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astroph1les · 7 months

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all in a day’s work [h.c]

summary: being spider-woman is going pretty well for hazel. that is until you notice these cuts and bruises appearing on her skin. she’s just a little clumsy, though, right?

pairing: hazel callahan x fem!reader

contains: mature language and content, shower sex (very little detail), spider!hazel, mentions of hazel’s transformation since becoming spider-woman, slight violence, cannabis mention, mentions of the avengers events, josie is hazel’s guy in the chair.

word count: 4.4K

a/n: it’s here. i’m beyond excited for you guys to read this short series. it’s going to be a four parter, uploading each part every week for the month of october. thank you and enjoy <3

one | two | three | four

Hazel hated criminals.

The ones who stole purses from innocent old ladies who were just trying to buy groceries. The ones who harass and assault women for rejecting them. Or in this special Brooklyn norm, a guy who had hotwired a BMW who was now involved in a high speed chase with four cop cars and a special hero following him.

Normally, she would be more than pleased to arrive at the scene. On any other day, she wouldn’t have promised to meet her girlfriend — sweet and patient you — at the bodega that your uncle owned. But some dumbass just had to hotwire a car when she had to meet you in an hour.

Hazel swung in between buildings, following the sirens of the police cars and the map inside of her mask, her eyes darting from car to car to find the one that was described. A dark purple BMW speeding down Tillary Street, turning down Gold Street. Once she had spotted the vehicle, she launched herself faster in the vicinity before landing on a U-Haul truck that was a few cars behind the BMW.

This guy was swerving and weaving through cars like a maniac as Brooklyn’s finest were hot on his trail. Hazel shook her hands out as a nerve-releaser, her gloved hands stretching in and out. She then sprinted across the top of the truck before launching a web at a tall building to maneuver her way onto the back of the BMW.

The breeze felt nice, though, after swinging around for so long. Her hands were gripping onto the sides of the vehicle to keep her balance.

“Excuse me, sir!” She tapped on the back window, waving a hand to get his attention.

The man’s eyes flickered to his rear-view mirror, eyes visibly widening at the sight of Spider-Woman hanging from the back of the stolen car. His response was to step on the gas. Hazel groaned as her lower stomach thumped onto the trunk, but quickly regained her posture as she hoisted herself onto her feet.

“Incoming text from honey with the white heart emoji and bee emoji,” Karen told Hazel, her Siri-like voice echoing in her ears. “Are we still on for sandwiches, babe? Semi-colon. Parenthesis.”

Hazel smiled at the message from you as she crawled to the top of the vehicle, mentally pumping her fist at the sight of the sunroof. The man had left it wide open. So he was an idiot in many ways. Hazel slipped in quickly, her bottom landing in the backseat. She’d tell Karen to reply as soon as she finishes with this nuisance.

“C’mon, dude, high-speed chase? What? Was stealing an old lady’s purse too cliche?” Hazel quipped with a cheeky attitude.

The man didn’t say a word but instead attempted to throw a punch in the backseat, letting out grunts of annoyance. Hazel blocked every swing with a sigh, wondering why the hell he was even trying.

“You know, you’d punch way better if you weren’t driving, sir.”

As the man continued to speed between cars, Hazel stares up ahead to see an empty alleyway in an upcoming street. She needed to get him off of the street so that innocent people wouldn’t be in the way of danger.

Hazel shoots a web at the man's eyes. He grunts at the sticky feeling and temporary blindness, releasing the wheel entirely. Hazel reaches over from the backseat, hands gripping onto the wheel to turn sharply into the deserted alley. She mutters a string of curses as the side of the car scrapes against the brick building.

She’ll tell Mr. Stark about billing that to the owner later.

Cars honked and came to a sudden halt at her illegal moves but the car was now in the alley, away from the public. She releases the wheel to quickly crawl out of the open sun-roof. Mid-way out, she feels the glass begin to close on her torso.

Hazel groans out at the squeezing pressure and looks down into the car to see that the man had hit the sunroof button on the roof of the interior. One of his hands gripped onto her spandex covered calf, trying to tug her back down.

“I have a girlfriend, dude. Let go,” Hazel grunted, wriggling in his grasp.

Hazel threw her foot back into his chest and jaw before jumping up and out of the car. She landed on a metal fire escape balcony. From that distance, she shot multiple webs at the end of the alleyway, creating a makeshift trap for the car to run into. Her wrists were beginning to ache but she kept her movements flowing, releasing the web as he was reaching the end. The car hit the large web with a loud thump but had stopped, which is what Hazel was aiming for.

The thief had stepped out of the car and began to book it.

“Karen, send a text back to honey reading,” Hazel stood on the fire escape and walked on the side of the building as she aimed a web at the man. The substance wrapped around his legs causing him to trip and hit the ground. “Of course. See you soon. With two x’s and o’s.”

“I am sending the text to honey.” Karen alerted Hazel to her mask.

Hazel swung over to land right next to the criminal's head, tilting her body to the side to grin at his scraped up face. She knew he couldn’t see her shit-eating grin but it brought her some sort of badass feeling. Like an ‘I-just-did-that-shit’ feeling.

“The cops will take care of you so if you’ll excuse me,” she shot her web around his wrist to keep him down and held them behind his back. “I have to see my girl.”

The man grunted loudly to which Hazel responded with a: “Bye, Mr. Criminal!” as she launches herself out of the alley and around the corner of the building.

You were browsing the shelf of snacks and candies in your uncle’s bodega. You had just gotten off your shift at the Build-A-Bear in the mall and you were absolutely starving. The array of chips and gummies made your stomach grumble, sighing as you were waiting patiently for Hazel to arrive.

Her Stark internship had consumed a lot of her time lately. Of course, you were incredibly happy and proud of her to be working under Tony Stark: a billionaire industrialist, inventor, and the Iron-Man.

You didn’t mean to seem clingy, but you missed her when she was gone.

“Bee, here you go.” You hear a voice coming from behind the counter.

There stood your uncle with your turkey club sandwich wrapped — no tomatoes. You let out a groan of relief as you walked up to the counter to take it from him. You reach into your tote to grab a five dollar bill.

“Bee, you’re not paying.” He began to walk around to avoid you giving him cash.

“Uncle Karter, take it now. I’ll hop over this counter and shove into the register,” your threat was playful, but you meant every word.

“You’re hungry so I’m giving you food. It’s just like having lunch at home.” Your uncle insisted as he pointed at you, resting his arms on the glass display of the different kinds of sandwiches and deli meat he had to offer.

You sigh, giving him a wary look. Yes, he was your uncle, but you felt guilty just being handed sandwiches that you could easily pay for. You have a job. Your uncle wouldn’t let you pay, though, so you reluctantly slip the dollar bill into your bag.

“Thank you,” you give him a small smile before taking a bite of the fresh sandwich.

“It’s nothing, kiddo.” The man shakes his head as his eyes flicker behind him at the front door. The bell rings and he jerks his head to whoever was walking in. “Your little girlfriend is here.”

You whip your head around mid-bite to see Hazel panting as if she had run here with a wide, charming smile. Her hands were holding something behind her back as she approached you happily with her brown broken-in leather backpack over one shoulder, her keys that were clasped onto a loop of her jeans jangling loudly.

“Hey,” she breathes out, her gaze flickering between both of your eyes. Hazel raises her hand to wave at your uncle. “Hi, sir.”

“Hazel, I told you to call me Karter. None of that ‘sir’ shit, dude. I’m 36, not 50.” Your uncle replied teasingly, causing you to chuckle. Hazel nodded, muttering a ‘right’. Her eyes locked with yours as your uncle began to attend to the other customers.

“How was it today?” You tilt your head as you take another bite of your sandwich.

Hazel shrugged her shoulders, scoffing out. “Boring science shit but it was good. New scientist named Dr. Connors that Mr. Stark introduced me to.”

You deadpan at her, nodding your head. Sure, the subject wasn’t your favorite but you always wanted to hear about Hazel’s day. You brushed off the short response as you swallow that bite of your sandwich.

“Okay, well, that’s good. What are you hiding?” You try to peer over her shoulder but she only leans to the same side as you.

“Grabbed something for you on the way here.” Hazel beams as she pulls out the present from behind her back.

It was a small bouquet of an array of flowers for this time of the year. It was fall in New York, so the array of white roses and yellow sunflowers brightened up your mood. Forest Hills blossomed during the chilly season; a beautiful orange hue washed over the neighborhood in Queens as the decaying leaves fell from the tree branches.

Your eyes softened at the simple yet sweet gesture. Hazel grinned awkwardly, hoping you loved them.

Ever since you two had started dating half a year ago, Hazel has always felt like she had to be the best girlfriend she could. You were her first girlfriend and she was absolutely crazy about you, as you were about her.

Other people haven’t been the kindest to you and she knew that. Lying and cheating were a main factor as you’ve told her.

The guilt ached in her chest everyday having to lie to you about being Spider-Woman. You were her entire world. Tony insisted it was for the best if she didn’t want anything to happen to you.

“You are too sweet, I swear. Thank you, baby,” you lean in close to kiss her lips quickly and take the bouquet in your free hand.

Hazel flushed so easily, making your smile widen. It was a good feeling to see after so many months that she still got flustered when you kissed her.

“It’s nothing. You deserve it.” Hazel replied as if it was something you should know.

You don’t respond to that, only blushing like Hazel was moments ago. You sniff the soft flowery scent for a moment before taking another bite of your sandwich.

“You wanna head to mine?” You offer with a flirty smile.

“Uh, yeah, sure.” Hazel nodded, eyes warily darting to your uncle who was occupied with his line of customers that appeared out of the blue.

“He’ll be here for hours. C’mon,” you loop your arm around hers. “Bye, Uncle Karter. See you later.”

Your uncle simply waves his hand mid-conversation with the middle aged woman in front of him. Hazel leaned into your touch for a second before letting herself get dragged out of the bodega by you.

A fresh autumn breeze brushed against her, hitting her pale skin. You leaned your head on her shoulder as you talked about all the adorable children that had come into the Build-A-Bear.

Hazel loved these small moments with you. Well, she loved every moment but little things like this clouded her brain when she wasn’t focused on keeping her identity a secret. Watching your eyes light up when you spoke about how happy these children looked when you handed them their bear made her heart grow tenfold.

When the two of you had arrived at you and your uncle's apartment, you reached into your bag to grab the house keys.

“You hungry?” You ask as your sliding the key into the slot.

Hazel shook her head, placing a hand over her stomach. “I’m okay. Thank you, though, honey.”

You place a gentle kiss at her cheek as if to tell her that you asked her questions like that to show that you cared. You frowned, though, as you noticed a bruise and cut on her top lip that you hadn’t really seen before.

Hazel noticed you paused and furrowed her brows.

“What is it?” She whipped her head around to see if there were any potential threats. She was tempted to check her watch that Tony had given her to get Karen to scan the area.

“Babe, did you hit your lip?” You raised a hand to graze over the reddening area.

Hazel’s eyes widened once she realized what you were talking about. Earlier this morning, Hazel had a guy hit the butt of his gun at her face when she had dealt with a smoke shop robbery. She actually got free weed from the guy working the register which she plans to give to PJ.

“Oh, yeah. May was opening a cabinet up top and it hit me straight in the lip. I kind of forgot about it.” Hazel easily lied through her teeth, letting you caress the outline of her lips.

“It doesn’t hurt, right?” You ask her softly, eyes flickering up to her freckled under eyes.

Hazel shook her head with a hum, her smile growing as she admired your worried features. You looked away with a flushed grin as you pushed open the front door. The faint aroma of pumpkin and cinnamon filled Hazel’s nose, warmth filling her chest.

It wasn’t the largest apartment but it was home to you. You and uncle didn’t need much more than this.

“How is May?” You asked as you hung your keys on one of the Smurfs wall mounted key hooks that you had found at a thrift store.

“She’s good. Working at the hospital right now so she’s hoping that‘ll pay well.” Hazel explains as she traces the knick knacks on the shelf’s in the living room.

You can’t help but smile at the thought of Hazel’s Aunt May. She really was one of the kindest women you’ve ever met. May had a tendency to call you her ‘future daughter in law’ in front of Hazel just to tease the girl, watching her cheeks and tips of her ears flush a deep red.

“That’s good. I don’t want her overworking herself, though.” You sigh as you set your bag down next to the arm of the couch.

“Yeah, me neither.” Hazel sighed. “So, what did you wanna do?”

You hum in thought, bringing your single braid from behind your head to over your shoulder. You began to untangle the twisted hair as you thought about what activities you and Hazel could do now that she was free.

A certain idea came to mind.

“Well, I do need to shower so,” you say nonchalantly, hoping Hazel would get the hint.

“Oh, okay. Yeah, I can wait out here. Take your time, honey.” Hazel nodded and went over to take a seat on the couch.

You stared at her grabbing the remote for the TV, turning it on and flicking through the channels. You release your hair to allow it to sit on your shoulders, waiting patiently for Hazel to realize.

“Oh, do you wanna watch Foot Loose when you get out of the shower?” Hazel’s gaze floated back to you.

Her excitement to watch the movie dropped when she noticed you tilting your head and looking at her like that. You had only given her that look when you were insinuating something sensual. Your body was swaying back and forth as your smile grew when she set down the remote.

“Sorry. I didn’t— I thought you meant by yourself.” Hazel rushed out as she turned off the TV, chuckling nervously.

“At first, yeah. But, hey, we’re conserving water if we shower together and you know I’m all about keeping the Earth green.”

Hazel couldn’t help but nod, standing up to walk up to you. “That— yeah. That’s true. Conserving water conserves energy that reduces greenhouse gas pollution.”

Her brain shouldn’t have turned you on as much as it did.

“Yeah? What else does it do?” Your fingers hook onto her belt loops, tugging her closer into your body.

Hazel allowed you to manhandle her as she would truthfully let you do anything to her. She knew how much her ability to retain and cite facts turned you on. It was obvious by how you were drinking her in like you could devour her.

“It can… oh, protect aquatic life and extend water supply to areas that lack and ensure agricultural production to thrive.” Hazel rambled out, her flush growing as your thumbs brushed past her hip bone.

“Oh, those poor sea creatures.” You frown, smacking your lips.

“Don’t you need to shower?” Hazel asked, suddenly overwhelmed with impatience.

Your smile only grew, a giggle falling from your lips. You intertwine your hands with Hazel’s as you hurriedly walk over to your small bathroom. Hazel made sure to remove her watch and set it down on the porcelain sink, not wanting any sort of message from Tony to interrupt her time with you.

You turn to shut the door and turn the lock with a ‘click’. Hazel is caught off guard by you removing your work shirt, blushing at the sight of you in your bra. She felt like such a virgin. She’s seen you naked at this point and still was a flustered mess around you.

“Can’t take a shower with clothes, Haze.” You raised your brows as you were unbuttoning your pants.

“Maybe I can. I can do laundry that way.” Hazel quipped back with a chuckle.

Nonetheless, she began to slip off her sweater. You walk over to her, hooking your fingers underneath the thick fabric to help her. Her sports bra came into view as you tugged the sweater up and off, tossing it onto the blue and white tiled ground.

You both messily kissed, clanking teeth from how rushed your movements were. Soft laughter released from you as you removed the rest of your clothing and underwear, Hazel following by copying your actions.

Hazel hoisted you up with ease by your plush thighs, causing you to let out a yelp at the sudden movement. You lazily kissed her jaw as you held onto her neck, listening to her soft hums as she stepped into the shower. You never understood how all of a sudden, Hazel had this strength and toned body. You’d never seen her hit the gym once since you’ve been together.

Not that you were complaining. Just confused.

“Alright, let me down,” you hum against her skin, “I really do have to shower.”

“I’ll, uh, help.” Hazel offered as she released her grasp from your thighs, carefully watching you step onto the tiled ground.

You simply give her a soft kiss, whispering a ‘thank you’ onto her lips. Hazel hums back before grabbing the hydrating shampoo from the shelf. You turned on the shower, letting out a soft ‘fuck’ at the cold water. You hurriedly turn the knob to the red ‘H’ symbol, leaning back into Hazel’s body.

Once the stream of water began to heat up, Hazel squirted out the correct amount of shampoo into her palms. She massaged the product to your scalp as you tilt your head back with a sigh. Her fingers work into your scalp, sending you into a domestic bliss.

“That feels so good.” You practically moan as Hazel continues with the shampooing.

Hazel chuckles with a blush, leaning down to press a gentle kiss onto your naked shoulder. Your mind practically turns to mush but you force yourself to continue the rest of your routine.

You and Hazel bathed each other after a few heated kisses. That’s all. (You had gone down on her and she fingered you until you came twice.) She had told you how much you resembled a beautiful Renaissance painting with every curve and dip of your body. The words squeezed at your heart, feeling yourself fall more and more in love with her — if that was even possible.

Now freshly bathed and spent from the day, you and Hazel settle down, remaining in just underwear with an oversized tee. The sun had been long gone — the only light source being the city lights from outside of your bedroom window. You were cuddled up in your bed on your sides Hazel was running one hand up and down the fresh and lotion-covered skin of your arm as you twirled her wet hair around your fingers.

“I wanna stay here forever.” You yawn and rub at your bare face.

“Yeah?” Hazel hummed.

You nod with a chuckle. “Oh, yeah. If I didn’t have to work or worry about stuff like the apocalypse and aliens taking over, I would stay here forever.”

“Aliens?” Hazel’s brows arched at your words, chuckling along with you.

“Well, I mean, you saw what happened with Avengers in the city a few years ago. That was terrifying, you know?” You mutter, zoning out as the memory flooded back into your mind.

You had been just a few streets down when Loki had sent an army of aliens down onto the city. Who knows what could’ve happened if you had been just one more street closer to the destruction.

Hazel only nodded because how can you forget an event like that? Lives were lost and changed forever. Hazel, at the time, was just like you; a normal girl in the city just trying to live day by day. She wasn’t able to save people as she could now.

“Let’s just… lay here a-and not think about that, honey. Okay?” Hazel whispered as she tried to reassure you while reassuring her own scattered mind.

“Okay. I’m sorry.” You whispered back with a self-deprecating chuckle as you felt that you had ruined the mood.

Hazel shook her head as she moved her hand from caressing your arm to cupping your bare cheek.

“No, no, no, it’s okay. I just don’t want you to worry about all that stuff that hasn’t happened.”

Hypocrite, Hazel’s mind echoed after she had continued to utter soft and kind words to you. That’s all she ever did. Worrying about the unknown or stuff she couldn't control.

You ultimately felt your worries fade for the time being. Hazel caresses the length of your back until your heavy eyes shut, allowing sleep to take over. Not too long after Hazel knew that you were sound asleep, she did the same.

Hazel was awakened by the sound of a loud alarm echoing throughout the space of the room. She had shot up quickly from the bed, looking down at her watch to see it was a call from Josie — her only friend from Stark Industries.

Hazel checked the time to see it was 7:04 in the morning; way too early to be calling her. She glanced at you tangled up in your bed sheets next to her, mouth slightly hung open as you were knocked out. She carefully got up from the mattress, trodding over to the bathroom to get some privacy.

Hazel groaned at her reflection, her hair a tousled mess and her shirt half-way off of her shoulders. She reluctantly answered the call on the watch, squinting her eyes as Josie came into view.

“Hi Hazel!” Her cheery voice threw her off guard.

“It’s seven in the morning, Josie.” Hazel grumbled, trying to fix her hair.

“That didn't sound like a ‘oh, good morning, Josie’ so I’ll pretend you said that.” Josie quipped back, adjusting herself in her cubicle. “Anyways, Mr. Stark told me to call you because he needs you here, like, immediately.”

Hazel’s eyes shot open. “Wait really?”

Josie hums as she types something on her laptop that was lighting up her screen. “He said in his email, and i quote: ‘call Underoos and get her here immediately. No’ and this is in all caps ‘questions’.”

Hazel rolled her eyes at the nickname. Within the first few days of working under Tony, the nickname came to mind and never left. As much as she wanted to stay in bed with you, she knew she had to see whatever Tony needed her there for. She scrunched up her nose and yawned, nodding and scratching the back of her head.

“I’ll be there soon. Probably 10-20 minutes.” Hazel stretches her free arm, releasing some tension in her biceps and upper back.

“Alright, cool. Oh, wait,” Josie muttered as she stopped typing on her keyboard, leaning back into her roller chair. “Ah, shit. Son of a bitch, dude.”

“What?” Hazel responded as she was about to leave the bathroom so she could hang up.

“No, nothing. I lost at Solitaire against Happy.” Josie shook her head, groaning before typing again on the laptop.

Hazel furrowed her brows before hanging up with a: ‘See you soon’. The last thing she heard was Josie angrily typing as she whispered: ‘Filthy cheater’.

Josie took Solitaire extremely personally.

Hazel slowly crept out of the bathroom as she had forgotten that your Uncle Karter was now home, if not, awake. She tiptoed back into your room, grabbing her bag from the small carpet strawberry right next to your bed. You had adjusted once again in your sleep, snuggling into the plush of your pillow.

You were a fidgety sleeper but she found it adorable. Watching over you right now almost made her stay but she couldn't risk Tony being angry with her. She quickly changed into her suit, walking over to your window to unlock it and crack it open.

Taking one more glance at your unconscious body, Hazel tugged her mask over her face before she shot a web out of the window at a building across the street. She threw her bag over her shoulder as she swung to the apartment building next door all the way to the Stark Tower.

Mid-way there, she suddenly remembered that she didn’t leave a note for you like she usually would when she left so suddenly. She brushed it off and told herself she’d send you a text as soon as she left.

Nothing to worry about.

Right?

taglist: @imjustapearl @seethesin @matchamilkislover @beabeebrie @curiousshifter101 @uraesthete @fictionalcharacterspecialist @c4llahansgirl @maggiecc @fruitysnackysmain @crvptidgf <33

#hazel callahan #bottoms movie #hazel callahan x reader #bottoms 2023 #ruby cruz #hazel callahan x you #spider hazel #spider woman #hazel callahan fic

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megalony · 7 months

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Family

This is my first Eddie Diaz imagine from 9-1-1, I hope you will all like it. Any feedback or requests are always lovely.

Taglist: @lunaticspoem @butlegendsneverdie @langdonzvoid @jennyggggrrr @rogmeddows @radiob-l-a-hblah @rogertaylorsbitontheside @chlobo6 @rogertaylors-lipgloss @sj-thefan @omgitsearly @luckytrashgooprebel @scarsout @deaky-with-a-c @killer-queen-ofrhye @bluutac @vousmemanqueez-blog @jonesyaddiction @milanosaurus @httpfandxms @saint-hardy @7-seas-of-fat-bottomed-girls @mrsalwayswritex @rogerina-owns-me @hellsdragon @im-an-adult-ish @crazylittlethingg @allauraleigh @onceuponadetectivedemigod @ceres27 @avyannadawn @noonenuts @sleepylunarwolf @coverupps @justagirlthatlovedtoread

Masterlist

Summary: When (Y/n) isn't well, all she wants is her partner Eddie by her side.

Enjoy.

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Closing her eyes, (Y/n) leaned her head against the window and tried to take deep breaths to see if it would help relieve the slight nausea she was starting to feel, but it didn't. Each bump the truck rolled over had her stomach churning and every sharp corner spun her head.

When the truck made a harsh break, (Y/n) kicked her foot out and pressed the heel of her boot into the chair opposite to steady herself but she could feel her breaths jittering past her trembling lips.

"You good?" Buck raised a brow and smiled as (Y/n) gave a thumbs up but he could see she wasn't doing great at the moment.

"I'm just great,"

(Y/n) ignored the small chatter through the headphones but when she opened her eyes again and dared to look across from her, she felt shivers spiking down her nerves. Eddie was watching her intently, and he didn't look pleased. Usually when her partner looked at her, he cocked a brow or smirked or tilted his chin down and smiled to himself. She loved it when she caught him staring because Eddie would look up at her through his lashes in such a sweet, innocent way that made her heart flip.

