#why would he be in a frat? & he’s the type to wipe down his machines 😭😭😭 all sOOOOO TRUE 😭😭😭 GODDDD

[seiwas]

IRIS I AM LITERALLYABSJXNID XOMF 😭😭😭😭 i love him . thank u . i love him . i loooooooooove him . i ran out of tags iris but him asking for ur socials if numbery is uncomfy? the cherry on top he is literally the dream . the respectful boy to ever . and i need him . want him . NEOOOOOOOOOOOWWW

in a world of boys, he's a gentleman

summary: a creep walks up to the shake stand window. your favorite customer scares him off. (college au!iwaizumi x you)

wc: 1.9k

cw/tags: college!au iwaizumi, creepy dude but he gets scared off don't worry, buff iwa gets nervous around you

note: so there's a protein shake stand like right outside my school's gym and that's where the inspiration for this little brain fart came from. also this is wholeheartedly dedicated to @shotorus my favorite iwa simp. i really hope you like this, it's my first time writing for your man but it most definitely will not be the last :D

likes, replies, and reblogs are appreciated <3

You didn’t anticipate finding a gym crush outside of the student rec center. Yet, there he was, every day at 5:00 passing the stand and every day at 6:30 ordering his usual, strawberries and bananas with chocolate protein powder. It’s a wonder how strictly he stuck to his schedule and you made it a point to have his order queued up in the system by the time he got to the window. To your detriment, it seemed that your infatuation had become obvious enough to your usually-oblivious coworkers. 

“At this point, I think you took this job just to ogle him,” one of your friends points out as she runs a colander of fruit under the faucet. You give her a lighthearted glare and she flicks a few water droplets at you. “I’d guess you like seeing him more than the tips that other guys put in the jar. You really do so much for this company,” she says patronizingly and you roll your eyes. She had a point; you tended not to notice the phone numbers written on dirty napkins or social media handles hastily drawn on dollar bills. None of them interested you. None of them, except for the dude with a body like a Greek hero that made you want to get kidnapped by some mythological being. 

“I just think he has a nice physique; is that such a bad thing?” She shoots you a skeptical look and you turn away sheepishly to check the clock. Thirty seconds to 6:30. “He should be here in a little bit,” you say quietly to yourself, hoping she doesn’t hear. It’s a nice sentiment, but ultimately futile. 

“You’re counting down the seconds? Man, you’re worse than I thought.” She pats your shoulder sympathetically as she passes behind you and you lean your hands on the register counter. 

“As if you’ve never had a gym crush before,” you fire back. 

“You’re supposed to actually be inside the gym to have a gym crush,” she reminds you and you groan. “Why don’t you just switch your shift so you can see him while you workout?”

“I tutor before this, remember? Plus, I need to be able to charm the evening regulars so I can keep paying rent,” you admit. She nods in understanding and a glance at the clock shows ten seconds until 6:30. Your other usuals had come and gone for the day: the guy in the blue tank top that only seemed to work his forearms and biceps, the girl with the silly socks that had the most muscular calves you’d ever seen, the two frat bros with their backwards caps and arrogant voices. It hits 6:30, however, and your favorite regular isn’t behind the glass. He isn’t anywhere around, you realize. You can’t help the frown that draws the corner of your mouth down and, when you look to your coworker for support, she merely shrugs before grabbing a tub of powder from the top shelf. “It’s odd that he isn’t here yet.”

“Only you would think that,” she teases and you refocus on pulling up his usual order on the payment screen. “Maybe he got sick. There’s that frat flu going around right now.”

“Why would he be in a frat, though? And also, he’s definitely the type to wipe the hell out of every machine he uses.”

“If he uses machines; personally, he strikes me as a free weights-only kind of guy.” Before you can reply, a knock on the glass startles you back into customer-service mode. The man in front of you looked relatively normal, but the way his eyes looked you up and down several times made your stomach queasy. It wasn’t the first time creeps had checked you out through the window, but maybe you were feeling a little extra vulnerable waiting around for a regular who didn’t even know your name. Avoiding the man’s intrusive gaze, you shakily pull up his order, swipe his card for payment, and let him know that his shake would be ready soon. 

“I have a question,” he says slowly before you can run and hide in the back. “What time are you out of here?”

“I’m not done for a while,” you state vaguely, praying that he wouldn’t ask about the remaining two and a half hours of your shift. “I work until closing.”

“I can come back and get you when you close.” His voice makes your skin crawl and his eyes feel like knives on your body.

“Excuse me?”

“Let me take you out to dinner. A nice looking person like you shouldn’t be alone at night.” Your heart drops into your stomach and your feet remain rooted to the floor, terrified in place. Was he gonna try to do something after you were off?

“Look, I’m not interested in any–”

“Hey, man. Are you done ordering yet? You’re holding up the line,” intrudes a voice that feels like a warm blanket wrapping around your shoulders. Somewhere between his usual order time and the creep asking you out, your favorite little crush came to stand in line to pay. His shoulders seemed extra broad today and the muscle of his biceps flexed under his compression shirt as he crossed his arms over his chest, staring daggers down at the guy who was freaking you out. He’d never looked so handsome, all sharp jawline and flexed muscles and piercing eyes. The creep recoils and scurries away, allowing you to take a deep breath that helps relieve some of the tension in your forehead. By pure muscle memory and running on adrenaline, your fingers swipe over the tablet and pull up his usual order before he can even say hello. 

“Strawberry and banana with chocolate protein powder, right?”

“Yeah, that…that’s mine,” he says, slightly taken aback by the lingering expression of panic on your face. While he eyes you warily, you swipe his card and hand him his receipt, suddenly desperate to just disappear into the back for the rest of your shift. “Hey, are you okay?”

“What? No, yeah. I’m fine, totally fine,” you lie and give him a weak smile. His eyebrows furrow slightly and you can feel him try to analyze you, but not in the dehumanizing way as your previous customer. His eyes searched your expression worriedly and you caught him biting skin from his lip in concern. “It’s just that the guy before you was being a little weird.” Calling him “weird” was an understatement, but you didn’t want to inconvenience him more than you already have. “I’m fine, really.” He watches you for a moment more and then nods, murmuring a thank you under his breath and finding a spot to wait for his shake. 

“This fell on the floor by the trash can,” he says plainly when he walks up to the pickup window after you call out his drink. The creepy guy hadn’t left the area yet, so your fight or flight instincts were still going haywire. Your gym crush, however, momentarily takes your attention by subtly sliding a dirty piece of paper across the counter to you as he picks up his cup with the other hand. “Thanks; I’ll see you tomorrow.” Before you can blink, he’s gone, leaving you with a cryptic folded message that makes your head spin. You sputter out an awkward farewell and hastily unfold the piece of paper. 

I’ll be studying in the computer lab until the stand closes. If he’s still bothering you, come find me and I’ll walk you to your car or your dorm or wherever. -Iwaizumi Hajime 

A sturdy rectangle of plastic falls from the paper and you stare at it in disbelief. It was an ID card for the university’s after-hours patrol division with his picture, full name, and student number printed on it. Iwaizumi, you echo mentally, you’re too good to be true. And, true to his promise, he’s a respectful distance away and stands with his hands in the pockets of his sweatpants at 9:00 when you lock up the shake stand. You’d lost sight of the creep an hour after Iwaizumi picked up his drink, but the paranoia didn’t leave your body and you’re only able to relax when he approaches you. 

“This is yours,” you say, handing him his ID card with a small smile. “Thank you for looking out for me.”

“Of course. I’m sorry you had to deal with him,” he replies regretfully, uncomfortably adjusting his water bottle tucked into the crook of his elbow. “None of the guys at the gym like him. He’s always hitting on girls and giving them weird looks.” 

“Looks like he was forced to look outside the gym, then,” you laugh lightly, feeling the tension release from your shoulders as you walk next to Iwaizumi in the direction of the parking lot. “Did your drink still taste okay? Or did my nervousness make it taste funny?” When he chuckles, it sounds like sunshine. 

“It was just as tasty as it always is, thank you. You’ve really figured out how to make me the perfect drink every time.”

“Anything for my favorite customer,” you say without hesitation and your face feels like it’s been lit on fire. To your surprise, however, it seemed that Iwaizumi was just as flustered by your words. His eyes widen and his pretty mouth gapes a little bit, blinking rapidly to fix the short circuit in his brain. “I just hope he doesn’t come around here again. He makes my stomach churn.”

“Yeah, I get that,” he forces out and he’s silent for a while until your car is in sight. “Hey, sorry if this is super off-base, but do you wanna workout with me sometime? I can change the time I go but, if it means you don’t feel scared by that guy anymore, I’ll gladly rearrange my schedule.” 

“You want me to workout with you?”

“I’d like to meet you for lunch sometime, too, but I figured I’d start with baby steps,” he admits, running a hand nervously through his hair while you fish your keys from your bag. “If you don’t want to, that’s totally fine–”

“No, no, I’d love to,” you reassure him and he looks visibly relieved. “I’ll change up my shift so you can still go around the same time you usually do, and I can just meet you outside. I’ve been needing a new spotter since mine picked up extra shifts in the library.” 

