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moeruhoshi · 3 years

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I've been watching anime all day so here's a late nalu day gift

Lucy slammed her bedroom door and flopped down on her bed with a weary sigh, weeping into her pillow as her day finally came to an end.

The open door of her patio allowed her to hear the neighing of carriage horses taking away her most recent suitor, a man who barely knew what the meaning of personal space was.

Just how many princes and dukes had to waltz through their gates before the princess’ father realized that they had no interest in adequately courting her? It was painfully obvious how the lot of them were only interested in her well-displayed décolletage over her personality and spent more time schmoozing up to the king instead of trying to win her favor.

What hurt, even more, was knowing that she could never be with the one who was truly meant for her.

She stared at the red string tied to her pinky, the fiber ending far off in the distance where it connected to her destined partner. It calmed her in some ways, allowed her to feel a sense of clarity, knowing there was at least one more person out there who could give her the true love she craved.

She hoped every day, when Spetto called her down to meet another suitor, that it would be him, the one on the other end of her string, waiting to hold her as she wanted to hold him.

They could instead be a peasant, she thought as her hopes for him to visit one day were beginning to fade. Not that she cared about that kind of thing, but it meant that they didn't have the means to enter the castle easily. Or maybe they were somewhere in a neighboring country, too far away to find her. Maybe he hadn't been gifted the power to see the string and didn't know she was waiting for him but felt just as empty without her by his side.

She was sure if she voiced her knowledge of the red string to anyone else, they would call doctors from all over Earthland to analyze her cognitive function.

But she desperately wanted to tell everyone that she had no intention of selecting a suitor through their gaudy traditions. She would instead venture out into the world to find her soulmate, the person at the end of her red string of fate. But knowing her father, he would only let her marry with the promise of the expanded wealth she would gain him from a political marriage.

"Miss? Are you still awake?" Spetto knocked lightly, the princess holding in her sniffles to hear what the maid had to say. "I'm sure you are…but I won't bother you. Your father wants you to know that he'll be inviting the Duke Cream from Veronica for another visit tomorrow. He's eager to correct his…insolent behavior from the last time he saw you."

The princess didn't bother answering and instead let out a frustrated sigh as the sound of her maid's footsteps echoed down the hall. The setting sun illuminated the crimson strand and her fingers loosely wrapped around it, her weak pout quivering as she tugged on the phantom satin.

"I'd rather have you, whoever you are..."

~000~

"The princess!" Spetto screamed as she ran into the King's throne room. Jude was sat upon his seat with the Duke at his side, their conversation halting at her interruption. "She's gone!"

"What in the world do you mean, woman? I'm sure that no good daughter of mine has just buried her nose in one of those god awful fairy tales again. Have the guards search the library for her," He gruffed, rolling his eyes as her demeanor became more hysterical and shaken.

"I have, your highness! The princess has run away, she's truly nowhere to be found!"

"And just when I was about to be introduced to my bride," The Duke frowned and tossed his bleached hair aside. "Send hounds after her, why don't you? I will not let this girl make a fool of me on this glorious day."

"Go on, then," The King glared at his guards standing nearby who quickly rushed out the door. "I should have known that girl would be trouble. Her mother had always filled her head with nothing but pure nonsense."

Lucy lifted her billowy skirt as she ran through the woods, deep within its darkness, trying her best to ignore the now wailing trumpets of distress audible in the distance. She knew it wouldn't have been long until someone noticed her absence, especially after having heard the reality behind Duke Cream’s visit.

It was by chance, an incident that occurred while she was passing her father's office the night before. Lucy heard the plans he made to arrange her marriage to the Duke, ensuring that their kingdom would absorb the principality. This meant her father would have an entire stronghold on the country of Fiore.

A life with that obnoxious and narcissistic Duke was not one she wanted, nor could even stand the thought of.

So, in a panic, she made plans to run away, leaving when the guards wouldn’t be around, going as far as she could go without any clear signs of which direction she'd taken off in. She persevered through her tiredness with the lone thought of her meeting her soulmate who was sure to greet her with a wide smile and open arms.

"This way! C'mon now, you'll never make it running without anywhere in mind!" A voice tinkled through the line of trees, halting the princess in her place as she breathed harshly and darted around scared eyes.

"Who's there! I-I'm not going back to the castle!" Lucy shouted as she turned about in circles, shrieking as a short blonde girl suddenly appearing from thin air

"Did I say I was trying to take you home? No! Now hurry it up! You'll never make it there if you make stops like this, follow me!" She instructed, turning toward the trees and beginning to run.

"Who are you?" Lucy asked between pants as she followed the shorter blonde, mesmerized by the trail of sparkles she left behind her, and the cute wings peeking out from beside her ears.

"A friend," She smiled as she continued maneuvering them through the woods. "And a guide! You’ll never get where you need to go without my help,"

"So you know where I'm going? You can see my string too?"

"Well, sure! I let you see it after all. Boy, was he worried when I told him you were stuck out here without your magic. Idiot almost killed himself trying to find his way through, but it can't be done by anyone but a spirit." She sighed and shook her head, rambling as they avoided a patch of bramble bushes

"My soulmate...? He was looking for me too? Really?" Lucy felt her heart swell, beating stronger even as she ran, a dazzling smile taking its claim of her lips.

"Yup! You have a very loyal man waiting for you," She giggled. "He can't wait to meet you, said he'd get his house ready and everything while I was out looking for you. I apologize for taking so long, moving around in this realm isn't easy, there’s barely any magic in this land!”

"Magic? Like in books? Isn't that practice all made up?" The princess quirked a brow as the strange girl only giggled again and slowed her movements as they found purchase under the wide berth of a willow tree.

"It's quite amazing someone like you was born here when your home is with us, in the right Fiore. Now, come on! Everyone's waiting!" She grinned, ignoring Lucy's confusion as she pulled them through the hanging branches, the two suddenly falling into the void of the trunk.

"E-Eh?! W-Wha…!" Lucy fell to her knees as she suddenly felt queasy, holding a hand to her head and waited for her headache to subside. She looked up to see where the other blonde had gone, not finding her anywhere and instead met a new and sunny skyline. "Wasn't it…night just a moment ago?"

She stood to her shaky feet, finding her body no longer weighed down by exhaustion, tears, or dirt on her dress. Whatever was in the air made her feel light as, well, air. She'd never felt so amazing before! Just where had she gone when they fell through that tree?

Taking some small steps through the field in front of her, she looked down to her finger, the red string extending into the distance behind her.

"Oh wow…" When Lucy turned around, she was met with the image of a town she had never seen before, curiosity pulling her towards the bustling streets.

It was as she always imagined the streets of the village she ruled above looked; stalls serving food and selling fresh produce, children running and laughing, patrons bartering and making light conversation, happiness in everyone's eyes. Their smiles created her own, and she followed the string eagerly, feeling just right in the Fiore she’d been led to.

She worried this would all turn into a dream soon enough, there couldn't possibly be another Fiore…or the existence of magic at that. Her steps quickened as she feared Spetto would be in at any moment to wake her, feet carrying her towards a patch of woods that broke off from the town.

It would’ve made nice for a peaceful walk if she didn’t think the calm scenery before her would disappear.

“Oi, Gray, watch it!” A sharp voice boomed from the nearby distance.

“Shut it! I know what I’m doing, it ain’t hard to paint a wall, flame brain!”

“Don’t start a fight! We had to rebuild that side of the house five times because you two keep knocking it down!”

Lucy slowed down her pace as the volume of their argument increased but kept her eyes on the string that told her he was just ahead.

Her eyes landed on a red-haired girl pointing a large sword at two boys who kneeled respectively in front of her, bowing their heads as she scolded them.

Breaking through the line of trees, Lucy smoothed down her stray hairs and dusted off her dress, holding herself nervously as she continued forward.

Each step closer made her legs feel like jelly, flushed her cheeks, and made her heart beat a million times faster, her fingers twitching as she held her hands together.

“U-Um...excuse me…?” Lucy’s voice was shaky as she approached the three, her eyes watery as she stared at the pink-haired boy who raised his head at the sound of her voice. The string fell into his lap; he was her soulmate.

The red-haired girl turned to face her first, eyes concerned as they fell on her disheveled appearance. “My goodness, are you okay? You’re not lost, are you?”

“N-No...I—“

"Oh, crap! It's you!"

"Don't say that to a girl, idiot! You have no idea who that is!" The raven-haired boy threw a glare at the pink-haired one who quickly stood up.

“Mavis didn’t tell me when you’d get here, I would’ve come to pick you up if I knew you were...oh, hey, don’t cry, okay? Um, here,” He quickly took the end of his scarf to wipe her tears, feeling a knot in his throat as she gently fell against his chest. "It's gonna be okay."

"I just...I just can't believe…" She shook her head, not minding the stain she created on his shirt. "That you're real...that you were waiting for me."

"'Course I was! Having a new family member is always exciting, and my hearts been leapin' like crazy waitin' for you! You were stuck out there all alone and I couldn't come find you. I'm sorry it took so long."

Erza forced herself and Gray to look away as the blonde hastily kissed their wild companion, his shock present in the stiffness of his back.

He was startled by the sudden action but felt himself melting into the touch, desperate as well to be close to his soulmate.

"I'm home," Lucy laughed with a bit of surprise, Natsu's eyes widening along with his grin.

"Yeah! Welcome back!"

#nalu #fairy tail #natsu dragneel #lucy heartfilia #natsu and lucy #natsu x lucy #lucy and natsu #lucy x natsu #nalu day 2021 #nalu day

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annenhypen · 3 years

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Falling

jay x reader

high school au! strangers to friends to lovers au!

word count: 2.8k

writer’s note: this is the longest work i have written so far and I ENJOYED WRITING IT SO MUCH! I really want to write drabbles for this pairing if this does well!!! let me know what you guys think.

tags: @gratefulmaria @azeugirdor @eggbutnotyolk @jungwon-luv-bot-pt3

Before Meeting Him

You and your boyfriend, Daniel, had a steady relationship. Growing up together and ending up going to the same schools, it was like you guys were destined to be together. You were best friends until one day he asked you out and decided to change your title to his “girlfriend”.

You were seated next to him in the first period as he turned his head to face you.

“I heard there’s a new transfer student in our class” he informed you, causing your eyebrows to shoot up. Students rarely changed schools in the beginning of the senior year, so you got curious about the new presence in your class.

He entered the classroom on his first day, dressed in a black hoodie in contrast to his bleached hair but matching his black jeans. Every clothing he put on that day was black except for the four silver rings he put on his hands. He stood next to your teacher and introduced himself to the class. Despite his dark style, he introduced himself with a bright smile that caught your attention for a little too long. Jay. His name fits his appearance you thought. You watched him walk to the only empty seat in the classroom which was the seat in front of your boyfriend who was sitting next to you. You looked away when he made eye contact with you, catching you staring at him.

Meeting Him

Turns out that Jay was not just your classmate. He was also the son of the family who moved in next door. You were surprised to see him open the door when your mother sent you to give your new neighbors a welcome gift, freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies. You collected yourself and smiled brightly, holding out the plate filled with cookies in front of you.

“Hello, I am Y/N. I live next door and my mother sent these for you to say welcome to our neighborhood.” you explained, finally looking at his eyes. He smiled back at you, taking the plate out of your hands.

“Thank you so much, it’s very nice of her and you. I am Jay. I am pretty sure we are classmates as well.” he answered. You nodded at him.

“I’ll see you in class then” you said and took one step back to go back to your house. You saw him wave a goodbye at you before turning around.

An Offer

Many things were unpredictable in your life. For example, you never expected your relationship with Daniel to come to an end so quickly but it did. You also did not expect your long term friendship with your -now- ex boyfriend to get ruined, following your break-up. You were still seated next to each other in class but you rarely talked. He never texted you about anything other than your classes. It was a hard time for both of you. You were sad because losing a friend who has been there all along was not easy to take it in.

“I am going to assign all of you into study groups today. I am expecting you guys to meet outside of class to encourage each other to study for the upcoming exams” announced your homeroom teacher on the third Friday of your senior year, causing your classmates to whine to voice their complaints out. You opened your notebook as you waited for your name to be called.

“Ruby, Luke, Y/N, Jay and Daniel, you guys are Team B” you heard your teacher added after checking his journal.

Here’s how these “study groups” worked: every group member had to do their best and get a good grade on the exams. After the exams week, the average grade for each team was calculated by your teacher and the team with the highest average score received a prize in return. This way, your teacher made sure everyone helped each other to increase the average grade for their teams.

“Make sure to exchange phone numbers and make a group chat to discuss your study plans and meetings” your teacher suggested.

You pulled out a loose-leaf and tapped on Jay’s shoulder who was seating in front of Daniel. He looked back with a questioning expression.

“Write your phone number down and pass the paper to Ruby” you confided and he nodded back at you before taking the paper from your hands. You took the paper back after Ruby and Luke wrote their numbers down. Of course you did not have to ask for Daniel’s number.

“I’ll create a group chat after school, we can discuss the details there” you reported, gaining a nod from every member of your study group.

You were a competitive student. Your grades were always above average and these study group contests made you even more ambitious. As nerdy as it sounded, you wanted to make sure everyone in your team performed well on the upcoming exams.

You knew Ruby was a bright student. Daniel studied regularly as well. Luke was okay as far as you knew. However, you did not know about Jay’s academics. You were determined to learn about it and help him if he needed your help.

“Hey Jay, do you want to walk home together after school?” you asked, smiling politely. He turned to you in surprise and took a look at Daniel’s face. He smirked at Daniel’s clenched jaw and accepted your offer.

Plans

You saw Jay playing with his phone in front of the school gates when you exited the school building. He was wearing his leather jacket, making you look like a child next to him with your fluffy pastel pink cardigan and white outfit. He put his phone into his back pocket when you reached his side.

“You ready?” he questioned looking down at your face. You looked so short compared to his tall figure. You felt intimidated by his eyes and chose to look down at your shoes before nodding your head.

“So… How are you?” he asked, breaking the dead silence as you walked side by side.

“I’m good. I should ask you how you are. Were you able to get used to living here?” you asked, feeling, less nervous as you walked.

“Yes… Actually, I couldn't explore much since I don’t have many friends around here and I usually just go to school and return home during the week” he explained and scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment. I probably sound like a loser, he thought. You thought for a little before speaking again.

“Hey, I can show you around this weekend if you want? I didn’t have anything planned anyway. Also, this is like the last weekend we can enjoy before studying for the exams. That is… if you want to, of course… I get it if you don’t-“ your rambling got interrupted by Jay’s little chuckle. Cute, he thought.

“I would like that,” he answered. You couldn’t help but smile at his acceptance of your invitation.

“This is kind of random but do you like pancakes?” you asked out of nowhere.

“Who doesn’t like pancakes?” he answered your question with another question causing you to chuckle. I already like this guy, you thought.

“Alright, then we can go to this local diner I know for breakfast tomorrow and start our little tour afterwards” you suggested while looking at him to wait for his answer.

“Alright, sounds like a plan” he concluded. Jay couldn’t help but think how much he wanted this “little tour” of yours to be an actual date.

Getting to Know Him

“Oh you should meet Mr. Bubbles” you insisted as you watched Jay take another bite of his blueberry pancakes. You wanted to introduce your fat Scottish fold to your new friend who apparently loves cats.

“I would love to…But unfortunately, I am allergic to cats” he replied, looking a little sad. You felt the need to comfort him inside you.

“Don’t be so sad! I can just show him to you through the window of my room” you suggested. You heard his small chuckle before nodding at your direction.

From this morning, you learned that Jay is not as intimidating as he looked from outside. He moved to your town from Seattle because of his father’s job. He was good at subjects like English and History but he said he could use some help with Math. His favorite genre of music was Rock and he took dance classes back in Seattle. He was interested in fashion and he liked cats. He had an easygoing personality and a pretty smile- wait, a big smile you meant.

In addition, Jay learned that you liked many more things other than studying: you enjoyed watching romantic comedies the most but one of your common interests was that both of you liked watching anime. You also liked cooking even though you were not as experimental as Jay when you entered the kitchen. Jay was stunned when he learned your favorite rock band: ONE OK ROCK because that was his favorite band too. He was surprised to find similarities between you two when you looked so different from outside. He also learned how much he liked your laugh and how hard he wanted to try to make you laugh more often to just listen to your laugh.

Not so long after, you paid the check and headed to your next destination.

“We’re going to the beach, I hope you know how to ride a bike” you chimed while walking backwards in front of Jay.

“Of course I know how to ride a bike! Who do you think I am?” he fought back right before you tripped on something and almost fell on your butt. He reached forward to catch you by your waist, saving you from both: the pain and the embarrassment of falling in front of Jay.

You both went silent when you were chest to chest. You looked up to Jay’s face while holding your breath. You looked at his eyes and he stared back at yours. You saw his eyes flicker to your lips and that was the signal you got before pulling away from his hold.

“Oh my god, I’m sorry, I’m so clumsy” you mumbled looking down at your feet, continuing to walk next to Jay. He strolled next to you but he did not miss the pink shade on your cheeks before looking ahead.

***

Oh my god Y/N! Get your shit together! What is wrong with you, you just spent a single day with the guy! You told yourself that night, laying down on your bed when you came back from your day with Jay.

Okay, he was attractive, funny and nice to you. He also was a good listener and he was talkative as well. You felt comfortable spending time with him and you felt bad when you said goodbye to him in front of your house before you got in. You sighed before rubbing your eyes and tried to fall asleep without thinking about your cute, hot, funny and sweet classmate.

Study Group

You opened the gates of the coffee shop you were supposed to meet with your study mates 10 minutes later than your agreed meeting time. You hurried your way upstairs where it was more quiet than downstairs and you saw your group members sitting on a table in the left corner of the room. You apologized for being late when you reach their table and took the only empty seat next to Daniel, across from Jay.

You opened your backpack to take your materials out when you realized a cup of coffee was pushed in front of you. You looked up to see Jay grinning at you. He went back to taking notes on his notebook when you reached for the cup to take a sip from it. You realized it was a latte with unsweetened vanilla. Your usual order. He remembered your order from the coffee shop you went on your little tour right before you went to see the local art gallery. You looked at his face to see him watching your reaction. You gave him a small smile while mouthing "thank you" and he returned your smile with a little nod.

Confession

It was right before the Christmas break started when Jay came to terms with his feelings for you. Between the walks you took home together, the shared snacks between classes, the laughs shared during the lunch periods, and the times he snuck into your room to watch your favorite anime together at night when you were both supposed to be sleeping, he fell for you.

Jay was a straightforward guy. If he feels something, he might as well tell you about it. Worst case scenario: you would kindly reject him and he would move on. So he grabbed his phone from his nightstand and texted you.

You grabbed your cardigan from your closet and opened the gates of the kitchen which looked at the backyard as quiet as possible to not wake your parents up. You saw Jay putting his hands in his pockets while waiting for you in the middle of your backyard. His back was facing you so you thought you could have a little fun.

You reached him while tiptoeing silently and grabbed his waist from behind.

“BOO!” you whisper screamed. He jumped and pushed you away while you tried to hold your laugh, but failed miserably. He watched you laugh while he shook his head in disbelief.

“I knew it! You’re still scared of the ghosts” you accused him, stepping forward and putting your pointing finger on his chest. He watched you having fun with an amusing smile plastered on his face. He reached for your waist with his both hands while still looking at you with the same amused smile.

“Why do I even like you?” he muttered in disbelief. You froze. He watched your surprised expression and realized what he just blurted out.

“What?” you asked looking down at his chest because looking into his eyes was very hard at that moment. Jay took a deep breath before continuing.

“I thought I was pretty obvious” he said casually. Your heart was beating so fast that you got scared that Jay might have heard its banging on your chest. You bowed your head down and your forehead touched Jay’s chest. You were shy.

“Ilikeyoutoo” you mumbled so fast, Jay almost couldn’t catch it. Cute, he thought and you felt his lips press on your forehead. You hugged his waist while he nuzzled his nose in the crook of your neck under the light of the stars.

Secrecy

Ever since you started going on dates with Jay, it was during the Christmas break. You went to cute cafes to drink hot chocolate, went ice skating, and did all the holiday activities together. One thing you didn’t talk about was how you were going to act when you got back to school. So you started sneaking around instinctively.

It was another study group meeting before the upcoming exams. You were seated between Ruby and Jay at one of the tables in your local library’s study hall when you felt Jay’s hand grabbing yours under the table. You turned to look at his face but he shrugged his shoulders like he didn’t care. You intertwined your hand with his and put them on top of your thigh. He rubbed his thumb on the back of your hand as both of you continued reading your textbooks.

When you were done with studying for History, you had to grab another book from the aisle where English textbooks were put. You got up, letting go of Jay’s hand in the process and went to the English books section. You searched through the bookshelves to find the book you needed. As you were focused on reading the names of various textbooks, you felt a small kiss pressed on the exposed skin of the back of your neck. Your breath caught in the back of your throat when you turned around to see Jay smirking at you.

“They could have seen us” you whispered to him, slapping his arm.

Not So Secretive

Jay entered the class, playing with the straps of his backpack when he saw you sitting on your seat while playing with your phone. He reached his seat to find Daniel sitting on it.

“Why are you sitting here?” questioned Jay, tilting his head to the empty seat next to you where Daniel seated every day except for that day. Daniel let a sigh before looking up at Jay.

“Don’t you want to sit next to your girlfriend?” he asked, already knowing the answer to the question.

Jay did not respond before sitting next to you. You turned your head to see who was seating next to you in surprise before he leaned forward to plant a sloppy kiss on your cheek in front of your classmates.

#enhyphen #enhypen imagines #engene #enhypen drabbles #enhypen x reader #enhypen jay #jay fluff #jay x reader #jay imagines #park jongseong #enhypen fanfic #enhypen fic #enhypen fluff

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edendaphne · 3 years

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“Discordant Sonata” Chapter 19

>>Click here to read on Ao3<<

>>Click here to read on Wattpad<<

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CHAPTER 19: ATTACCA

Music glossary: Attacca - "To attack at once"; used as a direction in music at the end of a movement to begin the next without pause

–––––

(Mood music: "The Conversation" - Pearl Django)

Being mere months away from graduating lycée meant that their group of friends didn’t have as many classes together, due to their diverse individual interests and talents. However, they always made sure to make time to hang out after school before their extracurricular activities began.

And thus, Adrien, Nino, and Alya made their way to the classroom where the art club gathered to meet up with Marinette. From there, Adrien would make his way to either fencing lessons or Chinese, depending on the day of the week. Marinette would join him on days when he had Chinese (as she’d become determined to master the language ever since her uncle visited from Shanghai a few years back), Alya would go to her journalism club, and Nino would travel to his part-time internship at the local recording studio.

“–and the backlogs just keep piling up!” Alya spoke as they walked, voice full of vigor and excitement. “I’ve had to recruit yet another mod to help me keep order in the forums! Especially since the Ladyblog has started going international and we’ve had to organize servers in different languages. You wouldn’t believe how crazy it’s gotten in there recently!”

“Dang, babe,” Nino interjected. “Sounds like things are super rough for you right now.”

“Not really, more busy than anything. Especially because I have that big research article due next week, there’s just not enough hours in the day to try to read everything that goes on in there. But I have my mods report to me daily, ‘cause I always like to stay on top of everything that goes on in the chats!”

“What’s gotten everyone so riled up in the Ladyblog lately?” Adrien chimed in. “I don’t recall it being nearly this busy last year.”

The trio entered the art club’s classroom and settled down at the table where Marinette sat, getting her various sketches organized. The art teacher was quite easy going, so they didn’t have to talk in hushed whispers and could come and go as they pleased.

“Well, to be honest, it’s because of Chat Noir,” Alya replied.

Adrien tried to contain his surprise. “R-really? What– uhhh, what do people have to say about him?”

He winced inwardly. He knew he shouldn’t ask. But curiosity got the better of him today. Maybe learning the news through the filter or Alya’s paraphrasing instead of reading the negative comments firsthand would lessen the sting of what people said about him.

Marinette whipped her head around at the mention of his alter ego. “Wait, what about Chat Noir?” she inquired.

“Girl,” Alya replied, her voice filled with renewed exuberance. “You would not believe how much we’ve had to censor and moderate all the inappropriate things people have been saying!”

Adrien flinched in his seat. “Wow… do people really hate him that much?” he asked, trying to conceal the dejection in his voice.

Alya busted out into loud guffaws. “Hate?! Dude, most people don’t hate him; they LOVE him! By ‘inappropriate’ comments, I mean the kinda stuff you wouldn’t want your grandma to catch you reading! There’s a whole giant section dedicated to his new fan club!” she said as she removed her glasses so she could wipe away the tears of laughter.

“WHAT?!” Adrien squawked in confusion, his face feeling hotter than the ovens back at the bakery. “A fan club??”

Marinette burst into uncontrollable snickering. “Has it really gotten that bad?!”

Nino joined in, “Bro! Adrien, I can’t believe you haven’t heard Alya rant about these rabid fans before! They call themselves the ‘Noir Nation’, and the kind of things they’ve been writing would make adult romance authors blush like schoolgirls!”

Alya nodded, thoroughly amused. “And that’s not including all the fanfiction people have been writing.”

“Wait– the WHAT?! There’s fanfiction?!!” Marinette gaped in shock, as if she’d been hit in the face with an enormous pie. “Alya, how come I never knew about this?!”

“Why? You wanna read em? Girl, you’ll get no judgment from me. If you wanna check ‘em out for yourself, just go check under the hashtag ‘Ladynoir’.”

Marinette stammered as her arms flailed in her bewilderment, accidentally knocking her phone off the table and onto the floor, her eyes bigger and rounder than Adrien had ever seen them. “They have a ship name?!” she screeched.

“Just mind the ratings though,” Alya advised. “Some of them can get pretty steamy. You wouldn’t want someone to catch you reading those in public,” she added with a wink.

Marinette continued to sputter incoherently. “NO, I am NOT gonna read it!! It would be different if they were fictional characters, but I could never read fanfiction about real people!”

Alya raised a skeptical eyebrow at her. “Mm-hmm… Sure.”

Marinette’s hands flew to her face, trying to hide how red her entire face had gotten, and released a long squeak that resembled a hamster on helium. As shocked as Adrien was about these rather unexpected news, seeing Marinette’s over-the-top reaction brought a wide grin to his face and he busted out laughing.

He bent over to retrieve Marinette’s phone, since she was too busy being mortified to notice it had fallen to the floor. As he was about to hand it back, the screen lit up and Adrien saw the lockscreen wallpaper: it was the same photo of Ladybug and Chat Noir that he himself had saved earlier that day. He smiled, not exactly sure what to make of it, but finding it adorable that she’d liked the photo enough to set it as her lockscreen.

He tapped her shoulder, waiting for her to respond. She emerged from behind her impromptu hand shield and turned her head, then her eyes widened once again as soon as she saw what Adrien was showing her. She jolted straight up, stiff as a board, and her eyes met his, cheeks turning tomato red. He winked at her, amused about this little secret between them, and handed back her phone without a word.

