#Blue is usually pretty good for ''Not in one's right mind'' colour I think - although that might just be the TGWDLM talking lol

[princessbrunette]

when did you know you loved me? pt.1 /4 ♡

for puppy!reader, being john booker routledge’s girlfriend meant asking random questions at random times. would you still love me if i was a worm? what would you do if someone tried to kidnap me? who would win in a fight between you and a shark?

what you loved about john b, was that he always had an answer. that was this thing — always having a solution, a plan A, plan B, it was all he knew, so he never had trouble thinking of ways to answer your innocent, inquisitive queries.

it was on a stroll through the neighbourhood, hand in hand when the question occurred to you. this was the first time you’d ever loved someone — so you wasn’t sure how it was supposed to work. sure, you’d said ‘i love you’ to eachother, many times — but you wasn’t sure if you could pinpoint the moment it happened. the moment you realised.

“i thought of a question to ask.” you swing his hand in your own as you walk carefully alongside him, careful not to trip on any loose tiles in the sidewalk like you’d done five minutes prior. you seem to have snapped him out of some thoughts, possibly a conundrum he was facing with the pogues or about some maps, but he seems happy to escape his thoughts — head snapping towards you with a small smile.

“yeah? shoot, pup.”

“when did you know you loved me?” you’re a little quieter today, perhaps timid to ask such a vulnerable question. as you ask he feels your eyes flicker up from your shoes to his hand, up his arm and then to his face. it wasn’t like you to be shy, not with him — which only filled his heart with more of that warm admiration.

“ohoho— that is a good question. one i actually, have an answer to.” he smirks, and you can’t help but grin, already feeling at ease. there was always a story with john b, it was never a simple answer.

“yeah?” you sound hopeful, staring up at his profile as you walk now, trusting him to guide you away from anything that could cause you to trip once more.

“uh-huh. i even remember what you were wearing that day.” he hums, enjoying the element of you having to draw it out of him, although he would have definitely have just told you anyway without any convincing.

“tell me!” you gasp with an elated giggle and he chuckles in response.

“okay, okay— but look, don’t expect anything crazy. it was uh… kind of a regular old moment? you know? like… you’re gonna be confused.” he nods as he gathers his thoughts. you come to a brick wall, one with chipped white paint, and pink flowers sprouting from the overgrown grass around it. you take the moment to let go of his hand and leap, clambering up to sit on top of the wall. instead of telling you to be careful like he usually might, he joins you — sitting side by side on the wall.

“okay.” you ready yourself.

“we’d maybe known eachother for…” he blows a puff of air from his cheeks as he thinks. “six weeks? you’d started coming to the chateau pretty regularly, kind of just showing up without an invite which i didn’t mind ‘cus you know, i was falling for you pretty fast.”

you smile, remembering what it was first like when you were getting to know john b.

“so… you’d fallen out of that tree. you remember? the one out the front, just… dropped right down from the branch. what you were doing up there, i don’t know, i mean i told you not to climb it, but there you were, climbing it anyway… and…” he rambles comically, gesturing you falling from the tree eliciting a small laugh from you, he trails off, thinking back on the moment with a softness to him. “you were wearing this cute little blue shirt and a skirt, and when i was patching you up i remember thinking how blue is like… definitely your colour.” he nods, and you find yourself mirroring his nod, so entranced in the way he speaks.

“anyway, uh — i was patching up your knee, and despite everything you still had your headphones over your ears. i gestured for you to take them off so, you know — i could ask if you’re okay, and uh…” he chuckles, shaking his head. “you said no. because your favourite song was still playing and you wanted to let it finish. yoooou and that damn walkman.” he shakes his head again in faux disappointment as you grin proudly, beginning to remember the day he spoke of.

only then he breaks out of his storytelling trance, turning his head to look at you from where he was staring ahead. “aaaand… yeah. love kinda just… happened? i know for a fact i knew in that moment that i was in love with you.” he finishes, his voice low and warm as he looks at you like you hung the moon and stars. john b was never one to shy away from affection— he was a loverboy at heart and this only proved it. you bite your lip, feeling your nose get a little runny like you wanted to cry. noticing this, john b smirks, tilting his head a little.

“what, too sappy? didnt wanna make you cry…” he jokes, reaching over to cup your cheek, swiping his thumb over it like he was wiping the tears that hadn’t fallen.

“it would be a happy kind of cry… because you make me happy.” you’re lost for words, but you swallow down the lump and smile anyway, kicking your legs on the wall with glee.

“well that’s good. i definitely like making you happy.”

[ashxketchum]

Now it feels like we’re celebrating the 25th Anniversary 😍

This new art for an upcoming collaboration with Karatez is just simply stunning. The theme is (very obviously) “idol” and I personally love the futuristic pop concept they’ve added to the outfits. Although exact date and merch details haven’t been shared yet, they shared a few layouts of the key art.

The outfits are also great this time around because of their little references to the partner Digimon’s Perfect evolutions. Listing them down one by one as always.

Taichi: The blue markings on his jacket plus robotic arm markings on his right sleeve are a nice shoutout to MetalGreymon.

Yamato: We see WereGarurumon’s pattern on his jacket and a few belts wrapped around his hands that captures the punk-grunge vibe of WereGarurumon well. It may be Yamato’s affinity to music, but he looks extremely in his element in this art, it’s not often we see him so raring to go in official merch art (he’s more of a soft smiles guy usually).

Sora: Her gloves and the red bandana on her arm coupled with the feather in her hair are clear shoutouts to Garudamon. It’s kinda funny to me that being the girl who’s crest is a heart symbol, she’s making a victory sign while Mimi and Hikari are both making different types of finger hearts 😆

Koushiro: Honestly they were really subtle with the reference for him and even twitter couldn’t exactly answer my doubts so I’m gonna have to see Koushiro stans step up and answer whether the reference in his outfit limited to the markings on his jacket resembling AtlurKabuterimon’s chest?

Mimi: I think she’s the one with the most easy to catch references, her skirt resembles Lilymon’s and her hair tie looks like Lilymon’s flower canon. I love that she’s making the big finger heart because it’s just so very Mimi. If Yamato suits the passionate side of being an idol, Mimi is definitely meant for the cutesy visual vibe that can make fans go crazy over just a wink and a smile.

Jou: He’s wearing three belt like bracelets around one wrist like Zudomon which makes his a minimal reference though not as subtle as Koushiro’s. I do feel that they could’ve done a bit more with his look, maybe add a horn to the side of his headset? I also can’t wait to see the full art for each kid individually cuz I do think him and Yamato are wearing similar bellbottom pants!

Takeru: The feather on his headset and the yellow suspended straps are a decent reference to HolyAngemon. Considering that they wanted to keep the outfits limited to one colour per kid, I think this is the best way they could slip in the reference, though I wouldn’t have minded a few rings.

Hikari: The feather on the headset, the corset-ish belt around her waist and her gloves are very nice references to Angewomon. Keeping Hikari’s innocence as a kid intact while referencing a Digimon that is undoubtedly considered one of the most sexiest mons in the franchise would have been really tough and I salute the illustrators for coming up with this design! I also like the OG Korean finger heart she’s making, such a cute look on her.

The cherry on top are each of the Digimon partners holding supportive cheering goods for their kids. Piyomon’s love for Sora goes hard with her big name banner. Meanwhile, Agumon and Palmon kept it simple with haoris, Tailmon and Patamon too decided to go the simple route with light sticks. Gabumon, Gomamon and Tentomon seem normal from afar with their hand fans but when you get a closer look on all the hearts around Koushiro’s name on Tentomon’s fan, you know the three spent time making those themselves.

All in all, a pretty amazing illustration to be able to get merch of!

But wait that’s not all, andGallery has also teased a future cafe collaboration with Digimon Adventure on their twitter, more info will be announced on 19th Feb but they did share a preview of what to expect.

[rosebushstuff]

The Bitch With The Same Name As Me

Francis was sitting in class, bored out of his mind. He ran a hand through his slightly disheveled brown hair, which he hadn't combed because, well, he woke up 30 minutes before school started and he'd somehow rushed here in a not-so-good mood. So there he sat, in the classroom, staring at his desk. There was nothing particularly interesting about the greenish-blue colour of the wooden table, but Francis stared anyway, thinking about his history homework and how he really didn't give a shit about World War II.

Francis was starting to doze off, tired after a lot of work (if work means playing video games until 3 in the morning), when suddenly he heard a noise. He looked up and saw a blonde-haired man wearing blue-tinted sunglasses entering the room. It took him a second to realise it was PC Principal, and a slight bout of irritation flared up in his mind. After all, that was the guy who'd consider anything you said a microagression, and Francis thought of him to be nothing more than an annoying tryhard piece of shit. "What's the guy got to say this time?", he thought to himself.

The middle-aged man cleared his throat before going on. "Kids, you all should know that this weekend is the special-ed science fair. And, uh..." PC Principal flipped through a document before looking back up again. "Someone called Francis Myers has been selected to be one of the judges at the science fair. Is there a Francis Myers in this class?"

Francis, on hearing his name, jumped up. "Uhh, I'm Francis Myers." He said sheepishly.

"Alright then. Please show up at the venue of the science fair at 11:30 AM on Saturday, and don't be late." He said, before leaving the classroom, and leaving an extremely bummed out Francis behind.

Fucking bullshit...

On Saturday, Francis was at the science fair, waiting for it to begin. He felt...bored. Mind-numbingly bored. That was something Francis felt often, but now he was feeling it ten times worse than he usually did, when he suddenly saw somebody walking up to him. Francis blinked a few times and looked at the person.

It was a girl, with short red hair, and she was wearing a pristine-white lab coat. Her blue eyes met Francis's hazel green, and for the first time ever Francis felt his heart skip a beat. What the fuck?

"Hi." The girl said to him, and Francis snapped out of his slightly lovestruck daze. "Hey." He replied back in a tone he hoped was chill enough for the girl to think he was cool. "You're one of the judges at the science fair, right?"

"Yes...I am." He said, but he was distracted by how... cute she was. She has little freckles underneath her eyes, one of which was squinted, and she had red hair. Francis always had a thing for redheads, although he'd dated a few brunettes before, and the red complimented her face perfectly, but just as Francis was looking at her like a lost puppy, she said something again.

"What's your name?"

Francis had almost forgotten his name for a second because of the slight nervousness he felt but he went ahead anyway. "It's, uh, Francis. Yeah." He sputtered, and the girl giggles a little. "Oh, wow, my name's Francis too. Nice to meet you, Francis."

"... Nice to meet you too, Francis." He said, and the girl laughed again. Francis couldn't help but think her laugh was sweet.

Just then, the science fair began, and Francis went to judge the projects.

There were tons of them, ranging from an impressive machine that could use solar energy and convert it into battery to charge electric cars, to a piece of...burnt toast. Someone called Mimsy had submitted that, and Francis rated it a 1. Francis was starting to feel that sense of boredom again, when suddenly that pretty red-haired girl walked up and showed her project off. It was kind of basic - a Coke and Mentos volcano, and the two other judges rated it a 5, but seeing her bright, radiant smile as she explained her project was enough for Francis to rate her a 10.

Francis, (the red-haired girl, to be precise) beamed at her rating, but...she didn't win. Some kid called Jimmy did. She seemed slightly dissapointed, and Francis noticed that. He walked up to her and tried to break the ice.

"Uh...hey. You look kinda sad." He said. "Don't worry, there's always next time. I think your project is pretty cool."

"Really?" She perked up. "Thanks."

Francis decided to bite the bullet and ask her out. "So...uh...any plans later today?" He said, his eyes darting around the room nervously, but surprisingly..

"No, not really." She said. This was his chance!

"Wanna go to the movies with me later today?" He said. He'd have to use that extra ticket for Francis, making a mental note to apologise to Brimmy..."It's a Terrance and Phillip movie, so, I get if you don't want to-"

"Are you kidding? I love Terrance and Phillip! Of course I'll go!" She said. Francis noticed the slight blush on her face, and he smiled at her, and she smiled back.

Suddenly, she said something again. She tucked a strand of her bright red hair behind her ear before going on. "Uh... this is the first time a guy has asked me out before." She said.

"Really?" He tilted his head in curiosity. "You're a pretty girl. I wonder why." Francis's face became just as red as her hair. "You're way too nice, Francis." She half-whispered.

Maybe judging at the science fair wasn't that bad after all.

Wow, to be honest I didnt expect someone to make a fanfic based on one of my posts but thanks!

[dizzybevvie]

Hello B!

Do you have any opinions on the character designs within the aphverse?

Example: too many characters have blue eyes, there aren't enough (x) traits, etc etc

OK I WILL GET TO THAT BUT OMG NO ONES EVER CALLED ME B BEFORE ... I LOVE IT

[Keeping this to MYS because thats what I know.]

I mean, I DO think too many characters have blue eyes. Between Dante, Laurance, Garroth, Katelyn, Zane - thats already the majority of the friend group.

I dont mind the blue hair/blue eyes combo, but Dante AND katelyn having it is a bit much 🤷‍♂️ AND they couldve kept Laurances original colour pallet :( I totally get changing the design bc of the skins, but in MYS theres no lore reason for Laur having blue eyes so at least they shouldve been green right??? Im also devastated hes not ginger but alas <\3

I think overtime the girls in the show have less variety, particularly in the hair. No different lengths or anything. I mean, just take Cadenza! She has longass hair in s1 but it eventually gets cut the same length as Kate, KC and Aph. The girl with THE most variety in character design - and probably one of the best designs imo - is Kim, and i literally couldnt tell you a single one of her character traits other than 'possessed'. Her highlights are different and I like her colour pallet.

The guys all look... kinda similar too. But they did well differing them in little ways, like hair partings and such. I do want Laurance's long hair back tho. Jess dont be a coward give us ling hair ginger laurance

I think its very funny that Laurance has ABSOLUTELY NO fashion sense, but i would like clothes to be more consistent! I like Dante's outfit with the button up/button up/shirt combo, even if it was ridiculous it felt in character - although its a shame that after Aarmau was made canon no other character could wear purple or red, because dante looked good in red!! I love Garroth's hawaiian shirt getup and they should bring that vibe back for him for sure.

I dont think there are enough brown eyes im gonna be real brown eyes are beautiful and like. way too many inbred eyes /lh

this isnt so much an issue with character designs because. minecraft. but there arent many different body types. Like, I think Aphmau and Zane are fat, and then Travis has broad shoulders (according to 1 line of dialogue in s1, and hes still buff). and everyone else is just somewhere on the sims4 slider of skinny and strong.

WHERE ARE MY SHORT KINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOT EVERY GUY CAN BE 6"02U392U3837 JUST BECAUSE YOU LIKE THAT JESS. THERES NO WAY TRAVIS IS TALLER THAN KATELYN THERES NO WAY

It wouldve been neat seeing disabilities other than zane's blindness purely because of limited differentiation in design. Like, going forward into s7 I would love to see Travis keep the wheelchair bc im pretty sure he cant. recover from that. unless they pull some aphmau magic bs

All in all im torn abt Luci because I think its cute for her to be the odd one out (as i said in my If-I-Was-Tasked-With-Rewriting-Mystreet post), but thats clearly not the intention and you kinda forget shes a witch at all. Which would be cool if it was brought up? idk. Her black dress + bow was her best outfit i think. The red eyes and the bright ginger hair is a lot on the eyes and the black is a good combo for that.

TBH, the only Aph outfit I liked was the one from Season 3, but her current skin (non-mystreet) is actually very cute. I like it a lot

People have said this a lot, but one BIG issue i have with the mys designs is the colour pallets. Im a big fan of shows where one character is heavily associated with one colour, and though this doesnt HAVE to be the case for Mystreet, Id like then to be consistent. Kate's colour has always been blue, Travis' colour has always been green, Aph/Aaron Purple/red, Kc pink, zane black/grey, and Garroth is usually blue. but Dante, Laurance, Lucinda, Melissa, etc have had some super inconsistent ones.

One character design that I like across the series is actually KC. Once they know how to pair the pinks and black/white well, they do pretty well with it! Its just a lot of pink and easy to get wrong. but they do well

Travis' also isnt that bad, the outfit of his i really remember was fhe green hoodie and black trousers which felt correct.

To go back to the eye colours, Its fun to see Jess' thought process bc like. almost ALL of her love interests have blue eyes except aaron? idk. food for thought.

In conclusion,

[shutterfox5555]

HarmanPhoto Pheonix 200

First Impressions

This week I ran the first roll of HarmanPhoto Pheonix ISO 200. It's a completely new colour film made by HarmanPhoto from scratch, and is being sold as a limited run experimental film. I imagine with each batch they make of it they'll be improving and refining the recipe but as it stands now it's clearly the first attempt.

After watching a couple of reviews on it on YouTube, I metered at ISO 160 as a few people had said it yielded better results and I agree.