“Great, yeah, awesome,” he says, a little dumbfounded by how eagerly you would give him a chance. If he was being honest, he’d wanted to ask you your name for months since you memorized his order, but he didn’t want to come off as pushy and ruin his chance with you. “Do you, uh, mind if I give you my number? Or I can give you a social media handle too if you’re not comfortable sharing your number.” God, he’s so good. He is so, so good. “Can you let me know you get home safe?”

“I will,” you promise. “Thank you for everything, Iwaizumi.”

“You can call me Hajime, if you want,” he offers softly and the fondness in his voice makes your heart flip. “Iwaizumi is fine too. Anything is fine.” 

“Right,” you smile. “Well, goodnight, Hajime. Get home safe.”

“You too. Talk soon, okay?”

“I can’t wait.”

if you enjoy my writing and would like to support me, you can buy me a coffee on my ko-fi! you can also check out my full masterlist here :)

[aliwritesfic]

The Night Shift part 5 (F!Reader x Frankie Morales)

Quick summary: You learn the meaning behind Frankie's nickname

Warnings: None, I think, please let me know if I need to add some <3

W/C: 1.7k

Spotify (mainly just vibes, some songs have meaning, also updated regularly)

Part 1 Part 6

The smell of cooking bacon made your stomach growl as you entered the diner on Tuesday evening. You hadn’t eaten much all day, just a piece of toast and a handful of stale cheerios. Frankie was in the kitchen, his back to you. Your throat dried at the sight of him, remembering what you had done and how you had fantasized about him only a few hours earlier.

“Hi, Frankie,” you said, pushing thoughts of what you wanted him to do with his hands out of your mind. Stop being such a hornbag! You scolded yourself. Then he set those dark brown eyes on you and your brain ceased to function. Could he see your secret written on your face?

“Hey,” he said, smiling up at you. “You look tired.”

You almost sighed in relief. Maybe he couldn’t tell at all. You grabbed the coffee pot and poured yourself a cup. “I didn’t sleep much today. I was . . . worried about the kitten.” It wasn’t a whole lie; you really were worried about the kitten. The vet hadn’t sent you any updates, and you hoped that was a good thing.

“Are you gonna keep the kitten, if she lives?” Frankie flipped eggs as he spoke and set up a couple of plates.

“I can’t,” you grimaced, “Kurt would never go for it. He’s not really a fan of pets.”

Frankie made a face. “Not even adorable kittens?”

“Not even then,” you sighed. “It’s fine, though. It’s not like I have the time to properly care for one. I’m here most nights and I’m so busy with housework during the day when I’m not sleeping that it just- it just wouldn’t work.”

You kept your tone light, aware that customers could be listening. You didn’t want to scare off any tips with how miserable the subject made you. Frankie seemed to understand, because he didn’t bring the subject back up.

You were surprised at how easily you two worked together. Completely in sync when you had to be, entire sentences seemed to be translated through quick looks and raised eyebrows. This guy is a serial complainer. Want me to do something about those frat boys? Can you pretty please make me one of whatever this lady’s having?

All too soon it was 5:30 and the morning crew was there, breaking the comfortable silence between you. You found yourself lingering again, although you weren’t sure what for. You didn’t exactly need to stay. But still.

~*~

Frankie was shocked to see you still there. He was pulling his keys out of his jacket pocket when he saw you, standing outside, shivering in the early spring air.

“Thought’d you’d be halfway home by now,” he said, but he was still pleased to see you. He had come to the conclusion last night that you had a boyfriend, he would respect that and not make any untoward moves on you. Friendship suited him fine, even if he did think your boyfriend was a bit of a freak for not wanting a pet.

“I wanted to ask you something,” you said.

“Go ahead,” Frankie prompted.

“How’d you get the nickname Catfish?”

At this, Frankie’s lips twitched. He hadn’t been expecting that. “Before we were deployed, the boys and I went on a fishing trip. Well, one thing led to another and I had a huge catfish on my hook. This was a catch and release type of situation, you know?” When you nodded, he continued. “So, I reach in this creatures mouth to unhook it, and the bastard clamps down! Whole hand, in its mouth! And the thing about catfish, is they don’t have teeth, so they can’t technically bite, but they suck. It was like my hand was in a vacuum seal. When I eventually managed to get it out, no help from the boys mind you, it looked like a giant hickey on my hand. So, that’s where the nickname comes from.”

You snorted with laughter, and Frankie began to laugh too. At the time, it hadn’t been funny but looking back, he knew he would have been laughing his ass off if it happened to any of the other boys.

“I think Santi got a photo of it, I’ll try and find it for you if you want,” Frankie said. You nodded eagerly, wiping a tear from your eye.

“Please do, I’d love to see it,” you said with a grin that made his heart do something it really shouldn’t. Frankie nodded, making a mental note to call Santi and demand that the bastard rip apart his house to find it if he had to.

You turned to leave, and before he could stop himself, he was asking “do you want a ride?” Friends gave each other rides when they needed it, he reasoned. You hesitated, and Frankie kicked himself. Of course he’d overstepped. You didn’t know him that well, he was just the fry cook.

“Uh, yeah actually. It looks like it might rain.”

As if you had summoned it, thunder rumbled low overhead. Fat drops of rain began to fall slowly painting the ground. Frankie jangled his keys and you both sprinted to his truck. He opened your door for you, and ran around to his side. He didn’t miss that you sat with your back ridgid, your hands curled so tightly your knuckles were white.

“You okay?” he asked, although you obviously were not.

“Yeah, no, it’s just . . . You’re aware your truck looks like a death trap?”

Frankie snorted. He was very aware of this, but he was also very aware of what was under the hood. He trusted this truck more than any fancy modern car. Still. He decided that this was the perfect opportunity to mess with you. Just to see how you responded.

“Have you ever seen The Fast and The Furious?” He began, and you raised an eyebrow at him, your face skeptical. “Tokyo Drift, specifically. Well, this truck won me the title of Drift King several years in a row. That’s how well she runs.”

“Oh, fuck off!” You rolled your eyes, but you were laughing. “That’s not even slightly believable.”

“Yeah, you’re right. But how cool would it be if it were true.”

You rolled your eyes again, but you were smiling as you did it, and Frankie counted that as a victory. You gave him directions as he drove, surprising him with how close you lived to him. Only a five minute drive away. How long had you been this close? How had he never noticed you in the neighbourhood? Had he been blind, all these years?

“Thank you,” you said quietly as he pulled up outside your building, a three story walk up with a faded brick facade. The rain was coming down hard now, and lightning flashed.

“Anytime,” Frankie said in a tone that he truly meant any time. You nodded and ran through the rain, disappearing into the building. Frankie idled for a moment, wishing he could call you back and kiss you goodbye.

But he didn’t, because it wasn’t decent and it wasn’t what friends did. Friends didn’t crush on their friend like a fucking idiot kid.

So Frankie drove himself home and drove all thoughts of your mouth out of his head. That was until he checked his phone, and saw a text from an unknown number.

Thanks for the ride, I really appreciate it :) sent 5:57AM

Frankie quickly saved your number in his phone, not taking the risk of losing it somehow. A second message from you buzzed through.

Oh and lunch on Sunday is at Taylor’s Bistro, on High Street if you still wanna come sent 6:01AM

Frankie wrote his message quickly.

Wouldn’t miss it x

He stared at it for too long, erased the x, replaced it with a smiley face and hit send before he could overthink it entirely. Then he remembered his promise to you, and called Santi almost instantly.

“Fish, what the fuck man? It’s four in the morning,” Santi groaned into the phone.

“It’s six you dope, but I need a favour,” Frankie said.

“Money?”

“No, man, nothing like that. Do you still have that photo of the catfish on my hand?”

“Yeah I’ve got a copy in my wallet.” Santi sounded more awake, and Frankie could hear his fancy espresso machine whir to life.

“Why do you- nevermind. Look, I need a copy ASAP.”

“What for? If it’s to destroy it just know I’ve thought ahead and I’ve got four physical copies and one in the Cloud.”

“No, nothing like that. It’s for a girl at work, she asked how I got my callsign and now I’ve gotta show her the photo.”

“Oh?” Santi sounded intrigued. “Who’s this girl?”

“A friend,” Frankie said a little forcefully. “She has a boyfriend.” As if that closed the matter. Apparently, it didn’t.

“Why should that stop you?” Santi asked. “You’re hot, I don’t know this chick but she’d be blind to not be into you.”

“Well, for one, my brain isn’t directly wired with my dick.” At this, Santiago scoffed. Frankie continued, ignoring him. “Secondly, she’s like, twenty five or six. She’s probably not into old guys.”

“You’re thirty-three, you’re not old. Also, chicks dig DILFs.”

“I don’t have a kid.”

“And yet you still have big DILF energy. I wonder if there are any little Francisco’s running around that we have yet to discover.”

“Shut the fuck up, man, it’s bad luck to say that kind of shit. Just get the photo to me, please.”