Marinette accepted it with a meek-sounding, “Thanks,” looking like she wanted to explain the photo, but not able to do so unless she wanted Alya and Nino to find out that she was potentially a… ahem– “Ladynoir” shipper.

Switching the conversation to something else (which Marinette seemed to be eternally grateful for), the group chatted until it became time for them to scatter to their next destinations.

With a wave, Adrien exited the classroom and headed towards fencing practice, one of the few activities he decided to stick with despite not being forced to participate. Fencing, along with Chinese lessons, were not only enjoyable, but were also quite useful. Sadly, he didn’t have access to a piano anymore, so he wasn’t able to pursue that hobby for the time being. Hopefully later down the line, when things had settled down and he’d found his own place to live, he’d be able to finance one.

Thinking about the future had become an exciting pastime instead of an anxiety-inducing one, and it was all thanks to his friends and those he cared about. He smiled as he reached the door to the locker rooms, continuing to daydream of what was to come.

(Mood music: "Recollection 3" - Shirō Sagisu (BLEACH OST, "The Diamond Dust Rebellion")

Adrien finished getting dressed for fencing, his head still blissfully floating in the clouds. He stored his belongings into his assigned locker, shutting it with a loud clang, which echoed through the empty room.

Huh...? Empty?

He swiveled his head around, surprised that there was no one beside him. He stood up and began walking down the large room, peeking down the other locker rows looking for his classmates; but there was nobody.

Where was everyone? There’s no way that every single one of them was running late. Had his lessons been cancelled and he’d somehow missed a text message or email? He began heading back towards his locker to check his phone for any schedule changes.

Before he reached his destination, however, heavy thudding footsteps broke the eerie silence. Adrien whipped his body around to greet whoever they belonged to.

The owner of those footsteps was one of the last people Adrien expected to meet here.

“Gaspard?!”

Adrien stood agape, face to face with his old bodyguard, whom he hadn’t seen in a couple of years; not since he’d resigned and moved out of the country. Nathalie had mentioned that in his resignation letter, Gaspard said that he’d become involved in an overseas business venture involving the market of rare action figures. Nevertheless, Adrien couldn’t help but suspect that his father’s ill temper and poor treatment of their employees was the true reason for his departure.

Adrien’s first reaction was surprise and joy, and he rushed forward to greet and embrace him. However, as he approached and got a better look at the man’s face, Adrien’s mood instantly morphed into confusion and apprehension. There was something odd about his eyes.

Something wasn’t right. Why was Gaspard here? And why now?

He came to a halt about a meter before reaching him. An oppressive weight seemed to press in all around him, and he had to suppress a shiver. “Wait. Gaspard, did–” he gulped, “–did my father send you?”

His old bodyguard did not reply, but took a heavy step towards him. Adrien stepped back.

“Please… I can’t go back. I live somewhere else now, and I’m very happy there. Whatever he told you about the situation, it’s a lie.”

His bodyguard continued to approach him, his stare vacant and unsettling.

Fighting the urge to panic, he pleaded, “You don’t have to do this. If he’s offered you compensation, I can match it; it’ll just take me a bit of time. But we can work something out, right?? For old time’s sake?”

He continued walking backwards until he bumped into something firm, but it wasn’t a wall; it was another person. Before he could turn around, they grabbed him by the shoulders, detaining him and preventing him from running away.

He was about to shout for help when something sharp jabbed him on the side of the neck, injecting a cold liquid. Adrien’s eyes grew wide in terror.

Shit.

Adrien swore as he jerked away, elbowing whoever was behind him and managing to break free. Rubbing at the spot where the syringe had stabbed him, he glanced back to take a look at his other assailant, only to see... another Gaspard?

Why are there two of him??

This was wrong. Gaspard didn’t have a twin; he knew that for a fact. He’d worked for the Agrestes ever since Adrien was a toddler and was too young to even pronounce his name correctly (hence the nickname “Gorille”, which stuck around for years afterwards). Additionally, there was something uncanny, otherworldly, even, about the way these two men looked and moved.

He shook himself out of his stupor. He didn’t have time to contemplate any possible explanations. He had to get out of there fast.

He sprinted towards the exit, but only managed to travel a few paces before he lost his footing and tripped. He fell to the ground hard, almost hitting his head on a nearby bench. As he struggled to get up, he realized that his fingers and toes had already gone numb.

Not good.

Time was running out. Adrenaline coursed through him and, with a grunt, he hefted himself to his feet and scrambled towards the exit, as fast as he could despite a heavy limp. Though his heart was hammering and his legs felt like they were filled with sand, he pushed himself, concentrating on reaching the door.

After taking a few steps, however, he realized that even if he did manage to exit the locker room, the area beyond was an open courtyard. Meaning he wasn’t going to be able to reach someplace safe before getting caught. He had no choice but to transform into Chat Noir, and hopefully Plagg’s powers and strength could help him escape and find somewhere to hide.

He’d scarcely uttered the first syllable in the transformation phrase when he was tackled to the ground. A giant hand swiftly covered his mouth and Adrien felt his hands get bound together with thick zip ties behind his back. A muffled scream of writhing frustration made its way up his throat as his limbs became more and more useless by the second.

No… This can’t be happening! Please, this can’t be how it all ends!

Just when his life had finally gained a semblance of normalcy and he’d found happiness again, it would get ripped away and he would disappear without a trace, leaving everyone to wonder what had happened to him. Leaving his friends to think that Gabriel had pulled him from school and they would never see him again. Leaving Ladybug to wonder if Chat had abandoned her forever. Leaving her to fight Hawkmoth alone. Again.

He couldn’t let that happen. He thrashed and struggled as furiously as he could, fighting the feelings of overwhelming helplessness that threatened to consume him. Nearing despair, he was too distracted to notice Plagg phrasing through the wall, away from the skirmish, in search of the only person who could save him.

(Mood music: "Run" - Ludovico Einaudi)

Marinette fidgeted with her pencil, her feet wiggled and bounced under her desk. She didn’t understand; when she’d arrived at the art club, her head had been filled with inspiration and ideas that she’d been excited to draw and execute. However, at the moment, her mind was filled with noise and disquietude.

Having had enough, she excused herself to visit the restroom. Once she’d walked far enough from the classroom, she opened her purse to talk to Tikki about her current dilemma.

“It’s the same feeling as last night, Tikki! Except that would mean one of three possibilities. Option A.) It’s nothing and I’m going crazy. And— don’t give me that look, Tikki! I can see what you’re thinking and I don’t have time for your cheeky sass right now!” The kwami snickered while Marinette cleared her throat and continued, “Option B.) that Chat is here, at this school, which is impossible because his school’s on the other side of the city, that’s why he always leaves the house super early for his long commute.”

Tikki opened her mouth and looked like she was about to say something, but then didn’t (...or couldn’t?).

Marinette resumed, “Or, C.) that my–– what do I even call it? My ‘Spidey sense’??–– that it’s got a long distance mode, and Chat is all the way across Paris and he’s in trouble! But what am I supposed to do about that from here?! I wouldn’t even know where to begin looking!”

Tikki shrugged. “Follow your instincts, Marinette. There’s no harm in taking a quick look around the school, right?”

Marinette groaned. “UGH! It doesn’t make sense!! Am I going to get interrupted like this all the time from now on?” She shook her head resolutely. “No. I can’t just go off on random field trips every single time I feel a random fit of anxiety. I’m sure it’s just leftover jitters from last night. I’m supposed to call Master Fu after school anyway; he can help me figure everything out. I’m just gonna go back to class and forget about it.”

Tikki frowned, not quite convinced, but deciding not to press further.

Marinette made her way back to the classroom in a frustrated huff. But as her hand reached to turn the handle, the feelings of danger and urgency multiplied tenfold. Without a word, she sprinted away in the opposite direction, not even knowing where she was running to, only knowing she had to get there immediately.

She reached the large common area of the school downstairs. Her head whipped around, frantically searching for something, anything. In her haste, she didn’t notice a small black creature zoom into her open purse.

A few moments later, she felt a frantic tugging at her shirt from below.

“Marinette!! Over there! Check the locker room, quick!!!” Tikki whisper-screamed as she peeked outside the purse, her tone uncharacteristically frantic.

Marinette nodded, then sprinted to the locker room.

“Wait! You should transform first!” Tikki added.

No time!

“Marinette, wait!!”

Despite Tikki’s protests, Marinette raced towards the double doors, tackling them open.

Three sets of eyes landed on her as she skidded to a halt, but only one pair consumed her entire attention. She gasped in horror, hands flying to her face as she stared at what was occurring in front of her. Adrien let out a desperate, muffled scream urging her to run.

His panicked voice snapped her out of her dazed shock; but instead of running, she stood her ground, eyes darting back and forth across the area searching for something useful. The room was remarkably barren except for a lone broom a short distance away from her. She grabbed it and leaped towards the closest attacker (the one holding Adrien down), swinging it like a baseball bat.

The man didn’t even try to avoid the hit; the broomstick merely bounced off the side of his face where Marinette had hit him. She frowned in confusion, then tried hitting him again, bringing the stick down on the top of his head like an axe.

SNAP.

The end of the broom flew off, and Marinette stared in shock at the broken broomstick.

“What the hell are you?!” Marinette exclaimed, shifting her grip on the shortened wooden stub.

She pounced at the second bodyguard, bringing her weapon down in a stabbing motion; but he swatted at her hand, disarming her. She yelped in pain, leaping backwards to get some distance between them.

She was outmatched. The only strategy available was to use their own size against them. With a feint to the side, she shot at his legs for a takedown, hoping to catch him off balance. He called her bluff and shoved her backwards with his giant palm, then kneed her in the stomach.

Winded from the impact, Marinette doubled over with a gasping wheeze, fighting with all her might to keep herself from collapsing onto the ground. She forced herself upright and attacked again. With a clumsy jerk, she lunged forward, swinging wild punches at her opponent. The shots connected but his expression barely changed; it was like beating a breathing punching bag.

The bodyguard backhanded Marinette across the face. Pain shooting across her cheek, she staggered, almost losing her balance. In her daze, she watched helplessly as the man reared his arm back. There was no chance to dodge. His fist connected with her abdomen, delivering a liver shot that shut down her entire body. She crumpled to the floor as if boneless. She tried to call out Adrien’s name, but her mouth merely opened in a silent scream.

Marinette could hear Adrien’s distressed screaming, but it sounded distant, like they were underwater. The edges of her vision grew black and fuzzy, the entire room dissolving around her. She had to consciously force her lungs to inhale, but couldn’t fill them all the way, as if a boulder had been placed on top of her chest.

Faintly, she felt herself getting picked up off the ground and carried away over someone’s shoulder. Disoriented and semi-blinded, the sudden movement and rough jostling made her head spin and gave her vertigo. She gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block it all out.

A few moments later, they stopped moving, and she heard a door burst open. Where were they? Before she could gather her senses, she was in the air, thrown several meters away, landing with a hard thud. A sharp pain traveled down her body as she rolled into the wall across them. The shriek that tried to escape her throat emerged as a strained, shallow whine.

The man stomped out, leaving her alone in the room. “Stop…!” she rasped out, managing to tilt her neck upwards, head pounding.

The bodyguard slammed the door shut, followed by a bang and a clattering sound that could only mean he’d broken the doorknob of whatever room she was in.

Marinette's vision became more and more blurred. At the verge of losing consciousness, she fought to keep her eyes open as tears pricked at the corners of her eyes.

No, she couldn’t pass out! She had to save Adrien! Stay awake, Marinette, stay awake!!

She bit down on her lip hard, focusing on the sharp sting, on the swelling that was already forming around her right eye, forcing herself to feel the pain her body was in. At this moment, feeling pain was better than falling unconscious. She concentrated on her breathing, slowly regaining her senses.

She reached down to open her purse and get Tikki’s help… only to be met with emptiness. Panic settled in her gut as she realized that sometime during the skirmish, the purse had slipped off her shoulder. She sat up, slowly, so she wouldn’t risk feeling faint again from the change in positions.

She squinted, adjusting her eyesight to the darkness of the room. It seemed to be some sort of supply closet. After a failed few attempts to stand, she crawled towards the door instead, careful not to bump into the crates and shelves that filled the area.

The girl eyed the broken doorknob wearily. She was pretty proficient at lockpicking and breaking into things, but not as good at breaking out. Her only hope was that Tikki would be able to find her… if she was even nearby.

She swore to herself. Why had she rushed in and attacked two grown ass men (who, incidentally, may or may not be supernatural to boot!) instead of hiding and creating a strategy?! Now she was useless, Tikki was gone, and Adrien was surely on his way to get auctioned to the highest bidder in the criminal black market and ransomed off for an enormous sum. Great job, Marinette. Adrien’s been abducted and it’s all your fault.

Gathering all the determination she could muster, she tried to call out for help. But her voice was still too hoarse, and only a weak croak came out. She clenched her fists, grumbling irritably. Time for a different approach. Somehow, she needed to make noise.

After a brief search, she found a hard, metallic object that she could use to hammer on the door. She tested it out; it was surprisingly effective. She doubled her efforts, making as big a racket as possible. Hopefully, it would only be a matter of time before somebody heard her, let her out, and she could go find Adrien.

She couldn’t let anything else happen to another loved one. Not again.

–––––

I'M REEEAAAAALLY SORRY FOR THAT CLIFFHANGER JSHDKFJHSKDF ᕕ(╯°д°)ᕗ I tried splitting up the sections differently but it didn't really flow as well.

But the next chapter is almost done, so I'll have it ready by next weekend!!

#Miraculous Ladybug #Ladynoir #Enemies AU #enemies to lovers #Marinette Dupain Cheng #Adrien Agreste #Chat Noir #Ladybug #fanfiction #Discordant Sonata #ML AU #aged up #Eden writes

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hes-a-rainbow · 3 years

Text

Simply Meant To Be (Part One)

A/N: I’ve always loved soulmate AU’s so I wrote a little something based on my interpretation. I’ll only continue this if it gets good feedback so remember to like and share!

word count: 2k warnings: small mention of panic attacks.

Soulmates weren’t a new concept. Many people argued soulmates were as old as the universe itself. But that didn’t stop the tiny twinge of jealousy that twisted in Rue’s stomach as she opened up yet another wedding invitation. She stared back at the smiling couple, one of her friends from high school that had met their soulmate a few years back in college. Another photo zoomed in on their ring fingers. Their first initials scarred on both of their fingers indicating their eternal bond.

She flipped over the invitation to fill out the rsvp and dinner selection she would be having in a few months time. She also marked an ‘X’ next to ‘not bringing a guest’. She sighed as the tiny ‘X’ seemingly mocked her loneliness.

It wasn’t that she didn’t believe in soulmates, they were a fact of life since the beginning of civilization. It was merely the loneliness she felt seeing everyone meeting their soulmate while she still remained alone. Her best friend, Madison, who had met her soulmate back in kindergarten and she was now six months pregnant with their second child.

There was no real science to when, where, or how you would meet your soulmate, it was just supposed to happen. Fate would eventually intertwine the lives of two people who were simply meant to be. Rue was now nearing 26. She had been in love before, as many before her, but the looming fact that her significant others’ soulmate could show up at any time kept her from anything long term.

There was always that terrible thought in the back of her head; the one she had since she was young and still kept her up at night. Growing up, the concept of soulmates were taught in schools. Children mocked each other on the school yard that they would be forever ‘unmarked’, a term coined for those who were destined to be alone. It was a rare phenomenon but it still happened nonetheless.

She took a look at her left hand adorned with rings except for on her ring finger. She remembers spending hours as a child staring and hoping the initial of her true love would show up. But all these years later, it remained as bare as the day she was born. She never thought of herself as a pessimist and she knew she was still young (her parents hadn’t met until they were in their mid thirties) but it still hurt as she watched from the sidelines as seemingly everyone else was matched up.

The loud ringing of her cell phone snapped her out of her thoughts. Her friend and close confidante, Caroline, was calling. She swiped her finger across her phone and cleared her throat, “What’s up?”

“Well hello to you too!” Caroline’s voice roared back to her. She hit the volume button down lower as she knew Caroline was a loud talker. “I’m on my way to Rory’s. My guitar string broke this morning and Talia got called in for a late shift. Do you wanna stop by with me and then get take out for dinner?” Caroline’s soulmate, Talia, was a highly wanted chef in Hell’s Kitchen who worked nights at one of the most prestigious restaurants in the entire city.

She stared at the digital clock on her oven that indicated it was only 5:30. “Sure, I just got home so just let me change and I’ll meet you at Rory’s.” She tucked the phone between her ear and shoulder and wandered over to her bedroom to pull out a pair of jeans.

“No need. I’m walking up your stairs as we speak.” Like clockwork, she heard the sound of Caroline’s knuckles knocking at her front door.

“Jesus Caroline, and what if I had said no?” She walked over to the door, unzipping her work pants. Caroline’s bright smile and bleached blonde hair greeted her. “You can’t say no to me!” Caroline looked down at her friends’ outfit. “Cute but can I recommend something less librarian?” Caroline placed her guitar case by the door as Rue rolled her eyes but held the door open. She sauntered back over to her dresser to continue changing out of her work clothes. Caroline sat on her bed and basically held an entire conversation by herself as Rue simply replied with oh, uh huh, and that’s crazy.

Winter had come to the city fast, blanketing the city in a slick frost every morning. The two women walked side by side, bundled up in hats and scarves as they walked the two blocks from Rue’s apartment to Rory’s, an old music shop that also happened to be run by Rory, Rue’s upstairs neighbor and close friend.

“And I know she’ll be upset if I spend so much money but she’s been talking about this knife set for months now.” Caroline rambled on about what she would be getting Talia for their upcoming anniversary. They weren’t married yet, or even engaged for that matter, but they had been together for nearly five years now and didn’t see the need to rush anything.

“I mean it is your five year. She can’t be too upset that you would want to splurge a little bit. But that’s also basically your whole paycheck. You’d basically be leaving it up to her to pick up that entire month’s rent.” Rue’s faded leather boots slapped the pavement as she hid her face further into the scarf wrapped around her neck, trying to warm up her freezing nose. It was almost completely dark out now which meant there was no sun to help ease off the cold.

“And what about that song you were working on? No amount of money spent could give Talia anything that personal and from the heart.” Caroline was an aspiring musician who worked full time as a coffee shop manager and played open mics on the weekends. Caroline hummed in response, her confidence slipping. “I’m just not sure if I like how it turned out…” She let her voice trail off and stared ahead as if in deep thought.

“She’d love it no matter what. Anyone would.” Rue knocked her shoulder into her friends’. “I mean isn’t that like everybody’s dream? To have a song written about them?”

“Yeah, I guess.” They both stopped at the old music store with the big ‘open’ sign in neon lights adorning the window.

“Ah fuck it’s cold out there.” Caroline announced as the warmth from the stores’ heater hit them. Rue untangled her scarf to hang loosely at her side. A loud bell indicated their arrival and they saw Rory’s head perk up from behind the register.

“How much for an hour, ladies?” He called over to them and was met with not one, but two middle fingers from them both. Rory was only a few years older than them but had become especially close with Caroline because of their love of music. Rue worked as a receptionist at a law firm but worked a few shifts at the shop here and there when Rory needed extra help.

Caroline walked over to the counter and plopped her heavy guitar case on it. “String broke again.” She popped open the buckles on the side, lifting it up to reveal the old acoustic guitar she had been gifted as a teenager. The shine of the guitar had been long lost and was now replaced with a few dings and scratches but Caroline loved it no less than the day she got it.

“Damn Caroline. Really have to start being more careful with her.” Rory took the guitar out of it’s velvet bed by the neck and examined the broken string that hung lamely at the side. “This is the second time this month. What could you possibly be playing?”

“I’m trying to learn some flamenco techniques and it’s not going as well as I planned…” Rue wandered over to the wall that hung the electric guitars, zoning out the banter coming from her two friends.

She always admired the instrument but had absolutely no musical talent whatsoever. She loved how Rory kept all the guitars miraculously clean, there were never any fingerprints or smudges on them and she swear he went over every spot with a toothbrush to make sure. She reached for an acoustic guitar that was hanging lower than the more expensive ones.

“You break it, you buy it!” Rory called over to her as he always did. She huffed in response and propped her knee up on a low shelf that held a variety of guitar straps. She didn’t know how to play nor did she know any songs but she loved the sounds the strings made when plucked. She would find herself mesmerized when she watched Caroline play the guitar so effortlessly. Rue even thought back to when she was a child and took a few piano lessons here and there but could never get the hang of it.

As she stood under the guitars and heard Caroline and Rory bickering about which string would be the best replacement (of course his recommendation was also the most expensive brand he sold), the bell by the front door rung to indicate a new customer. Rue didn’t bother looking over as she played some random notes in an attempt to put something together but only to be met by a terrible ‘plunk’. She decided to put the guitar back before embarrassing herself even further in front of her very talented friends.

She was about to place the head of the guitar back on the hook it hung from when she felt an intense pain in her chest. The hand not holding the guitar went right to the center of her chest as a warmth ran over her body. Her ears started to ring and she teetered in her place before placing the guitar down on the floor, not wanting to damage it if she fell.

“Rue?” She heard her name coming from behind her but her eyes filled with stars. She opened and closed them as the pain in her chest increased, causing her to fall to the floor on her knees. She could hear frantic chatter coming from the counter but her only focus was calming her breathing. She had suffered from panic attacks before but the intense pain in her chest was unlike anything she had ever experienced. She heard footsteps running towards her as she released a groan from deep in her throat.

“Rue! What’s going on? Are you okay?” Caroline slumped to the floor next to her and put an arm around her shoulder. Rue’s vision was blurry and she blinked fast as her eyes started to water. A bang and a deep groan went through the store somewhere behind her. “Holy shit!” A stranger's voice yelled, “Harry, man, are you alright?”

Suddenly, the pain Rue felt in her chest shot down her left arm. She felt as if she were dying. It was as if her skin was being cut from the inside out while also spontaneously being burned. “Rue! Rue!” She could hear Caroline calling her name but it came through as muffled though her ringing ears. She looked up to see a group of men standing by the counter. Rory was speaking frantically on his cell phone and she could see two men crowded around another who sat in the same position on the floor as she did. The brunette on the floor looked up and their eyes met. The overwhelming pain stopped suddenly as she stared at him. Pictures flashed in her mind of her and this man, someone who was a stranger to her but also oddly familiar. She saw his smile and heard her own laugh. She saw tears stream down his face and her own fingers wiping them away.

What is this? She thought in her head.

You know what this is. Her conscious replied.

Caroline’s face came back to her line of sight, “Hey Rue, look at me. It’s okay. You’re gonna be fine.” She held Rue’s face in her hands. Rue’s hands came up to clasp her friends’ wrist, her breathing rapid as her heart beat finally started to slow back to a normal pace. Her left hand still stung. More specifically, her left ring finger.

She pulled away from her friend quickly to examine the new mark that now adorned her skin.

“Holy shit.” Rue rubbed at the mark with her other hand to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. But with every swipe, the letter remained. “Holy shit!” Rue heard Caroline agree as she looked down at Rue’s hand, but Caroline’s voice was filled with less fear and more glee than Rue’s.

There, on her left ring finger, still swollen and red was the letter H.

A/N: This is just an idea I have that I may or may not continue based on the feedback. I know Harry was literally just a mention in this part but I would obviously include him much more going forward. Let me know if you’re interested in what happens next and please like and share!

Part Two

#harry styles #harry styles one shot #harry styles au #harry styles fic #harry style fanfic #harry styles smut #harry styles blurb #harry styles fluff #one direction #hslot #soulmates au #harry styles writing #tpwk #treat people with kindness #harry styles drabble #harry styles x oc

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jessiebanethedragon · 4 years

Text

Unabashedly

The four times you caught Rex staring, and the time he caught you.

The first time you met the Captain of the five-oh-first, you figured he was staring because of how unusual your presence was. As a Jedi who spent their time learning from the force in nature, to Rex you were an enigma. You noticed that his hamlet stayed focused on you long after you had formerly been introduced.

“Captain Rex,” You said, and like a shiny at the 79's for the first time, he blushed. Thank the maker for helmets, he thought. “I know trust doesn't come easy and all, and I know I’m not exactly a typical jedi per say but…” You trailed off. He was still watching you, and awkwardness filled the space between you. Anakin coughed, trying to waver his captain's attention. He didn't need his jedi senses to tell him what about you was distracting Rex.

“Can I speak to you outside for a moment Rex.” Oh he was in for it now.

The second time you noticed his watchful eye was mid battle. The movement of you and your lightsaber was captivating. He had never seen a Jedi move so gracefully, it’s like you were dancing on a tank, surrounded by clankers, and oh - right he was supposed to be laying down cover fire!

“Captain!” Fives was yelling at him, “we need you down here.” Fives, as usual, was being a blessing and a curse. And as usual, when Rex thought he was being stealthy in his staring, the entirety of his crew knew he had a soft spot for one particular jedi. Fives calling him down from his vantage point had two main objectives. One, it was actually useful to the battle, and two hopefully it would snap him out of his daze. Fives had no such luck.

“What’s the update Captain?” You asked, having jumped off the edge of a tank that was smoking from every corner.

“We are expecting air support any minute general.” He said, not turning your way. Your messy hair, flushed face and soft smile, he thought to himself, might actually cause him to go into cardiac arrest.

“Perfect!” You exclaimed as Kenobi’s troops finally arrived. “Now this is what I call a party!” laughter boomed from Fives, who found your energy far too incorrigible for everyone elses liking.

“What are you at General?” He asked curiously.

“42 clankers and…” You trailed off looking at the remnants of your previous escapade. “One tank.” Fives grumbled. “Something wrong?” you feigned innocence.

“This is so unfair.” He threw his hands up in the air, and smiled as he saw another battalion of droids coming up over the ridge. Without warning he took off towards them. “I can still beat you yet!” He called back.

“Please don’t tell me you…” Rex started

“Bet Fives I could kill more clankeers than him?” You finished turning back to him. He nodded, crossing his arms unamused. “Don't tell me you don't approve, captain.”

“It’s not that general it’s that…” you cut him off again,

“How many times do I have to tell you I'm not a general, I do have a name you know.” you playfully hit him in the shoulder, but with all that armour you doubted if he could feel it.

“Okay but still, gambiling isn't allowed.” He started watching the troops begin their forward assault.

“What if a very lovely Jedi was to share the spoils of war with you?” You cheekily asked.

“Depends on what you win.” he stated, finally playing along.

“You just have to wait and see won't you captain.” You yelled back to hin, taking off into the battle, his eyes never leaving you as you ran off.

