bluecloudsandpinksnow

[bluecloudsandpinksnow]

the triangle is the strongest shape (akabane karma x reader x asano gakushuu)

summary:

Studying together is a love language.

---

While you turn to Karma with the look of utmost betrayal, Gakushu faces him with frustration, “It was three points, you cretin! Besides, I’d like to see you keep rank one with the amount of extracurriculars I have to balance.”

Karma laughs mischievously as he sticks his tongue out at both of your disgruntled expressions. “Come on now, Rank 2. Let’s help our dearest Rank 4 with their educational struggles.”

“You are appallingly infuriating.”

“Aww, I love you too, Pres~” fandom: Assassination Classroom by Yûsei Matsui pairing: akabane karma x gender-neutral! reader x asano gakushuu warnings: none notes: - cross posted on ao3 under the same name - inspired by that one head-canon post on Tumblr involving these two that kickstarted my downward spiral, pls give this person appreciation (https://www.tumblr.com/jupiter-esque/709152335950200832/hiii-can-i-request-asano-x-reader-x-karma-in-poly?source=share) - also aspects of trephacard (castlevania season 1 esp!!) AND iron widow's trio were quite helpful in building the dynamic. - please enjoy! ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

--- START ---

After the hustle and bustle of the previous midterm week had passed, the school’s atmosphere had relaxed far too quickly for your comfort. Going from days of seemingly never-ending examinations to back-to-back class projects had left you on edge and hopped up on a near-illegal amount of caffeine.

Yet, after all that stress-inducing work, you were still antsy to do more. I mean, seriously, how does someone relax back into a schedule of only lessons after that assassination attempt of a school week?

You wouldn’t consider yourself an overachiever or workaholic by any means, but by God-

Seeing Koyama’s expression of absolute despair after you had wiped the floor with him on the biology examination had you beaming with vainglorious pride.

A score of 98 out of 100 to his measly 95.

Serves Mr. Memorization Monster right, you had thought. Whenever Gakushu would bring him around for study sessions, you always argued vehemently with Koyama against his reliance on memorizing the material over understanding the concepts.

Call it petty and childish, but that taste of victory and being objectively correct? Now that’s a drug you could get addicted to.

With Koyama down for the count, you have three people remaining on your ‘Kunugigaoka High School Hit List,’ and Ren Sakikibara was next in line to be absolutely obliterated by your spite-fueled rank climbing.

Ren has been a notably difficult target, but Korosensei never taught you to be a quitter. You had spent a good chunk of the last few years fantasizing about the flowery prose you would use in your future victory speech against the Japanese Virtuoso himself.

Now, all you needed was the scores to prove your dominance.

Hence your current situation: sprawled on a couch in Gakushu’s room, offhandedly reading through the annotated notes of the current lesson in your Japanese Folk Literature class. The sounds of quick typing served as your background noise as you reviewed your initial literary analysis.

You had mostly skimmed the sections you highlighted, having gone over them with Kanzaki earlier in the week. However, a rather confusing passage stopped you in your tracks; you had spent the better part of the past hour re-reading it in an attempt to understand the excerpt.

To no avail, you can’t seem to wrap your head around it despite all your best efforts. Disappointedly, you knew that it was time for you to swallow your pride and ask your two other targets for assistance.

Luckily, the two in question are currently in the same room as you. Quite convenient.

You lower your readings onto your lap and look around at your surprisingly tranquil surroundings.

Sitting at your front was Karma, who was on the floor beside you, plotting out motion time graphs for his Physics elective. He was rather focused, drawing out the lines for the acceleration-time section, so you decided to leave him be.

If you caused Karma to draw a jagged line across his worksheet, he would need to reprint it and draw all the graphs again. Knowing him, he might just end up poking you with the uncapped permanent marker in his hand as revenge.

You decide to bother Gakushu, who is sitting on the couch next to your reclining form. He had his laptop on his lap and had somehow not stopped typing for the past two hours that you three have been studying.

“Gakushu? Are you busy?” you ask softly, craning your neck to look up at him.

He doesn’t give you a verbal response, but you know he heard you as soon as the sounds of typing stop abruptly.

“Can I ask you for the historical context of this author? It might help me understand what he wrote.” you requested, flipping to the front page of your readings and raising them towards Gakushu.

He briefly glances at your paper, and you perk up in joy when he seems to adhere to your request.

“Thank you-” you start, before realizing he had just gone back to revising his Chemistry lab calculations.

Never before had you experienced such blatant disrespect. The audacity of this boy, all because he was a few grade points up on you.

Putting on your best, Irina-sensei-approved, pouty face, you reach forward and tap Gakushu’s knee.

“Aww! Please, it won’t take that long. Just a quick Google search?”

You look up at him with as much unrelenting cuteness as you can muster, but Gakushu doesn’t even give you the benefit of a glare. Not even you bonking your head lightly against his thigh had broken his concentration.

“If you truly need the information immediately, I don’t understand why you won’t just get up and grab your laptop,” he states coldly.

Unbelievable. Not even Karasuma-sensei was this much of a square. What made the electrolyte count of Japanese sports drinks more interesting to him than helping you?

“But Mr. President, your couch is so comfy. Its gravitational force is too strong!” you stretch out your limbs, leaving your arms to fall lax on Gakushu’s forearms.