Santiago roared with laughter as Frankie hung up. Trust Santiago to work one of his deepest fears into conversation. Frankie wasn’t sure what he was more afraid of: having children, or having children and having no clue they existed. It wasn’t that he was against having kids altogether, it was just he knew he wasn’t in the right headspace to take care of someone who depended on him entirely. Some days he forgot to take care of himself, he didn’t want a kid to suffer. It wouldn’t be fair.

He brushed the thought aside as he climbed into bed. It was bad luck to linger on bad thoughts, at least, that’s what his abuela always told him whenever he complained about something as a kid.

He wasn’t sure why exactly he had told you that there was photographic evidence of a catfish latched onto his hand. Maybe he wanted to impress you? But no, he reasoned, there was nothing impressive about that. It was just plain embarrassing. He realised with a start that what he wanted was willing to do anything to hear your laugh again.

Taglist: @hnt-escape @sharkbait77 @1800-fight-me @annathewitch @darnitdraco @frankiecatfish

[kyloswarstars]

Eric Coulter, you’re a bastard • part 1 – “the start of the end?” Divergent • Mini-Series AU

How do you say sorry when you have fucked up basically everything? Eric isn’t sure. He doesn’t know if he’ll be able to ever earn your forgiveness. On the other hand: why should you forgive him? He had made the mistake of his life.

A story about Professor Eric Coulter, Harold the chimpanzee, midnight coffees and fries in the auditorium. You and Eric, Ms. Giraffe and Mr. FBI, trying to conquer life together until Eric did what he thought would be the best for you.

Pairing • Eric x Reader

Warnings • language

Words • 1.8k

Eric Coulter, you’re a bastard • masterlist

/////

Eric Coulter, you’re a bastard

Your words burned into his retina. Eric still saw them when he closed his eyes. The phone screen was way too bright for his dark bedroom.

He didn’t know what to respond. He was a bastard. And all the other words you had described him with. His thumb hovered above the ‚S‘ to start off with a ‚sorry‘. When he saw the three dots, that implied you were typing, he stopped and didn’t say sorry.

Fucking stay away from me

He had fucked up. Eric shut his eyes but still saw your words. In the past there had been a lot of fighting and a lot of curse words because that was just how your relationship had worked – even though a relationship therapist may would have said that it wasn’t the healthiest way to interact with each other.

This was different though. This was the pain speaking he had caused. The burning brightness in his eyes got too much. He teared up although he tried so hard not too. Eric almost threw the phone across the room so he didn’t have to see your bright words anymore but then saw the three dots again.

And this time I mean forEVER

////////// 2 years ago //////////

„And here is the house where Mrs. Smith killed Mr. Smith because he had mowed the lawn the wrong direction.“

It’s been only the second night in the new city and Eric already went to a frat party. He shouldn’t be in this car. In his position he shouldn’t become friends with students. He should befriend professors. He should spend his free time at fancy dinner parties, in a suit – or at least a jacket – and a tie. An appletini in one hand and a cigar or some shit in the other. He didn’t really know how those dinner parties really were. Eric had never accepted a single invitation.

It was hard for him to keep a straight face while teaching college students that were only a few years younger than him. His career had started early due to his father who had ‚supported him all the time and just wanted the best for his son‘. Sometimes Eric was still angry that his father had pushed him into this path so early. But he had learned to accept it. After all, teaching was something he enjoyed. He never thought he would, but he did. And he really liked to be that approachable, cool dude of a professor his students weren’t afraid to talk to. 

He had been so good with declining invitations – he shouldn’t have taken the one to this frat party of his new students. It had led him to sitting in the car of a pizza boy, who’s name was Rafael. He had delivered about twenty pizzas earlier. It turned out Rafael had been the cousin of Carlo, one of Eric’s students, who had the really great idea to drive to that 24 hours opened pet store and cuddle with rabbits. On the way there they gave Eric a sightseeing tour with the weirdest facts about Chicago.

They were driving slowly through a quiet residential neighborhood that didn’t belong to the campus. The car was slow enough that, when a figure appeared right in front of it, it came to an instant stop.

An extremely upset face was illuminated by the headlights. Suddenly you banged your fist on the hood. And a second time with both of your hands formed to fists. 

„Get out there!“ Your voice was clear and sharp. The yelling in this quiet street would probably get the attention of some already sleeping parents.

„Oh damn.“ Rafael in the driver seat wiped his forehead.

„Rafael I said get out!“ You seemed to know exactly who had nearly run you over.

Rafael unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the door, slowly got out but didn’t go to you. He waited right behind his door. „Get in the car and let us talk later. Not here.“

„Do you think I care about who’s going to hear us?“ You seemed a bit insane. But maybe you were just furious because you nearly got killed. Maybe the beer had fogged Eric’s head. Under normal circumstances he would’ve never gotten between a woman as furious as you and a guy as intimidated as him. At least not before someone threw punches. But in his slightly drunk state he thought it was a good idea to get out of the car as well and be a mediator.

Before he was even able to say something, your fierce glance switched to him. „What are you looking at me?“

Eric’s hands got up like you pointed a gun at him. „I’m not looking at all.“

„Of course you are!“ You blinked at the headlights and studied him like a hunter it’s prey. Yes, he was looking at you. Your livid facial features amazed Eric’s cloudy mind. „Who are you even?“ You didn’t care about his answer though and walked over to Rafael.

„I’ve been searching for you for about an hour. Your shift ended at 9 and you said you’d be there to help me!“

Rafael’s head hung low. Getting scolded by a furious woman like you was probably not a nice thing to experience. „I forgot. Sorry.“

„Yeah, clearly you forgot.“ You opened the door behind Rafael’s and ordered the guys on the backseats to make room – they instantly obeyed. Eric felt like they all knew you too well to disobey your order. „Can you drive now? I have to get back our chimpanzee.“

Eric didn’t stay longer than ten minutes in that car. After Rafael almost run you – his twin sister – over, you had given four more orders.

1: „Rafael, turn on the heating, I’m freezing from walking over an hour through the cold to search your ass“ 2: „Ew Carlo, take your hands off of me. I’m your cousin“ 3: „Since you’re all here, you’re going to help me get Harold back from those fanatics who think they can care better for him“

Eric guessed that ‚Harold‘ must be the chimpanzee you had talked about getting back.

4: „And please throw this weirdo, who keeps staring at me, out of the car“

He should be glad he got thrown out before he got pulled into something that ended in breaking the law. Since this was only his second night in Chicago he didn’t have a clue where he was. It was hard to find a taxi so he ordered an Uber which was there to get him in under five minutes.

Back in his apartment, which was still incredibly chaotic because unpacking wasn’t one of his strengths, he just tried to forget one of the weirdest evenings of his life by falling asleep on his mattress.

/////

When his alarm woke him up the next morning, he was still not used to his mattress laying on the floor. Eric didn’t know where his bed frame was and didn’t feel the urge to search for it. Not yet. Unpacking was a process. It could take weeks. And rushing himself was a thing he consequently protested because it had a negative impact on his wellbeing. In simple words: He was lazy.

And because of that, the coffee machine was right beside the mattress. Still half laying, he pressed the button to get a fresh coffee. Thirty seconds later he grabbed the cup and sat up, resting his back on the cold wall behind him.

Today was his second day teaching at the new college. He wasn’t ready. Not after ending the first day with this crazy car ride.

And as if the universe had known his thoughts, he froze in his movements when he entered the auditorium and studied the college students. You were sitting there. In the auditorium. In his auditorium. You were… his student.

////////// current day //////////

The phone screen made a cracking sound when it came in contact with the floor.

Fuck. He couldn’t leave your texts unanswered.

Eric got out of the bed, hurried to get dressed, ran to get his keys and then left the apartment. Maybe he woke up the whole street with the rapid start of his bike and rushing down the street, but he couldn’t care less.

He always hated that you were living so far out of the city. You were still living with your family – for obvious reasons and he couldn’t blame you. Tonight though, he really wished you would’ve agreed to move in with him. But you had turned that down like so many other ideas he had offered to build a future together.

There were no lights in the windows of your house. He couldn’t just creep around the house and hope for an opened window. Eric pulled out his phone with the cracked screen and opened the conversation. It was horrible to see your words screaming at him like that.

„I told you to leave me alone. Once and for all.“ Honestly, he didn’t think you would even answer the call, but you did, whispering like you weren’t mad at all. That was a bad sign. „Was this your bike’s engine being cut off?“

How should he start talking? What should he say? Which one of the thousand sorry’s should he offer first? How should he start to explain why he did what he did?

„Eric, what are you doing in our front yard?“

He could see the shape of a person in the window of your father’s room. You were staring at him. Your fast breathing echoed in his ear. There was no way you would forgive him. The realization that your relationship was unrepairable broken nearly drove him insane. How should he breath and eat and sleep and just be when you weren’t part of his life anymore?