The third time, you barely remember. It was late, really late, and everyone had been up for days thanks to a prolonged siege of Ryloth, or was it Bespin? You were too tired to even think about keeping things straight in your head. And of course at two in the morning (even though technically even traveling through space there's no time zone to really follow) Anakin Skywalker had decided on one last briefing before landing at your destination. So when you walk into the meeting room still in your sleepwear of course, everyone's a little shocked. But Rex, Rex is enchanted. Your hair is messy and keeps falling in your face, the baggy shirt keeps falling off your shoulder and you try to right yourself to no avail.

“Want some?” He asks, crossing the room to you, he’s already in half his armour, but only his blacks on the top half. Much to your delight. You eye the cup of caff he’s holding out and sleepily nod.

“Thank you.” You tell him and in your exhausted induced genius you decide that right now, as the briefing in a room full of people, Rex’s shoulder is the perfect place for your head. In your time working together, there wasn't anyone else you trusted more. There wasn't anyone else you liked as much as Rex and while you were beginning to worry about the attachment you had to him, your sleepy self didn't really care at the moment.

“When we land here…” Anakin rambled at the holomap, all eyes on him, you leaned more and more into the comfy pillow of a man next to you. And very, very slowly, his arm snuck around your waist to support you just a tiny bit more. Him staring at your tiny figure from above, curled into his shoulder and chest, his mug of caf in your hands, hair smelling of that wild soap you always used. His mind repeated one word over and over as he stared. Heaven.

If you were caught now, both of you would be court martialed, but the room was dark, and everyone was tired. And even though Anakin could clearly see both of you, he couldn't help but smile.

The four, and most recent time you noticed his lingering gaze, was the one and only time you had lost a bet to Fives, you tried to get out of it, claiming that having Echo support him in winning meant disqualification but after you had him bleach his hair for winning the clankers bet, you couldn't back out of this one. And either way, it was just one night, just one night in the 79's and then you’d never have to do it again.

“Looking good General!” He teased, offering you his arm before leading (pulling) you out of the cab

“Fives it is literally just me in a dress, I look how I always do!” You told him.

“Maybe you always look good.” He said with a wink, both of you stopped for a moment before laughing. Next to Rex, Fives had to be your best friend.

“Sorry sugar,” you drawled out jokingly once you get inside the brightly lit bar “You may be pretty but maker do I love blondes.” He chuckled,

“I’d like to point out I was a blonde.” He said, nudging you. “Or is it a particular blonde you love.” Your face goes more red than a sith’s lightsaber at that.

“Remind me never to tell you anything again.” You said looking around for the nearest alcoholic beverage. It’s then you see him, that particular blonde. He’s shuffled off in a booth in the corner, learning on his elbows, unabashedly staring.

His top half was only covered by his blacks, and this time you’re fully awake to appreciate the way his muscles are outlined by the material.

“He’s been looking at you like that since you walked in. You know for a jedi there’s a lot you don't notice.” Fives whispered in your ear. Before finishing a drink you hadn't even seen him pick up. You turned back to make a sarcastic comment (one of your lesser appreciated skills) when Tup shouted:

“Hey captain come have a drink with us!” Your eyes widened as Fives starts a laugh that sounded more like a witches cackle than anything else. And just as you were able to formulate an escape plan you feel a presence behind you.

“Well, correct me if i’m wrong but that doesn't look like Jedi approved clothing.” Rex mumbled to you. And your brain worked double time to think of a fantastic comeback.

“It’s for when I go undercover.” -nailed it. Rex raises an eyebrow, with a half smile, he still hasn't taken his eyes off of you.

It happened again that night, or maybe it didn't ever stop. But you’d had enough drinks to feel less shy. And as the hours passed by you ended up all in a both, you in the middle while the boys sang a song they apparently learned on Kamino. But the underlying message suggests that they most certainly did not. You’d been leaning on Fives for a while oblivious to Rex’s glare until he’d come over and yanked you into the squishy cushion with him. One arm sneaks around your shoulders and you can smell the whiskey on him, on you? Eh who cares anyways.

“Ibac'ner cyar'ika” Rex was whispering, you weren't sure what any of it meant, but given his tone you didn't really care. Anything to keep his voice that deep and smooth and close to you.

“What does that mean?” you asked, your mando’a was coming along, but you didn't know nearly enough.

“Mesh'la.” He said, tracing the collar of your dress, still staring at you. And of course the second you both lean that little bit closer, Hardcase still his drink on you.

You’re in the medbay, the incessant beeping tells you that much. You think it’s maybe because you and Ventress got into a bit of a disagreement. She wanted to kill you and you very much didn't want to be killed. All things considered, you're impressed. All she managed to do was graze your side.

“Kix?” you ask as your vision adjusts to the clone by your bedside. But it’s not Kix at all.

Rex is still wearing all his armour, except his helmet is on the floor. He’s covered in mud, blood, and who knows what else. His hand rests on his gun, and his head is slumped over. He’s asleep. A pang of longing hits you, he looks so delicate right now, and it’s at that moment you realize how in love with that stupidly loyal, stuck up, serious commander you really are.

“Starin’s rude ya know.” he says, eyes still closed.

“I figured I owe you a few for all those times I’ve caught you.” He hums in amusement, stretching and coming fully awake.

“I don’t stare.” He states pointedly.

“Oh really? What is it you do then?”You question, teasing him.

“I appreciate.” He says. And you scoff.

“What about me do you appreciate then?”

“Your personality, skills as a fighter, and the fact that you are unabashedly you.” He says moving closer and taking your hands in his. “You’re stunning, impossible, and about the only person in the universe who I'd leave the republic for.” And I mean, who wouldn't kiss him after that. And it’s long overdue for the two of you anyways. It’s gentle, like you’re both afraid of feeling what you feel. But the way his lips touch yours blocks out the anxiety, the way he moves to hold you close destroys any idea that you have of ever letting him go. And when you finally break apart he smiles and says:

“But that ass of yours sure is a bonus.” You use both hands to push him over.

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doc-pickles · 3 years

Text

the storm & the wind

Brooke is running and Alex happens to meet her along her journey. Their brief encounter might just change everything for her.

hey hi hello I am DOUBLE POSTING for some god damn reason. (i updated treacherous on AO3 for the the first time in 20 years) this was in my drafts and I felt the sudden overwhelming need to finish it today. I love this piece more than I can say and it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy so I hope y’all enjoy it.

also the title comes from this quote from Little Women: You are the gull, Jo, strong and wild, fond of the storm and the wind, flying far out to sea, and happy all alone.

The snow crunching beneath her feet soaks into her worn Converse, a chilling reminder that she should’ve thought to grab something warmer. She makes a mental note to throw her now soaked socks over the heating vent later as she walks into the diner. It’s an old rundown place, but the gust of warm air that brushes over her face as she enters is a more than welcome feeling. Sitting at the counter she knows she should order something to eat but she can’t bring herself to ask for more than a cup of coffee when an aging waitress comes by and asks, her fingers greedily clutching the mug as she takes a sip.

“You’re not really dressed for the weather.”

The voice startles her, her grip around the cup tightening as she turns to her left. The owner of the voice can’t be much older than her, his chiseled jawline dotted with stubble and his dark hair cropped close to his head. He looks grumpy, an expression more at home on someone twice his age but the glint in his eyes keeps his youthful appearance.

“Your shoes are practically soaked through and you have a sweater on in 13-degree weather,” the stranger continues to share his thoughts, his comment prompting her to pull her cardigan tighter around herself. “I’m guessing you’re not from around here Blondie.”

The observation reminds her that the thick braid hanging over her shoulder is a bright bleach blonde instead of her natural brunette coloring. She’d hastily dyed it in a rest stop somewhere in Ohio, desperate to wash away any traces of him that she could.

“I’m from New Jersey. Well… Kind of. I’m originally from Pennsylvania.”

The words slip from her mouth before she can second-guess them. Normally she would worry about giving any identifying information out, the fear of him being able to find her consuming her mind. But she knows now that she’s far from New Jersey and the life she left behind.

“You’re from the East Coast and you didn’t pack a winter coat?”

“I forgot… I was in a rush.”

That part isn’t a total lie, she had been in a rush when she left. She had shoved as much as she could into her suitcase while he had been working, not wanting to face his anger at her sudden departure. Now though she wishes she had put more thought into what she grabbed, she’d been freezing since she left.

“Here, you look like a wet dog shivering like that,” the man slips his thick red flannel off, holding the garment out to her with an expectant look. “Cmon, I don't have fleas or anything.”

She takes the proffered jacket, only because she’s shaking just as much as he says she is. The heavy material settles on her shoulders instantly warming her. The man looks at her for a moment before turning back to his coffee, speaking as he stares at the dark liquid, “If you're from Jersey what the hell are you doing out here? Middle of nowhere Iowa isn’t exactly a tourist destination.”

“I’m starting over, running away from… something. At least I think I am. I’m not quite sure,” she toys with the sleeves of his jacket, finally looking back up at him after a moment with an accusing tone. “Why do you care anyways? Are you just trying to make sure I don’t have any concerned family members that will come looking for me after you kidnap and murder me?”

There’s a momentary pause before a peel of laughter erupts from the man, a glint taking over his dark eyes as he speaks, “Jesus, you’re really paranoid or something, huh?”

“Or something,” the words are barely a whisper, but they’re loud enough for him to hear and stop his laughter. She looks up and meets his eyes, noticing how he looks her over as if trying to figure out exactly what she’s thinking.

“I’m not trying to kill you, just trying to make conversation,” as if to prove his point he holds his hand out towards her. “I’m Alex.”

She hesitates only for a moment before settling her hand into his much larger one.

“I’m Brooke.”

The conversation seems easier after that, Alex talking about bringing his younger brother home after he had visited him in Seattle and Brooke talking about how she just finished her pre med degree at Princeton. They actually had a lot in common, an almost comforting feeling for her since Paul had isolated her from all her friends.

Paul.

She didn’t dare bring up her abusive husband or the horrors he had dragged her through. No, today she’s not poor defenseless Brooke Stadler whose husband can’t control his temper. Today she’s just Brooke, recent college grad who’s eating breakfast with Alex, the cute doctor with a charming smile.

“So why’d you say you’re starting over,” Alex finally broaches the subject as they both finish their meals. “I mean you just finished pre-med, that means you’re starting med school in the fall right? What are you running from? ”

Brooke shrugs, eyes falling to her now empty plate and she avoids Alex's piercing stare, “I’m supposed to start at Princeton med but now I’m not so sure. A lot has happened lately… It's complicated.”

Alex‘s hand reaches out for her arm, the move causing her to jump slightly. An embarrassed blush paints itself on her cheeks as Alex searches her eyes, almost as if he knows what she’s thinking about. He seems to brush the thought off quickly though as he continues to prod at her.

“Well… Did you get in anywhere else? It’s not too late to change your mind,” Alex shrugged as if sensing Brooke’s discomfort with the situation. “I was supposed to do my residency at the hospital down the street before I switched to Seattle at the last minute. Best thing I probably could’ve done for myself.”

“Well… I got into Harvard too. But I’m not sure,” there’s hesitation lacing her voice when she knows there shouldn’t be. Her mind is swirling, thinking about the fact that she could always go back to him. “I don’t know, I was thinking about going back home.”

Alex scoffs, the small noise causing Brooke to stare at him intensely, “You're not going back home, that’s a load of crap.”

“What makes you so sure about that? You don’t know anything about me.”

There’s a pause as Alex takes a sip of his coffee, a deliberate distraction as he attempts to string together the right words, “Well that black eye isn’t hidden as well as you think it is. And you jumped about a mile in the air when I first started talking to you. So I’m assuming you’re not running from something but someone. Did I get it right?”

Brooke’s fingers froze around her mug, eyes watering as she stared blankly at the dark liquid swirling inside. She pushes down the uncomfortable lump forming in her throat, trying to convince her nerves that Alex was just observant and not a threat.

“My husband… he has a temper,” eyes still focused on the coffee instead of Alex, Brooke found it marginally easier to talk about the real reason she was sitting in a diner in Iowa. “I just knew, the last time he… I just knew if he did it again he would kill me. So when he went to work I grabbed as much as I could and I got in my car and I drove. I don’t think I stopped for almost five hours, not really knowing where I was going. I just knew I had to keep going, that I couldn’t live like that any longer.”

The sounds of the diner around them are all Brooke can hear as her truth settles in the air, Alex taking in everything she’d ungraciously word vomited out. When he finally does speak again, there’s no tell tale tone of pity in his voice that she’d been anticipating.

“My dad was the same way, but my mom never had it in her to run. She was pretty messed up herself,” Brooke looks up at the stranger next to her as a small chuckle breaks through his serious tone. “She wouldn’t run so I had to raise my siblings, I had to make sure we all stayed alive. So I get it, why you’re running. And for what it’s worth, I think you should keep running.”

Swiping at the tears that had collected under her eyelashes Brooke thought about Alex’s words, “He's gonna find me, I know he will.”

“Screw him,” Alex scoffs, taking a swig of his coffee before continuing. “Go to Harvard, change your name, live your life. I promise you, you’ll regret it if you turn around and go back. You have a chance, a real chance, to change your life. Don’t let that slip away.”

There’s a beat of silence as Alex’s encouragement settles deep within Brooke’s chest. The man was a stranger in every sense of the word but somehow his whole hearted belief in her encouraged her to keep moving forward.

“Think of it this way, you get to start a brand new life, no strings attached,” Alex continues. “You can pick something cool! Something that means something. Like… One of those sisters from the book where their dad is away at war?”

“Little Women?”

“Yeah that one,” Brooke laughs at Alex’s statement, causing him to roll his eyes. “Oh shut up, my sister was obsessed with it and made me read it like a hundred times. But all those sisters were badasses, you could use one of those names. Like Amy or Beth. Well no she dies… How about Jo! You definitely look like a Jo to me.”

Brooke’s nose scrunches up at the names, causing both of them to laugh as Alex comes up with ridiculous suggestions. A flood of relief washes over Brooke as the two continue to talk. It had been a long time since she’d let her guard down around someone and just been herself.

A while later she excuses herself to the bathroom, a flash of disappointment striking her when she comes back to an empty seat. Her bill that had been sitting on the counter was paid, the receipt turned over and messy scrawl covering the back.

‘Keep running.’

So she does, Brooke keeps running and running and running and she doesn’t stop. In fact, when the running doesn’t feel like enough anymore she takes up actual running to calm her mind.

She runs every morning, at least two miles to clear her head and to keep herself sane. The days she misses her run are filled with overwhelming thoughts and anxiety that courses through her veins so quickly that it feels like a river crashing over her nervous system. She changes her name, cuts her hair, goes to Harvard and graduates top of her class. Every movement, every breath feels like she’s just moving towards the end of a never ending trail. But she keeps going, she keeps running because it’s all she can do.

When she gets accepted into Seattle Grace, one of the best hospitals in the country that puts thousands of miles between her and her past, it finally feels like a breath of fresh air, like relief is on the horizon. So she leaves Boston, leaves the east coast and everything familiar and finally feels like she might be able to stop running.

Seattle is different, it’s new and unexpected and perfect. It’s the first place where her name feels like it’s truly hers even though she’d lived with it now for almost seven years. Her first morning in her new apartment she goes for a run and finds herself looking over the Seattle harbor with a wide smile on her face. She’s a doctor now, something she’s worked towards her whole life it seems, but now it seems so real.

And then she gets put onto a Peds rotation and her heart seems to stop beating in her chest. Because her attending, Doctor Karev, is someone who’s appeared in her mind almost everyday since the first time she met him. His face, albeit a bit younger, is the one that appears when she thinks she can’t go on any longer.

“You mind?”

Alex’s voice brings her back from her daze, the same one that echoes her footfalls as she chases an adrenaline high every morning. She shakes her head in a futile attempt to clear it, “Sorry.”

“Why are you following me,” there’s an annoyed tone to his voice as she mimics his brisk pace down the hallway. She’d heard horror stories about him, about how rude and mean he was but she never would've guessed it was him.

“I'm your intern for the day.”

“Oh. Well, hello, intern,” Alex side eyes her, not really taking her in. “You have a name?”

“Jo. Jo Wilson,” it’s probably the fiftieth time she's said her name out loud since coming to Seattle but this time it feels different.

There’s a pause and Alex turns to take her in once more, as if he had missed something the first time he’d looked. She almost thinks he’ll say something, but he just shrugs and returns to tying his trauma gown, “Oh, nice. I like chicks with boys' names.”

The moment that she thought was there was gone and she stared at her shoelaces as Alex and Doctor Torres prattled on about something. She figures she should be grateful that he didn’t recognize her, that the seven years and the constant self improvement she’d put into herself had paid off. Still, her heart sunk as she realized that the man that had pushed her to keep running, to change her life, didn’t remember her.

Their story isn’t easy, in fact it’s one of the hardest things she’s ever been through. But there’s not a single ounce of hesitation or regret in her body when she wakes up every morning next to him. She’s always up before him, solely so she can get her run in before he wakes. By the time she comes back and showers, his eyes are sleepily staring up at her and his arms are reaching out for her like she’d been gone longer than a quick jog.

Alex is the person she’d needed, the one who pushed her to be better and made her feel like she didn’t need to change anything about herself. But the need to run, to keep running still hammered in her chest right under her heartbeat. She figured it would always sit there, the constant anxiety that her past might catch up with her if she stopped running.

When Paul shows up, all she wants is Alex. Before Seattle she would've run, would’ve been gone before anyone could blink to miss her. But now she wants nothing more than to curl up in Alex’s arms and never leave. She knows there’s more that needs to be done though, knows there’s more to the fight and that she needs to keep running this last little bit.

It’s not until she sees her ex husband laying in a hospital bed brain dead that Jo finally feels like she can breathe again, like she can stop fighting and just be. The breath of relief that washes over her as Alex runs his hand down her back feels like a thousand pound weight being lifted off her shoulders.

“I was pregnant.”

There’s a pause and she can feel Alex tense next to her, his hand on her back slowing as his eyes bore into her. She wishes she could stop but the words have been dying to slip out for the past six years that she’s been with him.

“The day we met, I was pregnant,” she turns to look at him, tears shining in her eyes. He doesn’t look shocked, not as shocked as he would’ve been if he didn’t know too. “I almost turned around and went back to him and raised a baby with him but I didn’t. The only reason I didn’t was because of this cocky asshole I met in a shitty diner who convinced me to start over. You’re the reason I kept running, the reason I didn’t go back. Whenever I doubted myself I heard your voice, the voice of a complete stranger mind you, in the back of my head telling me to keep running. You... you’re the reason I’m alive.”

Alex keeps his gaze on her for a minute, not daring to look away as they both realize that the other has known. Through the years of their relationship, since their second meeting in the very halls of this hospital they’ve both known exactly who the other is.

“You did all of that by yourself, you just needed a little push,” Alex brings her close again, his lips brushing against her forehead as she folds herself into his side. She’s crying full on now, her chest shaking as she finally lets herself stop running and lets the pent up emotions of the past few days wash over her. “I knew you could do it, I’m glad you did.”

Her tears don’t stop for a few days as she comes to terms with the fact that there’s no longer a need for her to run. In fact a few days later as she’s on her morning jog she stops and takes the deepest breath she feels she’s ever taken. As she leans on her knees she takes in the feeling of air freely flowing through her lungs, the exhilaration coursing through her body akin to what she thinks completing a marathon must feel like. Her eyes scan the Seattle harbor, taking in the sunrise as she breathes heavily and lets the day settle in around her. She'd run her race, she’d run it longer and faster and better than she’d thought she was capable of and finally, finally, she had finished.

#jolex fanfic #jolex #Alex Karev #Jo wilson #Jo Karev #grey’s anatomy #grey’s anatomy fanfic #Jo x Alex #jolex fic #nina writes

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silverfootstepswrites · 3 years

Text

Eden: BLEACH [3]

ZERO / BLEACH (here) / TWIST / REVERSE / DYE / RED

++++

To see a world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wild flower/ Hold infinity in the palm of your hand and eternity in an hour. -William Blake

++++

Shisui still left on his trip.

“I’ll be right back. 3 days max,” he promised, even as Sakura fretted watching him pack his car. He talked to her in bits and pieces as he moved back and forth.

“You won’t even have time to miss me,” he added, shutting the door.

Normally, he was right. He came and went so often that it was an obvious thing.

“I won’t be able to see Venus like this for a while if I miss this window.”

When he stopped in front of her, she tried to put on a smile for him.

“When I get back, we’ll go to that Cuban place you love so much. On me, okay?” he reached out and squeezed her hand. Sakura squeezed back. Smiling brighter- brighter.

“Okay. Be safe.”

She watched him drive away, her heart plummeting down to her feet. She cast one final charm on him for protection as she watched the car make a turn at the end of the street.

At night, as she walked the halls of the dream world. Brushing her fingers along each ornate door, she always made sure to check Shisui’s. Deep blue with gold detailing. The handle was in the shape of a crescent moon. She rested her hand on it. Feeling the warmth of Shisui’s magic thrumming through it. He was too far for her to enter his dreams. But just knowing he was there brought her some comfort.

Itachi didn’t understand her sudden panic. Neither did Sasuke. But he packed a bag and moved into one of the guest rooms on the third floor.

“Just until you stop feeling… whatever you’re feeling,” Sasuke mumbled as he pushed past her when she opened the front door for him.

But as the three days went by, there was no word from Shisui. His phone went straight to voicemail. Neither of his parents had heard from him either.

At the very least, Sakura had pestered him enough for him to say where he was going.

Itachi borrowed Madara’s car to drive up to Shisui’s supposed destination. Sasuke went with him. Sakura almost volunteered to go too. But she thought of Madara all by himself, and she could almost see the blood painting the floor again. She settled for casting protection charms over both of them as she said goodbye. Her heart thumped in her throat until they returned just before sundown.

They contacted the police. Organized search parties. There was no sign of Shisui. It was as if he had just evaporated into thin air.

Ino and Naruto came over to help them post flyers all over the city.

Have you seen this man? they read.

When they stopped to drink coffee, Naruto put his arm around Sakura.

“It’s going to be okay,” he tried to comfort her. Ino put her arm around Sakura too, and they hugged her close. She was grateful for the warmth, even as her stomach continued to twist in knots.

On the fourth night, Itachi borrowed his dad’s car. He went up to search the mountains by himself.

He didn’t return either.

Sasuke tried to follow after them. Only after Sakura grabbed his legs and begged him not to go did Sasuke promise to stay put. He grew pale and sharp, pacing back and forth in front of Shisui and Itachi’s doors in the dream world each night.

Sakura cast Madara’s scrying bones each day, trying to divine an answer from them.

But they only repeated themselves over and over again.

Beware of the dreams that linger.

Do not give your heart away.

Customers and friends dropped by the dream shop, asking where Itachi and Shisui had gone. Those who knew what had happened expressed their sympathy. It was nothing she wanted to hear. Sakura took on Sasuke’s appointments and kept him busy sorting things in the back. He never thanked her out loud, but he bought her coffee more often. Carried her things when they walked back after closing the shop for the night. At the very least his grief hadn’t stolen that from him.

Then, one awful day in December, Shisui’s door went dark.

Sakura scrambled to find a knob. But there was nothing. She pressed both her hands to the door, and it was cold. She screamed in the long, twisting corridor of the dream world. Screamed until it echoed and rippled, warping the fabric of the dream. And when she woke, tears were streaming down her face.

Sakura stumbled into Madara’s room, half-blind in the darkness. He fumbled to turn the lamp on. And then his hands were grabbing hers.

“Shisui is-”

“I know.”

She held on to Madara as she sobbed. Wishing she had tried harder to stop him. And then Sasuke appeared in the doorway too. His face white. Eyes rimmed with red. Sakura reached her hand out for him. He grasped it tightly, silent tears running down his face as he stared at the ground.

They took turns keeping watch over Itachi’s door. It didn’t open up to welcome them. But it didn’t darken either. And that was one small source of comfort.

The scrying bones glowed a little and whispered:

Beware of the dreams that linger.

++++

Sakura couldn’t help but feel responsible in some way.

If only she had convinced Shisui to stay.

Or if only she had managed to hold on to Itachi. To have lost only one cousin rather than two.

She tried to recall that long dream. She didn’t remember seeing the darkened doors to Shisui and Itachi’s dreams. But, then again, she recalled how her fear had kept her up at night. She hadn’t really had a chance to enter the dream world properly during the fitful naps she snuck in. Perhaps their doors had gone dark. She wouldn’t have known.

The police claimed they were still searching, but both Sakura and Madara agreed that it obviously wasn’t enough.

“I’m sorry, Sakura. That sucks,” Naruto said. Leaning against her, he put his arm around her shoulder. Ino took Sakura’s hand and patted it a few times.

“Thanks,” was all she could say as her friends did their best to comfort her.

Then Naruto disappeared too.

And Sakura was left wondering why everything was crumbling underneath her feet.

++++

As the days in December went by, the new year loomed over the horizon. Sakura recalled how on New Year’s Eve, she had discovered Madara in that dream. She felt a little sick just recalling the stench of death that overflowed from his bedroom. Sometimes she imagined it when she poked her head inside, just to ask Madara to help with her increasingly frequent headaches.

She slept particularly fitfully one night. She didn’t even get a chance to get to the entrance to the dream world. She was immediately plunged into a nightmare, tossed violently from side to side as if she were in a storm on the open sea.

Every dream had a thread that bound it together. Unknotting it was all it took to resolve it- to send it scattering off in sparkling particles. While that thread was easy to see from the outside, it was much harder to spot on her own. She wandered along the shifting landscape. Now she was in a thorny patch of forest. Then a thunderstorm. Probably a reflection of her troubled mind more than anything.

It took a while. But when she finally found the thread that bound the nightmare, she gave it a sharp tug. Everything around her began to dissolve around her until she found herself standing in her room in the dream world.

There was a soft tap at the door. She knew Madara would walk in.

A fragment of the nightmare lingered- jagged and dark against the light purple walls and floor. Madara banished it with a shake of his wrist. He stepped forward and laid his palm against her forehead.

“You been getting these a lot?” he queried.

Sakura didn’t say anything. Didn’t really have to.

“May I?” Madara then asked, gesturing around. Sakura nodded.

He reformed the piece of the nightmare into a set of matching chairs. He took a seat in one and then patted the other. Sakura lowered herself into it. Her legs were still shaking.

They just sat there in her room. The gems sitting on the shelves pulsated softly in time to her heartbeats. Madara leaned back, one hand tucked under his head.

“You okay?” he finally asked after a long while. It might have just been a moment. It was hard to tell in the dream world. Time didn’t move the way it was supposed to.

“I…” Sakura pulled her knees up against her chest.

She had avoided telling Madara about her dream for the longest time. It was just a nightmare, after all. But it was the first time she had seen one so vivid. And it was the first time something had shaken her to the core like this. She was supposed to be grown now. But as she looked over at Madara, she felt her breath hitch a little.

“I have something I want to tell you, Papa,” she admitted.

His expression didn’t change. When she was younger, she had thought that meant he didn’t care. But he was listening. He opened his eyes, looking at her now. He arched an eyebrow, asking. She shook her head.

“Not here. When we wake,” Sakura added.