He stops typing once more, and gives you a sigh, shaking his head. You smile up at him, vocalizing a mischievous “hehe.”

“I can assure you it has nothing of the sort. Why don’t you go bother Akabane instead.” Gakushu responds in exasperation, simply pushing your arms off of his while you cry out in complaint.

Karma, upon hearing his name mentioned, perks up with a ‘hm?’ and puts down his marker. You turn to look at him with faux dejection, noticing that he has almost finished his worksheet. He tilts his head at you in response, a mixture of confusion and amusement on his face.

“Whatcha say to them, Pres? Why do they look so sad?” Karma asks as he gathers up his graphing papers.

“Karma, he was being mean to me~” you whine, only for Gakushu to huff out air in irritation. “See! So cruel, I was just asking for help.”

In response to your silly antics, Karma snorts out a laugh. “Gaku-kun, aren’t you supposed to help out your fellow students in their education? You should be a good example.”

Gakushu groans in annoyance, “Akabane, don’t enable their childish behavior. They are just too lazy to get up and walk three steps to get their device.”

Upon processing his words, you shoot up in offense, moving to a quick sitting position while crossing your arms. You couldn’t understand why he couldn’t give you this short act of service.

“Gakushu! You’re so mean, I just wanted your help with this.” You frown, pouting with a little more anger. Karma’s lips pursed into a thin line as he glanced at Gakushu who had not stopped typing, seemingly unbothered by your distress. However, Karma doesn’t seem to say anything and goes behind the couch to put his graphs into his bag. Figures, he’d leave the growing tension for you two to deal with.

You let out a sigh of disappointment, “You know what, nevermind. I’m sorry for bothering you when you’re clearly busy.”

Swinging your legs off the couch, you awkwardly move back into your earlier reclining position and mentally prepare yourself to re-analyze the difficult Japanese excerpt again. However, right as you lift your readings towards your face, someone grabs the papers from your hand.

You look up in surprise, seeing Gakushu put down his laptop on the coffee table with one hand while he reads your papers in the other. After a brief silence, he speaks your name.

“You’re intelligent enough to analyze this regardless of historical context. I’ve seen you tackle more difficult prose than this one.” Gakushu states, giving you back the papers.

Furrowing your eyebrows, you try to process your next action. Were you supposed to preen at the praise, or be insulted at his lack of understanding of your intentions?

“Gaku-kun, don’t be so dense. I’m pretty sure they just want us to study together.” Karma finally cuts in, leaning on the couch’s backrest behind you and Gakushu.

You look up at Karma with silent thanks before clearing your throat. “Yeah, that’s what I wanted. Look- I’m really glad that you think so highly of me, but this is genuinely stumping me and I just wanted your guys’ help.”

Gakushu and Karma gaze at you silently, both processing your words with deep thought. You decide to continue and get your piece out, hoping to smooth over the tension you’ve created.

“I value your guys’ opinion, okay? Talking about these things with two of the most intelligent people I know really helps me understand them faster. Besides, we’ve been having non-stop study sessions for the past two weeks. Yet, we’ve barely spent any time together that wasn’t just an individually focused study period.”

You cover your face with your papers, feeling sheepish about your sudden vulnerability. The room is silent, and you start wondering if it’s time to back-pedal and try to avert course.

Once you gather enough courage to look at the two boys, you first see Gakushu give you a troubled, guilty look.

“I apologize for being so indifferent. I- I didn’t mean to disregard your needs.” 

Upon meeting your keen, curious stare, Gakushu pauses for a moment and looks away, flustered. He takes a moment to recollect himself before continuing, “You’re usually so self-sufficient, and so I unfairly assumed you were simply just fooling around to get our attention.”

“Well, that last part is kinda true, but I wasn’t lying when I said I wanted your help,” you replied softly, cautiously reaching out for Gakushu’s hand in an attempt to give physical comfort. To your elation, he reaches out to take your hand, keeping yours in a gentle grip while moving to rest your intertwined hands on his lap.

Karma, who for the past few minutes chose to keep quiet while the two of you worked out your feelings, let out a big sigh of relief that he didn’t know he was even holding in.

“Geez, you guys sure know how to make things more dramatic than they need to be.” he voices, wiping away an imaginary sweatdrop in an attempt to lighten the mood.

“Hey!” you can’t help but smile as you reach up to playfully swat Karma’s shoulder with your note-holding hand.

The redhead dodges your papers with ease, laughing softly as he continues to tease, “Did you really need to put us through that soap opera just to ask for help? So theatrical of you~”

You let out an impish “hmph!” in response to Karma’s jests, choosing to ask Gakushu for support with a light hand squeeze and your best puppy-dog eyes.

To your chagrin, however, he simply shakes his head with a small grin. “Unfortunately, Akabane is right. That was a rather ostentatious way of asking for our assistance.”

Karma lets out a boisterous laugh as your face turns red. He even has the audacity to reach out and pinch your tomato-colored cheeks as you wallow in your shame.

“Ehh! Why are you two ganging up on me now? Just help me already! How else am I beating Ren and catching up to you two?” you whine light-heartedly, grabbing Karma’s wrist so he stops pinching your cheeks.

“Huh? Is that your motivation? Gee, I didn’t realize that was why you were on a ranking warpath.” he asks, finally moving his hand away from your face and straightening up.