Olympus OM2 Spot Program with Tamron Adaptall 2 SP 28-80mm f3.5 lens, Shot on HarmanPhoto Pheonix 200 metered at ISO 160

Outdoors it performed pretty well, although the whites of the highlights are slightly blown out due to the lack of an anti-halation layer. Any areas of the photo with yellows/oranges/red look noticeably warmer than the rest of the image, though with the right subject/composition this could work very well. The grain is a bit more pronounced than I'd expect on an ISO 200 film but that was one of the things a lot of the reviews mentioned. No doubt if future versions of this film the grain will get finer.

Overall I think it's quite a nice outdoor film, you won't get as fine a detail as any other colour film of this speed due to the grain but then again other films have decades of research and refinement behind them.

Olympus OM2 Spot Program with Olympus Zuiko 55mm f1.2 lens, shot on HarmanPhoto Pheonix 200 metered at ISO 160

Indoors in average lighting it starts to suffer somewhat. Still useable, but takes more post-processing and exposure compensation to get an acceptable photo out of it. The grain as a result ends up even more visible and the shadows end up washed out somewhat. Also had to tone down the highlights a touch on the second tone curve to prevent them being blown out. Clearly takes more work in post with this film if it's in unfavourable lighting but still workable. If I were to shoot in these conditions again I would likely meter for ISO 125 instead.

I did also do some night street photography but these aren't worth posting. Even though the camera was saying it was metered correctly they were quite underexposed indeed, and although somewhat salvageable in post the results were poor. In addition, the lack of an anti-halation layer becomes painfully apparent to the point of loss of detail in surrounding areas.

Another thing to bear in mind with Pheonix 200 is that the negative film itself has a different colour than usual. With most films it's an orange-ish colour mask, whereas this has more of a blue-purple colour. Not an issue if you're scanning your own negatives like me, or know a film dev/scan place that knows their stuff, but if you're taking it to the sort of place that just has an automated scanner it'll be bamboozled by the different colour and the scans won't be brilliant with contrast and colours being wrong. Luckily Harman has posted on their website scanning tips for both photo labs and home scanners, so all is not lost.

In conclusion, I would say for a completely new colour C41 film its better than I was expecting, but only if it's in ideal lighting conditions, namely daylight. If you're in direct sunlight I would meter between ISO 160-200, in overcast conditions I'd meter at ISO 160, and in good/average lit indoor conditions meter at ISO 100, possibly ISO 80 if lighting is approaching the poor side. It's important to remember that lack of anti-halation layer, bright spots in your photos will suffer from bloom and being burnt out. For example, the hair of the woman and her paper in hand needed tone curve alterations to stop them looking very burnt out, and even after post they look brighter than they were in person. Best trying to avoid high contrast scenes and meter for midtones.

Overall I'm happy with Pheonix 200, and although it clearly has some teething issues its performed better than I expected a first gen from scratch new C41 film to perform. Here's hoping it's popular enough to warrant more runs of it, as I imagine with each run it gets it'll only keep getting better and better as they refine it.

[sysig]

They’re too cute, I can’t stop (Patreon)

[fairytalesofthewind]

Could I get a Peter Parker x Reader? With Fluff prompts 10, 12, and 13? Thank you!

Fluff 10: “Are we on a date right now?”

Fluff 12: “He’s so pretty I think I’m gonna faint.”

Fluff 13: “Are you flirting with me?” “You finally noticed?”

Thank you for your request! I tried to write trans!Peter, but I failed a bit. If anyone has tips/ requests, hit me up!

Requests are open!!!

Warnings: a hint of transphobia

Peter x reader (gender neutral)

It was the first day of school. But it’s wasn’t September. You were the new student, and you were joining in the middle of May. Thanks to your parents who wanted to move. So it was your first day in Midtown School of Science and Technology.

You were allowed to come one hour late. Then you would get an entire tour of the school and a conversation with the principal, Mr. Morita. Usually you do this beforehand but that wasn’t the case seeing as your parents moved so suddenly.

After a very awkward hour with Mr. Morita, he led you to your first class. Science, he informed you. You were relieved to start with that. It was your favourite course at your previous school.

Luckily you didn’t have to do an introduction, Mr. Morita did that for you. The teacher gave you the required books and assigned you to your seat. The girl sitting there didn’t even look up to give you some sort of greeting.

To make it even worse, the subject was one you had already seen. So everything Mr. Harrington was explaining, you already knew. You knew the answer to every question he asked the class. You didn’t answer, though. Perhaps that’s for another day.

The boy in front of you turned around to get something out of his backpack on the ground. You stopped complaining in your head about how boring the class was, because all your thoughts were tuned to the beauty of him. As he saw your staring he gave you an awkward smile and then he turned back around. His brown puppy eyes were now forever embedded in your mind. You hoped it wasn’t too obvious with how hard you were blushing, but you covered your cheeks just to be sure.

Eventually it was time for lunch. It was the thing you were not looking forward to at all. You considered this to be even worse than having to talk with the principal for an hour. You wanted to hide in the toilet but that wouldn’t give you any friends.

You walked in right away, without hesitation. Many students were already seated in the cafeteria. They made no move to invite you over to their table. Alright then, I guess it’s not really obligated to invite the new kid to your table.

A lot of them were staring at you. They didn’t really give you a welcoming look. You shifted your weight from one foot to the other and scanned the big room. You saw one girl not looking, she was very invested in the notebook in front of her. You walked over her and asked if you could sit with her.

“Yeah sure,” She shrugged and put her notebook aside. “You’re the new one, right? I’m MJ.” You smiled in greeting and introduced yourself too.

You were talking about how your day was going when the boy from the science class walked in. Your attention was once again completely enraptured by his presence.

MJ looked at you with a closed off look, a bit defensive. She didn’t like it when people stared at Peter, their gaze was almost always filled with disgust. “Why are you staring at him?” You looked at her with wide eyes. How could you not stare at the beauty currently walking in the cafeteria?

“Are you kidding me? He’s so pretty I think I’m gonna faint!” MJ considered the blush coating your cheeks, and the look in your eyes; completely enamoured. “What’s his name?” You turned back to ask the girl in front of you, but in no time you were looking back at the beautiful boy.

You saw that they were approaching your side of the cafeteria and your heart beat faster and faster the closer he got. You got to see more and more features of him. He was quite tall, he was lean. And he was so handsome.

Suddenly MJ yelled out: “Hey losers, we’re here.” You looked at her with wide eyes and you felt the blush on your cheeks spread. If your blushing wasn’t so obvious a few seconds ago, it was certainly now.

The mystery boy arrived along with a friend. He was in your class too, but you didn’t pay him much mind. You were entirely focused on the boy who was sitting in front of you. They greeted you with a smile. If you weren’t a healthy teenager, you would have been lying dead on the ground by now due to a heart attack.

Both of the boys got seated and introduced themselves to you. The one opposite to you, stretched out his arm to shake your hand. “Hi, I’m Ned.” You already knew that they were both incredibly friendly. The other boy –the handsomest person you’ve ever seen, stretched out his arm too. You could see a colourful bracelet adorning his wrist. It was made out of blue, white and pink strings.

“I’m Peter, we saw each other in science, right?” Peter, such a basic name for a unique person. You nodded and wanted to answer but all that came out were strangled words due to your nervousness. All of you laughed it off. Peter give you another gorgeous smile and said: “It’s alright, take your time.” He mistook your nervousness for being new, and talking to new people. Although that was partly true, it was mostly because of him. That exquisite smile didn’t help to calm you.

After that it didn’t take long to calm down a bit. You were talking with the group as if you were friends for years. When you saw it was almost time for the next period, you all exchanged numbers so that you could keep in contact.

Just before everyone left the cafeteria, MJ showed you a drawing of you and Peter. It was you sitting at a table staring at Peter with big love hearts. In the clouds above your heads was Peter’s name written multiple times. The longer you looked the redder you became. You quickly walked away from MJ. And you heard her chuckle behind you.

More days passed, and you tried to be more obvious every day. You liked Peter, a lot. But he still didn’t seem to get the hint. MJ and Ned did. But they assured you that Peter wasn’t not interested but that he was just extremely oblivious.

But it seemed to have finally dawned on him the fourth week of you trying. You were studying in the park after school. Ned and MJ had claimed that they couldn’t come with an excuse that seemed reasonable enough. But you knew better as you saw their smirks as both of you realised you were going to hang out together. Alone.

It was really warm, so you suggested to get some ice-cream, your treat. Peter waited patiently on a bench in the park as you went to an ice-cream stroller. You came back with two cones with scopes of vanilla.

As you both ate the desserts, neither of you said anything. You turned to him and said: “You know, I think you look really nice today.” Peter stopped eating from his cone and blushed. You received a small thank you.

Peter suddenly stopped eating all together and turned towards you. Now you were sitting very close to each other. You felt bold, and reached out to him. You pushed a misbehaving curl back behind his ear.

“Wait, hold on. Are you flirting with me?” You couldn’t contain your chuckles. Your hand shifted to cradle his cheek.

“Yes, Peter,” You managed to say between your laughter. “You finally noticed?” He laughed along you, but they were laced with a bit of nervousness.

“Well, that’s good…” He mumbled, it sobered you up a bit. You hummed in question. “’Cos, I really like you.”

“Well,” You mimicked, “that’s good, because I like you too.” Your hand stroked his cheek once, twice, before you went back to eating your ice-cream.

Then Peter made the same thoughtful look as he did just seconds before. “Are we on a date right now?”

“I’d hope so.” You smiled cheekily at him.

Let’s just say that both of you decided that you would like to hang out together again.

[yeoandmoon]

you are now listening to graceland too by phoebe bridgers! ( yeosang x f!reader )

fluff, burnout!yeosang, bassist!yeosang, writer!reader, childhood friends 2 lovers but also idiots 2 lovers, yeosang and reader run away, seongjoong are engaged, wooyoung + yeonjun have a band, there is only one bed, yeosang has a nose ring, it’s implied reader has a bad relationship with her mother, wc is 3.1k

NOTE: happy yeosang day! this was a doozy to write, but i hope you all enjoy it! its based off one of my favourite phoebe bridgers songs! :)

There’s a mural on the wall of the hotel lobby. It’s a warm toned painting of a forest, with a hint of a bright blue sky peeking out from the top of the trees. There’s a moose standing at the forefront of the mural, and a little fox sleeping on a rock towards the bottom, surrounded by colourful flowers and leaves.

The mural confused you, if you were being honest. The hotel you worked the night audit at was situated in the busy downtown centre of the city you lived in, and there were barely any forests for miles around the city - let alone any wildlife, like moose or foxes. Hongjoong said it was to make guests feel more ‘in touch with nature’ and to help people forget about the ‘problems of the real world’, while Yeosang claimed it was ‘just another scam in the tourist trap’.

You, on the other hand, was sure the mural was put there to torture you. You would spend nights having staring contests with the moose (which, to your surprise, you always lost), or you would spend hours on Google with Hongjoong trying to find out what species of fox the sleeping fox was (you were sure it was a cape fox, while Hongjoong swore up and down that it was a gray fox). The blue sky between the trees teased you; a reminder that most of your days were spent in the library at your university, or in this dimly lit lobby.

Sometimes, it felt like the only time you saw the sunshine was when you were with Yeosang.

Despite the occasional burnout and the lack of seeing sun most days, you didn’t mind the job. You were always more of a night person, and your classes were always later in the day so you did manage to pull in some sleep. Due to the late hours, you usually only dealt with customers in the first hour or two of your shift, and most of that was just directing confused Ubereats delivery people and pretty Tinder dates to hallways and rooms. It was the perfect job to work on your writing, and get your school work out of the way without listening to your mother cry about how you’re throwing your life away like your sister.

Plus, you could think of a hundred worse people to spend the night shift with than the nighttime valet, Hongjoong. Hongjoong often kept you occupied with his latest reforms and art projects, and stories about his fiancee, Seonghwa & their friend, Yunho (who he kept insisting you needed to go on a date with).

“Your emo boy is coming.”

Well, you could think of ninety-nine worse people to spend the night shift with than Hongjoong, who sat next to you at the check-in desk.

You scoff, “He’s not my emo boy.” You mumble, glancing at the street entrance to see Yeosang walk in with an ice coffee on hand.

Despite your words, Kang Yeosang was your person (you wouldn’t quite use the term ‘emo boy’, even if it did fit), and he had been since your family moved in next door to his family when you two were children. Although your friendship lately had been reduced to these late night meetings while you two were on break on your respective graveyard shifts (you at the hotel and Yeosang at the convenience store down the block, of course) and occasional meetings in the garden when you were both running errands for your families, you still considered Yeosang one of your dearest memories.

It was hard not too, you suppose. He had been there for many of your firsts, and was always cheering you on. Yeosang always made you feel powerful and important - like a powerful heroine, and not his bratty next door neighbor who cried on his doorstep after being dumped by her first year partner. He always made you feel wanted.

Yeosang grinned at you as he stepped into the lobby (if your heart fluttered in your chest, you ignored it). He had on a backwards dad cap, and he had recently changed his nose ring out for the gold hoop San had bought him for his birthday. You could just faintly see his birthmark peeking out from where his bleach blonde hair curled under the hat.

“Hello, Sunshine.” He greets you, setting the coffee down on your desk.

You set the pen you were holding down, “Hi Yeosang.”

Upon first glance at Yeosang, you can tell he’s buzzing about something. He’s leaning over the check-in counter and chewing on his lip while making small talk with Hongjoong about the tourist season.

You raise an eyebrow, sipping your coffee as Yeosang turns back to you, “Do you remember Wooyoung and Yeonjun?”

You nearly choke on your coffee at the mention of your other neighbor and ex-boyfriend. Wooyoung had moved onto your street a few years after you had, and quickly became apart of the little bond you and Yeosang had formed. He moved to the coast with Yeonjun, your ex, the first chance they had gotten, but Wooyoung’s family remained in the neighborhood.

“I babysat Woo’s brother the other day…” You watched your friend, “Did something happen? Mrs Jung didn’t say anything the other day.”

Yeosang grins, and it’s his scheming grin, “Their band got signed,” He tells you, “They need a new bassist, and Wooyoung showed them that video you took of me from that show last month. Their label wants me to come down; play a few shows with them, record a couple demos. See if we have chemistry, basically.”

Your eyes widen - both out of excitement and fear. You were happy and excited for Yeosang! This is the opportunity he had been wanting for years, but you were also terrified.

You were terrified in a horrible, selfish way because you knew if Yeosang left to join Wooyoung and Yeonjun, he’d never come back to you.

“That’s… That’s great, Yeo!” You manage a grin whilst trying to shove the selfish thoughts away, “When do they want you there?”

Yeosang’s smile falters, just for a moment but you still catch it, “Monday.”

“F-Five days?”

He nods, “I’m leaving Saturday morning, so I can be there Sunday afternoon.”

You can see it in his eyes; he’s terrified too.

Before you can say anything else, Yeosang leans over the check-in counter and presses a chaste kiss to your forehead, “I have to get back to work, Sunshine.” He tells you, his voice quiet as if he’s giving you a secret, “I’ll see you later.”

He’s already halfway down the lobby when you swear and move out of your chair, you quickly call his name as you move out from behind the desk. You rush over to where he’s standing, and look up at him. He’s confused.

He opens his mouth to say something, but the words die in his throat when you pull him into a tight hug, “I’m proud of you, Yeo.”

Yeosang wraps his arms around you, pulling you closer to him. His chest is warm, and you’re sure you could spend hours here. He smiles, pressing another kiss to your head, “I know, Sunshine.” He pulls away, his hand on your arm, “I really do have to go, though. I’m already late for work.”

You nod, wrapping your arms around your torso as you watch him leave the hotel and turn down the street to go back to the convenience store. When you turn back around, Hongjoong is watching you with an amused look on his face.

You glare at him as you walk back to the desk, “Don’t you have a fiance to call, or something?”

----------------

You were tired.

Friday nights were always busy, but tonight was draining and loud and you could only take so much of Miss Liu’s incessant phone calls about mundane things at 3am. All you wanted to do was go home, and fall into your bed and sleep for hours.

Hongjoong didn’t help your mood either. It was an innocent question about Yeosang, asking if you’d seen him since he visited you on his break but it pushed your mood down to a low point. You had been so busy the past few days, and if you were being honest with yourself, you had been avoiding Yeosang.

You weren’t ready to see him leave. You knew it was selfish, but you figured avoiding Yeosang was easier than admitting you didn’t want him to leave you behind. You would just simply watch his life through Instagram and consider the ‘what-ifs’ in your life.

You shouldered your tote bag after clocking out before yelling a good-bye to Hongjoong. You could see the beginning rays of morning sun hitting the other buildings in the downtown core as you stepped out the employee doors, and then you were hit by the sight of Yeosang leaning against one of the pillars.