He wasn't looking at her with those innocent eyes now, he was looking at her through stern pupils and furrowed brows and his jaw was clenched. He had both his hands clenched together on his lap and his head was turned down just a little but his eyes were trained on (Y/n).

And when he shook his head and mumbled a quiet 'no you're not' (Y/n) pressed her lips together to prevent a frown.

He told her to have a few more days off, he said she wasn't well and not up to being back at the job just yet. Part of him prayed if she did come back then Bobby would put her on light duties or keep her at the station and away from any calls but they were short staffed and she was needed.

For a week now (Y/n) had been sick with a bug and although she looked better than before, she wasn't one hundred percent.

(Y/n) was glad to throw off the headphones when the truck came to an unsteady stop and they could all get out at the scene. There was already another unit here but they needed back up to help evacuate the building and tend to anyone with injuries.

She grabbed her helmet and followed out the truck, the last in the line to climb down but as soon as the temperature change and the gravity shift hit her, (Y/n) felt uneasy. When her feet were planted on the floor, her hand automatically reached out and her fingers curled around Eddie's arm over his florescent jacket just as he was putting his helmet on.

"What's wrong?" He whispered softly and his head turned to look down at her. He could feel her tight grip on his upper arm and he could sense how close she was standing to him like she was trying to merge herself into his back.

"Just a wobble,"

"Promise?"

"I promise," (Y/n) nodded and batted her eyes up at him but she couldn't bring herself to smile, not yet. She could feel the adrenaline pounding through her blood from arriving on scene but it wasn't enough to rid her chest of the tightening feeling or relieve her tense stomach.

She forced herself to let go of his arm even though she didn't want to, and secured her helmet and gloves. She could feel her stomach knotting but one of the many knots started to ease when Eddie stayed stood beside her with his arm and shoulder in front of her like a shield. He didn't move an inch away from her as they stood waiting for orders and even though he had his hands clasped in front of him and his body facing forwards, (Y/n) could feel his gaze constantly drifting over to her.

"Okay, Buck and Eddie, I want you round the back with the 211 to evacuate. Chimney you with me through the front to make sure everyone gets out. And (Y/n)," Bobby had either heard the brief conversation in the truck or he guessed just by looking at her that she wasn't one hundred percent yet. "Go with Hen, help check everyone over and assist medics."

(Y/n) didn't question it, she knew not to and deep down she was relieved to have an easier task than running in blind to get everyone out. She wouldn't be quick enough today and she didn't hold enough strength to pull anyone out and run back in for a second go. Helping the wounded was a much easier job for (Y/n), it was automatic to tend to people and help with their injuries whereas Buck and Eddie were far better suited to run into the burning buildings and find ways to get out.

Finishing a callout had never felt so good.

When the last deeply wounded person was escorted onto an ambulance and the medics were assuring everyone else that they would be fine, (Y/n) felt like a weight had lifted from her shoulders but another one simultaneously settled in her stomach.

Her chest was heaving even though she hadn't been running around or rushing as much as the boys had. She had gone down the rows of injured people, assessing, patching up, calling for help and moving on. But it wasn't fast-paced and it shouldn't have made her as breathless as it did.

With all the equipment packed up in the medic bag, (Y/n) hoisted it up on her shoulder and made a slow walk away from the make shift tents, over towards the fire trucks that felt like they were a mile away.

She barely got towards the truck before it felt like her lungs were filling up with stones and all the air was starting to drain out of them like they had a leak. And bending over with her hands on her knees only awakened the sickness she had been feeling earlier and the pressure on her lungs started to swim down to her stomach.

Straightening up, (Y/n) made a brisk shuffle over to the truck and dumped the bag in the small compartment while her chest heaved. She threw the helmet off and chucked it inside the truck before letting her head fall forward against the side of the truck, willing the urge to be sick to subside and leave her be.

When everyone else started to filter back towards her, (Y/n) used what little strength she had left to pull herself up into the truck and take her seat at the far side next to the window.

Her hands clasped together between her parted knees and she stooped over, lowering her head down as her chest and sternum started to burn.

"Everything alright?" Eddie grabbed the door and leaned his head up to look over at (Y/n) but when she looked up and managed a smile, he felt a little calmer. He hopped up into the truck and took the liberty of taking the seat next to her, bumping their shoulders while he grabbed two sets of headphones and handed one over to her.

"My chest was a bit tight but I'm okay."

That didn't do too much to calm Eddie's raging nerves when he knew for a fact that she never usually struggled with any problems like this. He was starting to think she had something more like the flu or even pneumonia rather than a simple cold.

But (Y/n) lived with him and Christopher and neither of them had gotten the cold she supposedly had, they both felt perfectly fine and they were around (Y/n) everyday.

(Y/n) smiled when Eddie looped his arm around her shoulders and gently reeled her into his side so she could rest her head on his shoulder. He kissed the top of her head and kept his lips there for a while, breathing into her hair as the rest of the team slowly flooded into the truck. They were all ready to head back to the station and get something to eat and have a rest. And possibly a shower.

When they got back to the station, everyone drifted off in their own direction. Hen wanted to refill the medic bags in case they had to rush out on another call, Chimney stayed with the truck to start cleaning it and Bobby and Buck filtered upstairs. (Y/n) followed Eddie towards the lockers and took off her jacket while he rummaged around in his locker for a towel, he needed a quick shower.

Eddie paused with his arm halfway in his locker when he felt a pair of arms suddenly curve around his waist and a familiar face press into his back between his shoulder blades. A smile wormed its way onto his face and he stayed motionless for a minute, maybe two, relishing in the hug and comfort before he turned around in her arms.

"I'm gonna grab a shower, promise you'll tell me if you feel worse." Eddie loosely curved his arms around (Y/n)'s neck and brought his lips up against her temple.

He needed to feel assured that if she felt like she was going to be sick or thought she was getting worse, she would tell him. They both knew he was going to worry for the rest of the shift anyway but if Eddie thought (Y/n) was starting to get worse he would tell Bobby and try to get her to go back home and rest.

"I promise,"

They parted ways and (Y/n) trudged slowly up the stairs towards the kitchen and eased down into one of the navy blue armchairs at the back of the loft space. She needed a sit down for a little while, just to steady her system and feel better, then she could offer Bobby a hand with the cooking he almost always did.

(Y/n) wasn't sure how long she stayed there for. She knew Buck had walked past her a few times because each time he did, he ruffled her hair or patted her head in a teasing manner and laughed to himself. He was like a big brother, he just loved to wind her up or catch her by surprise, it was his favourite pass time.

For a while, (Y/n) thought she was about to nod off and fall asleep but she managed to stay focused on the radio playing softly in the background and the sound of Bobby comically singing along.

But when an overwhelming wave of sickness washed over her like a tidal wave, (Y/n) smothered a groan with the back of her hand and shifted around in the chair. She laid her head down on the armrest, curled her knees up to her stomach and squashed her frame into the seat to try and see if it would take away the sickness and make breathing a little easier. If anything, it made the tension worse. Her chest and upper torso muscles were tightening so badly it was making her mind go numb.

She bound her arms to her chest and pressed a hand down on her stomach to see if a different, more direct form of pressure would help. Her stomach felt uneasy like she was going to throw up but the sickness never came.

Her teeth clamped down on her lip and she took a deep breath through her nose, held it for a few seconds and released it through her lips, repeating the cycle a few times to try and calm down and breathe through the pain.

Everything seemed to slow down yet speed up at the same time, her sense of time was distorted and her vision blurred before her eyelids pulled down like shutters trying to prevent her from feeling worse or experiencing her world spinning on its axis.

All the chatter and music and noise filling the loft started to filter out into static and when her stomach churned, (Y/n) slowly started to get up.

She was going to be sick.

Every inch of her skin was sweltering and droplets of sweat glistened on her in the harsh lighting and she was flushed everywhere even though the loft was fairly cold with the air con and she hadn't done anything tiring in over an hour. The burning in her stomach turned into an intensifying ache in her abdomen and each and every muscle was contorting and twisting inside her in a way which felt impossible.

The agonising twist of her muscles stopped her from standing up straight but she tried her best to look as okay and normal as possible.

One arm bound around her stomach and her other hand gripped the metal banister as she almost slipped down the stairs and hobbled through the back towards the showers where the toilets were.

As soon as she was in, (Y/n) let herself hunch over and drop to her knees in one of the toilet cubicles, getting there just in time to throw up.

She kept one arm around her stomach and used the other to rest over the toilet so her burning forehead could flop on her arm. the static in her ears got worse until it was deafening white noise and she began to shake despite the cold air in the bathroom.

"(Y/n)… just checking if you're okay? You didn't look too good back there," Hen cautiously opened the bathroom door and peered around, unsure how far to walk in in case (Y/n) didn't want help and was actually okay. She had seen (Y/n) hobble down the stairs and stumble towards the toilets and she looked like she was in pain, making Hen worry.

(Y/n) couldn't help the small cry that escaped her lips when Hen pushed open the cubicle door and froze, staring down at her. This was not how she wanted her coworkers to see her, curled over, throwing up feeling feeble and useless and like someone they would see at one of their scenes rather than a firefighter in the station.

"Okay, can I take a look at you?" Hen bent down in the doorway but (Y/n) coiled away, inching further towards the toilet. She didn't want anyone seeing her like this or reaching out to touch her.

She wanted Eddie.

"G-get Eddie, please…" Her lips curved down at the sides and her lower lip started to wobble before a pathetic howl left her lips and she gasped to take in a proper breath.

"Okay, okay I'll fetch him now."

As soon as Hen backed out and bolted from the bathroom, (Y/n) feebly pushed away from the toilet but she didn't know what she was doing or where she was trying to go. Her arms bound around her lower waist and she doubled over, tucking her head into her knees to smother her cries and soak up her tears and runny nose.

Her stomach was on fire, it felt like her intestines were being twisted and pulled down and her chest was burning like she was on fire on the inside. All she wanted to do was curl up as small as possible and pass out to make everything stop. She wanted to wake up at home in bed with Eddie and have this be a bad dream or a distant memory from weeks ago that she didn't have to remember.

"I want Eddie." It came out as a broken wail and she wasn't speaking to anyone in particular but when she heard his rushed footsteps, she knew he heard her but she couldn't find the will power to be embarrassed.

"(Y/n)? (Y/n), baby it's me. Oh, baby," Bursting into the bathroom, Eddie slumped down on his knees in the doorway but his heart burst when his eyes set on his girlfriend. She was curled in on herself like she was trying to hide or become as small as possible but he could see her shaking and he could hear her smothered cries.

He wasn't sure what to do or where exactly to touch her but he knew he couldn't help her when she was curled over like this.

Doubling down, he leaned his chest on his knees so he was more level with her and placed his hands carefully on her upper arms to let her know it was him.

"Come here, sit up for me sweetheart." He slowly leaned up and pulled (Y/n) up with him until she was knelt up on the floor the same as him so he could look her over. But it still wasn't going to be easy when she was in the cramped cubicle and he was wedged into the doorway that wasn't much bigger than his frame. "I'm gonna move you just a little, okay? I've got you, take deep breaths for me baby."

With his arms wound around her waist as carefully as he could and (Y/n)'s head burrowed into his neck and her hands on his shoulders, Eddie slowly moved onto his feet and hunched over. He held her tight and slowly shuffled backwards until he was out of the cubicle and (Y/n) was coiled into his chest.

(Y/n) dug her nails into his shoulders when he sat her down on the cold tiled floor so her knees were pulled up but her feet were now on the floor and he knelt back down beside her.

"Talk to me, what's happening?"

"Hurts… God, it hurts Eddie, a-and I've been sick," (Y/n) coiled one arm back around her stomach to show him where the pain was but her other hand stayed puncturing into his bicep like tallons. And she leaned forward to press her temple into his shoulder, finally feeling a tiny bit of relief when he kissed her temple and rubbed his hand up and down her leg.

When he pulled back, he moved his hand and pressed the back of his hand against her temple, sighing to himself when he felt that she was starting to get a fever.

"Can I?" Eddie moved his hands towards (Y/n)'s stomach and when she nodded, he carefully moved her arm away and peeled up her shirt that had been tucked into her trousers.

He pressed his fingertips against her right side around the bottom of her ribcage, then towards the left before moving down and applying minimal pressure around her abdomen. He didn't like the reaction he got; flinches, whimpers and bubbling cries when he moved lower down. A sigh fell past his lips again and he held his fingers over her wrist to check her pulse, it was fast but not dangerously high.

"It might be some kind of internal blockage or a hernia," Eddie turned to look behind him at Hen but the way he rolled his lips and tensed his shoulders gave away the panic he was feeling.

There were a few possibilities of what this could mean, none of them good and Eddie couldn't do anything or make a judgement call and guess. He needed to take her to the hospital and they both knew it.

"Take her, I'll go clear it with cap." Hen was out the door the moment she finished speaking. They all knew Bobby would fully agree with them, (Y/n) needed medical attention that Hen or Chimney couldn't give and Eddie had to go with her. He couldn't stay on shift and worry, waiting anxiously for a phone call that he could miss if they had another call soon.

"We're off to the hospital baby, ready?"

(Y/n) nodded and when Eddie shuffled closer she took the hint and wound her arms around his neck. She closed her eyes and buried her face in the crook of his neck, bracing herself when an arm looped around her lower back and beneath her knees. At least when he lifted her up she stayed much in the same position, knees near her stomach and her body curled over slightly which felt best to relieve the pain.

She nuzzled her face into his chest just beneath his shoulder when he walked out the bathroom, trying to hide herself away from prying eyes. She didn't want anyone looking at her and seeing her like this and she knew Eddie felt the same when his chest tensed beneath her and his jaw tightened and rested on top of her head.

***

(Y/n) felt the need to curl her knees up to her stomach again but she knew she couldn't sit like that, not when the doctor was finally about to assess her.

She didn't know who to look at, the doctor with a soft yet somewhat uncomforting smile, the nurse stood on her left or Eddie on her right. She had been staring up at Eddie for the last ten minutes and she knew he could feel her eyes on him. The concentration in his eyes was sweet and if (Y/n) could of smiled up at him she would. She loved the intensity burning in his eyes and the way he kept flexing his biceps, moving from having his arms crossed over his chest to hold (Y/n)'s hand and run his fingers through her hair. He didn't know what to do with himself.

Eddie could of cried with relief when they got transferred through from the waiting room into here and (Y/n)'s crippling cramps seemed to dull down somewhat. He noticed the way she uncurled herself just a little and stopped clenching her jaw and writhing in agony and it made him feel faint and relaxed and relieved all at once.

"Okay, let's take a look." The doctor smiled again as she moved over the ultrasound machine that had been brought in a while ago.

They had gone through all the preliminary questions when they arrived in A&E, then again when they got moved into this room, although Eddie had done most of the talking. (Y/n) only spoke to confirm he was right and ask why she couldn't have morphine yet. If Chimney was here he would have given her something already for the pain.

It didn't hurt as much as it did earlier when pressure was applied to her stomach and (Y/n) took that as a good sign. The ultrasound checked her stomach first to make sure there was no blockage there before going over to her liver just to be safe.

"Stomach and liver are clear, let's go further down."

(Y/n) tilted her head back and looked up at Eddie instead, although he was focused on the ultrasound. She could never work out those black and white images, her eyes weren't trained to spot differences or abnormalities so she never bothered looking.

"Miss (Y/l/n), I'm going to presume you didn't know this, but it seems you're pregnant."

Her eyes wouldn't look away from Eddie, not for a second. Even as her lips twitched from a slacked expression to a tightened grimace from the pain, she continued to look up at Eddie. His eyes narrowed at the corners and his blushing red lips parted but he couldn't find anything to say.

All Eddie could do was tighten his hand in (Y/n)'s and run his fingers through his hair, pulling at the strands until he was about to have a tuft of hair come out between his fingers.

"What?" Eddie couldn't breathe, he could barely speak and he took one small glance down at (Y/n) biting her lip before he looked over at the monitor across from him. How was this possible? How far along were they? Did that mean the pains were something to do with the baby? So many questions rattled around in his mind but he was getting no answers.

"But I… my period, a-and I…" (Y/n) stopped herself before her mind overloaded and started to short circuit.

Sure, her periods were miss-matched and irregular but she'd been having them and she didn't feel any different in herself. She didn't even look pregnant, how far along was she, she couldn't be more than a few weeks, three months at most.

"I'd guess you're around thirty weeks, but with you not knowing or sensing anything and not having the usual symptoms, this seems to be a cryptic pregnancy. Not very common but it does sometimes happen."

"Oh my God," Reaching behind him, Eddie grabbed the flimsy plastic chair and scraped it along until he could sit down, as close to the bed as he could manage until his knees bumped into the bedframe. "Is the baby okay? What's causing the pains?"

"Pre-term labour pains, it could be brought on my stress and induced by you not knowing anything about this. But we can easily give you some medication to ease the contractions and prevent labour. I'll go and get that sorted and give you a moment to talk."

(Y/n) tried to smooth her hand over her stomach but it made her shiver and made a lump form in her throat.

How could she not know? She didn't feel any movement, she had random, short periods that clearly weren't really periods and she had no swelling. A little weight gain maybe, but nothing to suggest a baby. She had been doing extra shifts and helping lift people out of collapsing buildings, hoisting people up onto back boards and climbing the ladder. She had done everything she shouldn't do while pregnant and she didn't even know.

The job could have been the stress that pushed her confused body into thinking now was the best time to go into labour. (Y/n) had thought about kids with Eddie a lot, but this was never the way she wanted to find out or how she would ever want to tell him when the time was right.

Was now the right time for a baby? Whatever the answer, they didn't have the time or the means to change things now.

"We don't have long to do this… we'll be lucky if we get a few weeks to get everything and sort the house out. We have to tell Cap, God and Christopher, he'll be so excited."

Surprise flooded (Y/n)'s face and she sat up a bit straighter when she processed Eddie's sudden ramblings.

He was happy, he was already planning this out in his mind, she could almost see the wheels turning in his mind. He knew what early contractions like this meant, they wouldn't reach full term now. It didn't give them long to tell the team and find a replacement for (Y/n) at work for her to be on maternity leave. They would need to buy everything now and set up the spare room, and tell Christopher that in only a few weeks, someone else would be moving in with them.

When a tired but nevertheless pleasing smile took over Eddie's face along with a few tears, (Y/n) couldn't help but start to cry. This was fast, but she'd always wanted a baby and if Eddie was really okay and thinking this through happily, she didn't have too much to worry about other than work and a short time for planning.

"We're having a baby," (Y/n) whispered quietly, reaching her arms out when Eddie stood up and leaned over her. His arms tangled around her waist and he lifted her up slightly to hold her as close as possible, grinning from ear to ear when he felt (Y/n) kissing his neck.

This was his family.

#eddie diaz #imagine #eddie diaz x reader #eddie diaz imagine #eddie x reader #911 fox #911 imagine #911 #bobby nash #evan buck buckely

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bubbles-for-all-of-us · 1 month

Note

Hello there ! I'm such a big fan of your work and i wanted to know if you could please write about azriel x plus size reader (cause curvy Queens deserves that giant bat too) ? Maybe something about her having insecurities BC azriel IS surrounded by beautiful slim women and she think that hes's in love with one of them until they're in a fight and he confesse his love to reader. AT first she can't believe it but she goes to cassian who's like "are you seriously that blind? He loved you the moment he looked a you ???" And then you Can add Smut were he workships her, i won't be against it (only if you're confortable with it obviously)

Big thanks for all your work and i looove you !!

Sorry, this took a moment. 🫧🤍

Picture perfect

In a way, you always felt like a misfit. It wasn’t only because of your looks. If you were to be frank you didn’t nitpick at yourself till others started throwing comments here and there. Planting these tiny seeds in your brain. Ones that bloomed it obstructed your vision, altering it in ways that made you cower in the big crowds of people. Made you avoid parties. Made you blind to so many other things.

Your saving grace for a long while had been Azriel. A childhood best friend who had seen you at your worst and stuck through it. So you felt comfortable with him. And even if he wasn’t big on speaking or voicing his opinion. One thing he never missed was completing you. You had always brushed it off. He was a spymaster after all. So, what if he noticed that you colored your hair slightly? Or curled it in another way. Or that you bought a different style of dress. Or got a new perfume. Rhys paid him to be observant, right? It was that until he had sat you down by the river one evening. And blurted out that he liked you while falling over every other word.

“No, you don’t”, you had whispered. “What do you mean, no, I don’t?”, he had pulled back in confusion. “As friends yes but not like… romantically”, you shrugged. Considering that you had fully convinced yourself that he would never fall for you. Not when he could have anyone. “Yn, I know how I feel and so that means that I like you”, Azriel said more firmly as you let out a low laugh, “Why are you doing this?”, you moved to stand up. “Doing what? Yn, if you don’t feel…”, he had moved to stand up but you were already stepping back from him. “I saw you with Sybile by the fountain today, don’t play games with me because I’m an ugly duckling”, you had hissed at him. Leaving him standing there all confused.

And now for the past week, you had done everything to avoid him. Feeling your heart ache more and more now that he wasn’t there to lean on. So your days were spent mopping over the past as you looked out the window till it got pitch black and you forced yourself to crawl into bed.

“Okay, I physically cannot take any more of this”, Cassian had strolled into the house of wind. A box of your favorite pastries in one of his hands. “Then I don’t know why you are here”, you huffed turning away from him. “I’m here because I apparently having the biggest brain out of the two of you”, he chirped, turning your chair so you would face him. “I highly doubt it”, you crossed your arms over your chest as you looked up at him. The general only smirked, he was used to tough bickering with Nesta.

“I will put this very simply”, Cassian said before shoving a donut into his mouth. “Azriel had been an ass. You had been up here for the past week”, he said with crumbs falling from his mouth, making you grimace.

“Can’t you chew and…”, “Shh”, he waved a powdered sugar-covered finger at you. “Now… You know why all of that happened?”, he asked as if you were a toddler. “Yes, Cass, I know. We fought”, you grumbled. But the general only made a dissatisfied boo. “You two are like that because you like each other but your head is more up your ass than his was”, Cassian clicked his fingers.

“That is not true”, you argued, tearing a part of an apple tart. “What’s keeping you from saying yes to him?”, now this hit you harder than you thought, making you stare up at him for a split second. You knew there was no point in lying. This man would sense a lie before it had a chance to leave your mouth.

“I’m not his type”, you muttered under your breath, already feeling your insecurities bubbling. “I would call that bullshit”, Cassian leaned back. “Cass, he dated goddesses. Slim. Tall. Everything sculpted with so much effort”, you grunted, “And then look at me. Ass, tits, I ain’t no size zero”. Cassian tilted his head to the side, “I fail to see a single bad thing in the way you just described yourself”. “Not funny, Cassian”, you grumbled, “I am not making fun of you same goes for Azriel. Do you know that he had been planning to tell you for the last two months? And I caught him vomiting right after dinner because he was way too nervous”, each of the generals words hit you like a blow. Azriel had planned it? Wasn’t a wimp? Wasn’t just a joke. He wanted to… “He’s been an angry little cloud”, Cassian chuckled, “And I think you should take him out of his misery because I know that you feel the same”.

You practically ran through the townhouse. Slipping steps in your way as you rushed to Azriel’s office. Practically falling through the door. Azriel was out of his chair in a hurry. Worry is written all over his face. “Has something happened? Have you been hurt?”, he asked frantically looking you over. You probably didn’t look too put together now that you had run like a maniac to get to him. You shook his head, “I had to see you, had to apologize”, you breathed out, “for the river”. Azriel’s shoulders sagged, “You have nothing to apologize for, I’m not here trying to make you like me”. You let out a painful sigh, “Azriel but I do like you it’s just…”, your voice fell silent for a moment, “I just don’t see why you would like someone like me”, you muttered looking down on yourself.