“Ah- Yea, maybe? Ehe,” you utter, still reeling from the mortification of the previous topic.

Gakushu puts a hand to his chin, analyzing your statement. “Hmm, that does make sense. I thought you had just wanted to prove Koyama’s studying method wrong, but if we take into account your history, you’ve actually been slowly outranking the Virtuosos throughout the examinations.”

“You’ve already outranked Koyama? Hah! No wonder he’s been such a sourpuss lately.” Karma exclaims, moving around the couch and grabbing his practice problems from the coffee table.

“Yeah! Didn’t you guys see my name above his on the rankings board?” You question, amused at the thought of completely ruining Koyama’s week with your complete, and utter victory.

“I did,” Gakushu pats your head with his unoccupied hand, “Good work, please keep at it and go humble Ren.”

You preen at his praise, heart pumping and even more motivated to dethrone Ren Sakikibara.

“Ehh, sorry, I didn’t see. All I need to know is that I’m still above Gaku-kun over here.” Karma admits, seemingly completely guiltless about his offense to you both.

While you turn to Karma with the look of utmost betrayal, Gakushu faces him with frustration, “It was three points, you cretin! Besides, I’d like to see you keep rank one with the amount of extracurriculars I have to balance.”

Karma laughs mischievously as he sticks his tongue out at both of your disgruntled expressions. “Come on now, Rank 2. Let’s help our dearest Rank 4 with their educational struggles.”

“You are appallingly infuriating.”

“Aww, I love you too, Pres~”

Gakushu rolls his eyes as the redhead blows him a kiss, untangling your hands to reach out for his laptop.

“Scoot.” Karma taps your lower leg with his rolled-up problem set paper.

You lazily raise your head at him, “Mmm, nah. Maybe, if you were nicer, I’d let you sit with us.”

“Come on, move.” Karma starts incessantly whacking your knees with his Math worksheet. You kick back at his arm halfheartedly.

“Alright, don’t move. Fine by me.” he seemingly concedes, halting his paper-swatting assault on your legs—

Before plopping his butt on your outstretched legs.

“Hey!” You immediately struggle against his weight, “Hey! Move off, you're crushing my legs.”

Despite your best efforts, you can barely lift him off of you in your current position.

“Nope, these are the terms you agreed to, sweetheart~” Karma teases.

Still kicking and flailing, you call out to Gakushu for help, but he only goes back to work despite the disturbances. “You’re heavy! Gaku-kun, please get him off me.”

“Akabane, please refrain from causing bodily harm to our partner.” Gakushu requests with a hint of amusement present under his exasperation.

Karma groans but unenthusiastically complies nonetheless. You kick at him in playful revenge once the circulation returns to your legs, and he makes a mocking face at you before setting down his rolled-up Math worksheet on the coffee table.

“Come on, at least move up. I don’t have space.”

“Nooo, if I move up any further Gakushu might push me off the couch.” You protest despite Karma’s expectant looks.

Luckily, Gakushu cuts in, “I would do nothing of the sort.”

You look up at him in surprise. “Eh?” You breathe, waiting for him to continue. He responds by moving his laptop forward and patting his thigh, signaling for you to lie down on him.

Karma shares a surprised look with you before quickly encouraging you with wild hand movements to not pass up the rare opportunity where Gakushu initiates physical affection. You move up to rest your head on his lap despite your reddening face, and when you glance up at the strawberry blonde boy, you see a faint hint of red light up his cheeks as well before he clears his throat and continues typing.

After shaking off the brief shock, Karma finally gets to sit down on the couch. “You can stretch your legs over mine, I’m just gonna read your excerpt so we can finally help you with it.”

“Oh, uh- okay? Thanks,” you say, flustered at the close proximity to your partners. “Let me get them.”

You recover the papers squished between you and the couch and hand them over to Karma. He proceeds to start reading them, and the three of you fall into an easy silence.

—

Well, as easy of a silence as you can maintain, laying there with absolutely no clue what to do while in between your two preoccupied partners.

Karma is still reading the passages on the paper, however, his idle hand had started tracing circles on your ankle at some point. Despite your burning face, you still feel too meek to move or say anything about it.

Gakushu on the other hand, has moved on to his student council work, reading through club constitutions with his left hand scrolling the documents with the trackpad, while his right is combing absentmindedly through your hair.

Despite being physically frozen, your mind is overclocked with the proximity and their casual ministrations. Gakushu and Karma are much too uncomfortable for any overt PDA outside of hand-holding, and you’ve been so busy with schoolwork that you three rarely even have the chance to be physically affectionate in private.

Well, you suppose there has to be a start for everything. Still, you wish you couldn't hear your heartbeat so loud in your ears. You want to be able to relax and enjoy the rare domestic moment with your partners.

They aren’t really making it easy for you, though.

“Hey, hey. No falling asleep now. You still have to defeat Ren to havee any chance at beating us, remember?” Karma gives your leg a double tap to catch your attention.

You jolt, “Wait, eh- Did you say something before that?”

“Yeah, I was asking for which passage you didn’t understand,” Karma states, looking at you in anticipation.

“I- Uh.”

You were trying to formulate a response, trying to remember what exactly you even wanted their help with. But Karma started tracing circles around your inner calf and Gakushu was lightly scratching your scalp with his fingertips, leaving you to do nothing but gape and stutter.

