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sconeaon · 5 days ago

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Aposematism (Yan Reiju x Reader, F/F, Dead dove, dark, non con)

18+ MDNI | on Ao3

Huge thank you to @sordidmusings and @gouraminnow for beta'ing this for me!!

TW: Dark, NON CON, dead dove

WC: ~5.1k

Aposematism is the term used to describe the use of bright coloration to advertise that an organism is dangerous or unpalatable.

You scurried as fast as you could towards Princess Reiju’s chambers, your arms burdened with her clean linens. Everyone saw the ship bearing the Royal Family on the horizon heading back from a mission to the St. Germaine and you needed to be sure Lady Reiju’s bed was freshly made before her arrival. Your skin was clammy and you could feel the small, cool beads of sweat dripping down your back but now was no time for slacking.

You’d emotionally enjoyed your time apart from Reiju, as you always did, and every gust of wind that brought the smaller ship closer to the main castle tied your stomach into tighter knots. Physically, it was difficult to be away from Lady Reiju, something she ensured you understood very well. She often took you with her on her longer missions, but this time she’d left you at St. Germaine since she would only be gone for a little over a week.

Even though you were running out of time to complete all your chores before Princess Reiju returned, you took your time making her bed. She demanded that you to make it for her, she said that you were the only one who did it right. Careful to avoid any potential punishments before they could arise, you smoothed out her bedsheets and folded her blankets the way she preferred. All of these tasks would be easier if you weren’t trembling and achy, feeling like you were about to pass out. You’d been feeling this way since about 6 hours after she left, those 6 hours your only fleeting window of freedom.

Aside from changing her linens, Princess Reiju preferred you for nearly all her tasks within the Castle. You did her laundry, cleaned her rooms, bathed her, served her, dressed her, and groomed her. You were her favorite servant, though you often wished she would favor someone else. The hours you worked were brutal and it wasn’t uncommon to be with the Princess, or near her, for 24 hours a day. She even had your room moved from the servant’s quarters to one nearer her own, in case she had need of you during the night. Which she often did.

Still, being the Princess’s favorite was better than catching the eye of any of the Princes. Those servants tended to end up completely broken or dead within a few months. King Judge would rail against the Princes for “destroying Kingdom property” and wasting his money but they’d soon be given new servants and the cycle would start all over again.

The horns announcing the Royal Family’s arrival startled you and had your fingers gripping the pillow you were fluffing tightly. You did your best to swallow your bile and went to stand in front of the Princess’s door. You straightened and smoothed your uniform as best you could and stood still, waiting for her arrival. In the months since you’d started working directly under the Princess, your outward uniform had remained the same as all the other personal staff. However, you were fairly sure the other staff were allowed panties under their skirts. You wished you were, your pussy had been aching and drooling for the Princess soon after she left.

There wasn’t anything you could do about it either. The Princess had been poisoning you long before you realized what she had been doing. It hadn’t been so bad at first, you thought that maybe you had been in love with the Princess and felt amiss with each extended absence. Your heart would race, you would feel lethargic and unmotivated when she wasn’t around and you would feel a constant thrum of excitement in your groin. You moped about the castle until she returned and practically flung yourself into her arms for a passionate reunion.

But as the months progressed and the relationship between the two of you deepened, you’d gotten sicker each time the Princess left St. Germaine. You begged to see the Royal physician until she finally revealed what she had been doing to you.

“What do you taste?” the Princess asked one morning as she held your jaw in her hand. She had just risen and had called for you immediately. You were sitting next to her on her bed, kissing her softly in the rays of the morning sun. You had liked Reiju when she was like this, sweet and kind, nothing like the person you now knew her to be.

“Just you, Princess Reiju,” you replied with a small smile.

“But there’s something else, right? Maybe a hint of figs and cinnamon?” the Princess asked with a gleam in her eye. Your tongue darted out to taste your lips as you nodded slowly.

“It’s a little going away present. Something to keep me in your thoughts,” Princess Reiju said, her hand traveling from your jaw to lightly grip your throat. Her hold wasn’t strong but her sharp nails dug into the soft skin of your neck.

“What do you mean?” you asked in a whisper.

“I’ve been gifting you my love little by little. Don’t worry, I won’t let anything too bad happen to you. You’ll feel better once I get back,” Reiju said, leaning in to peck your lips.

“W-why? Why would you -” you asked, tears in your eyes as you tried to remove her hand from your jaw. Princess Reiju smiled, her eyes crinkling at the corners.

“So you’ll be drawn to me, my little Butterfly.”

The Princess had also warned you not to try and orgasm in her absence, but she hadn’t told you that you weren’t physically able to come. Whatever poison she was slipping you was also laced with a potent aphrodisiac and numbing agent that kept you in a perpetual state of need without being able to satisfy yourself. You’d fallen asleep more than once, tears wetting your pillow as you tried to bring yourself to orgasm, your fingers tired from the hours of effort. You hadn’t the courage to ask another for help, afraid of the Princess’s wrath.