And as if responding to her wish, the dream world began to dissolve around them. It was so sudden that Madara’s eyes widened. He reached a hand out for her. But when his hand caught her arm, it just melted into air.

Madara jolted awake, sitting up in his bed.

“Sa-”

“Here, Papa,” Sakura said, stepping into his bedroom. She sat on the edge of his bed.

It startled her. The panicked look in his eyes. But it was familiar.

He grasped her hands a little too tightly. He brought her hands to his forehead. It almost felt like he was shaking a little. And that felt familiar too.

“Did you have a nightmare, too? It’s okay, Papa,” Sakura tried to assure him.

“Yeah. You’re right,” he replied, not meeting her eyes.

Madara took a moment to shake himself out of whatever it was. Then he ran a hand through his hair. He even smiled a little for her. And it struck her again how lucky she was to have him in her life.

“Papa, I had a nightmare.”

“Yeah, I know. I just saw.”

“No… I mean… a while ago. I had a really bad one. And… it really scared me.”

Madara was silent as he took in her story. And once she had finished speaking, Madara picked up the comforter. He wrapped it around her. And then with another smile, he patted her back a few times.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of you, kid,” he promised her.

He said it so easily. But it made her feel at ease. Madara always knew what to do. Or he would open up one of his old books and find an answer another way. He got out of bed, fumbling around for his glasses on the nightstand.

“You’re right that divination and dreams have some kind of link. It might not happen exactly the way you dreamt, but it seems like parts of it are already coming true. Let’s cast some shields around the house for now. And then I’ll figure out what we can do next,” Madara said, already coming up with a plan as he shuffled into his slippers and pulled a robe on over his pajamas.

He mussed her hair one last time before he made his way out of his bedroom. Already muttering incantations and plans to himself. Magic gently drifting off him like gold bits of glitter.

Sakura got dressed and woke Sasuke with a cup of coffee. Madara recommended that she didn’t tell him about the details of her dream. After all, if she had foreseen his brother disappearing, he might not react in the most positive way. She agreed. Especially seeing Sasuke’s bloodshot eyes. The constant exhaustion had really taken a toll on him. He brushed off her concerns when she asked him if he was feeling alright.

Madara was gone for most of the day. When he saw them at dinner, he dropped two necklaces on the table. They were made of silver chains wrapped around three identical gems. A minty blueish-green that swirled together with purple.

“Wear these,” he ordered, settling into one of the wooden chairs. He puffed out a deep breath, fanning himself. He was wearing an identical necklace to the ones he had brought them.

Sakura hovered a hand over one of the necklaces. The soft hum of a charm tingled against her skin.

She looked at Madara.

“Is this one of mine?” she wondered.

“Yeah. It’s from that fluorite you enchanted last summer. Your spell had a nice kick to it so I just enhanced it a little,” Madara replied.

That made sense. Madara’s job was to imbue magic into objects and to see how they interacted. It wasn’t the first time she had seen him enchant wearable objects. And even as she picked it up, Sakura could feel the necklace thrumming with magic now.

It was no wonder he seemed so winded now. It had probably taken a lot out of him to make three of these on such short notice.

“Wear them- especially when you’re out,” Madara instructed. He looked at Sakura. Waited until she nodded. And then he held Sasuke’s gaze. Only looking away when Sasuke nodded too.

Sakura recognized this protection charm as she clasped the necklace around her neck. Just to test it out, she slapped at Sasuke’s arm. Her hand bounced harmlessly off the invisible barrier. It was a shield that responded proportionally to the strength of the threat. When she aimed a fist at him, the shield rebuffed her with a snap.

Sasuke sent a tongue of flame toward her. It scattered off the invisible barrier in a shower of sparks. Even he looked impressed at that.

“Thanks,” he muttered.

Madara stared at his nephew. And then he patted him on the shoulder.

++++

They decided to close the dream shop for a while.

Madara drove them past in his car. Sakura hung out the window to cast barriers over the entrance and the windows. Just in case someone felt tempted to break in during their absence.

Then they lingered on the side of the street in the car.

It was late enough that no one was really outside. The windows of all the other stores were dark. Just the occasional neon sign flickering to advertise fortune telling or levitation charms.

Sasuke sat in the back of the car, staring at the shop too.

He had grown even quieter in the absence of his brother. Sometimes he smiled if she really tried to get in his face. But even then, Sakura knew. He was just doing it for her. That something had died inside of him when his brother had vanished into thin air.

Since neither of them was working, they spent even more time together now. Sometimes Sakura coaxed him into helping her testing out her thesis. They both knew that the thesis meant nothing to her now. But it was something to do. To break the suffocating silences where Shisui or Itachi should have been saying something beside them.

As snow fell quiet and lovely on the city, Sakura handed him a piece of banana bread fresh out of the oven. They sat at the window, staring at the powder that had begun to coat the streets and the telephone wires.

“Hey, Sasuke?”

“Yeah?”

“I’ve got your back. Okay?”

He turned to look at her. Squinting.

“What?”

She nibbled at her slice of bread, still watching the snow. “I mean that I’m still here. I’ve got your back. So… don’t feel too alone.”

Sasuke stared down at the bread. It was dotted with chocolate chips and little bits of walnuts.

“I… yeah. Thanks,” he mumbled. And then he added, “I got yours too.”

They finished off the bread in silence.

Christmas suddenly rolled around. They found themselves completely unprepared until, two days before, Sakura saw the date on the calendar and noticed.

Even though no one was in the mood for any of that, they cast spells to drape the banisters with garlands and to hang holly from the doors. All the twinkling lights filled the house with glitter. But it lacked the warmth that usually came with this time of year. No one had to say anything. They all knew why.

They ate dinner on Christmas. Just the three of them. Music playing low in the background. The smell of cinnamon and orange filling the air from the candles that burned suspended in each room.

Maybe it would have been a little enjoyable if Sakura wasn’t busy fretting over the shields and wards set all around the house. With each day that brought them closer to the new year, she panicked over every detail. She set double and triple-layered protection charms over every door and every window. She even cast protection over Madara’s car parked on the street.

Madara caught her sitting on top of the steps past midnight. Sasuke had already gone to bed- not that he was getting very much sleep lately.

Madara watched Sakura testing the shield spells for a while. He disappeared for a bit. And when he returned, it was with a cup of coffee. She held it with one hand, continuing to cast with the other.

“Kid…” Madara sighed. “Sakura. You should at least pretend to sleep like Sasuke does.”

And then, leaning against the bannister, Madara smirked. “Yeah, yeah, I know. Don’t waste my breath,” he added before she could make the retort herself. He took off his glasses, let them dangle from the chain around his neck.

“Don’t stay up too late, okay?” he tried to warn her.

As he turned away, Sakura spoke in a tiny voice. So small she thought maybe he wouldn’t hear her.

“Merry Christmas.”

His back was still to her. But he tilted his head.

“Merry Christmas, kid.”

#eden #fanfiction #uchisaku #writing #haruno sakura

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daily-dose-of-imagines · 4 years

Text

𝘍𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘌𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆　　｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Hi, so I wanted to write this for one of my favorite blogs that I always go to when I need some escapism in my life. She’s done a lot for me (and her followers) and her writing is phenomenal, so I wanted to give back; @kenjikutie I really hope you like it! I tried really hard on this one! .*♡*｡∞(〃 ω 〃)ﾟ∞｡*♡*.

I wrote it on this blog so other people who like Bleach can read it too!

And for people who like listening to all kinds of music, listen to this! It doesn’t really go with the story, but I thought it would be cool to share!

Festival of light by Audiomachine

>Admin 𝕋

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆　　｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Downcasted emerald eyes watched the folk of Karakura Town walk to and fro, going to various destinations. Trash, utter trash. Nothing of significance to him. Nothing he needed to report to Aizen, everyone there was disposable. He didn’t even know why he was back here, already done with a recon mission a week before. But he wasn’t one to oppose Aizen, it would be too cumbersome to even try.

The Fourth Espada stayed in the outskirt of the town, so he wouldn’t be seen by any passerby. Most of them stayed away, and most of them didn’t even glance towards his direction, all busy with their lives. Something else Ulquiorra doesn’t understand; feelings of determination or feelings of being driven to live life. But, it didn’t matter to him, it wasn’t meant for him.

Focusing back on his reconnaissance, he analyzed several different worthless beings that passed him, noting that there was nothing of significance in none of them, yet again. Dull, disconnected, gray, nothing interesting. All he sensed was just dreary and dry personas, nothing nothing nothing.

There had to be something and yet there wasn’t, and Ulquiorra deduced that this was a buste and there was no point in him being here.

When he was about to turn back and leave, the blacked haired boy felt a tingle, a slight shiver, like something was dancing on his skin. The best word to describe is bright. It was bright.

Ulquiorra slowly rounded back to the bustling crowd and saw a woman standing there, staring at him, watching him. Her expression revealed nothing, but her eyes revealed everything. Curiosity, mostly, but there was defensiveness or maybe a certain protectiveness. Maybe for the people of the town, he thought.

She stared at him for a few more moments before smiling slightly at the Hollow, and started to move, and he knew she wanted him to follow. WIth nothing better to do, he did.

He walked through the trees, parallel to her as she glided through the citizens of Karakura. This continued until they were in a quiet, desolate area of town, where no one was, though there was a big fountain with dolphins spewing water out of their mouths. There was also a singular bench on the left of the fountain, hidden from plain sight. And that was where the mysterious girl led him to, this bench.

Ulquiorra watched as the girl sat down gracefully, crossing her legs and tucking her (h/c) behind her ear. When she was settled, she looked up to Ulquiorra who was now in front of her, only a few feet away, sizing her up. She had power, he could feel it, and she was stronger. Far stronger than when she had led on when he first saw her.

She smirked at him when she noticed him become defensive. The girl entwined her fingers together and rested them on her knees. “Now, what is a Hollow, and an Espada at that, doing in Karakura Town?” she asked him, her voice smooth and clear. Frankly melodic to the ears.

Ulquiorra narrowed his eyes a fraction, trying to read her but gaining no new knowledge. Except one. “What is a Quincy doing here, residing in Karakura Town?” he asked back.

“Oh, a question answered with a question, how deflective.” she teased, her smile widening.

“And you better answer it before I pierce you in the chest right here and now.” the young Hollow threatened, his voice motone, but his eyes holding a promise.

She held no fear in her face, no anger either. Just subtle curiosity, which Ulquiorra found...intriguing. For once, he found someone intriguing. “I am merely defending my home from enemies like you, Ulquiorra.” she told him. He was surprised that she knew his name.

“How do you know who I am?” he bristled, ready to get out his weapon, even more so when she started laughing heartily.

“I am of many things, my adorable Hollow, and an information gatherer is one of them. I have to, to keep this town safe. But, I’m not here to fight you.” she explained, her arms now crossed, examining Ulquiorra with a critical eye and he felt like he was under a microscope. It unnerved him, the feel of her power shimming up his spine, making him want to shiver, but he stopped himself.

“Then why did you want me to blatantly follow you to this empty part of your so called home?” he asked, trying his best to not get sucked into her (e/c) eyes. They were like voids of emotionless pits, but yet there was so much feeling in them at the same time. Such contradictory, and Ulquiorra wanted to know more.

“I was interested in you, to put it simply. When I was reading up on you, it said that you were melancholy and indifferent. No emotion whatsoever, save for maybe irritation and annoyance.” she said, chuckling at the end. “I want to know what makes you tick.”

“But we are enemies, I have no way of trusting you, nor you me.” he voiced, stepping just an inch closer, the feel of being pulled in magnetic. Her eyes glimmered with what could be amusement.

“How about this. We talk and if you feel threatened at all, kill me.” she proclaimed confidently. Ulquiorra tried his best to hide his shock, not expecting her to be so extreme. She then patted the empty spot next to her, indicating for him to sit next to her.

Wearily he slowly sat down, keeping his eyes on her and waiting for anything she might duke out. But, true to her word, she didn’t summon an arrow or anything. No, she turned in her seat so she was facing him, with her lips lifted and a gleam in her eye. “You know my name, but I do not know yours.” he stated.

“My name is (y/n), a retired Quincy at your service.” she answered lightly, as if this conversation wasn’t possibly going to be her demise.

“A retired Quincy, that doesn’t make sense.”

“Well, retired, ran away, same thing. Point is, I’m not with anybody. I’m a lone wolf.” she said, almost in a self deprecating manner. “Enough about me, I want to know about you. Why are you so--” she motioned to his whole being, “blah.”

“Blah?”

“Yes, blah. Why are you so indifferent, so dull, so one noted. Have you ever felt happiness or sadness or even love?”

Ulquiorra was silent for a moment, trying to understand exactly what she wanted from him, but nonetheless responded, “I have no need for such emotions or heart.”

(y/n) squinted her eyes at the way he used ‘heart,’ but didn’t say anything, only asked him, “Why?”

“If this eye cannot see a thing, then it does not exist. That is the assumption under which I have fought. What is this ‘heart’? If I tear open that chest of yours, will I see it there? If I smash open that skull or yours, will I see it there?” he questioned her, threatening undertones clearly present. She frowned, her brows furrowed slightly, trying to find the right words to use.

“Well, that’s not healthy.” she retorted, laughing slightly. Ulquiorra gave her no answer. He didn’t really know what to say to that, honestly. But suddenly, (y/n) got up from the bench and faced him standing. She leaned down and trapped Ulquiorra with her on either side of his head, and gazed into his eyes with her (e/c) ones. “But that’s okay. I’ll just have to show you. Meet me here, in the same place, a week from now. And I’ll show you what it feels like.” she murmured, and voice having a certain lilt to it.

It was hypnotizing, the way she spoke like that. Ulquiorra felt that same shiver again, like when her power was touching him. He went to lift his hand to her face, but suddenly, with a burst of wind and light, she was gone from his sight.

Confused and dazed he looked around to find her again, but he couldn’t see her anywhere. With a huff of annoyance, he got up from the bench and walked away, back to headquarters.

He’s not going to meet with her, no, he had too much to do. Besides, he doesn’t even know her, and she could definitely terminate him if she wanted to; it was too dangerous for him to see her again.

᠃ ⚘᠂ ⚘ ˚ ⚘ ᠂ ⚘ ᠃

“I can’t believe I’m here.” he uttered to himself, watching the water flow down the fountain. He was waiting at the bench, like he was told to do.

Sitting and waiting is what he has been doing for the past hour. There was no specific time that was set, so he came the same time as last week, and when he noticed she wasn’t here, he waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

Ulquiorra was about to up and leave, irritation boiling in his chest until he heard a voice behind him, “Impatient aren’t we.” he quickly stood up from the bench and spun around to see (y/n) there with her hands on her hips and a mischievous smile on her face. She was wearing a flowing rose colored dress that complimented her greatly and she was wearing rose gold earrings and a bracelet to go along with her dress.

There it was again, the shiver, that achiness. Ulquiorra thought it was her power, but it must be something else. Because everytime he looks at her, her smile, her eyes, it was there. Like he was being taunted.

He hated it.

“I was waiting here for an hour, maybe more.” he told her, ignoring the ache.

“I’m sorry about that, I had to go do something, and it took longer than I expected, but I’m here now! So let’s go!” she exclaimed, then walked around the bench and took him by the arm. He tried to get out of her gasp, but she was too strong. “Now now Ulquiorra, we have to do this right! It’s a date after all!”

“Huh--date? What--” but he was cut off by (y/n) dragging him to the nearby forest. It took them awhile to walk through it, the dense population of trees making it hard to see where they were going, but soon enough (y/n) led them to a huge canyon with a river and a waterfall.

It took them quite a long ways to get there, and it was well hidden. He suspected that nobody else knew this even existed, except him and (y/n). She let go of Ulquiorra and strode to the cliff of the canyon, inhaling the cool air. “Isn’t it nice?” she asked the Hollow, turning to him expectedly. He gave her a blank stare and a shrug, walking over to stand next to her. He gazed over to the waterfall and was mildly surprised to see how big it was. “The waterfall is my favorite too.” (y/n) muttered to him before ambling to it.

They spent the rest of their day there, near the waterfall. (y/n) did most of the talking and asking the questions, while Ulquiorra stayed quiet for all almost all of the date, only speaking up when she was persistent in getting an answer out of him.

They talked about life, her life specifically, but nothing too invasive, everything vague. It was about her childhood and parents, what candy she liked and what kind of foods she hated.

And Ulquiorra, to his better judgement, was actually enjoying it. Enjoyed the talking, and the listening. Basking in the afternoon sun, and her voice soothing him to relax and enjoy the scenery surrounding them.

Once he had to leave, he promised he would back again next week, same time and place.

This went on for weeks, turning into months.

Until one day, he was waiting at the usual place, once again watching the dolphins spout the water down into the fountains below. And once again heard her voice behind him, just like the first time they kept each other’s company.

“Do you think we can just sit here for today?” he asked her, to which she smiled and nodded. (y/n) sat down, closer to him than ever before, their arms touching. He didn’t mind it, though.

“What’s up? You seem to be thinking pretty hard today.” she teased, poking him on the forehead, next to his mask.

“I want to know something.”

“And that would be?”

“Why are you doing this?” his question had taken her aback a bit. She glanced between his eyes and the ground before sighing.

“At first I didn’t think it would lead to us meeting each other for months, and you actually opening up to me. But, I did it because I felt like you would understand me, more than anybody else would. You and I have a lot more in common than you think. The lack of understanding of emotion and empathy, the blank face and the coldness you would show to others. I was once like that, but someone helped out of that mindset, so I wanted to help you because I know that being that way is lonely.” she conveyed, her face showing her concern. She looked to him again when he began speaking.

“I have these aches in my body whenever I look at you. The hole in my chest,” he started to unbutton his jacket to show her, along with his tattoo, “it feels like it quivers and it aches everytime I am with you. I don’t understand what it could be. And when I think about you, it happens. When I talk about you it happens too, and lately I have been thinking and talking about you a lot.” he voiced. He saw a blush come up to her cheeks, and her eyes were wide, looking between his.

She coughed and sputtered an incoherent sentence and covered her face with her hands. “I don’t know what to say to that.” she squeaked out. With his expressionless face, Ulquiorra watched as she squirmed in her seat, then called out to her, “(Y/n).”

It was the first time he has ever said her name. “Y-yes?” she stuttered out, her heart racing.

“What does it mean to feel? To have a heart?” he asked her. She took a moment to gather her thoughts.

“Well, it means to be alive.”

“What if I don’t want that. To be alive.”

“Then I will continue to show you what the world holds, to help you so you know it’s worth it; to live.” she said, her cheeks no longer rosy. He watched her, trying to see any lies, any type of betrayal, and saw none.

His chest hurt again, and Ulquiorra unconsciously rubbed at it. “So then, what are these things that are happening to me.” he asked, talking about the achiness and the shivers. (Y/n) laughed a little and the blush was back.

“T-that, I think, means you are in love, Ulquiorra.” she muttered under her breath, stuttering a little.

“Love?”

“Uhuh.”

“I don’t need that, it doesn’t exist.” Ulquiorra said hastily. “Is there a way to make it stop?” he heard her chuckled and saw her shake her head no.

“Not really. You don’t choose to have it happen to you, it just does....Do you know who you love?”

Ulquiorra looked to his hand and shook his head, still not understanding anything she was saying. (y/n) brightened up then, and gently took his face in her hands, shocking him with the sudden contact, but didn’t dare move away.

“I’m going to do something really outrageous and possibly stupid, but is it okay if I do it?”

He trusted her, and she never did anything to him that would harm him in the months they have been seeing each other so he nodded his approval.

With determination sparkling in her (e/c) eyes, she slowly inched closer to him, staring intently at his lips. Ulquiorra didn’t exactly know what she was doing, but let her do it anyway. He felt her hands trace the marking on his cheeks and they way her fingers were shaking in nervousness. So, to appease her, he closed his eyes, and waited.

He didn’t expect to feel something warm to land on his lips. He didn’t expect it to taste good, or feel so good on his own lips. He didn’t expect for his chest to burn like a raging fire, along with his whole body and face. He didn’t open his eyes until she moved back. Her face was glowing and her eyes glittering like two jewels. And he found her...Beautiful. So very beautiful. “Do it again.”

“What?”

“Whatever you just did, do it again.”

And she did. She kissed him again, pressing her lips to his, but with more pressure this time. She felt him kiss back now, and her heart felt as though it was going to explode. She felt him take her in his arms and hold her tightly, and she squeaked into the kiss, doing the same to him.

(y/n) pulled back, needing air, and saw Ulquiorra slowly open his own eyes, and something was different about them. They seemed clear now, not as foggy. He looked to her and she watched as a small smiled was placed on his lips. “I understand now.” he muttered to her.

He leaned forward again and pressed her lips to his, feeling fireworks. He really did understand now. This feeling being love, it made sense; no wonder he felt so happy and okay with it.

They sat there, just holding each other and occasionally touching lips. (Y/n) didn’t say much after that, she was quiet and keeping her head resting on Ulquiorra’s shoulder, whereas Ulquiorra put the free side of his head on hers, their hands intertwined, her thumb rubbing circles. They whispered anything and everything to each other as the sun set, but Ulquiorra didn’t get up to leave as he was supposed to. No, he stayed with her, wanting to keep staying with her.

He wanted to be with her, if it meant that these feelings will keep emerging from within him like this.

#bleach #bleach x reader #reader insert #x reader #ulquiorra #ulquiorra x reader #bleach scenarios #bleach imagines #ulquiorra imagines #ulquiorra drabble #bleach drabble #a present for my love #i hope you like it #ulquiorra schiffer #yo why was he so hot tho #this got so stupidly long bro #how #why #i got in my zone lol

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artificialqueens · 4 years

Text

A Vampire in Paris: Part 3 (Gigi/Crystal) - Chae

A/N: well this took ten times longer than i expected… so sorry for the wait! (was anyone waiting? idk) hopefully I can update this at LEAST once a week for now ee. anyway thank you all so much for the support on the first two chapters, i’m so glad people enjoy my wacky fashion-vampire fantasy

Summary: Gigi has an… interesting encounter with the supermodel trio and makes some big changes with Crystal

—-

Well, this was a situation.

Gigi broke out into a slight sweat as Aquaria, Naomi, and Valentina peered right into her soul at the cafe. She smiled awkwardly as she took a sip of water, seemingly the only one who actually drank… or ate. And she was eating a salad! In Paris! What the fuck were they looking at her like that for?!

The youngest model was still tired from the previous night, trying to push down her discomfort with happy thoughts of kissing Crystal. The ginger had tried desperately to look her best for her lunch date with the supermodels, shocked that they still didn’t seem impressed. After a long bout of silence as the three older girls eyed Gigi eating, Valentina piped up across from her.

“Gigi… what’s that short for?”

The aforementioned girl swallowed a lettuce leaf. “Genevieve. Genevieve Regina Goode.”

“That sounds like a movie character,” the tan beauty laughed. “I like your name.”

“Thanks. How did you get Valentina?”

“What do you mean? That’s just my name.”

“Oh,” Gigi cringed internally.”What’s your last name?”

“Hm, it’s been so long I don’t remember,” the girl smiled dopily as Aquaria slapped her arm next to her, annoyed. Gigi raised an eyebrow and Aquaria smiled fakely.

“We don’t really use our last names, except for Naomi because hers is easy,” the blonde said through her teeth, glaring at Valentina. The latter looked, confused, between Gigi and Aquaria. From next to her, Gigi could sense Naomi giving Valentina a look as well.

“Oh!” She finally said, her face contorting into realization. “Yeah, we don’t use them,” the latina nodded.

Gigi looked down, feeling as if she’d stumbled onto something she shouldn’t have—which was exactly what she wanted. Maybe she should press further…

“Why haven’t you guys eaten? These salads have a lot of good vitamins and stuff. I know we’re pressured into being like a size-negative-ten but what you ordere-”

“We already ate,” Naomi interrupted. “And if you feel self-conscious, sweets, don’t. Salads are good for you.”

“And you won’t have to worry about it much longer,” Valentina added earnestly. However, her kind… sentiment (?)… was not appreciated by the other two.

“Oh my god, shut up!” Aquaria whacked her on the back of the head. “You wanna get fired or something?!”

“I’m sorry guys,” Gigi tried to stop the drama. “I didn’t mean to intrude on whatever is happening-”

“No, no no! It’s not your fault,” Naomi explained, placing a freezing cold hand on Gigi’s shoulder. “It’s just that Valentina…”

“Valentina doesn’t know what she’s talking about, doll,” Aquaria smiled.

“Guuuuys I’m sorry!” Valentina whined. “I just keep forgetting she’s not a va-”

“Member of our team!” Aquaria shouted. “She’s not a member of our team,” the Italian jerked her head to the side, leaning towards Valentina and whispering something in her ear. The brunette’s eyebrows curved upwards as she whispered frantic sorries to her friend, who appeared absolutely venomous. Naomi rolled her eyes.

“We should head out and do some shopping, no? Maybe Val will be distracted by all the shiny things,” Naomi got up, rifling through her small purse for cash. Gigi nodded, just wanting to get out of this situation as soon as she could.

Soon enough, they were browsing at a beauty store—and yes, Valentina was distracted by the sparkly eyeshadows (go figure). Gigi wandered away from her ‘friends’ to the hair section, nearly passing by the dyes before a thought popped into her head. She grabbed two boxes of color and a toner off the shelf and smiled, paying for her items before finding the rest of the group.

“Bought stuff already?” Aquaria looked at Gigi’s bag quizzically.

“It’s not makeup or anything, just had to restock,” the redhead lied.

“Oh, nice,” the blonde turned back to the lipstick she was trying on. Gigi filled the silent air by perusing the makeup counters, trying to not look too interested.

Naomi was texting someone with a coy smile plastered on her face, causing Gigi to remember something else odd she hadn’t addressed yet.

“Aquaria?” She asked.

“Hm?”

“How did you get my number? I never found out.”

“Right. I asked Adore.”

“Adore doesn’t have my number…”

“Adore has everyone’s number,” she snapped, clearly looking annoyed. Gigi shrunk back and bit her lip. “The bitch has her ways,” Aquaria added.

“Can’t Fame access everyone’s data n’ stuff?” Valentina said offhandedly.

“What? Fame? Like Miss Fame?”

“Valentina, I’m going to rip your head off and smash it with my stiletto,” Aquaria threatened.

“I thought Fame was… dead?” Gigi pressed.

“She is.”

Both Naomi and Aquaria looked the new model dead in the eyes, not a hint of intonation in their voices. Valentina, once again, looked at them confusedly, but held her tongue. Gigi felt the same glare that Raven had pierce her soul once again, and decided that enough was enough of these creeps. She stole away into the next aisle and ordered an Uber to pick her up ASAP. She peeked over the display and told the girls she was going to the bathroom, to which they nodded in unison without leaving their tasks. On that note, Gigi slinked out of the store and as far down the street as her heeled feet would take her.