Your eyes widen, “Yeosan-”

“Come with me.”

You stop. Your words are left in your throat, “W-Wh… Go with you? To the coast?”

Yeosang nods, “Come with me,” He steps forward, taking your hands in his, “What do you have here? A degree you don’t care about? A job you hate?”

You frown, running over his words in your head, “I-I have my mom. And… I have Hongjoong!”

He raises an eyebrow, “Y/N, Sunshine… Your mom will barely notice you’re gone, and Hongjoong can visit us.” He cupped your cheek.

You’re so busy having an internal crisis you hardly notice the usage of ‘us’. You’re considering the logistics in your head. Yeosang was right; you didn’t care about your degree, and all it would take was an email saying you quit for them to find a new front desk person. Your mom would be upset for a few weeks. She’d probably make some passive aggressive Facebook posts about you before acting like your best friend again.

“Yeosang…” You look up at him, your hand coming up to circle around his wrist.

“Your sister is there, and you could write everyday.” Yeosang adds on, “I did the math, Y/N. Between the two of us, we’d have 6 months to figure it out. 6 months, and we’ll come back here if nothing works out.”

You stay silent for a moment.

“Sunshine, I promised I’d show you the stars, didn’t I?”

You gasp at the promise. It was a silly promise he had made when you were both kids; something you’d almost forgotten about.

It hits you quickly: there’s no one else you’d rather run away with. There’s no one else you’d trust to run away with.

You look up at Yeosang, “Yes.”

He grins, “Yes?”

You nod, “Yes, Yeo. I’ll go with you.”

----------------

An hour. An hour was how long it took for you to turn your life upside down for Kang Yeosang.

In an hour, you had emailed your program advisor and told them you wouldn’t be returning for the next semester, and you had called your manager and told them you wouldn’t be coming in for your next shift, or any shift after that (which was promptly followed by a phone call from Hongjoong, who seemed more excited about this than you were). You had packed up most of your clothes and important belongings, and they were loaded into the back of Yeosang’s shitty car. You left a note for your mother, and before you knew it, you were sitting in the passenger’s seat of Yeosang’s car.

----------------

You had fallen asleep barely an hour into the car ride. 

The rolling hills and fields outside your window made your eyes feel heavier, but you tried staying awake to keep Yeosang company.

“Go to sleep, Sunshine.” He tells you, “I’ll be here when you wake up.”

Yeosang’s promise was all it took for you to succumb to your exhaustion.

You don't usually remember your dreams. Though today, there are flashes of a beach, and a smile that takes your breath away. There are blue skies and if you try hard enough, you can just faintly smell sea salt.

You wake up hours later, smiling. True to his word, Yeosang is still there when you wake. He’s wearing a pair of sunglasses, and tapping his fingers to the beat of the song on the radio.

Yeosang smiles when he notices you’re awake, “I talked to your mother.”

Your eyes widen, “You talked to who?”

He laughs, “You didn’t answer your phone, so she called me.”

You frown, glancing at your phone in the free cup holder. You could imagine the amount of calls and texts that were in there.

“She wasn’t very happy.” Yeosang continues, “She wants you to call her when we get there.”

You nod, “Thank you, Yeo.” You say softly, looking over at him.

Yeosang throws you a smile, “Of course.”

“Not just for talking to my mom…” You watch him, “For not leaving me behind, too. Thank you.”

Yeosang reaches over, taking your hand, “I’d never leave you behind, Sunshine. You’d have to try really hard to get rid of me.”

----------------

The car ride was long, and full of Yeosang’s early 2000s emo playlist & fast food. You called your sister, who was ecstatic to hear about your plans and had immediately offered you and Yeosang her beach house. She made a comment about how ‘she always knew you two would end up together’, and it made your heart flutter when you glanced at Yeosang.

Yeosang told you about Wooyoung’s band, and how excited he was to play with Wooyoung. You smiled, listening to him fondly talk about your old friends and their music.

It was getting late though, and you could see it in Yeosang’s face that he was getting tired.

“We should stop for the night.” You tell him, “You’ve been driving since 6am, Yeo.”

He huffs, “We could drive through the night.” He proposes, “We’d make it to your sister’s place in a few hours.”

You frown, “Or... We could stop for the night, shower, and then leave first thing tomorrow morning. We'll get there by noon tomorrow.”

Yeosang glances at you, going to protest. He ends up yawning instead, his nose wrinkling slightly, “Fine.” He pouts.

You laugh, reaching for your phone to google the closest hotels. There's a comfortable silence in the car, filled with the occasional beat of Yeosang’s fingers on the steering wheel. You feel at ease, even if it's just for a moment.

“There’s a motel off the next exit.” You tell him, stifling a yawn of your own.

----------------

Sure enough, there had been a motel off the next exit. It was small and slightly rundown, but cheap and had an available room. You waited in the car while Yeosang went into the check-in office, promising to be back in a moment.

He came back dangling a key in his hand, and a slight frown on his face as he opened the car door to let you out.

“So... There’s only one bed.” He broke the news, a blush growing up his cheeks, “It’s all they had, unless we wanted to drive another hour down the highway.”

Your eyes widen, “O-Oh.” You glance at the key, and then back up at Yeosang, “I’ll sleep on the floor, or something.”

Yeosang frowns, shaking his head, “We can share for one night, Sunshine. I think it’ll be okay.”

Which leads you to here; lying almost nose to nose with Yeosang. Your hair was soaking wet from a shower in the tiny bathroom and the small motel bed wasn’t comfortable, but you didn’t seem to mind as you took in the man in front of you. You pushed the strands of bleach blonde hair out of his face, and your fingers softly lingered on the birthmark next to his eye.

His breath stuttered, “Y/N,” He says, his voice a mere whisper, “We’re free.”

You let your hand rest against his cheek. Your eyes lingered on his lips before you caught yourself, moving your gaze back up to his eyes.

Yeosang only smiled at you. He gently held your wrist as he tilted his head and placed a soft kiss on your palm, “I’m going to kiss you now, Sunshine.”

“Yes please.”

You felt every nerve in your body light up when Yeosang kissed you.

A small part of your brain told you that this is where you’re meant to be: in Yeosang’s arms.

You felt this way the first time Yeosang had kissed you too, all the way back on that roof in 11th grade. You two had been talking about the future; about your writing and Yeosang’s music. You looked up at the hazy night sky, and you asked Yeosang if you’d ever get to see the stars.

He smiled at you, telling you that he would show them to you one day before he kissed you so sweetly.

Yeosang still kissed you sweetly. He kissed you like you held the secrets of the universe in your hand for him to take.

You pulled away, “I think I love you.”

He smiles against your lips, rubbing soft circles into your wrist, “I think I love you too, baby.”

—————-

You had this assumption that the next morning would be awkward; that you would be stuck for the next 6 months with someone you could barely look in the eye because of a late night confession.

Instead, you awoke to Yeosang kissing your head and placing a bagel & ice coffee down for you. He had quickly ushered you into the shower, before you put on a change of clothes and were quickly led out to the car between bites of your bagel. This all happened over Yeosang telling you how you only had a few hours before you reached your sister’s beach house, and he wanted to try and make good time so you could enjoy the beach today.

You giggled at his antics before settling into the passenger’s seat for the last few hours of your journey.

You sipped your ice coffee as you watched out the window. The countryside on the highway zoomed by you, and the car was full of sunlight from Yeosang’s sunroof being open. There was a Fall Out Boy song on the radio, and you felt a sense of calm brush over you as Yeosang took your hand in his.

The sunshine had never felt so nice on your skin as Yeosang pressed a soft kiss to the back of your hand.

taglist: @vanishingboots @sunsethw4​ 

[realcube]

rq; could you possibly write a one shot about the reader having AD(H)D and has a really hard time focusing on core academics (math, science, english, history) because they feel scared about stimming and/or fidgeting in front of people and so they ask tamaki for help?

tw; very mild angst, fluff, stimming, i use the word ‘embrassing’ too much, swearing

words; 2.7k

it only took a moment of skimming over your latest progress report for you to understand the situation.

you continued to thrive in practical subjects like physical education, graphic design and manufacturing — the three main reasons you managed to secure your spot in the support course — but your core subjects seemed to be lacking.

for the last two years, you managed to score flying colours in all your subjects. but now, it was starting to appear as though your golden era was coming to a close. what was once a report with only scores greater than 90%, was now a range of totals anywhere from 90 to 50%.

this meant you were still passing all of your classes but these grades were only indications of how you were doing now; you knew that if you continued to struggle in all of your core courses, you might not finish your third year of UA highschool.

you simply wouldn't allow for your grades to decline further, so like any good student would, you made a list of ways you could improve.

number one was, of course, study more. however, you were almost certain that discipline and diligence aren't the causes of the issue.

number two was to ask for help from your teacher and although this was a completely valid option, you still felt like the problem ran deeper than your ability to comprehend the material. after all, you had made it this far without having to do so.

before you could even ponder number three, your pen ran out of ink. with a huff, you reach out to grab a new one from your pencil case, until you noticed that in the spot where your pencil case usually sits on your desk, there was nothing.

it was as though the void had caused all your memories of yesterday to come crashing down on you in an instant; it was almost nauseating. yet it, ironically, provided some clarity as to the location of your stationary.

two days ago, after school, you paid a visit to tamaki's house to deliver the gear he had commissioned. however, what was initially meant to be a casual interaction, somehow turned into a game of pictionary (with mirio and nejire there too, of course), for which you needed to bring your pencil case out of your bag. amidst your awkward goodbyes, you must've forgotten to put it back into your bag, hence your pencil case is probably lying dejected on tamaki's coffee table.

this left you with no choice but to throw on your jacket and begin your journey to tamaki's house. fortunately, he only lived a bus ride away from your home, yet you still mentally rebuked yourself for the whole length of aforementioned bus ride due to the fact that every time you would interact with tamaki, it felt like you were digging a deeper grave for yourself.

partially because you always found yourself oversharing with him — not that it was a one-sided ordeal — and you couldn't begin to explain why; he kinda just had a comforting aura about him. albeit you haven’t said anything embarrassing yet but the possibility of that happening was way too large. plus taking into consideration your complicated feelings for each other, leaving your pencil case at his house was a disaster waiting to occur.

or perhaps you were overthinking it. either way, you were now standing in front of his door with your school uniform and backpack on during a saturday afternoon because you had no idea what else to wear.

after ringing the doorbell, you stood as a patient statue in the cold until tamaki reluctantly opened the door and only poked his head out. “hello?”

emphasis on ‘only’, because he was truly committed to not allowing you to see him in his casual-wear, for some reason. a part of him reasoned that there was no way you would expect him to be wearing his school uniform on a saturday, but the majority of his brain was screaming about how he had to hide his clothes from you at all costs. especially since he was wearing socks, comfy trackpants and — most shamefully — a sweater with a small octopus design on it. and what would you think of him if you saw that his choice in loungewear was so childish?! it would be utterly humiliating.

completely unaware that tamaki was having a crisis behind the door, you pulled your most authentic smile and said the line you had been rehearing on the bus, “hi, tamaki. sorry for coming unannounced, but i think i left my pencil case on your coffee table when we were playing pictionary with mirio and nejire.”

“oh.” tamaki was almost too panicked to process what you just said but once he did, he immediately recalled the moment he noticed that you had left behind your pencil case. at the time, he planned on calling you to ask if he could drop it off at your house, but his nerves got the better of him and he decided to keep procrastinating the call until he completely forgot.

though, if he remembered correctly, the pencil case should be lying on his desk after he moved it there in hopes that the convenient location would remind him to return it; which it evidently did not.

“yeah. uh, i’ve got it. i’ll just go get it.” his face tingled with warmth slightly as he retracted it from the doorway, resulting in him finally realising how cold it is outside. in fact, since the eaves of his house shielded you for the climate, he didn’t even notice that it was snowing!

the polite bone in him got to work before the rest of him could react, as he blurted out, “come in, make yourself at home.”

fuck! i mean, it’s not that he doesn’t want you in his house — quite the opposite actually — but rather now he had to dart off to his bedroom before you could catch a glimpse of his sweater. but at least now this gave him an opportunity to change into something less embarrassing.

closing the door behind you, you were now left alone in tamaki’s living room. your eyes followed his figure as he dashed towards his bedroom, “odd.” you murmured to yourself. you weren’t exactly tamaki’s BFF but you were close enough to him that you could tell when he was acting weird.

but you didn’t think to much of it. actually, you were slightly grateful for this weird spike in tamaki’s behaviour because if he doesn’t want you around, that just means you are less likely to overshare and catch feelings, which means better outcomes in the long run, right?

after changing into a plain blue sweater and collecting your pencil case, tamaki strolled into the living room and handed it to you with a weak smile, “here you go.” he almost whispered, patiently waiting for your response so he could mentally prepare himself for goodbyes or another hour (or so) of conversation.

“thank you!” you basically squealed, pulling off your bag to stuff your pencil case back inside. while adjusting the straps on your shoulders, you took a moment to appreciate tamaki’s familiar attire, “oh, i love your sweater; i have a similar one with a cute little octopus on it.”

tamaki concluded that neither of you would be saying goodbye for a long while.

“thank you.” he responded with a soft smile, folding his arms over his chest as he made his way towards the kitchen, “um, so how are you?” he inquired, assuming that it was a pretty harmless question that would simply help get the conversation off the ground while he prepared tea.

“i’m good. but i don’t think i can say the same for my progress report.” you said with an awkward chuckle, standing aside as you watched tamaki put the kettle on. “and how are y--”

“what do you mean?” tamaki asked, disregarding the fact that he didn’t answer the question himself. although, simply put, this was because he found that conversation came more naturally to him when he was with you; or perhaps that is a slight overstatement. he tended to be more curious and inquisitive when talking to you and it wasn’t hard to tell.

until now you and mirio simply brushed it off as tamaki’s interest towards the support course, since you were the one who manufactured most of his gear. yet nejire always teased him as she believed that tamaki’s interest was caused by a different sort of passion.

nevertheless, regardless of tamaki’s motives, you still found yourself consistently answering his questions, “eh, well, i’ve just not been performing as well as i hoped.” you replied plainly with a shrug.

“is that all?”

no matter how many questions he asked, each one still managed to catch you off-guard. “um,” your throat ran dry, which might’ve been a sign from a deity to stop talking, but your swallowing was your way of proving that you did not care. although you will probably regret it later, talking with tamaki always relieved you.

“well,” you started, the lump in your throat growing by the second, “i guess i have a bit of trouble focussing in some classes too. but i mean, maybe it is because i drink too much caffeine? i’m not even sure to be honest.” that was lie, you were  90% sure of what the problem was, but you wanted to hear tamaki’s response before you proceeded, to determine whether he’d be open-minded about it.

“there is no such thing as too much caffeine.” he joked, handing you a cup of tea while he sipped on his own. “so it’s probably something else.”

he’s too good. it’s as if he knew you were withholding information.

“well,” you began once more, trying your best to appear clueless, “i guess moving helps me focus, but no once else in the class does it so wouldn’t it be embarrassing if i was the only one?”

“i don’t think it would be embarrassing at all.” he spoke softly, leading you back into the living room and offer you a seat on the couch beside him, which you graciously accepted. “but if you think it is, then i have something to help.”

before you could say anything, tamaki got up and headed towards his bedroom; leaving you to drink his heavenly tea while he searched. though, only a few minutes passed before you felt his arms slither over your shoulders to hook two clips together by your neck.

“there.” he said with a proud smile, “this is one of my cloaks that i use in my hero costume. you can tie it together so it covers the whole front half of your body.”

observing your reflection in the blackened TV, you smiled upon seeing for your own eyes that everything he said was true. it was like wearing a cape that goes around your whole body, and it had a nice hood! “wow, this is so adorable!” you cheered, then paused, “but how is it going to help me focus?”

“well, you can do whatever you want underneath it and no one will notice.”

ignoring the shady implications of that sentence, you moved your hand around underneath the cloak and he was right! no one would see you fidgeting underneath the cloak, and hopefully the professor’s voice would cover any sounds you made. plus, it looked pretty badass.

“this might work! are cloaks included in dress-code?” you joked, but you weren’t laughing for long as you turned to look at tamaki who was wearing an upset expression with his head hung low, “no.”

“oh.” you sighed, unclipping the cloak and handing it back to tamaki with a slight smile, “it’s fine. thank you for your help, and the tea. it was delicious, but i’ll probably have to start cutting back on the caffeine.” you gave it a chef’s kiss yet he didn’t even chuckle like he usually does. it was almost scary how your true emotions reflected onto him, as it seemed like the whole atmosphere had changed.