Snapping back to reality, the doors to the living wing burst open and you stood at attention as Princes Ichiji and Yonji passed by, absorbed in a conversation they were having together. Prince Niji sauntered by shortly afterwards and gave you a once over with his eyes. Of all the Princes, Prince Niji was the one who gave you the most trouble. He often leered at you as you worked about the castle and had once trapped you against the wall in a less frequented tower. You closed your eyes as the Prince kept you in place easily, running his hands up and down your sides. The other servants had described happenings exactly like this and you knew where he was headed.

“I can see why my sister likes you so much,” he drawled as his hands crept under your shirt. You braced for the sensation of his gloves against your skin but your head banged against the rock wall as a white boot collided with his face. Prince Niji scowled but let go, backing away from you as Princess Reiju grabbed your hand and pulled you to her side.

“She’s mine ,” Reiju spat at her brother. You swallowed thickly at the ardent emotion in her voice as Princess Reiju pulled you along behind her. Prince Niji rolled his eyes as his sister passed but blew you a kiss behind her back. Since then, Princess Reiju seldom gave you a moment of privacy or solitude, preferring to keep you as close as possible.

The Princess sauntered down the hall, her mask of indifference slipping as she saw you waiting outside her doors. She frowned as she looked you up and down but didn’t say anything, her cape billowing behind her as she strode into her room. Fuck, it was a bad mission, you thought, your already dry throat threatening to close completely. You followed her inside and shut the large wooden door behind you, shutting out the rest of the servants and Royal entourage.

Princess Reiju had her back to you as she looked at her reflection in her vanity. Leaning over her desk she looked closely at her face and adjusted her hair while you walked silently towards her. She reminded you of a cat flicking her tail, annoyed and waiting to pounce on her next victim.

“Welcome back Princess -” Princess Reiju locked eyes with you in the mirror as her frown deepened. An ache settled on your neck as you realized your misstep.

“What was that?” she said in a near whisper. Her tone wasn’t harsh or abrasive, which made the question all the worse. Princess Reiju wasn’t one to yell or scream, but the calm and even she spoke belied her inner anger. You forced yourself to continue looking forward even as your body wanted to preemptively seek her forgiveness.

She was still bent over the vanity but now it wasn’t herself she was looking at, it was you. “Did you speak before you were spoken to?” You wrung your hands and pressed your lips together - the Princess was in a terrible mood. Usually she wanted you to greet her upon her return from a voyage but when she was angry or upset she expected you to follow correct decorum.

“I apologize, Lady Reiju,” you said, lowering yourself to the floor to get into third position. Normally for servants, first position was limbs at the sides, second was hands clasped in front and third was down on one knee to show supplication. Princess Reiju had amended yours so that third position had you sitting on your heels with your legs spread open and your hands clasped behind your back. Princess Reiju coldly watched you get into position and walked over to you, each clack of her shoes in time with your hard beating heart. Towering over you, Princess Reiju gave you a look of disgust as she put the sole of her shoe on your shoulder.

“Pathetic. You must need the antidote badly, then,” the Princess said with a scoff. Blood drained from your face as you realized the meaning behind the Princess's words - perhaps the mission had gone well or not, it was immaterial to her current bad mood. Reiju had been lonely during the voyage. She was saying that you needed her, that she wanted you to miss her in the same way she had you. The Princess was at her most volatile when she experienced negative emotions but especially those tied to longing and yearning. Her mercurial attitude was difficult to appease on most nights, but when she was lonely? You gulped, waiting for her next move.

You tried to keep your eyes from moving up her body but it was difficult not to look up her skirt with her foot perched on your shoulder. The hot pink thong that matched the rest of her raid suit was visible to you under her lifted leg and you could smell her perfumed cunt from your place on the soft carpet beneath your knees. The tiny slice of fabric appeared to be damp in the middle and despite the fact that you hadn’t been the one to start the current arrangement between the two of you, the sight had your mouth watering.

The Princess extended her leg without warning, kicking your shoulder harshly. You fell onto your back with your legs splayed to the sides as the Princess quickly settled herself on top of you, her legs pinning your arms to your sides. You knew from experience that Princess Reiju didn’t like when you struggled against her, and especially not when she was in a vulnerable emotional state. She would get what she wanted anyway and your punishment would only increase.

You tried to keep your torso still as she squeezed you with her supple thighs. The Germa 66 tattoos on her upper quads were close and your tongue peeked out unbidden as if to trace them.