“Hey, sweetheart. You alright?” Karma asks curiously, as if it isn’t clearly obvious that you’re currently flustered.

Laughing awkwardly in response, you resort to covering your face before Gakushu notices that you are as red as Karma’s hair. “Haha, I’m fine,” you mutter into your palms, though the sound is muffled.

You peek out from in between your fingers just in time to see realization dawn on Karma’s face. He gives you a sly grin, now tracing the circles on your calf with more intent.

“Gaku-kun, it seems like we haven’t been the best boyfriends. Look how red they are, we aren’t even doing anything that scandalous yet.”

You let out a little squeal and cover your eyes one more.

“Eh! What do you mean yet? And no, you’re great boyfriends! The best! Just- I’m not- Not used to this.” you stutter out quickly, lowering your hands to uncover your eyes.

“If that’s the case, we’ll make sure you get used to it.” Gakushu gives you a casual head pat, as you look up at him. His heartfelt gaze combined with your comprehension of his statement causes you to shrink into his side to hide your face further.

“I- ugh! You two, you’re gonna kill me here,” you grumble.

Karma laughs loudly and you feel Gakushu vibrate with a chuckle, “Dying from too much love? Now that’s truly a modern-day problem, dearest~”

Comically peeved by his remark, you turn away from Gakushu’s side to glare at Karma, who simply waggles his eyebrows at you in response.

“Anyway—” you start, abruptly cutting yourself off when you feel a ticklish sensation at your feet.

You kick wildly, trying to get away from his hands. “Karma! Stop that- haha! Stop!”

Gakushu quickly lifts up his laptop to avoid your flailing limbs, and you end up falling off the couch from your frantic movements. You roll onto the coffee table with enough force to displace the items placed on it, forcing Karma to get up quickly and check on you.

The panic starts as soon as you raise your head and see Gakushu’s water tumbler topple over.

With the quickest reflexes you can muster, you dive for the bottle before it can hit the floor.

“Gotcha!” you exclaim, catching it just in time.

To your surprise, the tumbler is heavy, as if the water inside was barely depleted. Karma seems to pick up on your realization and raises his hand to his mouth in faux concern. “Uh-oh.” He side-eyes the strawberry-blonde boy on the couch.

Gakushu stiffens up, registering what you two have discovered. He tries to play it off, continuing to type despite knowing what’s coming next for him.

“Gaku-kun?” you smile sweetly at him.

“Mm.”

“When was the last time you drank water?” you question, setting the bottle on the table and standing up to walk over to the couch.

“... I’ll drink some as soon as I finish reviewing the Debate Club’s renewed bylaws proposal,” Gakushu replies curtly, not wishing to elaborate further.

“Gakushu. Go drink water, now.” You demand sternly, tapping your foot on the floor. Karma stands next to you and leans over the strawberry-blonde boy’s laptop.

“Yeah, Pres, it’s not like their constitution will run away while you aren’t looking.” he jokes, using a finger to push down the laptop screen.

Gakushu tugs the laptop away, “Just let me finish this, it won’t take long.”

Despite his attempt to ignore you two, the both of you continue to stare at him expectantly. You have half a mind to just start telling him off again for neglecting his health.

However, before you can speak, Karma shrugs and walks away. “Whatever.”

You almost get annoyed at the redhead’s disregard for your shared partner’s health, until Karma signals something to you as he’s walking behind the couch.

‘Play along.’ he mouths, getting into position.

Not wanting to foil his plan, you put on a stern expression and put your hands on your hips. “Gakushu, what did we tell you about taking care of yourself?”

“I know, I’ve been keeping it in mind. I just got carried away today,” he replied, still averting his gaze and typing incessantly like a man on death row.

You crouch down to put your hands on his laptop and push the screen down, “Please look at me.”

Upon being forced to look you in the eye, Gakushu falters and loosens his grip on his laptop. You take the moment of weakness as an opportunity to place it gently on the couch beside him.

“Gakushu?” you ask softly, leaning in closer.

“Yeah, I know.” he shuts his eyes and exhales, bowing his head to meet your gaze once more.

Gakushu doesn’t notice you glancing towards Karma who is now positioned right behind him.

You drop the act and smile wickedly, “Sorry for this.”

Karma quickly dives behind Gakushu to scoop him up by his armpits. Meanwhile, you turn away from him and take hold of his legs, propping them up on your shoulders. “Hah?” your victim yells out in surprise.

In perfect synchronization, you and Karma lift him and start hauling him downstairs to the kitchen.

“Release me, you ingrates!” Gakushu shouts.

“No can do, Pres!” Karma responds, howling with laughter as you run down the stairs.

You can’t help but giggle at the situation, “Not a very polite thing to call your partners, Gaku-kun!”

Right as you reach the bottom of the stairs, Gakushu manages to struggle enough to send the three of you tumbling down into a tangle of limbs, complaints, and giggles.

Gakushu tries his best to untangle himself from you and Karma, but the two of you are much too amused to let go of him and get off the floor.

Eventually, he stops struggling and lays back down with you two on both sides of him, pinning his limbs down. “Never do that again,” he demands tiredly.

“Only if you promise to never neglect your health again!” you tease, getting close to his face and staring giddily, unable to control your smile.