“(y/n).” tamaki uttered with a much more serious tone; eyes filled with determination yet trained onto the cloak in his hands. “you shouldn’t be embarrassed-- or at least, I, um, don’t think you should be.”

your eyes widened at how sternly he said the first part; granted, he became flustered when it came to the second part, but it really showed you how firmly he stood by what he was saying. you nodded for him to continue as he looked like he still had a lot on his mind.

“it’s unfair that you have trouble focussing because of what other people think. so my two cents is that you should do whatever you need to do, and, um, not care about other people... well, i mean, you should care about them, but just not what they think about you. because like, you can’t really control that--”

he found himself having to abruptly shut his mouth to stop himself from prattling on any further. especially since most of what he was saying was probably none sense that he mistook for inspirational, or at least that is what he gathered from the shocked look you wore; it was ironic how humiliated he was.

“that’s nice to hear.” you hummed, a kind smile gracing your features in place of the previous stunned expression, “though it’s hard to believe coming from someone as cool as you, tamaki.”

“cool?”

“yeah.” you chuckled, rolling your eyes at his baffled look which he must have been faking. surely he knows how highly thought of and respected he is throughout the whole school. he is in the big three, for fucks’ sake! “there is probably a better word to describe it, but you are one of the most badass people i know.”

“badass?” it was as if all he was capable of doing was repeating these words to you with an innocent yet confused gaze.

“yes!” you enthused, “so, is there anything you even have to be embarrassed about?”

“i do!” he almost whined, and without thinking, he stormed to his bedroom only to grab the sweater he cast aside earlier to show it to you, “look! an octopus sweater, isn’t this embarrassing?”

you deadpanned, unsure as to whether he was joking or not. “stimming is very different from a octopus sweater but go on.” however after a few moments of actually analysing the design on the article of clothing, you exclaimed, “oi, i have that exact same sweater! how is a cute little octopus embarrassing? plus, it would be extra cute on you because you have tentacles.”

in a moment of frustration and wanting to prove a point, he threw the sweater aside and began to sheepishly grab at the ends of his sleeves, “well, you know what’s even more embarrassing? having a crush on someone for three whole years and not having the balls to ask them out! and on top of that, being to nervous to return my crush’s stuff after you left it at my house.”

you weren’t sure if he meant to switch out ‘my crush’ with ‘you’ on purpose or if he was just confused. either way, you found yourself leaning in to wrap the poor boy in an overdue embrace, smiling against his chest as he hugged back. “that was..” you faltered, allowing tamaki to interject with “mortifying” but you were quick to correct him, “i think that was a very unique way to confess, and i'm just glad you did.”

your chuckle that followed was left to echo around the room as tamaki stood still and silent, simply enjoying the comfort in your arms as feeling the pleasure of time escape him. until eventually he whispered close to your ear, “so since i know more about embarrassment than you thought, will you take my advice now?”

you snickered, gently tracing shapes onto his back, “i was going to take your advice either way because if i don’t get good grades and remain in the support course, how will i graduate with you?”

“good point.” he hummed, not-so silently enjoying the relaxing sensations near his spine, “but we are not wearing matching octopus hats.”

how did manage to shoot down your idea before you even proposed it?

[symphonicmetal101]

MC Struggles With Obsessive/Compulsive Behaviour

Ok, just to be clear.

I haven't been diagnosed with anything, which is why I refrain from writing "OCD" in the title. I've always known I'm a perfectionist- please be aware that there are some major differences between OCD and perfectionism, (despite what Youtube videos may say)- however I have had instances in which I have taken it too far and paid the price physically, mentally, and emotionally. Please be aware that these are all very real things that not only myself, but other people go through. I haven't had one of them in a long time, but my current circumstances make me feel like I might soon, so bear with me while I write another self-indulgent thing.

Or don't.🤷‍♀️

TW: compulsive/obsessive behaviour, a little self-deprecation as seasoning👌

Lucifer

At first, he's very happy to see that you are very organized and neat

One less thing for him to worry about

However, one day he walked past your room and saw you organizing your desk

He respected that, and continued on

The next day he passed by around the same time and saw you organizing your desk again

Odd, but perhaps one of his brothers had interfered and interrupted you, meaning you hadn't finished yesterday

It had been five days now, surely you weren't still cleaning your desk??

"MC, if my brothers bother you, you should close the door. Perhaps then you would be able to finish cleaning your desk properly. Unless you would like some direction in time management instead?"

Lucifer glanced behind you. To his surprise, your desk looked immaculate. He then saw your blushing face.

"Ah... well that's very kind of you Lucifer, however I'm afraid it's not an issue of time management or your brothers. Well, sometimes Mammon comes in and moves the pens around, so then I have to start over..."

"Start over?"

"Y-yeah." You explain your process to him, how you completely clear off your desk, to the type of cleaner you use, how many sprays, to how you like to stack your paper, to how you always have to have three paperclips to your right, and how the black pen is always in between the blue and the red.

"And when Mammon moves the pens...you start over?"

"Yeah. I do."

Lucifer has sympathy for you, put also struggles because it seems like a waste of time if he were to do it.

But he doesn't do it, and it seems to make you calm, so instead he buys you proper gloves for cleaning and a few more bottles of your cleaner

Mammon

"Come on MC, I wanna show ya something in my room."

Oh no

Nononono

You could feel yourself panicking a bit. Mammon's room was messy

Not messier than Levi's but still

But he looked really excited, so you reluctantly followed him

"TA-DA!!!"

Oh wow. His room was spotless!

"I-uh, noticed ya only seem to be comfortable in yours or Lucifer's room. It-it took a while for me to figure out why, but...whaddya think? Will it work for ya?"

He smiled at you and you could see a hint of nervousness in his eyes.

"It looks great! You even picked up the water bottles that were by your bed!!"

He instantly became more confident, his smile growing wider and his cheeks slightly flushed.

"Of course it looks great! Why wouldn't it?"

You gave him a withering stare

"Uh..yeah. Y'know, if ya had just told me ya didn't like it being so messy I woulda tidied up sooner. J-just make sure ya let me know if it gets too messy again. I want ya to be comfortable in more places than just your room, so my room seemed like a good idea."

His face was incredibly flushed

"Thank you Mammon. It really means a lot.

Levi

You had only been in Levi's room twice

But dear god

You really really really wanted to tidy things up for him

But you also knew what it was like to be very particular and have things "just-so"

Aksjsjshdgjak

"Hey Levi, can I make you deal?"

He took off one of his headphones to listen

"What's up?"

"This might be kinda weird. Can I take pictures of your stuff so I can reorganize and clean your room? That way if you don't like it, I'll put everything back?"

You could see confusion and slight panic that crossed his features.

"I'm sorry, I know it's weird, you don't have to say yes I-"

"Um, what exactly would you be doing?"

"Uhhh.."

He stopped his game to sit and talk with you for a bit.

"O-ok. Just that shelf is off-limits. And I'll stay in here to let you know if something isn't ok with me."

He watched in awe as you carefully rearranged his figurines by rarity as well as colour.

You crawled under his desk with velcro ties and made all the cords under there much more organized

You rearranged the pillows on his couch so that they were symmetrical on both sides, fluffing them and squishing them as you saw fit.

His manga was pretty organized, so you just straightened out the pile.

You organized his games in alphabetical order

The whole time you had been dusting stuff off as well

"There. That's better....what do you think Levi?"

"WOOOAAHH!!! I love it!! It looks really good MC!"

"Thanks for letting me do that."

"No problem...but w-why did you want to do it?"

You shrugged. "It calms me down? No, that's not quite it....I don't really now. As it is, I need to cut myself off otherwise I'll clean until I can't stand. Mind if I join you for a bit?"

He nods at you and hands you a control. As the game boots up he says, "Y-you're welcome to do that again if you need to...but that shelf is still off-limits."

You nod, grateful for his understanding.

Satan

He said he had a surprise date for you

So you followed him

To the Cat Cafe

Now, you love cats

And you love food

But the two of them together don't sit well with you

But Satan looked so eager and happy that you didn't hesitate much to go inside.

Everything was going really well until Satan asked if you wanted something to eat or drink.

You politely declined his offer, but he insisted on getting you something

You reluctantly chose a hot drink.

But as you watched the worker prepare your drink, you were horrified to see them carry a cat out from behind the counter, and then without washing their hands, snap the lid on your cup.

"Satan..I need to step outside for a bit."

He watched you in mild concern as you walked out the door and he waited for your and his order to be complete

You were pacing outside, trying to calm down.

Why did that upset me? I haven't even touched it yet. Besides, normal people don't usually care about stuff like that. And I can clean it??? Or grab another lid?? Fuck! Why am I like this?

Your train of thought was broken as Satan tapped on your shoulder, concern and curiosity apparent in his eyes.

"Are you alright? I noticed the worker didn't wash their hands after handling the cat, so I grabbed a couple lids on my way out. I was going to put it on for you, but I believe it would be best for all parties if you did it on your own."

You almost started crying as he handed you a paper towel with two lids in it.

"Why are there two?"

"Although it never particularly bothered me, I thought you may have wanted some solidarity. I can understand where you're coming from." He smiled sympathetically at you.

From that day forward, he paid extra attention to things while you were around to make sure you wohld feel comfortable. You two also managed to tackle the daunting task of properly organizing Satan's books so that you could spend more time in his otherwise clean room.

Asmo

"Darling, you look wonderful in that outfit!! And it's so hot outside, it's perfect!! I was just about to head out, do you want to join me?"

"That depends. Where are you going?"

"Oh, I'm just gonna do a little shopping. There was a cute top on sale at the mall yesterday, I just want to see if it's still there."

You told him you'd be right back.

When you got to your room you threw on a sweater, and then made sure you had your wallet and your phone.

You walked out of your bedroom, checking again, wallet, phone

As you approached Asmo, you checked again. Wallet, phone

"Are you ready to go?" You nodded and followed him out the door.

He made idle gossip with you until he noticed you were looking a little pale

"Oh my goodness, love are you alright? You should take this sweater off, you'll get much too hot!"

"I can't!" You panicked a bit, and he was caught off guard by your reaction.

"I- I'm sorry. But I use the sleeves to open doors and hold bags and stuff. I don't like touching that stuff. Even groceries are hard for me to touch, so I wash the groceries before I put them away when I get home. I enjoy shopping with you though, because you always know what kind of stuff I like just by looking at it, or feeling it for me. It's the same thing I explained before, where it's difficult for me to model the clothes for you until after they've been washed."

"Aww honey, I'm sorry. Next time I'll see if Mammon or Beel can come and help with your bags, m'kay? But you cannot stay in this sweater in weather like this. What about gloves? Would you be ok wearing gloves? I know a place where there's some really cute ones!! And I'll handle the doors for now, ok?"

You took off your sweater and tied it around your waist.

"Huh. I actually do feel a little better....thanks Asmo."

You two laughed lightly as he held open the door for the next shop.

Beel

You had waited for Beel to get out of one of his extracurriculars to walk home with him

You two were planning to eat together

However when you walked into the kitchen, you were greeted with a sink overflowing with dishes, and a sleeping Belphie on the island.

"Oh, uh, before I eat Beel, I'm going to clean that up. You go ahead though."

Belphie piped up, "Just throw what you can in the dishwasher....I'll do the rest later."

Beel looked concerned. "We were late getting home. Are you sure you're not hungry?"

"Oh...uh" you contemplated lying when your stomach gave you away.

"Just eat. I'll take care of the dishes. It's my turn anyways. I'll get to it soon."

"It's not a big deal Belphie, I'll just do them."

"But you're hungry, aren't you? Just eat first? Or did I do something? Is it something I can fix? I can go if it makes you more comfortable-" Beel looked disappointed. Of course it wasn't his fault.

You shook your head. "It's not you. It's me. I just- I don't know- ugh." You felt close to tears.

How the fuck were you supposed to explain yourself?

Beel pulled you into a hug. "Hey, it's ok. You don't have to tell us what's going on, but if you do it'll make it easier for us to help you."

He let go of you enough for you to step back and wipe tears from your eyes.

"I-I don't know what it is! But whenever I know there's something to be done, especially if I can see it, I have to do it before I do anything for myself. That includes eating, getting a glass of water, even going to the bathroom! And if I find another thing to do half way through he first thing, I'll just continue to postpone the thing I need to do for myself until I'm done or I forget about it..."

Silence settled across the kitchen.

"We'll help you do the dishes so it gets done faster, then you have to eat, ok?"

You smile and nod graciously as the twins helped you feel more comfortable

Belphie

"Come cuddle with meeee."

"Belphie, I need to study, please."

Belphie pouted. He was going to cuddle with you one way or another, even if he had to annoy you into it

Only what he didn't realize what he saw as "mildly annoying" was actually triggering for you

So he started messing with the postion of things on your desk.

"Stop it Belphie, I need to study."

"Yeah? Don't let me stop you, I'm just playing with your pen jar."

"But I asked you. To. Stop."

He huffed and put the pen jar down

But then he started to mess with your three pencils you had laid out, smallest to tallest.

"Why do you need three pencils?"

"Because. Now leave them alone."

He grinned.

"Because is hardly an answer and you know it. What would happen if I just took this one?"

"BELPHIE NO!" Your voice sounded between laughter and tears, butbhe figured it was just your way of begging.

"Belphie, please? I need that!"

He just grinned as he shifted into his demon form and passed the pencil to his tail and lazily flicked it back and forth.

Until he saw your face.

"Whatever. Do what you want, I'm done dealing with you." You walked out of your room, angry tears filling your eyes.

"W-wait! Shit! No, come back! I didn't-ugh." He groaned as he picked himself up to go after you, finding you on the outside steps of HOL.

"Hey, why're you crying? It was just a pencil. I put it back."

You pulled your head out of your hands.

"Yeah, but did you put it back right?"

Belphie looked at you perplexed...right? What the fuck was that supposed to mean?

"Look, I'm sorry for using that tone with you. It's really hard for me to focus unless I have things a certain way. It may seem ridiculous to you, but that's just how I am. I don't know what causes it, I just know that it's a part of me. I'm working on it, but if I say stop, I need you to stop. Please."

"....okay. I'm sorry."

Masterlist

[peralta-guaranteed]

hc of jake and amy hand holding before dating (i’m convinced they did a few times before they ever dated) and also in the beginning of their relationship + getting teased by the squad 🥰

(this has definitely turned out far more emotional than you’d probably thought, anon, but I don’t make the rules when it comes to fic inspiration)

Amy Santiago is sitting in a booth at Shaw’s, laughing at something one of her friends has said, and she feels a warm hand slip into hers under the table. Jake Peralta is laughing next to her, too, but then he’s also smiling at her only, and his hand wrapped around hers squeezes three times. It hits her like a brick to the face, those three little squeezes. She finally understands them.

-*-

He’s lying in a hospital bed, and Amy thinks she’s never seen something more unsettling than a quiet Jake Peralta. The only sound in the room is the beeping of some monitors he’s hooked up to, and the only movement is his chest rising slow and steady. Something it didn’t do about two hours ago, when she was kneeling over him in some alley and screaming while the medics finally arrived and brought him back. It was a fairly ‘minor’ injury in the end, one bullet wound that the doctor’s had to close up, but it had hit some sort of vein that was important and that lost a lot of blood and that stopped his heart for the few moments she remembers stretching like hours in her mind. She doesn’t remember much else, especially not the medic’s or doctor’s explanations. They’d taken her along in the ambulance, because she was his partner, and she was allowed to sit in the hospital room he was recovering in now, because she was his emergency contact, too. She could’ve been nothing after today. Because the bullet from that gun wasn’t aimed at Jake before he pushed her to the side.

Amy looks down at her hands, folded in her lap, pinching each other to remind her she’s awake, she’s here, and so is Jake. Not awake, but here. Still here. They’re squeaky clean, her hands, because she’s spent a good fifteen minutes in the hospital public toilets scrubbing them free of his blood after he was rushed into surgery and she was left behind, alone in the waiting room, her sensible grey pantsuit coloured red all over her arms. She had a list of things to do in her head - contact Captain McGintley to follow the chain of command, and Terry so something would actually get done. Figure out how and who can transport Peralta home and take care of him, if he gets to go home. (He will. He has to. She will take him.) Call Rosa to find out if they booked the perp properly, and that they add assault with a deadly weapon to his rep sheet (not murder, although that’s what he did, that’s what happened). But she couldn’t do any of that, because she was still shaking, her heart was still racing, and all she could see was his blood on her hands, warm and sticky and dark and drying into a rotten brown shade already. So she washed them clean, and then scrubbed some more, and some more, until she felt as red and raw as the wound in his chest had looked in the ambulance when they got his shirt off. (The jacket of her suit is rotting away in the toilet trashcan now, and she’s shivering ever so slightly in only her short-sleeved blouse, but it is clean and there is not a hint of Jake’s injury anywhere anymore, except in his gaunt cheekbones and the pale colour of his face, and the silence of the room.) His hand twitches while she’s staring at her own, and if it’s instinct or reflex of whatever that makes her reach out and grab it immediately, she doesn’t care. His hand is warm under hers, and it twitches again and then wraps its fingers around her and holds her, steady and calm. He blinks awake, a little disoriented, but then he focuses on her and - smiles.

