dinner Danny called everyone to the living room for souvenirs. Clark was sitting on the couch with Lois sitting on the arm rest next to him. Conner sat next to them looking perfectly comfortable. Danny smiled to himself he knew they would get along if given the chance, they just needed a little push. Once Ma and pa sat in their seats with Cujo happily taking his place in Pa’s lap Danny used his claws to open a small portal and pulled out a box.

He opened the box and with a smirk he pulled out a beautifully wrapped gift. “For the lovely Miss. Lang, I hope you find this to your standards.” Lois looked surprised, but not unhappy.

“I wasn’t expecting anything, but thanks spooky!” She took the gift and happily began to unwrap it as Pa leaned over to Danny.

“Now as someone who has experienced your particular…flair for gift wrapping, I know you didn’t wrap that.” He whispered. Danny could feel a flush of ectoplasm rush to his face.

Danny cleared his throat and looked away “I might have had a little help from the box ghost.” Pa laughed and Lois gasped. Danny looked up “Do you like it?”

“Like it? I love it!” In her hands was a beautifully crafted hand bound leather journal with a fountain pen tied to the front. Danny gave a light chuckle

“Open it and read the first page!” Lois carefully untied the notebook and opened it to the first page. There written in glowing green ink was a message

Miss Lois Lang

If my time as a reporter taught me anything, you should never let a man do a woman’s job. Keep ears to the ground and your eyes to the sky. Keep up the great work.

Sincerely

Mrs. Nellie Bly

Lois sat in shock “How in the hell-” Danny laughs

“I just spent the last month in the infinite realms. With access to every afterlife that has, or will, ever existed. I couldn’t pass up the chance when I ran into her at the Ghost Writers library. Between you and me I think she trying to sucker him into giving up some of his books.” He said with a wink. Everyone looked at Danny like he was crazy “what? What did I say?”

Ma looked at Danny concerned “Sweetheart you were only gone for a week.” Danny looked at Ma confused before an understanding look covered his face.

“Shit, sorry Ma, time is weird in the infinite realms. While it’s only been a week here, a month passed in the realms. It’s crazy, one time I went to a party in the Far Frozen and when I got home my sister yelled at me for an hour because I had been gone for three days!” Danny laughed, Ma just gave him a sad smile and a nod.

Lois looked towards Martha surprised. She gave her a slow shake of the head “Well I hope you were able to get everything done that you needed to.”

Danny popped up “oh yeah! Everything is pretty hectic with Halloween coming up! Fright Knight is super excited to host the hunt this year!” He started digging through the box once more before pulling out a wrapped gift “this one is for you Ma!” Ma carefully unwraps the gift and lets out a happy laugh when she pulled out the cook book.

“Sweetheart you didn’t have to do all this! I’ll admit I wanted that pie recipe but really.” Danny laughs “when the lunch lady heard you wanted a single recipe I was afraid she might burst from joy, she told me to come back before I left and she would have it ready. Never let it be said she let anyone go hungry.” Danny grinned “Remind me later to tell you about the time she attacked my high school cafeteria just because my friend changed the menu.” He said turning back to the box of gifts. Lois looked over to Martha with concern and she silently mouthed ‘later’ to her eldest sons partner.

“Pa! I thought you’d get a kick outta this!” He pulled out a large box covered in fish wrapping paper. “It’s a little cheesy but I couldn’t resist when I saw it. Pa opened the box to reveal a large marlin on a frame. He let out a barking laugh as Danny fell into a fit. Cujo falls from his place on Pa’s lap and runs over to claim conners lap for his own. (Not that Conner would complain)

“It’s perfect!” Danny raises his hand trying to stop laughing long enough to speak. “Wait! It gets better!” Danny takes the marlin and sets against the wall. He holds up a finger and slowly walks past. Just as he reaches the head of the massive fish the head jerks forward and you hear a roosters crow screech through the house. Pa slaps his leg and can’t stop laughing. Clark has a huge grin splitting his face.

“That fish makes a better rooster than lord Reddington ever did!” Lois looked at Martha confused

“I thought the rooster was named big red?” Ma gives her a smile.

“Chickens are noble creatures, as such they must be given suitably noble names. At least that’s what Clark decided in kindergarten. He announced Lady chickadonna’s approach for a month.”

Conner laughed “and here I thought that was Danny’s influence.” Pa shook his head

“Nope that was all Clark!” Once more the family falls into a fit of laughs. Danny waves his hand.

“C’Mon! At this rate we’re never gonna finish with y’all’s gifts! Clark! You’re next! I had to pull a few strings to get this one so I hope you like it.” Danny pulls an orb out of the box, tossing it to Clark. With a smile he easily caught the orb.

He almost dropped it when he saw the familiar shade of green. “Before you freak out! I had a friend make sure any harmful properties have been stripped from the stone. Pinky swear!” Danny reassured, Conner peered over trying to get a better look without disturbing Cujo. Clark turned the orb over in his hands, finding it full of small holes, with an opening on the bottom. “If you put a light in the bottom it will show you constellations that surrounded Krypton before it’s destruction.” Danny rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s not much but-” before Danny could finish he found himself in a bone crushing hug from his older brother.

“Thanks Danny, this means a lot. I don’t have much of my home planet, and any piece I run into causes nothing but pain. I can’t take the fortress home with me but this, this is perfect. Thank you”

Danny blushes, pushing his brother away “alright, that’s enough sappy shit! Time for Conner!” Danny starts digging through the box searching for conners gift. He pulls out a box with a grin on his face. “Okay so I had Technus upgrade this to to the teeth. Since the moment you left that tube you’ve been fighting crime, time for a little fun!” Conner cautiously unwrapped the box revealing a game consul. It was sleek and black with glowing green circuitry decorating it. “It will play any disk you want, regardless of the system and it connects to the internet but it is completely untraceable.” Conner grins.

“Wally is gonna freak out when he sees this! He’s been trying to get me to play some of his video games.”

“I’ve got a few gifts for the team as well! We can bring them by tomorrow after breakfast.” Conner grins

“Excited to bring Kaldur his gift?” Danny blushes with a scowl.

“Excuse me but as your older brother it is my responsibility to tease you, not the other way around” everyone laughs

“He wouldn’t tease you if you just made a move already, he clearly likes you” Clark said nudging his arm. Danny scoffs, brushing him off he turns away to put away the box.

“Yeah right, and Ember has plans to dye her hair pink. He likes me as a friend, if even that. Besides it would be a bad idea” he held a grim look on his face

Ma smacks her knee “Well I think it’s time for pie Lois why don’t you come help me set the table?” Lois smiles and accepts. They turn the corner and before Martha stops her and whispers “Let me remind you that I know at least two of my boys have super hearing, Danny is still up for debate but knowing him it wouldn’t surprise me.” Lois smiled

“Oh trust me I couldn’t possibly forget! Not since his highly amusing attempt at acting surprised when he got a writing award.” The two laughed

“For all his secrets, an actor my son is not. Did I ever tell you about the time he auditioned for the school play? He tried out for the part of Hercules… poor boy Pa had to take him out for ice cream to cheer him up after they told him that he just couldn’t pull off super strength.” Lois snorted

“That doesn’t surprise me in the least! Did I ever tell you how I tricked him into revealing his identity?”

———-

Clark slumped in his chair “I may never recover from this particular team up.” Pa walked over to Clark and threw his arm around his shoulder.

“There are some things all men fear, one of which is your mother and your partner meeting. There are no secrets there.”

Danny shrugged “Hey look at it this way, at least they aren’t talking about the different ways they want to tear you apart” he laughed “that was a really weird dinner”

Clark and Conner stared at Danny in open shock before Conner spoke up “Danny… did you date a supervillain?!” Danny shook his head

“Nah, I just dated a ghost hunter.”

Ma and Lois walked into the dining room to witness the shock and confusion on the mens faces as Conner shouted in confusion.

“Danny I hate to break it to you but… YOURE A GHOST!!”

“Yeah but SHE didn’t know that, besides after she found out she apologized for trying to destroy me, no big deal”

“Yes, of course, that makes EVERYTHING okay!” Conner was done, he was tired of finding out his big brother was hurt and he just brushes it off. “If I told you M’gann tried to kill me or hell mind control me, would you be okay with it as long as she said she was sorry?!”

“Of course not!” Danny gave an offended shout

“Then why is it okay that your ex tried to kill you? Why is one okay but not the other?!” Danny looked at Conner sadly.

“Because as far as she was concerned, as far as half the town was concerned, I was just another evil ghost trying to hurt them. I can’t blame them either, because not only were a majority of the ghosts that came through angry and looking for a fight but… I had some pretty damning evidence against me unless you looked a little closer. That’s the difference between me and you. When people look at you two… they see heroes, when they look at me they see a monster.” Clark looks at Danny in shock, Ma goes up to Danny with a pie in her hands.

“You’re a hero Danny, no matter what anyone else says” she says placing the pie on the table, she turns and gives Danny a warm hug. “Now enough of all that it’s time for pie!”

#danny phantom #ghost king danny #dc x dp #brain vomit #conner kent #clark kent #ma kent #Pa Kent #Lois lane #it was supposed to just be a funny souvenir chapter #it was not meant to get serious #life on the farm #pt 10 #pt1 #cus I still need to to the team and this was getting long #god help the fentons if they ever meet Conner #Danny is his now

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asexual-spongebob · 4 months

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chapter 11 - Peso and Shellington and the sleepover Notes:

All I’m gonna say is that I have a feeling this chapter is going to be short (edit: it is, but that’s fine) Oh and um… *insert that emotional h2o piano music here* ALSO YAY SLEEPOVER!!! enjoy some hurt/comfort shellso shit also I am so sorry abt Shellie singing weezer. I’ve been listening to a lot of weezer lately lmao. and I thought it was funny. ALSO WOOO FIRST UPDATE OF 2024 Ik I’ve said this many times but chapter 12 is complete and will be posted soon (maybe later today or tomorrow) I’m very excited to share it. also sorry for any spelling mistakes or anything.

Shellington, Kwazii and Peso had went shopping for souvenirs in a small coastal Irish town

A boat speed by, slashing them.

He had been splashed!

Shellington froze, he knew that it was too late to think “please no tail” so he opted to dive into the water instead.

“Oh that water looks quite nice!” Shellington remarked awkwardly, diving into the water below, disappearing into its deep blue depths, people staring at him.

“Shellington!?” Kwazii and Peso called from above the deck.

Shellington swam back up from the surface, “here’s a towel. Matey.” Kwazii meowed, handing a clean towel to Shellington

Shellington, Kwazii and Peso were sitting at the dock, waiting for Captain Barnacles and Dashi to pick them up, Shellington looked pathetic and drenched in his towel.

Colours of the world Spice up your life Every boy and every girl Spice up your life People of the world

Spice up your life Aah .

Kwazii pulled out his indestructible Nokia phone from his pocket, with a look of embarrassment on his face, Shellington was wheezing, along with Peso

“Why is your ringtone a spice girls song” Shellington snorted “I HAVE A SPICE GIRLS HYPERFIXATION OKAY?!” Kwazii shouted in a unhinged manner “hey no need to yell…” Peso mumbled.

“Hey Kwazii we’re on the our way, we’ll be there soon!” Dashi smiled “great!” Kwazii replied

“So what did you get?” Peso said, turning to face Shellington “chocolate” Shellington smirked, handing one of the small chocolates to Peso and Kwazii.

•••

Today was the last day The Octonauts would be in Ireland for awhile

“I’m gonna miss this place…” Shellington breathed as he glanced out the window of his lab, all of the memories rushing back.

What the hell?!

You know those strange caves I visited… well something strange happened to me.. just splash me…”

You’re a fish????

yeah… those caves were really weird…. they uh- turned me into a fish..

Kwazii?! you followed me?!

I just wanted to make sure you were safe matey! I didn’t know where you were going! I thought you were sleep walking!

What happened??

The moon um… basically possessed you and you got really upset… oh and you got really mad at Kwazii.. and everyone found out…

who goes there!

hi Kwazii… can we talk…

Yeah sure me hearty

So what is it?

remember when I got really mad last night…

yeah matey. I know you didn’t mean it. Trust me.

Over here!

remember when I went to those strange sea caves?

yeah?

well um.. I went during a full moon and well.. The pool started bubbling and I became a merman..

Shellington stared out the window in silence, gathering his thoughts, a sad expression on his face, Peso had quietly came in the room, he couldn’t help but notice how quiet it was, and the over all sad atmosphere.

Sure, Shellington was quiet, especially while doing his research. But this felt off… dare I say eerie.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Peso said softly, placing a comforting flipper on Shellington’s back, breaking the silence. “Nothing..!” Shellington lied, flinching, not wanting to worry Peso.

“Okay… I suppose it is something..” Shellington admitted “Im kind of sad I guess…” Shellington sighed “why?” Peso pressed, “because we’re leaving…” Shellington said so quietly it was almost a whisper

“It’s okay! I bet we’ll come back here someday!” Peso assured “thanks Peso.. Shellington replied, feeling slightly better now.

“Maybe we should throw a sleepover?” Peso proposed “Oh yeah!” Shellington agreed “after I take a bath we can!” Shellington added, grabbing a towel and walking to the bathroom.

“AND I DON’T WANNA BE AN OLD MAN ANYMORE ITS BEEN A YEAR OR TWO SINCE I WAS OUT ON THE FLOOR SHAKING BOOTY MAKING SWEET LOVE EVERY NIGHT!!!” Shellington’s horrendous singing boomed from the bathroom, Tweak walked by the bathroom door questioning her life decisions.

•••

Shellington grabbed the popcorn and candy and lied some blankets and pillows down on the floor in the game pod.

“Hey we’re throwing a sleepover, wanna join?” Peso asked Dashi, “oh sure!” Dashi smiled. Later on, Dashi was painting Kwazii’s claws and putting a face mask on him as they watched Tweak sing some karaoke with Kwazii’s karaoke machine, making Dashi blush.

Captain Barnacles was watching a movie, Shellington held Peso in his paws and was licking his face “thanks Peso” Shellington purred affectionately as he munched on some popcorn “¡De nada, Shellington!” Peso chirped.

#kitty giggles #octonauts #shellington #the waves that lap the shore au #peso x shellington #octonauts fanfic #shellington x peso #peso octonauts

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zarnzarn · 3 years

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Stolitz fic rec!!

I'm going to just drop my favorite stolitz fics here.

They run at night by @wearemisfortune

Blitzo is always moving because when his body stops, his mind races. This almost always leads to a terrible fucking idea.

Tonight is no different—but the result will be.

-lovely angst, lovely climax, and it captures Blitz's line of thinking in a serious tone but in a way still feels authentic to the character. And I'm ALWAYS a sucker for the sheer unconditional trust trope.

Junctures by @sluttycrimehat

To everything, there is a season.

-I still am in complete awe of how the author managed to fit so much in such little time. The bit at the end always fucking gets me, I love it so MUCH.

The last general by @curtailed

It's in a month after, with Stolas spent and lying on his side, that Blitzo finally musters up the courage to tell him.

-Hello??? BEAUTIFUL post-harvest moon fic, wonderful vibes, love how well they know each other in this one, the trust is amazing. Love it.

You got everything that I want by @bipridemoth

Stolas can’t recall a time where “love” wasn’t synonymous with “pain” for him.

With Blitzo, it’s not love. So, there’s no pain. Stolas doesn’t let there be pain, at least not emotionally, the physical pain is something he quite enjoys. When Blitzo leaves after their monthly night together, he doesn’t allow himself to feel pain, only anticipation of the next time. He likes that there’s always a next time, even though that’s because of his active incentive more than anything else. But that’s alright, he doesn’t want Blitzo to come see him without an incentive. He deserves favors in turn for what he’s giving Stolas.

-Stolas angst!!!! The angst really is delicious in this one, with just as nice of a happy ending. Blitz is confident about the relationship, which is Wonderful to read and the "I know where this is going" segment had me in TEARS.

Between fairy tales and realities by @coloringthegreyscale

Blitzo's a complicated imp and Striker and Stolas accept that. But what happens when the two worlds he's made for himself collide together for one night? Well...

-Okay, so yes, this is striker/blitz/stolas, but it's so good. All three of them have a lovely dynamic, managing to work out somehow, with powerful Stolas, wonderful Blitz and a HILARIOUS Striker. Go read the series, it's a lot of fun and has many cute interactions that made me smile.

The look by @seireileafy

Blitz has been noticing a change in Stolas.

-It's such a CUTE drabble, I adore when one person can tell the other is pining for them, and the LAST LINE FUCKING GETS ME EVERY TIME-

Instead I made my bed with apathy by @thebooklord15

Just like every night before this one, Blitzo glared at the form next to him, already lulled into the bliss of slumber. He had never meant for things to turn out this way-he’d gotten the grimoire already, he didn’t need this man and from the way Stolas treated him it was clear he did not need the imp either.

And yet.

-Jcjdkafj this one is so GOOD I love blitz being pissed off yet too deep in to stop, and like I've said for others already THAT LAST LINE, PLEASE-

Call and response by anon

It was a love story, maybe.

-short but deliciously angsty, with some beautiful imagery, really nice dialogue, and time-doesn't-exist-in-this-motel-room vibes. Love it.

Shovel proof by @kereea

Octavia tries to give Blitzo the shovel talk. He decides to help with that.

-FUCKING cute, love the Octavia/Blitz dynamic, and it has snappy fun dialogue!! Really sweet.

Reaching out, touching me, touching you by @allmightshipserasermic

Stolas hasn’t been able to preen sufficiently in quite awhile, since Stella refuses to do it for him anymore. Blitzo offers to help.

-PREENING FIC is there anything more I have to say?

The skin you could have by @coloringthegreyscale

Stolas catches Blitzo staring and it leads to some talk, some magic, and a little bit of fun.

-Again, BEAUTIFUL dynamic between the two, lots of angsty tenderness, and lovely body imagery.

Different shapes by @sirdust

“Before the exorcist, he taketh the image and shape of a man.”

Blitz catches a glimpse of Stolas’ human form.

-okay, practically a direct opposite of the previous fic, but SO GOOD, I can't describe it. Love the imagery and their comfortable relationship.

A helluva mess by @stratumgermanitivum

It’s not like Stolas isn’t a hot piece of ass, because he is.

And it’s not like Blitzo’s blind or anything, because he isn’t.

It’s just that there’s pleasure, and then there’s business, and never the twain shall meet. (Unless he finally gets Moxx on board with that threeway, in which case, Blitzo fully intends to christen every damn surface of the office except his precious Loony’s desk.)

-AMAZING, love the pining and denial on both sides it's so great especially since you can tell both sides know that they've messed up. Again, LAST LINE!!

Eat the whole cake (it's what you deserve) by @okoyik

"His Highness is on the phone for you, sir," Moxxie says.

Blitzo makes a face. "Who?"

"Stolas," Moxxie supplies, as if that's supposed to help Blitzo understand. His expression is surely one of complete confusion as he stares at the other imp.

"Who the fuck is Stolas?" Blitzo asks slowly, racking his brain for a face to put to the name.

Blitzo's memory starts to slip, and all he knows is he needs that owl that seems to haunt his nightmares to stay away.

-HELLO it's only on one out of four chapters for now but it's already SO GOOD I can't WAIT for the rest!!!

Stand tall, but your hands are shaking by @remymorton

It’s been a month since the Harvest Moon festival. Another full moon night arrived, and after that... Blitz ... He's not well.

-wordless cute comfort, truly very sweet, I love it.

Palaces and souvenirs by @cloudysonder

So Stolas is objectively. Objectively. Attractive. Kinda soft-looking, sometimes. Pretty. Whatever. Fuckin’ whatever. That’s always been a thing. Blitzo knew that, Stolas definitely knew that-- whatever.

"This is not," Blitzo thinks, sounding a little bit desperate even to himself, "some sort of revelation."

His flicks of the lighter get a little more unstable, a little more frustrated.

A clawed hand reaches over and takes hold of the lighter, lighting Blitzo’s cigarette with practiced ease, as if he’d done the same thing a thousand times before (He has, Blitzo realizes).

“Silly Blitzy,” he giggles quietly, giving Blitzo a soft pat on the head before curling up beside him, stretching one last time before closing his eyes to sleep.

Blitzo feels warm.

"This," Blitzo tells himself, and it sounds like a command, "will not be a problem."

-I saw the start of this fic on Twitter and have been following it religiously ever since. It's really a gorgeous fic, three chapters up, with the promise of a Great slow burn, fun dialogue and Octavia & Blitz bonding. The level of denial Blitz is in even as he moves comfortably around every aspect of Stolas' life cracks me tf up.

Can't by @hazbincalifornia

Blitzo realizes he feels something something that he doesn't want to feel. This was supposed to be simple.

-feelings realization fic, wonderful, amazing, lovely, also the exact same way I realized I was gay, funnily enough (girl fell asleep in my lap and I was like oh. Oh fuck.)

Too late to stop by @malkaviancake

Stolas spends some time with his thoughts, realizing that his feelings for Blitzo aren't as one sided as he presumed.

-GORGEOUS vocab, I'm truly very obsessed with it. Like most of these stories, LAST LINE!!!!

Itchy with want, thin on sleep by me

It happens in parts- both falling in love and having his eyes opened.

-I will,, finish this one day, but for now here's a few in between moments before they have The Conversation.

Heaven in hiding by me

Their nights together are good, they always are, both of their tastes lining up to be shockingly compatible, but on the days where they end early and they get to spend some extra time cleaning up in comfortable silence or playful banter- and Blitz would rather take a bullet than admit this out loud- but those nights are pretty great too.

-AFTERCARE FIC, I had to write an aftercare fic ft. Good dom Blitz, Stolas taking care of him in return and a comfortable relationship that they both know is going to cause Problems in the future :)

Love in the bones and sinews of this curse by me

Five times Stolas and Blitz needed the grimoire to break a curse + one time they didn't.

-self explanatory. I tried to make it as funny as possible, everyone bickers a lot and Blitz brings Stolas flowers and gifts, what more could you need?

Life is a curse (love makes it worse) by me

"Alright!" Blitz says, clapping his hands together, "Weapons out, and-"

Half pull out some gun or the other, but half just look at him blankly. Blitz wishes for death.

"Save me from this family," He mutters under his breath, "Okay. Take these then." He passes out the few weapons he'd brought along with him and doesn't ask if they know how to use them because if he hears a no, he's giving up and going back home. "Stick close and talk loudly so the others can hear us. Let's go."

They move out, Blitz taking the lead and the rest forming a circle close behind him, starting up a loud conversation about the neighbour's garden. It gives him enough time to wonder exactly what the fuck he's doing here, in a nightmare world with a bunch of pretentious snobs, searching for his stupid Ars Goetia boyfriend, instead of sleeping in his nice lumpy bed back at home.

-a sequel to the previous fic!!! I had to write some Octavia and Blitz bonding, and accidentally added in a bunch of teenage imps who work for Stolas who imprint on Blitz immediately. And there's Eldritch Stolas, protective boyfriends and found family!!! The whole shebang!!!

This ended up being Much longer than I'd expected, but genuinely every fic up there is really good, go check em out!!!!

#stolitz #blitz #blitzo #stolas #helluva boss #PHEW im exhausted #stolitz fic rec #stolitz fic recs #stolitz fic #helluva boss fic rec #my fic #i mean i put some of my fics up there so #also to all my mutuals in this post ily #stolas x blitz #stolas x blitzo

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differentkettleoffishalltogether · 3 years

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I’m On Fire [Chapter 2]

With her sister’s wedding fast approaching and her Mom hounding her about finding a date, Y/N makes a terrible decision that lands her and her least favorite genius in a confusing situation.

Chapter Summary: Y/N and Spencer start to put a plan together.

A/N: I’ve got a head cold at the mo’ but I had to get a covid test just in case so I’m not allowed leave my room till I get the results! So enjoy a bonus chapter while I wallow on my own for like 36 hours :( On a positive note, thank you guys all so much for the response to chapter 1 I really didn’t see that coming! I’ve tagged everyone who asked, let me know if you wanna be added

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem Reader

Category: Fake Dating, Enemies to Lovers, (Eventual) Smut, Fluff, Angst, it’s a Slow Burn Baby

Warnings: Cursing, some NSFW language/themes

Word Count: 6.1k

Previous Chapter -- Next Chapter

Series Masterlist

Masterlist

"Are you coming up or what?"

The question was still ringing in my ears. It caught me completely off guard. 'Up' as in up to Spencer's apartment? Where he lived? I knew he lived somewhere in theory, just like I knew deep down that he wasn't made in a test tube.

Without noticing I've undone my seatbelt and I'm hopping out of the car, following him around to the front door. I guess I am coming up.

Spencer's apartment is more cosy than I thought it was going to be. It's warm and lived in. It's not big, but I think that might be what makes it homely. Something about the way he behaves had me thinking it would be fully decked out in stainless steel or glass or something. But it wasn't pristine, it was messy.

There were books bursting from the shelves that lined the walls of the apartment, along with books laid open over nearly every surface in the place, it looked like he was in the middle of reading all of them, and honestly, I didn't doubt it. Maybe I'd misjudged him. He even had some photos of what looked like his family, and maybe friends, even some of the BAU, lining his walls or propped up on his mantle. He had little trinkets and souvenirs on his shelves too, evidence that he'd been around the country for reasons other than a case. I would never admit it to him but there was a real charm to the place.

Once we got inside he took off his bag and suit jacket, tossing them on the desk just inside of the door. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do, and he seemed to pick up on my awkward energy.

"You can make yourself at home" he said, his confident streak remaining. I had no idea what to do with that. What would even make me comfortable in Spencer Reid's apartment? I took a seat on his sofa and just sat with my hands resting in my lap. Really not even sure where I should look without feeling like I was invading his privacy. Even though I wanted to. I think it was morbid curiosity, looking for clues on who this man might actually be outside of the BAU. What I really wanted to do was stand up and walk around, soaking in every bit if this place as if it would help me decipher our messy relationship.

He returned to the living room a few moments later, two mismatched mugs in his hands. He places one in front of me on the coffee table. I pick it up and take a sip. It's lemon and ginger, how did he know what kind of tea I liked? I held the mug in my hands inhaling the steam in an effort to relax. When I look up he's watching me, arms folded across his chest.

"So, how does this thing work. What's the game plan?" I honestly have no real idea. This evening really got away from me, I was still expecting to snap out of it and wake up in my bed at any moment.

"Well I can't say I've ever been in a Sandra Bullock movie before either so this is uncharted territory for me too" I say with a chuckle, trying to ease the tension. Even a little. I can see him crack a small smile but hides it almost instantly, his face hardening again.

"My sister, Margot, she's getting married in like 4 months." I can feel myself tense and I shake out my shoulders, I have to remind myself that he's agreed to this already, "Fuck it, I'm just going to be honest with you. My Mom's mostly freaked out that I'm too attached to this job and that I'll just never find someone again." I shouldn't have said again, fuck. I hope he didn't pick up on that. Who am I kidding. "Even though, I'm not sure I care if I do or don't?" he doesn't say anything, like he's waiting for me to continue. I know I've shared a little too much already but I keep going.

"Margot's 2 years younger than me, I introduced her to her fiancé Philip, we met in college, he's a sweetheart. But since they've gotten engaged Mom's gotten exponentially weirder. I think she's convinced I'm fully going to die alone, as if that would be the worst thing that could ever happen? Anyway, she's been trying to auction me off to all these guys, using this wedding as an excuse. I'm not sure how much of that phone call you actually heard earlier but Mom was trying to sell me on this guy, David, and I just… snapped." I look up at Spencer and he unfolds his arms, leaning in ever so slightly coaxing the story out of me.

"David, he uh, he worked for my father for a while back in high school, filing documents and stuff, busy work mostly. He used to make out with me when he was at our house after school, but then he'd ignore me in the halls the next morning. I know it's because I was a pariah back then or something but I didn't want to think about it today and I just got worked up. I shouldn't have let on that you were my date, I was just going to ask if I could bring Garcia or something, and I'm sorry." I cover my face in my hands, "I'm insane, you can back out if you want to."

I can hear him move from his spot on the opposite side of the sofa, he takes my wrists and gently pulls my hands from my face. He looks into my eyes, "I'm in this now Y/N, what do you need me to do?" he asks, and there's a genuine earnest in his voice that I think I've only ever heard a handful of times. And it's never been directed at me.

"Okay, well we've got a few months before you ha–, wait, fuck!" I throw my head back, there's already a complication, "shit" I curse under my breath. His eyebrows knit together, sitting upright.

"What's the matter?" he asks.