She texted Crystal as she waited for the Uber, impatiently tapping her foot on the concrete ground.

Sexy Robot🥵🤖

heyyy, wanna meet up at your place? i have a surprise

Hot Clown🤡🔥

DUH OMG u know I can’t wait

when are u comin?

Sexy Robot🥵🤖

I’ll be there in like 20 mins

Hot Clown🤡🔥

I can’t wait to see u🥺🥺🥺

Sexy Robot🥵🤖

keep your panties on, boss

Hot Clown🤡🔥

Don’t ever call me boss again you whore

Sexy Robot🥵🤖

only for u ;)

Gigi smiled as her Uber finally arrived, excited to talk to Crystal after what happened the night prior. She’d not only had a steamy makeout session with a hot designer, she’d kissed the girl she liked when they were both semi-sober-ish. Her happiness was short-lived, though, when she received a text from Aquaria on a group chat she’d been added to. She exhaled nervously as she shut the car door, telling the driver where to go.

Hottest Hoes in Paris⭐️⭐️

Aquafina

Has anyone seen Gigi?

You’ve been in the bathroom an awful long time bitch

French Vanilla Fantasy

no :(

did she leave?!

GIGI WHERE ARE YOU

Bebe Badde

aaaa sorry guys I wasn’t feeling well!

LegsLegsLegsLegs

Awe babe you should have told us

Feel well soon

French Vanilla Fantasy

i send all my love to you!! 💛💘💚💘❤️💝💚💞💓❤️💘

Aquafina

Ya feel better!

Gigi sighed, having successfully escaped the strangest outing she’d ever been on. The drive to Fatelle was shorter than she’d expected, the model barely realizing she had reached her destination before paying the driver and nearly leaping out of the car. She sped into the lobby, saying hi to Adore before bounding to the elevator. She was almost giddy at the prospect of seeing Crystal again, unfamiliar with having a crush this strong. Gigi felt like she and Crystal fit together like puzzle pieces: anything she didn’t have, the designer did, and vice versa. But they still came together in the same picture, with the same values and dreams and—gosh, they were a match made in heaven.

Gigi gripped the shopping bag as she reached Crystals floor, finding her room (Crystal had texted her where she lived a few days prior) and knocking on the door. It opened almost immediately to a grinning Crystal, dressed in cute casual clothes and fluffy ugg slippers.

“What’s the surprise?” She said right away, letting the younger girl inside.

“First of all, hi,” Gigi rolled her eyes, giving the shorter girl a quick peck on the cheek. “Second of all, you’ll see. Third of all — you will not believe the day I’ve had.”

“Dang, it’s two PM!”

“And shits wild!”

“Spill.” Crystal plopped on the couch, motioning for Gigi to join her. The ginger kicked her shoes off and made herself comfortable, propping her tired legs on the coffee table.

“So I met up with Aquaria and Naomi and Valentina…”

“No way!”

“Yes, Aqua invited me. And it was insane.”

“How?”

“Would you believe me if I told you that I think Fatelle is the Illuminati?”

“Honestly, with some of the shit that’s been going on…”

“Right?! Okay, they literally kept saying Miss Fame might be alive?”

“She’s alive in my heart, but… it’s been a whole century.”

“And they acted like it was real! And then Valentina said that I wouldn’t have to eat soon?“

“What? Why?”

“Like I wouldn’t physically need to eat.”

“That’s fucking weird.”

“It was the strangest thing. Am I in the Twilight Zone?”

“Maybe you’re in the Twilight! Edward or Jacob?”

“Edward.”

“Good choice. Edward.”

The two shared a chuckle, Crystal’s eyes flitting to the bag Gigi had brought.

“Is that the surprise?”

Gigi smirked, getting up and pulling out a box of bleach, purple toner, and a box of natural red dye. “Don’t think I didn’t remember what you said!”

“No! Oh my gosh you’re the best!” Crystal grabbed her dye and grinned widely, eyes crinkled in a cute way. “We have to do this now.”

“Raven’s gonna be pisssssed,” Gigi remembered, not really caring anyway.

“Raven is basically Edward’s cousin, who cares?”

“Oh shit she is like Edwards’ cousin! Bitch looks all pale and dark haired and ooky and spooky.”

“My mind.”

“Your mind.”

The two made their way to the bathroom, opening their goodies and setting up to do each other’s hair. Crystal wrapped a towel around Gigi’s shoulders, knowing her process would be much more time consuming.

“Have you done hair before?” The model asked as Crystal mixed up the bleach.

“For sure, I dyed my hair back to brown so I could look professional when I came here,” she laughed. “I had neon green before, remember?”

“Right!”

Gigi couldn’t say she wasn’t nervous when Crystal began applying the dye to the ends of her hair, but trusted the designers judgement and vision. It was her fashion show, after all. The older girl worked quickly, yet thoroughly. She was used to working with her difficult curly hair, so it was easy for her to comb through Gigi’s nearly-straight locks. Strand by strand, she painted the bleach on with her gloved hands, unaware that her work was nearly causing Gigi to fall asleep at the calming feeling of her hair being lightly tugged. She model nearly dozed off when Crystal started massaging her scalp to make sure the roots were coated. Finally, Crystal was happy with her work, snapping Gigi back into reality when she placed a shower cap over the models head.

“Sleepyhead, you’ve gotta do my hair now,” Crystal discarded her latex gloves, brushing the back of her hand against Gigi’s cheek. “In half an hour you gotta take a shower with the toner, and then when you’re done, I take a shower and then we both have new hair!”

“I have a suggestion,” Gigi yawned. “Why don’t you keep giving me a head massage and I go to bed?”

“If you want your hair to fall out, sure.”

Gigi rolled her eyes, getting up to open the red box dye. She took out the components, following directions to mix the bottles together and shake it up. Apprehensively, she started squeezing the fluid all over Crystal’s hair and running it through the coils. “Is this right?”

“Just make sure every strand is coated, but yeah!” she smiled at Gigi through the mirror, and Gigi smirked back.

“So, do we need to talk about last night at all?” the model asked as she worked.

“Do you think we need to?”

“I mean, if we’re on the same page, no.”

“Are we?”

“What’s the definition of the same page, then?”

“Um… I liked kissing you?”

“Good, then we’re definitely on the same page,” Gigi blushed. She looked in the mirror for a second and laughed. “I look like a lunch lady!”

“Shush, you look pretty no matter what.”

“Says you, Crystalline Elizabeth.”

“Says the model, Genevieve Regina!”

“Oh. Well.”

“You bitch! You’re supposed to tell me how great I am.”

“Crystal Methyd, you are perfect.”

“I know I am.”

“Who’s the bitch now, bitch?”

This went on as Gigi finished applying the color to Crystal’s hair, placing her own cap over the voluminous mass of hair. Crystal checked the time. “You should go take a shower, Gi. And make sure to leave that toner on for ten minutes!”

“Got it,” she replied as Crystal exited the luxury bathroom into the bedroom.

“I’ll leave you out some comfy clothes, hm?”

“What, you wanna cuddle and watch movies with me later?”

“Uh… yeah.”

“Thank god. I’ll see you soon,” Gigi leaned in for another quick peck on the cheek, a new habit she’d grown quite fond of. She shut the door and turned on the tap, waiting for the water to warm up before undressing and stepping inside.

Gigi was tired, but the steam against her skin helped balance her energy once again. She removed the shower cap, eyes widening at how light her hair was. She was used to her red hair turning almost-black when wet, but it was now a dirty brown color under the water. The dry strands were a nearly-white yellow. This will take some adjusting to, she thought as she quirted a glob of toner in her hands. She worked it through her hair for a couple minutes, careful to get every last bit. The next ten minutes were spent trying to keep her head out of the shower whilst keeping her body in, which was a difficult task that often left Gigi shivering without the warmth of the water on her body, only to put her arm or leg back in.

The model stepped out of the glass shower into the bathroom that was nearly identical to her own. She wiped the fog away from the mirror and stood, as she did, scanning her body. She was healthy, but extraordinarily petite. Many her size would have bones jutting out, maybe even appearing emaciated, but not Gigi. Her figure was all smooth lines and gentle curves. She had a waist and hips, but they certainly weren’t defined. Her breasts followed the outer curves of her chest, small and close together. She was a model. She looked like a model.

Gigi grabbed a towel once she noticed the goosebumps on her arms, using it to dry off and then wrapping it around herself. She decided to use the hairdryer as well, since apart from her hair taking forever to dry on its own, she wanted to see what it looked like now. As her locks returned to their normal state, Gigi could see that Crystal did a near-perfect job. Her hair was evenly colored a light-barbie-doll blonde all around — not too yellow, not too silver. She certainly looked like a barbie doll. She felt like one.

The girl exited the bathroom into the attached bedroom, calling out to Crystal that she was done. She found a set of satin pajama shorts and a shirt, surprised that the designer owned something so fancy. She changed quickly, feeling more than comfortable in this outfit.

As Crystal took her time in the bathroom, Gigi grew… bored. She felt lonely scrolling through Instagram all by herself, so she shut off her phone and sank back into the couch. Her eyes flickered from the ceiling, to the window, to the TV, and finally, to the bedroom entryway. Gigi wasn’t really the mischievous type, but hey, when in Paris. She smirked as she got up, starting by looking through Crystal’s dresser. Nothing of importance, really: just makeup, underwear (oh hey, those were garters… she wondered what those would look like on Crystal…), stacks and stacks of jewelry. So the model opted to look through the closet, a favorite activity of hers. Crystal’s wardrobe nearly burned Gigi’s eyes out when she first opened the doors. Colors and patterns everywhere, unorganized platform shoes falling over the floor. It was so bad, it was beautiful. Gigi began with the shoes, definitely wanting to steal some of them for herself.

As she got lost in Crystal’s fashion tastes, she failed to hear the shower shutting off and Crystal entering the bedroom, the newly-ginger letting out a yelp as she realized Gigi was there. The younger girl whipped around to see Crystal attempting to cover herself up with her hands, flustered beyond belief at the fact that she was…

butt naked.

#rpdr fanfiction #gigi goode #crystal methyd #crygi #aquaria #valentina #naomi smalls #lesbian au #supernatural au #fluff #a vampire in paris #chae #concrit welcome #submission #s12

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photorose11 · 4 years

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An Unbreakable Bond Ch. 1

Here is my latest Ichiruki fic that will be multi chapter! I haven’t started Chapter two yet but I’m sure I will soon. This takes places after almost three years after Ichigo loses his powers after the battle with Aizen. I know in the manga him and Rukia are separated for 17 months but I wanted to put a little more time into it. This is probably kind of sappy, maybe a little AOC but i tried. lol I listen to a lot of music when I write, two good songs that go with this chapter. “I Can’t Breathe” by Bea Miller. and “Lost Without You” by Freya Ridings. Both are beautiful songs. I hope you all enjoy this, please let me know what you think! <3

Disclaimer: I don’t own Bleach. (If i did, it would have ended a lot differently.)

---

Chapter One: Lost Without You

It had been two years. Two year since he had seen her. Heard her voice. Felt her reiatsu. The first year was hard. Every morning he would wake up, without hearing his closet door open up and seeing her jump out. The first few weeks, he thought he could still hear it because he had gotten so used to the sound in the morning. But every time he looked, the closet door was still closed. She was not there. Every morning he would give a sigh and then reluctantly begin his day.

He tried to focus in school, after a few months it got a little easier to focus and his grades went up because of it. He wished that made him happy, but it didn’t. Frankly, he didn’t care. He tried to, but after spending so much time fighting hollows, arrancars and Aizen. Seeing death, experiencing death and bringing brought back to life (thanks to Orihime) he didn’t know how school can feel that important after going through things such as that.

Every night after eating dinner with his family, he would get ready for bed. Take a shower, get in his pajama pants, brush his teeth and try really hard not to stare at her Chappy designed toothbrush that was still there next to his. He knew she wasn’t coming back, but he didn’t have the heart to throw it away, at least not yet. She had loved that toothbrush. After brushing his teeth, he would crawl into bed, stare at the ceiling and think of her. He would look back at the closet door, imagining how it would be if she was still on the other side of it. He knew he would be a lot happier, if she was still here.

The first year, the pain in his heart felt like someone stuck there Zanpakuto through it and twisted it before ripping it out. He felt it the most at night while staring up at his ceiling, remembering her.

The second year, it wasn’t better. It became worse. He started questioning everything. What was the point of everything that happened if it meant in the end, he lost his powers and lost her? Were they destined to meet just so they could be ripped away from one another? What in the hell was the point of living in a world he didn’t feel like he belonged in, because she wasn’t there with him anymore?

During the second year, every night after getting ready for bed he would stare up at the ceiling again, remembering everything he could about her. Still glancing at the closed closet door, gripping onto the front of his t shirt trying to over come the blossoming pain in his chest. He would close his eyes, as tight as he could. An then he would remember the last time he saw her before she vanished in front of him. He remembered the way she looked up at him in that last second, the look in her violet eyes. He then would think ‘it looked like that goodbye was killing her as much as it was killing me.’

On the last night of the second year, he goes through his usual routine. He remembers that last moment. The last time their eyes met, when he saw her vanish from his view for the first and last time. He grips his t shirt harder, turns onto his side where he can stare at the closet door now fully in his line of sight. He gives an aggravated sigh, thinking how it’s been two damn years, will be the beginning of three tomorrow; and she’s still gone.

She is not coming back.

He rolls back onto his back, but not before glancing at his desk where he can just faintly see the outline of a drawing he has had hung up over his desk for the last two years. One of her drawings he had found in the closet after they had said goodbye. It was a drawing of her in bunny form, he can tell by the semi short black hair. And next to her was another bunny with orange hair, and what looked like a big sword on it’s back. They were in a field, with the sun showing above them. He remembers how he found that drawing laying in his closet a few days after he last saw her. He had held it together until he first laid eyes on it, then before he knew it, he was on his knees in front of the closet, hands covering his face as he cried. He wonders if she drew it meaning to leave it with him, knowing he wouldn’t be able to see her for much longer.

He feels tears sting his eyes while gazing at it before giving yet again another aggravated sigh and putting his right arm over his eyes, trying to calm down. He questions why he is acting like this, like a complete and utter fool. If Rukia knew she would definitely kick his ass and call him a fool and tell him to start acting like a man. He smiles at the thought of that. He missed calling her midget. He actually missed her calling him “Strawberry”. And then he thinks some more and starts questioning.

‘Why the hell is this still effecting me years later? I know she’s gone an she’s not coming back. Why does It still hurt as much as it did the first week? It’s not like I lo-‘

Before he can finish his thought, he removes his arm from over his eyes and lays it over his heart. Feels his heart rate speed up. His eyes widen and he sits up with a start. Looking at her drawing again and then looking at the closet. In that moment he realizes something that’s really always been right there in front of him... in that moment it feels like time has stopped. He can hear his heart racing, his body slightly shaking; overwhelmed with this sudden realization that is leaving him breathless.

He slowly pulls the bed comforter off him and gets out of bed. He moves to the window and looks up at the night sky and sees it’s a full moon tonight. He feels wetness on his face, he knows what it is but in that moment he doesn’t care due to the breathtaking realization he just had while laying in bed thinking of Rukia. He doesn’t know why he feels scared to say it out loud, but he pulls up the courage to say it because he feels he needs to. He knows she won’t hear him because she’s on a whole other plane of existence. But he thinks saying it may take a little bit of the pain out of his chest.

“I.. love you, Rukia. I think I have always loved you. I just realized it now. I really am a fool; it took me all these years to finally see it. I’m sorry I never said it to you before we said goodbye.” He could feel new tears forming.

“I feel kind of stupid saying this out loud when I know you can’t hear me, but that’s okay.” He took a deep breath, clutching his hands into fists in front of him before speaking again.

“I don’t understand why you can’t visit though. Knowing you, you want me to move on with my life because I’ve lost my powers. I get that, I do. But…” he unclutches his fists before giving a sigh and clenching his eyes shut.

“It feels wrong not being able to talk to you or see you. I know you’d say I belong here because I’m still alive but... I really only feel like I belong wherever you are, with you by my side. I don’t feel alive here without you. Because I’m in love with you and you’re still my best friend. I miss you, Rukia.”

By then he could definitely feel the tears on his face, sliding down his cheeks hitting his hands that are on top of the window seal. But it didn’t frustrate him. He was okay with it. It felt good to say what he did even thought he knew she couldn’t hear him. After a few moments of looking at the moon, he slowly moved back to bed and got under the covers again. He wiped the tears off his face and in minutes he was asleep, clearly worn out from the last ten minutes.

---

He had no way of knowing that a violet eyed Shinigami was standing beside his bed, her own tears streaming down her face. She had heard everything.

He had no way of knowing that she had been there since he had been getting ready for bed, a little over an hour ago. She had been in front of his closet door when he was laying in bed and he kept glancing at the closet door and then above his desk. She knew he was thinking of her. It made her heart ache in a certain way she had become all to accustomed to in the last two years since they had said goodbye. When she returned to Soul Society after disappearing from his view almost three years ago, she gave her report to the head captain and went straight to her corridors at the Kuchiki Estate. Once she had slid her door closed, she dropped to the floor and cried. She couldn’t remember the last time she had cried like that before, like her heart had been ripped out of her chest. She still felt that pain, every day.

She didn’t expect him to get out of bed when he did. She was standing a few feet behind him when he started talking. After the first few words spoken from his mouth, she thought maybe he knew she was there. Those first few words made her happier than she had ever felt before, but also incredibly sad because even if she said it back; he wouldn’t be able to hear her.

After his small speech spoken into the night air, she was clutching the clothing by her heart. Struggling just to stay upright. She wanted to scream and cry and ask Kami ‘Why, why WHY did this have to happen? Why he did have to lose his powers causing us to say goodbye?’

She watched him slowly move back to his bed and get under the covers. Watched him wipe the tears off his face and drift off to sleep. She felt her heart rate speed up and took a few steps closer to his bed, looked down at him; realizing what it is she needed to do for him… and for her. Hesitantly, she reached a hand out to his face, cupping his cheek; running her thumb along it. She heard him give a happy sigh. She smiled tearfully, before pulling her hand away. She knew he couldn’t hear what she was about to say, but that was okay.

“You fool.. I’m in love with you too, Ichigo. It took me just now to truly realize it. I know these last two years have been hell, they have been for me too.” Before she continued, she gently knelt by his bedside and shakily reached out a hand and laid it atop of his. She looked up at him, new tears forming in her eyes.

“But I am going to fix this. You are going to see me again. I’m sorry it took me two years to realize that I’ve been a fool for staying away this whole time. I have missed my best friend.” With that said, she gave his hand a light squeeze before pulling away and standing back up. She walked to his window, gave one last smile at his sleeping form before speaking one last thing.

“You will see me soon, Ichigo. I promise.”

-----

They did not know but in just a few days Ichigo would meet Kugo Ginjo, not to long after that Kisuke Urahara will ask for Rukia’s help in order to restore Ichigo’s powers. Without hesitation, she agrees. The next few weeks, things will change more then they had in those last three years.

They both realized it as soon as Rukia had pierced her Zanpakuto through him again, and he slowly turned his gaze towards her. She gave a smile meant only for him. She felt the beginning of tears in her eyes but pushed them back. Now was not the time for tears. Tears of happiness will have to come later. All he could do in those first few moments was stare in shock, before he felt the familiar feeling of power consume him. She watched on in excitement for him, and happiness. She knew they had a lot to discuss, once these battles were over.

She had no doubt in her mind that he would win this battle. He always did. She continued to watch him, wondering what the future would hold once this was over.

Whatever it were to bring, she was ready to face it with Ichigo by her side.

#ichiruki fanfic #ichiruki fanfiction #ichigo kurosaki #rukia kuchiki #ichigo x rukia #bleach fanfiction #so sappy #i love them #bleach #lost without you

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birdsandspades · 4 years

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I Was Never Good at Waiting- (Sugawara x Reader) Chapter 1

- It was your last year in highschool, everything had been going smoothly until you got assigned the new teacher. Sugawara Koushi was handsome, maybe too handsome for his own good. Be he wasn't flirting with you right, teachers shouldn't do that....I guess we will see where this year goes.

Work Count - 4,281

----

“Stand clear, the train doors will be opening shortly.” The speakers overhead rang out as you pulled into the station.

You waited for your turn to step off the train step and onto the concrete platform in front of you. Your phone buzzing in your jacket pocket as you walked up the station stairs to the streets. Turning it over, your screen illuminated with your mother's contact name. You slid your thumb over the screen and lifted the phone to your ear.

“Hi mom.” You beamed, nodding a thank you to the man holding the station door open as you walked outside. It wasn't unusual with everything she had on her mind that she would forget important days on your schedule. But none the less you were happy she remembered today.

“My big girl is a third year! I can remember when you were just little, hiding in between your father's legs on your first day of kindergarten!” Her laughs bounced from the phone speaker.

You chuckled lightly at her remark while looking at your watch, 7:50 still plenty of time to get to school. Stopping at the beginning of the cross walk you watched the cars pass by as you waited your turn to cross. “How are you doing mom, how is grandpa?’’ You questioned as the light turned red and the crosswalk countdown started.

“We are good, he's been walking around outside again. How are you kiddo, did your dad call you yet?’’ She smiled, already knowing the answer.

“No, but he did send me one of those motivational animal photos, the standard greeting.” You laughed. It was his signature text, his way of saying “I’m thinking of you, just don’t know how to say it.”

Your first destination was in sight as you rounded the corner, a small convenient store you frequented often during the school year. The roof had been repainted over the summer, the dull blue replaced with vibrant red. The door and concrete light poles painted to match. Much to your amusement the same burnt out bulb remained on the neon open sign. The P had been dark the first time you walked into the store, and had remained unlit every time since.

“Mom, I have to go but i’m glad you called.” You rushed as you entered the store.

“Ok, call me after school and tell me how it goes, I love you...i’m so proud of you ya know. My big girl so…” She choked on her words, on the verge of a motherly breakdown.

“Bye mom, I love you!” You exclaimed, stopping her short of her emotional speech. You loved talking to her, but she could go on forever if you didn’t cut her off.

Dropping your phone into your bag you scanned over the drink selection. You opened a few different cooler doors, finger hovering over the assortment of coffees before ultimately deciding on your regular cheap can. Why fix what isn’t broken? You walked it over to the counter and set it down before pulling out your wallet and setting some money into the tray, scooting it towards the clerk.

“Hey kid, first day of school already?’’ The old man smiled as he scanned your item and took your money from the tray.

You nodded and smiled as he handed you back your change on the tray and the can of coffee. “Sadly.” You laughed lightly, picking up everything. You thanked him, walked to the door, “Have a good day.” You waved as you pushed it open and continued your walk to the school.

Your breakfast usually consisted of a trip to that very convenient store, and the occasional dinner, and light midnight snack. You never really had time to make breakfast and lunch for your day while getting yourself ready for school. With your parents gone most of the time you had to manage yourself. But you didn’t mind it, you understood the implications of the life your family lived.

Your father was traveling most of the year for his job as a wildlife photographer, and your mother was with your grandfather in Tokyo. She had made the decision to leave when your grandfather, her father became ill. Grandma had passed away when you were younger, too little to really remember her face, but old enough to remember the feeling of walking hand and hand with her in the gardens you tended together. Grandpa decided to keep the house and live by himself that same year. The memories weighed too heavy on you and your family to tear that away from him.

You had told your parents it was fine to leave you with the house while they were away, you used the excuse that it would teach you responsibility. You could get a part time job and focus on your studies. You did end up doing just that, but it was also nice having the alone time so many adolescents craved.

Slowly your school came into view as your morning walk ended. Aoba Johsai, it was the school your mother went to as a kid and now you were rounding out your years as a student as well. You walked through the gates of your school as you searched around for the group of students that would be crowding around the homeroom assignments for the year.

“F/N- chan!”You looked around, greeted by your two favorite idiots pushing past the groups of students walking through the front gates behind you.

Hiroto, a pole of a boy. He sported a pair of glasses and his usual brown bowl cut. He had looked the same since you met him, just slightly taller as the years went by. He had the same dull white tennis shoes on as he had for the past three years. You wondered why he had never gone out to buy a new pair. He had the money and the time. But he still saw the use in them, the beauty he would say. He saw that in a lot of things. That was probably why he had a permanent smile tugging at his lips. His sunny disposition on life couldn't be dampened, no matter the storm.

Yua had been that perpetual storm. Not in the dark and gloomy sense, she was more like a hurricane. Everything she did was a whirlwind of emotions and energy. She did everything on a whim. Led by her heart, never her head. You could tell that just by looking at her. Her hair was freshly bleached, a stark change from the dark green you had seen only months before. Her hair was much shorter now as well, messily chopped just below her ears. Her appearance changed with the seasons, always slightly bolder each time. She was bold with everything she did, unwavering and powerful. But nonetheless devoted and caring to everyone around her, that was the trait that drew you to her in the end.

Next to each other, they looked completely out of place. But together you made something special. You balanced each other out, each giving one another the friendship you all had desperately sought after in your early years. They were your best friends, your only friends.

You had met Hiroto a few days after moving to Japan with your family. He was the son of one of your mother's fellow professors at Tokyo University. They had stuck you in a room with the quiet boy one morning during a staff meeting. He had inched toward you over the course of the hour, head tilted to the side in an attempt to catch a glimpse of the game that lit up your GameBoy screen. You had caught on after a while, getting up to sit next to him. He silently thanked you, watching you pass level after level. As time went on watching, turned into playing, playing turned into talking, and talking turned into “Mom can Hiroto come over for dinner tonight, I want to show him the dog across the street.” It had been a quick growing friendship, you two meshed together so well it was almost like he was meant to be your best friend.

Yua on the other hand was the polar opposite. She had at one point been the worst part of your days in fourth year.

Everyday she would pick fights with you. Most days it was innocent enough, she would push you, maybe call you silly names. But you had always ignored her, unfazed by the gremlin child you were forced to interact with everyday. You could tell the lack of attention bothered her, and she was going to get a reaction out of you one way or another.

She had stated it was because your hair was all over her desk and she was tired of moving it out of the way, but you knew better. Over the course of the lesson Yua would snicker to herself, a little evil laugh echoing behind you every time you tried to move away from her. She had always been a bit strange to you, but the vocality of today's evil acts were putting you on edge. The lunch bell rang and you were ready to get away from whatever she was doing behind you. You stood up, stepping on a layer of h/c strands splayed out on the floor below your desk. You turned around, horrified by the tight grin that painted the girl's face. In her hand was a pair of craft scissors, in the other was a fistful of your hair.

Mean words were exchanged, fists were thrown. Before you knew it you both were landed in after school detention for the foreseeable weeks to come. During those after school hours was when she grew on you. She opened up to you over the year, showing her kind and caring nature in small bits and pieces. She was still an absolute goblin most days, her nasty jealousy streak peaking through in her worst moments. But she loved and cared for everyone she met, and you saw it. She just had a chaotic, overbearing way of showing it. It took years to work your way up to the friendship you both had now, it also took years to grow your beautiful hair back to it's original glory.