“You’re okay.” He says, and that’s what breaks her in the end.

She doesn’t outright sob or anything, but she does let her head drop so her hair is hiding her face, hiding the tears he doesn’t need to see first thing after waking up from literal death. She feels his hand pull on her to make her look at him, though, and she can’t deny him, even if her tear-streaked face is probably not a good view.

“Hey, no- don’t-” He rasps, his voice still coming back, “I’m okay too.”

She laughs through her tears, a short little snort, but it helps calm her down - and him too, it seems, because he smiles again.

“You’re far more than just okay, Peralta.” She smiles back, and feels his hand tighten around hers, three little, but distinct squeezes.

-*-

She shouldn’t feel this nervous. She’s a cop, a detective. A good one. She’s done this before, and it’s never been nice, but it’s always something she’s gotten through.

But she fears tomorrow’s court date more than anything else in her life right now, which is why she’s trying to drown the thought of it at Shaw’s. The hangover will probably not be helpful with her witness statement that could possibly make or break this ruling, but her panic demands more alcohol. However, the next beer she orders at the bar is intercepted by a larger, more calloused hand than hers.

“Alright, Santiago, that last one was your sixth, and I really don’t need to deal with Seven Drink Amy tonight.” Jake says as he settles down next to her, hands the beer over to Rosa, who leaves them alone at the bar before Amy can whine and complain.

“I need that drink, Jake. It’s my only friend right now.” 

“We both know that’s just Six Drink Sadmy speaking.” He pats her arm as she spreads out over the slightly sticky bartop and whines some more.

“You’re worried about tomorrow.” He continues, reading her thoughts like he sometimes does, which is such an annoying thing he can do. His hand is still on her arm. “You don’t have to be.”

“That girl’s entire life is at stake. And the gang boss is going to kill me and her if he gets off-”

“He’s not going to get off. Not if you tell them exactly what you told the lawyers taking your written statement.”

“Says you.”

“Says Sofia.” There’s a weight to those words that hits her stomach, and it’s only partially the fact that a damn defense attorney is on her side. The other part of why those words from the woman Jake started dating just recently hurt her, she doesn’t want to think about. “Look, I’m gonna drive you home, you’re gonna take a hot shower to detox, then you’re gonna get your perfect 8 hours of sleep, show up at court tomorrow in your best, darkest pant suit, and rock this like you rock everything else.” His hand has wandered down her arm to her hand, now, flips it over to hold it, and it’s pure coincidence that their fingers spread and interlock, surely. “Okay?” He asks one more time, and she sighs.

“Teddy can pick me up-”

“Teddy’s at that conference, remember.”

Oh, right. Something that had been lost to memory between drink three and four, the fact that her boyfriend had booked himself into a seminar the week the court date was announced. It’s a really good one, he’d said, if she wasn’t already busy he would’ve asked her to join, too. Already busy. Regular Amy doesn’t get punchy a lot, and maybe it’s her closeness to Seven Drink Amy right now that makes her want to knock him out for that, but she felt that way when she helped him pack his luggage two days ago too, and she was stonecold sober then.

“Okay.” She nods and tries to get off of the barstool, wobbles quite heavily. “Take me home, Peralta.”

He snorts a laugh and obviously swallows down some sort of joke as he pulls her into a standing position, their hands still locked together. She thinks she imagines it at first, but even after she’s sobered up the next day, she remembers those three short, tight, almost painful squeezes before he let go and steered her to his car.

She doesn’t have much time to think about it, or about how she basically held hands with her best friend while both of their partners were out of town, either. Or how he helped her into her apartment and waited until she was showered and had downed some water and aspirin before tucking her into bed. She can’t think about any of that, because she has to get ready for court.

And when she sits down in the witness’ chair, the gang boss on the bench before her staring her down with murder in his eyes, she notices a set of dress blues in the otherwise thin crowd of people who were allowed in to watch the trial. Three rows down, Jake gives her a silent thumbs up when their eyes meet, and she feels the phantom of his hand again, squeezing hers three times before she begins to speak.

-*-

They’re gonna die. She’s certain. They’re gonna die in here, in this cramped little closet, wedged between some industrial shelving and a broken down sink.

Jake had pulled her in and locked the door behind him, squished her against the wall and himself against the door, and killed the radio on her shoulder as well as his own. The last thing they’d heard crackling through it was “four officers down”. Someone had fallen behind her when she ran for safety, and for a second she thought it had been Jake. That he was standing here now, almost pressed against her in the tight space she would usually panic in, that she could feel his erratic breath on her ear, his racing heart under her hands, was pretty much the only comfort she had left.

She wonders how long it’ll last.

The mission had been an absolute bust. They had expected a gang. They had not expected a well-armed mafia. And now officers were wounded, or dead, and they couldn’t use their radio to find out anything, for fear of being discovered. She can hear gunshots and shouts from further away, and it’s only her paranoia that make them sound as if they're getting closer, but Jake is listening just as intently. Amy thinks of Rosa and Charles, who were on the other side of the building. She thinks of Terry, who’s probably trying to reach any of them by radio from his station in the surveillance van. She thinks of Holt, and can’t see where he might be right now, still next to Terry or commanding whatever backup might be coming in or-

She feels Jake’s hand wrap around hers, still pressed against his chest, and realises that she’s been hyperventilating. If she gets any louder, she’ll give away their position. His forehead against hers is cold, colder than he usually is, clammy with sweat, but the simple pressure of it helps her focus. She can hear him breathe deep, slow, exaggerated, and understands that he’s doing it for her. He probably thinks she’s having a panic attack because of her claustrophobia, or maybe all things at the moment combined. He’s not that far off. She breathes with him, feels the air from their exhales swirl between the few spaces were they don’t connect. There aren’t many. If she looks up, she could kiss him. She’s not quite that sure that she’s going to die in here anymore, but she would definitely hate herself if she did and never found out what that felt like, or if her last kiss on Earth was really from Teddy the night before they broke up. But when she moves her head, she meets his eyes instead, pupils blown wide in the darkness around them. He looks scared and terrified, and his heart under their combined hands is still racing, and the last thing he needs is for Amy to confuse him before they go out in a hail of bullets, action-movie-style, which he’d probably love if it wasn’t so real right now. She wants to say something, anything to calm him down, but she can’t speak, and not just because there are footsteps approaching outside their door.

She feels his hand tighten around hers, three times, faster than before. And then he pulls her into a close hug when the door behind his back opens to reveal blinding light, and she realises he’s shielding her, has been ever since he pushed her first into this storage space. He only lets go when they both hear Terry’s voice, and the Captain’s, the first telling them they are safe, the second immediately trying to update them on the situation with the SWAT team. He holds her hand a second longer than the rest of her, and the three squeezes that follow are far softer and slower than the ones before.

-*-

Amy Santiago and Jake Peralta are sitting in a booth at Shaw’s, laughing at something one of their friends has said, and she feels his hand slip into hers under the table. For only a split second, she’s tempted to pull her hand away. It’s still so new and shaky and unsure, their whole thing, yet at the same time it isn’t. It’s been growing for so long, between them and around them, it feels like it’s always been there. But the rest of the squad is still pulling excited faces whenever they get a little closer, Charles still squeals at every mention of their ‘evenings together’, and Rosa has rolled her eyes so hard she almost strained a muscle the first time she heard Amy refer to Jake as ‘babe’ in front of her. It’s all a little bit embarrassing, and sometimes she wishes they’d stuck to just one of their rules, of not telling anyone until they figure it out. But then she wonders, what was there left to figure out? She was with Jake, and she wanted to be with Jake, and deep down, she could see none of that change at any point in time. Forever, possibly.

Charles is still talking, riding the wave of getting their laugh, but then Jake’s smiling at her only, and his hand wrapped around hers squeezes three times. It hits her like a brick to the face, those three little squeezes. She finally understands them. She remembers them from before, from tense moments and situations of fear, from where he’s been there for her at the worst parts. Holding on tight and feeling the three little bursts of pressure, only wondering a long time later if he did it on purpose, or if it was some sort of reflex.

She feels it again now, and she can finally hear it.

I. Squeeze. Love. Squeeze. You. Squeeze.

[pepperpills]

The Harvest - RE8 fanfic

The Harvest

A Resident Evil 8 fan fiction by Joana

Karl Heisenberg x Female Reader

Notes: hi guys, I'm changing a little my posting method. at first, I was afraid the chapters were too big and decided to divide them in parts and post a new part everyday (as long as there was a part to post), but it kind of affects the reading, so I will be uploading a new complete chapter every tuesday, hope it is better for you!

Warning: NSFW content

Part I - Destiny (1) Part I - Destiny (2)

Part II – The Lord

The day after The Harvest, when you were designated to work for Lord Heisenberg, was a long one. Not really exhausting as you spent most part of it turning from one leg to the other waiting for someone to activate the bridge to the factory.

You were deadened by a miscellaneous of emotions battling to gain domain over your brain. You couldn’t stop thinking about waving your mother goodbye as the sun conquered the sky, shortly before being surrendered by the stormy clouds.

After the speech at the Chapel, you wanted to wander around a little bit, maybe hunt, thinking that it probably was your last walk on those landscapes, yet, you didn’t want to get late on your first day, so your feet lead the way past Heisenberg’s gate, close to the church. It wasn’t even lunch time when you reached the end of the road, facing the factory chimneys and the hell lot of metal discarded in its front yard.

You had completely no idea how to call someone or if you should, as far as you knew, the lord lived there alone and you didn’t think it would be a great first impression if you simply started yelling his name, so he could do that bridge thing.

Thus, you waited. Placing your bag on the ground, you stood there for what seemed to be two entire hours. Then you got tired and sat, your corselet holding your oxygen levels. After a while even being sat was annoying, your legs tingled and your stomach hurt, once you completely forgot to bring any food with you.

That would be a great time for the Duke to make an entrance. As one of his most loyal clients – maybe you sneak once in a while, claiming possessions of one or two crystals –, sometimes you two shared a meal and Gods, he was a good cook. But it wasn’t his week at the Village and that wasn’t his store’s place anyway.

When the day light began to fade and the clouds grew heavier, you started worrying about getting wet. To divert your mind from that thought, you left all your belongings at the end of the road, not too close to the border, so hopefully they wouldn’t fall in the water below, and explored the ruins, studying the bricks that build those structures, absolutely bored, not even anxious anymore. At that point you could think about a thing or two to say to that idiot Heisenberg.

What would happen if he didn’t open the gate? Could you just walk away and live your life? Well, that didn’t sound like a bad plan, if just you could reach the forest first… The first water drop popped in your hair, the rain it announced didn’t take long to join it and a few moments later you were soaking wet, cold to the bone, contracting every muscle.

Suddenly, as you were about to curse Heisenberg’s name, a gear sound rose, it sounded old, but well-oiled and was really loud, louder than the rain and thunders and made you and the crows jump, they flew, you stayed as there was nowhere to go. Approaching your dank belongings, you saw a firm, modular, sand-coloured bridge forming in front of your eyes. Its movement was smooth comparing to something that big. You were genuinely impressed and would like to ask a few questions about how that works.

This surreal vision absorbed you for a few minutes after it was done, you didn’t feel the rain chastening your skin anymore. To be honest, at that point you realized where you were at and what you had to do, after an entire day in standby.

Your own brain didn’t really wake you up from that hypnosis. Oh, no. What made your heart rate rise again was a sudden, strong and frisky voice coming out of nowhere. You looked around, moving your head way too quick, making a spray of water with your hair and saw no one, but his words were most certainly there, echoing in your mind, making your entire body feel warm.

“C’mon, honey pie, we ain’t got all day.” He said, demanding, and then laughed.

Great, a madman, you thought. You weren’t sure, though, if you blushed intensely due to what he just called you or because every cell of your body felt enraged with that joke, it was you who had been waiting for him, you who would be forever wet, because he left you in the rain. You wanted to walk to that factory and tell it straight to that son of a…

Shortly, you understood. It was a test. You took a deep breath, grabbed your stuff, which made a humid sound, and walked resiliently to the factory’s gate. He wanted to see if you were a spitfire and you wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

“She walks.” He giggled, the voice of the wind, and then opened the gate.

Was he doing it with his mind? You knew that Lady Beneviento had some sort of effect on people’s brains, hallucinations they said, Lord Moreau could turn into a giant fish, Lady Dimitrescu had impressive long and strong nails that could tear anyone apart. What could Lord Heisenberg do, really? The villagers talked about he being one of the strongest lords, if not the strongest of them all. He had some power over metal, but you didn’t know exactly how it worked.

Anyway, you stepped in his front yard, facing the absurd, yet fascinating sea made of his discarded toys. For Gods’ sake, you even saw a war tank half buried in the dusty soil, you couldn’t even imagine how he had that and why he would so easily neglect it. There were ripped off motorcycles, destroyed cars, metal pieces with a huge variation of sizes and shapes and a ton of mechanical parts just lying there as a good old scrap heap.

Home, you thought sarcastically and smiled. So, when the last factory doors finally spread open to you, you faced the interior with a smile on your face even though you were miserable due to the storm. Carefully, you came inside just to be greeted by a puff of heat and sweet smoke, really welcoming at your state. The warmth certainly came from all the machinery working there somewhere, making a metal orchestra that never shut off. The smoke, well, it was coming from Heisenberg’s lite cigar.

He came from above, as a god like being, building stairs with metal parts right in the mid-air and climbed them down. You had never seem such thing and it was breath-taking; you were hypnotised for a moment there, silently dripping on the grimy ground, actually cleaning it a little.

He had some sort of waddle on his walk, nothing tawdry, though. Karl Heisenberg looked like an authoritative, impulsive and humorous man and he was, above all, having fun with you being there as if you were his new pup and you sure were.

“Oh, look who finally made it!” He greeted, on the ground, standing three steps away from you, the smoke so dense it made your eyes water, yet reassuringly hot with a tobacco scent.

Heisenberg took off his spectacles, just then you realized he was wearing them inside the factory. Besides that, he was dressed exactly the same as the day before, it didn’t seem he’d showered or so. Nonetheless, now you could see his eyes, his multi-coloured greyish blue abysms staring straight at you for sure this time.

All you felt able to do was stare back, almost not blinking, taken by those soft colours on a rough man like him. You thought you would be scared, although, you were honestly intrigued. You noticed another scar crossing his cheeks and nose and wondered how it ended up there, feeling all of a sudden tempted to reach it with your index finger, gently sensing the cicatrized skin.

“Good evening, sir.” You found yourself saying to be polite, breaking the motionless aura that sunk you in contemplation.

It was bizarre, but you weren’t cold anymore nor angry, you had the grip over your own posture again, your corselet helping you to keep your back straight. You were confident.

“Good evening, Y/N.” This you weren’t expecting, almost broke you. Why would he bother to memorise your name?

You remembered what Miranda said about being solicited by one of the lords, that made you shiver, exactly like the one you had before, only this time you could also smell the iron all over, not only taste it. The scent in the closed atmosphere of the factory had a light, almost undistinguished, aroma of the night, the fresh breeze and dry grass, maybe brought by you, however, most of it was rusted metal, motor oil and tobacco. It wasn’t unpleasant, just uncommon to what you were used to.

“Guess you found less transparent clothes.” He said next, circling you, studying you and your reactions.

You noticed he also smelled like the factory as if he was part of it, or it was, indeed, himself. You closed your eyes and the iron taste emphasized, it felt like you were licking a ring, you head spined.

“It is tradition to wear them at The Harvest.” You defended yourself – and your pure intentions.

You don’t know why, but you felt your cheeks burning, actually, parts of your body that would usually pass unnoticed had lite with the tension in the air and you just hoped you could be alone, devouring some food to calm your nerves.

“Horseshit!” Heisenberg raised his voice, coming through his pressed teeth. “They just make you wear those slutty clothes so my sisterAlcina can see all of her new pups’ assets.” Heisenberg mocked, laughing madly.

“Oh.” You couldn’t think of anything better to say, you never thought of that.

At that point, you were thinking about yourself, your dress and how you felt pretty wearing it. Did it count on the selection? You felt slightly ashamed, Heisenberg’s breathing was too close to your left ear, but you wouldn’t dare to move or your noses could collide.

“Surprised?” He questioned, maliciously. You didn’t answer immediately, you were too aware of how your boobs were trying to escape the corselet’s dictatorship. “I asked you…” He bellowed “are you surprised?” he finished in a lower tone.

“Y-yes.” You finally said. “Never thought of it.” You looked at the ground, discovering a puddle where you were standing.