“You need my nectar, little Butterfly?” Princess Reiju teased, standing on her knees and leaning over you. She planted her hands on either side of your head, her breasts gently swinging in front of your face. You nodded dumbly as your eyes kept returning to her luscious breasts. In order to feel better, you needed Princess Reiju’s saliva, both in your mouth and on your cunt.

“Then earn it,” she hissed, leaning down to lower her breasts to your face. You tried to remove your arms from their position stuck under her thighs but Princess Reiju clucked her tongue at you. “No. I said earn it,” the Princess hissed, pushing her breasts even closer. You bit your lip - the raid suit was designed to look like it would fall off at any moment but in fact it was quite difficult to remove. But Princess Reiju was testing you and you needed to pass if you wanted to feel any better - or finally come after weeks of denial.

You mouthed over where you expected her left nipple to be, the thin but sturdy fabric of the raid suit allowing you to locate it as it pebbled. You gently bit down, careful not to bite too hard or the suit would react to a perceived threat and harden and Princess Reiju would lose the feeling. You mouthed at her breast, trying to suck her nipple into your mouth repeatedly, earning a huff from the Princess as your reward. Turning your neck to the side, you tugged at the hem of the raid suit with your teeth, trying to free the fabric from her skin. Eventually you were able to have a small pocket open between her skin and the suit, which had her pale, soft breasts spilling out into your face.

You greedily sucked on her nipples, alternating from one to the other. Princess Reiju tossed her head back, withholding her sighs of pleasure from you. But after so many times together you knew her body nearly as well as she knew yours - you knew how sensitive she was. You kissed between her breasts, your mouth eager for anything that it could reach. There had been times when Reiju had you sucking on her tits for hours but she wasn’t likely to be patient tonight.

“Enough,” Princess Reiju announced, her voice already a little breathy. She stood back up on her knees, her Germa tattoos drawing ever closer as she leaned further over you. You parted your lips with eagerness, hoping she’d kiss you on the lips but she just used one of her hands to squish your cheeks together.

Princess Reiju hiked up her skirt and pulled her thong to the side, her perfectly smooth pussy glistening as she scooted closer to your face. Princess Reiju never grew body hair, another facet of her Germa capabilities, but she did order you to keep yours trimmed. You parted your lips and picked your head off the carpet to show your eagerness, even if all you wanted was one kiss to cure the insufferable body aches her poison gave you.

“Show me your apology, little Butterfly,” Princess Reiju said as she lowered herself onto your face. You took a deep breath in before she ground her cunt onto your face, her lips spreading to open her up. Luckily, she wasn’t sitting too high up your face and you’d be able to breathe through your nose. Unfortunately, your arms were still trapped by her legs so all you had was your mouth to get her off.

You began by flicking out your tongue to tease her clit, using the tip to gently lap at her. Princess Reiju took one of her hands and put it behind your head to pull you closer to her core. You took note that she wasn’t in the mood to be teased and used the flat of your tongue to lave at her clit instead. You tasted Reiju’s familiar tang as the Princess started grinding on your face. You wished she would release your hands so you could grab her plush hips and rock your face into her but her determination to control the scene left you sure that wouldn’t be the case.

You tried your best to keep up with her pace, roving over her clit as best you could while she gyrated on top of your face. You tried your best to lap up all her juices that were leaking from her cunt but her wiggling made it difficult to catch them all. You knew that you’d be smelling her on the collar of your uniform until you next washed it, her juices running from the corners of your mouth down your neck. The smell and feel of her sex on your face was intoxicating you as your own hips started to rise and fall to her rhythm. You clenched your thighs together in the vain hope of feeling some kind of relief, though you knew it wasn’t physically possible due to the poison. Princess Reiju’s torso turned sideways for a moment before you heard a cruel laugh.

“Do you think you deserve to play, little Butterfly? Have you been good for me while I’ve been gone?” Reiju asked as her fingers danced up your leg slowly. You parted them with a moan that resounded into her sopping pussy, hoping she wouldn’t edge you for the whole night. Since you couldn’t come before she got her saliva on you, anything she did would just incite you further but provide no solution to the ache that had been building for weeks. You whimpered as her hand perched on the inside of your knee and her fingertips pressed on it slightly. Princess Reiju had trained you well and your legs splayed open, your skirt now bunched up at your waist as the soles of your feet touched.

“Look at you, sweet thing. So wet for me already? Even your thighs are coated,” the Princess cooed at you as you redoubled your efforts to make her come. You knew from experience that focusing on her clit was the fastest way but she wouldn’t be pleased if she detected you were just trying to get her off quickly. If you made her come she’d be more likely to eat you or or even kiss you, which would help you from the weariness you’d been feeling since she left. Her slim finger slowly trailed up your inner thigh, collecting the slick that had already leaked from your core. Her nails raked gently over your fevered skin, making your legs shake with desire.