Karma follows in tow, leaning over Gakushu’s face, “Yeah, Pres, can’t make demands without giving something in return~”

Gakushu looks at both of your grinning faces, exasperated at the two imbeciles he chose as his romantic partners. After a brief moment, rolls his eyes in faux frustration, before letting out a chortle of amusement, “You two are unbelievable.”

The three of you devolve into a series of giggles, snorts, and chuckles.

After you three calm down, you lay your head on Gakushu’s chest and look up at him, “But you still love us right?” Karma reaches over to pull you into a closer hug and settles his chin into Gakushu’s neck.

Gakushu smiles softly, answering your question confidently as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Of course I do.”

---END---

end notes:

motivation has returned full force like koro-sensei flying to hawaii at mach 20 (idk if that allegory makes sense LMAO)

was thinking of a final scene where Gakuho walks in on these buffoons cuddling on the floor at the bottom of the stairs, but nah, wanted to end it on a soft note

have a gold comment from my beta reader, she puts up with so much: (Regarding Karma's circle tracing) - PUTANGINA MO GAGO, HINDI TO LARO, SERYOSOHIN MO TO, PUSO KO YUNG NAKA SALALAY DITO, TARANTADO

on a last note, i've been rereading Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao cause i just got Heavenly Tyrant, and i am this close to writing an au with karma and gakushu in that universe THIS CLOSE-

anw, thanks for reading! let me know your thoughts if possible, and constructive criticism is much appreciated

pls stay safe and have a good day :DDD

[bluecloudsandpinksnow]

this really inspired me to write smth, thank u for doing this!!!

Hiii, can I request asano x reader x karma in poly relationship scenario/headcanons? I want a lot of fluff pls

Note: omg I've been dying to this awee, Btw Fem pronouns are used <3

...How?

How did you three even happen??

Class E is flabbergasted.

Honestly, they didn't think Asano was ever going to be capable of removing that stick up his ass, much less for you and Karma of all people.

But your trio is the ultimate power couple of the school and koro-sensi is fangirling hard.

Since Asano is the son of the school principle when I say power couple I mean power. Couple.

Karma likes to joke around and use that as a threat to the rest of the students so -

Both the boys argue a lot so you're the glue that makes this relationship stick.

Doesn't mean you're ever less appreciated.

It also doesn't mean that the two don't love each other dearly.

They love spoiling you.

Definitely make it a competition to see who can one up the other to "win" your heart once more.

It's all in good fun and both know that they are just as much loved and cherished as the other to you.

But still, Karma is going to win that ungodly sized plushie for you at the carnival fair.

Yes. Still Asano will take you out to the most extravagant dinners he can muster.

It's their love language, besides being annoying of course.

Other than that they are so. cute. Together.

Your camera roll is filled with pictures of them cuddled up and asleep.

Who knew Asano could be a little spoon when you're not around.

Karma constantly teases him about it only to be kissed to shut up.

Study datesss.

Asano refused to have slackers as loving partners.

When your in public there'll be next to zero pda besides like hand holding.

Some people may even question you three are even in a relationship rather than just a very good friendship.

That is until they see Karma poking at you and Asano nagging at him like a married couple.

In private it's a whole other story.

Cutesy couple energy to the max.

They still argue tho.

"Put them doWN-"

"noo~" :3

Emotionally constipated + extremely touch starved = very clingy boyfriends

With one another and with you espically.

Both Like feeding u and each other but in private.

They don't look it but domesticity is the way to their hearts.

Easily jealous obviously but they have very peculiar ways to go about their jealousy.

I'm talking thinly veiled threats of murder kind of ways.

They aren't whiny, very confident and powerful personas. If anything they can be quite mean.

Evil even.

But they love youu~

(⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)

[bluecloudsandpinksnow]

i really liked this chibi from the citlali trailer so i tried my hand at drawing it~

[bluecloudsandpinksnow]

all the things that make it warm

TITLE. all the things that make it warm

SUMMARY. You thought Casey had taken to the room quite well, but then, every night, without fail, he would wake one of you, face scrunched up in distress as he asked if someone could keep him company until he fell asleep.

“It’s a new space,” Leo said after the third time it happened, nuzzling his snout against your temple in a soothing gesture. “The last base was all Case knew, it makes sense he’d be homesick. Give him some time, mi vida.”

And you try to. Really, you do.

-

In which you’re worried about Casey adjusting to the new resistance headquarters and Leo holds your hand through it all.

RATING. general (or teen, i guess, if only because an unmarried couple share a bed lmao)

WORD COUNT. 1.5k

RELATIONSHIPS. Leo/Reader, Casey Jones II & Reader

WARNINGS. none that apply

TAGS. No use of Y/N, POV Second Person, Gender-Neutral Reader, Established Relationship, Krang Invasion Timeline (TMNT 2018), Parental Reader, Parental Leonardo (TMNT), Leonardo Acting as Casey Jones's Parental Figure (TMNT), Future Leonardo (TMNT), i think this counts as family fluff??? but it's bittersweet due to the Circumstances, mostly Casey-and-Reader-centric at first but Leo's there i promise

AUTHOR’S NOTE. the very first leo/reader i ever read for rottmnt had them be parental to casey jr, and it left its mark on me if you couldnt tell

btw, Leo is 27 here (also, pre-arm loss), Casey is 4, and Reader’s age is mid- to late-20s

(title is from ‘things that make it warm’ by cavetown)

The new resistance headquarters is a downgrade for many reasons. There isn’t enough space to give each member a bed, much less a space for that bed, especially one in Raph’s size. Then the infirmary's ceiling collapsed two weeks into the ingress, forcing you and your med team to relocate to the war room as a temporary set-up. And now Donnie and his engineers report that heliplane production is stalled until they can rebuild the heavy machinery they had to abandon during the emergency evacuation.