“You sound like an outsider.” He ruminated, more to himself than to you.

“I kind of am.” You confessed, thinking about the cabins. “I am from the cabin people.”

“Hm… Interesting.” He glanced at you, head to toe, you couldn’t help feeling heated as you never felt before. “Sorry about the rain.” Heisenberg shrugged. “I am a busy man.” He justified, mischievously, remembering you of the anger you felt back at the bridge.

The lord left you alone for a second, walking past through a curtain. You followed him into a small improvised office area with photos all over a wall, it pictured the Village, the lords’ lots and Mother Miranda, a big poster of her right in the middle. It had a knife scratch on it. Maybe Heisenberg wasn’t a family’s man after all.

You were regaining your confidence as he was distracted with the pictures – or you thought he was, unable to really see what he was picturing –, you were seeking for a good ambiguous thing to say about waiting so long for that sort of reception, however, he was quicker and made you gasp, almost choke.

“Take ‘em off.” It was an order said firmly. The way he looked at you, as if he was some kind of authority, gave you the chills.

“Them?” You innocently asked, placing a hand on your belly, trying to breathe.

“Your wet clothes.” He explained, pointing to your entire body.

“All my clothes are wet.” You insisted, flushing heavily.

He took his very own overcoat off and handed it to you. You hesitantly accepted it, not knowing exactly what to do with his eyes on you.

“For fuck’s sake.” He turned away, chuckling.

You waited half a second to be sure he wasn’t secretly looking, you didn’t know if there were cameras in the room, so you started undressing. It wasn’t a very easy dress to take off, you couldn’t reach the laces on your back, because of that, you had to ask for his help.

“Can’t even take off your own clothes, kitten.” Heisenberg mocked, as his adept hands slowly, playfully, untied the laces.

His touch was warm, he slipped his hand and you felt his calloused fingers on your skin, your body hair immediately responded husking and an electrical current flowed through you, lightening your eyes, reverberating to your core. He also felt that and some other things that made him put away his hips, but once you were facing the entrance, you couldn’t see his reaction and only heard a small movement of boots.

Lastly your dress fell to your feet and you covered yourself with his bulky overcoat, feeling better as you inhaled his aroma so intensely you almost fainted with those mechanic flavours petting your skin and his body warmth heating you.

“Now, enough chit-chat. Your duties.” He broke the silence as you finished tying the fabric belt around your waist.

“Yes, sir.” This time it was him who took a deep breath, seeming a little bothered somehow like he could use some time alone.

He had been a lonely man. You didn’t hear other people, well, living people, in the factory the next days and realised it was only you and him. It must have felt weird having someone around after years of living like an eremite. Even with all the jokes and that cheap charms, the view of him tilted to the investigative board gave you the impression that it was a bit too much having you there all at once and decided to put your rain resentments aside ang give him a chance and some space.

“I need some cleaning. I am expanding some experiments and I need to use a new wing for it, but it’s really messy.” You couldn’t see his face, but you were sure he had a grin adorning his scarred lips.

“I will do it.” You said, a little disappointed that this was your choir and surprised you were expecting something more… Dangerous? Exciting maybe?

“Of course you will.” He was leaned on the office desk, not even looking at you anymore, suddenly sold out. “One more thing.”

“Yes? What is it, sir?” Heisenberg shook his head making his grizzly hair dance as if getting rid of a thought. It wasn’t clear if he was still having fun or being disturbed by something.

“There is only one bed in this factory.” You turned stone cold with that announcement, abruptly conscious of all the blood running through your veins.

A secluded part of your mind, a usually quiet one, whispered a thought: It would be good to see where his blood is running to.

“Unless you want to sleep in a stretcher.” He added, laughing vigorously, giving you the chills again.

“Oh no, I will take the bed.” The answer came easily as if it was always there.

You took your wet clothes and belongings after he told you how to access the bedroom and you left him alone to it, whatever it was.

[headoverheelsforramsey]

Your Love Is Killing Me (Part 1)

Pairing : Dr. Ethan Ramsey x f!MC (Dr. Meera Bose)                                            Summary : A canon divergent take on the emotions Ethan and Meera face on returning from Miami, and what happens when Meera faints in the hospital atrium.                                    Category : Angst                                                          Warnings : A few swearings, PCOD and cardiovascular disease that comes with it, stress and anxiety                                                        Word Count : 1724

A/N : So this is my first fic,🙈 so please ignore some of the rookie mistakes, also please send in criticisms, I would love to improve. Got tired with clone Ethan and PB writers and the book 1 replay got to me so I thought torturing myself through angst will be a good idea. Happy Reading!  ❤

Meera shifts in her bed. Rolling over to face away from the window. It was another sleepless night for her. Where usually she used to be famished after coming home from work and all she desired for was her head to touch the pillow the last 5 days was completely different. These 5 nights she spent staring into the ceiling as a train of thoughts ran through her mind. Dr. Ramsey's words kept on ringing in her head "I need to be able to push you to your limits. To help you become the doctor you want to be. The one I know you can be." Lost in her reminiscence of that magical moment in the balcony of the Miami hotel, Meera didn't seem to notice the sky changing its colours from the dark starry blue to the first hues of gold, orange and red, signifying the beginning of a new day. She turned over thinking what went wrong, a calculation she was doing for the zillionth time and each time she came to a fruitless answer. Meera was interrupted by the sound of her alarm, one which was useless as she wasn't able to close her eyes for a single minute. 

She sat up in bed rubbing her eyes and catching a glimpse of herself on the full sized mirror. She was in her comfiest sweatpants, her uncombed curls sprawled over her shoulders and face. She removed her hair from her face and found tired eyes, deep dark circles and chapped lips staring at her from the mirror. She closed her eyes, hugged her knees close and rested her forehead on her knees as she thought about her plan for the day. For the past five days she had planned her days carefully so as to not run into the grumpy attending at any cost. She was on high alert. Any sign of him nearby and she always made an one eighty degree rotation in order to escape him. She went to meet the patient X to take his regular vitals and monitor required medicines on hours she was cent percent sure Dr. Ramsey was busy. She replied with lies and smiles to Dr. Banerji's unending question about the conference, Miami, Ethan and the sudden change in her behavior. Although she sometimes felt he could see right through her. 

Meera stood up from the bed and went into the shower. As soon as the cold water hit her skin she remembered how Ethan had abandoned her in the hotel in Miami. How she had been sitting there on the bed dressed in luxurious blue with her heart and bed cold as tears swelled up in her eyes. She remembered the awkward flight from Miami to Boston and the bare three sentences of exchange between her and Ethan. How she thought that the flight washroom was her safe haven and how she wished to spend the entire flight there. All these thoughts were such an emotional burden on her and she finally gave in to the inevitable. She double downed with sobs as she cried in the shower keeping as quiet as it was humanly possible for her so that her roommates won't get to know. After a few minutes she was finally able to compose herself. She stepped out of the shower a towel wrapped around her as she rubbed her hair dry. Meera got into a fresh pair of scrubs combed and tied her hair into a tight high ponytail. As she applied a generous amount of foundation to hide her dark circles and chapstick to moisturize her lips her phone beeped with a notification from her period tracker which notified that her period was 3 days late. She didn't think much about that as she had been dealing with PCOD since she was sixteen. She had almost defeated the disease with changes in her lifestyle and a few medicines, but after all there is no permanent cure. She had learned to live with it over the years. 

Finally she looked at herself in the mirror. She was now looking like Dr. Meera Bose the confident number one intern at Edenbrook Hospital. She forced on a smile to face her roommates outside her bedroom door and the world in general. This is what Meera's life looked like for the past five days. She was tired of putting on a happy show for the outside world and hence once she was inside her room with no one except herself her thoughts collided against each other and finally left her crying. She was tired of going through the same crescendo of thoughts and emotions again and again but there was no other way out because the only possible solution to end her pain, in Dr. Ramsey's words was "unethical and complicated."    

It was noon when Meera was already done with 6 cases. She also made it a point to check up on Dr. Banerji first thing in the morning when she was completely certain Ethan was in a board meeting. She was once again walking the crowded but motivated halls of Edenbrook navigating her way to her next patient's room. 

Meera felt a sudden piercing pain in the middle of her chest which slowly travelled to her left arm. It started as a mild one but quickly accelerated. From the corner of her eye she saw Ethan rounding a corner and walking towards her. It had been six days since both of them were in the same corridor. Before she was ready to process anything further she broke out into a sweat and started feeling tremendous trouble in breathing properly. All she remembers next is darkness and the sound of her charts slipping away from her hand and hitting the floor. In the last moments before her unconsciousness hit she felt someone holding her close and tight, the chaos of the hospital becoming silent to her as she tried with all her might to figure out if she had the opportunity to be in Ethan's arms once again like she was in Miami but she failed.  

 Ethan was very annoyed when he was held all morning in a stupid board meeting and wasn't able to finish any of his work. Ethan often doesn't listen to half of the things the board members say. He utilises those hours to mentally untangle the complications of the diagnostic team patient, something which he felt was much much more important than listening to entitled doctors who aren't even good as they think themselves to be. But today it was different. He was unable to concentrate at all. His mind wandered back to the one curly haired brunette intern. These past six days Ethan had immersed himself in work. Between the interns, the diagnostic team and Naveen's mystery illness his mind was pretty busy. He took on more cases than usual, pulled all nighters at the hospital and the little time he was at home he did find some article he needed to finish writing on his laptop. This was the only way he could keep her out of his head. Atleast this is what he believed, because work, patient care and her career was the only thing standing between him and her.

He was quickly making his way towards the diagnostic team office once he was finally freed from the conference room. He turned a corner and started walking through the corridors, pinching the bridge of his nose. That's when he heard a thud and saw a chaos forming around a patient who had just fainted, up ahead in the corridor. He picked up his pace ready to yell at the intern who was responsible for this. When he was merely steps away, he stopped in his track, completely recognizing that it wasn't a patient but an intern. The intern that topped the charts in the diagnostic team competition, the intern he was so keen on avoiding, and for the first time in years his doctor senses didn't kick in. He was looking at the intern, not as Dr. Ethan Ramsey but as just Ethan.

She was nestled in the strong arms of the Averio paramedic she was friends with. Ethan snapped out as the chaos became louder, a stretcher was brought and Meera was lifted into it. Surrounded by her intern friends and Dr. Delarosa, she was being rolled towards the ER. The immediate thing Ethan did was follow her, but that's when his pager beeped. It was a code blue from Baz. Ethan stopped once again evaluating his next step. He knew the diagnostic team was already understaffed and needed him, on the other hand Meera who- who- who was exactly what to Ethan he didn't know. Ethan did the same mistake he had done in Miami, he put his work, before her inspite of what his heart wanted.  

It took Ethan twenty minutes to handle the situation of the Diagnostic Team patient. After which he was on his way to the ER, determined to check up on Meera. He felt, him running after just an intern would stir up the hospital gossip. But did he care for it? He didn't, until he heard a few nurses huddled together talking in loud whispers. "I think she is pregnant, Mary told me she was feeling nauseous the other day." one of them said. "Are you serious?? Do you think it was Dr. Ramsey ?" another one asked. "I don't know, they spent two whole days alone in Miami, who knows what they were upto." the first one replied. "You know, I think you are right. Dr. Olsen told me that she wasn't even half smart and intelligent as he was and yet she is leading the competition. It's very clear Ramsey favours her." a third joined in. "Whatever it is, I don't know what he sees in her. I could be standing her naked waiting for him to fuck me, but he wouldn't budge." with this the group of nurses started giggling and moved towards the atrium their back towards Ethan. After this encounter he couldn't risk being found close to her. It's her career that was at stake. Something that he priced over his own feelings for her. Dejected, he made his way back towards his office, locking the door behind him and immersing himself in paperwork.

Thank you so much if you have read till here, it means the world to me. I will put up the second part as soon as possible, till then sending love and hugs your way! 💖

Tagging : @starrystarrytrouble @mm2305 @charisworld @choicesfanaf @potionsprefect @genevievemd

+@choicesbookclub   

Let me know if you want to be added or removed. 💜

Part 2 is up now! Read it here

[lifeofkaze]

When Stars Ignite - Chapter 20

HPHM Rockstar AU

A/N:

General Warning: This whole fic has a general warning of being NSFW / 18+. We will give specific warnings for every chapter in itself, but several adult themes will be more or less present in every chapter, may it be explicitly or in mention. These include sexual topics, drug abuse, (ab)use of alcohol, smoking and a whole lot of cursing.

Specific Warning: Language, drinking, allusions to/mention of sexual content

~~~

Find the masterpost here, the previous chapter here and the next one here. The songs featured before every chapter can be found on this pretty badass playlist here.

~~~

This work is a collaboration with @the-al-chemist

Taglist: @slytherindisaster @night-rhea @carewyncromwell @thatravenpuffwitch

We're on the edge

On the edge

We just might be lovers

Dive in to the glory where we'll be out there

~ Takida - Edge ~

With an exhausted sigh, Orion let himself fall against the back of the sofa in the green room. Even now, more than an hour after their second show of the day had been over, he could still hear the roar of the crowd hanging in the air.

The experience of their charity show still fresh in their minds, every one of them had given everything to make their main show just as memorable as the one before.

Catching some sleep had helped with clearing Orion’s mind of the turmoil that had raged inside his thoughts. Although it had been unexpected, he was glad Lizzie had come to check on him. Before she had arrived, he had felt like a leaf tossed in the winds of his memories, unable to catch hold of anything that would help him weather the storm.

But when he had felt her arms around him, her steady heartbeat had been enough to ground him and return his focus to the moment at hand, not the past and not the future. Who would have thought that the touch of her hand alone would be enough to calm him where, on his own, he needed several hours of meditation.

As they did do every so often these days, his eyes wandered over to where Lizzie was chatting with Skye. All the fans that had been allowed to meet them were long gone, one of them leaving hanging on Everett’s arm.

Skye was impatiently glancing at her phone, checking the time. Orion noticed how she made a point not to look to the door, where Erika was standing with an unreadable face.

Lizzie said something to Skye that made her roll her eyes. Sniggering to herself, she made her way over to him; her movements were less energetic than usual and Orion could tell the exhaustion of the day was already affecting her.

She slumped down onto the sofa next to him. “I think Skye and Erika want us to leave,” Lizzie giggled. “Skye said they ‘have some things to discuss’”. She tried to hide her grin behind her hand. Her blue eyes were sparkling with laughter, her cheeks slightly flushed.

“I can just imagine what kinds of topics they would feel the need to cover,” Orion smirked.

Lizzie giggled again, then sighed and sunk deeper into the plush couch. “Me too, but can’t they just go somewhere else? I don’t want to move, I’m tired.” She grimaced as she tilted her head from side to side. “And my shoulders hurt like hell.”

“We could go back and you let me do something about that,” Orion said so quietly only Lizzie would hear, his smile turning decidedly more mischievous. He almost reached out to touch her, catching himself at the last moment.

Lizzie pursed her lips before they curved into a shrewd smile, the one Orion knew meant trouble. She leaned slightly forward so she was closer to him; she was just far away enough to not seem suspicious to the others but the look in her eyes was intense.

“How could I refuse such a generous offer,” she purred before abruptly leaning back again, “but not just now. I want to wind down a little before we go back.”

She stood up and had to take a little extra step to catch her balance again. “Let’s go get some drinks, what do you say?”

Spending time with her seemed a good way to end the evening one way or another, so Orion got up as well and they set out to leave. It felt strange to just go out with her for drinks, they hadn’t done anything like that in ages. But then again, Lizzie had been right earlier; they were still friends after all.

They were just about to walk out the door, when his eyes fell on Merula sitting in the far corner of the room. She was playing with a lighter that was unfamiliar to him. She was staring into the flame burning up from the small device before she extinguished it again. Orion felt a pang of guilt rising up in his chest; he hadn’t even noticed she was still here.

“Go ahead, I’ll catch up with you in a minute,” he muttered to Lizzie and made his way over to his foster sister.

Merula only looked up briefly from the flame she had sparked again when Orion stood next to her.

“I thought you were leaving.” It wasn’t a question but a statement.

“Not without saying goodbye,” he leaned forward slightly, trying to catch her violet coloured eyes. “Are you okay?”

Merula snorted. “Do I look okay?”

“You have a habit of hiding your true sentiments under a mask of sarcasm and spite, so for the inexperienced observer it is hard to tell.”

She let the flame go out and raised her eyes. “And what does the experienced observer say?”

“That you look even more sulky than usual.” Orion indicated the gleaming lighter in her hand. “Where did you get that? You’re not supposed to smoke.”

Merula’s frown deepened at his words. “You’re not Ethan fucking Parkin, but you sure start sounding like him,” she snarled. “You don’t get to tell me what to do, got it?”