“Have you looked at your homeroom assignment yet?” Hiroto smiled once he reached you.

“Not yet, I just got here a few minutes before you two.” You answered, wrapping an arm around the both of them as you pulled them into a hug.

“Aww F/N, it's been weeks since we’ve seen you. That stupid job at the coffee shop kept you away from us.” Yua frowned, groaning into your hold.

“Well it was only a summer job so you can annoy me all you want now.” You laughed, pulling them towards the crowd of students.

“Hiroto-kun, can you see any of our names, all these BEAN STALKS are blocking the way!” Yua yelled at the students crowding the listings.

“Yeah I see all of our names by each other, we're in…homeroom...five I think.” Hiroto craned his neck to see over the heads in front of him, squinting at the small text.

“Who's the teacher this year?” You questioned, looking up at him as he decoded the lines in front of him.

“It says Sugawara. I think he’s new, he wasn't here last year.” Sinking back onto the soles of his shoes Hiroto pulled you and Yua out of the crowd and towards the school entrance.

“Sugawara just started this year.” Smiled a girl next to you as you made your way inside.

“Yeah, he's supposedly pretty young, and attractive.” Her friend smiled slyly at the last bit, nudging you with her shoulder as you moved past her to your shoe locker.

“As long as he can teach this idiot math I'm sure he will be a great sensei!” Yua laughed as she ruffled up your hair.

“I’m not that dumb. But it would be nice if he would be nicer about my questions, unlike Shirato Sensei.” You shivered at the thought of your teacher last year. Taking off your shoes you slipped them into your locker, sliding your feet into the assigned slippers on the floor. You closed the door, the lock clicking as you turned to walk with your friends.

It was your last year at this school, your last year with your friends. You had already decided to attend Tokyo University the following year, it was a dream to finally be closer to your mother. Hiroto was destined to inherit his father's small but profitable insurance business. Yua, well who knows what she was gonna do at the end of the year, she probably didn't even have lunch figured out for the day.

You walked with your friends as you made your way towards your classroom for the year. You were engrossed in the conversation they were having on last night's newest anime episode. You had no clue what show they were watching, or who any of the characters were. But you loved to listen to their passionate debates, the small rise Yua got from Hiroto always making you laugh. You would miss this when school was over, so you basked in it. The feeling of happiness that only they could give you.

A hand on your shoulder turned you away from your bickering friends. Turning around, you were met with a pair of honey eyes, Yoshiki.

“Hey, I was calling you but I don’t think you heard me.” He laughed, his eyes soft and uncertain as he looked between you and your friends.

“Oh, i’m sorry. It's hard to hear anything over these two.” You smiled, laughing as you pointed to the two of them. The bell rang, giving you the chance of escape. You pushed your two friends on as you waved a goodbye to Yoshiki.

He raised his hand, giving you a small wave as you rushed down the hallway.

“That was weird, does he still talk to you?” Yua questioned, looking back at the confused boy.

“No, we haven't talked since winter break last year.” You frowned as you pushed them inside the classroom. It was for a good reason, you didn’t know what to say to the boy. If you had found the words before maybe the awkward interaction could have been avoided, but that time had since passed.

You found some nice seats by the window, a reward for being the first few into the classroom. The room was located on the third floor of the school. The window had a beautiful view of the schools court yard and all the trees surrounding it. Yua took the seat in front of you while Hiroto sat in the seat across from you. You had taken this seating arrangement since the beginning of fifth year, it was tradition. Watching the rest of your class file inside, they slowly choose their seats as the classroom filled up. You watched the clock tick the seconds away as you waited for your first class to start.

The final bell rang and everyone sank into their seats as they continued talking to each other. A few minutes passed before the door to the classroom slid open and a man walked in looking at the bundle of papers in his hand. The students quieted in unison as he made his way to the desk at the front of the room, setting down his papers and coffee cup before turning toward the chalkboard. He picked up one of the larger white chalk pieces that sat on the small shelf underneath.

“I’m Sugawara-sensei, I'll be your homeroom teacher as well as your science teacher this year.” He wrote his name on the board as well as the period times. Once the full schedule was written down he turned around, a wide smile directed at the students in front of him. Setting down the chalk, he reached for the attendance sheets on his desk.

The girls you saw at the lockers were right, he was attractive. Was that the right word to use? Maybe encaptivating was better in this situation.

His soft grey hair fell around his face, framing each one of his delicate features. His hazel eyes scanned the room as he talked. They were deep and full, like a cup of coffee with just the right amount of cream. You followed the curves of his face to the small beauty mark under his eye, over his petite nose, acrossed his milky white skin, to his soft pink lips. You watched them as he spoke, coming apart, pressing back together. You were mesmerized by them, by him.

He flashed a smile your way and tilted his head opening his mouth again.

Yua touched your shoulder lightly, noise flooding your senses. You looked around the room at the eyes that laid on you, and you alone.

“L/N- san, that is your name right?” Sugawara questioned.

You looked up at the man standing at the front of the class. His words directed at you as he stared your way with a sweet grin.

“Um yes Sugawara-sensei, i'm sorry…” You trailed off as your face heated up.

He laughed lightly as he continued the roll call, his eyes shifting from you to the next student.

How embarrassing you thought, “Everyone probably saw how I was staring at him.” You signed, laying your head in your hands.

“Ok, well let's get onto our morning meets and then we can discuss how I expect my class to be run.” Sugawara led everyone's eyes up to the chalkboard while he continued on with the morning information.

You tried to focus on his words, you really did. But you were just a teenage girl, your mind wandered. It wandered to his frame, he wasn't the tallest teacher you had at the school, maybe around 5’8- 5’9 but he would tower over you. He was what the magazines would call slim fit, maybe more on the fit side. You watched as he continued to write on the chalkboard, his arm muscles tensing against his white button up, then relaxing as the fabric loosened again.

“Hey stupid, pay attention!” Yua harshly whispered over to you, pulling you out of your inappropriate thoughts.

Your face began to bake again as you shook your head slightly and smiled apologetically at her. “He’s your teacher idiot, stop drooling over him and focus for Christ sake.” You warned yourself as you set in to focusing on the information he wrote on the board.

Sugawara had already moved on to the itinerary of the class schedules and when he would be back to teach science for the day. Pointing to the last class of the day a girl at the back of the class raised her hand pulling his attention away from the board.

“Hmm, yes...Hina?” He pointed at the girl who seemed pleased that he already remembered her name.

“Sensei could you tell us a little about yourself since it's your first year at Seijo?” She questioned, ready for him to deny such a rude request.

“Um, well I guess I could tell you a few things about myself.” He hummed in response, sitting down on top of his desk. “I just graduated college last year in the spring so this is my first real teaching job, i'll be helping out with the volleyball teams here at Seijo when I have free time, and…” He paused for a moment, glancing at the book on his desk. “Well I really like poetry.” He smiled at the last fact before standing back up.

“It’s time for college prep courses, so go ahead and start your independent studies and I'll call you up one at a time so we can start your files.” Sugawara sat down in his desk chair and pulled out a paper from his pile. “Ok, Hiroto you can come up and take a seat.” Sugawara pointed to the chair next to his desk as he flipped through the papers.

“So now I know why you liked “Lolita” so much.” Yua snickered as she pulled her desk next to you. “You practically had a drool puddle on your desk Y/N-chan.”

“Oh shut up, it won’t happen again. I just didn’t expect him to be so, I don’t know, beautiful.” You puffed as you pulled out your summer reading.

“BEAUTIFUL?” Yua shouted, pushing away your hand as you rushed to hush her. The eyes of classmates landed on the both of you as well as Sugawara’s from the front of the room.

“Independent study is independent.” Sugawara reprimanded as his gaze rested on you.

“I’m sorry sensei.'' You apologized, looking over to Yua who was busy avoiding both of your heated gazes.

Sugawara turned his attention back to Hiroto and you looked back down at your desk.

“Yua, do you have to be so loud? Just do your summer work.” You whispered harshly, opening up your book and turning away from her.

The minutes ticked by as Sugawara called each student to the front of the room for the individual college discussions they would have. This would be a bi-weekly thing he would have to do, during this time he would guide the students on the right path to getting into the schools they wished to pursue. It was his job as your homeroom teacher to make sure you knew what you were doing after you walked out those doors and on to college.

“L/N- san, it's your turn to come up.” Sugawara was monotoned, flipping through to your file.

You turned away from your book to see Sugawara motioning for you to come up and take a seat, his eyes trained on the papers in front of him.

You gathered your belongings, making your way to the front of the room. You stood awkwardly next to the chair beside him, eyeing the light wood of the seat.

He looked up at you and back down to the seat before smiling, “Come on, take a seat. I promise I won’t take long.”

You slowly sat down, scooting the chair a few inches away from his own as you handed him your papers.

He responded to this by moving his chair closer. “Ok so what college did you pick...” He mumbled while looking through your documents. “Tokyo University, that's where I went, and you're gonna go for a culinary degree?” He caulked his head slightly, looking up at you.

You nodded, earning a smile. “I um, I liked to bake stuff. Like cakes and pie and pastries…” You trailed off as you looked down at the desk. The bell rang, signaling that it was time to leave for your club introductions. You started to stand up as Sugawara put a hand in front of you motioning for you to stay seated.

“I’ll see you soon class!” He waved as everyone walked out of the classroom, the butterflies settling into your stomach as the last student closed the door behind them. It was probably out of courtesy, but for you it was a death sentence.

“Well if you ever need someone to sample your recipes you're welcome to bring them in.” He continued, flashing you a soft smile as he held your gaze.

For a third time in one period your face heated up as he continued to look your way. Your eyes trying to fix on anything but him. Finally he looked back to the papers and flipped through them.

“Well your test scores are decent, but your math may need some working on if you want to pass the entrance exam, and your class finals.” It sounded more like a threat then friendly advice as the words left his lips. He winced slightly as he saw you sink into your seat, he had not meant for it to sound that way.

You nodded, playing with your fingers as you stammered. “Math is my worst subject. I have a hard time with it. No matter how much time I put into it, it just doesn't make sense.” You paused before going on. “But I’m going to focus on it this year. Since I quit volleyball I'll have more time to study.” You sighed, mad about the decision.

“Volleyball, what position?” He perked up at the mention of the sport, leaning in closer.

“I was the team's main setter sensei.'' You finally looked up at him, but the eye contact didn’t last long when you saw his smile.

“I’ll make you a deal. I’ll find you a tutor for math twice a week, but only if you come back to the team.” He closed your file, pushing it into the pile.

You looked up in shock. “Sensei I, yes please. I tried to sign up for one but they were all assigned to students.” You sat up in your chair, taken aback by such a kind gesture.

Smiling he stood up and you took it as your sign too as well.

“Then it's a deal. Go find the volleyball team in the gym for the meeting and I'll let you know who I find at the end of the day.” He walked towards the classroom door, opening it.

You nodded and started towards the door. “Thank you sensei!” You smiled as you walked past him, bowing slightly before running down the hallway.

He waited till he couldn’t hear your steps before he made his way back to his desk. He sank back down into his seat and let his head drop down into his hand, “Sugawara Koushi, what the hell are you doing?”

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Next Chapter

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in-class-daydreams · 4 years

Text

Blue Star | Oikawa x Reader | Ch. 3

- Pairing: Oikawa Tooru x Reader

- Word Count: ~ 4800

- Genres: Fluff, angst, idiots in love(?)

- Summary: Sometimes, (Y/N) wonders if it was hard for her father to send her away. To a new prefecture, a new home, a new school. It all just might be worth it when after becoming the (suspiciously knowledgeable) manager of the Aoba Johsai boys’ volleyball club, she meets Oikawa Tooru. Together, they do their best to exorcise demons they thought would never leave. They learn about progress, when to strive for it, and when to accept the realities that cannot be changed.

Chapters: First | Previous | Next (coming soon!)

“We can’t fucking tell anyone about this!”

Oikawa stared blankly back at the naked girl in front of him.

“What? I thought all this was to get back at Tachibana and her squad? I thought we wanted them to know,” he protested.

(Y/N) pulled the covers tighter, “You think I want the whole school knowing about my sex life? I’ll just enjoy this personal victory while I get good dick as a bonus. It’s a win-win for me.”

“That’s really flattering, (Y/N)-chan, but I’m saving myself for marriage.”

“...”

“We’re literally naked as we spea-- You know what, moving on. No marks!”

Oikawa smirked, “Why not?”

“So no one sees them, obviously. That kinda defeats the purpose of tryna keep my sex life private.”

“That’s great and all, (Y/N)-chan, but uh,” he gave her blanket a light tug.

(Y/N) looked at him in disbelief. She whipped the covers off of her sore thighs, only to shriek at what she saw. Her poor thighs were littered with dark purple spots with a few deeper ones where his fingers had been. Oikawa had gone absolutely feral on her thighs. Seeing those marks again got her distracted by memories from last night. Luckily, her indignation stopped her from initiating round two.

“Oikawa! Are you kidding me? You went nuts!” she cried.

To her irritation, he just shrugged, “‘Twasn’t me.” He grabbed at her playfully and tried to pull her towards him. The action made (Y/N) kick at him to ward him off.

“Besides,” he turned around to reveal deep red scratches along his shoulder blades, “I wasn’t the only one who went nuts.”

(Y/N) gasped loudly. She gently ran her cool fingers along the marks.

“Oikawa--”

“Also, you can call me Tooru now, considering we’re naked in bed together and I’ve been calling you (Y/N)-chan since day one.”

The girl behind him huffed, “Tooru, you should have stopped me! These are so deep, oh my god!”

She dragged the comforter with her when she got up.

“Where’s your first aid kit?” she demanded.

“Bathroom. You know, I was a little too preoccupied to stop you.”

Oikawa hugged his pillow against his chest. He thought about how cute (Y/N) was shuffling around his room, trying not to trip over her blanket. The scratches really didn’t hurt, but he wanted to play up the pain a bit just to get her to fuss over him.

‘(Y/N)-chan, you’re gonna make me fall for you, and you won’t even feel sorry for it, will you?’

When she was finished tending to him, he felt her arms wrap around him from behind, her boobs pressed against his back.

“Careful, (Y/N)-chan, if you keep doing that, we’ll miss breakfast with Iwa-cha-- Uh oh.

“Crap!”

“You’re fucking kidding me!” Their heads snapped towards the doorway, where Iwaizumi stood with his palms pressed against his poor eyes.

“Iwa-chan! You could have knocked!”

“That hasn’t been necessary for the past ten or so years, Bakakawa.”

They both began to apologize but Iwaizumi just raised a hand to stop them, “Just-- Just get dressed. You two need Jesus. I’m gonna go bleach my eyeballs.” He fled the scene as quickly as possible.

Oikawa gave (Y/N) a sheepish grin.

“It’s okay, Iwa-Chan was gonna find out soon, anyway,” he tried to reason.

Mortified, (Y/N) buried her face in her hands.

On Monday, (Y/N) opened her locker to the most stomach-churning smell she’d encountered since the last time Hubble had a stomach bug. Her hand shot up to cover her nose as she tentatively thumbed through the foul-smelling contents of her locker.

“(L/N)-san, you really should have put deodorant on today!” Obnoxious giggling sounded from behind her. The smell had seeped into the few items in her locker. Her PE clothes were smelly, but otherwise clean, and so was the old sweater she kept in there for emergencies. Soon, she came to the source of the smell: her gym shoes. Inside, she saw a disgusting looking liquid and egg shell fragments in each. They must have been in there since Friday.

“(L/N)-san, you should tell sensei about what they did,” a short-haired girl who used the locker next to hers whispered.

“No,” (Y/N) said with gritted teeth, “I’m not giving them the satisfaction.”

“What’s this I hear about someone putting eggs in your gym shoes?”

(Y/N) was desperately trying to hush Iwaizumi’s outraged shouting. The two of them were stashed away in an empty stairwell where Iwaizumi had dragged her before practice.

“Keep it down! It’s not-- It’s not a big deal! They’re just being petty, Hajime. They’ll lose interest eventually.”

Iwaizumi was absolutely furious at both the petty prank and at (Y/N)’s willingness to tolerate it. The teen just couldn’t fathom any reason why (Y/N) should have to tolerate any kind of bullying at all.

“You didn’t fucking do anything! They’re just jealous of you hanging around Oikawa and that’s their problem! Why are you just gonna take it?”

“If I tell anyone, it’ll become a bigger deal.”

Iwaizumi ran a frustrated hand through his short hair, “They’re his fangirls. You should make Shittyka--”

“No!” (Y/N) made an X with her arms, “I don’t want Tooru involved in this. I don’t want him coming to rescue me.”

Her friend closed his eyes and breathed deeply.

“(Y/N), having him taking responsibility for--”

“Hajime,” she squeezed one of his large hands in both of hers, “Please. I just want to ignore all this until it stops.”

“Alright, fine. I won’t tell him, and I won’t make you tell him.”

“Thank yo--”

“I’m not done. The moment - And I mean it, (L/N) - the moment it escalates beyond petty shit like this, you’ll tell someone about it. Oikawa or me or a teacher, I don’t care who, but you’re not gonna just sit here and take it if it gets worse, okay?’

“Okay.”

Iwaizumi grabbed her by the shoulders, “(Y/N), promise me.”

“I promise.”

[NEW] From: Tooruwu <3 [8:26 am]: Don’t miss me too much while ur off visiting ur parents! ★⌒ヽ( ͡° ε ͡°)

(Y/N) wished she could have been watching anime with Oikawa and Iwaizumi or facetiming Wakatoshi. She’d even rather be cleaning out Hubble’s litter box than be where she was now.

The past week at Aoba Johsai felt like she had a fresh start. All of her relationships were made organically, rather than being based on her reputation. Now, surrounded by the pristine leather seats being driven back to Tokyo by one of the family’s nameless, faceless drivers, she wondered if maybe it was all a dream.

Considering she had to move away and live alone while she was still in high school, she thought maybe her parents would come visit her in Miyagi, even just once, but apparently they couldn’t be bothered. In her opinion, her father was just too important and too busy to check up on his only daughter. Or maybe (Y/N) was just being bitter.

The chiffon of her navy blue dress was meant to be comfortable, expensive as it was, but the whole getup, the hair, the dress, the destination, it all felt like she was being forcefully dragged back into a persona that just wasn’t real.

The driver pulled up in front of the massive estate and all (Y/N) could think was, “I want to go home.’

‘This is your home,’ a nagging voice in her head said, but (Y/N) didn’t agree. Somehow, her empty apartment with her grouchy cat and her school with a gaggle of bullies and her two huge boy-friends was more homey than this sterile, impersonal mansion had ever been. The estate had been her home for roughly half her life, yet the place lacked the warmth that a familiar place out to have.

All she wanted to do was get through this dinner and appease her parents enough so they’d let her leave. If she was lucky, none of her resentment towards them would leak out. Not that she was very lucky, anyway.

Spread out on the dinner table in front of her were all her favorites, which possibly could have meant something if her parents were the ones that remembered that particular detail and not the cook. (Y/N) made a mental note to thank him personally when she got the chance.

The three of them eating at the same time was a rare occurrence. Before she moved, she used to eat alone. If her parents were out of the mansion altogether, she’d eat dinner in the kitchen with the household staff. Those days were her favorite. It was funny, though. She got to spend time with the kind and caring people in her father’s employ, but for some reason, she found herself longing for her parents, however standoffish and impersonal they may be.

Today, they smiled and made small talk with her. The three of them sat at the table, eating together like a family. It was the only thing she ever wished for when she was younger.

‘Then why does this feel so wrong?’ she thought.

All of it left a vile taste in her mouth. Any sort of serenity she might have felt at having received her childhood wish was utterly absent at the fakeness of this whole scenario. Her mother asked her about school and friends, her father asked how she was settling into the new apartment. It was as if he wasn’t the one who sent her away, and as if her mother wasn’t the one who didn’t have the courage to stop him. Make no mistake, (Y/N) loved her new home away from them. She adored spending time with her cat and Oikawa and Iwaizumi. It just hurt how easy it was for them to send her there. When her father decided to ship her a few prefectures over, it would have been nice if he’d bothered to ask her opinion on the matter.

The sound of tableware filled the looming silence before (Y/N)’s father cleared his throat, and the room’s atmosphere turned rather serious.

“Doctor Niçonell sent us your imaging results.”

‘It’s okay, (Y/N). You can do this.’

“According to her, your knee has made a full recovery, and you can go back to volleyball.”

(Y/N) looked down at her plate. She had almost forgotten what it was like to sit, crumbling before the one person in the whole world that it physically hurt her to disappoint.

“Daddy, I don’t think I want to go back to volleyb--”

“(Y/N),” the older man sighed, “No daughter of mine would give up over something so minor. What happened last year was a shame, but--”

The fork in her hand dug into her palm from how hard she was gripping it. It felt like she was going to vomit. Her heart raced in her chest and her stomach lurched. They had had this conversation several times, even before she moved. It hurt every time. Every time, it felt like she wasn’t good enough for him. After a while, maybe she could have tolerated disappointing her father. The problem was the deep, despairing self-pity she felt whenever she was reminded of what happened.

“I don’t want to talk about it, father,” she said quietly.

Whether he just didn’t hear her or if he was ignoring her, she wasn’t sure. Either way, he didn’t acknowledge her words.

“You can get back into shape and begin training again for tryouts next year. I will send you the contact information for the physical therapist in Miyagi. You’ll be back on the--”

“Father, please.” (Y/N) continued to grip her fork, desperately trying to keep herself disconnected from reality. She focused all her energy into blocking out the memories that threatened to flood into her mind. The throb of an old injury ghosted over her left knee.

“We’ve had this conversation before. I can’t--”

“(Y/N),” her father snapped at her sharply, “Many athletes suffer from injuries in their career. Often they get a torn ACL or other injuries where they can no longer do their sport. But you... There’s nothing wrong with you. You can go back, which is more than several athletes can even hope for. Stop being weak-minded, stop thinking about what happened and play. Be grateful that you still can.”

There were a million things (Y/N) wanted to say to him. She wanted to tell him she knew. She knew how blessed she was that she physically could play volleyball again. Heaven knew she wanted to. But whenever she stepped on the court, the dread built in her stomach and suddenly, she was a first year again. In her flashback, she was behind the back line on the semifinal court to make it to nationals. Then the scene changes and she is face down on the gym floor, and the pain in her left knee is excruciating.

“You will work with the new sports psychologist I’ve hired. I hear she’s one of the best in her field.” Her father didn’t seem to notice the internal battle she was fighting.

At the time, she thought that no moment in her life would ever bring her the same amount of devastation as that day, but she was wrong. The worst was yet to come.

Her struggle to suppress the awful memories failed. Fat tears escaped her eyes and trailed down her cheeks. Across the table, her father clicked his tongue.

“(Y/N), stop crying!” His tone made her cry harder.

“Stop. There’s nothing for you to cry about.”

She begged herself to stop, but she just couldn’t. Being in her childhood home and being forced to remember the incident brought every gut-wrenching emotion that she’d meticulously stamped down to the surface.

“Fine,” her father huffed, “We can talk again when you can handle it.”

With that, he stood from his half-eaten meal and left the dining room. Her mother immediately stood and made to follow him. On the way out the door, she gently clasped her daughter’s shoulder. (Y/N) jerked away from the touch. The gesture felt meaningless when the woman hadn't said a single word in her defense. Of course, her mother hadn’t defended her once in her life, but (Y/N) was still foolishly waiting to be surprised. (Y/N) didn’t see her mother’s expression, but she heard the door shut behind her as the woman hurried after her husband. Only after they were gone did (Y/N) stop fighting back her emotions.

(Y/N)’s eyes burned with the force of her tears. She gasped deeply to try and get some air around her sobs. The house, the dining room, her parents, the dress she was wearing, the memory of that god-awful incident surrounded her and felt like they were closing in. She wanted to leave the house. Run out the door and go back to Miyagi where she could feed Hubble the cat and video chat with Wakatoshi. Maybe if she got home early enough, she could go out and get slushies with Oikawa. All of a sudden, the quiet life she’d built for herself felt so far away and her feet remained glued to the floor. Her legs felt heavy and all she could do was sit and cry, and cry, and keep crying until her eyes ached nearly as much as her heart. The familiar feeling of loneliness wrapped around her like an old friend.

The door opened again and the driver entered the room. The man offered to take her home whenever she wanted.

Wiping her bloodshot eyes with her napkin, she said, “Thank you, but I’d like to take the train home instead.”

After assuring the driver of her choice, she made her way up to her old bedroom to change. Most of her clothing was at the new apartment, save for the Kitagawa Daiichi Middle School sweatpants in the back of her closet and one of Ushijima’s old hoodies she’d stolen from him the last time she was at his house.

The trains from Tokyo are never empty like the ones in Miyagi. Luckily, city people had seen it all and didn’t bat an eyelash at the comfortably dressed teenage girl with red eyes and a defeated expression. Soon after boarding the train, she found herself a seat. It seemed the universe had enough of bullying her for the day. Checking her phone, she found several Chapsnats from Oikawa. Some of them consisted of him whining that he misses her and wants to go get food. Others were handsome pictures of himself (though she’d never tell him that), and one picture of Iwaizumi doing homework with the eggplant emoji surrounding him and one large one edited right on his cheek. (Y/N) laughed at the messages, brushing lingering tears from her cheeks.

From Wakatoshi, she received a short video of him staring blankly into the camera and Tendou striking a T-pose beside him to assert his dominance while yelling “(Y/N)-chan, fighting!” She smiled gently at the middle blocker’s enthusiasm. She simply replied, ‘Thank you <3.’

Aiming the camera up, she snapped a quick picture of the stop the train was currently at and texted Oikawa back, ‘Ya girl’s gonna be back in Miyagi soon.’

Minutes later, she opened a tastefully blurry picture of him with a pair of sexy white clout goggles, paired with an array of emojis around him, topped off with a caption that said, ‘Ya boi is r e a d y.’

About two hours and a whole box of chocolate Bocky later, the train arrived at her stop. (Y/N) started walking while trying to text both Oikawa and Ushijima that she’d made it to Miyagi safely. She navigated the thin crowd well enough until she crashed into a solid chest, nearly dropping her phone in the process.

“Excuse me,” she apologized. Looking up, she gasped at the tall brunette in front of her.

“Tooru! What are you doing here?” she fought unsuccessfully to keep the bright grin off her face. Oikawa handed her one of the smoothies he was holding.

“Walking you home, obviously. Why else would I be here?”

“Because you like the smell of Japanese public transit?” she offered. Oikawa scoffed.

“You got me.” He threw a casual arm around her shoulder and led her towards the exit

(Y/N) took a sip of the drink he gave her, “Mm, this is good. What is it?”

“No clue. I didn’t know what you liked so I just pointed at a picture on their menu.”

“I like it. I think it’s watermelon?”

“Let me try.” She held the cup up for him. He leaned over and took a sip.