„Scolding myself for telling them it was you who had kidnapped Harold after they finally stopped searching for him.“

Falling for you had been the easiest thing Eric had ever done. Before he knew you he thought body functions, that happened automatically, were the easiest things to do because you didn’t have a choice – you just breathed. It was the same with you, though. He just fell for you. And that, he did every single day for two years now. He didn’t know if he could ever stop.

You didn’t answer but he could still hear you breathing into the phone. He could still see you standing there at the window. Had you been watching over your father again while he was sleeping? Had you been reading him Pippi Longstocking again like he had done it when you were little – even though he probably didn’t hear you? Why did you not just hang up? Why did you wait?

„Why?“ Your stifled question broke his heart. He tried not to picture your face right now – this situation was already unbearable.

„Because I love you.“

[dotdotdottie]

Cats and Dots || Dot & Luce

LOCATION: Ink Inc.

TIME:  Before Bea’s Death

@divineluce

Clicking on her “Bad Ass Bitches” playlist on Spotify, Luce set to work on fixing the absolute shitshow that was Dot’s tattoo. Not only was the placement bad, it looked like a drunk toddler had decided to go to town with a machine. Which is why she was more than happy to be working on it. Nothing was more interesting than fixing a bad tattoo and turning it into something worth showing off. “How the fuck did you wind up with this hot mess? And, you can’t fucking smack me for saying that because I’ll make it worse.” She grinned as she dipped the needles into ink and set to work, bobbing her head along to the beat of the pounding bassline. “Like, love is love, but christ.” She gestured to the god awful rainbow plastered on her hip. “The lines on this are hot garbage.”

The rainbow tattoo had been something Dot got in a frat house in her junior year of college. Her friend had ordered a tattoo gun off the internet and the ink had been sourced from somewhere she had no desire to examine. She didn’t regret the tattoo, it was a funny fucking story and she liked being a dumbass with a rainbow tattoo... But if she was going to make sure everyone going down on her knew she was pretty fucking gay, she wanted it to a nice rainbow. “I got it done by a coked-out frat named Braydon.” She had almost considered eating him afterward, but her colony would have been pissed. She wished she had done it. “I probably could have done it better myself, but it was kinda fun watching him struggle. Hope you know how to make it look less like an idiot did it. I don’t need people to focus on the rainbow when my snatch is out.”

Stories like this weren’t super surprising, especially not when it came to shit tattoos. Luce nodded as she filled in the stencil, a black cat whose body covered the majority of the rainbow. What bits it didn’t, she was planning on incorporating into a rainbow collar around its neck. And besides, even without the collar, it was still gonna be pretty gay. “You know, that doesn’t fucking surprise me in the slightest. Braydon,” She wiped away the excess ink, “Had awful goddamn hands. And, trust me. This is gonna be dope.” Luce grinned, “Definitely a pussy out kind of look.” She laughed. Given the fact she usually tattooed straight, toxic masculinity dudes all the time, it was a goddamn delight to be tattooing someone who wasn’t. And, Dot was cool enough. She was dating Blanche, which honestly sounded like a match made in chaotic heaven.

Listen, Dot didn’t love cats, but she would get one tattooed on her for a pussy joke. Most of her tattoos were jokes anyway. She knew plenty of people thought tattoos had to have meaning but she thought they just had to have a fun story and be cool to look at. “Oh trust me, I know Braydon’s hands were terrible. He’s one of those boys who think the clit is a suggestion instead of required.” She had slept with him a few days later simply because she had been bored out of her mind. “Can’t wait for the summer when I can show it off when I’m at the beach,” She cackled imagining the horrified faces of suburban mothers as they covered their kiddie’s eyes. She liked Luce and if she wasn’t with Blanche, she would have considered trying to smash, but for once Dot didn’t have the desire to cheat. “You got anything fucking weird tattooed on you?”

Letting out a low whistle, Luce shook her head. “Sounds about right. Boys are the fucking worst.” She said, remembering her ill-fated attempts at dating boys in high school. For the most part, they’d been boring and dumb and not terrible to hang out with. But, Jared, he was a fucking time. “Sounds like the dude I slept with back in the day. But, I gotta say, hats off to Jared. He did in fact, turn me gay.” She joked. That had been a hilarious thing for him to realize, when they ran into each other at a house party the year after they graduated. Specifically, when he found her fucking a girl on the side of his house. “Oh, it’ll be a look. And a damn good one at that.” She said as she finished up the tail of the cat. At Dot’s question, Luce laughed and nodded. “Of course I do. This is a good one,” She said and backed up to show Dot one of the tattoos on her ankle. At first glance, it was a normal anchor tattoo with a scroll script around it, the cliche every college girl got. But, the scroll read ‘Fuck your Anchor.’ “A tribute to all the stupid anchor tattoos I have to do.”

“Men are good for two things, paying us and looking pretty,” Dot said with a grin. There was a third, very important thing they were also good for, but she doubted that Luce shared her passion for sinking her fingers in the chests of frat boys and eating their hearts. “Speaking for the community, I thank Jared for his contribution. We’re glad to have such a hot gay with us.” Was she flirting? Yeah, but Dot didn’t think it was terrible to do so. It was a joke after all. She craned her neck a bit to see the progress and grinned, honestly, it looked fucking sick already. She couldn’t wait to show Blanche… And literally anyone else who was willing to look at it. She let out a cackle as she took in Luce’s tattoo. “Wow, what an icon. I hope you make sure everyone sees it when they ask for an anchor tattoo. You get a lot of those stupid mom heart ones?”

“You can say that again.” Luce laughed, thinking back to the random venmo that she’d gotten from Adam. As much of a big dumb frat boy he seemed, the dude was half-way decent. When he wasn’t talking about his crotch goblins or giving her stupid nicknames. That said, Dickcleaver Vural had a nice ring to it. “You’ve got that right. I am, in fact, a gift to the ladies and they-dies of White Crest.” Luce chuckled to herself as she filled in the body of the cat. Was she aware of the tone behind Dot’s words? Yeah, which is why she dug in just a little deeper with her needle. Not enough to blow out the ink, but just enough to remind Dot that she was, in fact, tattooing her. Besides, Luce was a lot of things, but she wasn’t the other woman type. “You know it. Oh, I’d be fucked if I did. Ulf would have my head on a spike if I went flashing that around.” She remarked as she looked at her handiwork. “Nah, most dudes have figured out those are out of style.”

Adam’s venmo had sent Dot into a cackling session that lasted for several minutes. She hadn’t expected anyone to actually send her money, but when she got the notification on her phone, Adam had gained a few brownie points. She gave Luce a mock salute,“Thank you for your service. You should be given a medal of honor.” Her eyes narrowed as the needle dug in deeper, sending a glare Luce’s way. She was pretty sure the tattoo artist was too practiced at this point to change pressure like that. Guess flirting, even jokingly, wasn’t allowed with Luce. “If Ulf doesn’t see it happen, what’s the harm? Some people wouldn’t even read it, I bet.” Even if they did read it, Dot was pretty sure some people would just get it anyway. She laughed,“That’s tragic. I love when I see them, it’s just so funny. Teasing guys about it is so fun.”

“Every lesbian who ever slept with a man should, honestly. Gold star lesbians, my ass. Give me a gold star for having to suffer through forty seconds of super sexy thrusting.” Luce grumbled as she wiped away the last of the excess black ink. Popping over the rainbow array of ink, she dipped her needles in to color after color, filling in the rainbow pattern on the cat’s collar. “The harm is when all the piss babies storm out or write bad Yelp reviews. I’m in customer service,” She pasted a fake smile on her face before rolling her eyes, “I gotta service the customer.” Arching an eyebrow at Dot’s words, Luce couldn’t resist the urge to snicker. “Well, I can tell you this, you can and should make fun of anyone who’s got a terrible tribal. God, 90’s and 2000’s tattooing was the worst.”

“Wow, he lasted a full forty seconds? You had a marathon runner. Most boys out there are one thrust wonders.” Dot loved moments like this where she just got to make fun of men as brutally as she wanted. So many people got uncomfortable when she talked about boys and her sexual experiences with them. “I’ll write you a five star Yelp after this. I’ll even include that I reccomend the lesbian artist.” It wouldn’t be the first time she wrote a long review just to praise a friend. She was great at acting like a Karen and if she used her real name, everyone thought she was seventy anyway. “I should make them tip me extra for making me witness their bad tattoos. At least my bad tattoos are covered up or I’m getting them fixed.”

“I was truly #blessed.” Luce said in a mocking voice, as she shut off her machine. “What got me was the fact he had the balls to ask, ‘was it good for you’? That was when I straight up told him I was pretty sure I preferred girls. Whoops.” She said as she wiped off the last of the ink and gestured for Dot to take a look at the tattoo in the mirror she had on the wall. “You better mention me, otherwise people will come in thinking it was Rory who did this sick pussy tat. God knows how the girls would react to that.” She snorted, amused at the other artist’s struggles with the fairer sex. “Honestly, they really should. And hey, you’re getting there.” She said as she tossed her gloves in the trash and began to clean up her station. “When are we gonna fix that jank ass dolphin tattoo of yours, huh?”