"I forgot about my Mom's 50th, it's next month. They've got this whole huge party planned back home in upstate New York. I've gotta go and they'll probably want to meet you, or they're gonna have a load of questions for me at least. I can try and get you out of it I'm sure"

He gets that cocky look again, he shakes his head "I don't know, I've always liked a bit of competition" he reclines back into his corner of the sofa, taking a satisfied sip from his own mug before speaking again. "You know, if I've got to learn enough to pass as your boyfriend in a month, surely that means you've got to learn enough to pass as my girlfriend within the month, no?"

Oh god. What have I done, why didn't I think this far ahead. "I mean, yeah I guess you're right." I had to remember he was doing me a favor. I had to get over myself. "Okay, if you're sure you're up for that?" I ask, and he nods, and I think he looks excited, or maybe he just finds the whole situation funny.

"If anyone's up for the competition it's you" he says, and I'm not sure if that's a compliment or a dig but I nod in agreement.

He takes another sip of his tea, collected and relaxed. I can't help but notice how at ease he is when he's in his own surroundings. I'm so used to seeing him sitting at a desk surrounded by paperwork, or combing through file after file in the make-shift office in a small-town police station, usually flustered or anxious, or antagonizing me whenever he wasn’t. This was a different Spencer. Completely in control, at ease.

"Alright, shall we get started then, we can't really afford to waste any time can we?" he was actually sort of right, so I nodded. It was only now occurring to me that I'd have to share parts of my personal life with him if I wanted this plan to work. We already knew the basics about each other, I'd read his file when I started at the BAU, I'd read everyones. And I feel like it was safe to presume he'd done the same.

His eyes bore directly into mine as he leaned forward, I think he was enjoying how uncomfortable I must've looked.

"How about I ask you some rapid-fire questions and you have to answer 'em?" he asks, and it's as good of a plan as any, and I can't think of any other suggestions, so I nod.

"Okay, shoot." I say, unsure and nervous, so I brace myself. I'm just grateful that he's making my life easier rather than harder for what feels like the first time since I met him.

I really should've known better.

He leans in, "So Y/N, first question, when did you lose your virginity?"

I almost choke on the mouthful of tea I just took, that can't be what he just asked, and he looks like he's savoring my shocked expression.

"I uh, I don't think you need to know that?" is all I can get out.

"Really? You think that's something your boyfriend wouldn't know about you?" he's right, but I didn't want to admit it outright.

"I feel like I sort of already hinted. It was that same guy David, I was 18, he was 19. We had sex on the couch while my parents went out one evening. I kept my bra on the whole time, he came, I didn't. It was all very standard stuff." I wasn't sure what compelled me to add that last part. I think I was giving in to the open honestly thing. "So what about you Doc?" I challenged.

He didn't seem embarrassed, or even shy. "I must've bloomed little later than you" he admits with a soft chuckle, "Vivian Stewart, I was 21, she was too. It was the last semester of my last PhD and I figured I must be missing out on something. And I sure was" he smirks to himself. "I came, she did too, 3 times. I did a lot of research ahead of time" he mirrored my story and I rolled my eyes. It was hard not to feel a little impressed but I tried with everything I had to stifle it so he couldn't tell. I wish it didn't make me feel something but it did. I gulp down the mouthful of tea that's been sitting in my throat.

I have to shake myself back to reality. I can't give him the satisfaction of throwing me. "My turn." I command, "When was your last relationship Dr. Reid?" I ask, "I mean like, serious one, not like hook-up" I clarify before he can ask. He thinks on it for a moment.

"I'm not sure what you classify as fully serious, but I guess it was this girl, Rebecca, we dated for a while when I first joined the BAU but it didn't work out. What about you?" he flips it back.

"So that was what, like 6-ish years ago?" I ask, he just nods.

"Mine was like 3 years ago now I think. I met this guy Nathan on my first week of college, we dated for like 4 years. He moved here for me when I got accepted by the BAU." I had to stop myself from delving into the detail. It was a long time ago now but it still hurt. "Long story short, the hours were demanding and they got in the way more than I would've liked. We ended up splitting a couple months after I got the job." I tried to play it off like it wasn't one of the more devastating things to happen in my life. But something told me he’d registered that, so he didn't push.

His energy picks up and he looks at me with a grin, but there's something a little sinister behind it. "I've got a more fun question for you." he leans in closer to me, "Y/N, when was the last time you got laid?" I just looked at him in shock.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me, I can go first if you really need me to?" his voice didn't waver,

"Fuck you Reid, I know when it was!" I snapped back at him. I did have to think back a little farther than I'd like to pull up the memory.

"Met this guy in a bar when I was out with Pen one night, we went back to his place and hooked up." I say as deadpan as I can make it.

"Well that's not very exciting is it?" he jokes, "Did you at least cum that time?" I know he's just trying to rile me up, but I answer anyway.

"As a matter of fact I did" I earn back a little of my confidence.

"I'm so happy for you, but you did manage to avoid my initial question" fuck "when was this exciting night of yours Y/N?" he probes, like I really, really wished he wouldn't. I could lie, but I'm sure he'd be able to tell. I cringe before I can say it.

"About 8 months ago" I mutter, just low enough for him to hear.

"Sorry, did you just say 8 months ago?" He nearly shouts in disbelief, he seems to find it funny.

"Hey fuck you Spencer!" I go on the defensive, "When was the last time you even got laid?"

"Like two and half weeks ago" he says, confident, and still laughing, "Wait wait, when was the last time you got yourself off? I know you're not waiting 8 months!" he giggles and I think I could kill him. I know I kept giving him outs but was it too late for me to just get up and leave?

"I'm not doing this with you if you're just gonna make fun of me Reid, I get enough of that at work" I get out, my voice is serious but I'm trying to hide how awkward all of this is making me feel, and I don't know that I'm doing a very good job.

I can tell that's gotten to him, he relaxes and eases up on the giggling. "Look okay wait Y/N. I'll stop, I'm not actually trying to make fun of you. I was being serious, I think stuff like this is important if we're gonna have to be comfortable around each other enough to seem like a real couple. Plus, it'll just help break the ice?" he shrugs. "But you don't have to answer if you don't want to."

I soften, because I agree, even thought I hate that he's right. "Fine" I collect my thoughts, "2 nights ago I'm pretty sure." I regret it almost instantly, but breaking the ice is supposed to feel awkward.

"Same here actually," he chuckles, "what'd you do?" I'm so startled by the question I almost forget how to answer.

"I, uh, my, my vibrator? I just felt like uh, I watched some..." I still can't force out a whole sentence. It's not like I was always awkward about sex or anything, I could talk to Garcia, or honestly probably any of the other team members about it. But with Spencer it didn't feel as comfortable. He still sat calmly, smiling just a little.

"Same here, 2 nights back, but with my hands I guess. I wonder if we were doing it at the same time?" he mutters the last part gently and my head goes a bit fuzzy. My eyes drift away from his face and settle on his hands, the mug he's holding looks so tiny with his fingers wrapped around it, I wondered how they'd look wrapped around my-

"Okay I think that's enough for one night, don't you think?" I jump up off the sofa and turn, mostly so that he doesn't catch the blush thats creeping from my neck up to my cheeks. And because I don't know what I'll say, or regret saying, if this conversations continues on its current trajectory.

"Sure," he says, standing up next to me, and I want to move further away instantly, "you're probably right, and it's getting a little late now anyway" he glances at his watch. Ushering me back towards his front door and opening it up. Before I can walk out he lightly touches my shoulder to turn me back to face him, and I wonder if he can feel the heat radiating from every part of me.

"So are you free next Friday after work?" he asks, and I'm so flustered I almost forget why, I just nod. "Perfect, how about we come here again and we can dive into preparing? You could also make a start on getting these onto a hard drive?" he gestures to the antique looking hardbacks adorning the shelves.

'Sounds great!" I perk up, feigning enthusiasm, "See you then!"

"Well, see you Monday morning actually Y/N" he smirks as I walk out the door. Fuck, he was right.

I really hadn't thought this through.

——

The weekend was a bit of a blur. I decided to try and put some useful information into a document for Spencer. It felt strange to try and condense my life into as few pages as possible. I knew Reid had an eidetic memory, and nothing would necessarily overwhelm him. But I also knew that he was someone that the team relied on to fill in a lot of the gaps in the rest of the our knowledge. So I felt bad about dumping a load of information on him, especially considering it was a favor he was doing for me.

I'd complied the majority of my life into a 15 page document and printed it out. Hopefully that would address most of what my family could guerrilla attack him with. There was also something unsettling about the imbalance. I was going to give him so many of the intricate details of my life in a little file, whereas all I really knew about Spencer was what I'd taken it upon myself to learn about him throughout the past few years.

I'd read all of his work while I was in college, given how he was the gold standard of getting into the BAU at a young age, I wanted to know who this guy was. I think I'd pictured something different. And I couldn't deny there was something enticing about finally getting to know him after all of these years of working together. Maybe this could actually be fun, or interesting at least.

----

I arrived early on Monday morning. I thought I was first into the office as usual but Garcia was sitting in my desk chair waiting for me. The second she saw me walk in she tensed, she must've known we were the only people in this early.

"What happened! You've been avoiding me all weekend?" she asked, and she was right. I'd drafted enough texts to her, trying to explain what the plan was, mostly without wanting to admit that she was right. Maybe I was stubborn.

"Alright okay, I drove Reid home." I admitted, dropping my bag by my desk. She rolls her eyes at me, dramatic as always.

"Well I knew that already Y/N damn! What happened next?"

"Fine, we went into his apartment and talked for a while. Trying to sort out the details, get a handle on things I guess?" I said, unsure of how much I should actually give away about our conversation.

"What things!?" She shouts, standing up from my desk,

"I don't know Pen, like logistics and stuff, I still haven't decided how I feel about that little stunt you pulled on Friday night!" I let my frustration get the better of me, and maybe that's why I haven't talked to her. It could also be because I know she's able to read me like a book and I'm not even sure how I feel about this whole situation.

"I call bullshit." She counters, "I know you were relived as hell when I sorted that whole thing out. You would've had anxiety tummy all weekend if I hadn't called Spencer!" I just go silent, she was right. I'd gotten so caught up in the whole, 'how to have a fake boyfriend' that I'd almost forgotten about how stressed I was about Spencer hearing my call in the first place.

"Okay, shit" I sigh. "Maybe you were right Pen. We're actually meeting up again this Friday after work to make a plan for the next while, so I guess that's progress?" I shrug, trying to play it off like this whole situation doesn't make my stomach flip.

"Ohhhhh! So like a date?" She probes, her enthusiasm rising drastically.

"Oh my God Pen no! Like an appointment at best" I diffuse the situation

"Ugh that's no fun" she says, not even trying to disguise her disappointment.

As if on cue Dr. Reid walks through the double doors into the bullpen. Both Garcia and I wave, overall awkwardly, but making an attempt pretend like things were completely normal and like nothing had changed since the last time we were all in the office together.

Penelope heads to her office as the bullpen starts to fill up quickly. Less than an hour later though Garcia's back at my desk and there's a new case that needs the teams attention in Boston. I follow her into the conference room and wait for the rest of the team to join. Spencer follows a moment later with 2 cups of coffee in his hands. I can see my mug in his hand and my automatic response is that he's messing with me. But he places my mug in front of me in the circular table before taking the seat next to me, listening to Garcia's briefing. I don't know if he's ever sat next to me in this conference room, at least not by choice.

I barely had any time to finish my coffee before I have to say goodbye to Garcia and hop on the jet to Boston.

----

The case was grueling. More so than usual. It was wrapped up late on Thursday night and the team decided to fly back home first thing on Friday morning. I was exhausted. Even if there was enough time to get sleep each night it wasn't like I got any. Whenever a case got on top of me like this it made it hard to rest, or get it off my mind at all until it was wrapped up. So even though it was over, that didn't mean I wasn't exhausted.

Hotch gave the team the rest of the day off, given that we have until submit our paperwork by Monday. I wasn't sure if Spencer's invitation from the following week still stood. I didn't want to ask, partly because I was so tired, but also because I was scared. I wasn't about to show up at his house in an effort to have a heart to heart, or hand him a condensed version of my life story on a manilla envelope if he was as drained as I was.

Standing by my desk I packed up everything I'd need to get my paperwork done over the weekend, I was just about finished when Spencer snuck up behind me, perching himself on the edge of my desk. "So, you almost ready to go?" he asks, like it's the most obvious question in the world. I couldn't really hide my surprise.

"Oh yeah. That's fine, I mean, if you're still cool with that?" I ask, and I hate how flustered I sound, like he makes me nervous.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" He chuckles, standing up straight.

"Cool, gimme a sec and I'll be good to go."

I pack up the rest of my stuff quickly and we make our way out. There's something that feels a little eerie about the two of us being in an elevator together alone again. It was a different kind of awkward to how it felt a week before hand. It almost felt like a kind of tension rather than a hatred or a rivalry. Either way we rode down in silence.

Once we got to the basement Spencer walks out of the elevator and walks straight to my car without having to ask. I unlock it and he hops into the passenger seat. Like this is a natural interaction. Something we do all the time. And I don't hate it as much as I thought I would.

"So," he says, buckling up his seat belt and breaking the silence, "do you know how to get to my place from here or do you need directions again?"

"Well I've got to turn on the engine first" I tease, hoping he picks up on the reference to our last car ride, he chuckles like he does.

"Are you hungry?" he asks

"Starving."

The delivery guy get's to Spencer's apartment at almost the same time we do.

---

Once the food's been demolished the two of us finally sit on his sofa, the same sides as the week before. "So, shall we get back into this?" He asks, sitting forward slightly to pull a notebook out of his satchel on the floor. It's small and lavender, and it's got a pen clipped into the spine. He cracks it open and flips to a specific page.

"Sorry, what's that?" I ask, pointing to the book, he looks confused,

"They're my notes?" he says, like it should be obvious

"Your notes?" I ask,

"My notes on you." he smirks, again like I'm silly for even asking.

He had notes on me? He had a whole notebook on me? What was even in that thing?

"You've got notes on me?" I ask, my hands reaching out to grab it, but he retreats faster than I can catch him. "What have you got in there that's so serious?"

"Nothing." and his tone's a bit too stern and I don't really want to push it when he's being so uncharacteristically nice to me.

"I've actually got this ready for you" I pull the file out of my own bag and toss it to him. "I'm not sure exactly what you need to know but that should be the majority of it at least."

He opens it up and glances over the the pages. It takes him all of 2 minutes to get through the whole thing. It feels unsettling that he's taking in a boiled down version of my life while I'm just sitting on the opposite side of the sofa. Trying to avoid the attention I pipe up.

"Um, hey, maybe it would be a good time for you to show me where to make a start digitizing your books over here?" I stand up and make my way to the shelf. He jumps up off the sofa and walks toward me, visibly excited.

"That's actually a great idea, I thought that the theses from my degrees could be a good place to start, since I'm pretty sure they're not backed up anywhere." he guides me to a section of the book case by the window. There's a series of leather bound hardbacks, the same gold font embossed on the spines. I recognize all of them, pulling out the first one.

"This is my favorite" I say without thinking about it and he does a double take, clearly thrown.

"You've, uh, you read my work?" he asks, completely puzzled. I'm sort of proud that I've managed to make him this awkward, and I nod.

"Mmhm, back before I joined the BAU actually. Before I really knew you" I regret saying the last part, it comes out a little meaner than I really wanted it to so I back track. "Spencer, I read all of your work while I was in college, you were like the gold standard. I don't think I slept more than 2 hours a night throughout my PHD because I was just trying to get as much done as you." and his face softens at the admission. But it takes him a moment before he responds. Leaving the two of us in silence a little too long.

"I had no idea" is all he says.

"I think this one was best" I say propping up the one in my hand, "you get a bit cockier as you move on” His eyebrows shoot up in surprise, "but I'll start with all of these I guess" I grab the matching books and stack them in my arms. Walking over to his desk and setting up. Glancing at the clock it was only 7pm so I decided to just make a start.

Spencer didn't contest. Letting me just get settled at his desk, I pull out my laptop and begin work on transcribing the first volume. After a few minutes he silently places a cup of tea down beside me and goes to sit on the sofa. The time rolls in quickly after that, each time I look up at Spencer he's carefully combing through the file I'd given him. Re-reading it and making little markings in his lavender notebook. I'm not really sure what I put in there that was worth making a note on but clearly he was reading between the lines on some things. That little notebook was like a profile of me.

When he seemed like he'd finished writing he pulls out his phone, scrolling through it aimlessly like I'd never seen him do before. It made him look so normal. His eyebrows knit together as he's looking at something on his screen and he stands up. Making his way over to me at the desk and shows me what he was looking at.

"Who's this?" he asks, "This guy you're with?"

I recognize the photo instantly. It's from a few years earlier, Nathan and I on the beach, my head resting on his chest. He'd taken it while we were on vacation celebrating our anniversary. That was about a month before I got into the BAU, I had no idea that was going to be our last anniversary. I gulp down the emotions that it stirs. I'm mostly over the whole thing by now, but looking at old photos like that, photos of happier times, it can still sting.

"That's uh, the boyfriend I was telling you about last week. Nathan, we broke up not long after I joined the BAU?" he nods, but he's smart, and I kind of figure he already knew that.

"Ah alright" he takes out the hardback and jots another note down. Maybe he's trying to get a read on me.

"What are you doing?" I gesture to the phone,

"It's research, do you not think that if you and I were really dating that stalking your social media profiles would be on my agenda?" he's smug, and he's right. But I guess I just didn't expect it from him.

"Well that's not really fair now is it? I can't reciprocate, you've got no social media presence whatsoever!" he finds that funny, letting out a deep chuckle and tucking his phone away in his back pocket.

"Maybe so, but that imbalance is hardly my fault. Besides, you've read all my dissertations apparently..."

"Bastard" I joke, slamming my laptop shut and throwing a pen from his desk at him so that it lightly bounces off the top of his head.

"Hey, there's no need for violence Y/N!" he rubs the spot beneath his curls, "Maybe it's time you took a break actually?" he says, sitting himself back down on the sofa.

I was reluctant to admit it but he was right. My eyes were starting to go a little fuzzy after looking at the screen for so long. I stand up and stretch my arms out above my head, feeling my spine stretch out after sitting for so long, letting out a low groan. Spencer waves me over to the sofa and I join him.

"How about we go back to basics?" Spencer asks with a small grin, and I can't help but let out a long sigh.

"I thought I was taking a break, no more questions" he just laughs at me,

"Relax, you're not that interesting, it's just a simple question." he states, and I'm not sure if I'm supposed to find it funny or offensive

"Ugh, fine, shoot"

"Well, actually it's two questions" he corrects, "what's your favorite movie, and what's your favorite snack?"

I'm confused mostly by the fact that it actually is a simple question, I was expecting something a lot more contentious, but also because he looks eager to know the answer.

"I'm not really sure what my favorite movie is to be honest, one of them is Night of the Living Dead?"

He nods to himself, and jots it down in the notebook again, "Alright, I can make that work" he stands up off the sofa before turning back to me, "and snack?"

"Peanut butter cups I guess?" I respond and he grins ear to ear, which is a completely new sight, and I like it way more than I thought I would.

"Perfect, gimme 2 minutes!" he leaves the living room and wanders towards the kitchen.

Spencer returns a few minutes later with a DVD, a packet of peanut butter cups , and a thick knitted blanket gathered in his arms. He drapes the blanket over me and gently places the peanut butter cups on top of it before popping the DVD into the player and sitting down beside me. I'm not really sure how to process any of the situation. Am I about to watch a movie on Spencer Reid's sofa? Sitting next to Spencer Reid?

"I... I, uh, thought you were just asking for your notes?" I ask, pointing at the notebook resting in his lap. He picks it up and throws it onto the coffee table.

"Sometimes I find experience is the best teacher, don't you?" he asks before pressing play, “And besides, it should keep you quiet for a whole 96 minutes” of course.

I can only nod in agreement, I'm not really sure what I'll say if I try to speak. I get myself cosy under the warm blanket and we watch the movie in near silence.

Once the credits roll Spencer finally speaks up, "I actually went to see a screening of this last month downtown, there was this little old horror movie fest-" I cut him off without really realizing, I'm just strangely excited that we've genuinely got something in common.

"Holy shit, I was there!" I say, more enthusiastic than the situation calls for.

He laughs at my excitement, "Well, I guess we have more overlap than I thought, that should probably help with the whole charade." he stretches his arms up over his head and let's out a small, gentle yawn. I'd been enjoying myself more than I thought I would, or would ever tell Spencer, that I'd almost forgotten that we'd both been on a case for almost every waking moment of the past week. I really should feel a lot more drained than I do.

I was just after midnight when I suggested that I head back home. I offered to take some of the books home to work on throughout the weekend but Spencer insisted that I just work on them whenever I came over again. I sort of felt like I should thank him for the evening when I was on my way out the door, or give him a quick hug, no that felt wrong. In the end all I could really muster was a lousy, "goodnight" and a meek wave on my way out the door before I drove home. And couldn't get to sleep.

— —

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nashibirne · 3 years

Text

Where The Wild Roses Grow - An August Walker Story - 3

You can find the previous parts on my masterlist

Pairing: August Walker x OFC (Fern) Summary: Don't screw the crew? This doesn't work for August Walker Warnings: Smut, Sex, 18+, NSFW, unprotected sex, rough sex, slapping, kinda soft August Unbeta'ed! English is not my mother tongue, so please be lenient with me

Disclaimer: I don't own August Walker (but he owns me...)

Pics for the header taken from Pinterest.

Taglist: (let me know if you want to be added or removed)