Azriel frowned, “What is that supposed to mean?”. You looked up at him, meeting his eyes, “Well, don’t you want someone like Sybile, a perfect blond with two symmetrical breasts and no…”, “I will stop you right here”, Azriel cut in, stepping closer to you, cupping your cheek. “If I wanted to cuddle a bag of bones, I would go to the cave up the mountain”, he pointed out, making your eyes shoot out, “Az”, hissed. “I love you first for who you are and you come with extra assets to love. Not that I look at your breast when you wash linens in the river or anything”, Azriel shrugged as you hit his chest playfully, “Pervert”, you muttered. Feeling your lips curve upwards slightly. “I don’t measure my love for you in your weight or looks. And even if I did, it would just mean that I have more love for you”, “When did you turn into such a sweet lovey boy?”, you tilted your head to the side before giving it a little shake. “Just found this picture-perfect girl, she kind of made me fall head over heels for her”, Azriel muttered, before leaning in to kiss you softly.

#azriel acotar x reader #azriel acotar imagine #azriel x you #azriel imagine #azriel spymaster #azriel x oc #azriel x reader #azriel shadowsinger #azriel acotar #azriel #acotar imagine #acotar x reader #acotar x you

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chrisevansleftpeck · 1 year

Text

Chlorine Kisses

Word Count: 1.3k

Content Warnings: da team enjoying some drinkies, emily prentiss and derek morgans thirsty comments, and kisses ofc

the saga of spencer reid kissing women in pools continues

You didn’t really swim a whole lot. You never swam, actually, but Rossi and Krystall had just gotten a big pool installed in their backyard and Rossi wanted to throw a little party to “break in” the pool.

You were nervous for two reasons. For one, social gatherings in general weren’t your thing. Secondly, you’d be in a bathing suit, exposed for all to see. Every scar, bump, and bruise you’d gotten from a case or your childhood would be on display. The thought of anyone seeing your body that clearly made you nauseous.

You actually didn’t own a bathing suit and had to stop by Prentiss’ apartment before the party to grab one from her. You crossed your fingers it wouldn’t be a bikini. But of course it was.

With a shameful twirl, you exited Prentiss’ bathroom with the bikini on. It was white with cherries on it- no doubt a tribute to Emily’s raging lesbianism- but it fit you nicely and was actually quite flattering. Still though, uncomfortable.

“You know I would never lie to you, y/n. Your tits look great in that.” You laughed shyly at Emily’s comment, pulling your cover-up t-shirt and shorts back over the bikini.

“Thanks for letting me borrow. I know it’s last minute.” You said, grabbing your phone and car keys from off of Emily’s kitchen counter.

“Of course, thanks for driving me.” Prentiss said, walking the two of you to your car. You got in the driver’s seat as Emily slid into your passenger seat. You fired up your car, then reversed it, pulling out of the apartment complex’s garage and driving to Rossi’s.

It was daunting, seeing that people were already in the pool. You thought- hoped- that maybe there’d be a window of time where everyone would hang out around the mini bar first or something. But no, everyone just carried their drink over to the pool. Almost everyone- but not Spencer.

Prentiss was quick to lose her cover-up, joining everyone in the pool, but you decided to buy yourself some time by talking to Spencer. He was stretched out on one of the poolside lounging chairs with a book in his hands. He always used one finger to trace what words he was reading through so quickly. He looked cute so focused. He also looked really great in swim trunks, however his shirt still remained.

It didn’t take him long to notice you looming over him. He peeked up at you with a puzzled smile, “Hi.”

“Hi.” You replied, unsure how to break the awkward staring you’d begun. “I didn’t know you owned normal t-shirts.” You said, pointing at the gray t-shirt Spencer wore.

Spencer looked down at his t-shirt quickly, smiling. It felt weird to him too. “It’s a hand-me-down from Morgan. He gives me some of his old stuff sometimes. He says I need to ‘expand my closet’.”

You laughed, thinking about his regular scarves and sweater-vests. “I like your style. Not- not that this is bad- just unusual. You look good- normal- now. Yeah, you look like normal-good.” You rambled on to no end. Now was about the time for you to leave. You felt gross, like you were all over Spencer.

Spencer only looked down at his book and laughed a little. “You look pretty- um, good. Always. Not like- but like you always never look bad.” You decided to register this comment as a compliment once you say Spencer’s cheeks blush. He was nervous, maybe? He liked you? No, he just liked your clothes. You just wondered if he’d still feel that way when he witnessed the embarrassment that was your bikini. It was cute, sure, but very not you.

“Get in here, you two!” Penelope yelled from the pool with some sort of fruity drink in a glass decorated with an orange wedge and salted rim.

Spencer laughed, throwing his head back in contest, then gave in, placing his book down on the lounging chair. He peeled off his shirt casually. You could tell it made him uncomfortable but you could also tell that nobody cared. That gave you some hope- maybe nobody would care about how you looked either.

You did however, wait to change until Spencer was done because you were….distracted to say the least. “You going in?” Spencer asked, making it sound like an option as if Penelope and Emily weren’t staring you down.

“Yeah, I guess so. Not much of a choice.” You and Spencer smiled, looking down at the girls taunting you from the water. You did the same as Spencer, removing your shirt then your shorts and casting them aside on a separate chair. You noticed how pink his neck and chest got seeing your body for the first time, really.

Morgan made a whistle as you and Spence walked over to the pool’s edge. “Pretty. Boy. I think pretty girl’s got you beat today.”

Emily nudged Morgan, “Shut up!” She rolled her eyes.

You faked a smile through your nervousness as you waded into the pool, Spencer following behind you. Sure the water still felt cold on you, but you couldn’t wait to be submerged up to your waist- to cover up some of you.

You finally made it beside Penelope, Spencer standing beside Derek. Everybody lounged in the pool with their drinks until the sun began to set. As the hours had ticked away, more and more of the team filed inside, drying themselves off and beginning cooking Rossi’s famous spaghetti. You and Spencer, given you two began swimming the latest, were the last remaining in the water.

It was really quiet at first because of how painfully obvious it was that you both really really liked each other. But conversation started and things became easier. “You any good at swimming?” You asked Spencer, splashing some water over your shoulders to keep yourself warm.

“No, no, no. I’m not a big fan. I do admire that Rossi had us swim before eating though. You know- there’s not really actually any scientific research that proves or says you should eat before or after swimming. For me, it’s more of a personal preference.” Spencer spun off into a little tangent. You listened, of course, but you also couldn’t help but laugh. He talked with his hands still, even under water. “What?”

“Nothing, you just- you just talking with your hands still.” You poked his hand with your finger beneath the water. To you it felt like a spark. Like metal scraping across a blade- a hot, fiery spark. His little touches always felt that way.

Spencer seemed to notice it too because he had no response to your joke. “Um, it’s dark.” He coughed under his breath.

“Yeah.” You hung your head low, staring down at your feet through the well-lit pool. “Sorry.” You whispered.

Spencer’s brows furrowed. “Why?”

“I didn’t mean to make things awkward.” You replied just above a whisper, avoiding eye contact. “I know you don’t like it when people touch your hands.”

Spencer cleared his throat, maybe even subconsciously moving closer to you. “I don’t really mind when you do.”

You finally dared to look up. He was pretty and tall, and the tips of his hair were curling from the water. “Oh.” You whispered, then made a dangerous reach for his hand under the water. He almost shuddered at the unfamiliar touch. “This okay?”

Spencer nodded, for some reason pulling your hand towards him and you with it. Spencer pulled you close to him, one hand in yours and the other tilting your face up to him. Your bodies were pressed up against each other like fitting puzzle pieces as you kissed. It was soft and it was slow. You soaked up every moment of your lips on his, his hand on your neck and your hand lightly touching his waist.

“You two!” Rossi bitched from behind you, causing you and Spencer to swim apart from each other. “Now I have to change the pool water because two naughty kids were making out in my brand new pool.” Rossi complained but with a wide smile.

He’d waited a long time to see you two together. You’d waited a long time to see you two together.

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backtothefanfiction · 4 months

Text

Crown

Warnings: slight depress vibes with a fluffy pick me up, mentions of neglect/abandonment & family trauma

A/N: some more Daisy and Fix. I had a loose idea for this little imagine but just let it take me where it wanted to go. Feels a little under done and messy but isn’t that life anyway.

You love being at Saltburn, but it isn’t always easy. The hardest days always seem to be on those very rare sunny days when everyone, Elspeth and James included, lies out and enjoys the weather. On those days when it’s too hot to sit inside or work.

On those days, you can’t help but look at James and Elspeth, the way they dote not just on their own kids, but Farleigh, yourself - even Ollie. How parents should be. On those days it becomes particularly hard to ignore the circumstances of why you live at Saltburn.

You try to sit there and ignore that pit inside as it slowly grows, but every smile, every laugh, every kind attentive word from Elspeth to her own flesh and blood, it claws away at that hole until it’s too big to ignore. So big that just like Alice, you end up falling down the rabbit hole.

Felix sees when it happens. He knows exactly what the issue is, but he’d never make you talk about it in front of everyone. He also knows he can’t say anything to dim his mother’s light in able to fix things and make them better for you in those moments. You’ve talked it out together before. You’ll talk it out again and again in the quiet hours beneath the sheets before sleep. All he can do now is sit with you through it so you know you’re not alone. Let you know he’s there, your lifeline holding the rope to pull you back out again when you’re done free falling and that rope pulls tight.

He rests his head in your lap. He strokes loving circles on your thighs, but you’re falling so deep you barely notice.

You can barely hear the comment Ollie throw’s Elspeth’s way, but it’s her responding laugh that penetrates your senses and that rope finally pulls tight. It’s so sudden, so taught as it brings you back to the present you think it might just snap. The resounding thoughts make you finally leave, politely excusing yourself making up some excuse about why you need to pop into the house.

You smile to the staff as you make your way inside and head straight to your safe space, the one place you know no one will bother coming to find you. No one except Felix.

He doesn’t come straight away, leaving you enough time that it doesn’t alert everyone else that something is wrong. Another conversation the two of you had had in the past. Elspeth and James were so nice to take you in when your parents fled the country and left you behind, you didn’t want to feel like more of a burden than you already did. Didn’t want them to think their generosity all these years was in vain.

You logged into the computer in the corner of the library to check your email, to see if you had anything at all from your siblings or your parents. Nothing. It only cemented those feelings of abandonment even more and you couldn’t help the tears that silently began to roll down your cheeks as you realised you’d finally reached the bottom of that pit inside you.

It’s like he knew you were pulling on the lifeline to be brought back up. When he appeared in the doorway to the library you had sat yourself on a chair in front of one of the windows, looking out at the grounds. You remembered the summer days as kids in the days before, running around on the grass with Felix, Venetia and Farleigh while your parents were inside talking. You remember, each of you a water pistol in hand, a couple buckets of water balloons spread across the green. You had split into two teams. You had wanted to be partnered with Felix, but Venetia had called girls vs boys. Even then Felix still somehow played the role of a gallant knight as Farleigh tried to throw a water bomb grenade at you. He’d crossed in front of you and took the hit, much to his cousins chagrin.

You’d always played silly games out there before crashing, all your energy zapped as you lay out on the grass to dry out or recharge. You’d find yourself picking daisies and weaving them into crowns or bracelets for everyone. It’s like he knew that’s what you were thinking about now.

“Here, I think you dropped this.” He said as he stepped across the room to you, a chain of daisies held carefully in his fingertips. You gave him a small smile as you brushed away the tears on your cheeks and he placed the flower crown on your head. “Daisies for my Daisy.” He said.

He sat in the seat opposite you and you reached out a hand to his. “I love you, Fix.”

“I know.” He said with a smile before he leaned forward for a kiss. “You know it’s not your fault, okay? It was never your fault.” He reassures you.

“I know.” You reply with a half hearted smile.

“Come on, let’s go stick a movie on or something.” He says, hands rubbing carefully on the tops of your thighs before he holds his open arms up for you to take.

You spend the next hour on the sofa in the adjoining TV room cuddled up with him rewatching Mean Girls for the millionth time.

“I love you, Fix.” You murmer against his side as you snuggle in closer.

His arm grows tighter, protective, across your shoulders as he pulls you in tighter to him, “I love you too.” He says as he kissed the top of your head.

#felix catton imagine #felix catton x reader #felix catton fluff #felix catton #saltburn imagines #saltburn imagine #saltburn x reader #summers at saltburn

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marvelfanfn2187a113 · 8 months

Text

Sleepyhead

Dean Winchester x little sister!reader, slight Sam Winchester x little sister!reader, slight John Winchester x daughter!reader

Requested by Anonymous

Synopsis: the various times you’ve fallen asleep around the boys

Your brain didn’t work the same way as your brothers. To them, four to five hours of sleep every night, or even every other night, was sufficient to keep them going, even through grueling hunts.

For you, that wasn’t even sufficient enough to keep you going through your homework.

Because of this, you’d developed the skill of falling asleep anywhere, at any time, in just a few minutes.

This skill led to some interesting stories over the years.

…

“Psst,” Dean Winchester hissed as he nudged his little brother.

Sam glanced to his left and saw Dean gesturing to the back seat, where you were curled up against the window, fast asleep.

“We left like four minutes ago,” Sam whispered with a grin.

“No kidding,” Dean pulled over, reaching into his bag and pulling out a Sharpie, popping the cap off as he leaned over the back seat.

Sam gave him a sideways glance, “What’d she ever do to you?”

Dean chuckled, “This is what she gets for stealing my jacket.”

Sam glanced back again, and sure enough, somehow you’d managed to snatch Dean’s jacket and were currently using it as a blanket.

Sam shook his head, an amused smile playing across his face.

“I’m not sure the punishment fits the crime, but go right ahead.”

After you awoke, it took you the rest of the day before you saw the mustache drawn above your mouth, and the “NERD” written across your forehead, and about half an hour of scrubbing to get it off.

When you confronted Dean about it, he just laughed.

“That’s what you get, sleepyhead.”

…

“Hey, we’re back, how’s…” Dean’s voice trailed off when he saw you, head down on top of your history book, put like a light. “The homework going,” he finished half heartedly, laughing softly.

“I don’t know how she sleeps on that chair, those things are hard as rocks,” Sam commented as he headed to his bed. It had been a long hunt, and he was desperate for some sleep.

“Poor kid,” Dean said softly as he began to pull your chair away from the desk.

“Is it my night?” Sam yawned, scooting over to make room for you on his bed.

“Don’t worry about it,” Dean said as he lifted you carefully into his arms. “I’ve got her.”

Sam splayed out on his bed as Dean gently set you down on his.

“Dean?” You stirred, keeping your eyes closed but reaching up to grab at the arms holding you.

“Shh,” Dean took your hands in his, leaning down and pressing a kiss to your forehead. “I’m right here. Go back to bed, sleepyhead.”

…

“We ready to go yet?” Dean asked, replacing the library book on the shelf as Sam stood.

“Yeah, as soon as we find Y/N,” Sam glanced around. “I thought she was right here.”

“She went over to the fiction section,” Dean led the way, and stopped short when he found you, leaning against a bookshelf, a book clutched in your arms, fast asleep. “You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

“I still don’t know how she does it,” Sam muttered as he knelt next to you, reaching out to shake your shoulder. “Honey, it’s time to go.”

“Sammy?” You asked sleepily, blinking your eyes open slowly.

“C’mon,” he urged, helping you as you slowly got to your feet.

“Did you find what you needed?” You yawned, rubbing your eyes as you leaned against Sam’s tall frame. Sam smiled, throwing an arm around your shoulder and guiding you towards the door.

“You bet, sleepyhead. Now let’s get outta here.”

…

“Let her sleep.”

Dean looked over at his father, frowning.

“She’ll want to see you. It’s been weeks.”

John ran a hand over his face, sighing.

“I’m not staying long, I have another lead to follow up on.”

“All the more reason to wake her up. She misses you.”

“Dean, I said let her sleep,” John glanced over at you as you stirred, but you just shifted around and fell back asleep.

“Why?” Dean demanded. He didn’t often challenge John, but after you’d broken down crying the other night, confiding in Dean how much you missed your father and how much you worried about him, he’d decided that things needed to change.

“Because she…” John shook his head. “Just don’t. Let her be, I can’t.”

“Can’t what? If you want me to do this, I need a reason.”

“Because if she sees me, she’s going to ask me to stay,” John swallowed. “And if she does that, I won’t go.”

Dean stared incredulously at his father as he made his way over to your sleeping form. John leaned down, placing a kiss to the side of his daughter’s head and smiling gently at you.

“Goodbye, sleepyhead.”

…

“I told you we shouldn’t have brought her,” Sam complained as the Impala pulled into the motel.

“I didn’t think it would take so long,” Dean grumbled.

“She was exhausted, she couldn’t even stay awake for fifteen minutes. If that vamp had found the Impala, she would’ve been a sitting duck.”

“I know, I know,” Dean ran his hands over his face and sighed. “Look, it was stupid, but she’s ok, alright? Can we just go to bed.”

“Alright,” Sam reached back to shake you awake, but Dean grabbed his arm.

“Just let her sleep, I’ll bring her in.”

Sam shrugged. “Suit yourself. I’m gonna go take a shower.” Sam left the Impala and headed for the hotel room.

“Alright baby,” Dean sighed as he opened your door and carefully lifted you into his arms. It wasn’t as easy as it had been when you were little, but he could still lift you without much difficulty. He carried you inside and set you gently on his bed, before pulling the covers over you.

“Goodnight, sleepyhead. I’ll be watching over you.”

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tantei-chan01 · 5 months

Text

The Giver. Mute Branch Au

Notebook talking has this "-"

Sign language is this "*"

Xxx

A scrapbook opens as Poppy narrates, "Years ago, on the night of the Harvest Moon, a mysterious troll paid our village a visit and delivered gifts to everyone becoming known only as ... the Giver." On the page, a little troll in a hoodie leaves presents in the pods, stopping to pose in front of the moon. "Every Harvest Moon since has been the same, leaving presents under the veil of night."

The little trolls in the pod leave for a moment, missing the Giver leaving them a gift, "Yay!"

"Which everyone loves...." Poppy suddenly shuts the book, "but it drives ME completely insane!"

A crowd of trolls looked at her in confusion, chattering amongst themselves.

"When you give a gift, you’re supposed to receive a thank-you card. It’s what separates us from the animals. And this Troll is making a mockery of the whole thing. " Frustrated, Poppy throws the book on the mushroom, Smidge behind her with a stern look. "Ugh!"

The crowd gasped, Biggie covering Mr. Dinkles eyes. Branch tapped a dazed Suki's shoulder and held up his brown notebook, "- I think I might missed a step from being in my bunker the last decade. Does she do this every year?-"

Suki shrugged, "Pretty much. I just nap through it. Thank goodness, I learned to sleep with my eyes open, right?" She snores with her eyes open, making Branch gasp and drop his notebook.

"Well, listen up, Giver. You may have escaped me in the past, but this year I’ve rigged the entire village with hidden alarms." She points to Smidge, who pulls a conveniently placed vine. Red and blue bell like flowers beging blaring out an alarm. "Which means I will catch you and will get what’s coming to you."

Smidge pulls out a purple bat (which I hope is actually rubber) with an eager face. "Yeah!"

"This!" Poppy pulls out a blue thank-you card and opens it to show off her card, making skills

Smidge nervously laughs and hides the bat. "Uh, yeah, that."

"So this is your last chance. Come forward now and take your thank-you like a troll." The crowd looks at each other, but no one comes forward. Poppy then hears a certain breathing pattern that she definitely recognizes as laughter, "Something funny, Branch?"

Branch signs, "*Yes, you.*"

"Hm…"

"*I realize I’m new to all this, but if “the Gifter” wants to remain anonymous, shouldn’t we respect that?*"

Biggie excitedly asks, "OH! Can I try translating?" Branch nods to the gentle giant. "Okay, you said something about making cookies for the Giver."

"Meep."

Biggie looks at Mr. Dinkles, "What do you mean I'm not even close?"

Reminding herself to help Biggie with translating later, Poppy responds as Smidge seems to be counting trolls, "It’s “the Giver.” If you’re gonna be a know-it-all, get your facts straight."

"Uh, Poppy, just did a hair count, and Satin and Chenille are absent."

Poppy quickly turns to her, "Absent?! On the Harvest Moon?" Her face switched to determination, "Let’s go, Smidge. We’ve got a new lead suspect."

"Uh, there’s two of them."

"We’ve got a new lead of suspects. "

Xxx

The scene switches to Satin and Chenille's pod, only to reveal Satin sick in bed.

Satin sneezes and then blows her nose into a tissue, tossing it into a pile next to her. "I love being sick. It’s like my body has a whole other side to its personality for me to get to know. Don’t you think?" She turns to Chenille, who's wearing a gas mask and carrying a spray bottle.

Chenille sprays at her twin, "Back, vessel of pestilence! Back!"

Poppy and Smidge sneakily walk up to the window, "You ready to bust these gift-giving punks, Poppy?"

Poppy pulls out the card and preps it. "Locked and loaded." She hears crunching and sees Branch sitting in a chair, eating a bag of popcorn. "Ugh! Don’t you have better things to do?"

"*Than watch you make a fool of yourself? (munches) Please, I cleared my whole day.*"

Smidge looks at him, "OK he definitely said something about you embarrassing yourself." Branch tapped his nose twice. "Cool." She smiles, then turns her attention back to Poppy, "Ignore him. How do we get ‘em to talk?"

"By using the oldest Troll interrogating technique there is-good cop, great cop."

Smidge uses her baseball bat to shine light into Satin and Chenille’s pod. Directing it to face Satin.

She flinches for a moment and then relaxes into it. "Ah! Ooh, that sunshine feels so good."

Poppy leans in close to the sick troll. "You know what else is good?" She takes out a cookie. "Cookies. And you can have them if you tell me what I want to know."

"Ooh."

She pushes the cookie closer, "Or if you don’t, either way."

Satin smiles. "That’s so nice."

"Oh, yeah?!" Smidge pulls a cake from behind and lightly slams it on the table, "I’ll give you an entire cake, no strings attached!"

Satin feels a bit conflicted, "Wow, I feel like I should at least tell you something."

Poppy gets right in her face, "Well, I’ll give you a back rub."

"I’ll write you a haiku."

Poppy bangs on the table, "I’ll be your best friend!"

Satin holds her head in what seems to be guilt, "OK. OK. I confess. I color my hair! I’m not a natural purple." She then points to her sister as the lights come on. "Neither is Chenille."

Chenille's eye twitches in disbelief, "You...are dead to me."

"Hold on. So you’re not the Giver?"

An unfamiliar laugh distracts the four, turning to see Branch leaning on his chair laughing, "*Bravo, Poppy. You really broke the case of the purple hair wide open.*"

Poppy growls, feeling a little conflicted, seeing as he'sactually laughing for others to hear. Chenille comments, "I only understood purple hair. "

Satin smiles a little, "Well, it's nice to actuallyhearhim laugh. "

Branch leans to far bach on the chair, knocking down the curtains, revealing what appears to be red wrapping papper. Poppy gasps, "That looks like the paper the Giver uses." She turns back to Satin and Chenille. "Explain yourself… ves!"

"That paper’s not ours."

Chenille explains, "Yeah, it’s so five years ago. Do you think we’ve been living under a rock?"

Smidge licks the paper, "It’s definitely the same-quality pulp, hand-cut edging," She then points to a logo, "and look at the insignia. It comes from Sky Toronto’s Party Shop.

Poppy turns back to the twins, "Ladies, I really hope Sky doesn’t tell me you’re the Giver, or so help me, I’ll thank you like you’ve never been thanked before." She walks backward and arrives at Sky Toronto’s Party Shop.