“‘Was it good for you?’ Well, bud, if I’m getting up to leave then I’m pretty sure it wasn’t good for me. Boys are fucking stupid,” Dot laughed. This is part of the reason she ate human boys, they were just so annoying. She stood, looking into the mirror with an almost feral grin. “This is fucking awesome.” Turning back to Luce she let out another half laugh,“Yeah I’ll make sure I tell them it was you. Try not to hit on all the hot ones I send your way.” Dot took out her phone to take a photo to send Blanche and a few of her old college buddies. Snorting, she shook her head,“The dolphin is staying as messed up as it is. It’s a Dot classic at this point.”

“Right? You’d think me grabbing my shorts and booking it out the door would have been a dead give away.” Luce said with a laugh as she grabbed the aftercare instructions pamphlet and stuffed it into a baggy with a little Ink Inc. sticker, some candy, and a few packets of Aquaphor. “I’m glad you like it.” She said as she held out the grab bag. “And, no promises on that.” Luce winked and shook her head as they walked out to the register. Setting the station up for her, Luce shook her head with a disappointed snap of her fingers. “Damn, and here I thought I might have a chance at getting you to rethink that. But, hey. You win some, you lose some.” As she leaned against the front desk, Luce glanced up at the clock. Dot was a dope lady, if chaotic. And, coming from her? That meant she was pretty much chaos incarnate. But, she was good company for a drink. “You wanna grab a drink? Celebrate your new art?”

[emeraldwaves]

Title: What Happens at Frat Parties Chapter 2 Pairing:  Huwumi Rating: E Word Count:  2,717 Read on Ao3 Summary:  

For Hawks, getting the girl has always been easy. He’s popular, attractive and part of the frat house that throws the best parties. When Dabi’s sister shows up one night, Hawks realizes not everything comes as easy to him as he thought. And while Fuyumi thinks Hawks isn’t her type, as time goes on, she finds his advances harder to resist. Maybe there’s more to him than she realizes.

Fic under the cut!

"Let us all take note of this momentous occasion," Dabi said, waving his hand back and forth. "Hawks coming downstairs alone on a Sunday morning."

Wound meet salt.

He shouldn't have expected any less with Dabi, especially since the person he had tried to spend his night with was Dabi’s goddamn sister.

Each creak of his foot against the stairs was an annoying reminder of how utterly rejected he had been last night. That didn't happen to him. Ever. People liked him. Girls liked him, and even if they didn't they were pretty damn good at pretending. And he couldn't blame those people.

Hawks snorted, walking straight past the couch, heading to the kitchen. "Would you have preferred me to come down with your sister?"

Dabi made a choking noise, draping himself over the back of the couch. "I enjoyed seeing her stomp all over you."

"I'm sure," he grumbled, glancing at the heaps of trash gathered atop their kitchen counter. He was also sure he wanted to get out of the house before anyone tried to force him to clean. That was too much effort.

He shoved some bottles aside, fumbling around for the Keurig machine, praying it was in working condition. Last semester, someone had tried to shove three K-cups in at one time and it had not ended well.

Lifting open the machine, he sighed in relief when it seemed to be in working order. Coffee was his one shining beacon on this hellish morning.

"So," Dabi said, leaning against the door frame, placing a fresh blunt between his lips, "what did she say?"

"Who? Your sister?" Hawks asked, folding his arms while the coffee dribbled down into the cup.

"No, the other girls you hit on last night. Oh wait, there were none because you had no fuckin' soul after Fuyumi ripped yours from your chest."

"..." Hawks stared at Dabi and rolled his eyes. "I got shit to do today. I can't talk about this."

"Won't, can't, same difference," Dabi shrugged. "I know this hurts your ego, but 'Yumi would never go for someone like you."

Something itched under Hawks' skin, a tickle of a challenge. She'd already ignited something in him but now... even more so.

He leaned his elbows against the counter, swiping his tongue across his lower lip. "Never?" he asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Never," Dabi said, blowing out a long puff of smoke into the already musky air.

"Why did she come to the party last night dressed like she was going to a library?" Hawks asked.

"Probably because she was. She lives there," Dabi said flatly.

"Do you even know what a library is?" Shigaraki asked, having seemingly appeared from thin air to get something from their basically empty fridge, the remnants of the party scattered around the tall frozen appliance.

"'Course I know what a library is. I just don't need it."

It was true; he didn't need a library, but not because he did poorly in school. No, school was easy, and he didn't need to study, so he didn't and his GPA was still flawless.

"I'm sure it would do you some good to go," Dabi sighed, flicking a bit of ash into the trash can.

"Says you?" Hawks scoffed, raising an eyebrow.

"Nah. Fuyumi has got our library quota covered," Dabi said, shrugging.

"I'm pretty sure that's not how siblings work," Shigaraki muttered, putting the milk back in the fridge as he slurped at the giant bowl of cereal in his hands.

"It is when you're twins," Dabi snorted.

"Oh, no wonder! She got all the good looks! Too bad we're stuck with your ugly face!" Hawks smirked, gulping down the rest of his coffee. He had to get out of the house or else he wouldn't leave in time for certain people to get back and once they did, he would never get to leave and-

"Hello friends! I've returned from my weekend getaway with my family and-"

Iida Tensei. Leader of the house, incredibly neat... and way too into team-building activities. His reason for being a part of the frat house was far different than the rest of them. He and Mirio, another boy in their house, were far too goody-goody for all of them.

"It seems you all... had fun this weekend! Should we clean all this up together?"

"Sorry, Ten, I gotta run, duty calls!" Hawks said, slamming his cup down onto the counter as he slipped past Dabi and Shigaraki, leaving them at the mercy of tidying up.

"But Hawks!" he called out. "It goes faster when we all do it together-"

"I know, it really sucks I gotta go, but Dabi just told me about this amazing new place called the library and I just... well, I'm dying to check it out," he laughed, rubbing at his neck.

Dabi glared, about to open his mouth before Tensei cut him off.

"New? Is there a new library on campus?" Tensei asked, glancing at the others.

"New for some people," Shigaraki sighed, staring blankly at Hawks while he slowly inched away.

"Anyway, have fun with team building! Tell me all about it!" He flicked his aviator sunglasses down, pointing his fingers at them before slipping out the front door. He had no reason to head to campus today, but he was formulating one for when he got home and Tensei asked him about it.

Of course, he could say he was going to find the most fascinating woman he'd ever come across. He had a feeling that wouldn't be a very good excuse, and the last thing he needed was Dabi getting on his ass about his sister.

Still, he made his way to the library knowing exactly what he was looking for.

~~

"So let me get this straight," Nejire began, gently tapping her spoon against the countertop. "You actually went over to your brother's house on a Saturday night."

"Yes," Fuyumi said, swinging her legs back and forth, her toes gently tapping the underside of the breakfast bar.

"Okay first off, why didn't you tell me?! I was probably there!" she whined, shoving a large mouthful of cereal between her lips.

Fuyumi sighed. "I told you, I went to get the present for our mom, and that was it. I didn't want to stay and party or anything like that..."

"Have you ever been there on a Saturday night?" Nejire asked, the giggle bursting from her lips. Apparently it was too much for her friend to even think about and admittedly the scene had been a bit ridiculous.

"Of course not. I hate that kind of thing..."

And she hated seeing her brother like that. Dabi was not Touya... and therefore, she wanted nothing to do with him in that state.

"Yeah, yeah. And you turned down Hawks," she said, a snort slipping through her guffawing.

"I didn't realize this was such a big deal."

"Uhm, of course it is!" she said, pressing her hand to her chest. "It's a HUGE deal. I wish I could've seen the look on his face!" She spread her eyes wide with her fingers. "Was it like a deer in headlights?!"

"Uhm... Y'know I don't really remember. Honestly I feel a little guilty. I think he was trying to be nice at one point, and I was just so frustrated with Touya-"

"Oh, 'Yumi... don't feel guilty. Hawks prides himself on being able to get any girl he wants. It probably just bruised his ego," she said.

"Oh. Well, guilt gone," she snorted, pushing away from the table. She picked up her bowl and Nejire's, taking them to the sink. They would never get cleaned if she left them to the blue-haired girl.

"But you know," Nejire sighed. "He probably would've been amazing in bed."

Fuyumi's cheeks heated immediately. "Neji!"

"Whaaat?!" she hummed, swinging her legs back and forth. "I'm serious. Plus, it's been forever since you did anything!"

Her roommate was a bit too blunt for her own good sometimes.

"I know, that's the problem! I don't want to be another... notch in his bedpost!" Fuyumi muttered, wiping off the dishes. Twisting her lips, she turned to her roommate. "Would you have done it?"

"Mmm..." Nejire hummed, trilling her lips. "Probably! I prefer girls, but he's hot. Though I don't think Miri or Tama would've approved."

"Do you need their approval to do things?" Fuyumi asked, raising her eyebrow.

"No, but they live there and I wouldn't want to feel awkward going over there all the time," she giggled. "I'm not you, I do enjoy their parties. Actually, they throw the best ones!"