@lunedelorient @inlovewithhisblueeyes @willkatfanfromasia @hell1129-blog @mis-lil-red @agniavateira @kebabgirl67 @omgkatinka @legendarywizarddetective @summersong69 @taebfada @xxxkatxo @madbaddic7ed @artandotherdelights

~~~~

Chapter 3

Fern

So, today's the day. I'm going on a date. The first in I-don't-know-how-long. Two years, three years, I don't remember. After my long time relationship with Max went down the drain I didn't want to date and here in London there was just no opportunity. To be honest I'm quite nervous. I mean, I don't know much about Lucas and I haven't interacted with a lot of people since I'm in London. Actually just with my neighbor Sloane and her wife Jackie, who are very nice and we have a little chat from time to time and with Peter and August and our clients of course. But that's it. That's pathetic you say? Yeah, maybe you're right but that's just the way it is and it's okay. Basically I like my life the way it is, I love my work, I enjoy my affair with August but deep down inside I crave intimacy, tenderness and a life outside the office. So I'm really looking forward to this date and to getting to know Lucas a little better.

I'm sitting in my car right now. I'm ten minutes early so I have enough time to check my make-up -I think I look alright- and to straighten my clothes. I get out of my car and check my reflection in the metallic paint of my Classic Mini Cooper. I'm wearing a light blue summer skirt, a plain white sleeveless shirt and white loafers. I considered wearing the blue dotted dress but I can't wear it without thinking of August so it wasn't really an option.

I lurk around the corner and there he is. Lucas is waiting for me at the entrance of the museum, checking his watch repeatedly. He looks good with his blond hair and the blue eyes, not extraordinarily handsome like August but attractive. A John Doe but in a good way. Okay, guess it's time to go. Wish me luck!

There was really no reason to be nervous, Lucas is really nice and charming, the perfect gentleman. He knows a lot about art and I love how he shares his knowledge with me but never mansplains. He's not a bit arrogant or bossy, unlike many other men. August for example. Speaking of which, I think I spend too much time with him. When Lucas and I were walking around the museum I thought I saw August from the corner of my eye. Twice! I must be hallucinating or something.

Right now I'm standing at the souvenir shop waiting outside for Lucas who wants to buy a present for his son Milo who lives in Liverpool with his mum, Lucas' ex-wife. We're done with the exhibition and he asked me if I want to have a coffee with him in a cafe nearby. I said yes. I really enjoy his company and it feels so good to finally do something that has nothing to do with my work.

A loud noise suddenly startles me. It sounds like someone has dropped a glass that's smashed to pieces. I spin around quickly to localize the noise source and that's when I see him. It's really him. August Walker in the flesh, standing behind a pillar, watching me.

I stare at him, surprised, or to put it more precisely, stunned. What the hell is he doing here?

He gives me a nonchalant smile and strolls in my direction as if it was the most natural thing to meet me here.

"Fern. What a lovely surprise."

Is he kidding me? Lovely? He never uses words like this, they are not part of August Walker's vocabulary.

"August. What are you doing here?" I don't feel the need to exchange polite phrases.

"Enjoying the exhibition."

"Oh really?" I cross my arms in front of my chest.

"Yes. Why would you doubt it?" He smiles innocently and it makes me mad.

"Because you're not interested in art."

"Well, I am now."

"I took both tickets because you said you didn't want to go." I point out.

"I changed my mind and bought a ticket."

I take a deep breath and roll my eyes. I can't even explain why I'm so annoyed by the fact that he's here.

"So? Where's your date?" he asks en passant.

Now it dawns on me.

"Is that the reason you're here? Are you spying on me?"

August's face hardens and he looks at me with a frown. "I'm not spying. I'm just keeping an eye on you."

"I don't need a babysitter, August."

"You don't know anything about the guy, Fern. He could be dangerous."

He comes one step closer and is standing right in front of me now, our bodies almost touching.

"He's not dangerous. He's a teacher at a primary school."

"That's what he says." He almost whispers. It's ridiculous.

"Why would he lie to me?"

"Because maybe he wants to cover up his true identity."

I laugh out loud. "Like what? Like an undercover agent or something. You think he's after you?"

August gives me a death stare, his lips pressed together to a thin line. "Exactly. And he wouldn't be the first." His voice is only a low growl. "I mean, come on, Fern. He sees you for what -5 minutes maybe?- and asks you out? Can he really be that smitten by you?"

I stare at him, his words cut right into my heart, and I try to hide it by being even more sarcastic than usual.

"Oh, you mean you find it more likely that he's a spy, sent by the government to get to you, than the simple thought that he's attracted to me and therefore asked me out? Wow, I mean, that's flattering, August. So basically you're saying I'm so uninteresting that it's not a realistic scenario that a man meets me and wants to date me?"

"That's not what I meant, Fern. All I'm saying is…"

"Hi." I freeze when I hear Lucas' voice. I step back to bring a little space between me and August and turn around.

"Lucas. Did you find something for Milo?"

"Yes. I did." He gives August a funny look and things are getting pretty awkward. I clear my throat.

"Um, Lucas. This is my boss. August Walker. We just bumped into each other."

"Lucas Bellingham. Nice to meet you." Lucas gives August a nod and August gives him a forced smile in return.

"Yeah. Nice to meet you."

I can't believe he used to be an agent, since he's such a bad actor.

"Well, I'll leave you to it. Fern, see you on Monday."

"Sure."

He leans in, grabs me by my elbows and kisses me goodbye french style. Two times. Right. Left. Mua. Mua. What the fuck? After the second innocent peck on my cheek I feel his breath hot against my ear. "You look hot in that skirt. Be a good girl and wear it on Monday."

His soft words sent shivers down my spine and at the same time I'm fuming with anger.

All he can expect from me on Monday is a cold shoulder and a lecture.

August

Okay, that monitoring operation on Saturday didn't go exactly as planned. I guess I'm a little out of practice. Of course Fern wasn't supposed to see me nor was her date. Lucas Bellingham. A boring name for a boring guy. I checked his record, of course I did. How, you ask? I'm sorry but I can't tell you. If I would I'd have to kill you.

Hey, don't be so shocked, I'm just kidding. Really. Relax.

Anyway, I have ways and means to do a background check on someone and Lucas seems to be legit. On first sight that means. I told Pete to dig a little deeper, just to be sure. He has his ways and means too. I promised Fern she'd be safe with me when I hired her and I'm a man of my word. I'm not going to expose her to any kind of danger. And no matter what she says, it definitely is possible that someone is sending an undercover agent to spy on me or Peter. Could be the US authorities or the MI5 or someone from my past, there's no lack of enemies, I've pissed off a lot of people and I know one day I will regret it. You know what they say. Karma is a bitch.

Well, here she comes.

"Good Morning, Fern."

"Morning."

Okay. A look that could kill and no skirt. Tight black jeans and a turtleneck sweater. All buttoned-up. Okay, woman, I get it. You're mad at me. She goes straight to her office and I follow her and sit down on the edge of her desk. She doesn't even look at me but starts typing something into her computer.

"Are you alright?"

"Of course I am."

"Really? You don't even look at me."

She takes a deep breath before her eyes meet mine.

"Just stay out of my way today, August."

I know I should take the hint and leave her alone but I can't. I don't take orders. Not from her, not from anyone anymore. I'm the one in charge, she should know that.

"What if I don't want to?" I give her a smug smile.

"I don't care what you want. Just fuck off."

"Woman." I growl. "Who do you think you're talking to? I'm still your boss."

"Then let me do my work. Boss." She holds my gaze and I know I'm going to lose any kind of staring contest with her so I decide to change my tactics. I hop off her desk and sit down in a chair.

"I just don't get why you're in such a bad mood." I try to smile and I have a feeling that it makes me look like an idiot. Fern furrows her brows. "Oh really. You have no idea?"

"Is this about Saturday?"

"Yes, you bloody genius, of course it is. Your behaviour was beyond the pale."

"My behaviour? I was visiting an exhibition. Just like you."

"Don't give me that, August."

I stare at her. What does she want from me? I did nothing wrong goddamn.

"I was just trying to protect you, Fern. You tend to trust people too easily."

Her eyes shoot daggers at me and god, that's so sexy. Why the hell isn't she wearing that bloody skirt like I told her?

"People like you, you mean?"

Ouch. That hurts.

"I don't need you to protect me, okay? Not in a situation like this. Fuck, August. It was just a date with a harmless guy in a public place. What was he supposed to do? Kidnap me? Murder me?"

I don't know how to respond to this so I just shrug it off but the way she looks at me tells me she expects me to say something.

"I was just trying to keep my promise, Fern. You know I guaranteed your safety and I guess you have no idea how many people want to see me dead. You never know what they are up to and when someone new appears on the scene I get suspicious. This has nothing to do with you. It's just me and maybe I overshot the mark." The next words are the hardest part but I know if I want her to wear a skirt or dress ever again I have to say them. "I'm sorry."

Her face softens a little.

"Just don't do it again, August. My private life is none of your business."

I nod and I really want to know if she's going to see him again but I don't ask.

The next few days totally suck.

Tuesday: blue jeans and a cold shoulder. Shit.

Wednesday: skinny jeans and distant behaviour. Goddamn.

Thursday: A jumpsuit and a little smalltalk but not much more.

She's driving me crazy and she knows it. If she keeps on acting so stubborn she must not be surprised if I don't want her anymore. Ah fuck, who am I trying to fool. Truth is I want her more than ever. I want to fuck that distant look off her face. I want her to moan my name. I want her to obey. To give in. To acknowledge that I'm in charge.

On Friday I don't expect much, but to my big surprise and relief she shows up wearing the blue dotted dress she wore when I took her for the first time. I give her a glance when she walks past my office with swaying hips and she returns it. She even smiles at me.

Okay, I have to get rid of Peter. Asap. I go to his office and close the door behind me.

"August?"

"Peter. Go home."

"Excuse me?"

"Leave. Work from home today."

He leans back in his chair and crosses his arms with a frown.

"Why?"

"Because I say so."

He snorts and turns to his laptop again.

"Fuck off, August."

I roll my eyes and sigh.

"Please." I say through clenched teeth. "I need some time to talk to Fern."

"Talk, huh?"

"We had a little fight the other day and now it seems she's willing to forgive me." I know I sound desperate and Peter looks at me again. "Yeah. I know about your visit to the museum. And you think you can get back into her pants today."

She told him about it? This takes me by surprise. But I don't say a word and he knows me well enough to interpret it as a yes.

"You know my opinion on your little affair."

"I do and you know it's none of your business."

"Right." He hesitates and scratches his chin. "Well, do what you think you have to do. I'm going to have breakfast in the little cafe around the corner and try to get the number of the hot waiter. You have an hour." He gets up and grabs his wallet and his phone.

"Thanks, Pete."

"I'm not doing this for you, August. I'm doing this for our business and my future. If you and Fern don't talk you can't do your job properly and this could ruin everything we have built up yet. So get your shit together and return to normal. Whatever it takes."

He leaves and I can tell he's pissed but well, he's gone and that's all that matters. I go straight to Ferns office and now that I'm standing right in front of her I'm so aroused and full of anticipation I feel like I'm about to explode with lust and I'm sure I look like a predator. She looks at me and slowly stands up.

"You've been a really bad girl." I growl.

"Is that so?" She bats her lashes innocently. Oh, her audacity.

"Yes." I murmur. "You kept me waiting for four days."

"You deserved it." Heavens, she's really a challenge.

"I'm gonna show you what you deserve, woman."

Two wide strides and I'm standing right next to her. I grab her by her waist, spin her around and bend her over her desk before I lift her dress and rip her panties into shreds. I press her down with one hand between her shoulder blades and unzip my trousers with the other. My dick is so hard it hurts. I don't waste time. I enter her without any kind of preparation or the slightest hint of foreplay. I wanna punish her by being raw and ruthless but she won't let me. She is wet. So fucking wet and she takes me as well as usual. Sighing with lust when I stretch her pussy. Moaning when I start to fuck her deep and fast. I let out a moan too. "You're so wet. You've been looking forward to this." I hiss into her ear while railing her so hard that the desk moves under us. "I've been all wet since the moment I put on the dress." Her voice is dripping with desire. "I've missed your dick so much."

I keep on fucking her with long, deep movements and when I slap her ass out of the blue she cries out my name. "August." She likes it, oh yes she does. She likes it a lot. I can tell by her moans that get even louder. I've never done this before though I wanted to, but I was scared she might not like it or think I'm a perv and tell me to fuck off. I move faster and we are both gasping and panting like never before. I'm close and so is she. I can feel it.

"Again." She begs. Oh how I like the sound of it.

"What did you say, pretty?"

"Again. August. Please."

"Do you think you deserve it?"

"Yes."

"You want it?"

"Yes."

"Say it."

"Slap my ass, August. Please."

She's a whimpering mess now and I slap her again. Harder this time. She shrieks and it sounds incredibly hot. I go on and on and after the fifth slap I feel her come. Her walls clench around me and her legs shake. "Fuck...oh god. August…" Her sweet little cunt milks my cock and when I cum too I throw my head back and sigh her name softly till my orgasm is over. I press a kiss on her back and give her ass a few gentle strokes to sooth the pain. I bet it stings, her cheek is crimson red. I pull out reluctantly. I feel the strange urge to stay inside of her but I fight it. She turns around and looks at me with a smirk. She licks her lips and it's obvious how much she's enjoyed this.

And so have I.

I enjoyed it and I've missed it.

I've missed her.

#august walker #august walker smut #smut #august walker x ofc #august walker fan ficiton #henry cavill #henry cavill fan fiction

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in-my-feels-probably · 3 years

Text

INEFFABLE - Kaz Brekker

Chapter Fourteen

If you would like to read this on Wattpad, it’s on there as well, my @ is in_my_feels_probably and there’s a few visuals and better descriptions and stuff on there. otherwise, enjoy, let me know what you think, and you can check out my masterlist for updates and more. don’t forget to read the prologue, it’s important to the story!

INEFFABLE - Kaz Brekker

ineffable (adj.) too great to be expressed in words, utterly indescribable; too sacred to speak of.

Chapter Fourteen

The next morning, the Crows had made it back to the train that took them through the Fold. They were lying on their stomachs behind their carriage, watching out into the field. Elham could feel that Kaz’s body was tense next to hers, and she scooted closer to Inej, her side touching Inej’s. Inej didn’t seem to notice the movement, although Kaz seemed to relax a bit.

“How many are there?”

Kaz looked closer out into the field, scanning the area around the train for men. “Two. At some point at least one of them will have to go tell a superior what they found. We’ll go in then.”

Jesper turned to the Crows on his right. “Not to be that person, Kaz, but...are you sure you can drive that thing?”

Kaz looked certain, and he sounded exasperated, as if Jesper’s lack of faith in him was unjustified. “Yes.”

Elham rolled her eyes, mumbling. “Because you’ve driven a train before, yeah, I’m sure you’ve got this.”

He ignored her, turning to Jesper. “On the way to Kribirsk, while you were busy hugging bait--”

Jesper interrupted. “Milo. The goat’s name was Milo.”

“I was memorizing Arken’s timings.”

Inej looked uncertain. “Not to gang up on you, but, Jes has a point. Arken’s system was complicated and the ride was chaotic. No one would blame you for missing a count.”

Elham and Kaz both turned their heads, simultaneously speaking. “Jes?”

Jesper smiled. “It’s Suli, for friendship.”

Elham scoffed. “I may not know much Suli, but I can guarantee it’s not. Or is Jes, here, right, Inej?”

Kaz didn’t let her respond. “Trust me. Arken and I think alike.”

Elham chuckled. “Saints, I sure hope not.”

Before Kaz could respond, an explosion went off, and the Crows turned to watch the train go up in flames.

Elham suddenly couldn’t control her laughter, setting her forehead on her arms rested out in front of her.

“Of course.”

Jesper turned to her. “Too soon to appreciate the irony, am I right?”

Kaz ducked his head down, closing his eyes, jaw clenched. Elham noticed the movement next to her and murmured quietly next to him.

“Hey, it’s ok. We’ll figure it out, Kaz. There has to be another way across...and if there’s not, I’m not opposed to Jesper’s idea of opening up a bar and brewing beer. I could be a barmaid, yeah?”

Jesper chuckled. “You? A barmaid?”

“Beats being Heleen’s little fawn, right? Besides, I’d be a good barmaid.”

He was still laughing, but the humor had left. “Yeah, you’d be just about as good of a barmaid as you’d be Queen of the Barrel. And stop joking about Heleen, alright? It’s not funny.”

Elham smiled at him sadly. “If I don’t laugh, I’ll cry, Jesper.”

His face was full of pity, and she turned away, looking back down at her hands resting on her arms. Inej leaned closer, brushing her shoulder against Elham’s.

“I think you’d make a good Queen.”

Kaz finally spoke up, the ghost of a grin on his face. “A dangerous one, at least. I’d hate to be under your reign.”

Elham glanced up at him, smiling. “I’d spare you. Probably. I’d at least consider it.”

He rolled his eyes, standing up, motioning for the Crows to follow.

---

The Crows used the last of their money to get a room, and Kaz had spent the last half hour trying to figure out what to do. Elham took this time to practice with her new sword, Jesper duelling her with a piece of wood he had found.

He was out of breath, flailing around the room. “This isn’t fair, you know? You have a nice sword, I have a stick. You’re literally called the Valkyrie, this is not a Jesper talent, why can’t we use guns?”

“Stop whining, Jesper, you’re fine. Keep going, I need the practice.”

Kaz scoffed in his chair, almost laughing. “No, you don’t.”

Inej came in, clearly amused by Jesper being chased around the room. She turned to Kaz.

“The skiff is still here. Travelers downstairs are complaining. They were due to cross this morning.”

Kaz nodded. “Orders from the Black General. He plans to cross on it tomorrow.”

Jesper stopped running, holding his hands up in surrender. “The General? Is that the same general who tried to, oh yeah, kill us all? And use Elham to build a literal flaming wall of fire and darkness? That one?”

“He has the Sun Summoner.”

Elham turned to look at Kaz, face contorted in confusion. How did he know that? And why hadn’t he told her? Was there anything she could have done to stop it, to protect Alina? Inej stepped closer to her, clearly upset.

“Was this your plan all along? To have the General get her back so you can take her again?

“My plan is to get us across the Fold. We aren’t prepared for another fight.”

Inej raised a brow. “So you’re not going to take another run at Alina? And you’re really willing to let a million kruge go? All you want is to cross the Fold?”

Kaz grumbled, but nodded, standing up.

Jesper stepped forward. “Hang on. Are we talking about boarding a skiff with people who will recognize us? People who don’t like us much?”

Kaz pondered, turning to Inej. “We’ll have to blend in. Who else was on that skiff?”

“Some people from the winter fete. Dignitaries from Kerch and Novyi Zem on their way home.”

He raised a brow. “And now they’re audience to one more light show.”

He was silent for a moment, and Elham swore she could almost hear the gears turning in his head. She leaned closer to Jesper, whispering.

“Scheming face?”

He nodded, whispering back. “Scheming face. We’re not gonna like this, are we?”

Kaz finally spoke. “Jesper, how did you enjoy playing a Zemeni guard?”

---

By nightfall, a plan was set in motion. Inej was perched atop a balcony, waiting to signal Elham. Elham waited until she got a nod from Inej, and turned to see a group of men walking her way. Kaz and Jesper came out of the alley behind them, walking slowly.

Elham approached the group of men, a smile on her face. “Excuse me, sir?”

One of the men stepped forward, smiling. “Yes, miss?”

Elham smiled, moving closer to the man like she was going to tell him a secret. He leaned in and waited. She set her hands on his shoulders, lightly gripping at his coat. She could hear the man's friends chuckling behind him. Before he could speak, she drove her knee up into his gut, sending him bending over and stumbling to the ground, clutching his stomach. She delivered a quick kick to his face, and he was out cold.

The man’s friends quickly scrambled to their friends' side, checking to see if he was ok. “You bitch, what did you do that for?”

One of them stood to move towards her, and she gripped the hilt of her sword, but Kaz and Jesper beat her to it. Kaz used his cane, Jesper used the base of his pistol, and they both swung at the same time, each taking out one of the remaining men, knocking them unconscious.

Jesper smiled, bending down to grab one of the men under his shoulders. “Nice job, love. “

He turned to Kaz, who hadn’t moved. “Are you gonna help?”

Kaz just swung his cane up into his grip, holding it up for Jesper to see. Elham rolled her eyes.

“Oh. Well isn’t that convenient for you? Elham...please?”

She sighed, grumbling. She hooked her arms under the smallest looking man, lugging him up. “Fine! Only because I nearly cut you earlier and I’m still feeling slightly guilty.”

“That was a very close call, by the way, I think you still owe me.”

“Jesper! I’ll drop him!”

“Fine, fine. Come on.”

---

Ten minutes later, Jesper had successfully stripped one of the men from his outfit, placing it on himself. He was admiring himself in the mirror, smoothing down his coat.

Inej was rolling her eyes. “You look fine.”

“Oh, I look more than fine.”

Without looking up from the papers Kaz was fabricating, he handed Elham the dress she had worn at the fete.

She grabbed it from him. “You’re not serious? Why does Inej get to wear the cool coat and I’m stuck in a dress again?”

“Because. We’re blending in. You’re supposed to look nice, like the rest of the wives who came from the winter fete will.”

Elham peeked out from the corner she had ducked behind to change. “Wives?”

“You’re playing Jesper’s.”

Jesper grinned, turning to Elham. “My love! I must say, I do like you in a dress.”

Elham grumbled, stepping out from the corner, once again in the dress. “First your wife, now Jesper’s, why do your plans always involve me playing a wife?”

Inej chuckled. “He had you play his wife? I would have loved to see that. You already argue like an old married couple, it wouldn’t be that much of a change.”

Elham’s cheeks heated up, and she suddenly found the fabric of her dress very interesting, fiddling with it. Kaz finally looked up from his papers, quickly changing the subject.

“Just be happy I’m letting you keep that sword strapped to your back. If they ask why you have it, just say you bought it in town as a souvenir or gift or something, and that you don't want it damaged in the cargo hold. I’m sure you can think of something dramatic enough that one of those pampered wives would say before causing a scene their husband would have to buy their way out of.

Before Elham could come up with something sarcastic as a rebuttal, he continued. “Alright, I made some edits to the papers. Should be enough to get us through the checkpoint and onto the skiff.”

Jesper leaned forward, looking confused at his paper. “Huh? No one is ever going to believe I’m that old.”

Kaz only looked up at him. “You tell yourself that.”

Jesper scoffed, clearing his throat and stomping off. Kaz smirked, looking back down at his papers. Inej smiled, and Elham called after Jesper dramatically.

“It’s alright, my love! I like older men!”

He called back to her, huffing. “Shut up Elham!”

---

The Crows were now in line to board the skiff, papers in hand.

The guard at the table spoke. “Consider yourselves lucky. You’re traveling with the Black General and the Sun Summoner, which means you’re about to witness the destruction of the Fold.”

Elham mumbled under her breath, stepping up closer in line. “Yes, I’m so lucky to be boarding with people who want to kill me, very excited to be here, honestly.”

Jesper stepped up to the guard, handing him his papers along with Elham’s. She stood at his side with her arm linked through his, smiling. The guard looked over the papers, glancing up questionably.

Jesper smiled. “I know. I look amazing for my age.”

The guard shook his head, handing them back. “Well, I thought you looked older.”

Jesper let out a pained laugh, and Elham hid her smile, grabbing his hand. “Come on, love.”

They headed to the skiff, when the crowd started whispering amongst themselves, glancing behind them. The Crows turned to see Alina emerge from the tent, a black cloak engulfing her. The Darkling followed closely behind, scanning the area.

Elham quickly turned back around, seething. “Please let me kill him.”

Kaz scoffed, using his cane to push her forward. “Not a chance...well, at least not today. I’ll consider it again later.”

---

They boarded the skiff, quickly moving to the back, hiding in the shadows, away from Alina and the Darkling at the front.

Jesper spoke quietly. “ Good news? It’s just as terrifying as I remember.”

Elham turned to him. “How is that good news? We’re completely exposed.”

Growling was heard in the distance as the Fold drew closer, and Elham felt her heart sink.

Jesper sighed. “If I’m meant to die today, and one of you survives, make sure I have an open casket.”

Elham gripped Jesper’s hand, giving it a squeeze. Kaz kept his eyes locked on the Darkling.

“No one’s dying today. No mourners, eh, Creed?”

Elham grimly smiled at him, and the Crows replied in unison. “No funerals.”

The skiff plunged into darkness.

---

A/N - we're in the last episode of content now, only a few more chapters to go! i hope you've enjoyed so far and are happy with the story, i'm excited to get the rest out and put the rest of those little details i was excited about into the story. we still have a lot of cool stuff for this episode to go through, and is could have another chapter out soon. let me know what you thought, and thank you for the support!

#wattpad #kaz brekker x reader #kaz brekker #six of crows imagine #six of crows #shadow and bone #in my feels probably #inferni #ineffable #grishaverse #x reader #oc

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whatifxwereyou · 3 years

Text

Ashes Chapter 14: Calligraphy

Fandom: Mortal Kombat 2021

Pairing: Liu Kang x Reader

Warning: This chapter has SPOILERS and some upsetting content (character death) so brace yourself.

A/N: boy oh boy what have we here. smooches, folks. genuinely cried writing this chapter, but also had a ton of fun putting it together! hope you like it!

First Chapter << Previous Chapter Next Chapter >> Chapter Index

You were early to meet with the others in the lobby the next day. You’d finally gotten some greatly needed sleep and felt more like yourself. There was still a cloud hanging over your head of mixed-up emotions but there was no helping that. You’d gotten good at hiding it anyway. No one was there to meet you in the lobby so you went back to the little restaurant attached to the hotel. As you were about to be led to one of the tables, you spotted Cole and Emily waving to you to get your attention.

You thanked the hostess but let her know you would be joining your friends and walked past her.

“Y/N!” Emily beamed and offered you a hug, much to your surprise. You returned it and then took the seat between her and Cole.

“Glad you came to join us.” Allison smiled pleasantly though she looked weary, as if she hadn’t gotten much sleep the last few nights. You imagined this was much more difficult with a family to look after. “We just ordered so if we can catch the waiter then you’ll be right on time with us.”

“Perfect.” You then asked politely how everyone was doing that morning. It was nice to listen to them talk. It was such a normal conversation. Something you’d taken for granted in the past. You’d run from normal conversation for a while there. You’d run from any conversation now that you thought about it. You didn’t have much to contribute to the conversation but that was fine since Cole and his family were happy to talk. Emily showed you pictures that she’d taken while out and about in Los Angeles the afternoon before.

The waiter returned and you ordered granola and yogurt but even as you thought about eating it, your gag reflex kicked in. You just weren’t hungry. In fact, you were a little nauseated at the idea of it. The food was fine and you shoveled it down anyway but weren’t happy about it. It didn’t sit right either.

After you finished eating, Allison and Emily excused themselves to the restroom leaving you and Cole alone and waiting for the check.

“How’s things?”

“They’re about the same as yesterday.” You shrugged.

“How’s nothing?” Cole gave it air quotes this time, a bemused sort of look on his face.

“Are you really bothering me with that nonsense already today?”

“I wasn’t planning to but then…” He pointed to you as though you gave him an obvious reason to. You searched yourself but didn’t find anything out of the ordinary.

“What? What is it?”

“I’m pretty sure that nothing left you a souvenir.” He made to push your hair away from your neck and you swatted his hand away. Was he serious? Or was he just giving you a hard time. Had Liu given you a hickey like some horny teenager marking his territory? There was only one real way to find out but any sort of reaction was going to give you away to Cole. Your silence had probably already done that. Cole was looking at you as if to say ‘yeah, nothing’ again. You narrowed your eyes at him. “Hey, I’m not judging.”

“Cole… It’s…”

“I know, I know. It’s none of my business.” He tapped a finger against the table. “Whatever nothing is? It seems complicated. I get that. I’m just trying to help you out before someone with less discretion points it out.”

You sighed heavily and pushed your chair away from the table. “We are going to have words later.” You left money on the table for breakfast. “I have to grab something from my room.”

“Sure you do.” Cole laughed as you walked away. “You’re welcome!” He called after you. You walked into the lobby and found the restroom there, hoping to avoid Allison and Emily in the restaurant. You checked yourself in the mirror which was something you’d avoided doing the past few days.

Huh, funny, you were a little pale even though you felt much better. Maybe you’d hid in the temple too long after everything. You avoided thinking of the reasons behind the word ‘everything’. Sure enough, right on the side of your neck was the bruise-like mark that Cole had pointed out. An unmistakable sign that you’d been making out with Liu Kang. Oh the audacity of that man. After all the drama you had between you, after how complicated it already was, he’d given you a damn hickey.

You laughed, hands on the bathroom counter.

“Fuck.” You had to cover it up. So you went back to your room and covered the mark with makeup. You’d do your best to keep your hair over your neck but changed your jacket to one with a higher collar just in case. Then you made your way back to the lobby and to the restaurant where you found Cole, Allison, and Emily still seated. However, Liu Kang had joined them in the meantime. When you approached, he stood and grabbed a chair for you. Cole couldn’t have looked more amused. Liu bowed to you politely in greeting and then offered you the chair.

“Thanks.” You tried not to sound annoyed but you were annoyed. You couldn’t just yell at Liu Kang for giving you a hickey in front of everyone so you had to pretend you weren’t annoyed which was also annoying. You made casual conversation but you caught Liu throwing you a glance now and then. Eventually you chose to excuse yourself and joined Jax and Sonya in the lobby. Sonya was just as grumpy as you were that morning which was nice. At least it wasn’t just you. She was likely not looking forward to spending more time with Johnny Cage. Jax didn’t seem too keen on it either.

The others joined you in the lobby where Allison and Emily wished you luck and then left to go about their day. Then the group of warriors made their way to meet with Johnny Cage. It wasn’t a particularly long ride but it was long enough that the silence felt awkward. You wondered again why Raiden had sent you all there. There was something he foresaw as a possibility that you didn’t. There had to be. You could see why he would send you and Liu somewhere to sort out your shit but why everyone else?

When you arrived, you found that the house was surprisingly modest. A two-story bungalow standing alone on the side of the highway. Johnny met you out front and greeted you jovially but you checked out pretty quickly. The conversations with everyone were fairly circular. Too many hands in the pot. You enjoyed Johnny for the most part. He was quite funny.