The Princess’s clit was now hard enough that you started softly sucking it into your mouth and kissing at it. You felt a tremor in her strong thighs as they closed around your head. You took that as permission to make her come, so you continued to suck and kiss, using your tongue to rub at her as hard as you could. Princess Reiju let out a moan as she rocked on your face, your own desires forgotten as she focused on her own. Both of her hands wound into your hair, pulling your head closer to her pussy as she chased her orgasm on your face.

“That’s it…that’s it… nnh…aah~ I’m c-close,” the Princess husked as she rocked on you as you tried to match her tempo. Moving your tongue as much as you could, the Princess’s moans increased in tempo and pitch until you felt a gush of liquid spilling from her. You drank as much as you could, trying to capture everything the Princess gave you. You didn’t stop licking until she stopped rocking and settled down on your face.

��Adequate,” Princess Reiju scoffed while throwing her leg off of you and rising to stand over you, your torso between her legs. Your saliva and her fluids were on her thighs, and you pushed yourself up on your knees, back into third position.

She widened her stance over you and you stuck out your tongue in silent question. “Begin,” she commanded as her eyes flicked to your face. You licked at her salty skin like it was ambrosia, cleaning up all the previous mess of her slick. You licked her thighs in long, slow stripes, making sure to trace her 66 tattoos. Your tongue ended just before her cunt, as the Princess would still be sensitive and not receptive to more at the moment.

“Mmh. You’ve been so good for me, making me come then licking me clean like the good girl you are. Maybe I should forgive you,” the Princess mused aloud, as if mulling the idea over.

“As you wish, Princess, I always seek your forgiveness” you said meekly, pausing your licking to tip your head up to look at her. Your head was spinning and you felt nauseous but you tried to hide your symptoms from the Princess. Your statement made the Princess’s curly eyebrow rise and you could have cried from relief. Princess Reiju had taken your enthusiasm as reassurance that you cared for her which meant she would possibly give you the antidote soon.

“Enough. Go get the chest,” Reiju commanded, walking away from you. You stood a little too quickly and wobbled slightly but righted yourself as you walked into the Princess’s extensive closet. By the time you had retrieved the small wooden trunk, the princess was nude except for her boots, her raid suit contained back in its canister. You opened the lid and held it out for her, trying to refrain from looking at her selection. Princess Reiju hummed as she rummaged through the various items before pulling out a girthy dildo and the associated strap.

“Strip and get on the bed. Fourth position. Don’t make me wait,” the Princess said, already stepping into the harness and fastening it around her body. You wasted no time and hurriedly unbuttoned your shirt, throwing it on the ground. You removed your bra and skirt similarly and left them in the same pile - you’d be the one cleaning the room later anyways. Climbing onto the Princess’s large four poster bed, you got yourself into fourth position, which was on your hands and knees as you faced the Princess.

A shiver of anticipation went down your spine as she sidled towards you, an impish grin on her face. She now sported the harness but was twirling the dildo in her hand, the pink of the fashioned cock matching both her hair and her suit.

“I think you missed me, right?” the Princess asked, rubbing the dildo over her cheek. She didn't notice but her question revealed that you had been correct in your assessment, her insecurities shining through even as she had you squirming beneath her. The Princess often made you swear you desire and love for her, but especially after she returned from a trip. She wanted for you to reaffirm your desire, to make her feel wanted.

“Yes, Princess, I missed you. Every moment we were apart. Please don’t leave me behind again, I can’t bear it,” you begged, the reply nearly instant. The Princess didn’t respond but her face softened slightly, her frown nearly gone.

“You need me,” she continued, not asking a question. You nodded your head fervently, causing your breasts to swing slightly. You felt like every pore of your body needed her, calling out to her touch. You hadn’t come in weeks and if she didn’t help you soon you felt like you’d combust.

“I need you, Princess. I need you like the air I breathe,” you said as she put her hand under your chin to tilt your head up. She leaned down, her face close to your own. You could feel the warm breath from her nose tickling your face but didn’t dare move, afraid she would pull away at the last moment.

“I missed you too,” she said softly, before pressing her lips against your own. You felt tears prick at the corners of your eyes as you opened your mouth to allow her tongue inside. The relief from the poison was near instant as you felt the antidote transfer from her mouth to yours. You whined for more from Reiju as her tongue dominated your mouth, wanting everything she was giving you and more. Your fingers gripped the bedspread tightly but your hands remained planted on her bed as she hadn’t given you permission to touch her face.

“Eager little thing,” Reiju said, breaking off the kiss but not moving away. You kept reaching for her mouth with your own, desperate for more antidote from the Princess. The more you consumed the longer the effects would last and you’d be free from withdrawals. You kissed the corner of her mouth, her neck, her chin, anything you could possibly reach without moving out of position.