Overall, it’s taking a while for everyone to settle in and stop missing a home you can’t return to, not without the promise of Krang zombification or worse.

The one having the hardest time adjusting, though, is Casey.

Because space and privacy are a privilege a resistance can’t afford, his new room is a storage closet attached to the room you and Leo took as your own. The decision makes sense, all things considered. You both agreed that keeping Casey’s quarters nearby was non-negotiable, and putting yourself between Casey and any possible threat that would try to hurt him while he slept calms the raging beast named ‘parental instincts’ in you. So, you and Leo furnished his room to the best of your abilities, and Casey gave you both a hug and cheek nuzzle for your troubles.

You thought he’d taken to the room quite well, but then, every night, without fail, he would wake one of you, face scrunched up in distress as he asked if someone could keep him company until he fell asleep.

“It’s a new space,” Leo said after the third time it happened, nuzzling his snout against your temple in a soothing gesture. He was at Casey’s bedside for barely five minutes before sliding back into your bed — which is a mattress on the floor — and telling you Casey was out like a light. “The last base was all Case knew, it makes sense he’d be homesick. Give him some time, mi vida.”

And you try to. Really, you do. But it’s been a month since it first happened, and Casey doesn’t even have to wake you anymore since you’ve learned to expect him. Tonight, when the door to his room creaks open like clockwork, you’re already sitting up in bed and turning on the lamp. You don’t have to worry about waking Leo with your movement since he hasn’t turned in for the night, still discussing tomorrow’s mission logistics with his brothers and Draxum.

It takes a while before Casey steps through the door, but when he does, you see he’s clutching Doctor Hugginstein to his chest (which isn’t new) and there are tear tracks trailing down his cheeks (which is).

“Oh, kiddo,” you coo, arms stretching out toward him. “C’mere, sweetie.”

Casey takes your words as the invitation they are and leaps into your hug, burying his face into your chest. You let out a small ‘oomph ’ as he knocks the breath out of you, but at four years old, Casey isn’t as heavy or tall as he’s supposed to be. When he crawls onto your lap, he’s too light, and you have to force the rage off of your face. You don’t want to scare Casey, don’t want him to think your fury is aimed at him and not the Krang.

His hitching breath knocks you out of your thoughts. “I-I tried—” Casey tries to say before a hiccup cuts him off. “It was too—”

Without thinking about it, you tuck his head under your chin and start rubbing his back. “Shh, take a breath first, Casey. I’m right here, it’s going to be okay.”

You spend ten minutes consoling him before Casey’s tears start to peter out, his breathing coming close to something even and normal, and it’s even later after he’s calmed down when you finally ask him, tone as gentle as can be, “You wanna talk about it?” 

When Casey only shakes his head and hugs you tighter, you decide not to press.

“You wanna go back to your room?” You barely even finish the question before he shakes his head again, this time more adamant. “Okay, that’s okay. How about this: you stay with me and Leo tonight, and tomorrow, if you’re up for it, you can tell me what’s wrong. That sound good?”

Casey pauses, considering, before he pulls away just a bit to look up at you and nod. “Yeah, th-that sounds good.”

”Good,” you say, gently wiping Casey’s dried tears away now that you can properly see his face. “C’mon, let’s get you settled in before your sensei comes and hogs the bed.”

That gets a giggle out of Casey, drowning you in overwhelming fondness at the sound. You press a kiss to his forehead to release some of that affection before sliding him off your lap and onto the middle of the bed, keeping him in your embrace all the while.

Pillowing his head on your arm, Casey turns to lie on his side to look at you. “Doc?”

You stifle a smile at the title. Despite the family’s best efforts for Casey to call each of you ‘uncle’ or ‘auntie’, he still can’t help but parrot the way the resistance members refer to you all. Clearing your throat to hide your chuckle, you softly ask, “What’s up, kiddo?”

“Can I have a song, please? Just ‘till I’m sleepy.” He asks, hugging Doctor Hugginstein tight. He looks hesitant as if you’d ever deny him anything.

Smiling, you say, “Always, kiddo.” And then, just to make him laugh again, you start to sing Jupiter Jim: The Musical’s opening number.

“Noooo, not that song!” Casey whines between giggles. “The cradle song, the one with the stars.”

”Ah, that song.” You exclaim in mock-realization. “Why didn’t you say so!”

Casey pouts, and for all that Leo isn’t his natural father, you can’t help but think they furrow their brow the same way. “Okay, okay, kiddo, settle down,” you say and you boop him on the nose just to hear him giggle again. When his face smoothes out, you start singing, but you don’t even make it to the second cycle of the chorus before Casey’s eyes have fluttered shut.