Surprised at her tone, Orion raised his hands defensively; he was usually exempt from Merula’s moods. “I never meant to reprimand you. I’m just trying to keep you out of trouble.”

“Keep me out of trouble?” Merula snorted. Her eyes went to the door through which Lizzie had left a few moments ago. “How about starting with yourself then?”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t take me for stupid.” Her eyes grew hard as they turned back to him. “Did you really think I wouldn’t notice?”

Orion pressed his lips together; he didn’t like what he was hearing. What was going on between Lizzie and him was supposed to be a secret, yet in a matter of days three of their closest friends had all discovered the truth.

The guilty expression written over his face was confirmation enough for Merula. She angrily stuffed her lighter into her pocket.

“I can’t believe you’re so stupid,” she hissed. “You of all people, risking everything we have like this. And not even telling me,” she added bitterly. “I thought you trusted me.”

“You know I trust you,” Orion answered, trying to keep his voice steady. “But this was not a matter for me alone to decide.”

“Yeah, I see,” Merula sneered, “she’s fluttering her lashes at you and you’re putty in her hands. Doesn’t matter if what you’re doing is the most stupid fucking thing you’ve ever done.”

Her eyes flashed and she grit her teeth. “And seriously, Lizzie? Of all the girls you could have had, why did it have to be her?”

Orion frowned. “Why would you say that? I sense a lot of hostility in your words.”

“Spare me the bullshit, you know exactly what I mean. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but couldn’t you have just done it like Ev and gotten yourself some random groupie? But no, of course you had to go the complicated way and get yourself involved with someone who is strictly off limits.”

She raised her chin in defiance. “You can’t really believe she’s being serious with you. Just look at how she’s acting, she’s flirting with anyone with a pulse.”

Orion was becoming increasingly annoyed with Merula’s accusations; listening to her, it seemed as if she hadn’t known Lizzie for years.

“No doubt, Lizzie is an affectionate person. But you should know her; she is quick to share friendly banter but not her…”

“Her what,” Merula scoffed, interrupting him, “her love? Her heart? Wake up Orion, she’s playing a game with you.”

“No,” he said pointedly, another flare of anger at Merula’s unwarranted criticism. “You misinterpret the situation entirely. This has nothing to do with love.”

Merula looked him up and down for a second. “So that’s it? Just some mindless fucking around? Seems I have misjudged you; didn’t think you had that in you,” she snorted. “Not her though, she’s acting just as I would have expected. I always knew she was a little -”

“Mind your words,” Orion cut her off sharply. He wasn’t able to keep his anger at Merula’s insults to himself anymore. “If I were you I would think well about what you want to say next.”

Taken aback by his sharp tone, Merula blinked at him. “You snapped at me,” she said, looking completely dumbstruck. “You’ve never snapped at me before.”

“You’ve never acted like a petulant child before.”

“I don’t get it; why don’t you see it? That everybody’s darling thing she’s doing is not real, it’s just for show.”

Orion shook his head. His hand went to the pendant around his neck, tugging at it. “The face we show to the world is not always a mirror of how we feel inside. Only because Lizzie doesn’t let people look through her like glass, doesn’t mean she is a bad person. I thought you of all people would understand that.”

Fed up with her, Orion turned to go but Merula grabbed his arm, holding him back for just a moment longer.

“Just be careful, okay?” she said, suddenly sounding much softer than before. She didn’t look at him when he turned his head to face her. “This band is the closest thing to family we’ve ever had; she’s not worth risking that.”

*

Orion kicked the door to his hotel room shut with his foot, while Lizzie kissed him passionately. He could still taste the rich flavour of the whiskey on her lips, the bottle they had been sharing dropping to the ground with a muffled thud as she wrapped her arms around him. It landed right next to the jacket she had brushed off his shoulders; she stepped over it and pulled him further into the room.

In passing, Orion bent down and picked the bottle up again and took another sip. The earthy taste filled his mouth and the liquor burned in his throat, adding to the fire running through his veins. Lizzie pulled him closer again, their lips connecting as she kissed the last drops of whiskey off them.

She took the bottle from his hand, and brought it to her own lips, her eyes never leaving his even for a second. When she stepped back into the light falling into the room from the window, he could see there was a drop still hanging on the corner of her mouth; she spread it over her lower lip with her thumb before wrapping her lips around her fingertip, her smile heavy with promise. Orion exhaled slowly; she knew exactly how to drive him insane.

Within a heartbeat he was by her side again, the energy between them drawing him in like a force field. It had been building over the course of the whole evening; the exchange with Merula had left him feeling stirred up and with the last traces of adrenaline left from their show, his body had been flooded with the same restlessness he had been feeling for most of the day.

The strong drinks served in the bar where he and Lizzie had wound up had been a welcome distraction, just like her lingering looks and fleeting touches. It was a game between them she had mastered to perfection.

They hadn’t even been inside his room yet when Orion hadn’t been able to resist her any longer. He knew it was risky as hell to kiss her out in the open, but the sizzling tension between them had clouded his judgement. He hadn’t cared a single bit who might see them when he had pinned her against the door of his room, and judging by the way she had eagerly returned his kiss, neither had she.

It was stupid, it was dangerous and it was just what both of them needed tonight.

Maybe Merula had been right at least in one thing; Lizzie knew what to do to get him where she wanted him.

But she wasn’t the only one knowing him like the back of her hand. The soft moan escaping her as his kisses trailed down her throat was just as electrifying as the roar of the crowd when they were on stage.

She tilted her head to the side to give him better access and Orion smirked as he felt her fingers tangle in his hair. Her body shivered as his hands wandered up her sides from her hips. She let go of him just long enough to let him pull her shirt over her head, his own following just a moment later.

He rested his hands on her waist, which fit into his palms as if they were made for them, before they went up to her shoulders, giving her a slight push towards the bed. Lizzie let herself fall back into the sheets, pulling him along with her, their lips locked in a steamy kiss.

She wrapped her legs around him and pulled him even closer, her hands running down his spine.

“We should close the curtains,” he mumbled with the last shred of rational thinking he could muster, followed by a sharp intake of breath when her fingers dipped under the hem of his trousers.

“Better hurry then,” she breathed, teasingly biting his lip. Her words were slurred from the exhaustion of playing two shows in a day and the whiskey taking its effect on her.

Orion reluctantly broke free from her. She leaned back into the cushions and shook her hair out; it fell in soft waves over her shoulders and Orion couldn’t wait to bury his hands in her honey-brown mane. He kissed her one last time before getting up again; leaving her sprawled on his bed like this was feeling like a crime.

He stepped towards the window to pull the curtains close when he saw the figures dancing in the street outside; the faint sound of music was drifting up to him. He stopped and watched them for a moment.

“Looks like there’s quite the party going on outside,” he chuckled.

When he got no response, he turned around and, after a first moment of incredulity, had to bite back a laugh. Lying on the comfortable mattress, the day had gotten the better of Lizzie; her head had fallen to the side, her eyes were closed and her lips slightly parted. Her slow and steady breathing showed him that she was fast asleep.

Orion laughed quietly; no wonder she hadn’t been able to resist the lure of sleep, even if he was a little disappointed she’d left him hanging. Playing two shows in one day had taken a toll on all of them.

He knew she wanted to be left alone when she was sleeping, but the bed was only so big and he just couldn’t resist when he climbed into the sheets next to her. He gently ran his hand over the curve of her hips up to her waist. He didn’t want to wake her up, he just wanted to feel her smooth skin under the tips of his fingers.

Responding to his touch, Lizzie murmured something indiscernible and turned around, resting her head on his chest. Orion couldn’t help but smile as he carefully covered them both with the duvet.

They had shared the same bed more times than he could remember, even though Lizzie had made a point in returning to her room when they were on tour. Even so, the sight of her sleeping next to him was not new to Orion.

He was familiar with the way she hugged her pillow, and how she couldn’t sleep without the weight of a blanket on her shoulders, no matter how warm it was. He knew how she liked to sleep with the windows open, and that what she missed the most when they were home in London was the sound of the sea.

And still, even after all these months, they had never spent the night together without sleeping with each other first. This kind of intimacy was against all of the essential rules they had established; they weren’t about emotions, only about fun times between good friends. No commitment, no complications, no heartbreak. It was just another way of relieving the adrenaline in their bodies after they had left the stage.

But Orion couldn’t help the nagging feeling in the back of his mind that something felt different; that something else had sneaked into their dynamic over time.

He looked down and watched Lizzie sleeping peacefully for a moment. He shifted slightly so he had his arm around her and brushed back a strand of hair from her face. Just like this afternoon, he felt at ease with her in his arms, all thoughts about past and future forgotten. Everything that counted was right here and now, in this moment, just the two of them.

He absentmindedly twisted one of Lizzie’s curls around his finger and thought about what Merula had said. She was wrong, he decided for himself; this utter peace of mind he was experiencing right now, this was worth risking a lot for.

As Orion felt his own consciousness slip, he rested his face against Lizzie’s soft hair. He pressed a light kiss on her head, her familiar scent of jasmine and mint enveloping him and making him breathe her in deeply.

A memory rose from the depths of his mind, an off-hand remark made by him on a hot summer night on his rooftop. As her body was nestled against his, feeling as if it just belonged there, he couldn’t help but agree.

She really was the perfect size.

His lips curving into a smile, Orion drifted off to sleep.

[mythologyfolklore]

Baldr in Hel - Ch. 05

.

Hel's POV

Baldr and Nanna seemed to get comfortable here pretty quickly, much to Hel's pleasant surprise.

Apparently the ex-couple had settled on being friends and the Queen of the Dead was quite proud, that her advice of talking it out had worked so well.

A few open conversations really could do wonders.

Nanna even seemed to have grown used to Hel's duality. At least she didn't grimace anymore, when she looked at the Jötunn's left side.

“Does it hurt?”, the Vana asked at one point.

Hel shook her head. “No. When the left side of my body is physically dead, it can't hurt. It's just a tad uncomfortable. But when you have lived as long as I have, you get used to it.”

Nanna frowned: “Sounds like a stifling way to live.”

Hel shrugged: “Eh, it's fine. Walking stairs is a bit of a chore though.”

“But doesn't it ever happen, that one of your limbs falls off?”

The Jötunn snorted: “Sure does, if I'm not careful. Usually my magic keeps my body together, but of course if I'm not careful, something falls off. Although, sometimes, when I want to mess with people, I do this.”

Nanna screamed in shock, when Hel took her decayed left arm off, as if it were an artificial appendage.

“WHAT THE HECKITY HECK??? PUT IT BACK, OH MY GODS!”

Which Hel did, but not without cackling.

.

Baldr's POV

“… and then she took her arm off! It was so freaky! I screamed like a bat!”

“Yes, I heard it all the way to my room”, he giggled.

“Stop laughing!”

“Sorry, I can't! It's too funny!”

Nanna huffed and scowled at him, which only made him laugh harder.

After a few minutes his laughter subsided and he sighed blissfully.

The brunette goddess pouted some more, before chuckling and admitting that it was a bit funny.

Then they sat in silence for a while.

This was nice.

It was comfortable.

Baldr couldn't help but wish, that they could have had this in life …

“… you back to life?”

He blinked. “Pardon?”

“I asked, if you think that the Æsir will try to buy you back to life”, Nanna repeated.

His smile faded.

He had completely forgot about that possibility.

“I hope they won't”, he admitted. “I don't want them to.”

He didn't want to go back to Asgarðr. He was happier here than he had ever been in life, up there …

Nanna seemed to sense his predicament, as she changed the subject: “You know, I think Hel should dress up more.”

Baldr gaped at her. “What's brought this up?”

“I mean, think about it!”, continued Nanna. “She would look so much prettier, if she bothered to style her hair, or if she wore something other than black and dark blue. I get it, it fits into the scene, but wouldn't it be nice, if she wore something bright once in a while? Other than her jewellery?”

“Please don't make her wear pink!”, Baldr pleaded. “Anything but pink!”

It had taken him centuries to get used to Nanna's love of pastel-coloured clothing. It wasn't that she couldn't wear them well – she absolutely did. He just didn't like pastel colours, especially pink.

The dead goddess grinned: “Don't worry, I don't think pink would suit her either. It wouldn't go well with her overall colour scheme …” She thought for a moment. Then she beamed: “But bright blue would! It befits her calm disposition, would go well with her pallor and the platinum blond parts of her hair and make her look much younger! Not that she looks old, but it would be so cute!”

The image of Hel in a bright blue dress made the corner of Baldr's mouth twitch upward.

Nanna went on: “Yellow would also look good on her – of course it should be a warm shade – she would look brighter and more inviting and it would be a good contrast to everything here.”

“I don't know, I don't think yellow goes well with her whole death goddess thing”, Baldr objected.

“Dang it, I guess you're right. Orange is way too gaudy. A passionate dark red, maybe – or not”, Nanna changed her mind, when she saw Baldr's pained expression.

He had grown to abhor red – it just reminded him too much of how his own blood had flown from his chest, as his life had ebbed away.

“… Green is also out of question, for the same reason as yellow. Turquoise too. Brown and grey are as unfitting and atrocious as clothing colours come …”

While Nanna was rambling about clothing colours, the Queen of Helheimr had joined them and was now standing behind the dead goddess, who hadn't noticed her yet. Baldr had, of course, without even looking.

Meanwhile Nanna broke into a huge smile: “Ohh, I know! Purple! The colour of royalty! The right shades would enhance her figure and make her look like the queen she is! It's perfect! Yes, she should absolutely wear a purple dress! I should make her one!”

Baldr exchanged an amused look with Hel, before asking Nanna: “Don't you want to talk to Hel about that first?”

“What, and spoil the surprise- ui! Hel!”

Hel grinned down on Nanna. “I decline. I want to wear plain, boring black. But I appreciate the offer.”

Nanna put on her puppy pout face.

.

Apparently that worked, because the next day Hel wore a purple dress after all (Tyrian purple, if Baldr's knowledge of colour terminology didn't fail him and it never did¹) and golden jewellery with purple gems.

She looked gorgeous and seemed to be in a good mood too, because the left half of her face looked less decayed than usual, almost alive.

Hel grinned and asked Nanna: “So, do I look as majestic, as you imagined?”

Nanna grinned back: “Perfect! You look happier too! You should dress to the nines more often!”

Hel's grin broadened, as her gaze wandered to Baldr, who was busy cursing himself for being a blushing mess, just because the Queen of the Dead had chosen to wear purple today.

It made no sense, that this should affect him so much. It was literally just clothing …

Then he noticed Nanna's smug grin and his normally white-yellow glow got a pink hue with how hard he blushed.

“Shush”, he muttered, as she and Hel snickered.

.

Hel's POV

Dolling up sure had been fun.

This was the first time she'd done it and she had never felt this pretty in her life (and why would she, when most people called her a monster and abhorred the sight of her).

Previously she hadn't even owned a purple dress. In fact, she had just taken her best dark blue gowns, dyed them purple with a spell (a little trick she had learned from her mother) and added gold ornaments, just to flaunt her wealth and status.

The right clothes really did make a difference, it seemed.

Nevertheless she went back to black the following day. Much to Nanna's disappointment, but black was just Hel's favourite colour.

After having finished the soul judging for the day, she sent Ganglati to bring Baldr to her throne room. To her surprise and amusement, Baldr showed up carrying a visibly perplexed Ganglati on his back.

“He couldn't keep up, so I carried him”, Baldr explained, smiling.

Hel chortled and struggled to keep in her laughter, especially when Ganglati climbed off the dead god's back with an utterly mortified expression.

“Next time give me a fair warning, before you pick me up and run around with me like that, young man!”, the elderly servant scolded and got a sheepish apology. He accepted it and left the two deities alone.

Baldr addressed Hel: “So, what's the matter?”

“Perhaps you have noticed, that my staff is busier than usual”, she began and he nodded affirmatively. “The reason for that, Baldr, is that a messenger from your family is on the way here. Tomorrow your brother Hermóðr will show up to beseech me for your release. I'm making preparations for his arrival.”

His smile was replaced by a frown.

Hel decided that she didn't like it.

“Not too keen on seeing the guy your wife slept with?”, she tried to lighten up the mood.

Baldr rolled his eyes. “Like I care, even though it would give me the opportunity to give him a piece of my mind.”

“What is it then?”

He lowered his gaze. “I … I …”

It took a while, but eventually he squeezed his eyes shut and blurted out: “I don't want to leave! I don't want to go back! I'm happier here than I ever was up there and …”

Hel lifted her hand to silence him and replied in her usual blank manner: “I know that you want to stay here, rather than go back. But don't wreck your pretty head, Óðinnson. No one, who enters my realm, returns to the world of the living. No one.”

Baldr clearly understood, but he still looked sceptical.