The truth was that your fuse was short that morning and you were better off staying out of the conversation. To you, it didn’t matter how the conversation ended because if Johnny resisted then you were going with the backup plan.

Kidnapping.

A word that you had thought so many times the last few days it was funny. You kind of wanted to make it happen now. Could have been a fun change of pace.

That probably wasn’t healthy.

When you were restless the idea of causing trouble became tempting and this was one of those moments. It was something you could control in a world of things beyond your control. Kung Lao had kept you in check in moments like this. He’d allowed you to cause trouble without actually causing trouble. There was no one there to do that anymore. Except Liu. But causing trouble with Liu was exactly the kind of destructive thing you shouldn’t do.

“It’s beautiful, right?” Johnny beamed next to you, proud of the view of the beach from next to his house. You’d been walking alongside the fence. Where the hell was everyone else? Weren’t they supposed to be talking to Johnny? This was going great. “It’s part of why I bought this place. I know it’s old school for someone like me, but the view? Can’t be beat.” He continued on and on about the things that had drawn him to the house. The smell of the ocean. The moment he’d known it had to be his. The renovations that he’d had to do. It was nice to listen to him drone on, honestly. Had the others already managed to lose him? So much so that he was babbling about nothing to you?

Kidnapping.

You considered this would be a good moment to just knock him the fuck out.

“That’s a great idea. We’ll finish this discussion on the beach. The gate leads right down there.”

“What?”

“You talked me into it, Y/N.” Johnny patted you on the shoulder then walked over to the gate and hollered for the others to follow him. Weather worn wooden stairs led from the gate next to the house and down to the shore. You hadn’t said anything so you had no idea what he was talking about, but fine. The others were soon walking past you. Sonya was grumbling something to Jax who was laughing in response. Liu walked past them all and was the first person down the stairs. Cole stood by the fence, hands in his pockets while he waited for you to join him. He nodded toward the fence. You shrugged and then joined him. You and Cole trailed behind the others.

“Now, hypothetically, if I agree to go on this journey with you then when exactly were you thinking we’d head out? Still unclear how we’re getting there but plane tickets are expensive short notice.”

“Tomorrow. Don’t worry about the flight. We have that handled.” Jax was the sternest negotiator amongst you and had the highest tolerance for Johnny Cage. You thought that Liu was more qualified and understanding at one point, but he was unpredictable now. So Jax it was. He was convincing and for some reason you trusted him immediately. That was not something that often happened for you.

“Yeah, that doesn’t work for me. I’ve got things to reschedule. I’m a busy man, I thought I made that clear.” He went on and on. You were over it. Just knock him out already. You walked past them to an old dusty picnic table in the sand. You’d let the others sort it out. Jax seemed to have it under control for now. Cole joined you at the table.

“Is this about what you expected?”

“Do you think if we let him keep talking until he’s tuckered out then we might get a word in edgewise?”

“I think that motormouth could go on forever if we let him.”

“Well, alternatively, we could just knock him out. Then I’ll call Raiden. Boom. Done. I’ll just drag him.”

Cole chuckled and ran his fingers through his short hair, elbows on his knees. “If it comes to that then I’m happy to help with the dragging.”

“I was hoping.”

Cole clasped his hands together, tapping one foot impatiently. You couldn’t blame him. You’d been given the runaround since you and Liu got there and you were certain it had been more of the same before that. “It’s strange seeing the beach this empty.”

“Rich people.” You gestured to Johnny and Cole chuckled again. “Look at those clouds rolling in. Looks like rain.”

“I didn’t see any in the forecast. Weird.”

“Weirder things have happened.”

Jax, Sonya, and Johnny were arguing. About nothing. You could hear their irate voices from there. Johnny had offended them, apparently. Liu was quietly trying to diffuse the argument but it seemed to be going poorly for him.

“You sneak over there and knock him out. I’ll carry him.” Cole joked. You laughed but when you turned to watch the waves roll out your stomach sunk.

There was a familiarity that you couldn’t shake and you couldn’t turn your gaze away. You got up and walked closer to the water. Even your shoes in the sand felt familiar. You’d walked here before. You’d seen these waves before. Even the clouds were ones you’d seen. Cole was following you.

“What is it?”

“I know this place.” But why? Why did you recognize it? You didn’t know. You just knew that you did. That happened to you sometimes but it had been years. With the visions you’d suffered as a child and the ones you’d had after discovering your arcana it had been a common thing once upon a time. It had been impossible to decipher what was a coincidence or déjà vu without help.

But this didn’t feel right and the drop in your stomach made you concerned enough that you had to say something.

“Liu?” You shouted with some urgency and he snapped his head toward you, stopping the conversation with Johnny with a wave of his hand. He started toward you but before he could ask you what was wrong, what was wrong made itself apparent.

The dark clouds spread unnaturally across the sky and the ocean shrunk back from the shore and crashed against an invisible wall instead of rolling back. Green mist swirled beyond the waves and gathered in a spiral energy. Opening at its center was a mirror of fire and darkness. You could feel the heat of it from there.

Your vision from the roof.

Unlike your vision where there had been a wave of bodies rolling in from the ocean, there were instead monstrous warriors with fire beneath their skin that rushed out of the hellish void behind the dark mirror. Was this why Raiden had sent you all there? Had he foreseen something like this happening? You stepped back into a defensive position and Cole joined you at the ready.

“What the hell is this?” Johnny shouted, lumbering through the sand to your other side, fists in a guard position. You were all ready for a fight. From behind the monstrosities emerging onto the beach an imposing armored man stepped from the portal of fire and green mist. Bald, gray skinned, symbols on his forehead and dark lines traveling up from his eyes, he was intimidating. Power radiated from him.

The monstrous warriors he’d summoned were snapping at you, growling, some holding weapons, others armed only with claws. With a wave of his hand, the monstrosities rushed forward.

You were ready for a fight but stumbled backwards in the sand. The déjà vu left you dizzy. Jax was in front of you smashing the creature that had come for you. You would have rolled out of the way but you appreciated the assist. “Get it together, Y/N!”

You put some distance between you and the others. You could handle the fight but you were better off in the back given what you specialized in. Then it was pure chaos. This was what the vision had warned you about. There was fire and the crashing of metal. Blades sliced and projectiles were thrown. Fingertips turning black, you summoned your arcana into blades and spun them at the ready.

Fire roared from Liu as he fought nearby. Jax was plowing through enemies while Sonya fought back-to-back with Cole who had not yet used his arcana but was doing just fine without it.

One of the monsters came toward you and you ducked beneath its blow then stepped back strategically in the sand. It rushed you and you twisted your blade and sliced the grotesque creature’s face. It roared, spit flying past its lips, then lumbered toward you even as your blade cut through it. You twisted aside and sliced across its chest and the creature fell into a pile of ash but you lost your footing on the sand. What the hell was wrong with you? It was like something had pulled your leg right out from under you but there was nothing there. Johnny helped you to your feet.

The creatures were no match for everyone’s arcana. Even Johnny Cage put up one hell of a fight which you were glad to see. One of the creatures struck him and he faked left, slipped beneath the blow, and then struck it repeatedly then kicked it toward you. “Catch!”

You spun and sliced the creature gracefully, relieved your body was obeying you this time. With a yell, Johnny kicked the creature to the ground. He stepped back into his stance and you grabbed his arm to pull him out of the way of a creature coming from behind him. He stumbled but caught himself quickly. Your blade pierced the monster’s chest and Johnny struck the monster in the face but then shook out his hand in pain. Then with a yell he kicked the creature so it slid off of your blade.

“Chill out, man!” He then targeted the wound your blade left behind and the creature fell to the ground and burst into ash with a comical spin. “Hey, can you do that thing where you duplicate me?” Johnny had nothing but excitement in his eyes.

“Is now really the time?” You laughed, shaking out your blade. Doing so would mean you had to take a back seat to the actual conflict.

“Come on, Y/N! Double Johnny! That’s my next damn movie!” He assured you with a big grin. “It’ll be a hit. No one will know how we did it!” There were more of those creatures coming through the sand toward you.

“You had me at Double Johnny.” You tossed the swords behind you and they disappeared in a spray of ink. Bracing yourself in the sand, you drew Johnny out of ink and had him join him at his side. While you controlled the drawing, you backed up and watched the others to make sure that they were holding their own. Cole had summoned the armor and tonfa of his arcana and was absorbing blow after blow before redirecting that energy back at his attackers.

Liu wielded fire in a graceful dance, holding his own with ease. Jax and Sonya held the front line, trying to make their way toward the man who ordered the monstrosities toward them from the portal by the water.

He made eye contact with you and then a horrible ringing began across the beach. You kept your grasp on the drawing of Johnny but it took tremendous focus not to fall. It was fighting more like you did but it was still doing its job. You dropped to one knee in the sand as the ringing in your head continued. You focused only on your ink and tried to drown out the horrible sound as it deafened you. Then an arm slipped under yours and helped you back to your feet.

“What happened? You hear something?”

“You don’t hear that?” You shouted over the horrid screeching.

“No, just fighting!” He steadied you then let go.

“There’s this ringing!” You shouted.

“There’s no ringing, Y/N!” Cole swung the grip on his tonfa and leapt before you, knocking the creature coming toward you aside, then spinning back and piercing it with the sharp end.

“Fuck this.” You muttered beneath your breath and then, despite the ringing, you drew Cole to join him in battle and together they batted back the flood of creatures rushing toward you. You were going to drive these things back to wherever the hell they’d come from. You stepped further back and drew Liu to join him. There was a deep pain in your chest and you pushed anyway. If you had to sleep for the rest of the evening it would be worth winning the battle.

The ink staining your fingers spread over your wrists and up your arms. You tossed your jacket off and into the sand. You drew Jax and the screeching in your ears was muted by exhaustion. The creatures were falling back, overwhelmed by the duplication of your fellow warriors. You kept scanning the beach to help your creations mimic their fellow warriors. You made to draw Sonya to help finish them off but then something struck you hard in the chest. There was nothing there but the blow was enough to knock you several feet backwards.

As you fell into the sand, you didn’t crash but were instead swallowed by darkness. You tried to fight it but your limbs snapped together and it was like you were bound, floating in a sea of shadow. You could hear combat below you, the grinding of a saw blade, and a familiar voice. It was like someone was controlling your body, guiding you through the wall of shadow against your will. It was like water, you couldn’t breathe.

Then your heart stopped.

You heard Kung Lao.

He was screaming in agony. Screaming for Liu Kang. Your whole body went rigid.

Then you fought to get free. You fought harder than you had ever fought in your entire life. He was screaming in agony and you were in the fight pit, floating above it. Shang Tsung had Kung Lao in his grasp and right before your eyes, you watched the life drain from the face of the man that you loved.

Liu Kang was running to him but it was too late. Anguish radiated from him but as he opened his mouth to scream, you heard nothing but that ringing again. In his last breath, Kung Lao froze. Then, quickly, the scene rewound before your eyes and you were forced to watch it play out again. You couldn’t breathe, you couldn’t think. You tried desperately to get to him, but you were trapped.

“You couldn’t save him.” A deep voice whispered, fading from one ear and into the other. “And you won’t be able to save them either.” You wanted to scream, to fight, but you could barely move, could barely breathe. The scene rewound again and you shook all over in terror. Darkness swallowed you and you tried desperately to close your eyes to it, to get away from the screams of the man you loved at the last moments of his life.

You tried to summon your arcana, to lash out like you used to in a panic with spears of ink.

In a burst of energy, you fell through the shadow, limbs free of where they’d been bound. You collapsed in a heap onto something hard and solid but it wasn’t the beach. You weren’t anywhere. You didn’t care where you were. You grasped your hair desperately, sobbing hysterically. Why? Why?

You hadn’t ever wanted to see that!

You didn’t want that in your head!

His last moments alive captured and replayed. You couldn’t help him. You pulled your hair, tried to get a hold of yourself but you couldn’t stop sobbing, couldn’t catch your breath. You were hyperventilating, shaking.

Footsteps approached you but you didn’t get up to greet them. You were helpless, sobbing and curled up on the ground. Whoever it was approaching you stopped right in front of you and crouched. You froze.

It was Kung Lao. You didn’t have to see him to know it was true.

He wrapped his arms around you and you sobbed against him, grasping onto him desperately. He felt so real, warm, and comforting. He was there. But you knew it wasn’t real. He wasn’t real. You could see the last moments of his life repeating in your mind’s eye. His lips brushed against your forehead, one of your fondest memories, something you were sure your subconscious was repeating to comfort you.

“They need you, Y/N.” He whispered. His voice was so familiar and comforting that you clung even tighter to him, your sobs catching in your throat. It hurt. To hear his voice so clearly in your head and know it wasn’t real. “Breathe, please.” His strong hands brushed down your arms to try and soothe you. You nodded and shakily took deep breaths. Even if it was just your subconscious, it felt so real that you took comfort in it.

He left that kiss on your forehead again.

“I didn’t… I didn’t, Kung Lao… I didn’t want to see you die, I… I can’t… I couldn’t… I’m sorry.” You sobbed, covering your mouth. “I miss you so much.”

“I know. I know you do. But you have to wake up, Y/N. I need you to wake up.”

“I don’t know how. I don’t know where I am, I don’t know… I don’t…” You wiped your eyes furiously but couldn’t take your eyes off of him. This was how you wanted to remember him. Not rotting away. “I can’t do this without you.”

“Yes, you can, Y/N. You have to wake up.” He tilted your chin up and just as his lips brushed against yours in a kiss, he was gone and you were alone.

Gasping for breath, you opened your eyes to the tumultuous skies over the beach. Liu Kang was pulling you from the sand and into his arms. It was chaos. There was yelling you couldn’t make out all around you. Green smoke engulfed the beach and your fellow warriors were falling back. Liu scooped you up into his arms but you fought him and he stumbled.

“Y/N! Y/N, don’t! We have to go!” Liu grasped again for you but you fought to get away from him and fell into the sand.

“He’s right, we have to go!” Cole argued and tried to help get you back up. Johnny stopped him.

“Let her do what she needs to do.” Johnny knelt next to you. You were shocked by how much he had chosen to trust you. Now you felt a little bad about the kidnapping thing but you were too emotionally raw to even be sarcastic. The monstrosities were rushing toward you, barely kept back by Sonya’s arcana.

Getting back to your feet, you focused on your arcana. Even if it took every bit of the strength that you had left, you would make them pay. You were furious. The last thing you’d remembered before you fell were the eyes of that man. He’d made you watch Kung Lao die again and again. He had imprisoned you in somewhere dark and he would pay.

You would do this for him.

For Kung Lao.

The ink covered your hands again and spread up your arms. You imagined the world as your canvas, the whole beach your art. You drew around the creatures running toward you and it felt to you that they moved slower than your arcana did. The stone walls that you drew on either side of them popped into existence and then slammed into the sand. They were huge, towering above the creatures. You collapsed to your knees in the sand but Johnny slipped his arm under yours and helped you back up. You made eye contact with the leader of these horrible creatures. He was scowling behind his warriors and then he turned and stepped back into his portal.

With a yell, you slammed your hands together and the stone walls crashed together, crushing every single one of the monstrosities that had come through the portal that was closing behind your arcana. The sound of the ink slamming together was deafening and the ground shook beneath you. Your ears were ringing now for a different reason.

Exhaustion.

You dropped into the sand, only kept upright by Johnny Cage. You sat back on your heels. The ink walls disintegrated and poured like rain into the sand, staining it. The creatures within had fallen to ash. Dark clouds grumbled overhead.

All that remained was the inky silhouette of a man.

Kung Lao.

Vision blurred by tears, you commanded the drawing of him to brush his fingers over his hat in victory. Then he disappeared into nothing. You let your weight fall back against Johnny Cage. He was talking to you but your head was spinning and everything was muted. Liu crouched in front of you and took your hands to help you up. He was talking but you were struggling to even read his lips. You blinked your eyes closed to try and focus. You swatted Liu’s hands away and then pushed Johnny off of you too.

You took deep breaths and regained yourself before getting to your feet. Then there was silence. None of you were sure what had prompted the attack or who had even been behind it. The only thing any of you were sure of was that it was not good.

You were still furious.

“Okay.” Johnny broke the tense silence. “I’ll clear my schedule by the end of the week and we can go. No more questions… well, about that, at least. I have lots of other questions.” He looked to each of you. “That okay?”

“End of the week? Did you see what just happened? We are at war.” Jax argued. You got to your feet and walked a little away from them to let them talk. You shouldn’t have but you didn’t have it in you to listen to them arguing about something that seemed so trivial to you in the moment. You knew it wasn’t trivial but nothing else mattered to you right now.

Sonya joined you closer to the water. “That was impressive.” The blond had her arms folded over her chest. She was scraped up and looked weary but you weren’t worried about her. Sonya had more than proven herself as a warrior.

“Thanks.”

“Couldn’t have done that earlier?”

“Draining.”

“What made you do it?”

“I’m furious.” You didn’t offer any further explanation. The last thing you wanted was to talk about it. You didn’t even want to think about it. But it wasn’t like you could get it out of your head. Who was that man who had done that to you? What were his motives? What good did he think would come of it? Why show you that? Why taunt you? To break you?

“I’d hate to be the one who made you that angry.” Sonya attempted to joke with you but you had zero sense of humor right now.

“I wouldn’t recommend it either.”

Sonya offered you a pat on the back. “Take it easy after that.”

“You too. Clean that up.” You gestured to Sonya’s arm. At least Sonya wasn’t treating you with kid gloves like the guys sometimes did.

“It’s just a scrape.” Sonya assured you. Liu joined you on your other side. The others were close behind now.

“We need to get back to Raiden.” You turned to Liu only for a second. You couldn’t look him in the eyes right now. You could only picture the anguish on his face in those last moments. “They weren’t from Outworld. They were from somewhere else.” Liu was watching you in alarm.

“End of the week is the best I can do.” Johnny spoke over anyone else who may have had something to say on the matter. “It’s only two days away. After that? I’m all yours.”

“That’s fine.” You agreed before the others could argue. If they disagreed then they could argue with you later. You were ready for a fight at this point. You didn’t care what their opinions were on the matter. Johnny had stood by you when you’d needed help even when he didn’t have to. You’d step up for him too. “It’s only two days. He’s right. By then Nightwolf should be up to speed and already training. With any luck it’ll be the leg up we need.”

“Nightwolf? Sounds like a Nordic death metal band or something.”

Sonya swatted Johnny on the back of his head inciting a laugh from Cole.

“Fine. Two days. That’s it. But we’re leaving first thing Saturday morning and if you don’t show up, then so help me, when we find you…” Jax continued to threaten him. Johnny insisted that his word was solid. You didn’t care what either of them said. If Johnny bailed then you would drag him kicking and screaming to China. But you had also accidentally bonded with Johnny Cage and trusted that he would do as he promised. You stepped away from the others, getting closer to the waves.

The ink had faded and so had the ash. The only signs of the battle that had taken place was the dug-up sand from the fighting. You felt Liu walking toward you before he was at your side. His energy was tangible and so uniquely him.

“What is it?” He whispered, voice nervous. “What do you know?”

“I know that I need to talk to Raiden.” You felt heavy, like another version of you sat on your shoulders. Grief. “I don’t know exactly what it is I know. I just know that it’s bad. That man… he’s trouble.” You knew that was vague but you had no other words to describe him without explaining what had happened to you. You knew so little other than a feeling. He had been trying to manipulate you. If that was his intent then he clearly knew nothing about you. All he’d managed to do was make you angrier.

You supposed it had beaten you down but you wouldn’t let it keep you down.

Kung Lao was still alive even if only in your head

Living enough to have comforted you when you’d needed it. The strength that you’d used to crush those creatures had been all because of him. You silently thanked him for watching over you as you admired the waves recovering from the magic of that horrible man.

“I can call Raiden. The others can meet us in China on the weekend.” Liu was terrible at hiding his worry.

You considered his offer but your gut was saying to stay in Los Angeles until you were all leaving. Raiden had to have known that something would happen. He had known you had to be there. Why? You hoped that he could shed some light on the truth of what was happening. This war had become more complex than any of you could have imagined. “No. I think we should wait. But I’m worried, Liu.”

“Yeah, me too.” Liu folded his arms over his chest. The tension in the air couldn’t have been more different than the last time you’d stood together on the shore.

“Are you okay?” You turned to give him a cursory glance. He was covered in soot. No surprise.

“I’m fine.” You felt the smile on his lips. “You’re gray again.”

“Well, I crushed an army.”

“Still.” He wiped the soot off of his shirt fruitlessly. “We should go.”

“I need a minute, Liu.”

“Okay.”

“You can go, Liu.” You didn’t necessarily want him to go but you didn’t want him to sit there worrying about you pointlessly either. You would be okay. Probably could use a nap but you would bounce back from that just fine. It was the rest of what had happened that no one else had seen that would stick with you. Liu bowed his head respectfully but didn’t leave you alone. You had plenty to discuss but you had no words. Cole joined you moments later.

“You okay?” He asked casually and you were grateful that he wasn’t nearly as concerned as Liu was.

“I’m fine. You good?”

“I’ve had worse.” Cole smirked, arms folded over his chest. “You saw something back there, huh?” You supposed that of all the people you owed an explanation to, Cole was pretty up there. He’d been there when you’d realized what was happening and that you’d seen it before.

“Yeah. That happens sometimes.” You weighed whether or not you should elaborate. Later. It wasn’t the time or place.

“Good to know.” Cole offered you his arm. “Come on. We’re heading back. No one feels safe here now.” You took his arm and then started slowly with him back toward the steps leading to the beach house. Liu followed behind you. Your mind was buzzing with anger. He would pay. You would make that man regret putting those visions in your head.

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bonshaquitalafawndreeah · 3 years

Text

A bandwagoner’s ode to the Cubs

Let’s get one thing straight right away: I am absolutely not a sports fan. I hated sports most of my life because they made me feel excluded. I couldn’t catch or throw a ball or comprehend strategy. I was consistently picked last in gym class and then shunned by my classmates for making them lose a game of flag football. This made me a very bitter, non participatory person. I’m that basic betch who jokes about a football game interrupting the Beyoncé concert during the super bowl. I declare that I wish both teams could lose when the Bears play the Packers and I’m forced to watch. I don’t even join in at cookouts when people start playing bags. (And I’m sure by now you’re thinking, “wow, you must be fun at parties.”)

I am NOT a fan of sports, but I am a fan of the Chicago Cubs.

Or at least I’m something adjacent to being a fan. (I am somewhere in the “ballpark” if you will.) Is it fair to lump me in with people who bleed Cubbie Blue and can recite rosters from the 90’s? God no! I am a casual admirer at best and although I come from a long line of Cub fans I admittedly payed zero attention to the sport until the 2016 World Series. You could say I’m a bandwagoner but I’m even worse than that. Even after they won the first World Series in 108 years I was still not super interested in sitting through a game. It wasn’t until my husband dragged me to Wrigley under the guise of “spending a day together in the city” that I realized there’s something truly magical about the experience.

Maybe I also happened to be in a magical season of life. We were newlyweds and the World Series win coincided with our honeymoon. My husband wore a Cubs cap to every bar and restaurant and we were congratulated by every person we met. People who had never even been to Illinois were so happy and excited for us. I was buzzing with the kind of pride you feel when something newsworthy happens in your hometown.

I grew up two hours away from Chicago, but moved to the suburbs around 2016. During that chapter, it felt like the entire world was opening up for me and everything was exciting. I had just gotten the job I used to dream about and had coworkers that would quickly start to feel like family. On weekends David and I would take the train from Glen Ellyn to the city. As I sipped a coffee and watched the scenery roll by I couldn’t believe my luck. A friendless little girl from the boonies had found a little community she could thrive in, and it was all next door to one of the world’s greatest cities.

That first Cubs game felt like a fairy tale. I knew I would enjoy drinking beer and eating a hot dog, but I planned on being bored by the rest of it. I didn’t expect to immediately fall in love with the charm of Wrigleyville. Everyone in the stadium was twinkle-in-their-eyes friendly. The blooper reels were cute and funny. Anthony Rizzo stepped to the plate while “Bad Blood” by Taylor Swift blasted and won my heart forever. I developed a genuine investment in the outcome of the game and cheered and groaned with gusto. I somehow got to watch them win that day and we jumped up and down and sang “go Cubs go” as though we had accomplished something incredible. As we left our seats I was grinning from ear to ear like a little kid. We stopped for drinks at the Cubbie Bear and I told David I had just accidentally discovered my favorite thing to do in Chicago.

Over the years we went to a few more games. Sometimes we went alone. Other times we brought David’s family. Once we dragged along a good friend who was moving across the country the next day, and another who had just finished an overnight shift. Once we went in early April and it was so cold and rainy that I bought a souvenir blanket for $50. I wore it around my shoulders like a cape in every place we stopped. For the very first time, I understood why people passionately love and defend their teams.

In 2019 we didn’t go to any games because my mental health took a nosedive. I was having panic attacks daily and for whatever reason they were most severe when I was in a car, or basically any place where I couldn’t step away “if I really needed to.” I was pretty scary to be around. I spent the summer going to therapy and sitting around at home waiting to snap out of it. The thought of surviving a train ride or a day in a packed stadium made me queasy.

But I always said that the first thing I wanted to do when I started feeling better was go back to Wrigley. I knew that this extra special era for the Cubs would be short-lived. The current team was really entertaining to watch. They had star power that would be hard to replace and they probably wouldn’t stick around forever. I could never love baseball for stats and numbers and performance metrics. I loved the feeling of joy that these players brought.

At the start of 2020 I was doing so much better and was really excited to get back out there. I couldn’t wait to do all the things that I had caused us to miss. And then, as you know... the rest of 2020 happened.

Going to a game was at the top of my summer 2021 bucket list. But work, birthdays, and family kept pushing it back. We were finally supposed to go to a game in mid-July and it was rained out and rescheduled for September.

And this past weekend the entire core of the Cubs was traded away to other teams. Never in a hundred million trillion years did I expect to be the person to care about this, but I’ve been in mourning all weekend.

For this fair-weather fan, Javy, KB, And Rizzo made sports feel approachable and fun. As someone who DOES NOT SPORT at all, I never believed that I deserved a place in that world, but I felt welcome in the little world they created. The absence of their personalities is going to hurt. A big part of me wonders If I’m better off leaving Wrigley behind me, a rose colored memory of being young and happy in my favorite city and believing that magical things can last forever.

I’m sure we’ll go back for a game again some day. But who knows who will be on the roster then? Or if we’ll have a baby in tow. It’ll be a far cry from stacking towers out of our empty beer cups, swooning over Kris Bryant, and knowing that you have all the time in the world to recreate the fun again and again.

So to wrap this thing up in a way that makes it all about meeeeeee...

The disbanding of this group feels deeply personal. Like I’m leaving behind a slightly more innocent chapter, where I could believe my city and my team were the very best and always would be. And just as they’re moving on to new and necessary adventures, my next chapter will likely be something much more realistic and adult.

But it was sure fun while it lasted.

#chicago cubs #chicago

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honyakuninakunaru · 3 years

Text

Ways to Spend a Birthday // Mithra SSR Card Story

CHAPTER 1

(Hallway)

Mitile: "Everything's set!"

Lennox: "All thanks to the hard work you two put into it."

Rutile: "Let's go invite him then!"

Figaro: "Ahaha. Be careful, running can be dangerous."

Mithra: "..... I've finally found you."

Mitile: "Oh, Mister Mithra."

Rutile: "What might you be doing here?"

Mithra: "I've been looking for you all morning ever since you went missing. Going as far to leave without my permission... What's with the get-up?"

Rutile and Mitile: "Pardon...?"

Mithra: "Your clothes are dirty, your faces are full of scratches, and you look worn-out."

Mitile: "Ah, t-that's...Um..."

Rutile: "Oh, um, it's nothing. We took a tumble, is all."

Mithra: "Where and what were you doing? I sure hope it wasn't somewhere dangerous. Right?"

Lennox: "Don't grill them so much."

Figaro: "Right, right. They came back in one piece so you can let them off, no?"

Mithra: "Come again? To begin with, you guys are impotent, so of course, things would turn out this way. And you, Figaro, why did you bother accompanying them? Have you fallen so low that you've become unable to protect these two?"

Figaro: "Now, now, calm down."

Rutile: "There's no need to get this angry. We've brought you a special souvenir, you see."

Mithra: "..... A special souvenir?"

Mitile: "Over here. Come with us, please."

(Dining room)

Mithra: "..... What is this?"

Rutile: "It's an entire feast we prepared, all for you, as you can see!"