"That's the best?" Fuyumi said, wrinkling her nose.

"Yup!" Clicking her tongue, Nejire pushed herself away from the counter. "Okay... 'Yumi... I get this isn't your thing, but I do think it would be nice for you to get out more! We're only in college once-"

"I mean technically there is graduate school-"

"'Yumi please!" Nejire said, wrapping her arms around her. "Can you come to one party? Please! I'll even make it easy on you." Her voice was annoyingly sing-song and cheerful.

"Easy on me?" Fuyumi sighed, gently slipping away from her grip. Though Nejire, as always, was persistent and gripped her hand.

"Yes! They're throwing a pool party this Saturday! Midterms are over so you don't have to study."

Fuyumi wanted to argue that she always had to study, but Nejire was relentless.

"It'll all be outside so you don't have to be inside their stuffy house and you can avoid Touya and Hawks and just hang out with me and Mirio and Tamaki!" Nejire was practically begging, her voice growing higher and higher pitched.

"I'll... I'll think about it." Fuyumi sighed.

"It would be hilarious if Hawks saw how cute you look in a bathing suit and he'll be reminded of his complete rejection!" she laughed, nuzzling her cheek against Fuyumi's shoulder. Nejire often got affectionate when she was so overly excited.

Fuyumi wasn't too keen on going back to her brother's house. Seeing him nowadays was usually unpleasant to say the least. For awhile, she had tried, before Touya joined the frat, but now it was absolutely useless. She only prayed Natsuo, their younger brother, would stay far away from frats next year.

She gasped. "Maybe this time I'll get to see his face!"

"Okay, okay," Fuyumi snorted. "As fun as this daydream of yours is, you have to let me go get ready. I'm going to see my mom and then I gotta get to the library. I'm already late and we have exams all this week."

"Fuyumi!" Nejire sighed, rubbing her forehead. "I mean this in the most endearing way possible but your existence stresses me out."

Fuyumi pouted, rolling her eyes. It wasn't the first time Nejire had said something like that.

The two had been roommates since their freshman year; now juniors, they had upgraded to a small, on campus apartment. Nejire was nothing like Fuyumi, but somehow the two got along, partially because Nejire was pushy and Fuyumi couldn't deal with saying no to the lively girl.

"Well, I'll be getting out of your hair," Fuyumi said, picking up her backpack and slinging it over her shoulder. "You should do a little studying this week."

"Oh, I will, I will," Nejire said, waving her hand up and down. "You know I always get my work done."

"Always," Fuyumi giggled, knowing it would most likely be done as last minute as possible. "I'll see you tonight."

"Maybe I'll join you in the library later," Nejire hummed, rocking back and forth on her feet. "I definitely need to print at least one essay."

"See you then!" Fuyumi nodded, waving as she headed out the door, ready to put yesterday behind her. She didn't really want to go to the pool party, so she would just have to find some good excuse to get out of it.

~~

"Good morning, Mama!" Fuyumi smiled, peeking her head into the small hospital room.

"Oh! Good morning, 'Yumi!" The older woman smiled, placing the book she had open off to the side table.

Even sickly, Fuyumi always thought her mother was the most beautiful woman she'd ever seen. Her long white hair shimmered silver against the harsh lighting of the hospital room light. Her gray eyes were so soft - tired - but they always twinkled with joy when Fuyumi or any of her siblings went to visit.

"Just you today," she hummed softly.

Fuyumi didn't falter while she switched out the old flowers on her mother's dresser. "Mhm," she said. "Natsuo is panicking about his mid-terms and Shouto has extra lessons today."

"Always working too hard," she sighed, shaking her head. "And Touya?"

Fuyumi hated when she asked. She didn't like to lie for her twin, but she couldn't exactly tell her mother her eldest son preferred to get high and party instead of coming to see her.

No, that wasn't fair. There were just some things her brother wasn't great at handling. Most things actually.

Still, her mother always asked about him.

"O-oh! You know..." Fuyumi stammered.

"He's hungover?" Rei asked, a gentle smile on her face.

"Probably." Fuyumi clicked her tongue, unable to hold back the snappy retort.

Rei chuckled. "Well, I'm happy one of my children seems to be enjoying their youth." If only she realized just how intensely Touya was 'enjoying' his youth.

"Mama," Fuyumi sighed, plopping down on the edge of her bed. "I'm enjoying my time," she giggled. "I like studying," she said.

Her mother smiled, the image warming Fuyumi's heart. "I know you do sweetheart, but it's okay to do something completely for fun from time to time."

She thought about Nejire's gentle teasing and how she'd rejected Hawks. For some unknown reason, he popped into her head, his unruly blond hair and lazy smile. He was handsome, but he knew it, and he was too heavily involved with her brother and his hooligan friends.

"R-Right..."

"You're blushing a bit. Something on your mind?" Rei smiled, leaning towards her daughter. Gently, her mother stroked through her hair, the feeling of her fingers soft against her scalp.

"No," she sighed, smiling for her mother once again. "Just thinking about some of my education classes." An easy subject change. "I think you would enjoy them, Mama," she said, going further into detail about what her classes entailed.

"Midterms are this week," she said, lifting up her heavy backpack. "I'm heading to the library after this."

"'Yumi..." her mother smiled again, though her face seemed tired, as though talking took a lot out of the woman. "You're always so hardworking, and yet you still take the time to come see me."

"Of course," Fuyumi said softly, taking her mother's hand and squeezing it. "I love you the most, Mama. Even more than studying!"

"I would hope so!" Rei teased, squeezing her daughter's hand back.

She sighed, glancing at the backpack. "Do you really think I study too much?"

"Mmm," Rei hummed. "No. I think you work hard and that's very respectable. But I also know your father... puts a lot of weight on studying and your grades. I just hope you don't... feel pressured."

"I don't! I-I promise I don't!" she said, shaking her head.

Rei had always been sensitive to how her children were treated by their father.

"I suppose I just... would like for you to have fun too. But I understand if you don't want to go to large events," Rei chuckled.

"They're not really for me."

Definitely more Touya's scene. She resisted the urge to wrinkle her nose just thinking about it.

"Well... don't hold yourself back for anyone, okay?" Rei said, cupping her cheek.

"Okay, Mama," she smiled. "You don't have to worry about me."

Fuyumi could've stayed with her mother forever. In fact, if she had it her way, she most likely would have, despite knowing she needed to get to the library. However, visiting hours didn't last forever, and saying goodbye was always difficult.

Standing at the doorway, she waved one more time, always lingering for a second too long, her heart unable to move.

[lonelypond]

Casual Lunacy, Chapter 8

Love Live, Nico Maki, 2K, 8/?

Nico has some more visitors and Maki has a surprise heart to heart.

STORM

Honoka was half asleep after exhausting herself nagging Nico about singing. She was hanging around to grab a ride home with Nico and tuck herself into bed with Umi and Kotori. Nico cleaned around her, humming softly, glad the friendly ginger had invited Maki to her party. Nico felt it might be fun to be at a party with Maki.

The door banged open and cold air and Nozomi stumbled in, followed by the blonde econ genius. Honoka startled and nearly fell backward off her stool.

“NICO-CHI!” Nozomi rushed the counter and fell over it, with a giggle. Ayase nodded apologetically in Nico’s direction, tried to help Nozomi up and staggered as Nozomi fell back into her.

“Frat party, right?” Nico grumbled as she helped Ayase wrestle the giggling Nozomi into a booth.

“Sorority.”

“Jello wrestling,” Nozomi snorted. “You should have tried it Nico-chi. You’re slippery.”

Ayase stared at Nico, who elbowed her friend and shrugged at the blonde.

Honoka was back to falling asleep. And Ayase had decided to slide in next to Nozomi, which Nico conceded was probably largely an effort to keep Nozomi from sliding to the floor.

“I’ll get you coffee.” Nico stated, tempted to drop Nozomi’s head on to the table to emphasize how dumb Nozomi looked leering at her new blonde goddess friend when said friend wasn’t looking. Honoka had turned around on her stool, a little unsteady. “Just lay down in the other booth, Honoka. I’ll wake you up when I’m ready to leave.”

Honoka gave Nico a thumbs up, waved to Nozomi and stretched out on the bench Nico pointed her to.

“That’s Honoka.” Nico informed Eli as she put two coffee mugs down. “She’s dating my roommate.”

“Eli’s coming to the party.” Nozomi announced.

“I’m Eli.” Bright, earnest blue eyes met Nico’s as a hand reached to shake hers. Nico frowned and did the hand apron wipe before letting the blonde nearly crush her hand.

“Nico.”

“Nozomi talks about you a lot. You’re playing Mina Murrary, right.” Eli was obviously a statement not question person so Nico just spoke to the important point.

“Nozomi only mentions me so much because she likes to torture me.” Nico tsked in Nozomi’s direction.

Nozomi sniggered, “Go away, Nico-chi. I’m readying...reading Eli’s cards.” Nozomi once again pulled her Tarot cards from somewhere Nico couldn’t catch and handed them to her blonde captive. “Shuffle and pull three.”