She walks with the older glitter troll as he gives out orders, "It’s crunch time, people. I need 200 piñata ideas on my desk by tomorrow morning." The workers walk away. "Queen Poppy, I’m honored, yada, yada, but let’s cut to the chase. There are 18 parties, 12 soirees, and at least five shindigs on an average Troll night all supplied by me, Sky Toronto." He snaps his fingers. "So time is glitter."

She holds out the wrapping paper, "Do you recognize this?"

Sky stops as a worker approaches him, "Pause."

The worker holds out the confetti samples, "Mr. Toronto, the new confetti designs for your approval, sir."

Sky throws each sample to inspect, "Pass, hard pass, too cliché." He stops at the fourth one. "Ah, that one. That’s the confetti of the now." The worker leaves, and he turns back to Poppy, "Yes, I recognize it. Not popular, except with one troll who picks up about 100 rolls once a year."

Poppy gasps, "Once a year?!"

Another worker walks up to him with a disco ball in her hand, "Hey, S.T. The boys in decorations just cooked up this new color. Thoughts?"

Sky thinks for a moment, "Hm. Not bad. But disco balls aren’t testing well. How about disco… cubes?" The worker gasps and walks backward, her mind blown.

Poppy tries to get his attention, "Let me get this straight. The Troll who gets this paper, you’ve seen him in person?"

"Many times." An explosion catches his attention and sees some workers running from it. "Don’t mind that. Accident in the trick candle division. We try to put it out, but every time we do…" Trolls bring in water and fire extinguishers to put it out, but the explosion gets worse. "I should ask Branch to see if he can come up with something to put it out."

Later, Smidge is getting a cup of water in the meeting room while Poppy is talking to Sky with Harper sitting with him.

"Okay. Just give Harper here a physical description."

Sky begins the description, "Body of a warrior. Earlobes of a poet. Butt that shimmers like the night sky. We done here?"

Poppy looks at the picture groans, "Describe the mystery Troll, not yourself." She turns Harper's clipboard to reveal a drawing of Sky.

Sky takes the picture Harper drew and hands it over to one of the workers, "My mistake. But I’m keeping that. The troll had dark eyes, a shrouded face, and hair the color of mystery."

Harper shows Poppy a picture of the Giver. Which is only a troll in a hoody wearing sunglasses. Poppy stammers, "What is this?! This isn’t helpful."

"I said I saw the Giver, not that it’d be helpful."

Harper takes back the picture she drew, "Wait. I’ve seen this Troll."

Xxx

Later that night, Harper Poppy and Smidge go to find the Giver, "I saw the Troll down here this morning… over by the tree roots." She points to a large tree. They continue to walk as the fog clears. Poppy gasps to see several gifts ready to be delivered.

Smidge is a bit suspicious, "Uh…"

Poppy looks on in awe, "The Giver’s stash. They’ll have to come back here before delivering tonight’ gifts. This is where we make out stand." As she tries to walk away, she hears squishing sounds.

Smidge looks up at her, unimpressed, "Uh, we’re standing in mud."

The royal moves away from the mud, "This is where we make our stand.

An owl is heard hooting in the background. Poppy and Smidge are hiding in the bushes. "It’s just a matter of time. Eventually, our Mystery Troll will have to come back to get the gifts, only to find…"

Smidge pops out of some tall grass, "Whammo! It’s a stakeout, boy!"

"Oh, yeah!" The two hear rusting. "That’s the Giver now!" The troll appears and seems to go to the gifts. "Gotcha!" She pulls a vine, and many flowers pop up. They shoot balls and streamers along with a thank-you banner.

Spiders jump down and sing, "Thank you!"

Poppy runs out of her hiding place, "Ha! I thanked you! I thanked you so hard! Yes, yes, yes!" She turns on a flashlight and pulls away the flowers. "Now, what do you have to say for yourself?!" The flowers reveal that it was only Cooper.

Cooper gives them a clueless smile, "You’re welcome."

Poppy is shocked, "All these years, it was you? W-why did you - When did you…" She puts her flashlight away and tries to calm down. "You know what? Just start from the beginning and tell me everything."

Cooper looks at her, "Everything? Okay. Darkness. Then I emerge from the womb, wearing this very hat."

(5 minutes later)

"And then the theme of my 7th birthday party was invisible friends. It was very well attended."

(2 hours later)

"And then, after years of hard work at graduation, my classmates finally turned to me and said, “You’re not in class.” (chuckles) We laughed."

(Another 2 hours later)

"And then some weird Troll told me if I came out here, I’d find some empty boxed for my empty-box collection. And then you trapped me and said, “Tell me everything.” And then I said, “Darkness. I emerge from the womb”-

Poppy stops him, "Whoa! Just answer this question." She takes out the picture Harper drew. "Are you or are you not the Giver?"

He taps the picture, "That’s the weird Troll that sent me here."

They looked at him in disbelief, "The Giver sent you here?"

A random green spider set down a package and pulled back up. "Special delivery from the Giver."

Smidge opens the present and reveals a letter. “Dear Poppy, I’m sorry. This was the only way. From, the Giver.”

"It’s a setup. The Giver wanted us to come here!" She hears the alarms sounding in Troll Village.

Smidge looks over the horizon, "Oh, my Guh."

Poppy quickly runs toward the village, "Halt! Halt in the name of gratitude!" She looks up at the pods to hear the Trolls cheering because their gifts were delivered. She falls to her knees, leans up towards the sky, and exclaims, "THANK YOU!"

The Trolls are celebrating their given gifts while a sad Poppy sits at her pod. "The giver won, Smidge." She opens her card. "No point in holding on to this anymore. She rips the card to pieces.

Smidge tries to cheer her up, "Come on, Poppy, at least you got a present, huh?"

Poppy takes the present, "A horribly wrapped present. Who uses so much tape?" She sighs, "Chenille was right. This Troll really must live… under a rock! (gasps) Trolly-moley. I know who it is!" She gives her present to Smidge and runs. Then she comes back to pick up her destroyed card. "I really regret doing that." Smidge takes both presents to her pod for safe keeping.

Xxxxx

We return to the tree to see a dark figure heading towards a cave hidden amongst the vines, "Hold it right there, Giver."

Poppy walks towards the figure and grabs their shoulders, "It’s time for you to be finally thanked." She turned them around to reveal, "(gasps) Mr. Dinkles!"

The hoodie falls off to reveal the cute little glow worm on top of some other pets. Smidge pops out of the bushes, "Wait, so it wasn't Branch?"

Poppy shakes her head, "If you're here, then who's with Biggie?"

Xxxx

We quickly go back to the village in Biggie's pod, "Isn't this wonderful, Mr. Dinkles?" He pulls out a brand new camera, showing it to a doll that looks like Mr. Dinkles, with a poorly hidden tape recorder on its back. "Meep"

Xxxx

"So if all of you are the Giver, why keep it a secret?" Poppy asks.

"Meep."

Poppy cooed, "Aww, you all just wanted to show your love for everyone by doing something nice."

Smidge pulls out a present from her hair, "Well, that explains the massive amount of tape. Must be pretty hard to wrap without thumbs."

Poppy cleared her throat, "OK guys, I still want to thank all of you, so how about you all come to my pod tomorrow for some special treats?"

The pets all agreed and waved goodbye to the two trolls as they walked back to the village. Once they were gone, they quickly ran into the cave. Dinkles flipped over a rock to reveal a pass code lock, he typed in some numbers, and a hatch opened. They all jumped in, landing in a very familiar living room.

"Meep." Well done, everyone. They all turned to see Branch taking off a dark hoodie and special night vision sunglasses. "Meep." She doesn't suspect a thing.

"Meep." Correct, Quiet One. Now, I believe we are to receive our payment.

Branch smiles and pulls out his special, pet friendly, triple fudge brownies. As he watches them enjoy the treat, he laughs silently, 'Sorry Poppy, but this is one secret I'd like to keep to myself for a while.

#trolls #trolls branch #au #mute!branch #trolls band together #branch #trolls poppy #dreamworks trolls #trolls the beat goes on #trolls world tour #trolls snackpack #trolls smidge #trolls satin #trolls chenille #trolls cooper #trolls dj suki #trolls biggie #trolls mr dinkles #this took a while

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avis-writeshq · 1 year

Text

miya atsumu – a lovely night

genre&warnings: rated 16+ for enemies to lovers, fluff, angst, and slowburn; mentions of eating and unsafe usage of cooking knives!! fem!reader

a/n: it was meant to be a small drabble but i got carried away lmao (i’ve also been working on this for more than a year so my peep my writing style changes LMFAOOO)

w/c: 10k exact

“i hate it here.”

“you say that every morning,” aneko chuckled, tying her hair up in a ponytail. “what happened this time?”

“i have a biology presentation soon and i’m not looking forward to it.” you side-eyed the window, watching as students begin filing out of their dorm rooms and into the walkways that lead to the campus.

aneko sighed, patting your shoulder. “you’ll do fine. you do well in every presentation, you know that.”

a lopsided smile made its way onto your face as you shrug your bag over your shoulder. “thanks, aneko… i’m gonna get some coffee. you want anything?”

she shook her head ‘no’, and you shrugged, making your way down the stairs, crossing the dormitories to the cafe next to the campus.

as soon as you took your place in line, a scalding sensation erupts through your shirt and all over your chest, and you jump back in shock and pain.

“what the hell?” you demand, hissing as the coffee burned your skin. unfortunately, the perpetrator is nowhere to be found, seemingly fleeing the scene. the last thing you see of the person is a volleyball jacket and piss-coloured hair.

gritting your teeth in frustration, you storm out of the cafe, ignoring the cries of the cafe staff and trailing after him. “oi! piss hair! you little…” a grunt escapes your lips as he makes a turn, disappearing into the sea of students.

eyes narrowing into slits, you marched your way back to your dorm, throwing the door open.

“what happened to you?” sakura frowned, getting up from her seat on the couch. “oh, and aneko’s on her date.”

“first of all,” you scowled, dumping your bags on the ground and retreating to the bathroom, “if you ever see a piss-haired brat, punch them in the face for me.”

“piss-haired brat,” she rolled her eyes in amusement before asking, “are you alright, (y/n)?”

tugging the shirt over your head, you stormed back out into the kitchen. “i have a biology presentation in an hour, i had boiling coffee spill on me and the guy didn’t even apologise! and now aneko has to go and flaunt her non-singleness to the world!”

“well, that guy is a douchebag,” she hummed. “and you know you always get the highest score in biology, so that’s not an issue for you. oh and you’re never going to guess what kou-chan told me!”

you raise an unsuspecting eyebrow, “what?”

she squeals, her hand clapping in excitement. “they knows someone who needs a date! he’s looking for a partner!”

your nose scrunched in distaste, “you set me up with six dates since last september and it’s only the beginning of january. do i really want your help in finding a date?”

“i know someone. trust me on this, okay?” she pats your shoulder and smooths out your hair. “are you free tomorrow night?”

“i think so…” you eye her wearily. “i’m trusting you, got it?”

she grins, the smile stretching across her face in excitement, “i won’t let you down! oh, you should start heading to biology.”

you nod, “alright… i’ll see you later. it’s your turn to buy groceries, so don’t forget!”

shooting you a thumbs up, sakura goes back to her fashion magazine, and you close the dorm door. maybe the day would get better? it can only go up from here… right? shaking the negative thoughts out of your head, you half-jog to the lecture hall, clutching at the strap of your shoulder bag. the hall is already half-filled with people reading over their notes, doing last-minute editing, and practising.

finding a seat near the middle, you began taking out all your notes from your bag. as you read through your entire presentation, the chair beside you screeched as someone took a seat there.

glancing up at the person to say a quick greeting and then you realised — “you!”

you bolted up from your seat, your eyes narrowed and the chair screeched as it dragged against the floor. he gapes, watching you stand.

“the hell ya talkin’ about?”

“you–” you flinched as the sharp hushing of students met your ears and you bowed sheepishly in apology. you turned back to the smug-looking brat, hissing your explanations. “the main issue is the fact that you spilled hot coffee on me. what’s worse is how you didn’t even apologise!”

he chuckled, “i see. you’re just a fan who wants attention! okay, you can watch our volleyball practice–”

“i don’t want to watch your stupid volleyball practice!” you snapped, gathering your books and shoving them into your bag. “unless you want to apologise, i don’t want to see your ugly face and piss hair.”

“hey–”

flipping him off as discreetly as possible, you stalked your way over to the other side of the lecture hall, sitting in between two students.

one raised their eyebrow at you. “is miya atsumu your boyfriend?”

you scoffed, muttering under your breath, “atsumu? what a shitty name…” you turn back to them, “no, he’s not my boyfriend. if he was, he would be dead by now.”

they nod, eyebrows raised, before turning back to their notes.

you, on the other hand, were left to your thoughts. miya? where have you heard that name before? and why the hell did he look so familiar?

***

“oi–”

“are you going to apologise?” you asked, not looking at him as you pack up your things after your successful presentation. “listen, buddy, i'm in a good mood. something i don’t want you screwing up.”

“i’m not here to apologise,” he huffed, “but maybe i can make it up to you?”

“i only want an apology, sweet cheeks,” a sarcastic smile bloomed on your face, and you patted his cheek snarkily. “now if you excuse me, i would like to get the coffee i couldn’t get this morning.”

“i’ll treat you,” atsumu offered and you shot him a glare.

“sure. i’ll take an apology with a side of sincerity.”

the smile on your face grew wider and you walked out of the lecture room and into the throng of students.

***

“i sure hope that this date of mine is as good as you say…” you hummed, searching through your bag to make sure you have everything. “why does it have to be at this fancy restaurant again?”

“because the guy just so happens to be extra,” sakura says, taking a left turn and parking in front of a tall building. “you are wearing the heels i gave you right?”

you nodded begrudgingly, recalling how she forced you to wear them before you left your dorm.

she squealed, her bright blue eyes gleaming with happiness. “okay, so here’s the rundown. the restaurant is ise sueyoshi–”

“i’m sorry, ise sueyoshi, as in one of the most expensive restaurants in all of tokyo?”

“i tried to talk him out of it,” she defended, grimacing at the thought of the bill. “look, it’ll be fine. just don’t think about it, okay? after the restaurant, you’ll take a nice walk around the city! oh, and i’m confiscating your keys.”

you blanched, “what, why?”

“so that you can’t ditch him halfway. no one is going to be home until your date is over, so there’s no reason for you to ditch.” she grinned, “you’ll be fine! he’s a good guy, trust me on this.”

you groaned in annoyance but pushed the car door open. “i’ll call you when i get inside the restaurant.”

she beamed, yelling, “the reservation is under hasegawa sakura!” before driving off into the distance.

a sigh left your lips as you stomp your way inside the building, taking the lift to the 11th floor. after entering the restaurant, you take a seat, looking at the bright city of tokyo below you.

“what a view, huh?”

no. you scowled, looking up at atsumu. “i’ve seen better.”

he shrugged, taking the seat in front of you and swirling his cup of wine around. “so yer my blind date. i would have thought that sakura had better friends.”

you sneered as you rose from your seat. “i was thinking the same thing. the only reason i’m on this stupid date is because of her, anyway.”

he grinned, and you felt a chill run down your spine as he says, “so ya asked her to set’cha up with me? very cute, sweetheart, but if ya wanted to go on a date with me, ya could have just asked.”

you scoffed, “i know full well about your reputation with girls, sweetheart. they go up to you all starry-eyed and then you break their hearts. besides, why the hell would i be attracted to someone like you?”

atsumu flinched at the honesty in your voice. do people really see him as some dream crusher heart breaker? “listen, sweet cheeks–” he relished in the way your cheeks darken at his words– “i am a great person.”

“yes, because every ‘great person’ flaunts about it in the hallways. yes, miya, you’re a great person.” the sarcasm rolled off your tongue fluidly, and he can’t help but roll his eyes when you speak again. “i lost my appetite. excuse me.”

he bolted up from his seat, eyes wide as you throw your bag over your shoulder and make your way out of the restaurant. “woah, woah, woah. do ya know how hard it was to get a reservation here? i even got a suit for this!”

“no, i don’t know how hard it was to get a reservation here. and this is just further proof you’re an asshole. you want to show off your money to some random stranger, knowing entirely that it’s a blind date.” you fake a smile and bow to the staff members.

atsumu faltered in his step before continuing to run after you. “okay, listen–”

“no, i am not going to listen, because the only thing that comes out of your mouth is bullshit. come on sakura, pick up…”

“(l/n)–”

“stop! okay, just… just stop.” your nostrils flared, and you turned around to shoot him a venomous glare. “i don’t care about you or your dumb polyester suit–”

“it’s wool.”

“–but you have to be stupid to think that i’d ever fall for you.”

he groaned, wiping his face in frustration. “we’re both doing this for sakura so can ya just cooperate for one damn night?”

you grit your teeth, eyeing him carefully, “okay. just one night.”

***

“i have t’ask,” atsumu begins, your bag thrown haphazardly over his shoulder. “why are ya on this date anyway? woulda thought that someone as charming as you would have had a date by now.”

“i could ask you the same question,” you quip, eyes fixated on the bright city lights that you could see from the aoyama bridge. “it’s not important anyway.”

he shrugged, “just wanted to know why.”

“both sakura and aneko have boyfriends. it kind of sucks to be the third wheel all the time. they give me hell for not doing anything on friday nights, too,” you shrug, “i mean, it’s not a big deal.”

atsumu snorts at your words. “so you want a date for the sake of having a date?”

“i want a date for the sake of not being lonely,” you correct, “but i think i’m going to have to be lonely for the time being.”

“an’ why do you think that?” a lazy smirk rests on his lips. “i’d be a perfect boyfriend.”

“yeah, that’d appeal to someone who believes in romance,” you laugh, patting his cheek and taking your bag off him.

to miya atsumu, life is a competition to be the best. who can win the most volleyball games? who can get the highest test result? who can eat the most onigiris from onigiri miya without taking breaks? life to him is a competition. it’s a race to the finish line and the person who gets there first is the winner. and what you just said? it sounds an awful lot like a challenge.

“alright then,” he grins at you, “i’ll make you fall in love with me by… say, end of june.”

“what’s that going to do for you? give you an ego boost?” you roll your eyes, “i’m not doing that.”

“scared, sweetheart?”

crossing your arms over your chest, you shoot him a glare. “no, i’m not. but i hope you realise that i am frankly feeling nothing.”

“is that so?”

“mmm, no. in fact, it could be less than nothing.”

he chuckles, “good to know. so, you agree?”

“that this is a waste of a lovely night? yes.”

“you know what i mean. if i can make you fall in love with me by the end of june, you have to be my girlfriend.”

you snort in response, “if i didn’t know any better, miya, i’d say you’re in love with me.”

he rolls his eyes, clearly ignoring your first remark. “alright then, choose your prize if you’re so confident.”

“if you fall in love with me…” you hum an evil glint in your eye, “i get total and full control over your social media.”

he smirks, holding out his hand for you to shake. “anything for you, princess.”

***

to you, life was about survival. don’t die, don’t mess up, don’t be a failure. that also meant ‘don’t get lonely, because that just screws things up for everyone’. aneko had eito, her boyfriend since high school, and sakura had taniguchi kou, the manager for the ejp volleyball team. that must have been how she even had connections to miya atsumu in the first place. survival was also not doing anything unnecessary. whether it be sleeping at ungodly hours, binge-watching an entire anime, or just studying too much, you couldn’t do that because it’ll destroy your schedule the next day. your life was based on routine. that is, it was based on routine.

“hey, (y/n), there’s some mail for you!” aneko yells out into the dorm, waving a pristine envelope around.

you raise an eyebrow. “it’s probably junk, just throw it out!”

“i’m gonna open it, okay?” she beams at you as you crack an egg into the pan.

“knock yourself out.”

you hum quietly to yourself as you turn off the stove and move the egg on top of your rice. grabbing a pair of chopsticks from your drawer, you cut through the egg, just as you hear a squeal.

“(y/n), oh my god, did you buy volleyball tickets? they’re vips, too!”

“what?” you push your seat back, grabbing the envelope from aneko’s hands. “i didn’t buy any volleyball tickets? it’s probably been given to the wrong person.”

“but there was a note for you in the envelope…” she frowned, “are you sure that it’s not for you?”

confusion was clear on your face as you pulled the note out, but it was replaced with a look of pure annoyance when you realised exactly who the note was from.

‘dear: (l/n) (y/n),

see you in the stands ;)

from: atsumu <3’

a deep scowl plasters itself onto your face and you dial his number into your phone.

“did you–”

“you absolute asshole!” you yell into your phone, swiftly cutting him off, slapping a hand against your forehead. “i’m not going to your dumb volleyball game, got it? i have things to do and places to be.”

“you and i both know that isn’t true, sweetheart,” he snorts and you can practically hear his eye roll. “you told me yourself - you don’t usually have plans on friday nights.”

you grimace because yes, you did say that. “well maybe i have plans now?” the words came out as a question and he chuckles.

“come on, it’ll be fun!”

“we’ll see,” you mutter before hanging up.

***

“i’ve never been in a proper volleyball stadium before,” aneko says as she bit into her onigiri. “i can’t believe you got vip tickets, (n/n)!”

“yeah… amazing,” you manage, a meek smile plastered on your face.

the entire stadium looks as if a rainbow puked on it. bright, colourful posters to support the players well held high in the air by multiple people. banners hang over the stands, the team’s logo and motto drawn in neat calligraphy... the multitude of people who came to watch was overwhelming – almost every seat has been filled.

“the first match is… black jackals versus the sendai frogs!” aneko beams as she looks at the flyer. “wow, they’re both really good. (y/n), look at them!”

forcing the flyer in front of your face, you push it away from you so you could properly read it, taking note of the team members. each of the members on both teams look good — really good. you look around yourself and chuckle, of course. no wonder it was so full. most of the fans are girls anyway.

one girl, sporting a bright blue shirt with the words ‘go atsumu!’, happens to catch your eye. she’s a typical popular girl — false clumpy lashes that you can spot from a mile away, hair curled in obnoxious rings, and a banner that screamed ‘look at me!’. you can tell from the amused looks the people gave her that she is a common spectator at msby games.

“that’s emiko etsudo,” aneko grumbles, catching your gaze, “she’s in my lecture and never stops talking.”

“seems to be the type,” you snort, turning back to the volleyball courts where the players began to take their places.

the black jackals are insane. even when they were just starting up you can already tell how skilled they are. each spike that hits against the glossy wooden floors sends shivers down your spine. as the game went on and got more intense, it’s clear that msby was in the lead in the fifth set. both teams won two sets each, an impressive feat in itself, and the score for the fifth set is close — 11-10 in the jackal’s favour.

soon enough, atsumu’s turn to serve came around after a quick rotation, and the cheerleaders and band immediately fell into a hush. your eyes meet with atsumu and he sends a wink your way, resulting in a high pitched shriek to resound throughout the stadium. you can hear emiko freaking out and screaming that he was winking at her, amusing you. sending a small, two-fingered salute back at atsumu, you brushed your pants down as you stood up.

“i’m gonna head off to the bathroom for a second. i’ll be right back, okay?”

aneko nods, fully immersed in the game. letting out a tired sigh, you leave the gym, searching for the restroom. the volleyball game must have ended a lot quicker than you expected when an entire team walks past you, almost trampling you in the process.

“well, well, well. what do we have here?”

you groan, “miya. i’m assuming you won?”

“don’t look so excited,” he grins boyishly, and you ignore the warming of your heart as he does. “we’re gonna go get some drinks after we win. care to join?”

he slings a sweaty arm over your shoulder and you cringe, pushing his arm off. “i don’t do drinks.”

“you harassing someone, miya?” a lazy voice drawls from behind you, and you almost jump at the random voice.

“o’course not, omi-kun!” atsumu snorts, “this is (y/n)!”

“(l/n),” you correct, patting his back sarcastically, “we’re not quite there yet.”

‘omi-kun’ raises an eyebrow. “right. nice to meet you.” and with that, he followed the rest of the team into the locker room, hands stuffed into his pockets.