Mitile: "We had Mister Nero help us make it!"

Mithra: "..... Huh? Including this animal's corpse?"

Mitile: "I-it's not a corpse! It's a roasted deer."

Rutile: "It looks like quite the delicacy. You like meat, right, Mister Mithra? I do hope it suits your taste."

Figaro: "Rutile suggested that we make a grand gibier feast for your birthday."

Lennox: "The four of us went hunting this morning. Sorry if we made you worry."

Mitile: "Yes, please rest assured, the hunt was a great success! I was very startled when a very big snake appeared midway, though..."

Rutile: "Its scales were rainbow-coloured, and it seemed to be poisonous, but it was so shiny and lovely!"

Mithra: "Hold o—... Please tell me you didn't touch it!"

Rutile: "It was a little further from us, but I managed to sketch it. I drew it really well, so I'll show it to you later. We've all been in high spirits since this morning. And so, happy birthday, Mister Mithra. Please eat to your heart's content!"

Figaro and Lennox: "Happy birthday, Mithra."

Mitile: "I only helped because Nii-sama asked me to, but... Happy birthday, Mister Mithra."

Mithra: "..... Goodness gracious. Since you didn't die, I'll turn a blind eye this time. But just so you know, there won't be a next time. In the future, I'm definitely coming with you."

CHAPTER 2

(Lounge)

Mithra: "There you are, Owen, Bradley."

Bradley: "Yuck, Mithra."

Owen: "Yikes..."

Mithra: "I was just thinking we could have a tea party, and here we've got the people for it."

Owen: "What's this tea party crap?"

Mithra: "We simply chat over a cup of tea."

Bradley: "He didn't ask what a tea party is. Why do we hafta do something like that..."

Mithra: "Earlier, the Western wizards asked me if us Northern wizards were going to hold one. According to what they said, you fall asleep faster after having fun at a tea party, so I thought I'd try it out."

Owen: "You're so easy to sway..."

Bradley: "Can ya even do one with three people?"

Mithra: "Just sit down already. Do you want to do it standing up?"

Owen and Bradley: "Yeah, yeah."

Mithra: "So, how have you been these days?"

Owen: "The absolute worst."

Mithra: "How come? Did something happen?"

Bradley: "Just woke up."

Mithra: "When you say the worst, Bradley, weren't you hung upside down by the twins a while ago?"

Owen: "I witnessed that too. It looked rather fun, I must say. How did you get yourself in that mess?"

Bradley: "Tch... They ordered me to go on some mission, but I just ignored em and skipped out. Apparently, that was enough to get to those damn geezers..."

Owen: "A similar thing happened to me recently. They were threatening me while also pleading me for help. They thought I'd listen to what they had to say if they turned into their adult form. It's absolutely sickening."

Mithra: "If I don't obey them even after that and turn away, they'd have Oz bring me back."

Owen: "Same here."

Bradley: "One day it's all gonna be over..."

Mithra: ".....Talking about this is slowly making me angry."

Owen: "Hey, since the three of us have gathered today, how about we retaliate ourselves."

Bradley: "Count me in. But let's not overdo it, or Oz might show up. Let's do somethin that's gonna get those two real mad."

Mithra: "Then, shall we go to their residence? Rumour has it that they store powerful magic objects and charms there, and I want to take some of them while we're at it."

Bradley: "Bastard... That's going a bit too far, dontcha think."

Owen: "It'll be a real pain later if they really do get angry."

Mithra: "It's going to be alright since it's my birthday and all. Isn't that what birthdays are for? A day when you can be selfish and say whatever you want. If it's for today, I can be forgiven anything, no?"

Owen and Bradley: "....."

Owen: "You're right. They seem to have a soft spot for birthday boys."

Owen: ("I should make a run for it as soon as we get found out.")

Bradley: "Fine by me. Let's give it a shot."

Bradley: ("If somethin happens we can just let Mithra deal with it.")

Mithra: "Shall we get going then?"

Bradley: "They can't blame us if we get a lil rowdy, ya know how birthdays are."

Owen: "We're counting on you, birthday boy."

Mithra: "You ought to utmost thank me because if it hadn't been my birthday, we wouldn't be able to do this."

(Snow and White's room)

Snow and White: ".....M?"

Snow: "What is it with this sudden chill... I got this very loathsome feeling."

White: "Does this perhaps call for a punishment?"

CHAPTER 3

(Akira's room)

Akira: ("It's already this late, I should get going to Mithra's room...")

Looking at the clock, one could well say it's nighttime. On this very day, I was supposed to help Mithra, who was welcoming his birthday, fall asleep.

Akira: ("I just saw him receive sweets from the Central wizards, but I wonder if he's back in his room already...")

(Knock and door opening)

Mithra: "Good evening."

Akira: "M-Mithra...! What is it? I was about to head to your ro—..."

Mithra: "Do you know what this is?"

Akira: "Eh?"

Mithra boastfully showed off a very familiar-looking hat.

Akira: "...Is that Faust's hat?"

Mithra: "I received it as it's my birthday today. I've been fond of it for a while, actually."

Akira: ("He says he received it, but why do I feel like he stole it...")

Akira: "You should go and return it to him later since he probably got angry over it."

Mithra twirled the hat around his finger, showing no signs whether he was listening or not.

Mithra: "I don't know why, but for some reason, I'm feeling quite well today. I even feel like I could beat Oz and become the world's strongest wizard."

Akira: "A...ha."

Mithra: "Actually, Oz's mana would be the best present I could possibly receive. I'll go pay him a visit real quick."

I rushed to stop Mithra, who had began to make his way out the door with a light step, before he could leave.

Akira: "I-it's already late, so how about you leave that for next time? Instead, why don't you tell me how your day went?"

Mithra: "My day? Well, it was a rather busy one. In the morning, I was treated to the corpse of an animal. I also got angry with the Southern brothers who had left on their own, but the meat was good, so there's that. Later, Owen, Bradley, and I broke into the twins' residence. We did it because I can be forgiven all selfishness if it's just for today."

As he recalled the events that happened today, Mithra's voice was somewhat cheerful. He was like a happy child talking about the fun things he had done.

Mithra: "..... What so funny? You're quite the odd one."

Akira: "Ahaha, sorry, it's nothing."

Mithra: "A lot of things happened today, and I'm tired, so help me sleep, come on."

Is what Mithra said as he threw himself on the bed. I gently held his hand, enveloped in a pleasant feeling.

Akira: ("It seems to have been a birthday so fun, he didn't have time to spend by himself...")

Akira: "Good night, Mithra, and happy birthday."

Big thanks to @/_Zeotrope_ on Twitter for providing the raws for this story!

#mithra #mahoyaku #translation

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knight-queen · 3 years

Text

Lunatic Parade Kou Mukami– (Chapter 3)

Place: Saint Nore Park / サントノレパーク通り

Yui: (Huh? What am I doing in this place…?)

???: M-neko chan, why’re you spacing out?

Yui: Kou kun…? When did we come here…?

Kou: You don’t know...we’ve been always here since we moved into the Demon World.

It’s because the parade of this year is way livelier than ever. I don’t even get bothered about which place to visit.

Let’s build up a bunch of memories here ♪

...Have you forgotten about our promise?

Yui: Err…

(Let’s see…?)

*BG turns black*

Kou: M-neko chan ♪

Place: Hotel • Mortstein, Guest room / ホテル•モーントシュタイン客室

Yui: Nh…

Kou: Ah, you’re finally awake then.

Yui: (Ooh, I see now...that was just a dream.)

Kou: You were putting on such a pleasant sleeping face...what kind of dream you saw?

Yui: It was with you. We were visiting the parade together.

Kou: Wah, you serious? I’m so glad.

We gotta try our best so that we'll be able to do something like that.

Yui: Yes!

Kou: 一Well then, now that you mentioned

We have to make Earl admit that we’re the absolutely worthy ones to have those treasures.

And for that...I thought to thank the person who helped us regarding our issues.

In order to put it...Even though it’s not related to Earl, I'm willing to apologize.

At that time, I was so irritated that I ended up behaving like a kid.

Since there were also moments when he helped you too.

So for these, let’s go there?

Yui: Sure…!

Place: Glimmer Main Street / グリンマーストリート表通り

Yui: ーOh Kou kun. Since we’re going to thank them so you’ll get any souvenir?

Kou: Ah, sounds great.

What it could be...that he likes.

*BG Flash back*

Underground Dweller A: On the way back from the ‘Zafia store’...

*BG back to normal*

Kou: ...That time, he mentioned the name of a sweet shop I believe.

Then, what about getting a delicious cake for him?

Yui: I also wanted to mention that.

Kou: Then it’s decided!

Let’s get one from that shop which’s around here.

Place: ‘The fear’ Confectionary Shop / ザフィーア菓子店

Yui: (Wah...There are a lot of delicious cakes out here!)

Kou: There’re so many that I may get puzzled in choosing one…

Clerk: Welcome here! Which cake you would like toー

…! Y- You are...could it be you are Mukami Kou san…

Kou: Fufu, exactly.

You know, I wanna buy the most delicious cake of this shop. ...Would you mind telling me which one is it?

Clerk: A- alright then!

*She runs to get the cake*

Clerk: I- it’s this one! Only one left, since it is one of the limited restrictions. This is called the sponge cake specially baked for the parade!

Kou: Aww, thank you. Then I will purchase it.

Clerk: Y- yess!

Place: Glimmer Street, Front of Wagon Main Street / グリンマーストリート表通りワゴン前

Kou: Phew, glad that we made it to get the last one!

Yui: (As you’d expect from Kou kun…)

Kou: Aight, with these our preparation is bang on! Let’s go then?

Yui: Mhm!

Place: Underground Corridor / 地下回廊

Kou: Err...I’m sure he was right ahead.

Yui: Perhaps he is not here by now. Where did he head up then….

Kou: Maybe you get the point but...let’s search a bit more anyways一

*Footsteps*

Underground Dweller A: Huh, you guys are…

Kou: Ah ♪

Yui: Oh!

Underground Dweller A: So it’s you from before...why are you here again?

Kou: That’s because…

I thought of thanking you at least.

...I am so sorry for the earlier.

Thank you for helping me, plus her as well.

We really appreciate that.

Yui: Let me express my gratefulness too. Really, thank you so much…!

Underground Dweller A: You two…

There was no one who thanked this much to someone like me who is unfortunately living underground.

...Likewise, thank you. It turned out to be embarrassing but I’m glad.

*Kou is blushing*

Kou: ...By the way, this is for you.

Underground Dweller A: Th- this is!

The special sponge cake…! It’s said that you’ll be filled with happiness if you eat it…!

Yui: I- I see now!

Underground Dweller A: Yeah, and...your boyfriend

Thanking back that this face is very familiar...you’re famous in this Demon World too, right?

Kou: Yes? Well, a little bit.

Underground Dweller A: Don’t low-rank yourself. Even I know you, it means you’re really a famous person.

Hang on there from now as well.

I’m not the only one who is looking forward to your important roles.

I’m supporting you.

Kou: Th-thank you…*blushing*

Yui: (Fufu, Kou kun’s unusual side is getting revealed…)

Place: Glimmer Street, Aizen Alley / グリンマーストリートアイゼン横丁

Yui: It’s good that we thanked him properly.

Kou: Yes.

I was the one to apologize to him, so it was a weird feeling to get cheered up by him.

Well...I also gotta do my best in my idol-jobs.

一That being said…

Let’s go to meet that manager.

Yui: By manager you mean...the person who wanted to perform on the stage?

Kou: Yup.

He was pretty rude with you, so I wasn’t in the slightest mood to accept his offer or whatever but…

But he is being troubled for my last-minute cancellation I guess?

That’s why…

Yui: Kou kun...But you don’t really want to do that right?

Kou: Well yes. To be honest, I have no intention to do that.

However………

Umm…..

*Collides*

Kou: Waa…!

Vampire Child G: Uwaa!?

Kou: ーOops…

Yui: (Ah, the child was close to getting hit! It’s a relief that Kou kun held him in time…)

You are not hurt?

Vampire Child G: N- no…

ーーAh!

I know this big-brother!

Kou: Eh?

Vampire Child G: You’re the idol brother!

You’re so cool! You’re incredible!

Vampire Child H: Wah! I’m so lucky!

*Hugs Kou*

Yui: (W- wow! He’s very popular even to these Demon World’s children)

Lady: Hey stop these, your big-brother is being angry right?

Vampire Child G: It’s because I want him to play with us!

Vampire Child H: That’s right! If we don’t hold him firmly, he’ll go away somewhere else!

Lady: Seriously, you guys are…

….I’m so sorry for putting you into these.

They’re being so much overjoyed since it’s the first time for them to visit the parade.

Since they usually stay in the orphanage, they were not supposed to meet a famous idol like Kou kun…

Kou: Orphanage…

Yui: (I see...meanwhile this person is their instructor.)

Orphanage’s Instructor: But I can’t allow them to bother you more than this.

ーAlright everyone. Let’s move on!

Vampire Child G: No way! I wanna play with him more!

Vampire Child H: Exactly, there’re a lot of things I wanna talk about with him!

Orphanage’s Instructor: You can’t. If you refuse一

Kou: 一Hold it for a sec.

If these children are gonna enjoy it then what about visiting the parade together?

You fine with it, M-neko chan…?

If I’d be the Earl, then I wouldn’t approve of any idol or whatever who won’t give time to play with kids.

Yui: Fufu, ofcourse we can!

Orphanage’s Instructor: Umm...that’s...you really mean these words?

Kou: Yep ♪

Vampire Child G: Yay! Hurray!

Vampire Child H: Waaa!

Orphanage’s Instructor: I- if that’s the case then...that’s…

Kou san! Please give me your autograph later!

Kou: Ahaha, sure thing!

Vampire Child G: Oh my, looks like our teacher also wanted to play with big-brother!

Vampire Child H: Me too, please give me your autograph! Autograph!

*Runs up to him*

Kou: Waah! W- wait wait. One by one, in order, order…

Yui: (They all are looking so happy...Seems like Kou kun is enjoying it as well.)

Kou: Alright, then follow me who wants to go to Saint Nore Park with me!

Vampire Child G: Yeeea!

Vampire Child H: Yeees!

Orphanage’s Instructor: Yeees!

*They starts walking*

Yui: (Ahahah, even the instructor is…)

Place: Saint Nore Park / サントノレパーク通り

Vampire Child G: Big brother, this way, this way!

Vampire Child H: No, it’s this way!

Kou: Hold it, hold it. I have only one body, yeah?

(Somehow...it’s a very rare scene.)

→ Selection

徴笑ましいな / It’s quite funny (+ Correct)

心配だな... / I am worried

Yui: (It’s so funny…)

Kou: Come on, you come here too, M-neko chan.

Vampire Child G: That’s right!

Vampire Child H: Let’s play together!

Yui: Y- yes!

Kou: 一 Got it? This big sister is the cutest lady in this World.

Vampire Child G: The cutest in this World!

Vampire Child H: Cute sister!

Kou: Yes, well done ♪

Yui: (I was embarrassed but...it made me happy.)

Vampire Child G: Hey, what will we do next!?

Vampire Child H: yeah, what’s next?

Kou: 一 Aight. Let’s do this.

The winner will be the one who will get through that labyrinth most quickly...what about it?

Vampire Child G: Wah, sounds interesting!

Vampire Child H: I wanna play!

Orphanage’s Instructor: Fufu, then I will judge the winner in the goal.

Kou: Thanks a lot.

一 Okay then, no way I’ll lose this I’ve suggested this match. Let’s do our best, M-neko chan ♪

Yui: Y- yess!

Vampire Child G: Yo, tell me. What does “M Neko Chan” mean?

Yui: Eh!?

Vampire Child H: What does it mean?

Kou: Fufufu, you know that’s一

Yui: K-kou kun! Let’s start already!!

Kou: Yes yes ♪

→ Game

Words he says in the game一

“Game’s start”

“We’re done, M-neko chan. You did great”

*If you win*

Orphanage’s Instructor: Goal is right here!

Yui: (I’ve maken is successfully!)

Kou: I think...those two kids haven’t come out yet.

Guess it’s our victory this time.

*Runs up to them*

Vampire Child G: Ah! You two are wonderful! You made it so early!

Vampire Child H: Brother Kou and M-neko chan’s victory!

Yui: (Eh, they called me M-neko chan…)

Kou: You two were incredible as well.

Vampire Child G: I guess so? Ehehe.

Vampire Child H: Let’s do it someday once again! We won’t lose that time!

Kou: Mhm, I’ll look forward to that.

*Crowd noises*

Yui: (Huh? It’s getting so noisy now…)

Staff of Mirror House: Excuuuse me! The couple who has just come out from the labyrinth present here?

Yui: (Eh? Is he talking about us…)

Vampire Child G: About you two?

Vampire Child H: Mr. Staff! Heey, those two are over here!

Staff of Mirror House: Aah...finally found you.

Kou: What is it that you want from us?

Staff of Mirror House: Actually…

*Fades to CG*

Staff of Mirror House: Well! You two are the 1000th ones to be commemorated for making out through this labyrinth successfully!

*Applause*

Yui: Eh!

Kou: Waah...I’ve heard about it but, it’s my first time to hit on the exact point.

Staff of Mirror House: Please let us take an interview for this celebration!

*Shutter sound*

Staff of Mirror House: How are you feeling for achieving this?

Kou: It makes me so happy!

I feel like her love for me got deepened even more ♪

Right, M-neko chan一 Mmwah…

*Fades to CG (2)*

Yui: Kou kun…! A lot of visitors are watching…

Kou: Who cares. I think it’ll be better if more people would watch us.

Yui: (Well...guess it’s alright if it’s around this time…?)

*Shutter 3x*

Place: Sain Nore Park / サントノレパーク通り

Vampire Child G: Fuwaa…

Kou: ……

Yui: (Fufu...My eyelids are about to close.)

Orphanage’s Instructor: Oh my goodness...Looks like you two are about to sleep for playing a lot today.

Vampire Child H: It’s not that...I wanna play mo...re...fuwaa…

Orphanage’s Instructor: 一Well, well. Let's go back to our house and take a nap.

But before that, you should thank this sister and the brother properly.

Vampire Child G: Yes…

Thanks for today! It was a lot of fun!

Vampire Child H: Me too!

Kou: That’s good. I also enjoyed today a lot.

Yui: We shall play together once again.

Vampire Child G: Yes! I’m going to watch the finale, so that time...oh but…

Kou: But?

Vampire Child G: Well…

I wanna see you on the stage during the finale!

Vampire Child H: Ah, me too!!

Kou: ...Kh…

Yui: (Kou kun…)

Vampire Child G: Pleasee! We’ll be nice children!

Vampire Child H: You won’t? Tell me, brother you won’t? Please do!

Kou: ………

一Fine then.

On the finale, I’ll be on the stage. So, look forward to that day.

Vampire Child G: Really!?

Vampire Child H: Yaaay!

Kou: I’ll make that stage into a great excitement so make sure to watch that.

Vampire Child G: Yes!

Vampire Child H: We will!

Kou: Then let’s make a pinky swear. Give me your pinky finger.

一Alright, with this, it’s a promise.

Vampire Child H: Promise promise!

Aaah, when will the finale come!

Orphanage’s Instructor: It’s a good news right? 一Thank you so much.

Then let’s go back to our home at once.

Vampire Child G: Okie dokie!

Vampire Child H: Yeees!

*Walks away*

Kou: Bye bye! ….Phew.

Yui: Listen Kou kun, you’re fine with performing the finale?

Kou: Yup!

Not for that manager but…

If those kids are gonna enjoy it then I’ll give it my best from the bottom of my heart.

Plus...Everyone will be bored if there’s nothing special in the finale.

That’s why you know…

For everyone, I wanted to do what I can do for them.

I haven’t mistaken this time I think.

Yui: ...Y- you’re right…!

Kou: Okay! If it’s decided then we have to talk with that manager about it.

Yui: He gave us a business card when we first met him, so we can tell where he is if we look at that.

Kou: Alright, let’s go there!

一The END of chapter O 3

#Kou mukami lunatic parade chapter 3 #kou mukami lunatic parade #kou mukami #lunatic parade kou mukami chapter 3 #kou #diabolik lovers #diabolik lovers translations #diabolik lovers translation #lunatic parade translations #lunatic parade translation #**It includes a game where u will get CG if u win**#*CG is Kou and Yui are kissing in the saint nore park**

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thebonggirll · 4 years

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chapter seven

< previous: chapter six

The girls were gone.

Those thugs took Kazaki and Kayano with them. The boys were beaten up and unconscious on the ground. Even Karma.

"Nagisa! Sugino!" Okuda said, "Goodness, are you two okay?!" Both of them whined holding their head and sat up.

Meanwhile, Y/N ran towards Karma who was lying on the ground still. His eyes were closed and clothes were dirty. She shook his arm in an attempt to wake him up but he wasn't budging. He was breathing though.

"Did they hit his head too hard?" Y/N thought and panicked.

Her hands were shaky and she was afraid that maybe he won't wake up for a while. They needed to find the girls too. But how will they do it with Karma down like this? She picked up his head and put it on her lap.

"Is he still not up? Why-" Sugino was talking but stopped in the middle. He saw Karma putting up his thumb. Y/N didn't notice that, her eyes were fixed on his face. She frowned and slapped his cheek. He still didn't budge though.

"M-Maybe I should look for injury on his head. He must be unconscious for that," Y/N said and was about to pull his head up when Karma opened his eyes and smirked.

"Your lap is really cushiony Y/N," he noticed her frowning, she looked pissed. She immediately got up, not caring if his head hit the ground now.

"It's not funny Karma. Kayano and Kanzaki are missing. So if you thought this was the time to make a joke-" Y/N started ranting, when Karma sighed and said, "Relax. We'll find them."

"You guys alright? Those guys didn't do anything to you, did they?" Nagisa asked.

"It's okay, I'm fine," Okuda said.

"Sorry. I didn't know what to do so I just...hid like a coward," Y/N said rubbing her neck, feeling embarrassed.

"Hey, you saved me! I was stuck there, and if it wasn't for you, they would've taken me as well! I was useless though," Okuda said feeling dejected.

"Don't sweat it. You did the right thing. I think it's safe to assume that those guys are hardcore. We could go to the cops but they know how to get around the system," Karma said. He had his evil face on, "It's fine though. Cause I'm the type who likes to handle these things personally, you know what I mean?"

"Okay but how do we even find them?" Sugino asked, "I just hope they're fine."

"I'm not too worried about Kayano, I know she's brave and I can feel it but I don't know about Kanzaki. I don't get her vibe. I mean she's not faking it, being all nice and innocent but..I don't know it's just a hunch." Y/N said.

"What is that supposed to mean-" Sugino said gritting his teeth.

"I'm telling you the vibe I get from them. I'm not bitching about them," Y/N said.

Before another fight started, Nagisa stepped forward with the guide book that Koro provided them and said, "Hey, come on. I'm sure there's something in here."

Sugino and Y/N stared at each other with pissed off faces and decided to let it go. It wasn't the time to fight. They surrounded Nagisa and looked at the guide book. And sure enough there was information on the topic.

"If a group member gets abducted? I'll have to say it, what kind of guide book covers these stuff?" Sugino said sighing.

"There's even a guide on how to recover from the shock of seeing souvenirs bought in Kyoto being sold in a Tokyo department store!" Nagisa said, "Anyways, atleast it calmed us down. I for one feel pretty confident about what to do."

"I don't think everyone is confident here," Sugino said, his eyes fixed on Y/N.

Y/N was stubborn too. She said, "I also don't think everyone has calmed down. Some people just like to act more based on their romantic feelings and completely forget to think about it logically."

That was probably what irked Sugino the most. He felt embarrassed to be called out like that in front of everyone. He would've been okay if it was just the boys, but with Okuda here, he felt exposed. He sneered, "Oh ofcourse, you would know everything about that. Isn't that right Karma?"

Y/N stood there feeling helpless about the situation. Karma sighed and said, "You guys act like children. Sugino if I were you, I would trust Y/N's hunch."

"Y-Yeah! That's right!" Y/N shouted, still trying to control her embarrassment.

"You shouldn't be celebrating. Your hunch does sound like backbitching. Work on your words," Karma said, his eyebrows furrowed.

Y/N was a bit hurt. She knew he probably did this to end the fight but she couldn't help but feel like Karma was probably lashing out because he felt embarrassed about it. But he wasn't exactly the type to feel embarrassed, he was the one who would flaunt it. Was she...wrong about him?

"So....I found the way." Nagisa said.

Turned out Y/N's hunch about Kanzaki was right. Well, not all of it. She wasn't dark or anything, it's just that her past was different than how she's right now. Koro came in the last moment and took those boys down.

The day was almost over, and the students were all wearing bathrobes and enjoying all the time they got in their hands in their hotel (pg-13 stuffs okay?). Y/N tried to sit down properly without flashing everyone in the girl's room when Rio nudged her. She looked at her friend who had evil eyes.

"Uh oh," Y/N muttered, "What are you thinking?"

"Wanna sneak-a-peek?" Rio said, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

"What-" Y/N's face flushed.

"Don't worry, I'm not talking about Karma. The boys are done already. I just saw Koro sensei get in."

"Wait, isn't that invasion of privacy? We shouldn't-"

"Oh for fuck's sake, he's gonna blow up the planet! Fuck his privacy! Just come along! It's gonna be fun!" Rio said, quietly getting out of the room. Fuwa was waiting outside the room. "Oh! she's coming too!" Rio informed.

They were outside the bathroom, Y/N even bought a knife with her, and everyone was ready to pounce on Koro and try their luck in killing him when suddenly a voice from behind scared them.

"Hey," Nagisa said, "What are you guys doing?"

Fuwa immedaiately shushed him, and Rio explained, "What does it look like we're doing? Trying to sneak a peek."

"That's supposed to be our job!" Okajima said.

"That's nobody's job," Nagisa said.

"But..what is Y/N doing here?" Sugino asked looking at her, "I didn't think she was the type...."

They stared at each other. Sugino was wondering if Y/N was still pissed at him about earlier. It created an awkward atmosphere after their fight.

"Uh..she dragged me?" Y/N said trying to sound convincing.

Rio opened the door and explained, "Look at that outfit hung inside. You wanna know what he looks like naked right? It might be our only opportunity to kill him. Does he have a proper body, or does he have tentacles all the way down?"

The students tiptoed inside and came to a sight of their teacher having a bubble bath. Well, he explained that the mucus of this body acts as an exfoliant on contact with water. Ofcourse, their attempt was a complete fail because Koro escaped through the window.

Rio sighed, "Well atleast we tried." Everyone exited the bathroom and was about to go to their own rooms when Sugino called Y/N. She explained everything about their little fight to Rio, so she dragged everyone away and cleared the area for them to talk.

"Hey look, I'm sorry about what I said back then. I crossed a line I guess," Sugino apologized, "I don't want us to act like strangers."

"No it's fine. It's just that when you say that in front of the very person I like, it makes me feel self-conscious. Oh and I'm sorry too. I started it."

"No, it should've been fine even if you said that. Everyone likes Kanzaki. It's just that.." Sugino said, "...the way you exactly pinpointed out what I was feeling was..I mean, a bit scary. For a moment I felt like you would spill everything about me and it kind of scared me."

"I know it's kind of freaky, I've been...informed. It's a gut feeling and because you accused me for something like backbitching, it pissed me off."

"But, how did you know about Kanzaki? There were...no signs?"

"She's too perfect to be in section E. Everyone hides something about themselves, especially if they're in our class. I mean it was just an observation. You guys could've noticed it too, but all of you are too nice to think about it."

"Well, I'm glad we cleared things up."

"Uh huh."

"...Um...if you don't mind...can you find out who..."

"Who is Kenzaki's crush?" Y/N asked teasingly, "Sorry, can't do that."

"But you can do your thing right? Just guess about it!"

"Hey, I'm not observing her all the time you know. I don't know about THAT."

"Okay," Sugino said dejectedly, "Bye."

Y/N walked towards the girl's section and Sugino entered the boy's room. She heard several voices inside and their conversations were around...girls? She wanted to stay a bit longer, but then again, it would be invasion of privacy. She was about to leave when she heard a name that peeked her interest.

"Karma, great timing! Which of the girls in our class do you like?" Maehara asked.

"Hm...I have to go with Okuda," Karma said.

Y/N gasped. No one would've guessed it. Even the boys were asking if he was sure. Her mood went downhill hearing that. She didn't wait to hear him confirm it. He did say all of it on his own. No one was forcing him.

That night, it was chaotic. Koro was getting information about who liked who from both - the girls and the boys. They were all chasing him down. Rio seemed to be enjoying the time. Y/N would've called her for comfort but she thought, "Just because I'm feeling down, doesn't mean I bring her mood down too. It's a school trip for fuck's sake."

In the midst of the chaos, she walked down the hall watching the students chase Koro. She noticed two figures who weren't. One was Nagisa and another was Karma. He looked at her, with the same smirk on his face.

She had no reason to complain though. Ofcourse, he was just flirting. It might be because she was that easy, but still, she found her answer.

Karma didn't break the fight between Sugino and Y/N, did he? He just changed the topic and silenced them.

next: chapter eight >

ms. misfit

MASTERLIST

#karma akabane #karma x reader #karma akabane x reader #akabane x reader #asano gakushuu #asano x reader #assassination classroom

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laurelleghuleh · 3 years

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𝐁𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 | 𝐃𝐚𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐢 𝐒𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐚 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: fluff, one-shot

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬: 6.7k

𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐨𝐧: Ao3, Wattpad

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: post-time skip, aged-up characters, implied/referenced sex, sensitive topics(?)

𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞: This is a kind of “interactive” one-shot. At some point, you’ll find the link for the playlist I’ve created for the story. It’s not mandatory, of course. The songs are mentioned and their lyrics are quoted anyways.

I tried to keep the reader as gender-neutral as possible, I hope it works.

To be honest, I wrote the first half of this one-shot at 3 am after a very deep conversation with a friend of mine about struggling with self-love as “young adults”. It wasn’t meant to be public but I felt like sharing it. I hope this will help or at least cheer you up as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Lastly, italics when Daichi sings/for the lyrics and English is not my first language, sorry for any mistakes!

Thanks for reading this, Laurelle.

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

Taxes, laundry, rent, bills, grocery shopping, bank accounts, job interviews. These were just some of the things whose thought alone made you already shiver. Adulthood and the multiple responsibilities that had come with it scared the shit out of you, at times it completely fucked up your sleep schedule, and put your sanity at stake, but at least you weren’t alone in this. At least, you had Daichi.

You two had faced college together, one at each other’s side, and now you were again together in that new chapter of your life called adulthood.

By then, you two had been living in that little, yet cozy apartment for a few months. The Karasuno team had lent you a hand by making the move less hard, unpacking boxes and decorating the empty shelves with an unnecessary amount of frames, random objects, and souvenirs from their trips. All of this as Daichi was training at your hometown’s Police Department and as you were trying to find your place in the world, between part-time jobs and “real” job interviews.

The new routine was dull, draining, at times even overwhelming. The closer you were getting to make your dream life come true, the more your daily life felt like a nightmare. The more you felt tired, unmotivated, ultimately empty. And you couldn't help but wonder if that was really worth it anymore.

You started to slowly give up on your hobbies and passions, to spend your free time on the new couch, just spacing out, and to eventually forget about yourself. You didn’t want to sound too pathetic but life seemed to have lost its flavor. At that point, it just tasted like disinfectants and instant noodles.

Those fucking instant noodles … You thought as you looked at yourself in the mirror that evening. None of your planned outfits for that night fitted anymore, none, and at the sudden realization, that familiar smell of instant noodles rose inside your nostrils. But instant noodles weren’t really the point. Your outfits not fitting anymore wasn’t the point either. That you in that mirror was the point. That stranger. That empty shell.

The familiar boomy sound of keys twisting inside the front door’s lock, a click, and Daichi was finally home.

“I’m baaack” You heard him say - almost yell - and then saw him coming inside the kitchen to greet you.

“May I have a kiss?” He shyly asked, placing his hand on the small of your back, drawing little circles to get your attention.

“Sure,” You turned your head for a quick, soft peck on his lips, then got back to your chore.

“Still in your PJs, babe?” He commented, his voice small, clearly weakened by his long, draining day at work.