Reiju laughed as she stood up once more, her hand under your chin now slapping your cheek lightly. Once you would have cared but now all you felt was the relief coursing through your veins. You wanted to collapse against the plush bed but knew the Princess wasn’t finished yet. Besides, you needed direct contact of her saliva against your pussy in order to slake the aching burn of your denied orgasm.

“You’re dripping wet for me already, do you think it needs any more?” the Princess asked, sticking out her tongue. She was teasing you, trying to see if you’d fumble at the last moment so she could deny you what you so desperately wanted. Your pussy throbbed with desire but you bit your lips.

“I love you, Princess,” was your whispered reply. Princess Reiju gave you a small smile and stuck out her tongue. She ran the dildo up and down the phallus, wetting it for you. She licked it until there were beads of saliva dripping down both sides and attached it to her harness. The bed dipped as she climbed behind you. Her hands roved over your thighs and gave your tits a squeeze. You wanted to push back into her but that would end with you over her lap, being spanked for impatience.

“I can tell, your sloppy pussy is crying for me. Did you touch yourself while I was gone?” she asked, rubbing the dildo through your soaking folds.

“No, Princess,” you said with a shake of your head.

“Good girl, just like I told you,” she cooed, lining herself up. She pushed into you to the hilt without warning, making you moan loudly. The antidote began working and your desire was nearly at a fever pitch while the Princess set her even and slow pace. Her hands spread the globes of your ass so she could enjoy watching the dildo sink into your cunt.

“Sucking me in, such a slut for me,” she said, her hands gripping your hips as she started pounding into you. Though the Princess looked lithe and willowy, she was inhumanely strong with incredible endurance. She could, and had, fucked you through the night long after your own body gave out.

“Only for you, P-princess,” was your reply as you tried to stave off your orgasm. After so long your orgasm was bubbling to the surface immediately. You gritted your teeth, needing to hold off until she gave you permission to come.

“Poor little Butterfly, you want to come so soon?” the Princess mocked you, a hand reaching down to rub your clit.

“ Aah, ahh! P-please! Please P-princess! I c-can’t hold, I can’t hold it -” your eyes were closed as you tried to keep your vision from fading to black, the cord in your belly wound so tight anything else from the Princess would make it snap immediately.

“Shh, I know. I know you missed me. Come for me,” the Princess commanded softly as her other hand pinched your nipple hard. You screamed the Princess’s name as you came around the dildo, her fingers rubbing your clit as she rode you even rougher. The first orgasm after the Princess returned home felt like being struck by lightning, your soul painfully illuminated for a few brilliant moments. Her fingers picked up speed as your high was ending, the Princess’s cruel desires all too apparent.

“N-n -” you wanted to tell her that you were too sensitive, that you couldn’t take another so sooner after the first.

“Yes,” was all she said, her unsympathetic tone giving you insight into how the rest of the night would go. You felt like every nerve ending was on fire as she forced you to ride another peak too close to the first. Your body seized, unable to move as you were frozen by the intensity of your orgasm.

It had only been a few minutes with the strap and you already felt like you’d run a marathon. After your second orgasm, the Princess allowed you to collapse on the bed, but didn’t remove herself from your body. Sitting on your thighs, her hands trailed up and down your back, running her fingers on the faint scars she’d left with her sharp nails during times before.

“Good girl. Let’s make up for lost time, yes?” the Princess whispered into your ear as you struggled to catch your breath. You groaned into the bed as you felt her beginning to move within you once more.

“Mmh, did you really miss me?” the Princess whispered into your shoulder as the two of you cuddled in her bed. Her head was laying on your chest, covering up some of the bites she'd given your breasts. Your hands massaged her tense back as you took a deep breath. You’d already reassured her countless times that you loved her, that she was the only one you wanted, that you and your heart belonged to her and her alone, but it hadn’t been enough. Only in the dark of night, after hours of sex, wrapped in your sore arms, did Princess Reiju ever reveal her true vulnerability - her desire to be loved.

It had been a long night - she’d fucked your face, your pussy, and your ass for hours, making you come again and again until you begged her to stop. In between, she came on your mouth and fingers and once on a dildo gag she’d put in your mouth and bounced on. You were exhausted and in a few short hours your duties as servant would begin again. You closed your eyes for the sleep that would wash over you momentarily.

“I truly did, Princess. I can’t live without you.”

Taglist: @mfreedomstuff

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sconeaon · 16 days ago

Note

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little things | koby

➳ categories: college au, gender neutral reader

➳ word count: 3k

➳ summary: It's no surprise when your friends' significant others swing by to drop off snacks and drinks for sustenance as you pull a much needed all-nighter for finals, but while everyone else is being looked after, who's looking after you? Enter Koby, the guy you never expected to care for you.

➳ notes: thanks for the request @mibso! ur like the best koby fan i know 🗣️

➳ cross-posted on ao3

"I... I think I'm gonna be sick."