“that’s a character.” you roll your eyes. “anyway, i better head back to aneko. she’s probably getting worried.”

“i’ll walk ya,” he offers, a bright smile on his face, only for it to fall within seconds.

“miya? what’s—”

a harsh squeal meets your ears and you flinch, whipping around to see etsudo, her merch in plain view and looking like a disco ball.

“atsumu, oh my god, you were so good out there!” her high pitched voice rings in your ears.

“shut up—” atsumu begins, but stops short. your words echo in his head, ‘they go up to you all starry-eyed and then you break their hearts’. “yeah, whatever.”

etsudo’s eyes widen and you can practically see the excitement oozing out of her. “i knew you’d love me!”

“how do you get that from— never mind,” you shake your head, a sarcastic smile on your face as you begin to walk away. “i’m gonna go. good luck with this, miya.”

“wait, hold on,” atsumu fumbles, running past etsudo and trailing behind you. “i said i would walk ya.”

“but you were having such a good time with your fangirl,” you say innocently, battering your eyelashes. “emiko etsudo, i think her name is?”

“don’t remind me,” he pinches the bridge of his nose, “she’s gone to every game and thinks that i’m in love with her or something. spoiled pig…”

“so you don’t like her? do you hate all your fans?” you raise an eyebrow, both in curiosity and in disbelief.

he shrugs, a smirk on his face. “not all of them. you’re the only one i can tolerate.”

“smooth,” you laugh, “how many girls did you use that one on?”

“just one,” he hums, bumping his side gently against yours.

you can’t deny the fluttering of your insides as he does and you scold yourself. this is a game to him — he doesn’t feel anything for you.

“how nice of you,” you say, trying to ignore the growing blush on your cheeks and the heat that’s crawled up to your ears. “well, there’s aneko. i’m gonna go…”

“alright, then.” he grins, taking your hand and kissing the back of it. “until next time, sweet cheeks.”

you gape as he leaves, cheeks hot with embarrassment and surprise. “wha-”

“(y/n), oh my god, was that atsumu?” aneko demands, shaking you to answer.

you don’t respond, trying to calm yourself down from shock, your heart racing a thousand times an hour. you don’t mean anything to him. you’re a game to him — a game that he plays just to show everyone else that he is better than them.

“(y/n)? are you okay?”

you jolt out of your trance, blinking tiredly. “oh. yeah. i’m fine.”

***

“atsumu-san, who was that?” hinata bounds up to him, all smiles after winning against his longtime rival.

“(l/n) (y/n), apparently,” sakusa responds, his hands still stuffed in his pockets and a towel around his shoulders.

“oh, she’s sakura-chan’s friend, right?” bokuto asks brightly and takes a bite of his protein bar.

atsumu nods, mind distant as he thinks about where to take you on your next ‘date’. it wouldn't be a real date if he already bet on it, right? would a cafe work? what about a cat cafe? do you even like cats?

“oi, miya.”

he looks up to see sakusa, and he grins, “knew i’d grow on you, omi-omi~”

“your face looks gross,” he scrunches his face in disgust.

“you had a funny look on your face, atsumu-san!” hinata laughs.

“like how taniguchi-san looks at sakura-chan!” bokuto agrees side-eying atsumu who was no longer paying attention to the conversation.

currently, atsumu was thinking of a million ways he could win your heart. he was thinking of a million ways to get you to fall for him, all so that he can prove to you that he isn’t as bad as you think he is. he had a little over a month to get you to fall in love with him and, granted, he did spill boiling coffee over you and then proceeded to not apologise. scratching his head in thought, a lightbulb suddenly dinged in his head. there is only one person in the world who knows everything about everything. and in this case? everyone.

***

“nice try. not happening,” sakura responds swiftly, turning away from the setter. “look, atsumu, you’re my friend and all, but the fact that you want to win my best friend over for the sake of your pride isn’t a good enough reason to ‘get to know her’. if anything, it makes you seem like an even shitter person than everyone perceives you to be.”

he snorts at her words, “you really are a friend of (y/n). come on, sakura-chan! i just need to know what she likes! that’s all!”

sakura grits her teeth, beginning to regret sending you on that date with this piss-haired brat. “i don’t care, atsumu. i’m not going to let you break her heart for the sake of your stupid pride. you want to use someone for your stupid experiment? fine, not my problem, but you’re going to use my best friend.”

he flinches at her icy tone, now understanding why kou-san warned him about getting on sakura’s bad side. despite her incredibly bright and sunny disposition, she really was incredibly terrifying when it came to the people that she cared about which was not good for him. next attempt? fukuhara aneko.

“i don’t understand why you’re trying so hard,” aneko remarks as she invites atsumu into the shared apartment, “you’re doing this… because you want to be known as some dreamboat who breaks girls’ hearts left right and centre?”

“i’m doing this to prove a point,” atsumu corrects, “but when you say it that way—”

“i am not going to let you break my best friend’s heart,” aneko cuts in, taking a knife out of the knife block and waving it around halfheartedly, relishing in the way the setter flinches. “nice try, though.”

he groans in annoyance, “sakura-chan said the same thing.”

“then why are you trying?” aneko demands, frustration clear in her voice, “you’re putting all this effort in to ‘prove a point’. do you know how ridiculous you sound? what’s the real reason you want to win (y/n) over?”

at her words, atsumu falls silent. as cliche as it seemed, you were interesting to him. you’re different, and at his thoughts, the volleyball player cringes internally. to be entirely fair, and to give you credit, you stood your ground around him which was admirable, to say the least. unlike the other ‘spoiled pigs’, you actually have some sort of awareness. maybe he…

he shakes his head, snorting quietly. as if he attracted to someone the likes of you.

“i’ll figure it out myself,” atsumu concludes, avoiding aneko’s unimpressed gaze. “she has to fall for me at some point. does she have any social media?”

“i thought you said that you’ll figure it out yourself,” aneko responds drily. “why don’t you just ask her yourself? let me guess; your pride?"

to atsumu, that sounded a whole lot like a challenge.

***

for a friday morning, you were surprisingly busy, especially because of all the practice exams you’ve been doing as preparation for an exam that will take place in less than three months. but of course, no day passes without a few random interruptions.

“hey, sweetheart, you doing anything?”

atsumu’s annoying voice rang in your ears through the phone, and you couldn’t help but grit your teeth. “what do you want, miya?”

“i was just wondering if there’s anything in particular you wanted to do, lately,” he responds, his voice in a sing-song tone. “just figured i should take you out on a better date.”

you scoff at his proposal, “nice try, miya. you’re not getting me that easily.”

“aw, don’t be like that, darling! i’ll take you out to get coffee, how about that?”

a silence washes over you as you consider his offer. to be entirely fair, you couldn’t really say no to a free food, and it did give him a chance to redeem himself. not to mention you definitely did need the coffee at some point.

“alright, miya, let’s do it.” you shrug, not that he could see it, “when and where?”

“i’ll text you the address,” he responds, and you can hear the pride and smugness through the phone. “see you there, babe.”

from: miya

hey princess!

from: miya

[sent location]

from: miya

see you in 20!

a sigh escapes your lips, not believing that you actually let yourself be dragged into this mess – a mess that was only made for atsumu’s pride and ego. picking up your bag, you made your way over to the location he sent you, praying that it wasn’t some sick joke and that you weren’t about to be murdered.

your arrival at the cafe doesn’t go unnoticed by the volleyball player, the little bell at the door welcoming you in and announcing your presence to the rest of the people inside. you don’t miss the way atsumu’s head spins around to look at you, a boyish grin spreading onto his face as if to say, “i can’t believe you’re actually here.” you find it funny, considering how he’s the one who invited you here in such an ominous way. he waves you over enthusiastically – too enthusiastically – and you ignore the quickening of your heart at the way he looks so excited to see you.

he’s not happy to see you, you have to remind yourself – although you feel your heart begin to sink at your own thoughts. you huff, now is not the time to be caught up in his romantic theatrics. the only reason why he’s so excited to see you is to rub it in your face that you actually fell for it. right?

“i already ordered for us!” atsumu said happily, taking a sip of his coffee for affect, “ya don’t mind, do ya, princess?”

“atsumu, do you really think i’m a princess?” you ask, batting your eyelashes.

“ya know i do, princess!” he smiles, pushing a dark chocolate mocha towards you.

“then stop making decisions for me,” you deadpan, crossing your legs. “how do you even know what i order anyway?”

another obnoxious grin your way as he answers, “i have connections.”

you scoff once again, rolling your eyes as you lifted the drink to your lips.

atsumu hates the way his eyes fell to your lips as you spoke and he hates the way his heart began to pound the second you stepped through the door of the cafe. he isn’t supposed to feel this way – he’s not supposed to like you. so he suppresses his feelings. as usual.

the date – could you even call it a date? – ended on a positive note to your surprise. atsumu was clearly doing his best to be ‘the man of your dreams’, and as much as you appreciated his gentlemanly ways, you hated to admit that you missed his teasing charms and his childish antics. the idea of you missing his annoying nature is beyond your own understanding, to the point where you were almost sure that he had successfully brainwashed you.

you shake your head, trying to clear your thoughts away as you return to the present. atsumu decided to walk you back to your dorm which, to give him credit, was actually quite sweet of him… even though you kept insisting that it wasn’t necessary.

“hey, lets do this again sometime,” you find yourself saying, realising that you actually did enjoy the boy’s company. “it was fun!”

he smirks smugly at you, and you had to laugh as he says, “i knew i’d grow on you, love!”

“just be yourself next time,” you snort, patting him on the shoulder as you walk to the entrance of your dorm building. “i’m paying!”

“as if!” he yells back, and you smile as he waves goodbye.

you’re left to your thoughts as you ride the elevator to the seventh floor, thinking over what just transpired. it was weird – considering atsumu’s naturally flirtatious character – and if you had to be completely honest with yourself, it was unnerving seeing him do a complete one-eighty regarding his personality.

the biggest thing that worried you was how he was so willing and quick to change his personality for someone. was he that desperate to prove himself to a complete stranger?

“so…?”

you hear a voice as you enter your dorm. there, sakura leaned against the kitchen counter, the biggest and the smuggest look on her face.

“how was the date?” she coos, eyes glistening in mischief.

“weird,” you respond, dropping your bags to the side as you pull a chair out to sit. “sakura, you know him. has he ever been in any… bad relationships?”

she thinks for a moment before responding, “why do you ask?”

you shrug, resting your chin on the palm of your hand. “he just seems to eager to prove how macho he is. did something happen?”

“from what i know, and from what kou’s told me, he’s always been like that. you could always ask osamu-san, though. you know him, the owner of onigiri miya.”

you clicked your fingers in acknowledgement, “so that’s why he looked so familiar! i haven’t been to that place in ages!”

she nods, “ask osamu. tell him i sent you.”

***

“kombu-onigiri for (l/n) (y/n)!” osamu calls out to the small crowd of people, and you have to do a double take when you see him.

he was practically the same as atsumu, aside from his dark grey eyes and ash brown hair, and you had to hold your tongue from complaining.

“thanks,” you smile, taking the little bag.

“i haven’t seen you in a while,” osamu comments as he prepares another order. “busy with uni?”

you sigh tiredly, “it is what it is. i wanted to talk to you about something.”

he nods, “shoot. umekaka-onigiri for kimura!”

“it’s about atsumu.”

he stops before turning to you slowly. “... let’s wait until i close, yeah? happy to wait for another hour or so?”

“take your time.”

time passes quickly among the quiet vocaloid music and the volleyball game that played on the tv overhead, as well as the multitude of customers that came and went. osamu gave you complimentary onigiris while you waited and despite your initial denial of the free food, you had to give in to the soft smell of caramelised rice and sesame oil.

it was well past seven o’clock by the time osamu was able to speak to you, but at least you were well fed while you waited.

“sorry about that,” osamu apologises, untying his apron and placing a cup of hot green tea in front of you. “what did you want to talk about?”

at that moment, you want to scream at the universe. of course, you’re stuck with the annoying stuck up brat instead of the sweet chef that sat in front of you.

“don’t worry about it,” you smile, wrapping your hands around the warm cup. “atsumu… has he ever been in any bad romantic relationships?”

he doesn’t respond directly, instead chuckling and asking, “you’re the girl he’s seeing, aren’t you? the hard-headed one? what does he call you again? oh, ‘princess’, was it?”

you raise an eyebrow, “he talks about me?”

he smirks, leaning back in his seat and there’s a smugness as he says, “a lot more than you think, princess.”

you take back everything you said about the universe. both the miya twins were equally insufferable.

“don’t call me that. and answer the question!”

his face falls from the obnoxious grin he once had and settles into a frown. “he was. a year ago, with… tachibana reina, i think. fucking bitch.”

your eyes widen at the sudden coldness and spite that drips from his words. “what happened?”

“cheated on him. treated him like shit. god… no wonder he’s been going on so many dates.” he runs a hand through his hair in frustration. “i shouldn’t tell you this, and frankly i shouldn’t be telling you anything, but…”

he looks around, almost comically, before saying, “i really think you’re good for him, (y/n). i’m serious. out of all the girls he’s gone on dates with, he’s made it pretty clear that he likes you.”

you almost laugh if he wasn’t so serious. “he’s only trying so hard to prove a point, osamu. he doesn’t feel anything for me.”

he sips his green tea, laughing quietly, “i promise he actually likes you. he’s just scared, y’know?”

“from everything you’ve told me? i get it.” it’s your turn to frown as you digest his words. “i just need to take care of myself too, that’s all.”

“just talk to him. really, he’s not as bad a guy as you’d expect.”

***

after days of psyching yourself up – only to psych yourself out – you find yourself waiting at the university gym, cringing internally at the smell of sweat and antiperspirant. but all that goes away the moment you sit at the bleachers, the manager of the team nodding in acknowledgement. the rest of the volleyball team didn’t seem to notice your entry into the gym, and if they did, they clearly didn’t pay any mind to it as they continued their practice game. and damn was it a view. strangely enough, you found your eyes to linger a little too long on a familiar blond player, him sporting the number ‘7’ on his jersey.

as much as you wanted to deny it, it was undeniably cute and inspiring to see him work so hard. but it all comes crashing down when he lands awkwardly on his leg after a block.

it all happens so quickly; the captain calling for a time-out, the manager rushing over to him and the coach yelling for everyone to give him some room. you stand from your seat, hoping to get a better view of what was going on, and you did. and you wished you just stayed seated or you could purge the image out of your memory.

there atsumu sat, trying and failing to get up without anyone’s help. it was a painful scene to watch as he gasped in pain and exhaustion, denying his captain’s hand and ignoring his manager’s pleas to let the rest of the team help him.

“hey, atsumu…”

his neck snaps to look at you, your hand outstretched with a lopsided smile on your face (you tried to make it reassuring).

“come on, ‘tsumu. let’s get you to the infirmary.”

you help him wrap an arm over your neck as you hoist him up, him balancing on his good leg.

“i got it from here,” you say to the coach who let out a heave of relief.

“thank you, (l/n).”

the walk to the infirmary was quiet, and although it was only a short distance, the journey seemed to stretch on and on. the moment he makes his presence aware to the nurse, she fusses over him, almost like a mother goose tending to her child.

it was obvious that atsumu was doing his best to stay strong, despite how his brown eyes glossed over with tears and how he hissed in pain when the nurse moved his ankle slightly.

“a sprain,” she says to the both of you, before addressing the boy in front of her. “grade two sprain, teetering to grade three. i’m calling six weeks off the ankle and then rehab for two weeks.”

“that’s… two months?”

the voice crack is evident in the setter’s voice and he’s on the verge of tears. you would be, too if you were in his shoes. taking one month off to recover is already bad enough for an athlete, let alone two.

she nods, “i’ll let your coach know. stay off the ankle, atsumu, i mean it.” she turns to you, “you make sure of it, okay?”

“of course.”

you drive atsumu’s car (a fancy mercedes because apparently their team was sponsored by them or something like that) to his dorm, helping him onto the couch.

“are you okay?”

he nods and you watch him swallow the lump in his throat.

you ask him again, and it’s only then when he cries. you sit beside him as he cries into the crook of your neck, his hair tickling your cheek and your ear as you rub his back. you press kisses to the top of his head, denying every horrible harsh thing that comes out of his mouth. he cries and cries until there’s nothing left to cry about. he cries about his injury and how he’s letting everyone down. he cries about how he’s never good enough and how you deserve better – someone who isn’t stuck up and obnoxious. he cries about reina and how it’s his fault she fell out of love with him. he cries about how he was horrible to osamu, his brother who put up with all his problems and who always treats him with kindness despite everything. he apologises and apologises until he falls asleep in your arms, and at that moment you shed a tear.

you hate yourself for all the harsh things you say about him behind closed doors. you hate the way you thought of him as a nuisance because, god, he is the furthest thing from a nuisance. you hate the way you used to wish he wasn’t in your life because you realise that now you wouldn’t know how life would be without seeing his pretty face and his genuine joy to see you.

you move him so that he can rest his head on a cushion – a feat in itself considering that he’s 73 kilograms of pure muscle – before making a phone call.

when he finally wakes, the first thing he sees is you.

“you’re awake,” you say, more to yourself than to him.

“sorry,” he responds, his eyes puffy and swollen, and you raise an eyebrow at his word as he pushes himself up from the couch so that his back was against the backrest.

“you don’t need to apologise,” you chuckle, “anyway, i called osamu-san about what happened and he brought some food for you to eat.”

he’s silent, looking up at you, confusion clear in his eyes. why are you being so… nice to him?

“i thought you hated me,” he says bitterly, his gaze shifting to his hands.

you falter, and you stop stirring the udon. “i… i’m sorry.” you look back at the pot, “i never… i never hated you.”

he scoffs in disbelief, “you did. i know you did.”

“i didn’t,” you respond firmly, moving to pour the udon into a large bowl, “i didn’t hate you. i think i hated the idea that you were using me, or something.” you sprinkle some spring onions over the udon before topping it up with an egg and the tempura that osamu helped you fry earlier. “that’s what you wanted, isn’t it? this entire thing is a game – a bet – to boost your ego.” he’s quiet as you talk, and you sigh in both frustration and regret. “but i never hated you. and i’m sorry that you felt like i did.”

you place the bowl in front of him on the coffee table, wiping your hands on your pants awkwardly. “um, yeah… i’m gonna clean up now so… call me when you need me, i guess.”

“can you stay here?” atsumu asks suddenly, and you nod.

“sure.”

***

despite all your protests and your pleas, you, osamu, and atsumu walk into the university gym four weeks later. well, it wasn’t so much walking for atsumu as it was wheeling him through the glass sliding doors. that was your condition for him to enter the gym: for him to sit in a wheel chair while you wheel him around. sure, wheeling around a man the size of atsumu isn’t what you would consider to be fun, but the doctor did call for at least six weeks off the injury, and you weren’t about to be scolded by a medical personnel. osamu tags along with you, saying that he wanted to ‘see his brother in his misery’.

cheers and greetings from the team flood your ears, and you grin happily at all of them. of course, sakusa wastes no time in shooting sarcastic comments to atsumu, but you know that deep down he’s happy that his friend is doing okay with his injury. hinata and bokuto are beyond excited, high-fiving atsumu and telling him that they can’t wait for him to get back onto the court. meian scolds atsumu lightly for not taking care of himself, but he turns to you with a grateful smile.

you smile at the scene, standing off to the side with a few other people as you watch everyone reconnect with their ‘long lost team member’ when you notice osamu’s face fall. his expression hardens and he narrows his eyes at the door.

“osamu, what–”

one look at the gym doors is enough to make your heart fall as a tall girl stands at the entrance. it’s almost impossible to miss her – what, with her obnoxious outfit that doesn’t fit a university gym in the slightest – as she looks around the gym with a raised eyebrow. it’s only when she sees atsumu does her expression change into a ridiculous tear-stricken look, her eyebrows knitting together as her brilliant blue eyes well with tears.

“atsumu!” she cries, and everyone turns around as her high-pitched voice enters their ears.

meian blinks in confusion before turning to atsumu, whose face is now pale white before settling into a frown.

“atsumu-san, who is that?”

“tachibana reina,” osamu scowls, stepping in front of his brother protectively. “what the hell are you doing here?”

tachibana sniffs before wiping a stray tear off from her cheek. “i heard that atsumu-chan was injured so i came right away!”

you grit your teeth, moving to stand beside the onigiri-maker. “he was injured four weeks ago. if you really did care, you would have at least called earlier.”

her expression shifts in an almost comical way, an eyebrow raising at you and she speaks as if you burned her. “who are you?”

“we could ask you the same question,” sakusa spits back, lifting his mask up to cover his face as he expresses his hostility.

samson foster, the coach of msby, steps forward to meet with tachibana, and you can tell that he isn’t at all pleased. first of all, she decides to wear three-inch high heels into a gym, proceeds to jump herself onto an injured team member, and she didn’t even ask to visit from one of the team or staff members.

you crouch beside atsumu so that you can look in his eyes as you ask him, “you want to go now?”

he swallows thickly, eyes flicking to where tachibana stands, before nodding. “yeah.” he looks away from you when he says it.

“okay.”

you nod in acknowledgement to the rest of the team, osamu saying that he wanted to be with the team in hopes to diffuse the situation and in hopes of sending tachibana packing. sakusa raises an eyebrow at you and you smile reassuringly, mouthing the words, ‘i’ll text you later’, which he responds with a nod of his own.

“she has some nerve,” you comment as you drive through the freeway. “coming all the way here, i mean. she’s already done so much to hurt you and she just pops in from out of the blue?” you scoff, shaking your head as you indicate left to reach the exit. “i’ve only met her for ten seconds and i already hate her. how did you even survive dating her for as long as you did?”

he chuckles from beside you, “i guess we all make bad dating mistakes.”

“she’s the worst.” you roll your eyes, pulling up to his driveway. “you have the patience of a fucking saint.”

you help him into his apartment, quietly hoping that the issue at the gym has been diffused. you doubt it, considering the stories atsumu has told you about his lying ex-girlfriend, but you had to hope for the best.

“regardless of whether or not she actually cares for you, her actions were uncalled for.” you continue as you prop up your laptop on the coffee bench. “did you see osamu’s face?”

he laughs loudly, moving to sit closer next to you. “he has a dumb face.”

“you have the same face!” you cry out, clapping him on the shoulder. “anyway, i have an exam in a couple days, so hush.”

he shoots you another cheeky grin and you condemn the way your heart stutters in your chest.

“anything you say, princess.”

***

“welcome back,” coach foster chuckles, clapping atsumu on the back as he walks into the gym. “your ankle all good? you went to all your rehab sessions, right?”

“o’course!” atsumu grins, stumbling a little from the force of the clap. “(Y/N) wouldn’t let me skip any even if i wanted to.”

bokuto snickers, “oh yeah, your girlfriend!”

atsumu chuckles at his friends words, waving them off. “nah, she’s not my girlfriend.”

“but you like her, right?” hinata is quick to respond, wiggling his brows. “even sakusa likes her!”

atsumu’s face morphs into a betrayed one as he wails teasingly, drooping and arm over his friend. “no, omi-omi, how could you do this to me?!”

“get off.” sakusa grumbles not unkindly. “you smell.”

“oi, i showered!”

while atsumu was living his life, you were tempted to stay at home for a week while your mourned. what exactly were you mourning though? simple: the fact that you were very much gaining feelings for miya atsumu. in other words, you were wallowing in your misery. this wasn’t supposed to happen. you weren’t supposed to let him win.

“it’s really not that bad,” sakura offers, patting your head sympathetically. “i know it’s not ideal-”

“not ideal?” you demand, bringing your head up fro your pillows to glare at her. “this is, like, the worst thing that could happen!”

“i think you’re overreacting,” aneko offers from the otherside of the couch, rolling her eyes when your bury your face into the pillow in your arms again.