By that time, you were supposed to be ready to head out, but something in the process went wrong. On the other side of the city, a nice restaurant - highly suggested by Michimiya sometime before - was waiting for you and Daichi to arrive in twenty minutes.

“Yeah… I have to finish cooking these for tomorrow before we head out…” You murmured as your words fell down to the pot beneath you.

That wasn’t a lie, but in all fairness, you were only trying to avoid the truth. Little did you know you were about to experience what living with a future detective really meant.

Besides his professional deformation, when it came to you, Daichi never failed to sense when something was off. Even just from a slight change of your tone. He was so used to your voice that the most insignificant variation of its sound seemed to conceal a tiny, secret message only for him to decipher.

Anyways, you kept looking down, your mind somewhere else, your eyes still lost in the little fog coming from the pot. You still didn’t dare to look at him, which was rather unusual. Strange. Kind of suspicious.

Daichi rocked his head in your direction, trying to find other tangible clues for that particular case he wasn’t expecting to face once at home. Yet nothing was really out of place, except that gloomy aura all around you. Therefore, he decided to just play it cool for the moment and let you be.

Maybe he was overthinking. Maybe he was just being paranoid. The only thing that really mattered was that night to be perfect for both of you.

It wasn’t a special occasion or else, just Daichi’s first free evening after a whole month of night shifts. And in addition to that, that dinner had been meticulously planned the previous week. Nothing could have ruined it. Nothing.

Yeah, he was just being paranoid, for sure. Nothing to worry about.

Daichi moved away from you and walked towards the front door again. Then, he plugged his phone on the little speaker at the entrance and played the playlist you two loved to blast whenever you were at home, cleaning the house, or just swinging from a room to another.

And that was when everything got even more suspicious in Daichi’s perspective.

The first song came on (“Come Through and Chill” by Miguel, J.Cole, Salaam Remi ), the little bass drums slowly filling the room, vibrating from wall to wall, gradually reaching your feet through that old wooden pavement. And yet, you stayed completely still.

Suspicious .

“Everything ok?” He casually asked you from a distance, putting the phone back down on top of the speaker.

“Yeah, good, good. You?” You mumbled, trying to hide your words under the rhythm.

Even more suspicious .

It wasn’t only your voice, but your posture, your face, just your aura that seemed so… Different. Even though you two hadn’t been living together for long at that point, he could simply tell what looked ordinary and what not. You knew each other and dated since college, which at that point meant years of studying the other up close, not only as partners but firstly - and mainly - as friends. Two best friends always looking out for one another. Those had been years of sincere trust and affection.

Funny thing was that neither of you could imagine that a casual encounter in a cafè would have taken that turn. But Suga knew. And Asahi too. Everybody knew, except you two.

One morning, the vending machine of your department was out of order, and that was just the tenth curveball of that day. It’s not even thirty past eight and I already want to go back to sleep , you sighed, walking outside the campus, looking for a cafè or something.

As fate would have it, the tiny, little-known coffee shop you found right behind the corner was Asahi’s workplace, which brought both Suga and Daichi to have their breakfast there every single morning.

Your first time there, your order was mistaken with Daichi’s, one thing led to another, and after a while, you two started hanging out frequently. Then even more consistently. Then no Asahi or Suga around. No coffee shop. Study sessions at his place. Then at your place. A movie night that actually looked and felt like a proper date. And eventually, that friendship blossomed into something else, something pretty serious.

You didn’t even realize when or how that happened, it just felt right. You two didn’t even have a real “date” for when your relationship had begun. For the sake of simplicity, you both used to count from your first kiss, both aware that whatever you two shared had started even before that, even that morning in that tiny, little-known coffee shop.

That was the type of love that comes easily, without warning, silently tiptoeing into your life.

Back in your apartment, once freed from his jacket, Daichi made again his appearance at your side, now wearing a playful look and about to hit his favorite line of the lyrics. He almost made you startle.

“Hello, stranger… It's been a minute since we last kicked it” He sang and swung around you, positioning himself right behind you to wrap you in a warm hug. Then, gingerly nestling his head in the curve of your neck, he breathed against your skin, “Now that I’m home, I’m all good… ”

Bear hugs were Daichi’s thing and also your not-so-secret Achilles’ heel, for sure. So, you just leaned in his embrace and welcomed his familiar, calming scent. But still, you didn’t have the courage to face him.

Very, very suspicious .

Your oddly detached behaviors made his brow pinch and his mind wander as he left soft pecks all over your jaw and neck. No reaction , Daichi thought, taking mental notes of your actions.

At that point, he gave you one last, gentle kiss, this time on your shoulder, right where the hem of your shirt met your skin, and then silently made a step back. Daichi’s first thought was to temporarily let you be. A quick shower and a change of clothes were very much needed after that long day. He thought he still got time to unravel your mood.

Still focused on the pot, you heard him tell you, before disappearing in your bedroom, “I’ve been thinking about tonight all day, love. I literally can’t wait to try this restaurant!”

You felt a knot in your stomach.

Why was it so hard for you to simply tell him? To simply put into words how you felt? You knew he would have understood, you knew how sensitive Daichi was, especially when it came to you. But to look so needy, so lost in his eyes made you feel just weak. Not vulnerable, not emotional, just a weak person in need. And the last thing you wanted was to look or feel like a burden to Daichi. You knew how stressed and overworked he was. That was a pretty tough period for you both and you felt like you had no right to complain. Daichi never did, and all you wanted was to be as strong as he was.

It didn’t take much for Daichi to be ready, all cleaned up and dressed for the occasion. Nothing too elegant or pretentious, he was a very casual type of guy even when it came to clothes, but that was still your night. A little more effort won’t hurt , he thought as he picked his outfit, preferring a classic, white, button-up shirt to his favorite sweater - his safe choice whenever he didn’t know what to wear.

He just wanted to look good that night, to look good for your eyes only.

Right when “Sunflower” by Post Malone and Swae Lee started, Daichi’s unmistakable cologne stood above the food’s thick smell coming from the pot. You immediately turned around.

He looked handsome, as always. The view made your belly twitch again.

“Hey hon, remember that time we went to see Spiderman with Suga, Asahi, and Kyoko?” He started to speak, crossing the room with slow strides in your direction.

“You fell in love with this song on the spot. Oh my god, I think you blasted it in the car at least ten times on our way back...” He said wrapping his arms around your waist again, making you turn and trying to initiate a slow dance with you.

“I know you’re scared of the unknown, you don’t wanna be alone” He sang, “I know I always come and go,” The lyrics hitting way too close to home, “But it’s out of my control”

At that point, he held you tight, roaming his big, callous hands all over your back as he glanced at the pot from above your shoulder.

“That looks delicious, babe. Can’t wait to eat it tomorrow. I just know it tastes as good as it looks…”

There he was again, being all supportive and loving no matter what. So damn cheesy, he could have made someone sick. But not you.

You weren’t much of a chef yourself and you knew it, but you tried your best. And Daichi appreciated it a lot. He was so proud of you, always so blindly proud. He was undoubtedly a better chef than you were, but he still left you space to experiment and try out new things.

You never thought you could enjoy cooking that much, but probably Daichi being a foodie played a role in that. A foodie, well, possibly the biggest foodie you knew. The thought alone of food could make him insane, let’s say slightly irrational like he wasn’t functioning normally.

That was at the beginning when you both had all the time in the world to even plan a food competition and invite all your friends over to eat and vote for your plates. In the beginning, when that apartment’s walls were still white and bare, when the only furniture you owned was an old red couch and several boxes with all your things still packed inside. In the beginning, when there were way fewer things to care about in your daily routine.

“It’s ready, I guess. I should turn off the stove… ” You mumbled against his chest, then turned around still sweetly trapped in his embrace.

“Then you’re left in the dust… mhmhIdon’trememberthewordsmm” He kept singing behind your back, “ You’re the sunflower, I think your love would be too-”

When the little flame disappeared under the pot, a sharp sigh accidentally left your mouth.

“Daichi…” You breathed, squeezing his right hand still gently pressed on your belly.

Daichi .

You rarely called him by his first name. You’d usually go with “love” or “babe” or whatever sweet name came into your mind at that specific moment. Daichi . “Daichi” was something like a safeword, a code for “I’m dead serious right now”, “Your mum is calling” or, like this time, “Something is wrong”.

At that signal, the Karasuno’s former captain knew exactly what to do as if a ball had just flown past an invisible volleyball net right in front of him. That was just the confirmation he needed to make his move.

Living together, making a long-term relationship works, sticking together regardless, all of these for you both were based on the little things you started to learn about one another. Most of the time failing but never giving up on the other person. And this, this was one of those “little things”.

Daichi .

Wordlessly, he went straight to his phone and turned down the music at its lowest, the songs just a light, almost unperceivable background. You turned in his direction, watching him attentively, in silence, until he beckoned you to follow him.

You did as told and walked with him towards the living room, where he guided you to sit on the couch, your right hand gently secured in his.

He sat down on his heels, right in front of you, and waited, waited for you to say something, giving you all the time you needed to process your thoughts.

Minutes passed, the music still softly playing in the background.

Spendin' all my nights alone, waitin' for you to call me

You're the only one I want by my side when I fall asleep

Tell me what I'm waitin' for

I know it's hard but we need each other

(“SUGAR” by BROCKHAMPTON)

When you lifted your gaze to meet his sweet eyes, like two big, dark chocolate nuggets, you still didn’t know what to say. Automatically, his lips parted to catch your attention.

“Love,” His voice so tender it literally broke your heart to keep that facade any longer.

Your lips puckered, your nostrils widened, your eyes got unexpectedly watery until the first of many tears started to run down your face. When your head fell forwards, hiding between your hands, Daichi immediately got you. His arms circled your frame, welcoming you against his chest as you kept weeping noisily.

Daichi stayed silent, his head pressed against your shoulder, moving in sync with each of your sobs.

“Let it out, babe, don’t hold it back.”

At those words, your weeps only seemed to get worse to the point you didn’t know anymore why you were crying in the first place. Maybe you just needed to let it out, to rest, and let yourself get lost in Daichi’s embrace. His warmth felt like home and it was so comforting that after a while you finally cooled down. Nothing was wrong anymore, you were safe and sound.

“When you’re ready, I’m here to listen.” He whispered.

You nodded against his skin, then drew back, revealing your puffed and reddish face. He immediately stood up and walked towards the kitchen. Once back, he kneeled again in front of you and handed you tissues and a glass of water.

“Thanks,” You murmured and then blew your nose.

Daichi just stared at you, his eyes wandering all over your figure as you shrugged and sighed. You opened your mouth only to close it a second later. You didn’t even know where to start. Your bottom lip quivered, you felt like you’re about to cry again.

“What’s going on, love?” His voice small and tender.

You sighed again and gave a quick look to the clock behind him. It was almost time to leave. Actually, at that point, you were already late. Your eyes found his again and a thought occurred to you. He looked so happy until a moment before, singing and dancing, all dressed up, ready to leave and try that restaurant. But now there he was, all worried for you, down on his knees, not caring if that position was messing and creasing his shirt.

“It’s really nothing. Just had a bad day. I should go get-” You tried to stand up, but Daichi’s hands stopped you right there, pinning you down again.

“Are you sure, that’s just it?”

You couldn’t physically bring yourself to lie to Daichi. Not even for the smallest things. Not even for a white lie.

“To be honest, I don’t really feel like going out tonight…”

His eyebrows twitched. First clue unlocked.

“That’s fine. Let me just give them a call-”

“No, no. There’s no need. We should go anyway. It’s really nothing.”

Daichi was never really fond of you being difficult, he’d rather prefer you being straightforward. But sometimes, your pride overtook you. Nevertheless, that was not the right time to point out you were being too stubborn, so he just reassured you, saying,

“Listen, it’s up to you, babe. Your wish is my command, you know that, right?”

Daichi was always so kind. From time to time, you even believed he was way too good for you. Too good, it’s almost unfair , you thought.

“Really, it’s nothing… I’ve been thinking about tonight all day too. I couldn’t wait to finally spend some time with you…”

He giggled, your sweet tone instantly reassured him, “You know we can always stay at home and just watch a movie, right? Just tell me if you don’t feel like going out and I’ll call the restaurant right away.”

“Well, it’s not that… I… I…” You sighed. You really were being too difficult that time. “To be honest, I don’t know what-” Your voice cracked, “I really don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

Daichi leaned closer and kissed your forehead, then stood up and grabbed his phone. From a distance you clearly heard him talk to someone, apologizing and saying something else you didn’t quite catch. The restaurant , you thought. You instantly walked towards him and tried to oppose, but Daichi politely hushed you and just hung up.

“Why did you do that?” You asked him.

“Cause it seems like you can’t decide right now. The restaurant can wait, really, but whatever is going on with you cannot. And now, if you want to tell me more about it I’m here, if not I’ll just let you be, or if-”

You grabbed his hands, stopping him. Your head swung from side to side as you collected your thoughts.

“It’s just that… I don’t know where to start.” You said and plopped yourself down on the couch.

He softly asked you when that started, if you remembered what little event had possibly triggered your current mood, and suddenly the right words found their way out of your mouth.

It had just been one of those everything-goes-wrong kinds of days, no rest, and too many things to do that eventually you found yourself already in front of the closet without even realizing it. Your eyes were drained and unfocused after all those hours in front of your laptop, working, sending emails, and stuff like that. Your stomach was aching and bloating after eating the previous night’s leftovers. Your legs were sore. Your mind was blank, empty, and at the same time also full of imprecise thoughts about work, what you needed to do before heading out, the dinner, the clothes, that mirror right in front of you.

You described to him this confused overwhelming sensation you had been experiencing for the previous months and all along Daichi was carefully listening to you, nodding and humming. From time to time he tried to comfort you, saying that it was quite understandable since you both started a new, complicated chapter of your lives since there were so many things to be settled and done, etc. He even apologized if he had accidentally neglected you in some way. He was so stressed and focused on work, he barely noticed what was going on with you. But you didn’t seem to listen to his words. Every single time you just replied with the same anxious thoughts you had already said before.

At some point, Daichi interrupted you, saying, “Babe, look at me and be honest,” then grabbed your hands and looked straight into your still reddish eyes, “Do you want me to listen … Or do you want some advice ?”

That was a thing Daichi had learned with time, not only from you but also from his experience as a captain. Sometimes people just need to vent, some other times to be taken by the hand and helped, but there are also other times when people may even need both.

You sighed. “Both I guess?”

He hummed and kept listening at other incoherent stuff you mumbled next about yourself, your image, your perception of yourself, “And that damn outfit! I’ve been thinking about it all day! It was my only option and it didn’t work! I looked terrible, I could barely stand my reflection in the mirror… Why do I have to feel so miserable about a damn outfit?! And then I put my PJ back on and I thought I looked like a fucking cartoon! I wanted to hide under a blanket and just disappear… I must sound delusional right now…”

New clues unlocked.

“No, absolutely, you’re not delusional, love. But... Let me ask you this. What is really bothering you? How you look or how you feel ?”

You tilted your head and pondered his question. At that moment you realized you had never thought about it that way before. How I look or how I feel… , you kept thinking for a while.

However, you still weren’t able to unravel that truth, therefore you just kept rumbling about those stupid clothes not fitting you anymore for another solid couple of minutes.

Daichi chuckled.

“That just means you need to do more shopping, babe,” He pointed out and leaned in to pepper your neck with soft kisses. You couldn’t help but giggle as his kisses alternated with random names of your favorite shops where you two could have gone to the next day to buy something. But eventually, you lightly pushed him away, not because you really wanted to but... Something wasn’t still quite right and you didn’t know what it was. That made you feel ultimately uneasy.

Daichi drew back on his heels, his hands still on your sides, sweetly caressing your hips. He stayed there and just contemplated you as your mind spun around and other vague thoughts piled up in your head.

“So, is there something else?” He softly asked.

“I guess so… It’s not about the clothes. I think it’s me. I look so different and I feel so different, I can barely recognize myself.”

“Love, you have so many things to do, I know it’s hard to find time for you to eat clean or be active. Maybe I should propose less pizza and stuff—”

“No, no, babe, it’s not you... I just feel awful about myself.”

“You feel , but you’re definitely not. I guarantee you that.” Daichi immediately comforted you.

“You know the saying, love is blind…” You tried to joke around.

“It sure is. I could love you with my eyes closed, but even with my eyes wide open, I can’t see anything wrong with you.”

Daichi’s love confessions were sappy at their core, but his voice was always so direct and honest they always sounded like facts. And they never failed to catch you off guard. Daichi used to be shy and awkward in the beginning of your relationship. He was constantly blushing hard and messing with his sentences whenever it came to talk to you. However, with time, his affection and ways started to be so sincere and straightforward you didn’t even know how to contradict him or how to even say anything back.

“I wish you could see yourself through my eyes…” His tone suddenly painted with melancholy, “Then you could see how beautiful you are, how precious, how…” He felt it too. He felt he was getting too emotional, so he tried to take the edge off, coming back to his goofy side. “No, no. Rewind. You might end up dumping me. Nah nah, not gonna happen!” He muffled, hiding his head against your belly, curling up with his torso over your lap.

You couldn’t help but laugh. You loved him so much.

“Jokes aside,” He said, lifting his head and looking up at you. “Tell me, babe, is this really such a big deal? Because if it bothers you to this point, you should think about it more carefully... Can I help you in some way?”

“Honestly, I-I don’t know how you could help me,” You confessed, “I feel like I’m not taking care of myself, but I also lack motivation to actually do something about it. It’s a dog chasing its own tail, you know what I mean?”

“Yeah, I get it… Well, I could encourage you, first. But then I could also help you and try to do things with you, like…” He thought about it for a couple of seconds. “What if I call Tanaka? He's a personal trainer but he also knows a lot about nutrition. He may suggest something delicious but fast and healthy for us to cook. It could be beneficial for both of us. We have been literally eating our stress away recently. You know what, I feel bloated too…” Daichi added and then proceeded to touch his tummy.

You lightly pushed him again and started to shower him with compliments. You couldn’t wrap your mind around the fact that Daichi could ever possibly be insecure about himself. He was… Daichi. He was just perfect.

He smirked at your reaction and got closer to shut your mouth with a sudden, deep kiss.

“Can I tell you a secret?” He whispered, just an inch away from your lips.

“Sure, what is it?” You said almost laughing. A secret?

“Ok, look at my pants,” Daichi said, drawing back until he stood up, right in front of you.

“Yeah, I’m looking at them and they look really good on you-” You started to say and tried to make him spin around to point out how good he looked in those dark pants. That was actually your favorite pair, you loved the way they highlighted his muscular legs, how- But he stopped you right there.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Ok, thanks, but have you noticed that I’m not wearing any belt? And actually haven’t worn one in a while?”

You frowned. Where is he getting at?

“And you know why? I don’t really need one anymore. These pants stay up regardless,” Daichi confessed, giggling, “What I mean is… Look, you still like how they fit me. I still like how they fit me. I just know that you would like them even in another size. I would like them as well.”

You just stared at him, quietly pondering his words.

“Anyways, the pants are not the real point. These are just pants. Those things that didn’t fit you aren’t the real point either. You see what I’m trying to tell you?”

You did. You got what he meant, but you were still doubting yourself somehow. Because, in your mind, not fitting your old clothes was just the result of something that slipped out of your hands as you struggled to take care of anything else, except yourself. It wasn’t about your weight or the clothes, it was about losing track of yourself in the process.

“You think I’m perfect while I may, well, I am certainly not. Same goes for you. None of us is perfect, never been, never will. We are just us,” He got closer and sweetly brushed your hair behind your ears, “But for me, in my eyes, you are. And apparently, I’m too in yours. And that’s all that matters.”

Again, just straight facts.

Also, whenever he gave you one of his motivational speeches, he really looked like a captain. You could vividly picture the scene in your head, his teammates carefully listening to him, hanging off his words, right before an important match or even just a regular training session.

“I know it’s extremely cheesy to hear, but it’s also the truth. You’re perfect just the way you are and you’ll always be to me…” His voice small as he kneeled again in front of you. “Even now. Even if you feel lost. The you you’re looking for is still there, it’s not going anywhere. You just need some time and patience to find yourself again.”

You immediately cupped his face, about to tell him something, but before you could spell a single word, he whispered,

“But… But if this is a problem, something you want to change or improve, something you need some help with, then let’s do it, let’s do it together. No. Better. Let’s do it right now!”

Daichi immediately stood up and ran back to the kitchen, where you used to keep your little notebook. Once back, armed with a pen and unmovable willpower, he sat down again and opened the agenda on your lap. Going through your schedule, he noticed how packed it was, pages and pages filled with appointments and notes, but that didn’t scare him.

“Mmm… So, here’s the plan. Our lunch breaks on Monday and Friday look pretty long. We could… Meet at the park. You know, the one right after the supermarket, down the street-”

You nodded, showing him you were following him.

“We could jog a little and then eat something together! That way we’d see each other, have some fun and do something good for our health too… I know jogging doesn’t actually sound much fun, but I swear we’ll have a good time, babe. What do you think?”

Your lips curled upwards into a soft, little half-moon. You couldn’t say no to that.

“Sounds like a plan…” You simply commented.

He looked relieved and then added, “Also, remember that lunch at my mum’s next Sunday? Why don’t we just skip it and go somewhere fancy, like a spa-”

“But we promised-” You tried to object.

“Babe, I know, I know, but we can go some other time. She’ll understand.”

“Okay…”

“It’ll be beneficial for both of us, for real. To be honest, I think I’m this close to a breakdown too,” He laughed.

“You’re right, we should definitely go… You know, I was also thinking about joining some sort of club. I feel like I don't have a hobby or a passion anymore. It’s always work, work, work, the apartment, work, work, work. I feel so… Arid? Mentally. You know what I mean?”

“Yeah… Me too, I was thinking the same exact thing this morning actually… Maybe I should join a volleyball team again. Nothing serious but like a team to play with, just once in a while-”

Your eyes widened, “Oh God! Yes! Absolutely! You should definitely do that, love!”

Daichi nervously chuckled. He wasn’t expecting such an enthusiastic and energetic reaction from you, not after having seen you so blue and distant since he had come back home.

You loved seeing him playing volleyball. You still remembered vividly the times you used to sneak a peek at his practice and matches during college. The first time you saw him playing, all sweat and absorbed in the game, you did a double-take. He looked so hot.

“Alrighty, I’ll definitely think about it… Don’t worry, love, we’ll figure something out.”

“As we always did…” You added, shyly smiling at him.

That situation made you wonder. Life could be hard at times, but if you had the right people around you to rely on, to fight with, or simply talk to, it didn’t seem like that tough anymore.

“Yeah…” He smiled back and instinctively leaned forward to hug you tightly as you welcomed his frame against your chest.

After a few silent minutes, you muffled against his shoulder, “Thank you… I don’t even know how to tell you how thankful I am right now… ”

And in all fairness, there wasn’t much else to add.

“You could start by being less hard on yourself, love,” Daichi said, still pressed against you, “You’re doing so great…”

“You’re way too good to me.” You murmured back, your voice slightly above a whisper.

At your words, he brushed his head from side to side against your shoulder, silently disagreeing with your affirmation. He was just as good to you as you deserved.

Right at that moment, “Best Part” by Daniel Caesar and H.E.R. came on and Daichi thought that there couldn't have been a better time than that for that specific song to start.

He drew back from your hug and guided you to stand up with him, then walked backward to reach the center of the living room, his eyes still fixed on you.

“Siri, turn up the volume!” He ordered his phone to do as he took you in his arms.

You simply stared at him and followed his actions, like a puppet under his spell. His arms welcomed your figure and your fingers locked, your two bodies perfectly molded one against the other as you slow-danced to the rhythm, allowing yourself to utterly enjoy that moment.

A strange feeling warmed your belly, like an overwhelming wave of happiness was overtaking all your senses. Your mouth instinctively opened to shower Daichi with random compliments, words of gratitude, and all sorts of sweet nothings. He loved to be praised by you but after a while he tried to playfully hush you, holding you even tighter and whispered next to your ear a line of that song that seemed to be written right for you. Better, right for him to sing it for you.

“I just wanna see how beautiful you are, you know that I see it, I know you're a star. Where you go I follow, no matter how far. If life is a movie, oh you're the best part…”

The music eventually faded and an hour later you and Daichi were once again in your bed, curled up in your sheets, as you leafed through Netflix’s catalog, fruitlessly. In the end, you just end up cuddling and ultimately dozing off. Nothing special had happened that night, but you felt so restored, at peace, as if everything was completely fine again.

When you woke up the morning after, Daichi was already gone. You were used to this too. No night shifts meant early shifts. But this also had its perks, like the tiny heart-shaped post-it notes he liked to leave in the bathroom for you to read them as you washed your face or brushed your teeth. The breakfast? Ready on the kitchen counter, another post-it note on top of it. And then another one, on the front door, “I can’t wait to see you at lunch <3”

At noon, you two met up at the park as planned. A little warm-up under Daichi’s careful instructions and then you were ready to start. Just a casual jog, nothing too demanding, as you enjoyed the fresh air and the good company of that day.

During the whole run, Daichi kept encouraging you like a real captain and a loyal partner would do, saying that you were doing great, that you looked very good in those leggings, that you were half done at that point, and then that you could do it, you were almost at the end at that point.

“The last lap, babe! We’re almost done!” Daichi shouted, turned his head in your direction, and gave you a wide, shining smile.

“I-I think I’m done for today…” You panted as you struggled to keep up with his pace.

“Six more minutes and we’re done! C’mon! Don’t give up!” He incited but you soon waved the white flag, signaling him your surrender.

Daichi halted and got closer to you. A strange, gloomy aura suddenly spread all around him. A mischievous grin appeared on his face right when he whispered, an inch away from your sweaty face,

“Quitters don’t get their prize, you know that?”

Your breath almost failed you, when you told him, “Yeah, yeah, you can eat my lunch, I don’t want it anymore…”

But apparently, Daichi had another prize in his mind, another type of meal .

“Mmmh, that’s not the reward I was planning to give you…” His voice sounded dangerously seductive for the location you two were at the moment. Your eyes widened at the sudden realization.

His hands slowly roamed from your hands to your shoulders, then cupped your cheeks. His tone got back to normal when he playfully squeezed your face and said, “Six minutes!”

Six minutes passed and the jog was finally over. A little picnic at the park, a quick shower together at home, and then you were good to go. Your afternoon’s tasks awaited you.

That evening Tanaka and Kyoko joined you for dinner. They were both more than happy to give you some advice, to recommend easy and healthy recipes, and to see how the apartment had changed since their last visit.

Later that night, you and Daichi were again in your bed, tired but definitely satisfied. Your back was pressed against his broad chest, your body secured in his warm embrace, your thoughts were quiet, both your body and mind at peace.

You had worked, you had jogged, you had had some fun with Daichi at the park, you had also found some time to finish that book you had forgotten on your desk. Well, actually, Daichi had been texting you during the whole afternoon to remind you to take some breaks from time to time, to have a snack or read something. The dinner with Tanaka and Kyoko had cheered you up more than planned and that full, yet satisfying day was finally over.

You were still lost in your thoughts when you felt Daichi snuggle up, holding you even tighter than before. His left arm was wrapped around your figure while the right one was on top of yours, his fingers gently rubbing your hand, then your wrist and forearm, drawing imaginary patterns all over your skin. As he got closer, ultimately closing that tiny gap between you two, his head found the crook of your neck and gently nestled in it. Then he asked you, his voice hoarse with weariness,

“So? About the jog, did you like it?”

“Weeeell, let’s say that I liked it but mainly because we did it together.” You confessed, “Would I do it alone? I don’t know… Maybe?”

“Fair enough,” He replied and placed a sloppy kiss on your shoulder, his fingers still loosely tracing your arm. Then there was silence, the room was from time to time filled only with the muffled sound of those soft pecks he kept on leaving on your skin.

“You know,” Daichi whispered at some point, between a kiss and another, “Jogging is not the only option…” He paused to clear his throat, “There are other types of activities that we could do…” Another kiss, his breath warm against your neck, his tone husky with desire when he added, “That we could do indoor…”