Honoka was fine so Nico malingered to watch Eli shuffle efficiently, intensely focused on every step. Nozomi whispered something in her ear and Eli laid out three cards. Nico remembered a few things from Nozomi’s tutelage: there was a Sword card, a flipped Page and The Hanged Man.

Nozomi tilted her head to examine the cards. Eli leaned back on the bench, clearly a little nervous. Nico continued eavesdropping as she swept down the booth Honoka was snoring in.

“Have you been having trouble sleeping, Eli-chi? Do you need help with that?” Nozomi reached out to touch the sword card.

Eli blushed, Nico laughed, Eli glared and deliberately turned into the booth, to block out Nico and face Nozomi.

“Yes, I’ve been having trouble sleeping.” Eli paused. “Did you really get that from the cards.”

“Nine of swords, anxiety and a sense of peril interfere with ease.” Nozomi’s voice softened. Nico shook her head, remembering Eli’s screams during the theatre blackouts. Nozomi really was a charlatan, a sharp one. But that was her business.

“What’s this one?” Eli was matter of fact.

“The Hanged Man?” Nozomi hmmmmed. “It’s not as bad as it looks. You’re waiting. And the Page of Wands in the present position tells us….”

Nico’s phone went off so she tuned out the dating by divination session.

M: Hi, Nico. I made it home. Didn’t get distracted by the moon at all.

Nico smiled and then wondered why Maki had mentioned the moon. Maybe another Neruda line? Nico would have to borrow a book from Jens.

N: Nico is glad you made it home (o^-')b Now change into something warm and tell Princess ⁞✿ ᵒ̌ ᴥ ᵒ̌ ✿ ⁞ she’s a pretty girl from Nico.

Nico expected a nearly immediate reply but instead the pause lengthened enough that Nico had almost completely cleaned the brewing machines. Nozomi had finished with the cards and was now nuzzling into Eli’s shoulder. Just as Nico was about to tell Nozomi to take her too public display of affection somewhere without Nico as Nico had had enough of horror recently, her phone popped again.

Video message. Princess snuffling at Maki’s phone, which was at a weird angle. Was Maki holding it on the floor? Princess howled and whined quietly for a minute, sounding lonely, and then the message ended, with no good night from Maki.

Nico grimaced, confused. Was Maki too shy to video chat? Had she spooked Princess somehow? After a minute’s thought, Nico typed.

N: Join Princess for her next video message. Nico thinks Princess's owner is cute too (｡･･｡)

Maki had transformed back from wolf form and sat in front of her bed, wrapped in a robe, staring at Nico’s message, too many thoughts banging through her head as her heart raced. She shouldn’t have done that. It was silly. She’d take that minute back now, if she could. Could Nico forget about Princess? Could Maki invent a nice relative in the country to send Princess off with? Would Nico hate her then? Maki groaned and leaned back against her bed.

There was a knock on the door before her mother opened it, “Are you all right? I thought I heard a howl.”

Oh gods, Maki had tried to be so quiet, but her mother was too used to listening for odd sounds in the night. Maki hadn’t had a flare of embarrassment this bad since her mother had walked in on her reading some fairly erotic manga.

“Maki?” Her mother sat on the bed, close to Maki, who fought the urge to shift farther away. She did turn her phone over. “Talking to a friend?”

Maki closed her eyes, hoping her mother wouldn’t ask too many questions. “Not really talking.”

“Was it Rin?”

Maki clenched her jaw “N….n….no.”

“Someone I haven’t met?”

Maki nodded. Her mother was silent, then said “Invite them over sometime.”

Invite Nico over. She’d want to see Princess. Maybe Maki could convince Nico that Princess needed to be at the vet. Maybe Maki could suddenly develop an allergy. To herself. That might be what was happening now. A mental allergy as the thought of Nico and Princess made her twitch. Not Princess. Don’t say Princess, she told herself. Say werewolf. Nico and the werewolf. Say me. Nico and me. Nico and Maki. Forgetting her mother was there for a moment, Maki sighed, running both hands through her hair and letting out a cross between a frustrated bark and a whimper.

“Maki.” Her mother’s voice snapped. Maki looked up, furtive. “Your father and I are here if you need to talk.”

“I know.” Maki knew she was sounding sullen, but it was either that or start crying all over her mom and she didn’t want to do that. “But I’m....I’m not good at...people...or...so how…”

“Do you want to tell someone?”

Maki shook her head, wanting to be a wolf again for a moment so she could put her whole body into the movement, shaking off pressure. Instead she drew herself into a tighter ball. “No...but she’s seen...the wol...me as a wolf.” Maki reached back over her head, fists balled up. “A couple of times.”

“Were you playing with Rin?” Her mother sounded more and more puzzled.

“N...no.” Maki pressed her fingers into her back, but there was no easing her tense muscles. Hot hot bath, epsom salts, listening to music, no thinking about anything. Or anyone.

Her mother was surprised by the admission and how obviously Maki was holding back information. Maki had always been careful. To be roaming campus in werewolf form was out of character. So her mother decided to go with a hunch.

“Do you trust this person?” Her mother asked quietly.

Maki nodded and chuckled, “She gave me a lecture today about being a responsible dog owner. If I don’t show up with Princess sometime, she might think I…” Maki’s breath caught, “hurt...her.”

“Princess?” Curiosity had Dr. Nishikino leaning forward.

Now Maki really wanted to turn and run. She hadn’t meant to say this much. She pulled her bathrobe closer around herself and jumped up, perching on her desk, feet pressed into her chair. “Do I have to tell you?”

Her mother raised an eyebrow and she sat up, her expression a determined one, “Guess.”

Maki gulped and panic triggered her haste tendency, “Nico tripped over me on the Lakefill and Rin showed up and I didn’t want her to call me Maki so I barked and she didn’t know what to say and got scared that I would get mad and the next time Nico got mad because no one would tell her my name so she decided to call me Princess.”

“The next time?”

“I went to see her again. Where she works. And there was a police officer. And Rin and Hanayo showed up and didn’t know what to say again and…” Maki looked at her mother, tears in her eyes, “I don’t know what to do.”

The elder Nishikino spoke carefully, considering every word. “Sometimes, especially, if you meet someone attractive to you, impulse takes over and planning goes out the window. Your father doesn’t transform, but he does have that tendency. He was very unpredictable from the beginning, skittish, wary but attached. He didn’t calm down until we got to be friends.”

“When did he…?” Maki pushed the chair back and forth with her legs.

“Before I met your grandmother, soon after we started dating. He invited me out to dinner and we went for a long walk after and talked about our families. His was just a little more complicated.”

“It didn’t scare you?”

Her mother leaned forward, knowing that this was the most important part of the conversation, “I trusted your father. When he told me, he was confident and charming and open. Not apologetic at all or embarrassed. I wasn’t 100% certain he wasn’t playing some kind of prank on me, but I knew that he was a good friend and I trusted him.”

“Trust.” Maki muttered.

“The longer the confusion lasts, the more damage to trust.” Maki nodded. Her mother stood and hugged her daughter. “Rely on your instincts.”

Maki’s instincts, when she was in wolf form and with no real filter, seemed to be doing nothing but urge her Nico-ward. They had already decided. Neruda popped into her head again:

Last night she came livid, night-blue, wine-red; the tempest with her hair of water eyes of cold fire

Nico had hair of night and eyes of heated fire, but she had swept across Maki’s life like Neruda’s tumultuous storm, waking Maki up, illuminating a path entirely fresh.  Maki hadn’t really thought through what her interest in Nico meant. Poetry and feelings new to Maki had resonated, words lifting off the page to create sensations unfamiliar, and she’d spent sleepless hours, open eyed and dreaming, her hands tangled in sable and crimson, lashed to the mast of a cutter, Nico’s hum a breath in the sails, as the horizon stretched farther away and fog and blue rolled up, obscuring any guide.  But whenever Maki had shaken herself out of the dream haze, nose desperate for hints of musk and peach and vanilla and magic, she could feel another tie to Nico. And those were links Maki wanted to knot together, tightly.  Which meant she had to give Nico a chance to choose whether or not a werewolf, however pretty or cute, was a person Nico wanted to know.

A/N Sorry about the delay; next week I want to get back to my Monday or Tuesday posting schedule. Taming Of The Shrew had a great opening weekend/week after, but tonight's show got rained out, which is always sad, but left me some time to polish this chunk.Hope your July is ending well. Thanks for your patience.For a Tarot reference, I've been using Melissa Cynova's Kitchen Table Tarot. It's practical and warm and funny and straightforward and a good read even if you're not that interested in Tarot.Take care! Thanks for reading

[irisintheafterglow]

in a world of boys, he's a gentleman

summary: a creep walks up to the shake stand window. your favorite customer scares him off. (college au!iwaizumi x you)

wc: 1.9k

cw/tags: college!au iwaizumi, creepy dude but he gets scared off don't worry, buff iwa gets nervous around you

note: so there's a protein shake stand like right outside my school's gym and that's where the inspiration for this little brain fart came from. also this is wholeheartedly dedicated to @shotorus my favorite iwa simp. i really hope you like this, it's my first time writing for your man but it most definitely will not be the last :D

likes, replies, and reblogs are appreciated <3

You didn’t anticipate finding a gym crush outside of the student rec center. Yet, there he was, every day at 5:00 passing the stand and every day at 6:30 ordering his usual, strawberries and bananas with chocolate protein powder. It’s a wonder how strictly he stuck to his schedule and you made it a point to have his order queued up in the system by the time he got to the window. To your detriment, it seemed that your infatuation had become obvious enough to your usually-oblivious coworkers. 