“i’m not overreacting,” you groan, words muffled by the pillows. you lift your head up once again and you scrunch your face in frustration. “he’s- he’s- this entire thing is a game to him! he doesn’t even like me!”

“i really doubt that,” sakura says gently, rubbing your back. “i know it might seem like he’s an asshole, but he’s a really nice person.”

aneko snorts, “i don’t think you need to tell her that.”

“i hate you both!” you complain, flopping backwards in your agitation. “he’s going to break my heart.”

your friends exchange looks before aneko pipes up once again. “maybe you should talk to him about it.”

“as if!” you snap, crossing your arms over your chest. “he’s just going to rub it in my face.”

sakura squeezes your shoulder reassuringly. “sweetie, i really don’t think he’d do that.”

“but you don’t know if he will or not!” you let out another scream into your pillow, tears prickling your eyes. “how could i be so- so- so stupid?!”

“you’re not being stupid. it’s normal to catch feelings and you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself. atsumu probably feels the same way.”

you roll your eyes, “yeah, right. he thought i hated him for the longest time.”

“but you made up for it,” aneko responds without missing a beat. “you literally stayed with him almost the entire time he was healing. and now, he’s back on the court doing better than ever.”

“not to mention the fact that you guys literally hang out every single day. it’s getting kind of lonely here,” sakura teases, ruffling your hair. “look, if atsumu doesn’t like you back, that just shows how much of a dick he is and is just a red flag avoided. it’s a win-win situation. you literally cannot lose.”

“she has a point, y’know,” aneko chuckles, “no matter what happens, you’d be the winner.”

“i guess so… ugh, why does this all have to be so confusing?”

“how about you tell him how you feel during his next game,” aneko suggests, pulling out her phone. “see, look, it says that they have a game next week. why don’t you tell him then?”

you nod, jumping to your feet in determination. “i can do this.”

***

you cannot do this.

there you sit on the last day of june, coincidentally also the last game of the season, palms hot and sweaty as you ruminate on whatever you’re going to do after the game is over. atsumu is performing as well as ever – sets dangerously accurate, serves powerful and as strategic as usual – and you can’t help the way your eyes are trained on him. it’s almost as if you couldn’t avert your eyes no matter how much you wanted to. even still, your heart is pounding in your chest (not because you were invested in the game) and you had half the mind to leave the stadium. only, that wasn’t an option because atsumu already spotted you in the crowd. why did you let your dumb friends convince you to do this?

the whistle sounds, bringing your out of your thoughts and you glance at the score board. 25 - 19, in favour of the jackals. both teams were filtering out of the gym as well as the spectators in the stands and you follow suit, squeezing through the throngs of people. you toss between leaving and staying again as you navigate through the crowds – maybe you can run from your problems? – only to quite literally run into your problem.

an ugly squawk escapes your lips and you cringe internally. ‘how romantic,’ you scoff to yourself sarcastically as you rub your forehead.

“oof, sorry, princess, are you okay?” atsumu steadies you in an instant, pushing your hair back to survey the damage. “no bruises?”

you let out an airy laugh. “no harm done. congrats on your win.”

he grins, winking, “anything for you, princess.” he pauses, looking you up and down. “what are you doing here?”

“nothing!” you reply quickly, and you kick yourself internally for being awkward. “uh… nothing.”

he hums in amusement, “so you only came here for the fun of it?”

you wonder how your roommates would react if you came back to the flat still single. would it be worth leaving right now? you’re only delaying the inevitable, you hear aneko’s voice in your head and you cringe because you can imagine her saying it in that disappointed motherly voice she uses. you can imagine sakura nodding beside her, giving you a look that screamed you’re a right idiot.

“i wanted to talk to you,” you find yourself saying, wringing your hands in anxiety. “you should change first. and shower.”

he throws his head back and laughs. “yeah, i’ll see you in a bit.”

a bit passes by quicker than expected with sakusa kiyoomi leaving the changing room’s first and nodding at you in respect, followed by hinata and bokuto who grin wildly and pat you on the shoulder before meeting their respective rides (you recognise one to be kageyama tobio, the setter for another volleyball team but the other is equally as attractive with dark hair and glasses framing his blue eyes). the rest of the team emerges from the showers, chattering away and obviously pumped about their win. you hear someone – their captain? – yell about drinks to which the remaining people there agree heartily, but you feel an arm rest on your shoulder.

“sorry, guys, but i have plans with this lovely lady. maybe next time!” he grins, propping his sports bag securely on his shoulder before walking you out.

“i- wait, ‘tsumu, if you have plans-”

his smile widens at the nickname and his hand moves to rest at your waist. “i do have plans! with you!”

your cheeks burn at his words and you laugh in response. you glance at him from the corner of your eye and he seems to be at ease. his hand brushes against yours for a seconds and you swallow thickly – are you reading too much into things? a breath escapes your lips as the two of you walk around the city, the moon appearing from behind some clouds as you do. for someone who was just running around wildly on a court, atsumu was certainly energetic.

“remember this place?” he asks, moving to stand between you and the road.

you only just realise your surroundings and you chuckle once you see the all too familiar street you were currently standing on. “of course i do.”

he laughs, throwing his head back, and you think it’s one of the nicest sounds you’ve ever heard.

the towering building that holds the renowned ise sueyoshi looms over the two of you, and you can’t help but feel nostalgic. the bright lights of the building shines through the windows and you can see the pale orange light against the inky blue sky. the kanji for the building is lit up in bright yellow, and you wouldn’t be surprised if the line was still long at this time of night.

a short walk later and you’re back at aoyama bridge, the cherry blossoms blowing gently through the wind. a few other people are scattered around the bridge, mostly couples holding hands save for the odd jogger or two. the walk was short – less than ten minutes – and you’re grateful for the fresh air. you rest your arms against the rails of the bridge, enjoying the cool air against your skin. atsumu stands beside you, his back against the rails and his bag on the floor.

“i wanted to talk to you,” you say finally after long moments of silence. you glance at your watch: ten minutes to midnight.

he quirks an eyebrow, turning his head to look at you fully. “what’s up?”

a breath leaves your lips as your wring your hands nervously over the railing. you look up at him with a small smile. “i like you.”

you expect him to laugh. to gloat in your face. to point and laugh and call you stupid. or maybe to run away with his tail between his legs. you expect him to stare at you in disgust and in annoyance, to roll his eyes and spit at your feet. you don’t, however, expect him to take a step towards you and cup your face with his warm calloused hands. you don’t, as much as you hoped, expect him to press his lips to yours, holding your gently as if you were porcelain. you don’t expect him to bring you closer to his chest, burying his head into your neck as he wraps his arms around your waist. but atsumu miya is full of surprises.

“i like you, too.” he mumbles, and you shiver from the way his breath brushes over the skin on your neck.

your heart is thundering in your chest and the blood rushes to your ears. “what?”

he laughs, bringing his head back up to look you in the eye. “i like you, too.”

one hand cups your cheek and the other pulls you in from your waist and he kisses you again. you pull away for air, cheeks warm and head spinning.

“yeah?”

another laugh. “of course i do, princess.” then he grins, “be my girlfriend? ya can’t say no.”

confusion enters your mind before it dawns on you. you glance at your watch – 11:59 pm. you gape at him, mouth opening and closing as you struggle to find something to say.

“i guess we both lose,” you say finally, rolling your eyes after you calm down.

he chuckles, taking your hand. “i’d say we’re both winners.”

you smile at his words. “couldn’t stand my charm, could you, miya?”

“as if!” he yells, snorting. “you fell for my charms, too!”

you stick your tongue out and swing your arms. “whatever you say, sweet cheeks.”

he kisses your cheek. “i do say, princess.”

you hum, breathing in the cool night air as you walk. “what do you think, ‘tsumu? waste of a lovely night?”

“absolutely not, princess.”

quick trivia:

ise sueyoshi: a real restaurant found in tokyo, japan. a high end restaurant that specialises in traditional japanese food.

aoyama bridge: a real bridge in tokyo, japan. approximate 9 minute walk from ise sueyoshi and is actually a tourist destination.

reblogs are always appreciated!

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pasukiyo · 1 year

Text

𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. | cedric diggory.

cedric diggory x f!muggle-born!reader 2,927 words warnings; nothing but fluffy fluff

her quill gripped tightly between her thumb and index finger, she gazed up at the sky through her bedroom window as it bruised into a dark purple, soon becoming so dark, it was a bluish-black. it had been a rather uneventful day— she’d mostly been in her room, only going downstairs a few times for food when she needed it. otherwise, she was sat at her desk, working on the homework her professors at hogwarts had given her for over the summer. she’d been working on one of the excessive amounts of essays professor snape, the school’s potions master, for a few hours at this point, her brain tired, her vision hazy with sleep. her eyelids drooped and her body ached and screamed, longing for her bed, but she knew even if she were to lay down, she wouldn’t have been able to sleep.

she loved her parents, and even loved their little house in the midst of london, and she never took life as a muggle for granted. after all, it was nice every once and awhile to take a step back from the wizarding world, and to see life through the non-magic folk’s eyes. but her heart ached, it yearned for her life back at hogwarts, for her professors, (although, professor snape probably didn’t fall under that list) for her friends, for cedric diggory.

she supposed her boyfriend was the main reason she found sleep so hard to come by now— it had been a whole week since he had last sent her an owl, and undeniably, she began to feel anxious, worried that perhaps something had happened. after all, his last letter had given her absolutely no indication that anything was wrong at all. he’d never gone this long without sending her an owl, so she couldn’t help but fear for the worst. her owl, persephone, had come back a few days ago from cedric’s, no letter attached to her claw, much to her dismay.

cedric certainly seemed to have gotten her letter, so why couldn’t he write her back?

she glanced back down to her parchment, her half-finished essay gazing up at her, and she sighed, tossing her quill back into its ink bottle. she couldn’t possibly do her homework when her mind was this preoccupied— but what else could she do?

she leaned back in her desk chair, lolled her head back, and closed her eyes, her eyelids heavy with worry, stress, exhaustion, all of the above. she could hear the purring of her cat, winston, from close by, felt his soft fur rubbing against her legs as he slithered between them, headbutting her ankles as he begged for attention. she didn’t open her eyes, however, (much to winston’s dismay as he resorted to jumping onto the mattress of her bed, tilting up his chin before tucking it between his paws) at least, not until she heard it.

clunk.

at first, she thought that perhaps it was just a bug flying into her window, and didn’t think much of it, although the noise had startled her. she settled further back into her desk chair and once again closed her eyes, hoping for some peace and quiet to ease her mind—

clunk.

she peeled a single eyelid open in question, her brow furrowed. this noise seemed louder than the other, and unless a rather large bug had flown into her window, the chances of it being just that seemed slim to none. she sat up in her chair and blinked, narrowing her eyes as she stared at the window, daring for the noise to sound again.

clunk.

she was wide awake now, and could see that what had hit her window was not a bug, nor a bird, or anything of the sort— it was a rock. who on earth would be throwing rocks at her window, let alone at this time of night? she rested her palms against the wooden surface of her desk and pushed herself to her feet, taking a peek outside her window and down at the ground below, just as another rock thudded against her window, right near her face, causing her to gasp and jump backwards.

her gaze sharpened and she rushed to her window this time, keem on catching whoever was responsible for interrupting her peace and quiet. she blinked at the silhouette down in her mother’s garden below, unsure if what she was seeing was actually truly there or not. had she drifted off to sleep after all? was she dreaming? she made sure by pinching her skin, and making sure to press into her flesh hard, enough to make her wince.

she blinked. the pain was there, so that had to mean..

she shook her head and unlocked her window before pushing it up and open, leaning over the surface of her desk to peer down at the figure below. “cedric?” she half shouted, half whispered at the boy as he gazed up at her, his lips curved up into a brilliant smile as he waved. “what are you doing— how did you..?” she shook her head again, unsure what to think of this.

“why don’t you come on down here so i can tell you?” he chuckled, and she swore she could see the gleaming in his eyes, even from all the way up where she was. she leaned back into her room to gaze over at the clock on her bedside table, it was a quarter past ten at night. she cocked an eyebrow at this as she leaned back over her desk, over the sill of her window, “do you realize what time it is? my mum and dad will kill me if they catch me sneaking out!”

cedric’s smile only widened, and he, too, cocked an eyebrow up at her. “since when did the time stop us?” he asked in a laugh, and she felt herself flush at memories of sneaking around after hours at hogwarts with cedric, even including the one time they’d been caught by none other than peeves himself, which evidently resulted in mr. filch catching up to them, resulting in their detention. even then, they continued to sneak around at night, not even peeves the poltergeist or raggedy old mr. filch and his second-in-command cat, mrs. norris could stop them.

she sucked her bottom lip and toyed with it between her teeth, and when cedric smiled again and beckoned for her to come down, she knew she wouldn’t be able to say no to him. “let me go grab my coat,” she called down to him, causing him to pump his fist in triumph. she couldn’t suppress a small laugh at this as she leaned back into her bedroom, pulling her window down closed as she drew air back into her chest. her skin warmed at the idea of the boy down below her window— how he’d been able to come out here, alone for that matter, was beyond her. but she couldn’t deny how good it made her feel, to be able to see her boyfriend again.

winston watched as she marched over to her closet and grabbed the her coat she could get her hands on, quick to slip it on over her t-shirt, slipping her feet into her socks and sneakers. persephone, who had been sat on her perch, sleeping up until this point, fluttered her eyes open to investigate the source of the noise. she gave her owl an affectionate pat on the top of the head as she passed by, slowly peeling her bedroom door open and carefully shutting it closed behind her, so as to not disturb her parents, who were sleeping in their room only a few doors down the hallway.

as silent as she could, she crept down the stairway and into the living room, treading carefully on the tips of her toes all the way to her front door, making sure to grab the house keys from the hook before she stepped outside, locking the door behind her. as soon as she had turned around and stuffed her keys into her coat pockets, arms slid around her middle from behind and with a squeal, she was lifted from the ground as cedric twirled her around, his face buried in the crook of her neck. “cedric!” she squeaked when he sat her back down, pushing his chest with her palm.

“what? are you not happy to see me?” he joked, his hands grasping onto her elbows as he drew her near, his hands reaching up to swipe loose strands of her hair away from her face, cupping her cheeks as finally, he took his first, good look at his girlfriend in weeks. it was easy to get lost in cedric’s eyes, a raging sea of blue circling around the pupils, and already, she found herself lost in the current. but she blinked, her palms resting on his chest, “of course i’m happy to see you but.. why didn’t you send an owl?” she asked, her voice sounding sulkier than she intended it to. “do you know how worried i was when persephone came back without a letter?”

cedric pouted, “i couldn’t have possibly sent you a letter without spoiling this surprise,” he sulked, playing with the ends of her hair. “please don’t be mad at cedric, he was just trying to be a good boy,” he pleaded in a high-pitched tone, much resembling one of a house-elf. he jut his bottom lip out further in a pout, blinking rapidly, his eyes much like a puppy’s.

how could she not laugh?

she pushed at his chest and smiled at the ground, rolling her eyes. “you’re an idiot, cedric diggory,” she giggled as he, too, erupted into a fit of laughter, drawing her into his chest with a hand to the back of her head. “yeah, yeah. i missed you,” he murmured into her ear as her own arms snaked around his waist, basking in his warmth the best she could. she didn’t want to let go of him, she wanted to stay right there, soaking up his warmth in his arms forever. “i missed you too, cedric,” she mumbled into his chest, pulling away just enough so that she could gaze up at him. he smiled back down at her, once again swiping strands of her hair back behind her ear with one hand, the other staying wrapped around her waist.

“you should send pictures more often,” he muttered, the way her skin seemed to grow warmer to the touch at his comment not going unnoticed. he rested his palm on her cheek, the pad of his thumb brushing just beneath her eye. “i miss seeing your pretty face every day, you know.”

again, she flushed— how was it that cedric had such a way with words?

“fine, i’ll keep it in mind,” she replied, her fingers ruffling through the golden brown locks atop his head. “what are you doing here anyway? is there a special occasion?” cedric faked offense, his jaw dropping as he brought a hand to his chest, brow furrowed. “as if i only come to see my girlfriend on special occasions!” he scoffed, grabbing her hand before dragging her along behind him as they set off on the sidewalk. “no, i’ve come to take you on a nighttime stroll! you know, like the ones we take at hogwarts, in case you’ve forgotten..”

it was her turn to furrow her eyebrows, “of course i haven’t forgotten,” she tittered, catching up with him to walk side by side, tucking herself further into his side, grasping his upper arm with her opposite hand. “you could’ve come during the day time you know. could’ve introduced you to my parents, and we would have been able to actually go and do things,” she trailed off, glancing around the streets of london, not a single light to be seen inside of any of the buildings. “everywhere’s closed, you know.”

cedric only shrugged, “that’s alright with me. just wanted to see you.” she narrowed her eyes at him as they walked, “how did you even get out anyway? i thought your father had you constantly on surveillance?” she inquired and cedric chuckled, hands in his pockets. “i have my ways,” was the only answer he gave, and before she could question him further, he began rummaging through his pockets, holding out something wrapped in a napkin to her. “almost forgot, thought you’d like something from our world,” he tittered as she unraveled the napkin, practically melting at the sight of a pumpkin pasty.

“god, i haven’t had one since the train,” she hummed as she took a bite, butting her head against his shoulder while she chewed. “thank you,” she mumbled, muffled by her mouthful of pumpkin pasties. cedric chuckled and nestled in closer to her side, staring down the street ahead of them.

“you know, i haven’t really been in the muggle world much,” he mused as she finished up her treat, rolling up the napkin into a ball and stuffing it into the pocket of her coat to throw away later. she cocked an eyebrow up at him, “you haven’t been to london?” cedric shook his head in reply, “not alone anyways. dad’s always busy with ministry work, and he’d rather die before letting either me or mum out alone.”

she hummed as she, too, gazed out at the street ahead, lit up solely by the street lamps lining it. “well, it’s not much compared to our world, but it has its moments,” she mused, and his smile widened, his hand creeping its way into her pocket, his fingers lacing together with hers before pulling them out from her coat. she glanced down at their now conjoined hands at their sides, heat surging to her cheeks. she blinked away, and she could hear cedric softly laughing beside her, his hand squeezing hers as his other hand reached across both of their bodies to cradle the side of her head, resting his chin on top of it.

“you’re cute when you’re shy,” he murmured, and she swore she had never wanted to punch more than she did now. she suppressed the urge, alas, as he pressed a soft kiss to her temple, the touch of his lips sending her stomach into a frenzy, as though she were being tickled from the inside by the flapping of butterfly wings. “you’re such a flirt,” she grumbled, nestling closer into him. he cocked an eyebrow again, “is that supposed to be a bad thing?”

she rolled her eyes and squeezed his hand again, letting her head rest on his shoulder as they walked, her hand not in his wrapped comfortably around his elbow. for a moment, they walked in silence, simply ravishing each other’s presence.

“you know, there is something i’d like to ask you though,” cedric’s voice broke the silence at last, and she glanced up at him, a furrow in her brow. “sounds serious,” she replied and he pursed his lips, pretending to be serious as he nodded. “you know i’m already your girlfriend, you don’t have to ask me again.”

he laughed at this and shook his head, jutting his hip out to hit hers. “clever,” he tittered, suddenly turning and taking either of her hands, swinging them around playfully. “i just— you know, the quidditch world cup is coming up soon,” he began, and she tilted her head. “i didn’t know that actually..” she trailed off— it was another thing she disliked about returning to her muggle life during break, it was so easy to become out of touch with the wizarding world. “oh. well, now you do,” cedric shrugged, “and, as my father works in the ministry, he was able to score some tickets…”

her eyes twinkled, and cedric blinked as he stared into them, his words trailing off, seemingly held under whatever trance she had put him in. he blinked again, his eyelids fluttering as his gaze cowered to the ground. “and well, he managed to get an extra ticket and, you know, i was wondering if maybe..” he trailed off again and glanced up at her. she smiled, waiting for him to continue. cedric cursed himself mentally— why must she be so pretty that he felt so shy around her all of a sudden? “..do you wanna come with us?”

she couldn’t hold her laughter in anymore, and she flung her arms around his neck, drawing him in so that their lips could surge into one another. cedric was quick to regain his confidence as his arms slithered around her waist, pulling her in even closer to deepen their kiss. she giggled as she pulled away, hands on either side of his face. “by the way you asked, i thought you were trying to propose,” she chuckled and he, too, couldn’t help but laugh. “not yet,” he murmured, smirking at the way she flushed at the comment.

silence fell upon them for another couple of moments, no sound to disturb their peace, save for the beating of either of their hearts. eventually, she rolled onto the tips of her toes to press another sweet kiss to his lips, cupping his cheeks and poking the tip of his nose with her forefinger. “why don’t you stay the night?” she asked, and his irises sparkled. “you can sneak back through my window in the morning and i can introduce you to my parents, you know, the normal way.”

cedric tilted his head, “the normal way?”

she rolled her eyes, “the muggle way.”

a/n; not sure if anyone still reads cedric fics but i’ve been daydreaming about this one for a long time now and finally decided to post it teehee

#cedric diggory #robert pattinson #harry potter imagine #cedric diggory x reader #cedric diggory imagine #cedric diggory x you #hogwarts legacy #hogwarts #harry potter #robert pattinson imagine

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perfectsunlight · 6 months

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01 ⸻ THE WAY THINGS GO

warnings: minor angst.

word count: 2.3k

synopsis: your ex-wife receives an invite to your wedding, but will she let you say "i do" for a second time?