#daichi x you #daichi x reader #daichi headcanon #daichi sawamura #daddy daichi #haikyuu oneshot #one shot #read on ao3 #read on wattpad #spotify #i wrote this at 3am #sawamura daichi x reader #sawamura daichi #fluff

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jjk-biased · 4 years

Text

youtuber! jungkook x youtuber! reader

crack! social media au

genre: fluff, crack, some angst

chapter summary: after somehow placing 2nd overall on OGN's e-sports festival, jin fulfills his bet by taking you and your friends to lotte world for a hopefully stress-free and peaceful day.

words: 1.8k (cannot be read as standalone)

warnings: aside from cussing, none!

24. unsaid feelings

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The fireworks painted the dark sky with bright hues of red and blue. And while it could be the most beautiful view they've ever seen, Jungkook would beg to differ.

You were his prettiest view. The way your eyes would twinkle at each spark. How bright your smile would become as the glitters danced in the sky. The way your delicate hand encased in his would tighten at each exciting moment.

You were breathtaking.

Jungkook had long since ceased watching the show. He instead chose to observe your reactions to it with a dumb smile on his face. It was adorable. You were adorable.

Finally feeling his gaze on you, you found yourself turning red. Your eyes met his, then you two leaned closer.

and closer

and closer.

Until your lips were a few centimeters apart.

As the last and greatest firework exploded, you two ki—

“WAKE THE HELL UP YOU DORKS!!!”

for fucks’ sake.

Laughter rang throughout the living room as Jungkook fell from the couch. They all slept at Namjoon’s house once again after the e-sports festival had ended and it extended until today. Like how the first sleepover turned out, everyone fell asleep in the living room.

“Noisy much, Jin?” You grumble, also waking up from Jin’s morning call.

“If we wanna enjoy Lotte World and get there early, y’all shoulda been up and about.”

“IT’S ONLY 7 AM WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!”

Hoseok, who somehow already had an immense amount of energy, cackled at you and Jungkook’s state. The others wordlessly began to wash their faces, some opted to help Jin with breakfast.

After a long time of preparing, the rambunctious group of friends finally went on their trip to Lotte World.

Unbeknownst to you and Jungkook, however, the little shits had planned something that you’re not sure whether to be thankful of or angry at.

Jungkook had finally admitted to everyone else, while you were fast asleep on the floor in between Namjoon and Hoseok, that he had been harboring a genuine liking towards you. He had gone to sleep not long after, and that was when Taehyung began to brew plans to give him a little push.

It’s been awhile since you’ve gone to any amusement park, so you had a child-like wonder painted on your face when everyone went in. It was absolutely adorable to say the least and even if Jungkook was unable to say it out loud, his dopey grin was enough.

You all thought it was a good idea to start the peaceful day with death disguised as rollercoasters. You’re sure you know who wanted everyone to die so early in the day, the terrified looks of all but one little shit told you more than you need to know.

“Do we really have to do what he says?” You grumble as Jungkook basks in his success.

“Might as well do it now when the line isn’t as long…” Yoongi trailed off, slowly losing the confidence he had stored in when he heard the shrieks of the people.

Luck might not be with you today when everyone scrambled to sit at the safest parts of the cart— which is everywhere but the first row. Moreover, the only person left to sit with you was none other than the idiot responsible for your demise that day.

“Hurry up pumpkin, you’re so slow!”

Whatever retort you wanted to throw was shoved in your throat when the staff secured your death seat.

“Aw is little pumpkin scared?”

“For the last time, jungleboy, I am nOT LI— FUCK THIS RIDE AAAAAH”

To say the least, your luck took a vacation and left you to suffer with Jungkook and the others.

Everyone decided to eat lunch after that traumatizing event. Namjoon and Jin were scouting for a place to eat, Hoseok and Yoongi decided to look for food choices, and that left you with the three youngest idiots of your idiot group to explore the rigged booths.

There was a shooting game where you just had to knock over the pyramid of cans to get the fluffiest alpaca ever. And while you’ve ingrained it in your mind that these games are scams, the child in you couldn’t resist wanting to win one because 1) alpaca soft 2) alpaca big.

Jungkook wasn’t an idiot— dear lord, someone tell him — or at least he could tell the meaning of your longing stare towards the cute alpaca plush.

With a sigh, he stopped you from doing one of the most dramatic “goodbyes” ever to an alpaca plush and tried for the game.

“Step right up, mister! Win anything in this booth for your girlfriend for the small price of ₩5,000!”

“Oh, w-we aren’t— he isn’t,” you pathetically denied. It seemed you were the only one who got embarrassed though because Jungkook didn’t deny anything.

He did it with so much ease that even the staff was left speechless at his show. Maybe it was the alpaca he gave you talking, but damn did butterflies erupt in your tummy. He looked so cool shooting the cans with so much focus. To think he spent money and did so just for you, you were sure your heart melted (and it wasn’t because of the heat!!)

You thought the funny feeling would die down after.

Boy were you wrong.

Time after time after time again, he never failed to make you feel giddy inside.

When the two of you were paired up for this horror house, he never made you feel embarrassed. He instead offered his arm to you, even going as far as wrapping said arm around you so you could find refuge in him when a particular bit scares you more. Poor boy was too flustered from the entire ordeal to even notice some of the scarers.

Then there was this time where he cheered out of glee when you won from one of the booths. (you two used Jin’s money though lmao) He had complimented you endlessly on how “great you were, pumpkin!”

Though he’d often tease you about your shorter stature, he lets you use him as a shade from the harsh sunlight. It was a small but nice gesture.

Everyone else retreated to the restrooms after thinking it was a good idea to drink a lot before going to the teacups ride. The look on their faces was a memory you’ll never forget.

You two sat on one of those benches nearby and began to talk about random things— ramens and gaming included. Jungkook received a text from Jimin saying that the lines were too long and they could roam around while waiting.

“How about we go to those souvenir shops? I wanna buy something now before it gets too crowded,” You suggested, pointing to the array of stores.

“I don’t mind that, let’s go!” He cheered, taking hold of your hand (you don’t know if he’s aware of that or not but it made you red).

The next hour was spent trying on dorky thingamajigs and whatnot. After trying on a pair of funny specs, you decided it was time to go back to checking out rides.

The sun had begun to set and pink hues scattered through the sky. It allowed for a more calm and serene mood to set in as you two walked, your arms linked, and roamed around the parks (as well as trying to ignore the bustling noise of happy kids and crying babies lmfao)

Ramen, that was the name of the alpaca Jungkook won for you, was safely tucked in his arms. You, on the other hand, were busy munching on the popcorn that Jungkook bought (it was supposed to be for himself but you had your ways)

You probably didn’t hear whatever was going around, too busy eating his popcorn to care, but Jungkook heard every murmur people threw your way. Admittedly, he wished that you two were actually a couple like the little kid said

He wasn’t sure how it began. You two started on a rather weird meeting— with you mocking his so-called fifth grader level skills in Overwatch to him replying rather pettily to win the argument. Somewhere down the line, you two actually had common friends and were forced to meet. That was the moment he was taken aback by you.

Well honestly, he was always taken aback.

You were witty; always had comebacks ready to deploy for every remark he had. You were skilled; not only a master at time management for balancing college life with your career, but also great at gaming. You were kind-hearted; though your verbal jabs were piercing, he knew you meant no harm.

You were too good for this world.

So when he had scared you, rather unintentionally, with a horror game, he regretted it so much. But to be honest, he was also thankful for that day. God knows he probably wouldn’t have had the chance to “restart” how he treated you if he hadn’t fucked up.

You probably didn’t notice how his teasing now focused more on the thought of you with him. While he isn’t the best at conveying romantic feelings, he was absolutely fluent in memes.

Thank god for memes.

But at some point, he does have to tell you what’s going on. He can’t stay in this weird space with you— somewhere between friends who fight and friends who flirt. With a shaky sigh, he decided today was the day.

As if the universe were with him, you then finally noticed his silence. It was heart-warming to see concern in your pretty face when you took note of the unusual quietness.

“Are you okay, kook?”

Like a goldfish out of water, he opened his mouth then closed it again.

Fuck, it was harder than he thought.

Thousands of thoughts went through his head. Will you take him seriously? Will you stop being friends? Will you hate him for the feelings he harbored?

Every negative thought disappeared at the sound of your amused laugh.

He reminds himself why he liked you so much and gathers little courage to speak out his mind.

This is it.

Oh my god, this is it.

“Y/N, I have something to tell you…” He trailed off, now facing her properly. (poor Ramen was being squeezed to death)

You became nervous. Did he notice my staring? Holy shit is he gonna tell me I’m weird?

“I think I li—”

“Y/N!”

Internally groaning at yet another interruption, Jungkook turned to whoever decided to call you out. It was a guy, definitely older than you. He turned to you, silently questioning if you knew the intruder, and was surprised to see none of your cheery aura.

You were livid.

“Daniel Y/L/N.”

a/n: tumblr decided to be a bitch and didn't save every edit i made so this took awhile. also, #danielisoverparty and oops, y'all thought Daniel was an ex lmao ig i made him sound too ex-y 🤡

taglist: @armymaknae @rjsmochii @chogiyeol-utopia @deolly @liitlefaiiery @patpus @br0ther-s @borednia @tyraparker @ancailinaerach @tae165 @cherrycolababie @nininek12 @atulipandarose @hannahdinse8 @hereforaus @amoreguk @thewariestofheads @parkmaeri @thia-aep @diorhobii @seungcheoluwu @mipetronella @callmesenpaix @jungshookmeup @yoongisabby @parkchaeyoung1997 @alpaca1612 @bangtan-serendipity @karissassirak @fullsunkook @salty-for-suga @cholychi @smolbeaniejimin @netflix-batman-sleep @snickerdoodleeee @faeriegukkie @kpop4mysoul @crazylittlemay @theneighborhoodfangirl

permanent taglist: @luvinseokjinnie @97faerie

#bts x reader #bts #bts fake text #bts twitter au #jungkook fake twitter #jungkook fake text #jungkook x female reader #bts fake twitter #jungkook x reader #bts social media au #jungkook imagine #youtuber! reader #youtuber! jungkook x reader

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baezdylan · 3 years

Text

LITTLE WOMEN FANFICTION

CHAPTER 3: SEVEN

Escapism

"Please, picture me in the trees...

...before I learned civility."

- seven, Taylor Swift

***

one.

- Let's run away.

It's barely a whisper. It's said more to the open sky above them than to anybody else.

- Let's run away.

It's more than a whisper now. It's a call. An invitation for something greater than both of them. And Laurie would gladly buy a ticket for that particular train. He would. But the sun is so wonderful and the clouds are so enchanting in their unusual shapes that even getting up seems like a chore. He wants to stay here. On the grass. But Jo is persistent in her wishes. Jo March never, never, gives up.

- Won't you say something, Teddy? Can't you just see it? We could be anything, do anything, go anywhere! The world could be ours!

She, unlike him, is on her feet. She always seems to be. Gravity isn't very fond of Jo. Or at least that's what Jo will tell you. Laurie doesn't know if that's true or not, but he likes hearing her talk. He finds himself generally attached to sounds. The chipering of birds. The first note you play on the piano. Amy's chaotic laughter. Beth's soft chuckles. Meg's little mumbles. Jo's wild exclaims. That's one of the many reasons why Laurie loves the Marches. It's like these sisters have discovered an utterly fresh, vivid and extraordinary way to be alive. It's a pleasant contrast to what he's used to.

It's always quiet at home.

"What do you say Theodore Laurence, kindest and most noble of knights of this kingdom? Shall we follow the wind and see where it leads us?"

"I wouldn't want it any other way."

"Then you accept my proposal?"

"I sure do, Miss March."

People's faces usually look radically different when lightened up with smiles. They look prettier, more beautiful and somehow truer to themselves as opposed to non smiling faces. Jo's doesn't. She is smiling at him right now and her face doesn't look any different. It's just as true and warm as it was a thousand smiles before. And would Laurie even be allowed to call himself a comrade of Jo's if he didn't gift her with a smile of his own in return? He grins at her with no specific thought behind the expression. This is how people are supposed to be smiling, he thinks. Wide and real. Yes, people are supposed to be smiling just like this.

For a second, Jo and Laurie are the same person. Hair wild, shirts half unbuttoned, cheeks flushed. Laurie's hands are splattered with dirt from the ground whose hostility he was taking advantage of moments prior. Jo doesn't seem to care about that. Once he's up and standing, she grabs his arm a bit forcefully (which he doesn't mind), a bit theatrically (because this is Jo and life is a theatre piece) and they start running, both of them now embellished with dust. There's a lot of stumbling (and stumbling is blamed on the seemingly nonexistent objects that appear and disappear under commands of fairy like creatures) and there's a lot of laughter (laughter that comes in its most natural form and doesn't show any interest in being contained under anyone's wishes, especially not the ones of the world).

"Oh dearest, the world might not be for us, but us we are for the world."

***

two.

Freedom is both the most basic and the most complicated aspect of life to be gained. It is so simple of a concept, one could easily and rightfully so believe how all of thought guardians (more commonly referred to as humans) should have the right to not only experience, but spend their entire lives swimming in shinning lakes of freedom. But it's not how it all works. Some have tiny bits of freedom. Some don't have it at all. Some have loads. Some have just enough. Too much, sadly or sadly not, have none.

Jo sometimes wishes she were a tree. High up in the sky, stretching out her branches towards infinity. She isn't a tree though.

Imagination is of grave help despite what anyone says. To a normal person, the tree is just a tree. Tree and nothing else. To Jo March, a tree is so much more. It's an opportunity. An adventure. It's a solace and a home. A sanctuary. She's climbing up one of her leaf providing friends as she's trying to figure out how to describe this moment the best. Her reflections are interrupted by a voice which surprisingly doesn't come from the bellow, but from the above instead. Once Jo spots the speaker's ground conquerors (or "shoes" if you are of dull old sameness and don't find the pleasure in crafting phrases unlike our Jo), she immediately recognizes their owner. She still isn't sure why Teddy let Amy paint his shoes with images of flowers, but she is mesmerized with the final result. And although she shall never share this with the oh, so great artist, Jo thinks Amy's creations to be exquisite.

"I presume you are coming here to put your mind at ease."

"That is correct, my boy, and I suppose you are here for the same cause. "

By the time they exchange these lines, Jo has already climbed up to the place where Laurie is. She finds herself a steady enough branch and rests her head against the surface of the wood. Her friend is positioned in a similar way, his leg gently swaying to a peculiar beat of his own making.

Two figures, who almost seem to be one with the wooden fellow, occasionally take an exceptionally deep breath. Their hands colored with bruises, souvenirs from many extraordinary expeditions, their clothes decorated with leaves. Seemingly they are flowers, nature is their most beloved companion.

It's quite a story how Jo and Teddy, these flower resembling humans, coexist without many syllables shared. The phrases they do sometimes grace each other with can end up being translated as meaningless or lacking in thought. But Teddy and Jo, among everything else, are inventors. They invented a language which only functions for them. What is mean to others represents to them a code. What is strange to some, playful and witty to them it is. What is impossible to comprehend, they understand with little to no effort.

"Language of flowers is the language of flowers for a reason. Nobody, but flowers, thinks it much sense."

***

three.

"I'M ALIVE! LOOK AT ME, EARTH!!! I! AM! BREATHING!"

This is just one of the many declarations that have furiously been shouted at the void today. Young people often have trouble befriending compromises, especially if those compromises are to be made with the creatures you live in close proximity with. Jo has again been fighting with her sisters for reasons she cannot exactly recall right this instant. It's funny, because this always happens to her. Something sparks her temper, she recklessly gives into it and at the end, it's all about the anger she doesn't know how to release. She usually goes on long walks or takes deep breaths. She basically tries to isolate herself from everyone until the storm passes.

Teddy has a different solution for her troubles, troubles that naturally turn out to be his troubles too because they are Jo and Teddy, Teddy and Jo, and they have the same troubles (which is both wonderfully relieving and awfully annoying at the same time). Jo wouldn't even call Teddy's solution a solution. They are both making these announcements of nonhuman frequency and dancing their heads off, and as ridiculous as it is, Jo feels it liberating. They aren't improving anything (just the opposite, screaming random things into the air represents the peak of impulsive behaviour) and the conclusion is: no profitable discoveries in the "containing yourself" department. But who cares? Sometimes you have to let it all out. Dance and shout the worries away. It wasn't a coincidence that Jo met Teddy under the circumstances that she did. They were both of hot tempers, strong wills and free spirits. And they needed to dance it all out out. Despite the absurdity and inappropriate mannerism a foreign eye would most certainly find in their actions.

"There exists no right nor wrong way to express one's self."

***

four.

Laurie is surprised with how much he is enjoying this. It's all very simple. Yet, he feels at peace. He feels like everything inside him has a chance to rest.

It's the fireplace and captivating movement of the fire flames.

It's the soft "click" he discovers every time Meg takes a step. Her shoes are marvellous singers.

It's the chattering of dishes he recognizes somewhere in the background. It must be Beth, cleaning the table after the meal.

It's Amy giggling mischievously after coming up with what Laurie supposes to be some kind of scheme or more accurately, a master plan. He wouldn't know what is it about, but whatever it is, Amy is destined to succeed in it.

It's Jo. This is all because of Jo. He wouldn't have come across the hidden delights of the "uncomplicated" and "boring" if it weren't for her. She takes a seat beside him interrupting the spectacular date he had with the fireplace, rests her head on his shoulder and sighs. It's like this with them. Touching has never been a big deal.

"Beautiful."

That's all Jo says. "Beautiful." He doesn't question it. He understands what she means even though he cannot explain it. He understands.

"Warmth. Choreographed chaos. Lines overlapping. Minds intertwining. Familiarity greeting you "hello". People. Family. Home."

***

five.

She cut her hair. She cut her hair and everything is supposed to be at least a little better if not completely fine. But she can feel the tears forming in her eyes as she's approaching the house. The money in her pocket is so incredibly present. No, the money is not just present in her pocket. Everything those dusty pieces of paper represent carries weight. A weight so grand Jo could swear there is somebody following her, kind of like the money has taken the shape of a person and is now accompanying her, monitoring her every move. What kind of world sees a green, ugly paper and claims of it a metaphor for greatest treasures? And the tears? The tears she cannot comprehend. Why would she care? It's just hair. If anything, she should be bursting with joy right now. She got rid of the womanly burden. But it doesn't feel right. It's all extremely selfish of her. Selfish and thoughtless.

Her sister is... not well. Her father is out there doing all sorts of heroic things and instead of crying over her sins, she's crying over this. For once she does something right, for once the part of her that's wrong different isn't screaming. And then it hits her. It's not just a part of her that's different wrong. It's her. The moment she realises this she steps into the house. Everyone is either too distant or too close to notice all that is hiding underneath her seemingly admirable actions.

Her body is barely handling the atmosphere. It's barely cultivating the facade. But her body is also covered with Teddy's waistcoat and just as she remembers this little fact she sees her best friend right there in front of her. He is not too distant nor too close. He is right where she is.

They have the same hair.

Jo is pulled towards him because this is Teddy and hugging Teddy is like hugging herself. They stay like that for a few moments, their realities greeting each other like two fellow soldiers, finally reunited in battle.

It doesn't make her feel any less hollow. It doesn't change anything. It doesn't alter the wrongs. But it does make it a little better. It offers an assurance. An assurance embodying validity so present, money can do nothing but hold a candle to. An assurance of rational absurdity. Because that's what Jo and Teddy are.

They are rationally absurd.

"It's a childish belief that all twins look the same. There exist many ways to be somebody's twin."

***

six.

She is holding his hand.

He has just told her how he doesn't fit within himself. He has just told her that and she is still here, laying on the floor with him, covered with blankets. She said it made sense. She must have been too tired or something. She must have misheard. She must have.

"Jo, are you there?"

She does not respond. She only squeezes his hand. It's not about the gesture itself. It's about everything the gesture holds.

Promises. Lifetimes. Daylights. Midnights. Setting suns. Growing spirits. Flowery Youths.

She is holding his hand.

" Mutuality sure is a wonderful creation. What is more wonderful though is mutual understanding. Mutuality means the returning of the same. Mutual understanding means accepting and loving of the different."

***

seven.

"I could run away for real this time. Explore the unknown, unravel the mystical. Encounter the miracles. Touch the heavens..."

Her words are empty. They don't mean much. They are empty and desperate. Empty, desperate and meaningless.

Her sister got married. Meg got married and she is talking to herself about running away. The wind is dancing with her again long enough hair, tangling its fingers into her rough curls, reminding her of the countless times it has done the exact same thing before. Mocking her with its endless supplies of stability and comfort. Jo is leaning over the wooden fence, despite the wishes of her dress which keeps complaining about her unlady like methods. Jo honestly does not care about the fancy bridesmaid dress and its wants. If one has the will to climb fences, one shall enjoy the act of doing so, no matter what some piece of fabric might have to say. She is trying to hold back rivers her eyes miserably wish to let flow. She cannot cry. She must not. She has an ongoing bet with Teddy about this. He was daring enough to assume she will turn herself into a paddle today and she ought to prove him wrong.

"What might a lady like yourself be doing here instead of enjoying the jolly ceremony out there in the open?"

"I am no lady Teddy, my being is in no need of such chains."

Laurie doesn't pressure her into answering the question (she would have answered it in the first place if she had the intention to) and steps on the fence beside her. He starts humming a random melody, rhythmically moving his fingers to the sound. He must be composing something again, thinks Jo and silently envies his creative range. It's been too long since she's written anything worth sharing.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Everything."

"Isn't that a bit too much of things?"

"Oh, it's just a little over the top Teddy, but I believe I can handle it. This mind is no stranger to overcrowding."

The same tree they used to climb when they were younger is now observing them, representing an eternal and haunting reminder of everything that once was. Jo is frightened. That silent way in which Teddy is looking at her is frightening. He is looking at her in ways she longs for to be different and his eyes have too many freshly discovered stories to tell. She is frightened she won't find those stories to be very pleasant.

"Do you remember that day when I told you how I wanted to run away?"

"How could I not?"

"I need to run away again."

Laurie doesn't need to hear it twice. He jumps over the fence and starts running, his arms widely spread, his tie and jacket long forgotten. It isn't real. Jo knows they will never go anywhere. The sun is setting and the lines of separation are clearing up. The sun is setting and challenges, struggles and complications lie ahead. She knows all of this. Yet, she hikes up her skirts like she's sixteen again and follows the path her boy has chosen for as long as she knows how to. Jo and Teddy run through the endless fields of gold, specks of sunlight meeting their bones. Teddy and Jo, Jo and Teddy, high in the sky for one last time before nightfall.

They keep falling over each other and eventually end up wrestling on the grass, occasional screams and consistent laughter adorning the air around them.

The last song of Meg's shoes. The last symbol Amy will ever paint on Jo's hands. The last wide smile of Beth's. The last understood conversation of birds. The last fellow of the trees. The last arrangement of flowers.

The last.

"Oh, to live in a world where there are childhoods, fields of gold and raging hearts."

"Grab a coat, leave a note and run away with me."

- William Chapman

#louisa may alcott #little women 2019 #little women fanfiction #laurie laurence #jo march #amy march #my writing #beth march #meg march #taylor swift #folklore #evermore #jo × laurie

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whenihaveyouromione · 3 years

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When I Have You - Chapter 10

Read on Fanfiction.net or ao3 if you’d prefer!

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Chapter 10

Ron didn’t pry, but he was pleased to see that his words had made some kind of impact on Harry, because on moving day, Ginny appeared the happiest Ron had seen her in a very long time. It seemed Harry had taken his very vague and inexperienced advice and done something to assure Ginny that she was important to him.

Cheerfully, she offered her assistance in their move.

Ron didn’t have much to bring over. Just his clothes (which, once he had his own money, he was going to replace), and everything he’d had pinned to his wall. It almost felt a bit childish taking all the Chudley Cannons things he’d collected over the years, but he couldn’t allow his mother to toss them out either, which he knew would happen if he didn’t take them. Perhaps it was time he got a new bedspread, but he could at least store the other stuff away somewhere as keepsakes.

He’d just watched the last of his possessions fly into a large cardboard box when Ginny came into his room and sat down on his now bare bed. She looked around at the empty walls, where all of his posters had once been, and smiled. “Ah, so that is the colour of your walls?”

“Ha, ha.”

“Hermione will be disappointed,” Ginny continued. “She actually told me she thought your obsession with the Cannons was endearing; even when I told her you’d had it that way since you were five.”

“Really?” Ron asked, his mind suddenly picturing an even bigger room for more souvenirs. “She likes my room?”

“Yeah,” Ginny said, rolling her eyes. “She loves a lot about you, Chudley-Cannons-obsession included.” She looked at the box on the floor and smiled. “But I’d still think of a new way to decorate.”

“You’re being unnaturally nice,” Ron said, suddenly suspicious. “What do you want?”

“Nothing. I just assume I have you to thank for Harry’s sudden change in attitude.”

Ron flushed. “Er, he told you about that?”. He really didn’t want to engage with Ginny in a conversation about this. It was one thing giving Harry advice; it was a whole other thing to have to talk to his sister about her lovelife. Though, from what she had just told him, it seemed that Hermione and Ginny didn’t seem to have an issue discussing theirs.

“No, but it was such a sudden change, I assumed someone was in his ear, and you were the one I told about my frustrations, so I figured… well, thanks, Ron.”

“Anytime,” Ron mumbled, not meeting her eye. “Someone needed to say it. I don’t want him messing you around.”

“Funny, isn’t it?” Ginny continued, as if she was oblivious to his awkwardness. “You and I, being friends. I mean, you’re my brother and I love you, but it’s almost as if we’re friends now, too.”

“I guess,” Ron said, the thought only just occurring to him that he had, in fact, been spending a lot of time with his sister since the war. “It makes sense, I suppose. I’m friends with Harry, you’re friends with Hermione, I’m with Hermione, you’re… with Harry.” The last part came out in a squeak.

Ginny snorted. “It really makes you uncomfortable, doesn’t it? Me being with Harry?”

“Well, you are my sister,” Ron said, “and he’s my best mate, and… you’re my sister, and it just feels… weird. But I’m alright so long as I don’t hear about the intimate details —”

“Says you, who shares that with Harry!” Ginny scoffed.

“That’s different,” Ron said.

“How?”

“Hermione isn’t his little sister.”

Ginny laughed. “You being my brother doesn’t seem to stop her…”

“What?”

“Nothing.” Ginny stood up from the bed, grinning. Then, catching Ron completely off guard, she hugged him. Ron hugged her back, and he realised that he couldn’t remember the last time he’d even hugged his sister. They must have been really young…

“What was that for?” he asked when she pulled away.

“For standing up for me,” Ginny said. “Even when I don’t need it, even when I resent you for it, even when it’s to your best friend. Thank you.”

“Er, anytime.” Ron picked the box up from the floor, and Ginny followed him down the many flights of stairs until they reached the bottom. Harry was already waiting, with even less stuff than Ron had.

It was a stark reminder for Ron that while Harry may have been famous in the wizarding world, he had grown up with less than Ron had. It had taken Ron a very long time to work it out; that his best friend in the whole world had had a miserable life growing up thanks to his Muggle relatives, and most of the time, Harry had never sought the attention he got.

Ron got that now, and he no longer envied Harry. In fact, he felt sorry for him. Ron wanted nothing less than to ever be in Harry’s shoes.

Harry eyed the box Ron carried in his arms, then smiled. “Plan on decorating the house?” he asked.

“No,” Ron said. “I just don’t want Mum throwing them out. Although,” he looked to Ginny, “apparently Hermione finds it endearing, so you never know.”

Harry snorted and then nodded to the fireplace. “You ready?”

“Yep.”

It felt very odd to be leaving the Burrow, knowing that he’d never be back. Not to be living there, anyway. He’d probably still come over for dinner often, and to visit. This had been the only home he had known, and as small and as crowded as it was, it was still home, and, if he was being honest, always would be. No matter where he lived in the future, he’d always remember the Burrow.

Molly gave them each a hug, wiping her eyes and carrying on like it would be the last time she’d ever see them. She then placed a container of food on top of Ron’s box.

“That’s so you boys don’t go hungry tonight.” She sniffed, gave them both another hug, and finally stepped back to give them access to the fireplace.

“It’s alright, Mum,” Ron said, throwing some Floo powder into it. “We’ll come back to visit often. You’re all good.”

Ron let Harry go first, considering it was his house. Ginny said goodbye to him in a way that forced Ron to look away. She said something about seeing him tomorrow, letting him settle in. Then Harry was gone.

With one last goodbye (to his family and his home), Ron followed and was soon stepping into the much darker room of number twelve, Grimmauld Place.

He looked around, a strange feeling settling upon him, and it wasn’t because this was now his home; Grimmauld Place had always made him feel a little uncomfortable, even when it had been bustling with the Order.

“The Blacks were a miserable sort, weren’t they?” he said to Harry. “We definitely need to brighten this place up a bit if we’re going to be living here.”

Harry smiled and nodded. “Yeah, definitely can’t live here with house-elf heads all through the house. Hermione would have a fit. They’ll be the first to go. Maybe some new furniture, too. Something more…”