“At this point, I think you took this job just to ogle him,” one of your friends points out as she runs a colander of fruit under the faucet. You give her a lighthearted glare and she flicks a few water droplets at you. “I’d guess you like seeing him more than the tips that other guys put in the jar. You really do so much for this company,” she says patronizingly and you roll your eyes. She had a point; you tended not to notice the phone numbers written on dirty napkins or social media handles hastily drawn on dollar bills. None of them interested you. None of them, except for the dude with a body like a Greek hero that made you want to get kidnapped by some mythological being. 

“I just think he has a nice physique; is that such a bad thing?” She shoots you a skeptical look and you turn away sheepishly to check the clock. Thirty seconds to 6:30. “He should be here in a little bit,” you say quietly to yourself, hoping she doesn’t hear. It’s a nice sentiment, but ultimately futile. 

“You’re counting down the seconds? Man, you’re worse than I thought.” She pats your shoulder sympathetically as she passes behind you and you lean your hands on the register counter. 

“As if you’ve never had a gym crush before,” you fire back. 

“You’re supposed to actually be inside the gym to have a gym crush,” she reminds you and you groan. “Why don’t you just switch your shift so you can see him while you workout?”

“I tutor before this, remember? Plus, I need to be able to charm the evening regulars so I can keep paying rent,” you admit. She nods in understanding and a glance at the clock shows ten seconds until 6:30. Your other usuals had come and gone for the day: the guy in the blue tank top that only seemed to work his forearms and biceps, the girl with the silly socks that had the most muscular calves you’d ever seen, the two frat bros with their backwards caps and arrogant voices. It hits 6:30, however, and your favorite regular isn’t behind the glass. He isn’t anywhere around, you realize. You can’t help the frown that draws the corner of your mouth down and, when you look to your coworker for support, she merely shrugs before grabbing a tub of powder from the top shelf. “It’s odd that he isn’t here yet.”

“Only you would think that,” she teases and you refocus on pulling up his usual order on the payment screen. “Maybe he got sick. There’s that frat flu going around right now.”

“Why would he be in a frat, though? And also, he’s definitely the type to wipe the hell out of every machine he uses.”

“If he uses machines; personally, he strikes me as a free weights-only kind of guy.” Before you can reply, a knock on the glass startles you back into customer-service mode. The man in front of you looked relatively normal, but the way his eyes looked you up and down several times made your stomach queasy. It wasn’t the first time creeps had checked you out through the window, but maybe you were feeling a little extra vulnerable waiting around for a regular who didn’t even know your name. Avoiding the man’s intrusive gaze, you shakily pull up his order, swipe his card for payment, and let him know that his shake would be ready soon. 

“I have a question,” he says slowly before you can run and hide in the back. “What time are you out of here?”

“I’m not done for a while,” you state vaguely, praying that he wouldn’t ask about the remaining two and a half hours of your shift. “I work until closing.”

“I can come back and get you when you close.” His voice makes your skin crawl and his eyes feel like knives on your body.

“Excuse me?”

“Let me take you out to dinner. A nice looking person like you shouldn’t be alone at night.” Your heart drops into your stomach and your feet remain rooted to the floor, terrified in place. Was he gonna try to do something after you were off?

“Look, I’m not interested in any–”

“Hey, man. Are you done ordering yet? You’re holding up the line,” intrudes a voice that feels like a warm blanket wrapping around your shoulders. Somewhere between his usual order time and the creep asking you out, your favorite little crush came to stand in line to pay. His shoulders seemed extra broad today and the muscle of his biceps flexed under his compression shirt as he crossed his arms over his chest, staring daggers down at the guy who was freaking you out. He’d never looked so handsome, all sharp jawline and flexed muscles and piercing eyes. The creep recoils and scurries away, allowing you to take a deep breath that helps relieve some of the tension in your forehead. By pure muscle memory and running on adrenaline, your fingers swipe over the tablet and pull up his usual order before he can even say hello. 

“Strawberry and banana with chocolate protein powder, right?”

“Yeah, that…that’s mine,” he says, slightly taken aback by the lingering expression of panic on your face. While he eyes you warily, you swipe his card and hand him his receipt, suddenly desperate to just disappear into the back for the rest of your shift. “Hey, are you okay?”

“What? No, yeah. I’m fine, totally fine,” you lie and give him a weak smile. His eyebrows furrow slightly and you can feel him try to analyze you, but not in the dehumanizing way as your previous customer. His eyes searched your expression worriedly and you caught him biting skin from his lip in concern. “It’s just that the guy before you was being a little weird.” Calling him “weird” was an understatement, but you didn’t want to inconvenience him more than you already have. “I’m fine, really.” He watches you for a moment more and then nods, murmuring a thank you under his breath and finding a spot to wait for his shake. 

“This fell on the floor by the trash can,” he says plainly when he walks up to the pickup window after you call out his drink. The creepy guy hadn’t left the area yet, so your fight or flight instincts were still going haywire. Your gym crush, however, momentarily takes your attention by subtly sliding a dirty piece of paper across the counter to you as he picks up his cup with the other hand. “Thanks; I’ll see you tomorrow.” Before you can blink, he’s gone, leaving you with a cryptic folded message that makes your head spin. You sputter out an awkward farewell and hastily unfold the piece of paper. 

I’ll be studying in the computer lab until the stand closes. If he’s still bothering you, come find me and I’ll walk you to your car or your dorm or wherever. -Iwaizumi Hajime 

A sturdy rectangle of plastic falls from the paper and you stare at it in disbelief. It was an ID card for the university’s after-hours patrol division with his picture, full name, and student number printed on it. Iwaizumi, you echo mentally, you’re too good to be true. And, true to his promise, he’s a respectful distance away and stands with his hands in the pockets of his sweatpants at 9:00 when you lock up the shake stand. You’d lost sight of the creep an hour after Iwaizumi picked up his drink, but the paranoia didn’t leave your body and you’re only able to relax when he approaches you. 

“This is yours,” you say, handing him his ID card with a small smile. “Thank you for looking out for me.”

“Of course. I’m sorry you had to deal with him,” he replies regretfully, uncomfortably adjusting his water bottle tucked into the crook of his elbow. “None of the guys at the gym like him. He’s always hitting on girls and giving them weird looks.” 

“Looks like he was forced to look outside the gym, then,” you laugh lightly, feeling the tension release from your shoulders as you walk next to Iwaizumi in the direction of the parking lot. “Did your drink still taste okay? Or did my nervousness make it taste funny?” When he chuckles, it sounds like sunshine. 

“It was just as tasty as it always is, thank you. You’ve really figured out how to make me the perfect drink every time.”

“Anything for my favorite customer,” you say without hesitation and your face feels like it’s been lit on fire. To your surprise, however, it seemed that Iwaizumi was just as flustered by your words. His eyes widen and his pretty mouth gapes a little bit, blinking rapidly to fix the short circuit in his brain. “I just hope he doesn’t come around here again. He makes my stomach churn.”

“Yeah, I get that,” he forces out and he’s silent for a while until your car is in sight. “Hey, sorry if this is super off-base, but do you wanna workout with me sometime? I can change the time I go but, if it means you don’t feel scared by that guy anymore, I’ll gladly rearrange my schedule.” 

“You want me to workout with you?”

“I’d like to meet you for lunch sometime, too, but I figured I’d start with baby steps,” he admits, running a hand nervously through his hair while you fish your keys from your bag. “If you don’t want to, that’s totally fine–”

“No, no, I’d love to,” you reassure him and he looks visibly relieved. “I’ll change up my shift so you can still go around the same time you usually do, and I can just meet you outside. I’ve been needing a new spotter since mine picked up extra shifts in the library.” 

“Great, yeah, awesome,” he says, a little dumbfounded by how eagerly you would give him a chance. If he was being honest, he’d wanted to ask you your name for months since you memorized his order, but he didn’t want to come off as pushy and ruin his chance with you. “Do you, uh, mind if I give you my number? Or I can give you a social media handle too if you’re not comfortable sharing your number.” God, he’s so good. He is so, so good. “Can you let me know you get home safe?”

“I will,” you promise. “Thank you for everything, Iwaizumi.”

“You can call me Hajime, if you want,” he offers softly and the fondness in his voice makes your heart flip. “Iwaizumi is fine too. Anything is fine.” 

“Right,” you smile. “Well, goodnight, Hajime. Get home safe.”

“You too. Talk soon, okay?”

“I can’t wait.”

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