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when the leaves grow green and the cherry blossoms bloom, soyeon remembers your wedding. however, she wasn’t expecting that reminder six months earlier, and this time it wasn’t a reminder of the past.

the ceo furrowed her eyebrows as she flipped over the white envelope that had been addressed to her as “jeon soyeon” and not “ceo jeon.” did her mother send her a late birthday card? or was it something from a friend?

a pit formed in her stomach when she recognized the handwriting. it was yours.

the woman’s fingers trembled slightly as she gently opened the invitation, and prayed to every god in the sky that it wasn’t true. she hoped that the non-formal addressing and the color scheme meant anything but the thoughts running through her head.

the elegant script on the invitation danced before her eyes, adorned with black and white lettering. the weight of the revelation caused her chest to tighten and the air inside her lungs to disappear.

you were getting re-married.

it had been 5 years since the divorce. had you really moved on?

as she read the details of the upcoming ceremony, soyeon couldn't shake the mixture of disbelief and subtle pain that twisted in her stomach.

on top of that, you were marrying chou tzuyu, the only person who had been closer to you than she was.

with a heavy heart, she traced the letters of your name on the invitation, feeling the ink under her fingertips as she remembered the way her name looked next to yours all those years ago.

she thought about reaching for her phone, dialing your number and demanding an explanation from you. but the rational ceo within her prevailed, reminding her that the past was just that—a chapter closed and done, sealed with the ink of divorce papers.

yet, in the solitude of her office, surrounded by the trappings of success, soyeon couldn't escape the way this single white envelope had made her feel. the memories of your love that once bloomed like the blossoms outside her window did in early may were now juxtaposed against the harsh reality of a future that no longer included her.

with a sigh, she folded the invitation, holding it in her hands as if the act itself could contain the storm of emotions brewing deep inside her. she had so much left to say to you, but she didn’t even want to bother trying at this point.

you were getting re-married, and she would have to accept the fact that you no longer were in love with her.

she gently placed the envelope against the side of her desk lamp, not wanting to throw it away, but also not knowing exactly what to do with it either.

her gaze lingered on the invitation, her mind oscillating between the urge to confront the past and the wisdom of letting it rest. she wrestled with the conflicting desires, knowing very well that your happiness was all she ever wanted, but also hating that your happiness was no longer coming from her.

but soyeon knew that it hadn’t been coming from her for years now.

the ceo knew she couldn't change the course of your life or the feelings that led to this moment. the realization stung, but it also carried a quiet strength—a reminder that she had weathered storms before, and this, too, was just another tempest to endure.

as she leaned back in her chair, she allowed herself a moment of reflection. her eyes briefly glanced at the scenery outside her window. autumn leaves were falling, symbolizing the true arrival of the fall season. the tiniest smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she watched them dance in the wind.

it reminded her of the first time she met you.

the air outside was cold, and on that day specifically, soyeon remembered thinking she could feel the brisk touch of winter lurking in the breeze. it was a day much like this one, with leaves in hues of amber and gold painting the path beneath her feet. the crunching sound echoed with each step as she approached cube’s headquarters.

her breath escaped in visible puffs before she entered the warm heating from the establishment. a soft beep announced her arrival as she made her way to the elevator. once her feet carried her to the practice room, her eyes scanned the figures of the other girls there, searching for a face she had only seen in photographs and the youtube videos she watched for over 50 hours.

there was soojin, the master of the stage. shuhua and yuqi, the loud ones. miyeon and minnie, the two aces up soyeon’s sleeve.

and then there was you.

you, the newcomer whose presence was anticipated for weeks. you, with a burning passion that seemed to radiate like the winter sun filtering through the frosted windows of the practice room. you, with an undeniable presence that made you stand out even among the most talented ensembles.

when yuqi mentioned that she had a cousin who was, as she said, “even better than me”, the leader raised her eyebrows, intrigued by the idea that there was another who was at the same level of talent.

it wasn't long before soyeon found you.

jeon soyeon probably spent hours watching videos of you, consumed and captivated with everything you did. cube wanted to cap the group at six members, but soyeon begged for them to let you in.

she presented a compelling case, illustrating how your unique talents and energy would enrich the ensemble, creating a harmonious blend that surpassed the limitations of a predefined vision. you, in her eyes, were the vital piece needed to complete the puzzle she envisioned.

after much persuasion, the company relented, granting you a place within the group lineup.

the girls paused in their dance routine, their attention turning towards the doorway that signaled their leader’s arrival.

soyeon felt a mixture of responsibility and eagerness. as the leader, it was her role to guide and nurture the talents within the group, and your arrival brought both the challenge and the potential for something extraordinary. she remembered the way the stress felt on her young shoulders at the time, but there was something that changed in that very next moment.

the way your eyes met hers for the first time was something she’d never forget.

soyeon had never seen such soft irises.

it was a bit awkward at first, especially since she remembered that your korean vocabulary was very limited at the time. you actually mentioned to her once that you spent the flight to incheon memorizing korean phrases.

you just simply smiled, and soyeon remembered thinking you were the best thing she’d ever seen.

the ringing of her office phone snapped her back to reality, where the responsibilities of being a leader and the demands of the industry pressed upon her. soyeon shook off the remnants of the memory, though the warmth of your smile lingered in her thoughts.

with a composed demeanor, she answered the phone, her ceo mode immediately activated. it was a flurry of discussions, decisions, and planning for the upcoming schedule. the music industry moved at a relentless pace, and soyeon had proven time and time again that she was an immovable force.

but truth be told, she didn’t really process half of what the other person was saying. matter of fact, she was running on autopilot even after work when she was in the back of her all black suv returning home.

the home you once lived in.

the ceo punched in the code for the door with a heavy sigh, being met with the dark and quiet space. she was used to the lack of life that lingered in her home. as she took her shoes off and placed her bag down, the wedding invitation slipped and landed onto the floor.

soyeon didn’t remember slipping it in there. or maybe she did, and couldn’t remember? her mind had been a mess all day, and with the shake of her head she gently picked it up and placed it on the nearby tabletop.

she wandered into the living room, where subtle traces of your life together still lingered. the color of the walls you had chosen was still the same. soyeon didn’t have the time to change them after you left. it felt like too much work for something that meant nothing.

at least, to her the color didn’t mean anything. you were the only thing that mattered.

the brief thought of you painting the walls of your new home that same shade of cream entered her mind. it didn’t sit well with her at all.

to be honest, the divorce never sat well with her either. but at the time, she was too prideful to admit that losing you would mean losing everything.

soyeon’s eyes wandered to the empty mantle, where empty command hooks still remained. you would be decorating the house around this time of the year. she never understood why you needed to cover every square inch of your shared home with holiday decor, but it made you happy and she never questioned it.

the ceo made her way up the stairs and into the bedroom and into her bathroom. she remembered the days you’d yell at her to go shower before laying in bed, and for a moment she could remember your laughter at the sight of her laying in bed all sweaty after a long day of practice.

she stood in the bathroom, the echoes of your playful banter ringing in her ears. soyeon's gaze fell on the shower, a space that had witnessed both the mundane routines and the intimate moments of your shared life. she hated the tiles when you insisted on buying them for the house. she couldn't help but smile wistfully at the memory of your insistence on those particular tiles.

you had argued that they added a touch of character to the bathroom, and now after all these years, standing amidst the steam and droplets, she had to admit that you were right.

with a contemplative sigh, soyeon turned to face the water, allowing it to cascade over her tired shoulders. the familiar sound of water against tile was soothing to her. it was her only source of solace nowadays. she was too old to party, too mature for clubbing, and far too busy to find a new hobby.

it reminded her of the times when you would always call to tell her about something new you had learned every day. she didn’t know how you did it, but you always seemed to constantly be doing ten things at once.

the ceo reached for her shampoo bottle, the same brand she had been using ever since you complemented its scent all those years ago. she always told you she was just a creature of habit, and that she liked it because she had it for so long.

but she never mentioned the other truth to it. maybe she should have. perhaps it would have made you feel even an ounce more appreciated than you did when you were married to her.

eventually she stepped out of the shower and changed into comfortable loungewear. her hair was still wet as it left small impressions on her white shirt, and for a fleeting moment she could hear you yelling at her to just blow dry it.

she never listened to you before. perhaps she should have listened to you, not just about tiles and wet hair.

the former idol made her way to the bookshelf in the hallway beside her bedroom. soyeon had developed a habit of reading every night before bed (thanks to you), but she never read anything but her manga.

soyeon's eyes wandered over the titles, each one she had read over numerous times and yet still enjoyed it. but tonight, she didn’t feel like reading her usual choices.

she reached for one that held a particularly special place in her heart—the novel you had recommended during one of your late-night conversations. as she held the book in her hands, the cover brought back a flood of memories.

you used to pick so many different books that you thought would resonate with her, begging her to pick up literature of “more value” for once instead of a picture book. eventually, you gave up on making her read something different and just stored the numerous novels on the shelf next to soyeon’s comics.

but tonight she would finally listen to you for once.

fahrenheit 451. a book you refused to put down all those years ago.

she traced the spine of the book with her fingers, reminiscing about the nights you spent discussing the intricacies of the plot, dissecting the characters' motivations, and sharing the emotions the story stirred within you. the book, a tangible artifact of the intellectual intimacy you once held, now felt both comforting and achingly distant.

as she gently thumbed through the pages, a small, forgotten object slipped out and landed on her feet. it was a bookmark—a simple yet profound reminder of your shared history. soyeon gently picked it up, her twitching fingers tracing the edges.

it was your old wedding invitation, elegantly adorned with the details of a day that had once symbolized the union of your lives.

soyeon just stared at the bookmark you had used, her mind flooded with emotions. if it was any other day, maybe she wouldn’t feel like this. maybe she’d brush it off with a small smile and move onto reading the book without any problems.

but after seeing your new wedding invitation this morning, she couldn’t escape the feeling gnawing in her chest.

water droplets landed on the small piece of paper—perhaps remnants from her wet hair, or maybe they were the silent traces of tears that had escaped her eyes. whichever it might have been, soyeon only knew one thing was for certain.

she should have listened to you.

#─👤 sunlight speaks #jeon soyeon #song yuqi #gidle series #gidle #soyeon x reader #gidle x reader #original series #angst #kpop #wlw #gxg #i do #perfectsunlight

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brbsoulnomming · 8 months

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Tell Me Sweet Little Lies Part 12

-----

It's dark the next time he registers being awake, and it sends him into a shuddering, gasping panic before he realizes he can still see a little, that Steve is still in the bed next to him. The curtain between their beds is still drawn back, but the bright lights of the hospital room are shut off, leaving only the glow from the various equipment and the fluorescents streaking in from under the door and through the little window cut out in it.

It must be night, and he wonders how long he's been out this time.

Steve is awake, though Eddie can hear the soft sound of someone snoring. He looks around the room, for the first time - or for what he remembers as the first time, at least, he's aware enough now to realize the times where he thinks he was awake before are fragmented.

Now he can see a scattering of plastic chairs and a sad little bench - most of which are occupied. Lucas is sitting sideways on the bench with his legs stretched out. Max rests between them, leaning back against his chest, one of her arms in a cast that's very carefully resting in her lap. Dustin's sitting in one of the plastic chairs next to them, what looks like a stolen hospital pillow tucked behind his head and his leg stretched out in front of him, his foot and ankle all booted up. All three of them are asleep.

There's a pile of blankets and pillows on the floor in front of the bench, and it takes Eddie a moment to realize it's Erica, asleep in her own little makeshift fort. On the other side of the bench is Robin, curled up on two of the plastic chairs with her own stolen pillow.

"Nance went on a perimeter check," Steve says softly.

A perimeter check. Fuck.

Eddie hates the way Steve says it like it's normal, like it's supposed to be reassuring. He hates just as much that it is reassuring.

He's not sure what he's supposed to say to that, so he just makes an affirmative noise to let Steve know he's heard, lets the silence wash over him for a while.

"You lied to me." Steve's voice is rough, either from disuse or overuse.

Eddie hasn't been conscious enough in the last however long it's been to know which. He's not even sure he's conscious enough now to have this conversation.

"What?" he asks, turning his head so he can see Steve a little better.

"You said you weren't going to be a hero. You lied, and I didn't even see it coming."

Steve sounds devastated, and Eddie tells himself it's the devastation of a man who's gone through so many ends of the worlds that he's upset his strategizing didn't work this time, or of someone who takes every loss personally, or who has gotten so used to being the one who throws himself into danger in front of everyone else that he's upset he wasn't there to do it for Eddie.

And it's probably a combination of all of those, but Eddie - Eddie's guts are only recently back in his insides where they're supposed to be, and they're not giving him enough pain meds to cover all his hurts, and fuck he wants this. He wants it to be the same way Eddie's been carefully monitoring Steve's words.

He wants Steve to be upset because if Eddie lied to him without Steve knowing, it means they aren't soulmates.

"I didn't lie," he protests. "Trust me, I meant every word of it when I said it, I was perfectly happy being the decoy. But it - they were going to get through. You needed more time, and I wasn't going to let Dustin do it."

Steve's quiet, but Eddie can still see the sheen of his eyes from the dim lights outside the door, so he knows he's still awake.

"Yeah," he says. "You guys told me."

Did they? Eddie frowns - he thinks he can remember hearing Dustin talk about it, guesses he can kind of remember chiming in himself. Things are still a little hazy, like he's not sure what's a dream and what wasn't.

"You didn't lie?" Steve asks, very quietly, after long enough that Eddie'd started to think the conversation was done.

"I didn't lie."

Steve's jaw works, and then he nods, head tipping back and eyes closing. "Okay."

He could test it right now, is the thing. If he's right, he doesn't think Steve will be upset at him for it, and if he's wrong, Steve will never know. If he's wrong - fuck, if he's wrong, and he has a soulmate out there who isn't connected to all of this, who doesn't know what it feels like to walk through hell, or build makeshift weapons in a camper, or stare down a hoard of demobats, then they're going to have a whole hell of a lot more to work through than the fact that Eddie wanted someone else to be his soulmate bad enough to test it.

"Hey Steve?" he asks, heart in his throat.

"Hmm?" Steve mumbles, sounding half asleep and more than a little ragged and Eddie -

Eddie chickens out. "You remember when you said you and Wheeler didn't test it on purpose? Did you want to?"

There's silence, long enough that Eddie's wondering if Steve fell back asleep or just isn't going to answer it. Then -

"Yeah. I wanted to, more than once. Never did."

Eddie swallows, winces around the pain in his throat. "How come?"

"Dunno," Steve admits. "Maybe I didn't want it bad enough. Maybe I wanted it too much. She was the only one I've ever thought about testing it with."

Eddie's eyes close without his permission, and he's not sure if that's a response to what Steve said or just that it's hard to keep them open for too long. "What about now?"

"Nah," Steve mutters. "I don't want to test it with Nance anymore."

"Okay," Eddie says, and he hears it come out it in the same tone of voice that Steve'd just used, saying the same word, and he thinks - maybe it meant the same thing, maybe they really are both on the same page, wanting so much and being so afraid it's not real.

"Eddie," Steve says, and Eddie opens his eyes back up, turns his head to look at him again.

Steve's staring at him. It's too dark to make out his expression, but his eyes are gleaming, locked on Eddie like he's the only thing he can see right now.

The door opens quietly, letting light flood into the room for a moment and making both of them wince.

"Sorry," Nancy whispers, closing it quickly behind her.

"S'fine," Steve replies, turning to look at her.

It is absolutely not fine, and Eddie spends a few moments cursing colorfully in his head before he looks over at her as well.

"All clear," she tells them both, and Eddie feels himself relaxing a little even if he doesn't quite know why. "Everything's still pretty hectic out there, but otherwise quiet."

Steve lets a slow exhale, sounding relieved, and Eddie risks looking back over at him in time to see him settling back against his pillows.

"You should get some rest," Steve says.

She's clearly giving him some kind of look, though Eddie can't quite make it out. "So should you."

Steve's head tilts a little, like he's looking away. "I know. I will soon."

Nancy moves closer to him, one hand resting on the hard plastic at the foot of Steve's hospital bed. "Steve," she says, softly enough that Eddie can barely hear her. "You can still tell me if…"

She trails off, and there's a long stretch of silence, broken up only by the steady beeping of hospital equipment and the soft snores coming from the scattering of the still sleeping party.

"It's worse now, isn't it?" Nancy asks, sounding both like she already knows the answer and she's not sure she wants it confirmed.

Eddie waits a second or two, on the off chance that Steve actually wants to answer that. When there's no response, he does what he always does when he's feeling uncomfortable and barrels on in.

"How worse are we talking, huh, someone want to help out the new guy? Because I gotta tell you, on the one hand I'm not thrilled about coming in right as it got worse, but on the other hand if this isn't the worst, I'm not all that thrilled about tomorrow, either. On the other, other hand-"

"Munson," Steve says sharply, firm enough to cut off Eddie's rambling - though when he looks back over at him, his eyes are crinkling just enough that Eddie's going to go ahead and read amusement in them.

"Go to bed," Steve tells him.

Eddie sticks his tongue out at him, wiggling it lewdly despite the fact that he's not sure it's light enough for Steve to even see the gesture. "I am in bed."

He can't quite tell, but he's going to assume the brief pause is Steve rolling his eyes at him.

"You know what I meant. Go back to sleep, man, you need it even more than I do."

Eddie waggles his eyebrows. "You gonna come over here and make me, Harrington? Tire me out?"

Nancy makes this little noise that might almost be called a snort, and Eddie doesn't know her well enough to know if it's amusement, bafflement, or disgust - not when he can't clearly see the expression that goes along with it.

It makes something unpleasant curl up in his stomach. He shouldn't care. He's never cared before, he doesn't give a shit what people think about him. He knows he's The Freak, and he's worked very hard to keep giving that impression - maybe a little too hard, admittedly, but in his defense, he didn't know there actually was crazy supernatural shit going on that he could be blamed for.

But after everything, he finds he doesn't want these people to think that of him. He wants them to see him, and that thought is almost as terrifying as everything else.

He scrunches himself back into the bed, not looking over at them.

Except Steve replies, "I would," easy as anything, like this is just something they do, like the playful banter Eddie'd kept throwing at him while they were all on the run is just gonna keep going. "But I've been informed by more than one person that if I get out of this bed again, I can't hold their actions against them."

"That goes for you, too," Nancy says, and Eddie swallows as he realizes she's looking directly at him.

"Is this what Dustin meant when he said you guys weren't going to leave me alone now?" He's trying for lighthearted and teasing, but he knows damn well his smile is weak and even he can hear the slight wobble in his voice.

"Are you guys serious right now?" someone demands from the motley crew sleeping on the sad hospital furniture.

All three of them look over, and Eddie can see Max sitting up, glaring at them.

"We disturb your beauty sleep, Red?" Eddie asks, and this time he lands light and amused.

She sighs heavily, clambering down from the bench and stepping carefully over Erica's blanket pile, stalking over to them.

"In case you haven't noticed, you two are the only ones with actual beds here," she informs them. "If you're not going to appreciate them, I am."

Eddie's eyebrows shoot up, and he wiggles around and stretches his limbs as much as he can - which, hey, doesn't hurt as much as the last time he remembers moving - to make sure he's taking up all the extra room in his bed.

Nancy laughs softly, abandoning them to go settle on the chair next to Dustin - who's still sleeping away. She tucks her legs against her chest, resting her chin on her knees as she watches them with amusement.

"Traitor," he says, though he keeps his voice down so he doesn't wake up anyone else.

She smiles at him, looking entirely uncowed.

Max has focused her sights on Steve, though, and when Eddie looks back over, she's pushed Steve's legs over as far as they'll go to one side of the bed and is fluffing up a pillow on top of them. Then she lays on it, draping herself sideways across the bed and using the chair next to it to stretch her legs out, feet propped up against the back of it.

Eddie's eyes dart back up at Steve, expecting to see him gearing up for a protest, or at least some complaints. If there's one thing he's learned about Steve Harrington, it's that even if there doesn't seem to be much he wouldn't do for these kids, he's definitely not shy about making his opinion known.

But he's just looking at Max all soft and grateful, like he's two seconds away from saying thank you and is only holding back because he knows she'd probably just shove him again. Instead of saying anything, he grabs one of the pillows he was reclined against, and carefully tucks it under her casted arm so she has something to prop it up.

It feels like there's something Eddie's missing. Well, duh, of course there's something he's missing - there's a lot he's missing, between his still foggy thoughts and the fact that this group has been saving the world together for who knows how long. But it feels like it's something that's right there, something that Eddie would normally pick up on if he wasn't woozy and exhausted and on at least a little bit of pain meds, even if they aren't enough.

For a moment, he pushes that feeling around his brain like scrambling eggs in a pan, looking at it this way and that. He kind of expects it to make him feel left out, like he's an outsider, but -

But Max's eyes are closed, breathing starting to even out, and he can still hear the quiet sounds of so many people gathered in their hospital room, all lumped in together. Nancy's eyes are still open, shining softly in the dark, and there's something fierce and protective in them that he'd never thought he'd see in Nancy Wheeler.

"Go to sleep, Eddie," Nancy says quietly, firmly.

"We've got you," Steve mumbles, soft and barely there, and when he lets his head fall to the side to look at him, Steve's eyes are shut.

Well.

How is he supposed to argue with that?

—

It's starting to feel more like waking up from actual sleep and less like crawling his way into consciousness, the next time he comes to. The lights are on, now, though the blinds are still drawn tight over the window. Steve's asleep in the bed next to him - he isn't alone again, and this time it's Robin all snuggled up against him, curled protectively around him like she's on guard while he sleeps.

She probably is on guard while he sleeps, actually.

When she notices Eddie's awake - probably because he's just staring intently in their direction - she unfolds herself and sits up a little.

"How're you feeling?" she asks softly.

"How come everyone keeps crawling into bed with Steve?" he asks instead of answering, because he doesn't want to lie and he doesn't want to tell the truth - and he doesn't want to think enough about how he's feeling to be able to tease out what's truth and what's a lie.

He hears what sounds almost like a pout in his tone, though, and he immediately regrets everything, especially when Robin raises her eyebrows at him.

"Are you jealous because you want one of the munchkins to climb into bed with you, or because you want to crawl into bed with Steve?" she teases.

"Shut up, Buckley," he mutters.

She laughs at him, but she does carefully climb out of Steve's hospital bed and come to sit in the chair next to Eddie's, sprawling out so her upper body is draped over his bed next to his legs.

Fuck, he likes her so much.

"Dustin tried, before you woke up the first time," she tells him. "There wasn't enough room for him to do it without hurting you."

Oh.

He feels tears prick at his eyes again, and goddamn, they really need to stop doing this to him. He thinks about trying to blame the drugs, or the whole nearly dying thing, or the whole fighting monsters in hell thing in general, but.

Well.

That isn't not true, but it also isn't true true, and he doesn't want to find out if that'd count as close enough to a lie.

So he doesn't say anything, and she just waits for him to get himself together - for which he's ridiculously, pathetically grateful.

"How long've we got before the munchkins are back?" he asks after a few moments.

"Nance took them to get lunch in the cafeteria, so probably another half hour or so," she says, looking at him curiously.

He nods. "Good, because I need another adult-adjacent person who isn't going to bullshit me. What really happened, and how bad was it?"

She sucks in a breath, but there's understanding in her eyes as she straightens up.

And she tells him. How Max and El fought Vecna in Max's mind, how between that and Eddie and Dustin distracting the bats there was minimal resistance on the way to Vecna's body. How Steve and Robin lit him on fucking fire, how Nancy peppered him with shotgun blasts until he flew out the goddamn window, how El and Max trounced his mental ass so well he didn't manage to do more than break Max's arm.

How something went wrong, still, how his and El's fight was powerful enough to cause a blowback through Hawkins. How the gates are still open, how a shockwave rippled through the whole city.

How Vecna's still alive, body gone when Steve and Robin and Nancy stepped outside the Creel house in the Upside Down to look for him.

"Fuck," Eddie breathes out, feeling the edges of panic starting to seep in.

"But he's out of commission," Robin hurriedly continues. "Max told us El said he was almost dead, that he was too weak to do anything. She thinks he's hiding somewhere in the Upside Down."

"Pulling a fucking Sauron, apparently," Eddie mutters.

At least it means they have a while to recuperate, he guesses, though it only helps the pit in his stomach so much.

"What about…." His eyes cut over to Steve, still sleeping.

"Dustin was… pretty bad," Robin admits reluctantly. "He thought you were dead for a bit there, and he wasn't - it was rough. He told us we couldn't get back through the same gate, and we decided to try one of the others. The highway gate was the closest, but God, it felt like it took forever. Dustin hurt his ankle, and Nance and I were pointing weapons at every sound, and Steve…"

Eddie looks back at her, but she isn't looking at him, now, her gaze fixed somewhere else. Back in the Upside Down, maybe, and he reaches out to take her hand. Her fingers curl around his, and she gives it a squeeze.

"Steve carried me out," he says, voice so quiet he's not sure she can hear him.

She does, though, giving a tight nod and a little smile.

"Is that why he…" He tries gesturing at Steve with his other hand, and is pleased that this time, it doesn't feel more than mildly cumbersome from whatever's wrapped around it.

"Nah." The she huffs out a laugh. "I mean, probably didn't help much, but I'm pretty sure it was mostly the running around in the Upside Down with demobat bites bandaged up with a dirty sweater, and then cleaning them up in the bathroom at the War Zone and running around more. It was pretty dramatic, actually."

Her voice dips, going into something that feels almost like his own storyteller mode. Part of him wonders if she's doing it because she suspects the massive guilt running through him despite her words, or if it's just a way to help her cope, too, but - it works as a distraction, at least.

"Nancy's breaking every speed limit imaginable driving the camper, and Steve and Dustin have you in the back with them while I'm on the radio, trying to reach Lucas. Steve's got you pinned down and is practically straddling you while he's-"

Fuck, Eddie did not need that image, and his brain short circuits for a moment before he forcibly yanks it back to the subject at hand - which is both of them almost dying, all right, there is absolutely nothing sexy about that.

"Dustin's handing him things like an ER nurse while they're wrapping you up as tight as possible so all your insides stay where they're supposed to be-" Robin's saying, and yeah, all right, that'll do it.