You’re finishing the lullaby, brushing back Casey’s bangs from his face as you do, when Leo opens the door without a sound. He jolts when you make eye contact, obviously not expecting you to still be awake, before he takes in the scene. Leo’s face softens when he sees Casey asleep in your arms, but you notice the worry and confusion in his expression as well, most likely wondering what could’ve been bad enough to have him unable to sleep alone.

On silent feet, Leo moves toward the bed, removing his knee pads and belt along the way. He props his sword against the wall near his bedside—keeps it within arm’s reach like he has every night since he was 16 years old—before sliding under the covers and curling an arm around your hip to pull you close. “Nightmare?” He whispers into the sliver of space between your faces.

“He wouldn’t tell, but yeah, I think so. Got him to agree to talk it out with me tomorrow though.”

Leo purses his lips, and you already know what he’s going to say. “I can stay with y—”

“No,” you insist, stern but not unkind. “Casey knows you have that recon mission. He wouldn’t want to take you from that.” At your words, Leo frowns, his love for his family and his duty to the resistance vying for supremacy. You press a thumb to the middle of his brow ridge and smoothen out the crease forming there. “Watch out, handsome, your Raph chasm’s showing.”

Just like with Casey, your words pull a laugh from Leo. “Oh god, do not remind me.” He chuckles, silent so as not to disturb the boy between you.

Joy is a wonderful look on Leo, his peals of laughter making you glitter in delight in turn. Then, as an added nudge to ease Leo’s nerves, you say, “Don’t worry about it, I’ve got this.”

“I know you do,” Leo says, eyes going soft and sweet as he looks at you. Gently, he pulls your hand—fingers still pressed against the middle of his brow ridge—to lay his cheek against your open palm. And when he kisses the pulse point on your wrist, he makes you feel like the answer to his prayers. “You’re amazing, you know that?”

“Of course, only the best for my champion.” You tease, charmed by Leo’s responding chirp.

“I missed you today.” Leo keeps nuzzling into your palm, twining his fingers with yours. “Wish I had meetings with you instead of Barry. We’re getting sick of each other, more so than usual.”

You giggle, and when Leo pulls you close to kiss you, you hope he can taste the laughter on your lips. But the mention of meetings has you sobering, and you sweep your thumb across his cheekbone to catch his attention. “Hey,” you say, tone serious. “Be careful out there tomorrow. Come home to us.”

“Always will.” He promises, and his dark eyes hold the steadfastness of a warrior. “You’re not getting rid of me for a long time, mi vida.”

His reply has you rolling your eyes good-naturedly. “As if I’ll even try.” You say before pressing your lips to his for one more kiss.

The both of you fall asleep soon after, Leo keeping your hand cupped between Leo’s own and his cheek.

AUTHOR’S NOTE. in my heart, the lullaby Casey was asking for is 'sa ugoy ng duyan' (which can translate to ‘to the rocking of the cradle’) coz I think it fits him. it's a song abt missing the bygone days with your mother because being in her arms meant safety n comfort n protection, and you think about how the song she used to sing to you is a song full of love uwu

also, don't ask me what the new resistance headquarters is coz I dont kno. is it a tunnel system they found? a bunker Donnie preemptively designed in case of a krang attack? some safehouse in the hidden city that Draxum used in the past? idk.

can be read on AO3 here

[bluecloudsandpinksnow]

strawberry milk (akabane karma x reader)

summary:

He likes it. It’s his favorite brand and you are so good at this ‘communicating’ thing. You’re pretty sure Karma said something after that, but currently, you are on cloud nine and you can barely process the words over your feelings of success.

You would have fist pumped and yelled ‘sublime’ too, had he not waved a hand in front of your face in concern.

“Hey, are you okay? You’re acting kinda- weird?”

Okay, you did not respond fast enough, what did he even say before that? You shake your head and prepare the fastest, most soundproof response you can muster.

“Sorry, I fell down the stairs this morning.” fandom: Assassination Classroom by Yûsei Matsui pairing: akabane karma x gender-neutral! reader warnings: none, unless you count second hand embarrassment notes: - cross posted on ao3 under the same name - first fic ever posted for me, i have more plans n drafts for this universe already but that depends on my motivation lmao - i hope you have as much fun reading as i had writing --- START ---

Mustering up the last bits of courage you can, you pull the two tetra packs from your bag and abruptly stand up.

Unfortunately for you, your chair screeches against the floorboard from the force, and all of your classmates look in your direction.

You could feel the heat creeping up your neck as you quietly mutter out an apology. Thankfully, no one makes a big issue of your disruption and they all return to their own activities.

Now to face the daunting task that’s been plaguing your mind ever since this morning at the train station, where your whimsical decision-making had you convinced that you should totally, definitely, get something for Karma.

You briskly walk across the room, over to where the aforementioned red-headed boy was conversing with Nagisa about some topic you couldn’t process at the moment.

All you want to do is to get to know him better, that’s it. No underlying motives, whatsoever.

“Hey, this is for you.”

You shoved the strawberry milk carton into his hand. A flash of innocent confusion crosses Karma’s face, and you almost let yourself think about how cute of a look it was for someone like him. Before you get to entertain that preposterous thought, he tilts his head in amusement, waiting for an explanation.

“So, uhm- The vending machine! I got lucky, cause it, uhm- it broke, so I got two instead of one- Not that it’s lucky that it broke of course! That’s bad, that has some very bad implications. Uh, you know?” you wave your hands around in an attempt to explain, gesturing to your milk carton as if it would suddenly start talking in your defense.