“Wait, yours is way better than mine. Gimme,” he grabbed for the cup. She giggled as she held the drink away from his thieving hands.

When they got to her apartment, she told him to make himself comfortable while she fed Hubble. To her surprise, the scruffy orange feline came right up to Oikawa. Hubble bumped the boy’s shins with her head affectionately. Bending down, Oikawa scratched the cat under the chin.

“Aw, aren’t you sweet?” he cooed.

“Fake ass, stinky ass cat,” (Y/N) mumbled under her breath.

Oikawa gasped loudly. He covered the cat’s ears with his hands, “Don’t be mean! She didn’t mean that sweetheart, don’t listen to her.”

Hubble shot (Y/N) a triumphant grin.

“Fine. Metflix and chill with the cat, for all I care,” (Y/N) put her hands up in surrender.

“Wait, no!”

“Goodnight, you two!” she slowly inched towards the bedroom. Suddenly, she got a face full of Oikawa’s flat butt when he tossed her over his shoulder. He unceremoniously plunked them down on the couch and gave her the remote to appease her. Giving into him, she flipped through TV shows. The two of them had binged Ouran High School Host Club the last time they hung out and were in dire need of a new show.

“Should we watch Stranger Things?” she asked.

“I thought we wanted to start Blue Exorcist?” (Y/N) leaned against his chest, “We’re not even gonna try not to be weebs?”

“Are we weebs if we’re Japanese teenagers living in Japan?” he asked with his chin on her shoulder.

“Oh, big brain.”

“Galaxy brain.”

Oikawa gave them a few minutes to settle into their cuddle session before he said, “When you stepped off the train, you looked like you’d been crying.”

(Y/N) stared blankly at the TV. The memory of dinner with her parents came back to her. When she tensed in his arms, Oikawa backtracked.

“It's okay if you don’t want to talk about it. I just wanted to check on you.”

Sweet as he was, (Y/N) couldn’t bring herself to tell him. If she did, she’d have allowed her old life and her new one to mix. Her mouth felt like it was glued shut when it came to telling him the truth.

“It’s nothing. Just family stuff,” she managed to say, which was a half-truth.

Oikawa nodded in understanding. He leaned down to kiss her temple. (Y/N)’s eyes widened at the gesture. Ignoring her reaction, Oikawa patted her thigh.

“Go take a shower.”

She got up off of him. “Spend the night?”

“Bold of you to assume I was willing to leave.”

(Y/N) was in a familiar gymnasium. The edges of her vision were hazy and her mind was not fully in her own body. She wished she could stop having this nightmare. Living it once was enough.

Once again, she’s holding a volleyball. The referee blows the whistle once and gestures with their arm. Dream (Y/N) throws the ball in the air with one hand and launches into her serve. The scene changes and she can’t see anything, but she remembers she’s on the floor. Gasps and cries of horror come from all around her.

Another scene change. Now she has a black brace over her left knee. This time, her hand connects with the ball as she serves. It barely even makes it to the net, much less over it. Then, she’s on the right side, calling for a toss. The setter grants her wish. (Y/N) takes her approach. Plant one foot, then the other. Her knees are bent and her timing is impeccable. She does not jump.

(Y/N)’s eyes snapped open. Finally awake from that nightmare, she let out an exhausted sigh. Padding along the cold floor in her bare feet, she made her way to the kitchen. On her way out, she spotted a tall brunette boy sitting on her couch. She had almost forgotten he was spending the night.

As she got closer, she noticed he was still awake and watching something on his phone.

“Hey,” she croaked.

Oikawa’s attention immediately snapped from his phone to her. “Hey. Why are you awake?”

(Y/N) shrugged, “I couldn’t sleep. Do you want a GapriSun?”

“At 2 am?”

“Uh huh.”

He shrugged, “Yeah, sure.”

When she plopped down onto the couch beside him, an FIVB match between Japan and Argentina was playing on his phone.

“Is this 2018? They went all the way to five sets in this one, didn’t they?” she recalled. “Hang on, let’s mirror it on the TV.”

The two of them sat huddled on the couch. Every now and again one of them would comment, but for the most part, they sat in silence with their focus fixated on the screen.

“(Y/N)-chan?”

She raised a questioning eyebrow. “Seriously, how do you know so much about volleyball?”

“I already told you I used to play.” Oikawa nodded for her to continue. “Don’t read too deep into it. I wasn’t any good, I just understood it very well.”

Lying to him was such a crappy feeling. Of all the people that looked at her with either pity or scorn in their eyes, she didn’t want him to be one of them.

“Why did you stop?”

(Y/N) felt dirty. Instead of coming clean, she just shrugged, “I guess I just didn’t wanna do it anymore.”

Sensing the conversation was over, Oikawa turned back to the match. He watched in wonder at the skill every player on the court possessed. The sheer amount of time put into honing each skill was unfathomable.

Oikawa had been in love with volleyball for a long time. He remembered turning ten years old in July of 2004. That year, the summer olympics had made it back to its origin country, and was being held in Athens, Greece. Japan had not qualified that year, but Oikawa happened to see the final match between Brazil and Italy. The young boy was mesmerized by the tangible camaraderie and trust throughout each team, and the fact that it all coexisted with the talents of each individual. Though, there was one player on each team that he fixated on. He was the one standing next to the net and touched the ball almost every play. That player got to choose which of his teammates would finish their attack. In a way, he was like a king, ordering his soldiers into battle.

The day his parents finally bought him his own volleyball, he went outside. He remembers the ball slipping through his hands, hitting him in the face when he tried to set. Even though Iwaizumi laughed at him then, just the feel of the ball in his hand made electricity crackle through Oikawa’s nerves.

For an athlete, “that moment” where they get hooked on a sport is one of the best moments of their lives. That moment may come as early as junior league in middle school or as late as the spring tournament in high school. Sometimes an athlete would go years before realizing they would never experience it. Oikawa Tooru’s moment came before he even stepped onto a court.

“I’d play volleyball for the rest of my life, if I could,” he said fondly. “Whenever I step on the court-- I don’t know, it feels like I’m supposed to be there.”

“Probably because you are,” (Y/N) gently nudged him with her elbow. Oikawa shook his head no.

Oikawa just hummed in response.

The shrill ringing of her phone cut off whatever she was getting ready to say next. Both of them looked confused as she pulled the loud device from her pocket. (Y/N) paled at what she saw on the screen.

“Crap! It’s time to get ready for school!”

“Already?!”

(Y/N) yanked the boy up by the front of his hoodie, “Take a cold shower and get dressed! If we hurry, we can get coffee on the way to school.”

Oikawa pulled his shirt off as he scrambled towards the bathroom, “Did we have a test today?”

“Pray that we don’t! Tooru! We’ve been awake since eight yesterday! We’re gonna die!”

All she got in response was the setter’s anguished screaming from the bathroom.

Iwaizumi raised a brow at his friend’s exhausted state, “What happened to your face, Crappykawa?”

“Be nice to me, Iwa-chan! I didn’t get any sleep last night,” Oikawa whined. The shorter of the two opened his mouth to ask why, then the door opened to reveal an equally exhausted-looking (Y/N). Iwaizumi grimaced.

“You guys are gross,” he grumbled.

“Iwa-chan, it’s not what you think!”

(Y/N) scrubbed at her tired eyes, “End me.” She flopped down into a chair.

“(Y/N)-chan, your eyes are super puffy still! Wash your face again before the teacher thinks you’re having an allergic reaction.”

Too tired to protest, (Y/N) dragged herself to her feet. She found that bully girl from before, Tachibana Akari, washing her hands in the bathroom. Too tired to care, she leaned over the other sink and splashed her face with cold water. The redhead made sure to shove (Y/N) harshly on her way out. (Y/N) instinctively turned her head to look. Before she could stop her sleep-deprived brain, she was shouting, “Wait!” Tachibana stumbled backwards when (Y/N) dragged her back into the bathroom by her blazer. Regaining her balance, the taller girl glared down at her.

“What the hell is your problem?!”

In response, (Y/N) removed her sweater and shoved it towards her.

“You bled through your skirt.”

Akari’s eyes widened. She rushed to the mirror to confirm that, yes, she fucking bled through her skirt.

“Shit! How long have I been walking around like this!” she hissed.

“Dunno. Probably not long. Later.” She dragged her tired body to the exit.

“Hey!” Akari waved the sweater bunched up in her hand, “You’re just gonna lend this to me?”

“Wrap it around your waist.”

“I know what to do with it, dummy! You’re really gonna let me use your sweater to cover my period stain?”

“Yup. Bye.”

Taglist: @cristaldoodleskies @br0kenskeleton

#haikyuu!!#haikyu #haikyuu #haikyū!!#Iwaizumi Hajime #oikawa tooru #oikawa x reader #oikawa tōru #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu scenarios

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melbee · 4 years

Text

Electric Love

Chapter 3

A David Lee Roth Fanfiction

I'd be safe and warm If I was in L.A. California dreamin'

On such a winter's day

- california dreamin’

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

“Okay.. final checks!” Holly sounded out as she put the last box into the Ford pickup truck, (kindly borrowed from her father).

I huffed as I put my bag into the front seat, as I made my way to the back where Holly was. “I think that’s it Holly.”

She sighed as she finally looked at me. “Holy shit, we’re actually doing this.”

“Pretty sure I’m the one who’s moving?” I said as I laughed, making my way to the front, sitting shotgun.

“It takes two, and we’re basically joined at the hip Rose.” She said laughing, climbing into the front seat, and shutting the door.

“Right forgot how obsessed you are about me.” I said as we started onto the road.

“Yeah well...” Holly began to say, as I looked out the window.

“I can’t believe I’m going to be leaving this place.” I whispered as I watched the car go by. I gazed up at the corner store me and Holly used to ride our bikes to as kids, the large Museum full of tacky antiques, and of course the beautiful desert scenery that accompanied every corner of Arizona.

“Believe me, it’s for the best. From the day I met you in first grade, you were never destined to stay in this dry place.” Holly said as she stayed glued to the road ahead.

I gave her small smile, as she flicked her eyes toward me before focusing back on the road. “That means a lot. I never thought I would get out of here.”

“Rose, if there was a spot in the yearbook for the person who is most likely for success, it was always you.”

I just sighed as I continued looking out the window. How did she know that? I was always quiet, reserved, and never one to go out much. I felt as if I should be doing more, or being more fun and energetic. I figured I would live in Arizona all my life, settle down, maybe get married and have kids.

I guess life has a funny way of changing things.

“So what are you going to do?” I asked as I whipped my head around to Holly. I’ve known her for a long time, but I never quite knew what she wanted to do as a career. She was a good swimmer and competed, but I wasn’t sure if that’s what she wanted to be all her life.

Holly sighed, “I’m sure I’ll work at the diner a bit longer, at least until I punch that sucker like a balloon anyways...” I laughed as I shook my head.

Holly looked at me and smiled, “Maybe I’ll talk to Ralph at the pool and see if I could pick up a job as a swim coach or something.”

I smiled, “Holly, that sounds wonderful!”

“Yeah maybe I’ll do that for a bit, maybe meet a cute European, move to Spain, oh.. and cheer on my best friend as she earns millions as the best fashion designer in the entire country.”

“Sounds like a plan.” I said as I fidgeted with my fingers.

I put my eyes back out the window, as I heard the familiar click of the radio turn on, and the familiar melodies of California Dreamin’ by the Mamas and the Papas turned on.

I heard the tap of the wheel, I assumed Holly had begun to listen to the music, and it must've been lulling, because I soon began to drift off into a deep sleep, the sense of surroundings filling me, and the curiosity of the future in store for me.

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

Approximately 12 hours later, two cheeseburgers, and taking turns driving the truck, we made it to the City of angels.

“Wow! It’s just like in the movies, but better!” Holly said as she gazed out of the windows at the looming palm tress, and the big buildings.

“Yeah, it’s beautiful.” I said as I gazed at the people in fancy and cheap cars alike, the big signs filled with ads for strip clubs, tours, and perfume commercials.

“I wonder how many celebrities you’re going to see.” Holly said, as she turned down another street, toward a sign that was directing us to northeast Los Angeles, and eventually into Pasadena.

We had stopped at a local convenience store and grabbed a map, which I now had facing adjacent to a long a piece of paper which I had copied down the street address. I was fixing my eyes now toward the map, chewing my bottom lip in concentration. “Okay so go straight for about 15 miles, then you’re going to take a right, then a left, go straight-”

“Okay, calm down I’m not a mind memorizer.” Holly said, as I saw her tongue peak out of her bottom lip, as she continued on. “I need a smoke soon.”

“Okay, do you want me to get one for you?” I said as I glanced back at the map.

“Nah, my Dad will kill me if he smells smoke in here. Something about it ruining the interior or something..”

“Oh okay..” As I concentrated on the map. This was so confusing, how did anyone get anywhere in this state? Arizona was pretty easy as it was mainly desert. This city had almost every type of business across every corner of land. If you wanted to go to a strip club, McDonald's, or get your drivers license, you were lucky to have all three within walking distance.

“Wow so cool! Look!’ Holly said as she pointed up at a billboard we were passing by, I looked just briefly to see a glimpse of large letters, and bright colors.

VAN HALEN TWO NIGHTS AT THE ROSE BOWL! GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!

“So cool! I wonder if Lewis could hook you up with tickets, I wouldn’t mind staying a couple extra days.” Holly said as she laughed.

I shrugged going back to the map. “Yeah maybe..”

“Oh come on! Don’t you want to see Van Halen! They’re so hot and so rock n’ roll.”

“Yeah, I like a couple of their songs..” I muttered.

Holly gave me a pointed look. “Okay, so you wouldn’t do anything to get backstage and meet them?”

I put my map down, as I gave her a look. “Holly, me and 50 other girls trying to hook up with them.”

“Woah! So you admit you would want to hook up with them.” Holly giggled.

“Uh.. no. I mean.. I would be mixed in with every other girl trying to get their eyes set on them. What makes me stand out from the rest of the other greedy, fame grabbers?” I said as I shook my head.

“Oh I don’t know.. maybe getting pregnant and having to get married by guilt, and collecting millions in cash as a rock star wife?” Holly said, without a stutter.

My eyes bugged. “Holly, you are fucking insane.”

“I know, you love me anyway.” She winked.

“Focus on the road, we’re getting close to Pasadena.”

“alright.. alright..” Holly said as she maintained her eyes on the road.

Almost an hour later we had finally made it to Pasadena.

It was a lot more prosperous then LA. It showcased lot’s of expensive architecture and Spanish styled roofing, and busy landscapes. I could tell it was a town where the rich encompassed much of the population.

How much does Lewis make? From the couple phone calls I had received from him, I had not gotten the chance to ask about how prosperous his job was.

“Wow, there must be some rich ass kids in this place.” She said as she looked around at the architecture.

I snorted, “Yeah no kidding. Pretty sure you’re turning right at this intersection.” Holly jerked the wheel into the turn lane, and stopped before giving me a mean look.

“You know you have to give me at least a bit more time to safely move myself, before you give me directions.”

I slapped my hand down on the map, “You were complaining I was going too fast!”

“Yeah, but I’m pretty sure a turtle could say directions faster then you could.” Holly said as we began turning onto another road.

The buildings began to space out, as we began to drive pass large mansions, guarded by strong gates and dangly trees, that reminded me of the streets showcased in Hollywood movies. Does that mean they were fake? There was something so oddly picturesque of Pasadena, that made me believe it was something far different then what it appeared to be.

“Wow, I wonder who lives in those places.” Holly said as we peered to the side to ogle at the gorgeous architecture.

Just as we were driving, we all but slammed on our brakes as we saw a 50′s Mercury all but zoom past one of the accompanying large, expansive gates, along with a chorus of loud hollers and laughs.

I scoffed as I looked over to Holly who sat there in awe. “Wow.”

“Are you okay?” I asked looking concerned, this must’ve snapped her out of her daze because she began driving once again, as she shook her head.

“Yeah sorry, I just... who the hell was that? Do you think they could’ve been a celebrity?” She said.

I laughed. “They almost hit us, and you’re worried about if they were famous?”

“How cool if they did, and I could’ve met whoever was in that car. It looked like a guy and a couple chicks. Or maybe they were all guys...”

I laughed as I shrugged, “Could very well be the latter.”

“So fucking cool.” She said as she shook her head smiling, as we continued down the road.

I couldn’t help but begin to get curious who was in there as well. Didn’t they have any decency to watch where they were going? Why were they driving so erratically in such a beautiful car? Where they drunk? Where were they going?

I simply just let it go, and sighed hoping that would’ve been the end of those encounters in California.

Oh, how I wish that would've been true.

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

Sunset Strip, 1982

“Dave you are so funny!” I heard the obnoxious giggle come from the blonde to my right.

I grinned, as I handed the keys to a chauffeur, grabbing her hand and kissing her neck all the way into the club, a troupe of others who had hitched a ride following behind closely.

“Great to see you Mr. Roth, your booth is right this way.” As a waiter, I presumed new as he had no recognizable face to him, lead me the way. It was routine to hit Hollywood’s best clubs on the Sunset Strip, and it was always a good time to reminisce about Van Halen’s early days.

We certainly had come a long way now.

“Call me Dave, or Diamond, or put them together. It doesn’t matter.” I said as I laughed, cueing the chorus of giggles from the other girls who had stumbled their way to the side.

I had checked and now they had seemingly multiplied, lots of brunettes, and bleach blonde hair, and legs. To say it was normal, would be an understatement. They were all the same. But it got me laid, and gave me a good time.

“David...” I heard a whisper come from the side, it sounded like Michael Jackson, and over-tuned whistles. Nonetheless, I turned my way to see a brunette with big eyes, gazing at me with a strange look.

“Yes, sugar?” I said in my best sweet saccharine voice, and a grin.

She began to rub down my thigh, her spindly fingers grazing up and down like cat claws. God damn how did she pick stuff up with them... “Could you get me a drink?”

I smiled, as I stood a little taller motioning for a waiter to come. “She’ll have a jack and coke.”

She huffed, “No, I want a whiskey sour.” I shrugged as I motioned for the waiter to listen to her, and he simply nodded his head and left.

She continued her incessant clawing on my thighs, that I’m sure would leave marks by morning, as girls began toppling over one another to try to join in on whatever they thought was happening.

“So David, are we going back to your house?” I heard a blonde say to my right, as she twirled her hair, biting her lip as if her life depended on it.

“I don’t know sugar, I got rehearsal tomorrow.”

She pouted as she latched on to my arm like a leech. “Please, can we come stay, I’ll make it worth your while.” I began hearing the sounds of bird like chirps as other girls nearby began chiming in on the plead.

I laughed as I smacked the blonde’s thigh, grabbing a swig of my Jack before shrugging. “Oh fuck it.”

I heard a loud cheer, before one by one girls began crawling towards me, kissing up and down my legs and arms.

This was going to be a long night.

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

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if-you-built-yourself-a-myth · 4 years

Text

I would love to see a Sander pov or Jens pov where the boy squad find out about Robbe’s little su*cidal ideation on the edge of the pier, maybe together with the boys finding out about the hate crime?

TRIGGER WARNING: MENTION OF SUICIDE/SUICIDAL THOUGHTS

Jens wasn’t very upset that Robbe didn’t like the hangout he had planned. Really, he supposed he should have known that his best friend wasn’t one for breaking and entering in the name of stupid teenage fun. Sander told him that they broke into a pool once, where they ended up kissing, and Robbe fought Sander the entire way through for fear of illegality. If he wouldn’t follow Sander, how could Jens compare?

Moyo and Aaron lived within walking distance of the waterfront and the pier; that was part of the reason why Jens thought jumping the fence would be so nice. It was a close hangout spot, convenient, and beautiful at night when the lights of the city reflected off the churning waters. Robbe had taken one look at their destination and decided he would not take a step closer to it, volunteering to take the bus home by himself and allowing the party to continue without him. Unnecessary, of course. They all boarded the bus together, regardless of need.

“Sorry,” Jens whispered across the aisle, careful not to disturb a sleeping stranger in the seat ahead. “Next time we’ll pick a better spot.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Robbe whispered back. “It’s not your fault.”

Jens watched him lean his head against Sander’s shoulder, closing his eyes as if to fall asleep. The bus ride wouldn’t be longer than fifteen minutes, tops, unless they were going somewhere further away than Robbe’s apartment or Sander’s house. Maybe Robbe felt sick.

Sander, in the meantime, seemed oblivious to whatever was wrong with his boyfriend. He and Moyo passed a stress ball back and forth between them with the intent to hit Aaron at a certain spot on his head. Over the past month, Sander had become an indistinguishable member of the group. It was hard for Jens to fathom that he hadn’t always been there, engaging in stupid antics or yelling for people to freeze in different positions so he could photograph them. The absence of bleached-blond awaiting Robbe outside the school would be a major concern.

Not to mention, Sander had gotten all the boys into David Bowie’s music. As he tossed the stress ball across to Moyo, the two of them hummed the tune to Rebel Rebel.

The amiable mood did not extend to Robbe. He abandoned the notion of sleep quickly, in favor of leaning his head to the other direction. Against the window. Jens hoped Sander would notice and ask about it so that he didn’t have to; now that Sander was around, it struck him as intrusion to inquire of Robbe’s moods. Come to think of it, he didn’t know why he felt that way.

Luckily, neither Sander or Jens needed to speak up.

“Can I tell you guys something… heavy?” Robbe looked out at the passing city as the bus rumbled back to their houses. Jens couldn’t quite read his expression, but he knew that it wasn’t a happy one. Introspective, maybe. Like Robbe was remembering something from a long time ago.

He saw Sander tense up, all traces of laughter and joking gone. Moyo dropped the stress ball to his lap. All three of the other boys looked over at Robbe expectantly.

“Of course, bro,” Jens said. “Always.”

“I should have told you earlier, I just—”

Aaron cut him off. “You don’t have to apologize.”

Robbe said the rest in a single exhale. “I didn’t want to stay because the last time I was there it was to kill myself.”

The words hit Jens like a ball from left field. When had that been? Where was he when Robbe felt that way? Was it recent enough that Sander should know about it? Was it long enough ago that he should’ve known something about it before now if he was really a good friend?

“Why?” asked Aaron.

Jens smacked reached over the back of his seat to smack Aaron in the head, even though he’d been thinking the same thing. “He doesn’t have to tell us why.”

Robbe shook his head and squeezed Sander’s hand. “It’s okay, I want to.” He took a deep breath. “It was months ago. I guess being there just brings back the memories. Things weren’t going well with you—” He raised Sander’s hand slightly. “—and after the attack my mind was already imploding. I kept thinking that if you guys knew I was gay, you’d think I was some different person and hate me. My head told me to disappear, and I went there… it was almost as if I could.”

The other boys gave the explanation time to settle in the air, but Jens was not so inclined. “Hold up, hold up. What attack? You mean the fight you were in?”

“It wasn’t a fight, it was a—” His breath hitched.

“Fuck man, I’m so sorry about that, I wish you’d never had to doubt us…” Aaron rambled. His speech took the role of background noise.

Jens didn’t consider himself to be the most observant of people, especially not when it came to body language, but he couldn’t mistake the fact that Sander had gone completely rigid next to Robbe. Something about this wasn’t right anymore.

“It was a…?” Moyo prompted, to return Robbe to the thought.

Robbe turned to meet Sander’s eyes, and when Sander didn’t reciprocate, he redirected his gaze out the window again. “Nothing. It was nothing.” He let go of Sander’s hand.

“Uh, clearly it wasn’t.” Jens wasn’t about to let Robbe pull any bullshit, especially after dropping the bomb that he’d been suicidal because of whatever had happened.

“It was nothing. Forget I said anything.”

Silence fell over the bus. Sander motioned for Moyo to throw him the stress ball again, but Moyo was preoccupied puzzling through whatever the fuck had just happened in front of his eyes. Jens couldn’t blame him. So, something had happened a while ago, involving Sander and a fight that wasn’t a fight. Robbe wouldn’t tell them what. Sander might be a factor in why he wouldn’t tell them. All of this together made Robbe want to jump off a bridge and fall to his death in the water below.

A lot to process.

When the lack of speech began to get awkward, Aaron stepped up again. “Robbe… you can tell us. We’re your fri—”

“We were beaten up in an alleyway,” said Sander flippantly. Despite the normal expression on his face, his voice had suddenly gone cold as ice. “There were a couple of older guys who saw us kissing outside a bar, and they beat us up and left us on the ground outside.” He softened as he reached to hold Robbe’s hand again. “I’m never going to let that happen to us again, though, I promise.” Robbe leaned back from the glass to accept Sander’s kiss.

It was one bomb after another today. 1) The hangout place was bad, 2) Robbe had been suicidal, and now 3) Robbe and Sander had been gaybashed outside a bar and decided not to tell Jens, Moyo, or Aaron about in the time since it happened. Jens began to feel like a really shitty friend. He also realized that Sander and Robbe thought the conversation was over now that they’d admitted some of the shit they’d been through.

“You reported it, right?” Moyo asked.

Sander shrugged, more to himself than in answer. “The police don’t really help you. It’s best to just keep living and try to forget that it happened.” He tried to act passive, but Jens could tell that he wanted the conversation to be over. How had he never heard about this from Robbe before now, months in the aftermath?

Worst friend award, right there.

Damn it, by being dramatic about not knowing, he was making it about himself. And it wasn’t about him.

Even worse friend award.

Moyo blinked. “I’m sorry, what?”

Sander slouched over in the seat, probably in the hope it could make him disappear. He could make himself look five times smaller by curling in the slightest amount. “It happens a lot. My dad is a police officer, so he knows about this kind of thing. After the first time it happened, I told him about it and he said it’s better if you don’t get anyone involved if you don’t have to. It just perpetuates things.”

Robbe sat bolt upright. “What do you mean the first time? You mean this has happened before?”

“It’s just something that happens,” Sander repeated. “We can’t catch the guys, so what’s the point of reliving it in front of probably homophobic officers for no payoff at the other end? It’s better just to leave it be. Can we leave it be?”

As respectfully as they’d waited for him to finish speaking, the boys couldn’t control themselves when he was finished. They all clamored in at once.

“That’s bullshit.”

“Who the fuck told you that?”

“Bull-fucking-shit.”

“Leaving it be made me fucking suicidal!” Robbe exclaimed. “I thought they were going to kill us, Sander. They could have killed us!”

“You can’t let people do things like that to you.”

“This is not something that just happens!”

“If the police can’t help, we will.”

Serious conversations on the bus tonight. Jens found himself saying his first prayer in ages, one that his friends would learn how to manage their trauma in a healthy way.

“That’s it,” Moyo declared. “Our new hangout spot is the police station, and we’re going now.”

He didn’t even wait for Robbe or Sander to answer before hopping off the bus at the next stop. Everyone else shot down the steps behind him, Jens bringing up the rear.