Usopp tells you that he's on his third Red Bull as a dumb excuse for taking an unhealthy dosage of caffeine in a span of 18 hours because Nami has taken over four energy shots to power through the rest of her materials. She did it for the sake of passing Physics 189, an elective class on atmospheric physics that she stresses on too much because her love for it exceeds the exosphere, but she's starting to tweak (in Gen Z terms) because she has no fucking clue what's going on anymore.

Her head falls on the table of your study room—rightfully booked, not stolen, because your friend group is deferential compared to those study room squatters who don't even do any studying—and immediately, you and Usopp turn toward her in concern, the bags under her eyes being telltale signs of her surrender. It isn't Nami to give up on Physics 189 because she loves it more than anything, probably more than the weatherman in your local news, but in her defense, she hasn't slept in 31—going on 32—hours, and her body is giving into exhaustion despite the energy shots.

You stand from your seat across from her, reaching forward to gently shake her awake, but Nami is down like a snoozing puppy. Usopp groans when he realizes that he's going to need to carry her back to the girls' dormitories, while you thank your beliefs silently that she has finished enough of her materials to pass the exam she has to take the following morning.

"Sucks to be a physics major," Usopp mutters to himself as he pats Nami's head one last time before going back to his devices. He says that pitifully as if he isn't pitiful himself this finals week; he's a fine arts major because he likes being creative, likes putting things together, whether it be digital or traditional works of art, and if that isn't tiring enough, he also minors in engineering for fun (but maybe it isn't so bad because he has actual written exams he can study for instead of submitting a subjectively okay-tasting spaghetti due at 11:59 PM—only Sanji has to worry about that kind of shit in your circle).

Nevertheless, the grind never stops. You train your eyes back to your laptop, regaining your focus as you continue the assignment you've been working on the past hour. Once done, you hurry to the comfort room to take a quick break and arrive back at the study room to continue working.

By the time you arrive, however, more people have entered the small space, visitors from the neighboring rooms on the upper level. It turns out that they've come to visit your friends.

"Oh my god, um, is she okay?" Nami's girlfriend Vivi tries to shake her awake, causing Usopp to tell her softly that he tried to wake her earlier but to no avail. Distressed, Vivi puts down the small container she was holding and embraces Nami from behind, tilting her head toward her girlfriend's sleeping face and trying to talk her into waking up.

Usopp's girlfriend, Kaya, is the next to make her presence known by skipping over to the man, patting his head, and offering a bag of goodies and a PET bottle of lemon iced tea she got from the vending machine a few floors down. She smiles at you, and you reciprocate, not until the doors open to yet another sickly cute couple that makes you want to depressingly barf.

Sabo and Koala appear at the entrance of the study room with Sabo holding the door open for his girlfriend to come inside. She tells the two girls that study break is over, which promptly gets them moving. Vivi tells everyone that she has to bring Nami home, or else she's waking up to a grumpy girlfriend tomorrow morning, while Kaya obediently lets go of Usopp and helps him pack his things. As Sabo and Koala disappear, Usopp shyly apologizes.

"Why apologize?" you ask with a shrug.

"Because!" He gestures to the once-messy table where you, he, and Nami spent the past 15 hours studying. Now that Nami is being carried back to the dorms and he's leaving with Kaya, you'll be left alone with no one to look after you.

You shake your head. "I appreciate the concern, but everyone has to fend for themselves this season. You know the joke, 'Is it finals week or is it my final week?'" The couple bursts out laughing. "So really, you shouldn't be worried about leaving me here. I've survived the past few years in college, so this is easy shit!"

"Well, if you say so," Usopp says with a doubtful tone, but he takes it back because he's just playing with you. When he gets his things packed neatly inside his bag, he helps you and Kaya transfer a snoozing Nami on Vivi's back for a shameless piggyback ride to the dorms.

Once all is settled, your friends shuffle out of the study room, and the place is finally quiet.

Lonely and quiet.

Loneliness creeps up your shoulder as you lean back on the armchair with a sigh. Your chest feels empty, and it becomes more evident the longer you sit in quiet without the sound of Usopp's confused whispers or Nami's silent cusses. You're just alone, without your friends or any lover to bring you food to cheer you on. While everybody else is being looked after, no one is looking after you, and you'd be lying to yourself if you said that it didn't upset you.

There's always that unwanted feeling of jealousy that boils in your stomach whenever your friends and their lovers appear in front of you. They act so sweetly cute toward each other that it makes you yearn for a love as real as theirs, and now that finals season is rolling in, you need someone else's company more than ever. Kind of like aftercare, since college is kicking your ass and beating you into a pulp, so it makes sense to seek comfort. Unfortunately, you aren't graced even with the smallest bit of romantic interaction, so you just sit alone, sad, single, and most importantly, jealous.