“Colourful?” Ron offered, looking down at his box of Chudley Cannons stuff again. “I mean —”

“We’ll go shopping tomorrow,” Harry promised. “For now, let’s just sort out what’s what.”

Ron followed Harry up the creaky staircase, stopping on the landing with the covered portrait of Walburga Black. “I really wish that could go,” he said. “Not sure I fancy coming down for breakfast every morning and having to see her.” He shuddered, still remembering the times she’d screeched for hours at a time when he, Harry and Hermione had stayed there for a brief time on their Horcrux hunt.

“We’ll work on that, too,” Harry said. “Maybe Auror training will teach us some new tricks that we can use.”

“If Moody couldn’t do it, do you think we can?” Ron asked.

Harry shrugged, continuing up the stairs until they reached some of the bedrooms.

“You can have that one,” Ron said, indicating the one Harry had lived in for a bit after the war. “If you want, I mean. I guess we have plenty to choose from.”

“Nah, this will do me,” Harry said. “Which one will you pick?”

Ron contemplated some of the wooden doors. One had belonged to Sirius’ parents, which he flat out refused to even consider. Another was the one he’d stayed in just the other year. “That one, I guess.”

Harry nodded.

Ron pushed open the door to the room slightly down the hall and opposite Harry’s room. It was just as he had left it before; cold, dark and rather gloomy. At least this time he had the means to change it.

He set the box down and turned to Harry. “Are we crazy for living here?” he asked. “It’s not the best place in the world…”

“It’s the only other home I know,” Harry said. “It’ll be alright for a while, won’t it?”

Ron nodded. “Yeah, I guess. It’s huge for the two of us, though.”

“Would have been even bigger with just me.” And Ron saw the grateful smile Harry gave him. It warmed Ron; he was welcome here.

“So,” Ron began, “what should we do on our first night here?”

…

The answer to that question was to have a quiet night in. That evening, around dinner time, Ron fetched the food his mother had given them, and they sat in the large kitchen at the end of the table to eat it. It wasn’t much, but it was more than what either of them could have cooked for themselves.

“So, maybe shopping for food is the first step tomorrow?” Ron asked as he sent his empty plate flying to the sink. “Where is Kreacher, anyway?”

“I… dismissed him,” Harry said. “When I first came back. He wasn’t too pleased about it, but he’s free now. Who knows where he’s gone, but I’m sure if we ever need him, he’ll be glad to come back to the house of his old master.”

“Right, so I guess we’ll be doing our own dishes then?” Ron said, and Harry smirked.

“Don’t let Hermione hear you saying that,” he said.

“Don’t plan on it,” Ron said, yawning. To his surprise, he realised that that was the first time since that morning that he’d thought about Hermione. In the hours leading up to dinner, he and Harry had attempted to brighten up the place, but to no avail. “I hope she’s alright,” he added after a moment.

“Percy said she was fine, didn’t he?” Harry asked. “That it was all going to plan?”

Ron nodded. “Yeah, but I’d love to hear from her personally, you know? I guess it takes a while for an owl to get here from Australia.”

“I guess…” Harry looked around the empty kitchen, frowning. “Hey, you don’t fancy a Butterbeer, do you?”

“Sure,” Ron said. “You got any?”

“No,” Harry said, “but I can get some. Why don’t we really celebrate our first night as housemates?”

“By getting drunk?” Ron asked.

“No, by, just… celebrating?”

Ron grinned. “Sounds like a plan, mate. Listen, you get them this time, and once we start getting paid for the training, I’ll do the next one.” Once again, he felt a thrill rush through him over the thought of making his own money. There were so many things he wanted to do with it that he doubted he’d be able to do it all on the first go.

“Agreed,” Harry said and he clambered from his seat. “Won’t be too long,” and he vanished down the hall, where Ron heard the whoosh of Harry disappearing via the fireplace.

The house immediately became quieter the moment Harry was gone. Ron got up from his own chair and wandered back down the hall and to the stairs. He contemplated writing to Hermione while Harry was out and letting her know that he wasn’t at the Burrow anymore. But then he decided against it. She had far more important things to worry about than him telling her that he’d moved house. He’d mention it in a reply whenever he received an update from her.

Instead, he moved into the living area, which — like the rest of the house — was dark and bland. Sirius had hated this place growing up and as an adult, and Ron had never been a fan of it. It held a lot of memories for him, good and bad, and he hoped that eventually he’d be able to erase the bad ones entirely.

He moved into the drawing room and sat down on the sofa, smiling slightly to himself. Here had been a good memory for him. It hadn’t been that long ago, though it felt like a lifetime. It was the first night here after escaping the wedding, and they’d all been terrified of being discovered after the attack in Muggle London.

Ron remembered how he’d insisted he sleep on the floor and let Hermione sleep on the cushions. It seemed silly now, considering all that had happened, but it had felt right at the time. He’d been so desperate to prove himself to her despite having just fled an attack on theirs — and everyone else’s — lives. In fact, it had seemed even more important in that moment to give her some sign about how he felt. How many more days would they have together?

And it had kind of worked, too, for not long after Harry had fallen asleep she’d shifted on the cushions, her head turning slightly to face him. She’d been so close in that moment, and even with his own fear for his family, his father’s Patronus the only word that they were safe, her presence soothed him.

“I’m scared,” she whispered.

Those two words put everything else aside then, and he reached for her hand and squeezed it.

“Me too,” was all he said.

He had expected her to let go after that, but she didn’t, and he had absolutely no intention of letting go if she didn’t want to. They’d fallen asleep like that, and it had been the calmest he had felt in a very long time.

In the present, he sat there for a long while, until Harry returned carrying some bottles of Butterbeer and one large bottle of Firewhisky. He held them up. “All ready to go!” he said.

The remainder of the evening was great, Ron thought. They chatted, mostly about Quidditch and what would happen once the new season started. Ron, as usual, had higher expectations for the Cannons than he should have, while Harry said if it was possible, he’d really like to attend a game or two. His only experience in watching the professionals was in the World Cup, which had been years ago now.

“I hear Oliver Wood is actually getting a chance to play this year,” Ron said. “So the Prophet says, anyway.”

They both smiled at that, and as amusing as it was, Harry and Ron agreed that they were genuinely pleased for the old Gryffindor captain.

“Though, I’ll be honest, it would be a sweet victory if the Cannons beat Puddlemere,” Ron said.

As the evening wore on, and the Butterbeer bottles slowly emptied, Ron found himself contemplating what life was going to be like in the coming months. The day after next he’d be all consumed with training, but what would happen after that? Once training was complete? Would he become a real Auror? Someone who could go on missions, catch Dark wizards?

And what of his life with Hermione? She wanted to finish school, and he had no doubt that once she got her one hundred NEWTs or whatever exceptional result she was capable of, she’d be highly sought after in whatever career she chose to pursue. But then what?

“You alright there?” Harry asked, snapping Ron from his thoughts.

“Hm?”

“You looked as if you were lost in thought,” Harry said. “And you had a stupid grin on your face.”

“Oh, right.” Ron felt his ears burning. “I was just thinking.” He wasn’t sure Harry would appreciate him talking about how he just simply could not imagine a future that didn’t involve Hermione in it anymore, so to change the topic, he said, “This’ll be great, won’t it?”

“What will?” Harry asked.

“The two of us living together?”

“Yeah,” Harry said with a small smile. “I think it’ll be fantastic.”

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austennerdita2533 · 4 years

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A/N: Just a Literati trifle in celebration of GG’s 20th Anniversary Week. I still have another chapter or two to write but I wanted to get this out before the event officially ended. (Canon compliant + OS + divergences)

Also here: (AO3)

Enjoy!

xx Ashlee Bree

An Archive of Words Between Us

One day, many weeks into it but still no closer to clarity about what it is between them, Rory does what she does best: she makes a list.

Marked at the beginning, from when she and Jess first met, she soon starts to add to it with frightening regularity. A new entry comes any time there’s news, insight, questions, or growing confusion to report. She writes it all down. Out. She compiles everything in a beat-up old notebook she’s taken to carrying around.

Over the years that follow it becomes a confessional of sorts for her, a still developing story. She reaches for a pen whenever the mood strikes, and writes…then writes some more…

Committing to paper all the things they’ve said to each other over the course of their history, as well as many of the things they didn’t.

- i. things we said when we were strangers -

“Hey, Dodger, wait a minute,” she calls out before he disappears behind the gazebo. “Is this a gimmick of yours? Do you always write margin notes in the books you steal from strangers?”

Jess stops. Casts a cursory glance over his shoulder before turning back around with hands in his hoodie pocket.

“Depends, I guess.”

“On?”

“Does it matter?”

Rory shrugs.“You could be a literature-defacing miscreant on the lam for all I know. Your face might be tacked to Wanted posters all over New York City. I’ve got to edge my bets, protect my assets.”

“What,” he says, “you aiming to sentence me without a trial or something?”

“Thinking about it.”

“Wow. I can’t believe you’re going to bust out the cuffs already, Judge Judy,” he chuckles, raising his hands in supplication before rocking backwards on his heels like he’s been shot. “That’s not very neighborly.”

“Sounds like there’s evidence to be had if I dig a bit.” A pause. A teasing quirk of an eyebrow. “Is there?” she asks.

Though he stays silent at this, a spark of something catches deep in his dark eyes as their gazes meet, and Rory's stomach flips.

“Well?”

“You tell me,” he says, all smooth and inscrutable and James Dean cool as hell.

“I’m no Agent Scully at the FBI, but the truth is out there. Don’t think I won’t uncover it,” Rory replies, her wit flowing strong and sure. “If I think it’s warranted I could hire Kirk to lay chase for a while…he likes detecting. Takes payment in Skittles, too. Boxes of which I will have no trouble acquiring, I assure you.”

“Who the hell’s Kirk?”

“Let me worry about that,” she beams back at him coyly, bouncing the book he’d pilfered earlier against her hip.

“Save your Skittles, concerned citizen. I’m clean.”

“Oh, yeah? And why should I believe you when I hold proof to the contrary?”

“Because—” Ambling backwards in the middle of the street, a crooked smirk forms along the corner of Jess’s mouth as he gives her one last idle loll of his shoulder. “I only leave notes for people who might appreciate them. Start with the one on page three, by the way,” he adds with a farewell salute. “It’s a doozy.”

Curiosity piqued, Rory ignores the warmth in her chest as she watches him turn to leave a second time. Instead, she buries her nose in the margins of Howl and peruses. Losing herself in his tiny blocked script the whole walk home.

- ii. things we said because we were lying to ourselves -

Pacifying the town's fears about their friendship isn’t easy.

Especially not after Jess outbids her boyfriend at the basket-bidding festival to win an afternoon of her company. Or the night he shows up on her doorstep unannounced, bearing food and intellectual discussion after she swears to everybody else she wanted to spend the evening alone. Or when he wrecks her car on their way back from a spontaneous hunt for ice cream cones.

Then there’s the time she misses Lorelai’s graduation because she’s stuck on a bus next to some scruffy-looking creep who spits chew into a soda can while he mumbles the names of state capitals under his breath in an Appalachian-sounding litany, Rory having skipped town impulsively to visit Jess in the Big Apple after Luke had sent him packing because of an accident that had no real bearing or blame. At least not unless it was half hers to share in, too, in any case.

She expends a lot of energy defending what they are to people. Clarifying what they’re not.

Pretty soon a truncated version of the truth skips from her mouth like a message she’s spent months concocting, memorizing, and then recording, with her smart enough not to speak it aloud until it sounds convincing. And it does. She makes sure of it.

Tensions abate after that, for a time. Mostly because of the distance.

Mom and Dean, in particular, seem to breathe easier with so much of it stretched between them. They’re much happier once Jess is no longer there to lurk around Luke’s, or clog the aisles of Doose’s, or stake out chalkperson outlines on the sidewalks of town where he can draw her closer to him. Too close for comfort, as far as anyone else is concerned. Even if his only aim in doing so had been to imbibe her in intellectual conversation.

Rory finds it funny how his absence from Stars Hollow makes it both easier and harder for her to placate everyone’s misgivings. The words may be simple to say, but the meaning behind them feels deflated. Half-bodied at best.

Like calculus, it causes her headaches. Forces her to work twice as hard to make everyone believe she doesn’t care that he’s gone and likely never coming back again. That the vacant space he’s left behind doesn’t sting whenever her gaze passes over it, remembering.

Exhausting though it is, however, she does her best. She makes the effort.

She starts by dolling out extra attention and assurances to Dean about her commitment to him. To their relationship. Then she pivots around mention of Jess’s existence to her mom because she knows she doesn’t approve of him let alone agree about any of his good qualities. With Lane, she focuses on school and Mrs. Kim and music they can add to her floorboard collection. And in front of Luke, so as not to burden him with more disappointment, she acts as if nothing is different. Pretends that nothing much has changed.

Omission quickly becomes a habit for Rory. A way of life.

Only once does exposure threaten to spoil everything when her mom confronts her openly one afternoon about a placeholder that’s slipped out of her copy of For Whom The Bell Tolls.

“It’s nothing,” Rory says as she makes a quick grab for it in the kitchen and blushes.

“Really? Because nothing to me looks a hell of lot like a paper plate fragment. One that’s smudged in pizza grease and blue scribbles.” Laughing, completely unaware of her daughter’s wide-eyed discomfort and humiliation, Lorelai hands it back to her without inspecting it closely. “I’m surprised by your choice is all. Messy and makeshift isn’t your typical bookmark M.O., hun.”

“Yeah, well, that’s what happens when Paris accosts you at the break bell. You drop things. People jump, drinks spill. Beloved bookmarks go soaring…”

“Ah. I take it she was yelling in dog decibels again?”

“More like she put out an APB on all aliens living a few hundred million lightyears away and then gave them exact shouting coordinates for where to find her. So same difference, really.”

Her mom snorts. Passes over the ranch dressing.

“She’s a pill, that one. I’m telling you Pink wrote that song with her in mind.” Shaking her head, Lorelai closes the fridge behind her as she bites into another French fry. “So how’d you come by the plate?” she asks, her mouth full.

“It was spontaneous. I was running late so I nicked it from the cafeteria on my way out,” Rory lies, knowing full well Chilton never dispenses paper or plastic dishes for dining.

“Oh.” Her mom considers this. “Well, I suppose there were times even Madeleine Albright couldn’t find anything better to use in a pinch. That was very…replateful of you.”

“What can I say,” she exhales with relief, feigning amusement as her fib is accepted with alacrity, “the Forks was with me.”

“Only the Forks? Don’t tell me you’re leaving out the spoons and the knives. How could you?” says Lorelai, aghast, as she scoops stray kitchen utensils to press them against her chest in a bodily cuddle. “It’s cutlery discrimination!”

“No, it’s punning.”

“Says who?”

“Me.” A pause. A nibble of pizza. “Also, Shakespeare would agree.”

“Psssh, Shakespeare! That old killjoy,” her mom says dismissively, rolling her eyes in good humor as she tucks a box of strawberry Pop Tarts under her armpit and motions toward the living room. “What’s that you have written on the inside there, anyway? French? Calculus? Rolling Stone lyrics? A blueprint for the evil plan you’ve hatched to shoot Grandma to the moon? I’m dying to know.”

Waving her off, Rory tucks the shard back into the spine of her book where it belongs. Hiding it from view. “It’s for school,” she assures her as they settle onto the sofa.

“So tell me about it. I don’t care if it’s boring.”

“Pass.”

“Come on! I could use a good Chilton-instigated snooze.”

“Too bad. No beauty naps for you.”

Lorelai pouts, fake affronted. “Rude!”

(Turns out that ‘shard,’ that ‘thing for school’ which is stuck between the pages of Rory’s Hemingway, isn’t boring at all. In fact, it has a history. A story. The truth is it’s a souvenir she’s saved ever since she and Jess talked books over pizza at Antonioli’s on basket-bidding day.

Toward the end of the meal he’d ripped off a piece of plate so he could jot down his phone number and a quote. Only sliding it into her hand, folded in half, crinkled up like a note passed between desks at school, in the moments before they parted ways and headed home.

It’s stupid she’s kept it. She realizes that now. Stupider still to slip it between the pages of each new book she reads or unfurl it in the privacy of her bedroom to puzzle out if the line he’d included from A Moveable Feast is meant to have double meaning:

“We ate well and cheaply and drank well and cheaply and slept well and warm together and [liked] each other,” it reads.

Stupidest of all, she can’t seem to bring herself to stop looking at it. To throw the darn thing away. A note…a number…a greasy sliver of paper plate!)

“Like I said, Mom,” Rory swallows before smiling over at her convincingly, “it’s nothing. Really.”

- iii. things we said on the verge (of something) -

In early June, Sookie’s wedding day arrives.

Things are static again. Serene. Normal.

Granted, slight changes do sprinkle into the mix here and there because of her dad’s presence, because Dean holds her a little tighter around the waist now than he once did, but mostly it’s the same here as it’s always been. Pleasant people fade into gossip and nonsense while fun blurs into peculiarity.

Life feels simple once more. A tad plain and colorless, maybe, but simple.

Then Jess returns to town on a whim or a fluke or a who the devil knows what he’s thinking and everything goes sideways, pear-shaped, belly-up-and-down in seconds because this is the last thing she’d been been expecting and suddenly the only thing that registers is the length of the grass plus the number of steps it will take to close the distance between them. All that matters is he’s here, he’s back, he’s near enough to touch, and she’s smiling so hard she can hardly breathe as she drinks him in from head to foot like a glutton: her pulse leaping, her heart lurching free from the cage of her chest.

The whole world tilts. Collapses. The pale yellow of the sun shines down like a spotlight so it’s only a rippling alcove she sees. Just him, just her. Just them canopied beneath these flittering fronds of green.

Any rational thought Rory possesses scatters across the wind with the pollen. And then before she knows it, the ground tilts out like a ramp underfoot.

It pushes her forward. Outward. Sliding her toward him until she’s thrust and tangled in his arms with no memory at all of how she got there, or why their mouths feel so hot and wanton like this, so damn unsatisfied. It all seems impossible considering they’re still pressed together in a kiss that can only be described in one way: illicit.

“Not a word,” Rory pants when they stop and Jess pulls back, his jaw taut, his expression shuttered, to nod once understanding.

“Okay,” he says.

“Promise me.” The huskiness of her voice feels at odds with this demand, with the trembling fist she still has curled in the lapel of his jacket, but she cannot think about her stinging mouth or his tongue right now so she clings to desperation instead. “Can you do that?”

“Okay,” he repeats, all eyes, eyes, eyes. And with that single look, she forgets to breathe let alone digest anything he’s promised.

In the end, it’s an impulse that overtakes them not a decision. It’s a moment of clandestine passion they share, not a confession that will alter the circumstances any.

And yet it’s guilt, not regret, that begins to pull like an anchor in her belly until she’s running in shoes that chafe the back of her heels. It’s terror and confusion, not apology, that ripples along her nerve endings until she’s dashing through the trees like a coward or a swindler because she needs to believe behind her there’s still a haven of black and white she can cross with both feet.

Only when Rory stops does she feel the change. Does she discern the difference. It takes one sting, one breathless stitch in her side, for her to know she’s tumbled forward into color without noticing.

Looking down, and there it is. His name already singed across her chest in scarlet letters.

- iv. things we whispered on the hood of your car -

“Tell me something no else knows.”

“About what?” he asks around midnight the following April, the two of them sprawled on the hood of his car at a deserted rest stop off the I-95 on their way back from a concert in the city.

“You, silly.”

“Funny you’re thinking about penning my biography already, Churchill. I’m honored, truly, but aren’t I too young for that sort of enumeration?”

With a roll of her eyes plus a protracted har-har, Rory lifts their intertwined hands, watching, mesmerized, as their fingers thread then unthread as they lay side-by-side parked beneath the Big Dipper in this forsaken parking lot. Though they’ve been together about six months now, prying Jess open has been slow work. It’s like taking a crowbar to cement: one chip, one crack, one crumble at a time.

“Stop deflecting, Mariano,” she warns. “Evasion’s for chumps.”

“Fine,” he sighs. She presses a kiss of reward against his knuckles before curling tighter into his side. “How about this: every year roughly sixteen hundred people in New York City are bitten by other humans.”

“Bitten?”

“Yep.”

“Why?”

“That’s just it,” he says in his best horror story voice, “could be vampires, could be cranky commuters, could be urban mania or road rage…nobody knows.”

“Oh, please. As if I’d let you off the hook with that obvious dodge. You’re killin’ me here, Smalls!” Rory says with an elbow rib and tsk. “Second of all, you so made that biting thing up.”

When she edges her head back onto his shoulder to look at him, Jess drags his pointer finger down her forehead before bopping her affectionately on the nose, his expression neutral.

“Didn’t you?” He shrugs in that cute off-the-cuff way of his then smirks into her hairline. “That’s unbelievable!”

“It is what it is.”

“So, what,” she says as she throws her leg over his hip to lug him closer, her arm already stretched out across his middle, “is there a case of zombiepox going around that the CDC has neglected to inform us about? Because I’ve got to tell you if that’s so then I’ll need an inoculation ASAP, mister! Frazzled, bloodshot, and half-rotted is not a good look for me. It just isn’t.”

“Oh, I know.”

“Hey!” she exclaims.

“No offense, critter of Frankenstein,” he chuckles, absorbing her retaliatory swat with a grunt and rolling her further on top of him, “but I’ve seen you pre-coffee. It isn’t pretty. We’re talkin’ bolts out your neck, monster glares, frothing purple mouth and everything.”

“Yeah, yeah. Keep up your running tally and you might find I bite you next. Rory the Ripper does have a nice alliterative ring to it—you best remember that,” she warns all narrowed eyes and silky breath and arms folded under her chin.

Jess cocks his left eyebrow, brushes his thumb over her bottom lip. “Idle threats don’t scare me, Gilmore.”

“They should.”

“Maybe.” A lazy grin forms at the edges of his mouth. “But yours don’t.”

“Fine,” she blows out a breath. With her head resting in the center of his chest, Rory fixes him with one long steady look, her voice dropping an octave lower as it drains free of sarcasm to assume a more serious edge. “Name one thing that does then. That scares you, I mean,” she says.

He doesn’t answer right away. In fact, he fidgets so long beneath her that by the time he settles with his hands clasped behind his head, lost in thought and translation, peering up at the sky, she’s half convinced that silence or deflection is the best she can hope to expect from him in reply.

Reticence is a quality she’s come to recognize in Jess. It’s one she can reflect back at him in part because they’re both cut from the same quiet, introspective cloth. However, it’s also one that restricts her access to his thoughts and feelings when she most wants it, and that can take a toll. Makes her wonder if they’re parked at different weigh stations in this relationship or not.

It’s bizarre to reconcile how she can understand him so well in some contexts, to the point where she can predict his next reaction or sense a good joke hanging in the periphery that's about to descend; while in others, he’s a total head-scratcher. Like a Sudoku puzzle with numbers that don’t add up to anything.

The silence between them continues to stretch. It becomes an awkward, formless wall.

The stillness, too, which is illuminated only by the light of the moon and the faint din of the car radio, hangs between them until he draws her up his body and folds her over him with a green plaid blanket. His fingers tracing languid strokes up and down her spine.

“Swans,” he says at last, his tone subdued. Scratchy. “Swans scare me.”

“What else?”

“Tennis balls. They’re too small and fast as they zip past. I hate how they can leave imprints on your face like ugly yellow snitches.”

“Okay then. Weird but fair. What else?” Rory asks all warmth and eagerness, her eyes searching his for something he wouldn’t want to slip free.

“Pennywise.” Though she snickers at that, it’s a valid fear. Clowns unsettle her, too. Evil ones especially. She’d had nightmares for eight months after she’d read Stephen King’s It for the first time, and had taken to sleeping with the bedside lamp on for years.

“Anything more?” she asks.

“Cricket bats.”

“Ooh-ho!” Poking him, “So Mrs. Kim got to you, did she?”

“Listen, I tried to be cool and unaffected but who knows what would’ve become of my head if she’d taken a swing with that thing?” Jess shudders at the same time she imagines Humpty Dumpty and laughs. “Jeez.”

“Things would’ve gotten messy,” she adds honestly.

He stalls a moment, then blinks back at her all wariness to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “How messy are we talking here?”

Rory cocks her head and bites the corner of her mouth, musing. “Think pumpkins.”

“Smashed ones?”

“Yep.”

“Figures,” he mutters miserably.

With an encouraging pat, “Don’t worry, I would’ve stepped in before Mrs. Kim buried your handsome yet indignant face beneath the floorboards or behind a brick wall in the catacombs with Fortunato. It’s the least I could do since I sort of like you and all.”

“Sort of?” Jess asks.

“Yeah. I’m no unreliable narrator girlfriend who'd escort you to your doom, you see. I’d much prefer to keep you,” she says with an adoring grasp and swivel of his chin, which he deflects by tickling her breathless as she bends down over him.

“Gee thanks, Casper. Nice to know you care about me.”

“Not about you exactly,” she teases, her flip-floppy giggles still piercing the air. “Just your head.”

That stops him. “My head, huh?”

“Sure.” Still a little breathless, she reaches toward him to fist her fingers through thick black tendrils along his nape. “It’s pretty.” She gives the strands a little tug. “Full of thoughts I’m hoping to pilfer for further study.”

“You know, I always thought there was some hoodlum in your DNA. Now I’m convinced,” he says as he leans over to commence the tickling again. “And you will pay."

The two of them continue to roll then thump against his windshield all elbows and knees until the levity starts to leaden and transform. As Jess reaches over to cup her cheek, their gazes meet in the silvery darkness and hold, kindling like flint.

Quiet washes over them again for a moment. Only this time, it’s bloated; it’s heavy. It’s a mess of a hundred thousand decipherable something’s teetering on the precipice of expression.

A flicker of alarm passes over his features as he frames her face with his hands, palms flat against the car. He hovers aloft, unsure. Indecision mixes with fear to tangle with retreat even as gravity beckons him nearer, his head dropping low enough for their foreheads to touch.

“I sort of like you, too, you know,” Jess breathes softly, his lips lowering to press against her mouth in a quick but lingering kiss. “A lot.” His jaw clenches. “Maybe too much.”

Suddenly there’s a tightrope pulled taut and vibrating in every direction because there’s no shrinking back from the dense electricity pulsating between them. There’s no more room to dance around unnamed emotion whenever it identifies itself in blown pupils, in a bobbing Adam’s apple, in hands that slip and slide until they fit together like aligning planets.

In that instant Rory knows. She knows right then and there she’s falling in love with him, that she’s half fallen already. And it’s both a revelation and a fact so natural she can feel the truth of it whistling from deep in her bones.

Looking nervous, vulnerable, more fragile than she’s ever seen him, he swallows hard then shifts to squint out at the shadowy tree line while scratching at his nape. “It’s just…so many people have treated me like garbage that all I know how to do is spoil things. I destroy, Rory—ruin what’s good. It’s what I do best. It’s all I know. I’m trying here and all, but I…don’t know how to do this,” he says, gesturing lamely between them. “How to do us right.”

“Hey now,” she thumbs his cheek, tries to turn his head back toward her but it won’t budge, and neither will he. “That’s my boyfriend you’re talking about. Go easy on him, will you?” He nods into her palm, softening a little. The tension leaves his body as he gathers her in his arms again, her head conforming to the crook of his neck, but she’s not convinced all is well yet.

“There’s no rulebook or anything,” Rory says placatingly. “We’ll figure it out together, okay? You and me.”

“Yeah.”

“We will,” she says with an emphatic, assuring squeeze. “I know we will.”

With a caustic laugh, a heavy sigh, he runs his teeth over his lip, “I’m a screw up, Rory.”

“Hey. Not true.”

“I am.” Jess sounds so resigned, so convinced, it ties her into knots thinking he sees himself that way.

“Not to me, you’re not.”

“No,” he says with a deadened inflection, with a sad downturn of his mouth. “Not to you.”

Frowning, she feels his cynicism, his self-deprecation, descend like a slash across the gut. Helpless to do anything but try to be a soft place for him and his insecurities to land, she pulls him toward her, embracing him, quieting him, caring for him more with each passing second even though a warning gong goes off in her heart when she leans in to steal another kiss.

“Maybe I’m not a screw up to you yet,” he whispers, “but I could be at another time. On another day.”

“Stop,” Rory declares forcefully, holding her finger against his lips so he knows she means it.

Jess relents. “Okay,” he sighs. “Just know I’ll get it if you change your mind.”

- v. things we cried out at a crossroads -

Strained.

Silent.

Distant.

Those are the best adjectives to describe the status of her and Jess’s relationship as the bus pulls away from the curb a couple weeks later. After the party from hell. From her place on the sidewalk, her chest full of a heaviness she can’t name, Rory stares after it - after him - with little to no regard for the hour’s lateness or for the morning bell which signals the start of homeroom.

It’s the middle of May. That means finals, graduation, and summer loom on the periphery but she doesn’t care. None of it resonates. In the background she can hear Paris barking orders at a few trembling freshman and minted sophomores, but she does nothing to intervene. She makes no move to prevent her frenemy’s yellow journalistic splatter from crushing the innocents to smithereens.

Instead, she watches the hum and bump of the vehicle’s dusty rubber wheels as they roll down the street. She tracks the plume of smoke swirling from the exhaust pipe into the sky, which clouds over with blacks and grays instead of with clearing blues and radiant yellows. She waits until the bus turns left, its engine loud, roaring, to putt around the corner. Disappearing from view.

I hope he calls later, she thinks with a pang, with an iota of hope. We need to talk soon.

Rory’s eyes want to keep traveling with him long after he’s gone. So do her feet. They seek to follow along wherever Jess has gone, to ride beside him until they’re able to make sense of this mess between them and fix it. Fix them again.

Unfortunately for them both, they don’t. And it’ll be some time before they can, let alone before they do.

#gilmore girls #gilmore girls fanfiction #literati #literati fanfiction #ggturns20 #gganniversaryweek #ashlee bree's writing endeavors #it needs editing #but hopefully it's not as awful as i'm imagining it to be #*bites knuckles and hides*

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