“I'm not sure … have you ever met my mother?”, he asked doubtfully. “She managed to make everything in existence swear not to harm me, except for a sprig of mistletoe that was too young.”

“I know. She even sent me a text and asked me and my subjects to swear as well. I had to point out to Frigg, that the dead are incapable of swearing binding oaths.”

She winked at him. “Don't you worry about a single thing, Baldr, and leave it all to me. I am Hel Lokadóttir, Queen of the Dead. I'm up to every trick.”

His expression softened. “I trust you.”

“Good. Oh, and there is another thing: I would like to introduce you to my own mother. If that's alright with you.”

Baldr gasped in delight: “Oh, absolutely! I would love to meet the lady, who raised an amazing daughter like yourself!”

The temptation to blush and giggle was real – damn, what was this guy doing to her?!

But she manage to keep her pokerface up (or not; the condition of the left half of her face probably gave it away).

She clapped her hands. “It's a deal. I will give her notice to let her know and tomorrow after breakfast we can go there. Hermóðr won't arrive until late afternoon, so it won't be a problem.”

.

Baldr's POV

Baldr didn't know, how Hel could say that so certainly, but he decided not to question it.

He would just have to trust her. And if there was one thing he had learned in the last few days, it was that Hel was one of the most trustworthy people one could meet.

Before going to bed, he told Nanna about it.

To his confusion, she burst into giggles.

“What's so funny?”, he asked.

“Nothing!”, Nanna snickered, “It's just that you and I have been here for less than a week and she already wants you to meet her mother! She really has it bad for you, hasn't she?”

Baldr got so flustered he started to glow bright pink, which made her laugh even harder.

.

---

.

1) With Baldr being a god of light, I got the idea that he'd be able to see all spectres of light, as well as know all about colours.

[allthingskakashi]

Hi! Coul a request a scenario that involves Sukea please? Like the reader has a crush on Kakashi and he finds out because her friends tease her in front of sukea and then Kakashi asks her on a date idk if I’m making a point, or can just do anything you wish that involves him pleasee? Thank you ♥️

Okay first of all, that's a really innovative idea!! I loved it. Secondly, I'm sorry it took me so long to get to this but ahh well here it is now and i really hope you like it ❤️

• Serendipity •

[Kakashi x Reader] || 3k words

a/n : ugh tbh I've been running a little low on creativity lately which is why i hadn't posted anything for like a week but i also didn't wanna go without writing anything so well... I tried. 😩

You sit in the small dumpling restaurant with your friends Kurenai and Anko. Beyond you, the falling dusk envelopes your village in mystical hues of blue and red. It’s Friday, which means the weekend has rolled in after a long and tiresome week. The thought of being off duty for the next two days lifts your spirits, and you look forward to spending the time relaxing at home in your own company.

The evening is busy, streets bustling, vibrant with the hustle of villagers; some heading for a night out with friends, some returning home to spend time with family, some getting ready to go out on a date, everyone looking like they have somewhere to be, something to do.

You sigh, shoving a dumpling in your mouth.

“Why the long face?”, Anko asks between chomps.

“It’s nothing” you shrug, your tone failing to fool anyone.

There’s a soft creak as the gate to the shop opens behind you, a small gust of air whooshing in from outside. The merry chatter in the room comes to a sudden halt, to be replaced by sounds of hushed murmurs and whispers. You glance at the group of women sitting in the table ahead of you, staring at something with mouths open wide in awe. Ahead of you, Anko’s eyebrows are furrowed, a curious smile touching the corner of her lip.

You turn behind, wanting to catch a glimpse of whatever it is that has managed to elicit such a response from the entire room.

Your eyes fall upon a handsome young man, who has just now walked into the restaurant and taken a seat behind you. You feel your heart skip a beat. He’s easily one of the most handsome men you’ve ever seen. A mop of thick brown hair adorns his head, a tint of purple on his eyelids and stripes of the same colour running across both cheeks. His face is sharp with an angled jawline and he has on a long trench coat with a scarf around his neck. He’s also holding a camera, you notice.

Probably an outsider.

A waitress walks over to him, standing by him and twirling a curl of hair, visibly enchanted by his charms.

Someone thumps the front of your table, startling you. “Jeez y/n, get a grip!” Anko’s voice brings your attention back to your friends as you finally tear your eyes away from the mysterious man in the table behind you.

“What? I wasn’t checking him out” you sputter, unnerved.

“We didn’t say you were”, Kurenai chimes in.

You feel your face getting hot as red tinges your cheeks and you look away, avoiding your friends’ eyes.

“Hey, why don’t you go talk to him? Maybe ask him out?” Kurenai says, her eyes lighting up.

You open your mouth to say something, but Anko cuts in.

“Because she’d rather sit around pining for Kakashi and doodling his name on her diary. How long has it been now? 7 years?”

Kurenai giggles, but puts a comforting arm around your shoulder.

“Alright now, go easy on her”, she says kindly. “But she’s got a point y/n. You and Kakashi have known each other for a long time. You’ve kept your feelings to yourself for years now, I really think it’s time you go out and do something about it. Who knows, maybe he feels the same way about you. Why don’t you give it a shot?”

You let out another sigh and look at your lap. “I just don’t think it’s the right time yet.”

But that was a lie. You’d had feelings for Kakashi ever since you were a teenager. You had always been friends, but you wanted more. You loved being in his company and you had a lot of mutual respect and admiration for each other. But you could never bring yourself to just say the words to Kakashi. There were times when you almost blurted it out, and times when you felt like maybe he felt the same way about you too… but they may have been delusions, for all you knew. You didn’t know anything for certain. And that’s what stopped you from gathering up the courage to say it to him. You told yourself and your friends who knew that you would someday, when the time is right, but it was all a big fat lie. You were scared, and that was the truth, as much as you hated to admit it.

You watch Anko roll her eyes as Kurenai exhales, tilting her head.

“Y/n…It’ll never be the right time. Just do it. You’ve taken down S-rank criminals, you can handle this. Trust me, even the copy ninja can’t resist THAT” Kurenai cheers, grazing her eyes up and down over you with a suggestive smile, her voice encouraging. You chuckle, waving your hand dismissively in embarrassment.

“Look”, Anko interjects in her matter-of-fact voice. “Kakashi’s a wuss. If you wanna get it on with him, you gotta make the move. He’s even worse than you so pussy up and ask him. If I have to hear another of your lovelorn sighs one more time, I’ll go tell him myself.” She says, shoving her last dumpling in her mouth and gulping down a glass of water.

You’d been friends with Anko long enough to know not to put it past her. Besides, they were right. It HAD been very long. Perhaps you really did need to pussy up.

Ughhhhh. Why couldn’t this be easier?

“Anyway, I’m gonna go hit the bar. Any of you suckers wanna join me?” Anko asks, getting up from her chair.

“I can’t. I invited my team over for dinner tonight so I’ll get going.”, Kurenai says, collecting her purse and getting ready to leave as well.

“It’s okay, you guys go. I’ve got some things to do” you say, waving them off.

You watch your friends go out the exit and disappear along the curve of the street. Truth is, you kind of want to be alone, maybe take a walk around the village, gather your thoughts. This conversation with your friends today stirred something in you and you need time to think. You’d let things go on as they were for very long now, but it was time you took matters in your own hands.

Putting the bill down on the table, you head towards the door. Your eyes fall where the man was sitting but the seat is empty now, and you catch him ahead of you, just a few steps away, also heading towards the door. You stand close behind him, clutching your purse to your rib as he opens the door. His elbow juts out, knocking the bag out of your hand as it falls to the ground.

For a quick second you think it’s a thief and you’re almost about to strike a blow but the man crouches down quickly with an “I’m so sorry”, picking your purse up and holding it out to you.

Up close this way, you can see his eyes. There’s something familiar about them but you can’t put your finger on what it is. “Thanks” you mutter, taking the purse from him, your mind still trying to comprehend why this man you’ve never seen before feels so familiar.

“Are you a tourist? I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before”, you ask, concealing the suspicion in your tone.

Your village is a small one and almost every face is familiar. Having a visitor in the village is quite unheard of and your instincts tell you that something feels off.

He clears his throat before answering. “Hi, I’m Sukea. I’m a reporter from the Land of Fire. I’m here to conduct research for an article” the man replies, almost in an automated tone but with a smile that immediately softens his features. He’s got a mole under his bottom lip, you notice.

Gosh, that’s a pretty face.

Before you have the chance to say anything else or ask more questions, he mumbles that he’s getting late for something and turns away, hurrying down the street.

You stand there, watching him go.

Weird.

But you’ve got other things to think about now, decisions to make, so you shake the thoughts of this mystery man off your head, although you can’t help mulling over why he felt so eerily familiar.

You walk down your usual route in the quieter part of the village. Walks always somehow help you clear your mind.  The air has cooled down now and there’s a slight chill in the air. A sweet smell of flowers wafts through. You lose track of time walking around the entire village, over the cliff, through the forests, by the stream which shimmers under the moonlight.

It’s almost ten by the time you reach home and the walk makes your calves ache. Probably wasn’t such a good idea to go on such a long walk after injuring yourself on your last mission.

You freshen up and throw yourself down on your bed, glad for the two days of rest that awaits you.

Pulling the blanket over your head, you turn to your side and close your eyes. Kakashi’s face appears almost instantly, the images playing a montage in your head.

His smile that makes buds bloom into flowers… his laughter so pure like a young boy’s…his silver hair which sparkles in the sun, making you want to run your fingers through it… the warmth of his voice when he talks to you-- and suddenly something goes off in your brain. Like a flame igniting. Or rather, a long burning flame finally receiving emancipation. There’s a jolt through your veins and you think—Tomorrow. I’ll tell him tomorrow.

And before you have time to process the sudden thought, languor takes over your body, lulling you to sleep.

You’re up early the next morning, the jolt from last night still coursing through your veins. You’re feeling pretty confident, more than you ever have. Today’s the day you tell him.

But first, you have to head over to the Missions Desk to submit your report. You bash yourself for putting it off till now.

The day outside is beautiful, white cotton clouds floating aimlessly across the azure sky. A pleasant breeze tickles your skin in soft whispers.

You reach the main office and submit your file. The room is empty, except for the people working behind the desks. The man in front of you takes your file, checking the date of your mission and you’re sure you can see a look of judgement flash across his eyes.

You almost feel a little guilty.

“You know, all the other jounins have submitted their reports already” he mutters, not looking up from your file.

“Well actually…”

There’s a voice behind you, and you turn around at the sheepish tone of the familiar voice. Your heart instantly paces up. Kakashi. There’s a file in his hand too. You can’t help the smile that escapes.

You look at him as he comes forward, handing his file over. The man shoots him a similar glance and shakes his head, but doesn’t say anything. You can tell that this must not be the first time. Kakashi smiles sweetly at him, before turning away and looking at you.

“Y/n! Didn’t think I’d run into you here…”

Your blood pounds in your ears as you recall the resolve you made to yourself last night. You’d promised yourself you’d tell him today but right now, in this way? You weren’t ready for this. You hadn’t prepared what you were gonna say, or how you’d say it. A hundred thoughts run through your head.

Hell with my resolve. This really isn’t the right time. I can’t do this.

But on the other hand…

Your brain goes at odds with your heart as you realise you haven’t answered Kakashi yet.

“You okay?” he asks, his voice concerned.

You straighten up, composing yourself.

“Oh hey yeah, I’m fine! I’m great. What’re you upto?”

“Just got a few things I need to do”, he shrugs, walking beside you as the two of you come out of the office into the main corridor of the Hokage Mansion.

“Right. Got any missions this weekend?” you ask, stalling to give yourself time to think clearly.

“Nope. You?”

“No. You?”

“You already asked me”, he chuckles. “So uh. Where are you headed?”

Ugh. This is a disaster.

“Just the market. I… I need to buy fish for dinner”

You feel your palms getting clammy as the air starts to feels too tight. You look at Kakashi out of the corner of your eye and you notice.

He looks nervous too. He’s fidgeting with his hands and there’s something strange about him.

“Well…uh” he stutters, rubbing his neck with his hand before looking at you. “maybe you don’t.”

You look up at him, your eyes wide and face scrunched up in confusion. You’re outside the tower now, standing on the street.

“I…don’t?”

He scratches the back of his head.

“Uh…I mean…I’ve got fish.”, he stammers. There’s a very visible tint of red on his cheeks.

You’re utterly wrapped in confusion by now, and you wonder why he’s acting so strange. Unsure of where he’s getting with that, you say, “Um…That’s nice. Where do you buy fish from? I’ve heard the market by the Temple is good for seafood. I haven’t had the chance to try it out myself though.”

Mother Earth please swallow me whole.

Kakashi lets out a nervous laugh, still fidgeting around with his hands and looking everywhere but directly at you.

“Y/n what I’m saying is…maybe you don’t need to buy fish for dinner because” he looks at you from under his shaggy bangs,which fall over his eyes in the absence of his headband. The tint of his cheeks deepens. “well, because I was thinking maybe you could come over…and I could…cook dinner for the both of us...? Or um go out, whatever you’d like” he says, immediately looking away.

You’d never thought it was possible for the calm and cocky Kakashi Hatake to look this nervous. It’s quite a sight. You might have laughed at it if you weren’t just as nervous yourself.

“Like on a date?” you ask, shock evident in your tone. Your heart is battering in your chest.

This is a very, very surprising turn of events.

“Well…yes”, he breathes, barely meeting your eyes now.

You can hear your heart in your ears. And suddenly, it feels like spring has bloomed inside your heart. Not just your heart but everywhere around you. Like you’ve been transported to a meadow and there’s only flowers and rainbows and butterflies all around.

A breeze passes through, sending a few petals from nearby trees floating along the street. Strands of your hair blow into your eyes.

You sweep them away, looking up at him to see him looking at you, his eyes hopeful, waiting.

You meet his gaze with your burning eyes and smile, tucking another loose strand behind your ear.

“I’d love that” you say before looking down, your tone barely containing the ecstasy you feel within. You feel the chirp of a thousand birds singing inside your heart.

His eyes light up, mouth forming into a grin as you see the muscles on his face relaxing visibly.

Kakashi’s eyes crinkle from the smile and he says, “Well then…I’ll see you for dinner.”

He starts walking away, before turning back and calling out “Oh and yes, I do buy my fish from the market by the temple.”

And with that, he turns away grinning, disappearing with a whoosh, leaving you to stand there, still in shock and gaping after him; wondering which stars had aligned, what forces in the universe had conjoined and what twist of fate had occurred, turning your life around, making you the happiest woman in the world, in the span of just one day.

                                 *     *     *

Aaand a lil bonus addition :-

It’d been around two months that you and the silver haired jounin of the Leaf had been together. Almost everyone in the village knew by now and it had been two months of pure unadulterated bliss. You fit so well together, it felt as if you’d never been apart.

Today was just another lazy afternoon, with you and Kakashi in bed, entangled in each other’s arms, neither one of you wanting to leave your little heaven on earth.

You intertwine your fingers with Kakashi’s, backing into him so you’re pressed against the warmth of his body.

“Hey, Kakashi?” you whisper.

“Hm?” he replies, sleep mangling his voice.

“I’ve always wondered. Why did you ask me out that day? You told me you’d liked me for a long time too. So… why not before? Why that day?”

He chuckles softly into your hair, pulling you closer with his arm.

“Well” he says, almost in a whisper. “I thought it was time I stopped being a wuss.”

“Huh?”

“It had been a really long time and… I thought it was time to, how do I put this, pussy up.” he says into your neck, his voice calm, but with just a tinge of amusement.

WAIT A MINUTE-

You jerk up on the bed, freeing yourself of his grip and turning to face him.

A subtle smile plays across his lips but his face is tranquil, giving nothing away.

Panic rises in you and you shake his arm vigorously. “KAKASHI! HOW-HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT?”

He doesn’t stir, eyes closed tight, pretending to be sleeping.

“KAKASHI TELL ME RIGHT NOW” you continue shaking him, but it’s in vain, the man doesn’t stir.

You sigh, replaying the day from two months ago in your head, ravaging your brain for any possible hint. And just like that, it dawns upon you.

“Oh my god—That was you.” You blurt, everything suddenly clicking into place in your head. You feel like a fool for not realising sooner.

He remains unmoving, eyes closed shut. But you don’t miss the slight wrinkle of his mask as his lips upturn into a grin beneath it.

“That was you, wasn’t it??? It was! You sneaky little bastard!” you shriek, jabbing at his arm with a few pokes, but it does nothing.

“Kakashi!”

“Ssshh, I’m sleeping” he whispers in fake slumber, a smile grazing his mouth as he wraps his arm around you, pulling you back into the bed with him.

“Did you really just shush m- “ you begin in protest, but your sentence remains unfinished as he presses his mouth onto yours, catching your lips in a kiss and shutting you up before you can say more.