As you wallow in silence, your stomach growls, and you realize that you haven't eaten or drunk in a while. You think back to the food Vivi and Kaya brought their lovers, and your heart sinks as another wave of loneliness crashes onto your pitiful single soul.

It feels nice to be loved, doesn't it? You think to yourself in jealousy as you look at the home screen of your cellphone.

"Shit, it's one o'clock?!" Yelling to yourself, you correct your posture on the armchair and shake your head to ward off grogginess. No wonder why Usopp and Kaya decided to leave; Kaya has strict guardians, and she only gets to hang out with a select few because she still has a curfew at her big age. It seems like she's broken that rule tonight, though.

Opening your laptop, you're notified that the battery is low. You roll your eyes as you angrily retrieve the charger from your backpack.

Unfortunately, it isn't there.

You look around your bag frantically, believing the device to be there even though it isn't. As you ransack your bag, tears of anger well in your eyes at the unfortunate event, your patience running thin by the second. You look through every pocket, hole, and nook and cranny, but the charger isn't there. When your laptop screen goes black and the stupid low battery icon flashes in the middle of the screen, your eyebrows automatically knit in fury as your hands clench into a tight fist.

Not only were you left alone, but you also can't find the one device that will get you through the night.

Having had enough, you slam your hands on the table in anger, letting the sound echo in the room and the pain settle on your skin. Fuck this shit. Fuck tonight, actually. You feel so alone and stressed by school, and to top it all off, you can't find your dumb laptop charger that you just want to—

"Ugh! I want to punch someone!"

"Okay, I'll just leave then!"

Your head spins toward the door in surprise. A guy with light pink hair peeks through the small opening like a lost dog, his hands a little shaky and his mouth forming a frown. You recognize him: Koby, one of the guys in your classes, who you got to spend a month-long group project with because the other people in your group weren't helping. Koby is calm and sweet, and you may not be close, but you vibe with him just right.

"Um, did you need something? Sorry for the noise, by the way." You sneak in an apology at the end of your question because you're not sure how Koby feels about witnessing an acquaintance-almost-stranger blare out about wanting to punch someone. Like you said, Koby is calm and sweet—it would be bad to give the poor guy a heart attack.

"I-I was going to ask if I could share the room with you since, w-well, you seem to be alone, and I saw your friends come out earlier—"

"Just come in."

Koby ignores the heavy sigh you let out in fear of ticking you off even more. Entering the room, he doesn't know why you're so stressed since you seemed to be having a good time earlier with your friends. The walls are made of glass, so he's been scouting the area like a hawk to hopefully score a vacant room to spend the rest of the night in. Helmeppo left the study hall hours ago in defeat, so he had to fend for himself alone.

Thankfully, you don't seem to be too bothered by his presence. He doesn't mean to be cocky, but maybe it's because he was a good group mate to you in the past.

Koby settles on Nami's vacant seat across from you, putting his bag down on the chair beside him. You watch him with bored eyes, and Koby swears he feels a chill run down his spine when he realizes that you're eyeing him intensely. Even then, he decides to mind his business and begin setting up his materials on the table.

Koby being Koby, unfortunately, he ends up breaking. "Sorry for the interruption," he says after feeling too embarrassed.

"It's okay. Sorry for staring," you mutter. Koby nods, disregarding your tired tone. Justifiable, he thinks. It's one o'clock in the morning, and everybody in the hall hasn't slept much besides him. He mentally pats himself on the back for deciding to sleep before coming there to study—good job.

Suddenly, he notices you groaning to yourself quietly, like a silent cry for help because you're too embarrassed to ask for it. Koby decides whether or not he should ask, seeing that you were already enraged to begin with, but he decides to just go for it because what could possibly go wrong with just asking?

"Are you okay?" he asks.

You roll your eyes. Koby hopes it wasn't meant for him.

"Yeah, yeah, I am— well, not really. No, I'm not okay. Do you have a Type C charger?"

Koby's lips open in slight shock. He's starting to get scared, like you're a ticking time bomb that can detonate any second now. Even then, he slowly nods and reaches for his backpack again to come and collect the charger you're asking for.

"Here." He pushes the device toward you, and you all but leap across the table to grab it. Koby notices your desperation when you crouch on the ground and plug the charger into the wall socket and hastily get your laptop back up and running. He gulps.

Once the screen lights up, your face brightens. "Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Uh, you're welcome!" Koby awkwardly replies through a nervous laugh, delighted to see that you aren't angry anymore.

"You're my savior," you tell him. "You don't know just how sad I was today. I mean, my friends are gone, and my laptop just died on me, but I didn't bring a charger and all that shit. Worst of all, I'm literally—"

Your stomach growls.