From the corner of your eye, you see Nagisa giving you a sympathetic smile before grabbing his notebook and gesturing to Karma of his intent to review for the next class.

You were thankful at first, until the realization sunk in that you now have to explain yourself to Karma.

Alone.

No verbal or social support from your peers.

This will be fine. You convince yourself this before the urge to backflip out of the classroom window can overtake you.

“Thanks, I guess? Why the sudden gift, you like me or something?” He teases, because of course he does, and now you have to come up with the reply or he will know that you lied about the vending machine and that there’s some dubious reason as to why you got two strawberry milk cartons that just so happen to be his favorite brand.

Karma cannot know. He absolutely cannot.

“Huh? Psh! Of course not, I just wanted to thank you for helping me last week, you know? Math isn’t my strongest subject and I- what you told me, that shortcut? It just- it’s cool! It really helped me and I felt like I had to thank you. Yeah?” you ramble, and a part of you wishes the ground would collapse beneath your feet just so you could escape this tragedy of a conversation.

You stare awkwardly at Karma, anticipating his response. You swear he looks like he wants to ask what on earth is wrong with you, but maybe it’s just the nerves.

He shrugs, “No biggie. You didn’t need to go through the effort of buying me something just for that one tip.”

He hates it. He thinks you’re weird and over the top. It’s time for you to exile yourself.

“Thanks, though. How’d you know I like this brand anyway?”

He likes it. It’s his favorite brand and you are so good at this ‘communicating’ thing. You’re pretty sure Karma said something after that, but currently, you are on cloud nine and you can barely process the words over your feelings of success.

You would have fist pumped and yelled ‘sublime’ too, had he not waved a hand in front of your face in concern.

“Hey, are you okay? You’re acting kinda- weird?”

Okay, you did not respond fast enough, what did he even say before that? You shake your head and prepare the fastest, most soundproof response you can muster.

“Sorry, I fell down the stairs this morning.”

‘WHO SAYS THAT? WHY DID I SAY THAT?’

You need to pass out right now. Maybe if he thinks you have a concussion you can still salvage your reputation in his eyes. Karma’s eyes widen in concern and you can’t help the butterflies ricocheting in your gut.

“Woah, maybe you should go have that checked with the nurse? I can take you there, I wanna skip class anyway.”

In normal circumstances, you would have reprimanded him for even suggesting that he skip classes and use you as a reason. However, now it is different. Now it is very different when you feel these very dreadful, un-platonic feelings for the redhead.

‘Calm down butterflies, he just suggested a friendly gesture of good, normal, regular, concern.’ You reassure yourself, because if you don’t, you might just blast off into the stratosphere like you were Koro-sensei being complimented by a pretty barista lady.

Karma puts his hand on your shoulder.

‘ÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆ'

You imagine swatting away the butterflies to keep yourself sane, and you try your best to collect an actual, reasonable response this time.

“No, no, it’s fine. Thanks for the concern. A lot of things just happened today, and I’m just a bit overwhelmed. I’m sorry if I’m acting strange.” you speak slower than you did prior, and you find yourself more composed.

Well, as composed as you can be considering Karma still has his hand on your shoulder. You bow your head in shame, not being able to meet his eyes.

He scoffs in amusement, “Hey, don’t worry about it, and really, thanks for the strawberry milk.”

You look up at him and sigh in relief, thankful that he doesn’t think you’re completely insane. He gives your shoulder another pat before moving his hand off to pry the straw from the back of his tetra pack.

“No problem! Thanks again too, for helping me last week.”

A big part of you is relieved that he took his hand off of your shoulder so your heart rate could normalize itself, but a tinier, more delusional part of your brain feels disappointed that he had to pull his hand away at all.

You move to turn and walk away, but Karma speaks again.

“Hey, if you’re still feeling overwhelmed, you can always skip class with me. We can just tell Koro-sensei you weren’t feeling well.” he offers, and it takes every ounce of sense in you to not just accept it then and there. Especially not when you meet his eyes and see them light up with mischief.

You have to be reasonable. Doing so just to entertain your silly little infatuation would disappoint Koro-sensei and tarnish your good record. You can find more excuses to spend time with him without breaking the school rules.

“No thank you, it’s okay. I think I’ll just go to the bathroom and wash my face. I appreciate the concern though.” You nod your head and flash Karma a light smile, to which he shrugs and moves to sit at his desk, drinking the strawberry milk you gave him.

You move to make your way out of the classroom, and you see Nakamura smirk at you. She was probably watching you make a fool out of yourself in front of Karma, and you know for a fact she will tease you about that horrid display of human interaction later. You squint your eyes at her, daring her to laugh or say something, to which she just smiles at you wider and you swear you can see devil horns form on her head.

Nakamura held her phone up while you were walking past. You gape slightly in frustration as you realize what she had shown you.

She had recorded your god awful attempt at giving Karma the strawberry milk. There was physical evidence of it for others to witness.

The worst part? There was physical evidence of it for Koro-sensei to witness.

You quickly stomp into the bathroom and turn on the sink, shoving your face into your hands before you let out an exasperated groan.

There was no living this down for you.

You just hoped Karma wouldn’t take the news so harshly if he found out.

---END---

Thanks for reading! :DDD