#wtfock #robbe ijzermans #sander driesen #jens stoffels #moyo makadi #aaron jacobs #sobbe #rosander #fic request

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soyybeanboy · 5 years

Text

If You Had The Chance To Change Your Fate...

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Words: 3,992

Genre: Hurt/comfort

Pairings: Rociet, fatherly logince, fatherly lociet, platonic anxciet, brief brotherly mociet (blink and you miss it)

Warnings: Crying, self-doubt, panic (but no panic attacks), mentions of breakups/divorce, a good hearty dose of Deceit’s potty mouth (swearing), arguing, mentions of Nazis (as in, our boys hate them)

Summary: Devon Lee, a hopeless romantic who would never admit to it, and Roman Adelio, a man who’s long since given up on love, are destined to be together. Will fate do its job correctly, or will the pair defy the ides of fortune?

A/N: This is a story I wrote for @quoth-the-sparrow!!!! It took longer than I intended because it ended up being a monster of a story (originally it was only going to be around 1,000 words of pure fluff, but we can all see how that turned out), so dad, I hope you like it! (And I hope everyone else likes it too!) <3

10 years, 4 months, 13 days, 11 hours, and 58 minutes. That was how long Devon Lee had been waiting for his soulmate. As a child, he’d always assumed the world was colorless, and that everyone saw it the way that he did. But, as it had been explained to him by his older brother Patton when he was nine years old, eventually, when you found that one person who was destined to be your perfect match, your world would change. It was hard to explain how when Dee couldn’t even begin to visualize what this “color” Patton spoke of looked like, but his brother made it sound so appealing. “Dee,” He’d said, “You know that feeling you feel when your favorite TV show comes on at just the right time? Or… oh! Or that feeling when someone gets you the perfect gift?” And Dee had nodded as Patton grinned and said, “That’s what the world looks like when you find your soulmate.”

So, ever since that moment 10 years, 4 months, 13 days 12 hours, and 2 minutes ago now, Devon had been waiting. And waiting. And waiting. At a certain point he quite honestly had become sick of waiting and had renounced the prospect of soulmates as a whole, but deep inside his chest there had always been a longing that he would never admit to - a secret timer keeping track of the 10 years, 4 months, 13 days 12 hours, and 2 minutes that he’d been waiting. Not that he was counting or anything.

Roman Adelio, on the other hand, didn’t believe in soulmates, not one bit. He hadn’t since the moment his mother had walked out the scuffed front door of the house he’d grown up in, leaving him behind with only a father with the words, “Have you seen a pair of blue ballet slippers anywhere?” tattooed on his chest and the knowledge that even though the first words of his mother were permanently etched onto his father’s skin, that hadn’t stopped them from falling apart. He never wanted to be like them. So, he took the whole theory if Occam’s razor to heart and decided that the simplest explanation was that love was simply a fraud that he would never participate in.

…12 years, 6 months, 24 days 12 hours, and 9 minutes.

That was how long it had been since Roman had given up on love.

His skin was devoid of cheesy first word tattoos, and he was determined to keep it that way.

— — — — —

“Dee, come on, you’re 5 minutes late for your meet-and-greet already!” Virgil, Dee’s ever-so-irritable manager called from ten feet in front of the tardy YouTuber. Devon sighed and propelled himself forward with slightly more urgency, the tires of his wheelchair squeaking over the tiled floor.

“We’re not late, we’re simply rebelling against the society-imposed definition of punctuality,” he deadpanned, rolling past Virgil through to the outside of the building. “I, for one, think it’s an inspiring display of anarchy.”

“You know, it’s real funny to see you playing hard to get when you’re already hard enough to like.” Virgil huffed in response, giving the back of Dee’s chair a playful shove to get him going faster. The man laughed and deliberately slowed down, thereby causing Virgil to let out a sort of half distressed croak/half irritated groan. It was terribly amusing, to say the least. After a moment of tense silence broken only by Virgil’s incessant nerve-amplified echolalia, (“An- anarch- anarchy- anarchy- fuck…”), the manager finally snapped.

“That’s it, I’m going ahead. I’ll let the fans know you’re gonna be late, but you’d better hurry your ass up and get over there, okay? You have five minutes before I flip my fucking lid, Dee.”

“That sounds entertaining, maybe I’ll take my time just for that!”

“You have a goddamn death wish, I swear to god!” Virgil yelled as he took off sprinting towards the building they were overdue at. Dee chuckled and kept rolling along, enjoying how warm the sun was that day. His friends often joked that he was cold-blooded for how intolerant he was to the cold and… in truth, he wouldn’t deny it. It fit his aesthetic.

“I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream…” As the wind picked up, Dee noticed the voice that it was carrying with it. He didn’t believe in magical creatures like sirens, and yet his first thought upon hearing that voice was that no human could possibly sing so beautifully. The song was meant for a high voice, like the princess in the movie, but somehow the rich bass tones of the voice he was hearing brought the melody new life. In other words, he would allow this man to step on him, no questions asked. Dee’s vivid gray eyes - well, he had no idea if they were actually gray, because everything else was, too, but regardless - scanned the grassy courtyard he was going past and eventually landed on the shape of a man twirling around in the center of the yard. He was just as attractive as his voice was, further solidifying Devon’s resolve to allow this man to step on him. The wheels on his chair protested as he rolled into the grass, but Dee was so mesmerized by the image of this tall, lanky - was that a dress he was wearing? - unabashedly effeminate man that he hardly noticed the barrage of bumps.

Dee blinked, finding his vision going a bit blurry all of a sudden. Dots began flashing in front of his vision as he drew closer to the man, and he shook his head, absently dismissing it as an effect of jet lag. As he neared the man, getting close enough to make out details like the spattering of freckles all over his body, the light streak in his otherwise dark hair, even the collection of bandaids scattered all over his body, a sure indicator that he was either clumsy (he had so much limb for just one man, after all) or just plain reckless, Dee noticed something that he wasn’t sure how to explain. A change in the man’s face. The grays he’d spent his whole life staring at were morphing into something unrecognizable, and-

“Holy goddamn motherfucking shit…”

— — — — —

Roman clamped his mouth shut and turned to face whoever had just ever-so-rudely thrown off his groove. The courtyard had been blissfully empty for the first time that day and though he loved his fans as much as they loved him, a moment alone to sing had been a welcome intermission. Especially since he’d been around so many people bragging about their soulmates all day.

It was to be expected, of course, since Roman’s YouTube channel was dedicated to music and he sang love songs almost exclusively, but people introducing their soulmates to him still made him uneasy. All of the “We met because we were both fans of you!” And “Our first words were lyrics from your song, look!” Were sweet, of course, but still…unnerving. Every time he saw those tattoos he was that eight-year-old kid again, watching everything he loved slip away.

And now that his moment of solitude had been interrupted, he wasn’t gonna lie - he was more than a little irritated

“Excuse me, I was singing here!” He protested, placing his hands on his hips and sticking out his bottom lip in an indignant pout. Foot tapping fervently on the grass, he waited for the man’s response - a man who, Roman noted, was far more attractive than he had any right to be. His eyes were the most beautiful shade of green, though one had flecks of gold ringing the pupil. Roman hadn’t even known that was possible, he’d only ever seen characters in his favorite books described that way. Aside from that, his hair was an array of sloppily dyed and removed colors, with gray fading into yellow and then into purple and pink and blue and bleached-out blonde… it was like the guy had just grabbed whatever random boxes of dye he could reach and went nuts. It was cute, though. A large wine-stain birthmark made his fairytale-esque golden eye stand out even more and wow was Roman gay. That didn’t change the fact that he was tempted to go full Kuzco on this guy. He felt a pinch on his neck and winced, bringing his hand up to rub at it while he continued, “It’s not very polite to interrupt a man in the middle of a serenade!”

The man’s face remained blank and he blinked a few times, his hands tap-tap-tapping on the rubber wheels of his wheelchair.

“…I’m going to be real here, a moment ago I was annoyed but now I’m a little creeped-”

“You’re my soulmate,” The man whispered, so quietly that Roman wasn’t sure he’d heard him right. He hoped he hadn’t heard him right.

“…What? You-”

“You’re my soulmate!” The man shouted, eyes lighting up. “My brother once told me that seeing color was beautiful, but I never quite understood what he meant until now!” A moment of silence passed between them, and just as Roman was about to open his mouth to say that no, there must be a mistake, he didn’t even have a tattoo- “I’d apologize for the tattoo, but I find it rather funny that you have “holy goddamn motherfucking shit” permanently etched into your skin.”

Roman let out a fearful squeak as he fumbled to pull out his phone and check his face in the camera. His cheeks and forehead were clear, nothing on his arms…he was almost ready to berate the man for lying when he noticed the dark words written in clunky, nearly illegible cursive on his neck. ‘Holy goddamn motherfucking shit.’

“…What?” This made no sense at all. He didn’t even know what to say. This man seemed nice and all, but Roman had promised himself he would never let this happen to him. There must have been some kind of mistake. “I don’t… I don’t have a soulmate!” He blurted stupidly, rubbing at the writing on his neck.

Dee squinted, confused. “…Right, of course you don’t. It isn’t like the first words I said to you just appeared on your neck and I can see color now, something that only happens once you find your soulmate or anything. But you know. Of course I’m not your soulmate.”

“No, I-” Roman stammered, falling back a step. “I-I- I don’t have a soulmate. And even if I do, I don’t want one!”

“Don’t…” Dee blinked, trying to process what this man, his soulmate, had just said to him. After all this time… he’d waited 10 years, 4 months, 13 days 12 hours, and 24 minutes for this? A guy who wanted nothing to do with him? “Are you serious?”

“Yes! Look, you seem nice and all, but I-”

“No no no, I did not wait ten years for this-“

“Oh, so you expected your soulmate to just fall all over you the moment you met him? To sweep you away and live out a happily ever after with you? Is that it? Well, I’m sorry to destroy your fantasy, but I don’t do love, okay?”

A sigh broke past Devon’s lips as he crossed his arms, leaning forward to catch Roman’s eyes. “Geez, who the hell hurt you?” He asked flippantly, somehow missing the way the man’s face paled. “The universe matched us at birth and you’re not even going to speak to me?”

“The universe is bullshit!” Roman yelled, catching Devon off guard. “It’s all a fucked-up system that I don’t want to be a part of! I’m not letting some metaphysical Tinder ruin my life again!”

Among all of that dramatic ranting, one word stood out to Dee. “…Again?”

Roman blinked, mentally running back through everything he’d said. “I…” Dee noticed how hard his voice was shaking. “Just leave me alone. Please.” He whispered desperately, turning on his heel and sprinting away.

Dee watched the man run, the heeled boots he was wearing clacking against the smooth concrete like a heartbeat.

Ba-dum, ba-dum.

That man was his soulmate.

Ba-dum, ba-dum.

He wanted nothing to do with Dee… and there was a reason why. Something that man hadn’t been able to say. He knew it.

Ba-dum, ba-dum.

But most importantly…

Ba-dum, ba-dum, creaaaak- the door of the nearest building opened and shut, the man’s face appearing once through the glass and then disappearing down a long hallway.

Someone had hurt him, and under no circumstances would Devon stand for that. With new resolve, he started painstakingly wheeling himself across the grass to follow his strange, sad new soulmate.

— — — — —

The moment Roman heard the door he’d run through shut behind him, he pushed into the closest bathroom and collapsed under the sinks. This was not possible by any stretch of the imagination. He’d come here to this goddamn con to have a good time and meet his fans and now he was, about to cry in a bathroom because some excited, well-meaning guy had come up to him and told him something that anyone else would be happy about. He let out a choked sob and covered his eyes, employing his fingers as little dams to keep the waterworks in. Going back out there with swollen eyes and a red nose was not an option.

What were his options, then? Avoid this guy for the rest of his life, not only subjecting himself to the constant fear of running into him again but the guilt of knowing that he’d deprived this guy of his (supposedly) one true partner, or accept it and live in constant fear of it all falling apart? He couldn’t do this right now. Hell, he couldn’t do this ever, what was meant to be the happiest moment of his life was making him feel things he hadn’t felt in years, things he’d never wanted to feel again.

“Anyone in here?” A voice called out, muffled through the flimsy wooden door of the bathroom.

“No!” Roman called back, mentally kicking himself for that stupid move.

“Good to know,” The voice replied, growing clearer as whoever it was pushed the door open. Roman heard the couple grunts and the squeak of rubber on tile, looking up for not even half a second to see his soulmate struggling to get the heavy wooden door open while his wheelchair kept rolling backward from the force of him pushing. “Stupid broken brakes…”

“What are you doing here?” Roman snarled, hastily wiping his eyes and retreating back further into the corner.

His soulmate shrugged as nonchalantly as a person could while fighting with a door, saying, “You seemed upset.”

“Yeah, because of you.” What was this guy’s problem? “I told you to leave me alone!”

“Well, I once told my brother that I wouldn’t come home from school until Aladdin came to pick me up on his magic carpet. We can’t all have what we want- a-ha!” He finally won the battle with the door, letting it shut behind him with a triumphant click! “Now, I believe we skipped some pleasantries. I’m Devon Lee. Or Dee, if you’d prefer. I didn’t catch your name.”

The bathroom went silent save for the shaky breathing of someone trying to stop crying and water echoing through the pipes overhead. Exchanging names would mean this man knew him. This man, with his mismatched eyes and crazy hair and obnoxiously bright yellow-and-green wheelchair (and people thought Roman was extra), would have a name to associate with his face. That would not do.

“I didn’t throw it.”

The excitement that flickered to life in Devon’s eyes was unexpected, and Roman nearly flinched when the man burst out, “Oh my god, that was not a Heathers reference!”

He got that? Most people only understood when he quoted the songs, not the script. “You know Heathers?”

“No, sweetheart, it’s not like I’m a die-hard musical theatre fan or anything.” Dee laughed, a sound that made Roman think of bubbles. “Heathers, Waitress, Hamilton, Rent, Sound of Music, you name it, I know-”

“You like the Sound of Music?” Roman gasped. He pushed himself up off the floor, forgetting for a moment why he was so upset. “Most people I bring it up to tell me it’s a girl’s show.”

Dee grinned. His smile was pearly white, though Roman didn’t miss the shiny gold teeth in place of his incisors. A brilliant smile, shiny gold fangs, a love of musical theatre almost as obsessive as Roman’s… what didn’t this guys have?

“Girl’s show?” He scoffed. “Please, gender is meaningless and Julie Andrews’s voice is a spiritual experience anyone would be blessed to hear.”

“Yes! Finally!” His hands twitched as he resisted the urge to happy-flap them. “I must know, though, who’s your favorite character?”

Dee pursed his lips, tugging thoughtfully at his hair for a moment before answering, “Leisl. I admire her capacity for deception.”

“Oh? You’re a fan of deception?” Roman’s eyebrows rose, and the fear that he’d forgotten about in the wave of that’s-my-hyperfixaiton joy bobbed back up to the surface like a shell being tossed around in the sea. “…why not Rolf, then? He was a classic liar, and a talented one too.”

“Rolf?” Dee folded over cackling, clutching his stomach as he fought to speak through incredulous giggles. “He was a Nazi! Not to mention that he betrayed Leisl, the girl who loved him, by trying to get her family murdered. You must think so little of me to even imagine that I could admire him!”

Though Dee kept laughing, Roman had long since fallen silent. This wasn’t okay. He wasn’t supposed to connect with Devon - or… well, technically he was supposed to, but he didn’t want to, even if the guy liked the Sound of Music and understood his Heather’s reference and had come after him when he was upset, even if Dee was attractive and seemed funny and kind… even if he appeared to be everything Roman had ever wished for, there was too much of a risk. Maybe Devon would expect too much or they’d have a long relationship until one day Roman’s heart was broken.

‘And I call myself brave,’ Roman’s mind scolded him. ‘Roman ‘Never Runs From a Challenge’ Adelio, a coward since the year of his birth, 1999.’

“Look, Devon…” he began. Dee stopped laughing immediately, turning to face Roman with a kind of intensity he’d never seen before. “I… you seem nice, but… I don’t… the rest of my life can’t be dictated by this,” his nails trailed over the tattoo. “I’ve seen the aftermath. It… it’s not good.”

Now, it was Devon’s turn to go quiet. Or it would have been, if he weren’t such a loudmouth. “Alright, I can’t say I don’t understand where you’re coming from,” Carefully, he rolled forward. “And I… while I want a soulmate, it wouldn’t be right for me to force you to have me. All I ask is this.”

Roman cowered at those words. Something bad always came after ‘all I ask.’ What would he want? His number? Sex? Something worse?

“Would you like to go on a date with me sometime?”

“…What?”

Devon smiled, repeating clearly, “Would you like to go on a date sometime?”

“I-” Had Devon not heard anything he’d just said? “I said I don’t… s-soulmates aren’t something I-”

“No, no, no, you misunderstand. Ignore the tattoo, ignore the colors thing, that never happened. I like you, no-name kid. You seem kind and genuine, not to mention that you’re a thespian and seem to be haunted by the ghosts of your past-” Roman laughed despite himself. “-all things I find incredibly attractive. Soulmate or not, I’d like to get to know you better. So, that said,” Devon folded his hands in his lap, sitting back and smiling that million-watt, gold-fanged smile. “Would you like to go on a date with me?”

And in that moment, that 15 seconds where he was faced with a choice he’d always dreaded having to make, Roman felt his racing heartbeat begin to slow. The panic-induced adrenaline drained from his system and he let out a heaving sigh. He still had two choices, but those choices had changed now. It was no longer a matter of fate. No longer a choice between being guilty or trapped. It was now option A) Go on a date with this cool guy who he kind of liked, or B) Turn down a date with this cool guy who he kind of liked. Well, Roman may have been a stubborn ass sometimes, but he was also incredibly gay.

“…You know what? Okay. One date.” Roman huffed, bouncing a red converse-clad foot on the tile floor.

“Excellent! I only need one more thing from you.”

“Oh?” Roman smirked, “Well, ask away.”

“Would you mind tossing your name now?”

Roman opened his mouth to acquiesce before promptly snapping it shut with a sly little smile and pulling a paper towel from the dispenser over the sink. “Sure thing.” A moment later, a slightly-crumpled tissue landed on Dee’s lap as Roman walked past. “I’ll see you around, Devon.”

Dee hastily smoothed out the paper, finding two lines of text written in broad, loopy block letters.

Roman Adelio

+1 618-0339-8875

“I can’t wait, Roman.”

— — — — —

“And that, my son, is how I met your father!” Roman finished with a flourish, wrapping his arms around Dee’s neck from his place on his husband’s lap. Logan, the ever-curious 7-year-old that he was, clung to Devon’s leg and asked,

“But why did you accept Pa’s date if you didn’t want a soulmate?”

Roman smiled, pulling his son up onto his and Dee’s lap (and chuckling as Devon shoved the pair of them off). “Well, your father was against nazis, so how could I say no?”

“…Daddy, that can’t be where the bar is.”

“It isn’t!” Devon was quick to cut in, playfully smacking Roman on the arm. “What are you teaching our small, impressionable child, Roman?”

“Alright, alright, calm down,” Roman yielded. His teasing expression softening as he gazed at Devon. “In truth, I still think soulmates are complete bullsh-” One glare from Devon washed his mouth out. “-I mean, completely fake. Logan, my little piece of stardust, listen to me.” He gathered the small boy in his arms, feeling his tiny heartbeat against his chest. “It is you and you alone who decides who you’re meant to be with. If that person is your soulmate, then that’s beautiful. If not, it’s just as beautiful to love someone else. Do you understand?”

Logan looked up into his father’s eyes, letting a small smile spread across his face before nodding. “Yeah. I understand.”

“Good,” With a sigh, Roman stood, planting a tender kiss on Devon’s lips as he did so. “You know, my dear,” He whispered, leaning his forehead against Devon’s. “I may not believe in soulmates, but perhaps, to some extent, I believe in fate.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning, my darling, that soulmates or not…I know I was meant to be with you.”

“Daddy! Pa! Gross!” Logan whined, wedging himself in between his fathers in a truly archaic act of rebellion.

Devon laughed, pushing himself off of his chair to make a wiggly little cuddle pile on the floor. The three of them fit together like long-lost puzzle pieces, each from different puzzles but all cut from the same mold. They may not have been what they were “supposed” to be, but they were still able to make something truly beautiful.

And that was enough.

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synthsoup · 5 years

Text

protective (stefan butler x reader)

Request : *can i get uhhh a stefan imagine lol smth similar to ur jealousy one w colin cause it was so dam good !

*Yooo could I request a protective stefan where the reader and him go to a party or smth and someones like drunk and hitting on her and stefan gets upset? xx

Words : 1.4k

A/N : and I present to you- a jealous / protective Stefan which was pretty heavily requested tbh. and to be fair its mostly like protective cause reader and stefan are already in a relationship, but I hope ya’ll like it. (what a cReAtiVe title am i right)

***

You tug on the bottom of your dress, giving yourself a once over in the tall mirror. You were getting dressed up because Stefan had been invited to a party held by Colin for some people at work, and even though he was a bit hesitant to attend at first you had managed to convince him, saying you would go with him and that it would be fun.

He agreed with you, reluctantly of course. He was currently waiting for you outside of the bathroom, and you two would take a train to Colin’s flat when you were ready. You’d picked a soft Y/F/C dress that hugged your waist and gently spilled down your thighs, ending right above your knees. Your hair was styled into gentle waves and pulled half up, and you slide on a pair of simple black pumps.

After applying your rollerball perfume to your wrists and around your neck, you were satisfied with your outfit. You knew he was never one for big parties where people would probably just be getting high and dancing all night, but you knew it would be a good time for the both of you.

Stefan catches sight of you as you exit the bathroom, and it’s honestly comical the way his jaw drops to the floor as he glances over your outfit and lands his eyes on your face.

“Y/N you look- you look really, really wow. Um-” he splutters. He’s cut off by your laughter, the two of you had been dating for almost 4 months and every time you dressed up for something it was like he was seeing you for the first time. He’ll get used to it eventually you think, giggling to yourself.

“You look great as well Stefan.” you smile handing him his jacket. “Ready to go?” you glance up at him smiling down at you as you swing your purse over your shoulder.

“Of course.” he says, and the two of you head down a flight of stairs and out of your flat to walk to the train station. The cool wind hits your face moving your hair around in the breeze. You walk side by side as the sun lowers in the sky, painting an orange and pink sunset. The pair of you walk hand in hand the whole way there.

***

“It’ll be fun just you see.” you say looking up at Stefan expectantly. He looks at you with doubt.

“I don’t know. I never go to these things, and now everyone from work will be there.”

You two walk along the sidewalk on the way to Colin's flat, and almost approaching your destination you could see Stefan tensing up a bit the closer you got.

“Hey i’ll be there too.” You say rubbing gentle circles on the back of his hand with your thumb. “I don’t even have to leave your side. Plus we can leave after a bit, I just think it would be good to get to know some of your coworkers better.” you say reassuringly.

“Alright Y/N. As long as you’re with me it cant be so bad.”

“That’s the spirit!” you exclaim and he looks down at you with a smile on his lips as the two of you approach Colin’s door. Stefan knocks and it opens almost immediately. A man with bleach blonde hair stands in the doorway and towers over you.

“Hey Stefan, glad you could make it.” The man who you assume was Colin says. “And I suppose this is the Y/N I’ve heard so much about?” he questions.

“That’s me.” you say giving him a friendly handshake.

“Well the party’s started, so y’know get whatever you want to drink and just make yourself at home.” he says nodding and quickly stepping away and walking towards the other side of the room. You and Stefan head in together, and the room is certainly ready for a party. Colorful lights bounce off of the ceiling and walls in the dim lighting, and random songs play in the background, the bass reverberating through the floor. You scan the room and your eyes land on an unoccupied love seat in the corner.

“This way.” you say leading him over to the couch. You twist your way through the small crowd of people, not letting go of his hand. When you arrive at your destination, you plop down on the couch and prop your feet up on the ottoman in front of the couch and look over the room.

“So, do you see anyone familiar?” you ask Stefan who is looking over the groups of people in front of him.

“I guess I recognize most of them.”

“Good. Well i’m going to get a drink. Do you want anything?” you say, thinking that while you’re gone he might start talking with someone.

“Sure love, i’ll have whatever your having.” he says and you nod at him, letting go of his hands and striding to the other side of the room. You weave your way through groups of chattering people, and bursts of smoke from cigarettes fog up the room.

Once you make it to the kitchen area with an assortment of drinks, you look back at Stefan who is looking around in boredom. Just give him a few more minutes, you think as you grab two glasses from the counter. You sway your hips gently to the song and hum the tune you’d picked up since the song started. Distracted, you hardly notice the lingering eyes on you.

“Hey, I don’t recognize you from work.” you hear an unfamiliar voice say. You turn your head and meet eyes with a man you’d never seen before. You didn’t like the way he was looking at you, up and down, but tried to ignore it and be polite- he seemed quite intoxicated.

“Yeah, actually i’m here with someone.” you mutter hoping he would take a hint and leave. He didn’t.

“Oh, so you must be Jenny’s sister. Secretaries, am I right?”

“No actually-” you say protesting, but he cuts you off going on in a drunken tangent about things you didn’t care about. You roll your eyes to yourself and only nod here and there. He still wouldn’t leave. You finish getting your drinks and try to speed walk away, but before you can he grabs your arm and forces you to turn around. You look at him alarmed as the drinks spill out of your hands.

“Where do you think your going?” He slurs grabbing your waist and yanking you closer to him.

“Hey get- get off of me!” you say, and before you can say anything else he’s slammed to the side as someone shoves him off you. You stood in shock until you came to your senses and realized Stefan was in front of you, and had punched the guy against the table.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Stefan hisses at the guy as you approach to calm him down. You grab his arm and automatically he lets his shoulders deflate.

“What the fuck is going on here?” you see and the now silent crowd dissipates as Colin steps through. When he sees what the commotion is about, he rolls his eyes and hoists the guy up leading him to the door.

“Dumbass. Get a cab and go home.” you hear distantly as the door shuts. Just as quickly as the party had stopped, it starts up again and people were resuming their previous activities. You could still see Stefan’s chest moving rapidly up and down and his jaw was clenched.

He wouldn’t get angry often, being quite shy and reserved, but when he did it was bad. Knowing he needed to cool off, you grab his hand lead him towards the balcony. He clutches onto you like a lifeline until you make it there, and when you do you gently close the sliding door behind you.

He sighs and leans against the railing as you wrap your arms around his torso, laying your head against his chest.

“I’m sorry Y/N. I just got- I don’t know I just saw him talking to you, then he grabbed you and-”

You interrupt him with a kiss, pressing your lips gently together. It speeds up and he kisses you harder, almost desperately as you tangle your fingers in his hair. He hold you close as you look up at him.

“I love you, you know.” you say softly. He smiles faintly back at you. The sky is almost completely dark now, and the wind is completely still as you hold each other, protected from the cold in your own warmth.

“I love you too.” he says and kisses the top of your head, and you wait for the stars to come out.

***

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