"Starving," you finish. Koby keeps the same expression on his face, lips quirked up into an awkward smile as he listens to you ramble. You place a hand on your tummy and you rest your head on the table. "Sorry, Koby..."

He's glad to hear his name, though. It's nice to know that you still remember him despite your foggy brain and tired system. Looking into his backpack again, he grabs a small pink eco-bag and pushes it toward you.

You tilt your head up at the noise. The bag is right in front of your face.

"What's this?"

"You said you were hungry, so..." He nods to the bag and almost jumps from his seat when you snatch it with your quick hands. You look inside, then you scatter the contents on the table. Koby motions to the array of snacks: yogurt, milk, chocolate bars, peanuts, coffee-flavored candies, chocolate malted powder, and two bottles of probiotics. Realizing just how much food he had with him, he scratches his nape shyly. "Um, I always have food with me, but you can have these. I think you might need it because you've been here since morning."

You blankly stare at the assortment of snacks in front of you. Your heart pounds in your chest, and your lips form a pout.

Koby notices and assumes that you're staring at the milk.

"Sorry," he says meekly. He's kind of panicked, thinking that he brought the wrong flavor of milk. "Do you hate strawberry?"

"What?" you ask, then later on realize what he's talking about. Oh, poor innocent Koby—he thought you were upset with the milk, but really, you're just moved by his generosity. He's so kind. Do you even deserve this after scaring the guy? "No, I was just, like, thinking to myself, that's all."

"Oh," he says. "What were you thinking of?"

"I'm wondering if you're my guardian angel." His ears perk up and his cheeks start to turn pink. You pick up the strawberry milk he was talking about and inspect it closely. Then, you hold it in front of his face and make a side-by-side comparison. "Your hair and cheeks are pink, just like the milk."

His face flushes even more.

"And now you're blushing harder," you point out. As you observe the snacks on the table, many of what Koby bought seem to be strawberry-flavored, and it warms your heart to think that he seemingly has a natural attraction toward anything pink, like his light fluffy hair (and his seemingly squishable cheeks). It then crosses your mind if his hair is all-natural or if he dyes it regularly because it's the kind of pink that doesn't look real, but at the same time does. Koby catches you staring at him longer than socially acceptable though, so you snap out of your trance to avoid the awkwardness.

"I don't want to assume and waste your study time, but it seems like you're the one all entranced now," he mutters the last part because he realizes that he isn't bold enough to be making such moves on you, so he keeps his head down in embarrassment. When you don't reply, Koby opens his textbook, fixes his specs, and reads.

Your stomach aches another time, so you grab the yogurt and eat it like you haven't eaten in years. One by one, the snacks on the table disappear as you eat in silence, giving yourself a well-deserved break.

Suddenly, it hits you. Loneliness is washed away by a feeling of comfort, and, ugh, it feels so good to feel this way. Truth be told, you're still sad that your single self doesn't have a special romantic support person like your friends do, but even if you never saw Koby in that light, his company almost feels similar to it. Maybe it's the bitter jealous pang in your chest after seeing couple after couple be so lovey-dovey during finals season, but whatever it is, it's eased down a bit because of Koby. The kind guy, Koby. The oh-so-generous guy, Koby. The pink-haired guy who might be a modern-day superhero in secret, Koby. Just how many people has he done this for? Is it just you? How kind is he to share his cute pink bag of snacks because he sensed that you were hungry? What about the charger he probably needs for himself?

As you chew on an energy bar, you realize something.

Since when did Koby look this cute?

"Hey, what are you— are you crying?! Are you okay?!"

You nod your head. You didn't even realize you were crying until Koby looked up from his textbook and pointed it out. You cover your eyes with your arm.

"I'm fine, just, um, ignore me and keep studying! Gosh!"

In panic, he reaches inside his backpack for a fresh pack of tissues. He rises from his seat and walks over to you, offering it.

"Was it the candy? What's wrong?"

You reject the tissues. "No! It's just, like, about you and stuff—"

"Wha— I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry!"

"No, you got it all wrong! I'm thankful for you, not the other way around." You smile through your dramatic tears. "You're just so sweet to me. You lent me your charger and gave me food when I needed them most."

He blinks slowly.

That's it?

"W-Well, I'm glad that you're... happy... about it... I guess..." he replies questioningly. "Do you still need...?"

"Tissues? No, I'm okay." You wipe your tears with your hands and shake your head. You feel energized. "Thank you, Koby..."

...for being here.

There it goes again: the slight shock on Koby's face has a hint of confusion as he tries to make sense of your actions, but he's more understanding than judgmental given your circumstances. He doesn't know what got you all annoyed in the first place, but if you're okay as you claim to be, then that's good enough for him.

Koby smiles at you genuinely. As he goes back to studying, you make a mental note to befriend him once this is all over.

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