"Lucas finally answers, and he's shouting that Max is unconscious, so we make a mad dash to the Creel House to pick them up. Nancy drops us all off at the hospital and then goes to hide the camper, cause, you know, stolen goods. And it's chaos, because it doesn't look like Nancy's vision out there but it was still an earthquake, you know, lot of damage and people panicking. And Dustin's hobbling in holding doors open for us while Erica yells at people to get out of the way, Lucas and I are supporting Max in as she's starting to come to, and Steve comes barreling in with you in his arms, shouting about how you've both been attacked and practically begging for help. The triage nurse takes one look at you and then they're loading you on a gurney, and whisking Max and Dustin away to get medical attention, and everyone's shouting - and then Steve does this weird stumble thing where he kind of catches himself, before he just goes down like a sack of bricks. I lunge to catch him, and Lucas lunges to catch him, and Erica's shouting at an orderly who turns around and hauls Steve onto his own gurney."

Eddie opens his mouth to tease her about her rambling, ask if she needs a moment to breathe - because what the hell else is he supposed to do with all of that?

She looks almost relieved to have gotten it all out, though, like it was percolating in her brain around and around and around, and yeah, he knows how that feels. Knows how good it can be to just say it, let someone else know.

"Thanks for telling me," he says.

Robin blinks at him, like she wasn't expecting that, and then she gives him a little watery smile.

"So, uh. Not that I'm complaining, but I kind of thought that I'd be waking up in handcuffs." Well. He hadn't thought he'd be waking up at all, really, but he'd assumed if he did survive, he'd be under arrest pretty much immediately.

Her smile turns a little smug. "No one knows you're here."

His eyebrows shoot up. "Uh. I'm pretty sure the doctors and nurses here do."

She waves a hand. "Yeah, of course they do, but like I said, everything's been pretty hectic. Phone lines are down, the police are busy with all the "earthquake" stuff, and the staff here have been way too focused on how full their hospital is to notify anyone that you're here."

Huh. Well.

That's good for him, he guesses, though a small, ridiculous part of him is a little disappointed. He'd kind of wondered if maybe they weren't looking for him anymore, maybe they'd dropped all the charges. Fuck, what's he supposed to do now?

"How long's it been?" he asks.

"About a day and a half."

His train of thought immediately grinds to a halt. "That's it? Seriously? It feels like it's been weeks."

Robin shakes her head. "It was pretty late when we got here, almost morning by the time they got you set up in here, and you were in and out all day yesterday and last night. None of us have left since we got here. The Sinclairs and Nancy and Dustin and I are totally going to have to contact our parents soon or they'll start looking at the hospital for us."

She says it too casually, like she's used to all of them having to stretch how long they can be out of contact from their parents, which - they probably have before, tons of times. It makes him think of Uncle Wayne, though, and his heart plummets.

Maybe it's for the best that they don't contact him.

Before he can get too maudlin, the door opens quietly, and they both look over to see Nancy smiling at them as she steps in.

She's followed immediately by the hoard, their voices lowering as they enter the room and then raising again when they see he's awake.

He's considering telling them to shut up and let Steve sleep when Dustin just. Drops himself onto the edge of Steve's bed with a heavy thud.

Steve startles awake with a strangled shout, one hand snaking to the side of his bed like he's reaching for a weapon, the other flailing next to him like he's searching for someone - expecting a bed partner, apparently, and Eddie's not sure what his heart does at that realization.

Dustin's babbling something at him as Steve's hand makes contact with his leg, and Eddie watches Steve relax the second he registers who woke him up.

Then Steve sits up, slinging his arm around Dustin and getting him in a headlock as he buries his knuckles in his hair.

"Ow!" Dustin shouts. "No, Steve, you can't, you'll pop your stitches!"

"Should've thought of that before you jumped on me and forced me to retaliate," Steve returns.

Lucas and Max egg him on while Erica calls both of them losers.

Nancy'd come over to hand him and Robin some things from the vending machine, and he glances down at the pile, eyes lighting on a few packs of Skittles.

He looks back up, meets Robin's eyes, and watches her smile as they realize they have exactly the same idea. They start pelting rainbow candy in unison at the other side of the room, giggling maniacally at the shouts and promises of retribution.

Eddie stays awake for the rest of the day, this time, through a nurse coming to ask him some questions about how he's feeling and tell him the kind of shape he's in - more stitches than he knows what to do with, apparently, a torn muscle in his thigh, a dislocated shoulder, and a sprained wrist. He'd needed a blood transfusion, and he's loaded up on antibiotics and anti nausea meds - they have to be careful about painkillers, she warns, because he hasn't been able to eat anything.

The kids seem thrilled that both of them are awake, chattering back and forth about anything and everything - everything that isn't Vecna, at least, though Max does tell him that El said they should be back in Hawkins soon.

He keeps dinner down, when it comes, even if it's just apple juice and a thin broth and jello.

Eddie's rewarded with another round of painkillers, and even though he wants to stay awake, stay surrounded by the sounds of life just a little bit longer - he feels exhausted just from that few hours, and it's not much longer before he finds himself drifting off again.

Taglist (always happy to add more!): @vampireinthesun @koibug @estrellami-1 @mentalcyborg @allbimyself26 @questionablequeeries @the-s-is-silent @whimsicalwitchm @a-gae-af-racoon @tinyplanet95 @n0-1-important @velocitytimes2 @swimmingbirdrunningrock @newtstabber @jcmadgirl @roblingoblin285 @lexyvey @paperbackribs @goodolefashionedloverboi @evix-syne666 @raisedbylibrarians @stxrcrossed186 @nightmareglitter @greekgeek24 @starman-jpg @crazyhatlady86 @imfinereallyy @manda-panda-monium @deleataecount @prideandsensibility @chaoticvictorianspirit @maydillydally @disrespectedgoatman @scarlet-malfoy @i-less-than-three-you @hbyrde36 @hallucinatedjosten @dragonsandgayships @arepaconchocolate @g4ys0n @novelnovella @bisexualdisastersworld @ghostofyourvampiregf @scarletyeager @pettrichore @nerd-and-nervous @hiimlevi @queenie-ofthe-void @cinnamon-mushroomabomination

-----

Part 13

#steddie fic #steddie fanfic #steddie #eddie munson #steve harrington #robin buckley #nancy wheeler #max mayfield #dustin henderson #lucas sinclair #erica sinclair #steddie soulmate au #soulmate au

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yourlocaltreesimp · 8 months

Note

Just feral reader is in my mind just a reader that goes ape shit when someone tries to harm one of the links

oooh! I love the way you think! Gonna do this with Calamity!Link because this has been in my mind for too long to not write about

Hope you like it :>

CW: Harsh language, Me smack talking Flora a wee bit, power dynamic abuse

Plants, Like people

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Something was wrong. Not wrong enough that it was readily apparent, but enough that it ate at you, gnawing at your ribs with worry. Sure, there was always something inherently off about Hyrule pre-calamity that you couldn’t quite place. You pushed some loose hair away from your face and let out a heavy sigh. It was like there was a problem staring you right in the face, and no matter how much reasoning you did, it never went away. It festered, like creeping ivy crawling up a wall, latching to the stone of a home. It was like the Japanese honeysuckle, suffocating an eco system, leaving nothing but itself. Or like kudzu, out competing every other plant to the point it overgrows the grasses and trees. In long and short, there was a problem. You looked at your empty room in the palace, basic by all standards but you weren’t one to complain. Despite the room being larger than your own back home you couldn’t help but feel suffocated. You pushed off the chair at your desk and made a beeline to the door, looking to escape the room and your worries before they swallowed you whole.

In your wandering of the castle -uninterrupted by crawling pools of malice- you realised just how similar it was to Flora’s. The halls mirrored, the statues and carvings the same, a one to one. Yet despite that this castle was the very same as the one you just walked, it still felt so foreign. So… unwelcoming. Cold. You shook the thought and led yourself tyne whole way up the castle, winding all the way up to the sanctum. It took a decent amount of effort to press into the room, enough that as you had your shoulder pressed to the door, you could hear a voice from inside the room. Flora- eh, this iteration of her at least spoke. It was an understatement to say there was a difference in this worlds Flora from the one you were accustomed to seeing. She was always perfectly poised, a slight smirk whenever she spoke, looking to everyone as if she was owed respect, as if she were Hylia herself and not a decent of fading blood. Surly after so many years the power has thinned itself out by now, but the specific aspects of divinity evaded you. Afterall, the shrieks of a princess were far more attention catching.

“I mean come on are you even useful? All you have is that stupid sword. And even with that,” Her voice mocks, as if threatening, challenging whoever she verbally opposes to fight back. Because she knows what consequence would befall them if they did.

“I hold more power than you ever will. You are beneath me. I am descendent of the goddess. I am heir to the throne of Hyrule. And you?” You manage to see through a window in the doors elaborate carving, your feet ache at the stretch upward. Flora stands less than an arms length from Link’s -Or Calamity’s, Cal to be short- face. He stares off, shielding himself from the verbal tirade.

“You’re nothing.” Fire teens in your chest, liking at your ribs and clawing at your throat. You don’t have the control to stop yourself as you throw the doors open. You look at Flora as she does everything else. As a weed. Because that’s all she was to you now.

“Excuse you?” Your voice is an eerie calm, as if all worry you once held was nothing but a pretense to the burning rage scraping at your skin. You place yourself between a furious toddler of a princess and a knight who just looks more tired than anything. You didn’t like to think of how often this had to happen. Flora purses her lips, standing tall again as she prepares another indignant tantrum.

“Don’t even. You have no place to talk to anyone in such a manor. You are nothing but a child of a thinning bloodline. Your title -null as it is- means nothing.” She looks shocked, startled at your words. You explained to her, as if she were a toddler, the concept of basic respect. You pressed forward, forcing her to move backward. “It’s pathetic, really. How you treat people. I mean, I suppose for someone who wasn’t loved enough as a child it makes sense, but even then this is cruel. Petty. Maybe I should’ve expected less from you and I wouldn’t be so disappointed.” A low blow? Absolutely. Did you care? Not in the slightest. She raises her hand, still firm in her belief that no harm could come to her. But hubris brings down even the brightest of people. You catch her wrist as she swats at you face. You don’t stop yourself from laughing, the amused cackle echoing across the sanctum. “This has been fun. But I have better things to be doing with my time.” You smile, turning on your heel as Flora stands, utterly baffled. You entwined your hand with Link’s as he also stood entranced. You didn’t stop walking until you left the palace. It was a miracle that woman was alive.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Cal pov:

He couldn’t focus on anything other than the warm hand that occupied one of his own. He breathing was shaky -why was it so? it never was whenever the princess criticised him- and his mind flew by thoughts faster than he could manage. Goddesses he was so weak. Zelda was right. He couldn’t even take basic criticism. How could he ever be a hero? How could he ever be worth anything?

“Hey- Breathe.” Two warm hands cupped his cheeks, he recoiled in shock but found himself sinking into it. It was you. Goddess sent, his very sun in the sky you.

“I’m sorry, Hero” His heart nearly melted, such kind words, soft tone. That nickname, lords. He was swooning, his cheeks and ears warm, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

“I’m so so sorry. You’re worth everything, you know? To me. You try so hard and I promise you, it’s noticed.” One hand stays upon his cheek as the other cards through his hair, massaging his scalp. He lets a few bittersweet tears fall from his eyes. Fragility he was never allowed. But you pressed kisses to each tear, held him as he shattered, years worth of stress finally finding a break. You put so much pressure in an object and it explodes. Perhaps it’s not so different for people.

#firreplies #legend of zelda #linked universe #link x you #link x reader #linkeduniverse #linked universe x reader #yandere linked universe #yandere linked universe x reader #yandere link x reader #x reader #fir’s library

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storiesofsvu · 6 months

Text

Ridiculously Adorable

Anthony DiNozzo x reader warnings: language, minor injury, sass and banter, flirting. Welp. here we are, it's the first time writing Tony as a pairing, so be kind lol. Hopefully we'll get some more requests for him because I'm slowly fixating and the content out there is practically non existent! criminal. Love DiNozzo and don't want to miss out?! Taglist here! Like what you’ve read? Buy me a coffee🩵🫶🏻

A small light flashed into one of your eyes and then the other before you were asked to follow its movement with both your eyes for a moment or two, the face in front of you trained on yours before they made the assessment that you were okay. You let out a heavy huff, your shoulders drooping as your head tilted back, stretching out your neck before you stood up, only it was a second too soon and you instantly wavered, hand shooting out for the chair beside you.

“DiNozzo!” Gibbs’ called out from beside you, causing you to wince, “take this one home!”

“Boss, I’m fine!” You protested, squinting in his direction.

“Oh c’mon,” Tony called back, “why me?”

“Because you basically pistol whipped her!” Gibbs replied, smacking the back of his head.

“In fairness… I’m not used to the push back on that gun and I did not know she was right behind me.”

“Don’t care. Be glad you didn’t knock her out and that this was just a training exercise not out in the field.”

“The medic cleared me.” You gestured vaguely in the direction they’d disappeared in.

“I still don’t want you driving.” Gibbs shot you a sympathetic look and you let out a breath, “and take the rest of the weekend off.”

“Fine.” You admitted defeat, ripping off your vest and wandering to the sidelines to collect your things as Tony did the same. You were a little surprised he didn’t put up a fight when you started to walk towards your car instead of his, reluctantly tossing him the keys before heading toward the passenger door. “Try not to crash it.”

He muttered something unintelligible back to you as the two of you got into the car, throwing your gear into the backseat and getting settled. Tony had carpooled with you a small handful of times before, not needing much instruction on how to get to your place which you were thankful for, your head seemed to be hurting more now that you were whipping through the city streets. You closed your eyes for a moment in an attempt to block out all the blurry shapes you were speeding by, hoping that would make it better.

“You sure you’re okay?” He asked, his voice quiet enough you barely registered it over the whir of the engine.

“Yeah.” You cracked open your eyes, looking over to him, “just a headache. Besides,” your lips twitched up into a smirk, “it’s not like you hit hard, we all know you’ve got a major weak left hook.”

“Oh come on!” He protested and you winced at the volume, shrinking toward the car door and he instantly frowned, “sorry.”

“S’okay. I know how loud you are, why do you think I wanted to wait for McGee?”

“Now you’re just being mean.” He taunted, “why must you hate me so?”

“Bold coming from the man who pistol whipped me today.”

“I said I was sorry.” He insisted, a dejected expression on his face but at least this time you laughed, your elbow finding home on the windowsill as your eyes fluttered shut again.

“Just drive Tony.”

“Yes ma’am.”

His lips flicked up into a grin as he turned his gaze back to the road, appreciating the silence of the drive after an extra long and overloaded day at work. He honestly did feel pretty terrible about how the hit went down, it had been completely on him and he was just thankful you were okay, not to mention now he could tease you about your hard head once you were healed. Throughout the drive he found his eyes flicking over to you, making sure you were still conscious, catching you staring out the window every so often, shifting in your seat to stay comfortable.

“Do you have a remote?” He asked, suddenly breaking you from your drowsiness.

“Huh?”

“For the garage.” He gestured and when you glanced up you realized you were already home.

“Oh.” Reaching into the backseat you dug around for your bag, finally finding your keys, pulling them and the attached FOB out to pass to Tony. You guided him to your parking stall, mentioning that you’d call an Uber for him to get back to work and his car.

“Ohoho,” he chuckled, “you’re not free from me yet, Gibbs would probably have me hunted down if I didn’t make sure you were upstairs alright.”

It was your turn to chuckle softly, “you’re not wrong.” Grabbing your bag from the back seat you stepped out of the car, swinging the door shut behind you, “come on...”

Anthony let out a small laugh, cautiously following you to the elevator a little closer than he normally would, ready to make sure you were steady on your feet now after the twenty minute drive. Once inside your apartment you kicked off your shoes, dumping your coat and bag on the kitchen island with a groan, rubbing at your temples before your hands ran over your face.

“There’s a few beers in the fridge.” You murmured.

“Really don’t think you should be drinking.” He replied and you laughed quietly.

“For you, not me. I need a shower, and you need something to distract yourself from the fact that I’m naked in the next room.” You teased with a smirk, pulling an offended scoff from Tony.

“You know I’m not all boobs and butts right?”

“Oh I know.” You laughed, stepping forward to pinch his cheek, “you like to have this whole playa game going on but you’re really a big ass softie. Otherwise you would’ve left me in the parking lot at work.” You flicked the tip of his nose as he let out a playful laugh, watching you disappear deeper into the house, the sound of the bedroom door clicking shut behind you.

Tony glanced through your apartment, it was always tidier than his, more organized but he could tell that you’d been pretty distracted, more focussed on work recently than keeping up around the house. Feeling bad considering he was likely the reason you needed an extra break over the next couple of days he let out a breath, snagging one of the aforementioned beers from the fridge before he started on his task.

He collected the couple of coffee mugs and single wine glass from the coffee table, sniffing at the take out container before deciding to toss it in the trash. The blankets on the couch got folded, left neatly laid over the back of it before he piled up the notebooks and books on the table into a nice little pile. He was about to take out the trash when he realized he should probably go through the fridge first, adding in anything else that needed to be taken out, stuffing it into the bag and propping the door open so he could dart down the hall.

When he was back he started on the dishes, attempting to find the appropriate places for the dishes you’d already cleaned before turning on the tap and starting on the dirty ones.

You weren’t sure if it was the heat of the water or the jolt to the head that was fogging up your brain but you knew it was finally time to get out of the shower when the water was running cold. You did your best not to grumble as you stepped out of the tub, wrapping yourself in a fluffy towel to dry off with before padding through the bedroom to find your comfiest pyjamas.

You were about to drop into bed when you realized not only was the water cup on your nightstand empty but your stomach was growling. Picking up the cup you wandered out to the other side of your apartment, your brow furrowing at the sight of Tony in your kitchen.

“You’re still here?” You asked, your voice a little groggy as Tony turned around to face you.

“I figured you should eat.” He shrugged.

“You cooked?”

“It’s packaged ramen, don’t get your hopes too high.” He grinned and you rolled your eyes, moving to the sink to fill up your cup.

“Probably better than nothing.” You bumped his shoulder with your own, “thanks.”

“I fucked up today.” He let out a soft sigh, reaching into the cupboards to find a bowl, “it’s the least I can do. Besides, you shouldn’t be alone right now.”

“I’m fine Tony.”

“You could be concussed.” He reminded you, handing you a bowl, “so eat this, drink some water and you let me know the second you feel nauseous or have some kinda migraine. I’ll the take the couch, catch up on tonight’s game” he gestured toward it, “it’ll be chill.”

“Alright.” You let out a small laugh, shooting him a smile as you scooped up your bowl of ramen to settle at the kitchen island.

He ate with you, keeping things quiet, every so often a comment or joke would come from one of the two of you until bowls and cups were empty and the exhaustion began to seep in. Yawning you rubbed at your eyes, letting out a little shiver before Tony was triple checking any symptoms and how you were feeling. After he was sure you were okay, he sent you off down the hallway to climb into bed. You waved in the general direction of the fridge, saying something about how he was more than welcome to finish off the beers, you hadn’t liked that variety anyways and then you were behind closed doors with the lights off.

Sunlight was streaming through your curtains and you were cursing yourself for not closing them properly the night prior. Having not set an alarm you were entirely unsure what time it was, thankful that Gibbs had given you the day off and there was no reason to stress about potentially being late. Rolling onto your back you stretched your body out, assessing the pain behind your eyes before you even thought about opening them, hand raised to your face you delicately pressed against your temple, cringing at the tenderness when you did so, knowing there must be a bruise but otherwise things felt fine.

Upon sitting up and checking your phone you noticed it was nearing eleven thirty, still early enough to be called morning but late enough to be considered a sleep in. As you pushed the blankets back you shivered in the cool morning air, digging a hoodie out from your closet to tug on before you wandered into the outer apartment.

The first thing that made your brow furrow was the smell of fresh coffee, the second was something sizzling on the stove and the third was the sight of DiNozzo standing in your kitchen.

“Tony?” You asked, your voice groggy with sleep and he turned around, flicking the burner to low.

“Hey…” he greeted with a warm smile, stepping toward you as you moved through the room, instantly frowning at the bruise on your temple.

“I thought you went home after I went to bed.”

“I told you I was gonna stay, didn’t I?” His thumb and forefinger tenderly cupped your chin, turning your face to get a better look at the bruise as he winced.

“You didn’t have to do that.” Your gaze redirected to the living room, noticing the blankets tossed across the couch.

“It was nothing.” His gaze was still examining your temple, eyes tracing the lines to make sure he hadn’t accidentally broken the skin anywhere.

“I mean you could’ve at least joined me in bed, that couch is shit for sleeping on.”

Considering he still had your head tilted away from him you missed the way his shoulders tensed, how his cheeks began to flush at your words. He let out a soft chuckle, his thumb brushing across your cheek before he dropped his hand and ducked his gaze, turning back to the stove.

“It was doable for one night.”

“Why are you getting all flustered?” You prodded at his ribs with your fingers, causing him to swat you away, “we’ve shared hotel rooms before, why do you think we couldn’t platonically share a bed, it’s not like I have cooties.”

“Okay no—”

Your head tilted as you finally saw the counter, cutting him off before you meant to, “I had avocado?”

“You didn’t.” He let out a tiny huff, his lips curving into a soft smile, “I figured you were gonna be out for a few days and you fridge was pretty empty. So I put in a small grocery order and you’re always bragging about those avocado egg bagel sandwiches,” he sheepishly shrugged, “I was just gonna put it away and take off but I got hungry waiting for it to get here.”

“Tony…” you pinched at his elbow softly, looking up at him with a warm smile your face, your hand lingering on his arm, “you’re being ridiculously adorable right now, you know that?” You watched as he let out a breath of a laugh, his cheeks turning pink as you felt warmth spread through your chest when he caught your gaze. His finger curled under your chin, thumb stroking across your skin gently,

“Maybe that’s cause I think you’re ridiculously adorable.”

“Oh and he’s a smooth talker.” You teased with a smirk and he rolled his eyes, closing the gap between you as your arms loosely wound around his waist, “good thing he’s a cute one.” Your lips brushed his skin before finally settling on his lips, softly kissing him and he kissed you back, grin on his cheeks as you stepped back. His hand cupped your cheek before he instantly got distracted by the bruise again.

“God, how bad does it hurt?”

“It’s kinda throbbing, but hey, could be worse, you could have got me in the eye, I could be blind.”

“Awee,” he wrapped an arm around your waist, pulling you into his side, “but then you could’ve gotten a really cute emotional support puppy.”

You practically snorted out a laugh, turning to boop him on the nose, “I think I like this really cute puppy better.”

“You did not just call me a puppy.”

“You like to think you’re a rottweiler when you’re actually just a golden retriever Tony, don’t lie to yourself.” You popped up on your toes to leave a kiss on his cheek, “and thank you.” You gazed up at him with such warmth in your eyes it made his chest flood with happiness, “for all of this.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Smiling, his hand cupped your cheek again, just brave enough to duck down and steal another kiss that you giggled into. “So does this mean I don’t have to bum it on the couch next time?”

“For cuddles only.” You teased, “you’ve gotta buy a girl dinner first.”

He let out an exaggerated groan, “and homemade breakfast counts for nothing?” You laughed, pulling down a couple of mugs for coffee.

“It counts as the official end all apology for this.” You pointed to the bruise on your head.

“I’ll take what I can get.”

Tony tugged you back to him, unable to resist snagging another kiss, never wanting the softness and warmth of this morning to go. While it may not have come to be in a way that either of you expected, there was no doubt that you were both incredibly happy about it. And that was apparent as he tucked you under his arm on the couch, satisfied groans over delicious food and hot coffee as you chose something to watch together, smiles on your cheeks as laughter drifted through the air and you got cozy with the new dynamic you never wanted to let go of.

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